Where there is a desire to discuss, there is generally no knowledge of the truth

Do you generally regard it as a sign that one does not actually know some matter, if one begins to discuss a particular matter. Where there is knowledge, that knowledge is told and there is then really no particular desire to debate. Where there is a desire to discuss, there is generally no knowledge of the truth. The discussion only begins with the not-knowing, and it is always and everywhere a sign of regression with regard to the seriousness of a matter when discussions begin. The abolition, downfall of a certain movement always announces itself with discussions. It is very important that people in the field of humanities come to understand more and more that the will to discuss can actually be regarded as a sign of ignorance; however, that which is opposed to discussing, the will to learn, the will to understand more and more what is at stake, should be practiced.

Source (German) : Rudolf Steiner – GA 107 – Geisteswissen-schaftliche Menschenkunde – Berlin, 15 February 1909 (page 235)

Translated by Google

 

Art of Nesta Carsten-Krüger 

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Jules Sauerwein / Rudolf Steiner

It touched me (Herbert Hahn) deeply when – it was already after the death of Rudolf Steiner – the statement of a well-known journalist appeared in the press. It was the French journalist Jules Sauerwein. One day they asked him, who had traveled all over the world and had come into contact with hundreds of prominent contemporaries, which personality had impressed him the most. He did not hesitate for a moment with his answer: ‘Of all the kings, monarchs, presidents, ministers, scholars, artists, writers and prominent figures in business whom I have come to know in the course of the decades of my profession, none has made such a deep impression on me as the German philosopher Rudolf Steiner.’

Source (Dutch): Herbert Hahn – Rudolf Steiner, zoals ik hem gekend heb

PS Rudolf Steiner was not a German but an Austrian.

Translated with http://www.DeepL.com/Translator

Socrates

Socrates gathers his pupils around himself, but how does he feel in relation to them? His manner of treating these pupils has been called the art of a spiritual midwife because he wished to draw out from the souls of his pupils what they themselves knew, and what they were to learn. He put his questions in such a manner that the fundamental inner mood of the souls of his pupils was stirred to movement. He transmitted nothing from himself to his pupils, but elicited everything from them. The somewhat dry and prosaic aspect of Socrates’ view of the world and the way he presented it comes from the fact that Socrates actually appealed to the independence and to the innate reasoning power of every pupil.

Source: Rudolf Steiner – GA 139 – THE GOSPEL OF ST. MARK – Lecture IV – Basel, 18 September 1912

Translated from the German by Conrad Mainzer and edited by Stewart C. Easton

Socrates (469-399 v.Chr.)

Letter from Steiner to his sister and brother

Dornach, November 12, 1924

My dear sister and brother,

 First of all, my dear sister, the warmest and most beautiful thoughts for your name day. Although I must be far from you, I think of you a lot on this day. I hope your health will improve soon. Count Polzer was here yesterday; we talked about you. He is bringing the medicine for you.

It has been a busy year for me this year. So many trips had to be made. To Paris, to Holland, to England. In between always the trips to Stuttgart. Then a long journey to Breslau.

Oh, my dear brother and sister, I am so sorry that I could not visit you for such a long time; I give myself hope that before not too long, it will be possible again. Now I think of you a lot, my dear ones, and am with you in my thoughts. After the travels, I have a lot to do here with the new building of the Goetheanum. Yes, there is much to do.

As I write this, Marie is travelling to give lectures; she will only return in the next few days. Therefore, she cannot personally add her greetings to this letter. But you can be sure that she sends you the best wishes from her heart.

With warmest greetings and kisses to you and Gustave,

From your Rudolf

Source (German): BRIEFE – BAND II 1890-1925 – GA 039 – letter 649 (page 480-481)

Translated by Nesta Carsten-Krüger

See also:

The last months in the life of Rudolf Steiner (1 of 2)

The last months in the life of Rudolf Steiner (2 of 2)

Brother Gustav, sister Leopoldine and caretaker Margarethe Karner, ca. 1926

Leopoldine Steiner, ca. 1885

Mother Franziska Steiner

Father Johann Steiner and brother Gustav Steiner, 1884

Previously posted on 5 July 2021

Alcohol has a long-term negative effect that manifests in many generations

One must know that alcohol gradually penetrates the bone marrow and ruins the blood. By harming the offspring, all the descendants are thus harmed. If an alcoholic has three children, for example, these three are harmed only a little; their descendants, however, are significantly hurt. Alcohol has a long-term negative effect that manifests in many generations. Much of the weakness that exists in humanity today is simply due to ancestors who drank too much.

One must indeed picture it like this: here is a man and a woman, the man drinks too much, and the bodies of their descendants are weakened. Now think for a moment what this implies in a hundred, and worse, in several hundred years! It serves no purpose to examine only a decade, say from 1870 to 1880, and to conclude that more people died from water than from alcohol. Much longer periods of time must be considered. 

Source: Rudolf Steiner – GA 348 – Health and Illness II: Lecture III: The Effects of Alcohol on Man – Dornach, January 8, 1923

Translated by Maria St. Goar

Previously posted on 6 September 2021