Cosmic Memory
GA 11
xviii. The Fourfold Man of Earth
[ 1 ] In this description, we shall take man as our point of departure. As he lives on the earth, man at present consists of the physical body, the ether or life body, the astral body and the “I.” This fourfold human nature has in itself the dispositions for a higher development. The “I” by its own initiative transforms the “lower” bodies, and thereby incorporates into them higher parts of human nature. The ennobling and purifying of the astral body by the “I” causes the development of the “spirit self” (Manas), the transformation of the ether or life body creates the life spirit (Buddhi), and the transformation of the physical body creates the true “spirit man” (Atma). The transformation of the astral body is in full progress in the present period of the development of the earth; the conscious transformation of the ether body and of the physical body belongs to later times; at present it has begun only among the initiates—those trained in the science of the spirit and their pupils.
This threefold transformation of man is a conscious one; it was preceded by one more or less unconscious during the previous development of the earth. It is in this unconscious transformation of astral body, ether body, and physical body that one must seek the origin of the sentient soul, of the intellectual soul, and of the consciousness soul.
[ 2 ] One must now make clear to oneself which one of the three bodies of man (the physical, the ether, and the astral body) is in its way most perfect. One can easily be tempted to consider the physical body as the lowest and therefore as the least perfect. However, in this, one would be in error. It is true that the astral body and the ether body will attain a high degree of perfection in the future, but at present the physical body is more perfect in its way than are they in theirs. Only because man has this physical body in common with the lowest natural realm on earth, the mineral realm, is it possible for the error we have mentioned to arise. For man has the ether body in common with the higher plant realm, and the astral body with the animal realm.
Now it is true that the physical body of man is composed of the same substances and forces which exist in the wider mineral realm, but the manner in which these substances and forces interact in the human body is the expression of wisdom and perfection in the structure. One will soon convince himself of the truth of this statement if he undertakes to study this structure not merely with the dry intellect but with his whole feeling soul. One can take any part of the human physical body as the subject for this contemplation, for instance the highest part of the upper thigh bone. This is not an amorphous massing of substance, but rather is joined together in the most artful manner, out of diminutive beams which run in different directions. No modern engineering skill could fit a bridge or something similar together with such wisdom. Today such things are still beyond the reach of the most perfect human wisdom. The bone is constructed in this wise fashion so that, through the arrangement of the small beams, the necessary carrying capacity for the support of the human torso can be attained with the least amount of substance. The least amount of matter is used in order to achieve the greatest possible effect in terms of force. In face of such a “masterwork of natural architecture,” one can only become lost in admiration. No less can one admire the miraculous structure of the human brain or heart, or of the totality of the human physical body. One should compare with it the degree of perfection which for example the astral body has attained at the present stage of development of mankind. The astral body is a carrier of pleasure and distaste, of the passions, impulses and desires and so forth. But what attacks this astral body perpetrates against the wise arrangement of the physical body! A large part of the stimulants which man consumes are poisons for the heart. From this it can be seen that the activity which produces the physical structure of the heart proceeds in a wiser manner than the activity of the astral body, which even runs counter to this wisdom. It is true that in future the astral body will advance to higher wisdom; at present, however, it is not as perfect in its way as is the physical body. Something similar could be shown to be true for the ether body, and also for the “I,” that being which, from moment to moment, must struggle gropingly toward wisdom through error and illusion.
[ 3 ] If one compares the levels of perfection of the parts of the human being, one will easily discover that at present the physical body is in its way the most perfect, that the ether body is less perfect, the astral body still less, and that in its way the least perfect part of man at present is the “I.” This is due to the fact that in the course of the planetary development of the human dwelling-place the physical body of man has been worked on the longest. What man today carries as his physical body has lived through all the developmental stages of Saturn, Sun, Moon, and earth, up to the present stage of the latter. All the forces of these planetary bodies have successively worked on this body, so that gradually it has been able to attain its present degree of perfection. It is thus the oldest part of the present-day human entity.
The ether body, as it now appears in man, did not exist at all during the Saturn period. It was only added during the Sun development. Hence the forces of four planetary bodies have not worked on it as on the physical body, but only those of three, namely, of Sun, Moon, and earth. Therefore only in a future period of development can it become as perfect in its way as is the physical body at present. The astral body joined the physical body and the ether body only during the Moon period, and the “I” did so only during the earth period.
[ 4 ] One must represent to oneself that the physical human body attained a certain stage of its development on Saturn, and that this development was carried forward on the Sun in such a way that from that time on the physical body could become the carrier of an ether body. On Saturn this physical body had attained a point where it was an extremely complex mechanism, which however had nothing in it of life. The complicatedness of its structure finally caused it to disintegrate. For this complicatedness had reached such a degree that this physical body could no longer maintain itself by means of the merely mineral forces which were acting in it. It was through this collapse of the human bodies that the decline of Saturn was brought about.
Of the present natural realms, namely the mineral realm, the plant realm, the animal realm, and the human realm, Saturn had only the last-named. What one knows today as animals, plants, and minerals did not yet exist on Saturn. Of the present four natural realms, there existed on this heavenly body only man in his physical body, and this physical body was in fact a kind of complicated mineral. The other realms came into existence because not all beings could attain full development on the successive heavenly bodies. Thus only a part of the human bodies developed on Saturn attained the full Saturn goal. Those human bodies which did attain this goal were awakened, so to speak, to a new existence in their old form during the Sun period, and this form was permeated with the ether body. They thereby developed to a higher level of perfection. They became a kind of plant men. That portion of the human bodies however which had not been able to attain the full goal of development on Saturn had to continue during the Sun period what they had previously not completed, but under considerably more unfavorable conditions than those which existed for this development on Saturn. They therefore fell behind the portion which had attained the full goal on Saturn. Thus on the Sun another natural realm came into being in addition to the human realm.
[ 5 ] It would be erroneous to believe that all the organs in the present-day human body already began to be developed on Saturn. This is not the case. Rather it is particularly the sensory organs in the human body which have their origin in this ancient time. It is the first rudiments of eyes, ears and so forth which have such an early origin, rudiments which formed on Saturn in somewhat the same way that “lifeless crystals” now form on earth; the corresponding organs then attained their present form by again and again transforming themselves in the direction of greater perfection in each of the succeeding planetary periods. On Saturn they were physical instruments, and nothing else. On the Sun they were transformed, because an ether or life body permeated them. They were thereby brought into the life process. They became animated physical instruments. To them were added those parts of the human physical body which cannot develop at all except under the influence of an ether body: the organs of growth, of nourishment, and of reproduction. Of course the first rudiments of these organs, as they developed on the Sun, again do not resemble in perfection the form which they have at present.
The highest organs which the human body at that time acquired through the interaction of physical body and ether body were those which at present have developed into the glands. The physical human body on the Sun is thus a system of glands, on which sensory organs of a corresponding level of development are impressed.
The development continued on the Moon. To the physical body and the ether body is added the astral body. Thereby the first rudiment of a nervous system is integrated into the glandular sensory body. One can see that the physical human body becomes more and more complicated in the successive planetary development periods. On the Moon it is composed of nerves, glands, and senses. The senses have behind them a two-fold process of transformation and perfection, while the nerves are at their first stage. If one looks at the Moon man as a whole, he consists of three parts: a physical body, an ether body, and an astral body. The physical body is tripartite; its partition is the result of the work of the Saturn, Sun, and Moon forces. The ether body is only bipartite. It has in itself only the effect of the work of Sun and Moon, and the astral body is still unipartite. Only the Moon forces have worked on it.
Through the absorption of the astral body on the Moon, man has become capable of a life of sensation, of a certain inwardness. Within his astral body he can form images of what takes place in his environment. These images in a certain respect are to be compared with the dream images of present-day human consciousness, but they are more vivid and colorful, and, most important, they relate to events in the outside world, while present-day dream images are mere echoes of daily life or are otherwise unclear mirrorings of inner or outer events. The images of the Moon consciousness corresponded completely to whatever they were related to externally. Assume for instance that a Moon man as he has just been characterized, consisting of physical body, ether body, and astral body, had approached another Moon being. It is true that he could not have perceived the latter as a spatial object, for this has become possible only in the earth consciousness of man; but within his astral body would have arisen an image which in its color and shape would have quite exactly expressed whether the other being was well or ill disposed toward this Moon man, whether it would be useful or dangerous to him. As a result, the Moon man could regulate his behavior entirely in accordance with the images which arose in his image consciousness, These images were a complete means of orientation for him. The physical instrument which the astral body needed in order to enter into relation with the lower natural realms was the nervous system, integrated into the physical body.
[ 6 ] In order that the transformation of man described here could occur during the Moon period, the assistance of a great universal event was needed. The integration of the astral body and the related development of a nervous system in the physical body was only made possible by the fact that what had previously been one body, the Sun, split into two—into Sun and Moon. The former advanced to the state of a fixed star, the latter remained a planet—which the Sun also had been—and began to circle around the Sun, from which it had split off. Through this a significant transformation took place in everything which lived on Sun and Moon. Here for the moment we shall follow this process of transformation only insofar as it concerns the life of the Moon. Man, consisting of physical body and astral body, had remained united with the Moon when it split off from the Sun. He thereby entered into entirely new conditions of existence. For the Moon took with it only a part of the forces contained in the Sun, and this part now acted on man from his own heavenly body; the Sun had retained the other part of the forces within itself. This latter part is now sent from the outside to the Moon and hence also to its inhabitant, man. If the previous relationship had remained in existence, if all the Sun forces had continued to reach man from his own scene of activity, that inner life which shows itself in the arising of the images of the astral body could not have developed. The Sun force continued its activity on the physical body and ether body from the outside; it had already acted on both of these previously. But it liberated a portion of these two bodies for influences which emanated from the Moon, the heavenly body newly created by a splitting-off. Thus, on the Moon man was under a two-fold influence, that of the Sun and that of the Moon. It is to be ascribed to the influence of the Moon that out of the physical and the ether body there developed those parts which permitted the imprinting of the astral body. An astral body can only create images when the Sun forces reach it from outside rather than from its own planet. The Moon influences transformed the sensory rudiments and the glandular organs in such a way that a nervous system could be integrated into them; and the sun influences brought it about that the images for which this nervous system was the instrument corresponded to the external Moon events in the manner described above.
[ 7 ] The development could only progress to a certain point in this manner. Had this point been over-stepped, the Moon man would have become hardened in his inner life of images, and thereby he would have lost all connection with the Sun. When the time had come, the Sun again absorbed the Moon, so that again for some time both were one body. The union lasted until man was far enough advanced so that his hardening, which would have had to take place on the Moon, could be prevented by a new stage of development. When this had occurred a new separation took place, but this time the Moon took Sun forces along with itself which previously it had not received. Through this it came about that another separation took place after some time. What had last split off from the Sun was a heavenly body which contained all the forces and beings at present living on earth and moon. Thus the earth still contained within itself the moon which now circles around it. If the latter had remained within it, it could never have become the scene of any human development, including the present one. The forces of the present moon first had to be cast off, and man had to remain on the thus purified earthly scene and continue his development there. In this way three heavenly bodies developed out of the old Sun. The forces of two of these heavenly bodies, the new sun and the new moon, are sent to the earth and hence to its inhabitant from the outside.
Through this progress in the development of the heavenly bodies it became possible that into the tripartite human nature, as it still had been on the Moon, the fourth part, the “I,” integrated itself. This integration was connected with a perfecting of the physical body, the ether body, and the astral body. The perfecting of the physical body consisted in that the system of the heart was incorporated in it as the preparer of warm blood. Of course, now the sensory system, the glandular system, and the nervous system had to be transformed in such a way that in the human organism they would be compatible with the newly added system of the warm blood. The sensory organs were so transformed that out of the mere image consciousness of the old Moon the object consciousness could develop, which makes possible the perception of external objects, and which man at present possesses from the time he awakes in the morning until he falls asleep in the evening. On the old Moon the senses were not yet open to the outside; the images of consciousness arose from within, and just this opening of the senses to the external is the achievement of the earth development.
[ 8 ] It has been stated above that not all of the human bodies formed on Saturn attained the goal which was set for them there, and that on the Sun, alongside the human realm in its form of that time, a second natural realm developed. One must realize that at each of the subsequent stages of development, on Sun, Moon, and earth, there were always beings which fell short of their goals and that through this the lower natural realms came into existence. The animal realm, which is closest to man, had already fallen behind on Saturn, but partially made up the development under unfavorable conditions on Sun and Moon, so that while on the earth it was not as far advanced as man, in part it still had the capacity to receive warm blood as he did. For warm blood existed in none of the natural realms before the period of earth. The present-day cold-blooded (or variably warm) animals and certain plants came into existence because certain beings of the lower Sun realm again fell short of the stage which the other beings of this realm attained. The present-day mineral realm came into existence last, in fact only during the earth period.
[ 9 ] The fourfold man of earth receives from sun and moon the influences of those forces which have remained connected with these heavenly bodies. From the sun those forces reach him which further progress, growth, and becoming; from the moon come the hardening, forming forces. If man stood only under the influence of the sun he would dissolve in an immeasurably rapid process of growth It is for this reason that formerly, after an appropriate time, he had to leave the Sun and to receive a retarding of his over-rapid progress on the split-off old Moon. But if then he had remained permanently connected with the latter, this retarding of his growth would have hardened him in a rigid form. Therefore he advanced to the development of earth, within which the two influences counterbalance each other in an appropriate way. At the same time the point is reached where something higher—the soul—is integrated as an inner entity within the quadripartite human being.
[ 10 ] In its form, in its activities, movements and so forth, the physical body is the expression and the effect of what takes place in the other parts, in the ether body, the astral body, and the “I.” In the descriptions from the “Akasha Chronicle” which we have given up to this point, it has become apparent how, in the course of development, these other parts of the human entity gradually intervened in the formation of the physical body. During the Saturn development none of these other parts was as yet associated with the physical human body. But the first beginning of its development was made in that time However, one must not think that the forces which later acted on the physical body from the ether body, the astral body, and the “I” did not already act on it during the Saturn period. They were already acting at that time, but in a certain sense from the outside, not from within. The other parts had not yet been formed, had not yet been united with the physical human body as individual entities; but the forces which were later united in them acted as it were from the environment—the atmosphere—of Saturn and formed the first beginning of this body. This beginning was then transformed on the Sun because a part of those forces now formed the separate human ether body, and now acted on the physical body no longer merely from the outside, but from the inside. The same thing occurred on the Moon with respect to the astral body. On the earth the physical body was transformed for the fourth time by becoming the dwelling place of the “I,” which now works within it.
[ 11 ] One can see that, to the eye of the scientist of the spirit, the physical body is not something fixed, something permanent in its form and manner of acting. It is undergoing a constant process of transformation. And such a transformation is also taking place in the current earth period of the body's development. One can only understand human life if one is in a position to form a conception of this transformation.
[ 12 ] A consideration of the human organs from the point of view of the science of the spirit shows that these are at very different stages of development. There are organs in the human body which, in their present form, are in a descending, others which are in an ascending development. In future, the former will lose their importance for man more and more. The time of the flowering of their functions is behind them; they will become atrophied and finally disappear from the human body.
Other organs are in an ascending development; they contain much which now is only present in a germinal state, as it were: in future they will develop into more perfect forms with a higher function. Among the former organs belong, for instance, those which serve for reproduction, for the bringing into existence of like beings. In future their function will pass to other organs and they themselves will sink into insignificance. There will come a time when they will be present on the human body in an atrophied condition, and one will then have to regard them only as evidences of the preceding development of man.
[ 13 ] Other organs, as for instance the heart and neighboring formations, are at the beginning of their development in a certain respect. What now lies in them in a germinal state will reach its full flower only in the future. For in the conception of the science of the spirit, the heart and its relation to the so-called circulation of the blood are seen as something quite different from what contemporary physiology, which in this respect is completely dependent on mechanistic-materialistic concepts, sees in them. In so doing, this science of the spirit succeeds in casting light on facts which are well-known to contemporary science, but for which with the means at its disposal, the latter cannot give anything like a satisfactory explanation. Anatomy shows that in their structure the muscles of the human body are of two kinds. There are those whose smallest parts are smooth bands, and those whose smallest parts show a regular transverse striation. Now the smooth muscles in general are those which in their movements are independent of human volition. For instance, the smooth muscles of the intestine push the food pulp along in regular movements, upon which the human volition has no influence. Those muscles which are found in the iris of the eye are also smooth. These muscles bring about the movements through which the pupil of the eye is enlarged when the latter is exposed to a small amount of light, and contracted when much light flows into the eye. These movements too are independent of human volition. On the other hand, those muscles are striated which mediate movements under the influence of human volition, for example, the muscles by which the arms and legs are moved. The heart, which after all is also a muscle, constitutes an exception to this general condition. In the present period of human development, the heart is not subject to volition in its movements, yet it is a “transversely striated” muscle. The science of the spirit indicates the reason for this. The heart will not always remain as it is now. In the future it will have a quite different form and a changed function. It is on the way to becoming a voluntary muscle. In the future it will execute movements which will be the effects of the inner soul impulses of man. It already shows what significance it will have in the future, when the movements of the heart will be as much an expression of the human will as the lifting of the hand or the advancing of the foot are today.
This conception of the heart is connected with a comprehensive insight of the science of the spirit into the relation of the heart to the so-called circulation of the blood. The mechanical-materialistic doctrine of life sees in the heart a kind of pumping mechanism which drives the blood through the body in a regular manner. Here the heart is the cause of the movement of the blood. The insight of the science of the spirit shows something quite different. For this insight, the pulsing of the blood, its whole inner mobility, are the expression and the effect of the processes of the soul. The soul is the cause of the behavior of the blood. Turning pale through feelings of fear, blushing under the influence of sensations of shame, are coarse effects of processes of the soul in the blood. But everything which takes place in the blood is only the expression of what takes place in the life of the soul. However, the connection between the pulsation of the blood and the impulses of the soul is a deeply mysterious one. The movements of the heart are not the cause, but the consequence of the pulsation of the blood.
In the future, through voluntary movements, the heart will carry what takes place in the human soul into the external world.
[ 14 ] Other organs which are in a similarly ascending development are the organs of respiration in their function as instruments of speech. At present by their means man can transform his thoughts into air waves. He thereby impresses upon the external world what he experiences within himself.
He transforms his inner experiences into air waves. This wave motion of the air is a rendering of what takes place within him. In the future he will in this way give external form to more and more of his inner being. The final result in this direction will be that through his speech organs which have arrived at the height of their perfection, he will produce his own kind. Thus the speech organs at present contain within themselves the future organs of reproduction in a germinal state. The fact that mutation (change of voice) occurs in the male individual at the time of puberty is a consequence of the mysterious connection between the instruments of speech and reproduction.
[ 15 ] The entire human physical body can be considered in this way from the point of view of the science of the Spirit. It was only intended to give a few examples here. In the science of the spirit, both an anatomy and a physiology exist. The anatomy and physiology of the present will have to let themselves be fertilized by the anatomy and physiology of the science of the spirit in a not very distant future, and will even transform themselves completely into the latter.
[ 16 ] In this area it becomes especially apparent that results such as those given above must not be built on mere inferences, on speculations such as conclusions by analogy, but must only proceed from the true research of the science of the spirit. This must necessarily be emphasized, for it happens only too easily that once they have gained some insights, zealous adherents of the science of the spirit continue to spin their ideas in empty air. It is no miracle when only phantasms are produced in this way, and, in fact, they do abound in these areas of research.
One could, for instance, proceed to draw the following conclusion from the description given above: Because the human organs of reproduction in their present form will in the future be the first to lose their importance, they therefore were the first to receive it in the past, hence they are in a sense the oldest organs of the human body. Just the contrast of this is true. They were the last to receive their present form and will be the first to lose it again.
The following presents itself to spiritual scientific research. On the Sun, the physical human body had in a certain respect moved up to the level of plant existence. At that time it was permeated only by an ether body. On the Moon it took on the character of the animal body, because it was permeated by the astral body. But not all organs participated in this transformation into the animal character. A number of parts remained on the plant level. On the earth, after the integration of the “I,” when the human body elevated itself to its present form, a number of parts still bore a decided plant character. But one must not imagine that these organs looked exactly like our present-day plants. The organs of reproduction belong among these organs. They still exhibited a plant character at the beginning of the earth development. This was known to the wisdom of the old Mysteries. The older art which has retained so much of the traditions of the Mysteries, represents hermaphrodites with plant-leaf like organs of reproduction. These are precursors of man which still had the old kind of reproductive organs (which were double-sexed). For example, this can be seen clearly in a hermaphrodite figure in the Capitoline Collection in Rome. When one looks into these matters one will also understand for instance the true reason for the presence of the fig leaf on Eve. One will accept true explanations for many old representations, while contemporary interpretations are, after all, only the result of a thinking which is not carried to its conclusion. We shall only remark in passing that the hermaphrodite figure mentioned above shows still other plant appendages. When it was made, the tradition still existed that in a very remote past certain human organs changed from a plant to an animal character.
[ 18 ] All these changes of the human body are only the expression of the forces of transformation which lie in the ether body, the astral body, and the “I.” The transformations of the physical human body accompany the acts of the higher parts of man. One can therefore understand the structure and the activity of this human body only if one absorbs oneself in the “Akasha Chronicle,” which shows how the higher changes of the more spiritual and mental parts of man take place. Everything physical and material finds its explanation through the spiritual. Light is shed even on the future of the physical if one studies the spiritual.
XVII. Der viergliedrige Erdenmensch
[ 1 ] In dieser Darstellung soll vom Menschen ausgegangen werden. So wie er gegenwärtig auf der Erde lebt, besteht dieser Mensch aus dem physischen Leibe, dem Äther oder Lebensleib, dem Astralleib und dem «Ich». Diese viergliedrige Menschennatur hat in sich die Anlagen zu höherer Entwickelung. Das «Ich» gestaltet von sich aus die «niederen» Leiber um und bildet diesen dadurch höhere Glieder der Menschennatur ein. Die Veredelung und Läuterung des Astralleibes durch das Ich bewirkt die Entstehung des «Geistselbst» (Manas); die Umwandlung des Äther oder Lebensleibes schafft den Lebensgeist (Buddhi), und die Umgestaltung des physischen Leibes schafft den eigentlichen «Geistes Menschen» (Atma). Die Umwandlung des Astralleibes ist in der gegenwärtigen Periode der Erdenentwickelung in vollem Gange; die bewußte Umwandlung des Ätherleibes und des physischen Leibes gehört späteren Zeiten an; gegenwärtig hat sie bloß bei den Eingeweihten — den Geheimwissenschaftern und ihren Schülern — begonnen. — diese dreifache Umwandlung des Menschen ist die bewußte; ihr ist vorangegangen eine mehr oder weniger unbewußte, und zwar während der bisherigen Erdenentwickelung. Man hat in dieser unbewußten Umwandlung von Astralleib, Ätherleib und physischem Leib die Entstehung der Empfindungsseele, der Verstandesseele und der Bewußtseinsseele zu suchen. 1Das Genauere über alles dieses verfolge man in den Auseinandersetzungen meiner Schrift «Über die Erziehung des Kindes vom Gesichtspunkte der Geisteswissenschaft» und in meiner «Theosophie, Versuch einer übersinnlichen Weltbetrachtung und Menschenbestimmung».
[ 2 ] Nun muß man sich klarmachen, welcher von den drei Leibern des Menschen (dem physischen, dem Äther- und dem Astralleibe) der vollkommenste in seiner Art ist. Man kann leicht versucht sein, den physischen Leib als den niedrigsten und daher auch unvollkommensten anzusehen. Dabei aber macht man sich eines Irrtums schuldig. Zwar werden Astral- und Ätherleib eine hohe Vollkommenheit in der Zukunft erreichen: gegenwärtig aber ist der physische Leib in seiner Art vollkommener als sie in der ihrigen. Nur dadurch, daß der Mensch diesen physischen Leib mit dem niedrigsten irdischen Naturreiche, mit dem Mineralreiche, gemein hat, kann der erwähnte Irrtum entstehen. Den Ätherleib hat nämlich der Mensch mit dem höheren Pflanzenreiche, den Astralleib mit dem Tierreiche gemeinsam. — nun ist es zwar richtig, daß der physische Menschenleib aus denselben Stoffen und Kräften besteht, die sich im weiten Mineralreiche finden; allein die Art, wie diese Stoffe und Kräfte im Menschenleibe zusammenwirken, ist der Ausdruck einer Weisheit und Vollkommenheit des Baues. Wer nur irgend sich darauf einläßt, nicht bloß mit nüchternem Verstande, sondern mit ganzer fühlender Seele diesen Bau zu studieren, der wird sich bald davon überzeugen, daß dies so ist. Man nehme irgendeinen Teil des menschlichen physischen Körpers für die Betrachtung, zum Beispiel den obersten Teil des Oberschenkelknochens. Derselbe ist keine massive Stoffzusammenfügung, sondern er ist auf das kunstvollste aus Bälkchen, die in verschiedenen Richtungen laufen, zusammengefügt. Keine gegenwärtige Ingenieurkunst könnte einen Brückengerüstbau oder etwas ähnliches in solcher Weisheit zusammenfügen. Dergleichen übersteigt eben heute noch durchaus jede Vollkommenheit menschlicher Weisheit. Damit mit dem kleinsten Ausmaße von Stoff durch die Bälkchenanordnung die notwendige Tragkraft für das Stützen des menschlichen Oberkörpers erreicht wird, ist der Knochen so weisheitsvoll gebaut. Die geringste Menge Stoff wird dazu verwendet, um die größtmögliche Kraftwirkung durch sie zu erzielen. Man kann sich nur bewundernd in ein solches «Meisterwerk der Naturbaukunst» vertiefen. Und man kann nicht minder bewundernd stehen vor dem Wunderbau des menschlichen Gehirns oder des Herzens, ja, eben der Gesamtheit des menschlichen physischen Körpers. Und man vergleiche einmal damit den Vollkommenheitsgrad, den auf der gegenwärtigen Entwickelungsstufe der Menschheit etwa der Astralleib erlangt hat. Er ist der Träger der Lust und Unlust, der Leidenschaften, Triebe und Begierden und so weiter. Aber welche Attacken führt dieser astralische Leib gegen die weise Einrichtung des physischen Körpers aus! Ein großer Teil der Genußmittel, die der Mensch zu sich nimmt, sind Herzgifte. Daraus geht aber hervor, daß die Tätigkeit, welche den physischen Bau des Herzens bewirkt, weiser handelt als die Tätigkeit des Astralleibes, welche dieser Weisheit sogar entgegenarbeitet. Zwar wird der Astralleib zu höherer Weisheit in der Zukunft aufrücken; gegenwärtig aber ist er in seiner Art noch nicht so vollkommen wie der physische Leib in der seinigen. Ein ähnliches ließe sich für den Ätherleib zeigen; und auch für das «Ich», dieses Wesen, das von Augenblick zu Augenblick sich durch Irrtum und Illusion zu der Weisheit tastend hindurchringen muß.
[ 3 ] Vergleicht man die Vollkommenheitsstufen der menschlichen Glieder, so wird man unschwer herausfinden, daß der physische Körper gegenwärtig in seiner Art das Vollkommenste ist, daß einen geringeren Grad von Vollkommenheit der Ätherleib hat, einen noch geringeren der Astralleib; und der unvollkommenste Menschenteil ist gegenwärtig in seiner Art das «Ich». Dies kommt davon, weil innerhalb der planetarischen Entwickelung des menschlichen Wohnplatzes am physischen Menschenleibe am längsten gearbeitet worden ist. Das, was der Mensch gegenwärtig als seinen physischen Körper an sich trägt, hat alle Entwickelungsstufen von Saturn, Sonne, Mond und Erde (bis zu deren heutiger Stufe) miterlebt. Alle Kräfte dieser planetarischen Körper haben nacheinander an diesem Leibe gearbeitet, so daß er allmählich seinen jetzigen Vollkommenheitsgrad erlangen hat können. Er ist also das älteste Glied der gegenwärtigen Menschennatur. — der Ätherleib, wie er sich jetzt am Menschen darstellt, war während der Saturnzeit überhaupt noch nicht vorhanden. Er kam erst während der Sonnenentwickelung hinzu. An ihm haben also nicht die Kräfte von vier planetarischen Körpern gearbeitet wie am physischen Leibe, sondern nur diejenigen dreier: nämlich von der Sonne, Mond und Erde. Er kann also erst in einer zukünftigen Entwickelungsperiode so vollkommen in seiner Art sein, wie es der physische Körper gegenwärtig ist. Der Astralleib hat sich erst während der Mondenzeit zum physischen Körper und zum Ätherleib hinzugesellt, und das «Ich» erst während der Erdenzeit.
[ 4 ] Man hat sich nun vorzustellen, daß der physische Menschenkörper auf dem Saturn eine gewisse Stufe seiner Ausbildung erlangt hat und daß diese dann auf der Sonne weitergeführt worden ist in der Art, daß er von damals an der Träger eines Ätherleibes sein konnte. Auf dem Saturn ist eben dieser physische Leib so weit gekommen, daß er ein äußerst zusammengesetzter Mechanismus war, der aber noch nichts vom Leben in sich hatte. Die Kompliziertheit der Zusammensetzung bewirkte, daß er zuletzt zerfiel. Denn diese Kompliziertheit hatte einen so hohen Grad erreicht, daß sie sich durch die bloßen mineralischen Kräfte, welche in ihr wirkten, nicht mehr halten konnte. Und durch dieses Zusammenbrechen der physischen Menschenkörper wurde überhaupt der Untergang des Saturn herbeigeführt. — dieser Saturn hatte nämlich auf sich von den gegenwärtigen Naturreichen, nämlich dem Mineralreich, dem Pflanzenreich, dem Tierreich und dem Menschenreiche nur erst das letztere. Was man gegenwärtig als Tiere, Pflanzen und Mineralien kennt, gab es auf dem Saturn noch nicht. Auf diesem Weltkörper war von den jetzigen vier Naturreichen nur der Mensch, seinem physischen Körper nach, vorhanden; und dieser physische Körper war allerdings eine Art komplizierten Minerals. Die anderen Reiche sind dadurch entstanden, daß auf den aufeinanderfolgenden Weltkörpern nicht alle Wesen das volle Entwickelungsziel erreichen konnten. So hat nur ein Teil der auf dem Saturn ausgebildeten Menschenkörper das volle Saturnziel erreicht. Diejenigen Menschenleiber, welche dieses Ziel erreicht haben, wurden nun während der Sonnenzeit gleichsam zu neuem Dasein in ihrer alten Form auferweckt, und diese Form wurde mit dem Ätherleib durchdrungen. Sie entwickelten sich dadurch zu einer höheren Stufe der Vollkommenheit. Sie wurden eine Art von Pflanzenmenschen. Derjenige Teil aber der Menschenkörper, welcher auf dem Saturn nicht das volle Entwickelungsziel hat erreichen können, mußte während der Sonnenzeit das Versäumte unter wesentlich ungünstigeren Verhältnissen fortsetzen, als sie für diese Entwickelung auf dem Saturn vorhanden waren. Er blieb daher hinter dem Teil zurück, der auf dem Saturn das volle Ziel erreicht hatte. Es entstand dadurch auf der Sonne ein zweites Naturreich neben dem Menschenreiche.
[ 5 ] Es wäre irrtümlich, wenn man glauben wollte, daß alles, was sich an Organen im gegenwärtigen Menschenleibe findet, schon auf dem Saturn veranlagt worden wäre. Das ist nicht der Fall. Es sind vielmehr vorzüglich die Sinnesorgane innerhalb des Menschenleibes, die ihren Ursprung in diese alte Zeit zurückversetzen dürfen. Es haben die ersten Anlagen zu Augen, Ohren und so weiter, die auf dem Saturn als mineralische Körper so sich bildeten wie etwa jetzt auf der Erde die «leblosen Kristalle», einen so alten Ursprung; ihre gegenwärtige Form aber haben die entsprechenden Organe dadurch erhalten, daß sie sich in jeder der folgenden planetarischen Zeiten immer wieder zu höherer Vollkommenheit umbildeten. Auf dem Saturn waren sie physikalische Apparate, nichts weiter. Auf der Sonne sind sie dann umgebildet worden, weil ein Äther oder Lebensleib sie durchdrang. Sie wurden dadurch in den Lebensprozeß einbezogen. Sie wurden belebte physikalische Apparate. Und zu ihnen kamen diejenigen Glieder des menschlichen physischen Leibes hinzu, die sich überhaupt nur unter dem Einfluß eines Ätherleibes entwickeln konnten: die Wachstums-, die Ernährungs-, die Fortpflanzungsorgane. Selbstverständlich gleichen die ersten Anlagen dieser Organe, wie sie sich auf der Sonne herausbildeten, wieder nicht an Vollkommenheit der Form, die sie gegenwärtig haben. — die höchsten Organe, welche sich der Menschenleib damals eingliederte, indem physischer Körper und Ätherleib zusammenwirkten, waren diejenigen, welche sich in der Gegenwart zu den Drüsen ausgewachsen haben. So also ist der physische Menschenleib auf der Sonne ein Drüsensystem, dem die auf entsprechender Stufe stehenden Sinnesorgane eingeprägt sind. — auf dem Monde geht die Entwickelung weiter. Zu dem physischen Körper und dem Ätherleib kommt der Astralleib hinzu. Dadurch wird dem Drüsensinnesleib eingegliedert die erste Anlage eines Nervensystems. Man sieht, der physische Menschenleib wird in den aufeinanderfolgenden planetarischen Entwickelungszeiten immer komplizierter. Auf dem Monde ist er aus Nerven, Drüsen, Sinnen zusammengefügt. Die Sinne haben eine zweimalige Umgestaltung und Vervollkommnung hinter sich, die Nerven sind auf ihrer ersten Stufe. Betrachtet man den Mondmenschen als Ganzes, dann besteht er aus drei Gliedern: einem physischen Leib, einem Ätherleib und einem Astralleib. Der physische Leib ist dreigliedrig; er hat als seine Gliederung die Arbeit der Saturn-, der Sonnen- und der Mondenkräfte in sich. Der Ätherleib ist erst zweigliedrig. Er hat nur in sich die Wirkung der Sonnen- und Mondenarbeit; und der Astralleib ist noch eingliedrig. An ihm haben nur die Mondenkräfte gearbeitet. — durch die Aufnahme des Astralleibes ist der Mensch auf dem Monde eines Empfindungslebens, einer gewissen Innerlichkeit, fähig geworden. Er kann von dem, was in seiner Umgebung vor sich geht, innerhalb seines Astralleibes Bilder gestalten. Diese Bilder sind in einer gewissen Beziehung mit den Traumbildern des gegenwärtigen Menschheitsbewußtseins zu vergleichen; nur sind sie lebhafter, farbenvoller und, was die Hauptsache ist, sie beziehen sich auf Vorgänge der Außenwelt, während die gegenwärtigen Traumbilder bloße Nachklänge des Alltagslebens oder sonstwie unklare Spiegelungen innerer oder äußerer Vorgänge sind. Die Bilder des Mondenbewußtseins waren vollkommen dem entsprechend, auf das sie sich nach außen bezogen. Man nehme zum Beispiel an, ein solcher Mondenmensch, wie er eben — bestehend aus physischem Körper, Ätherleib und Astralleib — gekennzeichnet worden ist, hätte sich einem anderen Mondenwesen genähert. Er hätte dasselbe zwar nicht als räumlichen Gegenstand wahrnehmen können, denn solches ist erst im Erdenbewußtsein des Menschen möglich geworden; aber innerhalb seines Astralleibes wäre ein Bild aufgestiegen, das in seiner Farbe und Form ganz genau ausgedrückt hätte, ob das andere Wesen diesem Mondenmenschen Sympathie oder Antipathie entgegenbrachte, ob es ihm nützlich oder gefährlich werden konnte. Der Mondenmensch konnte demnach sein Verhalten genau nach den Bildern einrichten, welche in seinem Bilderbewußtsein aufstiegen. Diese Bilder waren ihm ein vollkommenes Orientierungsmittel. Und das physische Werkzeug, das der Astralleib brauchte, um mit den niedrigeren Naturreichen in Beziehung zu treten, war das dem physischen Leibe eingegliederte Nervensystem.
[ 6 ] Daß diese hier geschilderte Umwandlung mit dem Menschen während der Mondenzeit hat vor sich gehen können, dazu war die Mitwirkung eines großen Weltenereignisses nötig. Die Eingliederung des Astralleibes und die ihm entsprechende Ausbildung eines Nervensystems im physischen Körper ist nur dadurch möglich geworden, daß dasjenige, was vorher ein Körper war, die Sonne, sich in zwei spaltete, in Sonne und Mond. Die erstere rückte zum Fixstern auf, der letztere blieb Planet — was vorher die Sonne auch war — und fing an, die Sonne, aus der er sich herausgespalten hatte, zu umkreisen. Dadurch ging mit allem, was auf Sonne und Mond lebte, eine bedeutungsvolle Umwandlung vor sich. Es soll hier zunächst dieser Umwandlungsprozeß nur insoweit verfolgt werden, als er sich auf das Mondleben bezieht. Der aus physischem und Ätherleib bestehende Mensch war bei der Abspaltung des Mondes von der Sonne mit dem ersteren vereint geblieben. Er ist damit in ganz neue Daseinsbedingungen eingetreten. Denn der Mond hat ja aus der Sonne nur einen Teil der in letzterer enthaltenen Kräfte mit sich genommen; nur dieser Teil wirkte jetzt auf den Menschen von seinem eigenen Weltkörper aus, den andern Teil der Kräfte hat die Sonne in sich zurückbehalten. Dieser Teil wird also dem Monde und damit auch seinem Bewohner, dem Menschen, von außen zugesandt. Wäre das frühere Verhältnis bestehen geblieben, wären alle Sonnenkräfte weiter dem Menschen von seinem eigenen Schauplatz zugeflossen, so hätte nicht jenes Innenleben entstehen können, das sich in dem Aufsteigen der Bilder des Astralleibes zeigt. Die Sonnenkraft blieb von außen wirksam auf physischen Leib und Ätherleib, auf die sie früher schon gewirkt hatte. Doch gab sie einen Teil dieser beiden Leiber frei für Einwirkungen, welche von dem durch Abspaltung neu gebildeten Weltkörper, eben dem Mond, ausgingen. So also stand der Mensch auf dem Monde unter einer doppelten Einwirkung, unter derjenigen der Sonne und des Mondes. Und der Einwirkung des Mondes ist zuzuschreiben, daß sich aus dem physischen und dem Ätherleib jene Glieder herausbildeten, welche die Einprägung des Astralleibes gestatteten. Und ein Astralleib kann Bilder nur schaffen, wenn ihm die Sonnenkräfte nicht von dem eigenen Planeten, sondern von außen kommen. Die Mondwirkungen gestalteten die Sinnesanlagen und die Drüsenorgane so um, daß sich diesen ein Nervensystem eingliedern konnte; und die Sonnenwirkungen brachten zustande, daß die Bilder, zu welchen dieses Nervensystem das Werkzeug war, den äußeren Mondvorgängen in der oben beschriebenen Art entsprachen.
[ 7 ] Nur bis zu einem gewissen Punkte konnte die Entwickelung in dieser Art fortgehen. Wäre dieser Punkt überschritten worden, so hätte sich der Mondenmensch in seinem Bilderinnenleben verhärtet; und er hätte dadurch allen Zusammenhang mit der Sonne verlieren müssen. Als es so weit war, nahm die Sonne den Mond wieder auf, so daß für einige Zeit beide wieder ein Körper waren. Die Vereinigung dauerte so lange, bis der Mensch weit genug war, um durch eine neue Entwickelungsstufe seine Verhärtung, wie sie auf dem Monde hätte eintreten müssen, verhindern zu können. Als dies geschehen war, fand eine neue Trennung statt, doch nahm jetzt der Mond noch Sonnenkräfte mit, die ihm vorher nicht zuteil geworden waren. Und dadurch ist bewirkt worden, daß nach einiger Zeit eine nochmalige Abspaltung stattfand. Was sich von der Sonne zuletzt abgespalten hatte, war ein Weltkörper, welcher alles an Kräften und Wesen enthielt, was gegenwärtig auf Erde und Mond lebt. Die Erde hatte also den Mond, der sie jetzt umkreist, noch in dem eigenen Leibe. Wäre er in ihr geblieben, so hätte sie nimmermehr der Schauplatz einer Menschenentwickelung werden können, wie sie die gegenwärtige ist. Es mußten die Kräfte des jetzigen Mondes erst abgestoßen werden; und der Mensch mußte auf dem so gereinigten Erdenschauplatze zurückbleiben und da seine Entwickelung fortsetzen. Auf diese Art entstanden drei Weltkörper aus der alten Sonne. Und die Kräfte von zweien dieser Weltkörper, der neuen Sonne und des neuen Mondes, werden der Erde und damit ihrem Bewohner von außen zugesendet. — durch diesen Fortschritt in der Weltkörperentwickelung ist es möglich geworden, daß der dreigliedrigen Menschennatur, wie sie noch auf dem Monde war, das vierte Glied, das «Ich» sich einfügte. Diese Einfügung war verbunden mit einer Vervollkommnung des physischen Leibes, des Ätherleibes und des Astralleibes. Die Vervollkommnung des physischen Leibes bestand darin, daß diesem das System des Herzens als Bereiter des warmen Blutes eingegliedert worden ist. Selbstverständlich mußten jetzt das Sinnessystem, das Drüsensystem und das Nervensystem so umgestaltet werden, daß sie sich in dem menschlichen Organismus mit dem neu hinzugekommenen System des warmen Blutes vertragen. Die Sinnesorgane sind aber so umgestaltet worden, daß aus dem bloßen Bilderbewußtsein des alten Mondes das Gegenstandsbewußtsein werden konnte, das die Wahrnehmung äußerer Dinge vermittelt, und das gegenwärtig der Mensch besitzt vom Aufwachen am Morgen an bis zum Einschlafen am Abend. Auf dem alten Monde waren die Sinne nach außen noch nicht offen; die Bewußtseinsbilder stiegen von innen auf; eben diese Öffnung der Sinne nach außen ist die Errungenschaft der Erdenentwickelung.
[ 8 ] Es ist oben erwähnt worden, daß nicht alle auf dem Saturn veranlagten Menschenleiber das Ziel, das ihnen dort gesteckt war, erreichten und wieso auf der Sonne neben dem Menschenreich in seiner damaligen Gestalt ein zweites Naturreich entstand. Man muß sich nun vorstellen, daß auf jeder der folgenden Entwickelungsstufen, auf Sonne, Mond und Erde immer Wesen hinter ihren Zielen zurückgeblieben sind und daß dadurch die niederen Naturreiche entstanden sind. Das dem Menschen zu allernächst stehende Tierreich ist zum Beispiel dasjenige, welches schon auf dem Saturn zurückgeblieben war, aber zum Teil unter ungünstigen Verhältnissen auf Sonne und Mond die Entwickelung nachgeholt hat, so daß es auf der Erde zwar nicht so weit war wie der Mensch, aber doch zum Teil die Fähigkeit hatte, wie er warmes Blut aufzunehmen. Denn warmes Blut hat es vor der Erdenzeit in keinem der Naturreiche gegeben. Die gegenwärtigen kaltblütigen (oder wechselwarmen) Tiere und gewisse Pflanzen sind dadurch entstanden, daß gewisse Wesen des niederen Sonnenreichs wieder hinter der Stufe zurückgeblieben sind, welches die andern Wesen dieses Reiches erreichten. Das gegenwärtige Mineralreich ist am spätesten, nämlich überhaupt erst während der Erdenzeit entstanden.
[ 9] Der viergliedrige Erdenmensch empfängt von Sonne und Mond die Einflüsse derjenigen Kräfte, welche mit diesen Weltkörpern verbunden geblieben sind. Ihm kommen von der Sonne die dem Fortschritte, dem Wachstum und Werden dienenden Kräfte, von dem Monde die verhärtenden, formenden Kräfte zu. Stände der Mensch nur unter dem Einflusse der Sonne, so würde er sich in einem unermeßlich eiligen Wachstumsfortschritt auflösen. Daher mußte er nach entsprechender Zeit die Sonne einstens verlassen und die Hemmungen des allzu raschen Fortschreitens auf dem abgesonderten alten Monde empfangen. Wäre er aber nun mit diesem dauernd verbunden geblieben, so hätten ihn die Wachstumshemmungen in einer starren Form verhärtet. Daher schritt er zur Erden-Bildung weiter, innerhalb welcher sich die beiden Einflüsse in entsprechender Art die Waage halten. Zugleich ist aber damit auch der Zeitpunkt gegeben, in dem sich dem viergliedrigen Menschenwesen ein Höheres: die Seele, als Innenwesen eingliedert.
[ 10 ] Der physische Leib des Menschen ist in seiner Form, in seinen Verrichtungen, Bewegungen und so weiter, der Ausdruck und die Wirkung von dem, was in den andern Gliedern, im Ätherleib, Astralleib und Ich, vorgeht. In den bisherigen Betrachtungen aus der «Akasha-Chronik» hat es sich gezeigt, wie im Laufe der Entwickelung nach und nach diese andern Glieder in die Bildung des physischen Leibes eingegriffen haben. Während der Saturnentwickelung war noch keines dieser andern Glieder mit dem physischen Menschenleib verbunden. Damals aber ist die erste Anlage zu dieser Bildung gelegt worden. Man darf jedoch nicht glauben, daß die Kräfte, die dann später von dem Ätherleib, Astralleib und Ich auf den physischen Leib wirkten, während der Saturnzeit nicht schon auf ihn gewirkt hätten. Sie wirkten damals schon, nur in gewissem Sinne von außen, nicht von innen. Die andern Glieder waren noch nicht gebildet, noch nicht in besonderer Form mit dem physischen Menschenleibe vereinigt; die Kräfte, die sich später in ihnen vereinigten, wirkten jedoch gleichsam aus dem Umkreis — der Atmosphäre — des Saturn und gestalteten die erste Anlage dieses Leibes. Diese Anlage wurde dann auf der Sonne deswegen umgebildet, weil ein Teil dieser Kräfte sich zu dem besonderen menschlichen Ätherleibe formte und nun auf den physischen Leib nicht mehr bloß von außen, sondern von innen wirkte. Dasselbe geschah auf dem Monde mit Bezug auf den Astralleib. Und auf der Erde wurde der physische Menschenleib zum vierten Male umgebildet, indem er zum Wohnhaus des «Ich» wurde, das nun in seinem Innern arbeitet.
[ 11 ] Man sieht, der physische Menschenleib ist für den Blick des geisteswissenschaftlichen Forschers nichts Festes, nichts in seiner Gestalt und Wirkungsart Bleibendes. Er ist in fortwährender Umbildung begriffen. Und solche Umbildung vollzieht sich auch im gegenwärtigen Erden-Zeitraum seiner Entwickelung. Man kann das Menschenleben nur begreifen, wenn man sich eine Vorstellung von dieser Umgestaltung zu machen in der Lage ist.
[ 12 ] Eine geisteswissenschaftliche Betrachtung der menschlichen Organe ergibt, daß diese auf sehr verschiedenen Stufen ihrer Entwickelung stehen. Es gibt am Menschen-Körper solche Organe, welche in ihrer gegenwärtigen Gestalt in einer absteigenden, andere, welche in einer aufsteigenden Entwickelung sind. Die ersteren werden in der Zukunft ihre Bedeutung für den Menschen immer mehr verlieren. Sie haben die Blütezeit ihrer Aufgaben hinter sich, werden verkümmern und zuletzt vom Menschenleibe sich verlieren. Andere Organe sind in aufsteigender Entwickelung; sie haben vieles in sich, was jetzt erst als wie im Keime vorhanden ist; sie werden sich in Zukunft zu vollkommeneren Gestalten mit einer höheren Aufgabe entwickeln. Zu den ersteren Organen gehören unter anderem diejenigen, welche der Fortpflanzung, der Hervorbringung des Gleichen dienen. Sie werden ihre Aufgabe in der Zukunft an andere Organe abgeben und selbst zur Bedeutungslosigkeit herabsinken. Es wird eine Zeit kommen, wo sie sich in verkümmertem Zustande am Menschenleib finden werden, und man wird in ihnen dann nur Zeugnisse für die vorzeitliche menschliche Entwickelung zu sehen haben.
[ 13 ] Andere Organe, wie zum Beispiel das Herz und benachbarte Gebilde desselben, sind, in gewisser Beziehung, im Anfange ihrer Entwickelung. Sie werden dasjenige, was jetzt keimhaft in ihnen liegt, erst in der Zukunft zur Entfaltung bringen. Die geisteswissenschaftliche Auffassung sieht nämlich in dem Herzen und in seiner Beziehung zu dem sogenannten Blutkreislauf etwas ganz anderes als die gegenwärtige Physiologie, die in dieser Beziehung ganz von mechanistisch-materialistischen Vorstellungen abhängig ist. Es gelingt dieser Geisteswissenschaft dabei, Licht zu werfen auf Tatsachen, welche der zeitgenössischen Wissenschaft ganz geläufig sind, für die diese aber mit ihren Mitteln eine einigermaßen befriedigende Lösung nicht zu geben vermag. Die Anatomie zeigt, daß die Muskeln des menschlichen Leibes in ihrem Bau von zweierlei Art sind. Es gibt solche, welche in ihren kleinsten Teilen glatte Bänder darstellen, und solche, deren kleinste Teile regelmäßige Querstreifung aufweisen. Glatte Muskeln sind nun im allgemeinen solche, welche in ihren Bewegungen von der menschlichen Willkür unabhängig sind. Glatt sind zum Beispiel die Muskeln des Darmes, welche den Nahrungsbrei in regelmäßigen Bewegungen fortschieben, ohne daß die menschliche Willkür auf diese Bewegungen einen Einfluß hat. Glatt sind weiter jene Muskeln, welche sich in der Regenbogenhaut des Auges finden. Diese Muskeln dienen den Bewegungen, durch welche die Pupille des Auges erweitert wird, wenn dieses einer geringen Lichtmenge ausgesetzt ist, und verengert wird, wenn viel Licht in das Auge strömt. Auch diese Bewegungen sind von der menschlichen Willkür unabhängig. Gestreift sind dagegen diejenigen Muskeln, welche unter dem Einfluß der menschlichen Willkür Bewegungen vermitteln, zum Beispiel die Muskeln, durch welche Arme und Beine bewegt werden. Von dieser allgemeinen Beschaffenheit macht das Herz, das ja auch ein Muskel ist, eine Ausnahme. Auch das Herz unterliegt in seinen Bewegungen während der gegenwärtigen menschlichen Entwickelungszeit nicht der Willkür; und doch ist es ein «quergestreifter» Muskel. Die Geisteswissenschaft gibt in ihrer Art davon den Grund an. So wie das Herz jetzt ist, wird es nicht immer bleiben. Es wird in der Zukunft eine ganz andere Form und eine veränderte Aufgabe haben. Es ist auf dem Wege, ein willkürlicher Muskel zu werden. Es wird in der Zukunft Bewegungen ausführen, welche die Wirkungen sein werden der inneren Seelenimpulse des Menschen. Es zeigt eben gegenwärtig schon in seinem Bau, welche Bedeutung es in der Zukunft haben wird, wenn die Herzbewegungen ebenso sein werden der Ausdruck des menschlichen Willens, wie gegenwärtig das Aufheben der Hand oder das Vorsetzen des Fußes es ist. — diese Anschauung über das Herz ist zusammenhängend mit einer umfassenden Erkenntnis der Geisteswissenschaft über das Verhältnis des Herzens zu dem sogenannten Blutkreislauf. Die mechanisch-materialistische Lebenslehre sieht in dem Herzen eine Art Pumpvorrichtung, welche das Blut in regelmäßiger Art durch den Leib treibt. Da ist das Herz die Ursache der Blutbewegung. Die geisteswissenschaftliche Erkenntnis zeigt etwas ganz anderes. Ihr ist das Pulsieren des Blutes, seine ganze innere Beweglichkeit, Ausdruck und Wirkung der Seelenvorgänge. Seelisches ist die Ursache davon, wie sich das Blut verhält. Das Erbleichen durch Angstgefühle, das Erröten unter dem Einfluß von Schamempfindungen sind grobe Wirkungen von Seelenvorgängen im Blute. Aber alles, was im Blute vorgeht, ist nur der Ausdruck dessen, was im Seelenleben vor sich geht. Der Zusammenhang zwischen Blutpulsation und Seelenimpulsen ist nur ein sehr geheimnis-tiefer. Und nicht die Ursache, sondern die Folgen der Blutpulsation sind die Bewegungen des Herzens. — In der Zukunft wird das Herz die Wirkung dessen, was in der Menschenseele gewoben wird, durch willkürliche Bewegungen in die äußere Welt tragen.
[ 14 ] Andere Organe, die in einer ähnlichen aufsteigenden Entwickelung sind, stellen die Atmungsorgane dar, und zwar in ihrer Aufgabe als Sprechwerkzeuge. Gegenwärtig ist der Mensch imstande, durch sie seine Gedanken in Luftwellen zu verwandeln. Dasjenige, was er im Innern erlebt, prägt er dadurch der äußeren Welt ein. Er verwandelt seine inneren Erlebnisse in Luftwellen. Diese Wellenbewegung der Luft ist eine Wiedergabe dessen, was in seinem Innern vorgeht. In Zukunft wird er auf diese Art immer mehr und mehr von seinem inneren Wesen aus sich heraus gestalten. Und das letzte Ergebnis in dieser Richtung wird sein, daß er durch seine auf der Höhe ihrer Vollkommenheit angelangten Sprechorgane sich selbst — seinesgleichen — hervorbringen wird. Die Sprechorgane enthalten also in sich gegenwärtig keimhaft die zukünftigen Fortpflanzungsorgane. Und die Tatsache, daß beim männlichen Individuum in der Zeit der Geschlechtsreife die Mutierung (Stimmveränderung) auftritt, ist eine Folge des geheimnisvollen Zusammenhanges zwischen Sprechwerkzeugen und Fortpflanzungswesen.
[ 15 ] Der ganze menschliche physische Leib mit allen seinen Organen kann in solcher Art geisteswissenschaftlich betrachtet werden. Es sollten hier vorläufig nur einige Proben gegeben werden. Es besteht eine geisteswissenschaftliche Anatomie und Physiologie. Und die gegenwärtige wird sich in einer gar nicht zu fernen Zukunft von dieser müssen befruchten lassen, ja, völlig sich in sie umwandeln.
[ 16 ] Hier auf diesem Gebiete wird es nun besonders anschaulich, daß solche Ergebnisse wie die obigen nicht auf bloße Schlußfolgerungen, auf Gedankenspekulationen (etwa auf Analogieschlüsse) aufgebaut werden dürfen, sondern daß sie nur aus der echten geisteswissenschaftlichen Forschung hervorgehen dürfen. Das muß notwendigerweise betont werden, weil es nur zu leicht vorkommt, daß eifrige Bekenner der Geisteswissenschaft, wenn sie einige Erkenntnisse in sich aufgenommen haben, dann ins Blaue hinein die Ideen weiterspinnen. Dann ist es kein Wunder, wenn dabei nur Hirngespinste herauskommen, wie sie ja auf diesen Gebieten ganz besonders wuchern. Man könnte zum Beispiel aus der obigen Darstellung nun die Folgerung ziehen: Weil die menschlichen Fortpflanzungsorgane in ihrer gegenwärtigen Form am frühesten in der Zukunft ihre Bedeutung verlieren werden, so haben sie dieselbe auch in der Vorzeit am frühesten erhalten, sie seien also gewissermaßen die ältesten Organe des menschlichen Körpers. Genau das Gegenteil ist davon richtig. Sie haben ihre gegenwärtige Gestalt am spätesten erhalten und werden sie am frühesten wieder verlieren.
[ 17 ] Folgendes stellt sich der geisteswissenschaftlichen Forschung vor das Auge. Auf der Sonne war der physische Menschenleib in gewisser Beziehung bis zur Stufe des Pflanzendasein aufgerückt. Er war damals bloß durchdrungen von einem Ätherleib. Auf dem Monde nahm er den Charakter des Tierleibes an, weil er von dem Astralleib durchdrungen wurde. Aber nicht alle Organe nahmen an dieser Umwandlung in den Tiercharakter teil. Manche Teile blieben auf der Pflanzenstufe stehen. Und auch als auf der Erde nach Eingliederung des Ich der Menschenleib sich zu seiner gegenwärtigen Form erhob, trugen noch manche Organe einen ausgesprochenen Pflanzencharakter. Nur darf man sich allerdings nicht vorstellen, daß diese Organe genau so aussahen, wie unsere gegenwärtigen Pflanzen aussehen. Zu diesen Organen gehören die Fortpflanzungsorgane. Sie waren auch im Anfange der Erdentwickelung noch mit Pflanzencharakter behaftet. In der Weisheit der alten Mysterien hat man das gewußt. Und die ältere Kunst, die sich so vieles aus den Überlieferungen der Mysterien bewahrt hat: sie stellt zum Beispiel Hermaphroditen dar mit pflanzenblätterartigen Fortpflanzungsorganen. Es sind das Vorläufer der Menschen, welche noch die alte Art von Fortpflanzungs-Organen hatten (doppelgeschlechtig waren). Man kann dies zum Beispiel schön sehen an einem Hermaphroditen in der kapitolinischen Sammlung in Rom. Und wenn man einmal diese Dinge durchschauen wird, dann wird man auch den wahren Grund zum Beispiel für das Vorhandensein des Feigenblattes bei der Eva kennen. Man wird für manche alte Darstellungen wahre Erklärungen annehmen, während die gegenwärtigen doch nur einem nicht zu Ende geführten Denken entspringen. Nebenbei soll nur bemerkt werden, daß der obenerwähnte Hermaphrodit noch andere Pflanzenanhänge zeigt. Als er gebildet wurde, hatte man eben noch die Überlieferung davon, daß in urferner Vergangenheit gewisse Menschenorgane sich aus dem Pflanzen in den Tiercharakter umgebildet haben.
[ 18 ] Alle diese Umwandlungen des Menschenleibes sind nur der Ausdruck der in Ätherleib, Astralleib und Ich liegenden Umformungskräfte. Die Umwandlungen des physischen Menschenleibes begleiten die Taten der höheren Menschenglieder. Daher kann man den Bau und die Wirkungsweise dieses menschlichen Leibes nur verstehen, wenn man auf die «Akasha-Chronik» eingeht, welche eben zeigt, wie die höheren Umformungen der mehr seelischen und geistigen Glieder des Menschen vor sich gehen. Alles Physische und Materielle findet seine Erklärung durch das Geistige. Und sogar auf die Zukunft dieses Physischen wird Licht geworfen, wenn man sich auf das Geistige einläßt.
[ 19 ] In folgenden Artikeln wird über die Zukunft von Erde und Menschheit einiges zu sagen sein.
XVII The four-limbed earthly man
[ 1 ] In this presentation, the human being will be the starting point. As he currently lives on earth, this human being consists of the physical body, the ether or life body, the astral body and the "I". This four-membered human nature has within it the dispositions for higher development. The "I" transforms the "lower" bodies of its own accord, thereby forming higher members of the human nature. The refinement and purification of the astral body by the ego brings about the emergence of the "spirit self" (Manas); the transformation of the ether or life body creates the life spirit (Buddhi), and the transformation of the physical body creates the actual "spirit man" (Atma). The transformation of the astral body is in full swing in the present period of earthly evolution; the conscious transformation of the etheric body and the physical body belongs to later times; at present it has only begun among the initiates - the secret scientists and their disciples. - This threefold transformation of the human being is the conscious one; it was preceded by a more or less unconscious one, namely during the previous earthly development. In this unconscious transformation of astral body, etheric body and physical body one has to look for the emergence of the sentient soul, the intellectual soul and the consciousness soul. 1For a more detailed discussion of all this, please refer to my essay "On the Education of the Child from the Point of View of Spiritual Science" and my "Theosophy, Attempt at a Supersensible View of the World and Determination of Man".
[ 2 ] Now it must be made clear which of the three bodies of man (the physical, the etheric and the astral body) is the most perfect in its kind. One can easily be tempted to regard the physical body as the lowest and therefore also the most imperfect. But this is a mistake. It is true that the astral and etheric bodies will attain a high degree of perfection in the future, but at present the physical body is more perfect in its own way than they are in theirs. Only because man has this physical body in common with the lowest earthly kingdom of nature, with the mineral kingdom, can the aforementioned error arise. For man has the etheric body in common with the higher plant kingdom, the astral body with the animal kingdom. - Now it is true that the physical human body consists of the same substances and forces that are found in the wider mineral kingdom; but the way in which these substances and forces work together in the human body is the expression of a wisdom and perfection of structure. Whoever will allow himself to study this structure, not only with a sober mind, but with a whole feeling soul, will soon convince himself that this is so. Take any part of the human physical body for observation, for example the uppermost part of the thigh bone. The same is not a solid assembly of material, but is most skillfully put together from little beams running in different directions. No contemporary engineering skill could assemble a bridge scaffolding or something similar with such wisdom. Even today, this kind of thing is far beyond any perfection of human wisdom. The bone is so wisely constructed that the smallest amount of material is used to achieve the necessary load-bearing capacity to support the human upper body. The smallest amount of material is used to achieve the greatest possible force effect. One can only marvel at such a "masterpiece of natural engineering". And one can stand no less in awe of the miraculous construction of the human brain or the heart, indeed the entirety of the human physical body. And compare this with the degree of perfection that the astral body has attained at the present stage of human development. It is the carrier of pleasure and displeasure, of passions, instincts and desires and so on. But what attacks this astral body carries out against the wise arrangement of the physical body! A large part of the stimulants that man ingests are heart poisons. From this, however, it is clear that the activity which brings about the physical construction of the heart acts more wisely than the activity of the astral body, which even works against this wisdom. It is true that the astral body will advance to higher wisdom in the future; but at present it is not yet as perfect in its nature as the physical body in its own. Something similar could be shown for the etheric body; and also for the "I", this being that must grope its way through error and illusion to wisdom from moment to moment.
[ 3 ] If one compares the degrees of perfection of the human limbs, one will easily find that the physical body is currently the most perfect in its kind, that the etheric body has a lower degree of perfection, the astral body an even lower one; and the most imperfect part of man is currently the "I" in its kind. This is because within the planetary development of the human abode the physical human body has been worked on the longest. That which the human being currently carries as his physical body has experienced all the stages of development of Saturn, Sun, Moon and Earth (up to their present stage). All the forces of these planetary bodies have successively worked on this body so that it has gradually attained its present degree of perfection. It is therefore the oldest member of the present human nature. - The etheric body, as it now presents itself in the human being, was not yet present at all during the Saturnian period. It only came into existence during the solar evolution. Thus the forces of four planetary bodies did not work on it as they did on the physical body, but only those of three, namely the Sun, Moon and Earth. It can therefore only be as perfect in its nature as the physical body is at present in a future period of development. The astral body only joined the physical body and the etheric body during the lunar period, and the "I" only during the earthly period.
[ 4 ] Imagine now that the physical human body attained a certain stage of its formation on Saturn and that this was then continued on the sun in such a way that from then on it could be the bearer of an etheric body. On Saturn this physical body came so far that it was an extremely complex mechanism, but it still had nothing of life in it. The complexity of its composition caused it to disintegrate in the end. For this complexity had reached such a high degree that it could no longer sustain itself by the mere mineral forces at work within it. And it was this collapse of the physical human bodies that brought about the downfall of Saturn in the first place. - Of the present kingdoms of nature, namely the mineral kingdom, the plant kingdom, the animal kingdom and the human kingdom, this Saturn had only the latter. What we know today as animals, plants and minerals did not yet exist on Saturn. Of the present four kingdoms of nature, only man, in terms of his physical body, was present on this world body; and this physical body was, however, a kind of complicated mineral. The other kingdoms came into being because not all beings on the successive world bodies were able to reach the full goal of development. Thus only some of the human bodies formed on Saturn reached the full Saturnian goal. Those human bodies that reached this goal were now, as it were, resurrected to a new existence in their old form during the solar period, and this form was imbued with the etheric body. They thereby developed to a higher level of perfection. They became a kind of plant people. That part of the human body, however, which had not been able to reach the full goal of development on Saturn, had to continue what it had missed during the time of the sun under considerably less favorable conditions than were present for this development on Saturn. It therefore lagged behind the part that had reached its full goal on Saturn. This gave rise to a second natural kingdom on the sun alongside the human kingdom.
[ 5 ] It would be erroneous to believe that all the organs found in the present human body were already formed on Saturn. This is not the case. Rather, it is primarily the sense organs within the human body that can trace their origin back to this ancient time. The first faculties of eyes, ears and so on, which were formed on Saturn as mineral bodies in the same way as the "lifeless crystals" are now formed on earth, have such an ancient origin; but the corresponding organs have received their present form through the fact that they have been transformed again and again to higher perfection in each of the following planetary times. On Saturn they were physical apparatuses, nothing more. On the sun they were then transformed because an ether or life-body permeated them. They were thus included in the life process. They became living physical apparatuses. And they were joined by those members of the human physical body that could only develop under the influence of an etheric body: the organs of growth, nutrition and reproduction. It goes without saying that the first formations of these organs, as they developed on the sun, do not resemble the perfection of their present form. - The highest organs that the human body incorporated at that time, when the physical body and the etheric body worked together, were those that have grown into the glands in the present. Thus the physical human body on the Sun is a glandular system into which the sense organs are imprinted at the corresponding stage. - On the moon the development continues. The astral body is added to the physical body and the etheric body. Thus the glandular sensory body is incorporated into the first system of a nervous system. You can see that the physical human body becomes more and more complicated in the successive planetary periods of development. On the moon it is composed of nerves, glands and senses. The senses have undergone two transformations and perfections, the nerves are at their first stage. If we consider the lunar man as a whole, he consists of three members: a physical body, an etheric body and an astral body. The physical body is tripartite; it has as its structure the work of the forces of Saturn, the sun and the moon. The etheric body is only bipartite. It only has within itself the effect of the work of the sun and moon; and the astral body is still one-membered. Only the lunar forces have worked on it. - Through the absorption of the astral body, the human being on the moon has become capable of a life of sensation, of a certain inwardness. He can form images within his astral body of what is going on in his surroundings. These images can be compared in a certain respect with the dream images of the present human consciousness; only they are more vivid, more colorful and, what is the main thing, they refer to processes of the outer world, while the present dream images are mere echoes of everyday life or otherwise unclear reflections of inner or outer processes. The images of the moon consciousness were perfectly corresponding to that to which they referred outwardly. Suppose, for example, that such a lunar man as has just been characterized - consisting of physical body, etheric body and astral body - had approached another lunar being. He would not have been able to perceive it as a spatial object, for this only became possible in man's earthly consciousness; but within his astral body an image would have arisen which, in its color and form, would have expressed quite precisely whether the other being was sympathetic or antipathetic towards this moon man, whether it could be useful or dangerous to him. The moon man could therefore adjust his behavior exactly according to the images that arose in his consciousness of images. These images were a perfect means of orientation for him. And the physical tool that the astral body needed to enter into a relationship with the lower kingdoms of nature was the nervous system incorporated into the physical body.
[ 6 ] The cooperation of a great world event was necessary for this transformation described here to take place with the human being during the lunar period. The incorporation of the astral body and the corresponding development of a nervous system in the physical body only became possible because that which was previously one body, the Sun, split into two, into Sun and Moon. The former became a fixed star, the latter remained a planet - as the sun had been before - and began to orbit the sun from which it had split. As a result, everything that lived on the sun and moon underwent a significant transformation. This process of transformation will be followed here only in so far as it relates to the life of the moon. The human being, consisting of physical and etheric body, remained united with the moon when it split off from the sun. He thus entered into completely new conditions of existence. For the moon took with it from the sun only a part of the forces contained in the latter; only this part now had an effect on man from his own world body, the other part of the forces was retained by the sun. This part is therefore sent to the moon and thus also to its inhabitant, man, from outside. If the former relationship had remained, if all the solar forces had continued to flow to man from his own scene, then that inner life could not have arisen which shows itself in the rising of the images of the astral body. The solar power remained effective from outside on the physical body and the etheric body, on which it had already had an effect earlier. But it released a part of these two bodies for influences which emanated from the newly formed world body, the moon. Thus man on the moon was under a double influence, that of the sun and that of the moon. And it is due to the influence of the moon that those limbs were formed from the physical and etheric bodies which allowed the imprinting of the astral body. And an astral body can only create images if the solar forces do not come to it from its own planet, but from outside. The effects of the moon transformed the sensory faculties and the glandular organs in such a way that a nervous system could be incorporated into them; and the effects of the sun brought about that the images, for which this nervous system was the tool, corresponded to the external lunar processes in the manner described above.
[ 7 ] The development could only continue in this way up to a certain point. If this point had been passed, the lunar man would have hardened in his inner life of images, and he would have lost all connection with the sun. When the time had come, the sun took up the moon again, so that for some time both were again one body. The union lasted until man was far enough along to be able to prevent his hardening, as it should have occurred on the moon, through a new stage of development. When this had happened, a new separation took place, but now the moon still took solar forces with it that had not been given to it before. And this had the effect that after some time another separation took place. What had finally split off from the sun was a world body which contained all the forces and beings that currently live on earth and moon. The earth therefore still had the moon, which now orbits it, in its own body. Had it remained in it, it could never have become the scene of a human evolution such as the present one. The forces of the present moon had first to be cast off; and man had to remain behind on the earthly scene thus purified and continue his evolution there. In this way three world bodies emerged from the old sun. And the forces of two of these world bodies, the new sun and the new moon, are sent to the earth and thus to its inhabitant from outside. - Through this progress in the development of the world body it has become possible for the fourth member, the "I", to be added to the tripartite human nature as it was on the moon. This incorporation was connected with the perfection of the physical body, the etheric body and the astral body. The perfection of the physical body consisted in the incorporation of the system of the heart as the preparer of the warm blood. Naturally, the sensory system, the glandular system and the nervous system now had to be reorganized in such a way that they would be compatible with the newly added system of warm blood in the human organism. But the sense organs have been so transformed that the mere image-consciousness of the old moon could become the object-consciousness that mediates the perception of external things, and which at present man possesses from waking in the morning until falling asleep in the evening. On the old moon the senses were not yet open to the outside; the images of consciousness arose from within; precisely this opening of the senses to the outside is the achievement of earthly development.
[ 8 ] It has been mentioned above that not all of the human bodies that were predisposed on Saturn reached the goal that was set for them there, and why a second natural kingdom arose on the sun alongside the human kingdom in its then form. One must now imagine that at each of the following stages of development, on the sun, moon and earth, beings always fell short of their goals and that the lower kingdoms of nature came into being as a result. The animal kingdom, for example, which is closest to man, is the one that had already lagged behind on Saturn, but partly caught up with its development under unfavorable conditions on the sun and moon, so that on earth it was not as far advanced as man, but nevertheless partly had the ability to absorb warm blood like him. For warm blood did not exist in any of the kingdoms of nature before the time on earth. The present cold-blooded (or warm-blooded) animals and certain plants have arisen because certain beings of the lower solar kingdom have again lagged behind the stage reached by the other beings of this kingdom. The present mineral kingdom came into being at the latest, namely only during the time on earth.
[ 9] The four-membered earthly man receives from the sun and moon the influences of those forces which have remained connected with these world bodies. He receives from the sun the forces that serve progress, growth and development, and from the moon the hardening, shaping forces. If man were only under the influence of the sun, he would dissolve in an immeasurably rapid progress of growth. Therefore he would have to leave the sun after a suitable time and receive the restraints of too rapid progress on the separate old moon. But if he had remained permanently connected with it, the impediments to growth would have hardened him into a rigid form. Therefore it progressed to the formation of the earth, within which the two influences balance each other out in a corresponding way. At the same time, however, this is also the point in time when a higher being, the soul, is incorporated into the four-membered human being as an inner being.
[ 10 ] The physical body of man in its form, in its actions, movements and so on, is the expression and effect of what takes place in the other members, in the etheric body, astral body and ego. In the previous observations from the "Akashic Chronicle" it has been shown how, in the course of development, these other members have gradually intervened in the formation of the physical body. During the evolution of Saturn, none of these other members were yet connected to the physical human body. At that time, however, the first foundations for this formation were laid. However, one must not believe that the forces which later acted on the physical body from the etheric body, astral body and ego did not already have an effect on it during the Saturnian period. They were already at work then, only in a certain sense from the outside, not from the inside. The other members were not yet formed, not yet united in a special form with the physical human body; the forces that later united in them, however, worked as it were from the sphere - the atmosphere - of Saturn and formed the first structure of this body. This system was then transformed on the sun because a part of these forces formed itself into the special human etheric body and now no longer acted on the physical body merely from outside but from within. The same thing happened on the moon with regard to the astral body. And on earth the physical human body was transformed for the fourth time by becoming the dwelling place of the "I", which now works within it.
[ 11 ] As you can see, the physical human body is nothing fixed to the view of the spiritual-scientific researcher, nothing permanent in its form and mode of action. It is in a constant state of transformation. And such a transformation is also taking place in the present earthly period of its development. One can only understand human life if one is able to form an idea of this transformation.
[ 12 ] A spiritual-scientific examination of the human organs reveals that they are at very different stages of their development. There are organs in the human body which, in their present form, are in a descending stage of development and others which are in an ascending stage. The former will increasingly lose their significance for man in the future. They are past the prime of their functions, will atrophy and finally disappear from human life. Other organs are developing upwards; they have much in them that is now only present as a germ; in the future they will develop into more perfect forms with a higher task. Among the former organs are those which serve reproduction, the production of the same. In the future, they will relinquish their task to other organs and themselves sink into insignificance. A time will come when they will be found in a stunted state on the human body, and we will then only have to see evidence of prehistoric human development in them.
[ 13 ] Other organs, such as the heart and its neighboring structures, are, to a certain extent, at the beginning of their development. What is germinating in them now will only unfold in the future. The spiritual-scientific view sees in the heart and in its relationship to the so-called blood circulation something quite different from present-day physiology, which in this respect is entirely dependent on mechanistic-materialistic ideas. This spiritual science succeeds in throwing light on facts which are quite familiar to contemporary science, but for which it is unable to provide a reasonably satisfactory solution with its own means. Anatomy shows that the muscles of the human body are of two kinds. There are those whose smallest parts are smooth bands, and those whose smallest parts have regular transverse striations. Smooth muscles are generally those whose movements are independent of the human will. Smooth, for example, are the muscles of the intestine, which push the food pulp along in regular movements without the human will having any influence on these movements. The muscles found in the iris of the eye are also smooth. These muscles serve the movements by which the pupil of the eye is dilated when it is exposed to a small amount of light and is constricted when a lot of light flows into the eye. These movements are also independent of human volition. On the other hand, the muscles that mediate movement under the influence of the human will, for example the muscles that move the arms and legs, are striated. The heart, which is also a muscle, is an exception to this general characteristic. The heart, too, is not subject to arbitrariness in its movements during the present period of human development; and yet it is a "striated" muscle. Spiritual science gives the reason for this in its nature. The heart will not always remain as it is now. In the future it will have a completely different form and a different function. It is on the way to becoming an arbitrary muscle. In the future it will carry out movements which will be the effects of the inner impulses of the human soul. It already shows in its structure what significance it will have in the future, when the movements of the heart will be the expression of the human will, just as the raising of the hand or the putting forward of the foot is at present. - This view of the heart is connected with a comprehensive knowledge of spiritual science about the relationship of the heart to the so-called blood circulation. The mechanical-materialistic doctrine of life sees the heart as a kind of pumping device that drives the blood through the body in a regular manner. The heart is the cause of blood movement. Spiritual-scientific knowledge shows something quite different. It sees the pulsation of the blood, its entire inner mobility, as the expression and effect of the processes of the soul. The soul is the cause of how the blood behaves. The blanching caused by feelings of fear, the blushing under the influence of feelings of shame are gross effects of soul processes in the blood. But everything that takes place in the blood is only the expression of what is going on in the life of the soul. The connection between blood pulsation and soul impulses is only a very mysterious one. And the movements of the heart are not the cause but the consequences of blood pulsation. - In the future, the heart will carry the effect of what is woven in the human soul into the outer world through arbitrary movements.
[ 14 ] Other organs that are in a similar ascending development are the respiratory organs, namely in their function as instruments of speech. At present, man is able to transform his thoughts into air waves through them. What he experiences inwardly is thereby imprinted on the outer world. He transforms his inner experiences into air waves. This wave movement of the air is a reproduction of what is going on inside him. In the future, he will shape more and more of his inner being in this way. And the final result in this direction will be that he will bring forth himself - his own kind - through his organs of speech, which have reached the height of their perfection. The organs of speech therefore contain within themselves in a germinal form the future organs of reproduction. And the fact that mutation (change of voice) occurs in the male individual at the time of sexual maturity is a consequence of the mysterious connection between the organs of speech and the reproductive being.
[ 15 ] The entire human physical body with all its organs can be viewed in this way from a spiritual scientific perspective. Only a few samples should be given here for the time being. There is a spiritual-scientific anatomy and physiology. And in the not too distant future, the present one will have to be fertilized by it, indeed, completely transformed into it.
[ 16 ] Here in this field it becomes particularly clear that such results as the above must not be based on mere conclusions, on speculations of thought (such as analogies), but that they can only emerge from genuine research in the humanities. This must necessarily be emphasized, because it is all too easy for zealous believers in spiritual science, once they have absorbed some knowledge, to continue to spin ideas out into the blue. Then it is no wonder that only fantasies emerge, as they are particularly rampant in these areas. For example, one could draw the following conclusion from the above description: Because the human reproductive organs in their present form will lose their significance the earliest in the future, they also received their significance the earliest in prehistoric times, so they are in a sense the oldest organs of the human body. The exact opposite is true. They received their present form at the latest and will lose it again at the earliest.
[ 17 ] The following presents itself to the eye of spiritual scientific research. On the sun, the physical human body had in certain respects advanced to the level of plant existence. At that time it was merely permeated by an etheric body. On the moon it took on the character of the animal body because it was permeated by the astral body. But not all organs took part in this transformation into the animal character. Some parts remained at the plant stage. And even when the human body rose to its present form on earth after the incorporation of the ego, some organs still had a distinctly plant character. However, one must not imagine that these organs looked exactly like our present plants. These organs include the reproductive organs. Even at the beginning of the earth's development they still had the character of plants. This was known in the wisdom of the ancient mysteries. And the older art, which has preserved so much from the traditions of the Mysteries, depicts, for example, hermaphrodites with plant-leaf-like reproductive organs. These are the precursors of humans, who still had the old type of reproductive organs (were bisexual). You can see this beautifully, for example, in a hermaphrodite in the Capitoline collection in Rome. And once you see through these things, you will also know the real reason for the presence of the fig leaf on Eve, for example. One will assume true explanations for some old depictions, while the present ones only spring from an unfinished thought. In passing, it should only be noted that the above-mentioned hermaphrodite shows other plant appendages. When it was formed, there was still the tradition that in the distant past certain human organs had transformed from plant to animal character.
[ 18 ] All these transformations of the human body are only the expression of the powers of transformation lying in the etheric body, astral body and ego. The transformations of the physical human body accompany the actions of the higher human limbs. Therefore, one can only understand the structure and mode of action of this human body if one goes into the "Akashic Chronicle", which shows how the higher transformations of the more soul and spiritual members of the human being take place. Everything physical and material finds its explanation through the spiritual. And light is even thrown on the future of this physical when one gets involved with the spiritual.
[ 19 ] In the following articles there will be a lot to say about the future of Earth and humanity.