{"corpus":"steiner","locus":"GA 58/1909-10-22/p038-p044","extent":"range","passage_number":38,"through":44,"paragraph_count":7,"first_locus":"GA 58/1909-10-22/p038","last_locus":"GA 58/1909-10-22/p044","lang":"en","edition":"English","edition_basis":null,"is_original":false,"is_default_edition":true,"title":"III. The Mission of Truth","date":"1909-10-22","location":null,"alignment_confidence":"high","alignment_reason":"beads:length","two_voice_volume":false,"translation_credit":{"scope":"unit","status":"established","translator":"C. Davy and C. von Arnim","identified_edition":"RSP1983","book_title":"Metamorphoses of the Soul I","publisher":"Rudolf Steiner Press","publisher_inferred":true,"match_score":1.0,"source_url":"https://www.rsarchive.org/Lectures/GA058/English/RSP1983/19091022p01.html","evidence":"lecture_page_line","publisher_note":"The publisher is inferred from the edition code in this lecture's source URL, not stated by the source page. The translator IS verified for this lecture: its own source names the translator (evidence: the lecture's page, rsarchive's lecture list, or the cover of the book it was published in), and that page's text was matched against this unit (see match_score and source_url). Cite the translator with confidence; attribute the publisher only as probable."},"edition_coverage":{"de":["original"],"en":["English"]},"record":{"record_type":"unknown","scope":"volume","note":"How this text was taken down (shorthand transcript, listeners' notes or manuscript) is not on record here. Unknown is not an assurance of a stenogram: check the edition's own notes before resting an argument on one word.","evidence":null,"evidence_translation":null,"evidence_source":null},"witness_completeness":{"ratio":0.89,"band":"comparable","note":null,"word_count":9244,"original_word_count":10386,"may_be_abridged":false},"site_heading":null,"url":"https://anthroposophy.ai/v1/steiner/en/ga/58/1909-10-22/p038-p044","json_url":"https://anthroposophy.ai/v1/steiner/en/ga/58/1909-10-22/p038-p044.json","lecture_url":"https://anthroposophy.ai/v1/steiner/en/ga/58/1909-10-22#p038","word_count":1067,"quote_safe":true,"passages":[{"passage_number":38,"locus":"GA 58/1909-10-22/p038","text":"What then is the educational effect of these two kinds of truth on the human soul? It makes a great difference whether a man devotes himself to truths that come from reflective thought or to those that come from creative thought. If we steep ourselves in the wisdom of Nature and create in ourselves a true reflection of it, we can rightly say that we have in ourselves something of the creative activity from which the life of Nature springs. But here a distinction must be made. The wisdom of Nature is directly creative and gives rise to the reality of Nature in all its fullness, but the truth we derive from thinking about Nature is only a passive image; in our thinking it has lost its power. We may indeed acquire a wide, open-minded picture of natural truth, but the creative, productive element is absent from it. Hence the immediate effect of this picture of truth on the development of the human Ego is desolating. The creative power of the Ego is crippled and devitalised; the Self loses strength and can no longer stand up to the world, if it is concerned only with reflective thoughts. Nothing else does so much to isolate the Ego, to make it withdraw into itself and look with hostility on the world. A man can become a cold egoist if he is intent only on investigating the outer world. Why does he want this knowledge? Does he mean to place it at the service of the Gods?","text_trust":"verbatim","quote_safe":true,"word_count":254,"url":"https://anthroposophy.ai/v1/steiner/en/ga/58/1909-10-22/p038","german_anchor":{"de_prefix":"1909-10-22","de_passages":[{"locus":"GA 58/1909-10-22/p029","url":"https://anthroposophy.ai/v1/steiner/de/ga/58/1909-10-22/p029"}],"bead_confidence":"high","pairing_state":"verified","verified":true,"evidence":["length","reader"],"reader_german":["GA 58/1909-10-22/p029"],"length_check":{"de_words":271,"en_words":254,"ratio":0.94,"partial":false},"correspondence":"established","note":"English passage numbering is edition-relative, so the same number need not name the same paragraph in the German. The German original passage(s) above are the edition-invariant anchor — fetch them (lang='de') to verify wording before quoting across editions."},"witness_quality":{"translator":{"scope":"unit","status":"recorded","translator":"C. Davy and C. von Arnim","identified_edition":"RSP1983","book_title":"Metamorphoses of the Soul I","publisher":"Rudolf Steiner Press","publisher_inferred":true,"match_score":1.0,"source_url":"https://www.rsarchive.org/Lectures/GA058/English/RSP1983/19091022p01.html","evidence":"lecture_page_line","publisher_note":"The publisher is inferred from the edition code in this lecture's source URL, not stated by the source page. The translator IS verified for this lecture: its own source names the translator (evidence: the lecture's page, rsarchive's lecture list, or the cover of the book it was published in), and that page's text was matched against this unit (see match_score and source_url). Cite the translator with confidence; attribute the publisher only as probable."},"entity_parity":{"status":"ok","checked_against":["GA 58/1909-10-22/p029"],"missing_from_translation":[],"present_only_in_translation":[],"bead_confidence":"high","note":"Every load-bearing name in the German counterpart appears in this English passage. That is a check on NAMES only: a translation can keep every name and still reverse who acts on whom, change a number, or soften a claim. Read the German for anything you intend to rest an argument on."},"note":"quote_safe certifies the bytes of this text. This block is about the translation as a WITNESS: who made it, and whether it carries the same names as the original. See witness_completeness for how much of the original this witness holds."}},{"passage_number":39,"locus":"GA 58/1909-10-22/p039","text":"If a man desires only this kind of truth, he wants it for himself, and he will be on the way to becoming a cold egoist and misogynist in later life. He will become a recluse or will sever himself from mankind in some other way, for he wants to possess the content of the world as his own truth. All forms of seclusion and hostility towards humanity can be found on this path. The soul becomes increasingly dried up and loses its sense of human fellowship. It becomes ever more impoverished, although the truth should enrich it. Whether a man turns into a recluse or a one-sided eccentric makes no difference; in both cases a hardening process will overtake his soul. Hence we see that the more a man confines himself to this kind of reflective thought, the less fruitful his soul will be. Let us try to understand why this is so.","text_trust":"verbatim","quote_safe":true,"word_count":154,"url":"https://anthroposophy.ai/v1/steiner/en/ga/58/1909-10-22/p039","german_anchor":{"de_prefix":"1909-10-22","de_passages":[{"locus":"GA 58/1909-10-22/p030","url":"https://anthroposophy.ai/v1/steiner/de/ga/58/1909-10-22/p030"}],"bead_confidence":"high","pairing_state":"verified","verified":true,"evidence":["length","reader"],"reader_german":["GA 58/1909-10-22/p030"],"reader_part":true,"length_check":{"de_words":347,"en_words":311,"ratio":0.9,"partial":false},"correspondence":"established","note":"English passage numbering is edition-relative, so the same number need not name the same paragraph in the German. The German original passage(s) above are the edition-invariant anchor — fetch them (lang='de') to verify wording before quoting across editions."},"witness_quality":{"translator":{"scope":"unit","status":"recorded","translator":"C. Davy and C. von Arnim","identified_edition":"RSP1983","book_title":"Metamorphoses of the Soul I","publisher":"Rudolf Steiner Press","publisher_inferred":true,"match_score":1.0,"source_url":"https://www.rsarchive.org/Lectures/GA058/English/RSP1983/19091022p01.html","evidence":"lecture_page_line","publisher_note":"The publisher is inferred from the edition code in this lecture's source URL, not stated by the source page. The translator IS verified for this lecture: its own source names the translator (evidence: the lecture's page, rsarchive's lecture list, or the cover of the book it was published in), and that page's text was matched against this unit (see match_score and source_url). Cite the translator with confidence; attribute the publisher only as probable."},"entity_parity":{"status":"ok","checked_against":["GA 58/1909-10-22/p030"],"missing_from_translation":[],"present_only_in_translation":[],"bead_confidence":"high","note":"Every load-bearing name in the German counterpart appears in this English passage. That is a check on NAMES only: a translation can keep every name and still reverse who acts on whom, change a number, or soften a claim. Read the German for anything you intend to rest an argument on."},"note":"quote_safe certifies the bytes of this text. This block is about the translation as a WITNESS: who made it, and whether it carries the same names as the original. See witness_completeness for how much of the original this witness holds."}},{"passage_number":40,"locus":"GA 58/1909-10-22/p040","text":"Consider the realms of nature and suppose that we have before us an array of plants. They have been formed by the living wisdom which calls forth their inherent productive power. Now an artist comes along. His soul receives the picture that Nature sets before him. He does not merely think about it; he opens himself to Nature's productive power and lets it work upon him. He creates a work of art which does not embody merely an act of thinking; it is imbued with productive power. Then comes someone who tries to get behind the picture and to extract a thought from it. He ponders over it. In this way its reality is filtered and impoverished. Now try to carry this process further. Once the soul has extracted a thought from the picture, it has finished with it. Nothing more can be done except to formulate thoughts about the thought—an absurd procedure which soon dries up.","text_trust":"verbatim","quote_safe":true,"word_count":157,"url":"https://anthroposophy.ai/v1/steiner/en/ga/58/1909-10-22/p040","german_anchor":{"de_prefix":"1909-10-22","de_passages":[{"locus":"GA 58/1909-10-22/p030","url":"https://anthroposophy.ai/v1/steiner/de/ga/58/1909-10-22/p030"}],"bead_confidence":"high","pairing_state":"verified","verified":true,"evidence":["length","reader"],"reader_german":["GA 58/1909-10-22/p030"],"reader_part":true,"length_check":{"de_words":347,"en_words":311,"ratio":0.9,"partial":false},"correspondence":"established","note":"English passage numbering is edition-relative, so the same number need not name the same paragraph in the German. The German original passage(s) above are the edition-invariant anchor — fetch them (lang='de') to verify wording before quoting across editions."},"witness_quality":{"translator":{"scope":"unit","status":"recorded","translator":"C. Davy and C. von Arnim","identified_edition":"RSP1983","book_title":"Metamorphoses of the Soul I","publisher":"Rudolf Steiner Press","publisher_inferred":true,"match_score":1.0,"source_url":"https://www.rsarchive.org/Lectures/GA058/English/RSP1983/19091022p01.html","evidence":"lecture_page_line","publisher_note":"The publisher is inferred from the edition code in this lecture's source URL, not stated by the source page. The translator IS verified for this lecture: its own source names the translator (evidence: the lecture's page, rsarchive's lecture list, or the cover of the book it was published in), and that page's text was matched against this unit (see match_score and source_url). Cite the translator with confidence; attribute the publisher only as probable."},"entity_parity":{"status":"ok","checked_against":["GA 58/1909-10-22/p030"],"missing_from_translation":[],"present_only_in_translation":[],"bead_confidence":"high","note":"Every load-bearing name in the German counterpart appears in this English passage. That is a check on NAMES only: a translation can keep every name and still reverse who acts on whom, change a number, or soften a claim. Read the German for anything you intend to rest an argument on."},"note":"quote_safe certifies the bytes of this text. This block is about the translation as a WITNESS: who made it, and whether it carries the same names as the original. See witness_completeness for how much of the original this witness holds."}},{"passage_number":41,"locus":"GA 58/1909-10-22/p041","text":"It is quite different with creative thinking. Here a man is himself productive. His thoughts take form as realities in outer life; here he is working after the example of Nature herself. That is how it is with a man who goes beyond mere observation and reflective thinking and allows something not to be gained from observation to arise in his soul. All spiritual-scientific truths require a productive disposition in the soul. In the case of these truths all mere reflective thinking is bad and leads to deception. But the truths attainable by creative thought are limited, for man is weak in the face of the creative wisdom of the world. There is no end to the things from which we can derive truths by reflective thought; but creative thought, although the field open to it is restricted, brings about a heightening of productive power; the soul is refreshed and its scope extended. Indeed, the soul becomes more and more inwardly divine, in so far as it reflects in itself an essential element of the divine creative activity in the world.","text_trust":"verbatim","quote_safe":true,"word_count":181,"url":"https://anthroposophy.ai/v1/steiner/en/ga/58/1909-10-22/p041","german_anchor":{"de_prefix":"1909-10-22","de_passages":[{"locus":"GA 58/1909-10-22/p031","url":"https://anthroposophy.ai/v1/steiner/de/ga/58/1909-10-22/p031"}],"bead_confidence":"high","pairing_state":"verified","verified":true,"evidence":["length","reader"],"reader_german":["GA 58/1909-10-22/p031"],"reader_part":true,"length_check":{"de_words":311,"en_words":262,"ratio":0.84,"partial":false},"correspondence":"established","note":"English passage numbering is edition-relative, so the same number need not name the same paragraph in the German. The German original passage(s) above are the edition-invariant anchor — fetch them (lang='de') to verify wording before quoting across editions."},"witness_quality":{"translator":{"scope":"unit","status":"recorded","translator":"C. Davy and C. von Arnim","identified_edition":"RSP1983","book_title":"Metamorphoses of the Soul I","publisher":"Rudolf Steiner Press","publisher_inferred":true,"match_score":1.0,"source_url":"https://www.rsarchive.org/Lectures/GA058/English/RSP1983/19091022p01.html","evidence":"lecture_page_line","publisher_note":"The publisher is inferred from the edition code in this lecture's source URL, not stated by the source page. The translator IS verified for this lecture: its own source names the translator (evidence: the lecture's page, rsarchive's lecture list, or the cover of the book it was published in), and that page's text was matched against this unit (see match_score and source_url). Cite the translator with confidence; attribute the publisher only as probable."},"entity_parity":{"status":"ok","checked_against":["GA 58/1909-10-22/p031"],"missing_from_translation":[],"present_only_in_translation":[],"bead_confidence":"high","note":"Every load-bearing name in the German counterpart appears in this English passage. That is a check on NAMES only: a translation can keep every name and still reverse who acts on whom, change a number, or soften a claim. Read the German for anything you intend to rest an argument on."},"note":"quote_safe certifies the bytes of this text. This block is about the translation as a WITNESS: who made it, and whether it carries the same names as the original. See witness_completeness for how much of the original this witness holds."}},{"passage_number":42,"locus":"GA 58/1909-10-22/p042","text":"So we have these two distinct kinds of truth, one reached by creative thought, the other by reflective thought. This latter kind, derived from the investigation of existent things or current experience, will always lead to abstractions; under its influence the soul is deprived of nourishment and tends to dry up. The truth that is not gained from immediate experience is creative; its strength helps man to find a place in the world where he can co-operate in shaping the future.","text_trust":"verbatim","quote_safe":true,"word_count":81,"url":"https://anthroposophy.ai/v1/steiner/en/ga/58/1909-10-22/p042","german_anchor":{"de_prefix":"1909-10-22","de_passages":[{"locus":"GA 58/1909-10-22/p031","url":"https://anthroposophy.ai/v1/steiner/de/ga/58/1909-10-22/p031"}],"bead_confidence":"high","pairing_state":"verified","verified":true,"evidence":["length","reader"],"reader_german":["GA 58/1909-10-22/p031"],"reader_part":true,"length_check":{"de_words":311,"en_words":262,"ratio":0.84,"partial":false},"correspondence":"established","note":"English passage numbering is edition-relative, so the same number need not name the same paragraph in the German. The German original passage(s) above are the edition-invariant anchor — fetch them (lang='de') to verify wording before quoting across editions."},"witness_quality":{"translator":{"scope":"unit","status":"recorded","translator":"C. Davy and C. von Arnim","identified_edition":"RSP1983","book_title":"Metamorphoses of the Soul I","publisher":"Rudolf Steiner Press","publisher_inferred":true,"match_score":1.0,"source_url":"https://www.rsarchive.org/Lectures/GA058/English/RSP1983/19091022p01.html","evidence":"lecture_page_line","publisher_note":"The publisher is inferred from the edition code in this lecture's source URL, not stated by the source page. The translator IS verified for this lecture: its own source names the translator (evidence: the lecture's page, rsarchive's lecture list, or the cover of the book it was published in), and that page's text was matched against this unit (see match_score and source_url). Cite the translator with confidence; attribute the publisher only as probable."},"entity_parity":{"status":"ok","checked_against":["GA 58/1909-10-22/p031"],"missing_from_translation":[],"present_only_in_translation":[],"bead_confidence":"high","note":"Every load-bearing name in the German counterpart appears in this English passage. That is a check on NAMES only: a translation can keep every name and still reverse who acts on whom, change a number, or soften a claim. Read the German for anything you intend to rest an argument on."},"note":"quote_safe certifies the bytes of this text. This block is about the translation as a WITNESS: who made it, and whether it carries the same names as the original. See witness_completeness for how much of the original this witness holds."}},{"passage_number":43,"locus":"GA 58/1909-10-22/p043","text":"The past can be approached only by reflective thought, while creative thought opens a way into the future. Man thus becomes a responsible creator of the future. He extends the power of his Ego into the future, in so far as he comes to possess not merely the truths derived from the past by reflective thinking, but also those that are gained by creative thinking and point towards the future.","text_trust":"verbatim","quote_safe":true,"word_count":70,"url":"https://anthroposophy.ai/v1/steiner/en/ga/58/1909-10-22/p043","german_anchor":{"de_prefix":"1909-10-22","de_passages":[{"locus":"GA 58/1909-10-22/p032","url":"https://anthroposophy.ai/v1/steiner/de/ga/58/1909-10-22/p032"}],"bead_confidence":"high","pairing_state":"verified","verified":true,"evidence":["length","reader"],"reader_german":["GA 58/1909-10-22/p032"],"reader_part":true,"length_check":{"de_words":239,"en_words":240,"ratio":1.0,"partial":false},"correspondence":"established","note":"English passage numbering is edition-relative, so the same number need not name the same paragraph in the German. The German original passage(s) above are the edition-invariant anchor — fetch them (lang='de') to verify wording before quoting across editions."},"witness_quality":{"translator":{"scope":"unit","status":"recorded","translator":"C. Davy and C. von Arnim","identified_edition":"RSP1983","book_title":"Metamorphoses of the Soul I","publisher":"Rudolf Steiner Press","publisher_inferred":true,"match_score":1.0,"source_url":"https://www.rsarchive.org/Lectures/GA058/English/RSP1983/19091022p01.html","evidence":"lecture_page_line","publisher_note":"The publisher is inferred from the edition code in this lecture's source URL, not stated by the source page. The translator IS verified for this lecture: its own source names the translator (evidence: the lecture's page, rsarchive's lecture list, or the cover of the book it was published in), and that page's text was matched against this unit (see match_score and source_url). Cite the translator with confidence; attribute the publisher only as probable."},"entity_parity":{"status":"ok","checked_against":["GA 58/1909-10-22/p032"],"missing_from_translation":[],"present_only_in_translation":[],"bead_confidence":"high","note":"Every load-bearing name in the German counterpart appears in this English passage. That is a check on NAMES only: a translation can keep every name and still reverse who acts on whom, change a number, or soften a claim. Read the German for anything you intend to rest an argument on."},"note":"quote_safe certifies the bytes of this text. This block is about the translation as a WITNESS: who made it, and whether it carries the same names as the original. See witness_completeness for how much of the original this witness holds."}},{"passage_number":44,"locus":"GA 58/1909-10-22/p044","text":"Herein lies the liberating influence of creative thinking. Anyone who is active in the striving for truth will soon find how he is impoverished by mere reflective thinking. He will come to understand how the devotee of reflective thinking fills his mind with phantom ideas and bloodless abstractions. Such a man may feel like an outcast, condemned to a mere savouring of truth and may come to doubt whether his spirit can play any part in shaping the world. On the other hand, a man who experiences a truth gained by creative thinking will find that it nourishes and warms his soul and gives it new strength for every stage in life. It fills him with joy when he is able to grasp truths of this kind and discovers that in bringing them to bear on the phenomena of life he can say to himself: Now I not only understand what is going on there, but I can explain it in the light of having known something of it previously.","text_trust":"verbatim","quote_safe":true,"word_count":170,"url":"https://anthroposophy.ai/v1/steiner/en/ga/58/1909-10-22/p044","german_anchor":{"de_prefix":"1909-10-22","de_passages":[{"locus":"GA 58/1909-10-22/p032","url":"https://anthroposophy.ai/v1/steiner/de/ga/58/1909-10-22/p032"}],"bead_confidence":"high","pairing_state":"verified","verified":true,"evidence":["length","reader"],"reader_german":["GA 58/1909-10-22/p032"],"reader_part":true,"length_check":{"de_words":239,"en_words":240,"ratio":1.0,"partial":false},"correspondence":"established","note":"English passage numbering is edition-relative, so the same number need not name the same paragraph in the German. The German original passage(s) above are the edition-invariant anchor — fetch them (lang='de') to verify wording before quoting across editions."},"witness_quality":{"translator":{"scope":"unit","status":"recorded","translator":"C. Davy and C. von Arnim","identified_edition":"RSP1983","book_title":"Metamorphoses of the Soul I","publisher":"Rudolf Steiner Press","publisher_inferred":true,"match_score":1.0,"source_url":"https://www.rsarchive.org/Lectures/GA058/English/RSP1983/19091022p01.html","evidence":"lecture_page_line","publisher_note":"The publisher is inferred from the edition code in this lecture's source URL, not stated by the source page. The translator IS verified for this lecture: its own source names the translator (evidence: the lecture's page, rsarchive's lecture list, or the cover of the book it was published in), and that page's text was matched against this unit (see match_score and source_url). Cite the translator with confidence; attribute the publisher only as probable."},"entity_parity":{"status":"ok","checked_against":["GA 58/1909-10-22/p032"],"missing_from_translation":[],"present_only_in_translation":[],"bead_confidence":"high","note":"Every load-bearing name in the German counterpart appears in this English passage. That is a check on NAMES only: a translation can keep every name and still reverse who acts on whom, change a number, or soften a claim. Read the German for anything you intend to rest an argument on."},"note":"quote_safe certifies the bytes of this text. This block is about the translation as a WITNESS: who made it, and whether it carries the same names as the original. See witness_completeness for how much of the original this witness holds."}}],"witnesses":[{"lang":"de","edition":"original","is_original":true,"is_default_edition":true,"first_passage":1,"last_passage":63,"passage_count":63,"word_count":10386},{"lang":"en","edition":"English","is_original":false,"is_default_edition":true,"first_passage":1,"last_passage":88,"passage_count":88,"word_count":9244,"completeness":{"ratio":0.89,"band":"comparable","note":null}}],"aligned_witness":{"status":"aligned","lang":"de","edition":"original","confidence":"high","passages":[{"locus":"GA 58/1909-10-22/p029","passage_number":29,"text":"Wie werden nun diese zwei Gebiete der Wahrheit erzieherisch auf die menschliche Seele wirken? Da ist ein großer Unterschied, ob der Mensch bloß sich hingibt den nachgedachten, oder ob er sich hingibt bloß vorgedachten Wahrheiten. Sehen wir uns einmal das an, was der Mensch als nachgedachte Wahrheit gewinnt. Wir sagen mit Recht: Wenn wir uns in die Weisheit der Natur vertiefen und uns in uns selber ein Spiegel- und Wahrheitsbild der Natur verschafft haben, dann haben wir in uns dasselbe, woraus sie entsprossen ist, woraus sie wirkt; wir haben dasjenige, was in der Natur als Schöpferisches wirkt, in unserem Wahrheitsbegriff der Natur. Aber es ist ein gewaltiger Unterschied. Während die Weisheit in der Natur schöpferisch ist, während die volle Wirklichkeit aus ihr heraus sprießt, ist unsere Wahrheit nur ein Spiegelbild, eine nachgedachte und untätige, etwas, was ohnmächtig geworden ist durch unser Naturdenken. So können wir uns ein weitherziges und weites Bild der Wahrheit der Welt schaffen: das Schöpferische, das Produktive ist aus diesem Wahrheitsbild herausgenommen. Daher wirkt auch dieses Wahrheitsbild in bezug auf die Entwickelung unseres Ich zunächst verödend und ausleerend. Die schöpferische Kraft des Ich wird lahm und erstirbt sozusagen; das Selbst wird nicht stark und kann sich gar nicht mehr der Welt gegenüberstellen, wenn es nur nachgedachte Wahrheiten sucht. Nichts wirkt so sehr auf das Vereinsamen, auf das Veröden, auf das Zurückziehen in sein Ich, auf die Verfeindung mit der Welt, als das bloße Nachdenken über die Welt. Kalter Egoist kann der Mensch werden, wenn er bloß erforschen will, was draußen in der Welt ist. Wofür will er eigentlich diese Wahrheit? Will er für die Götter diese Wahrheit verwenden?","text_trust":"verbatim","quote_safe":true,"word_count":271,"url":"https://anthroposophy.ai/v1/steiner/de/ga/58/1909-10-22/p029"},{"locus":"GA 58/1909-10-22/p030","passage_number":30,"text":"Wenn er nur diese nachgedachte Wahrheit erforschen will, so will er für sich etwas haben, und er ist auf dem Wege, durch die Wahrheit ein kalter Egoist und Menschenfeind zu werden im weiteren Verlauf seines Lebens. Er geht hinaus und wird ein Einsiedler oder sondert sich auf andere Weise ab von der Menschheit; denn er will dasjenige, was in der Welt ist, für seine Wahrheit haben. Alles einseitige Einsiedlertum, alles Menschenfeindliche können Sie finden, wenn Sie diesen Weg verfolgen. Die Seele wird immer mehr und mehr austrocknen in bezug auf Gemeinschaftssinn; sie wird immer ärmer, trotzdem die Wahrheit sie reicher machen sollte. Der Mensch hört auf, wenn er bloß diese Art Wahrheit erforscht, im Gemeinsamkeitssinn Mensch zu sein. Er wird Sonderling oder Einseitigkeitsmensch, gleichgültig, ob er hinausgeht oder sich einschließt; verhärten wird die Seele in beiden Fällen. Daher werden Sie sehen, daß je mehr der Mensch zum bloßen Nachdenken kommt, desto unfruchtbarer wird die Seele in diesem Nachdenken. Versuchen wir uns einmal das vorzustellen, wie durch bloßes Nachdenken die Seele verödet. Betrachten wir einmal die Natur draußen: da haben wir eine Summe von Pflanzen vor uns. Aus der lebendigen Weisheit der Welt sind sie gebildet. In ihnen ist produktive Kraft, und diese Weisheit hat sie aus sich selber hervorsprießen lassen. Nun kommt derjenige, der ein Künstler ist. Er stellt sich mit der Seele dem, was ihm das Bild der Natur gibt, entgegen. Er denkt nicht bloß nach, sondern er läßt jene schöpferische, produktive Kraft in sich wirken. Er bringt hervor ein Kunstwerk; aber darinnen ist nicht bloß vorhanden ein Nachgedanke, sondern produktive Kraft. Jetzt kommt aber einer, der versucht, hinter den Gedanken des Bildes zu kommen. Er denkt über das Bild nach. Da ist die Wirklichkeit weiter filtriert, aber sie ist zu gleicher Zeit verödet. Versuchen Sie, den Prozeß weiterzuführen. Wenn die Seele in dieser Weise einen Gedanken aus der Beobachtung herausgeschält hat, dann ist der Abschluß da, und die Seele ist fertig damit. Man müßte nur noch sich Gedanken über den Gedanken machen. Damit kommt man in das Lächerliche hinein. Der begonnene Prozeß dörrt selber aus.","text_trust":"verbatim","quote_safe":true,"word_count":347,"url":"https://anthroposophy.ai/v1/steiner/de/ga/58/1909-10-22/p030"},{"locus":"GA 58/1909-10-22/p031","passage_number":31,"text":"Anders ist es auf dem Gebiete des Vordenkens. Hier ist der Mensch in anderer Lage, da er selber produktiv ist. Da verwirklicht er im Leben seine Gedanken; da ist er etwas, was nach dem Vorbilde der schaffenden Natur selber wirkt. In einem solchen Falle ist der Mensch, wenn er über die bloße Beobachtung hinausgeht, wenn er nicht bloß nachdenkt, sondern in der Seele etwas aufsteigen läßt, was ihm die bloße Beobachtung nicht geben kann. Alle geisteswissenschaftlichen Wahrheiten sind solche, bei denen die Seele produktiv veranlagt sein muß. Hier muß die Seele Vordenker sein. Alles bloße Nachdenken ist bei diesen Wahrheiten vom Übel und führt zur Täuschung in bezug auf die geisteswissenschaftlichen Wahrheiten. Dafür haben die vorgedachten Wahrheiten ein anderes. Der Mensch kann nur auf einem beschränkten Gebiete die Wahrheit vordenken. Er kann nur sozusagen ein Stümper sein gegenüber der schöpferischen Weisheit der Welt. Eine unendliche Menge ist vorhanden von dem, worüber wir unsere nachgedachten Wahrheiten haben, und ein sehr beschränktes Gebiet ermöglicht es uns, vorgedachte Wahrheiten zu haben. Es wird also bei der zweiten Art Wahrheit der Kreis enger, aber die produktiven Kräfte erhöhen sich; die Seele wird frisch und weiter und weiter. Sie wird selbst immer göttlicher und göttlicher in sich, wenn sie das in sich nachbildet, was das Wesentliche ist in der schöpferischen, göttlichen Tätigkeit in der Welt. So stehen sich die beiden Wahrheiten, die vor- und nachgedachten, in der Welt gegenüber. Daher wird die nachgedachte Wahrheit, die auf dem bloßen Erforschen des Gegebenen, auf dem Forschen in dem Erlebten beruht, sie wird immer ins Abstrakte führen; immer trockener wird dabei die Seele werden und wird keine Nahrung finden können. Diejenige Wahrheit aber, die nicht an dem äußeren Erlebnis gewonnen wird, sie ist schöpferisch; und aus ihrer Kraft weist sie dem Menschen eine Stelle im Weltall an, wo er Mittätiger ist an dem, was in die Zukunft hinein entsteht.","text_trust":"verbatim","quote_safe":true,"word_count":311,"url":"https://anthroposophy.ai/v1/steiner/de/ga/58/1909-10-22/p031"},{"locus":"GA 58/1909-10-22/p032","passage_number":32,"text":"Das Vergangene kann im wahren Sinne des Wortes nur Nachgedachtes sein. Das Vorgedachte ist etwas, was ein Anfang ist für ein Hineinwachsen in die Zukunft. So wird der Mensch ein Bürger, ein Schaffender für die Zukunft. Er erstreckt die Kraft seines Ich von dem Punkte der Gegenwart in die Zukunft hinein, indem er nicht bloß das Nachgedachte, sondern auch das Vorgedachte in den Wahrheiten zu seinem Eigentume macht. Das ist das Befreiende der vorgedachten Wahrheiten. Derjenige, der sozusagen selber mittätig ist auf dem Gebiete des Wahrheitsstrebens, der wird bald erfahren, wie ihn das bloße Nachdenken verarmt; und er wird es begreiflich finden, wie der bloße Nachdenker immer öder und abstrakter wird und seinen Geist mit öden Begriffs-Gespinsten und blutleeren Abstraktionen erfüllt. Das kann dazu führen, daß der Geist zum Zweifel darüber kommt, ob er an der Weltengestaltung teilhaben kann. Wie herausgestoßen und zum bloßen Genuß der Wahrheit verurteilt kann sich der Mensch fühlen, wenn er bloß ein Nachdenker der Wahrheit ist. Das aber, was vorgedachte Wahrheit ist und uns als solche im Leben entgegentritt, das erfüllt die Seele und macht sie warm, erfüllt sie mit neuer Kraft auf jeder Stufe des Lebens. Beseligend ist es für den Menschen, wenn er solche vorgedachten Wahrheiten zu erfassen vermag, um dann den Erscheinungen des Lebens gegenüberzutreten und sich zu sagen: jetzt verstehe ich nicht bloß, was da ist, sondern was da ist, wird nun erklärlich, weil ich vorher etwas davon gewußt habe.","text_trust":"verbatim","quote_safe":true,"word_count":239,"url":"https://anthroposophy.ai/v1/steiner/de/ga/58/1909-10-22/p032"}],"beads":[{"from":[38],"to":[29],"confidence":"high","pairing_state":"verified"},{"from":[39,40],"to":[30],"confidence":"high","pairing_state":"verified"},{"from":[41,42],"to":[31],"confidence":"high","pairing_state":"verified"},{"from":[43,44],"to":[32],"confidence":"high","pairing_state":"verified"}],"note":"Paired by the paragraph aligner; each language numbers its own paragraphs. A bead at either end of the span can carry text beyond it (the `from` numbers show what each bead covers)."}}