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Full text of "The Triumph Of The Immortal Will"

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OSMANIA UNIVERSITY LIBRARY 



DR. MATHILDE LUDENDORFF 



THE TRIUMPH OF THE IMMORTAL-WILL 




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of fyt 3fmmortaWMU 



BY 

DR. MATHILDE LUDENDORFF 

(VON KEMNITZ) 



Translated by ALICE BRECHTA 



SELBSTVERLAG DR. M. LUDENDORFF - TUTZING 



Total Edition m German language 60 000 Popular Edition 15 000 

All rights especially the translation reserved by the author 

Copnght by Selbstverlag Dr. M. Ludcndorff, Tutzmg 

Printed in Germany 



v o whom it may concern, 

The enclosed book is sent to you as an extension of your 
library, it is essential to make the philosophical work of 
Mat'i 'de Ludendorff available to human beings of the area 
wher English is spoken. 

T'.o religious p'-iilosophy of Dr. Mathilde Ludendorff is 
prestnted by a work consisting of several books, of which, 
unfortunately, only the "Triumph of the Immortal Will" has 
been translated into English. 

The interest in philosophical knowledge and perception 
is increasing more and more in a time, where the old re- 
ligions like Judaism, Christianity, Islam and Buddhism 
have lost most of their conviction, and this the more be- 
cause Marxism, Materialism or other ideologies cannot ex- 
plain the nature of life of human beings. 

Mathilde Ludendorff has developed a complete philoso- 
phical system with idealistic and epistemological view- 
points, based on the knowledge of the famous philosophers 
Kant and Schopenhauer, and connected tightly with the dis- 
coveries of the natural sciences. She is interpreting the 
development of the world and the abilities of the soul of 
human beings, so that a convincing explanation is given 
of the nature of life and the world in itself. 

The philosophy of Mathilde Ludendorff is called "Gott- 
erkenntnis" (God-cognition). Although making very high 
claims on the intelligence and on the ethical conduct of 
the single person, it has found many followers. There 
exists, for example, the association "Weltanschauungs- 
gemeinschaft Gotterkenntnis Mathilde Ludendorff, 8132 
Tutzing, Hauptstrasse 7/f, Western Germany", which is 
responsible for the cultivation and representation of the 
philosophical work of Mathilde Ludendorff. 

There also exists a periodical which is discussing 
from the viewpoint of the philosophy of Mathilde Luden- 
dorff the culture, economy, politics and other points of 
interest of the life of human beings. This periodical is 
called "Mencch und Mass" and it is published in the Ver- 
lag franz von Bebenburg, 8121 Pahl, Western Germany. 

Mathilde Ludendorff is one of the few philosophers, 
whose philosophical works will be and have been available 
all the time since the first publications. Her books are 
re-edited as soon as they are out of print (Verlag Hohe 
\7arte, 81 PI Pahl, Western Germany). 



I would lead you to holy heights, 
Rut gentle be your tread, 
Lest y OH disturb the worshippers, 
Who are still kneeling, 
Living God in ancient temples. 



preface 

When I undertook the English translation of the fundamental 
philosophical work of Dr. Mathilde Ludendorff, I was fully 
aware of the great difficulties which the task of translating a 
philosophic-work brings in its wake. In the first place, I was 
obliged to keep closely to the original philosophic-thought and 
sense, and may be this has been accomplished at the expense 
of the natural ease of the English language. Therefore I ask the 
reader's pardon for this, hoping sincerely he will forgive any 
shortcomings for the sake of the exactness I persisted in achiev- 
ing. I considered the truths, collected and revealed to the public 
in this book, the more important. 

On account of the uniqueness of the author's word formation, 
I was bound to resort to circumscription in order to translate 
certain expressions into intelligible English; also I have some- 
times drawn two or more words into one, thus forming new 
and unusual expressions. The reason for this was to gain the 
exact philosophic meaning, as I found it in the original German 
edition. But, in order to prevent any wilful interpretations I 
have placed certain German words in brackets alongside the 
English. At the end of the book there can be found the list of 
these special words in German and English. 

By virtue of the truths, revealed in this philosophical work, 
the personified God-conception has been rejected, because this 
has been clearly perceived to be error: God cannot be defined, 
because God is beyond the powers of reason; God can be lived, 
and only the soul is capable of living God. Therefore, contrary 
to custom, I thought it good to use the third person when 
speaking of God. I wrote down God "It". 

I should like to add still, that I have retained the German 
word 'minne* to express the spiritualised state of love. 

Alice Brechta 



Cable of Contents; 



AS THE SOUL LIVES IT 11 

Cognisance Redemption 13 

Among the Chatt'ring Corpses 24 

The Immortals and the Death-Doomed 40 

The Death-Doomed and the Death- Wise 52 

The Holy Mystery 63 

Struggle-for-Life and the Soul 77 

Runes of the Struggle-for-Life 85 

Runes of Minne 94 

Runes of Godliving 101 

2. $art 

AS REASON SEES IT 121 

A new Religion? 123 

Darwinism and the History of Evolution 133 

The Unicell and Immortality 157 

Natural Death and Reason 179 

The Immortal-Will and Genius 216 

Godliving and the Struggle-for-Life 297 

The Morals of the Struggle-for-Life 318 

The Morals of Minne 348 

The Morals of Life 381 

Index I: English and German Words 443 

Index II: Vocabulary 446 

Book-List 



tl]f 



it 



Coptfance * ^Redemption 



The generations flit over the earth, 

Like darting shadows, they come and they go, 

Yet are singing forever and forever 

The same beloved song of Life- Immortal. 

What made them keep praising Life-Immortal, 

Hope and yearn so for dear Life-Immortal, 

In the midst, as they were, of Death Almighty? 

Ever since men have awakened to life, 

They have been pondering and pondering 

To solve the problem of Eternity. 

Their faith, their hopes, and all their better-life 

They put into their myth, legend and song. 

These songs came sounding out of the ages, 

As if singers were singing in chorus. 

What these sing, is sometimes folly, 

Sometimes fear f sometimes petty hope and wish. 

Yet, the exalted and eternal truths 

Are also there, closely intermingled. 

Ever and anon, there comes shrill and quick 

The death-fraught-laughter of ruthless scoffers, 

The death-fraught-laughter of rude decriers, 

As if these were giving the sute answer 

To that sacred song of Life-Immortal. 

Wonderful always were those sweet singers. 

Whose songs were called forth in pensive mood. 

So much do they resemble those dreamers, 

Who stray from the truth, from the possible, 

While they are still touching deep Cognisance. 



So much do they resemble those children 
Who are at play on the sunny-sea-shore. 
Because children so easily value 
The pretty pearl, the poor pebble, alike. 
Those ones, whose souls' are verily alive, 
Who love pondering the eternal mys'tries, 
Always seem to be mere erring dreamers, 
While the crowd of scoffers and decriers, 
Because of their din and self-importance, 
Seem to be truly the seers and wise men. 
In reality, their souls, these live not 
Their souls' deepest mysteries, they know not 
Longing for eternity, they feel not. 
For them t such sacred secrets exist not, 
Because these are but mere chattering corpses. 

The truly wise ones are and always were 

Like dreamers, living the secrets of life. 

The dreams, these have dreamt, 'were full of visions, 

Bright visions of hope, fear and defiance, 

Visions of sufferings, troubles and 'want, 

Visions of great joy and dire disaster, 

Visions full of grand doings and darings, 

Right visions, full of tranquillity, 

Emotionless, wishless, full of still thought. 

In these visions mostly reigned ignorance 

Although the rays of enlightment did shine, 

Here softly, there like the flash of lightening; 

One ray of this light, which a dreamer caught, 

Was so bright; it glorified the dark gloom 

Into 'which the erring folks had been plunged, 

Making the dreamers readily believe, 

In their uplifted hands they held the sun, 

That beautiful sun of 'wisdom itself! 

For the sake of that one ray of dear light, 

Believers grew to love legend and song. 



And filled their poor lives with divine bliss. 

What an irony of fate does it seem, 

That there should have been so many errors 

Attached to one single ray of the truth, 

As the divergent myths and songs reveal> 

Which the divergent folks have created, 

At different times, in different places. 

But worse was all this, when fate was so cruel, 

As to steal this bit of ancestral-truth, 

And fetter poor men completely to error: 

The truth, contained in the myth, was distorted, 

Ancestral-wisdom compelled to be cursed, 

Persecuted the few who remained true! 

This own immortal song now lost to them, 

Undaunted, the dreamers among the folk 

Began anew to seek after knowledge 

Of the sacred laws governing life and growth. 

In silence do the dreamers do their work; 

Shrill are the tones of chattering corpses: 

"Look here, you foolish singers and poets, 

Just pay good attention to us. 

We have solved all your mysteries, 

Have shovelled and dug a big grave, 

Have buried your good gods forever t 

Have buried your silly rubbish 

About God, soul and the beyond. 

We knew how all this should be done, 

Successful researchers are we. 

Conquerors of the universe, 

Reason was the sceptre we swayed, 

There is no need to remind us, 

That scientists once gave their ear 

To listen to your songs of faith, 

Though diff'rent their own opinion. 



Guilty they were of such folly, 

Their brains, no doubt, 'were much addled, 

With so much study and research! 

Our powers of intellect are clear, 

For we use our brains 'with caution, 

Must put an end once and for all 

To foolish fantoms and fancies. 39 

So chattering corpses shout and scream, 

They huddle closely together 

In large places They call them 'towns'. 

They fear the calm, the lone silence, 

Endeavour to assure themselves 

And others how warm still they live, 

Unlike the cold and silent dead! 

Far from them, among lonely heights, 

There dwells the lonely God-liver, 

Who listens In contemplation 

To that choir of sweat singers 

To songs of eternal longing, 

Which come sounding out of ages. 

How he loves listening to them! 

Yet they make his tender soul sad, 

For he feels, among all these songs, 

Not one brings his own redemption. 

At once sounds sweet and exalted 

That old song sung by the faithful 

In a great kingdom celestial*: 

a Human beings are one with the universe, 

United underlies all the diversity, 

Perpetual harmony reigns. 1 " 

Is this wisdom's culmination? 

This, redemption through cognisance? 

Who gave them such intuition? 

*) China 

16 



Who let them perceive unity 

In such entanglement of things? 

They 'who cared little for study 

O/ the laws of the universe, 

What had prompted them to listen, 

3 Midst the aivful horrors of strife 

To the harmony of calm peace. 

One ray of the Eternal-Truth 

Suffices, it guides and blesses; 

A folk t will tread the path of peace, 

The path of light for thousands of years. 

And yet 9 y fwas but one single ray. 

The Will-to-research ivas lacking , 

The Will-to-progress ivas lacking. 

The believers in this old myth 

Built walls to stop development. 

Monotony made life stagnant; 

Truth revenged itself bitterly, 

Because it had thus been ignored. 

Despiser of progress and change 

Cannot become a redeemer, 

No matter hoiv bright his ray shines. 

Hark no*w to another voice singing; 

Hoiv full of hope, hotv it throbs with pain, 

Whosoever suffers in patience, 

Whosoever resigns hatred, 

Whosoever loves God and all men, 

Whosoever wishes to do good 

Will be redeemed and 'will find refuge 

In the arms of our heavenly father. 

Oh! What a mild seducive voice, 
Verily a blest ray of light, 
Throivn from the holy mystery itself! 
It appeals to active natures 



Such as all the Nordic folks are. 

These forsake their songs of childhood, 

And sing the songs of India*. 

And light came into the dark night 

Which ill-directed-hatred creates. 

This dreamer's dream should be made true, 

For its promise is redemption. 

Not one ray of truth is lacking. 

Woe! This dream gro'ws distorted too. 

Unaware of these truths is he: 

Outward -appearance has value, 

Sacred are the duties to race, 

Choice must lead love and hate. 

Indian songs full of confusion; 

Confusion but augments the false. 

The interpreter of these songs 

Feels no longing to research life, 

No Will-to-knoivledge urges him, 

The human-brain's peering insight 

A horror, causing destruction 

Which is the foe of humbleness, 

State he thinks to be holiness. 

Trust in oneself he calls a vice, 

This vice has been called haughtiness. 

Hotv perfection gain? grace onlyf 

Thus he fetters capacity! 

Despiser of life here on earth, 

Despiser of procreation, 

Despiser of human-power and self esteem 

Can never become a redeemer, 

His rays of truth must shine in vain. 

A third holy voice comes sounding 
From out the far back ages, 

* Krishna 

18 



When Indians lived wise and pure lives. 

The dreamer 'who composed this song 

Almost touches the very pith 

Of Eternity*s mystery. 

Believing followers are enthralled, 

Immune to chatt'ring corpses; 

Error causes human suffering, 

But cognisance is redemption. 

Illusion is all outward-appearance, 

So seldom can this raise itself 

To be symbol of its contents. 

Brethren, turn from the visible 

And sink into contemplation. 

Maya is a great illusion 

There, to distract your attention. 

Thus re-echoed Brahma's teachings 

In souls of serener nature; 

The passionate ones were advised 

To despise even joy and pain, 

This was the 'wisdom of life. 

Oh holy lays of the Vedas*; 

Ho'w adequate your 'wisdom is 

To lead us from our mortal-state 

Into diviner life, beyond! 

Do you really contain the truth 

Which human-beings are in search off 

Might redemption be found in you? 

This dear dreamer is the wisest, 
But alas! His also is marred. 
In despising the visible, 
He blighted the will within him 
Intended to research the la t ws 
Governing visibility. 
Living-God is not cognisance 

* The ancient sacred literature of che Hindus. 

19 



Of the Eternal mysteries, 
'Til knowledge and capacity 
Gain in to make a union. 

Despiser of the visible- scene, 

Despiser of its sacred laws 

Can never become a redeemer; 

No matter how deep his perception be, 

How near the light he be. 

Such were the songs of dear dreaming dreamers. 

With jubilant joy one folk** dared to claim; 

Beauty was virtue, beauty was divine, 

The folk of this lay was glad as the day. 

It imbued the most earnest folks of the North 

With a longing for the light of the sun. 

But alas! Like the life of fleeting flowers 

The beauty of this folk lasted not long, 

Fate was cruel to these children of beauty. 

To the mind of the listener is recalled 

That song which once his own folk had composed; 

The Edda, the long forgotten Edda! 

Why had he been told to curse the Edda? 
What were those songs of his ancestors like? 
Those songs, these sang so many years ago? 
Behold! The songs of the Edda reveal 
The deepest knowledge of that hidden law 
Which unites the universal beings; 
The longing for clearness of cognisance, 
The confidence in universe and soul. 
Therein are lays telling of brave heroes, 
Battle-songs telling of pride and revenge, 
Heroic-songs of doing and daring 
Of the peerless and fearless beat of heart; 

** Greeks 



Sacred songs telling of }air-naired Heroes 
Who , by their own very virtue, were good. 
The songs of the Edda are of such sort, 
As belong to the peerless ones only! 

What became of those heroes so peerless, 
Who, in those ancient times, were so fearless, 
When they came under the alien yoke, 
Where they were taught to suffer in patience, 
To forsake the knowledge of their forebears 
And give up their old activity, 
Once so sacred to their own ancestors? 
Why defend oneself? The stranger bade them. 
Forgive the other seventy times seven. 
Why then be active, why be a master, 
When they were taught to suffer in patience? 
One wide realm was left them to conquer still; 
That realm was the realm of appearances, 
The kingdom of mankind was exception. 

The plant, animal and stone 

Which their ancestor had known 

To be possessed of a soul, 

That was akin to their own, 

To the alien 'were alien; 

Unaware of their oneness 

Their universality 

He had deemed them unholy. 

So the will-to-mastery, 

The will-to- activity 

Turned to take another way, 

Turned from deeds of former times, 

To research those secret laws; 

Ruling the life of water, 

Ruling the life of wind, 

Ruling the kingdom of earth, 



Ruling the life of all life. 

And behold comprehension! 

It made the elements slaves. 

No more could these shatter them. 

Over proud nature herself 

They proudly reign, once again. 

Humility grows stranger, 

'T was the gift of a stranger. 

Reason grows to victory. 

For she leads to cognisance. 

Now they love the universe, 

Love its study and research. 

Knowledge has its own reward. 

The stranger's disdain and scorn 

They know, now, to be a crime. 

Shattered still from such sudden awaking, 
Mind still tainted with alien ideas, 
Our peerless ones faith-in-beyond is lost; 
Was reason the cause of such awful curse? 
Reason, the cause of all the stranger's hate? 
Even God-livers she caused to be lost, 
Among the crowd of chattering corpses, 
Will she cause the loss of every one's soul? 

From afar comes sounds of the Vedas: 
Cognisance Redemption! 
Is this a warning, and what does it mean? 
If Godliving and knowledge would but pair? 
Then reason 'would have had all rights to lead. 
Was it not she who lead us to knowledge 
Along such delightful paths of study? 
Reason, the foe of mankind? No, never! 
What if the soul should ache for the comfort 
Which hope and faith succeeded in giving! 
The fault is not reason's, no, not reason's! 



That profound ancestral-wisdom 

To which our forebears once achieved 

Through the might of their inner sight: 

That the 'world 'which is visible 

Is but merely an appearance, 

That the nature which is within, 

The "Self", is unfathomable, 

Reason has proved to be true 

Through the clarity of knowledge. 

Exalted deed of the researching mind*! 
Reason, the adored goddess, points itself 
To limits to its own capacities! 
What, if man should reexaminc that work; 
His mighty intellectual-kingdom, 
Reason's first divine intoxication, 
But this time, leaving untampered that part 
Which is not in reason's -power to fathom? 
What, if he should succeed in combining 
The doctrines of life and evolution 
With the soul's inmost suspicion and will, 
Would he then succeed to true cognisance? 

Cognisance Redemption 

Sings the old song, composed by living souls, 

Shrill sounds the laughter of chatt'ring corpses. 



Kont 

23 



Shrill sounds the laughter of chattering corpses. 

Lonely one! You have just been listening 

To that choir singing of eternity; 

Each single singer was inspired with hopes, 

With an unstilled longing for redemption. 

While listening you grew to love dearly 

All those soulful songs of belief, 

Albeit your reason, your cruel reason 

Responded in such a deadly answer, 

Like the shrill sounds of the mockers of truth. 

Grave this is, have you courage to face it? 

Well-knowing, as you do, how relentless, 

E'en to your soul's most tender beseechings, 

That inexorable Will-to-Truth is 

Which exists deep, deep down in your breast, 

How it spares neither your hope nor your faith! 

For reason must stride fact's pitiless path. 

Contemplative dreamer! Woe to your soul, 
If it ever give right to those doctrines 
Which chatt y ring corpses have invented! 
Incapable of laughter, such as theirs, 
You would but mourn and weep. 
Steadily there burns longing within you, 
That longing and yearning for the beyond. 
Soul-life and brain would be always at strife, 
Conflictions would rage deep down in your breast. 



Woe to you! How these 'would make you suffer 

Are you afraid to face this certainty? 

Afraid to face the crowd of chatt'ring corpses? 

Just think of your Edda to give you strength/ 

For you belong to the same peerless folk, 

Fearless folk/ For each and all were born'peers'! 

Go, oh go and face bravely this danger, 

The greatest which ever befalls a soul! 

Face its weight in all right consciousness, 

And pay good attention to their reasons, 

And pay good attention to all their proofs, 

But pay most attention to those reasons, 

Why there can be no soul nor any God, 

Why beyond but a fancy for children. 

Pay attention also to those others 

Who, like yourself, are consciously aware 

Of change and development of knowledge, 

But < who, unlike yourself, deny the fact 

That Eternal Truth is unchangeable. 

May be, their empty talk will be the means 

Of your finding the secret's solution, 

May be, their fallacies will be the means 

Of op'ning your eyes to truth. 

The lonely thinker leaves his holy heights. 
Inspired with the greatest of intentions, 
He strides solemnly down the mountain-paths, 
Towards the noisy towns of chatt'ring corpses. 

Watch them as they go hurrying on, 

In motley crowds, to their fun'ral feasts, 

Which are thought to be greater, grander 

When they appear in large countless crowds. 

Always about to make their reverence, 

In the right spirit of humbleness, 

To the huge sum of soulless numbers. 



When I tell you who their idol is, 

Their madness, no more will amaze you 

That rogue of rogues, old Mammon, it is, 

Who himself keeps on genuflecting, 

In that right spirit of humbleness, 

Before the huge sum of soulless numbers, 

Counting incessantly soulless numbers. 

You must think this funeral-feast 

Is a most strange affair, 

As all of the guests themselves arc dead. 

Ah, innocent of all dear dreamers! 

How can you know that all these themselves 

Are not aware of their being dead. 

They believe themselves to be full of life. 

For noise and haste is the sign of life 

Quietness and peace is the sign of death, 

So they think. And this is the reason, 

Why those two cognate, still life-desires 

God and soul have always been hated, 

Ridiculed and calumniated, 

And said once and for all, to be dead; 

Year after year they all celebrate. 

In motley crowds, their funeral- feasts. 

Hark how they croak out their hymns of praise, 

"God is dead, is dead forever" 

Oh thought, so powerful and exalted! 

He, the jester of poor human-beings, 

He, who spoilt the beauty of their lives, 

He, who could seduce and terrify 

With his holy heaven and his hell. 

He is dead, is dead forever, 

Reason, human reason has killed htm. 

"Grand humanity, rejoice, rejoice." 

Others shriek out, as if in response; 

"The soul, of course, is dead, is dead. 

For what can there still remain of it? 



26 



Our old idol, our beloved mammon. 

Who only loves the soulless numbers, 

Will gladly hear of this solution: 

That something, foolish dreamers called soul, 

That something they tenderly nurtured, 

And even considered eternal, 

Is naught else but all those faculties 

Which come from the workings of the brain, 

Provided these are duly nourished. 

At last the bright light of truth has dawned 

To clear away 'with its piercing ray 

Anything which dares still to remain 

Of such confusion and such fancies. 

Oh how glad, how glad we all can be. 

Rejoice, rejoice grand humanity!" 

Oh, conduct me to your teachers, 

Oh y conduct me to your idols, 

For I would fain learn your knowledge 

I want to prove its good myself. 

Lead me not again to Mammon, 

For many a thousand year revered* 

Whose treasures were eagerly enshrined, 

The idol whom you served on your knees, 

To whom you sacrificed your best, 

And your very heart's dearest even, 

Who repayed you with hardest bondage, 

Him I know too 'well. I know too 'well 

Holy places of his pilgrimage. 

Slyness, fraud, treason and perfidy 

Are the names of all those dark ways 

You must tread, should you 'want to go 

Among the motley crowds to Mammon. 

How many a time you have muttered, 

(It did seem like the sounds of praying) 

When all were counting incessantly, 

Counting incessantly soulless sums, 



Sacred to your preposterous idol. 
No, not to that awful soul-murderer. 

Not to Mammon, oh not to Mammon. 

I want to meet your newest idol, 

Who is said to be the very great one, 

The one, vvho taught you to dig great graves 

And to praise your proofs in grand dirges. 

Silence, respect and reverence 

Reign not in their temples, 

All chatter irresponsibly! 

All argue industriously! 

One word all keep on muttering 

Which, from afar sounds too like prayer; 

Utility, Utility! 

They mutter, mutter devoutly. 

Have you no temples, 
Wherein stillness reigns? 
Have you no leisure? 
Their dull heads they shake 
And mockingly say: 
"Do you mean still gods, 
Dead gods as yours are?" 
None of us like rest, 
Our gods do not rest, 
Always adding sums, 
Again and again, 
Which the priests offer. 
Our latest idol, 
Like Mammon is alert. 
He taught us the truth, 
Whose temple you see; 
Behold, he rests not, 
Industrious is he! 



'Throned upon his altar', broadly grinning, 

Squats the ugly idol, called "Utility*, 

Who wants no leisure, who 'wants no rest; 

Just behold his restless activity! 

His hard f rough hands are tearing to pieces 

Works which are sacred to wisdom and art; 

The Sacrifice, the Offering-of-Beauty, 

Which his industrious priests have made him, 

Up and away he will throw those pieces, 

Loudly pleased at the scramble which follows 

From the insolent corpses before him. 

And when, perchance, a poor, deceived, dreamer 

Has been induced to make his appearance 

To make the off' ring of his works himself, 

Those works, may be, which, in youth were created, 

And which are full still of solemn faith, 

And with a falter and tremble of awe, 

And last loving glance places them in those hands, 

In those rude hands of the idol himself, 

How all those corpses around him do titter, 

Even the idol himself doth titter. 

What made you raise this awful spirit 

To be the idol you most adore? 

"Utility is life's meaning, 

Question, priest hurries to answer: 

Utility was the principle 

Which ruled the great evolution." 

Cheer'ly, in an industrious 'way, 

He goes on, he goes on to say, 

"What reason once assumed, 

At last has been proved right." 

And the end of it all is, 

That only the victor 

In the struggle- for-life 

Is competent enough 



To maintain 'well the kind. 
Therefore, Utility 
Is the greatest virtue; 
Make endeavours to 'work, 
For what is practical, 
Soon perfection is yours! 
Now, this is no fiction, 
Like silly stories were, 
You so believed in once. 
These are very hard facts 
Which science has proved true, 
Should you 'want conviction 
Listen to that man yonder! 
Who expounds this doctrine. 

Once upon a time, the folks of this earth 
Believed, in their sweet childlike ignorance, 
The earth with themselves had been created 
By a personal God, dwelling in heaven. 
They believed, too, God had created man 
According to his own divine image, 
In having breathed into him his own soul. 
Now, thanks to our own research and study 
Of all those times primeval, we can say; 
That this is completely wrong, is error. 
We have found out that ages ago, 
Ages almost unimaginable, 
The population of the earth contained 
Living species that were one kind, only; 
The first of our most ancient ancestors, 
Species of the most primitive of kinds 
That 'were so infinitionally small! 
These tiny beings were ever at warfare, 
At fearful warfare, one with another. 
The most efficient, among these, were those 
That came out of this awful fray, unhurt. 



By virtue of this they were priviledged 

To be happy, to live and to multiply, 

In that they escaped accidental death; 

To wit; evils of famine and warfare, 

Participation in eternal youth 

Was theirs. Thanks to their better equipment. 

Which in deadly strife had been accomplished. 

Those primitive cells, ancestors of ours, 

Gradually developed to higher kinds, 

Into beings 'which were made up of cells. 

All those cells, each and all had a function, 

All were unanimous in one purpose; 

Ministering to wants of germ-cells. 

As soon as these cells become fertilised, 

So that the life of the kind was assured, 

Their destiny was completely fulfilled. 

They had naught else to do, but die down 

Being but the 'body* of the being, 

Whom they had always served, all their lifes long. 

So for the first time there appeared on earth 

The inevitability of death; 

Mortals were born in plant and animals 

And because, always, only the fittest 

Had the chance of being victorious, 

In the warfare that always persevered, 

These alone were lucky to multiply; 

And because of their most clever adaption 

To each different danger which occurred, 

In the general struggle that went on, 

Plants and beasts appeared in great variety, 

Until man appeared as the last of them all 

In the long chain of that development. 

In the struggle-for-life 'which man must face 
He alone gains the victory of life, 
To 'whom practical thinking is given. 



A certain law, with tenacity, 

Limited the growth of the species; 

Once a successful appearance was made 

Proving how fit this was for struggle. 

The selfsame process, once undergone, 

The next higher stage relived at birth 

A living memory, so to speak. 

Now all the paths which life had once trod 

In the course of the centuries past, 

In its process of development, 

Are reflected in this memory, 

Giving a clear 'witness to the fact, 

That all different kinds of species 

Of the animal and the plant-kind 

Originated gradually, 

From step to step, man not excepted, 

It follows then, that the origin 

Of each kind of thing must have been caused 

To create a new practical outfit, 

Grown essential in the general strife. 

Each living-being had been called upon 

To protect the sacred germ of life, 

Although itself was doomed to age, 

Doomed to decline and doomed to die, 

After fertilisation took place. 

Immortal are the species only, 

Transit oriness the fate of soul, 

And fitness the most high of virtues; 

It aided the perpetual-species. 

Although all the animals and plants 

Come of the most primitive being, 

Albeit this being was immortal , 

The evolution-process of kinds 

Did not continue so forever. 

Little goes on to-day in nature, 

Like in those times so long, long ago, 



"When variety of form and shape 

In quick procession followed each other.* 

The listeners become spell-bound 

At such wonders of nature. 

The aged teacher continues, 

Explaining to what purpose 

Colours and construction served 

In the struggle that went on. 

He tells of all those events, 

So incomprehensible 

To our ancient-ancestors, 

Tells of that inner likeness 

Between animals and men. 

The living are silent with amazement, 

How piercing the eyes of the researcher. 

How marvellous the fruits of his knowledge^ 

They rise from their seats, still pondering deeply, 

The dreamer watches them full of pity 

For he is aware that they have suffered, 

Inspite of those benefits just received, 

A great loss: Their belief in a beyond. 

All the rest crowd up towards the teacher, 

Loudly and boisterously applauding, 

Like the way is of chatt'ring corpses. 

"How similar is this doctrine 

To the holy lays of China" , 

Is the last thought of the dreamer 

As he turns away to depart. 

"Human-beings and the universe are one, 

Unity underlies the diversity, 

Perpetual harmony reigns." 

And yet, strange appears this doctrine, 

When compared to the songs of old. 

The Vedas sang of creation: 



33 



"No difference exists at all 

Between human-beings and the beasts, 

Except that the human-being 

Is animated most of all 

With the wise spirit of Brahma." 

The doctrine of that old man was 

In temple of chatt'ring corpses, 

"All animality is alike, 

None possess an immortal-soul, 

They are nothing but large armies 

'Warring one against the other, 

Each stooping to cunning device 

In the one single endeavour 

To keep its own species going, 

(Itself, but a death-doomed creature!)" 

But something had flooded with enlightment 
The soul of the dreamer. What 'was it now? 
It was, when the aged teacher was teaching 
About bodies that 'were fated to die; 
Bodies made up of cells, but not germ-cells, 
But cells always doomed to decay and die. 
Near, very near was the grand old teacher, 
But how near, he himself seemed unaware, 
To the truth suspected in the Edda. 
The 'solution 9 , he found, was far from truth, 
Was quite empty of all living 'wisdom, 
Albeit he was near to the very place 
Where life's sacred mystery lay hidden. 
Thus pond'ring o'er the old teacher's teachings, 
The dreamer's thoughts awakened to this truth; 
In the doctrine of life's evolution 
The holy mystery of life can be found. 
Another wanderer he hears teaching 
Who had a voice full of sweet melody, 
Who bad a spirit full of enthusiasm, 



34 



Had he also come down from the mountains 

To dwell a time among chattering corpses? 

He seemed to be a wise man and great seer. 

The living ones were listening devoutly y 

Those sad ones who had lost their faith in beyond. 

K There is profoundest truth" , he was saying, 

u Profoundest truth in the old teacher's teachings , 

The very solution to life's secret." 

God of-course is dead, but mourn not this fact, 

A sublime ascent of life has been witnessed. 

Imagine the ascent, man still can make 

To a level of Godlike proportions! 

He, who was once but the lowest of kinds. 

Behold the bridge of hope I am building 

Which leads you to the land of the children, 

Who are more than parents who beget them. 

The soul's desire for immortality 

Which once was directed towards a beyond, 

I redirect to other blissful realms, 

Wherein the high, perfect God can be born, 

"Stead of a bundle of human weakness, 

Ye all can become arrows of yearning 

That can fly into future realms of bliss, 

Where exists the superman, the ful filler." 

He broke all their tables with morals strange 

Gave them tables of native self-esteem, 

Of freedom, of spirit, of bravery, 

He, "Zarathustra"*, the hero, the seer! 

How our dreamer loves listening to him! 

Verily, his song is the only one 

'Midst all the others in the noisy temple, 

Which recalls that choir of living singers, 

And truly, all who rise and follow him 

Are given strength to keep their souls alive, 



* Nietzsdie 



35 



While in the midst of chattering-corpses." 
And softly, to himself, the dreamer says: 
"The solution of the sacred secret 
Is not the hidden promise of progress 
Which knowledge of evolution reveals; 
Yet, despite this error, "Zarathustra! 
I love thee still. How many hast thou saved 
In breaking for them their tables of folly/" 
A talkative corpse, with flickering eyes, 
Startles the dreamer out of his dream. 
"Whatever makes you stay here", he pokes, 
Among such funny fools and old folks. 
You don't seem to know the sign of death, 
Sitting still, listening and believing! 
You don't seem to know the signs of life, 
Motion and change are the signs of life, 
Nothing is faithful, nothing is true! 
Join us, the doubters, we live and kno'w! 

You don't seem to know that time and endurance, 

The last which seemed really endurable, 

Have also proved to be unenduring 

Through the changes which happen from motion. 

I feel sure you are still foolish enough 

To have trust in the Inner-Experience, 

Because you still believe in its firmness, 

And that's why all your thinking's nothing more 

Than riddles still waiting for an answer. 

How wise are we! We pick up the questions, 

But out of the rest we make a good game, 

Oh, we are the wisest of all 'wise men; 

We acknowledge naught to be enduring, 

We acknowledge naught to be "true". 

Then he leads the dreamer to the doubters. 

A stream of continuous questionings, 

Like a litany, irritate the air, 



"What is life? 
What is a state? 
What is gravity? 
What is a sword? 
What is cloth? 
What are morals? 
What is art? 
What is soul? 
What is . . ." 

How this fills the dear dreamer with horror, 

For of a sudden he becomes aware, 

How apt this sort of idle chatter is 

To intoxicate even the livers y 

Making them suffer the loss of their souls. 

He must raise his voice high to stop this noise; 

"Soon will an end be put to this boasting! 

The sound of another song will arise, 

Bearing the promise of life to mankind; 

Affirming knowledge, affirming beyond, 

Silencing all of you here forever, 

Decriers of the unchangeable truth, 

The eternal Self-animate in all things, 

Inaccessible to human-reason, 

You ugly sepulchres of a dead soul" 

All seem to be struck with silence and fear, 

Not long; the hubbub starts over again. 

"What was this stray fool trying to say?" 

9 What means his song? n 

"What means life?" 

What is knowledge? 

What is affirmation? 

What means beyond? 

What 

The liver, horrified, hurries away, 

37 



Finds no peace until the very last sound 
Of this morbid mutt'ring has died away. 

How gladly he hails the holy heights, 
At last he can breathe again freely. 



At the sight of his long lost flowers, 
Happy children of light and sun, 
His joy overflows. And he calls: 

"Oh beauty! How we knew we 'were one 

And now an aged teacher has proved it. 

Ye radiant flowers do cling to life, 

In very truth, as much as I do. 

In both of us burns the Will-to-Life. 

But life means something different to each. 

In order to put up a brave fight 

We must be practically equipped. 

For survive can only the fittest 

And bequeathe its nature to offspring. 

All the unfit must die very young 

Much sooner than they can multiply. 

And yet that most exquisite beauty 

Which ye flowers, large and small, exhibit, 

Is not due to ugly utility, 

That beloved grinning idol utility. 

What must it have cost the will-to-beauty, 

Existing alike in all living things, 

To have been obliged to stand aside, 

Whenever life was calling to be saved. 

Oh how unwilling, oh how ashamed 

Was that grand divine Will- to- beauty. 

So it tries to make this sacrifice 

Be as small, oh as small as can be! 

Forsooth, that learned old teacher, 

In the town of the chatt'ring corpse, 



Has helped me see the "Secret Law" 
That governed the growth of all life. 
But he himself spoke unwisely. 

What part of his teachings 

Took such hold of my soul 

As if 'twere a 'wonder? 

When nearcd he "Sacred Secret"? 

Awful to be among chattering corpses, 

Yet in their midst something dawned on me 

Which I know to be truth: 

"Existence reveals not Cognisance 

In the growth of life lies hidden the truth!" 



mmottai0 and tlje 3ieatl)*3ioomeD 



In the growth of life lies hidden the truth. 

Lonely dreamer , come back to peace again! 

Soothe your troubled soul in sweet stillness. 

The hurry, scurry, chatter and quarrels 

Of those, who merely seem to be alive, 

Let die right away in the far distance. 

May no thought of them at all fill your mind! 

Let the sunlight as well as the dark nights 

Unheeded, again and again, pass the heights, 

Unheeded be your friends, the beasts, the flowers, 

Unheeded all perfect beauty around, 

All emotions must depart from your soul, 

Close your eyes to beauty made visible, 

Sink back again into your divine "Self" . 

Contemplate the secret of growth and life, 

Anticipation, awaken anew. 

Hark! From out of the far ages 

Come again the sounds of that choir 

Of living singers. But how strange, 

Long e'er you reached a chattering corpse, 

Rays of enlightment were shining, 

The sacred wisdom was shining, 

Had you listened attentively 

To the different song of each folk. 

Unheeding, the myths you passed by, 



40 



Thinking them to be mere fancies, 
Full of folly and confusion, 
Fancies that made your reason sneer! 
Since you heard that teacher teaching, 
How clear the mystery has grown, 
Which once the myth tried to reveal. 
That teacher rejected the myths, 
He deemed them mere childish folly. 
But you are conscious of their truth, 
That truth 'which the folks in chorus 
Have been singing of since ages. 
There is the song of creation, 
Repeated in every tongue, 
Sweet images, distorted ones, 
Are all of them but mere folly? 
The 'worthy teacher declared this: 
ft There 'was a time upon our earth, 
When species originated 
One new kind after another, 
But this process did not persist; 
These times have passed forever, 
For little are the changes now." 
So it 'was true what those singers sang! 
Those times have passed forever, 
When species, in swift succession, 
Made their appearance here on earth. 
What a true memory this 'was, 
Inspite of all erring fancies! 

Another myth reveals a second dream 

Which is full of longing and homesickness. 

It recurs again and over again, 

"Your pains and sufferings, sorrows and death- 

Are a curse 'which has befallen mankind?-' 

In the beginning, ancestors 'were glad ** 

In a painless immortal existence, 



In Midgard eternal youth was enjoyed." 

How true this is, too, to the memory 

Come to life while dreamers were dreaming 

Of those days in the beginning of time! 

Confirmed was this in that teacher's teachings: 

In the beginning of time death happened, 

But only that death, caused by accident. 

There was no decline, no death from old age, 

But eternal youthful vitality. 

Our very first ancestors were happy 

In persevering in the Will-of-Life! 

Old myth, telling of the bliss in Midgard, 

How true to memory are your contents, 

That memory which awakened to life 

While dreamers were dreaming their dreams of life. 

Our Edda is the third glad song to him, 

It seems no more the error and folly, 

It used to seem since the dreamer has heard 

The teacher's teaching about life and growth: 

"The dead will be reborn, it is certain, 

Therefore cease your weeping, mourn not the dead, 

For one day, in another shape and form 

On earth you will be united again." 

This is what his ancient forebears had snng. 

The voice singing from out of the Vedas 

Tells the story still tiuer to memory: 

'The souls of the dead, they will be reborn, 

Each new birth brings a greater wake fulness* 

Out of the chains of animahty 

They gradually step, higher and higher 

'Til cognisance, at last, gives redemption. 

In the town of chattering corpses, 

The teacher taught of life's transformation, 

How, through changes and still many changes 



Both body and mind grew to perfection. 

From the lowest animal up to man, 

So the oldest and most primitive soul 

Returns to the germ, the eternal cells, 

To be reborn into the visible, 

Having grown, stage by stage, to perfection, 

How wise all the myths are! This one as well, 

A memory true to the laws of growth 

Hark to the most magnificent of all, 

The myth in which all the folks have joined in, 

Singing of a triumphant life-bcyond. 

Its bright, joyous tones overwhelm all else, 

So that death and its sorrows must vanish! 

Might this joyous legend also be true? 

If those dreams of life and growth have proved true, 

Then, surely, the grandest of all those songs, 

Which noble livers at all times have sung, 

Cannot be mere error and folly. 

When a death-doomed being learns of its fate, 

Who would wonder at its wish and desire 

And its great longing for eternal life? 

But what gave mortal beings that firm faith, 

That certainty of immortality? 

Is this hope, is this faith also affirmed 

In the teaching of that learned teacher? 

Can the longing for the beyond grow still 

Because all the species are immortal? 

Cruel, doubly cruel to know of the laws, 

Ruling so relentlessly life and growth, 

To know of the relentless fate waiting 

On all multicelled animals and plants? 

To know about the great self sacrifice 

Of those ministering cells, soma cells, 

That age and die for the sake of the seed. 

Thus ponders the solitary dreamer, 

Sad at the thought of transitory life. 



The possibility of death 

Would not be able to scare us, 

It would help to greatly strengthen 

Our will to well defend ourselves. 

The probability of death, 

Like fate of ancient ancestors, 

A great danger; but to danger 

We could become alive and learn 

To grow brave, in the desire. 

To live forever and ever! 

Yet to age and decay, 

And become dust in the end, 

Knowing this to be our sure fate, 

Makes us feel dead, weary, hopeless! 

If death be our lawful master, 

Than man is indeed a mere slave. 

For what can become of the Will-to-Life, 

When it is robbed of its spirit of joy; 

Protect life? Forget the future! 

Despair or what else 



And the song of eternal life just heard? 

Where are its jubilant sounds of deep faith? 

To the dreamer they sound now faint and weak, 

Who dampened those sweet comforting voices? 

So faint do they appear to be, so far away. 

But hark, the louder, shattering, mighty 

Do the sorrows of centuries rise and swell, 

Howling like the strong wind does round the earth, 

Dirges of the death-wise God-living souls! 

In one voice, all the folks of the earth join in, 

United are they in the same song of death, 

So old, so melancholy, so gloomy, 

So dark, so dragging, so full of despair 

In that song of death, sung by Gilgamesh, 



44 



The 'perfect hero 9 'who lived long ago, 

The mighty and good man of 'joy and pain 9 : 

"How can my cheecks be other than haggard, 

My brow other than lowering, 

My soul other than full of despair, 

My shoulders bowed, 

When my heart is so broken? 

My friend, Enkidu my friend, 

The friend whom I loved, 

Whom I loved so dearly, is dead. 

Human fate overcame him, 

Night and day I mourn, 

I cannot yield him to the tomb. 

I waited thinking he 'would hear my screams, 
Seven days and seven nights he lay like a trodden wo 
I searched for the sign of life 
But found it no more. 

How can 1 keep it silent? 
How can I scream it out? 
My friend, he whom 1 loved, 
Oh so dearly, 
Has returned to dust, 
Has returned to earth 
Like him, must I, too, 
Return to eternal peace 
Never to rise again?" 

This is a great hero's heart rending dirge, 

Which comes sounding out of the far ages, 

All unhappy death-doomed, death-wise joined in, 

All? Not all. 

Man, 'midst plant and animal-life around, 

Which, like him, also age, decay and die, 



45 



Is lonely in his sorrows and complaints, 
Is the lonely knower of death in store, 
Lonely in his songs of fear and longing, 
The first to create gods, heavens and altars! 

Verily a new world 'was horn, 

When man, 'midst animal and plants, 

Was the first who could understand 

That death 'was inevitable; 

The fearful fate in store for all! 

In the 'wide 'world of immortals, 

And those believing to be so, 

Man's mind alone grew awakened. 

Grew awakened to feel discord, 

Which the yearning feelings of hope, 

Which the joyous feelings of faith, 

Which the dark feelings of despair, 

At the certainty of dark death, 

Brought in their wake. Changed was the earth. 

Great sadness had come into it 

Since the death-knower had been born! 

Our dreamer ponders and ponders, 

How end these bitter sufferings? 

How break the hard fetters of death? 

Might that myth of heaven be true? 

"Cognisance Redemption" 
All the enlightened of old sang, 
Lately his own soul had told him, 
"In the growth of life lies hidden the truth." 
And his thoughts return to the life 
Of his immortal-ancestors. 
"What is it 'within my own soul 
That resemble* my ancestors? 
That Will-to-Beauty in my soul 
Created also the beauty 
Of their shape, form and colouring. 



Thus, the divine Will-to- Beauty 
Must also be alive in them* 
That desire to live visibly , 
Forever 'which burns in my soul, 
Burns as intensely in them too. 
The happy ones, the only ones, 
Never aging, Mothers of life. 
They know of my sacred longing, 
They know too of its fulfilment! 
Yet unfathomable they are, 
Inspite of our affinity, 
Contemplatively remembering, 
Yet still I cannot find contact 
With these satisfied ancestors, 
These oldest eternal ancestors! 9 " 

So thinks he, the dreamer, who is 

Full of longing, full of sadness, 

As he wends his way towards the stream. 

In its cooling 'waters he soothes 

The sadness gnawing at his heart, 

Strength of eternal youth returns. 

Longing is stilled, sadness is stilled, 

Thoughts and pond* rings are all over, 

Passion has made its departure. 

Free grows he of desire or 'wish, 

For his soul has sunk back again 

Into that state of oblivion 

Experience of prime existence 

Which knows neither past nor future, 

The holy water's gift to him 

"This 'was the life lived by our first forebears, 

A remembrance of which still lives in me!" 

Exclaims he stepping out of the 'waters. 

"Marvellous 'was the power of the holy stream! 

It brought to life this slumbering memory! 



Heritage bequeathed to me from forebears. 

The waters were the oldest home of life, 

Now the forlorn home of eternal youth!" 

The first to walk the land were death-doomed beings, 

So surely to the water it was given 

To awaken the slumbering remembrance 

Of wishless life of immortal forebears: 

Gently they glide through the silent waters. 

Seizing their food with their little bodies, 

Escaping danger, resting restfully, 

Growing, dividing to a twofold-life, 

Wishing to live visibly forever, 

Always succeeding in this fulfilment. 

Such is the life of immortal forebears, 

Of death-doomed, death-wise human generations. 

What caused them change their state of perfection? 

What caused them change their outward appearance? 

Life increases, because of each one's wish 

To multiply out of its love for life. 

With each new being danger increases 

To the body of those life-inspired-ones, 

Each had become the foe of the other, 

So danger grows to the Immortal-Will. 

With hunger and strife doth death keep apace, 

Immortality, precious goal of each, 

Succeeds less frequently in fulfilment. 

But the Will-to-Life burns all the brighter, 

Where, oh where find escape? 

In its trouble, the Will seeks protection; 
It forces itself to transformation. 
Whipping flagella make their appearance, 
Swift escape, swift motion in search for food 
Is the great benefit which these have brought. 
The being, once so simple, divides into parts, 
Each part ministers to the good of all. 



What an excellent protection this means! 
All perils are scared away for awhile, 
Immortal life, that precious good succeeds. 
But woe to all, instead of a blessing, 
Improvement proves to be an awful curse. 
The Will, being equally strong in all t 
Each and all have become stalwarts alike 
Inspite of each one's better equipment, 
Danger keeps apace with means of defence, 
And death is gloating, for great is the prey! 
Danger increases still; stalwarts increase, 
But the Will-to-Life burns all the brighter, 
Where, oh where find escape? 
All are at warfare, hostility reigns, 
Forebears of future, death-doomed generations 
Seek, in their fears, for a better escape, 
Seek, in their troubles, fellow-companions 
And rest upon them 'while the fight goes on, 
For unity gives each and all more strength. 
Then they part, and renew their lonely lives, 
The first beginning of a faint friendship, 
The dreamer calls it 'joy-of-approachment*. 
And as this unity proves to be good, 
And dangers to life keep on increasing, 
The cells, when dividing, keep united, 
Thus forming a shining globe, called "Algae". 
All their lives, now, they will keep united. 
In danger the first multicell was born. 
When cells unite in one whipping motion, 
Behold how swiftly they escape their foe, 
Behold how swiftly they can find their food, 
Behold how harmony scares away harm! 
But alas! Still stalwart strugglers increase, 
Danger increases, danger grows greater, 
And the Will-to-Life burns all the brighter, 
Where, oh where find escape? 



49 



Forebears of future death-doomed generations 

Think again how to escape danger! 

"If I find myself inadequate 

To save my own life, then some of my cells 

Must be called upon to make sacrifice; 

They must work in service of the others. 

Must resign their part in reproduction 

For the good of the few bearers-of-seedl 

Be prepared, 'well-armed, 

Go in search of the food, 

Work 'without resting, 

For the sake of the whole, 

For the good of the few, 

For the bearer s-of-seed. 

And you priviledged few, bearers of seed, 

Chosen to partake in eternal-life, 

All ministering cells lie at your service, 

Rest in peace, they conceal you from all harm. 

Await your time in sweet comfort: One day 

The act of procreation 'will happen, 

After 'which you, too, 'will be awakened, 

Will grow and ripen into a new shape. 

Then the serving cells will be forsaken 

To collapse and return to dust again." 

Thus was born that dark bitter fate 

Which afterwards 'was to happen 

To all cells called upon to serve. 

The cause of it 'was an Alga, 

That was driven to it, in an hour, 

When the Life-Will was in danger. 

Oh you poor, death-doomed body-cells, 

Because Alga was once compelled 

To deprive you of the power, 

Essential for procreation, 

Eternal youth 'was lost forever 



And death was inevitable. 
Was the Immortal-Will, therefore, 
Also extinguished 'within you? 
Crushed asunder through hitter fate? 
The dreamer ponders and ponders, 
Paralysed at such a prospect. 
He, the living one, plainly feels, 
The Life-Will and the Self-of-Life 
Are t<wo inseparable things! 

Also in death-doomed cells 
Burns the Will-to- Life, 
The Will-to-lmmortality! 



5 1 



Bcatl^BoomcD ana tl)c 



Also in death-doomed cells 
Burns the Will-to-Life, 
The Will-to-Immortality! 

On the banks of the river-side 

The lonely dreamer lies resting. 

In thought, his hand touches the reeds. 

And his fingers become entangled 

In a tender green veil. He looks, 

And sees cro'wds of shining Algae, 

The oldest of death-doomed creatures, 

Whom an ancestor once had cursed. 

To 'whom eternal youth is lost. 

"What is it you 'want to tell me, 

Like me, poor forsaken mortals? 

How very similar you are still 

To the immortal ancestors! 

So small 'was the change which happened 

To your out'ward appearances 

And to your consciousness of life! 

But ho'w different you are to me, 

Albeit you partake in my fate, 

My fate is to age and to die 

Although alike to each other, 

Tremendously deep is the gulf 

Which divides you from eternals 

Who 'were living before your time! 



Your fate is similar to the flowers, 

Butter fly 9 s worm's human-being 9 si 

Mighty indeed were the effects 

Which came of that old Alga's curse/ 

Was it obligatory-death 

Which caused such multiformity? 

Such multiformity only? 

The alga flower butterfly 

The worm then the human-being. 

First, the deepest unconsciousness 

The end the clearest consciousness. 

What a magnificent ascent! 

And this after one single curse!!" 

At this thought the dreamer trembles, 

Quite near he feels his soul to be, 

Near to the holy mystery. 

Then sudden joy overcomes him: 

"The effects of that hateful curse 

Were, indeed, of a twofold kind* 

Not only certain death was born, 

But potency blessed the poor cells 

Making them richer than ever. 

This potency caused them to change 

In an endeavour for freedom; 

Life in a state of consciousness! 

Oh immortal seed/ Chosen ones! 

To whom alone it 'was given 

To fulfil the life eternal. 

Do you not see, do you not feel 

The blessing contained in the curse, 

The curse contained in the blessing? 

Oh chosen ones! Spared from troubles, 

Spared from all pains, sufferings and death, 

Doomed are you too, doomed to remain 

At an equal conscious degree; 



53 



Always self-satisfied beings 

Living-beings which merely exist. 

Once only awakens a power ', 

Making you will to change yourselves, 

And that is, when a new bearer 

Of the life, so precious to you, 

Is about to be procreated. 

Yet, here again, the serving-cells 

Protect you and care for your wants, 

Effect act of reproduction. 

The Will-to-Grow doth awaken, 

Increasing you, and changing you, 

Until new serving-cells are made 

Again for your own benefit, 

New mortal mini Bering-cells. 

After this you sink back again, 

Well-cared- for, and well-protected, 

Into the state of restfulness, 

Into the self-satisfied life. 

You live in eternal sameness, 

Carried and protected with care, 

By creatures that are doomed to die, 

That can develop e stage by stage, 

To beauty and richness of shape! 

Oh mortal cells! You that are loosers 

Of your right to eternal youth, 

You that restlessly change and change! 

When that alga's curse fell on you, 

Strange things did begin to happen, 

Of a sudden, your Will received 

A marvellous sense-of -direction, 

You seemed to be peerlessly free 

Of the indolence which fetters 

The eternal cells. Strong you became, 

Inspite of all your hard labours, 

How quick in dire emergency, 



54 



What presence of mind you can show, 

How triumphant in hard combat, 

How smart in the use of weapons. 

In the changing of means and ways, 

How clever your capacity! 

All the while you were believing 

You were protecting your own life, 

Such cunning did lay in that curse, 

How speedily you developed, 

Like the brave heroes you all 'were, 

And all this for the sake of others 

Because they were bearer s-of-seed. 

Why should you not have be 'willing, 

Unsuspicious, as you all were, 

Of the fate looming in future? 

Or, did you anticipate death*" 

The dreamer pauses a long time 

In order to solve this query, 

Verily the ascent of the species 

Would have ended very differently, 

Had all the cells been merely capable 

Of achieving the best and fittest form, 

Just because they 'were unaware of death. 

Suppose that great power of development 

Was caused, just because they suspected death. 

For has it not been proved, 'gain and again, 

That in man and beast alike, there exists 

Also a deep unconscious remembrance 

Of a one-time experienced-life, 

Now reflected in the capacity 

Which each one shows in its struggle- for-life? 

Perhaps this deep unconscious remembrance. 

Of a once experienced eternal-life, 

Was the very impetus, compelling 

The Will to strive for higher consciousness? 

Cells, robbedj of their rights to eternal youth, 



55 



Cells, always condemned to age and die 

Wanted the human state of consciousness 

Because it brought the redemption from death? 

These thoughts make the dreamer almost afraid, 

For he feels himself nearing the secret, 

The sacred secret, concealed in all growth. 

But woe to him! New doubts and panderings 

Arise, making his thoughts lose their 'wise way; 

Was it not the very knowledge of death 

Which had always driven men to despair 

In their longing to live eternally? 

"How could disaster be the longed-for-goal? 

How could it give impetus to the Will? 

How can I find out the sacred meaning? 

Tender green algae, our first ancestors, 

Lying like a thin fine veil in my hands, 

Do show me the way your sisters once 'went, 

That I may solve the mystery of life!" 

In those dire days of violent 'wrestling, 

When terrifying death often occured, 

The holy Life-Will 'was forced to condemn 

The bodies of future generations 

To age and die. 

Being now better armed, danger was barred 

But as the strugglers kept on increasing, 

Danger grew in suck strong struggles and strife 

And the Immortal-Will burned the brighter, 

Escape came through sacrifice. 

Algae, plant's forebears, sacrificed freedeom, 
They ceased their roamings and wand'rings about 
And fettered themselves to one place instead, 
As if they had been put into fast chains. 



In the course of long* long generations 

They succeed in learning to change themselves, 

Gaining with each change better protection, 

First, in sucking water, from the scorch 

Which hot sun and dry winds will always cause. 

Out of some cells there grew real live weapons 

Which kept off cruel murderers and hard frost. 

See, how root, leaf and flower work together 

To sustain and conduct the germ farther 

Into generations of the future. 

Out of one self -sacrificing alga 

Came the plant in all its rich abundance. 

Through this single sacrifice of freedom 

A precious gift was given to them all: 

They were allowed to surrender themselves 

To that Will which animates all beings, 

To that divine Will, the Will-to-Bcauty. 

Because the animal-kind had refused, 

Had not suffered itself to be fettered, 

Its struggles were grimmer, more variable, 

So that the Will-to-Beauty, very often, 

Had to be sacrificed to usefulness. 

Verily, not one whit of her freedom 

Would alga give up, that ancient mother 

From whom all the animals descended. 

All perils she challenged, so brave was she! 

Danger but made her inventive! 

Soon, ministering-cells were joined together, 

To work in the transformation of kinds, 

Some in food-getting, others in breathing, 

Provisions, defence were better than e'er. 

But as each and all equally improved, 

Took equal part in the armament-race, 

The reg'ments of well equipped warriors 

Equally increased and increased in strength, 

And danger kept apace with all this race. 



57 



And the Immortal-Will burned the brighter, 
Escape came through sacrifice! 

* Mortal-cells, stripped of your rights already, 

In this hour of the grimmest of danger, 

You must be suppressed even more" 

Is the pitiless call of the Life-Will! 

"You shall become servants of serving-cells, 

Only a few of you may be rulers! 

Among whom, some must search the surroundings. 

In the changing from place to place, must see, 

Others hear, when foe or prey approaches, 

And news of vital importance deliver 

To the chosen few 'midst the mortal-cells, 

Oh chosen few! In you shall awaken 

The "Self", when hour of danger is darkest. 

"The Nature of all Things" shall awaken 

To the higher levels of consciousness!!" 

And so there was born knowledge-of -de fence, 

And over others a master-cell born, 

Who was to govern cells deprived of rights, 

Cells 'were born who were deprived of their rights, 

Who could fulfill, still and obediently, 

In restless toil, the will of their master. 

Behold, how the great community thrives, 

Flight and defence have grown, oh so easy. 

Higher state of consciousness caused dismay: 

The rulers, those cells grown more sensitive, 

Masters, because they had grown awakened, 

For the first time suffer torments of pain! 

The Will-to-Life begins to rest heav'ly 

On all living-beings with awakened cells. 

The torments of hunger and thirst 

Drive them all in search of food, 

Torments of sexual-longing 

Drive them all to reproduction. 



Only when danger is over, 

When hunger and thirst are appeased, 

When sexual-longing satisfied 

May painless peace reign for awhile. 

This painless-state is the first wish-to-peace, 

The faintest form of a still slum-bring soul, 

Pain-ridden creatures succeed much better 

In strife than their duller ancestors did, 

And thrive into species of many kind. 

But as each remains a struggler y 

In that struggle-for-existcnce, 

And the chance more favourable 

To increase; all meet 'with danger, 

Which has increased accordingly. 

And the Immortal-Will burns the brighter, 

Where, oh where find escape? 

The Will-of-Life enforces for itself, 

In the brain-cells, still higher consciousness. 

And behold! The news from the outward world, 

The messages, concerning food and danger, 

Which the awakened senses deliver, 

Leave their live imprint upon the brain-cells 

In a state of a conscious remembrance! 

Among all the pictures thus collected, 

Within the course of a lifetime, 

Only those have been treasured up safely. 

Which have proved useful in struggle-for-life. 

Other pictures, of no use and no harm, 

Pale beside these, disappear altogether, 

Not worthy to be actual knowledge. 

Yet slowly do awakened-souls ripen. 

A growing germ requires the protection 

Which a mother's womb alone can yield. 

So the Will-to- Maintain the species 

Wisely forces the pairing of parents. 



59 



Thus joy of orgasm was born into the world. 

Now, although there were those great torments still, 

Hunger and thirst and sexual-longing, 

Which caused such awful pains and sufferings, 

Moments of joy were felt, joyous moments, 

Yet unknown to soul-enslumbered forebears. 

Awakened to joy and pain, they know not 

Melancholia, yearning, hope, desire, 

The conflicting feelings of death-wise beings, 

For blissfully ignorant are they still 

Of their future fate; of death awaiting. 

Who ordered them to stride the painful path, 

The path strewed with pain leading to knowledge? 

The lonely dreamer ponders and ponders, 

And a distant memory awakens 

Which tells his listening soul a story: 

The origin of the human-being. 

"Dark clouds have gathered, the sun is concealed, 

Gigantic waves of water flood the land, 

What destruction doth it bring in its wake 1 

Generations of animals and plants 

Are hewn down and find a watery grave. 

Soon, dead, cold ice covers them like a pall. 

Even the cleverest, e 3 en the quickest 

Were incapable of saving themselves, 

For mightier were the cruel elements. 

Yet ever in the midst of this dark danger, 

The greatest that ever happened to life, 

The Life-Will is still able to enforce, 

In the few most awakened animals, 

A much higher level of consciousness. 

There was light in the soul! 

Now it knows how to combat the elements, 

Knows the protection which fire yields against cold t 

Knows too how greedy the firey flame is; 



60 



Bodies of dead trees are brought to feed it, 

So that frost and ice are no more a scare 

Wonderful this truth that had come home: 

Understanding grows into reason, 

All the apparitions arrange themselves 

Into time and space. Laws rule the events. 

Images are gathered, conceptions formed. 

Man is born; who has learned to separate 

Yesterday from today and tomorrow, 

Who has grasped his a / w , 

Who has grasped his fate, 

Learned, too, to know of his appalling end!" 

"Oh, you mighty Will of Eternal-Life, 

Were you really so ignorant 

Of the danger in store for you, 

Should the death-wise mortal beings, 

In growing to learn of their fate, 

Prefer death to life? 

What cunning it was on your part, 

When, just to save yourself, you put 

The belief in a life-beyond, 

Into the soul of conscious beings, 

Now grown, oh, fearful of death?" 

"In the growth of life lies hidden the truth 9 , 
His anticipating soul admonishes. 
"Growth, evolution where are they? 
Life-strugglers increased, 
Danger kept apace with means of defence. 
The greater the danger, the brighter burned 
The flame of the holy Will-to-Life. 
But all of a sudden stops the ascent. 
And gone forever was that driving force, 
Which had once created the higher-beings, 
Which had animated each mortal-cell, 
Which, in evolving, had once created 



61 



Kind after kind of different species, 

Swinging each one to the next higher stage 

In a gradual process towards consciousness. 

Where are the higher species which follow, 

Those evolved from out of the animal? 

Where are the higher beings, supermen, 

Those beings transcending the human-kind, 

Which the holy Will-to-Life created? 

That flaming wish, the cause of the species, 

No doubt had found peace in its fulfillment, 

The long-yearned- for goal is realised. 

For lo! The growth of the species stand still!! 

Am I about to grasp the solution 

To the sacred secret concealed in growth, 

So near to the golden gates of cognisance 

Will they open the way to redemption? 

A sacred secret revealed itself to me: 

The cells, dispossessed of eternal-youth, 

Appear in their work of transformation 

Like the restless wanderer, who, 

Having lost his most treasured good, 

Storms the steep craggy rocks in search of it. 

At last he can rest, can stop his ascent, 

For he has found it on holy heights." 



At last be can rest, can stop his ascent , 
For he has found it on holy heights! 

The dreamer slips off green veil of algae, 

So lovingly clinging to his strong bands, 

Places it tenderly in its right place 

On to the dark green river reed. 

Then he turns from the stream's holy waters, 

Scaring that sadness away from his heart. 

Which had clutched him since his last pond'ring mood. 

His steps grow firmer as he starts to climb, 

Fain would he climb right up to rocky tops. 

The higher he climbs through green fir and pine, 

The lighter and gladder his soul becomes. 

Now he stops to look down into the vale. 

Watching the holy stream ripple along 

Leaving a silver streak far behind it. 

O* er him the birds circle in joyous song, 

Scaring all shadows of sorrow and pain. 

Flooded without from the light of the sun, 

Flooded within from the light of his joy, 

Sudden peals of bright loud laughter ring forth, 

Majesty enters the look of his eyes. 

"When reason awakened, bright was its ray, 

Scaring the animal darkness away. 

Man, the awakened, can scare away harm, 

When hunger and thirst try to torment him! 



Unlike the wild beasts of burden and prey, 

That suffer all things in patient despair, 

He provides for himself generously, 

Long e'er imperative torments appear. 

Thus, instead of horrid hunger and pain, 

To him, the wise one, was given sheer joy 

In partaking in greedy enjoyment. 

Man, the awakened, can scare away 

Horrid torments of sexual-longing 

Which all animals are bound to suffer! 

The awakened has joy in fulfilment, 

Long e'er torments awaken. 

Instead of mere duty, owed to the species, 

Was born the most beautiful bliss of all, 

Causing the human-being to love life, 

Inspite of the grim fate that awaits him. 

For is not in life the spring of all joy? 

He, the awakened, the very wise one, 

The pain conqueror, fears grim death never more! 

Not only has he grown aware of death, 

He has become death's mighty conqueror. 

Beasts of prey cower before him; they flee, 

Shy of man's strong weapons, shy of his eye, 

As if they well knew, they were doomed to die, 

As soon as he wants them for nourishment! 

Man, the mightiest and most insatiable. 

Human families increased into folks. 

Once man was able to conquer the beasts, 

Now, he can conquer the wild elements; 

Helpless were the cleverest, bravest of beasts! 

At his will whole generations of plants, 

Generations of beasts can be destroyed. 

He, the sole and mighty conqueror of death 

Populates all the land of our earth; 

Only one kind of wild combat remains, 

Conducting grave fatality to him, 



And that wild combat is man against man. 
He also must combat horrid disease. 
But he is more often victor than not. 
Where are the innumerable numbers, 
Moved down by disease in young blooming life, 
Before they could give life to descendants. 
Oh, man the almighty could save them all, 
They live to lead a long and happy life 
Through the grace of his wisdom and power!" 
Again come peals of triumphant laughter, 
The mountains around make stern rejection, 
Throw the laughter back in mocking echo. 
"Cruel ones! Why want to prevent my voice 
From wandering into the far distance? 
Why hinder my joy from travelling to others, 
In making such prison walls of yourselves? 
Grave ones, grim ones, rigid high steepled rocks, 
Stoop ye so low as to grudge me my joy! 
Or think ye really foolish the song, 
Which I sang about death' mighty conqueror? 



Away despair! Stern stone shall not rob me, 
The death conqueror, of my feelings of pride, 
The glad fruits of my deep meditations!" 
And onwards he climbs, higher and higher, 
Until the silvan woods are left behind. 
Here there are no stately trees to greet him, 
Just rough and sturdy bushes give a welcome, 
Scantily scattered, rare ones among trees! 
Ones that strive upwards; how human they seem, 
With marks of bravery distinguishing them, 
Like old people rooted fast to hard stone. 
As he thus muses, reason dawns on him, 
Why the mountains rejected his laughter. 
"Fool, indeed, I was to dare to proclaim, 



That man was the mighty conqu'ror of death; 

The truth is, that not one single man has 

Ever been able to save another, 

Inspite of his power and his knowledge, 

From the ultimate claws of doleful death. 

He could prevent death in beauty of youth, 

To cause more oft ugly death from old age. M 

Then, on the sight, come faint visions afloat, 

Faint visions of the prehistoric times, 

When premature death, all too premature, 

Was almost the fate of all living beings. 

But another vision, too, comes afloat, 

That world of the human-beings' own making; 

He sees humanity, 

Languid, groaning, moaning, 

Slowly moving, wrinkled, 

Decaying, shrivelled up, 

Wrestling with illness! 

Is that the conquering of death almighty? 

Is that your stupendest wisdom of life? 

Spite of the knowledge you all possess of death, 

You are still seen tightly clinging to life! 

Why choose you not death of your own free will 

In the bloom of your youth, when kind is assured? 

When youth has passed, vitality has gone! 

Vitality, that makes life alone worth while! 

Yet still you cnnge before death almighty, 

Begging to live your life a bit longer, 

That miserable painful, dreary life, 

That now becomes your inevitable lot; 

Why keep on trying, why keep attempting, 

To keep your puny life going onwards, 

With help of all sorts of invented means? 

Human-beings, grown old and mis'rablc, 

You are but mere ugly grumbling beggars, 

What has become of you, have you no pride? 



66 



"Oh, do not insult these, in calling them beggars of li)c 

Among the poor, old and diseased, the rare ones can be found, 

Who awakened to the truth of life's sacred secret; 

Rare ones and wise ones, because they know, that death means the < 

To all the divine richness and grand beauty of their souls." 

Whose voice is it, reproaching so gently? 

The rock? Not the rocks, but a wise woman, 

Sitting upright against high steepled rocks. 

She is clothed in a flowing grey garment. 

Enchanted by the voice so unearthly 

The dreamer draws nearer, nearer to her. 

Behold! How little he sees of wrinkles 

Or the shrivelled up skin, seen in old age. 

Instead of that dull lost look of old age, 

Noble brow he sees, framed with snow-white hair, 

And wisdom and choice shining right clearly 

Out of a pair of bright and deep blue eyes. 

Emotions of reverence overcome him, 

Making him almost fear to approach her. 

His lips can only stammer: "Who are you, 

That are so near death, and yet have the look 

Which appears stronger, brighter and keener, 

Than the most blooming of all looks of youth?" 

"7 was once a lonely wanderer, 

In search of a long lost treasure. 

To find it, I climbed these mountains. 

You find me, redeemed, now resting, 

Looking down on the vale of death. 

I have found that long lost treasure, 

1 found it on these holy heights!" 

"So is your fate like the secret of growth, 

As I have seen it in my pensive dreams? 

So you have found the key to cognisance, 

Leaving us others in tormenting pain?" 

"See, how you jump to abuse me again, foolish dreamer/ 

Since ages, you and your kind have given up listening 



To what old age has to say, when it was born as a woman. 

In ancient times, says the Edda, when eagles were screaming, 

And holy waters came flooding down from heavenly heights. 

The fathers always listened in reverence, 

When an ancestress revealed the truth, hidden in holy runes. 

But since you curse the runes, calling them works of the devils, 

The wise mothers keep quiet, conceal their wisdom in silence. 

And when evil times come, and a tender mother, perchance, 

Out of her deep love for you all, offers her rune advice. 

Men are apt to shout: Woman, what have I to do with thee? 

If this life he wretched, its chiefly the fault of you men. 

It was you who built up the towns for chattering corpses to dwell 

Wherein there seems nothing better to do, than run backward 

And forward in unending haste in soul-killing service! 

Yet, forsooth, you have kept one treasure which is holy still, 

It is, where mother is; yet the reverence due to her, 

Planted by the ancestral-Godhving, inspite of you, 

Deep down in your soul, you have changed to your own misfortune, 

Building the pompous altars to a stranger's mother, 

Your ancestral-mother's wisdom you have learned to despise. 

How can you ask me now to reveal the secret of life? 

As long as you dare to call wise women's wisdom witchcraft, 

It would be the darkest sacnledge to throw truth away!" 

The mother sinks into petrified peace again, 

Heeding no more the dreamer at her side! 

With stubborn passion he becomes possessed, 

He will wrestle with life's holy secret, 

To try and solve it of his own accord! 

Wildly he makes for the storm-driven tops, 

Strays away on many rent pathless rocks, 

On many slipp'ry dangerous gletchers. 

With his brain racking, he wanders about, 

Heedless if it be for hours, days or months. - 

But at last he returns, haggard, fatigued, 

Completely exhausted, nay almost dead. 

With a last stren'os effort he reaches 



68 



The place, where ancestral-mother is resting. 
He finds her still upright on rigid rock, 
And throws himself down at her feet. 
He hides his tired head in her lap; 
"Oh mother/ Look, what has become of me, 
I, once so full of life, am now near death, 
How I have endeavoured to save myself 
From becoming a chattering corpse! 
Tender your kindness, be silent no more, 
Reveal the hidden truth in runes of life, 
Oh, believe me, I shall listen with awe!" 
Mother-ancestress stretches out her hand, 
Strokes gently and tenderly the dear head, 
As if she would protect something, she loved. 
Soon the wild storm, beating the rocky tops, 
Slowly calms down, the dark clouds dispersing, 
And peacefully the sun begins to shine. 
The light of evening blesses the land. 

The head, that also now rests peacefully, 

The mother is stroking with her light hand. 

Silently the sun sinks and disappears, 

Valleys slumber among the night shadows. 

A last faint light on the high rocky tops, 

A last silent sweeping of an eagle 

Around the high distant purple summits. 

Then they, the lonely heights, also depart 

Into the darkness of the dreamy night. 

From out the slum'bring peace of the night, 
The heavenly voice of the mother sounds, 
She is revealing the secret of growth, 
Which lies hidden in holy runes of life: 
"The God which slumbers in all things 
Willed to live full consciously. 
Thereupon the true Will-of-Life 



Created new living-beings. 

Unceasingly they increase, 

Unceasingly increased danger. 

Cells took flight and joined one another, 

The Will-of-Life divested these 

Of their part in perpetual life, 

This was left to the germ-cells only. 

A grand Will to transform themselves 

In the deprived cells was called forth, 

Which did enforce itself upwards, 

Ascending higher and higher, 

Leaving at each new state of life 

A better species behind it, 

Like, as if it were hard climbing, 

Climbing hard steep rocky mountain paths. 

The sacred Immortal-Will strides 

Up one species to another, 

'Til at last that stage it reaches, 

Where the state of consciousness reigns. 

And holy Will, still ascending, 

Consciousness quickens with each step, 

'Til finally reason awakens, 

And man, the conscious-being is born. 

The God which slumbers in all beings 

Desires now to live consciously. 

And behold! Reason awakens, 

For the very first time a soul 

Ponders o'er the secret of life. 

Mortals become conscious of death! 

Now this makes them bemoan their fate, 

So fearfully shattered are they 

At the thought of such awful curse. 

Filled with a persistent longing 

To repossess Immortal-Life 

They go in search of this treasure. 

Hail to the spirit of longing! 



7 



Hail to the spirit of mourning! 

This caused the untiring struggler 

To j or get his strife for a while. 

They made him, the 'conqu'ror of pain\ 

Give up his pleasure for a while. 

The spirits of longing and pain, 

Now so deeply lodged in his soul, 

Drove him to 'wander far away', 

For the first, the very first time 

To ponder apart for himself. 

Lo! The spirits of longing and pain 

Awaken the wishes of God. 

Now, the soul can feel divine love, 

Feel divine hate, is longing for beauty 

Is longing for truth with reason's tentacles, 

Has the divine want to be good. 

In the dire times of hard struggle, 

Of the struggle for existence, 

These divine-wishes grow fainter. 

But in sacred contemplation, 

They burn in him the brighter, 

So truth reveals to his pondering soul: 

Strife is not life, 

Beyond all struggle 

Does the Godliving of the human-soul begin! 

Yet, spite of all this above sung, 

Human-beings will go astray, 

They can't keep free of selfintercst. 

So God's wishes often get spoiled, 

Because they are fraught with a cause. 

Immortality is the aim of each creator of beauty, 

Yet, if an artist mould beauty, 

Merely for the sake of honours, 

Surely he will be found wanting, 

Because of his vile vanity, 

And the divine spring will dry up 



Of his creative potencies. 

If he, who is in search of truth. 

Be greedy for fame and honours, 

Watch, how the truth will hide itself 

From an one found so unworthy, 

Because of his vile vanity. 

If a man pant for happiness, 

If he strive for his happiness 

In this life here and hereafter, 

And in his greed for happiness 

Abuses the trend-to-goodness 

Which comes from the God within him, 

In all his industrious life 

He never will be capable, 

To gain a state of real goodness, 

So worthless is he found to be, 

Because he was so taken up 

With his selfintercstncss. 

But there were, and always 'will be 

The few divine awakened souls, 

Who leave the divine wishes of God, 

To grow at 'will, free, in their souls. 

In their sacred hours of leisure 

They live and love the "Divine Self" , 

Existing in all beings and things, 

Penetrate into the soul's realms 

Which transcend this life here on earth, 

Where time and space and cause are not. 

In the divine realms it is, 

Where the Godhead breathes consciously, 

In that beyond, where the soul's home is to be found. 

And he, whose soul is always there, 

Is perfect God, as long as he lives! 

His life is sacred to him, 



His body is sacred too 

On account of its endeavours 

Which create the pow'rs essential 

In seeking divine consciousness. 

When the cells begin to decay, 

Through their final faint endeavours, 

His soul is given its last chance 

To find home, where the Godhead is. 

But, when in the grimness of death. 

They come to rest altogether, 

In returning to dust again, 

His soul turns to sleep with them all, 

It goes to sleep once again, 

Goes into a deep, a deep sleep. 

The soul does not merely slumber, 

As the soul in primeval cells, 

But goes to sleep deeply, forever, 

Like life docs sleep in rigid stone!" 

The mother grows silent, 

Silent the dreamy night. 

Only the faint echo can still be heard; 

But this quivers with a strong potency, 

Adequate enough to waken his soul. 

He sinks back into God's eternal life! 

When his soul returns from its God living, 

And he realises that he still lives, 

He knows for sure, that he is not bereft 

And that it was life in eternity, 

In which, he had just now been partaking! 

Yet, one sorrowful thought still troubles him, 

And in low tones he asks of his mother: 

"Can you not still death's song through runes secret? 

That song of death, sung by that grand hero 

Gilgamesh, and which others ever since 

Have been singing over and o'er again? 



73 



That sorrow, one feels for a beloved one, 

When this one looses his conscious life first, 

Leaving naught else to the friend who mourning, 

But a deep sleeping soul in shape of dust?" 

"Say not that mere dust is left you, 

For the soul in its awareness 

Is capable still of living 

In your heart in full consciousness, 

And therefore never dead to you. 

The beloved is still to be found, 

The dear friend whom you loved so well, 

If your soul can dwell in God's realms, 

Where time and space and cause are not. 

Your sorrow will strengthen your will, 

To seek refuge there in its pain; 

A past and a future do not exist, 

And there you can be united, 

As if your friend were still living, 

That is, if you have succeeded, 

To keep in your heart his image. 

Though conscious life he lost forever, 

In you he can live, as long as you live, 

Not one moment may you miss him. 

Those only whimper and weep peevishly 

At the death of a friend, 

Who never exchanged soul treasures with him, 

While he consciously lived. 

Those only whimper and weep peevishly, 

Who, tired and weary 

To the light would but flutter, 

Who crawl to the grave, 

While still in the clutches of life's struggle!" 

At these words comes a peace o'er the dreamer, 
As he never before experienced. 



74 



His gaze wanders up to the shining stars. 

Twinkling silently in the firmament. 

Almost unconscious of his presence, 

He gives voice to his deeply pondering thoughts: 

"And up there on the planets?" 

Again his ancestress answers for him, 

"On a few of them there was life, 

A process of evolution 

Between hard struggle and hard work 

Once took place like it did on earth, 

The very same gradual process 

Ascending towards consciousness. 

But, when that great day was come, 

That day, when one of the death-wise, 

Those living-beings of our earth 

Had grown into possession of <r poiver, 

Which enabled his soul to fly 

For the first time into the realms 

Beyond causality, space, time, 

Where the God, dumb* ring within him, 

Could awaken to conscious life, 

The process of evolution 

Stood suddenly still on earth, 

As well as on all other spheres. 

No creation took place anew, 

Animal and plant-life remained 

On the same level of consciousness 

Which they all had just accomplished, 

When the sudden standstill took place. 

Only one kind of state did God 

Create for Its consciousness, 

For this purpose man awakened. 

When the last truly godlike man 

Will have past on earth forever, 

The state of the eternal God, 

When deigning to be awakened, 



75 



Will also have gone forever. 

Then the process of evolution 

Will commence all over again, 

This time on a fresh fertile star. 

God will desire to awaken. 

An ascent 'will take place anew. 

A 'whole 'night* long the God 'will sleep, 

To awaken the next 'morning 9 , 

As soon as the first living being 

On that star 'which has grown fertile 

Is able to live verily 

Its own "Divine Self" consciously! 

Remember, oh remember, 
You dear, young, graceful soul 
If you never leave beyond, 
You can be God all your life!" 



and 



Remember, oh remember 
You dear, young graceful soul, 
If you never leave beyond. 
You can be God all your life! 

The ancestress resinks into silence, 

Oblivious of the pondering dreamer, 

Again her eyes wander into distance. 

He removes the hand, caressing his head, 

To place it in the lap of the mother; 

Soon the light of morning begins to dawn, 

The far peaks arise, dipped in purple haze. 

In silence, the pensive dreamer rises, 

To make for the valley in solemn strides, 

Like one who has been newly anointed. 

Greatly has the rune-of-hfe inspired him, 

With such strength of will and such joy of life, 

As was never experienced before. 

The climber of summits forsakes summits, 

To hasten, light of foot, down stoney paths, 

Glad at his thoughts caused by the runcs-of -growth. 

Suddenly, on his way to the valley, 

There dawns on him the right, true solution 

To the secret of existence and growth. 

Then downwards he rushes, spilling his joy, 

Making dead splittered stone wake to life, 

They tumble in noisy way, 



77 



The foot of the God had touched them! 

"So grand is the bliss I have just lived through, 

That I have lost all count of the right time. 

Years and years seem to have passed since the day 

I compared you rough and weather-beaten 

Upward- storming bushes to old human-beings. 

What a folly such comparison was/" 

And still full of joy, the god of the day, 

Catches the tip of a sleepy branch, 

And lets it not go for a step or two 

On his joyous way towards the valley, 

Not until his foot has reached soft grass moulds, 

Which cover the steep, craggy mountain-sides, 

With the feeling of his great joy subside, 

At redemption in cognisance. 

Then he goes to join the bright mountain- flowers, 

The most beautiful of the slumbering gods, 

Lies down among them, stretching out his limbs 

To the rays of the early morning sun. 

Around the dew-drops glitter like diamonds. 

"Sublime, indeed, is the power of man, 

As revealed to us by the great, wise seer: - 

Man, the consciousness of the visible-world, 

By the rights and virtue of his reason. 

Reason makes his perception crystal clear. 

Thus then, to him alone, is it given, 

To live consciously the laws of all growth. 

Yet reason, inspite of its majesty, 

Is property of the visible-world, 

Submitted to time, space, causality. 

Therefore to reason the power is not given, 

To raise men above this mundane plane. 

Yet, sublimer than this noble wisdom 

Is the truth in the mother's holy runes: 

The divine wishes of God awakened 

*) Kant 

78 



And became conscious in a fourfold way, 

The first in a Trend-to-Beauty, 

The second in a Trend- to-Truth, 

The third in a Trend-to-Goodness, 

The fourth in a Trend-to-Love and Hate 

Guided by wisdom and choice. 

To keep their state of divineness intact, 

These four wishes of God must trend their way 

Outside the bounds of space and time and cause. 

Reason can't grasp them y for they are beyond. 

If a man succeed in fulfilling, always, 

These four divine-wishes, deep within him, 

He becomes the Godhead's consciousness. 

So we see, death's curse, in reality, 

Was fraught with a divine purpose of God. 

The ascent of man was caused by a Will, 

The Will of God to live consciously, 

Which the "Self" in all things, ingeniously, 

Fulfilled in the mortal and conscious beings. 

Only the human-being, God's consciousness!" 

On the sweet meadows, on the mountain-sides, 

The redeemer still peacefully slumber s y 

When the sunny morning begins to dawn. 

From such deep sleep he awakens refreshed, 

The voice of the mother still in his ears, 

" Remember > oh remember 

You dear, young, graceful soul, 

If you never leave beyond, 

You can be God all your life!" 

"How foolish men were, 

When dazzled by reason, to ask 

Where and when is life-bey ond!" 

It is not in time, it is not in space, 

It is far beyond all man's reasoning. 

The "Self" it is which exists in all things. 

If a man always live consciously, 



79 



His true divine "Self" 

He is living God in the realms beyond. 

The perfect God is he until death parts. 

Only the human-being, God's consciousness! 

'Twas this which made all who failed, feel guilty, 

'Twas this which filled men with the certainty, 

That guilt was human, and must be redeemed, 

That men could be redeemed and live beyond. 

'Twas this which made men seek newer ways 

Over and o'er again, to find beyond. 

This it was which called forth myth and legend, 

Each of which was inspired with the belief, 

That it alone had succeeded, at last, 

In finding the true key to the beyond. 

This it was which called forth that myth of gloom, 

Which made human-beings tremble with fear- 

Few mortal-beings gain eternal-life, 

The majority tread the easy path, 

Which leads them to eternal-damnation. 

An abject creature is he, I know well, 

Who choses to remain uneternal, 

Entangl'd in worldly-webs, he crawls to death, 

He lets the God within him sleep deeply, 

As deeply as It does in beast and tree, 

Although he well knows of death's sure coming. 

And after his dead, worldly-life has passed, 

The God in his dust sleeps much deeper still, 

Than It did, once, in the primeval-cell. 

God goes to sleep forever and ever, 

To the sleep the God sleeps in rigid stone. 

Never was he redeemed from alga's curse, 

Never did he partake in the beyond. 

So entangled in the struggle-for-life, 

"He crawls to the grave", the ancestress said. 

What might her words impart? Resignation? 
80 



Had she always lived, like this, from the world, 

Far away from all its joys and strife, 

Had she never known the bliss of Minne? 

Had she always lived lonely on high heights? 

It was on those lonely heights, at her side, 

Where I found God for the first time t 

While her tender hand was blessing my head, 

And I was listening to what she said. 

Must I, too, live on lonely heights, 

Must I, too, resign the world forever? 

With all its joys, all its pain and all its strife? 

If I want to keep my home, the beyond? 

Foolish I am to start asking again, 

Where is this beyond, where is divine "Self", 

Which is said to live in all beings and things, 

Where is the divine "Self" of all things? 

When I know it is independent of space, 

Both in Minne and strife always present, 

The companion both of joy and sorrow. 

"In times of struggle, these wishes grow dim, 

But in sacred hours of contemplation, 

They will burn in the soul all the brighter" 

The mother said, too, "Strife is not life, 

Beyond all strife, the Godliving of the human-soul begins!" 

But does not the struggle-for-existence 

Also mean immortality's struggle? 

"His life is sacred to him, 

His body is sacred too, 

On account of its daily endeavours, 

Which create the powers essential 

In seeking divine consciousness" 

This is what the holy life-rune revealed/ 

Growing a stranger to this world of ours, 

With all its joy, all its sorrows and strife, 

Will not keep my diviner life from harm. 

What a disastrous conflict must this cause 



81 



Between the soul and its struggle for life*" - 

To the dreamer the conflict appears worse, 

Than the conflict was, now luckily solved, 

Which estranged the divine Immortal-Will 

And the inevitableness of death. 

And sadness again broods over his thoughts. 

Insects among the grasses catch his eye: 

Restlessly are these buzzing, to and fro, 

Keep on fighting, one against each other, 

Each hating the other, looking for its food, 

Or trying to protect itself from harm. 

Each and all restless and sober, always, 

Bent on the one intent-Utility . 

"Indeed, your lives are restless and sober, 

Similar the chattering corpses 

In the ugly idol's temple! 

Never resting, you are always busy. 

But look yonder; on a friendly flower 

Swings a butterfly doing sweet nothing. 

Oh, pretty butterfly! It seems to me 

This peace gives you a touch of the divine. 

Your life appears to be sublimely free, 

Nobler than the life of restless insects, 

Although these wisely unite into states, 

Selling their freedom for their safety, 

Working all their lives long in needless haste. 

Nobler indeed, albeit your peace be but 

The indifferent feeling of comfort, 

Which any state that is painless calls forth' 9 

In such earnest thought, the dreamer rises 

To take up his wanderings again. 

"How can a man keep alive God's wishes 

Amidst all the worldly troubles and toils, 

All of which are adjusted to a cause, 

All of which are ruled by Utility 

Amidst all the heat and hate of strife? 



Have not human-beings, like the insects, 

Bought their safety dearly, in forming states? 

They have: The towns of chattering corpses 

Give witness to it. But were they forced to this? 

Had not reason got riddance of dangers, 

Making men freer than ever before 

To enter the divine realms where God is? 

But worse than ever are they fettered still. 

On account of the exaggeration 

They make in their struggle- for-existence. 

Preposterous the ways reason struck out on 

When she augmented the struggle-for-life. 

And what a conflict did men come into 

With divine-wishes of God in their soul, 

When they allowed their bodily instincts 

To gain the mastery over their will. 

Yet, might they not have been forced to do this? 

It seems as if beasts were nearer, much nearer 

To God, than miserable abject men. 

When hunger, thirst and sexual-longings 

Are appeased, the beasts, they never want more. 

How can this conflict be overcome? 

How bring the divine-wishes to attune 

With the wishes of life's- struggle and love? 

How can I remain the God I am able to be 

Amidst all the toils and struggles for life?" 

Here the gentle dreamer was made to start: 
"Not down to the valley am I turning. 
There you are again, you weather-beaten, 
Rugged old fellows, you upward-stormers, 
You that have the look of unredeemed age! 
And over there is my cliff, my steep rock, 
And there is mother in her grey garment! 
What am I doing up here? Did she call? 
No, she is quite oblivious of me, 



Her thoughts are far away from me and mine. 

It is my soul that is yearning for her." 

With these thoughts he still climbs on up the paths, 

He now knows so well. His heart beats with joy, 

Like when a man returns homewards. How good 

It seems now, that, in thoughts, his foot had strayed! 

He sinks down at the feet of the mother, 

Like one in whom this had grown a dear habit, 

He watches, in peace, the sun's departure. 

The voice of his dear ancestral-mother 

Sounds, waking him out of his pensive dreams. 

Her dear hand stretches out to bless him again 

Like one in whom this had grown a dear habit. 

"Oh, I thought you had just left me, 

But I must have been mistaken" 

"I did leave you, Mother. With joyous heart 

I went hurrying down to the valley, 

Living over again the runes-of-growth. 

But your words concerning the enmity 

Between the soul and its struggle- for-life 

Have frightened me deeply, 

For through your wise words of wisdom and truth, 

I had learned to treasure dear life: 

Ther is the cause-ridden hard work of life, 

And the uncaused divine-wishes of God. 

How can I reconcile these two, dear mother? 

Reveal the runes-of-the-struggle-for-life, 

Explain to me how I can live beyond 

In the midst of life's hard struggles and toils. 

How 1 can succeed to be God, 

Midst turbulent life." 



84 



How can I succeed in being God 
'Midst turbulent life? 

And silently the sun sinks and departs, 

Among the darkening shadows of the night, 

The valleys and dells begin to slumber, 

The mountain snows bid a last light farewell, 

A lonely eagle still circles the rocks. 

Then they, the holy heights also depart 

In the darkness of this dreamy night. 

From out Ms dark, slumbering nightly peace 

The unearthly voice of the mother rises: 

(< Thc life here can never become beyond, 

A deep gap will always divide the two, 

Yet the beyond builds artistic bridges 

For itself to cross over, in order 

To weave the divine-wishes of the soul 

Gradually, unnoticeally 

Into the web of human existence. 

When men joined together and formed a folk, 

Reason created protection for all, 

Created laws to rule the common-weal, 

Which became known as the duties-to-life. 

These common duties demanded of man 

To do to others as he would be done by. 

But as so little was, and still is, known 

Of the true nature-of-goodness y it happens 



That duty was raised to be a virtue, 

And when mere duty was being fulfilled, 

Men even supposed they were fulfilling 

The divine Wish-to-Goodnes itself! 

In God-distant-times of human history, 

When the souls of many, entangled, 

Completely in the web of existence, 

Were merely bent on a purpose, and none 

Lived that divine "Self" native in all things, 

It enforced higher consciousness in man. 

There was knowledge that love was a blessing, 

There was knowledge that help was a blessing, 

The love of mankind, the love of goodness, 

These built the first broad bridges leading to here. 

The care for the weal and woe of others 

Became gradually rule and custom. 

So puny and backward was, and is still, 

This knowledge of what is truly good, 

That men were, and still are made to believe, 

That the one virtue born of compassion, 

One divine ray garbed in feeling and deed, 

Was already the entire fulfillment 

Of the Godhead's divine Wish-to-Goodness, 

And fallacy works on its fatal way. 

Beyond builds some more bridges still 
Which it uses to enter here; 
As life's struggle, for so many, 
Leaves their beauty-wish unfulfilled, 
This divine-wish raises the soul 
Beyond all space, thus freeing it 
From the fetters of ugliness. 
It keeps the soul oblivious 
To everything else, but beauty. 
To beauty the soul awakens, 
To beauty the soul is aware, 



86 



Knows in the presence of beauty 
How long it had suffered such want. 
In hard-ridden struggle for life 
It takes refuge, 'gain and again , 
Like it was wont to in childhood, 
In the magic realms of dreamland. 
Then visions of beauty arise. 
To save it from its ugly lot. 
Also, the Wish-to-Beauty 
Brings immunity to the soul; 
The tormenting pains of hunger, 
The tormenting pains of illness 
Are unable to pierce the soul, 
That is, if it knows how to sink 
Into the nature of all things. 
But if, instead of this, it fails 
And turns to the coward's prayer 
In the wish to escape its pains, 
In the world's clutches, it remains, 
And remain, its torments and pains. 

And while the God awakened soul 

Gradually learns to fulfil 

Beyond's-wishes 'midst here-wishes, 

Reason, in the stranger-to-God 

Driven by bodily instincts, 

Has made life for him much harder. 

Less wise than any animal, 

He strives for more than his mere share, 

He has grown greedy for money, 

He has grown greedy for pleasure, 

How he will hurry and struggle, 

And grudge himself all peace of mind 

Out of his greed for enjoyment, 

Out of envy and avarice, 

Merely to heap up his treasures, 



So dull are his divine-wishes. 

He invents devilish doctrines, 

Teaching of ugly utility 

For this sadly changed strife-for-life 

And calls them doctrines of virtue. 

Now these doctrines went to poison 

Even the divine childlike soul 

Which, apart from the harm of strife, 

Should wend its way, in dreams, to life 

In growing, awaken to God. 

Men have made and are still making 

Such devilish doctrines of use, 

So dull are their divine-wishes, 

Calling them doctrines of wisdom: 

Utility is the meaning of life, 

Act in the view of one's own benefit, 

Arrange carefully work in time and space, 

Then one is sure to grow to perfection, 

All diligence is a blessing, 

All work is divine, 

All resting is laziness, 

All meditations are harmful 

All ambition is a virtue, 

All honours mean happiness, 

Fame is immortality itself. 

Everything done in respect for the opinion of others, 

All wealth is a blessing, 

All poverty sin, 

All power is the proof of wisdom, 

Mere lunacy to do anything of no use. 

Works of art, like a good meal, 

Are very useful, provided the spirits are elated, 

But like a good meal can be done 'without, 

In times of trouble, altogether, 

For then they are merely a hindrance. 

Such are the sayings, good words for the day, 



88 



Which chattering corpses have invented, 

And which are taught, day by day, to children, 

Those young, still graceful, listening souls. 

One can watch their tender hearts grow hardened, 

Although still spared the toils for a living, 

Can watch their eyes loosing their bright full gaze, 

Until, in the end, there is nothing left 

But the vacant look of a chattering corpse. 

Such eyes just manage to flicker, 

It needs but lust or avarice, 

Greed or hate, envy or revenge. 

Save for this bit of a flicker 

Such eyes might already be dead. 

In artificial light, such eyes, 

After the sun has departed, 

Seem as if they possessed some life. 

Go down into the crowdy towns, 

Where chatt'ring corpses like to live, 

Start preaching the true runes- of -life, 

There are always the dear children, 

Although there might still be adults, 

Who have not suffered their souls to be lost" 

In deep, deep silence the ancestress waits, 
For the sound of these terrible sayings 
To vanish; in deep, deep silence she waits 
For the high Godhead's anger to vanish. 
A wandering star appears and disappears 
In the dark heavens of this holy night. 
Again the ancestress raises her voice 
To reveal true runes of struggle- for-life: 
"Your own life is sacred, 
And sacred is the life 
Of your fam'ly and folk, 
And sacred is the life 
Of all human-beings, 



Because all men on earth 

Can become God's consciousness, 

If their souls be not dead. 

You may kill another 

In the case of danger 

Threatening yon and your folk, 

To protect beyond-life. 

If you can persevere 

Living God perfectly, 

Your life is more sacred, 

Than the possible Gods', 

Seldom do these create 

Divine meaning of life. 

Noisy din of mad crowds, 

Intent on a purpose, 

Are quite inadequate 

To replace your good life. 

'Tis a terrible crime 

To sacrifice the life 

Of Goda'wakencd souls 

To chattering corpses. 

Never make sacrifice 

Of yourself or your work 

For the poor sake of these! 

But 'work on for your share, 

For your family's share, 

For your folk's share of life, 

As well as for the share 

Of all others whose souls are not dead. 

Be a kind friend to the needy, 

Yet be not everyone's friend, 

Above all, give no helping hand 

To those strenuous life-strugglcrs, 

When you kno t w, 

They are but mere chattring corpses, 

These abuse all your kindness, 



90 



To make all the more noise and fuss. 

Help rather the animals! 

Now you know: 

Not all work is a virtue, 

Not all diligence a blessing, 

Not all work for the sake of order is wisdom! 

Your God wants only existence, 

Wants to live in you and others. 

For this life and this existence 

May your hand be always busy! 

Thus, if your work be enoblcd 

Through the holy wishes of God 

Then all what you do in your life 

Will be the life in the Beyond. 

Thus, if you keep your life-struggle 

Within its bounds; free you will be 

From avariciousness and greed, 

Discontentment and ill-humour, 

Your life-struggle thus ennobled, 
That whip of the chattering-corpse; 

Ambition, devours not your soul. 

The pursuit of fame and honours 

Have already disgraced God's wishes! 

If your work be thus ennobled, 

Your soul will be completely free 

Of unworthy humility, 

Which makes sacrifice without choice 

To the superficial pleasures 

Of any hard struggler-for-life. 

If your work be thus ennobled, 

Well adequate will you be found 

To serve your family, folk and self, 

And all other God living men! 

And you, live your life, in respect 

To all those strict boundaries, 

Containing the meaning of life. 



Thus, if you keep your here-work in bounds, 

Inspite of all toils and all pains, 

Your God's life will grow much richer, 

Richer in nature of all things, 

Which gives its manifestation 

In visibility's beauty, 

In the divine artistic works 

Which are born in the life beyond. 

So wander through the land you love, 

And relate the true runes of life, 

To release men from those fetters, 

Caused by others' greed of power. 

Bring a mother's word of comfort 

To a much-beloved, poor, sick folk: 

Godliving men never tyrannise each-other, 

Chatt'ring corpses alone tyrannise each-other. 

If your soul still lives, 

My own dear folk, 

Then still are you God and free! 

To the few 'who still live God 

Do I make my appeal, 

To rise and disperse into the land. 

The true runes of life must be revealed 

To awaken the souls, not yet dead! 

Well learn how to discriminate 

Earnest talk from idle chatter, 

The steady gaze of the living 

From the flicker of the dead! 

Admonish them all 

To fulfil the true runes of life, 

To despise all the dead doctrines, 

Taught by the chattering corpses, 

In order to be God, 

Like the free and unconquerable! 

// in this, then, you succeed, 

Very soon, in the busy towns, 



The Godliving men will increase, 

And the dead clapping clock work 

Ceases, of its own accord, suddenly still: 

They hide in their secret places 

Where they must breathe without fresh air, 

To impart in their croaking way, 

The gossip they have gleaned for the day, 

Until in the end, bodily death overtakes them, 

And they too are dignified by silence." 

Marvellous courage, faith in redemption, 

Blissful peace, born in the realms of beyond, 

Glide over into the heart of the dreamer. 

Still in thought, his eyes wander to the skies, 

Where circling planets are faintly shining. 

A lonely light rises higher and higher, 

Silvery moonlight soon floods the high heights. 

Hardly conscious of his own presence, 

The dreaming dreamer gives voice to his thoughts: 

"To maintain the life of my native folk 

Is a sacred thing to do, 

'77; sacred too, to give origin to new life, 

But maintenance of the species 

Is merely the Will of the Godhead, 

Does a love-union hinder living-God? 

May this beyond-life in here-life 

Be suffused with blissful minne?" 



of 



May this beyond-life in here-life 
Be suffused 'with blissful minne? 

All around shines the mount ain-sno'w, 
In the silver light of the moon, 
The rocks seem enchanted, 
Lost is their spirit of heaviness, 
As if suspended in the air 
Do the great giants of the earthy 
Through this fairyland light, seem nou>. 
y Midst all the breezy enchantment, 
Stirring this lonely moonlight night, 
A voice, almost unearthly, sounds, 
Mother, so 'wonderful and tender: 
"Who may have inspired that question? 
You, 'who are still so young in years, 
In your earnest study and thought, 
Have climbed the holy heights of God, 
You are near the holy mystery. 
Look yonder at those great mountains, 
Bathed in the pale light of the moon; 
They have lost all their gravity, 
They have lost their melancholy, 
Life appears to be one sweet song. 
Sharp lights cannot dazzle the eye, 
Darkness cannot cause any fears, 
In the blissful light of minne 



94 



Life becomes so gentle and kind. 

Why complain, when naught tormented, 

Why brood in gloomy depression,, 

When the spirit is not heavy? 

Bliss and delight in the beauty 

And love of the other it is 

Which their fairy-like shine reveals! 

How interwoven they appear 

In the glimmering light of the moon. 

Is it one mountain-top or two? 

This cannot be told! Just listen! 

Soft 'whisperings are born on the air, 

Are they the wooings of minne? 

How could this sweet holiday -making 

Do other than strengthen the soul? 

Can you not remember how rough 

Those rocks looked in the light of day? 

Look at them now; as light as clouds. 

But easily torn is a soul 

When afire with the light of love. 

One heavy storm is sufficient 

To kill its fineness for ever. 

What else could please Divine Self more, 

Than the love sacred to minne? 

The Divine Self, innate in all, 

Loves the soul to transform the rough 

And hard aspect of lifers-struggle 

Into a transparent beauty, 

Fit for Beyond to work wonders. 

What else could mankind more long for, 

Than the joy of being in love, 

In the love sacred to minne, 

When children are born, and family 

And folk, for the future, assured? 



95 



Do you remember how sober 

The rocks looked in the light of day? 

They put one in mind of stragglers 

Struggling hard to gain a living. 

Watch them now on their holiday, 

Dreaming and longing 

Far from the day's hard toil and strife. 

Do you not know the Divine Self 

Delights 9 in seducing all men 

Away from their struggles for life 

Away from greedy enjoyment, 

And turn them to contemplation? 

Therefore, the sight of sacred love 

Must be pleasing the Divine Self! 

For how many a dear young soul, 

Afire 'with the flame of minne, 

Has found refuge in realms beyond, 

When the storms of wounded minne 

Has destroyed its longings and dreams. 

But often in happy minne, 

When the light of love is silver. 

The soul will undertake its flight 

Into the divine realms beyond, 

For there it has found the other. 

Both seem to have grown magic wings. 

Which carry them 'gain and again 

In the bright shine of happiness 

Into divine Immortal-Life. 

How could the Nature of all things, 

That wants, in man, Its conscious life, 

Not both 'will and 'wish that one's life 

Be brightened and brightened by love 

Sacred to the state of minne?" 

Ancestress keeps silence awhile, 
To protect this fragrant saga 



From the words she intends to say. 

The head of the listening dreamer 

She suddenly takes with both hands. 

As if to protect it from harm, 

As if to give weight to warning 

With the might of her mother-love: 

"But avoid those obnoxious ways 

Which men, dead of soul, call minne. 

Oh avoid those hells they sprawl about in, 

Where no air is, no light, at night-time. 

Where, with the look of a greedy vulture, 

They drink their poisons 'midst such noise and dm. 

Where, when they have grown intoxicated, 

Sufficient to subdue the last wish 

Which might have a touch of the divine, 

They still maltreat their suffocating souls 

With doses and doses of poisoned love. 

Where they stop not to ask 

If their partner be friend or foe. 

They are ready to exchange bliss 

With anyone, 

One they know not. 

One they love not, 

One they respect not, 

Nay, even one they despise. 

How must they despise their own souls! 

How must they despise their own bodies! 

Which once, in humbly mimst'ring to their needs, 

Were destined to conduct them to life. 

Oh! Beware of such soul-murdering things, 

Already these have ruined so many, 

Albeit other dangers could do no harm. 

Remember my warning, warm-hearted boy, 

Avoid the hells where the chattering corpse dwells, 

Many a one has crossed their dark threshold, 

Still young in body and soul, 



97 



To depart in the grey of the morning 
As the sepulcher of himself!" 

Ancestral- Mother keeps silence awhile, 

As if to protect 'words, which 'were coming. 

Finding in space still the ugly pictures 

Of those horrid hells where the vulture dwells. 

Slowly and softly she strokes the dear head, 

As if she could efface, 'with this gesture, 

The polluting thought of poisoned minne. 

As if, with this gesture, she could implant 

The joy, unencumbered, into his soul. 

And behold, how able the dreamer was 

To understand what was filling her soul. 

A voice, almost unearthly sounds, 

Mother, so soulful and tender, 

Is interpreting holy runes, 

Runes of love, runes of sacred minne: 

"Never forsake the realms of God, 

When united together in minne, 

Above all, let this divine feeling bless your will; 

A longing for peace, a feeling of sympathy 

For all the pain, all the joy 

Of your beloved 

Will be the fruits of such blessing! 

Keep your body pure, 

But be not a minne-despiser, 

Keep your body pure, 

But not only for the sake of offspring. 

Keep your body pure, 

For minne can murder - can 

Awaken the soul! 

And when, true to this holy rune, 

You have found a companion, 

Let not the eyes of your God grow blind; 



Instead, minne must sharpen your eyes, 

To examine right well 

The soul you love, 

To ascertain if it be shaped 

According to God's divine rules. 

If, then, life be cruel, in that y 

The one, that affords you such bliss, 

Is unable to stride towards God's heights, 

And inspite of all your hope, 

All your help and endeavours, 

Along those narrow paths will not wander, 

But your own step clogs instead, 

That yourself must stumble and fall, 

Inspite of all your longings, 

All your own power to ascend, 

Then call to mind, in grave spirit, 

That such minne only kills the soul. 

Forsake forever this danger to your Godlife, 

For, if inspite of the great strength 

Which distinguished your sacred minne, 

It gave him no power to climb, 

But proved futile 

In awakening his slumbering God, 

Then, believe me, his soul is already dead 

And buried; life itself heaped up 

The earth o'er his grave. 

There is no voice on earth more powerful 

In the awak'ning of a dead soul 

To Godlife again, 

Than the voice of a lover is 

When it calls to the beloved 

To awaken and wander together 

Upwards towards holy heights. 

Forsake the dead soul forever, 

Remaine true to yourself. 

What, if your heart doth bleed, 



99 



Care not for its pain, 

Gather strength, grow alone to be God/" 

The moon disappears in the bud of the morning, 

The mother sinks back into her rigid peace, 

For away already is the look in her eyes, 

Quite oblivious of the dreamer, still at her side. 

Softly, gently, not to disturb her peace, 

He removes the hand, still blessing his head. 

And as the morning-veil rises swifter, 

Revealing the heights bathed in purple light, 

From all around seems to come an echo 

Of the night warning in mother's voice: 

So wander through the land you love, 

And relate the true runes of life, 

To release men from those fetters, 

Caused by others' greed of power. 

Bring a mother's word of comfort, 

To her much-beloved, poor, sick folk; 

Godliving men never tyrannise each other, 

Chattering corpses alone tyrannise each other, 

If your soul still lives 

My own dear folk, 

Then still are you God and free! 

How he rushes, in his divine zeal, 

Towards the valley! 

Will he still have to ask rune-advice? 



of <SoDUbfttft 



Will he still have to ask rune-advice? 

The dreamer, in his divine urge, 

Hastens from village to town, 

Into crowds of chat t y ring corpses, 

So anxious is he to impart 

A mother's redeeming message. 

Men and women stop to listen! 

Little children stop to listen! 

And there begins to awaken 

The respect for rune craft anew. 

After hearing the rune s-of -growth, 

The runes-of-the-struggle-for-life, 

The rune s-of -love, sacred minne 

In them awakens divine "Self"! 

When now they meet their fellowmen, 

Behold! How easy it has grown 

To use wise discrimination. 

They know the steady look which marks 

The man whose soul is not yet dead, 

They know the flickering shifty look 

Of the man whose soul is buried. 

When, now, they meet their fellowmen, 

Listen to what these have to say. 

Behold! How easy it has grown 

To use wise discrimination. 

The voice, melodious with truth, 



Will rise from out of the grating. 
Scraping voices of buried souls. 
Buoyantly they step o'er the land, 
So joyous are their emotions 
At redemption through cognisance. 
To all they attempt to impart 
The mother's comforting message, 
Changing diseased, suppressed people 
Into a folk grown God conscious. 

Years of such life and work pass by 

And the Godliving men increase. 

Until one day, towards the dreamer, 

Who had revealed these runes to them y 

They hasten to ask a question: 

"Many of us succeed to beyond, 

Few grow to be the perfect God. 

So the one hinders the other, 

Friends drag friends back again to here. 

How suffer all this in patience, 

Forgive, forget, 'gain and again?" 

The dreamer withdraws into the night 

To think over Krishna's teachings. 

"Love is always patient and kind 

And should never 'wait to be asked. 

It must be ready to suffer 

Ready to hope and believe all" 

Here the voice of the ancestress 

Is heard 'midst the 'whisperings of night 

"Oh come to the high rugged rock, 

Not yet all have I imparted 

Come and hear it e'er I depart! 

My life-powers are declining^ 

Soon the God within me will sleep forever, 

In a sleep as deep as in rigid stone, 



So come to the high rugged rock 

My body is tired of tewing, 

Wants the peace of ashes and dust." 

A great wave of longing comes o'er him 

For her, his dear wise mother ancestress. 

forsaken paths he treads again, 

Knows them all inspite of the dark, 

Paths he touched on while being redeemed. 

Soon, he feels himself near the rock, 

Where he knows his mother to be. 

After much groping and feeling 

Reaches her and sinks at her feet, 

As he was once wont to do. 

But how cold is her tired body! 

How cold are her dear blessing hands! 

Yet still docs her God not slumber; 

Soon she begins to speak: 

"That song of love you just gave your thoughts to 

Is full of error, dear dreamer. 

In the childhood of my Godliving, 

I loved it too. But it is not wise. 

Patient and kind is love indeed, 

But it has no right to injure the other wishes. 

Truth is not prepared to hope all, 

Divine self-esteem to bear all, 

Nor divine love to suffer all, 

For the sake of another's salvation. 

The Godliver will never grow bitter, 

But he will hate the life-pretender 

With all his heart, 

And limits wisely patience and suff ranee/ 

What made Krishna 9 dream so confused was this: 

That God was always ready to forgive, 

And commanded men to forgive each other 

This kept men down in a state of weakness, 

Hindered them from ever becoming God! 



103 



That's why the many crawl in crowds to death, 

Exchanging daily guilt and forgiveness, 

And call this, their miserable existence, 

"We are all only human with human weakness 39 ! 

Who should forgive? 

Should you forgive yourself straying from God? 

How can your will-to-become-God grow strong 

If it does not carry the full burden 

Of your guilt upon straight and strong shoulders? 

Never 'will you forgive your own guilt 

If you want to become God. 

Who should forgive? 

Is it God that should forgive? 

God, the eternal Self, 

Innate and selfsame in all things? 

God should forgive you 

Distorting, disfiguring 

Its pure state of consciousness? 

God cannot forgive. 

For God is no person like you. 

Who should forgive? 

The friend, may be, 

Whom you have insulted? 

He should forgive you 

For keeping him and yourself 

Away from the "Self" 

Innate and selfsame in all beings and things? 

He should forgive your conduct, 

The cause of your 'will weakening 

When climbing up to divine heights? 

He cannot forgive you, 

He must remember: 

Lest he loose strength 

To redeem you, 



104 



Lest he shirk the duty 

Of burdening his shoulders 

With the live memory 

Of your guilt and his own, 

Lest he break down 

Upon those steep paths to heights 

Which you and he must climb! 

He cannot forget 

Save when he sees 

All his love and patience are in vain, 

In that these fail 

To help you climb towards God, 

And you hinder him 

When he wants pure air. 

Then he can and will forget all you did, 

Leaves the whole burden of your guilt 

For you to shoulder alone. 

Striding, this time, alone and lonely 

Towards summits without you, 

If really and truly he wants to be God! 

Moreover, even forgotten guilt, 

One's own and another's 

Still accompanies the soul; 

There is so much of the creator within us all 

That even the worst are natural creators: 

The will which manifests itself in word and deed 

Keeps on working in your own soul, 

As well as in the soul of the other. 

And if, in the endeavour to forget, 

What once has been said and done, 

It flees consciousness and sinks into oblivion, 

It lives all the same, 

Only this time, in subconscious-life, 

Like the knowledge of the animal. 

Moreover, this subconscious memory works doubly hard 



IOJ 



Either helping or hindering God. 

For this reason, the chattering and hasty devils 

Are worse and far more dangerous, 

Than the lazy, quieter or silent ones; 

For the God- awakened soul is very sensitive 

To the wounds caused by their evil words and deeds. 

In that your will, 

When manifested in word and deed, 

Has so much power to transform your own soul, 

And the soul of another into a good or evil spirit, 

You are a mighty creator, responsible for your creatic 

Therefore in being so much God, 

You are called upon to shoulder proudly, 

Onto a back straight and strong, 

The full burden and responsibility 

Of all your words and all your deeds. 

Oh God so powerful! 

May your continual companion 

Be the grave knowledge, that the spoken word, 

The deed done, can never be effaced 

Through pardon and penitence, 

Forgiving, forgetting 

Nor through any divine acts of kindness. 

When you have taken this to heart, 

And have grown the grave God, 

Naturally will you weigh all your words, 

Be these spoken in sorrow, in joy 

In hate or in anger. 

How like such men you will be, 

Who were born long ago, 

In whom, the gradually growing God 

Could form very slowly the words 

Wherewith to express itself, 

Of whom the minstrels sang: 

"He opened his lips to speak." 

And because men's deeds and 'words 



106 



Have such power over others, 

To no other divine-wish 

Has there been given such power 

To decide over the existence of God in the soul, 

Than has been given to the Wish-to-Goodness! 

A grand Wish-to-Beauty, 

A potential Wish-to-Truth , 

A great love of humanity 

Will lead you towards living God, 

But you cannot grow to become the perfect God, 

Until all your actions are perfectly good. 

Therefore, make it your habit, 

To examine your conscious closely 

To see if the Will-to-Truth be in the main! 

Weigh carefully your own fault, 

Weigh carefully the fault of the other, 

But always be God when you are weighing. 

Should the scales of justice shatter your happiness 

Remember! if you weigh falsely 

When weighing your own fault, 

Too little, too much, 

False weighing will always prove a hindrance 

To you and to others in attaining perfection. 

So, ascend now the paths gradually, 

To those higher summits of redemption, 

To those spheres, where, 

God, awakened in your soul, 

You can account to the beyond for all your doings. 

Look at those, who arc always trying 

To forgive and forget, 

Who believe through contrition 

To efface their guilt. 

Look, how they crawl, 

How fettered they are to earth, 

Never will they step into their rights, 

Into the state of perfection! 



107 



Just look into their temples; 

See how they are always kneeling, 

Over and over again. 

Confessing to the very same sins, 

Begging of their personified God, 

In the very same breath, 

To turn his just judgement from them. 

Watch them praying for "Undeserved forgiveness" 

Watch them kneeling down, 

Although experienced in years, 

Still confessing to their weakness. 

Look yonder, those men are ncaring death, 

Their white hair betrays it; 

By rights they should be standing 

On a high level of insight, 

Which would give them the prerogative 

To reval to their kith and kin 

The paths of eternal truth. 

And yonder, are women, 

Whose rights it were to be perfect, 

And show others the way to God. 

Instead, all of them are still kneeling, 

Confessing their weakness, 

Praying still for mercy 

At the end of their lives, 

At the gates of death. 

They have grown merely unwise, 

Although, me thinks, their limbs have grown wise, 

In growing rigid, as if to proclaim: 

In the age of wisdom 

We won't kneel down and beg for mercy, 

When all our lives long we have endeavoured 

To create for the soul its power 

To become God's consciousness, 

So that, if this goal, the soul has been incapable of achie 

Let it beware of asking God for 'mercy' 



108 



Whose aim they have thwarted! 

For, was not the human-soul intended 

To contain God's consciousness? 

No indeed! These men and women have not grown wise, 

Merely their bodily limbs have grown wise 

Having grown too stiff to kneel down." 

Here again, the mother falls into silence; 

Never did that dear heavenly voice 

Sound so sad as it did now. 

When it was telling of old men and women 

So near death, yet still confessing to sin. 

Now, the dreamer raises his voice, 

Dark with the weight of his ponderings: 

"What evil spirit is it, 

Endowed with such power. 

Which throws men down one after another? 

How few are God's consciousness really, 

How many deny God in their struggle-for-life!" 

The mother answers him in tones of comfort: 

"Cognisance is the only means 

Of releasing the soul from these awful fetters. 

The "Devil" was the name men gave to them. 

And because men so easily succumbed to evil, 

They believed it to be beyond their power to conquer. 

Yet cognisance leads to victory, and can be found, 

Together with the holy mystery, in the growth of life. 

To put love in the place of hatred 

Is not the way to overcome and destroy it. 

But this evil can be redeemed 

Through changing it into a helper of God. 

Hate belongs to the heritage 

Bequeathed to us from the brute; 

Save for the fleeting moments of joy, 

Caused by sexual-longing and the love for the brood, 

Hatred completely dominates the animal's life. 



It flares up like a signal 

When its life is threatened. 

But this sensation is also of short duration/ 

In its half-awakened soul 

The beast cannot hoard any feelings. 

Forgotten is its hatred 

As soon as danger has passed. 

Its hatred slumbers as long as its enemy 

Keeps out of its sight. 

But at the very first instance it comes into sight, 

The flame of hate bursts forth anew, 

Remaining so long, but no longer, in its soul, 

Until danger is completely over. 

Now compare this behaviour to ours. 

Look over there at that man 

Sitting apart from the others. 

Look how his fists are clenched, 

How full of hatred are his eyes, 

How his lips tremble with angry-emotions. 

But where is his enemy? 

His enemy has vanished long ago. 

Once upon a time, he wounded the pride of this man 

You see sitting and brooding. 

Wounded pride reason has kept alive in his memory, 

Hatred is the outcome. 

During all the years that passed 

The wish to revenge himself, 

To defend himself remained alive. 

It was his reason which kept on working 

To find out means of revenge 

For wounds once received, 

How to give pain in exchange for pain. 

And because reason and hate always go in pairs, 

Their brood can be born in the heart of man only. 

And because reason married hate 

And this wretched pair made its home 



In the heart of man, their offspring, 

Quarrelsomeness, revenge and spitefulness 

Are also born there. 

Yet, as these vicious children 

Are born only in mankind, the right 

And capacity has been given to men 

To kill them at will. 

But the hate he possesses akin to the beast 

He must spare, as this is the anger 

Sacred to the Immortal-Will 

And belongs by right to all vitality. 

This kind of hate he may transform at will. 

If he succeed in transforming it well 

He will never recur to the beast's way of hating again, 

Except when his life is in danger, 

As his Godliving depends on the life of his body. 

Everything that threatens him living God, 

Within himself and within others, 

He will hate with a hatred of the most intensive kind. 

Thus then, hatred, if it be a part of God, 

Will always be aimed at those destructive elements; 

The offspring of reason and hate; 

Quarrelsomeness, spite and revenge, 

These are the mortal enemies of God. 

The human-being who has succeeded 

In becoming a living God, 

Will hate these enemies more than the one 

That wants to take the life of his body. 

Gladly will he uproot them 

Out of his own soul and the soul of another 

Completely at a loss to understand 

The powerlessness of the many. 

Vicious children of still another kind 

Are born in the human-soul. 

Reason and hate are again the parents. 



Ill 



When God is almost dead in the soul of a man, 

All what he longs for, 

Is to keep out of pain, 

All he thinks worth striving for 

Is the happiness of enjoyment. 

This aim for happiness, as meaning life 

Is a most terrible curse. 

Reason and hate are always alert to serve such wishes! 

Woe to mankind! For in one embrace of this wretched pair 

There is born, at the sight of another's possessions 

The fearful family of malice, greed and envy. 

All of them laden with destruction 

Equal to the pleasure wanted. 

Redeemed souls never make happiness their aim, 

That's why it is easy for them to uproot these fearful foes; 

They know how ready these are 

To endanger the sacred meaning of life, 

They know, that, 

Not until the soul be rid 

Of quarrelsomeness, revenge and spite, 

Envy, greed and malice, 

Those malicious children of reason and bate, 

Will a man be reborn, 

Be able to climb to 

The peak of perfection. 

Also the redeemed is aware of this: 

Being filled with the spirit of divine-hatred 

Aimed at everything in himself and in others, 

Which is hostile to God, 

He is doomed to bate so much, 

Albeit be fain would love all.. 

In so few does he encounter Godconscious, 

In almost all lurk the offspring of reason and hate. 

Yet, he, who would so gladly love, 

Keeps on seeking and seeking, 

In the unfailing hope of finding the Godhead. 



But again and again is he doomed to disappointment, 

And must bate where he so wanted to love. 

How happy would he be 

If he could but love all! 

The higher he climbs 

Towards the peak of perfection, 

The keener his inner eye grows; 

Under all the bright surface he discovers 

Where the antigod lies concealed. 

Thus then, up the paths towards perfection, 

Many a friend must be lost on the way, 

Whom, inspite of all his kindness, 

It was futile to try to redeem. 

God's consciousness is created of a man's own accord 

None else can do it for him! 

When a redeemed one, ascending, 

Overtakes the last of the trees. 

And scattered bushes are all 

Which greet him, he will pause for awhile, 

On his way, to look sorrowfully backwards; 

In the forests below him 

The last of his friends forsook him. 

But again he turns to ascend, 

This time, lonely, among bare rigid rocks. 

Oh, never could he have risen so high, 

Had he not hated the antigod so, 

Had he not always clearly perceived, 

Where he and others were standing. 

Did you ever meet a mountaineer 

'midst rocky stone, who would say: 

I am walking under trees? 

Or, when already on the summits, would say: 

1 am resting in the meadows?" 

A long time lapses in silence, 
The hand half raised in blessing 



Has been growing colder and colder. 

Has her God gone to sleep? 

But once again may she speak: 

"My powers are rapidly diminishing) 

Listen now to the last of my runes! 

Keep the Wish-to-Truth, awake, 

Make it grow and get strong! 

Should you ever stumble away 

From the path of truth 

Through another's preposterous example, 

Excuse not yourself, in saying, 

Such is the way of life, 

Its paths are made to make men stumble. 

There is no use in worrying. 

For, in spite of my trying, 

1 couldn't help stumbling, 

I should soon loose my living if I did! 

Say instead: How deep down 

Am I still standing, 

As low down as the vale, 

Have lost the right path, no-doubt, 

Miserable stumbler that I am! 

Keep the Wish-to Beauty alive in your soul 

Make it grow and get strong! 

Let a burning desire for beauty rival 

Your struggle- for-life 

Oh, nothing but beauty! 

But should you be obliged to make reverence 

To the ugly idol of Utility, 

Let this mortifying act be as small as you can! 

To all those in whom the Wish-to-Beauty is 

Particularly great 

Give my motherly message of warning: 

You, who are the divine producers 

Of divine work$-of-art, 

"4 



You, whom I so dearly wanted to love, 
To my sorrow, 1 must bate, 
Because you created divine works-of-art 
To exchange them for money! 

Oh, avoid such temptation, 

For it is a mortal danger. 

Let here-work serve here-wants, 

For as soon as Utility 

That grinning idol, coarse and ugly, 

Is allowed to touch your works 

Which have been born in realms beyond, 

To judge if their "work" be useful, 

Verily, they will be ruined, be they of a delicate kind. 

Once in his greedy, grubby hands 

Soiled they will be forever 

No matter what their quality. 

When the thought, fraught with a purpose 

Has once been given entrance 

It is an easy thing to spoil 

Even the nature of artistic-work. 

The works-of-art themselves reveal 

This treason committed 'gainst God! 

To young mothers give this message, 

From the dying lips of an ancestress: 

Blessed are you because of your priviledge 

To carry the growing Godconsciousnessl 

A dying mother sends a last warning. 

Enter no temples of chattering corpses. 

Once you have delivered your little child 

Into the coarse arms of Utility; 

And its gentle limbs are touched and tested 

Shaped and formed according to life's struggle, 

And, Utility, you aid and abet 

In teaching your child his fearful doctrines, 



Be not amazed when it returns to you 

In the shape of a smart struggler-for-life, 

With none of the grace of your own sweet child. 

You will have to bear the pain of the sight 

Of a man grinning and rubbing his hands, 

When he tells you of all his successes 

Made at the great expence of another. 

His obnoxious manners put you in mind 

Of the idol of coarse Utility 

It will be quite vain to search for his soul. 

Start to accuse none but yourself for this, 

For you have murdered the soul of your child! 

But, if, instead, you carry and teach your child 

According to the will of the Godhead, 

And teach it in tender love and patience 

How, in truth, wisdom and life awakens, 

How easily will you then 

Become one with your child, 

In that, both of you, hand in hand, 

Are growing to be God." 

Slower and weaker the voice is growing 

Until, at last, it is but a whisper: 

u Much I have told you, yet more could I tell 

Did God grant me still space wherein to speak 

But my voice grows weak, my senses depart 

The truth I have spoken, so be it." 

Involved in deep silence, the mother dies, 

Still leaning upright against rigid rock, 

Her hand has grown rigid, rigid her eye, 

The dreamer before her she sees no more. 

In his tender way he removes her hand, 

And closes her eyes, for now they are dead. 

Under starry heavens, on lonely heights 

A whole night long he keeps watch by the dead. 

On high the vultures were lurking. 

But when morning dawns, and the mountain peaks 

116 



Are once again painted in deep purple, 

He moves to take up his mother's body 

Which seems still so fresh with the morning dew, 

Light seems the burden in such strong arms. 

Slowly and solemnly he starts to stride 

Down the stony steeps with his dear burden. 

At last he reaches the slumbering forests. 

And the vultures on high keep on screaming. 

"Rest here for a while longer. 

Wisest of all wise mothers, 

The body that once helped you 

To live as your soul wanted, 

I am going to protect. 

According to the customs, 

So beloved by our forbears; 

Worms of earth and birds of prey, 

In greed, may not devour it." 

Log after log he gathers, 

Which he piles up broad and high, 

Like the dying Brunhilde 

Once ordained for brave Siegfried. 

Then, upon this wooden mount 

He places the dead mother, 

According to the customs, 

So beloved by our forebears. 

Gravely the fire is lighted, 

The dead given to its flame* 

For its last transformation. 

Flames, leaping into a crown. 

Give witness to this high truth; 

The wisest of wise mothers 

Has gone to eternal rest. 

Loudly screeching, the birds forsake the sky, 

They are defrauded of their prey. 

"No, dear, departed mother, no, 

I shall not stop, to whimper and fret, 



For did you not tell me, 

Those, only, will whimper and weep peevishly 

At the death of a friend, 

Who never exchanged eternal treasures with him, 

While he consciously lived. 

Those, only, will whimper and weep peevishly, 

Who tired and weary, 

Would but flutter to the light, 

Who, remaining in the clutches of life. 

Crawl to the grave. 

Not only your sleeping soul, 

Now, in the form of dust and ashes, 

Is all I have, which is left of you, 

/ have still in my heart your live conscious soul. 

As long as my own soul 

Forsakes not the realms beyond, 

1 can remember your dear Self 

And all the eternal treasures, you gave me. 

Should ever my will forsake me, 

Let me feel but the touch of your hand" 

Once again, the flames rise on high. 

When the last spark is extinguished 

And there remains nothing in its place 

But embers and ashes, 

The dreamer turns to depart. 

All around the sun is shining. 

Enlightened with God, he strides down towards the vale. 



118 



&* Beaton tee# it 



a neto 



Despite the gulf which separates the fetish-worshipping negro 
from the lofty philosopher, an affinity can be said to exist be- 
tween them, so similar do their soul-lives appear when compared 
to the soul-lives of all those others who proclaim the inner exper- 
ience of the invisible to be a fantastic dream born of the mind 
of the crude and undeveloped thinker; who confess their belief 
in the utilitarian-principle as being the ultimate truth and the 
finite and conditional as being the sole reality. 

The latter, paupers-in-religious-feelings as they may well 
be termed, have increased in the 19th century among the Christ- 
ian peoples, to such a frightful extent, as never before in any 
other cultural epoch. The "freethinker" considers it to be the 
result of high culture. We know, however, from the cognisance 
we have gained, that it is the sign of decay, and that degeneracy 
is the cause. 

The folks of the Nordic race were always concerned with 
the study and research of nature and her laws; and although on 
this account, they were cruelly persecuted by the Christian 
churches, they persevered in their activity and achieved great 
knowledge. Indeed, so profound were their activities in the 
realms of intellect, that (as certain fields of science demonstrate) 
they became capable of cognising the very limits which were set 
to reason itself. 

Now, all the folks of the earth, as well as each single thinker 
are subject alike to an unwritten law, which is: that a religious 
belief can not alone be the potent to spiritual life but also to its 



decay. It can fulfil its high function, however, when nowhere 
and in nowise the faith of man stands in opposition to his intel- 
lectual knowledge, as is exemplified in fetishism; the faith of 
the negro is analogous with his intellect. Likewise, the creed of 
the Hindu, Jishnu Krishna, who lived 6000 years before our 
times and from which doctrine many of the Christian creeds arc 
derived*, is analogous with the knowledge prevalent before the 
great intellectual discoveries took place; namely those of the 
Copernicus System of the Universe, the Evolution-Theory and 
Schopenhauer's "Belief" which emanated from Kant's "Criticism 
of pure Reason". 

Hence it follows that when the intellect is compelled, by 
virtue of the knowledge it has achieved, to denounce any fun- 
damental religious doctrine because of its superstition (the reli- 
gious conceptions of an earlier and therefore limited stage of 
intelligence) it goes without saying that such condemned reli- 
gious doctrines must necessarily become devoid of conviction; 
and here we have the reason, why so many otherwise fervent and 
truth-loving natures loose themselves among the crowd of the 
actual God-deniers. 

Now, as to-day very little is requisite for the man of science 
and philosophy (from the standpoint within the boundaries of 
his reason) to point out by means of his cognising powers the 
erroneous conceptions which pervade all the religious creeds, 
(most particulary, the Christian creeds prevailing at the present 
time) it is significant and natural that he should demand, in 
respect due to his own religious sentiments, a viewpoint (Welt- 
anschauung) which is attuned to the whole range of the know- 
ledge he possesses. 

There is still another reason why so many are averse to Christ- 
ianity who have made use of the general knowledge of the 
universe existing to-day. In the famous work entitled "Criti- 



*) In my other works (s. book-list) I have gone very fully into this matter. 

124 



cism of Pure Reason", the great philosopher Kant has succeeded 
in showing us distinctly the co-existence of two worlds; the 
world of our actual experience, which is arranged in time, space 
and causalitiy, and the other world that lies within, the invi- 
sible and unfathomable "Thing Itself" as Kant has termed it. 
Thanks to Kant's study and research the cultivation of our 
powers of discrimination have been promoted to their utmost 
subtlety; so that, to-day, it is an easy matter for almost anybody 
to perceive if any causal-coherencies of the visible world have 
been able to smuggle themselves into our religious conceptions. 
In fact our feelings have grown very sensitive to the difference 
existing between the anticausal- (illogical) and the super-causal. 
A like practice of discrimination is nowhere to be found in the 
religious-thought of the past. So that after this it seems pre- 
posterous, to expect us to imagine we are experiencing a "Revel- 
ation" or "Holy Inspiration" in the experience of any absurd- 
ity, simply because of its absurdness. And yet we hold ten- 
aciously to all the myths for the sake of that grain of truth which 
they all contain; the dogmas we reject because they have prov- 
ed themselves to be errors and frauds. 

Others there are again, while having studied natural-science, 
have neglected to study philosophy. If these are still under the 
influence of Christian illogicality they will run great risks of 
becoming rationalists, and finally materialists (in the scientific- 
sense of the word). Now had the creed of Jishnu Krishna been 
handed down to us unpolluted, let us assume, in that form it 
took at the period of Hindu decline, may be its effects would 
have been less perilous, for the Hindus themselves were wont 
to apprehend all their myths as being merely the symbols of the 
eternal truths. As it is, we were all fated to become the prey to 
that great "folk-fraud" which Jewry once enacted, for it was 
the feat of the Jews spoken of in the New Testament who 
placed the figures of the Buddha and Krishna legends into the 



personality of Jesus of Nazareth making historical facts out of 
them. Later, these errors of the Indian imagination were inter- 
mingled with Jewish religious hatred, and were preached to the 
non- Jewish folks; Jews themselves have openly avowed this. 
It was this falsifying of legends into historical facts which has 
chiefly been the cause of the warped conceptions of those pro- 
fessing to the Christian faith*. Others there are again, who, in- 
spite of their bringing up in the Christian faith, have neverthe- 
less been able to retain their logical sense of judgement; these 
then have chosen the alternative and become actually godless, 
which makes us come to the conclusion, that it was the unten- 
able creed which dug the grave for their God-Cognisance. And 
to these all the rest streamed in crowds whose own soul-lives 
were by nature so paltry, that, in being unable to sense their 
own soul, they believed there was no soul to be found any- 
where else in the world. 

Where shall we turn for redemption in order to escape these 
dangers? As it is impossible to demand of a man to forfeit his 
knowledge simply because this knowledge might prove fatal to 
past religions, it is obvious, that only one way is open which leads 
to safety and that is for him to call a God-Cognisance his own 
which rests in perfect harmony with the present day facts of 
nature. Not only this, his God-Cognisance must also be clothed 
in a language which fulfils a second very earnest demand. Here 
I refer the reader to my other works, although mention will 
still be made of this subject within the course of this book. And 
yet, are words necessary at all? Is not the abstract sufficient in 
itself to satisfy the desires of the highly developed? Will not 
the man-of-culture verily find deep sufficiency in the mere ex- 
perience of the abundance of his own soul-life, and by the very 



* In the following works I have pointed out particularly how dangerous to the human- 
soul it is, when, in the bringing up of children and in the treatment of believing adults 
who belong to religious communities, suggestive methods (the fear of hell) are made use 
of: "The Child's Soul and its Parents' Office*' "The Secret of the Jesuits Power and its 
End." 



virtue of the knowledge he would now possess, refrain rever- 
ently from wanting in any way to apprehend supercausal- 
coherencies by the means of his intellectual faculties, let alone 
want to mould them into rational definitions? Further, will not 
the living of that bliss which his soul-life calls its own, when 
paired with the knowledge scientific research has afforded, and 
which enables him to discriminate of his own accord truth from 
error, fully suffice? Indeed yes! For any definition in thought 
or word looses its essentiality when living God has become the 
concern of the individual soul alone, which is when the soul is 
steeped in the life of God. This solves the strange mystery why 
the call of our blood failed so long to awaken us to the duty 
of rejecting that alien religion which was thrust on us (as it only 
could have been) by means of force and bloodshed; and why 
at the same time, in transforming the alien religion to its liking 
in works of art (as in architecture, painting, poetry and most 
particularly in music), it found comfort and conformity! But 
God-living includes also action. According to it the folks' life 
should be regulated, for indeed God-Cognisance and Godliving 
are adequate to give shape and form to its culture, jurisdiction, 
economy and politics, although if true harmony should exist 
among them all, a clearly and precisely defined viewpoint 
(Weltanschauung) is essential. Whenever religious sentiments 
were put into words, the meaning of which stood on the same 
level as the standing knowledge of the times, it was then that 
the word-formation was given the power to be a tremendous 
impetus to man's divine potentialities! 

Thus then, we are well able to visualise our Aryan fore- 
fathers enduring through the centuries as a folk of high moral- 
standard and creative cultural-spirit simply because their myths 
of the seasons, their poetry concerning the heavens, and the 
sagas of their gods contained a word-formation for the setting 
of their God-Cognisance which was akin to their blood, and 



also because its meaning stood on the same level as their stand- 
ing knowledge. The changing seasons and the rotation of the 
stars was the highest wisdom they were able to attain. 

Now, in that their knowledge of the universe presented them 
with the ever reliability of its laws, they recognised how much 
they had had to be thankful for, in as much as they knew it 
was their very existence which they owed to these laws; and in 
a spirit of gratitude and in the vital desire to be continually in 
union with God (these laws) they attuned their festivals and 
smaller family feasts to the rhythmical order of the laws of 
nature. 

Yet can we not venture to say that our times as well have 
produced a wordformation as the setting for our knowledge 
which fully satisfies the highest aspirations of our intellect? Is 
not Schopenhauer's confession "I believe in the Metaphysical" 
equal to any demands? It might have been, had it not proved 
to be such a vague and shadowy thing; a far too imperfect 
"objectivation" to use the words of Schopenhauer himself. As 
such, therefore, it is only fit to lead us to the path leading to 
poverty of soul-life. However the philosopher himself must have 
felt very deeply inspite of this fact; his work on "Contempl- 
ation" shows very clearly how deep his sentiments on this 
subject must have been, equally as deep as the emotions 
which Bach manifested, although Schopenhauer did not possess 
the rare gift of being able to give expression to his inward exper- 
ience of the Divine as Bach was able to do in music. And so it 
came about that intellectual reasoning (logic) gained tremend- 
ously from the genius of his philosophy, whereas God-living 
gained nothing at all. Therefore even his philosophy was in- 
competent to check the stream of materialism and the mania-of- 
doubting-everything which set in. Hence we come to the relent- 
less conclusion, that if the spirit of God (God-living) is to be 
kept alive at all in the souls of the folks'-thinkers, it may no- 



128 



where and in nowise stand in contradiction to the standing intel- 
lectual knowledge of the times. Likewise the word-formation 
must take the obligation upon itself to reflect clearly and di- 
stinctly the God-living of its composer, for then alone is it adequ- 
ate to become a "bridge" leading to the "beyond" which of- 
course is not the mythological "heaven". 

We are justified in stating that the materialism of our days 
makes its appearance less as a disease than as a tragic necessity! 
For, when a folk, which is embued with an unfathomable long- 
ing for truth, gives itself up to the research of nature and her 
laws in a manner grander than any other race of the past has 
ever done, it becomes obvious, that for this folk harmony be- 
tween faith and knowledge becomes a dire necessity! Moreover, 
the language or word-formation of its God-life, its Salvation 
Creed and its Theory of Morals must also harmonise with its 
own blood; that means to say it must be akin to its own in- 
herent nature. This subject has been fully treated in my book 
entitled "The Soul of the Human Being ". 

Therein, I have attempted to point out the laws which govern 
the soul necessitating this harmony should faith be able to re- 
tain its fervour. It was the working of these soul-laws which 
made the creative artists of non- Jewish extraction, professing 
the Christian faith, once transform Christianity. In my other 
works ("Creation of Self", "The Folk-Soul and its Modellers" and 
Each Folk's own Song to God") I have indicated how significantly 
inportant, in the endeavour to near God, the influence of the 
inherited character is; in fact it is the driving force in the work 
of selfpreservation. Now should the effects of an alien-religion 
be allowed to work its havoc on the soul, breaking the harmony 
we have just spoken of, then indeed a folk has become forlorn; 
for it grows godless, and in the length of time is destroyed, in- 
dependent of the merits or demerits of the alien-creed it prof esses. 

Julius Lippert, on hand of abundance of evidence, has point- 



ed out with surpassing clarity, that God-Belief sprang less from 
an ethical desire as from fear of the dead and departed spirits. 
And further, that not every folk made the cosmic laws of the 
heavens the subject of its mythology as our forefathers did; on 
the contrary, the springing-point was generally fear. Altogether, 
in the majority of cases the contents of religion was merely 
soul-cult, and it was in a very gradual degree, that the revered 
and equally feared spirits became gods and demons, or god and 
sat an. Yet even at this primitive stage, marked differences can 
be clearly perceived, although Lippert himself was apt to over- 
look racial differences, and did not perceive them in his re- 
search. Racial differences actually did exist, as is exemplified in 
the case of our forefathers, who practiced very little soul-cult, 
but instead concentrated their attention to the research of the 
cosmic laws of the stars and made this usage the chief subject 
of their sagas, while others brooded deeply over the fate of 
the soul when confronted with the demons. Strange to say, it 
was neither sorrow nor misfortune, but the experience of death 
and its inevitability as well as its misinterpretation which laid 
the foundation-stone to all the superstitious creeds which pre- 
vail in most religions. Men believed the soul had become invis- 
ible so as to live on in a wonderous invisible form, and sent 
happiness when due homage was paid to it, and misfortune when 
this was neglected. They imagined death (which we now know 
to be the fate of all men) to be the punishment for sin, or as the 
Hindu had it, the consequence of error. Now, as guilt (as it was 
thought), lay heavily on all mankind without exception, atone- 
ment had to be made some way or another. Therefore cult- 
practices and sacrifices were resorted to. To act ethically, accor- 
ding to the spirit of such religions, meant nothing more or less 
than fulfilling the cult-commandments or offering sacrifices; 
and it was not until a much later date, that demands of another 
nature arose which we should describe to-day as having a claim 



130 



to the ethical. The fulfilling of the cult-commandments stood 
as atonement for guilt. Then reward and punishment after 
death was conceived, and priests took upon themselves the funct- 
ion of reconciling the Godhead with the laity. The priests 
tyrannised and made excessive abuse of superstition. When at 
last, sorrow, misfortune and death still held their sway, inspite 
of all and sundry attempts to appease the Godhead, men began 
to doubt the efficiency of cult-activities. Driven to despair and 
disbelief under the tyrannic priestly yoke, men struck out on 
the path of a new idea. This was the teaching of the advent of 
a redeemer. That death was punishment for sin for which a- 
tonement had to be made, and the belief in chastising spirits or 
spirit, and the redemption from death through a life hereafter 
were creeds, the existence of which were mainly due to the 
teachings of Paul the Jew. 

Only the imagination of our Aryan ancestors steered clear 
of misconstruing death's significance. They did not read into 
the inevitability of death a punishment in consequence of sin, 
nor did they burden their minds with superstitious ideas of a 
hell. Nor did they suffer a priest's tyranny. And yet, for all their 
research of the heavenly bodies, they were still incapacitated 
to recognise the sacredness of the meaning which the inborn 
imperfection of man, and the inevitability of death impart; 
therefore it came easy to them at a time of such non-knowledge 
to adapt themselves to an erroneous creed which before had been 
thrust upon them. But behold! The day has dawned at last when 
the powers of intellect have been given the priviledge to com- 
prehend that paradox, namely, death as a reality in opposition 
to the immortal-will. This cognisance dissipates at once the 
serious error that death is chastisement for sin. Moreover, the 
day also has dawned at last, when it can be realised, through 
the powers of cognition, that death rendered the birth of man 
possible. Furthermore, it has been made possible to recognise 



that all the conceptions formed about angry and appeased gods 
are fallacies, and as such must be discarded, albeit it shakes the 
basis on which all the religious beliefs were founded. The hither- 
to warped conceptions of the cause and effects of death are done 
away with for the first time in the history of mankind. Place is 
given to a totally different conception, which in its turn, not 
only forms the foundation to another kind of knowledge and 
state of mentality, but also a completely new future God- 
Cognisance. 

We repeat the word God-Cognisance. We accentuate the 
word God, in contradiction to many other great intellectuals 
who persist in ignoring the word God for fear of keeping up 
the superstition and distorted idea of a personal god or gods 
who are thought to guide the fate of mankind. 

Philosophers who affirm the intrinsic good in man and yet 
shun the word God, involuntarily aid that which they so inten- 
sely desire to conquer; namely priestly domination and religious 
superstition. Nor is this the whole mischief, for it allows the 
earnest searchers after truth to be open to abuse, in that they 
receive the stamp of being "godless materialists" and are thrown 
together with the actually flippant unrestrained decriers of 
ethical values; the appalling result is then that all are left in 
the grasp of superstition to be lost irrevocably. There is no justi- 
fication whatever in avoiding a word simply because it expresses 
a conception which has undergone abuse. Therefore the words 
love, friendship and marriage we have retained inspite of their 
appalling abuse. On the contrary the lives of men reveal them 
to be things as much of beauty as otherwise. Thus this truth is 
also God-Cognition. 

Let us see now, how the mystery of inevitable death and the 
inborn imperfection of man work out to their own solution, 
thus revealing the meaning of human-life and the formation of 
our God-Cognisance. 



132 



BattofniCm anfc tyt tyy&wy of (Sbolutfon 



It was indeed a calamity that the Evolution Theory, that 
science which seemed predestinated to become the safeguard for 
mankind in the crisis of intellectual-development, should have 
been fated to realise its exfoliation at a time, when religious 
belief, through its standing opposition to science, had caused 
already deterioration. The effects of this antagonism were apall- 
ing on the human-soul; materalism (in the scientific sense of 
the word) grew so rampant that it is a difficult matter now to 
eliminate this evil. How different it would have been, had some 
of the great German thinkers made their "Belief in the Meta- 
physical" the foundation-stone to that grand scientific edifice 
which so brilliantly illustrated the 19th and 20th centuries. The 
grand flight which intellectual-life might have taken, despite 
Christian terror, is beyond our imagination! 

As fate would have it, our cultural-life had already fallen a 
complete prey to Rousseau's rationalism, and so it came as a 
matter-of-course that, among all the exponents of that wonder- 
ful doctrine of evolution, to Darwin alone the priviledge was 
given to fire it with interest. The chief reason was because his 
method of treating scientific-matter satisfied so well the crying 
need of the times. Had Darwin but chosen to approach that 
chain of development in the spirit of awe and respect which is 
due to such a subject and, when imparting his knowledge, risked 
nothing more than a stammer and falter, his achievements in 
research would have benefitted us more than all his, in reality, 
incoherent "Theories of Development". As it stands, Darwin, 



133 



in the ardency of his research, believed naively, on account of 
the virtue of his theory, "The Selection of the Fittest in the 
Struggle- for-Life" to have discovered the chief and most import- 
ant cause of the origin of the species. The fatal consequence of 
this was that the Evolution-Theory, although it was adapted 
more than any other doctrine to save human-kind from mate- 
rialism, proved, in the long run, the very instrument for its ruin. 
The profound insight into the origin of species has fructified 
almost every belief and branch-of -science, or let us say, rendered 
these hollow and shallow through its influence; so much so that 
deeper thinkers have been compelled to turn away in a feeling 
of abhorence from this doctrine altogether. However, a privi- 
Icdge, seemingly, was left open to those compelled to familiarise 
themselves with the Evolution-Theory, who were capable of 
perceiving the deep meaning attached to the wonders of nature 
and whom the sensibilitiy to see them and the respect due 
to the laws of nature were not lacking. Actually speaking, it was 
the lack of these sentiments and the putting in their stead a 
dominating habit of judging scientific-matter always in the light 
of the mere practical and purposeful which was the actual cause 
of all the distorted conceptions which so unluckily prevail. In 
reality, the doctrine of Evolution simply abounded and still 
abounds in high opportunities for our cultural-life. Whosoever 
approaches the wonders of nature disclosed in this particular 
science in a spirit of awe and reverence will soon find out for 
himself how capacitated the history-of-development is to ex- 
pand the limits of his intellectual-horizon. In this respect even 
better capacitated than the "Copernicus System" or Kant's 
"Criticism of Pure Reason" was. 

In fact, when we imagine how adequate the Evolution-Theory 
was to quicken the God-cognising (Gott-erkennende) potent- 
ialities in man, it will always remain a mystery to us how ever 
Darwin's theory could have gained such a hold on the mind of 



134 



man. A whole century long it was capable of stifling the creative 
spirit in the breast of man. In the very name of the Evolution- 
Theory a grave was dug, big enough to bury all belief in God 
and the Soul. All gods, in fact, were overthrown. As a con- 
sequence men became soulless and uprooted. The exception was 
the credulous-herd of religious-believers whose powers of judg- 
ment and reasoning, through the persuasion o'f their religion 
had become so warped as to allow them to go on breathing 
freely, as of old, in the infatuation that their religion alone was 
true. A Darwin-influenced materialism, empoverished in petty 
intellectualism, could not make up to the bereaved for the loss 
of faith they had suffered. Therefore, in the endeavour to save 
their souls, all manner of ideals become their refuge. They 
sought warmth from the cold of petty-reasoning. So the one 
clothed himself in the rags of superstition, (the Cabala, Occult- 
ism and Spiritism) another collected Indian-creeds which, in- 
cidently, the Evangelists had not copied down, constructing on 
them pyramids of a very vague intellectualism. Another again, 
not venturing construction, took refuge in Buddha and the 
Vedas, while others perused the book of Laotse.The rest flutter- 
ed from one ism to the other in the vain hope of saving their 
souls from the famine which was threatening them. If any felt 
soul-contentment, it was those only who were born with such 
a shadow of a soul as to be spared soul -craving altogether, not 
to mention, of course, those individuals in whom the race-inherit- 
ance had become so stifled and the powers of reasoning so 
blunt that immunity had resulted. 

Woe to us all should the inward vision of our race, owing to 
its approaching death, be so clouded as to make it blind to the 
boon knowledge holds out to it! But happy we, should its in- 
ward sight be still intact and its soul still alive; for then the 
wonders which natural development reveals to us, paired with 
the scientific-knowledge gained in the 20th century, will not 



135 



be in vain. The ominous effects of Darwin's theory will become 
a thing of the past. In their stead will step knowledge; men will 
grow aware of the true meaning of life and growth, like our 
forebears had once anticipated it. (S. "The Soul of the Human 
Being) That new life in the fulness of soul will dawn, such as 
the folks of the earth at all times have dreamed of; dreams, 
however, which took on such fantastic forms (through men's 
urge for happiness), as to conceive ideas such as for instance an 
"Empire of a thousand Years". 

Science, uprooted as it was from out of the soil of its own nat- 
ive God-Cognisance (Gotterkenntnis) and instead, embedded 
in the alien soil of Christian thought, was influenced a remark- 
ably long time by the impressions it had received from the 
outer world alone. Although the multitudinous variety and 
diversity of animal and plant-life had been recognised, it was 
taken for granted (conform with the Jewish creation-myth) that 
all living species had been handed down, ready made, from the 
hands of their creator. Even Linne, in the 18th century, expound- 
ed the doctrine of the unchangeability of the animal-species, 
which he taught were exactly the same to-day as they were from 
the beginning of time. ("Species tot sunt, quot formae ab initio 
creatae sunt"). With the assumption, which had cropped up 
in the minds of men in past centuries, that all living beings 
differed one from another, there grew synchronously the unshak- 
able certainty that this diversity distinguished itself not only 
in the degree of man's development but also in the nature of 
his soul. The cause supposed for this assumption was completely 
wrong and in this error men have persevered right up to the 
present day. The doctrine of the unchangeability of the species 
greatly marred the intellectual outlook of all the peoples that 
had been nurtured in the "Jewish Faith". In fact, it proved to 
be a sheer impediment to intellectual development, for in such 
a trend of thought no truth could ever be arrived at. Other cult- 



136 



ural-folks approached nearer to cognisance. For instance, the 
Chinese taught in the earliest times that all nature was one and 
the same, and the Indians, our kindred ancestors, to whom the 
cognisance of preceeding generations had been preserved, poss- 
essed a legend of creation which told that all plant and animal- 
life originated in order from the most primeval animate being. 
In fact, despite their non-knowledge of the laws-of-nature, the 
Indians were able to recognise at a very early age already, that 
the invisible, the "Self", innate in each and all, could not be 
grasped by our perceptive organs, nor with the powers of our 
reason. But as Indian imagination dwelt on the visible-scene 
(Welt der Erscheinung) as being something which was mere 
deception prompted to lead mankind astray, (Maya-illusion)* 
the consequence was that they believed the diversity and varie- 
ty which the outer-world manifested was also mere illusion. At 
the conclusion of their story-of-creation (Rigveda Jaitareya- 
Upanishad 3 Khanda) the play of their childlike imagination is 
well revealed. Nevertheless, it is full of profound wisdom inspitc 
of the lack of scientific -knowledge. Here it is: "After having 
been born, he regarded all the other kinds of living beings 
and exclaimed: What difference can be found? But still he dis- 
cerned that the spirit of Brahma had pervaded man the most". 
It is of significance to note, that, although the Indian mind, 
when judged from our standpoint in the knowledge of nature and 
her laws, was still at a stage of very primitive dimensions, it 
was, nevertheless, capable of discerning the uniformity under- 
lying the multiform surface, and this was mainly due to the 
fact that it had been spared from Jewish teachings polluting its 
thought. It was very different in our case. Science was encount- 
ered with a twofold handicap; the unchangeability and non- 
relationship of the species. But the Indian thinker also lost 

* The Edda was the only book belonging to our Aryan forefathers which escaped 
the flames the Christians had prepared for them. In the Edda, the myth concerned with the 
world-oak makes also mention of this cognisance. (S. "The Soul of the Human Being"). 



137 



golden opportunities in disdaining and fearing the world of 
appearances (Erscheinungswelt). The misconception of its signi- 
ficance barred him from achieving knowledge which alone the 
research of the visible could yield. We, on the other hand, have 
fallen a prey to the opposite danger. Our familiarity with the 
world-of-appearances (Erscheinungswelt) which earnest study 
and research brought with them has intoxicated us to such an 
extent, as to make us treat visibility (Erscheinung) as if it were 
the only reality. We ought to be ashamed of treating "Maya" 
so irreverently, especially since Kant has presented us with the 
gift of his "Brahma-most-pervaded" doctrine. 

Historical facts prove that the Evolution-history fell by no 
means suddenly into the hands of materialism. It was a very 
gradual process. To understand what this means, it is signific- 
ant to note first how the magnificent scientific results were put 
to use. An incident, in itself small and insignificant although, 
physchologically speaking, of great interest, serves to show how 
a certain practice will gain the upperhand. Goethe belonged to 
that body of scientists who expounded that theory of evolution 
which proceeded along the path leading from a uniform to a mul- 
tiform. He even clothed this conception in the poetic language 
as follows: 

,,Alle Gestalten sind ahnlich und keine gleichet der anderen; 
und so deutet der Chor auf ein geheimes Gesetz, auf ein heiliges 
Ratsel." "All forms are similar, yet none are alike. A chorus 
chanting a mysterious law. The sacred mystery of mysteries." 

Now, a century has passed since Goethe wrote those lines and 
in the meantime, as the result of study and research, the doctrine 
of Evolution has grown into the fruition of achieved facts, and 
on every possible occasion when natural evolution was written 
about or spoken of, Goethe's lines were quoted. Yet, strange to 
say, the last line, where he mentions the sacred mystery, was 
always omitted. Now, at a time when men had grown into the 



138 



habit of explaining the process of the world's growth in the 
light of the mere mechanical only, the expression "mysterious 
law" would be suitable enough while 'sacred mystery* quite out 
of place. So it came natural that 'sacred* was always omitted 
although it closely belonged to the verse. Words implying that 
anything was 'sacred' were more than superfluous in a world 
where men were thankful that the 'mysterious in creation* had 
been explained away so successfully. This brings us sharply 
round to the fact that the high importance which was attributed 
to the Evolution Theory was merely due to the dry fact that 
scientists were able to emphasize the sheer mechanical by means 
of the theory which taught of 'natural selection* causing the ori- 
gin of the species. Herewith the problem of life seemed to be 
adequately 'solved*. 

When one comes to think of it, it seems hardly credible that 
scientists should have made no attempts whatever to lay the 
theory of evolution at the heart of their research. Yet verily, a 
whole century long, the idea of a process of development lay 
dormant; none stood up for or against it until Mr. Darwin 
appeared. And what could have been the reason for this? In the 
first place, most certainly, there was but a paucity of scientific 
facts to work from; but this is not a sufficient explanation for 
the reason, why every idea in this trend was so utterly ignored. 
But it soon becomes clear when we bear in mind that, before 
Darwin's time, all the scientific-researchers stood in opposition 
to him. In the first place all of them felt that somehow there 
was a 'sacred mystery', besides which, there was no craze for the 
mere mechanical among the public which the scientists were 
called upon to satisfy. On the contrary, even Darwin's own 
grandfather, Erasmus Darwin, concludes his book with these 
words: "The world has not been created, it has evolved gradu- 
ally, step by step, from a small beginning to a higher end. It 
expanded through the activity of an inner-potency; has grown 



of its own accord rather than been created at the command of 
an almighty power. What a grand idea this is of the great arti- 
ficer's perpetual power! The cause of causes, the father of fa- 
thers, the Ens entium! For, in order to compare perpetuity, a 
still greater perpetual-power is necessary than the power is which 
has caused cause and effects!" Then there was Lamark, who, 
more than a century later in his Philosophic Zoologique", 
taught the doctrine upholding the fact that all the present day 
diverse species originated from the most primitive being; also 
that the metamorphosis of certain groups was caused through 
the species having adapted themselves to a change of life which 
had brought about the transformation of the organic linbs; 
these having been put to use or no use as each case called forth. 
Yet Lamark himself was far from recognising that this very 
fact was sufficient in itself to explain the process of evolution 
and also to account for the multifariousness of our present day 
species. But more important: he assumed that there was a "po- 
tenciating first cause innate in all organisms which had issued 
from the installed exalted Orginator of all things, and which 
was striving, as of a necessity, to pave its way, in the order pro- 
per to higher spheres of development". 

Unlike all his predecessors Darwin alone was capacitated to 
enthuse his epoch. The Evolution-Theory became suddenly in- 
vigorated with the breath of enthusiasm. This had been his sole 
priviledge to awaken. Darwin's own enthusiasm for the Evolut- 
ion-Theory became contagious. But it was not so much the 
admiration for his intimate knowledge and minute study, nor 
for his vast experiments in breeding and rearing which absorbed 
so much the public interest as the manner of his research. It al- 
ways happened in the light of the mere mechanical! A whole 
century became Darwin influenced. It was absolutely character- 
istic of his times that the scientific facts concerning the meta- 
morphosis of plant and animal were of minor interest, while 



140 



the mechanical explanation expounded in his selection-theory 
found such an echo in the heart of man! (Mind, it was not the 
scientific doctrine itself which met such interest, but the plausi- 
bility of the sheer mechanical explanation. Now, according to 
Darwin, we are called upon to imagine that it was not so much 
the struggle-for-life which was the mighty potent in the growth 
of organic-life, but rather the dry, matter-of-fact competition- 
struggle. That vast multiformity, manifested in the abundance 
of plant and animal-kind, was caused through the most realistic 
of impulses! This thought, arising from the abyss of the most 
sober of matter-of-facts, came as a boon indeed to a generation 
which clung lovingly to its materialistic outlook. 

This is what Darwin tells us: An over abundance of individ- 
ual plant and animal-life comes into existence. Before these 
can multiply, millions are doomed to die in the struggle-for-life 
going on among their own kind. In this competition the fittest 
wins the race of life. It is nominated the best of its kind because 
it achieved that stage which allows it to bequeath its useful 
attributes to later generations, while the mal-developed inevit- 
ably suffers extermination before it can multiply. It follows, 
therefore, that only the smartest throughout the generations, or 
rather, as his theory gives to understand, the best-equipped is 
qualified to become the ancestor of coming generations. The 
feature of 'smartness' determines the character of its kind. In 
this manner certain characteristics persevere in developing so 
long as their possessor can be made 'smarter* than its compe- 
titors in the general struggle-for-life, but arrest when disadvant- 
age can happen. 

A less dispassionate interpretation can hardly be imagined 
but, at any rate, it suited his times and moreover was believed 
to be a sublime truth; in the midst of all the industrious joy 
which reigned at first everything else was overlooked. That 
this doctrine could stand no proof when other facts were borne 



141 



in upon it went unperceived. And yet we are greatly indebted 
to Darwin's enthusiasm for his own idea. Without it we should 
not be in possession to-day of so many valuable scientific facts. 
Through his study and research the definition could be found 
for so many characteristics. For instance he made the discovery 
that colour-change, mimicry etc. were means of defence. And 
still many more points he brought to light which the warped 
Christian imagination would have failed to discover. Yet, in- 
spite of all these benefits to science, the fruits of Darwin's study 
have been more of a curse than a blessing, for in no wise have 
they contributed to the ideals of culture. 

No one can deny that the competition-struggle played its 
part in the history of evolution and that the best-fitted in the 
struggle-for-life multiplied. But it is more than curious to want, 
from these dull facts, to derive the explanation for the sublime 
ascent of plant and animal, the origin of which we can trace 
back to the most primitive being known in science as the pro- 
tozoon. It becomes even more curious when one bears in mind 
that the majority of these much-launded practical organs and 
characteristics were practically of little use in the general 
struggle-for-life. 

To Darwin himself, even, it could not remain very long un- 
noticed, that whole regiments of plant and animal-character- 
istics were more of a hindrance than otherwise in the notorious 
struggle-for-life, but that, on the other hand, they fully satis- 
fied man's imagination of the beautiful, no matter how clumsy 
in practice they were. Opposition quickly rose on the top of this 
and proofs in contradiction as quickly brought forth. The best 
field for observation proved to be the higher species, especially 
the vertibrates, as the organs or characteristics useful or other- 
wise could be better perceived. There it could be easily observed 
that the males often had conspicuously bright colours. For in- 



142 



stance, many birds have. At the time of brooding fish have part- 
icularly beautiful scales, while many songsters have headdresses 
which are utterly useless in the struggle-for-existence. Now 
Darwin transmitted our perceptive organs to the animal-king- 
dom declaring these outward signs appealed to the sexual-in- 
stinct of the female and through sexual-selection had made 
their appearance mechanically. This shows how Darwin mis- 
interpreted the very elementary laws ruling sexuality. In reality 
it is so. The much talked-of, bright-hued wedding-dress which so 
many fishes manifest and which, according to Darwin, originat- 
ed mechanically through a process of sexual-selection, the fishes 
themselves do not perceive on account of the peculiar construct- 
ion of the fish-eye (facet-eye). Therefore, there must be ano- 
ther reason for its existence (We shall refer later to the subject 
which treats of this). Moreover, Mr. Darwin overlooks the fact 
that his sexual-selection theory, for instance, the pleasure the 
female bird is supposed to feel at the sight of the bright plumage 
of the male etc., clashes with his own mechanical Evolution 
Theory. The same holds good in more ways. 

This fundamental-law (the female's attraction to the male 
through the bright plumage) is not the only assumption of Dar- 
win which stands in opposition to his own world-theory. There 
is still another circumstance. All of those Secondary sexual 
characteristics' which come in question here, such as the bright 
feathers of the colibri, are suppositions which stand in a very 
strange contradiction to Darwin's own theory (mechanism of 
practicality) for they are a danger-signal more than anything 
else. According to Darwin's theory it is surprising that all the 
unpractical little males were not annihilated in the struggle- 
for-existence. Furthermore, a sexual-passion which is supposed 
to have been accelerated through the practical characteristics of 
the male, either through outward signs or otherwise, ought, 
according to the rules of sexual-selection, to have been applied 



to the female likewise. This idea too would soon exhaust itself 
in Darwin's own Evolution Theory. 

But now to come back to our sense of beauty. Are these 'se- 
condary sexual characteristics' (comparatively few in number) 
the only forms in nature which satisfy our conception of the 
beautiful. Behold here how the reason of man can turn facts 
upside down! If we stop a moment to imagine that nature 
really and truly took the principle of utility to be its guiding 
star in the course of development how different ought the out- 
ward appearance of things be. Think for a while of all the 
many practical utensils which are of such service to man in his 
struggle-for-existence. Have these any resemblance to plant and 
animal life around us? Let us make comparisons. First there 
would be the flying-machine with its telescope, and then, the 
high-soaring sharp-eyed eagle. Yet what a difference between 
these two! I am far from saying that men lack the sense of 
beauty when they make their uesful implements. But still utility, 
in such cases, is always the prime object they have in view, 
exactly as Darwin assumed that the principle of utility was the 
driving force in the evolution of nature. If the task was set 
before us to construct a beast of prey, regardless of beauty, but 
with the endeavour to equip it well for the struggle-for-life, 
I feel sure nothing would make its appearance which could be 
compared to the tiger for beauty! The supposition that the princ- 
iple-of-utility was the ruling factor in the evolution of the 
species, in face of all the wonderous beauty which plant and 
animal exhibit, is a striking example of the warped conceptions 
which mankind is all too capable of forming. Christian thought 
was loftier, although erroneous likewise. It taught that a kind 
father living in heaven had created the flowers of the field in 
such wonderous beauty that we might gather them and place 
them in water for our delight and pleasure. As they possess no 
soul it signifies little if they must fade before their time. Now 



144 



we have not forgotten how our knowledge of the universe has 
been intensified and our insight into nature's state of coherency 
grown wider since we have learned that the scent of the flower 
and their brilliant hues, in serving to attract the insects to carry 
the germ of progeny farther, were auspicious in the mainten- 
ance of the kind; but we cannot refrain from driving this quest- 
ion home. If utility was the main principle, as the Darwinites 
proclaim it to have been, why on earth was not a simpler method 
chosen! For instance, a sheet of colour like the sign of an inn 
would have done the purpose of nature just as well. Also, we ask 
the Darwinites to explain to us why the form and colour of the 
blossoms satisfy our conception of the beautiful so perfectly, 
whereas the insects cannot perceive them at all on account of 
their facet-shaped eyes? And again, what could have been the 
reason for all the superlative beauty of that little mass of pro- 
toplasm, that ancient ancestor of plant and animal which we 
call the unicell, when it possesses no organs wherewith to per- 
ceive the beauty of its fellow-companions; and its beauty is 
useless to it in its struggle-for-existence? (S. Ernst Haeckel's 
beautiful collection of artistic form in nature.) 

An abundance of facts still exist which we could call up to 
bear witness in the overthrowing of Darwin's theory. For us 
this one is enough. Utility was not the cardinal-law in the form- 
ation of the species. We are fully convinced that it was the 
contrary. The chief law pulsating throughout all life was the 
desire of beauty to be realised according to that sense of beauty 
which men possess. But beauty did not grow in the same pro- 
portion as the individual living object developed itself, as might 
be supposed, in order that each and all should better perceive 
their own and the beauty of others. The degree in which beauty 
was allowed to appear on the visible scene (Welt der Erschei- 
nung) depended on quite another circumstance. We are scienti- 
fically justified in claiming that each single being was allowed 



to possess as much beauty as would not endanger it in its struggle- 
for-existence. This accounts for the conspicuous colouring of 
the males and the insignificant appearance of the females in the 
animal-kingdom. As the male is capable of producing more 
offspring than the female, his existence, for the preservation of 
the kind, is of less importance. It matters less in the case of the 
male than in the case of the female if death occurs sooner or 
later. Therefore we are fully justified in saying that the males 
can afford to be arrayed more elegantly than the females can. 

In order to follow our farther discussions with intelligence, 
it is essential to be able to distinguish the dual-will which exists 
in all living beings: the first will is the will-to-preserve the kind 
which in times of emergency effected the practical variety: the 
second will is the will-to-beauty which made the appearance 
as beautiful as possible, that means to say, as far as the self- 
preservation-will was not endangered. The sooner we get 
acquainted with these facts, the better we shall understand how 
nature formed and shaped all her living beings. 

Notwithstanding all the abundance of matter which Mr. 
Darwin collected in order to point out those characteristics 
which had proved practical in the struggle-for-life; in reality, 
he was merely concerning himself with a special group of charac- 
teristics which manifested the sacrifices the will-to-beauty had 
made to the will-to-preservation. In fact he was merely elabo- 
rating a group of characteristics which had sprung into existence 
through the hostility of the surroundings and which Lamark had 
already mentioned. Yet what applies to one does not apply to 
the other. Lamark allowed place for the sacred-mystery for the 
host of varieties which could not be explained in this way. (The 
passivity of the living-being and the activity of the outward 
conditions). Whereas Naegli, in accordance with his times, 
sought an explanation from the sole mechanical point-of-view; 
he suggested that it was a physiological instinct-to-perfection 



146 



innate in the idioplasm which was the cause. It needs hardly 
mentioning that this was no explanation at all but merely ano- 
ther term for the sacred mystery, but which was better attuned 
to the materialistic epoch. 

Therefore, it was to be expected, that, by and by, the mater- 
ialists themselves could remain no longer indifferent to the 
mighty gaps and incorrect assertions which prevailed every- 
where in the Darwinian Theory; for, even the most mater alist- 
ic researcher, be he but earnest in his endeavours, demands the 
truth and nothing but the truth. Hence it came about, that, 
after the first outbreak of enthusiasm had calmed down, doubts 
and disturbing uncertainties took its place. With the so-called 
Cell-Selection-Theory and Weismann's Germ-Selection-Theory 
vast research-work set in, in the hopes of expanding Darwin's 
Selection Theory. But exactly as it happened in Roux's and 
Osborne's Function-Theory etc. and in de Vries' Mutation- 
Theory no place was allowed for the 'sacred mystery', much 
less, for the possibility of a divine creative will existing in all 
visibility (Erscheinung) which might have been the cause of that 
gradual and multifarious ascent, the beginning of which was a 
shapeless mass of protoplasm we term a germ, and the end man. 

It was very characteristic for that epoch that the scientists, 
one and all, not only ignored the assumption of a divine-will 
potentiating this gradually ascending development, but all were 
completely indifferent to any philosophies which taught it. 
Schopenhauer's doctrine was ignored likewise, simply because 
it taught that in every apparition (Erscheinung) a Will existed 
that was the "Thing Itself (Ding an sich) and because this 
wanted to become an object, (objectivation) it compelled the 
form in which it could appear (Form der Erscheinung). 

It goes without saying that it was an inaccurary on the part 
of Schopenhauer when he termed the Will the "Thing Itself"; 



147 



the Will is merely the apparition of the "Thing Itself, an 
apparition, by the way, which can be revealed to the inner eye 
only. Are we, philosophically speaking, of the same opinion as 
Schopenhauer was, namely, that this Will existing in all Vit- 
ality has had the power to create the form in which it could 
appear, and are we also convinced (here contrary to him) that 
the chief instinct in this Will was the urge to self-preservation, 
(although, as we shall soon see, what is generally understood by 
self-preservation, means, in each different being, something else) 
it becomes plain to us that, when faced with the outward con- 
ditions of life, such as; unfavourable conditions, conflicts with 
ever fresh enemies, change of food etc. this Will was forced to 
change its appearance. This will-to-adapt itself to its surround- 
ings was a special expression of Ithe Self-preservation-will, 
which achieved the thing most essential at the time, namely the 
construction of the "Variety". The struggle-for-life or the Dar- 
winian sexual-selection in the competition struggle merely work- 
ed as aids in the same sense. As soon as we gain cognisance (Er- 
kenntnis) of this mutual dependence, we shall be free to under- 
stand more than just the origin of this particular group, the 
small group of practical characteristics; for in as much as this 
Will willed more than the sustenance of life, for instance, beauty 
or life-enjoyment, it is obvious that it compelled other forms 
to be constructed besides the practical constructions. Notwith- 
standing the fact that Schopenhauer's conception was a mighty 
step forwards, his philosophy never found the way to the 'sacred 
mystery* contained in the development from a state of the deep- 
est unconsciousness to one of highest consciousness. And be- 
cause he could not find his way to the solution of this mystery, 
Schopenhauer fell the prey to pessimism. And yet it would have 
been a great progressive step for the scientists, if these had gone 
at least so far in Schopenhauer's company. But as his philosophic- 
al truths tended so little towards the mechanical, being more 



148 



adapted to lead men to the 'sacred mystery', they were naturally 
of little use in the direction natural-science was persevering in. 
And so it came about that this grand revolutionising cognis- 
ance (Erkenntnis) ended, thanks to Darwin's explanation of the 
origin of species, merely in the overthrowing of the creation- 
myth and the construction, in its stead, of a purely mechanical 
"Evolution Theory". At last men could venture without blushing 
to say "God is dead". The scientists called out loudly: God is 
dead, and, in extasy, the lay-world reechoed it, as if it were a 
truth of a new gospel. And how beautifully did this Evolution- 
Theory suit the demands of the shrivelled up soul-life of civil- 
isation: nature herself showed, in selecting the fittest and the 
best, to what high aims and perfect creations the inconsid- 
erate struggle-for-life can lead to; for, and that is the truth of 
Darwinism, mark you, the most practically endowed is the 
fittest in the struggle-for-life. What a shameful change from 
the Greeks who believed that the beautiful was identical with 
the good. What a pernicious influence must have been exercis- 
ed on the moral consciousness, when cunning and fraud, the 
adequate means to victory in the struggle-for-life, become vir- 
tues developed through natural Selection. For, in as much as 
the culminating form in that long chain of development be also 
subject to the continual laws of natural-selection, it must, of a 
necessity, by the virtue of its cognising powers, even aid nature's 
work of selection. Thus, in consequence, the fittest in life's 
competition-struggle became to be recognised as being the most 
favoured for the preservation of the kind; these were the ones 
found worthy this time to be the 'heroes' leading us up the steps 
to Olympus. Herein lay the glorification of the 'Jewish* or, as 
it was generally called, the realistic aims in life. What once had 
had significance had none at all now. What does God-living 
(Gotterleben) want? What is the reason for art? In this kind of 
struggle-for-life these sink to be mere past-times; the soul- 



harmony essential in the choice of the marriage partner, which, 
to the Hindu of ancient times, meant the greatest blessing, sink 
now into irrelevancy. The unholy Darwinian-Selection-Theory 
must be held responsible for the preeminence of the ones aban- 
doned to the mere practical and whom Schopenhauer called 
'the factory goods of nature', and especially for their being 
upheld as the ones alone priviledged to have grasped the meaning 
of life. After all this we cannot be amazed to find all the fields 
of culture jeopardised through the appalling influence of this 
theory, together with the degenerating effects which the Jewish 
teachings had left behind them. (See "Liberation from Jesus 
Christ" chapter-Duty). One can meet politicans, social-econo- 
mists, national-economists, doctors, of whom none would be 
ashamed to make a sentence like this: "The moral-outlook has 
nothing to do with my science". Morality indeed! If it had not 
happened to fit in here and there with the utilitarian demands, 
by now, it would have had no place at all in man's thoughts 
nor activities. Enough attempts were made to bann it altogether 
from cultural-life. In the end it was allowed to hold its own 
merely as a section of scientific-philosophy. And yet, how little 
aware men were of the stronghold which the 'morals' of Dar- 
winism and the 'morals' of Christianity had taken on the human- 
mind, and how rapidly, in consequence, the free folks of the 
earth were being driven to their own destruction. 

But now take note; above and apart from all the material- 
istic attempts to explain the Evolution, the marvellous doctrine 
itself stands unhurt, offering us, anew, the bounteous truths 
concerning the laws-of -growth. That marvellous doctrine which 
once had already thrown such spontaneous light into the dark- 
ened fields of science, yielding a fulness of individual scientific 
experience, so that at one flash almost, the old conceptions of 
life and growth were overthrown! That marvellous doctrine 
which brought the obscurity of dead ages into life again, so that, 



i jo 



with its light, researchers could trace the laws-of-growth in the 
forms of the obsolete animal-species giving them a right to 
prophecy that certain animal-forms would make their appear- 
ance (like the astronomer did who discovered the star Neptune) 
long before the actual discovery of their remains in the earth 
took place. 

The new scientific truth, the so-called biogenetic-fundamen- 
tal-law which had been founded on the strength of countless 
proofs, was that, which taught that all vitality had originated 
from the same prime animate unicellular-being, and was bound 
up, in the course of its complex development, to laws which 
were millions of years old. For the first time, since a thousand 
years, the ancient wisdom contained in the creation-song of 
the Rig- Veda "What can be seen here to be different" echoed 
again in the breasts of men. (Long, long ago had these been 
intentionally separated from the cognisance (Erkennen) of their 
own ancestors). However, as was to be expected, the old con- 
ceptions were held to tenaciously. The materialist found them- 
selves still justified, by the virtue of Darwin's theory, to ring 
out, "God is dead" and soon the facts of the Evolution-Theory 
were put even to a second unholy purpose. This time it was 
"The soul is dead" which they began to call out. The reason 
they gave for this calling was, that the unicellular-being could 
hardly be expected to possess a soul. Besides which the cognis- 
ance (Erkenntnis) of the gradual development within the animal- 
kingdom of these nerve-cell faculties which in men we call soul, 
particularly put an end to all the most confusing and irritating 
metaphysical fancies. The soul had disappeared, that means 
to say, in its stead there had appeared: the sum of faculties 
contained in the living brain cells. Now as this conception appeal- 
ed mostly to the superficial thinkers, its effects in general were 
appalling. To human-beings robbed of the God-belief akin to 
their own race (arteigene - Gottglaube) it could but serve to 



give the ultimate thrust which landed the soul into a deeper 
abyss. 

No matter how gladly the materialists hailed this 'wisdom', 
it proved undeniably to be but another negation which could 
be added to the negation of the Divine, so that it was with ob- 
vious relief when something actually "positive" was discovered 
in the Evolution-Theory which could be made to look like a 
new confession of faith. First of all there was the continuity 
of the species which, notwithstanding the obvious mortality of 
the individual, was a comfort to the soul. Therefore, to labour 
in the interest of the immortal-kind, not only through the act 
of reproduction, but also through personal sacrifice for the 
preservation or benefit of "humanity" was the moral aim which 
the history of evolution was thought to yield. Be it clearly 
understood, however, great care was taken to ignore the true 
significance which it reveals, which is: The unity-of-race and 
preservation-of-race make the only solid foundation for life 
altogether. Put into practice, this truth would soon eliminate 
that evil; the uprooting of men out of the soil of their native 
race, folk, kith and kin which, lamentably, has gone so far al- 
ready (and still goes on) through the influence of Christianity, 
so that the once flourishing folks of the earth have been brought 
to the edge of destruction. 

Besides the comfort and impetus which the Evolution-Theory 
had had the merit of giving in the idea of the 'continuity of 
the species', there was given still a second thought of even 
deeper significance: the belief in progress. Never before had 
this belief been given such a chance. It grew to exquisite clearness, 
for, it was argued, had not the marvellous ascent of man from 
the beginning of a one-celled-being become an irrefutable fact 
which implied a future ascent of man himself who was now 
merely representing the intermediary stage between animal and 
superman? This assumption deeply impressed Nietzsche who 



combined it to many other Darwinian conceptions and clothed 
it in the garb of poetry making it a thing of lasting beauty. 
This caused all the lovers of progress and development, who 
had been persuaded by the newly gained knowledge to bury 
their God, to worship anew. Strange to say no-one was shattered 
at the prospect of such a retrograde movement for Nietzsche 
taught that the child was 'more than those who had created 
it'! This remarkable theory has had its marked effects already; 
the children of to-day are already so irreverent to their elders 
and so unselfcontrolled, particularly the more gifted ones, that 
one can expect a later generation of men and women aimlessly 
given up to their own passions*. The respect for 'that which 
is more than themselves' greatly encumbers parents, in the bring- 
ing up of their children. 

It is not surprising that the voice of criticism kept silence in 
respect to this doctrine, for it seemed to confirm so magnani- 
mously the ardent desires of the researchers. This fact itself 
was certainly a blessing, for it gave so many the hope (and that 
be it said in a century when two unholy funeral feasts had been 
already celebrated) of a still higher ascent in man's develop- 
ment. The argument rang: if such a progress as it was manifested 
in the evolution of man whose beginning was a unicell was 
possible, the ascent of man to the heights of the superman was 
also possible. The doctrine became, scientifically, the more feas- 
ible from the fact that its work was ascribed first to the spiri- 
tual realms where, it was understood, the faculties of the soul 
would undergo a higher development. The continual reform- 
endeavours of past generations with their aims of raising man- 
kind to a higher level contrived also to strengthen this trend 
of thought. Distant vistas rose of future Godlike summits; for 
these were certain if, in the past, the way from the unicell up 
to man had been successfully traversed. 

* (S. The Child's Soul and its Parents' Office.) 

153 



In the triumphant joy over the discovery that science and 
cultural-hope apparently agreed, one fact was overlooked: The 
History of Evolution promises very little for the future and 
hardly any proofs for the assumption that man will ascend 
higher in that same sense of development as it took place before 
between unicell-man. 

Ancient cultures, such as the Aryan, Sumarian, Indian, Egypt- 
ian and Chinese teach the opposite. No elaborate study is 
essential in order to perceive this. A few cultural-data of these 
races suffice to confirm the fact that during thousands of years 
of cultural-happenings there is no pronounced spiritual-exfol- 
iation of any special kind to be noticed. That which gave 
appearance of being such a 'stupendous' progress was nothing 
more or less than the manner and degree of putting to use the 
intellectual faculties which were at hand and the capability 
of putting to use the knowledge handed down from preceeding 
generations. In as much as one generation was able to bestow 
its knowledge and experience (combined also with errors) to 
the next, an ascent in Cognisance (Erkennen) and knowledge 
(Wissen), especially in the fields of natural-science and in the 
intelligent way its benefits were put to the welfare of mankind 
did take place of-course, which gave to mankind the appearance 
of 'progress' and a development of new capacities in his soul. 

Now, if no development in the scientific sense of the word 
has taken place during the historical epoch, is there one to look 
forward too in the future? Had the span of time been too small 
for a noticable development? The History-of - Evolutiones teaches 
us the opposite. Inexorable facts indicate that, in a time imme- 
morable, a plastic epoch was concerned in the creation of animals 
and plants. Very probably sudden and incisive changes in the 
outward life-conditions took place, especially in the climatic 
conditions, which caused mutations, that is sudden changes in 
the living organisms like it has never been experienced since. 



'54 



This occurence of a one time creative-epoch became the subject 
of all the fantastic creation myths. Now, what has become un- 
likely from a scientific point of view, becomes necessarily un- 
likely from a philosophical point of view which is the object in 
view I am going to prove, namely; that a repetition will never 
again occur of that ascent of man from the mammalia, or the 
fish from the amoeba. It follows from the same reason that a 
new ascent of man towards the superman-state will not take 
place. This philosophical truth which ascertains the impossi- 
bility of a further development is, in reality, pregnant with 
good fortune, and as soon as the reason for this has been pro- 
perly understood all perplexity will vanish; we shall clearly 
see the reason for the state of stability which the animal and 
plant-kingdoms achieved at a certain epoch and understand 
how natural it was for men to believe that the dogma of the un- 
changeability of the species was truth. Thus we can be certain 
now that there is no right to trace the origin of the doctrine of 
the 'superman* to the Evolution History, for its origin cannot 
be found there. But in the same way as we are indebted to the 
mastersingers (albeit their art was far from being perfect) for 
having been the means of saving our folk (Volk) from the loss 
of their poetic art, we are filled with gratitude to Nietzsche for 
having been able to inspire so many with faith in the superman. 
He certainly saved all the scientific-minded living in the Dar- 
winian period from religious destruction. What is more, the 
language he used was so powerful that it inspired many a Ger- 
man. These began to feel noble-self-esteem arise again within 
them. Only too long had this divine feeling suffered suppression 
through the ominous effects of the alien way of thinking which 
had worked its havoc at will (The intellectual strife of our day 
is one of the bitter results). 

Nothing is more effective in uprooting the mind of man out 
of the soil of his native imagination than the teachings of an 



alien creed. It simply paralyses his brain. Therefore it ought 
to be no longer surprising that the Evolution-Theory was put 
to no better use than for the denial of God and the soul, not to 
mention the puny creeds put up in their stead which became 
known under the title of "Immortality of the Species, and 
Superman". Moreover, when we recall to mind, in face of these 
realities, the rapid hold which the superficial trends of Darwin- 
ian thought had succeeded in taking on all the branches of life, 
it no longer amazes us to find the Christian folks (Volker), 
already at the brink of an abyss, threatened with their sudden 
fall to destruction. 



156 



Winictn attD fmmortaliti? 



If ever there was a scientific Cognisance (Erkenntnis) which 
was capacitated to shatter the mind of man and replenish is 
with a new appreciation of its surroundings and the realities of 
life, it certainly was the announcement that all life had once 
evolved from the most primitive of beings, called a unicell. 
When one comes to think of it, it seems almost miraculous that 
within this infinitismally small body, invisible to the human eye 
save when under the microscope, there lay such a power of 
development as to cause, together with the aid it received from 
its surroundings (the impetus danger gave in the struggle-for- 
existence) the multifariousness of plant and animal-life which 
we see before us. One of the most incredible facts in the history 
of culture is this: As soon as this wonder became general good, 
men became swayed in the fallacy they had solved the mystery 
of life! There is no denying of -course that the struggle-for- 
existence endowed the species with the more favourable var- 
iety, and this facilitated reproduction; but does this fact really 
suffice to explain the reason why that sleeping possibility un- 
dertook a transformation as to cause the ascent of man amidst 
struggles which continually increased? 

Now, this has remained a mystery, but because all attempts 
to solve this mystery from the mechanical point-of-view have 
failed and always will fail, the truths gained from the Evol- 
ution-Theory are no longer fated to remain the mere property 
of an important branch of science as men up till now have be- 
lieved; instead, their prerogative, to-day, is to inaugurate the 



foundation to our new world- viewpoint (Weltanschauung) which 
will soon bear conviction that it is a foundation far superior to 
all those contained in any of the myths and religions. But not, 
however, in that sense as has been understood up till now, for 
the continuity of that progress of development to farther stages 
over the line unicell-man we consider to be a creed which is ab- 
solutely untenable. We are also opposed to the other conception 
which hoick that the perpetuity of the species amply replaces 
individual immortality. The religious myths always upheld the 
personal immortality of man, and because this idea was kept 
alive in the imagination of man it acted truly as an impetus to 
all their moral endeavours. Yet we must admit that the preach- 
ing of the immortality of the "species" as a gospel of truth 
found its justification in one way also; namely it was prompted 
by the same natural desire, the individual's immortality, which 
was embodied already in the myth. All men are inspired with 
a great longing for the immortal-state. By now the religious 
myths would have lost all their significance had they not held 
out to men the promise of immortal-life, for their second funct- 
ion has lost all its significance. In earlier times its presence was 
justified; the myth helped to appease the awful fear of men 
when these were confronted with the elements which in those 
earlier times could not be grasped with the human powers of 
comprehension. Gradually, the myth was obliged to give up 
this second function to natural-science which has succeeded in 
a most marvellous way to appease the fear men were wont to 
feel towards the wild powers of Nature. For instance, the fear 
which men used to feel before the God-of Thunder who, in his 
anger, annihilated them with flashes of lightning, has been 
completely banished since men have discovered the principles 
of physics. They know now that when electricity in the air 
explodes it causes thunder and lightning. According to like 
rules men can scare away the fear that takes hold of them when 



158 



confronted with the "powers-of-fate". The brighter the light of 
science shone, the quicker did the fear of demons and the anxiety 
for cult manifestation make its departure: Instead of the Will 
of a personal God intruding itself onto the life of mankind, 
tranquil lawfulness made its appearance. All of us, who have 
gained any insight into nature and her laws, have experienced 
how soothing the possession of clear knowledge is after the 
anxieties felt at that time when we were still under the influence 
of Christian-Thought. We forgot, however, in the first intoxi- 
cation of our joy at this knowledge that this could not make 
up to us for the loss of our belief in the individual-immortality. 
A fervent and invigorating belief in a personal God who watched 
over our welfare and to whom we could pray in times of need 
was nothing compared to the peace of mind which the knowledge 
of nature and her laws imparted. This belief was not able to 
impart a like peace and tranquillity in the circumstances of life 
unless the visible was disdained and even hated in the thought 
that true life first commenced after death. And because of the 
superiority which all those felt who had learned, to understand 
and love nature, it comes natural that scientific cognisance 
(Naturwissensdiaftliche Erkenntnis) became of its own virtue, 
a new religion. Now religion is the consciously willed connection 
with the 'Thing Itself as Kant has termed that something (self) 
which animates all appearances (Erscheinung). As natural-science, 
however, denies the existence of this 'Self, it follows, that it 
is an error to call scientific truths religion. There is a great 
difference between religion and a Godcognisance (Gotterkennt- 
nis), which fully harmonises with science. Although religion 
possesses a conscious desire to be inwardly connected with the 
divine, it lacks the harmony with the standing facts of science 
and responds to the ultimate questions of life quite irrespective 
of the force of real facts; merely the wish-for-happiness or the 
fear-of-pain come in question. 



159 



Thus then, science was most adequate in transforming the 
fear of the demons into a state of tranquillity but it was incap- 
able of satisfying the desire for immortality always burning in 
the heart of man. When the Evolution-Theory revealed the fact 
that the sex-cells bequeathed their heredity-substance to one ge- 
neration after the other; as well as that these cells were potent- 
ially immortal, it was at once assumed that the belief in the 
perpetuity-of-the-species was a full substitute for the belief-in- 
a-hereafter which the religious myths avowed. Even if facts 
had been so hard as to dispel mercilessly any belief in a con- 
scious life hereafter, what did this matter? There remained great 
comfort in the thought that every one could live on in his 
children and children's children through the virtue of that pot- 
ency which lies in the mass of one's own immortal-cells. So it 
was thought to be each one's duty to work for the good of one's 
children, for the sake of these immortal-cells. What did self- 
sacrifice matter if it were for the good of the immortal species 
in which a particle of one's own soul lived on eternally! This 
seemed truth, indeed, which was equal to anything that was 
capable of saving the folks of the earth from that path of des- 
truction they were heading for. Alien religious thought had 
worked enough evil already. It had succeeded in uprooting 
men out of the soil of their own racial inheritance, making them 
careless in their ancestral love and reverence, as well as careless 
in their duties to posterity. But this new wisdom was neither 
of any avail as it was so improperly constructed on the duties 
to race. It remained powerless because it could neither gratify 
man's desire for eternal-life nor could it make men holy. At 
the best it was merely capable of inspiring a desire to do social 
work. The true secret of evolution it had not perceived! 

Inspite of all this the Evolution-History remains the well 
from which, when philosophical-Cognisance (Erkenntnis) and 
soul-living (Erleben der Seele) are coupled to its truths, the true 



1 60 



meaning can be drawn concerning human-life, the obligation 
of death, the inborn human-imperfection, as well as the ful- 
filment of the immortal-will. 

Let us now turn to our oldest ancestor, the "protozoon". 
It is a very insignificant little forefather, infinitesmally small, 
and looks like a sack of jelly. If we observe it closely we shall 
note that it exhibits the same marks of life as the higher orga- 
nised species show: It searches food, digests it chemically, 
evacuates the waste and grows exactly like all the higher kinds 
of living beings do. Although it does not yet possess proper 
organs for this purpose, yet it can stretch its protoplasma body 
into artificial legs called "Pseudopodian" with which it can 
clutch its food and more about with. What impresses us most 
is that it can feel (irritability), that means to say it gives response 
to its surroundings in its own particular way. Notwithstanding 
these powers, however, its construction is very primitive when 
compared to the multicell. The most important pan is its nucleus 
which is inside its tiny protoplasma-body. The nucleus is the 
bearer of that potency which once enabled that grand, almost 
inconceivable, flight of development. As soon as such a prim- 
itive being has attained to certain stage of growth, very com- 
plicated and likewise interesting happenings take place within 
the nucleus, after which it divides into two. Then gradually 
the plasma-body also divides into two, tightening itself up so, 
that two independent daughter-animals arise from out of the 
parent-body, each to live its life separately from now onwards. 

Let us emphasize the word 'live'; for here is revealed the 
greatest wonder which has happened since the existence of the 
world. The more we ponder over the fact that all of us are 
consecrated to death and therefore so used to death, the greater 
this miracle appears. 

It happens like this. The unicell divides and subdivides but 
not to age and die after a certain number of times. On the 



161 



contrary, the melting of the parent-body into daughter animals 
is one continuously unchecked process. Of-course, nearly all these 
primitive cells suffer death accidently, at some time or another! 
The first dies of thirst, the second of hunger, the third dies of 
frost and the fourth is eaten up etc. But not all suffer accidents. 
Under favourable conditions all could live on forever. Old age 
and death in the 'natural' way is not their lot; so that we might 
say the little plasma-cell we are looking at under the microscope 
is indeed an immortal little fellow, so ancient as to count millions 
of years. Theoretically speaking, we might assume, like many 
scientists declare, that once upon a time it was carried with 
the cosmic dust on to our earth, and at the end of the world 
will land in like manner on to another planet with the purpose 
of evolving into higher beings or to divide and subdivide etern- 
ally. Therefore the unicell possesses the power to live forever. 
The scientific discoverer of this fact called it "Potential Immor- 
tality". Practically speaking, of-course, all these potentially 
immortal little beings succumb some time or other to "Accident- 
al Death". On the last day most certainly. 

For the moment it seems almost unimaginable that on this 
earth there is life which is not under the sway of irrevocable 
old age and natural-death. When this scientific discovery was 
made the times were very given to materialism, so that it goes 
without saying that it was attacked in the usual ugly way. This 
was twofold. At first it was ridiculed and then forgotten. 
Evidently when a fact is unpleasant, the only help is to ignore 
and shun it. And so it happened that one of the greatest truths 
which men have ever been priviledged to gain was suffered to 
be treated so ignobly. 

Prof. Weismann, the famous zoologist, who, for his time, 
possessed a rare understanding for philosophy although he 
neglected to let it fructify his research, termed this new wonder 
the "Potential Immortality" of the unicell. This was an excellent 



162 



pronouncement in that it implied that the unicell was immune 
to natural death; that the usual way of aging and dying did not 
form the contents of the last act of its life. In the lectures 4 he 
delivered expounding this fact, Professor Weismann used words 
which, although brief, show how deeply he was concerned in- 
wardly with the importance of this cognisance. The words he 
used were: "With my thesis concerning the 'potential immortal- 
ity* I intend nothing more or less than to bring science to realise 
the fact that between the unicellular and multicellular-organisms 
there lies the introduction of natural, that is normal death". 
Needless to say, from his contempararies he merely harvested 
ridicule. No less an one than Buetschli confronted him with the 
fact that a perpetuum mobile could not exist. This shows clearly 
how far natural science had sunk into the arms of materialism 
if one of its most capable and conscientious researchers could 
compare a living cell to a machine! 

After the ridicule and contradiction had subsided, there follow- 
ed a time of relief when hopes went high that this vexing and 
incomprehensible question (potential immortality) should be 
settled and done away with once and for all. It had been ob- 
served that certain kinds of "Ciliates" (a higher species of one- 
celled being) exhibited periodically, after several generations of 
dividing and subdividing, a certain tendency to lay themselves 
one upon the other, either to copulate, that is, in the union of 
nucleus and cell-body, to melt permanently one into another, 
or to separate again, after having exchanged halves of the 
nucleus germ-substance with each other, This (amphimixis) was 
considered to be the method which the unicell undertook in 
order to rejuvenate and escape natural death. (S. Maupas "Re- 
jeunissement Karyiogamique"). Now, if, really rejuvenation 
was the main object in view, which incidently is not proven, 



* "Discourses on the Theory of Heredity" by August Wcismann. Publishers: Messrs. 
Gustav Fischer, Jena. 

163 



and all the unicelled beings practiced amphimixis, which they 
certainly do not, this fact, nevertheless would not suffice to 
refute the existence of the potential immortality. It is essential 
that the unicell also fulfils certain conditions of life, and the 
amphimixis, no doubt, is a practice belonging to certain kinds 
of unicellular beings. But this fact there is no gainsaying. Every 
living thing which is once subject to the coercive laws of 
natural-death cannot escape it subsequently. To these laws the 
unicell makes expception, and herein lies it potential immor- 
tality. Luckily, Weismann, himself, was able to bring forth 
excellent material in aid of his own theory. Fate priviledged 
him to silence the opposition of his contemporaries. It was 
indeed fortunate for his theory that Weismann experienced 
personally the controversies that went on, for, with the weapons 
of his own knowledge, he overcame all the hostile attacks. But 
since I have revealed to the public what a great philosophical 
truth his scientific discovery signifies to be, and how easy it 
makes it for us to understand the evolution of life, and why 
death had to be, all the errors, long ago refuted, are being brought 
to life again in order to throw dust in the eyes of the secular- 
world; in men's terrible anxiety for the life of Christianity! 

But behold! For a second time this marvellous truth could 
not be refuted. Therefore it was ignored. Let us not be any 
partner in this error, but rather let us look at it in the full light 
of our consciousness. 

Ever since man has been able to comprehend his surroundings 
by means of his intellectual powers, he was aware of the cer- 
tainty of death, and his firm belief was, that all living things 
were subject to death. Indeed, all his conceptions, all his phi- 
losophies, all his creations-of-art are pervaded with the idea 
that all vitality on earth must of a merciless necessity end in 
death; that death, in fact, is linked closely to all life. Even from 
out of the darkest historical times, the truth of this comes 



164 



sounding upon our ears as if it were inexorable wisdom. There 
is Hotar Aevata who sings in the Vedas that all life "is in the 
chains of death, and is its complete slave", and now a truth 
appears which reveals this to be illusion. A once unshakable 
conception, which even the Maya despising Hindu learned to 
respect. It only appeared to be true, but the reason why it could 
dominate the minds of men so long was because the intelligence 
of man had not yet discovered the microscope, which was ne- 
cessary to perceive and observe the life of the potentially 
immortal little beings. What an irony of fate it appears to be, 
that, after thousands of years, when at last the illusion can be 
unveiled, the eye of the researcher has grown so dim; the im- 
portance of the new truth goes unperceived, while one could 
have expected it to shake all the realms of men's conceptions 
indicating as it did that the life-immortal for each individual 
was indeed a reality. 

There is something overwhelming in the thought, that, through- 
out thousands and thousands of years, our earth was unaquainted 
with the fetters of irrevocable death, that, notwithstanding the 
fact that accidental death was always happening, death as a 
must-be never occurred. And we might be forgiven, if, at first 
thought, we claim the higher ascent of death-bef alien-beings to 
be no progress. Is not the agony of death terrible? The believers 
as well as the decriers of a beyond are both alike in despair, 
when confronted with the unimaginable fact that a personality 
through the might of death should be extinguished. When any 
one we love suddenly dies, who has been all to us in life, and 
whose ways and manners are still so fresh in our minds, it seems 
at first quite impossible to believe that death means the cessation 
of all this, that once was ours. Even those, who believe in a life- 
here-after, are shattered, when it is born on them that all of 
that which went to make up the personality of him who has 
just died cannot accompany him into the beyond, but must be 



165 



left behind. It is the "must" attached to the fact which makes 
it so incomprehensible. When we imagine, that long ages ago 
the earth was spared this bitter "Must be", we are tempted to 
think it might have been a better world; to a healthy person more 
enchanting surely, without this bitter compulsion. Has not that 
strong desire for self-preservation, innate in all of us, which 
once was the form-creating-will of all the things visible to us, 
been rendered cruelly and ridiculously hostile in having been 
confronted with the fact of death's inevitability? What made 
it so impossible to preserve that state of potential-immortality 
in the life of the multicelled plant and animal-species? Here we 
might be tempted to answer, that the introduction of compuls- 
ory death through old age and decline, or in short, as science 
has it, normal death, was because the useless multiplying of 
vitality should be put a stop to. This is an error. For in as much 
as the accidents which happen continually in the general-struggle- 
for-life can be the cause of preventing a too rapid increase of 
life, potential immortality would not have stood in the way of 
this regulation by virtue of the accidental death over which it 
has no control. As it is, a limit already exists which nature her- 
self has set to control the growth of vitality. Of all those num- 
bers of death-fated multi-cells, only two, on the average, of 
every original pair are allowed to multiply. Only man was 
allowed to diverge from this rule. His powers of reasoning 
released him from the general rule existing in nature (the un- 
changeability of the numbers). If he wanted to he could repro- 
duce his kind in any number he liked, while for all the other 
multicelled-beings, the number of their kind remained unchange- 
able. Therefore we note, that all those in the fetters of natural 
death, also die accidently in numbers incalculable, before ever 
they reach the stage when they can multiply. Under these 
circumstances the state of potential-immortality could have 
been maintained. Therefore it would have been of no real 



1 66 



moment, if, by the virtue of their potential state of immortality, 
399 998 out of 400 000 ova of one pair of herrings perished 
before arriving to the stage of reproduction, or the 400 000 of 
another pair all perished, or only 4 of another pair survived; 
but what a difference this all would have made in the life on 
our earth. How different would all our hopes and longings be, 
how different the religions and philosophies. What a different 
kind of art would there be, and above all, how differently 
should we think of death. Death would often happen, but in 
this case, it would be robbed of its coercive force. There would 
be not aging, no decline of bodily and spiritual-powers after a 
certain age had been arrived at. Instead, there would be a con- 
tinual rejoicing in eternal youth. In our very midst there would 
exist ancient denizens of the earth; all those who had managed 
to escape accidental death. They would possess wisdom which 
had accumulated within the course of thousands of years, and 
would be radiant still with the beauty of youth. Although the 
probability of death would be always lurking somewhere and 
at some time, there would still be no-one who could predict for 
certain when it would occur. All would have the right to hope 
for eternal life, without however being doomed to a fate like 
the "Flying Dutchman" or "Ahasver" of the legend experienced. 
There would be no compulsion to live either; for the daily 
threatening accidental death could be made voluntary at any 
time. But the realisation of a 1000, nay even a 100 years, would 
be such a rare event, as to make it a good fortune which was 
well worth looking forward to. Not until we can fully com- 
prehend the bliss which such a kingly freedom over life and 
death would bring, shall we be capacitated to grasp, in all the 
fullness of its pain, the agonising alternative: So accustomed 
are we to be fettered to old age and death. As fate, in this way, 
so mercilessly trampled down the Will-to-selfpreservation, men 
naturally were caused, since they had created for themselves 



167 



a consolation creed of immortality, to succumb to the appalling 
assumption, that the immortal life after death made up for 
obligatory death. That to live eternally could be just as fetter- 
ing and tormenting, and the much-lauded heavenly bliss was 
nothing else than the fate of Ahasver of the legend did not 
enter the mind of men. Anyhow it consoled man. He became 
reconciled to the thought of normal-death. 

Now, there is still another question which is also liable to 
torment us. Why could not that sublime bliss (the state of 
potential-immortality) be maintained in the manycelled beings 
since man, in being able to understand it, lent it its significance? 
Now, was it altogether impossible, or was it really the fault of 
the conditions which vitality was subject to on our earth? Let 
us still ponder on for we are nearing the holy mystery. 

All life which once has made its appearance (Erscheinung), 
on the visible scene (Welt der Erscheinung), is possessed of the 
ardent desire (the will) to remain visible. That an Immortal- 
Will (Unsterblichkeitswille) pervades all life, even the crassest 
materialist cannot deny, although he thinks it fitter to give it 
another name, more becoming and less foreboding to his own 
viewpoint (Weltanschauung). He calls it the "Preservation- 
Instinct". From this will spring all deeds, or, when we speak 
materialistically, it "responds to its environment". The single- 
celled- being sees this will fulfilled through its potential immort- 
ality. (Let us stop for a moment to recall the protozoan to our 
minds). Besides the anxiety to escape accidental death, philo- 
sophically speaking, there exists no other impetus at all to cause 
this will to change its form and also accordingly its life-condit- 
ions. Eventually, the single reason for it to do so would be, 
when its potential immortality was threatened through acci- 
dental death overwhelming. 

Now, is this circumstance plausible enough to justify, philo- 
sophically speaking, the great change which took place in the 



1 68 



potentially- immortal one-celled kingdom? In face of the trem- 
endous reproduction of the unicelled species, it became a necess- 
ity*. Death became more and more frequent, through a twofold 
cause. First of all the struggle-for-life became gradually keener 
and keener, and then the want for food. Prior to this, the self- 
preservation-will, unalarmed, could well be satisfied with the 
visible form it possessed; But when danger began to lurk every- 
where, a gradually increasing instinct compelled it to improve 
its weapons-of-defence. They were projected into visibility 
(Erscheinung).This means to say, in other words: the self -preserv- 
ation-will was compelled to achieve the form of a higher or- 
ganised species. The "Varieties" were the means. In this deve- 
lopment, natural selection (Darwin's doctrine) aided, in that 
the single individual which had really achieved the more dist- 
inctly higher form maintained, as a consequence, its life. That 
the minutest differenciation, however, was continually acce- 
lerated through selection and bequeathment is hardly conceiv- 
able, and we must reject this idea from our philosophical 
thought, and leave it to the Darwinians. The first beginning 
making for the higher organisation, which, by the way, the 
unicell, in general, could make little use of in its tremendous 
struggle, was put forth by the self-preservation-will in numbers 
and numbers of individuals, so that naturally in the ones that 
survived the general struggle and multiplied, it was also to be 
found, but a certain stage of a noticeably more pronounced 
achievement in the weapons of defence had to be attained before 
it can be said that selection, for its part, could aid mechanically 
the best-equipped in the process of reproduction. The more we 
emphasize the fact that it was the self-preservation-will which 
was the main factor in the creation of form in the higher species, 
and not natural-selection, which played only a secondary, or 



* The observations which have been made of bacteria show how trencndous the 
continual natural increase of the unicellular organisms are, so that famine and destruction 
through the increase of other kinds of unccellular organisms is almost inevitable. 

169 



"passive" part, the more will our argument seem to stand in 
contradiction to the prevailing scientific conception concerning 
the bequeathment of aquired characteristics. Not until the 
whole edifice of our view-point has been completely erected 
will it be possible to obtain a proper view of the facts concern- 
ing the bequeathment of aquired characteristics, which to the 
materialists seems such an impenetrable and contradictory field 
of science. In passing, however, we may state that this part- 
icular question of heredity does not stand in the way of the 
argument we have just being giving. 

Through the force of innumerable facts, the most important 
of which we shall refer to later, it stands as proven, that the 
self-preservation-will was the cause of the "variety" from which 
the higher organism originated and the development which 
afterwards steadily took place. It was not selection; for this 
was of minor importance from the simple fact that the applied 
organs were useless in the struggle-of-life going on at that time. 
Hence, it was a form-creating-will which strove, albeit uncon- 
sciously, towards an aim; the completion of an organ. Let us try 
to understand this properly first, in order to be able to under- 
stand afterwards how all the different species were brought 
about. 

The first transformation which the self-preservation-will 
undertook was the better equipment of the unicell in the great 
time of danger. We term this achievement the higher species. The 
unicell was able to achieve within its own cell-body, in the most 
primitive fashion, so much, what later, the multicell could only 
achieve through the application of complete organs and the di- 
vision of labour. It is remarkable to note how the division of 
labour sets in within the body of the simple little cell. The 
nucleus maintains the most important and vital function. While 
it is dividing into two it differenciates into the great-nucleus and 
the small-nucleus. The first takes on the function associated with 



170 



nourishment and the second for reproduction. In the process of 
dividing and subdividing, only the micronucleus maintains and 
bequeathes the heredity-substance, which goes into equal parts 
into the daughter cells and by the amphimixis melts into the 
other cells. Furthermore, we can perceive something like a blister 
which rhythmically expands and contracts as if 'breathing were 
its function, a structure which we can compare to our lungs. 
Within the interior of the cell itself there is another suchlike 
structure, a contractile vacuole, which acts like a simple kidney, 
exactly like the kidney acts in the higher species. The cell-jelly 
or protoplasm divides into a hard enclosing wall and an interior; 
delicate protoplasmic-hairs or ciliar, whose rhythmical beating 
drives the organism from place to place, protrude from the out- 
ward wall. They are also organs of perceptibility. Many of the 
unicells have also a mouth or gullet and farther an excretory 
organ. Thus equipped, the unicell, of-course, is better facilitated 
to move about quicker, and being robuster through the ectoplasm 
it is far better protected against its enemies. Digestion does not 
appear to occupy all the cell-parts; a circumstance which also 
renders escape much easier. 

But there is something particular going on which makes us 
attentive. The great-kernel, or macronucleus, which was solely 
concerned with the work of digestion, perishes after its work of 
division is done, whereas, the small kernel, or micronucleus 
remains. After dividing into two equal daughter-cells, a new 
great kernel liberates afresh. Observe now, how the uncanny 
spectre, called natural death has crept, almost unnoticed and 
without much ado, into the kingdom of the living immortals. 
Here the insatiable one behaves gently and humbly, demanding 
but a small sacrifice from the precious immortal good of life; the 
macronucleus. 

The amphimixis impulse, which also makes itself felt in the 
higher types of these simple cells, is responsible for the rapid 



'7* 



increase of the multitudinous variety of unicell forms. In the 
intimate mixture of the heredity substance, the rise was given to 
all the manifold possibilities. It was in this process that the 
slightest varieties were intimately mixed and transmitted to 
succeeding generations. As each of these new kind of organisms 
met with hostility on the part of all the others, the danger grew 
in the same degree as the more manifold and better equipped 
they had become. Therefore it is not difficult to imagine, that, 
notwithstanding all the benefits which had been gained for the 
struggle-for-life in general, through the so-called division of 
labour taken on by the single cells-parts, the Immortal-Will 
(Unsterblichkeitswille), nevertheless, fell a prey to danger, 
through the overwhelming power of accidental death. In order 
to escape this, (life is essential for the realisation of immortality) 
the self-preservation-will or the Immortal-Will suffered once 
again the might of a still greater impetus which drove it to seek 
new ways by the help of the transformation of its visible appear- 
ance. (Erscheimmg). 

If we equip ourselves with the necessary means and patience 
to observe the life of these single-cells, we shall get the chance 
of seeing how many of these little animals, sometimes over 50 
in number, lay their cell-bodies one upon the other. They 
remain in this close connection quite a long period of their lives, 
without however, as in the case of the amphimixis, exchanging 
any part of the nucleus, or melting one into the other before 
parting again. Roux (scientist) interpreted this habit, calling it 
mutual-attraction. As this peculiar habit is not always and not 
everywhere happening, (for if it were, we should hardly meet 
a single cell alone) but happens only occasionally between cert- 
ain beings of the same kind, we presume that it is the mani- 
festation of the first beginnings of the feeling we call affection 
or pleasure at being in one another's company. I forgot to say 
that science gave it the name of "cytotropism". May be, too, in 



17* 



times of danger, the self -preservation-will enhanced this in- 
stinct in certain unicells. Be it as it may, the daughter cells do 
not divide as they did at first to lead an independent life, but 
the division-products remain) attached, and through further 
division and tightening-up and remaining attached, they form 
a little colony of cells which hang together. Among the algae 
which colour the river reeds brown and the ponds green, forms 
of these simplest cell-colonies can be found which consist of 16 
cells. One of these oldest multicells is called the "Pandorina". 
In one sense it is a kind of between-form. Still it greatly resembl- 
es the unicells, so that the individual cell could be taken to be 
protozoa which were held together through the power of cyto- 
tropism. Each cell resembles exatly the other, consisting each of 
cytroplasm, nucleus, contractile vacuoles, flagella, eyespot and 
chlorophyllmass, and each cell fulfils its life-duty in the manner 
of the unicell. It partakes of food, moves about by means of 
flagella and reproduces its kind through division as every uni- 
cell does into two separate daughter-cells. These spontaneously 
divide and subdivide, but hang still together, and when 16 cells 
have been gained, the new multicell has appeared and flows forth 
as an independant pandorina. Because these higher types behave 
like all the unicells do, we might be tempted to think the cell- 
colonies are still potentially immortal. But at the next step a 
change has taken place. Notwithstanding its apparent insigni- 
ficance and immateriality in the struggle-for-life, this little 
change decides the fate of all plant and animal-life! "Natural 
death", which means death from old age and is inevitable, once 
so powerless over the unicells, makes its appearance now per- 
emptorily and demands its sacrifice. Exactly as it was sung in 
the Vedas, "death completely befell" all those multicellular- 
beings which belonged to a higher developed stage than the 
pandorina. 

A species of the algae-family which is closely related to the 



pandorina is called "Volvox". It is the first kind of multicells 
which consist of two different kinds of cells. The first is smaller 
and grouped closely together in larger numbers and form the 
body wall. They are all equipped with flagella, which, in whipp- 
ing rhythmically, enable the tiny animal globe to move about 
the water. They minister to its wants in feeding and removing 
waste matter. In short, their function is the division of labour 
in the struggle-for-life, and do not serve at all as reproductive 
elements. 

This novel circumstance which appears here for the first time 
in the process of development is of tremendous importance. 
While these cells have by no means given up the potency to 
reproduce by division, yet their divided cells begin to develop 
into cells which strictly desire to be akin, that means to say, they 
bequeath the functions which have solely to do with the maint- 
enance of existence and nothing at all with reproduction. 

On the inner wall of this hollow cell-sphere a few large cells 
protrude into the watery fluid of the hollow interior. These cells 
are the second kind. For their part, they have lost the 
potency of forming any flagella wherewith to move about. 
Neither are they capable of gathering food, but instead allow 
the other cells to minister to their wants and protect them from 
enemy attacks. Well-cared for, (being altogether the greatest 
treasure of the cell-state) they lie doing "sweet nothing", until 
one day, each one divides and reproduces, developing then into 
a completely new globular cell-colony, called volvox. Then, 
with the rupture of the parent-wall, they escape together with 
all the like constructed youth, to start the same life all over 
again. 

What happens to the collapsed globular cell which has been 
left behind? In losing its form, it sinks to earth and dies, but not 
through any mishap, or want of food or attack of enemies, but 
simply because it cannot live on any longer. Inevitable, natural 



death, as the final change in life, has swayed its scepter for the 
very first time! 

From now onwards, its prey is never once allowed to escape 
out of its hands. All the animals and plants descending from 
that globe-like algae called volvox are submitted to him, for 
they are all comprised of different cells. All of these undergo 
such marvellous changes within the course of development, that 
in the end hardly any resemblance of the prime cell is left. The 
germ-cells make the exception. They remain always the same 
except for a few slight changes undertaken for the sake of prac- 
ticability. The former cells range themselves in groups of 
similar tissue for the purpose of building up organs. These organs 
then function for the state, for they have lost altogether the 
potency to be able to construct germ-cells. Therefore they are 
incapacitated forever to reproduce beings of their own kind. 
In fact, as is the case of many higher kinds of animal species, 
many indeed have throughly lost the capacity of building up a 
newer kind of tissue *, and instead there is produced a lower 
kind of tissue. Like volvox these cells also are subject to old age 
and death, although, unlike volvox, the higher types of cell- 
colonies do not necessarily die after having once fulfilled the 
office of reproduction. 

Before dedicating ourselves to a nearer study of the effects 
which were caused by "Celldifferenciation", let us try first to 
conceive a completely clear conception of the "Somacells". 
These cells work in cooperation, and form the "body" of the 
multicellular individual. Thus then, according to the historical 
sense of the evolution history, as well as according to the ex- 
planations which will follow here, the cell-state of the animal 
is made up in this way. All the cells give the animal its appear- 
ance and are called "Soma" or body-cells except for a few 



* For instance, in this way there arise connective tissue cells in place of higher 
organised liver-cells. 



175 



cells which are in the service of reproduction only. In order to 
gain a clear and distinct idea of what is meant by "body", it 
is essential to be able to discriminate from the usual way of 
thinking. In general, body and germ-cell are thrown together 
quite promiscuously. When the word 'body' (Erscheinung) is used, 
it is generally understood to mean that visible something as 
standing in opposition to the invisible inner life (unsichtbaren 
inneren Leben) which exists in all the cells, the "Soul" as it is 
called, or the "Thing Itself" as Kant has termed it. 

Granted that these customary terms were but used in the 
endeavour to discriminate the mortal part from the immortal, 
it still remains to be stated that in the history of evolution 
endeavours to do the same are also apparent. The insurmount- 
able gap which the appearance of natural death has caused lies 
yawning between the body-cell and the germ-cells. The body- 
cells, because of their mortal character, are death-befallen, while 
the germ-cells are 'potentially* immortal. The immortal life 
is realised, in that, a part of the germ-cells, through the act of 
reproduction, is handed down to posterity. In the case of the 
unicells there exists the actual potency to realise immortality. 
What has been gained through this huge sacrifice? 

Where the algae, or volvox is concerned, nothing at all has 
been gained. In the general struggle-for-life, which they are 
constantly exposed to, they are neither better protected, nor 
can they multiply in greater numbers than the pandorina. But 
the process of development and exfoliation of newer species 
yields another aspect, and seen from this aspect, it is obvious 
that very much indeed has been gained. 

In having given up the capacity of reproduction, the body- 
cells diminished in importance. As soon as the daughter-colonies 
could be liberated, their fate turned into tragedy. They were 
compelled to age and die, for 'merely living', for sheer exist- 



176 



ence sake, was not their lot. Yet, vitality, when thought of as 
a whole, had gained tremendous possibilities of development. 
What a startling potency must that have been which gave those 
cells, sacrificed to death, a power so mighty, as to make them 
transform themselves and rise to the level of a higher developed 
stage. To the eternal germ-cells, self-satisfied in the fullness 
of their wishes, such a power was never granted and never will 
be granted. Let us stay a moment to think of the ascent made 
from volvox to man, and compare this lengthy way to the course 
of development, so uneventful of any change, which was made 
from the first unicell towards volvox. It will be seen then, that 
the sacrifice, which the body or "somata" made at that time to 
death, was not too great. What did it matter if only a few 
plants and animals escaped accidental death after such a short 
time of youth? At the sight now of animal, plant and human- 
life our hearts expand with reverence, for they are the product 
of a power-of-transformation most beautiful and a development 
most grand. Nor can we forget how the cells 'differentiated', 
gaining weapons of a more excellent type, at becoming in the 
end a higher kind of species! Also, that, inspite of all the improve- 
ments which followed in the equipment, the danger of death 
still existed in the world. The greater the perfection of the 
multicells grew, the more dangerous the enemy grew, for all 
"Life's Strugglers" were equally well equipped, danger kept 
apace with every new improvement. Therefore how justified 
it is to say that the various multicells, in order to achieve the 
level of a higher organisation, drove each other to perfection 
in their mutual endeavours! 

Moreover the fact, that 'accidental death* still exists in the 
world inspite of everything accomplished to escape it, is not 
so saddening in face of all the loveliness effected by the cell- 
differentiation. It is pleasing to know that both animal and plant 
are absolutely unconscious of the fate that awaits them, that, 



while struggling, suffering and enjoying, they live their lives 
as if neither the accidental nor natural death awaited them! 

One truth has left an indelible imprint on our souls: As we 
lingered at the side of the oldest denizen of the earth, we be- 
came aware of the fact, that natural death, that is; age, decline 
and death is not the last inevitable change which all life must 
experience. The soma-cells only are 'completely death befallen*. 

This knowledge makes us turn with reverence to the old relig- 
ious myths once again, for inspite of all their fallacies this 
very same truth they also contained. Reason has confirmed to us 
a twofold fact, that all the primitive living beings belonging to 
our earth possess a state of immortality, which, in a later generat- 
ion, was lost forever. The voice of wisdom has always preached 
this; the folks of the earth were always inclined to listen! Has 
not a paradise lost and a lost bliss 'where death was not* been 
sung in every form and shape in legend and religious-myth, as 
if a memory or "Mneme" of our oldest ancestors, slumbering 
in the subconscious-soul of man, had been awakened in the 
poets of the myths? 



178 



Natural Beatty anD &eafon 



The materialistic century persevered in its attitude of in- 
difference towards the "Potential-Immortality" characterising 
the unicellular beings, but, with an infatuation without its 
parallel in history it fixed its attention on to the cognate 
immortality of the germ-cells. This verged almost on extasy, 
although even more devotion was attached to the decay of the 
soma-cells. It was not so much the doctrine of the "Mortality 
of the soul", but the subordination of the brain to the perpetual 
germ-cells (the bearers of the species) which proved to be such 
a source of satisfaction to the materialists. Therefore it is not 
amazing to find the sober, matter of fact "Struggler-for-Live" 
so self-satisfied, for indeed, when seen in the light of that import- 
ance that was attached to the germ-cells, how insignificant was 
everything else which once had been valued as "Soul". Even the 
"Purpose" of the brain, the bearer of consciousness, was for the 
reproduction of the kind, for itself, one day did vanish; all the 
marvellous achievements of the brain-cells, those chemical and 
physical processes (Kispert's "Enkynemata") merely happened 
in order to serve the perpetual species. One step in the process 
of development was thought to be particularly salutary; After 
the act of reproduction, the body of the higher animals could 
still live on for a while. In the case of man, a species of the higher 
"Mammalia", this fact grew into great significance: Because of 
the better construction of his brain-cells man was capacitated 
to undertake highly intellectual work, the "purpose" of which 
it was thought was for the sake of facilitating the struggle-for- 



life, not only for his own off-spring, but for his species in 
general. This mortified the soul completely. What a fall it was 
from those giddy heights to which Kant's philosophy had 
brought it such a short time ago. Had it not been upheld that, 
among all the living beings, man alone was capable of distinguish- 
ing his surroundings? That, by virtue of his reason, the cosmos 
was created out of the diaos of the world-of-appearances (Er- 
scheinungswelt) and was consciously perceived for the first time; 
because reason was able to arrange for him the objects of his 
senses in order, as man was the conscious state of the visible 
world (Erscheinungswelt)? Thus then the soul of man had fallen 
from the height of heights; the height of the soul which gave 
him the priviledge of holding a completely unique position in 
the world. Since the soul's fall man had grown to the small 
stature of being something different to the rest of the species in 
that he was the last in the line of a 'differentiating' development. 
He stood at the top of the Mammalia. The highest standard of 
importance to which his transitory soma was capable of was 
becoming the bearer of the immortal cells of reproduction. 

When a world-view-point (Weltanschauung) such as this one, 
is allowed to determine religious thought, it is not startling to 
find that epoch lost in an abyss of soberness. The suppressed 
soul is capable of rising to a certain 'social' usefulness, but in 
every other way it degenerates miserably, although in a differ- 
ent manner to what it does when influenced by religions that 
are against reason and science. The results of this way in which 
the soul is being mortified are: brutality in the general struggle- 
for-existence, fraud, sly cunning, greed of money and the crav- 
ing to gain advantage of others. 

Let us tread different ways to all these on our journey of 
observation. We shall be repayed with a wonderful cognisance 
(Erkenntnis) concerning natural-death which again will lead us 
to a new Godcognisance (Gotterkenntnis) according to which 



1 80 



we can live our lives in that fullness which past religions sus- 
pected to exist although they never could achieve it. By the 
means of our Cognisance (Erkenntnis) the soul will be able to 
rise again. The heights it can achieve are so exalted, that the 
glorious height to which once it was raised through Kant's 
philosophy will seem low; verily the august throne for the 
human soul when it fulfils itself according to its divine rights. 
It was not a mechanically working process of selection, but 
a dawning will (as we shall soon be near proving) which deter- 
mined the step towards the mortality of the somata (body-cells). 
For as soon as we stop to observe the pandorina, we are able to 
notice that all its cells still possess the same attributes which 
belong to the germ-cells; hence, potential immortality also. Its 
near relative, volvox, however, is already condemned to death. 
We feel certain that, in comparison, the pandorina-state was 
not less favourable than the one where, for the sake of practic- 
ability in the struggle-for-life, that grand mysterious change 
which has proved so full of tragedy to posterity, was necessary. 
On the contrary! As the sixteen cells of the pandorina were still 
capable at any time to form daughter-colonies, whereas the 
volvox only once in a life time, it is obvious from this fact that 
the pandorina was just as productive as its relation, so that it 
strains the imagination to look at the matter from the Dar- 
winian standpoint, for, if selection really counts, the pandorina 
ought to have surplanted the volvox form. Conceptions, formed 
in the mere light of the mechanical, fail just as completely to 
throw light into the matter here as it does everywhere else in 
the history-of-evolution when the fundamental idea is touched 
on. (The ascent from the deepest unconsciousness to the highest 
consciousness). Here the fact comes to light that only an inner 
Will could have liberated that energy which caused the trans- 
formations. Matters are similar in the case of the nervesystem. 
The nerve-system was the carrier of all those magnificent po- 



181 



tencies which exfoliated later into conscious soul-life. Here also 
it is futile to want to explain this in the light of the mere 
mechanical, for one reason, and that is that the beginnings to 
the realisation of this were of no use at all to the individual in 
the struggle-for-existence at that time. But clearly apparent, on 
the other hand, is the immortal-will striving in its magnificent 
work of development to gain the state of consciousness, not- 
withstanding the fact that the single individual itself was com- 
pletely unconscious of its presence. On its way to progress, the 
immortal-will had to encounter a twofold circumstance of cog- 
nate importance. First, there was always the danger of the 
moment, and secondly the illustrious aim in view; the conscious 
state of life. It seems a wonderful thing for our cognisance that 
all the transformations, undertaken for the sake of this great 
aim in view, were, in their first beginnings, of so little import- 
ance in the struggle-for-life, that we surely can be pardoned 
if we claim the conspicuousness of this fact to be especially 
intended to facilitate the work of man on his way to truth. 
Only from a certain stage onward did these constructions be- 
come of any importance in the struggle-for-life and not until 
then only could they have received any support from selection, 
in the Darwinian sense. We must wait still a little while longer 
before the mystery can be unfathomed; why this sublime Will 
to consciousness, while remaining absent in the 'germ-cell in 
perpetual existence', took sudden possession of the soma-cells 
as soon as these had fallen a victim to natural-death. 

In opposition to this transformation, the aim of which was 
to gain a higher state of consciousness, but whose faint be- 
ginnings were practically of little use to the single individual 
in which it was striving to manifest itself, there was a whole 
range of perfected constructions in the further process of deve- 
lopment which to the species in question were certainly of use. 
We are thinking here of all those characteristics which seem to 



182 



confirm Darwin's hypothesis, the study and explanation of 
which are also mainly due to his earnest study and research 
(mimicry). The remarkable thing, however, about the character- 
istics which Darwin specialised in is this. When compared to 
the most vital constructions their importance seems incidental, 
and they have no direct connection at all with the grand evo- 
lution aim, which was to achieve an ascent from the darkest 
state of unconsciousness to the clearest state of a conscious soul- 
life. 

Now, if, in our desire to remain just, we do succeed in 
imagining a mechanical origin of the above mentioned charac- 
teristics, even then, it appears obvious to us, that a Will was 
more probable than selection in the creation of the first organs, 
although of-coursc selection lent its support later on. Therefore, 
in face of these incontestible facts, we cannot avoid this con- 
clusion! In the ascent from the unicellular-being up to man 
the part which "Selection" played in the transformation-role 
was the passive one, while the Immortal-Will (or Self -Preser- 
vation- Will) was the active one. 

Hence, in the scientific sense, we can say: the reason, why 
all the cells struck out on their way to transformation and why 
the soma-cells in particular were deprived of the power to repro- 
duce, and therefore, as a consequence, their immortality, was 
for the sole purpose of being helpful to the a : m of evolution. 

How capable did the bereaved soma-cells now prove them- 
selves to be in the creation of form! The extraordinary course 
which the mortal individual was now called upon to undergo 
is even beyond the imagination of the most fantastically-minded. 

The more the lower species increased, the greater did the dang- 
er to all grow. As a consequence, certain kinds of volvox were 
obliged to fasten themselves to fixed places, and by the move- 
ment of their tentacles convey the food towards themselves. 
There was one very great advantage gained by this. A spot 



183 



could be chosen permanently which was certainly better than 
the alternative of wandering about amidst dangers accompanied 
by unfavourable conditions in respect to food, light and climate. 
Posterity, however, gradually lost the power of ever again being 
able to change their places. But their tentacles became the fitter. 
In this way the plant, sometimes called the "Fettered Animal", 
originated. Much indeed had been gained through the sacrifice 
of freedom. Being always in the same spot the dangers en- 
countered were likewise always the same. The cells, through con- 
tinual differentiation, gained such practice, as to be able in the 
end to adapt themselves wonderfully to those conditions in their 
environment which were important to their lives. Indeed, as 
danger grew less, this adaption grew supreme; so much so, that 
by virtue of this fact the construction of plants, conditions of 
climate, food, light and water were revealed to researchers as 
if they had been written down in a book. 

Algae, on the other hand, did not fetter themselves for the 
sake of safety. Inspite of all the dangers, they would not forfeit 
their freedom, so that they were obliged to pursue another 
course of development. The continual change and the manifold 
dangers they encountered did not permit of an adaptation which 
was to meet a few emergencies only. This imperfection was 
aptly made up for in another excellent way. The ever varying 
changes which the desire for movement brought with it, gave 
rise to the neccessity of a greater cell-change as well as combi- 
nation of organs into cell-groups. Yet even this proved insuffic- 
ient; for the multicelled being was obliged, above everything 
else, to become instantly aware of what it might encounter from 
out of its surroundings. Thus, there originated organs of per- 
ception and nerve-cells, which gave the animal the ability to 
judge from its own impressions and forewith conduct its res- 
ponse. Guidance was obtained. Now this line was of such tre- 
mendous issue as to completely distinguish animal from plant- 

184 



life within the course of development. In emergency, the self- 
preservation- will had demanded from each a different course. 
Indeed, animal and plant-life appear to be so different in the 
expression of life and its achievement, that it renders it almost 
impossible for the secular-world to believe they were once of 
cognate origin. Evidently, the absence of any development in 
the nerve-system made it possible in the plant-kind to maintain 
the original relationship between body and germ-cells, so that 
it can be said, the whole life-work of the body-cells were taken 
up in serving the germ-cells. What might seem however to be 
rather unnatural in this relationship is the tremendous size which 
many plants achieve through the mighty increase of their body- 
cells (in comparison to which, the germ-cells have no size at all), 
and also the long life which they have been priviledged to attain 
through the sacrifice of their freedom. (They had prefered to 
adapt themselves to certain life-conditions instead of roaming 
from place to place.) 

The soma-cells of the animals, on the other hand, appear to 
free themselves from the sole duty of serving the germ-cells, 
especially after the nerve apparatus has developed. They appear 
to be leading a life for themselves as well. This is especially 
conspicuous in the body-cells of man, who is the highest of all 
the living species. 

Although the nerve-system, in its first beginnings, was simply 
the humble reporter of the perceptions received from the outer 
world, it was vouchsafed to become the best weapon of defence 
in the struggle-for-life, especially after it had attained the 
higher degrees of development. Mimicry, poison gas, claws or 
the swift motion given through the power of the muscles was 
nothing compared to the nerve apparatus in the matter of 
defence. Nevertheless, it was impossible to ban danger alto- 
gether, for the development which started in all the different 
animals alike was simultaneous. What happened though was; 

185 



the struggle-for-life itself became more and more keen, so that 
the self-preservation-will was practically driven to seek new 
improvements. 

As the development of the primitive-cell in the life of the 
individual belonging to the higher species was very gradual, 
inner fertilisation became necessary, that means to say, the 
young, after being generated in the mother-body, were also 
provided with reserve nourishment (reptiles, birds etc.). Among 
the still higher organised species, the young are retained in the 
mother-body and are not allowed to enter into the hostile world 
until they are fully developed. Here, the 'inner fertilisation' 
which demands the bodily connection of the parent-animals has 
become essential. Long before, it was evident that the higher 
species could not multiply to the same extent as the lower 
species could, and for this reason it became imperative, should 
the species not die out, to set a certain time apart which should 
be dedicated to the reproduction of the kind. For this purpose, 
contrary to the painless lives of their forefathers, there awak- 
ened in the halfconscious creatures, the torture of sexual-desire 
which simply drove them to multiply. And although this meant 
a mighty step forward in the course of evolution, the unhappy 
semiconscious creatures had to pay dearly for the better means 
of defence! As danger was often very great when the animals 
went in search of food, the self preservation-will had to be 
overcome in that life, was jeopardised in order to save life from 
famine. Therefore it became imperative that in these semicon- 
scious beings, the craving for food should be felt so strongly as to 
make them risk their very lives in order to satisfy it. Thus, for 
the first time again something was being experienced which 
before, in the lower species, had not been felt; the feeling of 
hunger. The higher nerve-system lay like a curse on all the 
animals who were blessed with its possession, in that, if it caused 
craving to be felt, it also caused the pain to be felt which illness 



1 86 



and the wounds received in battle caused. Yet, the more consc- 
ious the soul grew, the greater the comfort grew for all the 
suffering. For the first time, animals felt pleasure in the act of 
reproduction. Although it might be said that this sudden feeling 
of pleasure stands in no right measure to the torments of desire 
which previously had been suffered, it still remains the oldest 
and most mighty fountain of joy. This reveals to us how full 
of pain the lives of the subconscious "higher" animals are. 
Seldom do they experience pleasure. Yet there is one great 
blessing which lays her kind hand soothingly over their fate: 
memory is still blunt. As soon their cravings are satisfied, all 
the torments which inaugurated them, sink into oblivion. There- 
fore, inspite of all the pain and fighting which go to make up their 
poor lives, moments are experienced which are completely free 
of any pain or suffering at all. Schopenhauer declares this state 
of oblivion to be the only state in which mankind could find 
happiness; but that was on account of the bitterness which 
sometimes overwhelmed him, and because of his persistence 
in denying man's consciously living God. He could not or 
would not perceive that the only state which means happiness 
to mankind is the state in which he is consciously living God. 
Incidently speaking, even the mating-joy raises the animal 
above this zero-point. 

As the nerve-system proved to be such excellent weapon 
of defence in the struggle-for-life, selection, from a certain 
stage onwards furthered its development. When it became evid- 
ent that it helped greatly the Will which was forming and 
shaping creation on its way to consciousness, its development 
became simply marvellous. For instance, the sense apparatuses 
became very sensitive indeed. (It was their function to report 
the happenings from the outer world.) Central organs deve- 
loped (spinal-cord and brain, as in the case of the vertibrates) 
which were receptive, and which gave the body-cells the com- 



187 



mand how to respond to the outer world. In the Mammalia they 
gained specific importance. Those innate powers which slumber 
in all living things began to reveal themselves very distinctly. 
To use Schopenhauer's philosophical term, the "Thing Itself" 
began to 'objectify* Itself. Here and there manifestations of 
the Will could be encountered which were not exactly connected 
with the self-preservation instinct. In the lower species the 
instinct for food, defence or reproduction only is manifested, 
but in the higher species a Will begins to manifest itself already 
which decidedly has a permanent sense-of-direction, which in 
man we should call 'character features' although of-course here 
their origin is always still to be found in the self-preservation- 
instinct. 

Besides that permanent sense-of-direction, and those conscious 
feelings of pain and pleasure which we have already mentioned, 
there are still other feelings which already at this stage are 
perceptible for their independence of the self-preservation-will 
of both the individual and the species. In these feelings the soul 
expresses itself, although, of-course not half so clearly and 
distinctly as in man, and it requires a long time to observe them 
at all. When the higher species of mammalia become domestic- 
ated they become very noticeable, I should like to say: awak- 
ened. The reason for it is the closer association with the consc- 
ious soul of man. A good example of what I am trying to 
explain is the dog. How often it will happen that the dog's 
feeling of attachment to its master will cause it to overcome 
its own indomitable Will-to-life, in order to save its master, a 
deed, by the way, which otherwise would only save the life of 
its brood. In general, it is the human-being, and not one of its 
kind that is capable of inspiring such a keenly awakened feeling 
of sympathy within the dog. The attitude of a dog, mourning 
at the grave of its dead master, discarding even its food, tells 
us with an authority unimpeachable, that there was something 



188 



in the life of that dog which was certainly of more value to it 
than its own life was. 

Finally that stage arrives when memory awakens. At earlier 
stages, already, that faculty existed which could form concept- 
ions of the impressions conducted by the sense-apparatuses and 
maintain them in the soul. But gradually it grows stronger. 
Soon, the way its own actions affected its surroundings remains 
in the animal's memory, and its subsequent behaviour is the 
manifestation of what we should call the experience-of-life. 
Soon the power of understanding awakens. Although quite un- 
consciously, it begins to apply the laws of causality. It arranges 
its life-experience into time and space, although it is quite 
unconscious itself of these facts. Conceptions of what goes on 
around it begin to collect in its brain. But they just come up 
to suit the animal-brain. This collection is divided into three 
groups. All the objects which have proved of use in the life of 
the animal belong to the first group. All which has done it harm, 
to the second; the third group is composed of the rest, which 
is of so little importance to the animal, that it is incapable of 
forming any conception of this at all. Thus it can be truly said 
of the animal: Nothing exists at all besides the useful or harm- 
ful. The third group to the animal is the "to unov" (non-ex- 
isting) of the Greeks. Although the sense-organs receive the 
impression of them the brain does not think them worth storing 
so that, in reality, they are not perceived at all. Why indeed 
form conceptions of anything of such petty importance! That 
which is merely useful or harmful alone fills the small humble 
world in which the animal lives. The useful as well as the harm- 
ful are very attentively watched, one might be tempted to say, 
studied. Images of them are then imprinted on the memory 
which are at once clear and ineffaceable. These images or con- 
ceptions are not true to life of-course, neither are they composed 
of the characteristics essential which go to make up an object, 



189 



for they carry the stamp of the mere animal mind. They are 
composed solely of those signs which are important to that 
animal whose attention they are just attracting. For instance, 
the mouse and the dog will both possess ideas of the "cat", but 
most probably both the ideas are very different from one 
another. Each animal collects its own special kinds of concept- 
ions. The lion's collection is different to the mole's, so that, in 
truth, each lives in its own world, which is 'quite different* to 
the others. In the brain of each different kind of animal there 
exists a different image of the world. It is of infinite importance 
for us to try and understand this sufficiently, for as soon as 
we succeed, we shall also understand that each of our fellowmen 
lives in a world of his own making. The conceptions which the 
human-being also forms differ both in their nature as well as in 
their profundity. A man whose mind sways only to the rhythm of 
the struggle- for-life, and who is always bent on making a good 
bargain, has little in common with a man who is filled with 
a great sense of the Divine. Something else we shall understand 
better if we observe the animal-soul closely. We know that 
man has sprung originally from the very same stages of deve- 
lopment, but some men there are who seem to have remained 
just where the animal is. Although in school, already, these had 
been given the benefit to learn and form conceptions of the 
cultural-life, irrespective of their useful or harmful qualities 
in the concern of earning a living, yet still they let these con- 
ceptions all go, (sometimes already) while they are still young, 
and put in their stead the old way of grouping, characteristic 
to the animal. We know these three kinds of groups already. 
They are the useful, the harmful and the indifferent. It is 
simply amazing how narrow-minded a man can grow. Inspite 
of all his good bringing-up, he will shrivel back into the animal 
stage, and, more the shame, even beneath this, It is even more 
amazing to watch how keen he will grow to know what is of 



190 



use to him or what of harm and how oblivious and indifferent- 
he is to everything else. The very best example for the fall of 
man can be found in the Darwinian period. Thanks to the 
doctrine which taught that man belonged to the class of animals 
that suckle their young, industrious endeavours were made to 
justify it. Observe then this. Man, by the virtue of his spiritual 
capacities really belongs to a class which is higher than the 
animal species. His conception- world, however, has the power 
to drag him back again to the animal state of mind, although 
unlike the animal, he must retain the power of his memory, 
for never again can he forget the past, or be oblivious of the 
future. He has descended to become merely a bastard-like being, 
which is neither man nor animal, but which is decidedly in- 
ferior to the animal. During our discourse the occasion will 
be given to us to occupy ourselves very often with such a kind 
of human individual, for it is very important in respect to 
certain other things to know well what his petty world of 
conceptions is like. Therefore let us set to, to observe the 
image which the animal-mind forms of the world around it. 
When compared to the bounteous soul-life which has been 
given to man, the intellectual-life of the mammalias appears 
very meagre indeed. Yet, this state of soul-awakening which 
has been attained in the animal is indeed sublime, as the be- 
ginning was from a state of the deepest unconsciousness. Al- 
ready such a change has taken place, as to make it appear as 
if a tremendous gulf separated the beings with the awakening- 
soul and the others which exist still in the monotonous state of 
complete unconsciousness, so much so, as to make it almost be- 
lievable that the antagonism could be felt, which exists between 
mortality and the serving attitude of the body-cells towards 
the eternal germ-cells. However the animal-world is still un- 
encumbered. It has no need at all to solve the mystery concern- 
ing life, for it knows nothing of a future. Even the most in- 



191 



telligent of its kind can never know that death awaits it and 
is inevitable. 

If we start from this last stage of evolution and wander up 
the path leading to man's origin the discord is obvious which 
the soma-cells caused when they determined, for the sake of 
life, to give up their immortality and differentiate instead. 
This discord has existed ever since; and as men failed to perceive 
the idea of its origin, in that it was a part of evolution itself, 
the mystery which hovered around it was never successfully 
solved. All the hopes and desires of men in the ponderings of 
their philosophies were in vain; all the soft deceptions contained 
in the myths and the religious beliefs were of no avail. Now, as 
we have already seen, it roots right back into the ages. Long 
before animal and plant-life separated to strike out on different 
paths the dice had fallen; at that time, when the cells of the 
algae once divided into two of a different kind and when later 
a daughter colony escaped with the rupture of the parent wall 
(death). Therefore, the yearning for immortal-life should not 
surprise us, for it is older than the hills. It existed in the breast 
of man long before he could even think. The melancholy reali- 
sation of death has brooded over his soul since times imme- 
morable. We know that the Self -Preservation- Will or the 
Immortal-Will is the essence of all life. We also know that it 
exists just as well in the body-cells as it does in the germ-cells, 
or else these would lack the impetus necessary to serve willingly 
in the struggle-for- existence. Therefore we also know all about 
the yearning for immortality which is rampant in the soul of 
man. But simply because the desire is there, indeed even the 
'aprioristical' certainty, this is not sufficient reason for us to 
take it for granted that immortal-life exists. In every case, we 
are obliged first, for the sake of truth, to allow for the possi- 
bility of this. The certainty which men feel that immortal-life 
exists is merely a 'memory' (Mneme) of a once experienced 



192 



immortal-life, a memory which now lies deep down in the 
subconsciousness of mankind. 

Let us now continue the history of growth. In doing so, let 
us not give way to our own petty hopes and desires, or else our 
vision will be marred and the truth we shall not perceive. The 
animal-mind is so adequate (for-instance in the higher-species) 
to cope with the dangers which surrounds the animal, that it is 
really a kingly sight to watch the bravery of the animal when 
it is in danger. However, two kinds of danger seem beyond its 
powers to cope with. Man is the first danger, as he is far superior 
in everything, and the second are the powers of nature because 
the animal is utterly incapable of comprehending them. If man 
should make use of the latter, he can overwhelm the bravest 
beasts-of-prey. See how the tiger is cowed when it is encount- 
ered with fire. Its expression is full of fear. (Human beings 
look the same when they are in a similar situation and are 
afraid of the devil). We can understand now why the animals 
are apt to be restless and full of fear when a thunderstorm is 
threatening. 

The powers of nature were the sole enemies which could not 
be overcome in the ages before man existed, for the simple 
reason that all knowledge about them was lacking; in order to 
lead a successful combat against the cosmical powers, the very 
first essential is knowledge of the laws-of nature. A little more 
is required, however, than the mere unconscious application 
of the laws of causality and the arrangement in time and space 
as the animal-mind achieves it. A fully conscious application of 
these is necessary. 

In just the way in which the Self-Preservation-Will sought 
consciousness in ascending stage by stage in order to escape 
death, the final mighty step in evolution was also made neces- 
sary through the fear of death. The animal-mind was found 
wanting. The happenings of nature were too great for it. So, 



in that terrific time of the first ice-period, when hecatombs of 
animals were being sacrificed, the self-preservation-will in one 
of the exceptional few of those subconscious ancestors of ours 
awakened to the state of consciousness which alone was com- 
petent to venture the combat against the cosmic-powers. The 
soul had awakened a degree higher; understanding had become 
reason. And although the evolving changes might have been little 
noticeable at the time, the effects themselves were tremendous. 
No other step in the progress of evolution, not even the differ- 
entiation of the algae-species was of such infinite importance 
as this step was, for it gave man, as a token of it, the bounteous 
kingdom of his thoughts. The becoming conscious of the causal- 
coherency which linked the visible-world together gave birth 
also to the ability which enabled man, not only to perceive the 
visible-scene, but also to keep it in his memory, as well as form 
conceptions of it. These conceptions stood objectively in di- 
stinct relationship to one another. The possibility was hereby 
given to form a conception consciously. This, of-course, was 
of tremendous importance, especially when the conception of 
"Self" could be formed, for then the cognising powers could 
strengthen. Soon the feelings of time and space added them- 
selves and were applied consciously like the law-of-causality 
had been applied. In memory, events accordingly were arranged 
in time and space. Past and future became recognised until, at 
last, men were capable of creating a cosmos out of the chaos 
of their surroundings. Now, the being able to apply consciously 
the laws-of-causality was a great prerogative, but with one 
stroke it changed the position of man completely. He stood 
suddenly opposed to nature. This contract, the intellectual 
sciences call the natural and unnatural actions of man. Now 
this at first seems absurd as reason, together with all its logical 
conclusions, is itself part and parcel of nature. Well and good, 
but reason is not infallible. It is somehow, always open to de- 



ception; it is always as likely to judge according to false appear- 
ances as not. Erroneous assumptions as to the real cause are 
frequently made. Thus, men are induced to come to false con- 
clusions and false sims in life just as much as they will come 
to false conclusions about the laws-of -nature and the meaning 
of their own lives. This explains the reason why the innate 
spiritual faculties are just as liable to shrivel up as they are to 
exfoliate. 

Yet, notwithstanding all the damage which man has been made 
to suffer through the half -knowledge his reason will sometimes 
gain; the benefits he has gained decidedly outweigh all his 
sufferings. For instance, look how reason has facilitated the 
battle for life. No end of possibilities have been opened to him. 
Thanks to his reason man became the master of all the rest of 
life. He put everything to his own use, in order that his life 
might be maintained. Is this all? 

If we take the trend of Darwinian thought to be right this 
is all the advantage which man gained over the animal. And a 
bitter conclusion we should have to come to as well, which would 
be, that the stalwarts of finance, the multimillionairs, who, also 
can be the heartless and cunning masters of so many of their 
fellowmen, would represent the culmination in that grand ascent 
which once happened between the unicellular-being and man. 
Fortunately for us all, however, the precious soul- treasures of 
by-gone cultures reveal just the opposite. The origin of anything 
which is of cultural value will never be found in the struggle- 
for-life. Culture has nothing at all in common with strife. 
Behold, therefore, how everything which is good in culture 
tells a different tale to the materialists. Culture reve'als how 
the soul in man awakened when the powers of nature were 
threatening to annihilate him and reason was born, which taught 
him the life of his own rich soul. Indeed, the final step higher 
from mammal to man was more than a mere ascent, for it 



'95 



taught man to live consciously the Self which was within him, 
and enabled him to make the cosmos out of the chaos. Thus a 
being had originated which was completely new to whatever 
had been, and can resemble therefore the higher species of 
animals that suckle their young, only in the form and shape 
of the body, and in that the same physiological-laws govern that 
body. Just as we might say that volvox, which was the first 
mortal many-celled-being resembles still in many ways its one- 
celled ancestor. The deeper insight into nature reveals what a 
tremendous gulf separates the mammal from man, so that the 
arrangement of man among the mammalia as being one and 
the same species is certainly a scientific error. By the division 
of the species into classes, it should be remembered, in face of 
all the physiological likenesses, that a tremendous gulf separates 
man from all the other multicellular species; a gulf say, which 
is just as sufficient to separate, as the gulf does which divides the 
uni-cellular-species from the multicellular species. Now this kind 
of arrangement will first bear conviction when our edifice of 
thought is being concluded, yet in order to pursue our further 
observation with intelligence, we must ask the reader to take 
it already as a given fact. We distinguish the classes a little dif- 
ferently to the usual scientific habit. They follow thus: 

1 Unicell = Protozoan 

2 Multicell = Metazoan 

3 Man = Hyperzoan. 

We know not when or where man was first capacitated to 
distinguish his "Self" out of the motley of his surroundings. 
Nor when he was aware for the first time that there was a past 
and future, so that the force of death was born on him, in that 
he saw how plant and animal died, and knew then that death 
awaited him also. But one thing we do know, and that is; when 
all this was happening, simultaneously there sprang into the 
breast of man the longing and hope for Eternity and the pain 



196 



and tear ot the incomprehensible mixed up with his own tate. 
Thus we are justified in saying: in that man succeeded in per- 
ceiving the force of death, and that death was in accordance 
with nature, the possibility was given to him to become a 
hyperzoan. 

It comes hard to-day to imagine what the effects were like 
which such knowledge must have liberated at that time, because 
we were taught in childhood to believe that a conscious life 
existed after death, and this at a time when little interest in death 
exists a all. Out of the ages, however, in a time when the decept- 
ive errors concerning the existence of a heaven were still un- 
known, there comes a grand song sounding, which tells of the 
overwhelming effects caused by the certainty of death. Patient 
stone has preserved the dirge. Among the collection of stone- 
tables which once belonged to the Assyrian King Assurbanipal, 
there is a cuneiform inscription on one of them. It is the Epos of 
Gilgamesh, the man of sorrow and joy. (Translated into German 
by George E. Burkhardt, Insel Verlg. Leipzig). First, the life of 
the joy-man is described, who was the perfect hero and master 
of Uruk, and whose life was filled with heroic deeds which were 
inspired by the joyous feelings within his soul. When the death 
of his friend Enkidu happened he suddenly changed and became 
the man of pain. In his anguish he, "who was like unto a lion", 
raised his voice which sounded like the howl of the lioness when 
she is struck down with the spear. He tore his hair and strewed 
it to the winds; he tore off his garments and put on instead gar- 
ments of mourning. Time could neither heal his sorrow nor his 
despair. His whole nature was transformed. The unfathomable 
mystery of death left him no peace at all. "Shall I also die as 
Enkidu has done? My soul is torn with pain, for I have grown 
fearful of death. I must hasten over the steppes to the almighty 
Utnapischtim, who has found eternal-life. I will raise my head 
and voice to Sin the moon, to Nin-Urum who is the Lady of the 



197 



Castle-of-Life, to the most bright one among the gods. I will 
pray thus: "Save my life* 1 . There seems nothing more which 
can ever entice him to do heroic deeds; he has become instead 
"a wanderer of long ways", for in the ineffaceable sorrow of 
his soul, the problem of death concerns him alone. On his terr- 
ible journeying he repeats the monotone dirge to everyone he 
meets. He is not afraid to pass the dark weird chasms which lead 
to "Utnapischtim, the far off one". But here, neither, can the 
mystery be solved for him. As we reach the last of the twelve 
tables we learn that his wish at last has been granted to him. 
The father out of the depths has heard his prayer, and has sent 
the shadow of Enkidu to him. Hopes fill our breasts that surely 
now poor, despairing Gilgamesh will receive words of comfort 
and redemption, for Enkidu will surely describe to him, how 
through wonderful liberation into the beyond, he has found 
eternal life! But nothing of the kind happens. The grand Epos 
concludes in a strain of despair at the terrifying fact that death 
is ultimate and inexorable. It concludes with the words, "Each 
recognised the other, but remained at a distance". They spoke 
to each other. Gilgamesh called and the shadow answered in 
quivering tones. Gilgamesh began to speak thus: 

* Speak, my friend, speak! Tell me about the laws of the earth 
you have seen!" 

"I cannot, my friend, I cannot. Did I tell you about the law 
ot the earth, I saw, you would sink down and weep." 

"Then let me sink down and weep all the days of my life!" 

"Behold the friend you once touched, the friend who once 
gladdened your heart, the worms are eating, as if he were an 
old garment. Enkidu, the friend who once touched your hand 
has become earth, has turned to dust. To dust he sank, to dust 
he has returned." 

Enkidu vanished before Gilgamesh could ask any more quest- 
ions. 



198 



Gilgamesh returned to Uruk, the town with the high walls. 
High rises the temple of the holy Mountain. 

Gilgamesh lay himself down to rest. Death befalls him in the 
glittering halls of his palace. 

Here, in stone, fragments have been preserved which relate 
the terribly earnest apprehension of death. And a poet of our 
century has been priviledged to reconstruct it perfectly for our 
benefit! How insignificant the pitiful lot of the semi-conscious 
animals that forget the pain quickly which indeed they have felt, 
appears now, when compared with the appalling lot of those 
unfortunate human-beings who were fated to be the first to 
experience the bitterness of death. Their soul-lives were utterly 
incapacitated to find balm for their sorrows, for they possessed 
neither the strength to bear the thought of life being fleeting nor 
the ability to beautify their lives through the knowledge of 
death. 

Allowing for the difference between man and the mammal to 
be but a gradual one, there could still be nothing more shatter- 
ing or crushing than the experience of that moment when the 
soma-cells of the multicelled individual (man) recognised for 
the first time how ultimately they had been robbed of that 
immortality which they so deeply yearned for; that, although 
they might escape death here and there, it was certain that 
they would age one day, decay and return to dust. To be aware 
of all this, and to want still to cling to the inner being or the 
Immortal-Will is really in itself an impossibility. That long 
and grand evolution-process would undoubtedly have ended 
in the self-annihilation of the higher animal, called man, had 
the spiritual development of man meant truly nothing more 
than a better equipment for the struggle-for-life. As it really 
is, however, within the course of the thousand years of the hist- 
ory of man, very few in comparison have been able to subdue 
their Self-Preservation-Will so far as to seek voluntary death. 



199 



The soma-cells, embued with the Immortal- Will, are con- 
tinually concerned, from the very first moment of their lives, in 
the industrious occupation of maintaining the cell-state for the 
protection of the germ-cells, to be defrauded of immortality 
when their work is done, however. Now, where the animals are 
concerned, this thought is reconcilable, in as much as their 
nonknowledge permits them to labour under the complacent 
belief they are serving in the aim of their own self-preservation. 
And if we keep before our eyes the lives spent by the higher 
animal-species and dwell for a while on their trivial comforts 
and short moments of a painless state or actual joy, we must 
confess, that, were these even given knowledge of their own 
fate, it would still mean the negation of life, not yet the affirm- 
ation. This impossibility, which is also an absurdity, is very 
noticeable in the state-builders, such as the ants. For the sake 
of protection each of these has given up its individual independ- 
ance and joined together in a community, building a state as 
it were. The struggle-for-life has been made easier. Yet never- 
theless, for them, life means nothing else than one continual 
burden, which is without the slightest compensation. A chase 
towards death, as it were, waylaid with multitudinous troubles. 
Now were these to possess the slightest knowledge of their own 
fate, it would mean the sure annihilation of life itself, as there 
would be no want to live as a consequence. 

Man, however, has remained the affirmer of life he is, inspite 
of his knowledge of death. And the basis of this affirmation of 
life does not rest on the fact that it is a physiological impossi- 
bility for man to overcome his self preservation-will, for volunt- 
ary deaths do (although seldom) occur, giving evidence of this. 
Thus then, the step from mammal into achieved man must have 
brought a benefit with it other than a mere better equipment 
for the struggle-for-life, a benefit indeed, in so much, as it served 
to counter-balance his transitory lot, or effaced the conflict in 



200 



his soul completely. There is still another possible alternative. 
If there could be found no counter-balance at all nor anything 
which was adequate to appease the conflict raging within his 
soul, nevertheless there crept within his soul a feeling, very 
vague no doubt, which inspite of his knowledge of death and all 
the tribulations he seemed bound to suffer, was able to sustain 
him. It whispered to him thus: There is something indeed, which 
I too am capable of attaining. 

But after all is said, does the inevitable fate of death (which 
awaits all men) really make the world men live in so diconsolate? 
Do not the majority of us face this fact in a blind attitude and 
absolutely unenquiringly? When we think of Gilgamesh, who 
because he loved his friend so well, was made to stagger before 
the stern fact of death, afterwards experiencing neither joy not 
peace but dedicated his whole life to the solving of its mystery, 
we can hardly span the gulf at all which lies between such 
divergent attitudes. Well now, the hero of the legend belongs 
to those rare kind of men, who dedicate their thoughts to the 
ultimate things of life as soon as they are caught in the webs of 
their mysteries. Such deep longings and ponderings are beyond 
the spiritual powers of the ordinary indifferent individual. It 
seems a tremendous pity that such rare sensitive souls, like 
Gilgamesh was made of, could not have been spared, at so 
primitive a stage of intelligence, the knowledge that death was 
inevitable. It was the consciousness of Self and the conscious 
application of that 'aprioristical* feeling of time, space and 
causality which awakened in that time of dangerous combat 
against the cosmical powers, which led to the sure knowledge 
of death. This occured at a very primitive stage when com- 
prehension of the laws of the universe was not far above the 
level of the higher animal species. But something more was 
required as we shall see in the course of the following, to cope 
adequately with the conflict between immortality and natural 



201 



death. This was an exalted state of cultural development, to- 
gether with a high degree of world-knowledge which could be 
obtained through the powers of reason only. A few suspected 
it and sensed it, although these factors were of little aid leading 
to clarity, so that thousands of years were doomed to pass and 
were wasted in futile attempts to solve this mysterious apparent 
absurdity. As a consequence of all these false attempts, appeared 
the deviation and return to paths and ways that were only 
partially right, and the change from flourish to decline of once 
promising cultures. Like the butterfly will burn its wings and 
die when it flies into the light, non-cognisant of its harmful 
nature, the cultures of by-gone ages also have fallen to ground 
with burnt wings, because they flew into the glaring light of 
knowledge. If any were saved, it was not due to the correctness 
of their flight in the drive for truth, but because of their stolidity 
which kept them creeping animal-like upon the ground; to have 
the priviledge afterwards, however, of being upheld as the 
superior ones in life. 

And yet, inspite of all the paths of error and deviation from 
truth over which the mind of man wandered in his grave at- 
tempts to overcome the conflict between his Will-to-Immortality 
and the fact that natural death awaited him, we can easily 
perceive how the soul of man from times immemorable seemed 
to feel so rightly of its own accord where redemption really 
lay although the feeling itself was so faint and feeble. It finds 
expression in almost all the myths of the primitive folks, and 
more especially in the different kinds of religions professed by 
the so-called cultural folks; in a manner so adequate that one 
might be tempted to believe the myths alone would have 
sufficed to have directed mankind towards the right way to 
redemption. But alas! we were obliged to witness how this right 
feeling went astray through the very gift of knowledge, or let 
us say rather through "false knowledge" (which became ob- 



202 



tainable through the powers of reason). For, the explanations 
and arguments which reason was forever apt to bring forth, 
together with its fatal habit of conducting the laws-of-causality, 
time and space to realms which lay beyond this form of intellect, 
were a grave misapplication, which of a necessity led, not only 
the believers but also the very creators of the myths themselves 
astray! Thus then, through the destructive work of intellectual- 
reasoning, all the beneficial effects which the images of art and 
the religions aimed at, became futile. After a period of cultural 
flourishment, or flight towards liberation, a race would sink 
to earth with burnt wings, at the best to give place to another 
which would but repeat the attempt and decline in the same 
way. 

The critical point for them all arrived at that time, when 
reason having reached a state of half-knowledge and refusing 
to be fooled and mortified by the mode of thought offered in 
the myths, became bold enough to decry altogether the Immor- 
tal-Will and the Divine, ridiculing the affirmation of these as 
being sheer nonsense! The crisis in the disease of the cultures 
was marked through the disdain mankind showed for the wis- 
dom of the poets because of the obvious errors (always inter- 
woven with the truth), which they perceived. As a consequence 
these were totally ignored and the once honoured gods forsaken, 
and there being nothing else ready to substitute the old faith, 
the emptiness which had been left behind in the soul of man 
remained. The 'man of culture' then, at such times, owing to 
the silliness of his reason's half-knowledge, was less capable of 
coping with the spiritual state in which he found himself to be, 
where his Immortal- Will was in constant conflict with natural 
death, than ever his predecessors were who still believed in the 
myths. In fact he was even more helpless than his very ancient 
predecessor, Gilgamesh, who had no myth at all to give him 
spiritual strength, but who, inspite of this, instinctively felt 



203 



that to understand he meaning of death signified the solution of 
the soul's mystery. 

Before we concern ourselves further with all the erroneous 
paths once trodden by those unique human souls whose habit 
it became, in their eager search for liberation, to ponder over 
the ultimate matters as being the main ones in life, let us stop 
for one moment to visualise all the consolations man created 
for himself. We must first clearly understand, and our powers 
of discrimination will be of help to us in doing so, that the 
Immortal-Will, in reality, has nothing to do with the longing 
in the soul for happiness, a fact which natural science has par- 
ticularly clearly given utterance to, in having termed this the 
"self preservation instinct". This aims at living on without any 
interuption, or final end. It simply wants to exist, independent 
of any accompanying emotions of pleasure or pain. Hence it 
happens that the animal is driven to bear unswearingly the 
miseries of its joyless life like the man who enjoys the full of 
his life. The fact that the Immortal-Will was non-identical with 
the will for pleasure or "Happiness" (that is the desire to realise 
as often as possible the strongest possible pleasurable sensations) 
explains the reason why the average individual could, and still 
can find, in happiness, the full compensation for immortality, 
and in a mad chase after happiness apparently overcomes the 
conflict. Moreover, as the soul of man was endowed, not only 
with a higher state of consciousness but also with the gift of 
reason, an ability was likewise given him to escape that unfa- 
vourable state of mind of the higher mammal-species, which 
suffers long periods of pain and enjoys, relatively speaking, 
very short spans of pleasurable sensations. It was reason which 
aided man in sparing him from suffering periods of alternate 
famine and abundance. He divided his quantities of food-stuffs, 
so that, actually speaking, the majority have never once ex- 
perienced what hunger means. Man was not compelled even 



204 



to stop at this. It lay in his power to give manifold change to 
his food. He did so, considering his own personal taste with 
such devotional care as to make food become a veritable fount 
of the greatest of all pleasures, meaning happiness its very self. 
He felt indeed fully compensated for the transitoriness of his 
own life. There is still another sensation of pleasure existing 
which has the prerogative of rendering greater recompense. 
Before reason awakened it became essential, as we have already 
seen, that a certain pleasurable sensation should be accelerated, 
in order to find its satisfaction in the function of reproduction, 
thus assuring its fulfillment; and as the vertibrates for the better 
protection of the coming generation took to the inner fructificat- 
ion a bodily-sexual-intercourse became necessary. And although 
within the course of evolution, through the gradual association of 
the pairing- will and the soul-life, tremendous spiritual benefits 
were gained, the majority of mankind are still incapacitated to 
emancipate above the dull form akin to the animal when indulg- 
ing in sexual-happiness. And yet, this primitive form was in 
itself sufficient to mean 'life's happiness*. Contrary to the ani- 
mal, man's intellect aided and abetted him in the invention of 
all manner of ways and means to repeat at will his sexual 
sensations of pleasure. (We shall come back to this later.) Hence, 
there is every justification to say that the sensations of sexual- 
pleasure signifies the greatest recompense to the majority of 
mankind. 

These "delights" (beautifying existence) were not the only 
results, however, which the ascent from mammal to man be- 
queathed to mankind. Man is often tempted to consider aging, 
decaying and final death more in the light of a blessing than 
otherwise as it puts an end to the many tribulations of man on 
earth (spared fortunately to the animal-kingdom). For instance, 
the increase in population, effected through man's inventive 
powers in gaining means to protect him from danger in emerg- 



205 



ency, gradually accelerated to over-population making the 
struggle-for-existence for the majority almost unbearable. Many 
were subjected to others greedy of power and gold, which caused 
their lives to become a state of veritable misery. By its very law, 
the keen sensitiveness of man's own soul has been also the means 
of much of the pain and misery in the world, so that Schiller 
was justified when he made the utterance. "Everywhere the 
world is perfect, where man with his pain is not." This subject, 
incidently, is of such profundity, that it has a right to be treated 
very minutely. We can mention here, in short, where the roots 
of the evil lie. The greatest fault lies with memory above 
everything else, inspite of its apparent harmlessness. Unlike 
the animal-memory, by the very virtue of its keenness, it is 
incapacitited to forget either any suffering or hate towards an 
enemy. The higher animal-species forget as soon as danger has 
passed. According to our observation, the average individual, 
(as the fruits of his higher consciousness) is able to pile up his 
pleasure, considering them to be the sole worthy contents of 
his life. Of a necessity must this also bring a second appalling 
effect with it. Man is not only capacitated to understand and 
keep in his memory his own sufferings. He can extend these to 
the pleasures of others. In this way "Envy" arises, poisoning 
his surroundings. And verily the life of most people consists 
in a continual hoarding up of their own-made miseries, so that 
the creed which documents that the earth is 'a vale of tears' 
has apparently found its justification at all times. Besides the 
consolations of indulging freely in the bodily sensations of 
pleasure, a second one appeared in opposition. Natural death 
or the certainty of the transitoriness of life became something 
worth looking forward to; it was taught in fact to be a consol- 
ation and reconciling certainty which gave man the strength 
to bear life's tribulations. Not only do all those who are per- 
secuted with pain follow this sheer negative form of consolation, 



206 



but also, (curiously enough) all those others called the "Hedo- 
nist", who consider the aim and affirmation of life to be in the 
massing up of as much pleasure before old age and illness steps 
in to be a hinderance. In the end it can induce man to ignore 
his Immortal- Will as being but an idle desire. It can drive 
poor weak-willed creatures even to commit suicide. 

Such meagre consolation can hardly be considered as a fit 
recompense for the Immortal-Will, no matter how apt reason 
was to become reconciled to the idea in certain conditions of life. 
The feeling of the soul itself, when it awakened that time to 
consciousness, was a better consolation. Decrying bravely all 
reason's wisdom, it relied solely on the mneme inherited from 
the unicell, which told of the surety of immortality. And al- 
though the fact of inevitable death could not be contradicted, it 
denied that death was death in the real sense of the word. It 
proclaimed that only the visible or the outward appearance 
died, but not the invisible or soul (the "Thing Itself") which 
animated the outward appearance. One curious fact, however, 
is, that the myths contained in most of the religions, account 
immortality to man alone among all the rest of the visible world, 
inspite of the fact that reason had had evidence enough that man 
as much as the animals was subject to the laws of death in as 
much as all his cells, (like those of the animal) after a process of 
gradual burning, which is called decay, become again the simpl- 
est of organic matter. This conception could not be shattered. 
The invisible, albeit animate in man, contrary to that in the 
animal, had part in the beyond! Later on, we shall see how true 
that presumptive feeling was which said the animals were un- 
redeemable! 

And so alarmed, apparently, was the Immortal- Will over the 
fact that death was obligatory, that it created for itself (in the 
myths) a perpeptual conscious life; an idea to reason quite 
appalling. And so it came about that in the myths the actual 



207 



world was represented as an illusionary world, a vale of tears, 
which could prove of great impediment to eternal bliss but which 
unfortunately we had to pass through if we wanted to gain our 
eternal home. Now, the vigorous will-to-live, deeply mortified 
at the fact of death, started to decorate the beyond with every- 
thing that seemed worth living for. (How touching for example, 
are all those visions of a beyond which the 'primitive peoples' 
have imagined for themselves.) As reason compelled both anticip- 
ation and myth to build their beyond in the spheres of space, 
the Immortal- Will one day, was bound to perceive its heavens 
laid in ruins, as a consequence of the progress of intellectual 
knowledge. It was, furthermore, forbidden to exist even beyond 
the clouds. It was roughly brushed aside after Copernicus had 
indicated the spheres where stars in systems circle. And even 
still undaunted, the Immortal-Will was able to reconstruct out 
of the ruins another mythical heaven. This time it lay even 
beyond the universe 'whose unendlessness of space was of no 
significance to the soul delivered of its body*. 

And once again, as result of our study, reason has shattered 
the mythical heaven, this time in its very foundations, for our 
reasoning-powers have accomplished facts which are of a deeper 
significance than a mere spherical disarrangement of the firma- 
ment. The powers of intellect, having been priviledged so far 
as to be able to penetrate into the coherency of the evolution 
history, have as a consequence, been also able for the very first 
time, to point out the fact that the Immortal- Will must essent- 
ially be innate in the mortal soma-cells too, for were it not 
so, these would hardly have let themselves be called upon to 
sacrifice themselves so entirely for the sake of the eternal germ- 
cells. On the other hand, there is also sufficient evidence, that 
all the different kinds of the soma-cells (or body-cells), including 
of -course the brain-cells belonging to the multi-celled individual 
(man included) have no part in the immortality of the germ- 



208 



cells. The history of evolution furnishes ample witness why 
and how it happened that a transitory individual, such as man 
is, without possessing the characteristic of immortality, could 
yet be so sternly conscious of the fact of his own immortality. 
It was owing to these facts, that the history of evolution under- 
mined most cruelly the foundations upon which the heavens 
of the past were built; those foundations which had even defied 
reason so long, the argument being: "If a human-being be really 
doomed to pass away for ever, how could the strong desire and 
certainty of eternity which certainly exists within him be ac- 
counted for?" 

Now, if truly mneme, or the sub-conscious memory, which 
of a necessity, in the progress of evolution permitted the soma- 
cells to retain their Immortal-Will, inspite of inevitable death, 
was alone responsible for the certainty of immortality here 
manifested, then indeed one could be obliged to say that reason 
had gained the victory over the myth of immortality. And man 
would have nothing left to do than habituate himself to the 
fact of inevitable death. As it is, however, in sharp contradiction 
to Darwinism, one thing remains certain, and that is; while 
guarding ourselves implicitly against the error which reason 
makes when it forms actual conceptions of god as being a person 
there is every evidence for believing in that invisible, unfathom- 
able, nature lying in all things, which of-course can only 
be felt or experienced and is generally known by the name 
of God, the "Thing Itself", the Divine or Genius etc.; a 
belief too which moreover can bear the full light of the history 
of evolution without its being shattered to pieces. Here there 
can be found no negation of the Divine, on the contrary, it is 
verified in such a grand manner as never before. We have already 
been priviledged to recognise that all the explanations in the 
light of the mere mechanical only which have been put forth 
in regard to the history-of -evolution are errors. Instead, abund- 



209 



ance of evidence is always proving that a will, animated with 
a distinct aim in view, at every significant stage in the ascent 
of man, enforced form for itself in every living thing, albeit this, 
itself was utterly unconscious of the fact. Hence, the history- 
of-evolution has benefitted us in a wonderful way, for we are 
no more called upon to say, "I believe in God" but "I know 
that every animate and inanimate being belonging to the uni- 
verse, is the visible appearance of the invisible-Divinity existing 
within it, and that this innate godlikeness of the mortal body- 
cells enforced its own manifestation in the appearance of the 
manifold forms and shapes unique to the different multi-celled 
beings, a process, moreover, which signified the wish to ascend 
from the deepest kind of unconsciousness to the highest form 
of consciousness in man." 

Faith in immortality can also deepen into knowledge of 
immortality. After the intuition I had experienced of the truth 
of the immortality of man, I was easily facilitated to complete 
the edifice of my thought, placing facts so neatly together that 
it appeared afterwards as if it had fructuated from intellectual 
thought and not from an intuitive source. Now, when intuition 
rings true, reason subsequently is able to build up the steps which 
leads to it. But at a time as this, when reason is so tremendously 
overrated, and the soul-awareness (Erleben) of truth not enough 
appreciated, it would be a great injustice were the following fact 
not stressed, which is, that the powers of reasoning in this case 
were very limited, in as much as they were most certainly 
capable of indicating rightly the way to the wisdom we expound, 
but, on the other hand, absolutely incapable of solving the con- 
flicting mystery existing between natural death and reason 
itself. First, a time of deep contemplation into the myths of the 
different folks, and also a deep contemplation of the soul were 
necessary, before light could be thrown into the sequence of 
matters. So let us now ponder this time together to make sure 



of the fact that a sufficient study of the myths, when unin- 
fluenced by Darwinian thought, will lead finally, not to their 
rejection, but to a high appreciation of them, albeit their con- 
tents be as full of errors as of truths. 

Among all the various fantastical religious poems which 
belong to the different folks of the earth, there are four different 
major kinds of myths which occur over and over again. Of 
these, two are concerned with the past and two with the future 
fate of the soul. 

The myth of the history of creation relates how, through the 
will of a higher invisible being, all the manifold creatures seen 
on earth originated at a period of the earth's history in quick 
succession, and that man, among all the other beings stood in a 
special relationship to this invisible being, a being "of the 
spirit of Brahman, the most pervaded one". Furthermore, that a 
like creation-process never again will occur; the Indian myth 
goes even so far as to tell of the affinity and uniformity of all 
the visible-scene. The observation which we have made ourselves 
of the history of evolution, compells us to confirm the truth 
this myth contains, in as much as we strictly avoided viewing 
it in the narrov Darwinian outlook, and concerned ourselves 
with just the essential part, discarding deliberately all the fan- 
tastical images and those contents which were concerned with 
a personification of the Divine. 

The second myth concerned with the past is the fantastical 
description of a "Paradise-Lost". Here the poets sing of a time 
when the earth knew of no aging, decaying nor death; a time, 
in fact, in which men lived in eternal youth without sufferings 
of pain or desire. This the doctrine of evolution confirms to be 
true also, for, indeed, there lived in the hearts of the poets a 
faint remembrance of the potential immortality of our one-celled 
predecessors that felt neither pain nor desire, and knew nothing 
of 'age* nor death. 



211 

14+ 



Then there are two myths which are very deeply concerned 
with the future of man and the destiny of his soul. A belief, 
peculiar to the Germanic race, and of which strong traces can 
be found in the religious conceptions in the ancient Indian 
Vedas, is the faith in reincarnation. In the Edda, an echo of it is 
still to be found, clothed in language of great poetical beauty!* 

Here we are made aquainted with the hero, called Helge, who, 
as a single exception, was once given back to life. The song, 
however, concludes with the firm belief in the reincarnation 
of the ancestors. Helge and Siegrun are born again as Helge 
Haddingenheld and Kara. The Vedas cling still even more 
lovingly to this myth, and it is varied in every way. These 
recount the stories of the soul's reincarnation, how it appears 
on earth fettered first in animal nature, and how afterwards, 
at every new birth it takes on a more god-like form. The 
doctrine of reincarnation is truth likewise, in as much as it is 
identical with the "mneme", or true remembrance, which is 
revealed in the process of evolution and is the fate which the 
soul has actually passed through. This must have been a very 
faint remembrance, much fainter than the remembrance, of 
the "paradise lost", which is the life once experienced by all 
the protozoa, so that the remembering animate-being, although 
it is a descendant of discrepant germ-cells has inherited from 
the ancestral cells the remembrance of the once universal prime 
and immortal ancestor as well. The remembrance characteristic 
of the once experienced life of any animal or man may not 
simply be attributed to the brain cells and left at that, for the 
germ-cells from which the remembering brain-cells descend, are 
not the descendents of single individuals only, but of a multi- 
tude, which all bear promiscuous heritage. New synthetic hypo- 
theses are not essential to support this as being a scientific fact, 
as this kind of memory springs likewise into existence in exactly 

* Gorsleben Edda P. 41. Publishers Heimkehr Verlag Miinchen-Pasing. 



212 



the same way as the "mneme" does in the case of the inherited 
instinct which belongs to the animals, which everywhere is 
accepted by science. (Nest-building instinct of the birds). Since 
this means, as regards to the single individual, that the inherited 
substance of the germ-cells is of a necessity associated with the 
brain-cells, it also means that it is also associated with the soul 
of the bird which is nest-building. It was only along these lines 
that it was made possible for the capacity of nest-building to 
be bequeathed to succeeding generations at that time when it 
was being done for the first time by one of its kind. Now, our 
own souls are no unpromiscuous descendants of single individ- 
uals, and owing to this we are liable at times to have visions 
or feel as if we had experienced certain conditions in a former 
life already. They are of a mere fleeting and passing kind for 
the reason that our own souls have no affinity whatever with 
the ancestral-being. Within us we contain, so to speak, innu- 
merable bits of memory of the experiences which once belonged 
to each one of our ancestors, and which has been transmitted 
to us in a promiscuous collection. It was the force of these 
facts which made it impossible, at all times, to give up the 
belief in one's own immortality and replace it with the belief 
in the immortality of the kind. It is a thing impossible to trans- 
mit our own personality unadulterated to succeeding generations; 
at the very best, only a few characteristics can be transmitted, 
but even these are liable to be mixed with other traits which 
are wholly alien to our nature. So that, seen from a scientific 
view, the belief in the reincarnation cannot find any support 
through the fact of the "mneme", nor could it bear so much 
conviction as the belief in the other myths did, as for instance 
the myth of a lost paradise, or as it is called in the Edda* 



*I refer the reader here to my work f entitled^ "Eadi Folk's ^own r Song to 
erei 
ing 
cipatu 



* 1 refer the reader nere to my wprx enmiea: cam rom s own oong 10 vjoa 
wherein I have attempted to point out in chapter "The Religions Fall from their God- 
living Heights" how bad-reasoning and misconceptions has helped to distort this anti- 
cipation once described in the myth making antigodlike error out of it. 



"Midgard" where the state of immortality was granted to our 
ancestors. 

The last of the four myths is the best known and is considered 
in general as the most significant and is revered accordingly. 
This myth is concerned wholly with the immortal state, or 
belief in an eternal-life (after death). Now, if nothing else than 
the strong feelings of nostalgia and assurance of immortality 
were expressed we should have no cause to take increased 
thought in this matter, as we have seen that the process of 
evolution gave sufficient foundation for them. What made us 
stop to ponder more deeply, is the fact we encounter every- 
where, and which we have already hinted; the exclusion of the 
animals from partaking in a life hereafter, for, according to 
our faith in the process of evolution, in which sense the "Mneme" 
confirms strongly the uniformity of man and animal-fate, the 
reverse could be expected. And further, curious though it sounds, 
we encounter the repeated assurance that heaven is not for 
every one; that first, a certain spiritual state is essential before 
any one can enter heaven. Also that a place in heaven can be 
lost forever. This conception has gained such influence over the 
divergent religions, that eternal torments for the ones excluded 
(in hell) have been added which, of-course, reveals how appall- 
ingly the myth itself has been distorted. 

The myth of a "Beyond", in which only the few can take 
part who, of their own accord, have had the power to gain it, 
cannot be traced in its origin to the remembrance, or memory, 
which has been inherited from our most ancient forefathers; 
for it stands in contradiction to all the facts of the historical 
evolution of the past, as demonstrated by natural science, which 
is intent on proving the animal-kingdom and man to be one. 
Let us assume for the sake of an explanation, that once upon a 
time, some, out of the depths of their own inner experience, 
composed the myth about the beyond and afterwards succeeding 



214 



generations were pleased to sing these compositions, especially 
as it awakened to life again something which had been the 
spiritual experience of their fore-fathers and was now theirs. 
Before, it had slumbered within them as an unconscious memory. 
May be the poets themselves had been prompted to compose 
their mythical poems out of the spirit of remembrance also, 
which had been handed down to them out of the times when 
man was being born. Or were they composed as the result of an 
experience which the poets had consciously lived through? 

As the first three myths have given proof that their piths are 
in accordance with truth, they have given us reason to give 
our full attention, in our following process of thought, to the 
myth concerned in the beyond. 



C^e f mmottai^iil anti eniujs 



Our glance at all the erroneus conceptions man has formed 
in his apparently futile attempt to solve the mystery which the 
antagonism existing between the Immortal-Will and natural 
death presents him has plainly revealed how reason, to a certain 
degree, was able to make up to him for his failure. On the one 
hand it gave man the capacity not only to gain pleasure through 
satisfying his instincts but also to avoid pain; and on the other 
hand, as a consequence of all misery caused by the very 
sensitiveness of the human-soul to consider death in the reverse 
light of a comforter: Death could also become the liberator 
out of this vale of tears. Here the cognising powers of reason 
come to an end, save perhaps for one possibility more, the 
argument of which runs as follows: The inevitability of death 
and the Immortal-Will are a twofold fact which cannot be 
obliterated. But as the Immortal-Will is a component of the 
soul, might it not within the course of history, have undergone 
a transformation? 

Now, practically speaking, no fresh species have originated 
since the birth of man (the further development of man over 
the line unicell-man-superman we have already perceived to 
be a gross misconception); the history of man has, nevertheless, 
given evidence of a keener and mightier development of the 
innate powers of the soul, in as much as one generation was able 
to bequeath its knowledge and experience to succeeding gener- 
ations. In place of the animal-instinct there appeared under- 
standing among men. The mind of man became capacitated 



216 



to transmit the fruits of his logic and experience to posterity 
either in the form of words, books and works of art, so that 
one generation, so to speak, shouldered the other, giving mani- 
festation of a magnificent intellectual development. 

This development is indeed different in character from that 
which evolved the one-celled being into man, but it was so 
beneficial to the soul life of man, that the exalted man-of- 
culture grew to have little in common with the industrious 
stalwarts in the struggle-for-life. This implies that there is every 
reason to believe that the self-preservation-instinct, or in other 
words, the Immortal- Will underwent a transformation in exert- 
ing its powers of spiritual exfoliation, and that cultural deve- 
lopment, as it should be understood in its proper sense, was the 
result of this. As has already been said, the whole range of 
sexuality within the history of man has been gradually so 
interwoven with intellectual values, that this has become spiri- 
tualised in a most marvellous manner. This is only one instance 
in point among the many. Lippert, in the works we have 
already called attention to, has indicated in the most instructive 
and minutest manner, how all the religions became very grad- 
ually developed into a spiritualised state, not only in the cont- 
ually developed into a spiritualised state, not only in the con- 
tinuity of their myths but also in details and even use of words. 
The downfall of all religions from the height of their God- 
Living (Gotterleben) happened when the powers of reason 
started trespassing, and the important part was ignored which 
the diversity of race always plays. (This I have enunciated 
in my book entitled "Each Folk's own Song to God".) Lippert 
points out that words which originally gave expression to quite 
crude conceptions did not find a higher spiritual significance 
until much later. As, for example, the word jholy* which in the 
spiritual life (Gotterleben) of to-day means so much, originally, 
in the soul-cult meant nothing more or less than something 



217 



which belonged to the spirit of the dead. As such, no-one dared 
to touch the goods, let alone take them away, lest the spirit to 
whom they belonged should be angered. It was very gradually 
that the word "Holy" gained the meaning for something divine 
which one approached with awe and respect. Likewise we are 
justified in assuming that not only the possibility, but every 
probability exists (history confirms the fact) that the self- 
preservation-instinct attained to that more spiritualised state, 
when the soul became conscious that it desired more than to 
exist perpetually in the world-of-appearances (Welt der Er- 
scheinung). Many a historical figure gives witness to this fact. 
How many a one, within the course of history, although un- 
believing in a life hereafter, has gladly sacrificed his mortal-life 
for the sake of his Immortal-Will in order that its spirituali- 
sation might be realised. Now, what could have promoted this 
change in the self-preservation-will and made the change at all 
possible as well? 

We have already noted that the most significant and prime 
difference which separated the animal at its highest stage from 
the lowest stage of man was the ascent from a state of under- 
standing to the level of reason; the latter capacitated man to 
apply the conceptions he had formed of time, space causality 
to his surroundings, thus becoming conscious of his own person 
and within fine, live consciously his "Self". Since this means, 
also, that he naturally applied the cognition he had gained of 
death to his own person, he attained, as an ultimate consequence, 
all that knowledge pertaining to death as well. Amazing and 
significant at once for the trend of our thought is the following 
fact: In the ages, long past, the poets and believers in the myths, 
who were limited to a very crude knowledge of nature, while 
noting the important traits which distinguished man from the 
animal, laid the stress of all their arguments nevertheless on 
quite irrelevant matters. Whenever man was concerned with 



218 



ascribing to himself alone, among all the other living beings, 
the immortal soul, it never once struck him as being the issue 
from the ascent of understanding to reason. His prerogative 
he imagined to come from quite another fount. He experienced 
certain longings of his will which, being but faintly traced in 
the higher developed animals, were easier overlooked than re- 
marked in his observations. Now, these longings must be alive 
in the human-soul in order to prove their existence convincingly. 
But as in the majority they are more dead than alive, their 
manifestation is not much clearer nor more conscious than it 
is in the animal-ancestor. 

These peculiar will-longings which make men so sure-of-soul 
and so soul-proud are so often and so conspicuously in contra- 
diction to the wills belonging to his selfpreservation-instinct, 
namely, those in connection with the instinct for food and 
reproduction, that indeed they prove themselves, when com- 
pared to these, to be so utterly indifferent to such wants, as to 
seem to have their origin from quite another source. It was 
these marvellous wishes or longings of the will which gave 
profundity to the soul-cults; which for their part again formed 
the origin of all religions. 

Man became aware of his own sufferings; saw himself con- 
tinually threatened with tribulations; facts which, inspite of 
his reason's awakening, he was yet incapable of comprehending, 
especially when they were caused through the powers of nature. 
He saw too, how death overtook his relatives; how in the dead 
body 'life' no longer existed. "The spirits had escaped" he 
reasoned and must have taken up their abode in the grave. It 
was they, no doubt, who sent all the sufferings to mankind, the 
sense of which was so utterly incomprehensible to him; but also 
protection against harm the spirits yielded. And as sufferings 
and tribulation continued, and death, as being the relentless fate 
of everyone, still prevailed, he reasoned further, that the spirits 



219 



were angry and began to ponder for the reason of their anger. 
Soon these thoughts became interwoven with the emotions 
caused through the inherited memory of that earlier painless 
state of immortality which once prevailed in the unicell. As a 
consequence of these ponderings there arose the first beginnings 
of the conception of a Paradise Lost. It was believed that sorrow 
and death were sent as the punishment for the sins which the 
past generations had committed against the spirits. For had it 
not always been the fate of man to suffer sorrow and death? 
Therefore, in some way, the spirits had to be appeased in order 
that sorrow should have an end, and protection and even 
escape from death take its place. The means of atonement 
became multifarious. Offerings of the best of food were made, 
worship was given; in short, all sorts of cult-commandments 
arose as a consequence, and it was considered to be the worst of 
all wrong-doings, were these commandments ever ignored or 
opposed. Hence, the first beginnings of the grave-cult originated. 
Now, inspite of the progress which knowledge has made, diverse 
races of mankind are still concerned with this religious trend of 
thought. Inspite of all the experience handed down from one 
generation to another, the faith these profess still persists in 
the fear of the spirits. Herein, too, lies the fundamental differ- 
ence when compared to other religions which we shall still 
describe. To come back to these again: Their thoughts were 
continually filled with the fear of the dead and the demons. 
Originally they worshipped their gods in dark caves and 
attempted to appease them through practising cult-offerings. 
Science has termed this kind of cult-behaviour, the ,,Chthonian w 
or earth-cult. 

Other races, in particular the Nordic race, behaved very 
differently. At every step of intellectual-development, there is 
little manifestation of their being engrossed with their own 
sufferings or of death or with the blows which fate might event- 



ually deal them; instead a spirit of reverent awe and astonish- 
ment is revealed in which they were always approaching the 
holy mystery of life's growth and decay. Their gaze seems to 
have been forever fixed on the unendless cosmos. They deemed 
the nocturnal firmament to be the revelation of the ancient and 
most sacred looks of God. The inviolability and inexorableness 
of the cosmic-laws which they had discovered while studying 
the firmament had filled them with such confidence in God, 
that everything else in their surroundings which revealed to 
them the same lawfulness, they deemed likewise to be pervaded 
with the divine; namely the seasons of the year, the birth, death, 
growth and decay of all living things. Hence, this meant that 
they themselves were also subject to the same laws-of-nature, 
and this knowledge filled them with joy and thankfulness, in 
as much as it assured them that they, too, were cognate with 
that same divine power which pervaded all things, making them 
uniform with the mighty universe. Therefore, it was only 
natural, for them to annex all the events of their lives, such as 
birth and death, to the seasons. The student of science calls 
this kind of cult, the "Sidereal" or firmament-cult. The consequ- 
ence of such study and observation was, that all the folks 
akin to these races gradually lost all their fears of the spirits 
and death. What an infinite pity it was that this, their God- 
Cognisance, (Gotterkenntnis), was doomed in its development 
to be cruelly put a stop to. It was suppressed by Christianity. 
One thousand years ago, the representatives of the Nordic race 
who still aboded in the land of their origin were forced to 
accept the Christian religion by means of cruel laws which were 
imposed on them. In the case of the folks belonging to the 
Nordic race who forsook their native soil, the 'sidereal' cult 
suffered a different fate. Those who emigrated to other countries, 
such as the Dorians and the lonians in Greece, attempted to bring 
the religion of the native inhabitants into harmony with their 



own; an absurd and race-killing endeavour. Here they went 
practically half way to meet them. They unshelved their own 
universe-embracing gods from the firmament and placed them 
on the mountain tops of the Olympus, where they were allowed 
to retain a few traits only of their former state. (The "Great 
Mother" Frigge still kept to her necklace containing the images 
of the fixed stars.) Now, as the Dorians and lonians had become 
unfaithful to the faith of their fathers, the cave-gods of the 
Pelasgi stole out of the darkness of their caves into the dazzling 
light of the day, and, creeping up the Olympus, mixed there 
freely among the Nordic god figures. Although this mutual 
attempt at adaptation might appear at first to be laudible in 
that it was born of a spirit of peace and reconciliation it must 
nevertheless be strictly condemned, being antagonistic to all 
those sacred laws of race, soul and heredity which I have 
attempted to explain in the book entitled "The Soul of the 
Human-Being" Chapter "Subconsciousness". After having 
exchanged the God-life (artgemafie Gotterleben) nature to each, 
these folks, so different in everything to each other, mixed up 
together their salvation-creeds and race-ideals as well. This did 
infinite harm to their soul-lives, in as much as the principles 
pertaining to the maintenance of race-purity had been cruelly 
trampled under foot. Disintegration and decline were the 
inevitable effects. With the Nordic-folks who had been con- 
verted to Christianity, disaster likewise appeared. 

How and in what measure those two fundamentally different 
cult-forms, called the chthonian and the sidereal, were developed 
within the course of time through the benefits of experience 
which one generation bequeathed to another, can be best ob- 
served where a natural development took its own way without 
being interfered with through any conversions, as was the case 
of the soul-cult of the Chinese. The clearest evidence concerning 
the sidereal-cult yield those special Nordic folks who were 



spared the violence of a conversion to Christianity, and where 
the adaptation to the cult of the native inhabitants took place 
at a later period, as it happened to the sidereal cult in the case 
of the Indians. 

Where all the cults are concerned, a remarkable thing to be 
minded is, that only very few, by virtue of their keenly sensitive 
natures, really mount the path of development. It is they who 
attract the others who are capable of following them. The 
majority, however, remain stubbornly where they are, and even 
the civilisation of our present day cannot conceal them from 
being exposed to this fact! The spiritual-life of the most people 
in our day is nothing better than fear of demons and the 
anxious fulfilment of cult-commandments; the public ones 
belonging to the church and the secret ones to superstition; the 
only real sentiment prompting them to their religious-duties 
being the aim to shield themselves from sufferings before and 
after death or the supposed torments of hell. 

Now, what particular wishes might those have been which 
were the cause of religious faith becoming cast gradually into 
a deeper mould, and the meditations on the inevitability of 
death, the cosmic-laws and the significance of man's life to 
become fructified? Man was born with a naturally agressive 
spirit which, at the dictate of his self-preservation-will he was 
bound to exercise on all around him were he to maintain him- 
self. Yet at times he was keenly dissatisfied with himself, when, 
in the service of selfmaintenance, he adopted cunning and 
bravery with the selfsame assertion as the brute did. At a very 
early period already, he was fully conscious of this unaccount- 
able feeling which was like as if he had gone against some inner 
powerful wish. Now, how could this be accounted for? Was 
it because this innate wish stood in opposition the the self- 
preservation-will? No, it could never have been that for differ- 
ent reasons. For-instance, that horrible mal-contentment did 



223 



not make its appearance every time a struggle-for-existence went 
on, or when any particular desires of the body had just been 
satisfied. Only on certain occasions did it made itself felt. Some- 
times, even, it was obviously delighted, when, in view of the 
selfpreservation-will unwise things were done, and bodily 
instincts had reason to complain. The most curious thing about 
this unknown wish was, that no principles governing it could 
be found, for, at times, it even agreed with the instincts of the 
body. It was characterised by a special feature which in the 
body instinct was lacking. If these were not satisfied, they 
generally revenged themselves by giving rise to such a state of 
bad humour as to become almost intolerable, but which could be 
quickly got rid of as soon as they had been satisfied. How 
different it was to the other wish. The disapproval which met 
a deed at the time of its happening was but faint when compared 
to the strength of the mal-contentment of spirit which it was 
able to leave behind it for lengths of time. A deed which had 
met with any such disapproval could, somehow, never be oblit- 
erated. It remained vivid in the memory, paired with the dis- 
pleasure of that inner will-trend. There seemed no escape; in 
fact a whole life long it was able to torment the mind. And so, 
finally, through the consistency characterising that state of 
uneasiness which inevitably made its appearance when that inner 
wish had been displeased, sufficient in itself to dampen even 
the inclinations of the body-instincts, the potency of this wish 
became of such significance in the life of man, as to make him 
set the value of all his doings according to its standard. Conse- 
quently, man grew into the habit of calling the deed which the 
wish approved of 'good* and those which it disapproved of 
'bad'. And that unpleasant state of mind which followed like a 
voice continually warning him, he called the 'bad conscience* 
and the satisfied state of mind which followed after another 
kind of action he called the 'good conscience*. Now, as man was 



224 



incapacitated to explain the reason for this Wish-to-Goodness 
which the will within him manifested, and as it so often stood 
opposed to his pleasure-enslaved-selfpreservation-instinct, it 
goes without saying, that he searched for an explanation of its 
origin elsewhere, rather than within himself. As he himself was 
under subjection; it must come from somebody apparently 
greater than he was; somebody who, of -course, was immutable, 
who, unlike his own instincts could never be appeased. And who 
else could this great unchangeable one be than the 'spirits', gods 
or god. Thus some reasoned, while they credited their gods or 
god with the power to influence these wishes which led to spiritu- 
al isation of the chthonian-cults. They argued then further; in as 
much as the spirits, in being the powers of good and evil, could 
cause the joy or sorrow which was apt to befall man from the 
outer-world, they likewise could pervade the soul of man and 
take possession of it. Hence, the 'bad spirits or devil* as well 
as the good had equal power over the soul, and this evil spirits 
or the devil, no-doubt, were the cause which drove man to act 
contrary to the Wish-to-Goodness within him which was God's 
will. The religions computed to the 'devil in man', not alone 
all those actions which stood out clearly as being contrary to 
the good, but also everything else which was liable to distract 
man from dedicating himself to the service of this will. So that, 
even the reproduction-instinct, which, alas, led man so very 
often astray, and made him 'overhear' the voice of the Wish- 
to-Goodness, was considered 'impure'. All this reasoning, in that 
it lead to a state of mental confusion and final folk-decline, did 
infinite harm. 

In effect then, the spirits took up their abode in the soul of 
man, striving there, exactly as they were want to do in man's 
surroundings, one against the other for supremacy. They fought 
indeed for the very soul itself. But for what purpose? Now the 
very moment faith addicted itself to this error, the Immortal- 



225 



Will of the soma-cells, wounded at death's inevitability, became 
simultaneously interpenetrated with these facts. It was believed 
that the good and evil spirits were capable, not merely of sending 
joy, suffering and even death during this life, as it was contained 
originally in the soul-cults; their powers were still much greater. 
In man's soul they were at warfare for its immortality! 

If the old inherited cult of offering sacrifice to the spirits was 
the way undertaken in primitive times to appease the spirits 
for the trespasses of past generations and to appeal to them for 
protection in tribulations, the new way, now, in order to ensure 
eternal-life to the soul after death, was the dutious fulfilment 
of the demands of conscience. Herein, however, as we shall 
soon see, the sublime Wish-to-Goodness was left bereft of its most 
unique characteristic. The virtue of this characteristic lies in the 
fact that it raises the Wish-to-Goodness above the taint of any 
intention or selfinterestedness. Such was the influence which 
that unique trend of the soul exercised in the development of 
the chthonian cult. Now, how and in what way did it influence 
the sidereal cult? 

"How like unto the beauty of nature and the exalted grandeur 
of the firmament is the longing of my own soul". Thus spoke 
the folks practising the sidereal-cults. Their myths about their 
gods grew deeper in thought and cognisance. Themselves they 
believed were the gods' friends, certain of the fact that the 
longing or the sublime wishes of the soul, as we have termed 
them, were also divine, at the same time clearly aware of the 
fact that the intellect could err, and that these errors, together 
with the pleasure-enslavery of the selfpreservation-will, were 
something which had to be overcome. And yet the mystery of 
death they could not solve, so that it came as a matter of-course, 
that they also misinterpreted the real nature of the divine. 

The book of knowledge which is concerned with the inner 
nature existing in all things (Wesen der Dinge) is forever closed 



226 



to reason; but as reason is blissfully ignorant of this fact it is 
allowed to seduce man from the path of real knowledge. Vision 
(Erscheinung) can be marred by the law of reason which is 
governed by the laws of causation and intention. Therefore it 
comes only natural to reason to assume, that, when a Wish-to- 
Goodness is existing in the soul, there must be a corresponding 
purpose in it. And if a twofold purpose can be found all the 
better! Therefore, it says, that the Wish-to-Goodness innate in 
the soul is there to serve the selfpreservation-will and the desire 
for happiness; the purpose for doing good, in effect, is, that a 
life-immortal can be gained after death. As the fulfilling of the 
cult-commandments belong to the rubric of good deeds, in that 
they serve in the means of warding off evil and suffering, they 
serve a twofold purpose. They assure happiness on earth (fourth 
commandment "that thou may liveth long on earth") and 
eternal bliss hereafter. The alternative is the consequence of evil 
deeds, which is unhappiness and punishment here on earth, 
reincarnations or eternal damnation after death. It remains still 
to be seen what a mockery it became to the real nature of good- 
ness when this vital wish of the Immortal-Will and purpose 
became commingled. It was an error which for thousands of 
years made the folks almost incapable of developing this won- 
derful desire into powerful life. Although they knew this long- 
ing for goodness to be akin to the divine they all were subject 
to the same error. But our minds are happily unencumbered 
with the misconstruction which the workings of man's reasoning 
have caused. Therefore we can make emphasis of this: The mark 
which distinguishes the longing-for-goodness consists in its being 
far above ever stooping to any principles of utility in the 
struggle-for-life; itself neither being practical nor impractical. 
Further, we see good to lay stress on another fact and that is; 
that man has never succeeded, nor will he ever succeed in 
'defining* the conception of what is "Good" by means of his 



reasoning potencies! All attempts to do so are doomed to fail; 
at the best bearing the marks of being but mere 'phrases'. All 
which he can do in this respect is this: he can make a summary 
of certain deeds which are identical with the Wish-to-Goodness. 
Also, he can choose, out of a variety of deeds, the best and the 
better ones, although his choice, as is the case also of every other 
individual, will remain strictly within the limits of that degree 
of relationship in which he stands towards this wish-to-be-good. 
For quite a long time it remained the firm belief that, although 
the conception of what was 'good' could not be properly defined, 
every individual possessed within himself an incorruptible stand- 
ard of what was good; namely, man's conscience which pricked 
him after a bad action and put him into a state of 'good 
conscience' after a good action. But the belief that a man's 
conscience, or 'the voice of God' within him as he is wont to call 
it, is of so reliable a character, is one of the fallacies among the 
many which have done such infinite harm, actually, it has 
detained man from ever reaching a state of perfection. Now, 
there is nothing in all the visible-world (Welt der Erscheinung) 
which can be less relied upon: In men of a highly developed 
moral standard, the "Voice of Conscience" can be compared 
to a keenly sensitive seismograph which reacts sharply at the 
slightest change, whereas in others it can be compared to a 
clumsy apparatus which responds faintly at even the greatest 
shock. Yet, even such an uniformity is not to be found among 
the diverse states of consciences; such a wide difference is there 
in the nature of their sensitiveness. For instance, one man's 
conscience, when applied to the range of morals in general, 
behaves like a clumsy machine which vibrates at nothing, but 
when it is applied to a particular standard of morals, let us 
say the morals prevailing in society, it becomes suddenly a 
tremendously sensitive thing. 

Villagers of certain mountain-districts steal anything without 



228 



suffering the slightest pangs of conscience, but when it comes 
to a certain kind of thieving, (the stealing of wood) their 
conscience changes suddenly into delicate seismographs. Indeed, 
the nature of man's state of conscience differs so widely as to 
actually contrast one with another. For instance, in one indi- 
vidual a certain action will call forth a state of good conscience, 
while the same action in another, a bad one, and so forth. 
History gives sufficient proof of the mutability of the human- 
conscience. To be convinced of this one has only to bear in mind 
the gross contradiction which the moral creeds display among 
the diverse races and periods, as well as all the massacres, tor- 
tures and burning at the stake which have taken place in the 
'name of God'. 

Therefore, we are justified in repeating, that it is vain to want 
to collect conceptions of what is 'good'. Neither the powers of 
reason nor intuition make a man capable of doing so; although 
he who is perfect may make the exception. This is a possibility 
which is still waiting for us to ponder over. 

Now, in view of this, it is of importance to find out, first, if, 
in the animal-kingdom also, the Wish-to-Goodness distinguishes 
the soul. Apparently it does, although, admittedly, we are 
limited to mere outward observation; yet, especially where our 
domesticated animals are concerned, we pause to think deeper. 
It is interesting to watch a dog, when it comes in contact with 
the awakened soul of man. In the process of its bringing-up it 
receives punishment for its disobedience. When it has done any- 
thing which it was forbidden to do, a cognisance of guilt makes 
itself manifest in the expression it wears, similar to a child in 
a like situation. We might at first be tempted to imagine that it 
was fear which gives vent to such expression in the dog's mien, 
as its powers of understanding, in applying, albeit unconsciously, 
the laws of causality, no doubt prophesies the consequences. But, 
when we then experience, how a good-natured dog can be 



229 



induced to become obedient, less through punishment and 
reward, than through praise, and still the signs of a bad consc- 
ience are manifest, even when its disobedience is not punished, 
we are obliged to admit that in the dog a wish to be good most 
certainly exists; it is identical with the wish of its master. This 
behaviour also is similar to the child's. Therefore, there is 
justification in assuming that this trend is innate in the dog, 
that means to say, innate in the subconscious animal, and, in 
the above mentioned case, is awakened to life in having come 
in close contact with the already awakened and more conscious 
soul of man. 

In the lower species already, the first beginnings of a second 
still more sublime wish of the Immortal-Will are manifested, 
even more distinctly than the Wish-to-Goodness is. In man, 
however, it was felt for the first time consciously; this was, when 
distinct pleasure was born at the sight of form, colour and 
movement, and when sounds, harmonies und rhythms caught 
his ear. Man has called this wishful trend of the innate Will 
within him, the wish for the beautiful. The powers of his 
intellect have attempted vainly to define what it is. Beauty is 
circumscribed, diverse expressions are chosen to describe what 
it is; harmony, rhythm, the harmony-of-form and-contents and- 
melody are often spoken of. Equal to the case of goodness, he is 
able to recount innumerable things which mean either beauty or 
ugliness to him, but the definitions of the beautiful which he 
puts forth in the overestimation of his reasoning-powers are 
similar to his definitions of what is good; they are nothing else 
than mere phrases. And in our day, the good as well as the 
beautiful have sunk so low as to remain but mere talk. In as 
much then as all this means that goodness and beauty are only 
capable of being inwardly lived (erlebt), it also implies that 
each individual lives the keenness of these wishes in a very 
divergent manner. In each one of us an inner incorruptible voice 



230 



decides what is beautiful according to that degree of the divine 
wish which each of us has developed in his soul; and if the 
kind of beauty before us is satisfying that inner-call, it is 
appeased, if not, it is discontented, so that we are justified when 
we call it our 'beauty-conscience*. 

If, in the performance of religious ceremonies, scope for 
expansion has been granted to the Wish-to-Beauty and emphasis 
laid on its value, as was the case with the Greeks, it goes without 
saying, that beauty's realisation is profounder, and its influence 
of a more vital nature, than the case is when a religion is 
indifferent or even hostile to beauty, as for instance, Christianity 
has proved itself to have been. The beauty-conscience is just as 
unreliable as the good and bad conscience is. In the cultivated 
it is like the delicate construction of a seismograph, while in the 
obtuse it is a very clumsy and heavy thing indeed. Moreover, 
it manifests a diversity, not only in its choice of what is beauti- 
ful, but in most cases the beauty-conscience of the cultivated 
stands in stark oppisition to the beauty-conscience of primitive 
natures. 

We have noted already how the Wish-to-Beauty, albeit some- 
times dormant, exists in every visible-thing (in aller Erschei- 
nung). As we dwelt on the Darwinian Evolution Theory, it 
will be remembered how easy it was for us to emphasize a fact 
constituting our cognisance, which is; the Wish-to-Beauty has 
played a tremendous part in the existence of all living things. In 
so far as the selfpreservation instinct could make allowance for, 
the choice of the form in which everything was able to manifest 
itself was left to the Wish-to-Beauty, and in the existence-struggle 
beauty sacrificed to the instinct of self-preservation as little of 
its display as possible. And when we come to look at the visible- 
scene, in comprehension of ist uniformity, we are not amazed 
to find all the ugly and clumsy corporeal forms obsolete to-day, 
and that the main cause of this was not the helplessness they 



manifested in the struggle-for-life. Indeed, beauty's unconscious 
zeal for harmony with the surroundings which is so apparent 
in every visible-thing (alien Erscheinungen) is of such magnifi- 
cence, that animal and plant forms, seen in the landscape, appear 
amazingly in tune with one another, and just as we should wish 
them to be. But, not only in the unconscious form, visible to 
the eye, does beauty care to manifest itself; we can trace in the 
animal-kingdom its first beginnings to consciousness. Here we 
are reminded of a certain story told by the Italian Beccari in the 
book of his travels. This book gained its fame through the 
interest of the public which the Darwinian sexual-breeding had 
awakened. Among the birds-of-paradise which are distinguished 
through the brightness of their feathers (The male-bird has a 
brighter colouring than the female has; he can afford it as he 
is less important for the maintenance of the kind than the 
female is) there is an insignificant black and brown kind of bird 
called, the Amblyornis Inornata, the male of which builds a 
kind of love-garden (a larger place strewn with sand with which 
he is occupied in decorating with bright-hued stones and 
coloured-berries.) He does this apparently in the hope of 
pleasing the female. But his trouble can only be successful if the 
female is able to appreciate the beauty of the little love-garden. 
Another thing corroborating this fact is the pleasure, female 
birds take in listening at certain times to the calling of the 
male. The results of ardent study have left no doubts that the 
female, who must be wooed to be gained, grows excited when 
the male-bird is calling at breeding-time. Now, that the Wish- 
for-Beauty, in its first beginnings, is closely connected with the 
instinct for reproduction, these two facts clearly show. Thus 
then, by the grace of this instinct, the animal is raised to the 
level of a higher being, in that it becomes oblivious of the 
struggle-for-life for a while; its sexual-passion of its own accord, 
brings joy of the beautiful in its wake. 



After this, it will surely not amaze us to learn in viewing 
man's development, that the first awakening of a conscious 
Wish-for-Beauty (for instance when for the first time joy 
awakened at the sounds of music) was connected with minne. 
Later, music became attached to the emotions aroused by war, 
when the battle-song was born. From these two springs, the 
spiritualised*) development of music originated. Now it can be 
said that, in primitive times, the conception of beauty consisted 
of the impression which the one sex made on the other, in that 
it was capacitated to awaken the mating-wilL The variety of 
glass- jewellery which the savages like to wear put us strongly 
in mind of the little love garden of the colibri, the 'taste* and 
effects of both being on the same level, with the exception, that 
the little male-bird lays the bright coloured stones at the feet of 
the little female, because it is not in his power to decorate her 
as the savage man can decorate his wife! 

Having once risen above this one time spring, the Wish-to- 
Beauty on its way to a spiritualised development releases itself 
more and more from every function serving to the maintenance 
of life. 

What a mighty step forward towards the liberation from the 
finite and conditional did that moment signify, when, for the 
very first time in the history of man, a certain object caught 
the eye of one of those old human ancestors of ours, and joy 
flooded his being, albeit his gaze and smile were still of the dull 
unconscious kind. A mighty thing, indeed, when it was happen- 
ing for the very first time, that a human being became aware of 
beauty and was capacitated to fix his attention on an object or 
living thing, not because his sexual-instinct was being roused, 
nor because it had anything to do with his struggle-for-exist- 
ence, but simply because of its beauty. At that event something 

* Here I recommend my book entitled "The Recuperation of Minne" which is a 
corrected edition of "Erotical Rebirth". 



happened to the dull disinterested brute-mind, which hitherto 
had been merely capable of perceiving what was of danger to 
it, edible things, or things otherwise of use, that awakened a 
will, potent enough to concentrate attention. Perchance in that 
sublime moment, that ancient ancestor of ours bore that look of 
exaltation which we are accustomed to see in the face of a man, 
who, having released himself from the petty problems attached 
to the struggle-for-life, has given himself up to the fulfilment of 
one of these unique wishes. Yet rare and fugitive must such 
experiences at that time have been! Life being so full of danger, 
there was no time for looking at the beauty of objects which 
were useless in the struggle-for-existence! There is something 
touching in the barrenness which marks those first beginnings 
of soul-life, in as much as all the grand artistic impulses of later 
higher cultural-life can be traced in their origin to these tiny 
beginnings. Stronger than these emotions of pleasure which the 
sight of beauty had caused must those first overwhelming emot- 
ions in the soul-life of primitive man have been which drove 
him, by means of a sharp stone implement, to make shy attempts 
to copy in sand or stone the beauty of the forms before him; to 
make, as Schopenhauer has termed it, a visible manifestation of 
his soul-life in its wish for the beautiful. Gradually man's soul 
became habituated to the trend of such kind of wishes which 
finally exercised a refining influence on his struggle-for-existence. 
He started to 'beautify' all the implements, used in his daily 
toils, in tracing on them all those graceful forms with which he 
had become so enraptured. Thus appeared the origin of all our 
sublime works of art. But reason, in its calamitous labours, could 
not fail to couple the Wish-to-Beauty to the principle-of-utility, 
in the same manner as already had been done with the trend-to- 
goodness, and it began to argue: As the soul-life of man was 
rendered so peculiarly unencumbered with the desires and 
struggles-of-existence when his sense of beauty was being satis- 



234 



fied, the longing for beauty in his soul must surely come from 
another and better world where naturally the spirits or demons 
abided. Now, all those, belonging to those races whose 'prime 
religion* consisted of a fear-pervaded soul-cult, were naturally 
overcome again with the fear of demons when confronted with 
beauty which in the first instance had been a source of such 
untainted joy and had been the means of the first ornaments 
originating. Reason began whispering that those primitive works 
of art and tracings must serve a certain purpose. It followed that 
they were put into the service of the soul-cult. The ornaments 
were considered to be charms which were effective in excorcising 
the spirits, and soon they were used as charms which dispelled 
the fear of demons. The other kind of races, on the other hand, 
whose wont it was to encounter death, and the blows of fate 
with a greater composure, and in whom the divine called forth 
respectful wonder more than fear, interwove beauty more closely 
into their religious conceptions, although not in such measure 
as they did it with the Wish-to-Goodness. And in as much as 
the folks and races differed one from another, the commingle- 
ment of beauty with religion was also different both in the 
measure and manner it was used, as well as the nature of its 
kind; but all the salvation-creeds alike gave in general less signi- 
ficance to the Wish-for-Beauty. To the Wish-for-Goodness more 
importance was attached. This brought one great advantage 
with it which was, that the Wish-to-Beauty escaped a long time 
from being ridden by the f anatism of practicability which would 
have been to its own confusion and distortion. It was able to 
experience a grander exfoliation, as the sublime works-of-art 
which were created in the heyday times of Nordic cultures give 
witness to. Contrary to the Wish-to-Goodness, it was not 
assumed of beauty that it was a means wherewith to gain 
immortal life, but it was always bound up, nevertheless, in a 
great measure with the sentiments of religious awe and was 



indeed the adequate means of rendering an exalted manifestation 
of this, so that, whenever man dared at all to represent the 
"Divine", "Beauty" became its distinguishing mark. This 
accounts for the fact that religious emotions became a mighty 
impulse to artistic creation. The Godhead never monopolised 
beauty as it did goodness, but it could never be divorced from 
this wish, as it was taken to be the sublimation of everything 
that was beautiful. In that a communion took place between 
the beauty-wish and the sentiments of religious awe, a most 
unique transformation came to life which is best described in the 
word 'exalted', and which found its sublimest expression in the 
Nordic cultures; in the Gothic architecture and Sebastian Bach's 
music. 

Accordingly, man's reverence for the myth reveals itself in 
his expression of beauty. Now let us see how the myth for its 
part treated that Wish for Beauty. All the religious conceptions 
of the Greeks, as well as the ideas revealed in the Socratic- 
Philosophy, give clear evidence of the value which these set on 
beauty. It was considered akin to the Wish-to-Goodness, and as 
such, one of the commandments which the Godhead had given 
to man. Other religions, again, professed the opposite belief. In 
the Vedas, the sacred books of the Indians, it can be found that 
man is warned against beauty, as being the cause through which 
man might succumb to the powers of "Maya" or illusion, 
although a strong sense of beauty and love for everything beauti- 
ful is revealed in the legends and parables of Jishnu Krischna, 
especially in the legend concerned with the birth of the first man 
and woman, called "Adima and Heva". These are to be found 
again, but alas, stripped of all their beauty, in the Bible which 
was the work of Jewish writers who stole the Indian legends 
for this purpose. 

A great indifference in regard to the Wish-of-Beauty is 
noticeable in primitive Christianity and in the Scriptures of the 



2)6 



Old-Testament, so that development of any kind can hardly be 
expected here, and, in effect, religious-architectural and picto- 
rial-art which arose in the course of the development in occident- 
al-culture is nowhere to be found. The Wish-to-Beauty was 
bound to gain some significance in 'occidental* Christianity, and 
sometimes it was considered as being a thing of goodness and 
sometimes not. For instance, if by any means it awakened minne, 
it was called bad, for the rest it bore little or no significance, as 
was the case exactly in primitive Christianity. The exception 
became the rule however, whereever the yearning of the Nordic 
Christians for the God-living native to them manifested itself, 
in that a creative evolution of Christianity took place, and works 
of art appeared, albeit still in the garb of Christianity which 
expressed the Nordic conception of God and beauty ideals' 1 "). 
The Wish-to-Beauty was given then full swing, but also merely 
because it served in the glorification of the church and was 
pleasing to the eyes of God. Thus it came about that the beauty 
conscience of man became so peculiarly moulded; for it was 
continually swayed by the religious conceptions of the Christ- 
ian churches and was pounded as well with their conscience 
of good and evil, although alas ! in a totally different sense to 
the ancient Greeks. Therefore, we should like to repeat; beauty 
was considered evil and disgusting, when it appeared in 'sex', 
indifferent and of little significance when manifested in lay 
works of art, but received great approval when its function was 
to aid in the glorification and transformation of Christianity. 
Thus then, as long as the Christian myth could maintain its 
inexorableness, beauty could develope. It attained such a height 
as to be of a veritable creative potency, in as much as the men- 
of-genius among the occidental peoples of culture laboured 



* Thus it happened that the "House of God" became so transformed. The Gothic-Dom 
(Cathedral) was once again the "Hallowed Grove" of our ancestors, and the Jews of the 
Old and New Testament became Nordic figures. (See "The Soul of the Human Being" 
chapt. "Subconsciousness". 



untiringly in their work of transformation. Christian legends 
were turned into things of beauty which, curiously enough, were 
so remarkably bare of any traces of beauty in themselves. 

It was so it happened, that such an absurd contradiction could 
come to life among the Christian peoples of the earth, by which 
is meant that the stupendous artistic works, such as music, archi- 
tecture and painting were created merely for the benefit of a 
religious belief which itself never once dreamed of awakening 
or nourishing any inclination for the beautiful in the breasts of 
its adherents. Therefore it can hardly be amazing to find grand 
music sounding in beautiful cathedrals, while the worshippers 
who are accustomed to kneel in prayer in them are remarkably 
devoid of a longing for beauty, obviously blind to the very 
existence of the works of art around them. The majority are 
there merely to offer prayers and sacrifices in the hope of 
appeasing the demons, they are so much in fear of. Their over- 
laden altars give witness to their stunted beauty conscience! 
How unlike this the Greeks were! Art of its own virtue meant 
to them the culmination of conscious life which again was the 
fulfilment of their desire. Inspite of the limits, already mentioned 
which were set to art, the plenitude of creative energy which is 
manifested in the art of the Middle-ages gives us an insight into 
facts pregnant with significance. When we compare this period 
to the 20th century we are shocked at the barrenness of creative 
potency which the Darwinian period exhibits, more so, when we 
bear in mind that the artist, living in the Darwinian period, 
was given the chance of reproducing everything he deemed right, 
as well as choosing in its minutest detail any style, without 
having to borrow from a preceeding one. After this we are 
obliged to conclude that the reign of Darwinism was a mighty 
unproductive one. The explanation for it is simple enough. God- 
living is essential should artistic work ever fructify into achieved 
facts. In this respect even an alien faith can drive the artist, as 



238 



one might say, to labour of his own accord in a work of trans- 
formation, whereas a sober matter-of-fact materialism does such 
infinite harm, in that it absolutely sterilises the soul. Now, when 
we speak of "God-living" (Gotterleben), we are not thinking of 
any dogmatic belief, nor any special religious work among the 
works of art influenced by it, neither have we forgotten how 
appallingly fettered and distorted Nordic art was during its 
plenitude in the middle-ages. Nevertheless, if materialism is 
allowed to stifle God-living, the result will be an activity of 
mere talents with a paucity of ideas. (Each Folk's own Song 
to God.) 

As we have already mentioned, everything else which came 
in touch with the Wish-to-Beauty remained also (through the 
influence which Christian teaching exercised) at a very low 
stage of development. This explains why so little beauty has 
been realised in the week-a-day-life among the cultural peoples 
professing Christianity. One might indeed shudder at the 
ugliness, prevailing in our times, after having once had a glance 
at the beauty which must have prevailed in the every day life 
of our ancestors, who lived in prehistoric times; (to which fact 
the treasures hidden in graves, especially those of the bronze- 
period, have given ample witness to.) 

Besides these two longings of the Immortal-Will which we 
have just spoken of, and which we have thought good to call the 
Wish-to-Goodness and the Wish-to-Beauty, there exists some- 
thing else in the breast of man, which one might think of as 
being a special kind of curiosity. It was this curiosity which 
drove man on in his search for the connecting-links existing in 
the visible scene (Erscheinungswelt) around him, and which, 
when observed in its first beginnings, might easily be mistaken 
for the instinct of self-preservation; for in the proceedings of 
self-preservation, it was often essential to be aware of the causal- 
coherency underlying all objects. For instance, how often could 



danger be averted through the knowledge, man possessed of the 
principles ruling his environment. Have we not already seen 
that it was just this which circumstanced the stage of under- 
standing to evolve into reason? (S. Above). Surely the endea- 
vours were both useful and sensible which were undertaken in 
order to discover the laws governing the elements, the life 
conditions of the enemy and the laws underruling disease; for 
the knowledge which might be gained of these, helped greatlv 
to facilitate the struggle-for-existence! And what value did 
research-activity gain, when, by its due, the will of the gods 
could be defined! It was due to this wish existing in the breast 
of man, that, in order to obtain aid in the struggle-for-life, the 
stars, the flight of the birds, the voice of the wind were all 
interrogated. The more powerful this instinct of curiosity 
became developed in the breasts of the rarer and nobler-livers, 
and the range of research more extensive as a consequence, and 
knowledge accumulated, the more obvious it became that this 
curiosity-instinct in man had then little or nothing to do with 
the struggle-for-life. Indeed, the greater the bulk of knowledge 
grew which man handed down to the next generation as the 
treasures of his experience, the easier it appeared for this wish 
to divorce itself from matters concerned in the struggle-for-a- 
living. And it is curious to note, how man's impulse for know- 
ledge has made him irresistibly search the path of truth, heed- 
less of the fact that there was no likelihood of his research ever 
bringing him a single benefit; on the contrary infinite harm and 
even death; a thing which has so often happened during times 
of cruel persecution which the Christians raged against the 
scientific-researchers. History is witness to the fact that many 
a scientist has been capable of sacrificing the strong impulse of 
self-preservation to this special wish. In fact, for its sake, they 
were all willing to die! 

Let us not be startled to find this wish, contrary to the other 



240 



two, still entirely devoted, in its first beginnings, to the course 
of usefulness. Altogether, it is interpenetrated with reason in 
a much closer degree than the other wishes are. While the Wish- 
to-Goodness is the factor which determines our actions, and the 
Wish-to-Beauty the valuing factor in our perceptions, this wish 
is the pilot of our thoughts, and, as such, is closely attadied to 
reason. The laws of "logic" are the implements by means of 
which the Wish-to-Truth achieves its fulfilment; but by no 
means does it depend solely on the support of these. On the 
contrary, the awareness of its cognising powers are keenest when 
they are derived from the inner eye; that spiritual-experience 
we call intuition, or the creative vision. It goes without saying, 
therefore, that the cognising powers relative to the Wish-for- 
Truth will never be able to gain that stage of supreme exfoli- 
ation to which they are entitled, until the potencies of reason 
are fully developed which implies that keenness of intellect, 
clarity of judgement are required, as well as power of intuition. 
Should the latter be highly developed, and the powers of 
intellect and judgement dull and stunted, the results can be 
amazing; for the profundest knowlegde will be found to go 
hand-in-hand with the most useless of fallacies! In the study and 
research of the laws governing the world of appearances (Welt 
der Erscheinung) less harm is done, if the powers of intuition 
are less developed, for potential reasoning powers are requisite 
in this case. This, by the way, explains why men of logic are 
invariably attracted to the study of natural-science, but also for 
the danger incurred when insufficient estimation is tolled to the 
grains of truth which are born of intuition. For this danger 
means nothing less than the being stranded in sheer materialism 
(in the sense of natural-science), of-course. 

A better possibility is given to define the Wish-to-Truth, than 
is given to define beauty or goodness. This is on account of the 
close association which the Wish-to-Truth has with reason. When 



241 



the question is put, "What is truth"? We are justified in saying: 
Truth is the identity of conception and reality. 

Hence it can be summarised, that the Wish-to-Truth, in order 
to satisfy its longing to penetrate into the inner nature which 
exists in all things, (Wesen aller Dinge) is the desire to collect 
and possess conceptions, as well as form new ones, which are 
completely identical with reality. However, this longing for 
knowledge which mentality affords is not made content with 
the cognisance which concerns the laws of the visible-scene 
(natural science) and the inner nature of life (philosophy) only; 
it wants more. It is keenly alive to know if the conceptions 
which we and others have formed of soul are identical with 
reality. It strives, therefore, for knowledge of Self and 
'genuineness* as standing in contradiction to hypocrisy and 
deception, and above all sincerity towards others in word and 
deed. This latter reveals how the divine Wish-to-Truth meets 
the Wish-to-Goodness. At a very early period, already, emphasis 
was laid on this last mentioned part-effect of the Wish for Truth; 
sincerity as being a simple duty which the laws-of-the land 
demand. In the daily-struggle-for-life it worked effectively 
against cunning and artifice. It is subtle enough to be awakened 
very early in the breast of the little child, and, when supported 
by moral-instruction, will leave an indefatigable imprint of 
what is good and evil on the conscience. Intellectually speaking, 
however, there is little scope allowed for truth, as the religions 
are averse to scientific facts for the sake of their bigotted dogmas. 
For this reason, it finds its culmination in the intellectual 
workings of the brain which belong to the very few only. And 
these men alone have what can be rightly thought of as a truth- 
conscience, in the same sense as there is a beauty-conscience and 
good-conscience. Now, for example, when we are taken up 
with the study and research of science, or may be, we are 
concerned with the examination of our own conscience, or we 



242 



arc testing the diarakter of our fellowmen, an indubitable 
uneasiness will take hold of us as soon as our logical thinking 
is induced to be distracted from its own unswerving line, in 
that we might have given ourselves up to the desires of affect, 
body-instincts, or any other kind of impulses, such as religious 
hopes and desires. The sharpest pricks which a highly sensitive 
truth-conscience can receive, however, is when it has been 
tempted to sacrifice an ingenious cognition to reason, simply 
because this believed itself capable of judging in matters belong- 
ing to realms, where it had no right to intrude itself. What bliss 
the truth-conscience will feel, when, on the other hand, in the 
act of thinking, the drive for truth gains the victory over all 
profane wishes. 

The Christians took on a specially hostile attitude towards 
the Wish-to-Truth when manifested in the work of research. 
For this reason, we meet so many in whom the Wish for Truth 
in this respect is unbelievably stunted. The upholders of the 
myths and dogmas thought fit to uphold truth as a virtue only 
where general speech and actions come in question. Little interest 
was taken in the drive for truth in matters of scientific-research 
as long as it did not collide with the myths. Yet the greater the 
steps were which reason put forth along the path of knowledge, 
and the nearer it came to the knowledge of nature itself, the 
more frequent were the collisions against the prevailing dogmas, 
and as a consequence, the hostility, hatred and persecution from 
Christianity followed. Hence, the wish for knowledge concern- 
ing truth was more often and more bitterly combatted in our 
epoch of culture, than ever the Wish-for-Beauty was in the most 
fanatical times of ascetic ideals! In itself, this fact is comprehen- 
sible. Every religious myth, at the time of its origin, corresponded 
with the knowledge prevailing at the time. But when the myth 
is still upheld in the centuries following as being immutable 
religious truth, as it happened in the case of Christianity, the 



collision cannot be avoided which inevitably happens when the 
knowledge gained in the search for truth has considerably 
widened und deepened. The more the human intellect became 
enlightened through the knowledge which preceeding generations 
bequeathed to it, the greater enemy it became of "Religion", and 
indeed the powers of reason have, so far already, sucked away 
the vital power of all "Religions". Observe then that the Wish- 
to-Truth was treated more strictly than the Wish-to-Beauty. It 
was allotted but conditionally to the row of virtues. For 
instance, as long as it made no attempts to shatter any dogmas, 
all was well. But woe to it, if this did happen. It was then 
declared to belong to the 'works of the devil' and suffered the 
same fate as the 'beautiful witch': It was burnt alive. Now, if 
the distortion of the other two wishes had suffered through the 
limitations imposed on them, in that they were made to serve 
purposes and conditions alien to their nature, the maltreatment 
of the Wish-to-Truth, in comparison, was appalling indeed. 
Everywhere it was oppressed by the commandments in practice 
which persisted in implicit faith to the dogmatic creeds of 
Christianity. And as long as the oppressive exercitation of the 
church reigned, in that these dogmatic creeds were compelled 
to be accepted as inexorable truth, it is obvious, that the 
Immortal- Will in its trend for actual truth could achieve its 
clearest state of consciousness in the few men-of-genius only. 
On account of its close association with the cognising powers 
of reason, the Wish-to-Truth, even in the garb of its faintest 
beginnings, was barred being present in the animal-kingdom. 
With the Wish-of-Beauty, the matter was different, for the 
colibri-bird and so many songsters have given witness to the 
fact of its existence in the animal-world, although but faintly 
traceable. That will which is ruled by the self-preservation 
instinct, whose function it is to distinguish the useful objects 
from the harmful ones, may certainly not be mistaken for the 



244 



Will for Truth. Yet, nevertheless, just as we were bold enough 
to state that every living thing is as beautiful to the extent, its 
own selfpreservation-will can afford, we can also state, that 
every living thing is 'genuine', that is, rings true, as long as the 
struggle-for-life permits. The practices of artifice and cunning 
are only put to use in cases of strict emergency. Animals, given 
to pretence, are the exceptions as well as really ugly animals are. 
In the animal-kingdom, as seen from the human point of view, 
the brutal and selfish side of life's struggle is tackled with the 
slightest pretence of hiding purposes. The sexual-wishes in plant 
and animal-world come likewise quite truly. Their expression, 
therefore, must be 'genuine'. In short, in all things living there 
is manifested, as being a rule, a conformity of motive and 
behaviour. Only in times of danger do exceptions happen to 
this rule. Hence, after this, we are justified in saying, that in the 
unconscious components of the soul of all the living species, 
truth's-trend finds its adequate expression in perceptible behav- 
iour which is the true reflexion of the will-impulses which was 
its cause. And now let uns turn to see how man, in that he was 
graced with reason, has painfully deviated from the path of 
truthfulness. In him but a fragment of the Wish-to-Truth has 
been left; it is found in the labours of his scientific-research. 
This was due, mainly, to the peculiar way, man was swayed 
under the state of his own confused moral-conceptions together 
with his ignorance of the history-of-evolution and the laws 
governing the soul-life, all of which, in fine, compelled him to 
sheerest absurdities. 

Although it would be a most fascinating and instructive study 
to compare the fate which happened to the three wishes of the 
divine Will in the different races, religions and developing stages 
of a certain cultural-epoch, we must here refrain from doing so 
and choose, out of the many, a few details only. Thus then, we 
first remind the reader of the fate which the Wish-to-Truth 



245 



suffered at the hand of Christianity together with the Indian 
origin of its contents. Although the Indian-myth, when con- 
fronted with the knowledge of nature we are in possession of 
to-day, sounds impossible as well as improbable, and the Theo- 
sophical attempts, shallow and unnatural, when these made the 
legends of Krishna and Buddha look less like those of the Old 
Testament; the fact, notwithstanding, cannot be escaped, that 
the creeds of Krishna and Buddha are far superior to the 
distortion which Jewish plagiarism made out of them. Their 
superiority lies in the fact that so much value was set on the 
will making for knowledge which all the creeds contained in the 
Vedas as well as those belonging to the Indian period of decad- 
ence so clearly reveal. Here, a will prevails which ardently 
and unswervingly searches for the truth concerning the ultimate 
mysteries of life; this also accounts for the traces of the highly 
developed philosophical sense which can be found in them. The 
ignorance of nature which they exhibit, beseeching almost in its 
helplessness, makes merely a contrasting note. And among all 
this childlike ignorance of the most elementary laws-of-nature, 
and, among all the confusion, caused by the primitive notions 
of cause and effect, a remarkably strong will runs rampant in 
the one endeavour to grasp the mysteries of life and death. It 
seems as if every other interest diminished besides this one. Even 
the interest in their own personal fate seemed of no consequence, 
compared to the longing, they felt to solve at last that what 
they deemed to be the profoundest of all mysteries. There issued 
from this that second stately and enthralling characteristic, 
cognate to that of our own ancestors which manifested itself in 
the being free from the petty habit of bewailing one's fate in 
the greed for happiness, a habit, namely, which helps to make 
the demeanour of man so undignified when fate confronts him. 
The worst what could befall the Indian was not so much the 
danger of falling into a state of sin, as falling into the danger 



246 



of a state of error, that means to say, not so much the failure in 
the endeavour for goodness as in the endeavour for truth. And, 
while the Christian believer stoops to degrade his Immortal- 
Will in associating it with his desire for happiness in the state 
of "Eternal Bliss" in a life-hereafter, the ancient Indians (our 
kindred ancestors) (Blutsbriider) longed for eternal life merely 
for the sake of the solution, they hoped to gain, concerning the 
ultimate mysteries of life. But now there had never been any 
cause given to the Indians to make them feel hostile towards 
the Wish-to-Truth. The visible-world (Ersdieinungswelt) the 
Hindu had been taught to despise as being "Maya", illusion, so 
that his interest was never sufficiently awake to make any 
scientific study of it. He dedicated his thoughts to philosophy 
alone. And so it came about that his myth was not doomed to 
suffer the harm which the knowledge of truth always brings in 
its wake. The Indian-culture was left singularly unacquainted 
with the progress of natural-history, so that the interpenetration 
of the twofold wishes with the desire for immortality was each 
in its way of a very divergent kind. 

In the course of time a change came to pass in the fate of 
these wishes. Gradually but surely they divorced themselves 
from the clumsy principles of self-interest. This could be 
expected from the nature of our folk whose fighting-spirit in the 
course of freedom and truth no cruelty nor coercion of any 
kind could kill. It makes up for much to notice how the asso- 
ciation of the Wish-to-Goodness to principles of self-interest 
which is everywhere to be found in the "Holy Scriptures" of 
the Christians have nevertheless given way to more refined 
intentions. It is quite an easy matter to follow the traces of those 
attempts which the Christians made to release the Wish-to- 
Goodness from principles of self-interest; the 'obligatory* 
Immortal-Will was gradually loosened, and finally it was only 
associated with the optional wish-to-happiness. Within the 



precincts of the church the crude principles of self-interest which 
were followed in the works of charity are particularly noticeable 
in the prelutherian times. They surpass even the bargains which 
Jahweh in the Old-testament was wont to make. For instance, 
with a collection of good deeds as his capital a man was not 
only capable of delivering himself from a state of sin, but also 
of buying "Bliss Eternal" for himself. There was even a chance 
still for the dead; if these had missed the chance of making such 
bargains while alive, their time of punishment could be short- 
ened for them through others buying masses said for the dead. 
There was even a 'balance sheet*, and when a surplus of good 
works happened, as in the case of the 'saints', this was put to 
the credit of debtors. That the principle-of-utility ruled the 
Wish-to-Goodness could surely not be more candidly manifested 
than it is here. Therefore in nowise could it find echo in the soul 
of the German. Accordingly, in the 16th century, it happened 
to the great joy of Luther, to discover words in the Bible which 
seemed to condemn this barter in good works. He thought them 
adequate enough to conceal at least the intention, if not get rid 
of it altogether. To be delivered from the oppression of such an 
undignified misconstruction worked its wonders on Luther. 
"Man shall not be judged according to his works, but according 
to his faith*. These were the words Luther had discovered in the 
Bible. Paul had taught that eternal bliss could never be gained 
through the practice of good works alone, because no matter 
how ardent the desire to be good in the breast of man was and 
no matter how great his penitence was, his guilt remained still 
greater and could never find redemption. Only the grace of 
God, and the belief in the redeeming power of the death of 
Christ brought salvation. Now, a doctrine which taught that 
grace could be obtained through the innocent death of a son of 
God was not liable to liberate the trend towards goodness from 
the purpose-fraught-thought, much less be adequate enough to 



248 



be the regulator as the world of conceptions contained in the 
German God-Cognisance and its morals would like it; but it 
was capacitated to prompt goodness if this virtue kept free of 
the spirit of gross bargaining; the spirit so apt to make the virtue 
of goodness its own distortion. 

The Wish-to-Goodness also became gradually less entangled 
with the wish-to-happiness; that happiness which meant the 
eternal state of bliss hereafter being the exception. According to 
the Old Testament though, there is still another promise of 
happiness which can happen to a man before his death; it is 
the reward for his being good. In this case, God is supposed to 
reward the good deeds with long life and well being. The 
persistent contradictions happening, however, eventually caused 
the belief in such a crude doctrine of reward as this was to be 
shattered, and within the course of centuries it experienced a 
gradual refinement. Better men, by the very virtue of their own 
sensitive nature live naturally in accordance with the nature 
(Wesen) of the divine wishes. They will revolt at the notion of 
attaching any intentions to the Wish-to-Goodness. Only a very 
spiritualised state of happiness is able to smuggle itself into 
their souls. The following words give utterance to it: Do good 
to gain inward peace; the state of mind which brings joy and 
happiness with it. Do good to others also, that their happiness 
be greater; then the joy of your own soul will become greater. 
Evil deeds cause discontent and trouble to the soul. Now, this 
doctrine was capable of finding its justification in the minds of 
good men from a twofold fact; first, the nature of their own 
soul-life confirmed it, and secondly the pricks of a bad conscience 
were indeed likely to trouble their soul! 

No matter what our assumption of the Voice of God* looks 
like; be it in a strictly dogmatical sense or pantheistical sense, 
one thing is certain: Our own personal experiences give witness 
to the fact, that after an evil deed the mind is troubled, and 



249 



after a good one it is peaceful. Then we 'rest in God', or we 
are 'At peace with God', and how could this state of mind, in 
comparison to the opposed, not be called happiness? Here is an 
interpretation which conceals intention and purpose the most 
softly of all. No wonder, that the Christian, in his dogmatical 
belief, is not the only one to whom this interpretation appeals 
and allows his thoughts to be dominated by it. The majority of 
mankind are under its sway. Therefore, it can be expected to 
live in the minds of men for a very long time to come yet. What 
a comforter it is in misfortune, and how adequate it is to still 
the yearning for happiness. "Oh may the evil-doer carry the 
victory in the struggle-for-life!" (This is generally the case). 
"His happiness can be but apparent, for in reality he must be 
suffering torments caused by the state of his bad conscience. My 
own peaceful state of mind and inner happiness I would never 
be induced to exchange for his apparent good luck!" 

How praiseworthy this doctrine seems to appear at first. It 
excels everything else in that the wish to be good is but so finely 
fraught with intentions and purpose! It is indeed the able com- 
forter in the disappointment which overtakes us when we are 
obliged to stand aside for the happiness (even in spiritual 
matters,) of the man less worthy of it. I suppose it will require 
a very long time and much courage before mankind will be able 
to confess to the truth. In every case he will have first to stand 
his moral conceptions being shaken to their very foundations. 
The truth he is obliged to face is this: In the first place it is 
contrary to fact, whenever it be assumed, that the morally 
unscrupulous, that means to say, all those whom fate favours 
with victory in the general struggle-for-life, (because they have 
laid no moral restraint on themselves in their selfish chase of 
pleasure) are plagued with the qualms of a bad conscience. It 
never persecutes them. On the contrary they enjoy to the full 
their 'peace of soul', albeit it be not the 'peace of God'; they 



250 



are either in peace with mammon, the enjoyments of the table, 
sexuality, or any other idol which they think good to adore 
at the moment. It is a great fallacy (which can strangely confuse 
the minds of men) to believe that the "Erinnies" persecute the 
murderer, or that every criminal is overcome with shame. This 
is not so. As the nature of each conscience differs widely to the 
next one, it issues, that certain deeds are capable of torturing 
that kind of conscience only, quite irrespective of all the other 
kinds, to which they stand in opposition. Hence, a murderer will 
feel qualms of conscience only, when the deed he has just 
committed stands really in opposition to demands of his own 
conscience, or when, through his own initiative or the induce- 
ment of another, he changes on the strength of better reflexion 
the demands of his conscience after the deed is done. Yet the 
fact will always remain that the good man inevitably suffers 
greater in this respect than the bad man does. This is owing to 
the fact that in the good man the Wish-to-Goodness is in a more 
perfect condition, and his conscience-sense highly strung, while 
in the bad man the wish-to be good is stunted and his conscience 
more so. 

As a consequence of this knowledge, we are led naturally to 
reflections bearing on education and the influence it exercises. 
Let us now give our attention to one among the many facts 
which seems to be the most important at the present. The wish- 
to-be-good never can stoop to the wants of man's happiness. 
Therefore, we may not miss saying here to all those striving for 
this wish-fulfilment, (in their endeavours to obtain 'inward 
peace* and happiness), that it would be more to the point, if 
they kept the state of their consciences in as primitive a state 
as possible and not encumber it unnecessarily with the values of 
moral standards; for then at least the chance would be ascertain- 
ed of their living and experiencing, not only 'inward peace', but 
also success in life; moreover, every likelihood also of satisfying 



their greed for wealth, ambitious aims; and all the other desires 
of this world. If men would but try to cognise the truth of what 
we have just been saying, how very near they would be to that 
sublime state, (in their wish to be good,) where purpose is not! 

Notwithstanding all this it cannot be mistaken that the joy, 
which, under circumstances, a group of good actions will afford 
tends most certainly to stiffen the emphasis which is apt to be 
too readily laid on the belief which makes happiness its highest 
object (Eudemonism). The obstinary with which this error has 
been kept up will amaze us no more as soon as we bear in mind 
how the Christian churches have always preached that the 
fulfilment of the Wish-to-Goodness was a surpreme demand of 
morality, not forgetting either that philosophy, especially the 
system of Schopenhauer, has done this even more emphatically. 
In effect, the work of charity which comes from the compassion 
for our fellowmen releases such self-satisfaction generally, as to 
actually surpass the satisfaction which might be expected at the 
experience of our own well-being. This fact serves also as an 
apparent confirmation. Yet, there is still another side to the 
matter. When a man realises, that his work of charity is of no 
avail in eliminating suffering, the strain of his compassionate 
mood will make him suffer so much, that satisfaction at doing 
good pales beside it. And as this is more often the circumstance 
than not, it goes without saying, that the really philanthropic 
man will more often experience pain than joy in his work of 
charity. Other types of men do not suffer at all at the sight of 
their fellow-mens' suffering. These are of the brutally selfish 
kind, who are capable of going so far as to bargain with and 
even make profit out of the misfortunate state of another. 

Although no other doctrine has had such potency to lead 
mankind so near the truth as this Krishna creed of the Indians 
has done, in that the principles of self-interestedness entwined 
with the Wish-to-Goodness were of such a highly spiritualised 



kind, we are obliged to reject it because of its fallacy. Had 
those sacred duties which are so essential, should family, folk 
(Volk) and God in the breast of man be preserved, been made 
part of the contents, the Krishna creed (which the Evangelists 
made use of later) could have been counted to the sublimest of 
all the Indian-legends. The laws governing the preservation of 
folk, family and God in the soul of man, I have treated fully in 
other books. 

Charity is but one of a very small group of attributes effected 
by the Wish-to-Goodness. (Later on we shall find the proof for 
this.) It developed through the influence of a fourth wish which 
awakened to consciousness in the soul of man. It was the spirit 
of this fourth wish which aided in the development of the 
Wish-to-Goodness. By its virtue man's emotions emancipated 
from the mere struggle-for-existence and learned the feelings 
of love towards his neighbour. 

Like his animal-ancestors, man was compelled, originally, to 
depend on himself only in the general-struggle-for-existence. He 
was always surrounded by beings which he either hated, or 
which, at the best, were indifferent to him. Sexual-intercourse 
alone was capable of releasing a will-to-approachment for a few 
fleeting moments. Beyond this there was also the attachment of 
the mother to her young which was of longer duration, of-course. 
By virtue of the greater possibilities of the human-consciousness, 
and also on account of the long beseeching helplessness of the 
off-spring, this maternal attachment developed into mother-love. 
Besides these two, new attachments grew. There sprang up 
feelings of friendship and fellowship. They all owed much, in 
their development, to the three wishes we have already dealt 
with. The greater, however, the wishes of the soul grew in 
power, the more did the soul itself have to suffer. It was the 
wish to apprehend truth which made man recognise that a 



similarity existed between his soul and the soul of his f ellowmen. 
The Wish-to-Goodness was the means of facilitating peace after 
war was over, and the Wish-to-Beauty found satisfaction in the 
peaceful harmony which the intervals during the combat yielded. 
It came natural, that, where the two older approachment-wills 
were already present (sexenthusiasm and love of the brood) a 
man should extend more easily his feelings to others of his kind. 
And so it came about, that, when man became domiciled, the 
feelings of his attachment stretched out to all those who were 
related to him in blood, irrespective of any affinity of a spiritual 
kind. In our days, the majority, actually, are not much farther 
than this primitive stage. And yet, even in those primitive 
times, when, as we have already observed, men were merely 
animated with a spirit of interest towards the beings around 
him who impressed him with hatred or indifference (expect for 
the fleeting moments of sexual-intercourse and ties of rela- 
tionship), men-of -genius lived who apprehended that there was 
a deeper and more diffusing love which took the whole folk 
related in blood into its arms, as well as mankind in general. The 
Indians, who were living at the time when the sin committed 
against the purity of race was doing its deadly work, began to 
preach the redemption doctrines of their Buddha and Krishna. 
They suddenly lost sight of the power which the love of family 
and folk yields in the maintenance of race and taught instead 
that it was a 'virtue* to love all men. The indiscrimination which 
mainly features the 'love your neighbour as yourself in Christ- 
ianity is even still worse in its effects. We must condemn the 
Krishna-creed on account of all the snares concealed in the love 
(without choice) for all men which it preaches, and we must set 
up new tables in its stead. (The Evangelists copied those legends, 
putting Jesus of Nazareth in Krishna's place.) Notwithstanding 
the fact, that this doctrine was powerless to hinder the growth 
of selfishness, (does not the work of charity assure one against 



hell?) it was, on the other hand, capacitated to alleviate much 
pain. 

We are not amazed to find that man could not imagine this 
fourth wish of the will to be other than purpose-fraught. And 
so the usual reward after death is promptly forth-coming. But, 
as it also is the cause of the tremendous conflict which exists 
between the fact of natural death and the wishes of the soul 
being felt more intensely, it is also the cause of the greater 
increase of the yearning innate in the breast of man for the 
eternal bliss which all the myths have promised. For it is exactly 
the feeling of love, we nourish for others which makes the 
separation caused by death so hard to bear and the fact of 
death's inevitability so incomprehensible. How few realise what 
death means until the death of any beloved one compells them 
to face it as a fact. How they still resemble Gilgamesh, although 
unlike him, they are not called upon to wander the long and 
rough way to Utnapishtim in order to receive the answer to 
their anxious inquiries; for Christianity gives them sweet 
comfort; they are told that their beloved dead has only gone 
before them to a place where separation will never take place 
again. Of-course this serves to tighten the dogmatic ties and 
silence the doubts which reason might eventually be putting 
forth. 

Notwithstanding all the stumbling-blocks which religious- 
errors and the habit of attaching purpose to spiritual matters 
put in the way of mankind, that sublime wish, innate in the 
soul of man, experienced in due course a grand exfoliation. But 
an end was put to this, as soon as reason, owing to the progress 
made in the knowledge of nature, destroyed the faith in the 
myth and instead succumbed to materialism in much the same 
way as the "Maya" sense of natural-science. If even religions 
were not immune to the fallacy of harnessing the four sublime 
wishes of the divine Will to the principle-of-utility, although 



they were indeed pervaded with a spirit of belief in the meta- 
physical and approached the mysterious, to a certain extent, 
in a spirit of humility, what can be expected of the Darwinian 
period? Verily, during this period the four wishes were indeed 
honoured with the exalted title 'usefulness' in a broader sense 
of the word and done in a spirit of greater self-consciousness 
and impudence, than ever before. They were confined strictly 
to the principles-of -utility in such a monotonous fashion as the 
Christians had never been able to do. The only two motives 
around which the Darwinian doctrine circles were, first, the 
advantage in the struggle-for-life, and secondly, the utility in 
the interest of the species 'humanity'. On this mean "Pro- 
crustean-bed" the four wishes were stretched out, and although 
it was not an easy task, it was done with zeal, until the four 
wishes were cut down to shape. Narrow-mindedness was never 
slow to nip in the bud the superlative beauty and richness of 
spiritual-life (which we have thought good to call God-living) 
in order to make it fit to the vision of a narrower horizon! 

The task of fitting the Wish-to-Goodness to the Procrustean- 
bed was undertaken lightly in that everything which did not 
belong exactly to the 'social virtues', known as charity, was 
rejected. To this, "Philanthropy" was added after it, also, had 
been cut down to conform with the health and interest of the 
'perpetual species'. 

This, however, did not mean that the august law controlling 
race should be minded, on the contrary; to these materialists 
the word 'species' meant nothing more than that promiscuous 
mass of humankind which they had termed 'humanity' and 
which had seemingly nothing in common with that race-purity 
under the suzerainity of which all the other animate beings 
stood. Thus then, 'philanthropy* and 'charity' meant serving 
humanity, or in other words, promiscuous crowds, and curiously 
enough the Darwinians proclaimed them to be duties towards 



2 5 6 



the preservation of the 'kind'. Men were called upon to sacrifice 
themselves in the interest of the 'perpetual kind* and as the 
'social virtues' found their proper place in this respect, an 
adequate explanation for their appearance in human nature was 
promptly found. It was said, that, within the process of evo- 
lution, these virtues had come mechanically into being through 
the laws ruling natural-selection, in about the same way, it was 
explained, as the claws in the cat-kind appeared, and therefore, 
there could be no more 'wonder' attached to them than there 
was to these. What a good explanation this is indeed! Especially 
when it is scrutinized more closely, for then we are called upon 
to remember all those in whom the Wish-to-Goodness really 
exists in its most glowing positive form. We can observe then, 
how, in the untiring-struggle-for-life, the good ones often fail 
and so have the very least chance of multiplying. And then 
there is another thing which evidently is forgotten, and that is, 
that the 'social instincts' constitute only a part of the Wish-to- 
Goodness and as such are far from exhausting the field of philan- 
thropy; that, moreover, the desire, inherent in the breast of man 
to love his own kindred folk and race, is the potency in the 
prime which upholds the maintenance of the 'species'. And it 
might be added, that the unpretentious ness which seems to 
characterise the apostles of the above mentioned creed is indeed 
itself a cultural marvel which is unprecedented. 

The Wish-to-Beauty seems to present more difficulties. It was 
not such an easy matter to accomodate it into the Procrustean- 
bed of the Darwinians. With all the effects which it manifests 
in the works of art, and the emotions which these cause, it is 
also put, of-course, into the service of the perpetual-kind, but 
its significance is but indirect and therefore subordinate. If a 
comparison might be drawn, it is of less importance than the 
bee's sting; for instance, although it still possesses sufficient value 
as to have been spared being completely eliminated in nature's 



process of selection. A factor on which the greatest value is laid 
is the appeal which beauty makes to sexuality. According to our 
developed sense of beauty, this is its crudest form. But here 
emphasis lies in the fact, that sexual-life is the strongest agent 
in the perpetuation of the immortal-kind. Therefore, from the 
Darwinian standpoint, the Wish-to-Beauty which is not con- 
nected with sex is of much less importance, and when manifested 
in the music of Beethoven or Bach, can only gain sense at 
all, when it affords pleasant intervals of recreation during the 
otherwise very tiring struggle-for-existence. Beauty then is 
given limited rights, for does not recreation invigorate the 
powers of man, so that he is able to serve with renewed strength 
the god which he now calls the perpetual race? This indeed 
seems another good explanation, although the fact is forgotten, 
that in creating and enjoying beauty, mankind can also be 
seduced to a state of indigence and incapacity, and be hindered 
therefore altogether from being able to partake in the practice 
of Social virtue'. 

We can hardly expect to find the Darwinian period intending 
to give such a clear view of the significance of art like I have 
just done. On the contrary, behind the notions of man's ascent 
to superman and progress, attempts were made to conceal their 
paucity of soul-life, allowing, of-course, for the cultural- values 
at any right moment to speak in here and there. Now, these 
conceptions were born of a neccessity, as being the indispensible 
consequences of the Darwinian world-viewpoint, despite the 
fact that its adherents have never had the courage themselves 
to confess to it openly in the light just described. The chemist 
Oswald perhaps is the exception. He confessed openly and 
courageously to the doctrine of mechanical-evolution even to its 
bitter ends. In the discourses he held on Sundays for the benefit 
of the Monistic congregation, he applied, seemingly in all good 
faith, his own doctrine of 'energetics* to the four divine-wishes. 



258 



This indeed is a striking witness of the historical culture of his 
times! Within the course of the Darwinian century these kind 
of conclusions became so taken for granted, that involuntary, 
without any necessity of their being loudly expressed they were 
the determining factors in the valuation of everything. If this 
had not been the case how on earth would those artists, (who 
were not exactly mentally deranged) in calling themselves, 
futurist's, cubists, dadaists and what nots, have taken the impud- 
ence to call their work art, if they had not been already tainted 
with the spirit of the Darwinian judgement which had already 
suffused the world. Consequently, works of art went parallel 
with the needs of man contained in a refreshment room adjoin- 
ing any factory. In order to fulfil their purposes, these had to 
come up or down to the 'taste* of the few or many as the case 
might have happened. Did they succeed in doing this, they 
were sure of being stamped as works of art. It simply required 
anyone or other, albeit he might have had no notions of what 
a conscious god-living was like at all, to proclaim that such 
rubbish 'appealed' to him, and at once it was stamped with the 
hall-mark of 'art*. This meant, in reality, that these 'artistic' 
works had been elevated to the important and useful state of 
functioning as a welcome refreshment in the midst of the 
strenuous struggles of gaining a living! 

The easiest to adapt itself to the Procrustean-bed was the 
wish for knowledge of truth. Natural-science proved its 
importance, and so it was allowed to manifest itself accordingly. 
In effect, the researcher-sense had aided not a little in the 
struggle-for-life. The Wish-to-Truth was granted acknowledge- 
ment because its activity helped to 'save energy' which in the 
words of Oswald was also a gain in an 'ethical' sense. Thus then, 
it was found fit to serve the new god. Again this also appears 
to be a good explanation, but its justification requires one to 
forget, that the potentially strongest Wish for Truth is mani- 



fested in philosophical-research. Now, philosophy was never 
great in alleviating the material burdens imposed on man in his 
struggle-for-existence, much less save 'energy*. It was thought 
to be a 'pity', that so much time had been lost in the work of 
research, when the results were of so little practical use; although 
something was found which could still be said in its favour. It 
was this: The results of research- work might fructuate in the 
future into the achieved facts and so become one day of use 
in the general struggle-for-life. Hence, of their own virtue they 
were not any worthier of more attention than, let us say, the 
colour spots which were the origin of "Mimicry". Has not 
Darwin so ably convinced us that the widespread habit of 
imitating colour which later took place in the animal-world 
originated from these spots through natural selection? This is 
what the Wish-to-Truth looks like from the Darwinian point- 
of-view. It is more than obvious what little scope was given to 
its development, for how often have we been able to observe the 
fact, that, during the Darwinian period, the scientific research- 
ers seemed blind to the most essential truths come to light 
in the study of the evolution-history. They held fast with a sur- 
prising tenacity to any absurdity, simply because it helped them 
in their denial of God. 

Such was the fate then in the 19th and 20th century of those 
sublime wishes which once had been called the "Voice of God". 
After the experience of Darwinism, one might well say how near 
the truth men were, when they used this expression, for, in spite 
of all other facts, (for instance, the abuse of the divine wishes, 
in that they were strictly kept within the limits of man's own 
aprioristicai form of thought which courses through space, time 
and causality) men seemed well aware at least, that the wishes 
had their origin in a 'beyond', where these forms of thought 
were not. 

Verily, they are born in a 'beyond' where cause, space, and 



260 



time are not, for they are exalted far 'beyond* the conditional, 
be it in time, space or causality. Cause they know not. The 
touchstone of wisdom will remain beyond the reach of man, as 
long as he cannot grasp the fact that it is futile to want to 
apprehend the divine-wishes innate within him by the means 
of his reason's potencies, for they are absolutely beyond his form 
of thought. Now, in order to make ourselves intelligible, we 
should like to call these four wishes in future, either by the 
name of "God", "the Divine Wish", or the "Wish-to-Genius". 
We are doing this, in spite of the prevailing fact that the name 
of "God" has been so abused in that the religions always talk 
of a personal God. We are obliged, therefore, to draw a sharp 
line between the achieved fruits of our cognisance, and such 
misconceptions of God, in order to keep us clearly apart, as well 
as we must keep apart from any of those notions relating to 
"Pantheism". The doctrines of Pantheism teach; that God exists 
in man in much the same degree but not more than in the rest 
of nature. From this fact then it must be concluded that man 
can carry no greater responsibility for his actions than to the 
extent of the power which has been given to him. What we 
declare is this: God exists in all things (in aller Erscheinung), 
although the state of God's consciousness in all things varies 
greatly. It was due to Schopenhauer when it became general 
knowledge, that the Will, known to exist in all the animate 
beings, existed also in the inorganic world. Incidently, however, 
Schopenhauer did not give the attention which is due to the four 
divine-wishes. Contrary to Schopenhauer, we recognise that, in 
the existence of just these wishes, the potency lies which enables 
man to live his soul-life. In having perceived the following we 
have even gone further. One of these four divine-wishes, the 
one we have called the Wish-to-Beauty manifested itself visibly, 
although still unconsciously, in the "Inorganic" world already, 
more distinctly in the living beings of the 'organic' world of 



prehuman times, and in a fully conscious state in man, after 
reason had awakened. As the elevated position which man takes 
among all the rest is due exactly to the consciousness of the 
divine wishes, we cannot help saying, that from a philosophical 
point of view, those men only can be considered to belong to 
the Hyperzoa who, not only live according to the grace of their 
reason, but also consciously according to the divine-wishes. 
Moreover, all mankind is included in the conception "Hy- 
perzoa" in as much as all are attended by the possibility of 
the divine-wishes within them awakening to consciousness one 
day or other, although it cannot be denied that for the majority 
there is little probability of their ever doing so, because they 
have been allowed to grow so stunted. 

The divine wishes do not suffer themselves to be fettered to 
one particular faculty of our consciousness, but instead, they 
penetrate the whole soul-life with the rays of their glory. And 
yet each wish, at the same time, seems to have chosen a favourite 
spot from where it desires to manifest itself; or in other words, 
each sublime wish has evidently chosen a special colour where- 
with it may be distinguished, and therefore we must take to 
different words in order to give expression to these different 
colours. Hence, potency is given to our reason through the 
Wish-to-Truth, to our actions through the Wish-to-Goodness, to 
our perception through the Wish-to-Beauty, and to our feeling 
through the Wish-to-Divine-Hate and Love. We shall soon 
comprehend, how futile it is to want to form definitions of 
these wishes. Rational thinking can work disaster to the appre- 
hending soul; Schopenhauer is an adequate example of how 
disastrous these consequences can be. Evidently even this super- 
lative philosopher could not escape the disease of his day, the 
name of which is Rationalism. He became so far infected with 
it, as to be able to call those three words, goodness, truth and 
beauty the clumsy phrases of superficial philosophers, just 



262 



because really superficial thinkers had tried so industriously to 
give a definition of these wishes, gushing over them in silly talk, 
and, also, because freemasonry had monopolised them, in order 
to conceal crimes which in these phrases were lauded. 

The distinguishing mark which characterises each divine-wish, 
as well as the God-life they cause in the soul, is the happy 
unconcern exhibited towards time, space and causality. We 
assume rightly, therefore, when we declare them to be beyond 
the reach of reason's researching. Reason can cope with the 
visible-scene (Welt der Erscheinung), but its potencies are inept 
to cope with the invisible (Wesen der Erscheinung). Hence, it 
comes natural to say, that we are living in realms beyond, when 
the divine-wishes come to life, and the soul in all full conscious- 
ness is steeped in the experience of them. The expression serves 
to distinguish such kind of experiences from others subject to 
reason, and which are described generally as belonging to 'here 
on earth'. Now we are fully aware of the risks we run in making 
use of the same expressions, should my books be ever distributed 
among Christian populations. It is common knowledge, that all 
the Christians are under the sway of certain conceptions they 
have formed of heaven, and which they also call the 'beyond'. 
To make ourselves understood properly, we are, unfortunately, 
obliged to use the same expressions which are bound up so 
closely with the notions of time and space. But we may not pass 
on, without emphasizing the fact, that the meaning of words 
which stand for the trends of the divine will such as beyond 
should in every case be made faultlessly clear in the first place. 
We know that God exists in all human kind, although more often 
than not men suffer the God in them to lie inert. When it comes 
to pass, that in a single individual one of the wishes of the 
Divine- Will has been given the priviledge of particular develop- 
ment, so as to become an appearance, (in Erscheinung) (as is the 
case when a work of art appears), such we shall call "Men of 



genius". A man in whom the Wish-to-Goodness has been part- 
icularly developed can also be described as a man imbued with 
the wish-to-genius, in that he has been able to create a work of 
art out of his own soul which is then manifested to others in 
his words and actions. 

In history, witness is given to the fact, that not infrequently, 
it becomes the rule for one of the divine wishes to be specially 
developed in the soul of man. The grander then the effect is 
(perhaps on account of its rarity) when all the wishes develope 
to their superlative height at the same time which makes an 
appeal to us to reserve for such individuals only the title of 
'Perfection'. 

What a sublime appearance in the history of mankind do 
perfect men afford, especially when we compare them to other 
men of the creative-spirit in whom one wish only has succeeded 
in growing to virtue. For-instance, how grieving it is to observe 
how degenerate the WIsh-to-Goodness was in so many artists 
of the Renaissance-period, and how degenerate the Wish-to- 
Beauty which the world-religions reveal. 

Because the growth of virtue in one wish only, instead of 
all in unison, is so often encountered in the course of our 
experiences, it might be conjectured, that all the divine-wishes 
existed independently of each other, and moreover that all that 
was requisite is the growth of that special wish which a work 
of art symbolisies. 

In one way this is right; but for the Wish-to-Goodness (which 
finds its expression in actions of a divine nature) there must be 
reserved a regal place, but not because we are falling into the 
same habit, as the religions had, in that all the other wishes 
were put under the Wish-to-Goodness. Nor do we think a 
moralising tendency in art its proper function. Yet one thing 
cannot be denied, and that is, no matter what work of art we 
look at, it is certain to reveal the degree of goodness which its 



264 



master has attained. I should like, in respect to this, to draw 
an example from the world of science. Chemistry knows of a 
substance which, by its mere presence, causes the decomposition 
of other substances, although the substance itself remains un- 
changed (Catalysis). In like manner, the Wish-to-Goodness, by 
its mere presence, causes the improvement of the other wishes. 
The greater the creative-spirit is inflamed by the graceful 
presence of the Wish-to-Goodness, the more this grows in virtue 
itself. The presence of the achieved work-of-art is the cause of 
this. Thus then, the Wish-to-Goodness fructifies the works-of- 
art, and these, again, for their part, aid in strengthening and 
developing the Wish-to-Goodness in the creator. Afterwards 
the finished work-of-art tells of this mutual promotion and 
enrichment. To those watchful eyes among the public gazing at 
it, it reveals plainly, in what manner and to what degree the 
process happened. Once Beethoven defined this. In a convers- 
ation with Bettina von Arnim he said: "The moral-sense lies 
at the foundation of music just as well at it does in all the other 
arts. Every genuine emotion is a moral step forward in the 
labours of progress." 

The power of developing the divine- Will in its trends to 
Goodness, beauty truth and discriminated feelings-of-love-and- 
hate is a possibility which is given to each and every one, 
provided, of -course, the soul is kept alive. It has certainly not 
been the priviledge reserved to the men of perfection or the 
men of genius only. In order to succeed in the progress of spiri- 
tual-development it is necessary to keep the divine-wishes pure. 
The purpose- fraught- thought may not contaminate them; so 
that men and women should be recommended to-day to break 
away, especially, from the creeds preaching of punishment and 
reward. The God within us will begin to exfoliate as soon as we 
can say to ourselves honestly; I do good, I search the truth, I 
long for beauty, my feelings of love and hate are guided by 



choice, but not because I want eternal bliss hereafter, nor earthly 
goods, nor even spiritual-happiness and inner-peace, for these 
are designs and intentions of a self-seeking character, but simply 
because I want to of my own free will which is beyond any 
purpose; and therefore noble men will very easily overcome all 
these difficulties, save perhaps for the last mentioned one which 
is spiritualised 'eudemonism'. Now this might seem absurd at 
first! For, are we not accustomed to think that the profundity 
of our soul-life (a state which above everything else might be 
entitled to be called happiness) arises from the divine qualities 
within us? What, for instance, can afford us greater delight 
than to look at the work of any great painter or sculptor! All 
the pleasures of an every-day-kind dwindle besides these. It 
seems so true, for the more a man has been priviledged to 
partake of the bliss belonging to the realms beyond, as well as 
that he knows also what superficial joys are like, the less will 
he be inclined to exchange his estate with the man who has 
failed to cultivate the love of genius within himself. Yet, what 
a fallacy this is in spite of its apparent truth. For one reason. If 
a man has been capable of entering those realms where God 
reigns supreme through the victory gained by the divine wishes 
within him, he will most assuredly partake of that joy the 
profundity of which alone is due to God; but neither will he be 
spared the immeasureable pain (so great sometimes as to shatter 
his very soul) which is also a part of the life in God. What are 
the pains and sorrows of the less nobler man compared to his? 
They are indeed dwarflikc. What here is called pain and suffer- 
ing appear to him to be mere discomfort or superficial sadness, 
and what is called joy mere pleasure when measured to his. In 
his aspiring flight to God, man is so often wounded, that pain 
becomes inevitable. Suffering frequents his heart more often than 
joy does, so that there is no justification whatever in saying 
that triumphal God-living brings inevitable happiness. Ample 



266 



witness can be found for this, when we stop to observe the lives 
of men in whom the divine-wishes have fructified into achieved 
works of art, and whose behaviour besides, in their endeavours 
towards the accomplishment of genius, shows how devoid they 
were of any mean or petty purposes of a self-seeking kind. It 
can be found then, that the nobler men are not a whit happier 
than the less nobler, callously-indifferent men of the world. On 
the contrary, when their lives are being described, one thinks 
more of martyrdom than anything else. And, although the spirit 
of degeneration which characterises all the Christian peoples, 
together with the heinous crimes of the "Secret Societies" which 
cause a great deal of their misery, the chief cause of all their 
suffering is due to their own superiority which, by the very law 
of its being, brings pain in its wake like unto no other in its 
intensity. In as much as this means, that the more potential the 
divine traits in man are, the greater will his capacity be for 
sorrow or joy; it also means, the more immune he will grow 
to the influence of superfmal joys and sorrows, until in the end, 
his soul is liberated from them altogether, in that the signific- 
ance, attributed to them, dies away. Buddhism also taught this, 
although rather onesidely. Moments can happen wherein the 
soul is utterly free form sentiments of either joy or sorrow. But 
this freedom does not come of the contempt of joy and sorrow, 
as it is taught in Buddhistic circles, for the simple reason, that 
joy and sorrow characteristic of God, can never be despised by 
men who live according to the divine spirit within them. Neither 
are the joys and sorrows which happen in the daily routine to 
be despised. They are merely less important in comparison to 
those of the spiritual-kind. It is a freedom from that emotional 
state, caused by pain and sorrow which, in its kind, is indeed 
unique; and although it is impossible to describe a state of the 
soul-life in words, because this the soul itself alone can live, I 
should nevertheless like to give utterance to possibilities of a 



267 



twofold kind leading to it. If the endeavours of a man to trans- 
form his imperfect nature have not yet fructuated into the 
achieved state of perfection which, as a consequence, causes him 
to sway alternately from the life 'here* to the life 'beyond', his 
first experience in the realms of God will be marked by a strong 
emotion of the soul which utterly fails description, except for 
the single word "Exstasy". Hysterical conditions of a diseased 
mind are often mistaken for this. Now if the state of exaltation 
issues from a healthy frame of mind and not from a diseased 
one, the cause is either a noble sorrow or joy. These can shatter 
the soul to its foundations, and then a man will say, "I was 
overcome with a deep emotion". If, on the other hand, the cause 
of man's exaltation is neither sorrow nor joy but merely a 
gliding of the soul into the life of God, the word 'contemplation* 
is used in order to describe this state of mind. Yet it cannot be 
described by the means of reason, nor is it comparable to any 
other experience which happens in the general course of super- 
ficial life. In fine, its peace is not in the least of the kind generally 
known. Real art seldom results from the labours undertaken 
when the artist is shaken by the state of his emotions. A master- 
piece, modelled on lines of perfection, is born of the fruits of 
contemplation, or after the shattered emotional state has been 
calmed down to succeed in contemplation. It will chance, most 
likely, that the conception of a work of art will be born during 
the time the soul is shaken with its emotions, but the actual 
creation of the work-of-art happens when only the memory of 
these are left. Thus, master-pieces appear on the visible scene 
(Welt der Erscheinung) which manifest superbly the God-living 
of the artist. Either the emotional joyful or sorrowful state of 
the soul is revealed, or the state of the soul in emotionless 
contemplation. This distinction is seen the clearest in musical 
works. Beethoven's works are more of the emotional than the 
contemplative kind. The listener, who has gone through kindred 



268 



states of emotion, will feel the deeper accordingly; Bach's works 
reveal peaceful meditation for the most part and therefore can 
be better understood from a contemplative point-of-view. 

I would be a great mistake to think of the emotional and the 
contemplative works as being different to each other in their 
value and probably want to arrange them in a scale of order 
according to their value. This would mean using measures of 
a very unjust and forcible kind. Two paintings can never differ 
in their value, simply because the one leads us to the stages of 
emotionless contemplation, and the other, through the beauty 
of the sadness or joy depicted, to realms of divine vitality. 

Observe then, that God-living does not exact the elimination 
of sentiment, as it is put forth in the salvation-creed of Buddha, 
nor does God-living require sentiment. Therefore, it is evident 
that God-living is fully independent of happiness or unhappi- 
ness, just as it is not contrary to purpose but fully independent 
of it. 

All we have just been saying about God-living must be 
thought of as the mere hint of something which every attempt 
to describe in words, or seize with our reasoning powers will 
forever remain futile. God-living belongs to the consciousness 
of a higher grade, the nature of which differs very widely from 
the lower grades; so much so, that if a man has not yet been 
admitted into this state of higher consciousness, it will remain 
such a mystery to him as to be quite beyond his imagination. 
This situation is similar to the animals in that these are utterly 
unaware of the different grades of consciousnes which man is 
familiar with in his daily life. This incapacity accounts for the 
rampant lack of judgement which such men, above mentioned, 
manifest, when face to face with any master-piece of art, how 
these possess the power of leading mankind to God. This does 
not mean to say, that the art-critics know nothing of the value 
of art. They do, of-course, in a certain measure. For, in that a 



269 



work of art is visible to the eye and therefore arranged in time 
and space, reason has been able to collect an abundance of 
points-of -support, according to which the value of art can be 
duly measured. Yet at some time or other the actual ignorance 
of all these critics comes to light. For instance, when they give 
praise to the work of an artist and call it a model of perfection, 
while to all, who have ears to hear and eyes to see, it manifests 
mere talent; because the work is not born of God-living. In spite 
of all their theoretical knowlegde, and the competency of the 
judgement which issues from their reason, these critics of the 
fine-arts will still remain impotent as long as they lack that 
inexorable sureness which is the distinguishing mark in the 
judgement of men who have experienced for themselves the life 
in God. A last but most important lack of sureness will always 
be obvious in their criticism, especially when a painting or 
sculpture must be judged the first time. Petty imitations are apt 
to be praised for their 'originality* or their 'novel' traits, while 
better productions which clearly reveal the divine spirit, in 
which the artist was living while they were being made, are 
rejected, simply because they are thought to be lacking in 'novel' 
traits. In short, the ignorance, that the latter have their origin 
in a 'beyond* is clearly revealed. It is a curious thing, but this 
lack of noble judgement is to be found mostly in the actual 
lovers or 'connoisseurs of art*. The last word is indeed well 
chosen, for it tells the tale, how men will always strive to seize 
God with their reasoning potencies. Apparently, the study, they 
have made in the theory of art, has been the cause of their 
actual impotency to judge art. A peasant woman might be 
deemed a worthier and more reliable judge, when, for a rare 
sublime moment, her soul is capable of being lifted away above 
the turbulent life of this world into the realms of God which 
the noble masterpiece, she is contemplating, reveals to her! 
Art can ring true only in the fulfilment of its right function 



270 



which is in the manifestation of the life, born in the realms 
beyond. It is then identical with God. To this fact men must 
be fully alive when they take to study the laws of the rhythm, 
light, form and sound pertaining to the visible world (Erschei- 
nungswelt). Observe now, on the other hand, the sureness and 
self-confidence which will inevitably characterise the opinions 
of that man, who, in his judgement of art, is vitally conscious 
of the divine within himself as well as the divine in the art 
before him. Moreover, the stronger the divine features grow 
within him, the more capable will this man be of judging, if 
the art before him is the work of a man whose soul was dead or 
not, as well as he likewise can rightly judge, if the souls of the 
critics are dead or not! 

But it is not only in art, that it has become the custom for 
the least capable ones to express audaciously their opinions. It 
is alike everywhere in the fields of God-living. It is always the 
man, who does not possess the necessary support of a higher 
grade of consciousness, who is actually the one distributing 
opinion. 

I repeat, that the life in the realms of God is characterised 
by its independency of joy and sorrow and its superiority to 
intentions of any kind. In fact it is very far above these and 
is indeed the life 'sui generis*. Yet time and space can form the 
link between the 'here* and 'there*. Has it an connection with 
these? We can happily deny this also. 

The realms of God are even beyond time and space. Yet 
bridges, by means of which man is capable of entering the 
spaceless and timesless realms of God, can be constructed. The 
works of art which have been created in memory of the life, 
spent in God's realms, the fulfilments of the Wish-to-Goodness 
and emotions of a divine trend manifest in noble actions, the 
unconscious Wish-to-Beauty, made apparent in all things, the 
Wish-to-Truth, come to life in scientific nij 



we can think of, which lead to the realms where man can live 
God's life. 

In order to be able to understand better what the timelessness 
of the 'beyond' means, let us just think a while how little the 
exactitude of time means to a man who happens to go through 
'interest', c weariness s , 'pain* or 'joy'! Interest and joy make 
months or weeks appear to be mere moments. Weariness and 
pain stretch hours to the length of eternity. In such cases, a man 
is labouring merely under illusions which govern his feelings 
detaching him for a while from time. By no means is he existent 
in that state where time is not. In dreams we are even more 
deceived about time. (According to experiments, the most 
dreams are dreamt in the few seconds before a man awakens.) 
There is no stretching or shortening of time, as is the case when 
pain or joy are experienced. Yet in dreams we can experience 
years of pain and sorrow, lead long conversations, and think 
out long problems. This shows plainly what can happen to the 
soul when left to its own devices, in that it is without the control 
of the potencies of reason. With magical speed it changes its life 
from one state to another. Its emancipation from the actuality 
of time is amazing. A condition which is utterly unknown in 
the wakeful state of every day life. Notwithstanding all this it 
is not the timeless state of the beyond. For the simple reason 
that in some way or other it is bound up with time in its estim- 
ation of 'long' and 'short', in spite of its wilful behaviour and 
ill-adjustment to the beat of the time which the earth takes to 
turn on its axis. 

After this, one might assume, that life in the realms of God 
is in a still greater measure under the rule of time, than life 
is in the dream-state. Do not the divine emotions of the soul 
which awaken at the sight of the beauties of art or nature appear 
to be of a duration shorter than the actual time, comparable 
to the experience of pleasant sentiments which we are familiar 



with in our superficial life? Have we not all of us, at one time 
or other, laboured under the illusion that the time spent in 
contemplation of a masterpiece of art had passed in the briefness 
of a few 'seconds'? Yet, inspite of its apparent plausibility this 
assumption is erroneous. Let us think deeper. Now, a melancholy 
picture, simply because of its melancholy nature, does not 
necessarily make time appear longer, for we are liable to 
deception in such cases quite irrespective of the nature of our 
sentiments. Observe then, how the wilfulness of the illusion is 
again of a unique kind. In reality however, the point is; when 
men are in such moods of contemplation, they have managed 
generally to have reached the bridges leading to God where they 
are then lingering. The participation in the actual life beyond 
is not yet theirs. It seems as if many a year must pass before 
the divine is sufficiently awakened within the soul of man as 
to allow of him to enter into the realms of God-living! It might 
then happen, much later in life, that the picture or landscape 
which once had enticed our steps to walk along the bridge, where 
the fetters of time could not encumber us, rises so vividly before 
our sight as to make us succeed this time really in entering the 
realms of God in all full consciousness. All this, however, is not 
a preliminary essential, for at the very first acquaintance with 
God as manifested in art, there is the likelihood of a man being 
priviledged to enter God's realms. The majority of mankind, 
however, stop at the bridge, which of -course they deem to be 
the sublimest of all experiences, and, inspite of their frequency 
to the bridges leading to the beyond, they seem to remain for- 
ever incapacitated to participate in the God-living awaiting 
them. Beethoven was so aware of this fact when he said: 
"Therefore many are acquainted with music, yet they still 
remain ignorant of what it strives to reveal". Indeed few are 
'chosen', but not, as is so widely imagined, through the injustice 
of 'an act of grace'. Those have been 'chosen' who themselves 



have given scope to those potencies of the soul innate in all men. 
Now, should any man be anxious to find out, if he belong to the 
'few* or the 'many', he has but to examine closely the nature of 
his God-living (Gotterleben). He must be able to discriminate 
if his enthusiasm for art or nature have been dictated by a 
suggestive power coming from out of his surroundings, or if its 
origin is to be found in the potency of its own virtues. Now 
if this remains still inconceivable to him, that means to say, 
if the enlivenment, which his soul has received when God has 
met him in art or nature, has been effected through suggestive 
powers coming from those around him, it is certain, that, not- 
withstanding all the love he cherishes for art, science, nature and 
man, he knows not the life 'beyond'; he has been merely linger- 
ing on the bridges for all these, in the inefficient way, he has 
embraced them, in fine, are merely the bridges and nothing more. 
Moreover, that man, who gets accustomed to frequent the 
divine-bridges, without making any attempts to enter the 
'realms beyond* then, turning back regularly to the superficial 
life familiar to him, will run great risks of enfeebling his chances 
of ever attaining a God-living, in that the 'animation* and 
'enjoyment', he constantly receives, will make him incapable of 
doing so. The rarer ones among men, the chosen 'few', however, 
are just as capable by the virtue of their own inner powers, as 
they are independent on outer influences, to ascend into the 
realms of God. Even were they doomed to be fettered down to 
a spot on earth, where no traces of art or culture exist, they 
would, nevertheless, remain of their own accord in the paths 
of God, although it goes without saying, that there is nothing 
which could mean greater bliss to them, than the crossing of 
those divine-bridges of beauty (each so different 'individually') 
which lead to divine life. By the grace of the selfsame natural 
ease they can enter the realms of God as well as leave the bridges 
to return. There is no coercive force or laws which compell them; 



and this God-living of theirs has nothing in common whatever 
with hysterical extasies, methodistic systems and mystical 
experiences. 

But once they are in God's realms, in conciousness of a higher 
grade, they are partaking in the life which is timeless and space- 
less. That means to say, they have become utterly oblivious of 
time and space which belongs to the realms of intellect only! 

While God-living is happening, it matters little if a thousand 
years or only a second slips by; the soul is completely indiffer- 
ent to the span of time! Owing to this complete releasement, 
men-of-genius are so lost after their return 'here'; they are 
obliged once again to suit themsleves to reason's form of thought, 
in that the present be linked up as a matter of course with the 
time before their God-living had happened. This would be 
tremendously difficult were clocks not ticking the time and 
calendars recording days. Their return within the bounds of 
time make them want, subsequently, to annex the notion of 
time to the life experienced in God's realms; a thing which had 
been impossible while it was happening. However one little 
word seems to them to be alone adequate. It is "Eternal". 
After their return again 'here', nothing for a while seems more 
incomprehensible than that they themselves are still living and 
their children also. Accordingly, their leife, arranged in time, 
grows more in the nature of a dream; not that they live it less 
keener than their fellowmen, who are unaware of an existence 
other than the one bound up within the limits of time: It is 
merely found wanting in interest and spirit when compared to 
the depth and profundity of his God-living. It were futile to 
want to elicit more about that timeless existence in God. 
Descriptions of every kind will always remain but vain endea- 
vours, because our world of thought is completely subject to the 
powers of reason. 

Hence, this means that all we are capable of saying in our 



endeavours to describe that existence of the soul of man which 
you know now to be God-living, and which is that state of 
consciousness which is on the highest level, is this: It is oblivious 
of any sense of time. The influence, it exercises, is of such a kind 
as to make us attune our lives to the conviction, that our God- 
living alone is reality, and that this reality is clothed in manifold 
garments as is presented to us in the visible-world (Welt der 
Erscheinung) around us. After our soul has succeeded in asserting 
itself so far as to have achieved a certain high degree in the 
enfoldment of God-living, it remains in this condition. Then 
we are capable of sinking into contemplation; in complete 
'oblivion* of the visible- world (Welt der Erscheinung), without 
any necessity of diligently pursuing intentions. For this reason 
it seems so curious, funny almost, to watch men (Theosophs) 
exhaust themselves in their endeavours to attain God-living 
through daily 'practice of concentration', while in reality, it 
is given to man in such a natural and graceful way and can never 
be gained through artificial means! 

Once a man has gained entrance into the exalted realms 
which are beyond those, where time, space and causality are, he 
knows of a certainty, that he has attained the true dwelling- 
place of his soul; absent, he always longs to return and is glad 
of the bridges, that is, the images of God which others have 
created in works of art and wisdom. And when his own spirit 
has grown in resembling God efficiently, he begins, earnestly 
and intelligently, in loving remembrance of the God-living he 
has experienced, to create similar immortal divine images. Yet 
the gradual ascent in the Godward direction remains the 
sublimest part of all his life. The more often he has succeeded 
in crossing over the bridges, the less will the world enthrall him. 
In fine, all his thoughts and actions he dedicates solely to God. 
Even the sheer superficial wants which remain are given nobility 
because of the divine touch which always accompanies them. 



276 



We have said God-living was timeless. Now, does not time- 
lessness mean the opposite to timeness? Would it not be more 
proper in respect to the deeper sense of the word, to say 
"Eternity" instead of "Unendlessness" when we think of that 
state which is oblivious of a sense of time? Moreover, is not the 
entrance into the realms of timelessness and the conscious 
participation of the same a personal kind of life immortal 
(Eternity), the participation of which, in the spiritual sense, is 
more profound than the unendless existence of the unicell? In 
effect, is not this the fulfilment of the unquenchable desire for 
immortality which persists in all the soma-cells, inspite of their 
doomful decay and death? 

When man imagined 'Eternity' to mean 'without an end* his 
conception was right, in so far as it embraced the inner nature 
(Wesen) of all visible-things (Erscheinung), but when he went 
so far as to believe that he himself would participate con- 
sciously in eternity, without its ever ending, his conceptions 
became stigmatised with error and fallacy; for his conscious 
"Self" may enter the "Beyond" only under certain conditions 
during his life-time. Never at all, after death! Now, as time has 
no significance in the realms beyond, it would matter little how 
long his participation in the same would last. What might he 
care, if it lasted a billion or even more years. In God-living 
there is no sense of time, especially when it is borne in mind 
how 'fleeting' the experiences of daily life appear when com- 
pared to the soul's experience of God-living which always bears 
the mark of 'eternity' and is therefore 'everlasting*. 

Thus then, through the process of development, the Immortal- 
Will deepens and spiritualises, to realise its fulfilment in the 
grown consciousness of the wishes of the Divine- Will. Instead 
of the unconscious unendless existence in the timeness of the 
unicell, the Immortal- Will is given the conscious endless exist- 
ence in the timelessness, called 'eternity 1 ! 



Such a transformation might appear at first to be impossible. 
Observe then, how all life reveals an ardent desire to live for- 
ever. Likewise man. All the myths contain a promise to man of 
a life everlasting after death which is to be found in a beyond 
as the realisation of that wish. It can certainly not be from the 
effects of deeper thought, but more from want of thought, that 
a wish of such kind should have taken root so long. Men seem 
still blind to the fact, how like hell in heaven that kind of 
Ahasver fate would be, which, according to his knowledge of 
time, he thinks to be unendless. 

It is not unendlessness, but a state which is beyond any sense 
of time which the awakened soul of man, from its dawn forth, 
requires for a conscious participation. Now, should the achieve- 
ment of the state beyond time be actually possible before death, 
the participation in it would have to satisfy the demands of 
the Immortal-Will proper to a conscious soul; also the desire 
to participate would be felt, as long, only, as any consciousness 
existed. (Therefore during life and not after death.) But is not 
this conception identical with the 'kingdom of God on earth' 
contained in the myths? That divine kingdom perchance which 
we can participate in during our lifetime albeit in a very 
imperfect way? 

The following will soon enlighten us. The world-point-of- 
view (Weltauffassung), morals and the paths which the fruits 
of our cognisance lead to differ very widely from those, con- 
tained in doctrines teaching of a beyond after death or on earth, 
albeit here of an imperfect kind. 

Whenever, on our way to knowledge, it was our good fortune 
to encouter any sublime truth which, on account of the absence 
of general knowledge had been perceived by others of the past 
in the light of revelation, we were filled with a sense of deep 
satisfaction. This cannot be otherwise, for even without the 
help of general knowledge and intuition all men are given the 



278 



possibility of attaining God-living. Ten years after I had finished 
the present work (during its preparation for the new edition) 
I came across something written by Schleiermacher who was a 
staunch Christian. "To be united to the unendless and thus be 
eternal every moment of our lives means being immortal in the 
midst of the endness." If anything, this seems a contradiction to 
the doctrines he preached, namely he believed in immortal-life 
after death. Yet what has just been said fits in capitally with 
our cognisance of God. 

Faith and cognisance however are two different things. 
Because we have succeeded in holding fast all along the line to 
truth, belonging to reason, (Evolution History) without having 
had to give up a single inch of the ground we gained intuitively, 
we have been given the sovereign right to call the attention of 
all the faithful to this fact which is, that the myths, they believe 
in, must be condemned as errors, inspite of all the right suspic- 
ions they contain. And now it will be seen among all who have 
gone so far with us which ones have really and rightly under- 
stood the truths, revealed in the Evolution-History. Whosoever 
has steeped his thoughts in the truth of the irrevocable and 
inevitable decay of the body-cells which all the multicellular- 
beings possess and faced the hard fact, that the soul participates 
in all the daily tribulations which those serving-cells have to 
suffer, he will know that: consciousness is lost for ever, when 
in death the cell-state returns to inorganic substance or, in other 
words, unconscious visibility (Erscheinung). He knows that not 
even the monotone life, proper to the unicellular-being, remains. 
He knows in fact, that that visible form we call "I" has dis- 
appeared forever. 

Now, we, for our part, have learned this truth in conscious 
endeavour. But it thrusts itself at times even on the mind of the 
most pious Christian, who actually believes in a life hereafter. 
For instance, how cruelly does the fact of natural-death thrust 



itself on him, when he stands at the death-bed of someone he 
has loved! 

The reality overwhelms him at the open grave! Face to face 
with death, the stern reality of truth fills his soul for a while 
with doubts in the creed he adheres to. He is almost startled at 
his own 'heresy'. After the grave is closed, the words of com- 
fort which he whispers to himself or those which the priest is 
in the habit of using help him to regain his equilibrium and with 
it his faith again in the existence of a heaven and hell. Yet, 
notwithstanding this fact, in those moments of doubt, his soul 
had been touched with truth's graveness and calm. Thus he 
might have queried: How can the personality of the dead man 
be preserved, if the smile, essential to it, disappears along with 
the dead man's lips! Was not each and every cell necessary to 
make just that particular smile appear? The way he walked, 
the turn of his head, the sound of his voice, and the expression, 
peculiar to his eyes, were habits noting the oneness and unique- 
ness of the character native to him. It was the cooperation of all 
these single features of his which made up his personality. In 
fact he could not be thought of at all without them. Like his 
conscious life, they also were caused through the workings of 
his body-cells which now for ever have disappeared in death. 
They have turned to dust. 

In effect, when death is happening, it will come home to the 
staunchest believer in heaven, that the myth of immortality, he 
puts his faith in, is just as incapable of giving him any assurance 
of his personal immortality as the doctrine of Darwin is which 
teaches of the immortality of the species as being the promise 
of life immortal. Let the Will-to-Truth make us strong in the 
bitter times, caused through the loss of any dear friend, and 
make us capable to understand, that beyond the grave personal- 
life is not! 

Yet the selfsame consciousness which has been the means of 



280 



helping us to seize this grave truth is also the means of saving 
us from being separated from the departed! Our "I" is capable 
of gliding into a beyond which is not distinguished by a yester- 
day, to-day or to-morrow, so that the once-experienced and the 
experience of to-day are equal in their vitality. We can live 
hours and hours over again in company with the departed friend, 
provided his character and actions have left a deep enough 
impression on our minds, and also, if the mutual exchange of 
the treasures, proper to the beyond, actually took place during 
his lifetime. Therefore, there but remains for the one living- 
longer, to have power enough to enter the realms beyond in 
order to enjoy the company of one who is dead; and verily this 
experience is of a profounder nature than any other experience 
can yield which is in the way of a remembrance of a mere 
superficial kind. Hence, as long as the one, who is remembering, 
still lives, no real separation can take place, notwithstanding 
the fact, that the consciousness of the departed one is forever 
effaced. Yet we are lost completely to the one dead, but of his 
loss he has no feeling. This is the kindness and peace which 
death means. Moreover, this is also the gist of truth contained 
in the otherwise crude, materialistic doctrine which maintains 
the direct intercourse with departed 'spirits', generally known 
as spiritism. The gist of truth which of-course is absolutely free 
of any of the notions which are likely to be of a supertitious 
kind, such as, that the spirits are still living and are capable of 
reappearing. Once in possession of this truth, we shall no more 
be forsaken when face to face with death; it will give us strength 
to bear even the most cruel sting. Thus then, in all full con- 
sciousness, that the beloved one, we have just lost in death, has 
gone forever, we gaze once more at the peacefulness revealed in 
his features. This last vision of him, as a remembrance of the 
greatest solemnity, will act like a kindly light leading to the 
realms beyond, where for the benefit of our consciousness he 



281 



rises in our own soul again, and we are joined together again as 
closely as we were before his death! 

Our immortality, as has been said previously already, must 
be realised before death takes place. It is the knowing of this 
truth which divides us from other men who confess to a belief 
in heaven. In everything almost it makes us different to them. 
Above all our morals take on a different aspect. 

The reason why immortality, the kingdom of life eternal, 
can be within the reach of the soul as long only as there is 
vitality, is on account of consciousness which is the great 
essential to God-living. The individual-being cannot be im- 
mortal, for the simple reason, that it depends for its vitality 
on body-cells which are mortal. Thus it issues, that the "I" 
consciousness cannot be immortal either; it disappears forever 
also, when death overtakes the visible form; immortal alone is 
the Divine which is innate in all visible things (Erscheinungen), 
the internal. Therefore the inner nature of the visible-being, 
known as man, is also immortal. But, like all mortal multicelled- 
beings, man also returns one day to that visible form which is 
unconscious. 

That death became known to man was owing to his con- 
sciousness. He is given the scope to misapprehend, as well as 
fully comprehend what death means. This priviledge, however, 
reigns only as long as vitality pulsates through the cell state, 
that means to say, only as long as 'personality' exists. For it is 
just the wish for a personal immortality which makes itself felt 
particularly strong within us! Not that we have lost sight of the 
fact, that Godliving leads us away from the fetters of our 
personality; indeed, the very fact of this being-lifted-away from 
our-own-person, is one of the surest signs of the life which is 
beyond. But the way, all this is undertaken, remains the special 
priviledge of our own person in that it depends on the emotions 
which may or may not accompany it, the way we proceed to 



282 



throw off the fetters of reason, as well as whidi divine Wish 
is allowed to be cultivated the strongest. Therefore, there is 
nothing more silly, than when religious communities lay down 
fast rules or directions-for-use which should be gone according 
to for the purpose of obtaining God-living. The knowledge, 
we cherish, that no life exists after death, is more adequate to 
compel the soul to spiritual-flight, than belief in a heaven is. It 
is pitiful to watch the wearying attempts, made by all those 
who go according to 'recipes' in their agitation to flutter towards 
the light! How uncommon each person's individual God-living 
turns out to be, despite the fact that God-living, by the law of 
its being, transcends all the limits of personality, the master- 
pieces of art clearly reveal in the personal traits of their extreme 
manifoldness. (Masterpieces of art are born of the life beyond.) 
These traits of personality reveal themselves so distinctly, that 
we are able to tell, for instance, in music, after the first few 
bars have been played, who the composer is. And finally, each 
single piece makes on each one of us a different impression which 
is called forth according to the individual response of our own 
nature. Observe then, that after all this, we are fully justified 
in saying, that the wish for the special immortality of our 
own person is duly gratified in the life of God which you have 
often heard us call Godliving (Gotterleben). But alas! As men's 
conception of immortality are so often warped with error and 
ignorance, immortal-life remains the singular prerogative of 
the few only. As a rule, the rest end their lives in the arms 
of eternal death, without having once experienced the partici- 
pation of immortal-life. A great hindrance to live immortality 
is formed, when it is said, that it does not begin until after death; 
another hindrance happens, almost graver, when men stunt their 
soul-lives. 

This comes to pass, when men keep down purposely the wishes 
of the divinity within them and instead attach themselves to 



283 



superficial desires. Through this habit, the divine-wishes become 
at last so insensible as to become completely incapacitated to 
develope a state of consciousness at all. Yet, some there are, 
who have never once succeeded in opening the entrance to the 
beyond, but who, at best, have managed to cross its bridges. 
When death approaches, it might happen then to these that 
the Immortal-Will within them will rise up so tremendously 
against its final suppression, that its agony gives power to the 
soul for its last and only flight into the realms of the beyond. 
This is reflected then in the change which takes place. The ugly 
distortions of the body, caused by the agonies of death, give 
place to a beautiful calm. The eyes take on that peculiar far-off 
look when the soul painlessly and quietly glides into the state 
where being is not. 

Note here, how a participation in life-immortal was gained, 
in the end, albeit in the last few hours of life, after which the 
Immortal-Will was fulfilled and gave up its struggle. Now, the 
mourners, standing at the bedside, read in the dead man's face 
the traces of what happened. Death had 'glorified* his features. 
A 'holy peace' lay over them. The 'far-off look' lay still in the 
eyes. And at the sight of this they become overwhelmed at the 
thought, that such features could be capable of such sublime 
beauty which during life had been so often distorted. In whisper- 
ing tones they remark to each other: "He has gone". "He is 
already in realms beyond". The belief, they confess to in a life 
beginning after death, is once more strengthened. The last 
expression which the rigid hand of death had imprinted on the 
features confirms it. "He is already beyond", how right they 
are in meaning what they have witnessed. How erroneous the 
sense what they mean. Instead of the word 'already', they ought 
to have said c at last'. For, during the agonies of death the soul 
had been given the power indeed 'for the first and last time' to 



284 



participate in life eternal which, however, ended at once at the 
moment, death arrived. 

It is an indisputable fact, that, the nearer death approaches 
(in the case of old age and serious illness), the greater the under- 
standing becomes for the life beyond. This fact is not difficult 
to understand as soon as we look at it in the light of our 
cognisance, by which we mean here the fact, that the Immortal- 
Will finds its fulfilment before death, and the conscious life, 
after death, irrevocably passed forever. When a change like 
this takes place in child-hood, it becomes very obvious. Being 
still so far from old age and death, however, children as a rule 
are not attracted to the life beyond, and the sight of the longing 
for it, manifested in their elders, awakens no interest in them 
at the time, although the child, itself, lives unconsciously in 
direct connection with the divine-trends (S. "The Child's Soul 
and its Parents' Office"). But when it happens, that a serious 
illness overtakes a child, and death is probable, the Immortal- 
Will begins to make itself strongly felt in its anxiety to fulfil 
itself precipitating the young soul which is ensnared in the 
dangers to its life into the serenity of the beyond. It grows 
precociously, surpassing often the wisdom of those still deeply 
steeped in superficial interests, who are around it, and, on the 
other hand, is often beseechingly helpless to partake in the silly 
games of the other children of its own age. 

How wisdom-fraught is this transformation; and in knowing 
the goal, how sublime does the course of evolution appear to 
us! Within the course of thousands and millions of generations, 
the Immortal-Will was the impetus which compelled the gradual 
ascent to higher stages of consciousness. On the way, the body 
cells (somata) were left behind; each in its turn had to pass away, 
without the Immortal- Will having once been realised, and 
utterly unconscious of its fate; until in man reason was born. 
Then the trends of the Divine-Will could develope to a state 



285 



of ever keener consciousness, until, among men the first was 
born who was able to understand why the body-cells were 
obliged to be robbed of their immortality, as well as receive the 
grace to live a new immortal-life in the realms of God. 

As we have previously observed, the ascent to consciousness 
in ever higher stages began, when the first multicelled being lost 
the 'potential* immortality which, as a unicell, it had once 
possessed. The ascent stopped when the highest developed multi- 
celled-being had regained this 'potential' immortality in a 
spiritualised form. It is clear now, why the scientist is incapable 
of finding any proofs to confirm the further ascent of man to 
superman. He is but capable of pointing to the fact of the 
growth of some of the organs of sense in man and some stunted 
'rudimentary organs', inherited from the animal, of which there 
are about two hundred. This is now fully explained, however. 

Already, in primitive man, the possibility of a spiritual 
development lay innate in the potencies of his soul. For the 
realisation of the spiritual 'potential' immortality, however, the 
enfoldment of the divine-wishes is essential which must be a 
free development, unencumbered by reason's form of thought, 
and undertaken under the endeavours of man himself! Men of 
the past and present, who have succeeded in these endeavours, 
are the ones alone entitled to the name of hyperzoan; they alone 
are not only death-wise but immune to death's sting. 

The Immortal- Will, deprived as it was of fulfilment in the 
unconscious mortal body-cells (somata), strove for a state of 
consciousness for the sake of its own redemption. Through a 
process of evolution, in which it obliged the outward appearance 
of the forms of nature to undergo a continual transformation, 
its aim fructuated into an achieved fact in the final appearance 
of man. We shall never get at the reason for the paradox great 
variety of forms, we see manifested in nature, until this fact is 
clear. Although it is tempting, we must, nevertheless, refrain 



286 



from traversing all the new ground again which the potencies 
of our intuition laid open to us at the time we were in search of 
the truth (which since has become our sole property,) for fear 
of being lost now in detail. One fact however we must mention, 
as bearing weight which we have already pointed to in an earlier 
page; it is, that every man of science is sure that the bequeath- 
ment of acquired characteristics is a supposition, which if denied, 
would make many a fact, concerning the evolution theory, vain. 
Also, every man of science knows perfectly well, that no 
practical experiment which has ever been undertaken has yielded 
any precise evidence however to this fact. Yet, the fact's, 
contained in the cognisance we have collected, are capable of 
yielding enlightment to the matter of the bequeathment of 
acquired characteristics. The mystery is easily solved, if we 
know all about that state of coherency in which nature rests. 
The existence of one single impulse was essential which, in a 
state of coherency, had the power to change the element of 
heredity within the germplasm so as to cause the form which 
was necessary for the higher stages of consciousness to differ- 
entiate accordingly. This powerful impulse belonged to the 
Immortal-Will which acted thus in the life of the many-celled- 
being. If changes of another kind had taken place within the 
germplasm in the course of the multicellular existence which 
had not been to the service and aim of this purpose, the process, 
evolving to a state of consciousness, would have been con- 
siderably endangered. Therefore it does not in the least surprise 
us to learn, that in the kingdom of man, where consciousness has 
succeeded in gaining its highest level, a bequeathment of 
acquired characteristics takes place no more*). The reason why 
it is absent in the animal-kingdom to-day will also become clear 
to us, if, with the support of the knowledge we have just 



* In my book entitled "Origin and Nature of the Soul" 2nd. part "The Soul of the 
Human-Being", I have gone into detail concerning the plasticity of the human germplasin 
in regard to the divine-wishes. 



received, we give our attention for a while to this remarkable 
fact: The ascent making for the stages of higher consciousness 
came to a stop in all the animal kingdom without except as 
soon as man was born. 

The Immortal-Will seemed aided by invisible wings, when 
it undertook to carry the world of multicellular-mortal-beings 
out of the darkest stage of unconsciousness into the light of 
wakefulness. On the way, innumberable beings were doomed 
to perish without ever beholding the light from even afar. And 
man, to whom alone the priviledge was given, was forward 
enough to believe he could 'seize' it with the powers of his 
intellect. To this fallacy, cultural-epochs have succumbed time 
after time, until at last, reason began to criticise itself and found 
out that it also had its limits. And now, after a space of three 
hundred thousand years of the history of mankind, we are 
capacitated, in a deep spirit of reverence before the incompre- 
hensible, to join together the acknowledged laws-of-growth to 
what we have learned in the realms of God; and behold, we find 
redemption in cognisance! Henceforth, to partake in the life 
of God will be our aim; all our actions and thoughts, our feelings 
of hate or love, altogether, our whole existence will be complete- 
ly changed through the cognisanse, that Godliving is attainable 
before death only. For the man, who is redeemed, everything 
changes in its value! 

After this, it must be an easy matter to understand, that there 
will be no 'higher species' to come to succeed to the throne of 
man, for the simple reason, that man has already regained 
possession of the attribute of 'potential immortality'. What 
happened to the impulse to evolution in the animals, after they 
had gone such a long way towards the heights of consciousness? 
Why can't an amphioxis evolve into a vertibrate to-day like 
it once happened? Why can't mammal, or let us say rather an 
ape, evolve into a kind of human-species which is given reason? 



288 



The process of evolution stood still in the animal-kingdom, 
as soon as man was born. What has science to say to this curious 
fact? Science surmises that in earlier periods the cosmical con- 
ditions exercised a greater plastical influence, and owing to this 
fact mutations more readily took place, than would be possible 
to-day. In other words, the men of science are ignorant still; 
but the evil about it is, they don't take any trouble to solve the 
mystery. Well then, none should be annoyed, if philosophers 
take it upon themselves to solve this mystery, according to the 
laws and train-of- thought which belong to their special realms! 

The realms of God which are beyond causality, time and 
space, and the seizure of reason have been known to man up till 
now by such names as "God", * Nature of all things" or the 
"Thing-Itself". This was the conception of God in the universe 
which men generally accepted. They seldom stepped any further 
than this, hardly ever into the high office of representing the 
most awakened soul in the universe which was theirs by right. 
They shied the responsibility of ever uttering admittance to this 
fact. It was left to us to summon the courage to proclaim it, by 
the right given us in having united the historical facts of 
evolution with the experience, gleaned from the life lived in the 
realms of God. By virtue of his reason man became the con- 
sciousness of the visible-world (Welt der Erscheinungen) (as Kant 
already indicated), and in like manner man can become God's 
consciousness, if he is capacitated to live in accordance with the 
laws governing the inner nature of all things (Wesen der Erschei- 
nung). As the ascending process of evolution ended as soon as 
God's consciousness became a possibility in view, this must have 
been the final aim of evolution. This aim could be achieved in 
that the body-cells were robbed of their right to immortality, 
whereby the Immortal- Will was given the impetus which 
compelled the evolving ascent in order to regain its immortality. 
That man can become the consciousness of God or the 'nature 



289 



of all things' (das Wesen dcr Erscheinungen) is a matter of truth, 
belonging to our cognisance, which separates us from all the 
different kinds of Pantheism and Deism. While those doctrines 
reject the idea of a personal God, but acknowledge that the 
universe is God-pervaded, they fail to perceive the tremendous 
responsibility which rests alone with man amidst all else in 
the universe. Our philosophy says this means the very kernel 
from which all the fruits spring forth. It gives the meaning to 
our lives. It benefits our morals with the character of earnestness, 
clarity, potency and inexorableness, making the prevailing ideas 
within the range of culture turn topsy-turvy. And yet this is 
still but the faint suspicion of the real sublime office of man. 
The possibility, we know, is given to man to become God's 
consciousness. But this is not all. Among all living beings on 
earth man is the only one who has this prerogative which 
shoulders him with a tremendous responsibility in that his virtue 
expects of him to become God's consciousness before he dies. 
Of all this we are sure, for we have the confirmation of the 
History-of-Evolution itself for the facts. 

In the History of Evolution it is clearly revealed, that a 
general stop took place in the ascent to consciousness. Also, that 
the whole animate world had had its part in the ascent, man 
included, which had had its origin in the most primitive of all 
the animate beings (Volvox). Now, here is the historical fact 
which is the confirmation of an ancient suspicion which existed 
in the soul of man, and which philosophy since a very long 
time has surmised. It is, that all things in the visible-world 
(Welt der Erscheinung) are inwardly closely associated with 
one another! This uniformity is obvious in the visible-world 
(Welt der Erscheinung). It is an easy matter to compare the out- 
ward appearance of one thing to another, but it is impossible 
to compare any of these with the "Thing Itself" (Wesen der 
Erscheinung). The same applies to the great cell-state-man. 



290 



Among all the cells whidi make up the human being, only a 
small group are reserved (the greater brain-cells) to be the 
bearers of the faculty of consciousness, and again, among all the 
mass of animate beings, men alone, owing to their reason, are 
reserved to be the consciousness of the visible-world (Welt der 
Erscheinung) and finally among all human kind, only a very 
few number of individuals are called upon, through the potency 
of their own self-asserted virtue, to be the consciousness of God. 

This uniformity or "God-pervadedness", as I should like to 
call it here which embraces all the visible-things (Erscheinungen) 
of the universe, was the cause of the mutual participation of 
the multicellular-beings in the general ascent to consciousness, 
as well as the general stop when man was born. Their part in the 
ascent meant (from the stage of the volvox onwards) an untir- 
ing process of transformation in the outward appearance which 
was the manifestation of the special endeavour of each one to 
attain to a higher stage of wakefulness. The birth of man 
indicated the fact, that that animate being had succeeded to 
existence which alone was capable, in that it could become God's 
consciousness, of partaking in immortal-life. Thus the growth 
of the species was made to come to an end. "Creation" was 
finished. 

As soon as we have grasped this unity of nature which under- 
lies the whole universe, we shall most surely be conscious of 
what God is, if we are sure about the fact, that the unity 
embraces, too, all living species which might eventually be living 
on other planets. We may not allow ourselves to be misled 
through the comparison, just mentioned of the cell-state, called 
man, for every comparison is imperfect and as such may lead to 
errors. All animate nature which might eventually be in exist- 
ence on other planets must show the selfsame unity in God 
who is beyond space. Therefore it goes without saying, that all 
the animate beings, habituating any other planets, were also 



291 



involved in the general stop which took place among the animal- 
kingdom as soon as man had appeared; for the aim in view 
which had set their development in motion had been achieved; 
a being, man, in the universe existed, in which God could live 
consciously. Moreover, we can gather from this angle, that there 
will be no reason for an evolving process to start again on any 
other planets until the end of man has come, which might take 
place simultaneously with the end of the world, or before this 
event. Also, it is just likely that on some planet or other, in the 
time before life was born on our earth, animate beings existed, 
possessing the inherent capacity to become God's consciousness, 
and not until their end came, could the process of evolution start 
again on our earth. The state of divine consciousness, as we 
shall get to understand later on, can only be attained by the 
human-soul best explained on the assumption that it's nature 
is imperfect, but carries within itself the freedom of will to join 
God in perception, thought, feeling, and action. The misery 
which the state of imperfection brings with it, as well as the 
calamities caused by the laws of the elements, steep the life of 
the conscious beings so deeply in suffering as to make us 
convinced that only one thing is capable of reconciling us to the 
fact of God's perfection, and that is, that human races can be 
the bearers of God's consciousness (Gottesbewufitsein) on one 
planet at the time being. 

This means a confession which is of a significance as yet 
unheard of, not only for the existence of certain soul-laws in 
rule, but also for the laws governing the history and cultural- 
life of the different folks of the earth. To all those without any 
personal experience of such a general insight, this might appear 
at first to be an assumption of a very 'wilful' or 'unimportant' 
kind altogether, while, in reality, it is the key opening the gate 
to the knowledge revealing the sense of human-life as well as 
its history and culture. Indeed hardly any other truth, can be 



292 



more capable of fructifying the moral values, we are about to 
set forth, than this ground truth is: The state of God's conscious- 
ness is to be found in man alone*). This fact in itself must mean 
sublimeness to man, yet it includes something more which is of 
greater importance still: As God is the absolute, is perfection, 
it issues, that the being, in whom alone God can be manifested 
consciously, must be granted, by virtue of this very fact, the 
inherent possibility of self-creation to a state of perfection which 
happens as the result of the subjection of all our conscious life 
and deeds to the divine-wishes. And after the soul has succeeded 
in living the absolute, death follows, as it does to all body cells 
as a natural course. Death obliviates consciousness, after which 
the cells, returned to dust, reveal manifestations of the will, 
similar to all "dead* stone, in the form of 'physical and chemical 
characters' (substances). 

Thus, the guilty feeling which will overcome man before God 
is not surprising in front of the fact, that, in becoming God's 
consciousness, the responsibility lies solely upon man himself, 
and the only chance for its accomplishment is during the time 
he lives! Indeed how few are what they are able to be! There is 
another superb historical fact which, when seen from this angle, 
gains deeply in meaning: When worldly desires and errors keep 
man from fulfilling his sacred duty, the divinity in one man has 
been known to awaken suddenly, in the stress of danger, to such 
a state of clear consciousness, as to be the means of leading 
other men back again to a godly life. 

Observe then, how our philosophy raises man to unbelievable 
heights, in that it gives witness to his being God's consciousness. 
In revealing to man the fact that he alone, admist all the rest 
of the universe, stands elevated so high, the assurance of obtain- 



* To dwell here on the philosophical proof for the statement, that "the single state 
where God finds consciousness is within man alone", would lead us too far into phrenolo- 
gical details. It has been therefore treated in full as the problem "liberum arbitrium 
inditferentiae". (S. "Origin and Nature of the Soul", "The Soul of the Human- 
Being", chapter Freedom of the Will.) 



ing a state of perfection already in this life was also given to 
him, as well as the responsibility of fulfilling his life in this 
sacred sense. Especially in times of evil, when men in general 
have given up God, to lead an immoral life instead, cognisance 
of such a weighty kind means double responsibility to the few, 
who have managed to keep their divine-wishes alive within 
them! 

The ability to cognize exactly how sublime and unique the 
nature of the task is which has been allotted to us in the universe, 
compells the antidivine to give way to the divinity within us. 
Also, the divinity within us will grow strong in the grave know- 
ledge, that the realms beyond are obtainable only before death 
occurs; never after. In the longing to gain this life beyond, many 
things lose the significance they once had. Wonders are worked 
within the soul; it awakens to the state of the highest conscious- 
ness. Then the time is at hand, when, elevated beyond itself and 
the world-of-appearances (Welt der Erscheinungen), it can 
partake in the life of God. In this state of the soul it is clearly 
revealed to us, that time, space and causality belong to reason's 
form of thought which enable us to research the visible-world 
(Welt der Erscheinung), but which we have no right to use when 
we are concerned with the life of God, for God-living is out of 
their reach. Our God-experience tells us how foolish it is to 
want an explanation of the internal nature of things (God) 
(Wesen der Dinge) through reason's instrument. Man would not 
do this, were he less entangled in wordly snares. We have ceased 
to put the silly questions about the beginning and end of God; 
instead, we have attached our lives to God, thus participating in 
the eternal-life; for we know that the visible-world (Welt der 
Erscheinungen) only has a beginning and an end, and in respect 
to this world only is it right and proper to apply forms of 
thought such as space, time and causality. "What is the cause 
of God's existence" and such like questions, concerning the 



beyond, reveal how ignorant man is in the use of reason's 
potencies. He might just as well use a barometer to tell the time, 
as put the instrument of reason to such a purpose. It is a futile 
endeavour. But all these tantalising mysteries are solved of their 
own accord, as soon as we are lifted to that state of conscious- 
ness which transcends the mundane planets; namely, when our 
consciousness has become God's, or the consciousness of the inner 
nature of things (Wesen der Erscheinung). We can put reason 
in its proper place then. When we are at the task of researching 
the visible-world (Welt der Erscheinung) around us, we use 
reason's potencies, like the fine intsrument it is, but when we 
want to comprehend the inner nature of things (Wesen der Er- 
scheinung), we lay it aside, as being an instrument neither 
proper nor useful for such a purpose. 

As previously mentioned, in our endeavours to arrive at the 
truth we have not relied on the inner voice alone. As far as 
reason was capable of supporting us, we have conscientiously 
trodden the path of logic and scientific knowledge. Whereever 
reason was forbidden, intuition became our guide. Therefore the 
results mean something more than a "new faith". Indeed it is 
knowledge, it is cognition, which according to its intrinsic 
nature, might rightly be called 'wisdom', for it culminates in 
God. Now, the real sage does not obtain his wisdom through 
blind 'belief, but through the 'insight' which he has been capable 
of gaining. He will always opine that words are inadequate to 
describe to others how and in what way the goal may be 
attained, for the remembrance of his God-Living fills him still 
with too much awe and respect. He knows it to be a part of 
a man's life which can be lived but never talked about. 

Nevertheless, in the summary which now follows, we put 
forth this wisdom, as being the confession of our God-Cognition; 
it must strictly be refrained from being looked at in the light 
of a dogma, for, by the very virtue of its being, our God- 



295 



Cognition is loathe to any kind of dogma. It has come to our 
knowledge in the selfsame way, as the laws of nature have been 
made known to mankind, through 'insight'. 
I. I know, that only the unicelled-beings, like the germ-cell, 

have the potency to live without end in the realms of the 

visible-world (Welt der Erscheinung). I, myself, must die 

like all the other somatical-beings. 
II. I know, that when mortality happened to the soma-cells, 

in order to assert itself, began a process of transformations 

until consciousness was born in man. 

III. I know, that, owing to my conscious state, the possibility 
is given to me to live God (the Divine, the Genius, the 
Beyond) consciously and by this to fulfil my Immortal-Will 
as long as I live (after death it is eliminated). 

IV. I know, that man, by virtue of his reason, has become the 
consciousness of the visible- world (Welt der Erscheinung). 
Moreover, a few, by their own free decision become God's 
consciousness as long as ever they live. I, too, can gain 
perfection through my own free decision and deed of self- 
creation. 



296 



<@0D itoittg and tl)c 



The struggle-for-life, the vital desires, thirst, hunger, sexual- 
ity, together with the misconception and misinterpretation of 
God, (caused by reason's half-knowledge mingled with error) 
have worked such havoc in the soul of man, as to make the keen 
observer lose all hope of perfection ever being achieved on earth. 
For alas! The divine potencies in man he sees everywhere 
stunted. 

Now we might be led to think that the fallacies, caused by 
reason's half-knowledge, the evil done through the vital-desires, 
greed especially for money, (still unborn in the animal-kingdom) 
were the only causes which induced the struggle-for-existence 
to feel hostile to God. Deeper thought shows how erroneous this 
assumption is, for a yawning gulf must exist between a struggle- 
for-existence which is ruled by principles-of-utility and wishes 
of a divine kind which are distinguished by exactly the absence 
of such like principles. Thus, then, the gulf can appear to be 
almost unsurmountable. There is a tragic air about the fact, that 
the redemption of the Immortal- Will which finally came to 
pass in the awakening of the divine-wishes to consciousness 
should have created another gulf, graver than the one already 
existing between the Immortal-Will and natural-death. The 
significance, it bears, seems all the more obvious, in as much as, 
contrary to the adherents of religions which teach of a heaven, 
we are fully aware how necessarily important our existence, 
that ends with our death, is, in respect to the realisation of our 
Immortal-life. 



In order to realise properly what this apparently unsur- 
mountable gulf means we should, do well to make an observ- 
ation of a certain existence first which is totally free from the 
direct workings of either God or degeneration. For this purpose, 
the life of the higher animals are best to choose, as these are 
next to us. 

When the young animal leaves the care of its mother to enter 
independently into the general struggle-for-life, many things in 
its surroundings crowd in upon it. Already it has learned to 
know the ones which are its bitter enemies; these fill the young 
animal with fear. Others, it has found out, are of no importance 
in its life and therefore it takes no notice of them. The rest it 
mistrusts, being still unaware of the nature they are made of. 
Warding-off danger and the search for food are the two occup- 
ations which fill up its life. It is roused out of its mood of 
peace through torments of hunger which were sent by the self- 
preservation-Will within it. The tortures it generally has to 
suffer are so out of proportion to the fleeting moments of 
pleasure which it is allowed to enjoy, that it might seem as if 
something like a curse hovers over its existence. It is well to 
know first that the beast is priviledged to sink into the state 
of blessed oblivion, or else the 'patience* with which it suffers 
its joyless and burdensome fate might appear to be almost 
incredible. It lives merely in the present. The past it cannot 
remember consciously, and the future, with its looming pains 
and fears, is beyond its power to anticipate. Much peace has 
been granted to the beast, which lends to its behaviour a charac- 
ter of stateliness, especially when it is compared to the hastiness 
and restlessness of man. It will never be induced to struggle 
for anything more than for the bare necessities of its existence 
and consequently, as soon as these are secured, it sinks back 
again into the lethargical state it is accustomed to, where no 
emotions of joy or pain can touch it, so that we think of the 



298 



beast then as being in the same condition as human beings are 
when these feel 'comfortable*. The very young animal will 
manifest more feelings than those of comfort. It shows how 
glad it is to be alive when times are peaceful. It is up and doing 
things without the necessity to earn its living forcing its actions. 
It springs and jumps about in play, 'free from any care*. Just 
like the human child, it loves teasing its companions; it is 
enjoying life! 

There are cases when the adult-animal is also capable of 
enjoying life. The domesticated-animals give clear witness to 
this fact. The dog, especially in that it has been spared the 
struggles for its own existence through the care of its master, 
will show signs of undiluted joy. The rest of the animals, how- 
ever, which have to fight for themselves, are quickly sobered 
and at a very early period lose all desire for play. In old age 
the lethargical state, characteristic of the beasts, is uninterrupted, 
save for outbreaks of bad temper or the excitement of combat. 
This gradual descent from an overflowing joy to sobriety and 
from this to morbidity and bad temper are signs well known 
to us. It is the scale of emotions generally prevailing as the 
ages change, not only in the animal kingdom but among human- 
kind too. It strikes all those individuals, who, in having been 
too taken up with superficial cares, have remained ignorant of 
God's life. This does not imply however that the struggle-for- 
existence is alone responsible for the descent of the emotional- 
life, for, curiously enough, it is found to exist in individuals 
who are not obliged to fight for their own living. In fact, it is 
very clearly exhibited in actually lazy people who let others 
work for them. Old age is the chief cause of it. In other words 
the gradual loss of life's power or 'vitality' of the soma-cells 
which have been doomed to age and die. Therefore it comes 
natural to all beasts and men, save those men who have cultivated 



299 



God within themselves. The decrease of vitality, in the somatical 
sense, is overcome by an increase of the powers of genius. 

Thus then, the life of the individual animal passes in alter- 
nate change; from states of frequent work and torments to the 
rarer times of peace and rest. Yet this is a fate which indeed 
can be called a 'happy* one, when compared to the existence of 
some other kind of animals which, to avoid danger, have united 
together in a kind of state-community, as for instance the ants 
dave done. Their lives are utterly bare of any peace or rest at 
all, they are like the organs of the multicelled-beings. For 
instance, the heart keeps on pumping without the slightest 
interruption from the first until the last minute of life. In like 
manner animals, such as the ants, start working in service for 
the community and then never stop until they die. The greatest 
struggle-for-life which might happen to a single animal, 
accustomed to danger, is nothing compared to the hardship and 
monotony of those animals ruled by a state. In having con- 
gregated, they have found better protection. Unity has made 
them strong, so much so, that they have become the feared enemy 
of animals, they could never risk to encounter alone. But for 
the protection which this community affords them they were 
obliged to sacrifice the sole delights which could ever be theirs; 
peace and independence! If they could but know that inevitable 
death one day, of a certainty, will destroy the grand edifice, 
they have taken such trouble to build, as well as themselves; 
what would happen, we wonder? Would they still continue as 
before to labour at such a restless pace? Incredible though it 
be; there are numbers of individuals among mankind who live 
no worthier than the hasty ants. In fact they persist in this way 
of living, although they know quite well about death and what 
all their troubles are really worth. Notwithstanding, they have 
not the slightest ambition to change their mode of life for the 
better. Not even that mode of life attracts them which at least 



300 



the animal, living singly, enjoys: The existence which falls into 
a state of peace as soon as ever the bare necessities for a living 
have been acquired! 

Although life in the animal-kingdom has not had to suffer 
from the effects of degeneration, it is crystal clear that it runs, 
nevertheless, in the opposite direction to the divine-wishes ot 
God, (for these are spaceless, timeless and without purpose.) 
A deep gulf yawns between the nature of the vital-desires and 
the divine-wishes of the soul. But might there not be the 
possibility of spanning bridges over the deep gulf by means of 
feeling which might have a divine nature? 

Wherever we look in the emotional-world of the animal we 
see hate underlying all the feelings they exhibit towards their 
surroundings. On the occasion of a superficial observation this 
fact is hidden, because of the incapability of the animal-mind 
to remember things. It is not on the level of a man's state of 
consciousness. The animal, in being incapable of retaining 
experiences in its memory, will express the feeling of hate only, 
when it is actually capable of sensing it and that is, practically, 
at the time of danger and only while this actually lasts. Hence, 
as soon as danger has passed, it falls back again into its habitual 
state of indifference. But the voice of the Immortal-Will, within 
the animal, continually admonishes it to hate everything, dead 
or alive, which threatens its life and never will the Immortal-Will 
cease in this demand! This is a fact, the vital importance, of 
which every living thing tells us of and which we must indelibly 
imprint on our minds, because the nonknowledge of evolution 
and its laws has done already such infinite harm to man. It goes 
without saying, of-course, that in those men, whose Immortal- 
Will sublimated in longing for God-Life, hate shows trans- 
formation similar to the spiritualisation of the Immortal-Will. 
(We shall come back again to this theme.) 

The sadly monotonous state of emotions which the animal 



301 



exhibits to the world around it is made up of hate and indiffer- 
ence. Occasionally, however, this is interrupted by the waves 
of sexual-heat which make themselves felt and which induce the 
animal to approach, accordingly, the other of its own kind. But 
as soon as its sexual-sensation has been gratified, it falls back 
again into its old monotony. The sensations, experienced in 
connection with its young, are of a deeper and more lasting 
kind. The higher the class is to which the animal belongs, the 
more helpless it is after birth, the stronger grows the mother- 
instinct together with the desire to tender and make sacrifices 
for the young. This is the fount of all the deep mother love. But 
even this instinct fades away into indifference as soon as the 
young have gained the state of independence. Finally, we can 
observe how the animals congregate together in herds or flocks, 
or live in matrimony, like birds do, thus manifesting an emotion 
the kind of which can be described as having 'grown used to 
each other' which strongly puts us in mind of the family relat- 
ionship of man. In gloomy world of brute emotions, there 
is not yet the faintest shimmer of the divinity but it is there, 
nevertheless, only slumbering. The behaviour of the higher kind 
of animals, when they come in contact with man whose soul 
exists in the most awakened state of all, give ample witness to 
this fact. Already we have heard of the awakened state of 
conscience which the dog will exhibit and also the sentiments of 
tender attachment it develops, when longer in the company of 
man. Sentiments, which, in respect to strength and permanency, 
it is utterly incapable of exhibiting for its own kind. If this 
means, that the influence which the mind of man exercises over 
the dog and the care he takes for its welfare is the cause of the 
divinity awakening which manifests itself then in sentiments 
and actions, it also means, that the divinity before that was in 
a state of slumber. 
Observe then, how this daily intercourse with man has 



302 



produced a creature which is neither man nor animal. Here we 
seem to have to do with an 'anachronistical' (if we may so call 
it) awakening of the divinity in respect to the sentiments and 
actions of the animal towards its master; the one who has proved 
to be its friend in the struggle-for-life. And yet, every time 
the domesticated animal is obliged to play the part of a struggler- 
for-existence which sometimes happens in spite of its priviledged 
position; the pitiful alternative between hatred and indifference, 
manifest in the state of its emotions, steps again into its rights. 
It is interesting to watch the divine glance spring into the eyes 
of an animal when it is acting from feelings of attachment, 
forgetting sometimes, when it does so, its own instinct of self- 
preservation; and then compare the virtuous nature of this 
glance to the glance which is habitual in the eyes of all such 
men in whom the divinity is dead. In having given themselves 
up to the sole endeavours of earning a living, while enlisting as 
well in the petty service of mere utility, such individuals have 
become animalised in an anachronistical manner. 

Already we have been fully satisfied that the divine feature, 
called truth, exists everywhere, albeit unconsciously, in the 
animal-kingdom. All the animals 'ring true* in that their out- 
ward behaviour accords with the motives for the deed. How- 
ever, there is a grave fact we may not overlook here and that 
is; the higher the animal-mind (understanding) has become 
developed, the more easily do those characteristics, called 
cunning and slyness, make their appearance in the heat of the 
combat which aim at deceiving the enemy as to the motives 
which underlies the deed. The evils of cunning and slyness, how- 
ever, are redeemed in the animal from the fact that they are 
applied only in cases of emergency, i. e. when the life-interests 
of the animal are in danger, in the strict sense of the word. 
Therefore the animal's habit of cunning and slyness are in no 
ways identical with the hypocricy and lies which distort the 



303 



life of human-kind. Nevertheless it makes us feel grave to think 
that the impulse to use trickery in the struggle-for-life was 
inherent in the breast of man almost before the divinity in man 
began to awaken; it was the characteristic, he was already in 
possession of as representing a piece of property which had 
been bequeathed to him from the animal-kingdom. Observe 
now the make up of the inheritence received from the animal. 
Instead of the Wish-to-Goodness and Beauty there is the sole 
interest in utility. In place of charity, hatred towards every- 
thing which threatens its life, and in place of the Wish-to-Truth 
the use of strategem, when danger of death is near. 

The majority of mankind indeed live similar lives. Nothing 
varies the state of their emotions which change alternately from 
hatred to indifference. When they have to work, they are 
animated with the thought of the profit it brings, otherwise they 
prefer being indolent. Passing sexual-intercourse makes up the 
rest. Yet they are without the benefits which the animal enjoys, 
in that it is oblivious of the past and suspects nothing of the 
future, for the awakening of reason has changed the whole 
course of man's life. Reason has built a bridge of errors in order 
to span the gulf between natural death and the Immortal- Will. 
In similar manner it has tried to span the gulf between the 
demands of the struggle-for-life and the divine-wishes existing 
in the soul of man, but that bridge likewise was built of errors. 
Just as the course of development found its way to spiritu- 
alisation, in spite of all the deviations reason seemed obliged to 
make, and the yawning gap disappeared, the divinity in man 
subjected vital-desires to divine-wishes, so that unity came to 
pass. 

In very early times, already, men were fully conscious of the 
fact that the vital-desires strongly clashed with the divine-ones. 
The contrariness and antagonism which had sprung up between 
the two began to appear almost insurmountable. To prevent this 



304 



state continuing men thought out means to overcome the diffi- 
culty, but these have proved since to have been of a very 
erroneous and uncouth kind. One of these primitive methods 
still exists to-day and might be called the worst of its kind. 
It is the habit men have of wrapping up the divine-trends into 
space, time and purpose. Having thus been stripped of their 
divine nature, it was an easy matter to bring about a union. (We 
have already treated these attempts and the results which 
followed). The second method which cropped up with the same 
regularity as the first in all the religious teachings of the past is 
just as erroneous, because of the awful ignorance which is 
revealed concerning the meaning of life, the law of life, as well 
as the true nature of God, although a greater spirit of respect 
is manifested towards the divine-wishes. It teaches that, as vital 
desires are contrary to God's Will, the only escape from them 
is through the practice of asceticism and the denial of the world. 
Consequently the monk's cell was resorted to, where, in hours 
of prayer, sin could be overcome. Undoubtedly this was a life 
which was dedicated to God, but undertaken in such a onesided 
way and in utter ignorance of the fact that the vital-desires 
are capable of being sublimated and united to the divine-wishes. 
While the asceticism of the monk considered sexuality to be 
the worst sin against God but surrendered itself willingly to 
the temptations which the enjoyment of eating and drinking 
offered; another kind of religious-ideal considered fasting to be 
higher than chastity in the eyes of God so that in this case the 
food taken was not only limited to the smallest quantities but 
also to certain particular kinds. It was thought that such rules 
would help to lead a man to God: In Theosophical and Antro- 
posophical-circles a kind of divine cookery book has made its 
appearance according to the recipes of which a state of perfect- 
ion can be concocted. The origin of these fallacies are to be 
found in the doctrines of Buddha and Krishna which cropped up 



305 



at the time of the decline of the Indian race. Christianity 
adopted very many of those creeds, but the errors, we have just 
mentioned, are not preached in the gospels in this way exactly, 
although the surrendering of one's possessions is claimed to be 
a good way to gain salvation. The Indian exhibits a greater 
independence of fate than the Christian does. The Indians 
sought to overcome the conflict, existing between existence and 
God, in that they strove for an attitude of greater indifference 
to fate. Their myth of rebirth aided them in their efforts. It 
admonished them to disdain struggling for life also for life's 
joys and sorrows should they wish to gain that state of inward 
peace essential for the sinking into contemplation which is the 
participation in divine life. Notwithstanding the fact, that the 
Indians were a folk of deep philosophical-trend, their religion, 
like all other religions which teach of a life in another world, 
lacked the drive and potency to genuine divine contemplation. 
The art of Yoga which they were in the habit of teaching gives 
ample witness to this fact. This contains religious-practices 
which are supposed to help man to participate in the life of 
God, inspite of all the impediments which lie in the way. 
According to the truth which has been revealed to us, we know 
that the possibility to partake in the life of God is given to us 
in this life only. It is the very gravity of this thought which 
animates us, and as we know by experience what the real nature 
of God is there is something comic about laying down fast rules 
wherewith to obtain the life in the beyond, especially when the 
rules practised are those of auto-suggestion and the results which 
follow mistaken for God-living (Gotterleben). Moreover we are 
amazed at the doctrines which laud poverty, chastity and self- 
denial, as being the adequate means in overcoming the conflict 
which separates the struggle-for-life from God-living. 

Verily, God-living (Gotterleben) strikes out on quite a differ- 
ent path. In its endeavours to solve the problem it does not 



306 



allow itself to be roughly dragged into the daily routine nor 
does it flee the world. On the contrary, in its own sublime way 
it interpenetrates all vital-desires in subjecting them to the 
divine-Will. 

At the time, when mankind began to live in communities, he 
sought for revenge for murder the keener his memory grow. 
The impressions, however, which the results of the continual 
chain of revenge for homicide left on his brain were so fatal in 
the end, as to make him seek new ways to make up for the 
taking of life. Goods and chattels were demanded instead of 
life. Here for the first time the conception was born that guilt 
should be atoned for. Later this idea, in the sacrifices of those 
races who distinguished themselves by their fear of demons, 
gained in significance. But not only that, goods and chattels 
became suddenly of great value, in as much as they could be 
exchanged for the very life of a man. As a consequence the 
individual life of man also gained in value, in as much as by 
such means it could more often be saved than heretofore. As 
a result of this reasoning the beginnings of a foundation to 
laws-of-the-land were laid (I repeat laws which were born of 
reason) and simultaneously, although unintentionally, a bridge 
leading to God was built. For through the surrender of goods 
and chattels, instead of strife, peace and goodwill appeared on 
earth which were the essentialities to progress. 

The suffering, memory kept alive which had been caused to 
some in the community through the selfishness of others, made 
reason think it good to extend the hand of the law over all the 
other ranges belonging to the protection of life and good with 
the motto on her shield: Do to others as you would be done 
by. At the same time, as if to balance this, there existed an 
inherent selfpreservation instinct subconscious in the breats of 
man (who at that time still lived in the purity of race) which 
was identical with the instinct to keep the kind going inherent 



307 

20* 



in the animal. This instinct is clearly manifested when the 
animal cares for its young or puts up a tenacious fight for its 
own life, or as in the case of the ants and bees (the state-builders) 
the intense service each one makes for the good of the whole. 
The dire knowledge what foolish behaviour man is capable of, 
resulting in such infinite harm to himself, his family and his 
folk, in that freedom instead of compulsory force accompanies 
his selfpreservation instinct, made the wisest and best think it 
proper to lay down fast rules to make up for the absence of 
force in this instinct. Though these laws are born of reason and 
serve practical purposes, yet the divine in man was now actually 
given the first royal chance of exfoliating; in other words, the 
conflict, existing between the divine and vital-trend in man, was 
overcome for the first time, although unintentionally on the 
part of man himself, for he could not have been aware of the 
effects which would follow from all this. 

Incomparably more essential in bringing about the friendly 
relationship between the two worlds (here and beyond) was the 
power of the divine, as it grew conscious-in-feeling together 
with the support it received from the doctrine of charity which 
for its part had been prompted through the natural desire man 
felt to help his fellowmen. Such deeds were called the 'social 
virtues' and became, eventually, the means of building an expan- 
sive bridge connecting the struggle-for-life with God. The fatal 
results which issued later to the general detereoration of so 
many folks of the earth came about when charity was being 
practised without any discrimination and the duties to family 
and folk were neglected as a consequence. This evil had its 
origin when the Buddha and Krishna creeds of a coming 
'redeemer* found acceptance in the Indian folk after it had 
become degenerated, and when later the Jewish Apostles added 
their creed of hate towards others who did not profess the same 
creed; this evil, in that it was a race destroying element, grew 



308 



even worse. Thus then, the bridge, leading from the struggle- 
for-life to the realms of God which had promised such success, 
had become now also the means of the folks' destruction. In the 
one great virtue, called charity, (humanity) all the other 
opportunities which the wish-to-goodness offered were over- 
looked, so that it came to pass that genius came but second to 
the demands which the practice of this virtue made on him. 
More even, as the consequence of this ignorance the divine 
wishes got all mixed up with the duties owed to the common- 
law (laws of the land). And this error happens to be the worst 
which still exists in the morals of today. Yet, despite this grave 
error, the bridge, leading from struggle-for-life to God, still 
holds, for indeed the common-laws and charity have bestowed 
a great blessing on mankind. 

Another great aid was the progress in the development of reason 
itself. Although reason is capable of erring and in having often 
done so caused the struggle-for-life to become so degenerated 
and full of unnecessary hardships; through reason, nevertheless, 
the struggle for the bare necessities of life, that is, the life we 
think of as being contrary to the life led in the light of the 
divine-wishes, has been greatly improved. To understand what 
this means, we have but to bear in mind the immeasurable 
benefits to mankind which the cognising potencies and insight 
of man's reason have brought; for instance every time he was 
able to perceive the prime-cause amidst the cosmical happen- 
ings. By virtue of his reason's potencies man has become the 
master of the forces of nature instead of their slave: What once 
was of danger man has turned into his service, something 
which the animal mind was incapable of doing. Hence, the 
struggle-for-existence has been made comparatively easy for a 
great number of individuals provided of course, that the 
vississitudes of war and catastrophes of nature have been spared 
them. From this might be expected, that less stood in the way 



309 



of the fulfilment of the divine-wishes, than in those far-off 
centuries when the forces of nature had not been mastered yet. 
But it is not so, for the steady increase of population and the 
evil effects which the state of degeneration leaves behind it has 
rendered the struggle-for-existence even more difficult than it 
ever was, so that it goes almost without saying, that the 
marvellous bridge, crossing from here to the beyond, has been 
laid almost barren through reason's evil concoctions. 

Yet the influence of the trends of God's Will, inherent in the 
breast of man, have caused the trend of his animal emotions 
and instincts to be so closely interpenetrated with these, that one 
might well speak of a 'divine' transformation. They have 
formed another bridge, more beneficial and of more importance 
which man could use if he desired to enter the realms beyond. 

As we have already observed, the fundamental sensation of 
all vitality was hatred. It was the sole sentiment which was 
capable of arousing the living-being out of its habitual lethargy 
and was directed against everything, without exception, which 
might threaten in any way its own life. Now, as man, unlike the 
animal, cannot forget the past, the feeling of hate, in particular, 
has proved to be the worst of all God's enemies. It is apt to 
paralyse terribly the feelings of charity; in so many cases it has 
suffocated altogether the wish-to-goodness, and it has rather seen 
lies than the wish-to-truth triumphant. Alone the wish-to-beauty 
it leaves unattacked. For this reason the sense of beauty has had 
a better chance to develop in the cultural folks than the other 
divine- wishes have. We are not surprised, therefore, that Buddha 
and Krishna, in face of this awful danger to God-living, felt 
obliged to create those world-religions of humanity which 
chiefly contained doctrines preaching the resignation of hate. 

In those creeds man was admonished to quench the feeling 
of hate within him altogether. He was told that if he practised 



310 



the virtue of charity, he could even turn his hate into love. What 
a fatally absurd idea this was! If a man should ever succeed in 
rooting out his sentiments of hate, he would have first to 
extirpate his own innate Immortal- Will, for, as we have clearly 
perceived hate has its origin in the Immortal-Will of man, 
which, by the very law of its being, must flare up into hate in 
order to give the signal that life is in danger. Thus then, the 
results of the exhortation to resign hatred in reality looked like 
this: In many ways it appeared as if hatred had been successfully 
overcome, in reality however it still worked disaster in the soul 
of man. It is a pity we must refrain here from discussing the 
sublime way of redemption, where, under the divine influence, 
hate can be successfully transformed so as to be fit even for the 
service of God. We should be going too far into the range of 
our morals. But one thing we should like to mention here, and 
that is, if the sentiments of hate are put under the guidance of 
the divine- Will, the deep gap which it usually makes will be 
easily bridged over, for harmony instead of discord will reign 
with God then. 

The vital-instincts, inherited from the animal, work also in 
a contrary direction to God. But here also, the divine-wishes 
are able to overcome the conflict in their own sublime way, they 
can either interpenetrate the vital-wishes or loosen them from 
their bondage. Both ways are far superior in its kind to the 
petty endeavours springing from the reason which the Indians 
and Christians put forth when they preach of the resignation of 
the sexual and food-instincts. God demands neither chastity nor 
fasting from mankind. On the contrary, potential life in the 
individual as well as in the race is holy and significant to God, 
for the simple reason that the life in the realms beyond can be 
assured to man only as long as he lives. Therefore God respects 
all sane vitality in allowing all the conditions essential to it. 



And when the vital-instincts threaten to become stumbling- 
blocks which hinder man's partaking in the divine-life, it is 
again the divine influence which steps in and liberates man from 
his vital-instincts altogether. For instance, a creative artist can 
go on for days without almost any food when he is particularly 
taken up with his artistic production. Being then in the realms 
beyond, hunger and thirst are practically not felt. Days and 
nights will be passed in utter disregards of the wants of the 
body. But as soon as the state of genial production has passed 
over, the body demands its rights again. Then the artist, not 
like those hypocrites who believe a good appetite to be some- 
thing unholy, will satisfy the wants of his body with right good 
will. In this way, then, God-living is enabled to escape with 
case from the bondage of the strict rythmical beat of the body's 
want of food and its satisfaction, when its subjection to these 
would mean a hindrance to the realisation of the divine Will, 
namely that time a man spends in the life-beyond. A sane person 
will always refrain from exaggeration, even in this respect, in 
the sure knowlegde that the satisfaction of the natural demands 
of the body is essential in order to lead a healthy life, for earthly 
existence is the prime essential to the living of the Life-Immortal. 
In this endeavour, therefore, the impulse for food should neither 
be mortified nor unnecessarily restrained. What really matters is, 
that it should get rid of that trait which is so awfully hostile 
to God and which makes it so difficult for a man to live his 
life in God, in those realms where time is not. We are thinking 
of the antigodlike habit man has of strictly timing all his 
experiences with the slavelike regularity of the machine! Un- 
fortunately man succumbs to this fault only too readily, thus 
making it so difficult for himself to bring the daily struggle-for- 
existence to harmonise with God. Moreover all the numerous 
inventions of his own reason's making appear to fetter rather 
than free him from the enslavery which the living of his life 



means when he divides it strictly according to time. We shall 
treat this again. 

There is another feeling of pain and discomfort, from which 
a like divine escape is undertaken when it tends to act as an 
impediment to man in his participation of God, and that is 
the feeling of pain caused from illness. These arc practically 
not felt at all, when the patient lives God. In fact, it is amazing 
to what extent the insensitiveness to pain will grow, provided 
the divinity in a man was been keenly developed. (Of course 
it must be clearly understood that by this we do not mean 
anything which is connected with the painless zones of hysterical 
individuals.) Nor must we think that merely distraction is 
required, should this state of utter insensitiveness to pain be 
gained. Incidently, Christian-Science has occupied itself with 
this problem with the result, that the truth has suffered complete 
misinterpretation. This singular behaviour towards pain which 
a patient will manifest during illness has led to the belief in the 
fallacy, that pain is one of the 'corrective means of the deithy', 
sent to man for his salvation. The different conditions of the 
patients rest chiefly on the nature of his liberation from pain. 
Is it of a divine nature, this will be reflected in the patient's 
whole behaviour; while the mind of the one concentrates itself 
wholly on the diseased part, the other, it will be observed, will 
give hardly the sufficient attention which even the doctor might 
think was due to his illness. On the contrary, if the endeavours 
to gain a living left him little leisure while he was able to get 
about, the sick-room will be dear to him in that the chance is 
given him to partake of God in peace. And it is this divine peace 
only which is able to obliviate pain. In the keen occupations of 
the practicalities of life or in the passion of the chase after 
avarice or ambition men will be made to forget their pains too, 
but never are these distractions appropriate like the workings 
of the divinity are in making men so divinely insensitive to 



3*3 



pain. But, of course, whereever the intensity of the pain is 
greater than the attained state of insensitiveness, these will 
prevail, calling man's attention to them imperatively. 

Now that we have finished demonstrating the independence 
of physical defects which Godliving manifests, ve must turn 
to denounce as error the statement that bodilj health and 
power are a hindrance to the development of the di/inity innate 
in man; this is most certainly not the case. On the contrary, 
complete health of, all the soma-cells is of vital importance in 
order to achieve that state of keener consciousness which facil- 
itates the endeavours of a man to live according to the divine- 
wishes of God's Will. If, however, the subjection of the vital- 
instincts to the divine-wishes has been neglected and by reason 
of this fact have remained still at the animal-stage and as such 
are contrary to God, they will be more capable of hindering the 
development of the divine- wishes, than the weakened instincts 
in the case of the bodily infirmed. As the religious moral-creeds 
exercise such an extraordinary influence over the majority of 
mankind, few have been really able to subject their bodily- 
desires to the Will of God, and as a consequence it has become 
almost essential for a man to have weakly developed passions, 
should he be able to do justice to the Will of God. 

This fact brings us round to face sexuality as being opposed 
to God. How can this be put right? During God-Living, the 
influence of God is so strong that sexual-passion disappears of 
itself, so that its opposing effect is hardly obvious. However, 
the best way to overcome the opposition is to associate the 
sexual-will to the divine-wishes. The more this takes place, the 
greater will it be dependent on the fact in how far the divine- 
wishes are satisfied or dissatisfied. When finally sexual-will and 
divine-wishes have become inseparable, the conflict between the 
two Will have disappeared altogether, if but from the fact that 
the desire for any sexual-communion would disappear, as soon 



as it threatened to stand in the way towards God, without a 
man feeling anything extraordinary about the matter. In effect, 
sexual-passion, provided it is held completely under the sway of 
its association with the divine, can be raised to that rank which 
we shall henceforth call spiritualised minne. Once in this rank, 
it becomes the most powerful aid in the fulfilment of the divine- 
wishes which before might have slumbered. Then, not only the 
experience of joy becomes divine, but the experience of suffering 
also. 

When we come to demonstrate our morals of minne, we shall 
be obliged to concern ourselves, first with the fact, that man 
has done very little towards supporting this relationship, in 
that he has allowed the errors, caused by his reason's inefficiency 
to perceive more than the half of truth to gain the upperhand 
and in doing so has widened the gulf, already existing between 
divine-wishes and sexuality. 

We have already noted that among the divine-wishes, the 
Wish-to-Beauty was less exposed to injurious hatred. It might 
have had therefore a greater chance to exfoliate, had man, like 
the animal, been permitted to live in closer connection with 
nature, practising just the vital-demands (like the animal does) 
which existence lays on him. As it is, the struggle-for-life has 
been made so difficult in the noisy towns through the density 
of which the rays of light and air can hardly ever pervade, that 
the sense of beauty is under continual insult. Men, famished for 
the want of beauty, are doomed to live all their lives in the most 
ugly surroundings, making the divinity-in-perception more 
opposed than it natural was towards that struggle in the general 
chase for the practical. But here again God comes to man's aid! 
Just as the influence of the divine was capable of releasing the 
ties of time which threatened to make him the slave to his 
bodily-instincts, in like manner the divine influence releases him 
from the ties of space which bind him to ugliness. Sometimes 



this happens through the power of imagination (phantasy) which 
God makes use of. It becomes the magic wand which throws 
the fairylike veil over the matter-of-fact, every day things, 
making them appear to be things of actual beauty. Men, who 
are full of God, will grow immune to an sting of ugliness until 
at last they become simply oblivious of its existence. It puts 
us in mind of the animal way of ignoring the objects around 
it which happen to be neither of any use nor any harm to its 
person. Therefore we conclude from this observation that men- 
of-genius exhibit the same behaviour towards the ugliness which 
they cannot escape from as the Greeks exhibited when they 
nominated such inevitable ugliness, the 'non-existing' without 
however their divine blindness being the cause for them to 
neglect the necessary every day duties. In such men, on the other 
hand, the divine-wish-to-beauty makes itself strongly felt. 
When and whereever anything really beautiful strikes their eye, 
their attention is keenly attracted, making them follow attent- 
ively the thing of beauty with the same intense feeling as the 
animals exhibit when anything useful or hostile makes its 
appearance before them. Thus the men-of -genius, living in the 
dirty ugliness of big cities, are saved from those moods of 
melancholia which would inevitably befall them if their want 
of beauty were not in some way or other redeemed. 

Thus then, we are justified in summing up as follows. Man's 
saviour is his God-living and not his reason, in as much as the 
gulf which the awakening of reason created between the 
struggle-for-life and the desires of man to live in realms beyond 
was made to disappear again through the gradual process of 
spiritualisation. The ways, this took, were, as we shall see, very 
diverse. In the first place it transformed the inheritance which 
the animal bequeathed to us, in that this was made to associate 
itself closely to the divine-wishes (sexuality). Secondly any 
disturbing feelings, such as hunger, thirst and those aroused at 



316 



the sight of ugliness, are periodically banned, so that the 
participation of man in the life of God can happen undisturbed. 
The third way, finally, which the process of spiritualisation 
goes, is in the strengthening of the divine-wishes to power. This 
way bears the most importance. Mankind might have been 
spared much of the suffering which the conflicting desires of this 
life and the life beyond still cause even today, had the process 
of spiritualisation been allowed to go its own dear way. As 
it is, succeeding generations were compelled to accept all the 
errors and fruits of degeneration which belonged to their 
ancestors, as well as the misconceptions of God which degraded 
religions suggested. The process of civilisation (the knowledge 
of the laws of nature and technical inventions) might have 
become means of making the divine-wishes the superiors in 
man's life; whereas the fact is, that the majority have to slave 
and are abused for the sake of the enjoyment and lust of the 
few (s. Each folk's own song to God). 



37 



C^e jworalg of ttje 



The great obstacle which has always stood in the way of 
moral-development, be it the moral-development of whole races 
or the single-individual, is the principle of relativity which 
governs the human-conscience; this makes the 'voice of con- 
science' unreliable. Notwithstanding this, a development in morals 
could have been expected; for in reality, this feature is a great 
blessing, as it alone affords man the possibility of becoming 
truly good. Now let us see how this can happen. In the first 
place it can prevent one becoming good or wanting to be good 
in order to save oneself the torments of one's conscience, for 
it alone makes the alternative possible which is the deadening 
of conscience in order to escape its torments. The disaster, it 
has worked, came about because of man's falling to the fallacy 
that he could rely on his own conscience, as being the c voice 
of God'. The belief in this fallacy was strengthened through 
the feeling, called a 'good conscience', which came after a 'good' 
action had been done. In this way the erroneous doctrine of the 
"Erynnies" originated which belonged to the Greeks. The Eryn- 
nies were supposed to be persecuting the evil-doer when his 
conscience was tormenting him. Similar doctrines contained in 
other religions were those which taught that the feeling of a 
'good conscience' was the reward for a 'good deed* and a 'bad 
conscience' for an 'evil deed*. Now, not until a man has been 
able to fully realise that everyone, even the most immoral, can 
be the lucky possessor of a clear conscience if he but take care 
to keep his conscience free from the force of the moral-suggest- 



318 



ions which stand in contradiction to his actions, will he be 
capacitated to forsake the wretched moral-creep of the quadr- 
uped and erect himself walk upright like the real hyperzoan, 
he is destined to be. The first step to spiritual-exfoliation is to 
show the deepest mistrust towards one's own conscience, for 
the simple reason that it is swayed by the force of reason and 
can therefore err. 

The most degraded of men might examine the state of their 
own conscience and, in the fullness of their self-satisfaction say; 
"behold, it is good", if when judging, they have taken their 
own warped moral conceptions as the measure. If we could but 
find reasonable definitions of absolute validity for each individ- 
ual case, it would be a trivial matter to put an end, once and for 
all, to all the unreliable judgements which prevail. But as this 
is impossible, (as we have already been able to sec) the con- 
sequences are, that the most confused conceptions are mixed up 
with the word 'good'. History gives abundant examples of this. 
The burning of witches at the stake, and the massacre of millions 
of heretics and researchers etc. will suffice to show what is here 
meant. Hence we repeat again: Not reason, but God only, can 
be the redeeming factor here; God-living alone is capacitated to 
liberate man from the error which he has been persuaded to 
believe when he thinks his conscience is the "Voice of God", 
or the "Holy Ghost", and the "Pricks of Conscience" the just 
punishment for evil doing, and the trust he puts in its reliability. 
God-living only can reveal to us that our conscience is merely 
one of the many instruments of our reason, the duty of which 
is to inform us whether our actions conflict or agree with the 
conception our reason has formed of morals. This will help 
to explain why a Chinese can do things with the clearest con- 
science which would torment a Christian with the greatest qualms 
of conscience. Why we, in the fullness of our God-Cognisance, 
are obliged to call certain actions of Christians "Murder" which 



they think to be "Pious deeds". But not only according to race 
and religion does the voice of conscience show its variety, it 
differs also, in that the morals of class, family and individuals 
differ. 

In order to avoid the unreliable and come instead to the 
reality of what is good, deeper insight is requisite. Above all 
it is very necessary to know why death is compulsory, what the 
meaning of life is, and why immortality takes place before 
death, whereby, the preservation of self, family and folk become 
duties of a most sacred import, in that they are made subject 
to the divine-will, and therefore included in the wish-to-be- 
like-God. 

According to these truths, each individual of his own accord 
will come to weigh his actions. Values will then fructuate, the 
nature of which will be more and more identical with God. In 
this endeavour we can be supported greatly if we live con- 
sciously according to the divine-wishes The more we dedicate 
ourselves to the life in God as being the essence of life, the less 
we shall allow ourselves to become influenced by the confused 
moral standards which call moral actions bad and immoral 
actions good. The nearer too shall we be able to approach that 
state of perfection from the vantage of which, we can regulate 
our lives, with a somnambulic sureness, according to the divine- 
wishes and the above mentioned truths. The more we try to 
keep the divine-wishes alive in our souls, the easier we shall 
be able to discriminate if the moral-conceptions, we have formed 
by means of our reason's potencies, are likely to further the 
divinity innate in action or not. 

To escape from all confusion, it is essential, at first, to be 
able to discriminate between morals altogether. There are the 
morals of the struggle-for-existence, the morals-of-minne (the 
more spiritual ised-love) arid the morals-of-Godliving. 

In the field of the latter divine free will reigns supreme. 



320 



Right up till now, all the moral-doctrines, contained in the 
diverse religions, philosophies and natural-sciences, are stigmat- 
ised with just this lack of discrimination. One and all reveal 
a mere motley of doctrines. There are those serviceable to the 
struggle-for-life, sexuality, the life-preservation of self, family 
and folk; which are merely duties and therefore belong under 
the heading "Common Law" or the "Duties-of-Life" and then 
those pertaining to the wishes of the divine-Will, which I have 
reserved to be called alone the "Morals-of-Life", Godliving or 
morals of life. Finally, there is still to be found a few dogmat- 
ical and cult-commandments mixed up with this motley of 
creeds. Then again the materialists on the one hand, take only 
a small part of the duties pertaining to the common-weal into 
consideration, especially where the duties of self-preservation 
are concerned, while the philosophers on the other hand take 
only a part of the range where the divine-wishes come to light 
into sufficient consideration; as for example, Schopenhauer, who 
was taken up in particular with the urge which men reveal to 
come to the aid of their fellow-men, out of which the virtue of 
charity is born. Especially in the misconseption of the morals- 
of-life, as well as the duties to the common-weal governing the 
life-preservation of self and folk, the "World Religions" did 
infinite harm in that they pandered to deterioration of race. 
("The Folk-Soul and its Modellers.") The 'conscience' of all 
those religious-adherents could not have been led more astray 
than it has already happened under the inducement of such a 
motley of moral suggestions. The commandments given to Moses 
is one of the best examples for the motley of moral command- 
ments we have just been treating. Now, since 2,500 years, these 
commandments have been the foundation of the Jewish religion, 
and since 2,000 years they have played an essential part in the 
Christian religion. Even still they are allowed to exercise their 
influence over the 'voice of conscience* in our little ones. As I, 



myself, have laid down moral-values (as the issue of the truths 
I have been able to perceive) and, on accord of the solution 
which these have afforded in solving the ultimate mysteries of 
life, I am also obliged to take up a criticism of the moral- 
demands prevailing to- day. 

Note: These commandments, like all the other commandments 
of Moses, were written down by Esra in the year fivehundred 
A. D. He mostly copied them from the Books-of-the-Law be- 
longing to the Persians and Indians. I have given full witness 
to this in my other books. (S. book list). 

1st Commandment: "I am the Lord thy God which have 
brought thee out of the Land of Egypt, 
out of the house of bondage. Thou shalt 
have no other gods, before me etc." A 
dogmatic instruction of Monotheism, as 
well as a nice little reminder of the bene- 
fits God once bestowed, fill the contents 
of this commandment. 

2nd Commandment: "Thou shalt not take the name of the 
Lord thy God in vain, for the Lord will 
not hold him guiltless that taketh his 
name in vain." The contents of this 
commandment is morally degraded 
through the pursuit of intention which 
it reveals and therefore, morally speak- 
ing, is of no value. It was once a cult- 
commandment originating from the fear 
of demons. At the time Esra wrote it 
down, the conception prevailed that in 
the calling out of its name a demon could 
be disposed of. 

3rd Commandment: "Remember the Sabboth day, to keep it 
holy, 6 days etc." This is a divine- wish 



4th Commandment: 



5th Commandment: 



6th Commandment: 



7th Commandment: 
8th Commandment: 



as it calls men to God, but is spoilt 
through the command it gives sound to. 
"Honour thy father and thy mother, that 
thy days may be long upon the land 
which the lord thy god giveth thee", 
belong partly to the duties-of-life owed 
to the common-weal in its demanding 
subjection, and partly to the laws-of- 
God, but which is spoilt through the 
promise of reward, as this indicates the 
pursuit of purpose. 

"Thou shalt not kill", is one of the 
duties-of-life owed to the common-weal, 
but put in a completely immoral way, 
as it does not provide for folk-defence 
in the event of war nor self-defence in 
the case of emergency. 
"Thou shalt not commit adultery" is a 
divine-wish, although lessened in its va- 
lue through the words 'thou shalt' and 
also a duty-of-life owed to the common- 
weal. 

"Thou shalt not steal" is one of the 
duties-of-life owed to the common-weal. 
"Thou shalt not bear false witness 
against thy neighbour" could have been 
called a divine-wish, had the words 
'Thou shalt' and 'thy neighbour* been 
left out, for these represent both a com- 
mand and a limitation which should not 
be, and is therefore a part of the com- 
mon-duties (common law), owed to the 
common-weal. 



3*3 



9th Commandment: "Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's 
house etc." is a repetition and extension 
of the 7th Commandment, in that it 
points to the sin which can be committed 
'in thought' also. Thus also it belongs 
to the duties owed to the common-weal. 

10th Commandment: "Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's- 
wife, nor his man-servant, nor his maid- 
servant, nor anything that is thy neigh- 
bours." This is a repetition and extension 
of the 6th and 7th commandments, and 
therefore belongs also to duty (common- 
weal). 

Now of all these ten commandments (which in religious in- 
struction, by the way millions are made to believe, are the 
veritable foundations of morality) two repeat themselves, so 
that in reality there are only eight instead of ten. And among 
these, only one (keeping the sabboth holy) can be said to be 
a pure and disinterested divine-wish, because no purpose is 
attached. Three of these commandments are mere claims which 
the common law makes on mankind, and as such are self -under- 
stood. In fact the penal-law of our state demands their fulfil- 
ment. Therefore they have no right at all in religious instruct- 
ions. As for the rest; one commandment is a dogmatic claim; 
a second, a divine-wish (corrupted, however, through the pro- 
mise of the reward it contains) as well as being merely one of 
the duties-of-life; a third prohibits the calling up of demons; 
and a fourth a divine-wish corrupted through making a com- 
mand of it and a duty-to-life (common-weal); "Thou shalt 
not commit adultery and thou shalt not covet they neighbour's 
wife" sound particularly edifying, when heard from out the 
lips of a young child. Altogether the conceptions, contained in 
the ten commandments, seem nothing but a mass of confusion 



3*4 



when seen in the light of our philosopny. Yet historical value 
at least could be procured for them, were the children taught 
that they were extractions from the laws composed by the 
Indian Manu; laws which in themselves were partly of a very 
exalted kind and partly very profane. In every case this would 
lead to a better understanding of the tremendous insight into 
truth which, in the course of the long centuries, man has been 
led to gain under the guidance of the divinity within him. But, 
unfortunately, our children hear nothing of the like. On the 
contrary, instead of hearing that the commandments (as we 
have just said) are merely distorted extractions from the law- 
book of an Indian, they are told, that the ten commandments 
were revealed to Moses by the God of consummate excellence. 
Owing to this fact, these commandments become the very cause 
of the confusion which often goes on in the child's breast and 
which hinders it in developing spiritually. More often than not 
it is the very cause why the lowest stage can never be surpassed 
a whole life long. 

Innumerable examples of the like kind can still be found 
which have their cause in the unutterable moral-confusion of 
the prevailing creeds. From the same cause the general estimat- 
ion of character is also made up of a motley of truth and error. 
Just observe for a moment those men who are standing upon 
the top-rung of the moral-ladder. They are thought to be men 
of 'good' character, or honourable men, not because they have 
cultivated the divine-wishes within them, for, on the contrary, 
they have stunted them; and not only because they have hon- 
estly endeavoured to gain a living for their family, but simply 
because they have succeeded in amassing the family-fortune. 
Look how they walk through life in the firm belief their 
characters and achievements are "Good". Their self-satisfied mien 
plainly reveals it. They are believed to be the 'clever, smart, 
dutiful family-fathers' and enjoy the admiration of all around 



them. Along side of them, on the very same 'high rung* of the 
moral-ladder, housewives will be seen standing. Now observe 
how little the divine-wishes are alive in them, but how the 
more industrious they are in the welfare of their family, yet 
not to keep God alive in the members of their family, nor in 
the work of gaining the bare necessities of a living for them 
(these would be noble purposes), but all what seems to matter 
to them and on which their minds are solely bent is the preparing 
of the meals to the enjoyment of everyone's palate. On that 
peculiar moral-ladder, where the men stand blessed with a 'good 
character', others, of-course, are suffered to stand as well, but 
lower down, as long as these fulfil the demands which the 
struggle-for existence makes on mankind. There God-living 
matters little in men's estimation of them here. Moreover, among 
the group of 'bad' characters, there can also be found the same 
kind of mixed society. Among these 'bad' characters some are 
called 'antisocial', because of their disrespect for the ordinary 
duties of mankind; there is no distinction drawn between those, 
whose convictions are due to genius being very strong within 
them, albeit the sense of their direction may not be divine, and 
others, who in the greed for money and through the degener- 
ation of their instincts, disrespect indeed the sacredness of the 
common-law. The most curious of all among the crowd of 'bad* 
characters, however, are those individuals whom the super- 
ficiality and confusion of the prevailing morals fill with indign- 
ation, and in wanting to 'better the world' endeavour to release 
mankind from the fetters of the prevailing ideas in that they 
themselves strive to give the example of a new standard-of- 
morals. 

Hence, as all this means that the claims of God and the 
claims of gaining-a-living have become so entangled, the only 
way to find a solution is to treat each different claim separately. 
We must make a clear distinction between the claims God makes 



326 



on the struggle-for-life and the instincts of man, and God- 
living of man Itself. The aim of the latter is the strengthening 
of the divine-wishes of the divinity within man's soul. There- 
fore we must necessarily classify our code of morals as follows: 
Duties-of-life: (The common-laws owed to the common-weal 
as being thought of as the unwritten laws-of-the-land), the 
morals of the struggle-for-life, the morals-of-minne (the spirit- 
ualised love) and the morals-of-life. 

It was fatal for the religions not to have suspected the evolut- 
ion of man from the animal; not to have known of the spirit- 
ual inheritance which the animal had bequeathed to man, for it 
bereft them of the most important hypothesis. It was natural 
therefore they should remain ignorant of the fact, that the 
instinct which forced the animal to preserve its own life and 
that of its kind had to be made up for somehow in the human 
community; therefore laws to this effect, under strict penalty if 
neglected, could be the only recompense for the lack of the sure 
instinct which the animal possesses. I call these laws the Duties- 
of-life. They are completely different in their nature to those 
moral-laws I have called: the Morals-of-life. For the trait of 
divine voluntariness distinguishes the latter, that means to say, 
neither punishment nor reward has any influence over them; 
divine free-will, the aim of which is to bring man's will in unity 
with the will of God, is supreme. 

These special duties, (among the range of the duties-of-life,) 
which answer to the purpose of preserving the life of self, family 
and folk as well as preserving the spirit-of-God in the single 
individual, we cannot stop to treat here. Space has been given 
to them in the second part of my triple-work entitled "Works 
and Deed of the Human-Soul". The main points have been 
clearly and briefly indicated with the aim in view of being 
comprehensible to everyone in a booklet, entitled "Extracts from 
the God-Cognisance of my Works". 



3*7 



However, the point we should like to lay stress on in this 
book is, that the morals-of-minne (the sublimated sexual-will) 
and the morals of the struggle-for-life should always be sub- 
jected to the divine-wishes with the aim in view of giving divine 
sense to our lives. 

Knowing what the meaning of the life of man is, and what 
the animal's struggle-for-life means, it is clear that any errors 
arising in this respect will always stand in the way of man's 
living the life in God. In our observation of the animal-king- 
dom, it has been clearly revealed to us how much easier the 
struggle-for-existence, in the way the animal fights it, can har- 
monise with the divine-wishes. This is because there is no other 
aim than the one to preserve life, so that, except in cases of 
emergency when cunning is made necessary, hypocrisy is un- 
known. Thus our morals of the struggle-for-life make a peculiar 
demand on mankind: Forsake first the path of degeneration 
and confusion and return again to the amoral nature which 
characterises the animals' struggle-for-existence. 

How did the perils of degeneration arise? Like this. Through 
the power-of-memory the experience of every and sundry joy 
or pain could be held fast in the grasp of conscious remem- 
brance, and, through the power-of-reason, experience was gained 
respecting the rules governing the cause of happiness. The results 
of this were that a novel kind of struggle-for-life arose, which, 
although quite unknown among the animals, was possible in the 
life of men, notwithstanding the fact, that their intelligence 
had little of the nature of the divine. This was characterised 
by the struggling endeavours to enjoy as much and as often as 
possible. By and by this novel type of combat came up to the 
front and takes up the most part of man's life, although 
curiously enough, through the development of his reason, the 
actual struggle-for-existence had been rendered decidedly easier. 
But of this fact men seem completely oblivious. They struggle 



on untiringly without once stopping to sink into that stately 
attitude of peace which so beautifully distinguishes the animal 
when its labours for a living are over for a while. Men drive 
on from one state of pleasure to another. Instead of a just 
appeasement of hunger, the indulgence in too much and too 
good eating has become the ugly habit. Sexual-communion takes 
place, not in that holy spirit which strives for the maintance of 
the kind, but merely to indulge in the lewdness-of-lust. For such 
purposes the possession of riches, of -course, are of great import- 
ance, for riches make a man independent of working for his 
living as well as give him the facility to prepare and heap up 
pleasure for himself. To slave a life long for this aim is 
generally 'understood* to be the right thing to do. 

In still another respect has reason been able to transform 
life. When families gathered together into one folk-body to 
be ruled by a 'state', the consequences which arose were obliged 
to be different from those which arose in the animal-kingdom, 
as men were endowered with reason. Of- course, in the human- 
state individuals also work for the common-weal. But as the 
possibility always remains for the individual 'servant* in the 
state to be full of that novel instinct of man's own invention, 
that is, the chase after pleasure and amassing of fortune in order 
to escape working for a living, (all of which he can do at the 
cost of his fellowmen through the potencies of his reason) the 
unjust division of property was obliged to make its appearance 
in the human-community. So it came about that while some 
could amply satisfy all their desires, others had to work hard 
for the bare necessities of life. These abuses can have the support 
or the rejection of the state, but never will they be completely 
eliminated from human society, until each individual man has 
succeeded in changing his mode of spiritual-life, that means to 
say, until he stops his chase after mere pleasure, or in better 
words until he stops being merely a 'fortune hunter*. Now those 



who are acquainted with the laws which render the soul's 'im- 
prisonment' which I have taken particular trouble to explain 
in the third book entitled "Creation of Self" of my triple work 
"Origin and Nature of the Soul", will hardly be inclined to 
believe such a change can be brought about in the soul-life of 
man. But our God-Cognisance has indeed the power to redeem 
man from his pursuit of happiness; its fruitful influence, in 
this respect, works more to the improvement of these human 
grievances, than any change which the law could bring about. 

Now, as it proved impossible in the past to evade the in- 
justice of overloading the majority of intellectual and manual- 
workers for the benefit of the few, ways and means had to be 
thought of in order to give these unfortunate ones a sort of 
recompense for the disproportionate remuneration which the 
state was rendering them for their services. So, in order to keep 
them going cheerfully, mere work was raised to the standard 
of virtue in that it was made to believe that work was born of 
the Wish-to-Goodness, and as such was an action of a divine 
nature. This was a pernicious thing to do and has caused much 
confusion in man's moral state as a consequence, as well as it 
has helped greatly to stunt the divine wishes within him. It was 
thought that as the wish in man to be good is closely connected 
with his Immortal-Will, (this we have already clearly perceived 
to be true) the possibility was given him to earn immortal-life in 
'heaven* through the diligence of his work. Therefore, work 
became a duty which in reality was a mixture of moral as well 
as immoral achievements, instead of the duty it is which is to aid 
in giving a deeper sense to the lives of men, in that it serves 
in the maintenance of self, family and folk. This fallacy would 
never have gained such a hold on the minds of men, had it not 
been for a twofold circumstance which made it appear so essent- 
ial and desirable. While.the animal is only allowed a very 
short time to remain under its mother's care, to have then to 



33 



take up the struggle-for-life itself which means it must search 
for food and defend itself in danger; with man the case is differ- 
ent. Owing to a much slower process of development, the child, 
fortunately, is spared the trouble of gaining a living for many 
years to come. Parents take this trouble off the child's shoulders. 
This, of-course, is of vital importance in the development of the 
divine-wishes in a child, but which also can bring harm. I have 
fully treated this subject in "The Child's Soul and its Parents' 
Office". It can be the cause of the child taking it for granted 
that the endeavours to gain a living should be taken off its 
shoulders, as the impression of its childhood can be retained 
consciously in its memory. As it is, men in general, are apt to 
consider their work, in the endeavours for a living, to be a 
great 'achievement'. In this judgement, they are often supported 
by the trait of inherent laziness' (indolence) which they have 
inherited from the animal-world and which is still greatly in- 
dulged in, inspite of man's greed for pleasure, as only danger 
and hunger seem capable of overcoming it. Now, to come back 
to the young child. As it receives from its surroundings the im- 
pression that, in the aim for a pleasurable existence, utility in 
the struggle-for-existence is the most important, it is only natural 
when it exhibits a habit of indolence at school in subjects which 
are not exactly associated with getting-on in the general struggle- 
for-existence. Of-course the great mistakes made in the choice 
of educational-subjects, and the peculiar manner in the system 
of teaching (pedagogic), are also causes for the indolence of 
children. (See the above mentioned book, chap. "The Sign to 
Knowledge" and "Modellers of Judgement".) Thus then, in 
order to inspire diligence, the most potential means are requisite; 
the child therefore receives the instruction, both in the form of 
poetry and prose, that work has its reward. Both heavenly and 
earthly gains are the recompense. 

The preaching, that work was a virtue, found substantial 



support in the divine-joy-of-creation which is one of God's 
wish-fulfilment. Now, through that confused moral-conception 
which told that all kind of work was in itself virtue, this joy 
was extented to every and sundry achievement, so that every- 
thing done was accompanied with a 'good conscience'. Besides 
which, the favourable effect which work had on men of a lower 
standard (Carlyle) convinced men all the more that work in 
itself was a virtue. Undoubtedly it was true, that through work 
the dangers could be evaded which sprang from degenerate in- 
stincts (due to reason). For instance, the distraction from the 
sexual-instincts, and the weariness which overcomes the body 
after hard work has been done obviously helps to keep down 
the strength of the temptation, in much the same manner as 
sport effectively influences the really indolent who absolutely 
fight shy of work; so that it goes without saying, men will 
always be tempted to believe that every kind of work is the 
greatest blessing in the life of mankind; is it not like the 'mag- 
ician* who can drive away c evil spirits'? Now, in reality, work 
succeeds very little in vanquishing the 'evil spirits'. At the best, 
it can only hide them from the world around; the greatest 
industry will not prevent them working their evil way in a 
man; so that it often occurs that they revenge themselves for 
having been hidden so long, when then an unbridled beast of 
prey can be born. There are other kinds of 'evil spirits' which 
are not connected with sexual-instincts, but which work is still 
less capable of keeping down. On the contrary, the doctrine 
that all kind of work is a virtue, has been such an incitant, that 
infinite harm has been done. For instance, how many industr- 
ious persons there are, who, through the good opinion they 
have of themselves (good conscience) and the favourable public 
opinion which surrounds them, are seduced to give way to the 
most obnoxious trends in the passion they show for work! 
Notwithstanding the success achieved already in having raised 



33* 



work to the pedestal of virtue, there was still very much evil 
left for the state to rectify. So many sacrifices were being made 
daily, for which meagre wages and the protection of the law were 
a poor recompense. Innumerable individuals were kept at work 
like ants to break down in the end exhausted. Work is a 'virtue' 
had its effect only, where the really noble-minded were con- 
cerned, in whom the desire to be good (the divine Wish-to-Good- 
ness, as we have termed it) was inherently strong. On all the 
others in whom this characteristic was absent, its effect was lost. 
They were doomed to become inevitable failures. And so it came 
to pass that the cunning mind of man invented another moral 
'trick* which undoubtedly was also crowned with success; it 
caused men to gain amazing achievements. Although more than 
anything else it was the cause of man's degeneration! Like into 
a witdiVpot human sentiments were thrown. The divine-joy- 
of-creation was mixed together with the ancient joy of the 
beast when it gains the victory over its enemy. To this, the 
poison called 'fame is immortal* was added. The result was 
the mixture known as 'the sane ambition* which, curiously 
enough, men also ventured to raise to the pedestal of virtue. As 
the trend-to-indolence (one of the heirlooms inherited from 
the beast) is stronger in man, than the trend to ambition, the 
first often kept the latter down in the case of such individuals 
for whom, in the first place, it was intended; but as a state 
which is made up out of a confusion of moral-laws is very 
dependent on the workings of ambition, it was seen to, that 
this particular trait should start its development already in 
the little child. To this purpose awards and rewards were in- 
vented which hardly ever failed in their effects; for by the time 
a child had grown up, the divine-wishes had been poisoned 
or trampled down by the aims of ambition, as many persons 
around us reveal, who are nothing more than unwise schemers. 
The worst evil among the many is this one however: When 



333 



ambition was awakened and kept alive in the young, it was not 
only to answer its purpose in respects to achievements which 
should make the struggle- for-life a success; it was extended 
equally to the achievements which have their origin in God. In 
passing, tutors make themselves accomplices of evil-doers when 
they neglect to tell their pupils that ambition kills the spirit 
of God within us, in killing divine talents which are the be- 
ginnings of those divine-potencies of creation in later life. 

Now, what do our morals say to all this confusion? When 
ambition is mentioned which to God is the deadliest enemy of 
all, they say: No moral value can be attached to the joy -of- 
creation in, let us say, works-of-art, or in the ordinary achieve- 
ments concerned in the struggle-for-life, unless the wishes of 
the divine-will are fully considered, that means to say, the joy- 
of-creation must be subordinate to the divine-wishes. (We shall 
come back to such kind of labour very often in the course of 
this book). But this moral-joy will reveal itself to be utterly 
independent of the achievements of others. If they surpass it, 
it will not be ashamed; if they are surpassed, it will not feel 
proud. Neither is it shaken in any way by the 'judgement* which 
public opinion falls on it. It is immune both to 'fame' and mis- 
understanding. The first does not serve towards its development, 
nor can the latter destroy it. But ambition which can be easily 
recognised because its behaviour is so different to this is great 
immorality, because it distorts and kills genius. If the powers 
that be, allow children to be brought up at school to depend 
on awards for the joy to achieve or in a spirit-of-desire to 'beat' 
the others, instead of cultivating the divine spirit of moral-joy 
in achieving, merely because of its own virtue, commit a great 
crime against the God in the human souls which have been 
entrusted to them. It is true, many persons would rather sun 
themselves tranquilly (as the lion does in front of its cave), 
than give themselves up to painting, poetry, scientific-research, 



334 



fighting in a good course, or dangerous sport just for the sake 
of fame. But one thing is certain, none of all the folks of the 
earth, our own included, will ever be able to recuperate from 
the evil effects of degeneration, until these evil spirits men have 
called up have been put again into their graves for the dead 
things which they are. 

Considering the infinite harm which the evil spirit of ambit- 
ion does to genius in man, award, in the support of this, for 
achievements which belong to the spiritual-world should be em- 
phatically discarded, more so, as true genius is above reward. 
And now, the holy meaning of human-life and work as a 
virtue. What has this truth of our cognition to say in face of 
this error? It acknowledges that work can be of a moral, immoral 
and amoral kind, that means to say, there is work which is 
good, work which is bad, and work which is neither good nor 
bad, but which is self-understood, the neglect of which however 
would be bad. For example. Work in the natural endeavour 
(in the sense the animal does it) to gain a living for oneself, 
one's own and one's own folk is the amoral fulfilment of the 
duty one owes to on's kind and the preservation instinct of 
self and is therefore selfunderstood. Neither "God nor the devir 
are touched at the sight of our endeavours in the search for food 
to keep ourselves and our children from starving. A state of 
indolence which would prevent us from fulfilling this duty 
would consequently be immorality. When all the cunning tricks, 
which are used to rob the state of its due and which pillage the 
working-populace, are once and for all eliminated (these render 
life so difficult), and squalid overpopulation is no more, then 
sufficient scope will be given to the divine- wishes inspite of 
this work which has the nature of being a matter-of-course. In 
order to discourage 'laziness* (which is immoral behaviour) the 
morals of the struggle-for-life demand from every healthy adult 



335 



who has the protection of the state to earn his own living and 
to look after the welfare of his children who are still under age. 
All other kinds of work may be moral or immoral as the case 
may be. It bears the moral character when it is completely sub- 
jected to the divine-wishes. It bears the character of immorality 
when it goes contrary to them. Now, God wills the life of each 
individual person, that each may participate in the Immortal- 
Life, (exceptions exist which we shall learn about shortly). 
Therefore the work, undertaken for a man to be able to live at 
all, can never bear the character of immorality, although the 
same kind of work is immoral, if it is done in order to gain 
superfluity of riches, especially when these are put to no good 
purpose either for the one who possesses them or those around 
him. All work fraught with the purpose of satisfying a man's 
ambition or vanity is likewise an immoral endeavour. Observe 
then, that whenever a thing is about to be done, our philosophy 
asks first if it is moral or immoral. All labour, of each and every 
kind, must be weighed according to the scales of the Divine- 
Will and that meaning of human-life which we have grown in 
knowledge of. Industriousness in the cause of immoral work is, 
of course, always immorality. A man must fully weigh before- 
hand and then give his promise to do the work which as a 'duty', 
he then takes upon himself. According to these new rules many 
would have to climb down lower, who, to-day, stand at the 
top of the moral-ladder. But on the other hand, it would bring 
mankind benefit, in that all would surely be more careful and 
critical about the aims he intends following in life. How many 
parents, for example, are there, who strive from morning until 
night for the welfare of their children, and because they grudge 
themselves every bit of pleasure in this endeavour, they imagine 
their behaviour to be so 'good'. They heap up wealth in order 
to leave it their children, and in this industrious endeavour they 
forget all about God which calls for development in their own 



33* 



breasts; in fact, in the one endeavour hardly time or power is 
left them to be able to support the development of the divine 
wishes in their children either. Then, from the example they 
give, their children also learn to consider goods to be of the 
most vital importance in life and, under the sway of such ideas, 
begin to smother the kernel which contains the essence of divine- 
life in their souls. Hence, the results of the parents' 'life of 
selfsacrifice' is the death of their own soul as well as the death 
of the souls of the children committed to their care. 

When we stop to think what else men have made a virtue of, 
we shall soon see, that, besides having made a virtue of work 
which they believed effected the amassing of pleasure if governed 
by the principles of 'practicality and utility* (a complete mis- 
understanding of causality) they have also made use of the 
other two forms of thought, called time and space. Actually, 
the rule of order and time have been created into virtues just 
like men made a virtue of practical work. In reality, thess: 
faculties are of minor importance, as they are as liable to disturb 
as well as aid the development of the divine-wishes within man. 
Under the impression of such a misconstruction of these facts, 
parents are apt to consider the disrespect of the divine will of 
less harm than the neglect to divide life into time and space, 
despite the fact of the warm intention they have to save the 
soul-lives of their children. 

The logical division of things in space is called 'order', and 
order of every kind is called 'virtue'. It can become the 'blessed 
daughter of heaven' as Schiller called it; in reality, however, 
it is the 'blessed daughter of reason' and can become neglected 
from a twofold unequal cause. The first cause is the indolence 
native to man. The animal inevitably sinks into the original 
state of tranquillity as soon as the pangs of hunger and the fears 
of danger have passed. This feature it has handed down to 
mankind. Indolence prevents a person being orderly. The second 



337 



cause very often arises when men participate much in the life 
of God. Their sense of order then lacks its keenness. It is 
alarming sometimes to find this 'daughter of reason' absent in 
men of genius, for a disorderly habit is often the cause of the 
disturbance to their God-living which, as a consequence, they 
not infrequently experience. The "God that reigns free in the 
Ether" must indeed feel beseechingly helpless towards objects 
limited to space! Men who are blessed with a keener sense of 
the divine are often quite oblivious to ugliness, a fact which 
we have already spoken of. This also can cause them to be 
disorderly, for one is obliged to be aware of the disorder, in 
order to avoid it. The reason why they are not capable of seeing 
it is, because order is generally connected with beauty, and dis- 
order, therefore being ugly, is for them the 'nonexistent* gener- 
ally: It is not perceived. It is not curious then to find them, in 
unexpected moments, intensely busy putting things in order, 
for they are the moments when they have come back again to 
earth. Their bad sense of order is greatly aggravated, of course, 
because their spirit is always beyond the limits of space when 
they are participating in the divine life and are at work for it. 

In the confusion of men's ideas, little thought has been given 
to find out the real cause of a man's disorder. This accounts 
for the reason why the sober, matter-of-fact strugglcr-for-a- 
living to whom the objects surrounding him are essential parts 
of life, shows contempt for the man-of-genius for the same 
reason as he despises the indolent. Moreover he lustily supports 
that fallacy which is, that 'a man who shows sense of order must 
also be a moral man', whereas in reality many lovers of order 
are completely soulless and sometimes morally degraded as well. 

In contradiction to the doctrine, 'order is virtue* our morals 
say: 

One must strive for order, as it is related to the divinity 



338 



in perception which manifests itself in the divine Wish-to- 
Beauty. As long as it aids in the fulfilment of this wish it bears 
the character of morality. Furthermore it is of advantage to 
man in his endeavours to gain the necessities of life which is 
important again for his Godliving and is therefore amoral, being 
selfunderstood. In such a case, disorder would bear the character 
of immorality. Finally, the state of order facilitates God-living, 
a fact which will become clear to us as soon as we think of 
all the time lost in search of objects which men-of-genius en- 
counter through their own disorder. Order gains importance 
when it aids and supports Godliving; to neglect it, in such a 
case, would be immoral. Moreover it is acting immorally, when, 
through disorder, we disturb the necessary struggle-for-a-living 
or the Godliving of our fellowmen. Likewise we would act 
immorally if, through commanding order, we arc likely to dis- 
turb or encumber the Godliving of another. Thus then, in diverse 
cases, order can be immoral, but, on the other hand, the state 
of order or when it is demanded from another can be moral, 
if it is the fulfilment of the Wish-to-Beauty. It is always 
immoral, in every case, when it does harm to that in man, what 
we have called the life-beyond, the life in God or "Godliving*'. 

The division of time, that is, the logic distribution of activity 
and repose according to the beat of time, has also been given 
its value. Curiously enough, however, a 'virtue* has not been 
made of it, like man was bold enough to do with order. What 
could be the reason? Is it because the division-of-time was not 
so closely related to the Wish-to-Beauty like order was? But 
there is no evidence of this connection having been recognised 
in the past. Exactly as it was unknown that the moral-state 
demands the development of all the divine-wishes and not the 
Wish-to-Goodness alone which also means that the Wish-to- 
Beauty would not have the moral nature, did it stand in the 



339 



way of any of the other divine-wishes. Therefore this evid- 
ently was not the reason. The division of time cropped up 
much later than the division of space. Not until the increase in 
population as well as other matters which rendered the struggle- 
for-existence so difficult, did time-division gain importance. 
Nevertheless the division-of-time has grown to be highly estim- 
ated. What does our philosophy say to this? 

As the division-of-time is not directly connected with the 
divine-wishes, it cannot be classified among the morals like or- 
der. In respect, however, to the essential part it plays in the 
general struggle-for-life, it becomes a self understood matter and 
therefore has the quality of being amoral. Its absence in such a 
case, would mean immorality. If time and peace are made wan- 
ting for the benefit of Godliving through any neglect of time- 
division, this also becomes immoral. Finally it is immoral, if, 
through negligence of time-division, the struggle- for-a-living or 
the God-living of another is made difficult. Thus then, it is possi- 
ble that the neglect of time-divison can become immoral, while 
time division itself can never be classified among the morals. It 
is amoral always and becomes immoral only when it is a disturb- 
ance to Godliving. Now, in such a time as ours, when life is 
minutely divided, it is of the greatest importance to understand 
the weight of such immorality, how necessary it is to perceive it 
brings about the death of God in man; for the growth and life 
of God depends on the oblivion of time in order to find entr- 
ance into the realms where time is not. The life of God is time- 
less and must be so. Therefore it is futile to want to subject it to 
the time of the clock. What a blessing it is that men are not able 
to calculate how much of the Life-of-God has been destroyed 
through the ticking and striking of clocks, or they might be 
tempted to forget their usefulness and smash them in their 
anger. Happily the God-loving man experiences no difficulties 
in entering timelessness. The greater his development is in the 



340 



progress of his diviner-nature, the easier this becomes, so that, 
despite life's necessary division-of-time, his God-living is safe, 
provided of course, there are none of those untiring worldly 
strugglers near to disturb his peace. For in them he will find no 
sympathy at all for the slowness which he exhibits sometimes in 
getting on in the world. They call it waste of time. And time is 
money they think. I have called them "the Chattering Corpses" 
(they really resemble ticking clocks) to distinguish them from the 
God-living man, who is animated with the spirit of God. It is 
funny to watch these cut up their lives and all the soul-exper- 
iences life contains according to the inches of a tape-measure, so 
to speak, but shocking when they dare to disturb others in the 
participation of the Life-of-God and that with a good con- 
science, merely because they think it good when some trivial 
thing should be seen to at any a precise moment. There was 
once a time, however, when even the chattering corpses were 
capable of forgetting the beat of time; that happened in the 
dreamland of their childhood. But the struggle of later life sober- 
ed them all too soon, and because they have forgotten how to 
get rid of the fetters of time, they are anxious of the quick flight 
it takes. They are only aware of the fleeting side of its nature 
unlike the Godliving man who is so often priviledged to partake 
of life eternal. The more the spirit of God exfoliates within him, 
the greater the length appears of the years that are passing. To 
the chattering-corpses each year seems to pass more quickly, the 
farther they leave the life of youth with its affects and dreams 
behind them, and the less scope they can give to their own 
imagination (Phantasy). An interesting fact which one can note 
in all educational institutes, when the aim of which is to mortify 
the soul, is, that all the occupations are divided strictly accord- 
ing to time. One occupation will be suddenly stopped to start 
another. Even prayers start precisely at such and such a minute. 
These are the most efficacious means in bringing them towards 



their ends. Note, for example, the Jesuit colleges, the aim of 
which is to bring up young priests to be "Loyala's Corpses".*) 

Notwithstanding all this, men have forever suspected that an 
animosity exists between God and the habit which man has 
grown into of dividing up time and space. Yet this caused but 
another error. That the division-of-time and space was consi- 
dered a 'virtue* was indeed a false conception, but another had 
to be added which was, that, disorder and carelessness in the 
division of time was a sure sign of genius. Many an artist and 
researcher, in the plenitude of their divine talents, succumb only 
too gladly to this error. They are all too ready to be blind to 
the fact how badly they have trained their own will to discipl- 
ine, how degenerate they have allowed their instincts to be- 
come, and how weak they are in action, and how all this, as a 
consequence, makes them unfit for the struggle-for-life. So they 
shift the fault to their own genius and squander their time in in- 
dolence or in the lust of their passions, instead of living and 
working in the development of their genius. 

And now we come round to our morals of the struggle-for- 
life. These tell us to beware of indiscrimination and not call 
every kind of work, diligence, order and punctuality a virtue, 
but instead to consider carefully each individual case in the light 
of the divine wishes and the meaning of life. 

Among all the claims which reason put to the individual, when 
men of the same folk clubbed together and respected each other 
as a community, one seemed particularly to appeal to them. It 
was, 'do to others as you would be done by'. We have already 
traced the origin of this. (See above.) Now, in as much as this 
law (The duties-of-life) became gradually consolidated, in that 
it extended its protection to property and life so that family and 
folk-preservation was assured, its dutiful fulfilment, notwith- 

4 We refer the reader to the book .The Secret of the Jesuits' Power and its End", dupter .The 
Training in the black Kennels".) 



34* 



standing, did not raise man above the moral zero point, although 
the neglect to fulfil this duty which is in the interests of the 
common-weal is decidedly immoral. Nevertheless, great import- 
ance must be attached to the fulfilment of this duty, in as much 
as man's participation in God greatly depends on it, although 
the impediments to God-living which the common-law (duty) 
eliminates would not exist at all, were man living solitary, in- 
stead of in community as he does. What religion has taught up 
till now as being transgressions against the duties-of-life, when 
looked at from the light of life's meaning, is immorality, and as 
such must be rejected, for, from our philosophy's point of view, 
the subordination of divine deeds which issue from the divinity 
in man to the results which issue from reason may never be; 
every demand which the duty to life makes on us, must be close- 
ly scrutinized in order to assure ourselves if its fulfilment would 
be in harmony with the divine Will, in which case it would be 
amoral and in the contrary case, immoral. We have drawn lines 
to work on in this respect in the following chapter "Morals of 
Life". Here the demands belonging to the duty-to-life have been 
made sufficiently clear, so as to be a guide to action in the happen- 
ings of any event, yet leaving scope for the individual to think 
and judge for himself which is a matter of infinite importance in 
the development of Godliving. 

Among all the morals of the struggle-for-life which are in 
practice to-day, there is only one which has a distinct touch of 
the divine. It has already been often mentioned. It is the 'charit- 
able deed', born of the feeling of pity, which has its origin in 
the one divine emotion, the feeling of love towards one's fel- 
lowmen. Yet, when looked at more closely, it will be found, that 
there is still much to be rejected as being inadequate to fulfil our 
ideal of morality. First of all, there is the indiscriminately direct- 
ed love of mankind (humanity) and pity, and then comes the 
fact, that the majority of the so-called 'acts of charity* would 



343 



have to be stripped of their attribute of virtue and left for what 
in reality they are, merely actions which in the life of man must 
be considered as selfunderstood. Namely the duty-to-life expects 
everyone to be ready to do to his fellowman what he himself 
would be done by in a similar case so that there would remain 
very few, of which it could be said, issued from the wish-to-bc- 
good. When we come to treat the morals-of-life, it will be noted 
that "Altruism" or the selfsacrifice for others, practised indis- 
criminately, is just as immoral as "Egoism", or the indiscrimin- 
ate practice of self-interest is. Indeed, our standard-of-morals 
expects, even in the practice of charity, a plenitude of inward 
depth and profundity to enable man to understand properly 
how to measure his actions according to the divine-wishes and 
which, by his own free decision, in each and every sundry case 
he will continue to do, until in the end, the correctness of his 
judgement, as to what is moral and what is not, will have be- 
come, a habit which has gained the quality of reflexibility. After 
which, in the spirit of sureness he is now possessed of, he will 
very likely be tempted to say to others: "Just tell me for whom 
you are sacrificing yourself, and I will tell you, who you are." 

But as mankind, in general, have grown so callous in their 
feelings towards God, it is no wonder we are pleased to find 
(amidst the spirit of selfishness which is everywhere rampant) 
any traces at all of pity and diarity no matter of what moral 
kind they are, although this should not be allowed to drive us 
to the abuse of ignoring the dangers, for the sake of this fact 
which are hidden in the prevailing moral estimations. When we 
think of the towering grace man is capable of, the dwarf surely 
can never serve him as a pattern! 

Besides the duty-to-life, as well as the divine emotions of 
pity etc., there are other conceptions, of a most peculiar kind 
which also dominate the struggle-for-existence in the life of man. 
These are manifested in the so-called 'morals of society*. These 



344 



however, are in very light touch with God. Instead of giving 
support to the divine-wishes, they often oppose them. These 
'morals of society* are governed by the rules of respectability 
which sprang, originally, from a twofold noble source entirely 
harmonising with God. The one is proud self-command together 
with the gentle consideration of others, and the other is the 
Wish-to-Beauty. These demand men to practice selfcontrol in 
order not to give way to any outbreaks of their instincts or 
affectations, as moderation in all things gives equilibrium to a 
man's behaviour which is least irritating to those around him. 
Through such behaviour, beauty of mien is gained; a fulfilment of 
the Wish-to-Beauty. Politeness is demanded when wishes of any 
kind are expressed or knowledge of the wishes of another are 
desired. Man's dress and the surounding in which he lives must 
comform also to the Wish-to-Beauty. Now, all these endeavours 
are most certainly important. The mistake is, that the value put 
on them is tremendously overrated so that, in the endeavour to 
fulfil the demands owed to good-society , the vital ones are forgot- 
ten. And yet this selfsame good society is not abashed at immoral- 
ity of the most formidable kind. For instance, what a mockery 
of the Wish-to-Truth it is, when men become so frivolous as to say, 
that nothing really is shocking as long as the outward appear- 
ances are kept up. What does it matter whatever happens in the 
intimacy of the family-circle, as long as it doesn't leak out to 
cause 'scandal'. To be in control of oneself in public is much 
more important than the control of ones passions in private! In 
private, even blasphemy is tolerated, that means to say, the 
participation of the Life-in-God is degraded, in that it becomes 
a part which has to be played in the round of social duties, a 
'social call* paid on God, so to speak. Moreover, ladies and 
gentlemen remain members of the church in all good conscious- 
ness and remain so all their lives, confessing to it without a single 
blush of shame, although, in reality they are only " Christ ians- 



345 



in-name" and nothing more, in that the belief they profess to 
cherish has lost for them all its powers of Conviction. 

Now, observe again for the second time, how the moral prin- 
ciples which men have thought good to follow in the benefit of 
the general struggle- for-existence have, except for the 'virtues 
of society', nothing at all in common with the nature (Wesen) 
of the divine. This explains for the gulf which has arisen to se- 
parate the works of a divine-nature from the general struggle- 
for-existence. The latter became gradually modelled on certain 
lines in the existence of the higher developed folks of culture 
and at first sight commands respect, although in reality it is 
antagonistic to the vital interests of 'culture'. Nevertheless, every- 
thing was thrown together and was called 'civilisation', no 
matter how erroneous the indication was. "Civilisation" began 
with the evolution of reason, when the first implements were 
being made to facilitate the struggle-for-life, and the duty-to- 
life began to take definite form. Therefore 'civilisation' does not 
mean decayed culture (as Spengler has it); civilisation and cul- 
ture are two utterly different things and have always been so 
right from the beginning of time. For "Culture" indicates, that 
God has become visible to the human-eye which is so, when the 
labours of artists or researchers or words or emotions manifest 
something of the divine-nature. On account of the great develop- 
ment which reason has undergone and its consequent arrog- 
ance, civilisation oversteps its grounds, threatening, in doing 
so, to suppress the fruits of culture which alas! eventually can 
lead to its complete elimination. 

Contrary to all the other standards of morals which have 
played their part in the history of mankind during the past, 
ours bring culture and civilisation to agree with each other. The 
struggle-for-life is given its proper due, not that it is let to go 
its own way, unconcerned of divine-wishes and divine meaning 
of man's life, however; on the contrary, everything concerning 



34* 



the struggle-for-a-living is subjected to the guidance of the di- 
vine wishes, thus making it possible for man to act well, that is 
to say, in accordance with the divine-wishes. In this redeeming 
process however, we fear little would remain of that state which 
we are wont to call to-day 'civilisation*. 



347 



of jminne 



These morals have a peculiar history of their own which 
again bears witness to the fact, that, during the intermediate 
stages in the life of mankind, (between the state of absolute 
ignorance and pure cognition) man was doomed to stray from 
the path of truth and become the prey of error, a danger which 
in the earlier stages had not befallen him. In the far back ages 
when men were given to soul-cult (chthonian cult), it was gene- 
ral knowledge already, that sexuality exercised a tremendous 
influence on the soul of the human-individual, so much so, that 
the act of sexual-communion became a cult-commandment which 
at certain times had to be practiced at the grave and later in the 
temples. It was also considered a 'satanic' power of tremendous 
potency; for human beings, at that time, were fearful of demons. 
Was it not obvious that the demons could 'rob man of his soul* 
during sexual-communion? Therefore, in order to ward off this 
danger, tedious cult-commandments and long ceremonies were 
willingly gone through. 

Finally, the fact spoken of last, experience confirmed. Seldom 
could the soul interpenetrate sexuality so as to become of the 
kind we Germans have called "Minne"*, the sublimated sexual- 
will, so that it came only natural that this assumption should 
predominate and found its expression in the "Ascetic-Ideal" 



* The Goddes Mmne stood for the soul-pervaded-sexuality and was the ideal female figure among 
our ancestors. In making use again of the word minne, which was generally known in the middle ages 
nd indicated the gallantry of the knights. (They were m the service of minne) we must call the readers 
attention to the fact, that the kind of sexual emotion for which we have chosen the word minne has 
nothing at all in common with the amorous adoration of the knights of the middle ages. This was 
generally mere sentimentality of a very unwholesome character, and was indeed a vain effort to make 
up for the suppression and contempt which women were doomed to suffer. 



348 



which cropped up during the period of the decline of the Indian- 
race and persisted to exist thousands of years later in Christian- 
ity. The ascetic-ideal proclaimed that it was a virtue to obstain 
altogether from sexual-will and was a sin to give way to any 
indulgence in the same. But, as the fact could not be ignored 
that sexual-communion was the essential factor in the mainten- 
ance of the kind and the blessing of children to parents so necess- 
ary for the extension of religious communities, the ascetic- 
ideal found its complement in another moral-ideal of a second- 
class kind; the ideal marriage, the virtue of which was the pro- 
duction of many children. (Paul of the bible says: Marriage is 
good, but not to marry is better.) The blessing which the priest 
bestows, in the belief the blessing protects the soul from harm, 
is identical with the old faith in the magic of the demons. The 
only means adequate to ban the 'demon magic', it appeared, was 
to raise marriage to a sacrament. So the wedding takes place in 
church and the blessing of the priest is 'more powerful than all 
the magic of satan'! 

The knowledge which mankind gained through the progress 
of natural-science (Darwinism) distracted man for a time from 
his ponderings on religious subjects. The ascetic-ideal was over- 
thrown, but in its place, a very peculiar kind of creed appeared. 
It was this. Sexual-communion had neither the character of 
morality nor immorality but was amoral (that is neither of the 
character of the one nor the other) in as much as it did no harm 
in the health of either parties which, incidently, is but the most 
primitive demand which the common-law exacts. One thing, 
however, was supposed to be capable of elevating the amoral 
character of sexual-life to morality, and that was, when the 
duty towards the perpetual kind had been fulfilled. It is not 
amazing to find materialists understanding by this a kind of race- 
breeding like animal-breeding was undertaken. The consequen- 
ces of this idea became very fatal when Nietzsche gave it sup- 



349 



port. Nietzsche believed the child to be of more value than the 
parents from whom it originated. Accordingly, by virtue of the 
offspring alone, could sexual-communion be called a deed, bear- 
ing a moral character. Even to-day countless individuals give 
their support to this idea as it fits in so well with their own pur- 
poses. By their behaviour they confess to it. Now, this sexual- 
creed is remarkable for its own peculiarity and we are justified 
in putting utterance to it as follows: "The circumstance, that I 
have had a child or wanted a child, has raised my act of sexual- 
connection to a moral deed, notwithstanding the fact that there 
are no more offspring forthcoming." 

Observe here, that instead of the priest's blessing with holy 
water, the self-preservation-will grants mankind a ticket, valid 
for all times, to enable him to partake in sexual-communion, as 
a token of its appreciation of his having helped in furthering 
the preservation of the kind! 

On the basis of a conception such as this one is, no develop- 
ment in the respect to the moral standard-of-minne (the higher, 
the sublime kind of sexual-will) can be looked forward to; 
neither will the sense of that duty be cultivated which is necess- 
ary for the propagation of family and folk, namely the keeping 
of the senses pure. Not until that state of disintegration be rec- 
tified which has befallen the sacred laws of race-purity and 
blood-consciousness can we expect any revival to enthusiasm, 
and that sense of responsibility which is essential for the parent- 
office. Should this once be attained, however, the proof will be 
given how superfluous, nay, even pernicious it is to decry, in 
itself, the chastity of the sexual-will and the sacredness of the 
act of conception, in order to prevent degeneration through 
overindulgence of the sexual passions. The reason, why all the 
race-pure-folks of the earth (especially the Nordic-race) during 
the prechristian era could be maintained throughout long ages, 
was because they upheld the wisdom of their forefathers which 



350 



was to practice self-command in order to keep their manners and 
morals pure and chaste for the sake of self, family and folk-pre- 
servation. So, before we lay down moral lines on which to work 
on, we must first get rid of all the religious errors belonging to 
alien creeds and try and give the answer to one vital question. 
What is there to prove that the act-of-reproduction makes the 
satisfaction of the sexual-will a duty which comes under the 
duties-to-life (common law), or what is there to prove that the 
realisation of minne, irrespective of the act of reproduction, has 
a moral or immoral value or that it is indifferent to any moral 
value and only through the act of reproduction gains ethical 
value at all? If the latter supposition were right, no moral rules 
for sexuality would be required at all, as the duty pertaining 
to the struggle-for-life already demands that the health of the 
other party be protected. Also the sustenance of the kind can be 
considered as one of the duties towards life, and as such must 
be counted to the morals of the struggle-for-existence. Also that 
the act of reproduction, by the very law of its being, is a duty 
to life, in much the same order as the search for the food of the 
family is and can likewise be gathered to the morals of the 
struggle-for-life. Indeed the fulfilment of all these duties should 
be a selfunderstood matter. In the same way as the animal cares 
for the brood, man must be made responsible for the life and 
health of his children with the aim in view of sustaining family 
and folk, in order that the race, these belong to, be maintained. 
But if disease of a pernicious kind has been inherited, then of- 
course the childless state is the only right path to choose. Yet, is 
there not something else still of even vital importance? 

It remains a tenacious fact, that no sexual-connection can 
take place, be its experience ever so fleeting or merely corporal, 
without leaving its impression on the soul of the individual who 
partook in the experience. It will either cause the soul to grow 
in grandeur or decline, and herein lies the proof of our statement 



351 



which we here repeat; every sexual-connection possesses ethical 
significance, quite irrespective of the duty-of -reproduction. 

As the believers as well as the deniers of God were not always 
capable of keeping their sexual-life in harmony with the moral 
feelings of a profounder kind, they were prone to deny that 
sexual-connection could exercise any great influence on the soul 
of the human-being, be it of a fleeting, lasting, 'primitive* or 
spiritualised kind. The reason for this rash conclusion came of 
a manifold cause. The communities of race-conscious-men had 
been scattered; the office of begetting offspring had been robbed 
of its sacred character, race mixture * had been tolerated, the in- 
fluence of prevailing creeds had robbed men's minds of the fact, 
that, in themselves, the human instincts are pure, and finally the 
degeneration of the life-instincts had set in, and quick sexual- 
connections of the most superficial and unworthy character had 
taken the upperhand in the general life of mankind. In reality, 
the actual influence which minne exercises over the divinity-in- 
deed is just as great and permanent as it is on the divinity in the 
other wishes of the soul. We like much more to be reminded of 
the awakening and vitalising influence which divine-minne exer- 
cises on these, than be confronted with the degeneration which 
issues from unworthy sexual-connection. It is almost amazing 
to watch, how in the enthusiasm of their minne, the spirit of the 
divinity will awaken in man's perception (the Wish to Beauty), 
sometimes so strongly, as to become a potency which is creative 
in the realms of art. How often have minne-experiences been 
the making of a great poet or composer! It is a wonderful thing 
to watch how the slumbering divinity attempts to manifest itself 
in the animal-kingdom also, at the time when sex is appealed 
to. I remind the reader here of the bright coloured wedding-dress 
of the fishes which makes its appearance, although the fishes 

* According to the Christian religion, a 'pure marriage' means when both parties belong to the 
same Jewish confession, a 'mixed marriage on the other hand means when either party belongs to a 
different Jewish confession irrespective of the fact that both parties might belong to the same race or not. 



35* 



themselves are quite incapable of perceiving the beauty, much 
less admire it. Also those little birds which adorn their nests 
with bright coloured stones, and others, that are songsters. How 
sweetly do these sing at the time of mating! In this case, it 
matters little if the behaviour of the animals is done uncon- 
sciously, while man behaves consciously. The fact remains that 
the slumbering divinity attempts to manifest itself at mating- 
time, in the animal world as in the world of man equally, in the 
garb-of-beauty. The selfsame thing happens to the divinity-in- 
deed. Minne has its foundation in mutual estimation of moral 
qualities. 

Not infrequently, the moral-questions which concern minne 
particularly are of the same nature as those are concerning the 
soul-life, so that many of the moral principles ruling minne 
which we have heard or read about are merely a part proper to 
the moral principles of life. Generally, these handle the problems 
which arise in the relation between two adults, or an adult and 
the child entrusted to its care. Now in most cases the child, just 
mentioned, is a man's own, and the adult either a husband or 
wife with whom one lives. Therefore it is incorrect to choose 
for the regulation of these questions the title "Morals of Minne ". 
We are careful not to fall into the same mistake; therefore we 
think good to choose the heading "Morals of Minne * for the 
express purpose of solving the problems which are liable to 
crop up between the demands which the divimty-in-deed makes 
regarding the 'whether' which is concerned with matters of 
sexual-connection. Thus then, the answer to this question will 
be sought; must the communion of minne be avoided or given up 
altogether, when it proves to be of an immoral character? In our 
search of this solution, we must be careful not to get the question 
concerning the begetting of offspring and the care for them 
mixed up with this question as has generally been the case up 
till now. An immoral married-life can never be made moral 



353 



'because it happened, and ts kept up for the sake of the children*. 
What a tremendous lot of cowardice for the sake of public- 
opinion, sexual serfdom, indolence to face of the tribulations 
of earning a living, paucity of soul, and degradation of character 
are hidden behind the motto 'for the sake of the children'! As 
it is very natural to want to look after the spiritual and bodily 
weal of the children there are certain exceptional cases when the 
parents can live together under the same roof, provided the 
situation agrees with the divine wishes. If the character of the 
husband and wife are both unimpeachable, and no ugly quarrel- 
some scenes liable to disturb the family peace, there is no reason 
why their married-life should not take on a new form of friend- 
ship which must do without any sexual-communion. It is not 
probable at all that the children should ever get to know of the 
change. 

Yet sexual-communion which is an immoral act for the certain 
reasons which make it so can never become 'moral* just because 
the parents are living so 'close to one another' on 'account of 
the children'. 

Now, if, in the course of our examination, we put aside every- 
thing which does not precisely belong to the morals of minne, 
the work we have to do next will be partly of a 'negative' 
character, before we can arrive at a point where the 'positive' 
foundation of a sexual-law can be laid. The unwholesome and 
unnatural habits which prevail today, together with the ignor- 
ance and misconceptions which prevail concerning the funda- 
mental laws-of -sexuality, require above all the respect which is 
due to the laws of nature revealed in the history of evolution. 
I have treated this subject very fully in other works.* In the 
following it will be merely touched. Men must be warned not 
to trust their instincts, for, unlike the instincts of the animal, 



* "The Recuperation of Minne" which ii the improved edition of the "Rebirth of 
Erotic". 



354 



theirs are not immune to evil influence. Man's instincts drive 
in the trend of piling up pleasure, which reason so erroneously 
upholds to be the essence of life. Only one way is open to man 
should he want to rectify the fallacies born of unreason, and 
that .is, with the aid of reason's potencies in the labours of 
scientific-research, to find out the fundamental-laws of sexuality 
according to which he should try to adapt himself. 

After all the truths we have already been able to glean so 
clearly from the study of the hi story-of -evolution, it is not sur- 
prising that it is able to reval a complete and satisfactory plan 
of the construction of sexual-community.** How clearly has 
the similarity been made obvious which exists between the uni- 
celled being and man; between the first and last in the rank of 
animate being! Potential-immortality is the mark which dis- 
tinguishes both from all the other intermediary beings. The chosen 
few actually partake in the Life-Immortal. But the chance is 
given to all to gain this priviledge. While the uni-celled being 
brings this to pass in that it persists in living perpetually in a 
corporal state, man is able to realise life-immortal in the spiritual- 
form, in that he can partake of the unendlessness in endless 
time. It will seem natural, after this, that the unicell should 
exhibit a Will-to-approach others of its kind (let us call this, 
the approachment-Will) in some different way or other in a 
pure corporal form, a habit which none of the others in all the 
long chain of development exhibit; finally this habit appears 
again in man, the highest of all the species, in a spiritual-form, 
as the approachment-Will of his soul manifested in the conscious 
emotional life of the soul. 

The approadiment-Will of the unicell appears like a peculiar 
contrast amidst the excitement of the continual struggles between 
life and death. The nature of this desire is not at all monotone. 
Sometimes whole groups at a time, or only two unicellular 



** "The Recuperation of Minne". 

355 



beings, will lie on the top of each other and, thus united, spend 
a certain time together without however exchanging their cell- 
kernels. The potency which enables the unicells to be attracted 
to each other and remain in each others company for a while has 
been called by the scientist "Cytotropism". There is another 
way which has been called "Conjugation". This is when two 
individuals of the same kind come in contact with each other 
and partially fuse and during the period undergo a complicated 
series of nuclear change. The heredity-substance has been ex- 
changed. After this process is over, they leave each other and 
live alone again. According to the accounts of the scientists 
who are still making examinations of this process the exchange 
of the chromatin, or heredity-substance in the process of 'con- 
jugation* causes the rejuvenation of the unicellular individual. 
The third way is the permanent union of two individuals, the 
body and germ-cells of which fuse closely together, and a new 
individual appears. This is called 'copulation' which means the 
permanent fusion. But these are the exceptions; in general the 
unicellular-being perpetuates its kind trough division. The habit 
of permanent fusion, however, has been maintained in the multi- 
cellular kingdom. The other two ways, the cell-attraction and 
the exchange of the heredity-substance, are not taken on again 
until man appears, when, besides the usual way which the re- 
production of the kind is carried on in the manner of his animal- 
ancestors, different kinds of spirititual forms of attraction appear 
which, in their nature, are very like the three corporal forms 
manifested in the life of the unicellular-being. 

The cell-attraction; the life in each other's company mani- 
fested by unicellular-beings and which is known as "Cyto- 
tropism" are the very first bodily signs of the feelings of friend- 
ship and love which we are aquainted with in the human-life, 
but which can not yet deserve to be called minne. The exchange 
of the heredity-substance, or, as the scientists call it, 'conjugat- 



35* 



ion' is the action of two unicellular-individuals which periodic- 
ally unite closely in order to exchange the essential parts of 
the nucleus, to seperate again rejuvenated. This is the first visible 
sign which the body gives of that kind of human sexual-will 
which is distinguished for its spiritualised feature; we have called 
this spiritualised sexual-will minne. In this case, the spiritualising 
element (its origin we traced back to the 'conjugation' of the 
unicell) is strong enough to induce men and women to seek 
each other's company, not merely for the purpose of the bodily- 
union, but more for the sake of the exchange of that spiritual- 
good which mutually attracts them. Generally, this kind of 
friendship is on and off and is not that state of minne in its 
sublimest form, although it is the most spiritualised form of 
which the state of polygamy is capable. Finally, there is still 
the union which is constant. Its faint beginnings are to be found 
in the mutual attraction of two unicelled individuals which 
create a new individual through the permanent fusion of germ 
and body cells. This act is the symbolical realisation of that 
rare jewel in the crown of sexual-connection which, by the 
virtue of the spiritual good exchanged, melts the lives of two 
human-beings into the mould of a spiritual unity. This is the 
culmination of the wedded state, (spiritualised monogamy.) Sel- 
dom do human-beings accomplish this perfect state which, in 
its own faint way, the unicell could accomplish for itself. The 
mere bodily-union proper to the mammals, unadorned with any 
spiritual beauty, is the best they arrive at in the drive of the 
sexual -instincts both have in common, and which has been 
handed down to them, intact, from their animal-ancestors. When 
"Copulation" and "Conjugation" come to pass in their spiritual- 
ised-form in men, they are found to be independent of any 
desire for offspring, a characteristic which proves its likeness to 
the unicell. As the unicellular-beings perpetuate the species 
through division and subdivision, and it is obvious that the 



357 



attraction they show for one another is a will which manifests 
itself of its own accord, that means to say, quite irrespective 
of any instinct to multiply. Now, as this feature is of such anc- 
ient origin, it becomes clear, how necessarily fatal the consequ- 
ences were, both in the past and present, because Christianity 
did not regard the will for offspring as a sacred desire that 
might be added to the raptures of minne, but attached an unholy 
character to sexual-community altogether which could only be 
tolerated when it lead to the begetting of offspring. 

Let us forsake the unicellular-kingdom and go ahead in the 
history of evolution in order to meet our multicelled-animal- 
ancestors. These make us aquainted with the fundamental laws 
of sexuality which we must gravely try to understand as being 
the fundamental difference of the sexes. Once upon a time, our 
ancestors were fishes which were similar to the boney fishes. Now 
these multiplied by means of exterior fertilisation, that means 
to say the female laid its ova in a favourable spot and then 
the male passed over and fertilised them. In those days the 
fundamental law of sexuality was created which to their own 
downfall men have forgotten how to respect. It is this. The 
discharge of the female germ-cell, as it is accompanied with 
the change of the reproductive organs which is an important 
factor in sexual-relationship, should be the determining factor 
in the sexual-rythm. The fact, that the male-sex has neglected 
to keep to this law, explains the reason of nature retaliating 
in the bitter way she has done. It is the fault of the male if 
so few women are priviledged to enjoy the pleasure of these 
ultimate-emotions (called orgasm) which issue from sexual- 
connection. 

Let us now take a step higher to those ancestors of ours, 
where the act of germ-fertilisation, on account of the higher 
construction of the bodily organs, had to take place within 
the body of the female, necessitating as a consequence, also, 



358 



the bodily union of the parents. The laws governing this stage 
of sexuality are important to know. (Generally, mankind suffer 
because they are misunderstood.) By means of the organs-of- 
sense, the sexual-emotions of the male are accelerated. In the 
case of man, the highest species of all, the eye takes in the sight 
of the other sex. The sexual-emotions of the female-sex, on the 
other hand, are caused to accelerate (the degree being gradual) 
through the wooing of the male which is the most successful at 
the time when the germ-cells are maturing. Here a fundamental- 
law is represented, under which man, as well as the subconscious 
beast, is swayed, although, through the faculty of his reason 
to grasp but half which makes it therefore so liable to err, man 
has completely lost sight of the importance of keeping to this 
law. Now, as the female appears more often on the sight than 
the male can woo, it happens, as a consequence, that the nature 
of the sexual-emotions of the male makes him depend more 
on the female than the female depends on the man. Thus, it 
came natural, that the male-sex should have been animated 
with a strong desire to suppress the female the more the indulg- 
ence in the lust of passion became the aim of man's life, and 
the less self-mastery was practised as being a virtue of the race 
these kind of men belonged to: That means to say, the less 
any real masters were wanted (self-mastered). As man was no 
longer a member belonging to the subconscious community of 
quadrupeds but had grown out of this stage into the stage where 
he was a conscious being with an upright walk and the use of his 
two hands, it became an easy matter for a man with the de- 
generative characteristics, we have just spoken of, to hold in 
suppression another living-being belonging to his own kind. As 
the suppression of woman went hand-in-hand with the peculiar 
nature of the male-sexuality, the upright gait of the human- 
species and the power of the arms, as well as the mastery which 
the lust-enslaved-selfpreservation-will had gained over human 



359 



nature, it followed, as a consequence, that the natural laws part- 
aining to sex were turned tospsy turvy; so that the wooing of 
woman as being the rule which should govern the sexual-life 
was left out of consideration completely. No wonder that the 
rule which appeared instead was the absence in woman of that 
ultimate sense of pleasure which issues from sexual-connection 
(called orgasm) and the quick dispassion of the man as a conse- 
quence, who, moreover, in the adjustment which nature strives 
at in respect to her laws, strays away to other women, in the 
hope of recapturing the passion which the difficulties standing 
in his way might heighten. In the vague want to adjust this 
malconditions of things, it became the custom to concede to 
women an apparently dominating position in society. The 
Minne-service of the knights of the middle-ages was another 
such vain attempt to balance the unnatural sexual relations which 
prevailed. How different it was in those days before race-mix- 
ture had taken place, before the soul, through the work of 
alien creeds, had been uprooted out of the soil of its own race. 
In the Nordic -race, especially, it was the custom to bring up 
both sexes in the practice of self-command. History proves to 
us how chaste their lives were (s. Tacitus). Chastity and the 
sense of purity placed woman in a dignified and independent 
position which was the guarantee for happy wedlock in the 
fulfilment of the natural laws of sexuality. 

Besides these two, most essential, albeit generally ignored 
features of sexuality, the history of evolution reveals us more. 
It is this. Through the inner fertilisation the sexual-pleasure 
of woman has been jeopardized because the function of mother- 
hood requires the channels through which the ripened fruit is 
discharged to be as insensitive as possible, while the act of 
begetting requires the contrary. The history of evolution has 
badly remedied the conflicting character of this dual-function; 
and, in misunderstanding the fundamental-laws which exist here, 



360 



men have done infinite harm in this direction, so that it has come 
to pass, that very few women indeed enjoy the plenitude of 
full development, and, despite frequent connection, never, or 
very seldom, experience the pleasure which should issue by 
virtue of sexual-connection. Now, this fact has worked real 
disaster among men and women in that the spiritual-equilibrium 
of woman has been disturbed as well as the joy of motherhood 
and the enthusiam of minne detrimentally effected. This is dis- 
aster to the husband as well and aggravates all the corruption 
practised by man in his instinct for passion, especially all that 
corruption which came in the wake of those errors known as 
'ascetism* and 'the sinfulness of the senses.' 

If we trace the development of sexuality within the history 
of man, we shall notice what a great change it has undergone. 
Originally, it was linked only to the bodily organs of sense, 
but later it became closely, very closely linked, indeed, to the 
functions of the soul. In the place of "Sexuality" there appeared 
the minne-enthusiasm which gradually came to depend more on 
the values which the soul possessed than on anything else. If, 
in primitive times, the mere appearance of the male was not 
sufficient to awaken the sexual-emotions of the female, how 
much less important, in this respect, is the outward appearance 
of the male to her now. She lays more value on character, de- 
velopment of the intellect and heart as these greatly attribute 
to the beauty and quality of his wooing. Woman was accustom- 
ed to do this since time immemorial. It seems here as if the 
Mother hood- Will, innate in the female, speaks in the choice of 
a father for her children; but spiritual values will also play a 
large part in the sex-appeal to men, although in its degree race 
is a determining factor, but never quite to that extent as its 
happens in woman. However, from this stage of spiritual isation 
onward, we are justified in calling sexuality "Minne", as being 
something different to mere bodily sexuality, and as having 



361 



nothing in common with the feeling of 'humanity* which of- 
course is not moved by any instincts of sexuality. 

Observe then, how, hand in hand with the spiritualisation 
of sexuality towards minne, attraction (in the animal, still im- 
personal and fleeting), begins gradually to attach itself to some 
other person of the opposite sex, until at last the minne-Will 
is fixed firmly on one single-individual. Then the approachment- 
Will (the cytotropism of the unicell) and the exchange-of-spirit- 
ual-good (the 'conjugation* of the unicell) make their appear- 
ance. There comes the sublimest form of sexuality which alone 
deserves the title of minne. The more the divinity in a man 
awakens to life, and the more conscious he becomes of the 
significance of his own life, the more capable he will grow to 
realise that sublime state, the union of two in wedlock, which, 
in its prime phase, was the 'copulation* (permanent fusion) of 
the unicell. In our days, we do not often encounter the constant 
union of two in wedlock, although so many strive to obtain 
this state of perfection. The state which we have compared to 
the conjugation of the unicell is more frequent. It is on a level 
which is between the original kind of sexuality and the highest 
of its kind (the perfect union). We mean the unity of two on 
a more spiritual basis which is not however of a constant nature. 
Finally, as we have already mentioned, the greater majority 
still remain at that stage of unspiritualised bodily-union which 
is similar to the action of those unconscious animal-species which 
are related to man the most; we mean such individuals who are 
wont to carry on sexual-connection of short duration, merely 
for the sake of gratifying their passions without the slightest 
regard to the spiritual or personal value of the other party. 
Yet alas! these three different forms of sexual-life which have 
their parallel in the animal-kingdom have been almost elimin- 
ated in the present times through matters of an abnormal kind. 
First, there is the ill developed female-sexuality, and secondly 



362 



the abnormal male-sexuality which means disease, although it 
is considered to be the normal-state of male-sexuality. How 
can we explain for this? 

Of all living beings, man is the only one priviledged to grasp 
consciously the cause which links circumstances together in the 
outward-world and to remember things he has once experienced. 
Through this he was exposed to a danger which has since over- 
whelmed him and which the animal was spared experiencing. 
The memory of the once experienced pleasure and the know- 
ledge it imparted of the laws governing the animation of the 
mating-will, awakened within him an impulse to repeat it again 
purposely. Alcohol and drugs were the main seducers in this 
pernicious habit. Besides the damage which was caused to the 
health of the drinkers and their offspring, there was added the 
evil which issued from perverse practices of the mating-will. 
Now, as the poison of alcohol minimizes just as much as it 
excites the potency of sexual-emotion, everyone, given to poison 
of this kind, inevitably forsakes the path leading to a healthy 
sexual-life, of which equilibrium, exactly speaking, is the dis- 
tinguishing mark. Unfortunately, the majority of men have fallen 
a prey to this perversity which has worked disaster to the natural 
state of their physique. It is a disease which has become rampant. 
I have given it, in order to be intelligible, the name "chronic- 
Sexual-Excitement ". Womens' lamentable behaviour is mostly 
the cause of it. In ignorance, probably, of the evil they are 
causing, they make use of all the inventions of civilisation which 
answer to the purposes of their vanity. Thus, they constantly 
make abuse of the quick tendency to be sexually-animated at 
any sight of the feminine form which is proper to the 
masculine-nature; the evil results, as a consequence, are a con- 
stant state of unnatural excitement on the behalf of men. This 
works such disaster, chiefly because it robs men of the benefit 
which peaceful intervals bring ("I stumbled from the one to 



3*3 



the other; from the craving for lust to its satisfaction; and 
amidst enjoyment, I am craving still"). It makes men quite 
incapable of minne as this requires a sense of profundity and 
spiritualisation. On the contrary, it generally causes nervous 
break down and premature old age. The very law of its being 
signifies tragedy. The more it has, the more it wants, for after 
the depression which inevitably follows comes the craving for 
fresh stimulants, just as it happens in cases of chronic-poisoning 
through habitual morphium. The hardened state which evil 
habit inevitably causes requires continually stronger stimulants 
and is the rule which characterizes diseased sexuality, but which 
is never to be found in sound sexuality, in the spiritualised as 
well as the unspiritualised, in the fleeting as well as the lasting 
kind. Among the Christian nations men have become so terribly 
infected, that the life in towns and cities has adapted itself 
merely to the demands of those who are 'chronically overstrung*. 
Fashion is always ready to adapt itself to any craze which is 
diverting and stimulating. Women are quick to make use of 
fashion for their base purposes, for what can better be expected 
of her who has been degraded to an occupation in family and 
folk as would become the immature-individual only. Laws, as we 
know already, arising from the confused state of moral-con- 
ceptions and creeds of racemixture have led to this apalling 
state of things. To the craze for change and stimulants can be 
added still the many skilful inventions made for the purpose 
of effectively arousing the mating-will (sexual-eruption), a circ- 
umstance, it can always be noticed, which happens when ascetism 
is put up as an ideal. "Prostitution" remains still to be mentioned 
(sexual-connection on sale). This is frequently allowed to erect 
its premises under the paternal protection of the law itself; an 
actual brooding of 'overstrung sexuality* takes place there. But 
it does not stop there for, seemingly, men of all professions 
are liable to this infection. There is the stateman, himself more 



3*4 



or less tained with the disease, proclaiming prostitution to be 
a necessity. Then there is the doctor, similarly tained, saying 
science justified its presence, while the artist, and this is the 
most disastrous case of all, abuses his very genius, in making it 
serve this base law; his artistic productions he dooms to be mere 
stimulants of the lowest order. And yet, what other response 
could be expected after the teaching of the sinfulness of the 
senses had been allowed to work its disaster so long? Hence 
comes the mud of literature belonging to the so-called 'cultural 
folks' which is such a cause of danger to the healthy souls as well 
as the radically diseased. Moreover, that the diseased critic, as 
well as the public he is able to influence with his opinion, should 
applaud the degenerate Vorks of an* goes, of-course, without 
saying. To make bad worse, there comes Psychology (soul-science) 
which is also contaminated with the disease. (Chronical sexual 
excitement.) For instance the 'psycho-analysis' of Prof. Freud 
abounds with errors. Very few of his conceptions in respect to 
the laws ruling the soul are correct. I have attempted to point 
this out clearly in the book I have written entitled "Origin and 
Nature of the Soul" second part, "The Soul of the Human- 
Being".* 

Besides nervous exhaustion, a disease we have just before 
mentioned, the state of chronical-sexual-excitement also leads to 
a perverse inclination of the mating-will, for among the majority 
which it has befallen, few are born with it. Moreover, a truth 
of great importance comes to light when we make the sorry 
study of each single sick case. As soon as we are able to disting- 
uish the symptoms which make for disease and then compare a 



* Freud makes no distinction between the workings of a soul in a healthy state and 
the bilious workings of a soul in a chronic state of overstrung sexual-excitement. Here 
it is made to believe that the crude, shallow sexual-folly proper to the soul mechanism 
of a person chronically overstrung form the base of all soul-life; that the origin of all 
dreams, irrespective of their quality, can be traced back to this. In fact, these 'psycholo- 
gists' are not loathe to explain ID this ugly light the reason for those works of art even 
which are born of minne or of the Life-o7-God; now the latter are far from all sexuality 
at all, having their origin in realms beyond time and space. 



diseased state of soul to a healthy one, we shall perceive clearly 
that a fundamental law governs both. In fact all mankind is 
subject to this fundamental law. We explain as follows; The 
nature which characterises the first experience becomes the rule 
which guides all later ones. Now, this fact gives us hope as well 
as fear. For in as much as a first experience of a low nature will 
throw its dark shadow over all the later life, a ray of light can 
also be thrown which redeems everything, if the first experience 
contains any spiritual value at all. 

The history of this disease yields still another valuable truth. 
The sufferers of this disease reveal the significance of the calam- 
itous attempt which has been made to save men from the bodily 
desires overpowering them and which is generally known as 
the ideal of asceticism. This ideal had its origin in the teachings 
of Jisdmu Krishna and Buddha who lived at the time of the 
decay of the Indian-race. It spread much later to other countries. 
Asceticism teaches that sexual-connection of every kind is im- 
purity and sin, the act of reproduction alone redeeming sexual- 
union from the stain of 'sin'. Now, as the emotions, as we have 
seen which accompany the first experience, are liable to become 
the rule in all later experience, it issues, that the adherents to 
the ascetic ideal will naturally be persecuted with a 'bad con- 
science* whatever the nature of their first experience be. Thus, 
when later, marriage allows sexual-union, as being the case when 
no sin would be attached, or their own spiritual development 
has grown to such an extent as to allow of a spiritualised higher 
kind of sexual will (minne) which might happen to come their 
way, in both cases they would be incapable of the essential spirit 
which must animate these. For them, a conception of what is 
pure and sacred can never go hand in hand with sexual-pleasure. 
Thus then, it must be said; the ascetic ideal, which the 'redee- 
mers', called Krischna and Buddha, created for the purpose of 
redeeming mankind has become instead, the cause of that sorry 



366 



rule which the majority of men are subject to, namely, that only 
in the swampy places of sexual sordidness (which are so far 
apart from pure and chast minne as the swamps, where the frogs 
dwell, are from the mountain tops) are they capable of exper- 
iencing sexual-pleasure to the full. 

We have made an observation of the history-of-evolution up 
to the period when man made his appearance on the scene, the 
history of man himself, and the laws ruling diseased sexuality; 
and in doing so have gathered a clear idea of what healthy 
minne is, as well as an exact idea of the confusion which the 
prevailing 'morals' are weltering in. Well and good. Now let us 
turn to man himself and watch the process of development which 
love makes within the life of the single individual. It will com- 
plete the picture revealing the great differences existing between 
the sexes. 

As the fate of family and folk depends mainly on healthy 
motherhood, nature sees to it that motherhood is duly protected. 
This is done in the way the development of love is allowed to 
proceed within the life of the woman. But as nature does not 
work exclusively for this purpose, it can be seen, that, while in 
woman a masculine kind of development can take place, in man 
also a feminine kind of development can occur. Now, as the 
25th year is the lowest age limit for healthy motherhood, while 
the period of egg-ripening starts ten years earlier, nature strives 
to prevent a premature motherhood through this. For quite a 
long period, girls are made to feel the approachment-will in its 
spiritual form only which is accompanied with an ardent desire 
for tenderness. In Germany this is generally known as "Schwar- 
merei". Not until much later, and then only in a gradual degree, 
does the potency awaken in woman which allows of her to enjoy 
sexual rapture; provided, of -course (which is not often the case, 
nowadays) that the respect to the laws pertaining to sexuality 
have not been ignored. In keeping true, until minne awakens, 



3*7 



to this path proper to her, woman is kept safe from the evil of 
premature motherhood, and the folly of shallow love affairs, 
the best of which is but a mere satisfaction of the bodily desires. 
Thus it is she who is chosen to redeem man from falling a prey 
to the degradation and deterioration which is the state prevailing 
among the so called 'cultural folks' of today. The abstinence to 
indulge in sexuality which the female-sex generally manifest 
until after it is twenty is such a natural matter that nature seems 
to expect it. Moreover, it is the one redeeming point when a 
'dual* state of sexual morals prevail. For the other part of her 
life, however, the unawakened woman, naturally, is subjected 
to laws which are different to those, ruling the life of the woman 
whose sexual-life has been fully developed. Finally, the attract- 
ive woman, whose favour is frequently courted by men, is more 
liable to succumb to the danger of temptation, inspite of the 
sincere desire which pervades her soul to achieve, in the state of 
matrimony, its highest form of spiritualisation, than the un- 
attractive woman, or the one who makes less appeal to men. 

Contrary to woman, the male potency to experience sexual- 
pleasure is awakened very early. It is there before any enthusiam 
of a spiritualised kind (Schwarmerei) has made its appearance; 
generally before any interest for the other sex is felt at all. This 
causes the male-sex, in general, to be exposed to a danger of a 
twofold kind. The first is the indulgence in low sexual connect- 
ion at an early age. As his first experiences generally are likely 
to take place in the degrading precincts of the chronic sufferers 
of overstrung sexuality, it becomes the rule of his life. In this 
way many men, who in other things have a keen sense of the 
divine, grow shallow in their sense of sexuality, becoming 
almost incapable of experiencing the happiness which can be 
found in a more spiritualised union. Men with exceptionally 
strong characters are capable of freeing themselves one day, no 
doubt, although some of the slime will always remain attached 



368 



to them. At sometime or other, the expression in their faces will 
betray those places they were wont to linger in, in the days of 
their youth, or a habit will crop up again to spoil the hallowed 
spirit which animates the experience of grand minne; those, 
however, who have weak characters, go completely to ruin in 
low company, for they lose all their strength of will and what 
is worse any longing for better company, without however 
finding satisfaction in the life they have grown in the habit of 
leading. But the chattering-corpses, as we have called those 
human-individuals who have managed to kill every bit of the 
divinity that might have been within them, simply wallow in 
the filthy morasses of sexuality. 

The second danger which is ready to threaten boys is this. The 
premature development of the potency which permits of sexual 
pleasure drives the boy to seek a companion. Now, those of his 
own age in the other sex, on account of their later sexual awak- 
ening, are not yet fitted to fulfil the demands of the situation, 
nor is the boy's mating-will directed yet in that direction. There- 
fore he seeks to enjoy his first experience in the company of his 
friend. In this indulgence, he has given way for the first time 
to a "Homosexual" inclination which is liable to grow into a 
lifelong lamentable habit. As in such companionship persons can 
also be joined together in the affinity of spirit and soul, it 
happens, that because of the inferiority of the spirit which ani- 
mates other couples of their own age, who stoop to exchange 
love for coin in this 'cultural age* of ours, (prostitution) these 
ones, also gone astray, alight on the fallacious idea, that the 
unnature characterising their erotical-life must be the reason 
for the greater spiritual value which it contains. Therefore, some 
will stick to this kind of puerile sexual-will all their lives. They 
live then in the firm belief that the 'man and male* and 'woman 
and female* is the highest kind of minne which is capable of 



3*9 



bearing fruit of a good kind. Their praise only causes other 
immature human-individuals to be contaminated also of-course. 

Observe then, how we come to the shattering conclusion, that 
in the majority of cases, both sexes, albeit in a different way, 
have been defrauded of a healthy sexual development. This 
matter has been extensively treated in the book entitled "The 
Recuperation of Minne". 

In order to complete the picture I have already drawn of the 
misery generally prevailing, I have but to mention still the 
appalling sexual-diseases which unfortunately so few escape. 
I should also like to remind the reader, that among the so-called 
"cultural folks", the mating-will does not fall much short of 
being a great economic source of income. Namely, sexual-con- 
nection can be bought for so much at a time. In fact polygamic 
"prostitution" enjoys the protection of the law. Then again, 
men and women allow themselves to be bought, in a life-long 
union for the sake of a fortune or any other goods. In calling it 
'marriage' the law honours it with the same rights as it does the 
marriage of permanent minne. (The permanent fusion of two 
souls into one.) Hence, it can be assumed, that those purchasable 
men and women, as well as those in connection with them, are 
ignorant of the fearful immorality of their undertakings. There 
can be no other worthier explanation. In any case their moral 
shame makes them conceal the bargain. They pretend they are 
marrying each other for minne. But not one among those mono- 
gamic prostitutes are aware of the fact, how far below the beasts 
they have sunk in stooping to such actions. 

Verily, what unnature and nonsense this is which has usurped 
the place of the gradually growing spiritualised minne, and all 
because reason will perceive but the half only of the truth which 
of-course turns it into error! How different it is when the four 
divine- wishes are given their rights! Namely, these are the 
illuminating factors in the workings of consciousness. They 



37 



grant conscious God-living to man. They reveal life's true signi- 
ficance. The more frequently men partake in the life of God, 
the greater richness and meaning will be given to their own 
lives. Also, the graver, yet withal jubilant, will their song and 
poem resound in the praise of minne, as being the glorification 
of their mating-will. Men, alive to God, have always sung 
hymns in praise of the divine power of minne. It was heard 
above all the confusion which prevailed. Nothing seemed able 
to prevent it, not even the teaching of the ascetic-ideal of the 
Indian redeemers, nor the suppression of woman. And now, our 
philosophy is able to confirm the truth of it. 

Notwithstanding this, however, and because of all the dege- 
nerate trends prevailing now in human nature, we must put a 
demand similar to one contained in our morals of the struggle- 
for-life, although it must be mortifying for the 'cultural folks* 
of our time to have to accept it. It is this: In order to regain 
the respect which is due to the fundamental laws of sexuality, 
it is necessary to return to the level of the mammal-stage. The 
issue will be the relief from evil conditions such as; purchasable 
sexuality, in marriage or otherwise; the chronic disease of sexual 
excitement; woman will again be installed into her right to enjoy 
sexual-pleasure (called orgasm). With the riddance of these 
evils, however, it will mean, morally, the arrival of man to the 
mere point where the animal-kingdom stands, the moral zero- 
point. Burdened with the aforesaid evils he stands below the 
moral zero-point. But with the achievement of the moral-zero- 
point, it also means, that mankind will be given a greater chance 
of experiencing the true happiness which alone minne (the name 
we have given to the spiritualised sexual will) can bring. Now, 
before we go on to explain why and to what degree the creation 
of happiness has to do with our sexual morals, we must point 
out that the moral-zero-point belongs to the demands which 
reason made on behalf of the common-law (the unwritten law) 



and which signifies in the struggle-for-life the first beginnings 
to any morality at all. Observe then, that the sexual-life of 
every human -being should be guided by this principle; do to 
others as you would be done by. Also, the life and health of the 
children may not be endangered through any fault of the par- 
ents; this is an duty which the common-law expects of every 
one. The neglect of this duty, in as much as it does harm to the 
offspring and therefore folk as a whole, is crime. The fulfilment 
of this duty (care of offspring for the weal of the folk-body) 
merely raises mankind to the level of the animal-kingdom; no 
higher. Therefore, all those who neglect to take the responsibil- 
ity of this duty upon themselves, as well as the ministers of 
state who lazily tolerate such evil conditions, sink much lower 
than where the animal stands. 

Let us consider for a while before we continue our ascent, 
how sexuality is imbued with the power (especially the spiritua- 
lised higher form) to link the actions of one person to the act- 
ions of another. Nothing else has the power like sexuality has of 
putting the happiness of one man into the hands of another, be 
it the happiness which lasts a day or a whole lifetime, or the 
very fate of the soul itself. The deeper, the more tender, the 
more exclusive minne is, the deeper man's soul can be wounded, 
the unhappier his life long he can become, and the greater the 
loss he will suffer to his own soul. This part (the role of the 
Godhead) which everyone plays in the imagination of the one 
who is engaged in minne, by virtue of the power which is exer- 
cised over him, plays no part however in our philosophy, for 
happiness is not the sense of life. We simply ask if the spiritual 
influence in itself which is caused by the sexual union is relevant 
or irrelevant in respect to our morals? 

Morals mean nothing more or less, than the application of 
the divine-will (which is noticeable through being anfraught 
with any purpose) to each single decision of the human-will. 



37* 



May or ought they allow themselves to be influenced by the 
consideration of one's own happiness or the happiness of others? 
Well now, our morals are free from any aims of happiness 
whatever (Eudamonism). We know well, already, that the 
exfoliation of the divinity, innate in man, does not signify 
happiness only, but signifies the deepening of the sense for hap- 
piness as well as unhappines equally, as long as the experience is 
spiritual of course. Is it otherwise (unspiritual)) the sense of 
happiness or unhappiness has equally vanished. Thus we may 
never stand in contradiction to the Will-of-God, merely for the 
sake of our own happiness. The adage, what just does not kill 
me makes me strong, is very true indeed. Where minne is con- 
cerned, misfortune is just as capable of developing the divine 
side of man's nature, as fortune is. But it can also be a deadly 
weapon; like the adage says, it can 'kill'. In the time of youth, 
when the mating-will is strongly developed, and the divine- 
will weak, success or the hope of success in matters of love will 
often be the reason of keeping a man alive. How often have 
passionate natures been saved from committing suicide through 
the postponement or breaking-off of an engagement until a 
more favourable time when the divine-side of a man's nature 
has more chance of superceeding his mating-will. Observe then, 
how the divine wishes, out of consideration for exceptional 
circumstances, resign in favour of life for the sake of a may-be 
future realisation of the life-beyond. From the sexual-moral- 
standpoint it is indifferent which side benefits. Such kind of 
behaviour is certainly moral; but such cases are the exception 
and hardly come in question where the parties are made up of 
persons of a mature and sensible character. For, if an adult is 
capable of giving way to suicide for the sake of minne-happi- 
ness, it would be futile to expect of him to ever develope a right 
sense of what is moral. As the absence of this (the moral-sense) 
would make him wholly unfit to partake in God's-Life, it is a 



373 



matter of complete indifference from the moral point of view 
at what time such a life ends, as it is merely the appearance of 
life. What does it matter, if the soul is dead, when the body 
returns to dust as well. Yet in every case, it is not good for a 
person, in whom the divinity is well awake, to stay in the com- 
pany of a person whose soul is dead, just for the sake of keeping 
this corpse among the living, for he would run the risk himself 
of suffering the loss of his own soul. 

While that danger, merely impending to life, brings both 
parties into an equal position when considered from the moral 
point of view the responsibility for the happiness of the other, 
however, is more closely connected with the divine-wishes than 
the responsibility for one's own happiness is. The latter, called 
'egoism* in the proper sense of the word, means aid in the serv- 
ice of self; in general it is not this; but love of self which is of 
a degenerate kind, because it goes contrary to every law holy 
to the duties-to-life (common law). The self-preservation-will 
in the breast of man, since it has become joyenslaved, directs 
all the actions of man towards enjoyment, as being the only 
thing which signifies at all in the human-life. Therefore any 
inclination to help another he will quickly nip in the bud. In 
this case Self -aid has gone bad. It has turned into 'selfishness*. 
Selfishness is a sin of disobedience against the duty-to-life 
(common-law). We have inherited the trait of egoism from our 
animal-ancestors, and when it grows spiritualised, that means 
to say, when it is guided by the divine-wishes, it raises us to a 
high moral standard. We shall come back to this in our morals- 
of-life. The compassion for others in misfortune, and the joy 
at another's good fortune are the daughters of the divinity which 
manifests itself in feeling (love for mankind, or humanity). 
These give birth to the will for selfsacrifice, known as 'altruism*. 
It gives the urge to do 'acts of charity*. Thus 'altruism 1 in its 
spiritualised form, that is, when it is guided by the divine- 



374 



wishes, is able to fulfil two divine-wishes simultaneously. This 
will explain why all those who live gladly for the happiness of 
others have greater chances of developing the divine side of 
their nature than those others who see merely to the welfare of 
their own souls. Notwithstanding, the gladness in making others 
happy should not lead a man to act indiscriminately, for kind- 
ness is not the only attribute required to be worthy to live God's 
life. Not once, for instance, may the desire to sacrifice oneself 
for the benefit of others, lead one astray from the interests of 
self when these are of a divine nature which can be recognised 
by the bend taken in the direction of God and the urge to per- 
fection. Compassion, the priceless gift of human-sympathy which 
finds its expression in innumerable acts of kindness and help- 
fulness, can also degenerate in character. It will do this, if it is 
allowed to grow rampant, when it becomes actual disobedience 
to the laws ruling the common-weal. This will happen the more 
readily when it is supposed to be a moral ideal, as it is contained 
in the Buddha and Krischna-creeds which were later taken over 
by the Christians. It is fatal to ask "Can there be a greater 
happiness than that of sacrificing one's self for others"? It points 
to mere "Eudamonism" and is of a certitude immorality. For 
instance, it is a crime committed to the God within us, if, in 
preferring to remain in lower moral surroundings just for the 
sake of the frivolous happiness of another who feels comfortable 
in sticking there, we neglect its care. 

Now, our sexual-morals clearly and inexorably keep the 
laws of nature holy like we have become acquainted with them 
in our study of the History-of-Evolution and the experience 
we have gained of the diseases prevailing. They also keep holy 
the claims which preservation makes on family, folk and race 
in order to preserve God-living in succeeding generations. They 
are fully aware, in fine, of the potent part minne plays in the 
fate of the human-soul, in that it is the determining factor in the 



375 



Godliving of the lovers. Hence, this means that the sacred 
meaning which human life bears should be the guiding star in 
fortunes' tribulations as well as in the decision of a union of two 
in love. Therefore the cognition of the holy meaning which the 
life of each of us bears, admonishes thus: Mutual minne of a 
grand kind is required to form the prime and inviolable basis 
for the state-of-marriage. Minne may be the only motive for 
the closer union of the sexes, should the pleasures of sexual-will 
retain the purity of their character. Our ancestors who lived 
during the prechristian era lived according to this insight (wis- 
dom). And others, also akin to us, who emigrated to India, 
clothed the same morals in the poetic language of the legend 
called "Adima and Heva", that beautiful legend of minne which 
is found again in the "Old Testament", there so miserably 
stripped of its intrinsic beauty. Nevertheless, according to our 
philosophy, profound and sacred minne does not alone suffice 
for the fulfilment of life in its proper meaning. The influence 
which each soul exercises on the soul of the other in the commun- 
ion of minne plays such a striking part, that every choice of a 
partner should be avoided which is made in the superficial hu- 
mour of the moment or from the mere urge for the happiness 
which mating yields; for this is immorality. Therefore let us 
accept the admonishment which our cognition gives us. It is this: 
Before we yield to that communion which we know will take 
such possession of our soul, let us hesitate a moment to examine 
gravely if the nature of our will and the nature of the will which 
is longing for us really deserves being called deep chaste minne. 
Then we must examine the nature of the soul of the one we so 
dearly are longing for and see if it proves true to our divine 
wishes. Can and does the union then take place, remember to be 
the guardian, not alone of your own happiness, but, indeed, also 
the guardian of the happiness of your companion. Then, always 
conscious of this sacred function which we must fulfill, we are 



376 



free nevertheless to step everywhere else within the bounds 
leading to life's sacred goal. Should it happen, inspite of every- 
thing, that this should fall into the danger of not being achieved 
(the meaning of life) and the union therefore be dissolved, do 
your duty without a murmur of regret for the happiness you 
might be losing. Yet, postpone this duty, should there be any 
fear of suicide or hope of reunion on a divine basis. 

Moreover, we are aware from the knowledge we have gained 
of the laws-of-sexuality, that each single individual, through 
the trend of his behaviour in youth, holds the fate of his soul 
in his own hands, (s. above.) As an unworthy union can cause 
the meaning of life to suffer distortion, it issues that precise 
moral claims exist to counteract this. (s. The Recuperation of 
minne.) As every youthful experience of sexual-pleasure is not 
without its pernicious potency which a later experience, no 
matter how divine its nature may be, is made to feel, it stands 
to reason, that a state of abstinence, and not the indulgence in 
base sexual-lust, should be the rule for youth. It goes without 
saying, that adults, in whom the divine side of human nature 
might have had the opportunity of developing, must always 
abstain from entering into base connections, as this is immoral. 
In fact there exists but one choice only; either a worthy moral 
bond or total abstinence from sexual-life altogether. Observe 
now this: our morals make the following claims. In place of the 
antigodlike asceticism on the one hand, and the sexual-life which 
is immoral because of its promiscuity on the other, we place the 
bond which is abstinence which is in full accordance with the 
sacred meaning of life. This sort of abstinence in certain cases 
is decidedly the only alternative to immorality. We stress this 
fact in spite of the responsibility which the insight into the 
laws of sexuality has placed on our shoulders, for the duty which 
these laws make claim to may never be a sufficient excuse for 
the neglecting of the God within us. The spirit of abstinence, 



377 



which prevents us from entering into a sexual bond because of 
the fears we have, that it might rob us of the chance of ever 
obtaining lofty minne or developing the divine side of our 
nature, is akin to the spirit which makes it a duty to break the 
ties of a union, when we find out we have been deceived in our 
companion's character, as the keeping up of such a bond would 
only mean calamity to the God-potency within us. Of-course, 
the higher in kind the morals are, the easier are they subjected 
to abuse. This is because each individual case must be weighed 
with divine weights, so that base motives are likely to be con- 
cealed behind moral claims for the sake of self deception. Thus 
it can be observed, that persons of a polygamic disposition or 
even those chronically disposed to sexual 'overexcitement' will 
gladly deceive the world and themselves as to the flippant 
change of their sexual-will, when they conceal their behaviour 
with a moral cloak in saying 'the union disgusted me* or 'my 
better self was depraved'. Now the sublime superiority to every 
thing else which the nature of our cognisance reveals is founded 
on this fact: Everyone, who has been priviledged to grasp its 
full meaning, will be imbued with the longing to partake of that 
eternal state, in the sure knowledge, that if he be incapacitated 
to attain this aim before death overcomes him, eternal-life will 
be lost to him forever. Likewise he is aware what folly it would 
be to cause more difficulties in this respect through the fault 
of his own hypocrisy. Therefore, if we are earnest in our endea- 
vours to live according to the truths which our cognisance points 
to, we must put ourselves under the obligation to strengthen our 
Will-to-Truth, in hating deception of every kind. Before under- 
taking any grave steps at all, we must stop first to practice 
examination-of-self . If we decide truly in favour of God only, 
and all the ties broken which held us to another person, and the 
state of abstinence is undertaken of our own free will, then the 
outward appearance will inevitably coincide with the inner. 



Yet it would be folly to want moral principles of the kind just 
mentioned planted in the degenerate soil where the 'cultured 
customs' of our times are growing. The men and women who 
adhere to the truths of our philosophy do not marry irrespons- 
ibly. They strictly avoid race-mixture, for they know this is 
the very spring from whence all misunderstanding and quarrel- 
someness arises. Such questions like these, "was it from a dispos- 
ition to quarrelsomeness, or through any fault of my own 
character, or obstinacy in forgiving any one which was the 
true reason for my decision to part from anyone", are the same 
questions which are properly asked in the relations of one person 
to another of a nonsexual nature. But these are moral-trends of 
the thoughts belonging to another field. They have nothing to 
do actually with the morals-of-minne. 

Notwithstanding all this, the matter has another aspect where 
the bond of minne is concerned in that there is every justificat- 
ion in saying; greater chances exist for the transformation and 
development of the character than exists in unions of any other 
kind. Now, here we are touching exactly the point where the 
great moral value lies, for the mating-will works like magic in 
bringing forth the divine side of a person's nature. But also 
and this is the other side it is capable of causing utter deprav- 
ity and death of the soul of both ones living continually in 
sexual-attachment, when the spirit which animates the union is 
of a baser kind. The appalling distortions of human kind which 
come to sight after long years of base married life, find there 
parallel nowhere else. The contaminating atmosphere of a base 
friend, mother, sister, brother or superior are nothing in com- 
parison! The characters which Strindberg has described are not 
half so horrible as they are in real life. Indeed, when one comes 
to think of it, it is appalling to watch how sexual-attachment 
causes so many to sink down to a state of base littleness, who 
once promised to be men and women fit for higher things. Our 



379 



picture is complete. Opposite the perfect God stand the dwarfs 
and libertines of humanity, between, are all the others, although 
not one but has been changed in some way through the "Divine" 
or "Devilish" power of the sexual-will. Thus then, according 
to this pattern before us, we are able to build up our moral- 
principles which, with the wishes of the Will-of-God as the 
governing factors, should be the guide when men and women 
decide to indulge or obstain from the bond of minne. 



380 



jworaljs of ILife 



When I undertook the task of revising this book ten years 
after its first appearance, it was not with the intention of 
effacing the line, by means of which the development of my 
philosophy could be traced. I never had the intention of adding 
to this, my first philosophical work, the fruits of a deeper and 
more prolific insight which I gained later. (These fructified into 
achieved facts in my work, entitled "History of Creation.") In 
the accomplishing of this work I was granted an insight into 
the workings of the soul-laws and their connection to one an- 
other, as well as "Selfcreation" and "Soultransformation" which 
it is possible for man to attain during his lifetime. What I did 
in the way of revision was, however, to lay more stress on the 
importance of keeping the laws controlling race more holy as 
well as to point out the harmful effects which the creeds of 
equality bring about, for it was obvious all this trampled on 
the inexorability of the soul-laws. I had nothing to change, as 
nothing at all turned out to be error; on the contrary, all my 
later works sprang into being from out of the cognition laid 
down in "The Triumph of the Immortal- Will". Therefore this* 
chapter "Morals of Life" is in the main in the original, although 
the inner sight 1 gained into man's soul, and its laws and the 
growth of the universe, has contributed not a little to its pro- 
fundity. Oh! May all those, who have understood me up till 
now, follow still in my footsteps, in order to experience the 
truth of my convictions for themselves. They will soon then 
be convinced of the importance of noble self-esteem and other 



things. But to do this, it is essential to make an observation of 
the growth-of-life on its way to the creation of man, not 
from a personal point of view, nor from the outward appear- 
ance of things (Erscheinung), like we have done in this book, 
but from the standpoint taken from the soul which exists in all 
things (Wesen der Dinge), as it has been done in the "History 
of Creation". Until this is undertaken men will remain ignorant 
of that sublimeness which the human-soul is capable of. 

During the period of Darwinism, God and men became 
estranged. The majority of mankind (not the superficial ones 
either) cannot perceive any right reason for separating the 
morals-of-life from the morals-of-the-struggle-for-life. They 
believe this to be a superfluous thing to do, for they say; life is 
one continual struggle. In fact the untiring strugglers founded 
the saying "No life without struggle" and infected even the man 
of a more worthier soul with the spirit which this breathed forth. 
Accordingly, where no struggle is, there must be death! Is not 
the process which all matter undergoes, be it of a chemical, phys- 
ical or physiological kind, the manifestation of a struggle of 
conflicting powers? Does this not also mean continual combat 
with the 'evil powers' in our own breasts (to use Christian words) 
which ends with the final victory of the good or bad? Is not 
human-life a manifestation of a continual struggle between the 
noble and the ignoble? Is not public opinion animated with the 
spirit to aid the good to victory through the might of mentality? 
Here, it is obvious, that only one side of life is being examined, 
either from a logical or illogical point of view. The inner and most 
essential part is forgotten. We have something else to say to 
this. But, no doubt, a sage of the prehistoric times would under- 
stand it better than the Christian or Darwinist of our times. 
It is this: 

Combat itself is not progress. The divine-wishes and the 
divine Will of God awakens to power where combat is not. Let 



382 



us but remember how many human-lives have passed away in 
a futile combat against 'the evil spirits' within their own breast, 
without once having had the chance of reaching the state of 
perfection. How many there are fighting daily in public for the 
welfare of mankind, and yet, everywhere evil reigns still; un- 
daunted people reply: Failure in this respect may not discourage 
us. The reason is because we are so few. We must win over more 
to fight with us. But they never stop to consider if the 'evil', 
they are striving to put down, is being searched for in the right 
place, or if the way, they are fighting, be the right one, making 
bad worse in doing so. To this our philosophy replies: Combat 
is powerless to awaken life. And to the warriors it turns to say: 
Go, forsake the public place of battle. Let only the few remain, 
in whom God is strong enough for there to be able to teach the 
truth. And you others return to help when you have grown in 
the spirit of God strong enough to do so, that means to say, 
when you are able to live yourselves according to the divine- 
wishes of God's Will, and not merely for the struggle-for-life 
alone. Your combat for the good will then consist of revealing 
to the world those deadly enemies which work in secret. To 
the mind of the confused you will reveal the true meaning of 
life, freeing them from all the fallacies which serve to enslave 
them. But 'the evil spirits within the breast of man' will be 
something you will leave unuttered, for you know, from your 
own experience, that redemption came to you from your very 
soul itself. Very few will become real helpers. In kindness, 
however, the few will show man how 'evil' the nature of their 
wishes are. Never will they use persuasion, on the contrary, 
they will point out the reason, why mens' lives are bad and 
explain them the power which belongs to their own free will, 
in asking them, if they want to remain in such an evil state or 
not. And because the helpers themselves are animated with the 
spirit of God, their words will have power to awaken in others 

33 



the desire for perfection. Soon it will be revealed to them, that 
perfection can never be attained through 'fighting* down the 
superficial-desires, but rather in listening to the voice of God 
within them. Gradually the craving for baser things will give 
way. They will hardly notice its progress, until one day all 
baseness has been overcome altogether, for each time they have 
been capable of acting truly noble the God within them has been 
strengthened. 

In the process to perfection no 'spiritual weapons* are neces- 
sary at all. 

'Spiritual weapons' are in their proper place in the wordly- 
field of combat, for desires and aims of the struggle-for-life or 
to fight human-enemies, whose purpose in life it is to kill the 
divine spirit in man. 

Indeed, it is a mighty and extensive field where it is proper 
to use 'spiritual weapons' to fight with, for, there is not one 
single part of the struggle-for-life where it is incorrect to say: 
"I must refrain from looking at it from the moral point of 
view." Now, it is a wonderful thing to notice, how, in this 
matter, the two sexes differ from one another. Although in the 
realms-beyond, sex plays no part at all, as it belongs decidedly 
to the world-of-appearances (Welt der Erscheinung) the female- 
sex, nevertheless, distinguishes itself, through the preference it 
has for quiet activity, as opposed to combat. In other words, 
woman strives to beautify life in illuminating it with the light 
which is of God. (s. "The Cultural Achievement of Woman'*). 
Therefore the harmonious state of life which saves mankind 
from destruction can be expected to come from woman alone. 
Here we touch the blessing of genius itself; the divine can per- 
vade all struggle-for-life, but the latter can never enter with its 
desires and combats into the realms which are beyond itself. 

God-living of the soul is beyond all strife. Not until we are 
able to grasp this truth and all what it means, shall we be able 



384 



to detect properly when the rights of the struggle-for-life make 
infringements on the rights of God-living. To avoid this error 
ourselves, in the task of working out our special morals, we have 
divided the divine claims in order to treat them separately. On 
the one hand there are the claims on our God-living, and the 
claims on the struggle-for-life and minne on the other hand. 
Our morals claim due respect and subjection to God in all. Our 
morals of life demand the potential development of our genius, 
the goal of which is perfection. 

This aim is superior to any thoughts fraught with purpose 
even to those connected with our Immortal- Will, for this can 
be redeemed through the grace of one single experience of the 
life of God, if it but happen in the hour of death. Perfection is 
happiness neither, for it can contain pain as well as happiness, 
and the individual, craving for happiness alone, will never look 
upon perfection as the aim of his life. It is not the manifestation 
of an admonitor, demander, forcer, but is the aim of the will of 
the few. And this is the fact which is so shattering, for we know 
from the truth our cognition has yielded, that the possibility is 
given to us all to gain the state of perfection, in that we alone, 
among all the rest of life, have the grace of becoming God's- 
consciousness. Put this possibility (selfachieved perfection) at 
the base of all the ideas or language contained in the morals of 
life; of a certainty the demands, you find, will accord with 
reality. 

Now if we recourse to a separate study of the morals-of-life, 
it is not out of consideration for the original conflicting nature 
of Godliving in being opposed to the struggle-for-life, but be- 
cause we are conscious of the fact, that, if all struggle-for-life 
stands under the control of the morals of Godliving, a state of 
harmony between the struggle-for-existence and life itself will 
be created. The spirit of animosity which animates Godliving 
when it comes in contact with existence will be dissipated 



385 



through their influence. No more will the profane be disdained, 
no will its laws be rudely trampled on, as we see the religions 
doing, and as the morals -of -minne so clearly have shown us. The 
Buddhistical disdain for superficial joys and sorrows are absent 
in our morals. On the contrary, they know that every experience, 
be it joy or sorrow, can animate the human-being with the spirit 
of God, besides which, they teach us wise discrimination, so that 
we are saved the humiliation of giving ourselves up to every 
kind of joy and sorrow which fate might happen to throw in 
our way. 

For the same reason our morals-of-life admonish us to refrain 
from awakening any artificial emotions in the soul of the young 
child. Children should be left in peace to develope very gradually 
into a state of Godliving. Who can tell, if not the once heartily 
enjoyed delicacy in childhood was not the means of enabling 
a genial enjoyment of later years? To the spiritual development 
of genial forces it does harm to 'spring two or more steps' at a 
time, as Nietzsche has it. Therefore, the tutors' task is not an 
easy one. Children are still very uninterested in God or the 
questions concerning the ultimate things pertaining to the mean- 
ing of life. Thus then, in such matters, he must adapt himself to 
the particular stage of interest which the child has arrived at. 
Infinite harm is caused which can never again be put right, if 
the degree of spiritualisation is overestimated. In this way it 
only breeds mock piety which brings sure death to the life of 
the soul. In this way innumerable individuals can be robbed for 
ever of the capacity of living God. How often, for instance, does 
it happen that countless adults find themselves incapable of God- 
living through the fault of their having been made to rattle 
down prayers during their childhood!* 

Just as much as our morals-of-life have nor the intention of 



* We refer the reader to the book "Works and Deed of the Human-Soul", 1. part, 
"The Child's Soul and its Parents' Office". 

3 86 



forcing men to leave superficial joy or sorrow for the life beyond 
at a time when these may hardly be fit to arrive at the bridges 
do they neither turn their back on useful work. Through 
subjection of the morals-of-existence the opposition is easily 
overcome. As we have seen already, discrimination must be 
always practised. What is found to be essential for the susten- 
ance of existence is also found worthy. This is a novel truth 
which animates us with an eager spirit to leap to the new day 
in order to gain a living. It makes men-of-genius work for their 
livelihood without the feeling of a 'bad conscience' tormenting 
them. Knowing what the true meaning of human-life is, as well 
as that one day our personality of a surety will end, we are made 
fit to do the work which is necessary for our livelihood, as we 
shall be safe from endeavours of a trivial kind. All those, in 
whom the divine potency is great enough to be able to manifest 
itself visibly in immortal works of art and science, are not guilty, 
when they accept the sacrifice of others who want to spare them 
the trouble of earning a living. This is far from being immoral; 
on the contrary, our morals expect it. As it is done for the sake 
of genius, the one, who sacrifices himself in this circumstance, 
acts morally. What is more, the spirit of God will increase 
within him. Yet, these differ (in that the nature of their self- 
sacrifice is different) to all those thoughtless individuals, who, 
in working from morning until night industriously, according to 
the pattern of the Christian ideal, without self-esteem and dis- 
crimination, often help the most worthless of creatures or things. 
If we should scrutinise them more closely, it would become 
quickly obvious, how, in the end, their industrious labours are 
undertaken for the sake of ridding themselves of the vacancy 
which fills their souls. We must strictly refrain from dedicating 
ourselves to work of all kinds, especially when, according to 
the truths we now know to be, it bears the characteristic of im- 
morality, much less undertake to do it in the light of a 'duty*. 



387 



The selfsame Will-to-truth which induces us to keep faithful 
to any given promise would also be the cause of a moral conflict 
to arise in our spirit which would lead to equally fatal conse- 
quences. Therefore, as in all the other cases, let us here also con- 
sider first before we act in order to convince ourselves, if the 
promise we are about to give has the full consent of the divine- 
wishes. Not until this is the case, should we think it our 'duty* 
to undertake any single piece of work or take on an office of 
any kind. 

In the chapter dedicated to the "Morals of the Struggle-for- 
Life" we have already mentioned, that, according to our cognis- 
ance, the sustenance of life is not the prime duty in the life of 
man, notwithstanding the fact that it is indeed a sacred and 
important duty. It becomes a sacred and important duty in as 
much only as it is completely under the guidance of the divine- 
wishes. For this reason, voluntary death even can become a 
moral-action in special circumstances. The Immortal-Will, 
innate in the unicelled-being, strives for unendlcss existence in 
the world of appearances. (Welt der Erscheinung.) The aim of 
our Immortal- Will is different in that it allows the selfpreser- 
vation instinct to work its way at will, but only so long as no 
harm is being done to the God within us. It is prepared even to 
give up preservation-of-self in time, and therefore the conscious 
life in timelessness, if this be for the good of any divine-wish, 
or if living on meant the loss of the fulfilment of any divine- 
wish. Thus the man- of-genius will prefer death to the surrender 
of his doctrines which he knows to be true. All death for the 
sake of an idea which has been suffered within the course of 
time is a divine accomplishment in the light of our point of 
view, provided it was not suffered in the hope of a "heavenly- 
reward* or 'immortal-fame*. Cases can exist, therefore, when 
selfdestruction is the only alternative to choose, should the 
moral-self be saved. Thanks to the truth we have gained, we 



388 



are well aware of the tremendous sacrifice this means. Now, if 
a man believe that there is a conscious-life after death, he ought, 
as a logical consequence, walk light-heartedly unto death, for 
in doing so, he is able to put an end to this 'imperfect* fleeting 
life and enter earlier than he would otherwise do into the realms 
of 'eternal bliss*. And on the other hand, if a man do not believe 
in a life hereafter and is living his life similar to the animals, 
merely for the material world, he will, under certain circum- 
stances, also commit suicide, in order to put an end to the troubles 
and tribulations earlier than these naturally would have ended. 
In fact, he may take courage for the last step, in telling himself 
of the escape he is about to make from the miseries of old age, 
and may be able to end his animal-existence, he calls life, with 
even a joke on his lips. Finally there is the other kind of man, 
who knows, as we do, that immortal-life can be partaken-in 
before death only. Perchance, such a man will also sacrifice his 
chance of immortal-life for the sake of God. If he do so in this 
spirit only, his action indeed is a divine one. How great must 
the dominion of his Godliving over his soul have been to enable 
him to bear and to overcome the pains of his loss. Everyone, 
imbued with the spirit of the truth which our philosophy has 
revealed, will be incapacitated to make such a mighty sacrifice 
other than for the purpose of saving the God within him from 
shrivelling. Never would any superficial aims of his own, his 
family or folk be strong enough to persuade him to do so; the 
exception would be, when life was in danger. Self-destruction 
cannot be committed by one who knows the meaning of life and 
death, except for the sake of God. When the truth of this has 
come home, there is hope that a gradual disarmament will be 
undertaken in the proper light of discrimination. If war be still 
inevitable in the future, then only folk-wars will have the right 
to be fought out. Up till now the folks of the earth were ignorant 
of the fact, that they were driven to war and revolution for 



389 



other purposes than for the self-preservation of their race. For 
the first time in history, however, the eyes of men have been 
opened. They can perceive now, if they will, those secret world- 
powers, that are the unscrupulous instigators of war. These men 
are greedy for power and, to attain their unscrupulous ends, 
make atrocious abuse of the unsuspecting folks of the earth. The 
more the principles of our cognisance will be allowed to govern 
the lives of men, the sooner it will be seen, that wars, caused for 
any other purpose, save for the life of a folk and the freedom 
of its mentality, must be strictly condemned for that which 
they are, murder and outrage. When we are called upon to 
judge any case of voluntary-death (suicide) we must make use 
of our discriminating potencies, like we have done in all our 
other moral estimations up till now. The act of self-destruction 
has a dual character. It can be a virtue as well as a crime. It is 
so: In the estimation of all mens' actions our morals conduct us 
to God's scales to have them weighed in the balance of the di- 
vine-wishes, so that indeed only the 'peerless* actions, in the deep- 
est sense of the word, are found worthy of the moral-self. The 
necessity of this continual examination, however, makes the 
potency-to-perfection grow within us. The state of our con- 
science grows gradually more and more refined through this 
unremitting practice. Then, almost reflexively, our judgement 
will be made up quickly and reliably, until at last we are cap- 
able of striding along the narrow path in harmony with all the 
divine-wishes, balancing ourselves with the surety which is 
comparable to a somnambulist only. 



390 



The morals-of-lifc give the instructions to all those will- 
decisions of ours which aid in the development of the divine 
trends or wishes, as we have called them, of the Will of God. 
Perfection is their lofty aim. Perfection can be gained, when men 
make it their habit to participate in the life-bcyond. Thus each 
of the four divine-wishes ought to be treated separately in con- 
nection with the morals-of-life. As divine-deed is included always 
when morals are spoken of, it is not exactly essential to treat 
this subject separately, for morals mean, that in all our will- 
decisions, the Wish-to-goodness has been applied. Yet it should 
not been left unsaid in which way we can develope this inborn 
wish to so high a degree as to make all other wishes, not of the 
divine-kind, pale beside it. 

At the start of our spiritual-ascent the divinity within us is 
naturally very weak still. At this period, consequently, medit- 
ation and self-examination is a necessity .The nearer one approach- 
es the state of perfection, the less self-examination is needed. 
In its stead the life in union with God has taken place. We have 
called this achieved divine state of the soul, God-living. In 
connection with this fact the explanation can be found for the 
reason why so many human-individuals could not find the right 
way to the moral development of self, although they were able 
to break away from the Christian church through the strength 
of their own convictions. When they broke away from the 
church, they evidently were standing at that moral state still, 
when daily self-examination is an absolute necessity. The great 



391 



importance of meditation is seen from the results attained from 
religious prayers, when these ask merely for the grace of God 
and are unmingled with any longing for happiness, albeit more 
often than not even these are not completely free from selfish 
intentions. There are prayers begging God or the saints to turn 
away tribulation or give reward and happiness etc. There is 
little good in anxiously begging for help or ignobly begging for 
grace or begging to be distinguished from others in acquiring 
happiness. There is no place for these in the realms beyond, for 
Godliving is never fraught-with-purpose. The one, who makes 
it a habit of doing this, will never make any progress at all. In 
fact he can keep on praying like this, day by day, year 
by year, it will all be to no avail. Death will put an end one day 
to all his immoral mutter ings; that is all. 

Already we have given utterance to the significance of the 
Wish-to-Goodness in an artist, on account of the fructifying and 
vivifying influence which it exercises over all the other wishes. 
But this applies to all of us not only the artists, of course. The 
Wish-to-Goodness has a particularly superior place, for in as 
much as the development of any of the other wishes suffices for 
a man to enjoy immortal : life, a potentially strong Wish-to- 
Goodness in the first place is essential if a man ever wants to 
attain perfection. Unfortunarely, in the past, these facts were 
only partly recognised and accordingly valued. Men lacked the 
greater view which is required to scan the extensive realms be- 
longing to the Wish-to-Goodness. 

We have been given the opportunity at different times to 
notice what confusion arises when restrictions of any kind are 
laid upon the Wish-to-Goodness. In so many cases it was limited 
to the duties demanded by the common-law, and chanty which 
is known generally as the "Social Virtues''! Granted that 'thy 
kingdom come' and 'suffer not the loss of thy soul' is also the 
pith of most of the religious doctrines prevailing today; the 



39* 



advice which is given to mankind to get there, however, is full 
of error. Moreover, few are the claims which, when seen in the 
light of our philosophy, can expect our approval. This is because 
the are so full of confusion where the Wish-to-Goodness as 
well as charity are concerned. What a difference it would make 
if the other three divine wishes were put under the dominion of 
the Wish-to-Goodness. Let us turn now to these other three 
wishes for guidance to see how profoundly their influence 
effects our actions. 



393 



We spoke just now of the necessity of self-examination, 
especially at the time when man is starting his process to per- 
fection. Selfexamination is most essential, should we desire to 
be strengthened in our Wish-to-Truth. Unfortunately, the major- 
ity of mankind have become incapacitated to undergo self- 
examination of a genuine kind. This is on account of so much 
that is blameworthy in the bringing-up of children. (We refer 
the reader to the book which has already been often mentioned 
in this respect.) The usual habit of attaching reward and punish- 
ment to moral-behaviour, as well as to the behaviour which is 
governed by the duty attached to life makes the divinity shrivel 
up within the human-child. If early youth succeeds in escaping 
punishment through telling lies, the adult, as a matter of -course, 
will intentionally deceive himself in order to keep up his self- 
esteem. Any stray reason will do in the attempt, subsequently, 
to justify anything in his conduct which he might have doubts 
about. By all means he will try to prove his own innocence, 
thereby supporting the soul-laws governing self-deception which 
by itself is sufficient to make self-knowledge a difficult matter. 
Our attention has been given to this in the books entitled "The 
Soul of the Human Being" and "Creation of Self. 

Thus then, self-creation for the purpose of obtaining the 
state of perfection is made almost impossible, although in such 
cases there is hope that men can come to reason, whereas, in the 
case when a person is always ready to proclaim himself guilty 
even in the most trivial excusable things, there is not a vestige 



394 



of hope left. These are blissfully ignorant of the crime they are 
committing against their own soul and are irrevocably lost 
because neither they themselves nor anybody else around them 
have the faintest idea what hypocrites in reality they are. 

It will be found, that just in those men in whom the spirit of 
God is not exactly dead, men who are not likely to care for low 
company, this way of injuring God (the opposite kind of hypo- 
crisy) comes easily into being. It happens like this. When these 
love strongly, let us say, their parents, children, husband or wife, 
they will easily be induced to pretend that the fault is theirs 
only. They cannot bear to find fault with anybody they love. 
Therefore, in minimising the faults of others, they succumb to 
the crime of magnifying their own. But in this way they suc- 
ceed in preserving their 'ideal'. It is nevertheless deception of a 
likewise immoral kind which one day revenges itself bitterly. 
Their exaggeration and self-deception will always be an impe- 
diment to their own inner-development, and the development in 
the "Self-Knowledge" of those they love. Generally, the latter 
are of the sort, who easily incline to throw the fault on others 
instead of on themselves because of the weakness of the divine- 
spirit within them. And because the other gives way to their 
weakness just for love of them, the blindness to their own 
shortcomings get the upperhand, so that they remain, morally 
speaking, where they are through the very fault of the one who 
really loves them. 

Hence, we must strongly recommend the practice of self- 
examination in order to strengthen the Wish-to-Truth within 
us, if only to put down the cunning we have inherited from our 
animal-ancestors which induces us to practice self deception. It 
was a bad thing for the Wish-to-Truth that all the religious 
commandments were directed against the animal-kind of decept- 
ion only. (Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neigh- 
bour.) Thus attention was drawn only to a small part of the 



395 



workings of the Wish-to-Truth, and later, bad was made worse 
in this respect when religious authority suppressed the work-of- 
researdi when this happened to go against the doctrines of the 
church. The result was the elimination of genius (God)-in- 
thought which would have been complete, had it not been saved 
by the indestructability native to race-inheritance. When the 
greed for money and pleasure became the habitual feature 
of the general struggle-for-life, the inherited trait of animal- 
cunning became appallingly aggravated in human-nature. It 
grew to be no more the deceit of the animalkind which was to 
be applied in emergency only; it became perversity which per- 
vaded all mens' actions. Without the least blush of shame men 
use means to deceive their fellowmen just as if they had taken the 
figures of the Old Testament to be their models. It is easy 
enough to deceive others without 'the necessity of bearing any 
false witness against ones' neighbours. Thus the conduct of 
the Christian has become very similar to the manner in which 
the Jews behave: The Jews consider it to be a virtue to deceive 
others who are not of the Jewish race. Just observe how the 
habit of lying has become rampant in the daily life of mankind. 
In politics and commerce, in fact, truth is considered to be 
'madness* and deception 'cleverness*. The conclusion is, that if 
such a state of immorality is allowed to prevail, it stands to 
reason, that the most unscrupulous Her is the one who gets on in 
life, be it the single individual or a folk-body. What is required 
to get on, is, according to the prevailing state of affairs, the 
development of reason. The 'reasonable' man is the successful 
one, for he has learnt the art of falsehood best and knows how 
to deceive his fellowmen to his own advantage. Now, this was 
just the right soil in which to grow the Darwinian theory (the 
struggle-for-life). All the world applauds such brave 'fighters' 
and cannot do otherwise, as all dream for themselves the same 
good fortune and are readily prepared to stoop to the same 



396 



means of gaining it. If they never succeed as others have done, 
it is merely the lack of logical consequence or strong will or 
highly developed powers of reason. When they lie or strive to 
deceive they are more stupid than the others; so they are not 
successful; that is all. 

Now, the side which is the saddest of all this is, that even 
the morally better individuals tolerate this kind of thing. Not 
that they put down the Wish-to-Truth altogether, but they put 
limits to it. For instance, in 'affairs of the heart' in 'pure human 
matters' they certainly are genuine; they ring true. But when it 
conies to matters involved in the struggle-for-life, for instance, 
in politics and economy they say to themselves c in this wicked 
world, truth would be very misplaced' or 'in Rome one must do 
as Rome does' or else folk and family will go to ruin*. If the 
good men in this case would tell the truth and nothing but the 
truth, the good ones would be more suppressed than they are 
already. More suppressed than they are already? Now, would 
they? 

This is hardly possible. For who are the exclusive masters in 
the world today? Only those in whom hypocrisy, tyranny and 
powers of logical reasoning are combined. Should a man give 
way to the Wish-to-Truth, he would not succeed inspite of his 
powers of pure reasoning and his potential will to dominate 
(tyranny). No matter how great that capacity in a man is which 
makes him successful in 'adapting' himself to the present state 
of life, if any of the four divine-wishes (goodness, beauty, truth 
and wise discrimination in the emotions of love and hate) have 
power over his soul he is certainly doomed to fail. But what 
does he loose when he prefers to behave like this? Here we are 
confronted with the inviolable in the field of morals which will 
suffer no 'halfs' and no 'adaptions'. The slightest adaption to 



* In politics deliberate methods of deception are used. This science is called "Tactics". 
Nevertheless the politicians not only consider themselves honourable men, but they are 
considered so by everybody else. 



397 



the cunning struggler which is not of the unintentional but the 
well considered kind, the 'compromise' which cannot be so 
easily 'done without in this imperfect world of ours* will be the 
means of hindering a man on his way to perfection. It can never 
be said of him who acts (if but occasionally) against any of the 
divine-wishes, that this man 'stands upright*. On the contrary 
he has suffered himself to be terribly bent down within the 
course of his lifetime. May he rid himself altogether of the desire 
to climb to the heights of perfection, for in this manner, he will 
never achieve them. Gods with bent backs, there are not. 

But would it not mean the ruin of an individual and a folk 
also, if one should want to ring true among a world full of lies? 
Even should this actually be the case, it would not change the 
mind of any one who confesses to the discrimination demanded 
from our moral-of-lif e. We have already experienced many cases 
in which the man-of-genius has willingly committed self-destruct- 
ion, preferring the death of the body to the death of his soul. 
Thus then, a folkbody or any of its members (suppose God is 
still alive within them) would choose death instead of maintain- 
ing life on a foundation of lies. Fortunately the real case is not 
so bad as all this. If a folk -body as well as its individual member 
is capable of looking at life in the light of the life-beyond, and 
is content with the honest necessities of life and nothing beyond 
in this respect, there is no danger of destruction either to the 
folk-body or the individual-man. But both must be aware of 
elements hostile to the divine-wishes. In truth, whoever limits 
his worldly-wants to the material necessities of life and for the 
rest lives for God alone, will learn gradually, to his own sur- 
prise, that deception can be climated even in the bitterest struggle- 
for-life, especially as it is quite in accord with our morals-of-lifc 
to keep a watchful eye on others, so as not to be caught by their 
hypocrisy or lies. The inexorable service in the course of truth 
makes the eye remarkably keen in detecting hypocrisy, cunning 



398 



and make-believe in others. How quick we are to recognise the 
diattering-corpse by the very look of his flickering eyes! How 
quickly we can detect falsehood, no matter where it is we en- 
counter it! Thus then, we are not obliged to fall a prey to the false 
play of any others. Vigilence, silence, prudence, life-experience, 
foresight and wisdom are virtues which willingly join in with 
the divine-Will-to-Truth. Verily we are not left unarmed in the 
battle-of-life. Ours is the victory over hypocrisy and sly attacks. 
Let us ascend, therefore, to the heights of perfection. Something 
else yet which is good to know. It is marvellous to think how 
a man who is given to the truth and nothing but the truth is 
capable of teaching another to throw off his bad habits. Through 
his good example he is the only one who is capable of doing so. 
In fact, he would not have this power were he in any way a 
'relativist', that means to say, if he gave way to any 'comprom- 
ise* in the realms of divine-thought. From this it is now easy 
to see why the lovers of truth are few in number. Hardly any 
man is free from stooping to make compromises. The rest are 
downright liars. 

But is not a lie, morally speaking, justified when spoken for 
the sake of another divine-wish? Can we uphold the lie told in 
emergency? Are there not cases in which it would be a cruel 
thing to tell the truth; when we must lie for the sake of pity? 
For instance, when we refrain from telling a sick patient the 
truth about his illness and even those about him, in order not 
to darken their lives with the thought of inevitable death, is this 
not praise- worthy? Truth, no doubt, can be cruel and brutal; 
but generally it becomes so through the inadequate way the 
truth is broken to anyone. Either we tell matters which the 
other one need not know, and which we were not asked to tell, 
and the silence of which would have meant no deception on our 
part, or we not only neglect to tell the truth properly, but fail 
also to imbue the others with the strength to bear it. This 



399 



happens because most people lack the proper sense of charity or 
Cognisance-of-God. (Gotterkenntnis). It must also be rememb- 
ered that come-down Christian folks who are used to telling 
lies in all emergencies will neither fight shy of putting unworthy 
questions*. Our Germanic ancestors knew well what was meant 
by such questions. In the Edda, Brunhild says to Gudrun: "The 
question is unworthy of you." A folk brought up to tell the 
truth will know very well when a question injures the moral- 
sense. These are the questions of an insinuating kind which 
induce people to make false statements. Truthful persons always 
respect the silence of others when this is not soft concealment of 
facts but the distinguishing characteristic of the chaste, reserved 
kinds of natures. Yet life of such a lofty nature can hardly be 
expected to find approval among the 'cultural folks' of the 
present day. All are such busybodies; always chattering and 
asking silly questions in their industrious way and always telling 
lies to get out of any emergency. To come back to our other case. 
If we keep the patient and those around him in the dark as to 
the real state of his illness for the sake of pity, we are committ- 
ing, in doing so, an act against morality of a twofold kind. How 
many cases have proved to us already that the knowledge of 
death approaching has been the very means of expanding the 
divine-wishes in the patient, thus giving him the chance of his 
last flight into the realms beyond. Inspite of all their erring, even 
superficial men, when stricken with a mortal disease, have exper- 
ienced, in the face of death, the redemption of their Immortal- 
Will and sometimes gained the state of perfection in the quick 
progress they made in creating their moral-self. Had vain hopes 
of recovery been nurtured in the breasts of these kind of men, 
little hope would have existed that the God in them would ever 
have awakened at all. As to the other kind, no difficulties present 
themselves when the time comes to tell them of their approaching 



Englishmen are still wont to say: "Don't ask questions". 
400 



death, for these have already grown in the spirit of God before 
their illness, and being familiar with it, await it calmly. And 
finally, all those, who partake in the knowledge of the truths we 
have gained, would resent, as being an insult, any protection 
given through the telling of a lie, for, having already attuned 
their lives to the rythm of God's sublime truths, they have no 
craving for a 'happiness' 'before or after death' which is able to 
be given through lies only. 

Now, in this world of lies, better-men, guided by the moral 
feeling of charity, have brought about a division of untruthful- 
ness into two different classes. To the one class belongs the 
contemptible lie. It is accounted to be 'immoral' because it is 
prompted by selfishness, for it is told either to harm another or 
in the hope of profit for oneself. The 'moral' lie is the opposite 
kind. It is told for the good of another and sometimes harms 
oneself. It is the lie of selfsacrifice (altruism). Our morals-of- 
life reject altogether the doctrine which teaches that egoism is 
always immoral and altruism is always moral, for this is a 
foolish misconception of what is moral-in-emotions. Instead, 
our morals advise the application of wise-discrimination where 
the feeling of sympathy for our fellowmen is concerned. Besides 
which, it is impossible for divine-feeling to be realised at the 
cost of divine-thought, for our morals have taught us that 
all the divine-wishes have equal rights. One may never be 
put down for the sake of another. It is only natural of-course 
that we all should hate the selfish lie which, by the way, insults 
two divine-wishes at once. It hinders the development of the 
moral-self more than the lie does which is born of the spirit of 
'altruism'. Now, if a man would dedicate his attention to all 
the four wishes equally, there would be no trouble here at all. 
A good man would never accept the grace of a benefactor were 
it supported by a lie. The only kind of deception existing which 
is not immoral but amoral is the animal-kind of cunning. As long 



401 



as mankind is struggling like animals, threatened with danger 
of death, cunning is in its right place, for it helps man and 
animal to escape danger. In fact it is a moral demand in such 
cases, in that opportunity must be given for the realisation of 
Immortal-Life. Cunning, used as the weapon of defence to 
escape death from the murderer's hand, (the animal-cunning) 
is in all such cases amoral, that means morally neutral, for the 
reason, that it is applied in order to save life, but not the life of- 
course which is at the cost of the moral-self. (The morals-of-life 
prefer self-destruction to the destruction of the moral-self.) The 
murderer, on the other hand, who denies his deed in order to 
save his life acts just as immorally as Galilei did when he denied 
his own truths to save his life. Other cases in which cunning 
might appear justified, albeit there is no actual danger to life 
threatening, never can be amoral (morally-neutral). For instance, 
there are artists who believe they serve their genius when they 
resort to deception. They try to improve the standard of their 
living in order to get 'known* and make a 'career' so as to gain 
more 'time* for their art. In doing so, they merely reveal their 
nonknowledge of the true nature of real genius which may never 
be tied to time, but is dependent on just how fully and richly the 
participation in the life of God is. The apparently more favour- 
able circumstances in which an artist might be placed through 
resorting to pretence would merely help to close the well from 
which the genial spirit springs, so essential to his art. The mor- 
ally-upright, on the other hand, those who keep to the path of 
truth inspite of all want and suffering will earn their living in 
honest work just in order to keep the spirit of their art chaste. 
Despite want and bodily weakness the spirit of genius within 
them keeps alive, for the Wish-to-Goodness here is the greatest 
benefactor. 

Truthfulness is only a part of the Wish-to-Truth. Now the 
genius-of-research is not given to everybody, especially in the 



402 



search for truth by means of logical thinking. The importance of 
this, however, should not find appreciation from the researchers 
alone. The vision of all men should be opened to the knowledge 
which the researchers of science have gained in order that all 
may be given the opportunity of gaining truth and wisdom. A 
pity, that the desire for philosophical-knowledge is so small. The 
majority, therefore, hardly step over the threshold to con- 
sciousness. Theirs are the powers to sense merely what is useful 
or harmful, similar to the animals, everything else is of little 
consequence to them which again can be compared to the 'not 
existent* of the Greeks. The pondering on the ultimate things 
of life which easily result in doubts they even dare to call 'sin'. 
Moreover the knowledge, gained about the laws governing the 
visible-world (Welt der Ersdieinung), thanks to the potency of 
human intellect, seem more harmful than useful to them. It goes 
without saying, that, not until the dogmatic belief for some had 
lost its power, could the labours in the endeavour for truth bear 
any fruit. Yet the more the dogmatic-belief removed itself from 
the real facts, the quicker it seemed that men were obliged to 
fall to that new error; the denial of the soul. But also intensive 
study started. Men were anxious to find out the truth concern- 
ing the laws which govern the universe. Natural-science which 
the power of the church had suppressed at the penalty of death 
blossomed, inspite of all the Goddeniers of the "Darwinian 
Period". A sublime proof indeed for the divine-Wish-to-Truth. 
Grand achievements were made in the study of the visible-world 
(Welt der Ersdieinung). But they remained the property of the 
realms of reason only. These freethinkers seemed struck with 
a peculiar kind of soul-blindness. All sense of divine-perception 
seemed absolutely wanting in them, and strange to say, the 
crudest errors were accepted if they helped them in their denial 
of God. Now this peculiar feature which characterised the period 
when science was about to 'flourish* confirms clearly the fact we 



403 



here put forth. For a potential development in the realms-of- 
thought divine intuition is almost essential. Hence, Darwinian- 
science was potential enough to throw light into the darkness 
which enveloped the visible-world (Welt der Erscheinung), but 
failed completely when it touched on matters belonging to the 
invisible world (Wesen der Erscheinung). Did not the researchers 
deny the existence of the soul? Therefore, it was not to be 
expected, that their "Philosophical world-viewpoints" (Weltan- 
schauung) and 'moral creeds' should be of the loftier or moral- 
kind. Actually they serve to confirm this our cognisance: The 
world-beyond, which is God, can penetrate the material-world, 
but the material- world is not capacitated to penetrate into the 
world-beyond. Any attempts to do so would mean an abuse of 
its powers. 

The scientific truth-researchers remind us that the purpose 
of divine-thought has not only the one aim in view; the applying 
of itself to all our actions (the state of truthfulness). It has also 
another aim which is to perceive truth by the virtue of its own 
divine faculty. It is essential that this faculty be of the divine 
kind (genius) should it be worthy of leading to cognisance. The 
manifestation of divine-thought is to be found in the works of 
art and science. Yet few men possess this trait-of-genius, al- 
though to each and all the possibility is given to attend to what 
the scientific-researchers reveal. This is a duty, for the attention, 
they give, awakens the divine part of their own mentality and 
guides them to bridges leading to the beyond which genius has 
already erected, thus enabling them, through the knowledge of 
truth, to partake also in the life-beyond. 

The full development of all the four divine-wishes is the goal 
which our morals-of-life strive for. In this endeavour the most 
important leader is science; for science is capacitated to come 
into the closest touch with the nature in all things (Wesen der 
Dinge) which the material world, of its own power, has not the 



404 



power to do. Therefore, in a similar way to the works-of-art, 
science can be divided into three different classes. The first class 
is concerned with the visible-world (Welt der Erscheinung) only 
together with the laws which govern it. Natural-science belongs 
therefore to this class. Here, the invisible-world, the nature, 
innate in all things (Wesen der Erscheinung) which is God throws 
its light upon the material world which is the visible form of 
this inner nature. Its concern is the material-world (Welt der 
Erscheinung) only. To the second class all those works belong 
which divine-thought has created when it made the study of 
the laws governing the visible-world (Welt der Erscheinung), its 
object as well as the use of intuition, thus partly protruding 
already, or should do so, into the realms-beyond which is the 
inner nature of all things; God (Wesen der Erscheinungen). They 
are generally known as 'psychology'; soul-science and "Ped- 
agogy" (the science of teaching). Now, the reason why so many 
fail here their calling is because they imagine they can cope 
with their duties by means of their reasoning powers only, 
whereas in most cases the soul-experience should be called upon 
and be ready to hand, should the reasoning powers bear their 
fruit. Nothing has been able to lead "Pedagogy" more astray 
from its right path, than when it was allowed to realise its 
calling in reason's attempts to grasp the being 'child 1 by means 
of its visible-form (Erscheinung) only. It is obvious that these 
sciences have a greater right than natural-science has to lead 
human-kind into the realms-beyond. By the very nature of its 
endeavours, natural-science is only too apt to forget, or even 
deny altogether, that there is in every visible-thing (Erscheinung) 
an inner-nature (Wesen der Erscheinung). Would it but unite 
its powers to the science which belongs to the third class, man's 
powers of perception would be able to scale sublime heights. 
The potential bridge which leads to the entrance of the world 
beyond would be erected, and through knowledge, 'cognisance- 



405 



redemption* would be ours. The science which belongs to the 
third class is "Philosophy"; divine-thought in the pursuit of the 
divine. The realms of its endeavours are, or at least should be, 
in the beyond, for it is concerned exclusively with the inner- 
being (Wesen der Erscheinung). Among the three classes it 
predominates, picking and choosing from these the facts which 
may be useful to it, in its divine-endeavour to perceive the 
divine. Thus, how ridiculously futile it must be to dedicate one- 
self to this science if one has never experienced for oneself what 
the life, which is beyond, is like, for the step to the bridges is 
not sufficient. Yet innumerable men do so in the belief they are 
called, because, through the potency of their reasoning-powers, 
the capacity has been given to them to grasp the logical trend 
of thought which creative philosophy yields or because of the 
critical eye they may possess which enables them to perceive 
the reason for the gaps and contradictions existing in the works 
of others; in fine, because of the great capacity they possess in 
showing off in a gleaming play of logic. To them philosophy 
is like playing a difficult 'esoterical* game of chess which only 
the eminently intelligent ones can play. In reality their lifework, 
to use a Christian expression, is the e sin against the holy ghost* 
for it is apt to distract better men from the right path, men who 
otherwise might well have disentangled themselves from super- 
ficial ties. Now, as almost all philosophical-men are of this 
kind, it goes without saying, that the better-men in search of 
truth stumble on their works first. No wonder then, that they 
soon put them aside in disgust and give up their honest attempts to 
understand philosophy altogether, for the mere display of hand- 
ling difficult conceptions and the grovelling in one's own sophistry 
which is exhibited in the work of a man whose soul is dead, serves 
more to dampen the fervent interest in the mind of the more 
worthier man than anything else. Moreover, it must still be said 
of these apparent-philosophers, that in their judgement of the 



406 



older philosophical works, they are fully incapable of discerning 
if the work is the fruit of genius or of a man whose soul is dead. 
They are too ignorant to be able to judge this. The philoso- 
phical-works which come from the hand of a man in whom the 
divine spirit is dead will reveal the logical chain as being the 
only contents, while the man of true genius, in whom the spirit 
of God is still alive, will reveal the logical proofs to be the 
good scaffolding put up for the student of his works to climb 
in order for him to approach more easily the magnificent edifice 
erected by the seer's inncrsight and live through the selfsame 
experience. But as the scaffolding does not lean on to any point 
but stands upright in the air, he must fly to the beyond himself, 
that means, his own experience will always be of the absolutely 
individual kind and is the most important event altogether, in 
the participation of the philosophical work; the logical-ladders 
merely facilitate the philosopher's theory. Thus then, the philo- 
sophical work of a man of true genius does not by any means 
lead everyone who peruses it to the knowledge of truth, on the 
contrary, this, each and all must gain for themselves. Now, 
those philosophers, who in reality are merely ones in appear- 
ance, are perfectly oblivious of this fact. After having ascended 
up and down the ladders, put up for their benefit, they believe 
themselves in possession of the whole philosophy and have the 
impertinence sometimes to think they have the right to decry 
forever a creative work of genius, just because their shrewd 
eyes found a defect or two in the ladders they were given the 
priviledge to make use of. Thus it happens, that men continue 
to teach barren subjects together with the philosophy belonging 
to the man of genius. However, the melancholy of all this is 
redeemed in the certain knowledge that the student, who must 
work his own way through the medley of philosophical works, 
will soon come to find out where the man-of-genius is, that is if 
his own soul is not dead. As philosophy comes of the divine 



407 



Will-to-Truth, the philosopher who is deaf to the calling of 
God will inevitably give himself away at every turn. And one 
such turn is sufficient to mark him as being dead of soul. There- 
fore, let us not disturb the dead; there is no use in rustling the 
dry decayed leaves of any of his books. 

Now these are grievous conditions of no trivial kind; and we 
owe it to the morals-of-life that they should be remedied. All 
the dead must be removed from the temple of philosophy to 
save the ardent newcomer from falling into the hands of the 
God-deniers! 



408 



fbitte*f> exception* 



Our morals of life desire the full development of the four 
wishes of the divine will equally. They bear the divine message 
that the Wish-to-Beauty is just as important as the Wish-to- 
Truth and the love of our fellowmen is. What a tremendous 
change this idea should cause in the life of a folk that has 
laboured more than a thousand years under the impression that 
the Wish-to-Beauty bore little or no significance simply because 
its religion did not esteem beauty at its right value. Observe 
how little sensitive to beauty he also was who founded this 
alien religion. How positively hostile, save when it was to the 
glory of the faith, its priests were. And what a state of ugliness 
it was in which the people passed their daily-lives, although 
the great urge for beauty which in reality was theirs, found 
its outlet in the creation of art for the glorification of the alien 
faith. As the ancestral art of the prechristian era had been 
destroyed, except for what had been hidden in the grave, the 
eye of the artist turned wistfully to the Grecian art which was 
the manifestation of beauty itself. The Greeks were the very 
first to perceive that beauty was interwoven with goodness, 
living their lives accordingly. How shameful, in comparison, is 
the dull undeveloped beauty-conscience of the so-called "Cult- 
ural Folks" of our day. How few are aware that the beauty- 
conscience is just as important as the good-conscience is, and 
that it is their duty to make their daily lives as beautiful as it 
lies in their power to do so. The admiration of the works of 
an is not sufficient to satisfy the demands which the Wish-to- 



409 



Beauty expects to be fulfilled. It is almost incomprehensible 
that the human-kingdom should be so devoid of beauty, while 
in the animal-kingdom and the 'inorganic' world so much bount- 
eous beauty prevails. We shall understand the reason for it 
well and good if we but bear the bigotry of the Christians in 
mind. The Immortal-Will was considered to be connected with 
ugliness. The beauty of the human-body was the devil calling, 
bringing up visions of hell. Beautiful mothers were burnt at 
the stake because they were thought to be 'witches'. 

As the Wish-to-Truth finds its expression in every true word, 
thought or deed, the Wish-to-Beauty, likewise, finds its express- 
ion. It can do so in our own appearance and in the appearance 
of the things we use around us. But in its pursuit, we must be 
directed by our own sense of what is beautiful and not what 
others think beautiful. This will depend of -course on the degree 
our beauty-sense has been allowed to develope. This applies 
to all with the exception of the actual artists and scientific 
researchers. Namely these, the creative artists are generally, in 
this respect, incapable of realising at all the Wish-to-Beauty. 
An artist is capable of pointing out the beauty in the harmony 
of certain tints, while his own dress will reveal a clashing of 
the most awful colours. He will be sensitive to the beauty in 
the inner decoration of a house, while in his own home the 
most ugly things are tolerated. This arises from the priviledge 
which God accords his chosen ones, in order to spare their sens- 
itive nature being too hardly wounded in their hard driven 
daily life. Their eyes are made so as to see but beauty only; to 
ugly objects around them they are blindfolded. Now this should 
mean a matter of grave concern to all the others to whom it 
is given to see. They must make up for what the artist fails to 
see in striving for the realisation of the Wish-to-Beauty innate 
within them with double fervour, and in the best way they 
can. May the man-of-genius also keep our morals before his 



410 



eyes, in respect to this particular duty towards God. The divine 
spirit within him wants to develope in order to achieve perfect- 
ion. Therefore we ask him not to forget to persevere in little 
things, thus showing his gratitude for the richness of the beauty- 
wish which has been given to him. He will then be spared the 
mortification of being set up as an example in order to justify 
the similar untidy habits of the cheaper sort of human-beings. 

However, the divine-wish coming in the garb of beauty will 
not be satisfied with the beauty of a person's outward appear- 
ance or the beauty of his environment alone. More is required. 
We are expected to put under beauty's guidance all the express- 
ions of our soul, all our movements, speech and the expression 
of all our emotions. This is called self-control which leads us 
along the path of moderation. Here again it is clearly revealed 
how beauty and goodness are closely associated to one another. 
On the achievement of this aim, our ancient forebears of pre- 
christian time laid great value. Among the ideal figures of their 
sagas which was deemed most worthy of imitation was the 
Goddess "Mass" (measure) because she lived her life in Vise 
moderation'. Moderation in all things is closely linked up with 
the sacred meaning of life. How much human misery would be 
spared if men would but cultivate their sense-of-beauty. Sense 
of moderation would repress many an outburst of rage and 
passion. In some such circumstances as these it might appear as 
if the Wish-to-Truth should dominate the Wish-to-Beauty in 
the open confession to all the emotions raging within the 
breast, but nevertheless equal consideration must be given to 
the Wish-to-Beauty, as the strength of both wishes should be 
equally developed and held in the balance. 

Influenced by Christian thought, the majority came to neglect 
the element of beauty in their outward appearance and the look 
of their surroundings. Only the morals of 'society' deemed beauty 
a worthy asset which fact, as being cultivated by the upper class, 



411 



made the mentally primitive begin to suspect beauty to be bad. 
But as 'society' was stimulated with the vain spirit to look and 
dress beautifully merely to impress others of their own class, 
it happens generally that the urge to look and dress beautifully 
does not come from the divine Wish-to-Beauty, but merely to 
be in the 'fashion*. Moreover, as men and women of 'society* 
were not ashamed of stooping to the immoral behaviour of putt- 
ing the emphasis on the mere outward appearance which was 
thought necessary to be kept up at any price, better men grew 
disgusted, especially as it was so obvious that artificial manners 
were more acceptable than true morals, sham feelings more wel- 
come than expression of the true ones. A great confusion of 
ideas has arisen as a consequence of all this. For instance, the 
endeavours of anyone to make the very best of their appearance 
is likely to be called 'vanity* or 'superficiality'. Bad taste in dress 
and the careless indifference of outward appearances, the sign 
of a 'spiritualised', pious, or grave state of mind. Graceful 
behaviour and a desire to be moderate in all things is very 
likely to be called 'affectation' or pretence, while pointed bad 
manners, undisciplined rough behaviour, is often considered the 
sign of an unbribable character. 

Thus, when the 'morals of society' are looked at properly, 
it will be noted, that the artificial garb in which beauty trends 
its way through society-life is but the revenge of nature making 
itself manifest; for the instinct to surround ones daily life with 
beauty, as our ancient Aryan forebears were wont to do, had 
been cruelly suppressed. An example, pair to this, can be found 
in the folk-costumes which were worn in the middle-ages. The 
craving for beauty found its vent in the beauty of the bright 
colours which tried to redeem the ugliness and unhealthiness of 
men and women being muffled up in such clothes. 

But the Wish-to-Beauty will not suffer itself to be restricted 
to work in the outward appearance and in the emotions of the 



soul life alone. It requires a still greater scope for its endeavours. 
Its aim is, through the divine assertion of the soul itself, to make 
a veritable work of art out of the inner life of human-kind. 
It aims at bringing about peaceful co-operation of all the divine 
wishes within the soul. At the command of beauty they join 
together or separate, rise and sink in divine or superficial joy 
and sorrow which they bear. And the sublime height of per- 
fection which the divine Wish-to-Beauty hereby can attain, 
together with the height of perfection which the Wish-to-Good- 
ness can achieve, constitutes the richness of the inner-life of man 
which is incapable of being imparted to anyone else, although 
its existence is revealed strongly to others in the quality of a 
man's actions. It is of the selfsame beauty which appeals to us 
in all the grand masterpieces of art, as being the manifestation 
of the spiritual beauty which has been attained through the 
steady exfoliation of the painting and architecture; genius-in- 
deed. Little is to be noticed of divine features in the art of the 
present day. The music of the 20th century is characterised by 
a discordant clashing of sound, colour and form. They are the 
manifestations of a hasty, nervous, unsettled state of mind which 
is vexed with the rise and fall of instincts, feelings and sensat- 
ions, all hostile with one another. If not this, then it is cold 
reasoning-work which is revealed. The works of pure genius 
are the rare exceptions. What is it that make them all so hollow? 
It is because of the evident impotency of the artists to render 
any experience of the life beyond. 

Above all, their works lack the triumph of beauty. In trans- 
forming the alien religion to their liking, the artists of the 
middle-ages were still capable of sensing God, and accordingly 
their works could manifest Godliving which is the mark distin- 
guishing genius. 

In dwelling on the art of the present day, we come from the 
capacity of art creation to the enjoyment of art. Now, for the 



413 



man, who knows that the possibility is given to him to become 
God's consciousness as well as that the Wish-to-Beauty, like the 
other divine-wishes, is the manifestation of his soul, he will 
also know, that the conscious perception, the 'enjoyment* of 
beauty is 'divine service' in the deepest sense of the word. The 
perceiving of beauty in nature is like attending 'divine wor- 
ship', albeit here beauty has been unconsciously created; how 
much more adequate is the term 'divine service' when used to 
describe the state of contemplation of the conscious Godliving 
which is manifested in works-of-art. The masterpieces of beauty, 
similar to the creations born of divine-thought, namely scientific 
work, can also be arranged into three classes according to the 
quality of their nature. The beyond can and does penetrate this 
visible world (Welt der Erscheinung). Thus, a certain kind of art 
will arise which represents the unspiritualised struggle-for- 
existence with all those kind of desires and instincts belonging 
to it. For instance all the dancemusic and love-songs which tell 
of sexual-life or the struggle-for-existence belong to this kind. 
Not being animated with any spirit of a divine-nature, this 
kind of art cannot be considered in the light of a 'divine service', 
nor do they form themselves into those bridges which lead to 
the beyond for man's benefit. Yet a mark how often the street 
song itself is superior to the experience it is telling of: Just stop 
a minute to observe the singer. Look at the expression of his 
face, listen to his voice when he tries to bring about the full 
effect of the song! In every case, there is a spirit of something 
higher which is trying to raise the experience above the atmo- 
sphere of its baseness. 

The works-of-art which belong to the second class serve as 
capital bridges for the worldly youth, as something of the spirit 
of God is always revealed in them. Their contents are generally 
concerned with sublimated sexuality or "Minne", as we have 
termed it, with all its joys, pains and struggles. Sympathy is 



414 



held in praise; that divine feeling which draws men to each 
other, how it loses and wins in the conflicting battles against 
'unfaithfulness' and hate. That here also the work of art itself 
is of a greater quality than the actual experience lies in the fact 
that the divine-wish, in its garb of beauty, labours with the 
selfsame intensity in all the happenings and emotions which are 
being described, as it would do in the soul of a man when this 
is endeavouring to mould and shape itself into a work of genius. 
If this mark of distinction is missing in the artists achievements, 
there will arise, instead of art, something which likens to a 
photographic reproduction, but which now-a-days is often 
believed to be art. When an artist attempts to make an exhibit- 
ion of any experience which he himself has never been able to 
feel, there will but arise, in the result, a mere bungling thing 
which leaves no impression on the mind at all. The musical 
works of Richard Wagner are examples of masterpieces belong- 
ing to this second class, albeit, for all who have experienced 
for themselves the life beyond, his Parcifal, although it should 
be classed to masterpieces belonging to the third class, reveals 
the fact that in Parcifal, Wagner had got lost in experiences 
strange to him. 

The works of art which belong to the third class are the 
highest of all. They are the precincts sacred to the few only. 
The men-of-genius who create them must be capable of living 
their lives in all full consciousness according to the rules of a 
clear God-Cognisance. The form, colour, rythm and sound 
which manifest this Godliving are the sole links which connect 
it to this world at all. It is the divine art which is concerned 
with the divine alone. With the visible-world (Welt der Erschei- 
nung) and its experiences it has nothing to do at all. It stands 
on the same level as Philosophy which might be called the holy 
of holies among the sciences. It reveals exclusively either religious- 
emotions or contemplation; Bach's music is a good example of 



415 



this level. Pictures which represent this high level of art are 
often seen hanging among the pictures belonging to the other 
two classes which prove how little the art-connoiseurs possess 
of the divine nature of art. It is much the same in concerts. The 
'program' begins with pieces belonging to the highest class and 
then follow pieces belonging to the other classes; very often 
altogether light music; which is indeed asking a lot from the 
audience. The inevitable e sin against the holy ghost* artists will 
commit, just as philosophers are capable of doing, who are 
soulless. Works of art make their appearance without a trace 
of the divine in them. Now, in art, reason's potencies do not 
play such a part as they do in scientific-matters. This accounts 
for the fact that temple-sacriledge does not so often happen 
in art as it does in science, although it frequently happens among 
the lovers of art. 

Our morals of life aim putting an end to such blasphemy, 
for this it is, when soulless men believe themselves called upon 
to grasp art with the powers of their reason, and what is more 
teach others such fallacy in doing so, causing infinite harm to 
our folk, as the exfoliation of the divinity in the garb of beauty 
is badly impeded. If these would but keep quiet, but they won't. 
Possessed of a certain knowledge concerning the laws of art, 
they are impertinent enough to approach any and every work 
of art, not in that spirit of awe which is due to the artist alone, 
in order to find out the experience he is trying to impart, but 
merely to criticise if the space and the reflection of light and 
shadow have been properly divided, cutting it into pieces as 
it were for themselves and others, leaving hardly a rag behind 
which is worth anything in the way of art. As these knowers- 
of-art evidently will keep on in this way till the end of their 
days, it is our duty to appeal to the younger generation. Our 
morals will point out to them the intentions of art, and what 
we ourselves desire of art. We shall refrain in the first place 



416 



from wanting young people to appreciate already high artistic 
work. One thing, however, we shall point out to them, and that 
is, not to listen to what others believe to be good art, but to 
have confidence in their own feelings as to what is beautiful or 
not. If they honestly believe a thing to be beautiful, there is 
no good in contradicting them, even if the thing is actually ugly 
with no pretence at art at all. At least in this way we can keep 
youth honest in its opinion, which is the main thing. The very 
best way in which to cultivate the Wish-to-Beauty in a youth 
is to show sympathy for his tastes and allow him to please 
himself in this respect in his own dear way. This will keep his 
interest in art awake and in time his taste will improve of its 
own accord. Preaching reason would do infinite harm and must 
therefore be strictly avoided. In this way the young will be 
given the chance to grow up to be men who have that sense, 
which our morals call 'aesthetic'. That is, men who would always 
like to see beauty realised everywhere, who would be induced 
to sacrifice beauty for utility's sake only in the case of a great 
emergency. In fact men who are in perfect harmony with nature, 
pervaded with the selfsame spirit of beauty as all else is in the 
universe, but priviledged before all else in that they can live 
consciously fulfilling this divine-wish. After which that man 
will be born who, gradually, gains through his own experience 
that higher developed taste for what is beautiful, and what is not, 
without first having to reason it out or listen to the judgement 
of another. It will he that divine good he has achieved of his 
own accord and will bear therefore the distinguishing mark of 
peerlessness.* 

In bringing up youth to cultivate its own sense of beauty, we are 
saving them from becoming men of 'unaesthetic' tastes, men who 
are against refinement. According to our morals the men of bad- 



* This fact will help to explain why the Greeks found no use for 'art-history' or 
'art-critic', aud yet possessed such a great sense of beauty which was given to all alike. 



4*7 



taste (undeveloped Wish-to-Beauty) are all those who prefer 
utility to beauty, even when the element of utility serves to no 
purpose; all those who try to grasp beauty with their reason, 
and finally all those who have no sure, true judgement of their 
own, but repeat parrot-like what any professor, critic or the 
'masses' of the public say. 

The man of our new morals, the 'aesthetic man', that is, the 
man pervaded with the divine spirit of beauty, is alone capable 
and no other of developing his inner-nature (Seele). One day he 
will certainly be able to cross the bridges as well as enter the 
realms beyond and live the life in God (God-living) through the 
good influence of art, while the best, others will achieve, is the 
life at the gates outside the beyond; the sensing of the deep emo- 
tions which art gives them to experience, (s. above) We know 
already how dangerous to the life of the soul it is when men 
make it their habit to frequent the bridges leading to the beyond, 
returning to the usual routine of daily-life without making 
attempts to succeed in entering the beyond. This habit will gain 
such power over them that one day the chance will be lost for- 
ever of entering the realms of God by means of that bridge which 
they have made it their habit to stop at. Being alive to this fact, 
our morals of life must call this immoral because of the danger 
it-means to our Godliving. In order to prevent such evil spread- 
ing our morals appeal again especially to the young. As God- 
living (the soul-life in the realms of God) can happen without 
the stimulating help from anything outside, in fact, the divine 
in man developes more steadily if the soul has virtue enough to 
undertake the flight into the beyond without outward help, the 
answer to the following question is of matter. "Can the stimul- 
ating influence of art do harm to the independence of the soul 
in its flight into the realms of God?" The only sure answer is 
this: It weakens the strength of a man if he visits the bridges, 
built by others, too frequently, for there is the danger of being 



418 



overwhelmed which would impede his own progress. Principles 
underlie this fact. The greater the creative power is, the richer 
his inner life is, the less he must give himself up to enjoy the 
creations of others, but the more he must strive to create his 
own, especially in his most fruitful years. He is none the poorer 
for this. On the contrary. The joy of creation is sufficient to 
make up for anything he might miss in joy which others could 
afford him. Has such an one made it a habit in immature years 
to frequent the bridges, he has run a twofold risk. The first is 
the danger of letting his own potencialities get stunted, in that 
he grows indolent in the endeavour to develope them; the second 
is the very likely matter of his attempting to build bridges of his 
own long before his potencies are sufficiently developed. As this 
is more often the case than not, the claims of our morals-of-life 
go in the opposite direction to the aims of the systems of educat- 
ion which prevail. For instance, we must be very careful with 
the intelligent child that gives promise of developing genius. For 
the sake of the life of its future creations we must refrain from 
making it acquainted too early with the great masters either of 
the past or present. Not that we should forbid the child anything 
in this respect, for then it would be tempted to satisfy its long- 
ing in secret; we should try, instead, to distract its attention in 
giving it plenty of opportunity to play with other children. If, 
on the other hand, a child is little or not gifted at all, we do well 
in conducting it very often to the bridges in order to awaken 
its sense of art. Thus then, thanks to our cognisance, in time we 
shall see less of those stupidly ignorant parents who think it 
their duty to overwhelm their talented child with the treasures 
of art and erudition, and delight in hearing its precocious critic- 
ism, quite oblivious of the appalling fact, that, in acting so, they 
are stunting the child's own creative potencies in putting a strain 
on them at such an early time. It must be remembered that the 
spiritual-experience of the child, with rare exceptions (highly 



419 



gifted children), cannot be compared to the Godliving of the 
adult. The child is incapable of partaking in the Godliving of 
another. Its spiritual-experience is born in the realms of imagin- 
ation and is merely fantasy. (We refer the reader to "The Child's 
Soul and its Parents' Office".) Therefore a wise tutor will take 
pains to find out the right methods of stimulating the child's 
imagination. The one degree might stifle it while the other will 
develop it. But in all cases he will studiously refrain from in- 
itiating the child into the realms of Godliving by means of art, 
.science or 'religious instructions'. Such endeavours would only 
be futile, as the child is absolutely incapacitated to partake in 
the life of God. 



420 



If already the Wish-to-Truth and the Wish-to-Beauty are 
obviously interwoven with the Wish-to-Goodness, the Wish-to- 
Goodness itself is closely interwoven with the divine feeling of 
sympathy which exists for our fellowmen. In fact it is the deter- 
mining factor in all our actions. The Indian Krischna, overcome 
at the sight of all the sufferings of mankind which had been 
caused by the feelings of hate, spite, indifference and continual 
strife, invented an alluring albeit fallacious creed in order to put 
an end to all this unnecessary suffering. He taught men to desire 
'peace on earth'. He told them to give up hating altogether and 
love all men without using discrimination and forgive all with- 
out using discrimination. Krischna's creeds are fallacies of a 
folk-destroying character. 

The ignorance of the his tory-of -growth which prevailed at 
that time was the cause of the error and confusion which Jischnu 
Krischna's message contains. No doubt he believed the demons 
which were supposed to be in our own breatsts caused the hatred 
to be in the world and fancied the only way to overcome the 
evil was to love one's neighbour as oneself and with God's aid 
then it would one day be eliminated altogether. He even believed 
it to be truth, when he taught 'love thy enemies'. Now, these 
doctrines only aided in the destruction of man and his race. Of 
man's-soul because he tried to pretend something which he could 
never accomplish, and all because men had laboured under a 
misconception of the intrinsic nature of hatred. When a man 
believes life to be a passing journey with eternal-life after death 



as its destination and the reincarnations as so many changes 
only, it is but natural, he should be easily called upon to resign 
the feeling of hatred towards those who want his life, for these 
in reality are helping him to gain eternal-bliss before he would 
otherwise have done so. For this reason alone he ought to love 
the man who murders him. But in reality it is not so, thanks to 
the God in man that protects him from succumbing to this fall- 
acy. (In the unconscious part of the soul slumbers the truth con- 
cerning reality.) But in order to do justice to Krischna's com- 
mandments (which the Jews, later, put into the mouth of Jesus 
of Nazareth) men tried to 'love' every-body, although these 
were not actually their enemies who 'wanted their lives' in the 
sense of Krischna's commandment. In spite of this, all the appall- 
ing characteristics born of the feeling of hate were still rampant 
in the soul of man. His reasoning powers were the cause of this. 
The animal is devoid of them as reason's awakening was given 
to mankind as his priviledge alone. We have learnt to under- 
stand the hate which is proper to the animal. The anger which the 
Self preservation- Will feels when it is being threatened Jn any 
way is natural. It is innate in all living things. Therefore it is 
an impossibility to eliminate hate as long as the Selfpreservation 
and Immortal-Will exist. In fact, in the human-kingdom which 
is made up of conscious beings, who therefore are given the 
capacity to care deliberately for the preservation of their kind, 
hate should be consciously used as one of the controlling factors 
in the preservation of the race. (If race-mixture has not yet 
taken place this instinct comes quite natural.) Thus then, each 
individual should hate its enemy. Mankind above all because it 
is a will which he is capable of spiritualising. 

But does not hatred clash with the divine-feeling of sympathy 
which men should possess for their fellowmen? Will it not be 
an impediment and therefore hinder men in their desire to love 
their fellowmen? Should it not, therefore, be completely elimin- 



422 



ated in order that the feeling of love towards others should be 
allowed to thrive? Already previously (s. above) we have been 
able to point out how the divine-wishes can succeed in overcom- 
ing the conflict which exists between the struggle-for-life and the 
life which is beyond this, in that a union of the two lives (strugg- 
le-for-life and Godliving) was brought about. Now, should not 
genius be capable of bringing about the same thing here? As hate 
is inseparably paired to the Sclfpreservation-Will, and the self- 
preservation-Will is inseparably paired to all that possesses life, 
it is futile to want to eliminate this vital power. Therefore, the 
only way to bring about a state of harmony is to refine the 
selfprcservation instinct, and create a divine potency out of the 
hate which is of the animal-kind. 

Let us ask first, who is our enemy really? According to the 
truth of life's meaning, as seen in the light of our cognisance, 
everything which dares to harm our Godliving is our enemy. The 
animal-like hate must rise within us of-coursc, when the life of 
our family or folk is in danger, but must subside, even in such 
an emergency, if the divine-wishes should have to be sacrificed 
for the sake of living on. (s. above.) In all who are alive to the 
sacredness of life's meaning the power to hate will grow mighty 
when they see any danger threatening the God-living of their 
own soul, or of their own folk or, for that matter, the God- 
living of the folk-soul of all others. But that kind of hate which 
all men can experience through having been given the powers 
of reasoning must be strictly repressed because it can cause such 
evil to the soul. Life is given to this kind of hate when men 
consider that the meaning of life lies in the endeavours to heap 
up as much pleasure as possible and avoid everything which 
causes pain. Thus, the hate connected with the Selfpreservation- 
Will will undergo a process of transformation in those human 
individuals who have gained a divine sense of direction in the 
pursuit of their hate.This transformation is of ten very gradual like 



4*3 



the process to the state of perfection is. These two, in fact, go hand 
in hand. A man will then become aware how his failings and 
errors become less frequent within the course of time, although 
the change for the better which has taken place within his soul 
is not of such a radical kind as to be apparent to either himself 
or others arround him. But when the day arrives on which he has 
ultimately succeeded in directing his hate into new channels; in 
the course of what is divine alone, he will experience a renewal 
of his inner-self. This will cause the trend of his whole life to 
change, especially in his behaviour towards his fellow-men. For 
the first time he knows what it is to be released from all those 
appalling fetters, unknown to the animal, which men have 
called the 'powers of evil*. Of a certitude he will never again 
fall into the temptation of 'his every thought and wish being of 
evil*. The actual state of perfection he has not yet gained; but 
he is on the way to it. 

But what are 'those devilish powers' which, in having directed 
his feelings of hate anew, he so amply succeeded in overcoming 
after others had failed so completely, namely the adherents to 
the Krischna creed? As soon as a man understands the origin of 
the rise and fall of these 'satanic' powers they will have lost 
their power over him forever. 

Let us recall again to mind the animal's forgetf ulness of joyful 
as well as of painful experiences. It is owing to this capacity 
that the sight of the enemy arouses hate in the animal, but which 
immediately is forgotten as soon as the enemy is out of sight, 
and will be rearoused as soon as the enemy is again in sight. How 
different it is with the human-being. Once torments of any kind 
are experienced they will impress themselves so deeply on his 
mind as to keep the anger of the Selfpreservation-Will keenly 
alive. Moreover, as his awakened reason is able to find out the 
secret of amassing joyous experiences, it discloses the secret 
of it to the Selfpreservation-Will. Now all his actions are 



424 



guided in the pursuit of 'happiness* as reason and hate have 
joined hands together. All his thoughts are turned in the one 
direction, which is, how he best can protect his state of happiness 
from being harmed, but also how he best can harm the happy 
state of others. In this way those appalling 'characteristics' are 
born in the breast of man which I have called the offspring of 
hate and reason; these cause the life of most people to become 
a hell on earth, and the earth itself a 'vale of tears'. In the spirit 
of quarrelsomeness, revenge and spitefulness, a veritable 'devil's 
brood' has come to life. The most candid confession to these sins 
which cultural history reveals is found in the veneration of the 
Catholics for "St. Disturber of the peace" in Luxemburg. Count- 
less staunch Christians make regular pilgrimages to this Saint. 
They can be seen in progression carrying blessed-candles with 
the purpose of dedicating them to "St. Disturber of the Peace". 
Afterwards hundreds of pins are stuck into the candle wax, in 
the hope, that, when the candle has burnt a pm down and it lies 
at the feet of the saint, he, the 'kind' one, will make the enemy 
suffer the cruelest pains. How many bad people have wishes and 
do actions worthy of such a saint although the holy candles are 
missing which they ought to be carrying in their hands. 

And yet there would still be room left for a 'paradise on earth 1 
in spite of the sinister children of reason and hate, for there are 
many still who are peace-loving as long as their own peace is 
not disturbed. Unfortunately these are not the only children of 
this awful wedlock which made its first appearance in the human- 
kingdom, and so it happens, that, compared with the hell on 
earth which these cause, the other were a paradise, for the 
'devil's brood' which we are now about to speak of poisons the 
life of the most peace-loving of all. 

The longing to heap up enjoyments, that is, happiness which 
each man fosters is of a certitude very different. There is the 
spiritualised kind of "Eudamonism" as well as the cruder type 



with stages, almost unimaginable, running between; all kinds of 
which are praised as constituting the good of life. But in one 
respect all men are alike in their chase for happiness, (most 
human-beings are of this type). One and all must be prepared 
that that dragon-brood; envy, greed and malice will make their 
souls nitty as soon as hate and reason have been allowed to 
marry there. Now these characteristics are worse than those we 
first mentioned, for they will even cause a man to persecute 
another who has never done him any evil at all. All those whom 
they believe to be 'happy* are their sure victims. The most 
beautiful places on earth can become like a murderer's cave, in 
which the human soul will suffocate on account of the pest these 
cause. And yet how indifferent the prevailing morals-creeds are 
to these evils of the soul. Up till now all the creeds, preaching, 
in relation to these, of eternal bliss or eternal damnation, have 
proved of little good; moreover they are also fallacies. All men 
have failed therein, except those perhaps who resigned happ- 
iness altogether. No wonder that the latter was considered the 
only way to salvation, so that 'ascetism* and 'the resignation of 
the world' and disdain of 'worldly joys' and sorrows found its 
way into the life of human-kind. 

Now, how good it must be to hear that this brood is neither 
unconquerable nor is it the power of 'satan'. It is innate in all 
mankind and comes to life when reason awakens. But, as the 
divine wishes in man take longer to develope, man remains the 
victim of his passions, for redemption can come to him through 
cognisance alone. Man's hate becomes transfigured as soon as 
the Godliving within him has grown strong enough to enable him 
to give up the idea that happiness constitutes life, and instead 
of this endeavours to become God's consciousness, in that he 
succeeds in living Godlike, which means that he is capacitated 
to partake in the life-beyond which is that state of perfection 
he is striving for. As soon as he succeeds in this his hate, now, 



426 



will be roused to strike anything which comes in the way of his 
Godliving, or the existence and godliving of his kindred folk. 
Nothing else will be found worthy of his hatred. Thus he will 
perceive in that brood of hell, conceived by hate and reason, the 
greatest enemies to his immortality. And there is nothing in all 
the world or for that matter in his own soul, which is strong 
enough to rouse the divine hate of his Immortal-Will so much 
as this brood of hell can do. Already the Indian 'religion of love* 
recognised this fact, but as it was believed their origin and power 
came from a devil whose aim it was to lead man to eternal dam- 
nation, every attempt made to overcome them remained futile. 
Now, be it known, that in reason they have their origin, and 
that knowledge of their birth and growth robs them of their 
appalling power. The hate which comes of the spirit of God 
suffers them not. It overcomes them without any resort to 
combat even. 

Observe then that the man who pursues in this hate all the 
sinister brood in his own soul has by no means resigned hatred 
as the Indians Krischna and Buddha recommended, on the con- 
trary he must hate everything existing either in his own soul or 
about him which goes in any way against the divine trends of the 
Divine Will, and the worse the enemy of God is, the greater will 
his hatred grow. Therefore, he will exhibit little patience with 
those superficial good-hearted sort, who say 'live and let live* 
because they are too weak to put up any fight against their own 
passions. He will leave them to themselves as long as their 
example does no harm to others, but he will hate intensely all 
those others, who, with the weapons of their reasoning potencies 
tear to pieces the works of art born of the Godlife of others, for 
he knows how this kind of criticism and mockery keeps others 
away from partaking in the life of God. He will hate, also, all 
those restless soulless workers in the course-of -utility who make 
the life of so many a burden through the inconsiderate way they 



4*7 



have of calling the attention of others to their own narrow every- 
day-life and so distract these from their Godliving. He will hate 
all those in whom the children of hate and reason are still alive. He 
will hate the liars and hypocrites, especially those who dare to 
lie in matters of a spiritual kind. He will hate all those who 
make abuse of the faith of others; those who pretend to be 
genuine in order to steal the love of others for the purpose of 
gaining power over them. He will hate all, who, in neglecting 
to cultivate the Wish-to-Goodness within them, have spoilt their 
own souls and work through the poison they gave to their genius. 
In fine, he will hate all those who fit their art to the best way 
of getting a living, instead of preferring famine to such contam- 
ination from the principles of utility, for this is like committing 
treason. 

It is surely obvious, now, that those human-beings in whom 
the divine-wishes are potent, in whom therefore the Wish-to- 
Love all men is extraordinarily keen, are just those who are 
doomed to hate the most. We can well imagine how such tender- 
hearted individuals, so warm in their feelings for others, will 
suffer in having to hate so much, so that verily a 'martyrdom* 
is made out of their lives, a fact, which also proves the best how 
little our God-Cognisance satisfies the desires for happiness. 
Now let us hope that many will take advantage of this truth, 
and thanks to the benefit it gives them, turn over a new leaf. In 
weeding out of their souls those children born of hate and reason 
and placing the divine wishes to grow in their stead, there is 
every hope that the better men, we have spoken of, will be able 
to realise the love they cherish for mankind without having to 
deliberately act immorally. 

Now, it would be absolutely futile to want to judge the 
feelings of hate which a man who is alive to God cherishes, if we 
ourselves have not succeeded in getting farther than the natural 
feelings governed by the innate laws of consciousness, that 



428 



means to say the general feelings which arise from the pairing of 
hate with reason. We should only arrive at a completely wrong 
estimation of his soul. The potential feeling of divine hate is free 
from anything like the spirit of quarrelsomeness, revenge, malice, 
envy, jealousy or greed. A man who hates in the divine way 
only is imbued with the greatest desire to see the divine spirit 
awaken and grow in those whom he must hate. He is prepared 
to change his hate into love at any moment when he can be 
convinced that the individual he was obliged to hate is rising 
to a higher standard-of-morals. In fact he is always ready to 
help him do so. One thing only he will never be induced to do, 
and that is, live together with anyone who causes him to neglect 
the cultivation of his Godliving, for all such who are ignorant 
of what this is are only too apt to keep us back in our spiritual 
progress, in that they disturb our peace of mind at any moment 
they please, if they intend to or not. Among this kind and sort, 
the worst are those who are very lively and communicative, for 
their poison is the deadliest to another's Godliving. Peace, ver- 
ily, means life to the man who has trained himself in the spirit 
of God; disturbance of his peaceful state the loss of immortality! 
For this reason, the man who has learned to change his emotions 
of hate into the kind which are divine must take great care in 
his desire to help others to become good not to go so far as to 
make his actions immoral. As divine-hate merely wants to devel- 
ope the Godliving in the other without resorting to combative 
means, the duty to forgive and forget which the Indians Krischna 
and Buddha put forth as commandments become invalid. If 
another will spoil our lives and we are tempted to do wrong in 
return, there is no good in forgetting like the animal does when 
it is over. On the contrary each word and deed which has made 
us suffer should be so imprinted on our souls as to be a warning 
to ourselves and the others. The less we are capable of forgetting, 
the more hope there is that it will be for the very last time we 



429 



or our companion will succumb to the temptation of doing evil 
Yet for those others, who still cherish within their breasts the 
brood born of hate and reason, the only way to overcome the 
temptation of revenging themselves is to try and forget. 

The divine hater of-course possesses a divine sense of discrim- 
ination as well with regards to those he loves. Long ago he gave 
up sympathising with all men indiscriminately as it was first 
taught by Krischna thousands of years ago and later by other 
religious doctrines. His feelings of sympathy are not like the 
'sun which shines over just and unjust alike*. He is even called 
upon to refrain from loving his 'nearest relations' if these are 
likely to become the grave diggers to his Godliving, for this 
would certainly be immoral, and if for this reason he is capable 
of refraining from loving his next of kin, how much more easier 
must it be to refrain from giving way to an indiscriminate 'love 
of all men' which tramples on the claims of family and folkdom. 
He must be expected first to examine the character of his fellow- 
men before his decision falls in love or hate towards them. The 
familiar tone may come sounding only when the affinity is of a 
divine nature which is knitting kith and kin together. 

The love we feel for another depends solely on the progress 
which the divine-spirit in the one we want to love has made in 
its development. Now see how this moral fact must inevitably 
put an end to the error of equality of man. Men are not all equal, 
neither is it truth that all have 'human weaknesses', nor are all 
men 'sinners*. These are easy going doctrines indeed, and for 
that very reason they have worked such disaster in the human- 
soul. The spiritual indolence they cause hinder a man on his way 
to perfection, for he is made too lazy to undertake the pains of 
giving divine shape to his soul. Now just let us see how totally 
different men are to one another; in fact the difference manifested 
among the humankind is more obvious than among any other 
living kind. For instance there are the mere strugglers-for-life. 



430 



These have lost all the genuiness and simplicity which disting- 
uishes the soul of the animal, although they have diligently kept 
alive the 'dragonbrood' in their souls. They are even far below 
all the unconscious and subconscious animate beings. They have 
gained simply nothing, but have lost tremendously. Then there 
is the divine kind of human-being. It is he who has gained the 
state of perfection; he, who as long as he breathes, lives in union 
with God; he, in fine, who is God's consciousness. So now, 
indeed, I am entitled to believe that a tremendous gulf separates 
these two, for the one is 'high* and the other is 'low 1 , and in 
between there exists ever so many different kinds and sorts, not 
one resembling the other in inner value. Nothing is capable of 
equalising mankind, not even family features nor the features, 
native to the race. At first sight the difference is not so obvious 
of -course. All men, it is true, have their 'human weakness* until 
they have become perfect, but there is a great difference between 
the nature of the 'weakness* of the one who is 'high* and the one 
who is 'low*. Human weakness, seen in the latter, means that 
the soul has gone out of its original shape and has grown crippled 
and distorted, while the 'weakness' of the 'high' can be likened 
to the minor disproportions which happen to appear, sometimes, 
in a superb image-of-God. As long as we keep blind to the 
difference existing among human individuals our vision will be 
marred. It will make us incapable of judging what is sublime 
or not. 

The equality of mankind is a realisation which broods melan- 
choly over mankind, for it makes men unfit to see what is great 
in the human-individual of their own time. It makes this phrase 
always ring in their ears: "We are all human with human weak- 
ness", so they simply overlook what is great. Not until the man- 
of-genius is dead, is he valued for that what his own virtue has 
made of him. 

The doctrine-of-equality makes it for the silly majority almost 



43 1 



impossible to suspect mankind to be good at all, as men natur- 
ally judge everybody else according to themselves. Their own 
failures and the many disappointments they have been made to 
experience, have caused them to loose all their faith in mankind. 
Consequently they read into the soullife of their neighbour the 
same as they themselves experience. If they experience very little 
of what is divine, they think it pretence if they see it manifested 
in any one else, as they themselves are ready to pretend anything 
if it brings them benefit, swayed back and forward as they are 
in the disorder of their own conflicting instincts. They are ready 
to judge the behaviour of others in the light of their own petty 
motives and cling to these, their own opinions, even when an- 
other tries to persuade them that noble motives underlie other 
mens' behaviour. In no wise does this fact make them feel mel- 
ancholy at all. On the contrary, it makes them smile knowingly 
and they say: "He has got his human weakness as all the rest of 
us have." In regard to human-behaviour, the flabbiness of Crist- 
ian tolerance has caused men to loose their good sense of what 
is rightly human. They have forgotten all about that high funct- 
ion which must be graced with dignity and worth, should the 
animate-being known as the human-being have its virtue at all. 
Instead, 'human* has grown to mean something most awfully 
imperfect. For this reason the great among the living are apt to 
be overlooked. Only the great who have passed away have 
value. Here we are coming to the clearest proof of the evil effects 
which the doctrine of equality has caused. Listen! The sublime 
truth which our philosophy reveals is superfluous; there is no 
place for it in the breasts of men today for these would only 
call it 'pride' to want to soar to those heights which man is 
capable of by virtue of his own rights and power. Yet worthy 
of being called man is the sublimest man alone. This we are 
rightly justified in saying because we know that man alone is 
able to become God's consciousness. Thus then, contrary to aJl 



43* 



others, we expect human perfection; this is the aim which is 
gained when a man practices self-creation. 

Our morals are not content with just knowing that there is a 
tremendous difference existing among men. They demand men 
to adjust themselves accordingly. Now, as the sympathy we 
show for our fellowmen should be the result of wise discrimin- 
ation, in that we have allowed our feelings to be guided by no 
other wishes than the divine alone, it goes without saying, that 
we must first make a grave and truthful examination of the one 
we want to love! But not only this. Our morals expect us to take 
the same consideration of the God within ourselves as of the 
God within others. Therefore it is a sacred duty to examine one- 
self conscientiously in which case love-of-self can be just as much 
a duty as self-hate is, when self-knowledge reveals the mortal 
enemy to God to be in oneself. Observe well, how our morals of 
life condemn indiscriminate love-of-self (egoism) just as much 
as they condemn indiscriminate self- sacrifice (altruism). The 
love we are compelled to feel for the Godliving in our own souls 
makes it just as often necessary for us to act selfishly (egoism) 
that is, put our own wishes first, as the God we love in others 
makes it essential for us to consider the wishes of others instead 
of our own (altruism). Selfishness (egoism) which stands in con- 
tradiction to the divine wishes, in that the divine wishes of an- 
other are put back for the sake of self-interest, is just as immoral 
as self-sacrifice is (altruism) when it suffers the God within one's 
own breast to be neglected for the sake of the undivine wishes 
of another. This truth really is another proof of how essential 
it is, in justice to the morals-of-life, to weigh all our actions in 
the scales of the divine-wishes. As rules of any kind here are 
useless, each and everyone must attain the gift of weighing his 
own actions properly according to the scales of the divine- 
wishes. His perseverence will be rewarded; for according to his 
djutif ul weighing, the genius will strengthen within him, until at 



433 



last it will be so strong as to enable him to act Godlike always. 
Now, when the feelings of charity are kept within their right 
bounds by the divine-wishes, they naturally accord with the 
feelings of sympathy. Each time help is given to another, two 
wishes at the same time find their realisation, the Wish-to-Do 
and the-Wish-to-Feel. For this reason, charity, when divinely 
directed, helps to develope the soul more than divinely directed 
self-consideration and self-help. 

Now, just see how all these truths overthrow the Christian 
ideals of charity. The name of virtue may never grace an indis- 
criminate 'devotion to the welfare of others'! Our moral tells 
us that everybody must work for his own living. The infirmed 
and sick only may be a burden to the state. The malconditions 
in the government of a land account for the existence of so 
many 'charitable institutions'. In this respect, 'charity' conceals 
a multitude of sins. In reality "Charity" mortifies the receiver 
and therefore brutalises the soul of the 'benefactor'. There is 
only one kind of charity which is not capable of this, and that 
is, when a man awakens the divine-wishes slumbering in the soul 
of another, thus liberating the spirit of God which exists within 
that-one. As self-knowledge is a prime essential to self-welfare 
and self-help should these be of the divine character, as well as 
it is likewise essential in the case of charity, we are compelled 
to overthrow the Christian ideal of humility also, for this is not 
always virtue. The Christian ideal recommends mankind to be 
humble before God. As man still remains a 'sinner' inspite of all 
his endeavours to be righteous, it is but natural that humility 
should come to be considered a virtue! If a man is but capacit- 
ated to become evil through the virtue of his own strength but 
requires the grace of God if he wants to be good, it can be 
expected that he cannot stand upright before his God but must 
throw himself down on his face instead. We, who have been 
given the priviledge to perceive the possibilities innate in man, 



434 



will have nothing to do with humility or pride, but instead we 
are taken up with the grave concern of self-examination in order 
to judge rightly and truly the moral level we are standing on. 
Should anyone of us have actually gained the state of perfection, 
then, verily, this will not be considered as something extraord- 
inary. On the contrary, this man will perceive this truth in such 
a natural manner as if he were saying; "The sun is shining". 

Humility and pride we reject. In their place we put self- 
knowledge which can be gained through strict, persistent self- 
examination. Perfection is our pattern. That "Self" innate in all- 
things is perfection. It manifests itself in the different stages of 
moral perfection (made visible to us) in our fellowmen. As this 
intrinsic divine-essence frees men from the evil fetters, such as, 
greed of riches, fame, vanity etc., we need not fear that a truly 
good man, who has been capacitated to scale the heights-of -per- 
fection through the power which the knowledge of the truth has 
given him, will fall ever again a prey to such undivine features 
as to make him become identical with those whom the silly 
crowd will celebrate as 'the men-of-genius', but who are indeed 
very far from perfection. 

The sympathy we feel for our fellowmen in unison with the 
wish we feel for beauty demands us to cultirate the divine will 
to peace, to reconciliation. The fallacies which cropped up at the 
period of the decline of the Indian-race (the resignation of hate, 
indiscriminate love of one's enemy, indiscriminate forgiveness) 
have amply proved their incapacity to redeem the God-in- 
man from the fetters of existence and the children of hate and 
reason, so that true peace could never be realised. It would 
therefore appear natural that the experience men made of all 
the failures in their endeavour to realise peace would but confirm 
that indignity namely, that man was powerless to avert 'sin*. 
In the persistent combat, raging between 'good and evil', did not 
evil always succeed? This again gave rise to the doctrine which 



43J 



was the main cause of mankind's imperfection. It was the doc- 
trine which taught of the grace of God, who was ever ready to 
forgive. If already the Indian morals were saturated with a 
promiscuity of unnature, immorality and matters selfunderstood, 
which hampered, rather than helped mankind to perfection, how 
much more harm did that doctrine to which taught that the 
grace of God brought redemption, for this tempted the very 
Immortal -Will itself. This doctrine has such a weakening effect 
on humanity, that, verily, all but the few who are egregiously 
strong, must succumb. What is our message to humanity? It is a 
glad one, albeit it lays a grave responsibility on the shoulders 
of mankind himself. It tells of the redeeming potency of the 
Immortal-Will innate in man himself which enables him through 
his own free will and strength to live eternity and perfection 
before his death under the condition that he takes upon himself 
the full responsibility for all his actions. At the right time, it was 
before we found redemption in intuition, reason cognised the 
fact that neither thought, word, nor deed could ever be effaced 
through repentence, forgiveness, or forgetfulness; a truth, with- 
out which perfection through personal power would never be 
able to fructuate into an achieved fact. For, thanks to 'psycho- 
logical' research we were led to perceive the grave fact that noth- 
ing which, in a spirit of forgiveness we can forget, is really 
effaced from our soul, for it actually lives still in the subcon- 
sciousness of our nature and uses its influence over the soul. 

This fact puts an end to that doctrine which teaches that it is 
a 'virtue to forget and forgive', at least all those must reject it 
who want to cultivate the God in themselves and in others. It 
shows us plainly the grave inexorability and irrevocableness 
which distinguishes all the actions of mankind and fills us at the 
same time with awe at that potential power of the human-will 
which leads to words and actions. Now, the respect which is due 
to the soul of others will save us from giving way to word or 



436 



deed in a spirit of excitement as these should have their measures 
taken according to the trends of the Divine Will; for we know 
that word and deed can cause wounds which, inspite of the best 
we can do to 'forget', will never heal, and which therefore might 
be the cause of the divine spirit in the other going to destruction. 
But also the knowledge of this truth protects us in a peculiar way 
from being harmed through the evil words or deeds of another. 
Let us not 'forget* what our emotions have experienced; let us 
neither allow them to sink into our subconsciousness. Instead, let 
our own injustice as well as the injustice of others burn in our con- 
sciousness in order to be the protecting shield to save us from 
wounding others as well as from being wounded ourselves. Let us 
disdain to 'forgive and forget* because of the immorality this en- 
tails, in that it induces us to repeat our evil. Provided we are free 
from the offspring of hate and reason our nonforgetfulness will 
not lead us into the temptation to quarrel and revenge ourselves 
as might be expected, instead it will lead us to make sure if thr 
injustice of the other as well as our own be true, in the same 
way as the remembrance of our own evil deeds will be an aid 
to us in growing better. So now see how the spirit of grave 
responsibility does not even desire to forget, but carries the 
burden of what has happened, in the sure knowledge that noth- 
ing until death is effaceable. It desires to remember in order to 
make the memory of injustice done, the means of helping others 
as well as oneself to do better in the future. Compared to this, 
how contemptible the impotency of others appear to be who, 
any day can forgive and forget alternately and do evil seventy 
times seven; dire changes indeed which keep them all their lives 
from ever rising above the moral standard of the morasses. 

Salvation will never be theirs. Therefore every Sunday sees 
them in church until their hair is growing grey. Each time they 
come to confess (just as they did in their youth) that they have 
committed 'over and over again the same sin against the com- 



437 



mandments of God 1 . How the very stones of the altar can put 
them to shame! Fancy having to confess to the same humility 
and weakness which they have fallen to for years and years! 
Why can they not stride up proudly to the altar and confess 
thus: "My will grew stronger so that my transgressions against 
thy commandments have grown less frequent. I intend to continue 
on my way to progress so that one day I hope to stand before 
thy altar and be able to say that I have attained the height of 
perfection in that it has become a thing impossible for me to 
transgress thy commandments. 19 

The myth which confessed to the fact that the offspring of 
hate and reason were not to be eliminated from the soul of man 
took its refuge in oblivion as a consequence. For a time injustice 
could be forgotten which was the only possible thing to do, were 
reconciliation and peace to reign among men. Now, our cog- 
nisance was capacitated to give us the power to free ourselves 
from the yoke of that dragon -brood; our souls will not suffer 
themselves to be kept down in the morasses through the folly 
of such errors. They desire the state of "Perfection". They ask 
not for grace but will a true and righteous judgement, in order 
to be able to ascend to the heights by the virtue of their own 
powers. 

If others would unite with them in the self-same ideal, in that 
these also have dedicated themselves to the divine-wishes and so 
have become rid of the dragon-brood, the usual discord would 
disappear of itself and there would be no cause for 'forgiveness*. 
Strife, unkind words and deeds, like mankind is generally 
acquainted with, would have no right in their midst. That which 
is the wish of God would reign; supreme-peace. The sublimest 
state of all. 

Yet for the realisation of this, one thing is requisite. We must 
keep away from all those individuals who still keep the children 
of hate and reason alive or partly alive in their breasts. Also the 



438 



other kind, who, from sheer ignorance or misunderstanding, 
continually drag us away from the realms-beyond to tease us 
with petty things. For, all the benefit we should gain from their 
company would be to be completely misunderstood, as they 
inevitably would read into all our actions the selfsame distort- 
ions proper to their own soul. Moreover, they would ever be 
ready to make us feel their own moral preponderance in their 
preparedness to forgive and indiscriminately love which they 
tenaciously consider to be a 'virtue', (as this makes life much 
easier for them), It would be futile to think any good would 
come of living together. We should never succeed in leading them 
our way to perfection. But they would succed over and over 
again to disturb our peace of mind, our Godliving, the labours 
we love, in fact everything which means life and beauty to us. 
And all this they would succeed in doing with the best conscience 
in all the world. The only time to come in contact with them 
rightly is when the ordinary necessary things of every day life 
have to be settled or when there is a chance of our being able to 
awaken in them a spirit to fulfil the divine-wishes. For the rest, 
verily, we are not their 'equals'; we are absolutely incapable of 
helping them until the singular life we lead makes them under- 
stand how unequal we are to each other. It would be idle to 
want to live together with them, without the risk of acting 
immorally ourselves, until they have actually pulled themselves 
together so far as to be capable of living God. 

Thus we can see how our morals-of-life point to new ways in 
order that divine-feeling may be realised. We are given new 
morals for hating and loving. They tell us: 

All your emotions, both of love and hate must be guided by 
the divine-wishes, be they directed towards others or yourself. 

To be capable of hating and loving in this divine way, it is 
essential first to know who you are yourself and who others are; 



439 



above all you must be fully aware on which level, leading to- 
wards perfection, you are standing. 

This kind of hate and this kind of love strictly forbid a man 
to incline indiscriminately either to selfsacrifice or selfishness. 

Potency and profound sense is given to this kind of love and 
hate directed to the redemption of Godlife whereevcr this is 
lying in fetters. 

Let all your actions he directed by the deep responsibility 
which the knowledge of irrevocableness yields. So, you will 
never forget that evil which has been done to you or which you 
have done to others. Refrain from living closely with the 
unredeemed, for if you do, you run the risks of having your 
own Godliving spoilt. 

The living of your life according to such rules will make you 
capable of becoming a pioneer to others who desire to become 
perfect. 

The morals-of-life born of our cognisance concerning the 
sacred office of mankind, will lead mankind to the sublime 
heights without strife of any kind being necessary: To those 
heights where the rare ones of all times took up their abode; 
albeit these scarcely suspected their own divine superiority. The 
clearly-conscious perception of the high office which has fallen 
to mankind will tend to change the life of man so tremendously 
within the course of future generations that the results will make 
it appear as if for the first time on earth God's consciousness had 
come to light: the 'kingdom of a thousand years' (fantastically 
described in the myth) which kingdom men always were anti- 
cipating and which was supposed to be the higher form of exist- 
ence. But it will not begin until all men have grasped that life 
has a deep meaning. Not that all men in the future will be per- 
fect. For this will never be. That tremendous gulf which has 
always existed will still exist forever. There will always be men 



440 



who have lost what animal and plant-life have retained; that 
something which imparts to anything its characteristic of Inno- 
cence', but who will neither have succeeded in gaining what the 
animal lacks, because through their own neglect of what is divine 
within them, they are incapacitated to partake in the life of 
God. But that potent revolutionary power which alone belongs 
to the rarer ones among men will at last be set 'free' to command 
the way to the ones who are backwards, provided these at last 
have recognised the fact that life bears a meaning of a very 
exalted kind as well as that they possess the potency within them 
to gain perfection. 

Albeit the fact that the rarer kind among men were capable 
at all times of living God, there is something tremendous never- 
theless about redemption in cognisance. 

When it comes to pass that the thruth comes home to a man, 
in that he is given to perceive the fact that he only can live 
consciously the divine-wishes, when a man can say to himself: 
"Among all the living creatures of the earth, the priviledge to 
become the consciousness of the Godhead has been given to me 
alone"; when it comes to pass, in fine, that a human being has 
succeeded in fulfilling the divine meaning of life; then a tremble 
passes through the immeasurable cosmos, through God's visible- 
form. 

When it comes to pass that a mortal human-being, in being 
the only one who can be capable of guilt, nevertheless succeeds 
in resolutely striding the path of salvation, and illuminates, in 
passing, the way for others of his own day or those who come 
after him with the divine light of his works, words or actions; 
when, in fine, he has succeeded in becoming perfect like all the 
unconscious beings of the universe are; when, finally, he has 
succeeded to harmonise permanently with the Divine; then he 
lives God consciously until death, but not unmerited grace was 
given to him by a personal god, it was his own free Will and 



441 



Deed. Each and every time this happens on earth, the reason for 
the evolution and existence of all the dumb planets which since 
unthinkable times have gone circling round and round and which 
will do so still for unthinkable times yet to come, and the reason 
for the evolution and existence of the immeasurable cosmos 
itself has attained its fulfilment* 



44* 



INDEX I 

nglftt) anli German 



Appearance, Erscheinung. 
Appearance of things, Erscheinung. 
Beyond, Bereich der Genialitat. 
The common-law, das Sittengesetz. 
Divinity in perception, Genialitat 
der Wahrnehmung. 

The Divine, das Gottliche. 

The divine trends, die gottlichen 
Wiinsche. 

The divine wishes, die gottlichen 
Wiinsche. 

The divine nature, das gottliche 

Wesen. 

The duties of life, das Sittengesetz. 
Experience, erleben, erfahren. 

Finite and conditional, zweckbe- 
herrschte Endlichkeit. 

God, Gott, Genialitat. 
God-cognisance, Gotterkenntnis. 
God-cognition, Gotterkenntnis. 
God's consciousness, Bewufttsein 

Gottes. 

God-life, Gotterleben. 
God-living, Gotterleben. 

God's realms beyond, Bereich der 
Genialitat, jenseits. 

God-sentiency, Gotterleben. 

The inner nature which exists in 
all things, das Wesen der Dinge, 
Gott. 

The inner nature of life, das Wesen 
des Lebens, Gott. 



The intrinsic nature, das Wesen, 
Gott. 

In all things, in aller Erscheinung. 
Invisible, unsiditbar. 

Invisible, philos, das Wesen der 
Erscheinung, Gott. 

The laws of the land, das Sitten- 
gesetz. 

The life in God, das Erleben des 
Gottlichen. 

To live his soul-life, das Gottliche 
zu erleben. 

Living-things, Lebewesen. 

Man of perfection, Genie. 

Man of genius, der geniale Mensch. 

Manifested itself visibly, in Er- 
scheinung getreten. 

Moral creeds, Morallehre. 

The nature, philos., das Wesen, 
naturw. die Natur. 

The nature of all things, das We- 
sen der Erscheinung, Gott. 

The nature of the divine, das We- 
sen des Gottlichen. 

The nature of the divine wishes 
(divine trends), das Wesen der 
gottlichen Wiinsche, Gott. 

Self-interestedness, Zweckverwe- 

The soul-life, Seelenleben, er- 
leben. 

The Thing-Itsclf, das Ding an 
sich, Gott. 



443 



The realms 

beyond, Bereich der 

The realms Genialitat, 

where God reigns. Gottes oder 

The realms des Gottlichcn 

of God, 

Visible, sichtbar. 

Visibility, philos., die Erscheinung. 

Visible-being, das Lebewesen. 

die Erschei- 
nung, die Er- 
scheinungs- 
welt, die Welt 
der Ersdiei- 
nung. 



Visible-mani- 
festation, 
Visible-thing, 
Visible-scene, 
Visible world, 



The visible-Life, das Sein in der 

Ersdicinung. 
The visible form, die sichtbare 

Gestalt. 
The world of appearances, die 

Welt der Erscheinung. 
The world-view point, the point 

of view, Weltanschauung. 
The Will-to-approach, 
The approachment-Will, der An- 

naherungswille. 



INDEX II 



Absolute, uncontrolled, uncondit- 
ional, perfect. 

Accidental^ happening unexpect- 
edly. 

Aesthetic, pertaining to the per- 
ception of the beautiful. 

Affect, exciting. 

Altruism, self-sacrifice for the good 
of others. 

Amoeba, a microscopic mass of 
protoplasm. 

Amoral, morally neutral. 

Amphioxus, the lancelet, a little 
fish. 

Amphimixis, the sexual fusion of 
certain animalcules, during 
which act the germ-elements 
belonging to both are exchanged. 

Anachronistical, errors in chrono- 
logy, by which events are mis- 
placed. 

Inorganic, without organs. 

Anthroposophy, a religious com- 
munity founded by Steiner, 
made up of warmed-up Indian 
religious creeds. 

Aprioristic, not acquired but born 
intellectual good or intellectual 
faculty. 

Ascetism, mortification of the 
body. 



Architect, one that contrives or 
builds up. 

Astronomer, one versed in the 
science of the heavenly bodies. 

Bacteria, Fungi, unicellular-being, 
composed of the cellkernel only, 
no cell-body. 

Biogeny, The history of vitality. 
Billion, a million of millions. 

Bronze-age, the period between 
the stone and iron ages about 
1200400 B.C. 

Cabala, Jewish tradition; secret 
doctrines consisting in the mean- 
ing attached to mystical letters 
and numbers. 

Celibacy, the unmarried state of 
the Roman-Catholic priests. 

Chaos, an unorganised, confused 
mass. 

Chemistry, that science which 
treats of elementary substances, 
the modes and processes by 
which they are combined or se- 
parated, and the laws by which 
they act or are influenced. 

Chlorophyll, the green colouring 
matter of plants. 

Chronic, Continuing for a long 
time. 

Chtonian, The underground or 
cave worship of the deities. 



445 



civilisation, the struggle-for-life 
and the life customs which has 
been transformed through the 
truths gained by reason, such 
as, through inventions, the 
mastery over the powers of 
nature. 

Confession, variety of Jewish re- 
ligious communities. 

Conjugation, the fusion of higher, 
unicellular individuals for repro- 
duction; for this purpose they 
remain united for a while. Re- 
juvenation is probably the rea- 
son for it. 

Contenmplation, sinking into the 
life of God. 

Copernican, pertaining to Coper- 
nicus, or to the solar-system 
bearing his name. 

Copulation, the permanent coupl- 
ing of two unicells. 

Cosmic, pertaining to the universe. 

Cosmos, the system of law and 
order in the universe. 

Cubistic, a certain art-tendency 
which falsifies all forms into 
the geometrical figures, sacred 
to Jewish superstition especially 
the cube. 

Cult, religious uses. 

Dadaism, perverse art, comparable 
to the child's stammer, political- 
ly patronized with the intention 
of destroying good art. 

Danai-gifl, a gift of ill. 
Deism, a belief, contrary to pan- 
theism, that God is apart and 



different to nature, although 
contrary to Theism, not person- 
ified nor continually connected 
with the world. 

Demon, a spirit holding a middle 
place between men and the gods; 
a thought born of superstition. 

Dogma, an arbitrary article of 
faith. 

Ectoplasm, exterior protoplasm of 
a cell. Plasma is the interior 
body-substance which does not 
belong to the kernel. 

Egoism, the excessive love of self. 
Extasy, excessive joy. 
Erinnys, Goddesses of revenge. 

Esoteric, inner, secret, private, 
designed for, and understood 
by, the initiated alone. 

Ethic, being in accord with the 
Wish-to-Goodness. 

Eudemonism, teachings which make 
happiness its highest object. 

Evolution, development or grad- 
ual exfoliation. 

Facet-eye, facita little face, a sur- 
face cut with several angles. 

Facultative, optional. 

Fanaticism, to confess to opinions 
or views with passionate enthu- 
siasm. 

Futurists, adherents to a perverse 
way of painting which they 
call art. 

Germinal-selection, selection which 
takes place in the germ-cells. 



446 



Gnome, an imaginary being, sup- 
posed to inhabit the inner parts 
of the earth. 

Hedonist, one that advocates hed- 
onism, the doctrine that pleas- 
ure is the highest good. 

Homo-sexual, perverse direction 
of the sexual-will, one and the 
same sex. 

Hypnosis, deep, heavy sleep, com- 
pelled sleep. 

Instinct, unconsciously released 
urge dictating a chain of, or 
single actions. 

(Single actions thus caused are 
also called reflection.) The self- 
preservation of all the subcon- 
scious species is assured through 
instinct urging the actions neces- 
sary for this purpose. 

Intuition, the inner knowledge, 
gained by the 'self without the 
process of reasoning or infer- 
ence. 

Irreligious, contempt of the divine. 
Literature, written intellectual 
works. 

Logical, according to the rules of 
logic. 

Logic, the science of pure thought, 
or of the laws according to 
which the process of pure think- 
ing should be conducted. 

Mammon, devotion to wealth. 

Materialistic, a way of thinking 
which acknowledges no spiritual 
values, but merely exterior 
values. 



Material, consisting of matter, 
therefore perceptible, capable of 
being grasped. 

Maja, illusion; in the Vedanta- 
system appearances of the vis- 
ible scene deceive the senses, 
while reality is only the one, 
true and divine, and that is 
Brahma. 

Mechanical, of itself, machine-like, 
acting without thought or de- 
sign. 

Mechanism, machinery, mechanical 
action. 

mechanical-philosophy, a purely 
physical explanation of the uni- 
verse, that there is nothing else 
but mass and motion in the 
world. 

metaphysis, the science of mind as 
opposed to matter. 

mimicry, imitation, Darwin prov- 
ed animals to imitate the colour 
and form of their surroundings 
for the sake of their own pro- 
tection; for instance, many kinds 
of caterpillars look like the twig 
of a tree. 

mneme, memory. Semon describes 
mneme as follows: This is the 
name given to all the changes 
caused by the irritation of me- 
mory, assorciation heredity etc. 
which all organisms manifest. 

monogamy, living in pairs. 

monotheism, the doctrine or belief 
that there is but one God and 
this God is personified. 



447 



morals, the application of the 
Wish-to-Goodness to each indi- 
vidual action; the understanding 
that all actions should be guid- 
ed by the WIsh-to-Goodness. 

moralise, preaching morals. 

morphia, a vegetable alkaloid ex- 
tracted from opium. Poison caus- 
ing deep sleep. 

myth, a poetical religious construct- 
ion of the universe which does 
not oblige itself to truth, (real- 
ity). 

mutation, change which suddenly 
takes place in the characteristics 
of any species which heredity 
cannot account for. 

negation, denial. 

norm, a rule of authoritative stan- 
dard. 

objectify, object; anything pre- 
sented to the senses or the mind. 
The philosopher Schopenhauer 
used the word to describe the 
manifestation or appearance of 
the Will. 

object-glass, a lens in a telescope 
or microscope which receives the 
rays of light from the body 
under examination and concen- 
trates them into a focus directly 
under the eye-glass of the in- 
strument. 

occultism, superstition; secret-pow- 
ers concealed under a scientific 
cloak; belief in the direct inter- 
course with spirits, spiritualism 
made to appear as if it were a 
science. 



Olympus, the seat of the gods. 
(Greek.) 

organ, cell-groups which are mu- 
tually capable of a special funct- 
ion in the general service to 
the multicellular-being, as for 
instance lungs, heart, kidneys 
etc. 

organism, a many-celled living in- 
dividual. 

pedagogy, science of teaching. 

pantheism, a religious system which 
denies the existence of a person- 
al God and recognises God 
only as identical with nature. It 
differs from our cognisance in so 
far as we recognise the universe 
to be the manifestation or ap- 
pearance of God. At the same 
time we fully recognise the mean- 
ing of human-life which lays 
a great responsibility on man's 
shoulders: this is his self -creat- 
ion, in order to become God's 
consciousness. Accordingly high 
moral claims exist for man to 
fulfil. 

passive, suffering, receiving im- 
pressions, submissive. 

pathos, passion full of the divine 
Will, used when describing trag- 
ic recitation, the aim of which 
is to manifest such kind of di- 
vine passion. 

peer, one of the same rank. 
peerless, having no equal. 

perpetttttm mobile, a continually 

moving machine. 
personification, embodiment. 



philology , the study of the format- 
ion and growth of language. 

philosophy, (Greek, philos lov- 
ing and sophia wisdom, the 
science concerned in cognising 
the ,,Self" that exists in all 
appearances. 

apparent philosophers, pretenders 
to philosophy. 

physics, the science which treats 
of matter and energy and their 
relationship. 

rationalist, one that makes reason 
the test of truth and does not 
recognise that reason has its 
limits. 

reaction, counter-tendency, the 
response to an impression. 

real, perceptible. 

realistic, acknowledgment of the 
perceptible only. 

reflexive, a response to impressions 
which is not accompanied with 
consciousness, (s. instinct.) 

relative, having relation, not self- 
existing, not absolute. 

relativist, one that advocates the 
doctrine of relativity. 

relativity, conditional, the Jew 
Einstein attempts to prove that 
time and space are conditional 
(not absolute) that the change 
does not lie merely within the 
powers of perception, but is 
real according to the degree of 
motion. 

Renaissance, new birth. The reviv- 
al of art in the middle ages 



caused by the return to the 
Greek ideal of beauty. 

rhythm, a dividing of time into 
short portions by a regular suc- 
cession of motions sounds etc. 

rudimentary, imperfectly develop- 
ed, first form or shape usually 
imperfect or experimental. Ru- 
dimentary organs of the human 
species are, for instance, the 
appendix. 

sacrament, any solemn or religi- 
ous rite which is supposed to be 
the outward or visible sign of 
an inward and spiritual grace. 

seismograph, seisometer, an instru- 
ment for measuring the time of 
occurence, duration, direction 
and intensity of earth-quakes, 
earth-tremors, etc. 

secondary, succeeding next in or- 
der to the first. 

sidereal, relating to the stars. 
somatic, relating to the body. 

spiritualism, superstitious belief in 
the spirits, still existing, of any- 
one dead. Also the belief in the 
communication of intelligence 
from the world of spirits through 
a person of special susceptibility 
called a medium. 

suggestion, prompting either will, 
thought, feelings, emotions and 
perception through another, 
without resorting to hypnotism. 

Theosophy, a Christian religious 
community which teaches only 
that part of the bible which 
contains the Krishna creed. On 



449 



this creed the Evangelists and 
apostles founded the teachings 
of Jesus. 

transcendental, pertaining to the 
nature of appearances. 

Vedas, the ancient sacred literature 
of the Hindus. 

Volvox, a genus of globular micro- 
scopic plants; the first multi- 
cells. 

Yoga, a branch of the Hindu-philo- 
sophy demanding meditations 



which later degenerated into ru- 
les for the calling forth of an 
artificial God-living. 

Zoology, the natural history of 
animals. 

Zytotropism, cell-attraction, a pow- 
er occasionally manifested in 
the unicellular-beings which 
causes them to lie for a while 
on top of each other, without, 
contrary to Amphimixis and 
Conjugation, exchanging or mix- 
ing their heredity-substance. 



45 



of jttathitor Huben&orff 



Triumph des Unsterblidikeitwillens 
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