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diff --git a/.gitattributes b/.gitattributes new file mode 100644 index 0000000..d7b82bc --- /dev/null +++ b/.gitattributes @@ -0,0 +1,4 @@ +*.txt text eol=lf +*.htm text eol=lf +*.html text eol=lf +*.md text eol=lf diff --git a/LICENSE.txt b/LICENSE.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6312041 --- /dev/null +++ b/LICENSE.txt @@ -0,0 +1,11 @@ +This eBook, including all associated images, markup, improvements, +metadata, and any other content or labor, has been confirmed to be +in the PUBLIC DOMAIN IN THE UNITED STATES. + +Procedures for determining public domain status are described in +the "Copyright How-To" at https://www.gutenberg.org. + +No investigation has been made concerning possible copyrights in +jurisdictions other than the United States. Anyone seeking to utilize +this eBook outside of the United States should confirm copyright +status under the laws that apply to them. diff --git a/README.md b/README.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000..51d375a --- /dev/null +++ b/README.md @@ -0,0 +1,2 @@ +Project Gutenberg (https://www.gutenberg.org) public repository for +eBook #55586 (https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/55586) diff --git a/old/55586-0.txt b/old/55586-0.txt deleted file mode 100644 index cfb051f..0000000 --- a/old/55586-0.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,1684 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Education of Children, by Rudolf Steiner - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and most -other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions -whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of -the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at -www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you'll have -to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this ebook. - -Title: The Education of Children - From the standpoint of theosophy - -Author: Rudolf Steiner - -Release Date: September 20, 2017 [EBook #55586] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: UTF-8 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE EDUCATION OF CHILDREN *** - - - - -Produced by Chris Curnow, Les Galloway and the Online -Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This -file was produced from images generously made available -by The Internet Archive) - - - - - - - - THE EDUCATION - OF CHILDREN - - FROM THE STANDPOINT - OF THEOSOPHY - - BY - RUDOLF STEINER - PH. D. (VIENNA) - - AUTHORIZED TRANSLATION - FROM THE SECOND GERMAN EDITION - - [Colophon] - - AMERICAN EDITION - - _THE RAJPUT PRESS._ - - [Further colophon] - - _CHICAGO._ - - 1911 - - - - - COPYRIGHT 1911, BY WELLER VAN HOOK, IN THE - UNITED STATES OF AMERICA - - IN VIEW OF THE MANY UNAUTHORIZED TRANSLATIONS OF DR. RUDOLF STEINER’S - WORKS, THE PUBLISHER BEGS TO GIVE NOTICE THAT ALL AUTHORISED EDITIONS, - ISSUED UNDER THE EDITORSHIP OF MR. MAX GYSI, BEAR THE SYMBOL OVERLEAF - (CROSS IN PENTAGRAM). - - MAX GYSI, Editor, - “Adyar,” Park Drive, - Hampstead, London, N. W. - - - - - THE EDUCATION OF CHILDREN - - FROM THE STANDPOINT OF THEOSOPHY - - (TRANSLATED BY W. B.) - - -Present day life calls into question many things which man has -inherited from his ancestors hence the numberless questions of the day, -as for example: the Social Problem, the Woman’s Movement, Education and -School Questions, Law Reform, Hygiene, Sanitation, and so forth. We try -to grapple with these questions in manifold ways. The number of those -who bring forward this or that remedy in order to solve this or that -question, or at least to contribute something towards its solution, is -immeasurably great, and every possible shade of opinion is manifested -in these endeavors; radicalism, carrying itself with a revolutionary -air; the moderate view, full of respect for existing things and -desirous of fashioning out of them something new; or conservatism, up -in arms, whenever old institutions and traditions are tampered with; -and besides these main attitudes, there are all sorts of intermediary -points of view. - -He who is able to probe deeply into life cannot help feeling one thing -with regard to these phenomena—that the claims which are placed before -men in our time are met repeatedly by inadequate means. Many would like -to re-form life, without really knowing it from its foundations. He -who would put forth a proposition as to life in the future, must not -content himself with merely learning to know life superficially. He -must probe it to its depths. - -Life is like a plant that contains not only that which is visible -to the eye, but also a future condition concealed within its secret -depths. He who has before him a plant that is just in leaf, is -well aware that later on blossoms and fruit will be added to the -leaf-bearing stem. The germs of these blossoms and fruit are already -concealed within the plant. But it is impossible for one who merely -regards it in its present condition to say how these organs will -ultimately appear. Only he who is acquainted with the nature of the -plant can do so. - -Human life also contains within itself the germs for its future. -But to be able to say anything about this future one must penetrate -into the hidden nature of man, and this, the present age, has no real -inclination to do. It busies itself with the surface and thinks itself -treading on unsafe ground should it advance into that which is hidden -from external observation. With the plant it is true the matter is -considerably simpler. We know that its like has often and often brought -forth flowers and fruit. Human life exists but once and the flowers -which it is to bring forth in the future were not previously there. -None the less they exist in human life in embryo, just as much as the -flowers of the plant which at present is only just bearing leaves. - -And it is possible to say something about this future, when one -penetrates beneath the surface, into the heart of human nature. The -different reformatory ideas of the present can only become really -fruitful and practical, when they are the result of this deep research -into human life. - -Theosophy is suited by its very nature to present a practical -philosophy, comprehending the whole sphere of human life. Whether or -not Theosophy, or that which in our time so often passes for it, is -justified in putting forth such a claim, is not the point. The point -concerns rather the nature of Theosophy and what, by means of this -nature, it is able to accomplish. It ought not to be a colorless theory -to satisfy the mere curiosity of knowledge, nor yet a medium for those -men who, out of selfishness, would like to win for themselves a higher -grade of evolution. It can contribute something to the most important -problems of present day Humanity, in the development of its well-being. - -Of course if it acknowledges a mission of this kind it must expect to -meet with all manner of opposition and doubt. Radicals, Moderates and -Conservatives of all departments in life will surely raise such doubts -against it. For at first it will be unable to please any one party, -because its doctrines reach far beyond all party motives. - -And these doctrines have their roots wholly and solely in the true -understanding of life. Only he who understands life will be able to -take his lessons from life itself. He will draw up no capricious -schemes, for he knows that no other fundamental laws of life will -prevail in the future than such as prevail in the present. Theosophy -will therefore of necessity have respect for the existing state of -things. Even, should it still find in what is existent, very much that -might be improved, yet it will not fail to perceive in the present -the germs of the future. But it knows, too, that for all things -nascent there is a growth and a development. Therefore the germs for -a transformation and for a future growth will appear to Theosophy in -the existing state of things. It invents no schemes, it only calls -them forth from what already exists. But that which is so called forth -becomes in a certain sense itself a scheme, for it contains within -itself the nature of evolution. - -For this very reason the theosophical way of delving into the nature of -man must yield the most fruitful and practical means for the solution -of the vitally important questions of the present time. - -It is my purpose to apply this to one such question, namely that of -education. We do not intend to advance any claims or pronounce a -learned dissertation, but to portray simply the child nature. From a -study of the nature of the growing man, the educational standpoint here -suggested will develop quite naturally. But to proceed rightly with -such a study it is necessary to contemplate the hidden nature of man in -general. - -That which is cognised by the physical perception, that which the -materialistic view of life considers to be the only important element -in the nature of man, namely, his physical body, forms, according to -spiritual research, only a part, a principle of human nature. This -physical body is subject to the same laws of physical life, is composed -of the same matter and forces, as all the rest of the so-called -lifeless world. Theosophy, therefore, maintains that man possesses this -physical aspect in common with the whole of the mineral kingdom. And it -considers as physical body that part only in man which is able to mix, -unite, to build up and to dissolve the very same materials, and after -identical laws, as are also at work in the mineral world. - -Now besides this physical body, Theosophy recognizes a second element -in the constitution of man—namely a vital or etheric body. And that -there may be no cause for the physicist to reject the term etheric body -we would point out that etheric is here used in a different sense from -the hypothetical ether of physics, and it must be taken to mean here -that which is about to be described. - -It has been considered for some time past a most unscientific -proceeding to speak of an “etheric body” of this kind. At the end of -the eighteenth and in the first half of the nineteenth century, it -is true, it was not considered “unscientific.” It was then said that -matter and force operating in a mineral could not of their own power -form themselves into a living being. For this there must be an especial -indwelling “force,” which was termed “vital force.” It was represented -indeed that such a force operates in plants, in animals, and in human -bodies, and produces the phenomena of life just as magnetic force in -the magnet causes attraction. In the succeeding period of materialism -this theory had been abandoned. It was then said that a living being -builds itself up in the same way as a so-called lifeless being; no -other forces prevail in an organism than those which are in the -mineral—they only operate in a more complicated manner; they build up -a more complex structure. At the present time, only the most obstinate -materialists cling to this denial of the “vital force.” A number of -natural philosophers have taught that one must nevertheless admit some -such thing as a vital force of a life-principle. - -Thus the new science approaches in a certain sense the teaching -of Theosophy in regard to the vital body. Nevertheless there is a -considerable difference between the two. Science today, by means of -intellectual observations founded on the facts of ordinary perception, -has accepted the idea of a kind of vital force. But this is not the -method of a truly spiritual research, such as Theosophy aims at, and -from the results of which proceed the theosophical teachings. It cannot -be pointed out too often, how Theosophy on this point differs from the -current science of the day. The latter considers the experience of the -senses to be the basis of all knowledge, and whatever is not built upon -this basis it treats as unknowable. From the impressions of the senses -it draws deductions and conclusions. But anything that goes further it -puts aside, as being beyond the limits of human knowledge. To Theosophy -such a prospect resembles the view of a blind man who only takes into -consideration those things that he can touch, and what he may infer -from the touched object by reasoning, but who sets aside the statements -of those who can see as being beyond the faculty of human perception. -For Theosophy shows that man is capable of evolution, that through -the developing of new organs he may conquer for himself new worlds. -Around the blind man there is color and light, but he cannot perceive -them, because he does not possess the requisite organs. Around man, so -Theosophy teaches, there are many worlds, and he can observe them, if -only he develops the organs necessary for the purpose. - -Even as the blind man looks upon a new world as soon as he has -undergone a successful operation, so can man, through the developing -of higher organs, perceive worlds quite different from those which -he observed at first with his ordinary senses. Now whether or not -it is possible to operate on one who is bodily blind depends on the -conditions of the organs; but those higher organs by which one may -penetrate into the upper worlds, exist in embryo in every human being. -Anyone can develop them, who has the patience, endurance and energy to -make use of those methods which are described in my two books entitled -“The Way of Initiation” and “Initiation and Its Results.”[1] - -Theosophy does not speak of limitations to man’s knowledge through -his organism; but says, on the contrary, that he is surrounded by -worlds for which he has the organs of perception. It indicates the -means by which to extend the temporary limits. It also occupies itself -with the investigation of the vital, or etheric body, and to what -in the following may be called the yet higher principles of human -nature. It admits that only the physical body can be accessible to the -investigation of the bodily senses, and that from this standpoint one -can at most only chance on something higher by a train of reasoning. -But it gives information as to how one can open up for oneself a world -in which these higher principles of human nature appear before the -observer, just as the colors and light of objects appear before the -blind-born person after his operation. For those who have developed the -higher organs of perception, the etheric or vital body is an object -of actual observation, and not a theory resulting from intellectual -activity or a train of reasoning. - -Man has this etheric, or vital body, in common with the plants and -animals. It causes the matter and forces of the physical body to -form themselves into the manifestations of growth, of reproduction, -of the internal motions of the fluids, etc. It is also the builder -and sculptor of the physical body, its inhabitant and its architect. -The physical body can therefore also be called an image or expression -of this vital body. Both are approximately the same in man as regards -form and size, yet they are by no means quite alike. But the etheric -body in animals and still more in plants, differs considerably from the -physical body with regard to its shape and dimension. - -The third principle of the human being is the so-called body of -feeling, or astral body. It is the vehicle of pain and pleasure, of -impulse, desire, passion, and so forth. An entity composed merely of -a physical and an etheric body has nothing of all this, to which may -be ascribed the term—sensation. The plant has no sensation. If many a -learned man of our time concludes that plants have a certain power of -sensation, from the fact that many of them respond to a stimulus, by -movement, or in other ways, he merely shows that he does not know the -essence of sensation. The point is, not whether the being in question -responds to an outward stimulus, but rather whether the stimulus -reflects itself through an inner experience, such as pleasure or pain, -impulse, desire, etc. If this be not the standard of sensation, one -would be justified in asserting that blue litmus paper has a sense of -feeling for certain substances, because on coming into contact with -them, it turns red.[2] - -Man has the astral body in common with the animal world only. It is -thus the medium for the life of sensation and feeling. - -One must not fall into the error of certain theosophical circles and -think that the etheric body and astral body consist merely of finer -matter than that which exists in the physical body. For this would -mean simply the materialisation of these higher principles of human -nature. The etheric body is a form of living forces; it is composed of -active forces, but not of matter—and the astral body or body of feeling -is a form consisting of colored luminous pictures revolving within -themselves.[3] - -The astral body differs in form and size from the physical body. It -appears in man in the form of an oblong egg, in which the physical and -the etheric bodies are embedded. It projects on all sides beyond these -two like a luminous cloud. - -Now in the nature of man there is a fourth principle which he does -not share with other earthly creatures. This is the vehicle of the -human “I”. The little word “I” as we call it in English is a word that -separates itself from all other words. He who duly reflects on the -nature of this word, gains access at the same time to an understanding -of human nature. Every other word may be used by all men in the same -way to suit some corresponding object. Anyone can call a table “table,” -any one can call a chair “chair,” but with the word “I” it is not so. -No one can use it as an indication of some one else, for each person -can only speak of himself as “I”. Never can the word “I” sound in my -ears as a reference to myself. For a man in designating himself “I”, -must name himself within himself. A being that can say to himself “I” -is a world in himself. Those religions which are built up on the basis -of Theosophy have always felt this. They have therefore said that with -the “ego” the God begins to speak within—the God who, among lower -beings, is manifested only from without in the surrounding phenomena. - -The vehicle of this lastly developed capacity is now “the body of the -ego,” the fourth principle of the human being.[4] This body of the -ego is the vehicle of the higher human soul, and through it man is -the crown of all earthly creation. But the ego in present humanity -is by no means a simple entity. Its nature can be recognized when a -comparison is made between men of different stages of evolution. Take -for instance the uneducated savage and the average European, and -compare these again with a lofty idealist. Each one of them has the -faculty of saying to himself “I” for the “body of the ego” is existent -in each of them. But the uncivilized savage gives way with this “I” to -his passions, his impulses and appetites, almost like an animal. The -more highly developed man allows himself to follow certain inclinations -and desires, others he checks or suppresses. The idealist has formed, -in addition to the original inclinations and passions, others that are -higher. This is all due to the fact that the “ego” has been at work -on the other principles of the human being. And it is precisely the -mission of the “ego” to ennoble and purify the other principles by its -own power. - -So the lower principles, under the influence of the “ego,” have become -more or less changed within a man who has surmounted the conditions -in which the outer world has placed him. Take the case of the man who -is just raising himself above the level of the animal—when his “ego” -flashes out he still resembles the animal with regard to his lower -principles. His etheric or vital body is solely the medium of the -living constructive forces of growth and propagation. His astral body -only gives expression to such impulses, desires and passions as are -stimulated by his outer nature. All the time that the man is struggling -on through successive lives, or incarnations, from this degree of -culture to an ever higher evolution, his ego is remodelling the other -principles. In this way the astral body becomes the medium of purified -pleasurable and unpleasurable sensations, refined desires and longings. -And the etheric, or vital body, also transforms itself. It becomes the -vehicle of habits, of permanent inclinations of temperament and of -memory. A man whose ego has not yet influenced his vital body has no -remembrance of the experiences he undergoes. He lives just as he has -been brought up by Nature. - -The whole development of civilisation expresses itself for man in -this working of the ego upon the subordinate principles. This working -penetrates even to the physical body. Under the influence of the ego, -the physiognomy, the gestures and movements, the whole appearance of -the physical body, change. - -One can also discern how differently the various mediums of -civilisation affect the individual principles of the human being. The -common factors of civilisation influence the astral body. They bring -to it other kinds of pleasure, displeasure, impulse, etc., than it -originally had. Absorption in a work of art influences the etheric -body, for a man obtains through a work of art, the presentiment -of something higher and nobler than that which is offered by the -environment of the senses, and thus transforms his vital body. A -powerful means for the purification and ennoblement of the etheric -body is religion. Religious impulses have, in this way, their sublime -mission in the evolution of humanity. - -That which is called conscience is nothing but the result of the work -of the ego on the vital body, through a succession of incarnations. -When a man perceives that he must not do certain things, and when -through this perception, an impression is made on him, deep enough to -communicate itself to his etheric body, the conscience begins to be -formed. - -Now this work of the ego on the subordinate principles can either be -one that belongs rather to the whole human race, or it can be quite -individually a work of the single ego upon itself. In the first change -of man, to a certain extent, the whole human race takes part; the -latter must depend on the inner activity of the ego. When the ego grows -strong enough entirely to remodel the astral body through its own -strength, then that which the ego makes of this astral body or body -of feeling is called the “Spirit-Self” (Geistesselbst)[5] or as they -say in the East, Manas. This transformation consists essentially in -an imbuing, in an enriching of the inner being with higher ideas and -perceptions. But the ego can arrive at yet higher and more intimate -work with regard to the special entity of man. This occurs when not -merely the astral body is enriched, but when the etheric or vital -body becomes transformed. Man learns a certain amount in the course of -life, and when he looks back on his life from any point, he is able to -say to himself: “I have learnt much,” but how much less is he able to -speak of a change of temperament and character, of an improvement or -deterioration of the memory, during life. Learning affects the astral -body, whilst the latter transformations affect the ethic or vital body. -It would therefore be no inapt simile to compare the change of the -astral body in life to the movement of the minute-hand of the clock, -the change of the vital body to that of the hour-hand. - -When a man enters upon the higher, or so-called occult training, the -chief thing to bear in mind is that he at once begins this latter -transformation by the innermost might of the ego. He must work quite -consciously and individually at the changing of habits, temperament, -character, memory, etc. As much of this vital body as he works upon in -this way becomes transformed into the “Life-Spirit” (Lebensgeist), or -as the Eastern expression has it, into Buddhi. - -On a yet higher stage of evolution man attains to powers by which he -can effect a transformation of his physical body (as for example, -changing the pulse and the circulation of the blood). As much of the -physical body as is transformed in this way, is called “Spirit-Man” -(Geistesmensch)—Atma. - -The changes which are effected in the lower principles by man, not as -an individual, but rather as a whole group of the human race, or a -part of it, such as a nation, a tribe, or a family—have in Theosophy, -the following names. The astral body, or body of feeling, when -transformed by the ego is called the emotional soul; the transformed -etheric body becomes the rational soul, and the transformed physical -body, the self-conscious soul. But it is not to be supposed that the -transformation of these three principles takes place successively. -It takes place in all three bodies simultaneously, from the moment -when the ego flashes out. Indeed the work of the ego is not generally -speaking perceptible until a part of the self-conscious soul is formed. - -It is seen from the foregoing paragraph that there are four principles -in the Being of Man: the physical body, the etheric or vital body, -the astral or body of feeling and the ego-body;—the emotional soul, -the rational soul, the self-conscious soul—and indeed the yet higher -principles of human nature also,—the Spirit-Self (Manas), the -Life-Spirit (Buddhi), the Spirit-Man (Atma) appear as the products of -the transformation of these four principles. In speaking about the -sources of our human capacities, only these four principles can be -taken into account. - -As a teacher works upon these four principles of the human -constitution, one must, in order to work in the right way, penetrate -into the nature of these divisions of man. Now it must by no means -be imagined that these parts develop themselves in man in such a way -that at any one moment of his life—say at his birth—they are all -equally advanced. On the contrary their development takes place at the -various life-periods in a different way. And the right foundations for -education and instruction depend on the knowledge of this law of the -evolution of human nature. - -Before physical birth the nascent human being is enclosed on all sides -by an alien physical body. It does not come into contact independently -with the outward physical world. The physical body of the mother forms -its environment. This body alone can influence the maturing fœtus. -Physical birth consists precisely in the fact that the physical body -of the mother releases the child, thereby causing the surroundings -of the physical world to influence him immediately. The senses open -themselves to the outward world, and this latter is thereby able -to exercise those influences over the child which were previously -exercised by the physical body of the mother. - -For a spiritual comprehension of the world such as is represented by -Theosophy, the physical body is then actually born, but not yet the -etheric or vital body. As the child until the moment of its birth is -surrounded by the physical body of the mother, so too until the time -of his second teeth, about the age of seven, is he surrounded by an -etheric and an astral covering. Not until the time of the change of -teeth does the etheric covering release the etheric body. Then until -the time of puberty there still remains an astral covering.[6] At this -period the astral or desire body also becomes free on all sides, as did -the physical body at the time of the physical birth and the etheric -body at the time of the second teeth. - -Thus then, Theosophy must speak of three births of man. Certain -impressions, which are intended to reach the etheric body can reach it -as little, up to the time of the second teeth, as the light and air of -the physical world can reach the physical body while it remains in the -womb of the mother. - -Before the coming of the second teeth the free vital body is not at -work. As the physical body, whilst in the womb of the mother, receives -powers which are not its own, and within that protective covering -gradually develops its own, so is this also the case with these later -powers of growth, until the time of the second teeth. Only at this -period does the etheric body perfect its own powers in conjunction with -the inherited and alien ones. During this time, while the etheric -body is freeing itself, the physical body is already independent. The -etheric body which is gradually freeing itself, perfects that which -it has to give to the physical body. And the final point of this work -is the child’s own teeth, which come in the place of those he has -inherited. They are the densest things embedded in the physical body -and therefore at this period appear last. - -After this period, the child’s own etheric body takes care of its -growth alone. Only the latter still remains under the influence of -an enveloped astral body. As soon as the astral body becomes free as -well, a period is terminated for the etheric body. This termination -takes place at the time of puberty. The reproductive organs become -independent, because from henceforth the free astral body does not -work inwardly, but openly encounters the external world. - -As one is not able to let the influences of the outward world affect -the child physically before it is born, so those powers (which are the -same to him as the impressions of the physical surroundings to the -physical body) should not be allowed to affect the etheric body before -the time of the second teeth. And the corresponding influences upon the -astral body ought only to be brought into play at the time of puberty. - -Common phrases, such as, “the harmonious training of all the powers and -talents,” and the like cannot form the foundation for a true system of -education, for this can only be built upon a genuine knowledge of the -human being. We do not mean to affirm that the above-mentioned phrases -are incorrect, but only that they are as valueless as if one were to -say with regard to a machine, that all its parts must be brought into -harmonious working order. Only he who approaches it, not with mere -phrases, but with a real knowledge of the particular kind of machine, -can handle it. This applies also to the art of education, to the -knowledge of the principles in a human being and of their individual -developments; one must know which part of the human being should be -influenced at a certain time of life, and how to bring such influences -to bear upon him in a suitable manner. There is indeed no doubt that -a really intelligent system of education, such as is outlined in -these pages, can make its way but slowly. This is due to the manner of -viewing things in our day, wherein the facts of the spiritual world -will still be considered for a long time as merely the overflow of a -mad fantasy, while common-place and entirely superficial phrases will -be regarded as the result of a really practical way of thinking. We -shall here proceed to give a free outline of what will be considered by -many at the present time a mere mirage of the fancy, but which will in -time come to be an accepted fact. - -At physical birth, the physical human body is exposed to the physical -environment of the external world, whilst previously it was encircled -by the protective body of the mother. That which the forces and fluids -of the mother’s body did to it previously must now be done by the -forces and elements of the outer physical world. Up to the time of the -second teething, at the age of seven, the human body has a mission to -perform for itself, which is essentially different from the missions -of all the other life-epochs. The physical organs must form themselves -into certain shapes during this time; then structural proportions must -take definite directions and tendencies. Later on growth takes place, -but this growth in all future time proceeds on the bases of the shapes -which were in process of formation until the time mentioned. If normal -shapes have been forming themselves, normal shapes will afterwards -grow, and conversely from abnormal bases will proceed abnormal results. -One cannot make amends in all the succeeding years for that which, as -guardian, one has neglected during the first seven years. As the right -environment for the physical human body is provided by Nature, before -birth, so after birth it is the duty of the guardian to provide it. -Only this correct physical environment influences the child in such a -way that his physical organs mould themselves into the normal forms. - -There are two magic words which epitomise the relation which is -formed between the child and its environment. These are: Imitation -and Example. Aristotle, the Greek philosopher, called man the most -imitative of animals, and for no other period of life is this more -applicable than for the age of childhood up to the time of the second -teething. The child imitates whatever takes place in its physical -environment, and in the imitation his physical organs mould themselves -into the forms which then remain to them. The term physical environment -is to be taken in the widest sense imaginable. To it belongs not only -that which takes place materially round the child, but everything that -is enacted in his surroundings, everything that may be observed by his -senses, everything that from all points of physical space can influence -his spiritual forces. To it also belong all actions, moral or immoral, -sensible or foolish, that the child may see. - -It is not by moral texts, nor by rational precepts, but by what is -done visibly before the child by the grown-up people around him, that -he is influenced in the manner indicated. Instruction produces effects -only upon the etheric body, not upon the physical, and up to the -age of seven the etheric body is surrounded by a protective etheric -shell, just as the physical body until physical birth is surrounded -by the body of the mother. That which ought to be developed in this -etheric body in the way of ideas, habits, memory, etc., before the -age of seven, must develop itself “spontaneously,” in the same way -as the eyes and ears develop themselves in the womb of the mother -without the influence of the external light. It is written in an -excellent educational book, Jean Paul’s _Levana_ or _Pedagogics_, that -a world-traveller learns more from his nurse in his early years than -in all of his travels put together. This is undoubtedly true, but -the child does not learn by instruction, but by imitation. And his -physical organs form themselves through the influence of his physical -surroundings. A healthy vision is formed when the right colors and -conditions of light are brought into the child’s environment, and the -physical foundations for a healthy moral nature are formed in the brain -and in the circulation of the blood, when the child sees moral things -in his environment. When the child, up to the age of seven, sees only -foolish actions taking place around him, his brain assumes such forms -as to make him also, in later life, capable only of foolishness. - -As the muscles of the hand grow strong and powerful when they do work -suitable for them, so the brain and the other organs of the physical -human body will be directed towards the right path, if they receive -the right impressions from their environment. An example will best -illustrate the point in question. A doll can be made out of an old -piece of cloth, by making two corners serve for arms, two for legs and -a knot for the head, with the eyes, nose and mouth painted in ink—or -a so-called “beautiful” doll can be bought with real hair and painted -cheeks, and given to the child. The latter, it is hardly necessary to -say, is really horrible, and is calculated to ruin the child’s sound -aesthetic taste for life. Here the question of education is quite a -different one. If the child has the rag-doll to look at, it has to -complete out of its own imagination the impression of a human being -which the doll is intended to convey. This work of the imagination -helps to build up the forms of the brain, so that it opens up as the -muscles of the hand expand by doing their natural work. When the child -possesses the so-called “beautiful doll,” there is nothing further for -the brain to do. It becomes, as it were, stunted and dried up, instead -of expanding itself. If people could look into the brain after the -manner of the occultist and see it building itself up into forms, they -would certainly only give their children that kind of plaything which -is really able to stimulate the creative powers of the brain. All toys -that are only composed of dead mathematical forms have a desolating -and deadening effect on the child’s formative powers, whilst on the -other hand everything that stimulates the perception of something -living tends to influence in the right direction. Our materialistic -age produces but few good toys—such for instance as that in which two -movable pieces of wood are made to represent two smiths facing one -another and hammering at some object. Such things may still be bought -in the country. Very good also are those picture books in which the -figures are made to be pulled by strings, thus enabling the child to -transform the dead picture into a representation of action. All this -produces an inner activity of the organs, and out of this activity the -right form of the organs builds itself up. - -Of course these things can only just be indicated here, but in the -future occult science will be called upon to point out that which in -each particular case is necessary, and this it is able to do. For it -is not an empty abstraction, but a body of vital facts quite able to -furnish the guiding-lines for practical matters. - -One or two further examples will serve as illustrations. According -to occult science a so-called nervous excitable child should be -treated differently from a lethargic and inactive one, with regard to -its surroundings. Everything must be taken into consideration, from -the color of the room and the various objects by which the child -is generally surrounded, to the color of the clothes in which it is -dressed. One may often do the wrong thing, unless willing to be guided -by occult science, for a materialistic tendency will in many cases hit -on just the opposite of what is right. An excitable child should be -clothed and surrounded with red or reddish-yellow colors, whilst for -the opposite type of child, blue or bluish-green should be selected. -For, in accordance with the color used outwardly is the complementary -color produced inwardly. Thus, for instance, green is produced by red; -orange-yellow by blue, and of this one may easily be convinced by -looking for a time on a spot of a particular color and then quickly -directing the eyes to a white surface. This complementary color is -produced by the physical organs of the child, and in turn reacts upon -the corresponding organic structures necessary to the child. Red in -the environment of an excitable child produces inwardly the green -complementary picture. The activity thus produced by the sensation of -green has a calming effect and the organs take upon themselves the -tendency to composure. - -One rule must invariably be taken into consideration at this period -of life—that the physical body has to create for itself the standard -of what is suitable to it. It does this through the corresponding -development of desire. Generally speaking it may be said that the -healthy physical body desires only what is good for it. And as long -as it is a question only of the physical body of the growing child, -one ought to notice carefully what it is that is sought by the healthy -desires, cravings and pleasures. Joy and pleasure are the powers which -draw out the physical forms of the organs, in the best way. - -A very great error may be committed in this direction by not placing -the child in the suitable physical conditions with regard to its -environment. This can especially be the case with regard to the -instinct of nourishment. The child can be overfed with things that -make him completely lose healthy instincts of nourishment, whilst -through correct feeding they can be preserved for him so fully, that -he will ask (even to a glass of water) for that which under given -circumstances is good for him, and will refuse anything that may be -harmful. When occult science is called upon to construct a system of -education, it will be able to specify, even to the particular articles -of nourishment and table luxuries, all that has here to be considered. -For it is a practical teaching, applicable to life, and no mere -colorless theory—as indeed one might suppose, from the mistakes of many -Theosophists of today. - -Among the forces therefore which affect the physical organs by -moulding them, must be included an element of joy with and amid -the surroundings. Let the guardian be cheerful of countenance, and -above all things let there be true and not artificial love—a love -that flowing warmly through the physical environment, as it were, -incubates, in the true sense of the word, the forms of the physical -organs. - -When within such an atmosphere of love, the imitation of healthy models -is possible, the child is in his right element. Special attention -should therefore be given that nothing may happen in the child’s -environment that he should not imitate. Nothing should be done that -would necessitate saying to the child “You must not do that.” Of the -way in which the child tries to imitate, one may be convinced by -observing how it can copy written letters long before it can understand -them. It is indeed an advisable thing for the child to copy the written -characters first, and then later to learn their meaning. For imitation -belongs to the developing stage of the physical body, whilst the -mind responds to the etheric body, and this latter ought only to be -influenced after the time of the second teeth, when its outer etheric -covering is gone. Especially should the learning of speech by means of -imitation take place in these years. For _by hearing_ the child best -learns to speak. All rules and artificial teaching can do no good at -all. - -In the early years of childhood it is especially important that such -means of education as, for instance, songs for children should make -as beautiful a rhythmic impression on the senses as possible. The -importance lies in the beautiful sound rather than in the sense. The -more invigorating the effect which anything can have upon the eye and -ear, the better it is. The power of building up the organs which lies -in dancing movements when put to a musical rhythm, for example, must -not be under-estimated. - -With the change of teeth the etheric body throws off its outer -covering, and then the time begins in which the training of the etheric -body may be carried on from without. One must be clear as to what it is -that can influence the etheric body in this way. The transformation and -growth of the etheric body signify, respectively, the transformation -and development of the affections, the habits, conscience, character, -memory and temperament. One is able to influence the etheric body by -pictures, by example, by regulated guidance of the imagination. Just -as the child, until it has reached the age of seven, ought to be given -a physical model which it can imitate, so too, in the environment of -the developing child, between the period of the second teeth and that -of puberty, everything should be brought into play that possesses an -inner sense and value upon which the child may direct his attention. -All that conduces to thought, all that works through image and parable, -has now its rightful place. - -The etheric body develops its power when a well regulated imagination -is directed upon that which it can unravel or extract for its guidance -from living images and parables, or from such as are addressed to the -spirit. It is _concrete_ and not _abstract_ ideas that can rightly -influence the growing body—ideas that are spiritually rather than -materially concrete. A spiritual standpoint is the right means of -education during these years. It is therefore of paramount importance -that the youth at this period has around him in his guardians -themselves personalities through whose points of view the desirable -intellectual and moral powers may be awakened in him. - -As “imitation” and “example” are the magic words for the training of -children in their early years, so for the years now in question the -corresponding words are “hero-worship” and “authority.” Natural and -not forced authority must supply the immediate spiritual standpoint, -with the help of which the youth forms for himself conscience, habits -and inclinations, brings his temperament into regulated paths, and -wins his own outlook on this world. The beautiful words of the poet: -“Everyone must choose his own hero, in whose steps he may find the way -to Olympus,” are of special value with regard to this epoch of life. - -Veneration and reverence are powers that assist the etheric body to -grow in the right way. And he to whom it is impossible, during this -period, to look up to anyone with unlimited reverence, will have to -suffer on that account for the rest of his life. When this veneration -is missing, the vital forces of the etheric body are checked. Picture -to yourself the following in its effect on the youthful disposition: -a boy of eight years of age is told of a person highly esteemed. All -that he hears about him fills him with holy awe. The day draws near on -which he is to see this honored person for the first time. A profound -reverence overcomes him when he hears the bell-ring at the door, behind -which the object of his veneration is to become visible. The beautiful -feelings which are produced by such an experience, belong to the -lasting acquisitions of life. And _that_ man is fortunate, who not only -during the happy moments of life, but continuously, is able to look up -to his teachers and instructors as to his natural authorities. - -To these living authorities, to these embodiments of moral and -intellectual power, must be added the authorities perceived of the -spirit. The grand examples of history, the tales of model men and -women, must fix the conscience and the intellectual tendency—and not -abstract moral truths, which can only do their right work, when, at the -age of puberty, the astral body is freed from its astral covering. - -One ought especially to guide the teaching of history into courses -determined by such points of view. Before the time of the second teeth, -the stories, fairy tales, etc., which are told to the child, can only -have for their aim, joy, recreation, and pleasure. - -After this time it will be necessary to use forethought concerning -the matter that is to be related, so that pictures of life, such as -he can beneficially emulate, may be set before the soul of the young -person. It must not be overlooked that bad habits can be ousted by -pictures correspondingly repulsive. Warnings against such bad habits -and tendencies are at best of little avail, but if one were to let the -living picture of a bad man affect the youthful imagination, explaining -the result to which the tendency in question leads, one would do much -toward its extermination. - -One thing to bear always in mind is, that it is not abstract -representations that influence the developing etheric body, but living -pictures in their spiritual clearness, and, of course, these latter -must be applied with the utmost tact, for otherwise the opposite to -what is desired will be the result. In the matter of stories it is -always a question of the way in which they are told. The verbal -narration of a tale can therefore not be successfully replaced by a -reading of it. - -During the time between the second teeth and puberty, the -spiritually pictorial, or, as one might also call it, the symbolical -representation, ought to be considered in yet another way. It is -necessary that the young person should learn to know the secrets of -nature, the laws of life, as far as possible through symbols and not by -the means of dry and intellectual ideas. Allegories about the spiritual -relation of things ought so to reach the soul that the law and order of -existence underlying the allegories is rather perceived and divined, -than grasped by the means of intellectual ideas. The saying that “all -things transient are only symbols” ought to form an all-important -motto for the education during this period. It is very important for -a person to receive the secrets of nature in allegories before they -appear to his soul in the form of natural laws, etc. An example will -make this clear. Supposing one wished to speak to a young person of the -immortality of the soul, of its going forth from the body, one might -as an instance make the comparison of the butterfly emerging from the -chrysalis. As the butterfly comes forth from the chrysalis, so the soul -comes forth from the shell of the body after death. No one who has not -previously received them by means of some such image, will adequately -grasp the right facts in the abstract ideas. For by such a simile one -speaks not only to the intellect, but also to the sensations and -feelings, to the whole soul. The youth having gone through all this, -approaches the matter in quite a different attitude of mind when it -is given to him later in intellectual conceptions. Indeed the man who -cannot first approach the riddle of existence with this feeling is much -to be pitied. It is necessary that the teacher should have similes at -his disposal for all natural laws and secrets of the world. - -In this matter it is quite clear what an enriching effect occult -science must have upon practical life. Any one constructing from a -materialistic and intellectual mode of representation, similes for -himself and then propounding them to young people, will usually make -but little impression upon them. For such a person ought first to -puzzle out the similes himself with all his mental capacities. Those -similes which one has not first applied for oneself, do not have a -convincing effect on those to whom they are imparted. When one talks to -somebody in parables, then he is not only influenced by what one says -or shows, but there passes a fine spiritual stream from the speaker to -the hearer. Unless the speaker himself has an ardent feeling of belief -in his similes, he will make no impression on the one to whom he gives -them. In order to create a right influence, one must believe in one’s -similes oneself as if in realities; and that can only be done when one -possesses the mystical tendency, and when the similes themselves are -born of occult science. The real occultist does not need to worry -about the above-mentioned simile of the soul going forth from the -body, because for him it is a truth. To him the butterfly evolving -from the chrysalis represents the same experience on a lower stage of -nature’s existence as the going forth of the soul from the body at a -higher stage development. He believes in it with all his might, and -this belief flows forth as if in invisible streams from the speaker -to the listener, and inspires conviction. Direct life-streams then -flow forth from teacher to pupil. But for this end it is necessary -for the teacher to draw from the full source of occult science; it is -necessary that his word and all that goes forth from him, should be -clothed with feeling, warmth and glowing emotion from the true occult -view of life. For this reveals a magnificent perspective of the whole -subject of education. Once the latter allows itself to be enriched from -the life source of occult science, it will itself become permeated -with a profound vitality. It will give up groping in the dark, so -common in this particular domain of thought. All educational methods, -all educational sciences, that do not continually receive a supply of -fresh sap from such roots, are dried up and dead. For all world-secrets -occult science has fitting similes, similes not rising from the mind of -man but drawn from the essence of things, having been laid down as a -basis by the forces of the world at their creation. Occult science must -therefore be the basis for any system of education. - - * * * * * - -A power of the soul to which particular attention ought to be given at -this period of development is that of memory. For the cultivation of -the memory is connected with the transformation of the etheric body. -This has its effect in the fact that precisely during the time between -the coming of the second teeth and that of puberty it becomes free, -so that this is also the period in which the further development of -the memory should be looked after from outside. The memory will be -permanently of less value to the person in question than it might have -been, if at this period what is necessary to it is neglected. That -which has thus been neglected cannot afterwards be retrieved. - -An intellectual and materialistic way of thinking is liable to bring -about many mistakes in this direction. A system of education arising -from this way of thinking is easily prejudiced against that which is -acquired merely by the memory. It will not tire at times of directing -itself with the greatest ardor against the mere training of the memory, -and rather makes use of the most ingenious methods that the young -person may not mechanically absorb what he does not really understand. -An opinion merely intellectual and materialistic is so easily persuaded -that there is no means of penetrating into things except by abstract -ideas; it is only with difficulty that thinkers of this kind come to -the conclusion that the other subjective powers are at least just as -necessary to the comprehension of things, as the intellect itself. It -is not merely a figure of speech to say that one can understand just as -well with the feelings, the emotions, the mind, as with the intellect. -Ideas are only one of the means by which to understand the things of -this world, and only to materialists do they appear the only means. -There are, of course, many people who do not imagine that they are -materialists, but who nevertheless consider an intellectual conception -to be the only means of comprehension. Such men profess perhaps to hold -an idealistic, perhaps even a spiritual conception of the world and -life. But the attitude of their souls toward both is materialistic. -For the intellect is, as a matter of fact, the soul’s instrument for -the comprehension of material things. - -And here, concerning the deeper foundations of the understanding, let -us quote from that excellent educational book, by Jean Paul already -mentioned—a work containing generally golden ideas concerning education -and deserving of much more consideration than at present it receives. -It is of much more value to the guardian than many of the writings -on these lines that enjoy the highest repute. The passage under -consideration runs thus: - -“Do not be afraid of unintelligibility, even if it be of whole -sentences; your look and the manner of your expression, added to the -eager desire to understand, elucidates the one half, and with this, -and in due time, the other half also. For with children, as with the -Chinese and with men of the world, the manner of pronunciation is half -the language. Bear in mind, that they understand their language as well -as we understand Greek or any other foreign tongue before learning to -speak it. Trust to the deciphering of time and to association. A child -of five years of age understands indeed the words “yet,” “truly,” “on -the contrary,” “of course”; but for a definition of them one must go -not to the child, but to the father! The little word “but” reveals a -small philosopher. If the eight-year-old child with his growing power -of speech is understood by a child of three, why should you then -confine your language to his babbling? Always speak several years in -advance (for in books genius speaks to us centuries in advance); with -the child of a year, speak as if it were two, with the child of two as -if it were six, for the difference of growth may diminish in inverse -proportion to the years. Generally speaking, all learning is apt to be -too much ascribed to the credit of the teacher—therefore the teacher -ought to bear in mind that the child possesses half his world, namely, -the spiritual (such as his moral and metaphysical ideas), already -complete and taught within himself, and that therefore a language -composed only of concrete images can never impart spiritual ideas, -but can only light them up. The joy and assurance used in speaking -to children ought to be given as if the assurance and joy came from -themselves. We can learn speech from them, just as we teach them by -means of speech; by means of bold and yet correct word-painting, such -as for instance I have heard spoken by children of three and four years -of age: ‘leg-fish’ for otter; ‘pig-iron’ for the fork used in eating -bacon; ‘the air-mouse’ (unquestionably superior to our word ‘bat’) and -so on.” - -It is true that this passage refers to the understanding (before the -intellectual comprehension) as exercised in another sphere than that of -which we are now speaking, but for this also, the words of Jean Paul -have an important meaning. Just as the child receives into his soul’s -organism the construction of speech, without making use of the laws -of grammatical structure with intellectual comprehension, so too, -for the cultivation of his memory, the youth ought to learn things -of which he will not until later acquire an actual understanding. -That which has been acquired in this period of life, at first in a -purely mechanical way, is best put into ideas, afterwards, just as -one learns more easily the rules of a language when one can already -speak it. All the talk of work learned by rote and not understood is -nothing more than a materialistic prejudice. For instance, the youth -needs only to acquire by a few examples the most necessary rules of -multiplication, for which the fingers are far better suited than an -abacus, and then to learn fully, by rote, the multiplication table. -If one so proceeds, one takes into account the nature of the growing -child. But a mistake may be made with regard to this, if, during the -time that the memory is forming itself, too much is demanded of the -intellect. The intellect being a power of the soul, and only born at -the time of puberty, ought not to receive an outward influence before -this period. Until the time of puberty, the youth should assimilate -into the memory treasures over which mankind has meditated; later on -it is time to permeate with ideas that which has been impressed upon -his memory. A man ought therefore not to retain merely what he has -understood, but he ought now to understand the things that he knows; -that is to say, the things of which he has already taken possession by -means of the memory, just as the child does, when learning to speak. -This applies to a wider sphere. At first, assimilation of historical -events by mere rote, then comprehension of the same by means of ideas. -At first, a good impression upon the memory of geographical data, then -an understanding of the relationship of each thing with the rest, etc. -In certain respects all comprehension through ideas should be done by -means of the stored treasures of the memory. The more the youth already -knows through the memory before he comes to comprehension, the better -it is. It is hardly necessary to explain that all this applies only to -the period, of which we are speaking, and not to any later period. If -one learns a subject in later life, either by going over it again, or -in any other way, the opposite process to that here described might be -correct and desirable, although even then a great deal depends upon the -particular spiritual nature of the student. But at the time of life of -which we have already spoken the spirit must not be parched by being -overcrowded with intellectual ideas. - -It is also true that teaching by mere sense-objects, if carried too -far, is the result of a materialistic view of life. At this age -every idea must be spiritualised. One ought not, for instance, to be -satisfied with merely producing a sense-impression of a plant, a grain -of seed, or a blossom. Everything should seem as an allegory of the -spiritual. A grain of seed is, in truth, not merely what it appears -to the eye. Invisibly the whole new plant inhabits it, and that such -a thing is more than what the sense perceives, must be absolutely -realised with the perception, the imagination, and the feelings. The -mysterious presence of latent existence must really be felt. Nor can it -be objected that such a proceeding would weaken the perception of pure -sense; on the contrary, by a persistent adherence to sense perceptions -alone, Truth itself would be the loser. For the complete reality of a -thing exists in Spirit and in Matter, and accurate observations can -be no less carefully carried out if one brings to the study not only -the physical senses, but also the spiritual faculties. If people could -only perceive, as the Occultist is able to, how both body and soul -are spoiled by mere object-teaching, they would not then lay so much -stress upon it. Of what value is it from the highest point of view, -if young people are shown all kinds of physical experiments in the -mineral, vegetable and animal worlds, if with such a study one does -not suggest the application of the sense allegory to the feeling of -spiritual mystery? Certainly a materialistic mind will not be able to -make anything of what has here been said, and of that the Occultist is -only too conscious. Yet it is also clear to him that a really practical -method of education can never proceed from the materialistic mind. So -practical does such a mind imagine itself, and yet so unpractical is it -in reality, when it is a matter of considering life vitally. Opposed to -the true reality, materialistic opinions seem only fantastic, while -to the materialist, the interpretations of occult science must, of -necessity, appear equally fantastic. Doubtless, too, there will remain -many obstacles which must be overcome before the fundamental teachings -of occult science, arising from life itself, will permeate the art of -education. But that is to be expected, for at present these truths are -strange to many; nevertheless, if they be really the truth, they will -incorporate themselves into all culture. - -Only through the sure conviction that they are the only educational -means by which to work upon young people, can the teacher always find -the right way to deal correctly with each individual case. Thus, he -must know how the individual powers of the soul —such as thinking, -feeling and willing—ought to be treated, and how their development may -react upon the etheric body; while this itself, between the period when -the second teeth appear and that of puberty, can be perfectly moulded -by outside influences. - -The foundations for the development of a healthy and powerful will can -be laid by the right management, during the first seven years, of those -fundamental principles of education which have already been considered. -For such a will must have for its support the fully developed form of -the physical body. From the period of the second teething it begins -to be a matter of making the etheric body, which is now developing, -supply those powers to the physical body by which it can solidify its -form and make itself firm. That which makes the most vivid impression -upon the etheric body also reacts most forcibly upon the strengthening -of the physical. And the strongest impulses are evoked in the etheric -body through those perceptions and ideas by which a person feels and -experiences his own relation to the everlasting Universe, that is -to say, through religious experiences. The will, and along with it, -the character, of a person will never develop healthily if he cannot -experience at this epoch of life, profound religious impulses. The -result of the uniform organisation of the will is that the person feels -himself to be an organic fragment of the whole world. If the person -does not feel himself to be indissolubly connected with a Supreme -Spirit, then must the will and character remain unstable, discordant -and unhealthy. - -The emotional nature is developed in the right direction by means of -the allegories and sense-pictures already described, and especially by -all which, whether from history or from other sources, presents to us -the figures of persons with character. An absorption in the mysteries -and beauties of Nature is also of importance in the upbuilding of the -emotional world. And here it is particularly well to consider the -culture of the sense of beauty, and the awakening of the feeling for -what is artistic. Music should supply that rhythm to the etheric body -which then enables it to perceive in everything the rhythm otherwise -concealed. A young person will be deprived of much in all his after -life, who does not receive at this period the benefit of cultivating -the musical sense. To him in whom this sense is altogether lacking, -a certain aspect of the Universe must remain hidden. Nor should, -however, the other arts be, by any means neglected. The awakening of -the sense for architectural form, as also for plastic shape, for line, -design and harmony of color—not one of these ought to be omitted in -the plan of education. So simply, perhaps, might all this be done, -under special circumstances, that the objection that circumstances -allow of no development at all in this direction can never be valid. -One can do much with the simplest means, if the right sense in this -direction prevails in the teacher himself. The joy of life, the love -for existence, the strength to work—all these arise for the whole -being, out of the cultivation of the sense of beauty and art. And the -relations of man to man—how ennobled and how beautiful will they become -through this sense! The moral sense, which will, at this period, be -developed by pictures of life and by standard authorities, will also -gain a certain stability if, through the sense of beauty, the good is -recognized as beautiful and the bad as ugly. - -Thought in its own shape, as an inner life of distilled ideas, must, -at the period in question, be kept in the background. It must develop -spontaneously, as it were, uninfluenced from without, while the soul -is nourished by means of similes and pictures representing life and -the mysteries of nature. Thus, in the midst of the other experiences -of the soul between the seventh year and the time of puberty, thought -must grow and the faculty for judgment be matured, so that after a -successful puberty the person becomes capable of forming his own -opinions concerning the matters of life and knowledge, with complete -independence. Indeed, the less one works directly upon the critical -faculty, and the more one works indirectly through the development -of the other spiritual powers, the better will it be for the whole -after-life of the person concerned. - -Occult science lays down the principles, not only for the spiritual -side of education, but also for the purely physical. Thus, to give -a characteristic example, let us consider gymnastics and children’s -games. Just as love and joy must permeate the environment during the -first years of childhood, so too the growing etheric body must be -taught really to experience from bodily exercise a feeling of its own -expansion, of its ever increasing strength. For instance gymnastic -exercises ought to be so carried out that with every movement, with -every step, the feeling rises in the inner self of the boy or girl: -“I feel increasing power within me.” And this feeling should manifest -itself within as a healthy delight, as a sensation of pleasure. For -the devising of gymnastic exercises, in this sense, it is of course -necessary to possess more than a merely intellectual knowledge of -the human body, anatomically and physiologically. It is necessary to -possess a close intuitive and sympathetic knowledge of the relation -of joy and comfort to the postures and movements of the human body. -The formulator of such exercises ought himself to experience how -one movement or posture of the limbs will produce a pleasant and -comfortable sensation, but another a loss of strength, and so forth. A -belief that gymnastics and bodily exercises can be cultivated in this -direction is one that can only be supplied to the educator by occult -science, or, above all, by a mind sympathetic to such thought. One -does not even require the power of vision in the spiritual worlds, -but only the inclination to apply to life what has been given out by -occultism. If, especially in such practical departments as this of -education, occult knowledge were applied, then all the useless talk of -how this knowledge has yet to be proved would straightway cease. For -to him who should rightly apply it, this knowledge would itself be a -proof through the whole of life by making him healthy and strong. By -such means he would perceive, through and through, that it is true in -actual practice, and this he would find a better proof than any manner -of “logical” and so-called “scientific” reasons. One can best know -spiritual truths by their fruits, and not through a pretended proof, -however scientific, for such could hardly be anything more than a -logical skirmishing. - -At puberty the astral body is first born. With the free outward -development which follows, all that which is unfolded by the world -of externalised perceptions, by one’s judgment and the unfettered -understanding, will first rush inward upon the soul. It has already -been mentioned that these faculties of the soul, hitherto uninfluenced -from within, ought to be developed by the right management of -educational means, just as unconsciously as the eyes and ears evolve -themselves in the womb. But with puberty the time has arrived when the -person is ready to form his own judgment concerning the things which -he has hitherto learned. No greater injury can be inflicted on any one -than by too soon awakening within him his own judgment. One should -only judge when one has already stored up the necessary qualifications -for judging and comparing. If, before this, one creates one’s own -independent opinions, then these will have no sure foundations. All -one-sidedness in life, all dreary “confessions of faith” which are -based upon a few mere scraps of knowledge, and the desire to judge from -these human conceptions that have been approved through long ages of -time, rest upon just such mistakes in education. Before qualified to -think, one must place before oneself, as a warning, what others have -thought. There is no sound thinking which has not been preceded by a -sound perception of the truth supported by obvious authority. If one -wishes to follow out these principles of education, one must not allow -people, at too early an age, to fancy themselves able to judge, for in -avoiding this, one will leave them the possibility of allowing life -to work upon them from every side, and without prejudice. For by one -such judgment, which is not founded on the precious basis of spiritual -treasures, he who makes it will have placed a stumbling-block in the -path of his life. For if one has pronounced a judgment on any subject, -one will always be influenced by having done so; one will no longer -regard an experience as one might have regarded it, if one had not -erected an opinion which is henceforth intertwined with the subject -in question. In young people the disposition to learn first and then -to judge, should be present. That which the intellect has to say of -a certain subject ought only to be said when all the other powers of -soul have spoken; before that the intellect ought only to play the -part of mediator. It should only serve to lay hold of what is seen and -felt, to apprehend it as it there exists, without allowing the unripe -judgment to take possession of the matter. Therefore the youth ought -to be shielded from all the theories concerning a thing, before the -above-mentioned age, and it should be especially emphasized that he -should face the experiences of life in order to admit them into his -soul. A growing individual can certainly be made acquainted with what -people have thought concerning this or that, but one should avoid -letting him form opinions which arise from a premature judgment. He -should receive opinions with the feelings, without deciding at once for -one view or the other, not attaching himself to a party, but thinking, -as he listens: “One has said this, and the other that.” Before all -things a large measure of tact is necessary in the cultivation of -this sense by teachers and guardians, but occult knowledge is exactly -calculated to supply such tact. - -It has only been possible to develop here a few aspects of education -in the light of Occultism, but it has only been intended to give a -hint as to what problems of civilisation this philosophy will have to -solve. Whether it can do so depends on whether the inclination for such -a way of thinking henceforth broadens out in ever widening circles. -In order that this may take place, two things are necessary: first, -that people should abandon their prejudice against Occultism. He who -will truly associate himself with it, will soon see that it is not -the fantastical trash which so many today imagine it to be. This is -not intended as a reproach to such people, for everything which our -time offers as a means of education must, at first, engender the view -that occultists are fantastics and dreamers. On the surface any other -view is hardly possible, for there appears to be the most complete -diversity between what is known as Occult Science or Theosophy, and all -that the culture of the present day suggests as the principles for a -healthy view of life. Only a deeper consideration reveals to us how -entirely in opposition the views of the present must remain without -these principles of occult science—how, indeed, they themselves call -out these very principles and in the long run cannot remain without -them. The second thing that is necessary is connected with the sound -development of Theosophy itself. Life will only welcome Theosophy, if -in theosophical circles the knowledge is made to permeate everywhere -that it is important to make these teachings bear fruit in the widest -manner for all conditions of life, and not merely to theorize about -them. Otherwise people will continue to look upon Theosophy as a kind -of religious sectarianism, only fit for some fanatical enthusiasts. But -if it performs positive useful spiritual work, then the theosophical -movement cannot, in the long run, be refused an intelligent hearing. - -FOOTNOTES - -[1] “_The Way of Initiation_,” or How to Attain Knowledge of the Higher -Worlds,“ by Rudolph Steiner, Ph.D., with a Foreword by Annie Besant, -and some biographical Notes of the author by Edouard Schuré. Second -edition, 237 pages, cloth, crown 8vo, 3/10 post free. - -“_Initiation and its Results._” A sequel to “The Way of Initiation.” -Second edition. 3/9 post free. To be obtained from the Theosophical -Publishing Society, 161 New Bond Street, London, W. - - -[2] This distinction is important, for the ideas of the present time -with regard to this subject are rather inaccurate. The difference -between the vegetable and the creature gifted with the power of -sensation is completely lost sight of, because the essential -characteristic of sensibility is not clearly defined. When a being (or -an object) responds to an exterior impression by showing any effect -whatever, it is inaccurate to conclude that this impression has been -felt. To bear out this conclusion the impression must be experienced -inwardly, that is to say, the outside stimulus must produce a kind -of interior reflection. The great progress of natural science, which -a true Theosophist must sincerely admire, has thrown our abstract -vocabulary into confusion. Some of our biologists are ignorant of the -characteristics of sensibility, and thus accredit it to beings who are -devoid of it. Sensibility such as is comprehended by those biologists, -can, it is true, be attributed to organisms deprived of it. But what is -understood by Theosophy as sensibility is a totally different quality. - -[3] A distinction must be made between the conscious inner life of the -astral body and the perception of this life by outward clairvoyant -observation. Here this latter perception by a trained clairvoyant is -intended. - - -[4] The reader need not object to the technical term “Body of the -ego,” because there is nothing of gross physical matter meant by it, -but occult science being forced to employ the vocabulary of ordinary -language, the words applied to Theosophy ought from the outset to be -taken in a spiritual sense. - - -[5] The terms “Spirit-Self”, “Life-Spirit” and “Spirit-Man” need not -mystify the reader; they stand for those transmutations of our grosser -bodies which are the results of conscious effort and pure aspirations; -they form, in other words, the Higher Trinity, called in Eastern -terminology: Manas, Buddhi and Atma, respectively. (Trans.) - -[6] Were these affirmations to be wrongly interpreted, the objection -might be raised that a child before cutting his second teeth is not -deprived of memory, and that before reaching the age of puberty, he -possesses the inherent faculties of the astral body. It must not be -forgotten that the etheric and astral bodies are in existence from the -moment of physical birth, although surrounded by the protecting shell -described. It is precisely this envelope, protecting the etheric body, -which permits of a remarkably good memory before the cutting of the -second teeth. The existence of physical eyes in the embryonic being, -concealed in the womb of the mother, is analogous. And in the same way -that the physical eyes sheltered from all external influence do not -owe their development to the physical sunlight, so also education from -without should not intervene before the cutting of the second teeth in -the training of the memory. Very much to the contrary, the spontaneous -growth of the memory will be noticeable, provided there is food for it -within reach, and no attempt be made to train it by means of exterior -methods. - -This observation applies equally to the qualities belonging to the -astral body before puberty. Provision should be made for their -training, but bearing in mind that this body is still encompassed by a -protecting shell. It is something wholly different to take care of the -germs which are in process of development within the astral body before -puberty and to expose the freed astral body _after_ puberty to what -it can assimilate in the outer world, _without_ the protecting shell. -This distinction is certainly very subtle, but without its careful -consideration the whole significance of education cannot be understood. - - * * * * * - -Transcriber's Notes - -Obvious typographical errors have been silently corrected. 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You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of -the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at -www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you'll have -to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this ebook. - -Title: The Education of Children - From the standpoint of theosophy - -Author: Rudolf Steiner - -Release Date: September 20, 2017 [EBook #55586] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: UTF-8 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE EDUCATION OF CHILDREN *** - - - - -Produced by Chris Curnow, Les Galloway and the Online -Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This -file was produced from images generously made available -by The Internet Archive) - - - - - - -</pre> - - - - - - - -<h1> -THE EDUCATION<br /> -OF CHILDREN</h1> - - -<p class="center"><small>FROM THE STANDPOINT<br /> -OF THEOSOPHY</small></p> - -<p class="center"><span class="xs">BY</span><br /> -RUDOLF STEINER<br /> -<span class="xs">PH. D. (<span class="smcap">VIENNA</span>)</span></p> - -<p class="center"><span class="xs">AUTHORIZED TRANSLATION<br /> -FROM THE SECOND GERMAN EDITION</span></p> - -<div class="figcenter" > -<img src="images/col1.jpg" alt="Colophon" /> -</div> - - -<p class="center"><small>AMERICAN EDITION</small></p> - -<p class="center"><i><small>THE RAJPUT PRESS</small>.</i></p> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<img src="images/col2.jpg" alt="Colophon" /> -</div> - -<p class="center"><small><i>CHICAGO.</i><br /> - -1911</small> -</p> - - - - -<p class="center spaced"> -<small>COPYRIGHT 1911, <span class="smcap">BY</span> WELLER VAN HOOK, IN THE<br /> -UNITED STATES OF AMERICA</small></p> - -<blockquote> - -<p><small>IN VIEW OF THE MANY UNAUTHORIZED TRANSLATIONS -OF DR. RUDOLF STEINER’S WORKS, THE -PUBLISHER BEGS TO GIVE NOTICE THAT ALL -AUTHORISED EDITIONS, ISSUED UNDER THE -EDITORSHIP OF MR. MAX GYSI, BEAR THE SYMBOL -OVERLEAF (CROSS IN PENTAGRAM).</small></p></blockquote> - -<p class="center space-above"> -MAX GYSI, Editor,<br /> -“Adyar,” Park Drive,<br /> -Hampstead, London, N. W.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> -<div class="chapter"></div> - - -<h2><a name="THE" id="THE">THE<br /> -EDUCATION OF CHILDREN</a><br /> - -<span class="xs">FROM THE STANDPOINT OF THEOSOPHY</span></h2> - -<p class="center"><span class="xs">(TRANSLATED BY W. B.)</span></p> - - -<p>Present day life calls into question -many things which man has -inherited from his ancestors -hence the numberless questions -of the day, as for example: the -Social Problem, the Woman’s -Movement, Education and School -Questions, Law Reform, Hygiene, -Sanitation, and so forth. We try -to grapple with these questions in -manifold ways. The number of -those who bring forward this or -that remedy in order to solve this -or that question, or at least to contribute -something towards its solution, -is immeasurably great, and<span class="pagenum" id="Page_6">6</span> -every possible shade of opinion is -manifested in these endeavors; -radicalism, carrying itself with a -revolutionary air; the moderate -view, full of respect for existing -things and desirous of fashioning -out of them something new; or -conservatism, up in arms, whenever -old institutions and traditions -are tampered with; and -besides these main attitudes, there -are all sorts of intermediary points -of view.</p> - -<p>He who is able to probe deeply -into life cannot help feeling one -thing with regard to these phenomena—that -the claims which are -placed before men in our time are -met repeatedly by inadequate -means. Many would like to re-form -life, without really knowing -it from its foundations. He who -would put forth a proposition as<span class="pagenum" id="Page_7">7</span> -to life in the future, must not content -himself with merely learning -to know life superficially. He -must probe it to its depths.</p> - -<p>Life is like a plant that contains -not only that which is visible to -the eye, but also a future condition -concealed within its secret depths. -He who has before him a plant -that is just in leaf, is well aware -that later on blossoms and fruit -will be added to the leaf-bearing -stem. The germs of these blossoms -and fruit are already concealed -within the plant. But it is impossible -for one who merely regards -it in its present condition to -say how these organs will ultimately -appear. Only he who is acquainted -with the nature of the -plant can do so.</p> - -<p>Human life also contains within -itself the germs for its future.<span class="pagenum" id="Page_8">8</span> -But to be able to say anything -about this future one must penetrate -into the hidden nature of -man, and this, the present age, -has no real inclination to do. It -busies itself with the surface and -thinks itself treading on unsafe -ground should it advance into that -which is hidden from external observation. -With the plant it is -true the matter is considerably -simpler. We know that its like -has often and often brought forth -flowers and fruit. Human life -exists but once and the flowers -which it is to bring forth in the -future were not previously there. -None the less they exist in human -life in embryo, just as much as the -flowers of the plant which at present -is only just bearing leaves.</p> - -<p>And it is possible to say something -about this future, when one<span class="pagenum" id="Page_9">9</span> -penetrates beneath the surface, -into the heart of human nature. -The different reformatory ideas of -the present can only become really -fruitful and practical, when they -are the result of this deep research -into human life.</p> - -<p>Theosophy is suited by its very -nature to present a practical philosophy, -comprehending the whole -sphere of human life. Whether or -not Theosophy, or that which in -our time so often passes for it, is -justified in putting forth such a -claim, is not the point. The point -concerns rather the nature of Theosophy -and what, by means of this -nature, it is able to accomplish. -It ought not to be a colorless -theory to satisfy the mere curiosity -of knowledge, nor yet a -medium for those men who, out of -selfishness, would like to win for<span class="pagenum" id="Page_10">10</span> -themselves a higher grade of evolution. -It can contribute something -to the most important problems -of present day Humanity, in -the development of its well-being.</p> - -<p>Of course if it acknowledges a -mission of this kind it must expect -to meet with all manner of opposition -and doubt. Radicals, Moderates -and Conservatives of all -departments in life will surely -raise such doubts against it. For -at first it will be unable to please -any one party, because its doctrines -reach far beyond all party -motives.</p> - -<p>And these doctrines have their -roots wholly and solely in the true -understanding of life. Only he -who understands life will be able -to take his lessons from life itself. -He will draw up no capricious -schemes, for he knows that no<span class="pagenum" id="Page_11">11</span> -other fundamental laws of life will -prevail in the future than such as -prevail in the present. Theosophy -will therefore of necessity have respect -for the existing state of -things. Even, should it still find -in what is existent, very much that -might be improved, yet it will not -fail to perceive in the present the -germs of the future. But it knows, -too, that for all things nascent -there is a growth and a development. -Therefore the germs for a -transformation and for a future -growth will appear to Theosophy -in the existing state of things. It -invents no schemes, it only calls -them forth from what already -exists. But that which is so called -forth becomes in a certain sense -itself a scheme, for it contains -within itself the nature of evolution.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_12">12</span></p> - -<p>For this very reason the theosophical -way of delving into the -nature of man must yield the most -fruitful and practical means for -the solution of the vitally important -questions of the present time.</p> - -<p>It is my purpose to apply this -to one such question, namely that -of education. We do not intend to -advance any claims or pronounce -a learned dissertation, but to portray -simply the child nature. From -a study of the nature of the growing -man, the educational standpoint -here suggested will develop -quite naturally. But to proceed -rightly with such a study it is -necessary to contemplate the hidden -nature of man in general.</p> - -<p>That which is cognised by the -physical perception, that which the -materialistic view of life considers -to be the only important element<span class="pagenum" id="Page_13">13</span> -in the nature of man, namely, his -physical body, forms, according to -spiritual research, only a part, a -principle of human nature. This -physical body is subject to the -same laws of physical life, is composed -of the same matter and -forces, as all the rest of the so-called -lifeless world. Theosophy, -therefore, maintains that man possesses -this physical aspect in common -with the whole of the mineral -kingdom. And it considers as -physical body that part only in -man which is able to mix, unite, to -build up and to dissolve the very -same materials, and after identical -laws, as are also at work in the -mineral world.</p> - -<p>Now besides this physical body, -Theosophy recognizes a second element -in the constitution of man—namely -a vital or etheric body.<span class="pagenum" id="Page_14">14</span> -And that there may be no cause -for the physicist to reject the term -etheric body we would point out -that etheric is here used in a -different sense from the hypothetical -ether of physics, and it -must be taken to mean here that -which is about to be described.</p> - -<p>It has been considered for some -time past a most unscientific proceeding -to speak of an “etheric -body” of this kind. At the end of -the eighteenth and in the first half -of the nineteenth century, it is -true, it was not considered “unscientific.” -It was then said that -matter and force operating in a -mineral could not of their own -power form themselves into a living -being. For this there must be -an especial indwelling “force,” -which was termed “vital force.” -It was represented indeed that<span class="pagenum" id="Page_15">15</span> -such a force operates in plants, in -animals, and in human bodies, and -produces the phenomena of life -just as magnetic force in the magnet -causes attraction. In the succeeding -period of materialism this -theory had been abandoned. It -was then said that a living being -builds itself up in the same way -as a so-called lifeless being; no -other forces prevail in an organism -than those which are in the -mineral—they only operate in a -more complicated manner; they -build up a more complex structure. -At the present time, only -the most obstinate materialists -cling to this denial of the “vital -force.” A number of natural -philosophers have taught that one -must nevertheless admit some such -thing as a vital force of a life-principle.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_16">16</span></p> - -<p>Thus the new science approaches -in a certain sense the -teaching of Theosophy in regard -to the vital body. Nevertheless -there is a considerable difference -between the two. Science today, -by means of intellectual observations -founded on the facts of ordinary -perception, has accepted -the idea of a kind of vital force. -But this is not the method of a -truly spiritual research, such as -Theosophy aims at, and from the -results of which proceed the theosophical -teachings. It cannot be -pointed out too often, how Theosophy -on this point differs from -the current science of the day. -The latter considers the experience -of the senses to be the basis -of all knowledge, and whatever is -not built upon this basis it treats -as unknowable. From the impressions<span class="pagenum" id="Page_17">17</span> -of the senses it draws deductions -and conclusions. But -anything that goes further it puts -aside, as being beyond the limits -of human knowledge. To Theosophy -such a prospect resembles -the view of a blind man who only -takes into consideration those -things that he can touch, and -what he may infer from the -touched object by reasoning, but -who sets aside the statements of -those who can see as being beyond -the faculty of human perception. -For Theosophy shows that -man is capable of evolution, that -through the developing of new -organs he may conquer for himself -new worlds. Around the -blind man there is color and light, -but he cannot perceive them, because -he does not possess the requisite -organs. Around man, so<span class="pagenum" id="Page_18">18</span> -Theosophy teaches, there are many -worlds, and he can observe them, -if only he develops the organs -necessary for the purpose.</p> - -<p>Even as the blind man looks -upon a new world as soon as he -has undergone a successful operation, -so can man, through the developing -of higher organs, perceive -worlds quite different from -those which he observed at first -with his ordinary senses. Now -whether or not it is possible to -operate on one who is bodily blind -depends on the conditions of the -organs; but those higher organs -by which one may penetrate into -the upper worlds, exist in embryo -in every human being. Anyone -can develop them, who has the -patience, endurance and energy to -make use of those methods which -are described in my two books entitled<span class="pagenum" id="Page_19">19</span> -“The Way of Initiation” -and “Initiation and Its Results.”<a id="FNanchor_1_1" href="#Footnote_1_1" class="fnanchor">1</a></p> - -<p>Theosophy does not speak of limitations -to man’s knowledge through -his organism; but says, on the -contrary, that he is surrounded by -worlds for which he has the -organs of perception. It indicates -the means by which to extend -the temporary limits. It also -occupies itself with the investigation -of the vital, or etheric body, -and to what in the following may -be called the yet higher principles -of human nature. It admits that -only the physical body can be accessible -to the investigation of the -bodily senses, and that from this -standpoint one can at most only<span class="pagenum" id="Page_20">20</span> -chance on something higher by a -train of reasoning. But it gives -information as to how one can -open up for oneself a world in -which these higher principles of -human nature appear before the -observer, just as the colors and -light of objects appear before the -blind-born person after his operation. -For those who have developed -the higher organs of perception, -the etheric or vital body is an -object of actual observation, and -not a theory resulting from intellectual -activity or a train of reasoning.</p> - -<p>Man has this etheric, or vital -body, in common with the plants -and animals. It causes the matter<span class="pagenum" id="Page_21">21</span> -and forces of the physical body -to form themselves into the manifestations -of growth, of reproduction, -of the internal motions of the -fluids, etc. It is also the builder -and sculptor of the physical body, -its inhabitant and its architect. -The physical body can therefore -also be called an image or expression -of this vital body. Both are -approximately the same in man as -regards form and size, yet they -are by no means quite alike. But -the etheric body in animals and -still more in plants, differs considerably -from the physical body -with regard to its shape and dimension.</p> - -<p>The third principle of the human<span class="pagenum" id="Page_22">22</span> -being is the so-called body of feeling, -or astral body. It is the -vehicle of pain and pleasure, of -impulse, desire, passion, and so -forth. An entity composed merely -of a physical and an etheric body -has nothing of all this, to which -may be ascribed the term—sensation. -The plant has no sensation. -If many a learned man of our -time concludes that plants have a -certain power of sensation, from -the fact that many of them respond -to a stimulus, by movement, -or in other ways, he merely shows -that he does not know the essence -of sensation. The point is, not -whether the being in question responds -to an outward stimulus, -but rather whether the stimulus -reflects itself through an inner -experience, such as pleasure or -pain, impulse, desire, etc. If this<span class="pagenum" id="Page_23">23</span> -be not the standard of sensation, -one would be justified in asserting -that blue litmus paper has a -sense of feeling for certain substances, -because on coming into -contact with them, it turns red.<a id="FNanchor_2_2" href="#Footnote_2_2" class="fnanchor">2</a></p> - -<p>Man has the astral body in common -with the animal world only. -It is thus the medium for the life -of sensation and feeling.</p> - -<p>One must not fall into the error -of certain theosophical circles and -think that the etheric body and</p> -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_24">24</span></p> -<p>astral body consist merely of finer -matter than that which exists in -the physical body. For this would -mean simply the materialisation of -these higher principles of human -nature. The etheric body is a form -of living forces; it is composed of -active forces, but not of matter—and -the astral body or body of -feeling is a form consisting of<span class="pagenum" id="Page_25">25</span> -colored luminous pictures revolving -within themselves.<a id="FNanchor_3_3" href="#Footnote_3_3" class="fnanchor">3</a></p> - -<p>The astral body differs in form -and size from the physical body. -It appears in man in the form -of an oblong egg, in which the -physical and the etheric bodies -are embedded. It projects on all -sides beyond these two like a luminous -cloud.</p> - -<p>Now in the nature of man there -is a fourth principle which he does -not share with other earthly creatures. -This is the vehicle of the -human “I”. The little word “I” -as we call it in English is a word -that separates itself from all other -words. He who duly reflects on</p> -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_26">26</span></p> -<p>the nature of this word, gains access -at the same time to an understanding -of human nature. Every -other word may be used by all men -in the same way to suit some corresponding -object. Anyone can -call a table “table,” any one can -call a chair “chair,” but with the -word “I” it is not so. No one -can use it as an indication of -some one else, for each person can -only speak of himself as “I”. -Never can the word “I” sound in -my ears as a reference to myself. -For a man in designating himself -“I”, must name himself within -himself. A being that can say to -himself “I” is a world in himself. -Those religions which are built up -on the basis of Theosophy have -always felt this. They have therefore -said that with the “ego” the -God begins to speak within—the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_27">27</span> -God who, among lower beings, is -manifested only from without in -the surrounding phenomena.</p> - -<p>The vehicle of this lastly developed -capacity is now “the body -of the ego,” the fourth principle -of the human being.<a id="FNanchor_4_4" href="#Footnote_4_4" class="fnanchor">4</a> This body -of the ego is the vehicle of the -higher human soul, and through -it man is the crown of all earthly -creation. But the ego in present -humanity is by no means a simple -entity. Its nature can be recognized -when a comparison is made -between men of different stages -of evolution. Take for instance<span class="pagenum" id="Page_28">28</span> -the uneducated savage and the -average European, and compare -these again with a lofty idealist. -Each one of them has the faculty -of saying to himself “I” for the -“body of the ego” is existent in -each of them. But the uncivilized -savage gives way with this “I” to -his passions, his impulses and appetites, -almost like an animal. The -more highly developed man allows -himself to follow certain inclinations -and desires, others he checks -or suppresses. The idealist has -formed, in addition to the original -inclinations and passions, others -that are higher. This is all due to -the fact that the “ego” has been -at work on the other principles of -the human being. And it is precisely -the mission of the “ego” -to ennoble and purify the other -principles by its own power.</p> -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_29">29</span></p> -<p>So the lower principles, under -the influence of the “ego,” have -become more or less changed -within a man who has surmounted -the conditions in which the outer -world has placed him. Take the -case of the man who is just raising -himself above the level of the animal—when -his “ego” flashes out -he still resembles the animal with -regard to his lower principles. -His etheric or vital body is solely -the medium of the living constructive -forces of growth and -propagation. His astral body only -gives expression to such impulses, -desires and passions as are -stimulated by his outer nature. -All the time that the man is -struggling on through successive -lives, or incarnations, from this -degree of culture to an ever higher -evolution, his ego is remodelling<span class="pagenum" id="Page_30">30</span> -the other principles. In this way -the astral body becomes the -medium of purified pleasurable -and unpleasurable sensations, refined -desires and longings. And -the etheric, or vital body, also -transforms itself. It becomes the -vehicle of habits, of permanent inclinations -of temperament and of -memory. A man whose ego has not -yet influenced his vital body has -no remembrance of the experiences -he undergoes. He lives -just as he has been brought up -by Nature.</p> - -<p>The whole development of civilisation -expresses itself for man -in this working of the ego upon -the subordinate principles. This -working penetrates even to the -physical body. Under the influence -of the ego, the physiognomy, -the gestures and movements, the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_31">31</span> -whole appearance of the physical -body, change.</p> - -<p>One can also discern how differently -the various mediums of -civilisation affect the individual -principles of the human being. -The common factors of civilisation -influence the astral body. -They bring to it other kinds of -pleasure, displeasure, impulse, etc., -than it originally had. Absorption -in a work of art influences the -etheric body, for a man obtains -through a work of art, the presentiment -of something higher -and nobler than that which is -offered by the environment of the -senses, and thus transforms his -vital body. A powerful means for -the purification and ennoblement -of the etheric body is religion. -Religious impulses have, in this -way, their sublime mission in the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_32">32</span> -evolution of humanity.</p> - -<p>That which is called conscience -is nothing but the result of the -work of the ego on the vital body, -through a succession of incarnations. -When a man perceives that -he must not do certain things, and -when through this perception, an -impression is made on him, deep -enough to communicate itself to -his etheric body, the conscience -begins to be formed.</p> - -<p>Now this work of the ego on the -subordinate principles can either -be one that belongs rather to the -whole human race, or it can be -quite individually a work of the -single ego upon itself. In the -first change of man, to a certain -extent, the whole human race -takes part; the latter must depend -on the inner activity of the -ego. When the ego grows strong<span class="pagenum" id="Page_33">33</span> -enough entirely to remodel the -astral body through its own -strength, then that which the ego -makes of this astral body or body -of feeling is called the “Spirit-Self” -(Geistesselbst)<a id="FNanchor_5_5" href="#Footnote_5_5" class="fnanchor">5</a> or as they -say in the East, Manas. This transformation -consists essentially in -an imbuing, in an enriching of -the inner being with higher ideas -and perceptions. But the ego can -arrive at yet higher and more intimate -work with regard to the -special entity of man. This -occurs when not merely the astral<span class="pagenum" id="Page_34">34</span> -body is enriched, but when the -etheric or vital body becomes -transformed. Man learns a certain -amount in the course of life, -and when he looks back on his -life from any point, he is able to -say to himself: “I have learnt -much,” but how much less is he -able to speak of a change of temperament -and character, of an improvement -or deterioration of the -memory, during life. Learning -affects the astral body, whilst the -latter transformations affect the -ethic or vital body. It would -therefore be no inapt simile to -compare the change of the astral -body in life to the movement of -the minute-hand of the clock, the -change of the vital body to that of -the hour-hand.</p> - -<p>When a man enters upon the -higher, or so-called occult training,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_35">35</span> -the chief thing to bear in -mind is that he at once begins -this latter transformation by the -innermost might of the ego. He -must work quite consciously and -individually at the changing of -habits, temperament, character, -memory, etc. As much of this -vital body as he works upon in -this way becomes transformed -into the “Life-Spirit” (Lebensgeist), -or as the Eastern expression -has it, into Buddhi.</p> - -<p>On a yet higher stage of evolution -man attains to powers by -which he can effect a transformation -of his physical body (as for -example, changing the pulse and -the circulation of the blood). As -much of the physical body as is -transformed in this way, is called -“Spirit-Man” (Geistesmensch)—Atma.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_36">36</span></p> - -<p>The changes which are effected -in the lower principles by man, -not as an individual, but rather as -a whole group of the human race, -or a part of it, such as a nation, -a tribe, or a family—have in -Theosophy, the following names. -The astral body, or body of feeling, -when transformed by the ego is -called the emotional soul; the -transformed etheric body becomes -the rational soul, and the transformed -physical body, the self-conscious -soul. But it is not to -be supposed that the transformation -of these three principles takes -place successively. It takes place -in all three bodies simultaneously, -from the moment when the ego -flashes out. Indeed the work of -the ego is not generally speaking -perceptible until a part of the -self-conscious soul is formed.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_37">37</span></p> - -<p>It is seen from the foregoing -paragraph that there are four -principles in the Being of Man: -the physical body, the etheric or -vital body, the astral or body of -feeling and the ego-body;—the -emotional soul, the rational soul, -the self-conscious soul—and indeed -the yet higher principles of -human nature also,—the Spirit-Self -(Manas), the Life-Spirit -(Buddhi), the Spirit-Man (Atma) -appear as the products of the -transformation of these four principles. -In speaking about the -sources of our human capacities, -only these four principles can be -taken into account.</p> - -<p>As a teacher works upon these -four principles of the human constitution, -one must, in order to -work in the right way, penetrate -into the nature of these divisions<span class="pagenum" id="Page_38">38</span> -of man. Now it must by no means -be imagined that these parts develop -themselves in man in such a -way that at any one moment of -his life—say at his birth—they -are all equally advanced. On the -contrary their development takes -place at the various life-periods -in a different way. And the right -foundations for education and instruction -depend on the knowledge -of this law of the evolution of -human nature.</p> - -<p>Before physical birth the nascent -human being is enclosed on all -sides by an alien physical body. -It does not come into contact independently -with the outward -physical world. The physical -body of the mother forms its environment. -This body alone can -influence the maturing fœtus. -Physical birth consists precisely<span class="pagenum" id="Page_39">39</span> -in the fact that the physical body -of the mother releases the child, -thereby causing the surroundings -of the physical world to influence -him immediately. The senses open -themselves to the outward world, -and this latter is thereby able to -exercise those influences over the -child which were previously exercised -by the physical body of the -mother.</p> - -<p>For a spiritual comprehension -of the world such as is represented -by Theosophy, the physical -body is then actually born, but not -yet the etheric or vital body. As -the child until the moment of its -birth is surrounded by the physical -body of the mother, so too until -the time of his second teeth, about -the age of seven, is he surrounded -by an etheric and an astral covering. -Not until the time of the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_40">40</span> -change of teeth does the etheric -covering release the etheric body. -Then until the time of puberty -there still remains an astral covering.<a id="FNanchor_6_6" href="#Footnote_6_6" class="fnanchor">6</a> -At this period the astral -or desire body also becomes free -on all sides, as did the physical -body at the time of the physical -birth and the etheric body at the -time of the second teeth.</p> - -<p>Thus then, Theosophy must<span class="pagenum" id="Page_41">41</span> -speak of three births of man. Certain -impressions, which are intended -to reach the etheric body -can reach it as little, up to the -time of the second teeth, as the -light and air of the physical world -can reach the physical body while -it remains in the womb of the -mother.</p> - -<p>Before the coming of the second -teeth the free vital body is not at<span class="pagenum" id="Page_42">42</span> -work. As the physical body, whilst -in the womb of the mother, receives -powers which are not its -own, and within that protective -covering gradually develops its -own, so is this also the case with -these later powers of growth, until -the time of the second teeth. Only -at this period does the etheric -body perfect its own powers in -conjunction with the inherited and -alien ones. During this time, while<span class="pagenum" id="Page_43">43</span> -the etheric body is freeing itself, -the physical body is already independent. -The etheric body which -is gradually freeing itself, perfects -that which it has to give to the -physical body. And the final point -of this work is the child’s own -teeth, which come in the place of -those he has inherited. They are -the densest things embedded in the -physical body and therefore at -this period appear last.</p> - -<p>After this period, the child’s -own etheric body takes care of -its growth alone. Only the latter -still remains under the influence -of an enveloped astral body. As -soon as the astral body becomes -free as well, a period is terminated -for the etheric body. This -termination takes place at the time -of puberty. The reproductive -organs become independent, because<span class="pagenum" id="Page_44">44</span> -from henceforth the free -astral body does not work inwardly, -but openly encounters the -external world.</p> - -<p>As one is not able to let the -influences of the outward world -affect the child physically before -it is born, so those powers (which -are the same to him as the impressions -of the physical surroundings -to the physical body) -should not be allowed to affect -the etheric body before the time -of the second teeth. And -the corresponding influences upon -the astral body ought only to be -brought into play at the time of -puberty.</p> - -<p>Common phrases, such as, “the -harmonious training of all the -powers and talents,” and the -like cannot form the foundation -for a true system of education,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_45">45</span> -for this can only be built upon a -genuine knowledge of the human -being. We do not mean to affirm -that the above-mentioned phrases -are incorrect, but only that they -are as valueless as if one were to -say with regard to a machine, that -all its parts must be brought into -harmonious working order. Only -he who approaches it, not with -mere phrases, but with a real -knowledge of the particular kind -of machine, can handle it. This -applies also to the art of education, -to the knowledge of the principles -in a human being and of -their individual developments; one -must know which part of the human -being should be influenced at -a certain time of life, and how to -bring such influences to bear upon -him in a suitable manner. There -is indeed no doubt that a really<span class="pagenum" id="Page_46">46</span> -intelligent system of education, -such as is outlined in these pages, -can make its way but slowly. This -is due to the manner of viewing -things in our day, wherein the -facts of the spiritual world will -still be considered for a long time -as merely the overflow of a mad -fantasy, while common-place and -entirely superficial phrases will -be regarded as the result of a -really practical way of thinking. -We shall here proceed to give a -free outline of what will be considered -by many at the present -time a mere mirage of the fancy, -but which will in time come to be -an accepted fact.</p> - -<p>At physical birth, the physical -human body is exposed to the -physical environment of the external -world, whilst previously it -was encircled by the protective<span class="pagenum" id="Page_47">47</span> -body of the mother. That which -the forces and fluids of the -mother’s body did to it previously -must now be done by the -forces and elements of the outer -physical world. Up to the time of -the second teething, at the age of -seven, the human body has a mission -to perform for itself, which -is essentially different from the -missions of all the other life-epochs. -The physical organs must -form themselves into certain -shapes during this time; then -structural proportions must take -definite directions and tendencies. -Later on growth takes place, but -this growth in all future time proceeds -on the bases of the shapes -which were in process of formation -until the time mentioned. If -normal shapes have been forming -themselves, normal shapes will<span class="pagenum" id="Page_48">48</span> -afterwards grow, and conversely -from abnormal bases will proceed -abnormal results. One cannot -make amends in all the succeeding -years for that which, as guardian, -one has neglected during the first -seven years. As the right environment -for the physical human body -is provided by Nature, before -birth, so after birth it is the -duty of the guardian to provide -it. Only this correct physical -environment influences the -child in such a way that his -physical organs mould themselves -into the normal forms.</p> - -<p>There are two magic words -which epitomise the relation -which is formed between the child -and its environment. These are: -Imitation and Example. Aristotle, -the Greek philosopher, -called man the most imitative of<span class="pagenum" id="Page_49">49</span> -animals, and for no other period -of life is this more applicable than -for the age of childhood up to -the time of the second teething. -The child imitates whatever takes -place in its physical environment, -and in the imitation his physical -organs mould themselves into the -forms which then remain to them. -The term physical environment is -to be taken in the widest sense -imaginable. To it belongs not only -that which takes place materially -round the child, but everything -that is enacted in his surroundings, -everything that may be observed -by his senses, everything -that from all points of physical -space can influence his spiritual -forces. To it also belong all -actions, moral or immoral, sensible -or foolish, that the child may -see.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_50">50</span></p> - -<p>It is not by moral texts, nor -by rational precepts, but by -what is done visibly before the -child by the grown-up people -around him, that he is influenced -in the manner indicated. Instruction -produces effects only upon -the etheric body, not upon the -physical, and up to the age of -seven the etheric body is surrounded -by a protective etheric -shell, just as the physical body -until physical birth is surrounded -by the body of the mother. That -which ought to be developed in -this etheric body in the way of -ideas, habits, memory, etc., before -the age of seven, must develop itself -“spontaneously,” in the same -way as the eyes and ears develop -themselves in the womb of the -mother without the influence of -the external light. It is written in<span class="pagenum" id="Page_51">51</span> -an excellent educational book, Jean -Paul’s <cite>Levana</cite> or <cite>Pedagogics</cite>, that -a world-traveller learns more from -his nurse in his early years than -in all of his travels put together. -This is undoubtedly true, but the -child does not learn by instruction, -but by imitation. And his -physical organs form themselves -through the influence of his physical -surroundings. A healthy -vision is formed when the right -colors and conditions of light are -brought into the child’s environment, -and the physical foundations -for a healthy moral nature -are formed in the brain and in the -circulation of the blood, when the -child sees moral things in his environment. -When the child, up to -the age of seven, sees only foolish -actions taking place around him, -his brain assumes such forms as<span class="pagenum" id="Page_52">52</span> -to make him also, in later life, -capable only of foolishness.</p> - -<p>As the muscles of the hand grow -strong and powerful when they do -work suitable for them, so the -brain and the other organs of the -physical human body will be directed -towards the right path, if -they receive the right impressions -from their environment. An example -will best illustrate the point -in question. A doll can be made -out of an old piece of cloth, by -making two corners serve for arms, -two for legs and a knot for the -head, with the eyes, nose and -mouth painted in ink—or a so-called -“beautiful” doll can be -bought with real hair and painted -cheeks, and given to the child. -The latter, it is hardly necessary -to say, is really horrible, and is -calculated to ruin the child’s<span class="pagenum" id="Page_53">53</span> -sound aesthetic taste for life. -Here the question of education is -quite a different one. If the child -has the rag-doll to look at, it has -to complete out of its own imagination -the impression of a human -being which the doll is intended to -convey. This work of the imagination -helps to build up the -forms of the brain, so that it -opens up as the muscles of the -hand expand by doing their natural -work. When the child possesses -the so-called “beautiful doll,” -there is nothing further for the -brain to do. It becomes, as it -were, stunted and dried up, instead -of expanding itself. If -people could look into the brain -after the manner of the occultist -and see it building itself up into -forms, they would certainly only -give their children that kind of<span class="pagenum" id="Page_54">54</span> -plaything which is really able to -stimulate the creative powers of -the brain. All toys that are only -composed of dead mathematical -forms have a desolating and deadening -effect on the child’s formative -powers, whilst on the other -hand everything that stimulates -the perception of something living -tends to influence in the right direction. -Our materialistic age -produces but few good toys—such -for instance as that in which two -movable pieces of wood are made -to represent two smiths facing one -another and hammering at some -object. Such things may still be -bought in the country. Very good -also are those picture books in -which the figures are made to be -pulled by strings, thus enabling -the child to transform the dead -picture into a representation of<span class="pagenum" id="Page_55">55</span> -action. All this produces an inner -activity of the organs, and out of -this activity the right form of the -organs builds itself up.</p> - -<p>Of course these things can only -just be indicated here, but in the -future occult science will be called -upon to point out that which in -each particular case is necessary, -and this it is able to do. For it -is not an empty abstraction, but a -body of vital facts quite able to -furnish the guiding-lines for practical -matters.</p> - -<p>One or two further examples -will serve as illustrations. According -to occult science a so-called -nervous excitable child -should be treated differently from -a lethargic and inactive one, with -regard to its surroundings. Everything -must be taken into consideration, -from the color of the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_56">56</span> -room and the various objects by -which the child is generally surrounded, -to the color of the -clothes in which it is dressed. -One may often do the wrong -thing, unless willing to be guided -by occult science, for a materialistic -tendency will in many cases -hit on just the opposite of what is -right. An excitable child should -be clothed and surrounded with -red or reddish-yellow colors, whilst -for the opposite type of child, -blue or bluish-green should be -selected. For, in accordance with -the color used outwardly is the -complementary color produced inwardly. -Thus, for instance, green -is produced by red; orange-yellow -by blue, and of this one may easily -be convinced by looking for a time -on a spot of a particular color -and then quickly directing the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_57">57</span> -eyes to a white surface. This -complementary color is produced -by the physical organs of the child, -and in turn reacts upon the corresponding -organic structures -necessary to the child. Red in -the environment of an excitable -child produces inwardly the green -complementary picture. The activity -thus produced by the sensation -of green has a calming effect -and the organs take upon themselves -the tendency to composure.</p> - -<p>One rule must invariably be -taken into consideration at this -period of life—that the physical -body has to create for itself the -standard of what is suitable to -it. It does this through the corresponding -development of desire. -Generally speaking it may be said -that the healthy physical body desires -only what is good for it.<span class="pagenum" id="Page_58">58</span> -And as long as it is a question -only of the physical body of the -growing child, one ought to notice -carefully what it is that is sought -by the healthy desires, cravings -and pleasures. Joy and pleasure -are the powers which draw out -the physical forms of the organs, -in the best way.</p> - -<p>A very great error may be committed -in this direction by not -placing the child in the suitable -physical conditions with regard -to its environment. This can especially -be the case with regard -to the instinct of nourishment. -The child can be overfed with -things that make him completely -lose healthy instincts of nourishment, -whilst through correct feeding -they can be preserved for him -so fully, that he will ask (even to -a glass of water) for that which<span class="pagenum" id="Page_59">59</span> -under given circumstances is good -for him, and will refuse anything -that may be harmful. When -occult science is called upon to -construct a system of education, -it will be able to specify, even to -the particular articles of nourishment -and table luxuries, all that -has here to be considered. For -it is a practical teaching, applicable -to life, and no mere colorless -theory—as indeed one might suppose, -from the mistakes of many -Theosophists of today.</p> - -<p>Among the forces therefore -which affect the physical organs -by moulding them, must be included -an element of joy with -and amid the surroundings. Let -the guardian be cheerful of countenance, -and above all things let -there be true and not artificial -love—a love that flowing warmly<span class="pagenum" id="Page_60">60</span> -through the physical environment, -as it were, incubates, in the true -sense of the word, the forms of -the physical organs.</p> - -<p>When within such an atmosphere -of love, the imitation of -healthy models is possible, the -child is in his right element. -Special attention should therefore -be given that nothing may happen -in the child’s environment that -he should not imitate. Nothing -should be done that would necessitate -saying to the child “You -must not do that.” Of the way -in which the child tries to imitate, -one may be convinced by observing -how it can copy written -letters long before it can understand -them. It is indeed an advisable -thing for the child to copy -the written characters first, and then -later to learn their meaning. For<span class="pagenum" id="Page_61">61</span> -imitation belongs to the developing -stage of the physical body, -whilst the mind responds to the -etheric body, and this latter ought -only to be influenced after the -time of the second teeth, when its -outer etheric covering is gone. -Especially should the learning of -speech by means of imitation take -place in these years. For <em>by -hearing</em> the child best learns to -speak. All rules and artificial -teaching can do no good at all.</p> - -<p>In the early years of childhood -it is especially important that -such means of education as, for -instance, songs for children should -make as beautiful a rhythmic impression -on the senses as possible. -The importance lies in the -beautiful sound rather than in the -sense. The more invigorating the -effect which anything can have<span class="pagenum" id="Page_62">62</span> -upon the eye and ear, the better -it is. The power of building up -the organs which lies in dancing -movements when put to a musical -rhythm, for example, must not be -under-estimated.</p> - -<p>With the change of teeth the -etheric body throws off its outer -covering, and then the time begins -in which the training of the etheric -body may be carried on from -without. One must be clear as to -what it is that can influence the -etheric body in this way. The -transformation and growth of the -etheric body signify, respectively, -the transformation and development -of the affections, the habits, -conscience, character, memory -and temperament. One is able -to influence the etheric body by -pictures, by example, by regulated -guidance of the imagination.<span class="pagenum" id="Page_63">63</span> -Just as the child, until it has -reached the age of seven, ought to -be given a physical model which it -can imitate, so too, in the environment -of the developing child, between -the period of the second -teeth and that of puberty, everything -should be brought into play -that possesses an inner sense and -value upon which the child may -direct his attention. All that conduces -to thought, all that works -through image and parable, has -now its rightful place.</p> - -<p>The etheric body develops its -power when a well regulated imagination -is directed upon that -which it can unravel or extract -for its guidance from living images -and parables, or from such as are -addressed to the spirit. It is <em>concrete</em> -and not <em>abstract</em> ideas that -can rightly influence the growing<span class="pagenum" id="Page_64">64</span> -body—ideas that are spiritually -rather than materially concrete. -A spiritual standpoint is the right -means of education during these -years. It is therefore of paramount -importance that the youth -at this period has around him in -his guardians themselves personalities -through whose points of -view the desirable intellectual and -moral powers may be awakened -in him.</p> - -<p>As “imitation” and “example” -are the magic words for the training -of children in their early -years, so for the years now in -question the corresponding words -are “hero-worship” and “authority.” -Natural and not forced authority -must supply the immediate -spiritual standpoint, with the -help of which the youth forms for -himself conscience, habits and inclinations,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_65">65</span> -brings his temperament -into regulated paths, and -wins his own outlook on this -world. The beautiful words of -the poet: “Everyone must choose -his own hero, in whose steps he -may find the way to Olympus,” -are of special value with regard -to this epoch of life.</p> - -<p>Veneration and reverence are -powers that assist the etheric body -to grow in the right way. And -he to whom it is impossible, during -this period, to look up to anyone -with unlimited reverence, will -have to suffer on that account for -the rest of his life. When this -veneration is missing, the vital -forces of the etheric body are -checked. Picture to yourself the -following in its effect on the -youthful disposition: a boy of -eight years of age is told of a<span class="pagenum" id="Page_66">66</span> -person highly esteemed. All that -he hears about him fills him with -holy awe. The day draws near -on which he is to see this honored -person for the first time. A profound -reverence overcomes him -when he hears the bell-ring at the -door, behind which the object of -his veneration is to become visible. -The beautiful feelings which -are produced by such an experience, -belong to the lasting acquisitions -of life. And <em>that</em> man -is fortunate, who not only during -the happy moments of life, but -continuously, is able to look up to -his teachers and instructors as to -his natural authorities.</p> - -<p>To these living authorities, to -these embodiments of moral and -intellectual power, must be added -the authorities perceived of the -spirit. The grand examples of<span class="pagenum" id="Page_67">67</span> -history, the tales of model men -and women, must fix the conscience -and the intellectual tendency—and -not abstract moral -truths, which can only do their -right work, when, at the age of -puberty, the astral body is freed -from its astral covering.</p> - -<p>One ought especially to guide -the teaching of history into -courses determined by such points -of view. Before the time of the -second teeth, the stories, fairy -tales, etc., which are told to the -child, can only have for their aim, -joy, recreation, and pleasure.</p> - -<p>After this time it will be necessary -to use forethought concerning -the matter that is to be related, -so that pictures of life, such -as he can beneficially emulate, -may be set before the soul of the -young person. It must not be<span class="pagenum" id="Page_68">68</span> -overlooked that bad habits can be -ousted by pictures correspondingly -repulsive. Warnings against -such bad habits and tendencies -are at best of little avail, but if -one were to let the living picture -of a bad man affect the youthful -imagination, explaining the result -to which the tendency in question -leads, one would do much toward -its extermination.</p> - -<p>One thing to bear always in -mind is, that it is not abstract -representations that influence the -developing etheric body, but living -pictures in their spiritual -clearness, and, of course, these -latter must be applied with the -utmost tact, for otherwise the opposite -to what is desired will be -the result. In the matter of -stories it is always a question of -the way in which they are told.<span class="pagenum" id="Page_69">69</span> -The verbal narration of a tale can -therefore not be successfully replaced -by a reading of it.</p> - -<p>During the time between the -second teeth and puberty, the -spiritually pictorial, or, as one -might also call it, the symbolical -representation, ought to be considered -in yet another way. It is -necessary that the young person -should learn to know the secrets -of nature, the laws of life, as far -as possible through symbols and -not by the means of dry and intellectual -ideas. Allegories about -the spiritual relation of things -ought so to reach the soul that -the law and order of existence -underlying the allegories is rather -perceived and divined, than grasped -by the means of intellectual ideas. -The saying that “all things transient -are only symbols” ought<span class="pagenum" id="Page_70">70</span> -to form an all-important motto -for the education during this -period. It is very important for -a person to receive the secrets -of nature in allegories before -they appear to his soul in the -form of natural laws, etc. An -example will make this clear. -Supposing one wished to speak to -a young person of the immortality -of the soul, of its going forth -from the body, one might as an -instance make the comparison of -the butterfly emerging from the -chrysalis. As the butterfly comes -forth from the chrysalis, so the -soul comes forth from the shell -of the body after death. No one -who has not previously received -them by means of some such -image, will adequately grasp the -right facts in the abstract ideas. -For by such a simile one speaks<span class="pagenum" id="Page_71">71</span> -not only to the intellect, but also -to the sensations and feelings, to -the whole soul. The youth having -gone through all this, approaches -the matter in quite a different attitude -of mind when it is given to -him later in intellectual conceptions. -Indeed the man who cannot -first approach the riddle of -existence with this feeling is much -to be pitied. It is necessary that -the teacher should have similes at -his disposal for all natural laws -and secrets of the world.</p> - -<p>In this matter it is quite clear -what an enriching effect occult -science must have upon practical -life. Any one constructing from -a materialistic and intellectual -mode of representation, similes -for himself and then propounding -them to young people, will usually -make but little impression upon<span class="pagenum" id="Page_72">72</span> -them. For such a person ought first -to puzzle out the similes himself -with all his mental capacities. -Those similes which one has not -first applied for oneself, do not -have a convincing effect on those -to whom they are imparted. When -one talks to somebody in parables, -then he is not only influenced by -what one says or shows, but there -passes a fine spiritual stream -from the speaker to the hearer. -Unless the speaker himself has an -ardent feeling of belief in his -similes, he will make no impression -on the one to whom he gives -them. In order to create a right -influence, one must believe in one’s -similes oneself as if in realities; -and that can only be done when -one possesses the mystical tendency, -and when the similes themselves -are born of occult science.<span class="pagenum" id="Page_73">73</span> -The real occultist does not need -to worry about the above-mentioned -simile of the soul going -forth from the body, because for -him it is a truth. To him the -butterfly evolving from the chrysalis -represents the same experience -on a lower stage of nature’s -existence as the going forth of -the soul from the body at a higher -stage development. He believes -in it with all his might, and this -belief flows forth as if in invisible -streams from the speaker to the -listener, and inspires conviction. -Direct life-streams then flow forth -from teacher to pupil. But for -this end it is necessary for the -teacher to draw from the full -source of occult science; it is -necessary that his word and all -that goes forth from him, should -be clothed with feeling, warmth<span class="pagenum" id="Page_74">74</span> -and glowing emotion from the true -occult view of life. For this reveals -a magnificent perspective -of the whole subject of education. -Once the latter allows itself -to be enriched from the life -source of occult science, it will -itself become permeated with a -profound vitality. It will give -up groping in the dark, so common -in this particular domain of -thought. All educational methods, -all educational sciences, that do -not continually receive a supply -of fresh sap from such roots, are -dried up and dead. For all world-secrets -occult science has fitting -similes, similes not rising from -the mind of man but drawn from -the essence of things, having -been laid down as a basis by the -forces of the world at their creation. -Occult science must therefore<span class="pagenum" id="Page_75">75</span> -be the basis for any system -of education.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>A power of the soul to which -particular attention ought to be -given at this period of development -is that of memory. For the -cultivation of the memory is connected -with the transformation -of the etheric body. This has its -effect in the fact that precisely -during the time between the coming -of the second teeth and that -of puberty it becomes free, so that -this is also the period in which -the further development of the -memory should be looked after -from outside. The memory will -be permanently of less value to -the person in question than it -might have been, if at this period -what is necessary to it is neglected. -That which has thus been<span class="pagenum" id="Page_76">76</span> -neglected cannot afterwards be -retrieved.</p> - -<p>An intellectual and materialistic -way of thinking is liable to -bring about many mistakes in this -direction. A system of education -arising from this way of thinking -is easily prejudiced against that -which is acquired merely by the -memory. It will not tire at times -of directing itself with the greatest -ardor against the mere training -of the memory, and rather -makes use of the most ingenious -methods that the young person -may not mechanically absorb what -he does not really understand. -An opinion merely intellectual -and materialistic is so easily persuaded -that there is no means of -penetrating into things except by -abstract ideas; it is only with -difficulty that thinkers of this<span class="pagenum" id="Page_77">77</span> -kind come to the conclusion that -the other subjective powers are -at least just as necessary to the -comprehension of things, as the -intellect itself. It is not merely a -figure of speech to say that one -can understand just as well with -the feelings, the emotions, the -mind, as with the intellect. Ideas -are only one of the means by -which to understand the things -of this world, and only to materialists -do they appear the only -means. There are, of course, -many people who do not imagine -that they are materialists, but -who nevertheless consider an intellectual -conception to be the only -means of comprehension. Such -men profess perhaps to hold an -idealistic, perhaps even a spiritual -conception of the world and -life. But the attitude of their<span class="pagenum" id="Page_78">78</span> -souls toward both is materialistic. -For the intellect is, as a matter -of fact, the soul’s instrument for -the comprehension of material -things.</p> - -<p>And here, concerning the deeper -foundations of the understanding, -let us quote from that excellent -educational book, by Jean -Paul already mentioned—a work -containing generally golden ideas -concerning education and deserving -of much more consideration -than at present it receives. It is -of much more value to the guardian -than many of the writings -on these lines that enjoy the highest -repute. The passage under -consideration runs thus:</p> - -<p>“Do not be afraid of unintelligibility, -even if it be of whole -sentences; your look and the manner -of your expression, added to<span class="pagenum" id="Page_79">79</span> -the eager desire to understand, -elucidates the one half, and with -this, and in due time, the other half -also. For with children, as with the -Chinese and with men of the world, -the manner of pronunciation is half -the language. Bear in mind, that -they understand their language as -well as we understand Greek or any -other foreign tongue before learning -to speak it. Trust to the deciphering -of time and to association. -A child of five years of age -understands indeed the words -“yet,” “truly,” “on the contrary,” -“of course”; but for a definition of -them one must go not to the child, -but to the father! The little word -“but” reveals a small philosopher. -If the eight-year-old child with his -growing power of speech is understood -by a child of three, why should -you then confine your language to<span class="pagenum" id="Page_80">80</span> -his babbling? Always speak several -years in advance (for in books -genius speaks to us centuries in -advance); with the child of a year, -speak as if it were two, with the -child of two as if it were six, for -the difference of growth may diminish -in inverse proportion to the -years. Generally speaking, all -learning is apt to be too much ascribed -to the credit of the teacher—therefore -the teacher ought to bear -in mind that the child possesses -half his world, namely, the spiritual -(such as his moral and metaphysical -ideas), already complete and taught -within himself, and that therefore a -language composed only of concrete -images can never impart -spiritual ideas, but can only light -them up. The joy and assurance -used in speaking to children ought -to be given as if the assurance and<span class="pagenum" id="Page_81">81</span> -joy came from themselves. We can -learn speech from them, just as we -teach them by means of speech; by -means of bold and yet correct word-painting, -such as for instance I -have heard spoken by children of -three and four years of age: ‘leg-fish’ -for otter; ‘pig-iron’ for the -fork used in eating bacon; ‘the air-mouse’ -(unquestionably superior -to our word ‘bat’) and so on.”</p> - -<p>It is true that this passage refers -to the understanding (before -the intellectual comprehension) as -exercised in another sphere than -that of which we are now speaking, -but for this also, the words -of Jean Paul have an important -meaning. Just as the child receives -into his soul’s organism the -construction of speech, without -making use of the laws of grammatical -structure with intellectual<span class="pagenum" id="Page_82">82</span> -comprehension, so too, for the cultivation -of his memory, the youth -ought to learn things of which he -will not until later acquire an -actual understanding. That which -has been acquired in this period -of life, at first in a purely mechanical -way, is best put into -ideas, afterwards, just as one -learns more easily the rules of a -language when one can already -speak it. All the talk of work -learned by rote and not understood -is nothing more than a materialistic -prejudice. For instance, the -youth needs only to acquire by a -few examples the most necessary -rules of multiplication, for which -the fingers are far better suited -than an abacus, and then to -learn fully, by rote, the multiplication -table. If one so proceeds, -one takes into account the nature<span class="pagenum" id="Page_83">83</span> -of the growing child. But a mistake -may be made with regard to -this, if, during the time that the -memory is forming itself, too -much is demanded of the intellect. -The intellect being a power of the -soul, and only born at the time of -puberty, ought not to receive an -outward influence before this -period. Until the time of puberty, -the youth should assimilate into -the memory treasures over which -mankind has meditated; later on -it is time to permeate with ideas -that which has been impressed -upon his memory. A man ought -therefore not to retain merely -what he has understood, but he -ought now to understand the -things that he knows; that is to -say, the things of which he has -already taken possession by means -of the memory, just as the child<span class="pagenum" id="Page_84">84</span> -does, when learning to speak. -This applies to a wider sphere. -At first, assimilation of historical -events by mere rote, then comprehension -of the same by means of -ideas. At first, a good impression -upon the memory of geographical -data, then an understanding of -the relationship of each thing with -the rest, etc. In certain respects -all comprehension through ideas -should be done by means of the -stored treasures of the memory. -The more the youth already knows -through the memory before he -comes to comprehension, the better -it is. It is hardly necessary -to explain that all this applies only -to the period, of which we are -speaking, and not to any later -period. If one learns a subject in -later life, either by going over -it again, or in any other way, the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_85">85</span> -opposite process to that here described -might be correct and desirable, -although even then a great -deal depends upon the particular -spiritual nature of the student. -But at the time of life of which -we have already spoken the spirit -must not be parched by being -overcrowded with intellectual -ideas.</p> - -<p>It is also true that teaching by -mere sense-objects, if carried too -far, is the result of a materialistic -view of life. At this age every -idea must be spiritualised. One -ought not, for instance, to be satisfied -with merely producing a -sense-impression of a plant, a -grain of seed, or a blossom. -Everything should seem as an allegory -of the spiritual. A grain of -seed is, in truth, not merely what -it appears to the eye. Invisibly<span class="pagenum" id="Page_86">86</span> -the whole new plant inhabits it, -and that such a thing is more than -what the sense perceives, must -be absolutely realised with the perception, -the imagination, and the -feelings. The mysterious presence -of latent existence must really be -felt. Nor can it be objected that -such a proceeding would weaken -the perception of pure sense; on -the contrary, by a persistent adherence -to sense perceptions alone, -Truth itself would be the loser. -For the complete reality of a thing -exists in Spirit and in Matter, -and accurate observations can be -no less carefully carried out if one -brings to the study not only the -physical senses, but also the spiritual -faculties. If people could only -perceive, as the Occultist is able -to, how both body and soul are -spoiled by mere object-teaching,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_87">87</span> -they would not then lay so much -stress upon it. Of what value is -it from the highest point of view, -if young people are shown all -kinds of physical experiments in -the mineral, vegetable and animal -worlds, if with such a study -one does not suggest the application -of the sense allegory to the -feeling of spiritual mystery? Certainly -a materialistic mind will -not be able to make anything of -what has here been said, and of -that the Occultist is only too conscious. -Yet it is also clear to -him that a really practical method -of education can never proceed -from the materialistic mind. So -practical does such a mind imagine -itself, and yet so unpractical -is it in reality, when it is a -matter of considering life vitally. -Opposed to the true reality, materialistic<span class="pagenum" id="Page_88">88</span> -opinions seem only fantastic, -while to the materialist, the -interpretations of occult science -must, of necessity, appear equally -fantastic. Doubtless, too, there -will remain many obstacles which -must be overcome before the fundamental -teachings of occult science, -arising from life itself, will -permeate the art of education. -But that is to be expected, for at -present these truths are strange -to many; nevertheless, if they be -really the truth, they will incorporate -themselves into all culture.</p> - -<p>Only through the sure conviction -that they are the only educational -means by which to work -upon young people, can the teacher -always find the right way to deal -correctly with each individual -case. Thus, he must know how -the individual powers of the soul<span class="pagenum" id="Page_89">89</span> -—such as thinking, feeling and -willing—ought to be treated, and -how their development may react -upon the etheric body; while this -itself, between the period when the -second teeth appear and that of -puberty, can be perfectly moulded -by outside influences.</p> - -<p>The foundations for the development -of a healthy and powerful -will can be laid by the right management, -during the first seven -years, of those fundamental principles -of education which have -already been considered. For -such a will must have for its support -the fully developed form of -the physical body. From the -period of the second teething it -begins to be a matter of making -the etheric body, which is now developing, -supply those powers to -the physical body by which it can<span class="pagenum" id="Page_90">90</span> -solidify its form and make itself -firm. That which makes the most -vivid impression upon the etheric -body also reacts most forcibly -upon the strengthening of the -physical. And the strongest impulses -are evoked in the etheric -body through those perceptions -and ideas by which a person feels -and experiences his own relation -to the everlasting Universe, that -is to say, through religious experiences. -The will, and along with it, -the character, of a person will -never develop healthily if he cannot -experience at this epoch of -life, profound religious impulses. -The result of the uniform organisation -of the will is that the person -feels himself to be an organic -fragment of the whole world. If -the person does not feel himself to -be indissolubly connected with a<span class="pagenum" id="Page_91">91</span> -Supreme Spirit, then must the will -and character remain unstable, -discordant and unhealthy.</p> - -<p>The emotional nature is developed -in the right direction by -means of the allegories and sense-pictures -already described, and especially -by all which, whether from -history or from other sources, -presents to us the figures of persons -with character. An absorption -in the mysteries and beauties -of Nature is also of importance in -the upbuilding of the emotional -world. And here it is particularly -well to consider the culture of the -sense of beauty, and the awakening -of the feeling for what is artistic. -Music should supply that -rhythm to the etheric body which -then enables it to perceive in -everything the rhythm otherwise -concealed. A young person will be<span class="pagenum" id="Page_92">92</span> -deprived of much in all his after -life, who does not receive at this -period the benefit of cultivating -the musical sense. To him in -whom this sense is altogether lacking, -a certain aspect of the Universe -must remain hidden. Nor -should, however, the other arts be, -by any means neglected. The -awakening of the sense for architectural -form, as also for plastic -shape, for line, design and harmony -of color—not one of these -ought to be omitted in the plan -of education. So simply, perhaps, -might all this be done, under -special circumstances, that the objection -that circumstances allow -of no development at all in this -direction can never be valid. One -can do much with the simplest -means, if the right sense in this -direction prevails in the teacher<span class="pagenum" id="Page_93">93</span> -himself. The joy of life, the love -for existence, the strength to -work—all these arise for the whole -being, out of the cultivation of -the sense of beauty and art. And -the relations of man to man—how -ennobled and how beautiful will -they become through this sense! The -moral sense, which will, at this -period, be developed by pictures -of life and by standard authorities, -will also gain a certain stability -if, through the sense of -beauty, the good is recognized as -beautiful and the bad as ugly.</p> - -<p>Thought in its own shape, as -an inner life of distilled ideas, -must, at the period in question, -be kept in the background. It -must develop spontaneously, as it -were, uninfluenced from without, -while the soul is nourished by -means of similes and pictures<span class="pagenum" id="Page_94">94</span> -representing life and the mysteries -of nature. Thus, in the -midst of the other experiences of -the soul between the seventh -year and the time of puberty, -thought must grow and the -faculty for judgment be matured, -so that after a successful puberty -the person becomes capable of -forming his own opinions concerning -the matters of life and -knowledge, with complete independence. -Indeed, the less one -works directly upon the critical -faculty, and the more one works -indirectly through the development -of the other spiritual -powers, the better will it be for -the whole after-life of the person -concerned.</p> - -<p>Occult science lays down the -principles, not only for the spiritual -side of education, but also for<span class="pagenum" id="Page_95">95</span> -the purely physical. Thus, to -give a characteristic example, let -us consider gymnastics and children’s -games. Just as love and -joy must permeate the environment -during the first years of -childhood, so too the growing -etheric body must be taught really -to experience from bodily exercise -a feeling of its own expansion, -of its ever increasing -strength. For instance gymnastic -exercises ought to be so carried -out that with every movement, -with every step, the feeling -rises in the inner self of the boy -or girl: “I feel increasing power -within me.” And this feeling -should manifest itself within as -a healthy delight, as a sensation -of pleasure. For the devising of -gymnastic exercises, in this sense, -it is of course necessary to possess<span class="pagenum" id="Page_96">96</span> -more than a merely intellectual -knowledge of the human body, -anatomically and physiologically. -It is necessary to possess a close -intuitive and sympathetic knowledge -of the relation of joy and -comfort to the postures and movements -of the human body. The -formulator of such exercises -ought himself to experience how -one movement or posture of the -limbs will produce a pleasant and -comfortable sensation, but another -a loss of strength, and so forth. -A belief that gymnastics and -bodily exercises can be cultivated -in this direction is one that can -only be supplied to the educator -by occult science, or, above all, by -a mind sympathetic to such -thought. One does not even require -the power of vision in the -spiritual worlds, but only the inclination<span class="pagenum" id="Page_97">97</span> -to apply to life what -has been given out by occultism. -If, especially in such practical departments -as this of education, -occult knowledge were applied, then -all the useless talk of how this -knowledge has yet to be proved -would straightway cease. For to -him who should rightly apply it, -this knowledge would itself be a -proof through the whole of life -by making him healthy and strong. -By such means he would perceive, -through and through, that -it is true in actual practice, and -this he would find a better proof -than any manner of “logical” and -so-called “scientific” reasons. One -can best know spiritual truths by -their fruits, and not through a -pretended proof, however scientific, -for such could hardly be -anything more than a logical skirmishing.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_98">98</span></p> - -<p>At puberty the astral body is -first born. With the free outward -development which follows, all -that which is unfolded by the -world of externalised perceptions, -by one’s judgment and the unfettered -understanding, will first -rush inward upon the soul. It has -already been mentioned that these -faculties of the soul, hitherto uninfluenced -from within, ought to -be developed by the right management -of educational means, -just as unconsciously as the eyes -and ears evolve themselves in the -womb. But with puberty the -time has arrived when the person -is ready to form his own judgment -concerning the things which -he has hitherto learned. No -greater injury can be inflicted on -any one than by too soon awakening -within him his own judgment.<span class="pagenum" id="Page_99">99</span> -One should only judge when one -has already stored up the necessary -qualifications for judging -and comparing. If, before this, -one creates one’s own independent -opinions, then these will have -no sure foundations. All one-sidedness -in life, all dreary “confessions -of faith” which are based -upon a few mere scraps of knowledge, -and the desire to judge from -these human conceptions that have -been approved through long ages -of time, rest upon just such mistakes -in education. Before qualified -to think, one must place before -oneself, as a warning, what -others have thought. There is no -sound thinking which has not been -preceded by a sound perception -of the truth supported by obvious -authority. If one wishes to follow -out these principles of education,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_100">100</span> -one must not allow people, -at too early an age, to fancy themselves -able to judge, for in avoiding -this, one will leave them the -possibility of allowing life to work -upon them from every side, and -without prejudice. For by one -such judgment, which is not -founded on the precious basis of -spiritual treasures, he who makes -it will have placed a stumbling-block -in the path of his life. For -if one has pronounced a judgment -on any subject, one will always -be influenced by having done so; -one will no longer regard an experience -as one might have regarded -it, if one had not erected -an opinion which is henceforth intertwined -with the subject in question. -In young people the disposition -to learn first and then to -judge, should be present. That<span class="pagenum" id="Page_101">101</span> -which the intellect has to say of -a certain subject ought only to be -said when all the other powers of -soul have spoken; before that the -intellect ought only to play the -part of mediator. It should only -serve to lay hold of what is seen -and felt, to apprehend it as it -there exists, without allowing the -unripe judgment to take possession -of the matter. Therefore -the youth ought to be shielded -from all the theories concerning -a thing, before the above-mentioned -age, and it should be especially -emphasized that he should -face the experiences of life in -order to admit them into his soul. -A growing individual can certainly -be made acquainted with what -people have thought concerning -this or that, but one should avoid -letting him form opinions which<span class="pagenum" id="Page_102">102</span> -arise from a premature judgment. -He should receive opinions with -the feelings, without deciding at -once for one view or the other, -not attaching himself to a party, -but thinking, as he listens: “One -has said this, and the other that.” -Before all things a large measure -of tact is necessary in the cultivation -of this sense by teachers -and guardians, but occult knowledge -is exactly calculated to supply -such tact.</p> - -<p>It has only been possible to develop -here a few aspects of education -in the light of Occultism, -but it has only been intended to -give a hint as to what problems -of civilisation this philosophy will -have to solve. Whether it can do -so depends on whether the inclination -for such a way of thinking -henceforth broadens out in ever<span class="pagenum" id="Page_103">103</span> -widening circles. In order that -this may take place, two things -are necessary: first, that people -should abandon their prejudice -against Occultism. He who will -truly associate himself with it, -will soon see that it is not the -fantastical trash which so many today -imagine it to be. This is not -intended as a reproach to such -people, for everything which our -time offers as a means of education -must, at first, engender the -view that occultists are fantastics -and dreamers. On the surface -any other view is hardly possible, -for there appears to be the most -complete diversity between what -is known as Occult Science or -Theosophy, and all that the culture -of the present day suggests -as the principles for a healthy -view of life. Only a deeper consideration<span class="pagenum" id="Page_104">104</span> -reveals to us how entirely -in opposition the views of -the present must remain without -these principles of occult science—how, -indeed, they themselves call -out these very principles and in -the long run cannot remain without -them. The second thing that -is necessary is connected with the -sound development of Theosophy -itself. Life will only welcome -Theosophy, if in theosophical circles -the knowledge is made to permeate -everywhere that it is important -to make these teachings -bear fruit in the widest manner -for all conditions of life, and not -merely to theorize about them. -Otherwise people will continue to -look upon Theosophy as a kind of -religious sectarianism, only fit -for some fanatical enthusiasts. -But if it performs positive useful<span class="pagenum" id="Page_105">105</span> -spiritual work, then the theosophical -movement cannot, in the -long run, be refused an intelligent -hearing.</p> - - - -<div class="footnotes"> -<h2 id="FOOTNOTES">FOOTNOTES:</h2> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_1_1" href="#FNanchor_1_1" class="label">1</a> -“<cite>The Way of Initiation</cite>,” or How to -Attain Knowledge of the Higher Worlds,“ -by Rudolph Steiner, Ph.D., with a Foreword -by Annie Besant, and some biographical Notes of the author by Edouard -Schuré. Second edition, 237 pages, cloth, -crown 8vo, 3/10 post free. -</p> -<p> -“<cite>Initiation and its Results.</cite>” A sequel -to “The Way of Initiation.” Second edition. -3/9 post free. To be obtained from the -Theosophical Publishing Society, 161 New -Bond Street, London, W.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_2_2" href="#FNanchor_2_2" class="label">2</a> -This distinction is important, for the -ideas of the present time with regard to -this subject are rather inaccurate. The -difference between the vegetable and the -creature gifted with the power of sensation -is completely lost sight of, because the -essential characteristic of sensibility is -not clearly defined. When a being (or an -object) responds to an exterior impression -by showing any effect whatever, it is -inaccurate to conclude that this impression -has been felt. To bear out this -conclusion the impression must be experienced -inwardly, that is to say, the outside -stimulus must produce a kind of interior -reflection. The great progress of natural -science, which a true Theosophist must -sincerely admire, has thrown our abstract -vocabulary into confusion. Some of our -biologists are ignorant of the characteristics -of sensibility, and thus accredit it to -beings who are devoid of it. Sensibility -such as is comprehended by those biologists, -can, it is true, be attributed to organisms -deprived of it. But what is -understood by Theosophy as sensibility is -a totally different quality.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_3_3" href="#FNanchor_3_3" class="label">3</a> -A distinction must be made between -the conscious inner life of the astral body -and the perception of this life by outward -clairvoyant observation. Here this latter -perception by a trained clairvoyant is intended.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_4_4" href="#FNanchor_4_4" class="label">4</a> -The reader need not object to the -technical term “Body of the ego,” because -there is nothing of gross physical matter -meant by it, but occult science being forced -to employ the vocabulary of ordinary -language, the words applied to Theosophy -ought from the outset to be taken in a -spiritual sense.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_5_5" href="#FNanchor_5_5" class="label">5</a> -The terms “Spirit-Self”, “Life-Spirit” -and “Spirit-Man” need not mystify the -reader; they stand for those transmutations -of our grosser bodies which are the -results of conscious effort and pure aspirations; -they form, in other words, the -Higher Trinity, called in Eastern terminology: -Manas, Buddhi and Atma, respectively. -(Trans.)</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_6_6" href="#FNanchor_6_6" class="label">6</a> -Were these affirmations to be wrongly -interpreted, the objection might be raised -that a child before cutting his second teeth -is not deprived of memory, and that before -reaching the age of puberty, he possesses -the inherent faculties of the astral -body. It must not be forgotten that the -etheric and astral bodies are in existence -from the moment of physical birth, although -surrounded by the protecting shell -described. It is precisely this envelope, -protecting the etheric body, which permits -of a remarkably good memory before the -cutting of the second teeth. The existence -of physical eyes in the embryonic -being, concealed in the womb of the mother, -is analogous. And in the same way that -the physical eyes sheltered from all external -influence do not owe their development -to the physical sunlight, so also education -from without should not intervene -before the cutting of the second teeth in -the training of the memory. Very much -to the contrary, the spontaneous growth -of the memory will be noticeable, provided -there is food for it within reach, and no -attempt be made to train it by means of -exterior methods. -</p> -<p> -This observation applies equally to the -qualities belonging to the astral body -before puberty. Provision should be made -for their training, but bearing in mind that -this body is still encompassed by a protecting -shell. It is something wholly different -to take care of the germs which are -in process of development within the astral -body before puberty and to expose the freed -astral body <em>after</em> puberty to what it can -assimilate in the outer world, <em>without</em> the -protecting shell. This distinction is certainly -very subtle, but without its careful -consideration the whole significance of -education cannot be understood.</p></div> -</div> - - -<div class="transnote"> -<h3>Transcriber's Notes</h3> - -<p>Obvious typographical errors have been silently corrected. All other spelling and -punctuation remains unchanged.</p> - -<p>The half title immediately before the title page has been removed.</p> -</div> - - - - - - - - -<pre> - - - - - -End of Project Gutenberg's The Education of Children, by Rudolf Steiner - -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE EDUCATION OF CHILDREN *** - -***** This file should be named 55586-h.htm or 55586-h.zip ***** -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: - http://www.gutenberg.org/5/5/5/8/55586/ - -Produced by Chris Curnow, Les Galloway and the Online -Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This -file was produced from images generously made available -by The Internet Archive) - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions will -be renamed. - -Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright -law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works, -so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United -States without permission and without paying copyright -royalties. 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