Think of the plant. It is rooted in the dead stone. If it had consciousness, it would have to bow down to the dead stone and say to it: ‘Without you I could not live; out of you I draw nourishment and strength: I owe to you my being, I thank you.’
The animal would have to speak in similar words to the plant: ‘Without you I could not live, I incline myself towards you in thankfulness, because out of you I draw that which I require for my existence.’
And it is the same with all the kingdom. Man, who has attained to a higher stage of evolution, must also bow down, as the plant to the stone, to those who work for him, and thank them.
He who would become a Christian Initiate must develop this feeling during a period of many weeks — the feeling that he owes gratitude to him who stands beneath him.
Source: Rudolf Steiner – GA Unknown – Esoteric Christianity: The Gospel of St. John and Ancient Mysteries – Dusseldorf, November 27th, 1906
The great Rudolf Steiner Quotes Site 