Lecture XXVI
GA 93a/1905-10-28/p049
·1905-10-28
·
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: «Notizen von einem esoterischen Lehrgang» (Notes from an esoteric course). Rudolf Steiner Verlag Gesamtverzeichnis 2022, volume subtitle. The translation is the maintainer's, not a published one.
In the saying that Christ trod on and crushed the head of the serpent[^2] we find a profound expression of esotericism. The serpent's head is mere wisdom; this must be overcome. True wisdom lies in the heart; this is why the serpent's head must be trodden underfoot. In the Hercules-Saga[^3] the same truth has already been expressed. He kills the Lernaean Hydra, whose head always grows anew. Mere Manas will always come again. Hercules must keep the blood at a distance (Kama), then the Hydra will be conquered. Blood came into the Earth with the Mars-Wisdom (Kama-Manas).
Read this passage in another edition
ENEnglish