Lecture IV

Try to picture vividly and exactly what happened next. So long as the sun was outside, but the moon still within the earth, man perceived the beneficial effect of the sun forces in inward pictures; he sensed the virtue of the sun forces, for these were always associated with the moon forces within the earth-body, and had an effect upon man's constitution although he could not see them. Then came the time when the moon also went forth from the earth. Man's senses were opened, and because of this he lost the power to perceive the soul and spirit part of the sun forces. Imagine the moment when Spiritual perception disappeared and the first beginnings of actual sight with an outer view of the sun began, although in fact man could not yet see the sun, for the earth was covered with dense vapour. As against his former dim clairvoyant perception, man was now able—if only gradually—to see the sun externally, although it was veiled by the density of the atmosphere. The beneficent effects of the sun were now withdrawn from man because of the advance in his development.