Cosmic Memory
GA 11
vii. The Last Periods before the Division into Sexes
[ 1 ] We shall now describe the state of man before his division into male and female. At that time the body consisted of a soft malleable mass. The will had a much greater power over this mass than later. When man separated from his parent entity he appeared as a truly articulated organism, but as an incomplete one. The further development of the organs took place outside the parent entity. Much of what later matured inside the mother organism was at that time brought to completion outside of it by a force which was akin to our will power. In order to bring about such an external maturation the care of the parent being was necessary. Man brought certain organs into the world which he later cast off. Others, which were quite incomplete at his first appearance, developed more fully. The whole process had something which can be compared with the emergence from an egg-form and the casting off of an eggshell, but here one must not think of a firm eggshell.
[ 2 ] The body of man was warm-blooded. This must be stated explicitly, for in even earlier times it was different, as will be shown later. The maturation which took place outside the mother organism occurred under the influence of an increased warmth which also was supplied from the outside. But one must by no means think that the egg-man—as he will be called for the sake of brevity—was brooded. The conditions of heat and fire on the earth of that time were different from those of later times. By means of his powers man could confine fire, or respectively, heat, to a certain space. He could, so to speak, contract, (concentrate) heat. He was thus in a position to supply the young organism with the warmth which it needed for its maturation.
[ 3 ] The most highly developed organs of man at that time were the organs of motion. The sense organs of today were as yet quite undeveloped. The most advanced among them were the organs of hearing and of perception of cold and hot, the sense of touch; the perception of light lagged far behind. Man came into the world with the senses of hearing and touch; the perception of light developed somewhat later.
[ 4 ] Everything which is said here applies to the last periods before the division into sexes. This division took place slowly and gradually. Long before its actual occurrence, human beings were already developing in such a way that one individual would be born with more male, another with more female characteristics. Each human being however also possessed the opposite sexual characteristics, so that self-impregnation was possible. But the latter could not always take place, because it depended on the influences of external conditions in certain seasons. With respect to many things and to a great extent, man was generally dependent on such outer conditions. Therefore he had to regulate all his institutions in accordance with such external conditions, for example, in accordance with the course of the sun and the moon. But his regulation did not take place consciously in the modern sense, but was accomplished in a manner which one must call instinctive. With this we already indicate the soul life of man of that time.
[ 5 ] This soul life cannot be described as a true inner life. Physical and soul activities and qualities were not yet strictly separated. The outer life of nature was still experienced by the soul. Each single disturbance in the environment acted powerfully on the sense of hearing especially. Every disturbance of the air, every movement was “heard.” In their movements wind and water spoke an “eloquent language” to man. In this manner a perception of the mysterious activity of nature penetrated into him. This activity reverberated in his soul. His own activity was an echo of these impressions. He transformed the perceptions of sound into his own activity. He lived among such tonal movements and expressed them by his will. In this way he was impelled to all his daily labors.
He was influenced in a somewhat lesser degree by the influences which act upon the touch. But they also played an important role. He “felt” the environment in his body and acted accordingly. From such influences upon the touch he could tell when and how he had to work. He knew from them where he should rest. In them he recognized and avoided dangers which threatened his life. In accordance with these influences he regulated his food intake.
[ 6 ] The remainder of the soul life took its course in a manner quite different from that of later periods. In the soul lived images of external objects, not conceptions of them. For instance, when man entered a warmer space from a colder one, a certain colored image arose in his soul. But this colored image had nothing to do with any external object. It originated in an inner force which was akin to the will. Such images continuously filled the soul. One can compare this only with the flowing dream impressions of man. At that time the images were not completely irregular, but proceeded according to law. Therefore, in relation to this stage of mankind, one should speak of an image consciousness rather than of a dream consciousness. For the most part, colored images filled this consciousness. But these were not the only kind. Thus man wandered through the world, and through his hearing and touch participated in the events of this world: but in his soul life this world was mirrored in images which were very unlike what existed in the external world. Joy and sorrow were associated with the images of the soul to a much lesser degree than is the case today with the ideas of men which reflect their perceptions of the external world. It is true that one image awakened happiness, another displeasure, one hate, another love; but these feelings had a much paler character.
On the other hand, strong feelings were aroused by something else. At that time man was much more active than later. Everything in his environment as well as the images in his soul, stimulated him to activity, to movement. When his activity could proceed without hindrance, he experienced pleasure, but when this activity was hindered in any way, he felt displeasure and discomfort. It was the absence or presence of hindrances to his will which determined the content of his sensations, his joy and his pain. This joy, or this pain were again released in his soul in a world of living images. Light, clear, beautiful images lived in him when he could be completely free in his actions; dark, misshapen images arose in his soul when his movements were hindered.
[ 7 ] Until now the average man has been described. Among those who had developed into a kind of superhuman beings, (cf. page 96) soul life was different. Their soul life did not have this instinctive character. Through their senses of hearing and touch they perceived deeper mysteries of nature, which they could interpret consciously. In the rushing of the wind, in the rustling of the trees, the laws, the wisdom of nature were unveiled to them. The images in their souls did not merely represent reflections of the external world, but were likenesses of the spiritual powers of the world. They did not perceive sensory objects, but spiritual entities. For example, the average man experienced fear, and an ugly, dark image arose in his soul. By means of such images the superhuman being received information and revelation about the spiritual entities of the world. The processes of nature did not appear to him as dependent on lifeless natural laws, as they do to the scientist of today, but rather as the actions of spiritual beings. External reality did not yet exist, for there were no external senses. But spiritual reality was accessible to the higher beings. The spirit shone into them as the sun shines into the physical eye of man today. In these beings, cognition was what one may call intuitive knowledge in the fullest sense of the word. For them there was no combining and speculating, but an immediate perception of the activity of spiritual beings. Therefore, these superhuman individuals could receive communications from the spiritual world directly into their will. They consciously directed the other men. They received their mission from the world of spirits and acted accordingly.
[ 8 ] When the time came in which the sexes separated, these beings considered it their task to act upon the new life in accordance with their mission. The regulation of sexual life emanated from them. Everything which relates to the reproduction of mankind originated with them. In this they acted quite consciously, but the other men could only feel this influence as an instinct implanted in them. Sexual love was implanted in man by immediate transference of thought. At first all its manifestations were of the noblest character. Everything in this area which has taken on an ugly character comes from later times, when men became more independent and when they corrupted an originally pure impulse. In these older times there was no satisfaction of the sexual impulse for its own sake. Then, everything was a sacrificial service for the continuation of human existence. Reproduction was regarded as a sacred matter, as a service which man owes to the world. Sacrificial priests were the directors and regulators in this field.
[ 9 ] Of a different kind were the influences of the half superhuman beings (cf. page 96/97). The latter were not developed to the point of being able to receive the revelations of the spiritual world in an entirely pure form. Along with these impressions of the spiritual world, the effects of the sensible earth also arose among the images of their souls. The truly superhuman beings received no impressions of joy and pain through the external world. They were wholly given over to the revelations of the spiritual powers. Wisdom flowed to them as light does to sensory beings; their will was directed toward nothing but acting in accordance with this wisdom. In this acting lay their highest joy. Wisdom, will, and activity constituted their nature. This was different among the half superhuman entities. They felt the impulse to receive impressions from the outside, and with the satisfaction of this impulse they connected joy, with its frustration, displeasure. Through this they differed from the superhuman entities. To these entities, external impressions were nothing but confirmations of spiritual revelations They could look out into the world without receiving anything more than a reflection of what they had already received from the spirit. The half-superhuman beings learned something new, and therefore they could become leaders of men when in human souls mere images changed into likenesses and conceptions of external objects. This happened when a portion of the previous reproductive energy of man turned inward, at the time when entities with brains were developed. With the brain man also received the capacity to transform external sensory impressions into conceptions.
[ 10 ] It must therefore be said that by half-superhuman beings man was brought to the point of directing his inner nature toward the sensuous external world. He was not permitted to open the images of his soul directly to pure spiritual influences. The capacity of perpetuating the existence of his kind was implanted in him as an instinctive impulse by superhuman beings. Spiritually, he would at first have had to continue a sort of dream existence if the half-superhuman beings had not intervened. Through their influence the images of his soul were directed toward the sensuous, external world. He became a being which was conscious of itself in the world of the senses. Thereby it came about that man could consciously direct his actions in accordance with his perceptions of the world of the senses. Before this he had acted from a kind of instinct. He had been under the spell of his external environment and of the powers of higher individualities, which acted on him. Now he began to follow the impulses and enticements of his conceptions. Therewith free choice became possible for man. This was the beginning of “good and evil.”
[ 11 ] Before we continue in this direction, something will be said concerning the environment of man on earth. In addition to man there existed animals, which, for their kind, were at the same stage of development as he. According to current ideas one would include them among the reptiles. Apart from them, lower forms of animal life existed. Between man and the animals there was an essential difference. Because of his still malleable body, man could live only in those regions of the earth which had not yet passed over into the most solid material form. And in these regions animal organisms which had a similarly plastic body lived with him. But in other regions lived animals which already had dense bodies and also had developed separate sexedness and the senses. Where they had come from, will be explained later. These animals could not develop further because their bodies had taken on this denser materiality too soon. Some species of these became extinct, others have perpetuated their kind to the point of contemporary forms. Man could attain higher forms because he remained in the regions which corresponded to his state at that time. Thereby his body remained so pliant and soft that he could develop the organs which were to be fructified by the spirit. With this development his external body had reached the point where it could pass over into denser materiality and become a protective envelope for the more delicate spiritual organs.
Not all human bodies, however, had reached this point. There were few advanced ones. These were first animated by spirit. Others were not animated. If the spirit had penetrated into them it could have developed only in a defective manner because of the as yet incomplete inner organs. Therefore, at first these human beings were compelled to develop further without spirit. A third kind had reached the point where weak spiritual impulses could act in them. They stood between the two other kinds. Their mental activity remained dull. They had to be led by higher spiritual powers. All possible transitions existed between these three kinds. Further development was now possible only in that a portion of the human beings attained higher forms at the expense of the others. First, the completely mindless ones had to be abandoned. A mingling with them for the purpose of reproduction would have pulled the more highly developed down to their level. Everything which had been given a mind was therefore separated from them. Thereby the latter descended more and more to the level of animalism. Thus, alongside man there developed manlike animals. Man left a portion of his brothers behind on his road in order that he himself might ascend higher. This process had by no means come to an end. Among the men with a dull mental life those who stood somewhat higher could advance only if they were raised to an association with higher ones, and separated themselves from those less endowed with spirit. Only thus could they develop bodies which would be fit to receive the full human spirit. After a certain time the physical development had come to a kind of stopping-point, in that everything which lay above a certain boundary remained human. Meanwhile, the conditions of life on earth had changed in such a way that a further thrusting down would no longer produce animal-like creatures, but such as were no longer capable of living. That which had been thrust down into the animal world has either become extinct or survives in the different higher animals. Therefore, one must consider these animals as beings which had to stop at an earlier stage of human development. They have not retained the form which they had at the time of their separation, however, but have gone from a higher to a lower level. Thus the apes are men of a past epoch who have regressed. As man was once less perfect than he is at present, they were once more perfect than they are now.
That which has remained in the field of the human, has gone through a similar process, but within these human limits. Many savage tribes must be considered to be the degenerated descendants of human forms which were once more highly developed. They did not sink to the level of animalism, but only to that of savagery.
[ 12 ] The immortal part of man is the spirit. It has been shown when the spirit entered the body. Before this, the spirit belonged to other regions. It could only associate itself with the body when the latter had attained a certain level of development. Only when one understands completely how this association came about, can one recognize the significance of birth and death, and can understand the nature of the eternal spirit.
VI. Die letzten Zeiten vor der Geschlechter-Trennung
[ 1 ] Es soll nunmehr die Beschaffenheit des Menschen vor seiner Spaltung in Männliches und Weibliches geschildert werden. Der Leib bestand damals aus einer weichen bildsamen Masse. Über diese hatte der Wille eine viel höhere Gewalt, als dies beim späteren Menschen der Fall war. Der Mensch erschien, wenn er sich von seinem Elternwesen loslöste, zwar schon als gegliederter Organismus, aber unvollkommen. Die Fortentwickelung der Organe fand außerhalb des Elternwesens statt. Vieles von dem, was später innerhalb des Mutterwesens zur Reife gebracht wurde, War damals außerhalb desselben durch eine Kraft vervollkommnet, die mit unserer Willenskraft verwandt ist. Um solche äußere Reifung zu bewirken, war die Pflege von seiten des Vorfahrenwesens nötig. Der Mensch brachte gewisse Organe mit zur Welt, die er dann später abwarf. Andere, die noch ganz unvollkommen waren bei seinem ersten Erscheinen, bildeten sich aus. Der ganze Vorgang hatte etwas, das man vergleichen kann mit dem Herausarbeiten aus einer Eiform und dem Ablegen einer Eihülle; doch darf man nicht an eine feste Eischale denken.
[ 2 ] Der Körper des Menschen war warmblütig. Das muß ausdrücklich gesagt werden, denn es war in noch früheren Zeiten anders, wie später gezeigt werden wird. Die außer dem Mutterwesen stattfindende Reifung geschah unter dem Einfluß von erhöhter Wärme, die ebenfalls von außen zugeführt wurde. Doch darf man durchaus nicht an ein Bebrüten des Eimenschen — so soll er der Kürze halber genannt werden — denken. Die Wärme- und Feuerverhältnisse auf der damaligen Erde waren anders. als später. Der Mensch vermochte durch seine Kräfte das Feuer, beziehungsweise die Wärme in einen gewissen Raum zu bannen. Er konnte — sozusagen — Wärme zusammenziehen (konzentrieren). Dadurch war er in der Lage, dem jungen Wesen die Wärme zuzuführen, die es zu seiner Reifung brauchte.
[ 3 ] Die ausgebildetsten Organe des Menschen waren damals die Bewegungsorgane. Die heutigen Sinnesorgane waren noch ganz unentwickelt. Am weitesten vorgeschritten waren das Gehörorgan, die Wahrnehmungsorgane für kalt und warm (Gefühlssinn), weit zurück war noch die Lichtwahrnehmung. Mit Gehör und Gefühl kam der Mensch zur Welt; die Lichtwahrnehmung entwickelte sich dann etwas später.
[ 4 ] Alles, was hier gesagt wird, entspricht den letzten Zeiten vor der Geschlechtertrennung. Diese ging langsam und allmählich vonstatten. Lange Zeit vor ihrem eigentlichen Auftreten entwickelten sich die Menschen schon so, daß das eine Individuum mehr mit männlichen, das andere mehr mit weiblichen Charakteren geboren wurde. Doch waren bei jedem Menschen auch die entgegengesetzten Geschlechtscharaktere vorhanden, so daß Selbstbefruchtung möglich war. Diese war aber nicht immer möglich, sondern hing von den Einflüssen der äußeren Verhältnisse in gewissen Jahreszeiten ab. Der Mensch hing überhaupt in vielen Dingen von solchen äußeren Verhältnissen in hohem Grade ab. Daher mußte er auch alle seine Einrichtungen nach solchen äußeren Verhältnissen regeln, zum Beispiel nach dem Laufe von Sonne und Mond. Diese Regelung geschah aber nicht etwa im heutigen Sinne bewußt, sondern sie wurde in einer Art vollzogen, die man mehr instinktiv nennen muß. Und damit ist schon auf das Seelenleben des damaligen Menschen gewiesen.
[ 5 ] Dieses Seelenleben kann man nicht als ein eigentliches Innenleben bezeichnen. Leibliche und seelische Tätigkeiten und Eigenschaften waren noch nicht streng voneinander geschieden. Das äußere Naturleben wurde von der Seele noch mitgelebt. Vor allem war es der Gehörsinn, auf den jede einzelne Erschütterung in der Umgebung mächtig wirkte. Jede Lufterschütterung, jede Bewegung in der Umgebung wurde «gehört». Wind und Wasser in ihren Bewegungen führten für den Menschen eine «beredte Sprache». Es war ein Wahrnehmen des geheimnisvollen Webens und Treibens in der Natur, die auf diese Art auf den Menschen eindrangen. Und dieses Weben und Treiben klang auch in seiner Seele nach. Seine Tätigkeit war ein Widerhall dieser Einwirkungen. Er setzte die Tonwahrnehmungen in seine Tätigkeit um. Er lebte in solchen Klangbewegungen und brachte sie durch seinen Willen zum Ausdruck. Er wurde auf solche Art zu all seinem Tagewerk gebracht. — Schon in etwas geringerem Grade war er beeinflußt von den Wirkungen, die sich dem Gefühle mitteilten. Doch spielten auch diese eine bedeutungsvolle Rolle. Er «spürte» in seinem Leibe die Umgebung und verhielt sich darnach. Er wußte aus solchen Gefühlswirkungen, wann und wie er zu arbeiten hatte. Er wußte daraus, wo er sich niederzulassen hatte. Er erkannte daraus Gefahren, die sich für sein Leben ergaben, und vermied sie. Er regelte darnach seine Nahrungsaufnahme.
[ 6 ] Ganz anders als später verlief das übrige Seelenleben. In der Seele lebten Bilder, nicht Vorstellungen von äußeren Dingen. Wenn der Mensch zum Beispiel von einem kälteren in einen wärmeren Raum trat, so stieg in der Seele ein bestimmtes Farbenbild auf. Aber dieses Farbenild hatte nichts zu tun mit irgendeinem äußeren Gegenstande. Es entsprang aus einer inneren mit dem Willen verwandten Kraft. Solche Bilder erfüllten fortwährend die Seele. Man kann das Ganze nur vergleichen mit den auf- und abwogenden Traumvorstellungen des Menschen. Nur waren damals die Bilder nicht regellos, sondern gesetzmäßig. Man soll deshalb nicht von einem Traumbewußtsein, sondern von einem Bilderbewußtsein auf dieser Stufe der Menschheit sprechen. In der Hauptsache waren es Farbenbilder, welche dieses Bewußtsein erfüllten. Doch waren diese nicht die einzige Art. So wandelte der Mensch durch die Welt dahin und lebte durch sein Gehör und Gefühl die Vorgänge dieser Welt mit, durch sein Seelenleben spiegelte sich aber diese Welt in ihm in Bildern, die sehr unähnlich dem waren, was sich in der äußeren Welt befand. In viel geringerem Grade verbanden sich mit diesen Seelenbildern Lust und Leid, als dies heute bei den Vorstellungen des Menschen der Fall ist, welche die Wahrnehmungen der äußeren Welt wiedergeben. Allerdings bereitete das eine Bild Freude, das andere Unlust, das eine Haß, das andere Liebe; aber diese Gefühle trugen einen viel blasseren Charakter. — Dagegen wurden starke Gefühle durch etwas anderes bewirkt. Der Mensch war damals viel regsamer, tätiger als später. Alles in seiner Umgebung und auch die Bilder in seiner Seele regten ihn zu Tätigkeit, zu Bewegung an. Nun empfand er dann, wenn sich seine Tätigkeit ungehindert ausleben konnte, Wohlgefühl; wenn aber diese Tätigkeit nach irgendeiner Seite gehemmt wurde, befiel ihn Unlust und Mißbehagen. Die Abwesenheit oder das Vorhandensein von Hemmungen seines Willens bestimmte den Inhalt seines Gefühlslebens, seine Lust und seinen Schmerz. Und diese Lust, beziehungsweise dieser Schmerz entluden sich in seiner Seele selbst wieder in einer lebendigen Bilderwelt. Lichte, helle, schöne Bilder lebten in ihm, wenn er sich ganz frei entfalten konnte; finstere, mißgestaltete stiegen in seiner Seele auf, wenn er in seiner Beweglichkeit gehemmt wurde.
[ 7 ] Es ist bisher die Durchschnittsmenschheit beschrieben worden. Anders war das Seelenleben bei denjenigen, welche sich zu einer Art übermenschlicher Wesen entwickelt hatten (siehe Seite 32). Bei ihnen hatte dieses Seelenleben nicht den instinktiven Charakter. Was sie durch ihren Gehör- und Gefühlssinn wahrnahmen, waren tiefere Geheimnisse der Natur, die sie bewußt deuten konnten. Im Brausen des Windes, im Rauschen der Bäume enthüllten sich ihnen die Gesetze, die Weisheit der Natur. Und in den Bildern ihrer Seele waren nicht bloß Spiegelungen der Außenwelt gegeben, sondern Abbilder der geistigen Mächte in der Welt. Nicht sinnliche Dinge nahmen sie wahr, sondern geistige Wesenheiten. Der Durchschnittsmensch empfand zum Beispiel Furcht, und ein häßliches, finsteres Bild stieg in seiner Seele auf. Das übermenschliche Wesen erhielt durch solche Bilder Mitteilung, Offenbarung von den geistigen Wesenheiten der Welt. Ihm erschienen die Naturvorgänge nicht von toten Naturgesetzen abhängig wie dem heutigen Wissenschaftler, sondern sie erschienen ihm als die Taten geistiger Wesen. Die äußere Wirklichkeit war noch nicht vorhanden, denn es gab keine äußeren Sinne. Aber die geistige Wirklichkeit erschloß sich den höheren Wesen. Es strahlte der Geist in sie ein, wie in das leibliche Auge des Menschen von heute die Sonne einstrahlt. Es war in diesen Wesen die Erkenntnis in vollstem Sinne das, was man intuitives Wissen nennt. Kein Kombinieren und Spekulieren gab es bei ihnen, sondern ein unmittelbares Anschauen des Schaffens geistiger Wesenheiten. Diese übermenschlichen Individualitäten konnten daher die Mitteilungen aus der geistigen Welt unmittelbar in ihren Willen aufnehmen. Sie leiteten bewußt die anderen Menschen. Sie empfingen ihre Mission aus der Geisterwelt und handelten darnach.
[ 8 ] Als nun die Zeit kam, in der sich die Geschlechter trennten, da mußten es diese Wesen als ihre Aufgabe betrachten, auf das neue Leben im Sinne ihrer Mission einzuwirken. Von ihnen ging die Regelung des Geschlechtslebens aus. Alle Einrichtungen, die sich auf die Fortpflanzung der Menschheit bezogen, haben von ihnen den Ursprung genommen. Sie handelten dabei durchaus bewußt; aber die anderen Menschen konnten diese Einwirkung nur als einen ihnen eingepflanzten Instinkt empfinden. Die Geschlechtsliebe wurde durch unmittelbare Gedankenübertragung in den Menschen gepflanzt. Und alle ihre Äußerungen waren zunächst von der edelsten Art. Alles, was auf diesem Gebiete einen häßlichen Charakter angenommen hat, rührt aus späteren Zeiten her, in denen der Mensch selbständiger geworden ist und in denen er einen ursprünglichen reinen Trieb verdorben hat. Es gab in diesen älteren Zeiten keine Befriedigung des Geschlechtstriebes um seiner selbst willen. Alles war hier Opferdienst zur Fortführung des menschlichen Daseins. Die Fortpflanzung wurde als eine heilige Sache betrachtet, als ein Dienst, den der Mensch der Welt zu leisten hat. Und Opferpriester waren die Lenker und Regler auf diesem Gebiete.
[ 9 ] Anders geartet waren die Einflüsse der halbübermenschlichen Wesen (siehe Seite 32). Diese waren nicht bis zu der Stufe entwickelt, daß sie völlig rein die Offenbarungen der geistigen Welt hätten empfangen können. In ihren Seelenbildern stiegen neben diesen Eindrücken der geistigen Welt auch die Wirkungen der sinnlichen Erde auf. Die im vollen Sinne übermenschlichen Wesen fühlten nichts von Lust und Schmerz durch die äußere Welt. Sie waren ganz hingegeben den Offenbarungen der geistigen Mächte. Die Weisheit floß ihnen zu wie Sinnenwesen das Licht; ihr Wille war auf nichts anderes gelenkt, als im Sinne dieser Weisheit zu handeln. Und in diesem Handeln lag ihre höchste Lust. Weisheit, Wille und Tätigkeit machten ihr Wesen aus. Anders war es bei den halbübermenschlichen Wesenheiten. Sie empfanden den Trieb, von außen Eindrücke zu empfangen, und verbanden mit der Befriedigung dieses Triebes Lust, mit der Nichtbefriedigung Unlust. Dadurch unterschieden sie sich von. Den übermenschlichen Wesenheiten. Diesen waren die Eindrücke von außen nichts weiter als Bestätigungen der geistigen Offenbarungen. Sie konnten in die Welt hinausschauen und empfingen nichts weiter als ein Spiegelbild dessen, was sie aus dem Geiste schon erhalten hatten. Die halbübermenschlichen Wesen erfuhren etwas ihnen Neues, und deswegen konnten sie die Führer der Menschen werden, als diesen sich ihre bloßen Bilder in der Seele verwandelten in Abbilder, Vorstellungen äußerer Gegenstände. Das geschah, als ein Teil der früheren Fortpflanzungskraft der Menschen sich nach innen wandte, als sich Gehirnwesen entwickelten. Mit dem Gehirn entwickelte dann auch der Mensch die Fähigkeit, die äußeren Sinneseindrücke zu Vorstellungen umzuwandeln.
[ 10 ] Man muß also sagen, daß der Mensch durch halbübermenschliche Wesen dazu gebracht worden ist, sein Inneres auf die sinnliche Außenwelt zu lenken. Ihm war es ja versagt, seine Seelenbilder unmittelbar den reinen geistigen Einflüssen auszusetzen. Er hat von den übermenschlichen Wesen die Fähigkeit, sein Dasein fortzupflanzen, als einen instinktiven Trieb eingepflanzt erhalten. Geistig hätte er zunächst nun eine Art Traumdasein weiterzuführen gehabt, wenn nicht die halbübermenschlichen Wesen eingegriffen hätten. Durch ihren Einfluß wurden seine Seelenbilder auf die sinnliche Außenwelt gelenkt. Er wurde ein Wesen, das sich in der Sinnenwelt seiner selbst bewußt ist. Und damit war das erreicht, daß sich der Mensch in seinen Handlungen bewußt richten konnte nach den Wahrnehmungen der Sinnenwelt. Früher hat er aus einer Art Instinkt gehandelt, er hat im Banne seiner äußeren Umgebung und der auf ihn einwirkenden Kräfte höherer Individualitäten gestanden. Jetzt fing er an, den Antrieben, Anlockungen seiner Vorstellungen zu folgen. Und damit war die Willkür des Menschen in die Welt gekommen. Das war der Anfang von «Gut und Böse».
[ 11 ] Bevor in dieser Richtung weitergeschritten wird, soll nun erst einiges gesagt werden über die Umgebung des Menschen auf der Erde. Neben dem Menschen waren Tiere vorhanden, die in ihrer Art auf derselben Entwickelungsstufe standen wie er. Man würde sie nach heutigen Begriffen zu den Reptilien rechnen. Außer ihnen gab es niedrigere Formen der Tierwelt. Nun war zwischen den Menschen und den Tieren ein wesentlicher Unterschied. Der Mensch konnte wegen seines noch bildsamen Leibes nur auf den Gebieten der Erde leben, die selbst noch nicht in die derbste stoffliche Form übergegangen waren. Und in diesen Gegenden wohnten mit ihm tierische Wesen, die von einem ähnlich plastischen Leib waren. In anderen Gegenden lebten jedoch Tiere, welche bereits dichte Leiber hatten und welche auch schon die Eingeschlechtlichkeit und die Sinne ausgebildet hatten. Woher sie gekommen waren, werden spätere Mitteilungen zeigen. Sie konnten sich nicht mehr weiterentwickeln, weil ihre Leiber zu früh die dichtere Stofflichkeit angenommen hatten. Einige Arten von ihnen sind dann untergegangen; einige haben sich in ihrer Art bis zu den heutigen Formen gebildet. Der Mensch konnte dadurch zu höheren Formen gelangen, daß er in den Gebieten geblieben ist, die seiner damaligen Beschaffenheit entsprochen haben. Dadurch blieb sein Leib so biegsam und weich, daß er die Organe aus sich auszusondern vermochte, welche vom Geiste befruchtet werden konnten. Dann war sein äußerer Leib so weit, daß er in die dichtere Stofflichkeit übergehen und den feineren Geistorganen eine schützende Hülle werden konnte. — Aber es waren nicht alle menschlichen Leiber so weit. Es gab wenig vorgeschrittene. Diese wurden zunächst vom Geiste belebt. Andere wurden nicht belebt. Wäre auch in sie der Geist eingedrungen, so hätte er sich wegen der noch unvollkommenen inneren Organe nur mangelhaft entfalten können. So mußten sich denn diese Menschenwesen zunächst in einer geistlosen Art weiterbilden. Eine dritte Art war so weit, daß sich schwache geistige Einflüsse in ihnen geltend machen konnten. Sie standen zwischen den beiden anderen Arten. Ihre Geistestätigkeit blieb eine dumpfe. Sie mußten von höheren geistigen Mächten geführt werden. Zwischen diesen drei Arten gab es alle möglichen Übergänge. Eine Weiterentwickelung war jetzt nur dadurch möglich, daß sich ein Teil der Menschenwesen auf Kosten der anderen höher hinauf bildete. Zunächst mußten die ganz geistlosen preisgegeben werden. Eine Vermischung mit ihnen zum Zwecke der Fortpflanzung hätte auch die besser entwickelten auf ihre Stufe hinabgedrängt. Alles, was Geist empfangen hatte, wurde daher von ihr abgesondert. Dadurch fielen sie immer mehr auf die Stufe der Tierheit hinunter. Es bildeten sich also neben den Menschen menschenähnliche Tiere. Der Mensch ließ sozusagen auf seiner Bahn einen Teil seiner Brüder zurück, um selbst höher zu steigen. Dieser Vorgang war nun keineswegs abgeschlossen. Auch von den Menschen mit dumpfem Geistesleben konnten diejenigen, die etwas höher standen, nur dadurch weiterkommen, daß sie in die Gemeinschaft mit höheren gezogen wurden und sich von den minder geisterfüllten absonderten. Nur dadurch konnten sie Leiber entwickeln, die dann zur Aufnahme des ganzen menschlichen Geistes geeignet waren. Erst nach einer gewissen Zeit war die physische Entwickelung so weit, daß nach dieser Richtung hin eine Art Stillstand eintrat, indem alles, was über einer gewissen Grenze lag, sich innerhalb des menschlichen Gebietes hielt. Die Lebensverhältnisse der Erde hatten sich mittlerweile so verändert, daß weiteres Hinabstoßen nicht tierähnliche, sondern überhaupt nicht mehr lebensfähige Geschöpfe ergeben hätte. Was aber in die Tierheit hinabgestoßen worden ist, das ist entweder ausgestorben, oder es lebt in den verschiedenen höheren Tieren fort. In diesen Tieren hat man also Wesen zu sehen, welche auf einer früheren Stufe der Menschenentwickelung stehenbleiben mußten. Nur haben sie nicht dieselbe Form behalten, die sie bei ihrer Abgliederung hatten, sondern sind zurückgegangen von höherer zu tieferer Stufe. So sind die Affen rückgebildete Menschen einer vergangenen Epoche. So wie der Mensch einstmals unvollkommener war als heute, so waren sie einmal vollkommener, als sie heute sind. — Was aber im Gebiet des Menschlichen geblieben ist, hat einen ähnlichen Prozeß, nur innerhalb dieses Menschlichen, durchgemacht. Auch in mancher wilden Völkerschaft haben wir die heruntergekommenen Nachfahren einstmals höher stehender Menschenformen zu sehen. Sie sanken nicht bis zur Stufe der Tierheit, sondern nur bis zur Wildheit.
[ 12 ] Das Unsterbliche im Menschen ist der Geist. Es wurde gezeigt, wann der Geist in den Leib eingezogen ist. Vorher gehörte der Geist anderen Regionen an. Er konnte sich mit dem Leibe erst verbinden, als dieser eine gewisse Stufe der Entwickelung erlangt hatte. Erst wenn man ganz versteht, wie diese Verbindung zustande gekommen ist, kann man sich über die Bedeutung von Geburt und Tod aufklären, sowie auch das Wesen des ewigen Geistes erkennen.
VI The last times before the separation of the sexes
[ 1 ] The nature of man before his division into male and female will now be described. At that time the body consisted of a soft, malleable mass. The will had a much greater power over it than was the case with later man. When man detached himself from his parent being, he already appeared as a structured organism, but imperfect. The further development of the organs took place outside the parent being. Much of what was later brought to maturity within the parent being was then perfected outside it by a force that is related to our willpower. In order to bring about such external maturation, care was necessary on the part of the ancestral being. Man brought certain organs into the world which he later discarded. Others, which were still quite imperfect when he first appeared, developed. The whole process had something that can be compared to the working out of an egg shape and the shedding of an egg shell; but one must not think of a solid egg shell.
[ 2 ] The human body was warm-blooded. This must be said explicitly, for it was different in even earlier times, as will be shown later. The maturation that took place outside the mother being happened under the influence of increased warmth, which was also supplied from outside. However, one must not think of an incubation of the egg-man - as it should be called for the sake of brevity. The heat and fire conditions on the earth at that time were different from later. Man was able to use his powers to banish fire, or heat, into a certain space. He could - so to speak - concentrate (concentrate) heat. This enabled him to provide the young creature with the warmth it needed to mature.
[ 3 ] The most developed human organs at that time were the locomotor organs. Today's sensory organs were still completely undeveloped. The most advanced were the organs of hearing, the organs of perception for cold and warm (sense of feeling), while the perception of light was still far behind. Humans were born with hearing and feeling; the perception of light developed somewhat later.
[ 4 ] Everything that is said here corresponds to the last times before the separation of the sexes. This happened slowly and gradually. Long before their actual appearance, people developed in such a way that one individual was born with a more masculine character and the other with a more feminine one. However, the opposite sex characters were also present in every human being, so that self-fertilization was possible. This was not always possible, however, but depended on the influence of external conditions in certain seasons. In many respects man was highly dependent on such external conditions. Therefore, he also had to regulate all his facilities according to such external conditions, for example according to the course of the sun and moon. However, this regulation did not take place consciously in the modern sense, but was carried out in a way that must be called instinctive. And this already points to the mental life of people at that time.
[ 5 ] This soul life cannot be described as an actual inner life. Physical and mental activities and characteristics were not yet strictly separated from each other. The external life of nature was still lived by the soul. Above all, it was the sense of hearing, on which every single vibration in the environment had a powerful effect. Every vibration in the air, every movement in the environment was "heard". The movements of wind and water spoke an "eloquent language" to people. It was a perception of the mysterious weaving and drifting of nature that penetrated people in this way. And this weaving and activity also resonated in his soul. His activity was an echo of these influences. He translated the sound perceptions into his activity. He lived in such sound movements and expressed them through his will. In this way he was brought to all his daily work. - To a somewhat lesser degree he was influenced by the effects that communicated themselves to his feelings. But these also played a significant role. He "felt" the surroundings in his body and acted accordingly. He knew from such emotional effects when and how he had to work. He knew from them where he had to settle down. He recognized dangers to his life and avoided them. He regulated his food intake accordingly.
[ 6 ] The rest of the soul's life was completely different from later. Images, not ideas of external things, lived in the soul. For example, when a person stepped from a colder room into a warmer one, a certain color image arose in the soul. But this color image had nothing to do with any external object. It arose from an inner force related to the will. Such images continually filled the soul. The whole thing can only be compared to man's dream images which rise and fall. Only at that time the images were not random, but lawful. We should therefore not speak of a dream consciousness, but of a consciousness of images at this stage of humanity. In the main, it was color images that filled this consciousness. But these were not the only kind. Thus man walked through the world and lived the processes of this world through his hearing and feeling, but through his soul life this world was reflected in him in images that were very dissimilar to what was in the outer world. Pleasure and suffering were associated with these images of the soul to a much lesser degree than is the case today with the human imagination, which reflects the perceptions of the outer world. To be sure, one image caused pleasure, the other displeasure, one hatred, the other love; but these feelings had a much paler character. - In contrast, strong feelings were caused by something else. Man was much more active and active then than later. Everything in his surroundings and also the images in his soul stimulated him to activity, to movement. Now, when his activity could live itself out unhindered, he felt a sense of well-being; but if this activity was inhibited in any way, he felt displeasure and discomfort. The absence or presence of inhibitions of his will determined the content of his emotional life, his pleasure and his pain. And this pleasure, or rather this pain, was discharged in his soul itself in a vivid world of images. Light, bright, beautiful images lived in him when he was able to develop completely freely; dark, misshapen ones rose up in his soul when he was inhibited in his mobility.
[ 7 ] The average human being has been described so far. The soul life of those who had developed into a kind of superhuman being was different (see page 32). For them, this soul life did not have an instinctive character. What they perceived through their sense of hearing and feeling were deeper secrets of nature which they could consciously interpret. The laws, the wisdom of nature were revealed to them in the roar of the wind and the rustling of the trees. And the images in their souls were not mere reflections of the outside world, but images of the spiritual powers in the world. They did not perceive sensual things, but spiritual beings. The average man, for example, felt fear, and an ugly, dark image arose in his soul. The superhuman being received communication and revelation from the spiritual beings of the world through such images. To him, the processes of nature did not appear to be dependent on dead natural laws as they are to today's scientists, but they appeared to him as the actions of spiritual beings. External reality did not yet exist, for there were no external senses. But the spiritual reality opened up to the higher beings. The spirit shone into them as the sun shines into the bodily eye of man today. In these beings, knowledge in the fullest sense was what is called intuitive knowledge. There was no combining and speculating with them, but a direct observation of the workings of spiritual beings. These superhuman individualities were therefore able to absorb the messages from the spiritual world directly into their will. They consciously guided other people. They received their mission from the spirit world and acted accordingly.
[ 8 ] When the time came in which the sexes separated, these beings had to regard it as their task to influence the new life in the sense of their mission. The regulation of sexual life came from them. All institutions relating to the reproduction of mankind originated from them. They acted quite consciously, but other people could only perceive this influence as an instinct implanted in them. Sexual love was implanted in man through direct thought transmission. And all its manifestations were at first of the noblest kind. Everything that has taken on an ugly character in this field stems from later times, when man has become more independent and when he has corrupted an originally pure instinct. In these older times there was no satisfaction of the sexual instinct for its own sake. Everything here was sacrificial service for the continuation of human existence. Procreation was regarded as a sacred thing, as a service that man had to render to the world. And sacrificial priests were the rulers and regulators in this area.
[ 9 ] The influences of the semi-superhuman beings (see page 32) were of a different nature. These were not developed to the stage that they could have received the revelations of the spiritual world completely purely. In addition to these impressions of the spiritual world, the effects of the sensual earth also arose in their soul images. The superhuman beings in the full sense felt nothing of pleasure and pain through the outer world. They were completely devoted to the revelations of the spiritual powers. Wisdom flowed to them like light to sensual beings; their will was directed to nothing else but to act in accordance with this wisdom. And in this action lay their highest pleasure. Wisdom, will and activity made up their being. It was different with the semi-superhuman beings. They felt the urge to receive impressions from outside and associated pleasure with the satisfaction of this urge and displeasure with the non-satisfaction. This distinguished them from. The superhuman beings. For them, external impressions were nothing more than confirmations of spiritual revelations. They could look out into the world and received nothing more than a reflection of what they had already received from the spirit. The semi-superhuman beings experienced something new to them, and therefore they could become the leaders of men when their mere images in the soul were transformed into images, representations of external objects. This happened when a part of the former reproductive power of humans turned inwards, when brain beings developed. With the brain, humans then also developed the ability to transform external sensory impressions into images.
[ 10 ] We must therefore say that man was brought by semi-superhuman beings to direct his inner being towards the sensual outer world. He was denied the opportunity to expose his soul images directly to pure spiritual influences. He was implanted by the superhuman beings with the ability to propagate his existence as an instinctive drive. Spiritually he would at first have had to continue a kind of dream existence if the semi-superhuman beings had not intervened. Through their influence, his soul images were directed towards the sensual outer world. He became a being conscious of himself in the world of the senses. And this meant that man could consciously direct his actions according to the perceptions of the world of the senses. Formerly he had acted out of a kind of instinct, he had been under the spell of his external environment and the forces of higher individualities acting upon him. Now he began to follow the impulses and attractions of his imagination. And thus the arbitrariness of man came into the world. That was the beginning of "good and evil".
[ 11 ] Before proceeding further in this direction, a few things should first be said about man's environment on earth. Alongside man there were animals that were at the same stage of development as he was. In today's terms, they would be classified as reptiles. Apart from them, there were lower forms of the animal world. Now there was an essential difference between humans and animals. Because of his still formative body, man could only live in those areas of the earth that had not yet passed over into the coarsest material form. And in these regions animal beings lived with him, who had a similarly plastic body. In other regions, however, there lived animals that already had dense bodies and had already developed sexuality and the senses. Later reports will show where they had come from. They were no longer able to develop further because their bodies had taken on denser materiality too early. Some species of them then perished; some developed in their own way to the present forms. Man was able to attain higher forms by remaining in the areas that corresponded to his former constitution. Thus his body remained so flexible and soft that he was able to separate from himself those organs which could be fertilized by the spirit. Then his outer body was so far advanced that it could pass over into the denser materiality and become a protective covering for the finer spiritual organs. - But not all human bodies were so far advanced. There were few advanced ones. These were first animated by the spirit. Others were not animated. If the spirit had penetrated them too, it could only have developed inadequately because the inner organs were still imperfect. Thus these human beings first had to develop in a spiritless way. A third kind was so far advanced that weak spiritual influences could assert themselves in them. They stood between the other two species. Their spiritual activity remained dull. They had to be guided by higher spiritual powers. There were all kinds of transitions between these three species. Further development was now only possible by one part of the human beings forming themselves higher at the expense of the others. First the completely spiritless had to be abandoned. Mixing with them for the purpose of procreation would also have pushed the better developed ones down to their level. Everything that had received spirit was therefore separated from it. As a result, they fell further and further down to the level of animality. Human-like animals were thus formed alongside humans. Man left some of his brothers behind, so to speak, in order to rise higher himself. This process was by no means complete. Even among men with a dull spiritual life, those who stood somewhat higher could only progress by being drawn into communion with higher ones and separating themselves from those of lesser spirit. Only in this way could they develop bodies which were then suitable for the reception of the whole human spirit. Only after a certain time was the physical development so far advanced that a kind of standstill occurred in this direction, in that everything that lay above a certain limit remained within human territory. The living conditions on earth had meanwhile changed to such an extent that any further descent would have resulted in creatures that were not animal-like but no longer viable at all. But what has been cast down into animality has either died out or lives on in the various higher animals. In these animals, therefore, we see beings that had to remain at an earlier stage of human development. Only they have not retained the same form they had when they were separated, but have regressed from a higher to a lower stage. Thus the apes are regressed human beings of a past epoch. Just as man was once more imperfect than he is today, so they were once more perfect than they are today. - But what has remained in the realm of the human has undergone a similar process, only within this human. In many a savage race, too, we see the degenerate descendants of once superior human forms. They did not sink to the level of animality, but only to savagery.
[ 12 ] The immortal in man is the spirit. It has been shown when the spirit entered the body. Before that, the spirit belonged to other regions. It could only unite with the body when the body had reached a certain stage of development. Only when one fully understands how this connection came about can one become enlightened about the meaning of birth and death, as well as recognize the nature of the eternal spirit.