Third Lecture
GA 266a/1904-02-21/p015
·1904-02-21
·
English
LowLow alignmentMost translators re-paragraphed Steiner substantially. The locus identifies the same chapter or section, but paragraph-N to paragraph-N mapping is loose. For exact-quotation precision, compare with the German.
Record: listeners' notes. Written from listeners' notes, summaries, or memory rather than a shorthand transcript. The wording is the note-taker's as much as Steiner's: weigh a single striking phrase here far more cautiously than the same phrase in a stenographic volume, and do not rest an argument on one word. Evidence: «Gedächtnisaufzeichnungen von Teilnehmern sowie Notizen von Vorträgen» (Participants' records written from memory, and notes of lectures). Rudolf Steiner Verlag Gesamtverzeichnis 2022, volume subtitle. The translation is the maintainer's, not a published one.
Every such suppressed revelation of the special being, every silence is a new accumulation of power for our knowledge. The more we are able to listen and not express our opinion, the more quickly we ascend to direct knowledge and direct vision. To one who has no insight into the organization of the human soul, this is incredible. But just as surely as the forces accumulate in the accumulator, so can the soul forces accumulate if we suppress our opinions. This gives us power and strength. He who has opinions to express at every turn will advance slowly; he who can remain silent much, who can let things speak to him, will advance rapidly. This is a golden rule in relation to direct knowledge: if we do not thrust our opinions upon things, then things will speak to us.
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