Earthly and Cosmic Man: Cw 133 (Collected Works of Rudolf Steiner)

Nine lectures held in Berlin on October 23, 1911, and between March 19 and June 20, 1912 (CW 133)

Vistas of primordial cosmic happenings, of ages of gray antiquity in human history which, nevertheless, shed clearest light upon our present age, are opened up with particular vividness in these lectures given to members of the Anthroposophical Society―with certain interruptions, but in constantly recurring rhythm―in Berlin, where Rudolf Steiner made his home for many years between continual traveling. The lectures were given in order that the conscience of a small group of human beings at least might be made alive to the tasks of the time, to the vital significance of the hour in which we are living.

Rudolf Steiner spoke gravely and impressively, like the voice of destiny itself, like the awakened human conscience, linking his arguments with factual details in every sphere. Although an unfledged humanity could not understand this voice, a light must somehow be brought into the chaos―even though it might reach only a small group of immature but eager-hearted people. An attempt was also made to penetrate here and there into the field of concrete, practical life. To be sure, the representatives of this “practical side of life,” as they are pleased to call it, scornfully and with vicious measures of sabotage, rejected everything that seemed to them so remote from reality, in that it spoke of spiritual worlds. Yet the living thought has the power to outlast the moment and to rise up again in a new form. Its duty is to work even where there is no prospect of success; in all its purity, it has to find its way to souls who, through constant testing, gradually become open to receive it. 

Thus, out of the concrete realities of existence from which his spiritual vision was never willing to withdraw, Rudolf Steiner created a science of knowledge embracing every domain of life and able to pour vitalizing, creative impulses into the manifold branches of science and art, philosophy and religious activity. These lectures are a testament to this monumental, groundbreaking achievement.

Rudolf Steiner (1861-1925) was born in the small village of Kraljevec, Austro-Hungarian Empire (now in Croatia), where he grew up. As a young man, he lived in Weimar and Berlin, where he became a well-published scientific, literary, and philosophical scholar, known especially for his work with Goethe's scientific writings. At the beginning of the twentieth century, he began to develop his early philosophical principles into an approach to systematic research into psychological and spiritual phenomena. Formally beginning his spiritual teaching career under the auspices of the Theosophical Society, Steiner came to use the term Anthroposophy (and spiritual science) for his philosophy, spiritual research, and findings. The influence of Steiner's multifaceted genius has led to innovative and holistic approaches in medicine, various therapies, philosophy, religious renewal, Waldorf education, education for special needs, threefold economics, biodynamic agriculture, Goethean science, architecture, and the arts of drama, speech, and eurythmy. In 1924, Rudolf Steiner founded the General Anthroposophical Society, which today has branches throughout the world. He died in Dornach, Switzerland.