rom the Standpoint of Physiology and the Theory of Evolution
(1872). The most significant philosophers said that it was the
best writing against Eduard von Hartmann and his philosophy. The writing
was sensational. The naturalists realised that it was written by a naturalist
and that Eduard von Hartmann was disproved thoroughly. The second edition
of the same anonymous writing appeared soon afterwards, however, with
the name of the author, namely with the name of Eduard von Hartmann!
It was an ingenious mystification! Indeed, I am not a Hartmannian or
follower of the Philosophy of the Unconscious, but this philosophy
stands higher and contains more than one can otherwise bring forward
from the pessimistic side. Hartmann showed that one only needs to scale
down his point of view to understand the matters in question still much
deeper than the opponents. Thus spiritual science or theosophy may also
express itself in such a way like those who believe to be the best naturalists.
I have said this to show that one may also disprove theosophy in similar
way. However, theosophy may give this rebuttal better than any other.
We have to take into consideration
that we deal with very difficult chapters and that it is exceptionally
laborious to penetrate into these regions. However, it is even more
difficult to find the appropriate means of expression within our language
only shaped for the external sensuous world. One has to use everything
possible to dress the fine, subtle concepts and the views which are
taken from purely spiritual worlds into clear language. Nevertheless,
I attempt to pictorially and clearly express what is familiar to me
as experience in these higher fields. You find the relevant periods
of the big world evolution also shown in the theosophical literature.
But you find them shown more schematically than I will do it today.
I do not make any objection to this schematic description which may
also be useful and gives clear concepts of this evolution to the reason.
One can learn this from the theosophical manuals. However, I would like
to describe it somewhat clearer.
We have seen the human being
facing us as another being in very distant times taking on the physical
dress only bit by bit not having his origin from the physical but from
the psychic. We have seen the psychic leading the way of the physical,
the psychic developing the forces in itself by which it can gradually
clothe itself in this physical dress. All that has been shown. At the
same time, we have drawn our attention to the fact that we can trace
back the human being, as well as he faces us today, only through a certain
number of periods.
We are within the fifth
age of our physical earth development. Another age preceded it that
took place on a continent which forms the bottom of the Atlantic today.
And another age preceded this Atlantean age called the Lemurian age.
At that time, in the middle of the Lemurian age, we find that, actually,
that connects with the human being, as well as he had developed till
then which we call our immortal spirit. This higher element, this higher
nature of the human being which outlasts any physical corporeality and
any psychic development in other words the eternal in the human being
this has established itself in those days. If we want to express ourselves
figuratively, we may call it a spiritual spark in the human nature,
so that the human being faces us till then as the connection of soul
and body. Up to the middle of the Lemurian age, our ancestors were bodily-psychic
If we want to conceive a
clear idea how these human ancestors were in some way, actually, we
have to remember that the spirit is inseparably connected with any really
higher thinking. Without spirit the human being could not count, without
spirit he could not speak, without spirit no higher spiritual activity,
never mind still higher activities would be possible. So that we deal
with a human being till then who waited to become mind-endowed who did
not yet have the immortal part who had, however, a soul-life that was
completely different from ours. Our