| 262. Correspondence with Marie Steiner 1901–1925: Correspondence 50
19 Nov 1906, Rudolf Steiner |
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| Sivers' translation of Schuré's “Les grands Inities” under the title “Die großen Eingeweihten”, Leipzig 1907. |
| 262. Correspondence with Marie Steiner 1901–1925: Correspondence 50
19 Nov 1906, Rudolf Steiner |
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50To Marie von Sivers in Berlin Bremen, November 19, 1906 My darling This was once again a journey through the domains of the “elders”. The lecture in Hanover was very well attended; it was actually rather incongruous with the quite impossible topic.23 Nevertheless, it went very well. The next day, the esoteric seekers gathered at the hotel; at noon, of course, Döhren 24 could not be avoided. Paula Stryzek 25 She came back with her complaints about Hübbe-Schleiden; then it was an esoteric hour. It was clear from Paula Stryzek and the other statements that Hübbe-Schleiden definitely wanted to participate. Not to be harsh, I said “yes”. Then afterwards he accompanied me to Countess Moltke.26 What he was talking about was the most impossible stuff. He had still experienced that people had been corrupted by esotericism. Especially the “women”. In the end, all that came out was that he was dissatisfied with Paula. She would listen to anyone else, but not to him. In the evening it was the turn of the Lodge. Then he went on and on about the Lodge. So it was Hamburg. Hubo, Kolbe.27 Scharlau 28 were waiting for me. Hubo had assumed that I would stay with him. So that was that. The reason for his resignation? A very insignificant difference with Scharlau and Kolbe. Endless emphasis on the ingratitude of all the members of the lodge. In the evening, Scharlau, not Hubo, led the meeting. I wanted to schedule the esoteric hour at 11 o'clock on Sunday at Hubo's. It happened. But Hubo left himself when the others arrived. In the afternoon I went to the Patriotic House for the lodge meeting. Hubo did not go there either. He could not see the others. There is nothing more to be done with him. Nothing helps. The things he puts forward are only masks. Miss v.E.29 is still having an effect. This affair has finished him off. On top of that, he has an overwhelming feeling that the other members are getting out of hand. He can't see that they are getting something from the other side. There is boundless resentment in him. I would have to advise the people, given the situation, to let him go, to elect a new chairman and to appoint him as honorary president. He has nothing to do there. However, the situation in Hanover and Hamburg is such that I will have to go there after the new year if things are not to be lost. So we have to make sure that this is possible. It could go well in both Hamburg and Hannover if it weren't for Hübbe and Hubo. It's not at all impossible that Hübbe might feel like playing a role at the congress, or might already have that desire. The dire consequences of a wounded vanity playing out there can only be neutralized by another visit to Hannover – not because of Hübbe, but because of the others. Hübbe's entire demeanour is the product of a weak mind and a strong vanity. That is why he is always talking about his importance and his modesty. I have not yet seen anyone in Bremen. There is still time tomorrow. The preface to the first 30 I hope to bring with me. The stay in both Hannover and Hamburg was quite exhausting. Hübbe's speeches seem like senseless combinations of words; the deepest pity is the only feeling one can have. Hubo is full of emotions – and a very broken man. The general assembly probably also had a bad effect on him; not because of us, but because of other things that should rather be communicated orally. Human, all-too-human, personal, all-too-personal. Wednesday morning I arrive at 7:08 a.m. unless I communicate something else. With all my heart, Rudolf
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| 262. Correspondence with Marie Steiner 1901–1925: Correspondence 51
04 Dec 1906, Rudolf Steiner |
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| Scholl has once again made all the good promises in all seriousness. Under the influence of her relationship with Bredow, she has gone through a phase in which she has shown that she needs to be passive and receptive in order to be satisfied. |
| Besant appointed him secretary of the “Star in the East” for Germany under Hübbe-Schleiden, but soon canceled this appointment. At the general assembly in December 1911, he, along with Ahner, Krojanker and C.R. |
| 262. Correspondence with Marie Steiner 1901–1925: Correspondence 51
04 Dec 1906, Rudolf Steiner |
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51To Marie von Sivers in Berlin My darling! Düsseldorf, Elberfeld, Cologne and now Bonn are behind us. Scholl has once again made all the good promises in all seriousness. Under the influence of her relationship with Bredow, she has gone through a phase in which she has shown that she needs to be passive and receptive in order to be satisfied. When the dissection began, she showed a certain activity and initiative; but her personality demands external support. And in the most personal sense. It will be quite difficult for her to find herself again. We probably shouldn't expect an initiative from her anytime soon. And yet it depends on one whether the matter will continue here in this environment. But what can be said about this old “pillar” when the new ones are not exactly proving themselves to be wise either. Or is the view of Mrs. Wolfram 31 von Frau von Hoffmann's letter not downright damaging? She writes to Hoffmann that she needs money for the Leipzig lodge. Hoffmann's send her 300 marks for the lectures. Mrs. Hoffmann 32 writes that she has no hopes of the Theosophical Society. And Wolfram finds that she must answer “without acid, with the garlands of amiability etc.” You have probably read Wolfram's foolish letter. For a long time I have not received such a sensible letter from an old theosophist as from Mrs. Hoffmann. It is only natural that such people must first be won over slowly, after they have seen the theosophical comedy played out around them from the very beginning. It is also not surprising if such people are not particularly touched by the usual lodge activities. If they are nevertheless objective, as the letter shows, then this is worthy of recognition, not of flippancy. If we regard the lodge activities as something other than a necessary evil, we will end up in a philistine swamp. The only thing that matters is that people are given spiritual life. What they chat about in the lodges is unavoidable, but it is of no use at all. — What does the cat-fighting of Vollrath 33 with the spiritual movement? In short, Wolfram's letter is a compilation of stupidities. Grävell 34 is in any case superfluous in Heidelberg. My darling, thank you so much for your letters. Take care of yourself a little. Devote yourself more to the life of what you can present on Mondays, for example. It is still painful that you had to get the books wrapped up again, and were thus distracted from the intellectual side of things. Wagner should have taken care of that.35 But people never know what to do, and they always want to do something. Hopefully the situation with Wagner won't get too bad. I gave the minutes to Miss Scholl.36 I still have to correct it in print. It was not possible in Cologne. On Sunday, 7 new F.M. joined in Cologne: Büsche, 37 Lindemann and wife, Miss Weber, 38 Mrs. Berendt,39 Dr. Peipers and wife. Soon, sincerely yours, Rudolf Bredow: Eugenie v. Bredow, née Countess Schwerin (1860-1922), member since November 1904, on the Section's board since 1911. She lived in Landin in the Mark Brandenburg, but also had a rooming house at Motzstr. 17. In the summer of 1906, Rudolf Steiner, Marie v. Sivers, Mathilde Scholl and a few other friends spent a few days at the Bredow estate in Landin.
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| 262. Correspondence with Marie Steiner 1901–1925: Correspondence 52
08 Dec 1906, Rudolf Steiner |
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| If one is eliminated – in this case alcohol – the other makes the organism ill until it has been eliminated. How many people today live only under mutually annulling causes of illness! | Kindest regards, my darling, from your Rudolf Greetings to Wiesel 45 and Selling. |
| 262. Correspondence with Marie Steiner 1901–1925: Correspondence 52
08 Dec 1906, Rudolf Steiner |
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52To Marie von Sivers in Berlin Stuttgart, Dec. 8, 1906 My darling. Before things get started in Stuttgart, you should receive these few lines. Unfortunately, I still have a sore throat from Frankfurt. Those noble organizers had found it “clever” to hold both the public lecture and the internal evening event over beer and tobacco smoke. It goes without saying that my throat cannot stand this. Incidentally, there was another beauty in the evening. After the lecture, a questioner came forward with a sentence from Theosophy that was utter nonsense. When I said that nothing of the sort had been said in the lecture, he produced a leaflet that our good “Goethe branch” had printed, in which the sentence appeared. Of course, I now had to say that it did not occur to me to support such a thing. It turned out that the thing was a malicious translation of the already confusing English version of the leaflet. So I told the people. Afterwards, Mr. Hintze explained40 that he had translated this from English. People have our leaflets in which the text is written in proper German. But Mr. Hintze finds it necessary to print leaflets especially according to the English text and to spend the money of the Goethe branch on them. He just went to school with the English. Prof. Voigt 41 no longer comes because Mr. Hintze's “theosophy” with unnecessary “Buddhist” phrases seems impossible to German intellectual life. We have got rid of Mrs. Lübke; now we have another one in Frankfurt who has studied the things at the English source. My darling, how is your translation of the Eleusinian mysteries coming along? 42 We need to have them soon. You are coming to Leipzig, aren't you? Because Altmann will print the M brochure without a preface.43 is, despite everything, an impertinence on his part, and one will certainly be followed by others. Despite not really knowing how to manage my throat at the beginning yesterday in Heidelberg, it went well in the end. Hopefully I can manage it today in Stuttgart too. And by tomorrow or the day after, I hope that the voice, which is wrapping itself around at the moment, will be fine again. At the beginning of January, we absolutely must be able to send the congress programs. So we will have to stay in Munich for the time being. 44 Incidentally, Nab is not responsible for the pamphlet; but he is partly responsible for the beer-smoking room. He was ill while the first heroic deed was being formed. Now he is healthy again. Incidentally, his illness is a remarkable case of too-quickly-achieved abstinence, as I have clearly realized. The man stands all day in the smell of leather. You know, he was still drinking his bottle when we first met him in Frankfurt. Now alcohol was what paralyzed the damage of the leather scent for him. He got away from it very quickly, and became a vegetarian just as quickly. Then the organism reacted with pleurisy. Now he has the reaction behind him and can of course avoid both meat and alcohol. But if you think about it, you will find many remarkable things about this case. The organism is caught between two causes of illness that paralyze each other. If one is eliminated – in this case alcohol – the other makes the organism ill until it has been eliminated. How many people today live only under mutually annulling causes of illness! | Kindest regards, my darling, from your Rudolf Greetings to Wiesel 45 and Selling.
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| 262. Correspondence with Marie Steiner 1901–1925: Correspondence 54
09 Feb 1907, Rudolf Steiner |
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| Even in the time when we did not see him, the man had in his own way undergone an occult exercise (40-day fast) and had typical, regular revelations. In Basel, we were surprised to find that they had a large hall with free admission (450 people), and that a whole lot of people had to be turned away. |
| 262. Correspondence with Marie Steiner 1901–1925: Correspondence 54
09 Feb 1907, Rudolf Steiner |
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54To Marie von Sivers in Berlin Feb. 9, 1907 My darling! You should receive a few lines from here at least. In Hanover and Heidelberg, things were as usual. In Karlsruhe, there was a lodge meeting and I spoke about the Lord's Prayer. Hertzberg 8 He is doing very well. Even in the time when we did not see him, the man had in his own way undergone an occult exercise (40-day fast) and had typical, regular revelations. In Basel, we were surprised to find that they had a large hall with free admission (450 people), and that a whole lot of people had to be turned away. But then there was an internal evening afterwards. That was really enough for one day. And I was lucky that I was able to get a cab afterwards. If I had walked to the hotel, my voice would have changed. In Bern there were two public evenings again, and yesterday there was another one here with 700 people. And tonight is not internal either, but is supposed to be in a hall for 200 people. Tomorrow then again public in Hamburg. It would only be a shame if the lectures themselves suffered from the fact that they are not internal, that is, much less exhausting in between. Otherwise, it is always the plight of the world that can only be improved by real occultism. Here is Ostermann, Mrs. Brandt, even Mrs. v. Tschirschky.9 In Heidelberg were Sonklar,10 Kinkel.11 - Grävell has become even worse. At yesterday's public lecture, too, it became clear from the questions that the most serious obstacle is the conceptual cripples who have run amok due to the wrong current theories. Hübbe-Schleiden calls these deformed conceptual cripples the judicious people and says that our members are without judgment and absorb everything through feeling. I listened to his intentions for an hour and a half, because he now really wanted to, through which he wants to make Theosophy plausible “for judicious people”. These “scientific” proofs, which he and his followers are always talking about, are nothing more than empty shells of abstract concepts for parched brains roasted in materialism; from a higher point of view, the tin of physical theories, which has already been rolled out, rolled out again. “Chrysam verloren“ 12Old saying in the sense of ‘lost love’. The word, derived from the Greek ‘chrism’, refers to the anointing oil used in the sacraments of the early church. is an old saying for this stuff. Ostermann is waiting for me. Therefore, I am sending you - really - a separate letter, tax return, postal order and letter to Olcott.13 But you should at least have this greeting. Mrs. Geering 14 is now completely absorbed in Theosophy. The good shoemaker is struggling with a young child that he “unexpectedly” acquired, and has sought “occult” advice on how to deal with the worm, but especially with the worm inside him, which is at his heels. So you see: the misery of the world. Ostermann is now summoning me. With best regards, Rudolf
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| 262. Correspondence with Marie Steiner 1901–1925: Correspondence 56
25 Feb 1907, Rudolf Steiner |
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| To the letter to the General Secretaries 15 I just wanted to add the following lines on a separate sheet: “The undersigned General Secretary of the German Section of the TS has answered the letters from the General Council, the President-Founder and Mrs. |
| Nor should the decline of the T.S. as such alarm us. You, my dear one, must understand that I must remain vague about the M.[eister] affair in Adyar, even with you. 16 But you will admit that it takes more than just “blindness” to think that you can enforce an administrative action of the Society by appealing to Mr. |
| The masters are dealing with knowledge and not with moral sermons. You will understand me, my darling. Whether it is Sinnett17 or Olcott: it makes no difference. We must move forward. |
| 262. Correspondence with Marie Steiner 1901–1925: Correspondence 56
25 Feb 1907, Rudolf Steiner |
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56To Marie von Sivers in Berlin Budapest, February 25, 1907 My darling! Warmest greetings from the banks of the Danube. It won't be long now before we see each other again; that's why I'm saving the reports on my travel experiences for when we meet in person. To the letter to the General Secretaries 15 I just wanted to add the following lines on a separate sheet: “The undersigned General Secretary of the German Section of the TS has answered the letters from the General Council, the President-Founder and Mrs. Besant in January 1907 in the following enclosed manner. He takes the liberty of sending this reply as his opinion on the pending questions to the General Secretaries as well. With theosophical greetings, Dr. Rudolf Steiner.” The matter can be dealt with in this way even today. Only the passage regarding Olcott's continued existence must simply be deleted. Whatever happens now, it will be disastrous for the T.S. but not altogether unfavorable for the spiritual movement. Nor should the decline of the T.S. as such alarm us. You, my dear one, must understand that I must remain vague about the M.[eister] affair in Adyar, even with you. 16 But you will admit that it takes more than just “blindness” to think that you can enforce an administrative action of the Society by appealing to Mr. [Master]. Mrs. Besant will probably be unable to do anything worse in her current situation than to make this appeal her own impulse. In doing so, she will put those who count themselves among her in a difficult position, because if we elect her, we will have to elect her for reasons that are not her own. Can there be anything more absurd than that? The sacred calling of the masters should not be misused to support a cause that is compromised by philistinism. For the masters have nothing to do with that “universal philanthropy” which is only the inverted hypocritical robe of the bourgeois egoism of our age. If you turn this selfishness around, nothing comes out of the nuance of shame that it bears on its right side but the voluptuousness of compassion and “universal brotherly love” on the left! The masters are dealing with knowledge and not with moral sermons. You will understand me, my darling. Whether it is Sinnett17 or Olcott: it makes no difference. We must move forward. Yours faithfully, Rudolf
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| 262. Correspondence with Marie Steiner 1901–1925: Correspondence 57
10 Mar 1907, Rudolf Steiner |
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| But if we don't speak up at some point, we will undermine ourselves. It is so sad that the most limited, narrow-minded people, such as Mead, are now defending “reason”. |
| In October 1905, he took over the office of chairman of the Düsseldorf branch of the TG. Because of his lack of understanding of Rudolf Steiner, he soon found himself in opposition to the members of his branch, so he resigned and founded his own branch, the Blavatsky Lodge or Düsseldorf II, in March 1907. |
| 262. Correspondence with Marie Steiner 1901–1925: Correspondence 57
10 Mar 1907, Rudolf Steiner |
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57To Marie von Sivers in Berlin Cologne, 10 March 1907 My darling! Thank you very much for your kind words. I arrive in Berlin at 8:50 on Tuesday morning. You can see that the Theosophical Society is becoming more and more confused. Mead has now had his thing printed as well.18 and sends it, as it seems, to all theosophical lodges on earth. Some of our members will look quite perplexed. It will therefore be necessary for us to issue a kind of “Message to the members” 19 which leaves nothing to be desired. We cannot keep quiet about the nonsense when everyone else is trumpeting it to the world. But if we don't speak up at some point, we will undermine ourselves. It is so sad that the most limited, narrow-minded people, such as Mead, are now defending “reason”. Such natures lack clarity and perspective. But in the “small case” such limited recklessness is often right. But those who would like to take a slightly higher point of view and have stood by Mrs. Besant, like us, are put in the worst possible position by her impossibilities. In Düsseldorf, the situation also became clear to me. Lauweriks 20 is a very, very small Mead. But in Holland they have stuffed him so full of self-importance that he is surrounded by armor. When he says, for example, that he has a different view of Theosophy than I do, he never refers to what I myself have said, but to stupid gossip, to things that others claim that they did not say or said differently, etc. Mathilde Scholl now allows herself to be magnetized by Weiler 21. Of course, I can only concede such stuff in retrospect. Because if I acted differently, it would be something against Weiler. And he is right from his point of view. But it is bad that Scholl does not think that she is abdicating from the position she should have here if she does such a thing. I would rather tell you everything else. Kindest regards, Rudolf Say hello to Wiesel and Selling.
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| 262. Correspondence with Marie Steiner 1901–1925: Correspondence 58a
26 May 1907, Rudolf Steiner |
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| I didn't dare to ask you to come, because if the performance [of the Eleusinian Mysteries] had failed, you would have experienced embarrassing moments and undertaken a long journey with all its hardships, only to receive unpleasant impressions. And then, right up until the last moment, we really didn't know if we would make it. |
| The initially very weak voice, which always slid down into her chest, grew stronger every day; but it wasn't until the last week that we could be sure that she would be understood. Even now, this young girl is completely transfigured and she still has the airs and graces of a princess. |
| Bernhard Stavenhagen (1862-1914), one of Liszt's star pupils, was one of the most brilliant virtuosos of his school, undertaking numerous successful concert tours in Europe and America. Rudolf Steiner and Stavenhagen had been friends since their time together in Weimar from 1890-1895, when he was the court pianist and court music director of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach. |
| 262. Correspondence with Marie Steiner 1901–1925: Correspondence 58a
26 May 1907, Rudolf Steiner |
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58aMarie von Sivers to Edouard Schuré Translation from the French Munich, May 26, 1907 This is the first day that I have had a few quiet hours in my room; soon people will be streaming in, but I am trying to give you, if not a report, at least some fragmentary messages. My long silence before the congress was most painful to me. I didn't dare to ask you to come, because if the performance [of the Eleusinian Mysteries] had failed, you would have experienced embarrassing moments and undertaken a long journey with all its hardships, only to receive unpleasant impressions. And then, right up until the last moment, we really didn't know if we would make it. The obstacles were very great. You have to bear in mind that the actors came from different cities and were only able to come together very late. One of two ladies whom we regarded as our stars and who promised great things in the roles of Persephone and Hecate had to leave to care for a sister-in-law in Brussels who had suddenly gone mad; the other became mentally ill herself, and for a week we had her here without being able to send her to her mother, from whom she inherited the disease and from whom she was tormented throughout her life. Finally, she had to be taken to an institution; it was truly a catastrophe. So the chances of the performance succeeding had become very slim. After much hesitation, we decided to try a very poor young girl [Alice Sprengel], who has an extremely difficult life and seems quite hopeless in moments of despondency because she lacks energy. She then sits down, puts her hands in her lap and says, “I can't do it to myself.” Fortunately, she could “offer” herself the role of Persephone. That had been the question. Then you could see the spark that had previously lain dormant in her ignite, and she became happier every day. The initially very weak voice, which always slid down into her chest, grew stronger every day; but it wasn't until the last week that we could be sure that she would be understood. Even now, this young girl is completely transfigured and she still has the airs and graces of a princess. These days will have been the most beautiful of her life. Overall, the rehearsals were a source of delight and harmony for many. We always had quite a number of listeners who couldn't get enough and who liked the play so much that they would have liked to hear it every day. The Nymphs and the Shadows were very eager, but gave us a lot to do. All these people had never acted. Except for Triptolem, who is a professional actor but a member of the company, and me, who appeared in amateur theaters in my day, none of our people had ever seen the limelight. Enthusiasm took the place of everything. Metanira was disappointing. The one [H.v.Vacano] who was supposed to play this role had to take on the role of Hecate, and the new actress, a very clever lady, showed no understanding of the stage at all. The role of Triptolemus had initially been entrusted to a young man who was very keen to act, quite pleasant, looking like an ephebe, but so bleak in his gestures and in his speech so incapable of any kind of upturn that for a while we thought we would have to give up because of him, until the actor who was originally supposed to play Pluto came and replaced him with good success. Dionysus was a delightful young girl, half Italian, half Polish, who appeared last and initially spoke with an accent that made us jump. She was nice, but extremely clumsy, and the final apotheosis was in danger of falling through because of her. So we had to work with her intensively every day and teach her the essence of German pronunciation. As a result, after I had already exhausted my voice with a cough and constant speaking during rehearsals, it became so bad during the last week that I was completely hoarse and feared that I would not be able to speak at the performance, especially since I had no opportunity to take care of myself and withdraw from all my other obligations. Apart from my duties as secretary of the German Section and of the Congress Bureau, we had to organize, just for this performance, two painting studios (for the scenery), a tailor's studio (even the costumes were all made by our members according to Mr. Steiner's instructions), and finally two further studios where our painters worked on the decoration of the hall (the Temple of the Future) according to Mr. Steiner's drawings. There was a flurry of activity like an anthill – feverish haste everywhere, because we only plunged into the big expenses when we were really sure – more or less – that we could perform. May 28 Mr. Stavenhagen 26 (who, by the way, is not Dutch) had only finished his music three days before the performance and did not get around to the planned final chorus at all. The music was beautiful, though; I don't know what the foreigners thought of it, but the Germans thought it was “like the harmony of the spheres.” And the acting company also thought it was very beautiful: dignified, strong and ethereal – thoroughly religious. I believe that it was beneficial for the poetry not to be mixed with music. The beautiful preludes created a mood of religious contemplation; then the word alone prevailed and the idea could emerge all the more clearly. | The Germans were really enthusiastic - they did not make any banal compliments - they were deeply moved by the drama itself and urgently asked us for a repeat performance; however, this was not possible. The foreigners will certainly have been more critical and cool, but as you yourself suspected, a large number of them came with hostile feelings, determined to resist the progressive spirit, to treat with irony what exceeds their understanding, and to reject everything they consider unorthodox. But it was strange to observe how, nevertheless, the resistance gradually diminished, and how many finally left the hall moved. The Blechs 27 and Mr. Pascal 28 will certainly never give up their reserved attitude, but Pascal is at the end of his tether and the Blechs are extraordinarily narrow-minded; I also think it has made a strange impression on them that we emphasize the importance of your work so strongly, while they, with their English education, have probably missed it. Their feelings are therefore very mixed. You were right to recognize Mr. Steiner's hand in the translation. I don't know why Mr. Sauerwein 29 Told you that it was from me. Incidentally, I don't know Mr. Sauerwein, I've never seen him. Mr. Steiner spoke to me of him as a theosophist whom he met in Vienna, that he was at the congress on the day of the performance and is acquainted with you. As he was going to Paris, he asked him to give you our regards. Perhaps Mr. Sauerwein saw the two works that I translated on the book table and concluded that I was also the translator of the “Sacred Drama”. I did the prose translation and only here, over the last month, did Mr. Steiner start the work of putting it into rhythms. With what difficulties! He was constantly interrupted, constantly being called upon. He would leave, come back for five minutes, continue his poetic work and then leave again, called by someone else. He worked in all arts and crafts, directing everyone: painters, sculptors, musicians, carpenters, upholsterers, actors, seamstresses, theater workers, electricians... If he had had the material and the workers at his disposal, he would have achieved something fabulous in a short time: the temple of the future. As it was, he could only sketch out ideas, but they will have a fertilizing effect. With all this work, even the final scenes of the drama could only be completed at a moment that seemed highly critical to me. I had faith that they would make it, but I didn't want to rely on it; it would have been foolhardy. It would have pleased and frightened me at the same time if you had written that you were coming, but I didn't dare encourage you to do so. One doesn't want to challenge the protective spirits, but only cautiously request their help. What has amazed me most is that I have found my voice again for the performance – as calm and confident as if it had never been tormented by coughing and exhausted by tiredness. Cassel-Wilhelmshöhe, Burgfeldstr. 2, Villa Elsa, 17/6 07 Dear Sir, I am ashamed by your last two letters and regret deeply not having sent you the sheets written in Munich, which I believed I would still be able to supplement in full detail. But every day brought something unexpected. Around two hundred people remained for the cycle in Munich, who gave us a rousing reception. It was very difficult to leave. During the last days, we still had ten people waiting to be received at nine o'clock in the evening. If, as in this case, we take the morning train, we pack our bags between two and six o'clock in the morning without going to bed. Mr. Steiner then went directly from the train to a public lecture in Leipzig, followed by another the next day. I remained dead on my chaise longue for a day. In Berlin, a very exhausting job awaited me, which forced me to store all my papers in cupboards and be on my feet all day. Our apartment had become much too small for everything that had to take place there. Even before Munich, I had the pleasure of having walls knocked down, walls papered, etc. Now I had to do the moving, for which the five days in Berlin were quite insufficient, especially since we were constantly besieged by people, the suppliers didn't deliver on time, and the workers were also on strike. On the morning of June 15, we had to take the train to Kassel, where a two-week cycle is now taking place. It is peaceful here. We have been well accommodated in the beautiful park of Wilhelmshöhe. My mother and sister are with us. I can finally resume my correspondence, which has been terribly neglected in all its parts. Many Theosophists have followed us here, but there is none of the feverish haste that normally characterizes our lives. I should not speak to you of these things, for it seems to me that it must leave you quite out of breath, and it certainly seems to you to contradict the seclusion that is good for the mystic. But Mr. Steiner is always calm and focused, even in the midst of the most nerve-wracking rush. And I undoubtedly have to go through this school. On July 1, we expect to be back in Berlin, where I have to continue setting up and have another wall broken through. Then we dream of making ourselves invisible from July 15 to September 1. This is absolutely necessary so that Mr. Steiner can make some progress with his literary work again, and it is also essential to get some rest from the business. I am very glad that Mr. Steiner also feels this way, because I don't think one could continue in this way without interruption. If we want to be alone, we have to leave Germany and not tell anyone where we are going. I have already managed to get this answer accepted to urgent questions: “We are going into hiding.” Then one sighs: “If only it won't be too long, the hiding.” I would be delighted if we could visit you, whether before or after this “recess”. You will see that there is no question of us expecting any greater interest in our congress from you. We know that your interest and sympathy are honestly present, while so many others came full of prejudices and negative feelings. Your spirit was very much among us, strong and dominant, and the feeling of togetherness and agreement with you was complete. You have become a trusted and respected master to all our faithful. There was heartfelt regret that you were not there, and a resolution was adopted expressing the warm thanks of the assembly for your agreeing to perform the Mystery Play. So many said, “It was simply superhuman.” The same resolution was adopted with regard to Mr. Stavenhagen, whose music was excellent, of a thoroughly religious character and highly inspiring for the performers (who heard it for the first time on the day of the performance). With a Wagnerian score 30 the drama itself would have faded into the background; so the word could unfold. 18 [June] I don't have your address for Mont-Dore, so I hope that they will forward my letter to you. Please forgive my long silence; it was a fate that now weighs heavily on me. And let me repeat that it never occurred to me to reproach you for not being at the congress. But every day I regretted not being able to write to you. I cannot reproach myself, however, for being too timid and hesitant before the performance, because the dress rehearsal would undoubtedly have filled you with horror. The lighting technicians did everything wrong, but they too said calmly: “Tomorrow we have the doctor among us,” and then everything went well for them too. Let us hope that it will not be impossible to repeat this experiment. And a thousand thanks for giving us the happiness of being able to perform such a magnificent work. Let us hope to see you again soon and wish you a speedy recovery. Mille saluts de M. Steiner & Mme Schuré et à vous. J'y joigne les miens Mr. Sivers
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| 262. Correspondence with Marie Steiner 1901–1925: Correspondence 59
05 Aug 1907, Marie Steiner |
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| Show German 59 Second will, dated August 5, 1907, before his departure for Italy Will. I, the undersigned, hereby declare that after my death all correspondence and all other written documents and letters written by me or by others and addressed to me or handed over to me shall pass to Miss Marie von Sivers, currently currently residing at 17 Motzstraße, Berlin W; and that they fall to her by inheritance in such a way that they become her rightful property and are to be administered by her alone. |
| 262. Correspondence with Marie Steiner 1901–1925: Correspondence 59
05 Aug 1907, Marie Steiner |
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59Second will, dated August 5, 1907, Will. I, the undersigned, hereby declare that after my death all correspondence and all other written documents and letters written by me or by others and addressed to me or handed over to me shall pass to Miss Marie von Sivers, currently currently residing at 17 Motzstraße, Berlin W; and that they fall to her by inheritance in such a way that they become her rightful property and are to be administered by her alone. My parents and siblings living in Horn, Lower Austria, shall receive my books and any other possessions I may have in such a way that they receive everything that Fräulein von Sivers does not claim as her own. On the other hand, my wife, who is currently separated from me, shall receive nothing except the compulsory portion. It would be in accordance with my wishes if Miss von Sivers also kept all the books for herself and only handed over the value of the same to my parents and siblings, or the compulsory portion to my wife. Dr. Rudolf Steiner Berlin, 5 August 1907 |
| 262. Correspondence with Marie Steiner 1901–1925: Correspondence 59a
18 Aug 1907, Rudolf Steiner |
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| But it is as if I were tearing out a limb. Please understand that this is said only for you.31 And I even ask you to destroy this letter. Once, as if by the way, you asked me about it during a walk and I couldn't answer you. Even superficially, the timing is the worst possible for understanding the value of this incarnation. In Protestant countries, absurd speculations could arise from it. |
| What the magnitude of this spiritual step means, who is there to understand it? If it's not you, maybe it's someone else. Being the perfect synthesis of all sciences, intellectually encompassing everything that can be grasped by the mind, then elevating it to the purest spirituality, laying it down there as in a noble chalice, this is a sound that can only be struck once in this perfection. |
| 262. Correspondence with Marie Steiner 1901–1925: Correspondence 59a
18 Aug 1907, Rudolf Steiner |
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59aMarie von Sivers to Edouard Schuré Registered letter: Monsieur Edouard Schuré, Barr, Alsace, Germania Postmark: Roma 26807 | Barr 8/28/07 5-6V Translation from French Rome, August 18 Dear Sir, Thank you for your long letter, which we picked up at the post office six days ago, on the evening of our arrival. We took a short detour to Florence, as it was on our route. It's a shame to see the treasures in such a hurry, but what can you do! We won't have much time for Rome either, and we'll have to make do with a somewhat limited program. Nevertheless, we'll try to see everything you write about in your letter. I myself had been enchanted by Rome, and it is strange how my kind of enthusiasm resembles yours. With Mr. Steiner, the way of seeing is a little different. It is as if the seer's gaze begins at the center, at the marrow of the bone, and from there suddenly encompasses the entire sphere, the entire circumference. The beautiful veils of the Maya with their intoxicating wonders do not need to unfold one after the other – he sees them in their essence and with them a part of the future. What particularly impresses Mr. Steiner in Italy, in winter as well as now, is the aura of the people. He sees signs of an incurable decadence in it – he would have liked it to be different. Often this even gives him a tragic appearance. He says that the wonderful development of Italy was a result of the interaction of the already exhausted Latin elements with the Germanic ones, and that it was like a supreme and final flowering, produced by the genius of the old and the power of the new folk element, but that now the vitality has dried up. It would take a completely different people to create a new culture from the soil of Italy, the present one is in decline. I, who do not see so deeply, can certainly tell myself that it is unfortunate for a country to be overrun by foreign tourists to such an extent; this degrades the people and robs the country of its character, giving it the appearance of a museum. Everything that is now being built on the ruins, though magnificent, is parasitic and artificial (one hotel next to the other) – and perhaps it won't take a century for everything to become English, as it already is in tendency and origin. If I were Italian, I would be consumed with sadness; and even as it is, it saddens me. Mr. Steiner told me that he would have been happy if he had been able to change the situation. This is almost the moment when I would like to talk to you about his previous personality. I certainly would have had no right to do so if he had told me himself. And I find it extremely distasteful to talk about these things in the same way that certain Theosophists do, superficially and as entertainment. You don't tell these things, but in certain moments and to intimate friends you can say them, feeling the burden of a great responsibility, as I do. I know that misplaced trust on this point would be very disastrous. It was given to me as a revelation, with a certainty and a light that excludes all doubt, and without me seeking it, at a moment when I was not expecting it, while reading the book “Esoteric Christianity” by Mrs. Besant. It spoke to me and it was so dazzling that I even had to put my hand in front of my eyes. Mrs. Besant, whom I consulted, told me that it must have been “the Master Jesus”, because the book was not written by her, but through inspiration. She had to write it, and I believe that she was an inadequate medium, because, as she confessed to me several times - (I insisted): “Christianity is not my line”. And really, it is not at all. It is as if she no longer saw clearly when it came to the great truths of Christianity, its mission and its unique role. And when she says great, succinct words about Christianity in the middle of her lectures, words that resonate, it is as if she were driven to do so and did not remember them afterwards. At our congress, for example, she said of the Christ: “The Master to whom the masters look up, the Teacher from whom the teachers learn...” But she does not draw the conclusions from these words in the details, and with a strange shudder, which was psychologically very interesting to me, she said to me: “You know, when I was born into Christianity it was only to fight against it... and to be killed!” — But now the greatest teacher in the science of Christianity is among us; it is Mr. Steiner, and it is St. Thomas Aquinas, whose universal knowledge has been increased by the science of reincarnation, already possessed earlier, but veiled for a certain time because of the special mission of Christianity. What I have experienced so intimately has been confirmed to me, both by Mr. Steiner, who was quite shocked, - (it was in the first year of our work together, and except for a few words he said to me on that occasion, he never speaks of these things that affect him, and I never ask about them) - and by a thousand details. A doubt would certainly have been devastating, but never could the shadow of a doubt have occurred to me. 25 August. It is not easy for me to tear this piece out of my soul, so much so that I have hesitated to send the letter so far. And yet I feel that I should tell you. But it is as if I were tearing out a limb. Please understand that this is said only for you.31 And I even ask you to destroy this letter. Once, as if by the way, you asked me about it during a walk and I couldn't answer you. Even superficially, the timing is the worst possible for understanding the value of this incarnation. In Protestant countries, absurd speculations could arise from it. And the theosophists, being too Indian, would smell the spectre of Catholicism. What the magnitude of this spiritual step means, who is there to understand it? If it's not you, maybe it's someone else. Being the perfect synthesis of all sciences, intellectually encompassing everything that can be grasped by the mind, then elevating it to the purest spirituality, laying it down there as in a noble chalice, this is a sound that can only be struck once in this perfection. And before that, before the 13th century, still unclouded, there is Alexandria, there is Philo as a teacher and then John the Evangelist, -— there is the Rome of the Caesars, the Rome that makes you shudder, — but not as with Mrs. Besant with a personal shudder – it is in no way external, but it closes the face, and at the bottom of the soul something happens that must be the vision of innumerable pains and nameless cruelties. We visit a few times the churches named after a first-century saint whom I dare not mention, and whose legend has been greatly mixed with that of other saints of the same name. But I talk around it and demand to go to these churches. [new letterhead] I don't want to read these letters again, and if I don't send them immediately, I suspect I won't send them at all. We won't be able to see everything you've told us about. The villas are mostly closed in August, and the views are often obscured by haze. And then, in two weeks it is impossible to see much, the impressions are too strong, — besides, work has to be done! and the heat! I don't work, but Mr. Steiner does. We leave early in the morning of the 27th, via Pisa, Genoa and Milan, where we stay for a day at a time. Then Lucerne and Bern. On September 3 and 4 there are public lectures in Bern. On the 5th, we will make our way to Barr, and I think that if we leave in the morning, we can be there in the evening if there is a train in Strasbourg that will take us to Barr during the evening. Our next address is Lucerne, poste restante. A thousand good wishes and greetings, and goodbye! M. Sivers
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| 262. Correspondence with Marie Steiner 1901–1925: Correspondence 60
06 Nov 1907, Marie Steiner |
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| In September 1904, a branch was formed in Dresden under the leadership of Hermann Ahner, who always remained small, was always uncomprehending towards Rudolf Steiner, and did not join the Anthroposophical Society in 1913. |
| 262. Correspondence with Marie Steiner 1901–1925: Correspondence 60
06 Nov 1907, Marie Steiner |
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60To Marie von Sivers in Berlin Vienna, November 6, 1907 My darling! There are many foolish Theosophists; but the most foolish of them all seem to be the heads of the Vienna Lodge 32. One can only hope that something will gradually emerge from the existing situation, as in other cities. For the time being, it is only clear that a Fräulein v. Tachauer 33 promises more. She is educated, ambitious in a certain way – only afflicted with the general Austrian inner fickleness. I have connected her with the Munich ladies, and so perhaps there is a possibility that she will absorb something. Yesterday after the internal evening, one had to be together with the heads for a while. It was a “beautiful” thing to see how, with the dullness, especially there, the arrogance grows - bleak. The state of affairs here will probably sufficiently illustrate the fact that the “members” of the lodge for the most part do not even consider it necessary to attend the public lectures because they “already know it all.” So they say. Yesterday at the “internal” meeting, I already said a few words about it, and tomorrow I will have to come back to it again. For the otherwise existing smugness of knowledge becomes a real scandal with all these “old” Theosophists. Prague 34 is really much better. And the current stay there seems to be very successful in a certain respect. Vienna is a city that is backward in every respect; and Theosophy seems to be the essence of backwardness here. I will now be in Graz on the 8th and 9th, and in Klagenfurt on the 10th and 11th. At least I have now organized my affairs telegraphically. It will perhaps not be good to go to Dresden now. But I still want to see. December would be better for me. I would like to be in Berlin on Tuesday after all. Because it seems necessary to me for reasons that I will tell you later, that I have an appointment with Moltke 35 And it would be a shame if an “elemental event” were to occur right now. But for the time being we will say nothing about any of this. Besides, this time it will really be necessary to have a day off from lectures, especially in front of dull listeners. That alone is exhausting. You cannot imagine how everything rebounds when you speak to such minds, as is often the case. And then to Vienna 37 - still Dresden. But as I said, I still want to see. Please send from me as a gift to Mrs. Pauline Specht 38 in Vienna IX Berggasse 21: The “Pillars and Seals”, then “Education of the Child”, “Blood is a Special Juice” and “Our Father”. But Bösé should not send cash again. This should be sent free of charge. Give my warmest regards from your Rdlf. Graz I will live: Grand Hotel Elefant Klagenfurt: Hotel Moser.
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