Wonders of the World: Trials of the Soul, Revelations of the Spirit (Cw 129)

by Rudolf Steiner, Frederick Amrine (Introduction), Owen Barfield (Translator), D Lenn (Translator)

Overview

In this remarkable interpretation of Greek mythology, Rudolf Steiner goes beyond Carl Jung and Joseph Campbell in reading mythological figures such as Demeter, Persephone, Eros and Dionysos as primordial archetypes of macrocosmic thinking, feeling and will. Moreover, he explains in detail how this archetypal consciousness was gradually lost, giving way to new-found, subjective experience of these faculties, which in turn opens up possibilities for human freedom. His overarching theme of 'the evolution of consciousness' is grand in its sweep, but Steiner also shows himself to be the master of telling details. Lectures include: 'The origin of dramatic art in European cultural life and the Mystery of Eleusis'; 'The living reality of the spiritual world in Greek mythology and the threefold Hecate'; 'Nature and spirit'; 'The entry of the Christ Impulse into human evolution and the activity of the planetary gods'; 'The merging of the ancient Hebrew and the Greek currents in the Christ-stream'; 'The ego-nature and the human form'; 'The Dionysian Mysteries'; 'Eagle, Bull and Lion currents, Sphinx and Dove'; 'The two poles of all soul-ordeals'; and 'On Goethe's birthday'. The freshly revised text features an introduction, notes and appendices by Professor Frederick Amrine, colour images and an index.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781855845817
Publisher:	Rudolf Steiner Press
Publication date:	02/15/2021
Series:	Collected Works of Rudolf Steiner , #129
Edition description:	Revised ed.
Pages:	286
Product dimensions:	6.10(w) x 9.10(h) x 0.90(d)

About the Author

Rudolf Steiner (b. Rudolf Joseph Lorenz Steiner, 1861-1925) was born in the small village of Kraljevec, Austro-Hungarian Empire (now in Croatia), where he grew up. As a young man, he lived in Weimar and Berlin, where he became a well-published scientific, literary, and philosophical scholar, known especially for his work with Goethe's scientific writings. Steiner termed his spiritual philosophy anthroposophy, meaning "wisdom of the human being." As an exceptionally developed seer, he based his work on direct knowledge and perception of spiritual dimensions. He initiated a modern, universal "spiritual science" that is accessible to anyone willing to exercise clear and unbiased thinking. From his spiritual investigations, Steiner provided suggestions for the renewal of numerous activities, including education (general and for special needs), agriculture, medicine, economics, architecture, science, philosophy, Christianity, and the arts. There are currently thousands of schools, clinics, farms, and initiatives in other fields that involve practical work based on the principles Steiner developed. His many published works feature his research into the spiritual nature of human beings, the evolution of the world and humanity, and methods for personal development. He wrote some thirty books and delivered more than six thousand lectures throughout much of Europe. In 1924, Steiner founded the General Anthroposophical Society, which today has branches around the world.

Frederick Amrine is associate professor of German at the University of Michigan. He holds advanced degrees from Cambridge University and Harvard. His publications include Goethe and the Sciences: A Reappraisal, The Bildungsroman, and Literature and Science as Modes of Expression. He has translated several works by Rudolf Steiner.

Owen Barfield (1898-1997), the British philosopher and critic, has been called the "First and Last Inkling," because of his influence and enduring role in the group known as the Oxford Inklings. The Inklings included C.S. Lewis, J.R.R. Tolkien, and Charles Williams. It was Barfield who first advanced the ideas about language, myth, and belief that became identified with the thinking and art of the Inklings. He is the author of numerous books, including Poetic Diction: A Study in Meaning; Romanticism Comes of Age; Unancestoral Voice; History in English Words; and Worlds Apart: A Dialogue of the 1960s. His history of the evolution of human consciousness, Saving the Appearances: A Study in Idolatry, achieved a place in the list of the "100 Best Spiritual Books of the Century."

Table of Contents

Publisher's Note viii

Introduction Frederick Amrine x

Lecture 1 Munich, 18 August 1911

The origin of dramatic art in European cultural life. The Mystery of Eleusis 1

Lecture 2 Munich, 19 August 19 1911

The living reality of the spiritual world in Greek mythology. The threefold Hecate 19

Lecture 3 Munich, 20 August 1911

Nature and spirit. Zeus, Poseidon and Pluto as macrocosmic counterparts of the human bodily sheaths. An occult sign 37

Lecture 4 Munich, 21 August 1911

Dionysos as the representative of the ego-forces. The entry of the Christ Impulse into human evolution and the activity of the planetary gods 53

Lecture 5 Munich, 22 August 1911

The merging of the ancient Hebrew and the Greek currents in the Christ-stream. Dionysos Zagreus and the younger Dionysos 71

Lecture 6 Munich, 23 August 1911

The ego-nature and the human form. Dionysos and his band of followers 91

Lecture 7 Munich, 24 August 1911

The Dionysian Mysteries 103

Lecture 8 Munich, 25 August 1911

The true meaning of ordeals of the soul. Progressive gods and backward beings. The Mystery of Golgotha 121

Lecture 9 Munich, 26 August 1911

Eagle, Bull and Lion currents. Sphinx and Dove. Ego-consciousness 139

Lecture 10 Munich, 27 August 1911

The two poles of all soul-ordeals. The macrocosmic Christ impulse in the meaning of St Paul 157

Lecture 11 Munich, 28 August 1911

On Goethe's Birthday 175

Appendices

1 Ahriman and Lucifer 197

2 Friedrich Nietzsche 199

3 The Etheric and the Astral Bodies 201

4 The Hierarchies 203

5 Cosmic Evolution 205

6 Charles Darwin 207

7 Ernst Haeckel 210

8 Karl Gegenbaur 213

9 Franz Brentano 215

10 Robert Hamerling 218

Notes 221

Rudolf Steiner's Collected Works 231

Significant Events in the Life of Rudolf Steiner 245

Index 261