Fundamentals of Therapy

Fundamentals of TherapyAn Extension of the Art of Healing

through Spiritual Knowledge

ByRudolf Steiner, Ph.D .

and

Ita W egman, M.D. (Zurich)

Authorized Translation fromthe German

LondonAnthroposophical Publishing Co .

46 Gloucester Place, W.II925

Copyright 1925 by Anthroftosophic al Publishing Co .All rights reserved

PRINTED IN GREAT BRITAIN .CHISWICK PRESS : CHARLES WHITTINGHAM AND GRIGGS (PRINTERS), LTD .

TOOKS COURT, CHANCERY LANE, LONDON .

CONTENTSCHAP.

FOREWORDI. TRUE KNOWLEDGE OF THE HUMAN

BEING AS A FOUNDATION FOR THEART OF MEDICINE

II. WHY MAN IS SUBJECT TO ILLNESS .III. THE PHENOMENA OF LIFEIV. NATURE OF THE SENTIENT ORGAN-

PAGEVii

V

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ISMV. PLANT, ANIMAL, AND MANVI. BLOOD AND NERVEVII. NATURE OF THE INFLUENCES OF

HEALINGVIII. ACTIVITIES WITHIN THE HUMAN

ORGANISMIX. ALBUMEN IN THE HUMAN BODYX. FAT IN THE HUMAN ORGANISMXI. CONFIGURATION OF THE HUMAN

BODY

• 75XII. CONSTRUCTIVE AND EXCRETIVE PRO-

CESSES IN THE HUMAN ORGANISM 8oXIII. ON THE NATURE OF ILLNESS AND

HEALING .

87

323946

•

5 8•

65•

70

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CHAP. PAGEXIV. THERAPEUTIC METHOD OF THOUGHT 93XV. THE METHOD OF HEALING . 99XVI . KNOWLEDGE OF MEDICAMENTS 104XVII. KNOWLEDGE OF MEDICAMENTS-

continued . IIIXVIII . CURATIVE EURHYTHMY . 11 7XIX. CHARACTERISTIC CASES . 121XX. TYPICAL MEDICAMENTS . '57

AFTERWORD 169

FOREWORD

UDOLF STEINER, the teacher, guide, andfriend, is no longer among the living on the

Earth. A severe illness, beginning in sheerphysical exhaustion, tore him away . In the verymidst of his work he had to lie down on the bedof sickness . . The powers he had devoted socopiously, so unstintingly, to the work of theAnthroposophical Society no longer sufficed toovercome his own illness. With untold grief andpain, all those who loved and honoured him had tostand by and witness how he who was loved by somany, who had been able to help so many others,had to allow Fate to take its appointed coursewhen his own illness came, well knowing thathigher powers were guiding these events .

In this small volume the fruits of our unitedwork are recorded.

The teaching of Anthroposophy for MedicalScience a veritable mine of inspiration-I, as aDo&or, was able to confirm without reserve .I found in it a fount of wisdom from which it wasp Bible untiringly to draw, and which was able

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to solve and illumine many a problem as yet un-solved in Medicine . Thus there arose betweenRudolf Steiner and myself a living co-operation inthe field of medical discove , This co-operation,especially in the last two years, was deepened tillthe united authorship of a book became a possibilityand an achievement . It had always been RudolfSteiner's endeavour-and in this I could meet himwith fulleft sympathy of understanding-to renewthe life of the ancient Mysteries and cause it toflow once more into the sphere of Medicine .From time immemorial, the Mysteries were mostintimately united with the art of healing, and theattainment of spiritual knowledge was broughtinto conne&ion with the healing of the sick . Wehad no thought, after the style of quacks anddilettanti, of underrating the scientific Medicine ofour time. We recognized it fully. Our aim wasto supplement the science already in existence bythe illumination that can flow, from a true know-ledge of the Spirit, towards a living grasp of theprocesses of illness and of healing . Needlessto say, our purpose was to bring into new life,not the instin&ive habit of the soul which stillexisted in the Mysteries of ancient time, but amethod of research corresponding to the fullyevolved consciousness of modern man, which canbe lifted into spiritual regions .

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Thus the " first beginnings of our work weremade. In the Clinical and Therapeutic Institutefounded by myself at'Arlesheim, in Switzerland, abasis was given in l aaice for the Theories setforth in this book. And we endeavoured tounfold new ways in the art of healing to thosewho were seeking, in the sense here indicated, fora widening of their medical knowledge .

We had intended to follow up this small volumewith further produaions of our united work. This,alas, was no longer possible. It is, however, stillmy purpose, from the many notes and fruitfulindications I received, to publish a second volumeand possibly a third . As to this first volume, themanuscript of which was correfted with inner joyand satisfa&ion by Rudolf Steiner only three daysbefore his death, may it find its way to those forwhom it is intended-those who are striving toreach out from life's deep riddles to an understand-ing of life in its true greatness and glory . .

ITA WEGMANArlesheim-Dornach

September 1923 .

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Fundamentals of TherapyCHAPTER I

TRUE KNOWLEDGE OF THE HUMAN BEING AS AFOUNDATION FOR THE ART OF MEDICINE

THIS book will indicate new possibilities forthe science and art of Medicine . The reader

must, however, be prepared to enter into the pointsof view which guided us when the medical con-ceptions here described came into being. If hecannot do so, he will not be in a position to form aproper judgment of _what is brought forward inthese pages .

There is no question of opposition to theMedicine that works withh the recognized scientificmethods of to-day . The latter, in its principles,is fully recognized by us ; and we hold that whatwe have to give should be used in medical pra&iceby those alone who are in the position of • fullyqualified do&ors in accordance with these recog-niz principles .

On the other hand, to all that can be knownabout the human being with the methods that arerecognized to-day, we add a further knowledge,whose discoveries are made by different methods .And out of this extended knowledge of the Worldand Man, we find ourselves compelled to workfor an extension of the art of Medicine .

Fundamentally speaking, the recognized Medi-cine of to-day can offer no obje&ion to what wehave to say, seeing that we on our side do not denyits principles . He alone could reje& our effortsa priori, who would require us not only to affirmhis science but to adduce no further knowledgeextending beyond the limits of his own .In the Anthroposophy founded by Rudolf

Steiner we see this extension of our knowledgeof the World and Man. To the knowledge ofthe physical man, which is alone accessible to thenatural-scientific methods of to-day, Anthropo-sophy adds that of the sfiritual man. Nor does itmerely proceed by a process of refle&ive thoughtfrom knowledge of the Physical to knowledge ofthe Spiritual. For on such a path, when all is said,one only finds oneself face to face with hypothesesmore or less well conceived-hypotheses of whichno one can prove that there is aught in reality tocorrespond to them.

Anthroposophy, before making any ftatements

about the Spiritual, evolves and elaborates themethods which give it the right to do so . Someinsight will be gained into the nature of thesemethods if the following be considered : All theresults of the accepted Science of our time arederived in the last resort from the impressions ofthe human . senses. • For to whatever degree, inexperiment or in observation with the help ofinstruments, man may extend the sphere of whatis yielded by his senses, nothing in essence new isadded by these means to his experience of thatworld in which the senses place him .

But 'his thinking too, inasmuch as he applies itin his researches of the physical world, addsnothing new to what is given through the senses .In thinking he associates, analyses the sense-impressions, and so forth, in order to reach thelaws (the Laws of Nature) ; yet the man whoresearches into this world must say to himself :" This thinking, as 'it wells up from within me,adds nothing real to what is already real in theworld of sense."

Now all this at once becomes different if we nolonger stop short at the thinking aaivity which isyielded, to begin with, by ordinary life and educa-tion. This thinking can be strengthened, vitalizedwithin itself. We place some simple, easilyencompassed thought in the centre of conscious-

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ness and, to the exclusion of all other thoughts,concentrate all the power of the soul on the oneconception. Then, as a muscle grows strong whenexerted again and again in the dire&ion of thesame force, our force of soul grows gong whenexercised in this way with respe& to that sphere ofexistence which otherwise holds sway in Thought .It should again be emphasized that these exercisesmust be based on simple, easily encompassedthoughts . For in carrying out the exercises thesoul must not be exposed to any kind of influencesfrom the unconscious or the semi-conscious .(Here we can but indicate the principle; a fullerdescription, and dire&ions showing how suchexercises should be done in individual cases, willbe found in Rudolf Steiner's books, Knowledgeof the Higher Worlds and its Attainment, An Outline ofOccult Science, and other works in Anthroposophy .)

It is easy to make obje&ion : that anyone whothus gives himself up with all his might to certainthoughts placed in the focus of his consciousnesswill thereby expose himself to all manner of auto-suggestion and the like, and that he will simplyenter a realm of phantasy. But Anthroposophyshows how the exercises should be done from theoutset, so that the obje&ion loses its validity .It shows the way to advance within the sphereof consciousness, step by step and fully wide-awake

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in carrying out the exercises, as in the solvingof an arithmetical or geometrical problem . Atno point in solving a problem of Arithmeticor Geometry can our consciousness slide intounconscious regions ; nor can it do so duringthe practices .here indicated, provided always thatthe anthroposophical directions are properly ob .served.

In the course of such training we attain astrengthening of the force of thought of which wehad not the remotest idea before . Like a newcontent of our human being we feel the force ofthought holding sway within us. And with thisnew content of our own human being, there isrevealed at the same time a World-content which,though we might perhaps have divined its exist-ence, was unknown to us by experience till now.

If in a moment's introspe&ion we consider oureveryday a&ivity of thought, we find that thethoughts are pale and shadow-like beside theimpressions that our senses give us . What weperceive in the now strengthened force of thoughtis not pale or shadow-like by any means . It isfull of inner content, vividly real and graphic ;it is, indeed, of a reality far more intense than thecontents of our sense-impressions .

A new world begins to dawn for the man whohas thus enhanced the force of his perceptive

S

faculty . He, who till now was only able to per-ceive in the world of the senses, learns to perceivein this new world ; and as he does so he discoversthat all1 the Laws of Nature known to him beforehold good in the physical world only . It is of theessence of the world he has now entered, that itslaws are different, nay, the very opposite of thoseof the physical world. In this world, for instance,the law of the force of attra&ion of the Earth doesnot hold good. On the contrary, another forceemerges, working not from the centre of theEarth outward, but inversely . Its dire&ion isfrom the circumference of the Universe towardsthe centre of the Earth . And so it is, in likemanner, with the other forces of the physicalworld .

The faculty of man to perceive in this world,attainable as it is by exercise and training, is calledin Anthroposophy the " Imaginative" faculty ofknowledge . " Imaginative "-not that we haveto do with " fancies " or imaginations in thatsense ; the word is used because the content ofconsciousness is filled with living pi&ures, insteadof the shadows of thought .

In sense-perception we feel, as an immediateexperience, that we are in a world of reality, andso we do in the a&ivity of soul which is herecalled " Imaginative Knowledge." The world to

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which this knowledge relates is, called in Anthro-posophy the "etheric " world. This is not tosuggest the hypothetical ether of modern physics ;it is something really seen in the Spirit. The name"etheric " is given to it in keeping with older,in§tin&ive and dream-like, conceptions of thatworld. By the side of what can now be knownwith full clarity, those old conceptions no longerhave a scientific value ; but if we wish to designatea thing we have to choose some name.

Within the etheric world an etheric bodilynature of man is perceptible, existing in additionto the physical bodily nature.

This "etheric body " is to be found in itsessential nature in the plant-world also . Plants,too, have their etheric body . In point of fa& thephysical laws only hold good for the world oflifeless mineral nature .

The plant-world is possible on Earth throughthe fa& that there are , substances in the earthlyrealm which do. not remain enclosed within, orlimited to, the physical laws . These subs`ttancescan lay aside the whole complex of physical lawand assume an opposite manner of working . Thephysical laws work, as it were, streaming outwardfrom the -Earth; the etheric, streaming toward theEarth from all direaions of the World-circumfer-ence. Man cannot understand how the plant-

7

world comes into being, till he sees in it the inter-play of the Earthly and physical with the Cosmicand " ethereal."

So it is with the etheric body of man himself .Through the etheric body something is takingplace in man, which is not a straightforwardcontinuation of the laws and workings of thephysical body's forces, but rests on quite a differentfoundation. In effe& the physical substances, asthey pour into the etheric realm, divest themselvesto begin with of their physical forces .

The forces that hold sway in the etheric bodyare aaive at the beginning of man's life on Earth,and most distin&ly during the embryo period ;they are the forces of growth and formativedevelopment. A portion of them, emancipated inthe further course of earthly life from this formativea 9ivity, then becomes the force of thought . Theyare the forces which bring forth, for the ordinaryconsciousness, the shadow-like world of man'sthoughts .

It is of the utmost importance to know that theordinary thought-forces of man are the refinedforces of bodily growth and formation. In theforming and growing of the human body, aSpiritual manifests itself. For it appears as suchin the further course of life, in the spiritual forceof thought.

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The force of thought is but a part of the humanforce of growth and formation that works andweaves in the etheric. The other part remainstrue to the purpose it fulfils in the beginning ofman's life. But the human being continues toevolve even when his formation and growth havereached an advanced sage-when they are to acertain degree complete . It is due to this alonethat the etheric spiritual force, which lives andmoves in the organic nature of the body, is ableto emerge in later life as the force of thought .

Thus the formative (or plastic) force, appearingfrom the one side in the soul-content of ourThought, is revealed to the "imaginative"spiritual vision from the other side as an etheric-spiritual reality .

We may now follow the substantial nature ofthe earthly substances where they enter the ethericprocess, and we find : Wherever they do so theearthly substances themselves assume a form ofbeing which estranges them from the physicalnature. And while they are thus estranged, theyenter into a world where the Spiritual comesto meet them, transforming them into its ownbeing.

This way of ascending to the etherically livingnature of man is a very different thing from theunscientific postulation of a " vital force " which

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was customary even to the middle of the nineteenthcentury in order to explain the living body . Hereit is a question of the a&ual seeing-that is to say,the spiritual perception of a reality which ispresent, no less than the physical body, in man andin all living creatures . To reach this sight of theetheric we do not merely think on vaguely withthe ordinary kind of thought ; nor do we " thinkout " another world by dint of fancy . We extendthe human powers of cognition by an exa& andscientific process ; and the straightforward result ofthis extension is to gain experience of an extendedworld.

The exercises leading to higher powers of per-ception can be carried farther. Just as we exerta heightened force in concentrating on thoughtsplaced deliberately in the centre of our conscious-ness, so we can apply a greater force again tosuppress the Imaginations-the pi&ures of aspiritual-etheric reality-attained by the formerprocess. We then reach a condition of completelyemptied consciousness . We are awake andaware, but our awareness to begin with has nocontent . (Further details are to be found in theabove-mentioned books .)

But this awareness without content does notremain so . Our consciousness, emptied as it isof any physical or even etherically pi&orial im-

I0

pressions, becomes filled with a content thatpours into it from a real spiritual world, even asthe impressions from the physical world pour intothe physical senses .

By Imaginative Knowledge we learn to knowa second member of the human being ; by theemptied consciousness becoming filled with spirit-ual content we learn to know a third . Anthro-posophy calls the power of knowledge that . comesabout in this way " Knowledge by Inspiration."(The reader should not let these terms offend him .They are borrowed from the inftin&ive ways oflooking into spiritual worlds which belonged tomore primitive ages, but the sense in which theyare here used is stated scientifically .) The worldto which man gains entry by " Inspiration " iscalled in Anthroposophy the "astral world ."

Speaking, in "the manner here explained, of an" etheric world," we refer to the influences thatwork from the circumference of the Universetowards the Earth. When we go on to speak ofthe "astral world," we proceed, according to theperceptions of Inspired Consciousness, from theinfluences from the World-circumference to thespiritual Beings who reveal themselves in theseinfluences just as the materials of the Earthreveal their nature in the forces that go outwardfrom the Earth. We speak of definite spiritual

II

Beings working from the universal spaces, just aswe speak of the §tars and constellations when withthe eye of sense we watch the heavens at night-time. Hence the expression "astral world ." Inthe astral world man bears the third member ofhis human nature, namely his astral body .

Into the astral body, too, the substantial naturesof the Earth must flow. They are therebyestranged still more from their physical nature .Man, as we saw, has the etheric body in commonwith the world of plants ; he has the astral body incommon with the world of animals .

The essentially human being, whereby man israised above and beyond the animal creation, isknown by a form of knowledge still higher thanInspiration. At this point Anthroposophy speaksof Intuition. In Inspiration a World of spiritualBeings is revealed ; in the a& of knowledge whichwe here call Intuition, the relation of the humanbeing to that World grows more intimate . Henow brings to fullest consciousness within himthat which is purely Spiritual, and of which heknows-immediately in the conscious experienceof it-that it has nothing to do with any experienceconveyed through the bodily nature . He trans-plants himself into a new life which can only bedescribed as a life of the human Spirit amongother Spirit-Beings . In inspiration the spiritual

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Beings of the World reveal themselves ; throughIntuition we ourselves live with the Beings .'

In this way we come to recognize the fourthmember of the human being the essential " I "or ",Ego." Once again we become aware howthe subsgtantial nature of the Earth, in entering thelife and being of the" Ego," is estranged (till morefrom its physical form of existence. The naturewhich it here assumes--the organization of theEgo "-is, to begin with, that form of earthlysubstance n which the latter is farthest estrangedfrom. its earthly, physical chara&er .

In the human organization what we thus learnto know as the astral body " and " Ego " is notbound to the physical body in the same way asis the etheric body. Inspiration and Intuitionshow how in sleep the astral body and the Egoseparate from the physical and etheric ; it is onlyin the waking state that there is the full mutualpermeation of the four members to form thesingle and united nature of man .

1 Note by Translator. Dr. Steiner uses the identical words--Imagination, In#iration, Intuition-in the German originalofthis and other anthroposophicai works . Occurring as theydo more frequently in English in the colloquial meaningsof ordinary speech, we distinguish them here by a capitalletter when used in the technical sense of Anthroposophy todenote the higher powers of cognition .

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In sleep the physical and the etheric human bodyare left behind in the physical and etheric world .But they are not in the same position as the physicaland etheric body of a plant or plant-like being .For they bear within them the after-influences ofthe astral and the Ego-nature . Indeed, the momentthey would no longer bear these influences withinthem, the human being must awaken . A humanphysical body mutt never be subje& to the merelyphysical, nor a human etheric body to the mereetheric influences . Under such influences alonethey would disintegrate .

Yet another thing is revealed by Inspiration andIntuition . The physical substantial natures, asthey pass on to live and move in the etheric, arecarried to a higher form of organization. Andlife itself depends upon the fa& that the organicbody, freed from a mere earthly form of existence,is built up by forces working inward from theUniverse beyond the Earth . But while thisup building process leads to Life, it does not lead toConsciousness nor to Self-Consciousness . The astralbody must build up its own organization withinthe physical and the etheric, and for the " Ego-organization " the Ego must do the same . Butthis upbuilding process is not accompanied by anyconscious unfolding of the soul's life . For thelatter to ensue, the upbuilding process must be

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opposed by oneof demolition. The astral bodybuildsup its organs ; it destroys them again, and in sodoing enables the a&ivity of Feeling to unfold inconsciousness of soul . The Ego builds up its "Ego-organization " ; it destroys it again, when in Self-consciousness the a&ivity of Will becomes effe&ive .

Thus the Spirit (the mental life) unfolds inhuman nature, not on the basis of constru&ivea&ivities of substance; but of destru&ive . Atwhatsoever point in man the Spirit is to work,material substance must withdraw from its activity .

Even the rise of Thought in the etheric bodyrests not on a further development but on adestru&ion of etheric life and being. Consciousthinking takes place, not in the a&ual processesof growth and formation, but in processes ofdeformation-fading, dying processes-which arecontinually interwoven with the etheric life .

'In the a& of conscious thinking, the thoughtsloose themselves from bodily formation to emergeas formations in the soul, in the conscious experi-ence of man .With the foundation of such a knowledge of

man, we can now observe the human being, andwe become aware that the nature of the wholeman, or of any single organ, is only seen withclarity by recognizing how the physical, the etheric,the astral body, and the Ego are at work there .

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There are organs in which the Ego is paramountlya&ive ; in others the Ego works but little, and thephysical organization is predominant .

The healthy human nature can only be under-Rood by recognizing how the higher membersof man's being take possession of the earthlysubstance, compelling it into their service . In thisconne&ion we must also recognize how the earthlysubstance becomes transformed when it entersthe sphere of a&ion of the higher members . Andso it is with the man diseased . We only under-stand him when we perceive how the organismas a whole, or a certain organ or series of organs,become affe&ed when the mode of a&ion of thehigher members falls into irregularity . We shallonly be able to think of remedies when we evolvea knowledge of how some earthly substance orearthly process is related to the Etheric, to theAstral, to the Ego . For only then, by introducingan earthly substance to the human body or bytreatment with an earthly process of a&ivity, shallwe be able to achieve the desired result, enablingthe higher members of the human being to unfoldagain unhindered, or providing the earthly sub-stance of the body-in the added medicament ortreatment-with the assistance it may need, tobring it into the path where it becomes a basisfor the earthly working of the Spiritual .

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Man is what he is by virtue of body, ethericbody, soul (aural body), and Ego (Spirit) . Hemust, in health, be seen and understood from theaspe& of these his members ; in disease he mustbe observed in the disturbance of their equilibrium ;and for his healing we must find the remedies thatcan restore the balance.

A medical conception built on such foundationsis to be indicated in these pages .

CHAPTER II

WHY MAN IS SUBJECT TO ILLNESS

A who refle&s on the fa& that theLX human being can be diseased, will findhimself involved in a paradox which he cannotavoid if he wishes to think purely on the lines ofNatural Science. He will have to assume to beginwith that this paradox lies in the very nature ofexistence. For, outwardly considered, whatevertakes place in the process of disease is a processof Nature. But that which replaces it in health isalso a process of Nature.

In the first place, the processes of Nature areknown to us only by observation of the worldexternal to Man, and of Man himself inasmuch aswe set to work observing him in just the sameway as we observe external Nature. In doing so,we conceive him as a piece of Nature . We conceivethat the processes going on within him, howevercomplicated, are of the same kind as the processeswe can observe outside him-the outer processesof Nature .

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Here, however, , a question emerges which isquite unanswerable from this point of view . Howdo there arise in Man (not to speak, at this point,of the animal) processes of Nature which runcounter to the healthy ones?The healthy human body seems to be intelligible

as a piece of Nature ; the diseased does not. Itmust, therefore, be intelligible in itself, by virtueof something which it does not receive fromNature .

It is commonly thought that the mental andspiritual in Man has for its physical foundationa complicated process of Nature-a furtherelaboration of the processes we find outside him .But let us observe after all whether the continua-tion of any process of Nature, taking its place inthe healthy human body, ever does call forthconscious mental or spiritual experience as such .The reverse is the case . The conscious life of theSpirit is extinguished when the process of Natureis continued in a straightforward line . This iswhat happens in sleep ; it happens, too, in faint-ness .

Consider on the other hand how the consciousmental life is sharpened when an organ becomesdiseased. Pain ensues, or-at the least-dis-comfort and displeasure . The sentient life ofFeeling receives a content which it lacks in ordinary

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life, and the life of Will is impaired . The move-ment of a limb, which takes place as a matter ofcourse in the healthy Rate, can no longer beaccomplished properly ; the pain or discomforthinders and opposes it.

Observe now the transition from the painfulmovement of a limb to its paralysis . In the move-ment accompanied by pain we have the initialages of a movement paralysed. The a&ively

Spiritual takes hold of the body . In the healthycondition it reveals itself to begin with in the lifeof thought or ideation . We a&uate a certain idea,and the movement of a limb ensues. We do notenter consciously with the idea into the organicprocesses which culminate in the movement .The idea dives down into the unconscious .Between the idea and the movement an a& offeeling intervenes ; but this-in the healthy con-dition-works in the soul only, it, does not attachitself di§tin&ly to any bodily organic process .In disease, however, it is different . The feeling,experienced in health as a thing diftin& and apart,unites with the physical organization in theconscious experience of illness .

The healthy processes of feeling and the con-scious experience of illness thus appear in theirrelationship . Something must be there, which,when the body is in health, is less intensely united

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with it than when it is diseased . To spiritualperception this " something is revealed to bethe a§ l body. The astral body is a super-sensible organization within that which the sensescan perceive. If it takes hold of an organ butloosely, it leads to an inner experience of soul-anexperience which subsists in itself and is not feltto be in conne&ion with the body . If, on theother hand, the astral body takes hold of an organstrongly or intensely, it leads to the consciousnessof illness. One of the forms of illness must indeedbe conceived as an abnormal seizure" of the organ-ism by the astral body. This form of illnesscauses the Spiritual Man to dive down into hisbody more deeply than is the case in health .

Now Thinking, too, has its physical foundationin the body. In health however, it is still moreloosely conne&ed, still freer of the bodily founda-tion, than the life of feeling. Spiritual perceptionfinds beside the astral body a special Ego-organiza-tion which lives and expresses itself with freedomof soul in thought. If with this Ego-organizationman takes intense hold of his bodily nature, theensuing condition makes his observation of hisown organism similar to that of the externalworld. That is to say : When he observes a thingor process of the outer world, the thought in manand the obje& observed are not in living mutual

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interplay, but independent of one another. In ahuman limb this condition only takes place whenit is paralysed . It then becomes a part of theexternal world . The Ego-organization is nolonger loosely united with the limb, as when inhealth it can unite with it in the a& of movementand withdraw again at once . It dives downpermanently into the limb and is no longer ableto withdraw itself.

Here again the processes of the healthy move-ment of a limb and of paralysis stand side -by sidein their relationship . Nay more, we recognizedistin&ly : The healthy a& of movement is aparalysis in its initial stages-a paralysis which isarrested as soon as it begins .

We must see the very essence of illness in thisintensive union of the astral body orEgo-organiza-tion with the physical organism . But this unionis only an intensification of that which exists moreloosely in a state of health . Even the normal wayin which the astral and Ego-organization take holdof the human body, is related not to the healthyprocesses of life, but to the diseased . Whereverthe soul and Spirit are at work, they annul theordinary funftioning of the body, transforming itinto its opposite. In so doing they bring the bodyinto a line of anion where illness tends to set in .

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In normal life this is regulated dire&ly it arises bya process of self-healing .

A certain form of illness occurs when theSpiritual, or the soul, pushes its way forward toofar into the organism, with the result that the self-healing process can either not take place at all oris too slow.

In the faculties of soul and Spirit, therefore, wehave to seek the causes of disease . Healing mustthen consist in loosening this element of soul orSpirit from the physical organization .

This is the one kind of disease . There isanother. The Ego-organization and the astralbody may be prevented from reaching even thatlooser union with the bodily nature which isconditioned, in ordinary life, by the independenta&ivities of Feeling, Thought, and Will . Then,in the organs or processes which the soul andSpirit are thus unable to approach, there will be acontinuation of the healthy processes beyond themeasure that is right for the organism as a whole .But spiritual perception shows that in such a casethe physical organism does not merely carry outthe lifeless processes of external Nature . For thephysical organism is permeated by an etheric .The physical organism alone could never callforth a process of self-healing ; it is in the etheric

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organism that this process is kindled. We arethus led to recognize health as that conditionwhich has its origin in the etheric . Healing musttherefore consist in a treatment of the ethericorganism.'

1 The point of this will best be understood by carefullycomparing the contents of this Second Chapter with whatwas said above, in the First.

CHAPTER III

THE PHENOMENA OF LIFE

WE cannot come to understand the humanorganism, in health or in disease, if we

conceive that the chara&eriftic reactions of anysubstance, absorbed in the process of nourishment,are simply continued from external Nature intothe inner parts of the body . Within the humanbody it is not a question of continuing, but, onthe contrary, of overcoming the rea&ions observ-able in the substance while outside the body .

The illusion that the substances of the outerworld simply continue to work of their own naturein the body, is due to the fa& that to the ordinarychemical conception of to-day it appears to be so .Following the researches of this Chemistry, thescientist gives himself up to the belief that Hydro-gen, for instance, is present in the body in thesame form as in external mature, since it occurs,first in the substances consumed as food and drink,and then in the produ&s of excretion : air, sweat,urine, faces, or in secretions, such as bile .

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The scientist of to-day feels no necessity to askwhat happens in the organism to that whichappears as Hydrogen before its entry into and afterits exit from the same . Outside the organism itappears as Hydrogen . He does not ask : Whatdoes it undergo while it is within the living body?

When however we do raise this question, we areat once impelled to turn our attention to thedifference between the organism waking andasleep . When the organism is asleep, its sub-ftantial nature provides no basis for the unfoldingof conscious or self-conscious experience . But itstill provides a basis for the unfolding of life . Inthis respe& the sleeping organism is distinguishedfrom the dead, for the substantial basis of the latteris no longer one of life . And so long as we merelysee the distin&ion in a different constitution orarrangement of substances as between the livingorganism and the dead, we shall not really progressin our understanding of the matter .

It is wellnigh half a century since the eminentphysiologist, Du Bois Reymond, pointed out thatconsciousness can and will never be explained bythe rea&ions of material substance . Never, hedeclared, shall we understand why it should notbe a matter of indifference to so many atoms ofCarbon, Oxygen, Hydrogen, and Nitrogen whattheir relative position is or was or will become,

26

or why by these their changes of position, theyshould bring forth in Man the sensations, " I seered," " I smell the scent of roses ." Such beingthe case, Du Bois Reymond contended, natural-scientific thought can never explain the wakinghuman being, filled as he is with sensations; it canonly explain the sleeping man .

Yet in this hope too- he gave himself up to anillusion. He believed that the phenomena of life,though not of consciousness, would be intelligibleas an outcome of the rea&ions of material sub-stance. But, in reality, we must say of the pheno-mena of life, as he said of those of consciousnessWhy should it occur to so many atoms of Carbon,Oxygen, Hydrogen, and Nitrogen to bring forth-by the manner of their present, past, or futurerelative positions-the phenomenon of life?

Observation shows, after all, that the phenomenaof life have an altogether different orientation fromthose that run their course within the lifeless realm .Of the latter we shall be able to say, they revealthat they are subje& to forces radiating outwardfrom the essence of material substance . Theseforces radiate from the-relative--centre to theperiphery. But in the phenomena of life, thematerial substance appears subje& to forcesworking from without inward-towards therelative centre . Passing on into the sphere of

21

life, the substance must withdraw itself from theforces raying outward and subje& itself to thosethat radiate inward .

Now it is to the Earth that every earthlysubstance, or earthly process, owes its forces of thekind that radiate outward . It has these forces incommon with the Earth. It is, indeed, only as aconstituent of the Earth-body that any substancehas the nature which Chemistry discovers in it .And when it comes to life, it must cease to be amere portion of the Earth ; it leaves its communitywith the Earth and is gathered up into the forcesthat ray inward to the Earth from all sides-frombeyond the earthly realm . Whenever we see asubstance or process unfold in forms of life, wemust conceive it to be withdrawing from the forcesthat work upon it as from the centre of the Earth,and entering the domain of others, which have,not a centre, but a periphery .

From all sides they work, these forces, strivingas if towards the central point of the Earth . Theywould tear asunder the substantial nature of theearthlyrealm, dissolve it into complete formlessness,were it not for the Heavenly bodies beyond theEarth which mingle their influences in the fieldof these forces and modify the dissolving process .In the plant we can observe what happens . Inplants, the substances of the earth are lifted out

z8

of the domain of earthly influences ; they tendtowards the formless. But this transition to theformless is modified by the influences of the Sunand similar effe&s from universal space. Whenthese are no longer working, or when they areworking differently, as in the night, then in thesubstances the forces which they have from theircommunity with Earth begin to stir once more .From the working together of earthly forcesand cosmic, the plant-nature arises. And if wecomprise in the term "Physical " the domainof all those forces and rea&ions which the sub-stances unfold under the Earth's influence, weshall have to designate the entirely different forceswhich radiate-not outward from the Earth-butin towards it, by a name in which this differentchara&er must find expression . Here we comefrom another aspe& to that element in the organiza-tion of Man which was indicated from one aspe&in the former chapter . In harmony with an olderusage-which has fallen into confusion under themodern purely physical way of thinking-we haveagreed to denote this part of the human organismas the " Etheric." Thus, we shall have to sayIn the plant-like nature, inasmuch as it appearsalive, the Etheric is holding sway .

In Man too, inasmuch as he is a living being,the same etheric principle holds sway . Never-

29

theless, even with respe& to the mere phenomenaof life, an important difference is apparent in hisnature as against the plant's . For the plant letsthe Physical hold sway within it when the Ethericfrom the Cosmic spaces is no longer unfolding itsinfluence, as is the case when at night-time theSun-ether ceases to work. The human being, onthe other hand, only lets the Physical hold swaywithin his body when death takes place . In sleep,though the phenomena of consciousness and self-consciousness vanish away, the phenomena of liferemain, even when the Sun-ether is no longerworking in the Cosmic spaces . Perpetually,throughout its life, the plant is receiving intoitself the Ether-forces as they ray in towards theEarth . Man, however, carries them withinhimself in an individualized way, even from theembryonic period of his existence . Man, duringhis life, takes out of himself what the plant receivescontinually from the Universe . In effe&, hereceived it for his further development already inthe mother's womb . A force whose propernature is originally cosmic-destined to pour itsinfluences in towards the Earth-pours forthfrom lung or liver . It has undergone a metamor-phosis of its dire&ion .

Thus we shall have to say : Man bears theEtheric within him in an individualized form .

30

As he carries the Physical in the individualizedform of his physical body and its organs, so toowith the Etheric. He has his own special ethericbody, as he has the physical . In sleep, this ethericbody remains united with the physical and givesit life ; it only separates from it in death .

3I

CHAPTER IV

NATURE OF THE SENTIENT ORGANISM

THE plant form and plant organization are anexclusive produ& of the two domains of

forces : those radiating outward from the Earthand in towards it. The animal and human are notexclusively so . The leaf of a plant stands underthe influence of these two domains of forces tothe exclusion of all others ; the lung of an animalis subje& to the same influences, but not exclu-sively. For the leaf, all the formative creativeforces lie within the two domains, while for thelung there are other formative forces outside them .This applies both to the formative forces whichgive the outward shape, and to those that regulatethe inner movements of the substances, givingthem a definite dire&ion, combining them orseparating them .

Of the substances absorbed into the plant wecan say indeed, that, owing to their entry into thedomain of forces raying in towards the Earth, itdoes not remain a matter of indifference to them

3 2

whether they are alive or not . They are lifelesseven within the plant when the forces of the World-circumference are not working on them ; theyenter into life when they come under the influenceof these forces .

But to the plant substance, even when alive,the past, present, or future relative position of itsmembers is a matter of indifference so far as anya&ion of their own is concerned . They abandonthemselves to the a&ion . of the external forces-those radiating out and inward . The animalsubstance comes to a&ion in ways that are inde-pendent of these forces . It moves . within theorganism-or the whole organism moves-insuch a way that the movements do not followexclusively the outpouring and inpouring forces .The animal configuration arises independently ofthe domains of forces radiating outward from andin towards the Earth.

In the plant, the play of forces here describedgives rise to an alternation between the conditionsof being conne&ed and disconne&ed-if we mayborrow these expressions-with the current ofthe forces that pout in from the periphery. Thesingle being of the plant thus falls into two parts .The one tends to life and is wholly under the domainof the World-circumference ; these are the spring-ing, sprouting organs, the growing and blossom-

D

33

ing. The other inclines towards the lifeless, itstays in the domain of the forces raying outwardfrom the Earth. This part comprises all thathardens the growth, provides a firm support forlife,. and so on. Between the two parts, life isfor ever being kindled and extinguished, and whenthe plant dies, it is simply that the outpouringforces- gain the upper hand over the inpouring .

Now, in the animal, a part of the subtantialnature is drawn right out of the domain of thesetwo kinds of forces. Another partition is thusbrought about, over and above what we found inthe plant. Organic formations arise which staywithin the domain of the two kinds of forces, butothers too come into being, which are lifted outof this domain. Between these two formations,mutual interaaions take place, and in these inter-a&ions we have the real cause enabling the animalsubstance to become a vehicle of sentient life .Another consequence is the difference, both inoutward appearance and inner constitution, asbetween the animal substance and the plant .

Thus in the animal organism we have a domainof forces independent of those radiating outwardfrom and inward to the Earth. Beside' the physicaland the etheric, there is in fa& the astral domain offorces, of which we have already spoken fromanother point of view. One need not take offence

34

at the term "astral." The outpouring forces atethe earthly ones ; the inpouring are those of theWorld-circumference about the Earth . In the"astral, something is present of a higher orderthan these two kinds of forces . This higherpresence first makes of the Earth itself a heavenlybody within the Universe-a " Star" or AFtrum.Through the physical forces the Earth separatesitself from the Universe; through the etheric itsubjefts itself to the influence of the Universeupon it. With the "astral forces it becomes,within the Universe, an independent Individuality .

In the animal organism, the "astral " principleis an independent, self-contained orgarization likethe physical and the etheric . We can thereforespeak of this organization as an "astral body ."

The whole animal organization is only intelligibleby studying the mutual relationships between thephysical, the etheric, and the astral body . Forall three are present, independently, as its members .Not only so, each of the three is different fromanything ' that exists outside, by way of lifeless(mineral) bodies or living bodies of a plant-likenature .

True, the animal physical organism can bespoken of as lifeless ; yet it is different from thelifeless nature of the mineral. For it is firstestranged by the etheric and the astral organism

3.5

from the mineral nature ; and then, by a with-,drawal of etheric and aftral forces, it is returned tothe lifeless realm. It is an entity in which themineral forces-those that work in the Earth-domain alone-can only ad deSrudively . Thisphysical body can serve the animal organizationas a whole, only so long as the etheric and astralmaintain the upper hand over the destructiveintervention of the mineral forces .

The animal etheric organization is living, likethat of the plant-but not in the same manner .By the astral forces, the life has been brought intoa condition foreign to itself ; it has in fad beentorn away from the forces raying in towards theEarth and then returned once more to their domain .The etheric organism is an entity in which theplant-like forces have an existence too dull andstupid for the animal nature. Only through theaural forces continually lighting up its manner ofactivity can it serve the animal organism as a whole .If the activities of the etheric gain the upper hand,sleep ensues ; if the astral organism becomes pre-dominant, the creature is awake .

Sleeping and Waking : Neither the one nor theother must exceed a certain limit in its mode ofaction . If this were to happen in the case ofSleep, the plant-nature in the organism as a wholewould incline towards the mineral; there would

36

arise a morbid' condition-a hypertrophy of theplant-nature . And if it happened in the case ofWaking, the plant-nature would become entirelyestranged from the mineral and the latter would,assume forms within the organism belonging notto it, but to the external, inorganic, lifeless sphere .It would be a morbid condition by hypertrophyof the mineral nature .

Into all the three organisms-physical, etheric,and astralphysical substance penetrates fromoutside. Each of the three in its own way mustovercome the special nature of the physical . Athreefold organization is thus brought into being.

The physical organism produces organs whichhave gone through the etheric and aural organiza-tions and are on the way back again to the purelyphysical domain . They cannot altogether havearrived there, for this would mean death to thewhole body.

The etheric organism produces organs whichhave passed through the astral organization butare striving ever and again to withdraw from it .They have in them the force that inclines to thedull stupor of Sleep ; they tend to unfold apurely vegetative life .

The astral organism produces organs whichestrange, or put away from them, the vegetativelife. Yet they can only exist if this vegetative life

37

takes hold of them again and again. Having norelationship either with the outpouring or withthe inpouring forces of the Earth, they wouldfall out of the earthly realm altogether if it didnot again and again take hold of them. In theseorgans, a rhythmic interplay of the animal andplant-like natures mint take place. This deter-mines the alternating states of Sleeping and Waking .In Sleep, the organs of the aural forces, too, arein the dull stupor of a plant-like life . They thenhave no a&ive influence on the etheric and physical,which are thus entirely abandoned to the domainsof forces pouring in towards and outward fromthe Earth .

3 8

CHAPTER V

PLANT, ANIMAL, AND MAN

N the astral body the animal form arises :outwardly the form as a whole, inwardly the

formation of the organs. The sentient animalsubstance is, then, an outcome of the form givinga&ivity of the astral body. Where this process offormation is carried to its conclusion, the animalnature is produced .

In man. it

is not carried to its conclusion

. Ata certain point on its way it is hindered andarrested .

In the plant we have material substance trans-formed by the forces radiating in towards theEarth. This is the living substance, and it iscontinually intera&ing with the lifeless. We mustconceive that in the plant, living substance is per-petually being separated out of the lifeless. Inthe living substance, the plant form then becomesapparent, as a produ& of the forces raying intowards the Earth. Thus we have a single streamof substance : lifeless substance being transformed

39

into living, living into lifeless . In this stream theorgans of the plant come into being.

In the animal the sentient substance comes forthfrom the living, as in the plant the living from thelifeless . Thus there is a twofold stream of sub-s`tance . The life is not carried to the point offinished living form within the etheric realm. Itis kept io flow, and into the flowing life the astralorganism inserts its principle of form .

In man, this latter process, too, is kept in flow .The sentient substance is drawn into the realm ofa still further organization, which we can call theorganization of the Ego." Thus the sentient

substance is transformed once more and a three-fold stream_ of substance is produced. In this thehuman form-inwardly no less than outwardly-arises, and becomes the bearer of self-consciousspiritual life . Down to the smallest particle of hissubstance, man in his form and configuration is aprodu& of the organization of the Ego .

We can now trace these processes of formationin their substantial aspe& . The transformation ofsubstance from the one level to the next appearsas a separating of the substance on the higher levelfrom the lower, and a building of the form outof the substance thus " sublimated ." Thus, in theplant: out of the lifeless substance the living issublimated, and in the latter the etheric forces work,40

radiating in towards the Earth, creating the planesform . To begin with there takes- place, not aseparation properly speaking, but an entire trans-formation of physical sub§tance by the ethericforces. This however only happens in the creationof the seed. Here the transformation can be com-plete, because the seed is prote&ed by the surround-ing maternal envelope from the influences of thephysical forces. But when the - seed-formation isfreed from the maternal organism, the working offorces in the plant divides into two members .On the one hand, the forming of substance gtrivesinto the realm of the ei:heric, while on the otherhand it strives back again to physical formation .Thus there arise the members of the plant whichare on the way of life and the others which inclineto fall off and die . The latter then appear as the" excreted " members of the plant organism . Thebark-formation of the tree is a chara&erittic examplein which we may observe this excreting process .

In the animal the process of separation, bothupward and downward, is twofold. There is,as it were, a twofold " sublimation and a twofold" excretion." The plant-process of transformation,as we have seen, is not carried to a conclusion butkept in flow, and there is added to it the trans-formation of living subtance into sentient. Sen-tient substance separates out of the merely living.

4I

We have therefore, on the one hand, substancethat is striving towards sentient existence, and onthe other, substance that is striving away from itto the condition of mere life .

Now in an organism mutual intera&ion comesabout as between all its members. Hence in theanimal the excretion towards the lifeless realm-which in the plant approaches very nearly to theouter lifeless world, the mineral,-still remainsfar removed from mineral nature . In the bark-forming process of the plant, we see the formingof a substance which is already on the way tomineral nature and loosens itself from the plant-organism increasingly the more mineral it becomes .In the animal realm the same process appears inthe excreted produas of digestion, but, these arefarther removed from the mineral nature than the" excretions " of the plant.

In man a further stage is reached. Thereseparates out, from the sentient substance, thatwhich becomes the vehicle of the self-consciousSpirit. But a continual downward separation isalso brought about, for in the process, substanceis produced that strives towards the merely sentientfaculty. Thus the animal nature is present withinthe human organism as a perpetual " excretion."

In the animal organism, in the waking state, the" sublimation " of sentient subs ance and its

42

creation into form, as well as the accompanyingdownward or " excretive " process, are under theinfluence of the astral a&ivity . In man there isalso the activity of the: Ego-organism. In sleepthe astral and the Ego-organism are not direlya&ive; but the substance has been taken hold ofby their a&ivity and continues in it as though byinertia. A subftance once shaped and permeatedthrough and through by the workings of the astraland Ego-organizations, will go on working intheir sense even during sleep, by force of inertia,as it were .

We cannot therefore speak of any merelyvegetative a&ion of the organism in the sleepingman. The astral and Ego-organizations work onin the substance that is formed under their influ-ence, even in the state of sleep . The differencebetween sleeping and -waking is not representedby an alternation of human and animal withphysical and vegetative modes of a&ion . Thetrue fa& is altogether different . In waking lifethe sentient substance and that which can a& asa vehicle of the self-conscious Spirit are lifted outof the organism as a whole and placed in theservice of the astral body and Ego-organization .The physical and etheric organism must then workin such a way that the outpouring and inpouringforces of the Earth are alone a&ive within them .

43

In this mode of action they are taken hold of bythe astral body and Ego-organization only fromoutside. In sleep on the other hand, they aretaken hold of inwardly by the substances that comeinto existence under the influence of astral bodyand Ego-organization . While man is sleeping,and from the Universe as a whole only the forcesradiating out of the Earth and in towards it workupon him, there are working upon him from withinthe substance-forces which the astral body andEgo-organization have prepared . If we call thesentient substance the residue of the astral body, andthat which has arisen under the Ego-organization'sinfluence its residue, then we may say : In thewaking human organism the astral body andEgo-organization themselves are working, and inthe sleeping human organism their substantialresidues .

In waking life man lives in activities whichbring him into conne&ion with the outer worldthrough his astral body and through his Ego-organization. In sleep his physical and ethericbody live by what the residues of these two organ-izations in substance have become. A substanceabsorbed by man-like Oxygen in breathing-both in the sleeping and in the waking state, musttherefore be distinguished as to its mode of actionin the two conditions . By its own inherent nature,44

the Oxygen absorbed from without has the efffeknot of awakening, but of putting man to sleep.In waking life the aural body battles perpetuallyagainst the soporific influence of the absorption ofOxygen. When the astral body suspends its workupon the physical, the Oxygen unfolds its propernature and sends the man to sleep .

4S :

HE a&ivities of the several human organiza-tions in relation to the organism as a whole

are strikingly expressed in the formation of theblood and nerves . Where the foodstuffs absorbedinto the body become progressively transformedin the process of blood-formation, this wholeprocess stands under the influence of the Ego-organization. From the processes that take placein the tongue and palate, accompanied by conscioussensation, down to the unconscious and sub-conscious processes in the workings of pepsin,pancreatic juice, bile, etc ., the Ego-organization isat work. Then the working of the Ego-organiza-tion withdraws to some extent, and in the furthertransformation of foodstuffs into the substance ofblood the astral body is predominantly a&ive .This goes on up to the point where, in the breath-ing process, the blood meets the air-that is tosay, the oxygen . At this point the etheric body

46

carries out its main a&ivity. In the carbonic acidthat is on the point of being breathed out but hasnot yet left the body, we have a subftance whichis in the main only living-that is to say, it isneither sentient, nor dead . (Everything is alivethat carries in it the a&ivity of the etheric body .)The main quantity of this living carbonic acidleaves the organism, but a small proportioncontinues within the organism, working into theprocesses that have their centre in the head-organization . This portion shows a strongtendency to pass into the lifeless inorganic' nature,but it does not become entirely lifeless .

The nervous system shows an opposite distribu-tion. In the sympathetic nervous system whichpermeates the organs of digestion, the etheric bodyis paramountly holding sway . The nerve-organswith which we are here concerned are of their ownnature merely living organs . The astral and Ego-organizations do not organize them from withinbut affe& them only from outside. For this veryreason the influence of the astral and Ego-organiza-tions working in these nerve-organs is powerful .Passions and emotions. have a deep and lastingeffe& upon the sympathetic nervous system ;sorrow and anxiety will gradually ruin it.

The nervous system of the spinal cord, with itsmany ramifications, is the one in which the astral

47

organization pre-eminently takes effe& . Hence itis the vehicle of that in man which belongs to thesoul-nature-namely the reflex processes-but notof that which takes place in the self-consciousSpirit, in the Ego .

It is the brain-nerves, properly speaking, whichare subje& to the Ego-organization . In these thea&ivities of the etheric and astral organizationsfall into the background .

We thus see three distin& regions arising in theorganism as a whole . In a lower region, nervespermeated from within mainly by the a&ion of theetheric organism work with a blood substance thatis paramountly subje& to the a&ivity of the Ego-organization . In this region, during the embryonicand post-embryonic period of development, wehave the starting-point for all organ-formationsconne&ed with the inner vitalization of the humanbody. In the formation of the embryo, this region,being weak as yet, is supplied with the formativeand life-giving influences by the surroundingmother-organism . Then there is a middle region,where nerve-organs, influenced by the astralorganization, are working with blood-processeswhich are likewise dependent on the astral and,in their upper parts, on the etheric . Here, in theearly periods of development, there lies the starting-point for the formation of the organs that are

48

instrumental in 'the processes of outer and innermovement. This applies not only to the musclesfor example, but to all organs which are causes ofmobility, whether or not they be muscles in theproper sense. Finally there is an upper region,where nerves subje& to the inner organizinga&ivity of the Ego work with blood processesthat have a strong tendency to pass into the-life-less mineral realm. Here lies the starting-point,during the early epoch of man's development,for the formation of the bones and everythingelse that serves the human body for organs ofsupport .

We shall only understand the brain of man ifwe see in it a bone-forming tendency interruptedin its very first beginning . Nor shall we under-stand the boneforming process until we recog-nize in it the working of the same impulses as inthe brain. In the bone-formation, the brain-impulse is carried to its final conclusion andpermeated from without by the impulses of themiddle body, where aurally conditioned nerve-organs are working together with blood-substanceetherically conditioned . In the bone-ash whichremains over with its peculiar configuration whenthe bones are subje&ed to combustion, we see thecreations of the uppermost region of the humanorganization ; while, in the organic residue which

E

49

is left behind when the bones are treated withdilute hydrochloric acid, we have the outcome ofthe impulses of the middle region .

The skeleton is the physical image of the Ego-organization . For in the bone-creating processthe human organic substance, as it tends towardsthe lifeless mineral nature, submits entirely to theEgo-organization. In the brain on the other hand,the Ego is a&ive as a spiritual being. Here itsform-creating force-its power to work into thephysical-is quite overwhelmed by the organizinga&ivity of the Etheric, nay more, by the forcesinherent in the Physical. The brain-formationis founded only to a slight extent on the Ego'sorganizing power, which here becomes submergedin the processes of Life and in the inherent work-ings of the Physical . Yet this is the very reasonwhy the brain is the vehicle of the spiritual a&ionsof the Ego. For, inasmuch as the organic andphysical a&ivities in the brain do not involve theEgo-organization, the latter is able to devote itselfto its own entirely free a&ivities. In the bonysystem of the skeleton, perfe& though it is as aphysical pi&ure of the same, the Fgo-organizationexhausts itself in the a& of organizing the physical,and as a spiritual a&ivity nothing is left of it .Hence the processes in the bones are the mostunconscious .

5 0

So long as it is in the body, the carbonic aciddriven outward by the breathing process is stilla living substance. It is taken hold of and drivenoutward by the astral a&ivity that has its seat inthe middle or spinal region of the nervous system .The portion of carbonic acid which goes with themetabolism towards the head is there brought intounion with calcium, and thus-receives a tendencyto come into the sphere of a&ion of the Ego-organization. The calcium carbonate is, thendriven on the way to bone-formation under theinfluence of the head-nerves, filled as they are fromwithin by the Ego-organization with its impulses .

The substances myosin and myogen (paramyo-sinogen and myosinogen), produced out of thefoodstuffs, tend to become deposited in the blood .They are substances astrally conditioned to beginwith, and they stand in mutual intera&ion withthe Sympathetic, which is organized' from withinby the etheric body . These albuminous substancesare however also taken hold of, to some extent,by the a&ion of the spinal nervous system which isunder the influence of the astral body . They thuscome into relation with the disintegration-produt~sof albumen, with fats, sugar, and other substancessimilar to sugar . This enables them, under theinfluence of the spinal nervous system, to findtheir way into the process of muscle-formation .

31

CHAPTER VII

NATURE OF THE INFLUENCES OF HEALING

r-PHE human organism as a whole is not a self-1L contained system of processes interlocked with

one another. If it were so, it could not be avehicle of soul and Spirit . In the substances ofnerve and bone and in the processes of which theyare a part, the human body is perpetually dis-integrating, or entering upon the path of lifeless,mineral aEtivities . In this way alone can it providethe soul and Spirit with a foundation of aaivity .

In the nervous tissues albuminous substancedisintegrates ; but in these tissues:unlike whathappens in the egg and other organic forms-it isnot built up again by coming into the domain ofinfluences radiating in towards the Earth . Itsimply disintegrates ; and the Ether-influencesradiating in through the senses from the thingsand processes of the environment, as well as thosethat arise when the organs of movement are madeuse of, are thereby enabled to use the nerves asorgans along which they are carried throughoutthe body.

52

,In the nerves there are two kinds of processes :the disintegration of albumen 1 and the permeationof this disintegrating substance with flowingetheric subaance, whose flow is started andstimulated by acids, salts, and materials of thechara&er of phosphorus and sulphur. Theequilibrium between the two processes is-broughtabout by fats and water .

Seen in their essential nature, these are processesof disease which permeate the organism all thetime. They must be balanced by no less continu-ous processes of healing.Now the balance is brought about through the

blood, which contains not only the processes thatconstitute growth and metabolism . In effe&, wemust also attribute to the blood a Fons`tant healinga&ion by which the morbid processes in the nervesare opposed .

In the plasma and fibrinogen, the blood con-tains those forces which serve the growth and

Nome 4 Trantlasar. Here, and throughout the book, theword " albumen " is applied, not only to the albumen in thenarrower sense, but to the whole class of the " proteins "(German Eiweiu-Stgfe-albuminous substances). We areaware that a different nomenclature has been- adopted, sincethe year 1907, by English and American scientists; butfor our purpose it seemed preferable to adhere to the" albumen" in Ira wider application.

33

metabolism in the narrower sense . In that whichappears as an iron-content when the red corpusclesare examined, there lies inherent the healingproperty of the blood . Accordingly, iron alsoappears in the gastric juice, and as iron-oxide inthe chyle. In all of these, sources are created forcounterbalancing processes as against the pro-cesses of the nerves .

Iron appears, upon examination of the blood,in such a way as to represent the only metal which,within the human organism, has a tendencytowards the power of crystallization . It thusmakes felt within the body forces which are inreality the outer, physical, mineral forces ofNature. These forces are present within thehuman organism as a force-system whose wholeorientation is in the sense of outer, physicalNature ; but it is perpetually being overcome bythe Ego-organization.

We have, therefore, two systems of forces : theone has its origin in the nerve-processes, the otherin the blood-formation . In the nerves, processesof disease unfold, but only go so far that theperpetual counter-influence of the blood-processesis still able to heal them . These nerve-processesare brought about in the nervous substance-andhence in the organism as a whole-by the astralbody. The blood-processes, on the other hand,

54

are those in , which the Ego-organization withinthe human body confronts outer physical Nature,which is here continued into the body and sub-jugated by the Ego-organization to its ownformative process .

In this inter-relationship we can direly appre-hend the essential processes of sickening andhealing . If there arise within the organismintensifications of those a&ivities which arepresent in their normal measure -in all that isstimulated by the nervous process, illness ensues .And if we can confront such processes by others,representing intensification of certain influencesof external Nature within the body, a healingeffe& will be brought about if these workings ofouter Nature are mastered by the organism of theEgo and are such as to counterbalance the opposingmorbid process .

Milk contains but small quantities of iron .Milk, indeed, is the substance which represents, inits a&ivities as such, the very smallest measure ofthe sickening forces . The blood, on the otherhand, must perpetually expose itself to all theinfluences of disease ; it requires therefore theorganized iron, that is to say the iron which hasbeen received into the organization of the Ego-the ha,.matin-as a constant remedy or means ofhealing.

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For a remedy which is intended to influence amorbid condition appearing in the inner organiza-tion (or one that is brought about externally buttakes its course within the organism), the firstpoint is to discover how and to what extent theastral organization is working so as to bring about,at some point in the body, a disintegration ofalbumen such as is normally called into play bythe nervous organization. Let us assume that wehave to do with stoppages or congetions in theabdominal region. We can observe, in the acuteattacks of pain, an excessive a&ivity of the astralbody. In such a case the above-described eventhas taken place in the intestinal system .

The question now is : How is the intensifiedastral influence to be counterbalanced? This isdone by introducing into the blood substanceswhich can be taken hold of by just that part of theEgo-organization which works in the intestinalsystem. Such substances are potassium and sodium .If we introduce them into the body in some suit-able preparation-or through the organization ofa plant such as anagallia arven ris-we relieve theastral body of its excessive nervous influence . Webring about a transition of the excessive a&ion ofthe astral body, to the influences-taken hold ofby the Ego-organization--of the above-namedsubstances out of the blood .

j6

If the 'substance is given in mineral form, weshall have to take care that the potassium orsodium enter the circulation of the blood in theright way, so as to arrest the metamorphosis ofalbumen before the point of disintegration . Thismay be done by the use of auxiliary remedies, orbetter still by combining the potassium or sodiumin the preparation with sulphur. Sulphur has thepeculiar property of helping to arrest the dis-integration of albumen . It holds the organizingforces of albuminous substance, as it were,together. Brought into the circulation in such away as to maintain its union with the potassiumor sodium, it will make this influence felt in theregion of those organs to which potassium orsodium has a special affinity . This applies, infa&, to the intestinal organs .

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CHAPTER VIII

ACTIVITIES WITHIN THE HUMAN ORGANISM

Diabetes Mellitus

THROUGH all its members, the a&ivitieswhich the human body unfolds must have

their source and impulse in the organism itselfand there alone . Whatsoever is received fromoutside, must either merely provide the occasionfor the organism to- unfold its own a&ivities, orthe foreign a&ivity it introduces must be nolonger distinguishable from the internal a&ion ofthe body once it has entered into the latter .

The essential nourishment of man contains, forinstance, carbohydrates. Among these are thesubstances of the chara&er of starch, which un-fold their a&ivity in the plant organism. Theycome into the human body in the condition theyhave been able to reach in the plant . Now in thiscondition starch is a foreign body . The humanorganism evolves no a&ivity in the dire&ion of anya&ivities that starch, in the state in which it firstenters the body, is able to develop . The starch-

5 8

like substance produced, for example, in the humanliver (namely, glycogen) is something altogetherdifferent from vegetable starch . In grape-sugar,on the other hand, we have a substance kindlinga&ivities of the same kind as those that belong tothe human organism itself. Starch, therefore,cannot remain as starch in the human body. Tounfold an influence that plays any real part in thebody, it must fiat be transformed . It is in effe&transformed into sugar by permeation withptyalin in the oral cavity .

Albumens and fats are not transformed byptyalin . To begin with they come into thestomach as foreign substances . The albumens arehere transformed by the secreted pepsin, givingrise to produ&s of disintegration down to thepeptones . The peptones are substances whoseimpulses of a&ion coincide already with those ofthe body itself. Fat, on the other hand, remainsunchanged in the stomach also . It is only changedwhen it reaches the region of the pancreas, where itgives rise to substances that appear on examinationof the dead organism as glycerine and fatty acids .

Now the transformation of starch into sugarcontinues through the whole process of digestion .Transformation of starch also takes place in thegastric juice if it has not already been accomplishedby the ptyalin .

5 9

Where the transformation of it-arch is achievedby ptyalin, the process stands. at the boundary ofthat which takes place, in man, in the domainreferred to in the second chapter as the organiza-tion of the Ego . It is in this domain that the fiattransformation of materials, received into thehuman body from the outer world, takes place .Grape-sugar is a substance that can work in thesphere of the Ego-organization . Correspondingto it is the taste of sweetness, which also has itsbeing' in the Ego-organization .

If sugar is produced from §tarch in the gastricjuice, it shows that the Ego-organization pene-trates into the region of the digestive system .For conscious experience, the sensation of sweettaste is absent in this case . Nevertheless, the samething that goes on in consciousness-in thedomain of the Ego-organization-while the sensa-tion " sweet " is experienced, has now penetratedinto the unconscious regions of the human body,where the Ego-organization thus becomes a&ive .

Now, in the regions of which we are uncon-scious, the astral body-in the sense that wasexplained in Chapter II-comes into play . Theastral body is aaive when starch is transformedinto sugar in the stomach .

Man can only be conscious through thoseworkings in his Ego-organization where the latter

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is in no way disturbed or overpowered by otherinfluences, but able to unfold itself to the fur .This it the case in the domain where the ptyalininfluences are primarily situated. In the realm ofthe pepsin influences, the astral body overwhelmsthe Ego-organization. The Ego-a&ivity becomessubmerged in the astral . Thus, in the sphere ofmaterial substance, we can trace the Ego-organza-tion' by the presence of sugar . Where sugar is,there is the Ego-organization ; where sugar comesinto being, there the Ego-organization emerges,humanizing the sub-human (vegetative and animal)bodily a&ivities .

Now sugar occurs as a produ& of excretionin Diabetes mellitu8. Here the Ego-organizationappears in the human body in such a form as towork destru&ively. If we observe it in any otherregion of its a&ivity, we find that the Ego-organization dives down into the astral. Sugar,consumed as such, is in the Ego-orga nization,where it alts as a stimulus giving rise to the taste ofsweetness . Starch, consumed and transformedinto sugar by ptyalin or in the gastric juice, revealsthe a&ionin the oral cavity or in the stomach,as the case may be-of the astral body, which isworking with the Ego-organization and sub-merging the latter .

Now sugar is present in the blood as well . The6

blood, as it circulates with its sugar-content,carries the Ego-organization through and throughthe body . But in this case the Ego-organization iseverywhere held in equilibrium by the workingof the human organization as a whole. We sawin Chapter II how the human being contains,besides the Ego-organization and astral body, theetheric body and the physical . These too receivethe Ego-organization into themselves and containit. So long as this is the case, sugar is not secretedin the urine . The condition of the Ego-organiza-tion, as it carries the sugar through the body, isrevealed in those bodily processes which areessentially bound up with sugar .

In a healthy man sugar can only appear in theurine if consumed too copiously as sugar; or again,if alcohol is consumed in excess. Alcohol entersdirely into the processes of the body withoutintermediate produ&s of transformation . In boththese cases the sugar-process appears independentlyas such, alongside of the other a&ivities in thehuman being .

In Diabetes mellitus the case is as follows : TheEgo-organization, as it dives down into the astraland etheric realm, is so weakened that it can nolonger effe&ively accomplish its a&ion upon thesugar-substance. The sugar then undergoes in theastral and etheric realms the processes which

6z

should properly ,be subje& to the organization ofthe Ego .

Diabetes is aggravated by everything that drawsthe Ego-organization away and impairs its effectivepenetration into the bodily activities . This wouldapply for instance to excitements occurring notsingly but repeatedly, to intellectual over-exertions ;or to hereditary predispositions hindering thenormal co-ordination of the Ego-organization withthe body as a whole.

At the same time and in connection with thesethings, activities take place in the head-systemwhich ought properly to be parallel processesaccompanying the operations of the soul andSpirit . They fall out of their true parallelismbecause the latter activities are taking place eithertoo slowly or too quickly . It is as though thenervous system were thinking independentlyalongside of the thinking human being . Now thisis an activity which the nervous system shouldonly carry out during sleep . In the diabeticsubject a kind of sleep is going on in the depths ofthe body alongside of the waking state . Hence inthe further course of the disease a morbid degenera-tion of nervous substance takes place. It is aconsequence of the deficient penetration of theorganizing activity of the Ego .

The formation of boils is another collateral63

symptom in Diabetes . Boils arise through anexcessive a&ivity in the domain of the etheric.The Ego-organization fails where it should properlybe working . The astral a&ivity too cannot unfolditself, for at such a point especially, it is powerlessunless working in harmony with the Ego-organiza-tion. The result is an excess of etheric a&ivityrevealing itself in the formation of boils .

From all this we see that a real healing processfor Diabetes melditua can only be initiated if one isin a position to strengthen the Ego-org anizationof the patient.

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CHAPTER IX

ALBUMEN IN THE HUMAN BODY

Albumanuria

OF all kinds of substance in the living body,albumen lends itself to the molt manifold

transformations by the formative forces of theorganism . The outcome of the albuminoussubstance thus transformed is apparent in theforms of the organs and of the living organism asa whole . To be made use of in such a way,albumen must have the inherent faculty to resignall form that might proceed from the nature ofits material constituents the moment it is summonedto subje& itself within the organism to a formwhich the latter demands .

We thus perceive that in albumen the forcesproceeding from the natures and mutual relation-ships of Hydrogen, Oxygen, Nitrogen, andCarbon fall asunder and disintegrate . The inor-ganic bindings of substance cease to take effe&,and in the disintegrating albumen, organic form-ative forces begin to work .

F

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Now these formative forces are bound up withthe etheric body. Albumen is ever on the alert,either to be received into the a&ion of the ethericbody or to fall out of it . Removed from the livingorganism to which it once belonged, it assumes thetendency to become a compound, subje& to theinorganic forces of hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen,and carbon. Albumen that remains a constituentof the living body rids itself of this tendency andbecomes subje& to the formative forces of theetheric .

Man consumes albumen as a constituent of thefood he takes. The pepsin of the stomach trans-forms the albumen, which is thus received fromoutside, as far as to the peptones . These, to beginwith, are soluble albuminous substances . Thetransformation is then continued by the pancreaticjuice .

The albumen absorbed as a constituent of foodis, to begin with, a foreign body in the humanorganism. It still contains residual a&ivities fromthe etheric processes of the living being whence itwas derived. All this must be entirely removedfrom it, for it now has to be received into theetheric a&ivity of the human organism .

Hence, in the course of the human process ofdigestion, we have to do with two kinds ofalbuminous substance. At the beginning of the

66

digestive process the albumen is foreign to thehuman organism; at the end it is its property.Between these two conditions there is an inter-mediate one, where the albumen received as foodhas not yet entirely discarded its previous ethericaftions nor yet entirely assumed the new . At thisstage it is wellnigh completely inorganic . It is thensubjeft to the influences of the human physicalbody alone. The physical body of man-in itsform a produft of the Ego-organization-containsinorganic forces and aftivities . It thus has akilling effe& on anything that is alive . Everythingthat enters the realm of the Ego-organization beginsto die. Hence in the physical body the Ego-organization incorporates purely inorganic sub-stances. The a&ion of these, though in the physicalorganism of man they work not in the same wayas in the external lifeless world of Nature, is never-theless inorganic : it kills what is alive . Thiskilling aftion upon the living albumen takes placein that part of the digestive tra& where trypsin-a constituent of the pancreatic juice-unfolds itsaftivity .

That inorganic forces are concerned in thea&ion of trypsin, may be gathered also from thefa& that it unfolds its aftivity in the presence andwith the help of alkali.

Until it meets the trypsin in the pancreatic fluid,167

e

the albuminous nourishment continues to live ina manner foreign to the human organism, namely,according, to the organism from which it is derived .Meeting the trypsin, it becomes lifeless . But it isonly for a moment, as it were, that the albumen islifeless in the human organism . Then it is receivedinto the physical body in accordance with theorganization of the Ego . The latter must have theforce to carry over what the albumen has nowbecome into the domain of the human ethericbody. In this way the albumen conftituents offood become formative material for the humanorganism. The foreign etheric influences, per-taining to them originally, leave the human being .

For the healthy digestion of albuminous food,man must possess a sufficiently strong Ego-organization to enable all the albumen, which thehuman organism needs, to pass into the domainof the human etheric body. If this is not the case,the result is an excessive a&ivity of the ethericbody. The quantity of albumen prepared by theEgo-organization, which the etheric body receives,is insufficient for its a&ivity . The a&ivity, intendedto call to life the albumen which should be receivedfrom the Ego-organization, will then take hold ofalbumen that still contains the foreign ethericinfluences. The human being receives in his ownetheric body a multitude of influences that do not

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properly belong to it. These must now beexcreted in an abnormal manner. A morbidprocess of excretion is the result .

This morbid excretion appears in albuminuria.The albumen which should be received into thedomain of the etheric body is excreted. It isalbumen, which, owing to the weakness of theEgo-organization, has not been able to assume theintermediate stage of the wellnigh lifeless .

Now the forces in man which bring aboutexcretion are bound up with the domain of theastral body. In albuminuria, the astral body beingforced to carry out an a&ivity for which it is notproperly adapted, its a&ivity becomes atrophied inthe regions of the body where it ought properly tounfold, namely, in the renal epithelia . Thedegeneration of the epithelia in the kidneys is asymptom, showing that the a&ivity of the a tealbody which is intended for these organs has beendiverted .

It is clear from all this where the healing processfor albuminuria must enter in. The power of theEgo-organization in the pancreas, being too weak,needs to be strengthened .

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CHAPTER X

FAT IN THE HUMAN ORGANISM

Deceptive Local Complexes of Symptoms®F all substances in the organism, it is Fat that

shows itself least of all as a foreign bodywhen taken in from the outer world . More readilythan any other substance, it passes over from thequality it brings with it when taken as a food tothe mode of a&ion of the human organism itself.The 8o per cent. of fat contained, for instance, inbutter, passes unchanged through the domains ofptyalin and pepsin and is only transformed by thepancreatic juice-into glycerine and fatty acids .This behaviour of fat is dependent on its propertyof carrying with it as little as possible of the natureof a-foreign organism (namely of its etheric forcesand the like) into the human organism . The lattercan easily incorporate it into its own a&ivity .

This again is due to the fa& that fat plays itspeculiar part above all in the produ&ion of theinner warmth . Now the inner warmth is theelement of the physical organism in which the

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Ego-organization paramountly lives . Whateversubgtance is present in the human body, for theEgo-organization only so much of it comes intoplay as represents the evolution of warmth whichits a&ivity involves . The whole behaviour of fatshows it to be a substance which merely fills thebody, is merely carried by the body, and is im-portant for the a&ive organization through thoseprocesses alone in which it engenders warmth .Fat that is, received, for instance, as nourishmentfrom an nimal organism, takes nothing overfrom the animal organism into the human, exceptits inherent faculty to evolve heat or warmth .

Now this evolution of warmth is one of thelatest processes of the metabolism. The fat receivedas food is therefore preserved as such throughoutthe first and middle processes of metabolism ; itsabsorption only takes place in the region of theinmost a&ivities of the body, beginning with thepancreatic fluid .

The occurrence of fat in human milk points toan exceedingly significant a&ivity of the organism .The body does not consume this fat, but allows itto' pass over into a produ& of secretion . Now,into this secreted fat the Ego-organization alsopasses over. It is on this that the form-giving,constru&ive power of the mother's milk depends .The mother thereby transmits her own formative

7I

forces of the Ego-org anization to the child, andthus adds something more to the configuratingforces which she has already transmitted byheredity .

It is a healthy mode of a&ion when the humanform-giving forces consume in the development ofwarmth the supply of fat that is present in theorganism . On the other hand it is unhealthy if thefat is not used up by the Ego-organization with itsprocesses of warmth, but carried over, unused,into the organism. Such fat will then give rise atone point or another in the body to an excessivepower of producing warmth. The warmth thusengendered will take hold of the organism at onepoint or another, interfering with the remainingprocesses of life . It is not embraced by the Ego-organization. There arise, as it were, parasiticcentres of warmth, tending to inflammatory -con-ditions. The origin of these lies in the fa& thatthe body develops a tendency to accumulate morefat than the Ego-organization requires for its lifein inner warmth .

In the healthy organism, the animal (astral)forces will produce or receive as much fat as theEgo-organization is able to translate into warmth-processes and, ; in addition, as much as is requiredto keep the mechanism of muscle and bone inorder. The warmth that the body needs will then

72

be engendered . If the animal forces supply theEgo-organization with an insufficient quantity offat, it will be starved for warmth and thus obligedto withdraw the warmth it needs from the a&ivitiesof the organs . The latter then become inwardlystiff and brittle. Their essential processes takeplace too sluggishly. We then witness the appear-ance, at one point or another, of morbid processes,for an understanding of which it will be necessaryto recognize if and how they are due to a generaldeficiency of fat .

If, as in the case already mentioned, there is anexcess of fat, giving rise to parasitic centres ofwarmth, organs will be seized in such a way as tobecome a&ive beyond their normal measure.Tendencies will arise towards an excessive absorp-tion of food,, so as to overload the organism . Itneed not imply that the person becomes anexcessive eater . It may be, for instance, that themetabolic a&ivity of the organism supplies toomuch substance to a certain organ of the head,withdrawing it from organs of the lower body andfrom the secretory processes . The aflion of theorgans thus deprived will then be lowered invitality . The secretions of the glands, for instance,may become deficient . The liquid constituents ofthe body are brought into an unhealthy state withrespell to their relative proportions of admixture .

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For instance, the secretion of bile may become toogreat compared with that of pancreatic fluid .Once again, it will be important to recognize howa complex of symptoms arising locally is truly tobe estimated, inasmuch as it may proceed in oneway or another from an unhealthy a Evity of fat .

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CHAPTER XI

CONFIGURATION OF THE HUMAN BODY

Gout

ABSORPTION of albumen is a processrelated to the one side of the inner operations

in the human organism, namely to that whicharises on the basis of the absorption of substances .Every operation of this kind eventuates in growth,creation of form, or re-creation of substantialcontent. All that is related to the unconsciousfun&ions of the organism, belongs to this domain .

The processes of this kind are, however, con-fronted by others, which represent excretions .(These may be excretions in the proper sense-excretions passing outward ; but they may also beprocesses of " secretion " where the produ& isfurther elaborated internally, in the forming andsubstantiating of the body .) These are the pro-cesses which provide the material foundation ofconscious experience . Through processes of theformer kind the force of consciousness is lowered,whenever they exceed the measure which thislatter kind can hold in equilibrium .

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A moat remarkable excretory process is that ofuric acid. The astral body is a&ive in this excretion,which has to take place throughout the organism .In the urine it takes place to a high degree ; but ina very finely divided way it is also going on, forexample, in the brain. In the secretion of uricacid in the urine the astral body is paramountlya&ive, while the part played by the Ego-organiza-tion is only subsidiary. In the secretion of uricacid in the brain, on the other hand, the Ego-organization is the important fa&or and the astralbody falls into the background .

Now in the whole organism it is the astral bodythat mediates between the a&ivity of the Ego-organization, and the etheric and physical bodies .The Ego-organization must carry lifeless substancesand forces into the organs . Only through thisimpregnation of the organs with inorganic materialcan man become 'the conscious being that he is .Organic substances, organic forces, would lowerhuman consciousness to the dim level of theanimal .

The a&ion of the astral body inclines the organsto receive the inorganic impregnations of the Ego-system. Its fun&ion is in fa& to prepare the wayfor the organization of the Ego .

We see, therefore, that in the lower parts of thehuman organism the a&ivity of the astral body has

76

the upper hand. Here the uric acid substancesmust not be received into the organism; they mustbe excreted copiously, and under the influence ofthis excretion the impregnation with inorganicmaterial must be prevented . The more uric acidis excreted, the more copious is the a&ivity of theastral body, while that of the Ego-organizationimpregnating the body with inorganic materials iscorrespondingly decreased .

In the brain, on the other hand, the a&ivity ofthe astral body is far less . Very little uric acid issecreted, while all the more inorganic material isdeposited through the agency of the Ego-system .

The Ego-organization cannot master largequantities of uric acid, and they thus fall under thea&ion of the astral body . Small quantities, on theother hand, enter the organization of the Ego, andthere provide the foundation for the forming ofinorganic elements under the dire&ion of the latter .

In the healthy organism there must be a righteconomy in the distribution of uric acid throughthe several regions. Whatever belongs to thesystem of nerves and senses must be provided withas much uric acid as the Ego-organization canmake use of, and no more ; while, for the systemof metabolism and the limbs, the Ego-aL-1ivity mustbe suppressed and the astral enabled to unfold itsa&ion in the more copious secretion of uric acid .

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Now since it is the astral body that makes wayfor the Ego-aftivities in the organs, a true distribu-tion in the depositing of uric acid must be regardedas an essential fa&or in human health . For in this,the right relation between the Ego-organizationand the astral body in any organ or system oforgans will find expression .

Let us assume that in some organ, in which theEgo-organization should predominate over theastral a&ivity, the latter begins to gain the upperhand. This can only apply to an organ where theexcretion of uric acid beyond a certain measure isimpossible by virtue of its struftural arrangement .The organ becomes overloaded with uric acidwhich is uncontrolled by the Ego-organization .The astral body begins to bring about a secretionof uric acid nevertheless, and since the organs ofexit are lacking in such a region, the uric acid isdeposited not outwardly but in the organism .And if it finds its way to places in the body wherethe Ego-organization is unable to take a sufficientlya&ive part, we shall there have to do with inor-ganic material-i.e., with something which isproper to the Ego-organization only, but whichthe latter resigns to the a&ion of the astral .Morbid centres arise, where sub-human (animal)processes insert themselves into the humanorganism .

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This is the case in gout. If gout is reputedfrequently to develop as a result of inheritedtendencies, it is due to the simple fa& that whenthe forces of inheritance predominate, the astral-animal nature becomes especially a&ive and theEgo-organization is thereby repressed .

We shall, however, penetrate the matter moreclearly if we look for the true cause of gout inthis : Substances are introduced into the humanbody in the process of nourishment, which thea&ivity of the organism is not strong enoughto divest of their foreign nature . The Ego-organization, being weak, is unable to lead themover into the etheric body, and they thus remainin the region of astral a&ivities . If an articularcartilage or a portion of conne&ive tissue becomeovercharged with uric-acid and, as a result, over-burdened with inorganic materials and forces, itshows that in these parts of the body the Ego'sa&ivity is supplanted by the operation of theastral. And since the whole form of the humanorganism is an outcome of the organization of theEgo, this abnormality must necessarily give riseto a deformation of the organs . In effe&, thehuman, organism will then strive away from itstrue and proper form .

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CHAPTER XII

CONSTRUCTIVE AND EXCRETIVE PROCESSES IN THEHUMAN ORGANISM

LIKE other living organisms, the human bodyis formed out of the semi-fluid state . In the

process of its formation, a perpetual supply ofaeriform materials is however necessary . Themost important of these is the Oxygen transmittedby the breath.

We may consider in the first place a solid con-stituent of the body-the stru&ure of the bonysystem, for example . It is separated out from asemi-liquid material . In this process, the Ego-organization is a&ive, as anyone may observe bytracing the a&ual course of development of thebony system. For, in the embryonic period and inchildhood, the bony system develops in the samemeasure in which the human being receives hishuman form and figure, the chara&eristic expressionof the Ego-nature. The transformation of albumenwhich underlies this process first eliminates the(astral and etheric) foreign forces from the albumin-

8o

ous substance. The albumen then passes throughthe inorganic state, and in so doing, it has tobecome fluid. In this condition, the Ego-organiza-tion, working in the element of warmth, takes holdof it and brings it into the sphere of the ethericbody of the man himself. It thus becomes humanalbumen, but it still has a long way to go before thetransformation into bony substance is achieved.

After its transformation into human albumen, itmust first be prepared for the processes of receivingand transforming the calcium carbonate, calcium

phosphate, and the like. To this end it mustundergo an intermediate stage . It must be sub-je&ed to the influences that accompany the absorp-tion of aeriform substance, which carries thetransformation-produ&s of the carbohydrates intothe albumen. The substances which thus arisecan provide a basis for the formations of the severalorgans. They represent, not the finished sub-stances of the organs liver-substance 'or bone-substance for example-but a more general, lessdifferentiated substance from out of which theseveral organs of the body are then built up.The Ego-organization is a&ive in moulding thefinal shapes of the organs . In the organic substance,as yet undifferentiated, to which we here refer, theastral body is at work . In the animal, the astralbody also takes upon itself the task of moulding the

G

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final forms of the organs ; in man, the a&ivity ofthe astral body and, with it, the animal nature assuch, persists only as a general underlying founda-tion for the organization of the Ego . In man theanimal creation is not carried to a conclusion ; itis interrupted half-way and the Ego-organizationthen comes in to crown it, as it were, with thecreation of the human .

Now, the Ego-organization lives entirely instates of warmth . It derives the several organsfrom the undifferentiated astral nature . It worksupon the undifferentiated substance with which theastral nature provides it, by enhancing or loweringthe states of warmth of the nascent organs .

If the Ego-organization lowers the state ofwarmth, inorganic materials enter the substanceand a hardening process sets in . The basis is thusprovided for the creation of the bones . Salt-likesubstances are absorbed.

If, on the other hand, the Ego-organizationenhances the state of warmth, organs are produced,whose chara&eristic a&ion is to . dissolve theorganic substance, leading it over into a liquid oraeriform condition .

Assume now, the Ego-organization finds thatnot enough warmth is being developed in theorganism to enable the states of warmth to besufficiently enhanced for those organs for which

8a

such enhancement is necessary . Organs whoseproper funaioning lies in the direLhon of a dissolv-ing process will then fall into a hardening a&ivity .They assume in a morbid way the same tendencywhich, in the bones, is healthy .

Now the bone, once it has been formed, is anorgan which the Ego-organization releases fromits domain . It then enters a condition where it isno longer taken hold of by the Ego-organizationinwardly, but only in an outward way . Removedthenceforth from the domain of growing andorganizing processes, it serves the Ego in a merelymechanical capacity, to carry out the movementsof the body. Only a relic of the inner organizinga&ivity of the Ego continues to permeate it, andthis must go on throughout the human being's life,for the bony system must, after all, remain as anintegral organic part within the body ; it must notbe allowed to fall entirely out of the sphere of life .

The blood vessels are the organs which, for thereason above mentioned, may pass into a formativea&ivity similar to that of the bones . We thenhave the calcifying disease of the arteries known asSclerosis. In this disease the Ego-organization is,in a certain sense, driven out of these- systems oforgans .

The opposite is the case when the Ego-organiza-tion fails to find the adequate lowering of the state

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of warmth which is needed for the region of thebones. The bones then assume a' condition similar

,to those organs which normally unfold a dissolvingkind of a&ivity . Owing to the deficient hardeningprocess, they are no longer able to provide a basisfor the incorporation of salts . Thus the finalprocess in the development of the bone-formations,which properly belongs to the organizing domainof the Ego, fails to take place . The astral a&ivityis not arrested at the proper point. Tendencies ofdeformation are the necessary outcome ; for thehealthy creation of the human form and figure isonly possible within the realm of the Ego-organiza-tion. We here have the diseases of the chara&er ofRickets .

From all this it becomes evident how the humanorgans are conne&ed with their several a&ivities .The bone comes into being in the realm of theEgo-organization, and it still continues to servethe same when its formation is concluded-whenthe Ego-organization no longer forms and createsit, but uses it freely in executing the voluntarymovements. So it is, in like manner, with thatwhich arises in the astral realm of organization.In the astral domain, undifferentiated substancesand forces are created . These substances andforces occur throughout the body as an underlyingbasis for the differentiated organ-forming pro-

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cesses. The aftal a&ivity carries these pros es+up to a certain. Stage and then makes' use of them .The whole human organism is permeated by semiliquid material, in which an astrally direfteda&ivity holds sway .

The a9tral a&ivity finds expression in thesecretions which are made use of to form theorganism in the dire&ion of its higher members.Secretions with this dire&ive tendency are to beseen in the produ&s of the glands which play soimportant a part in the economy of the organismand its fun&ions. In addition to these inwardsecretions, we then have the processes ' that areexcretions in the proper sense, towards the outerworld. But we make a mistake if we regard theexcretions merely as those portions of the foodconsumed which the organism cannot make use ofand therefore discards. For the important thingis not the mere £aft that the organism throws certainsubstances out, but rather, that it goes through theof civities which result in the excretions . Theexercise of these aftivities is something that theorganism needs for its subsistence. This kind ofa&ivity is no less necessary than that by which thesub9tances are received into the organism, orsecreted and deposited internally. In the healthyrelationship of these two kinds of affivities, therelies the very essence of organic life and afuion .

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Thus, in the outward excretions we see the resultof an a&ivity astrally dire&ed. And if the excretacontain substances which have been carried to theinorganic nature, then the Ego-organization, too,is living in them. Indeed, this part of the Ego=organization's life is of peculiar importance . Forthe force that is applied to excretions of this kindcreates, as it were, an inward counter-pressure orrea&ion. And this latter is a necessary fa&or forthe healthy existence of the organism . Thus theuric acid, which is separated outward in the urine,creates as an inward rea&ion the proper tendencyof the body as a whole to sleep . Too little uricacid in the urine and too much in the blood willgive rise to a period of sleep insufficient for thehealthy life of the organism .

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CHAPTER XIII

ON THE NATURE OF ILLNESS AND HEALING

AIN, wheresoever in the organism it occurs,is a conscious experience in the astral body

and the Ego. Both of these-the astral body andthe Ego, each in its own way-are intimatelyconnected with the etheric and physical body solong as man is in the waking Mate. When sleeptakes place, the physical and etheric body performthe organic a&ions alone, the astral body and Egobeing separated from them .

In sleep the organism returns to the modes ofa&ion which belong to the starting point of itsdevelopment, namely, to the embryo period andearly childhood. In waking life the processespredominate which take place at its conclusion-in old age and death.

At the starting point of man's development thea&ivity of the etheric body predominates' over thatof the astral. Then, gradually in the course oflife, the a&ivity of the astral grows more intensewhile that of the etheric body declines . Nor does

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the etheric body regain, even in sleep, the intensityit had at the beginning of man's life . It preservesthe degree of intensity which, in relation to theastral, it has developed in the course of life .

In every age of life, to every organ of the humanbody a certain intensity of etheric a&ivity isproperly assigned and corresponds moreover to acertain intensity of the asstral . On the presence ofthese true relationships it depends, whether or nothe astral body can properly adapt itself and enterinto the etheric. If through a lowering of ethericvitality it is unable to do so, pain ensues . If onthe other hand the etheric body becomes a&ivebeyond its normal measure, the penetration ofastral and etheric workings grows unusuallyintense . This expresses itself in a sense of pleasure,comfort and delight . We must however bear inmind that pleasure enhanced beyond a certainpoint passes over into pain, likewise pain intopleasure. If this were not borne in mind what ishere said might seem in contradi&ion with someformer explanations .

An organ becomes ill when the etheric a&ivitywhich is properly its due cannot unfold . Take, forinftnce, that metabolic a&ion which is continued,from the digestive process, into the organism as awhole. If the produ&s of the metabolism areeverywhere transmitted without residue into the

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a&ivity and sub tantial formation of the body, iis a sign that the etheric body is working rightly.If on the other hand substances are deposited alongthe paths of metabolism without entering into thegeneral action of the organism, it shows that thea&ivity of the etheric is lowered . The physicalprocesses normally stimulated by the astral body --processes which only serve the organism whenconfined to their own sphere-exceed their properlimits and infringe on the sphere of the etheric .Processes arise whose existence is due to the pre-dominance of the astral body. They are processeswhich have their proper place where the ageing anddisintegrating of the body sets in .The point now is to bring about a proper

harmony between the etheric a&ivity and theasgtral. The etheric body must be ftrengthened,the astral weakened. This can be done by bringingthe physical substances, which the etheric body hasto assimilate, into a condition where they lendthemselves more readily to its influence than theydo in the disease . Likewise the Ego-organizationmust be supplied with added strength ; for theastral body, with the animal orientation of itsactivity, is held more in check when the Ego-system is strengthened in the dire&ion of its humanorganizing power .

The way to penetrate these matters with clear89

knowledge will be found when we observe thekind of effe&s which a particular substance unfoldson the paths of metabolism. Take sulphur forinstance. It is contained in albumen . It is indeedfundamental to the whole process which takesplace in the absorption of albuminous food .From the foreign etheric nature, it passes throughthe inorganic state into the etheric a&ion of thehuman organism itself . It is found in the fibroustissues of the organs, in the brain, in the nails andhair. Thus it finds its way along the paths ofmetabolism even to the periphery of the organism.In all these ways, sulphur proves to be a substancewhich plays an essential part in the reception ofalbumens into the domain of the human ethericbody .

Now the question arises, does sulphur also playa part in the transition from the domain of etherica&ion to that of astral, and has it anything to dowith the Ego-organization? It does not combineappreciably with inorganic substances introducedinto the body, so as to form salts or acids . Sucha combination would provide the basis for areception of the sulphur processes into the astralbody and Ego-organization . We see, therefore,that sulphur does not penetrate into these regions .It unfolds its a&ivity in the realm of the physicalbody and the etheric . This is also shown by the

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fa& that an increased supply of sulphur to 'theorganism gives rise to feelings of giddiness, lower-ings of consciousness . Sleep, too-i.e. the con-dition of the body when the aural and Ego-organization are psychologically inaaive-growsmore intense when the supply of sulphur isincreased .

From all this we can see that sulphur, introducedas a medicament, will make the physical a&ivitiesof the organism more inclined to submit to thea&ive influence of the etheric than they are in thecondition of disease .

With phosphorus the case is different. It ispresent in the human organism as phosphoric acidand phosphoric salts, in albumen, in the fibroustissues, in the brain, and in the bones . It tendstowards the inorganic substances which have theirsignificance in the domain of the Ego-organization .It stimulates the conscious a&ivity of man . Thusit also conditions sleep-though by an oppositeprocess, namely by previous stimulation of theconscious a&ivity; while sulphur favours sleep,as we have seen, by enhancing the unconsciousa&ivities of the physical and etheric . Phosphorousis present as calcium phosphate in the bones,i.e. in those organs which are subje& to the Ego-organization, not where it works from within inprocesses of growth, regulation of metabolism,

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and the like, but where it uses the outer mechanismof the system for the movements of the body .

As a remedy, therefore, phosphorus will beeffe&ive when the morbid condition is a hyper-trophy of the astral domain over the Ego-organiza-tion and the latter needs to be strengthened inorder to repress the astral .

Consider the case of rickets . It was explainedbefore, how rickets consists in a hypertrophy ofetheric-astral ativity and leads to a defe&ive aftionof the Ego-organization . If this disease is treatedfirst with sulphur in the proper way, the etherica&ivity is strengthened in relation to the astral ;and if after this has been done, a phosphorustreatment is made to follow, the healing effe&which has been prepared in the etheric organiza-tion is led over to that of the " Ego," and thedisease is met from two different sides . (We areaware that the efficacy of the phosphorus treat-ment of rickets is disputed ; but none of the cureshitherto attempted represent the method which ishere described .)

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CHAPTER XIV

THERAPEUTIC METHOD OF THOUGHT

SILICA (silicic acid) carries its influences alongthe paths of metabolism into those parts of the

human organism where the living becomes lifeless .It occurs in the blood, through which the forces ofconfiguration have to take their course . It occursalso in the hair, i.e ., where the forming and shapingprocess finds its outward culmination; and wefind it in the bones, where the process of formationculminates inwardly. It appears in the urine as aproduct of :excretion .

It constitutes the physical basis of the Ego-organization . For the latter has a forming andconfigurating a&ion. The Ego-organization needsthe silica-it needs it right into the frontier regionsof the organism where its form-giving a&ion .meetswith the outer and the inner (unconscious) world .At the periphery of the organism where the haircontains silica, the human organization meets withthe unconscious outer world . In the bones itmeets the unconscious inner world, in which theWill is working .

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In the healthy human organism the physicalfoundation of consciousness must unfold betweenthese two fields of a&ion of silica . The silica hasa twofold fun&ion . Within, it sets a limit to themere processes of growth, nourishment, etc .Outwardly, it shuts off the a&ivities of externalNature from the interior of the body, so that theorganism within its own domain is not obligedto continue the mere, workings of external Nature,but enabled to unfold its own a&ivities .

In its early stages of existence the, human organ-ism is most highly equipped with silicic acid inthose localities where tissues with strong formativeforces are situated . Thence the silica unfolds itsa&ivity towards the two limiting regions, creatingbetween them the space in which the organs ofconscious life can arise . In the healthy humanorganism, these are primarily the sense-organs .We must, however, bear in mind that the sensorylife permeates the whole organism . The mutualintera&ion of the organs depends upon the fa&that the one organ is continually perceiving theinfluences of the other . In organs which are notsense-organs in the proper meaning of the term-for instance in the liver, spleen, or kidneys-theperception is so slight as to remain in normalwaking life beneath the threshold of consciousness .Nevertheless, every organ-besides serving this or

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that funffion within the bodyis in addition asense-organ .

The whole human organism is in fa& permeatedwith perceptions which influence one anothermutually ; and it must be so if all the differentprocesses are to work in it together healthily .

Now all this is dependent on a right distributionof the a&ivities of silica . We can even go so faras to speak of a silica-organism, permeating theorganism as a whole . This " silica organism "conditions the mutual sensitiveness of the organson which the healthy life and a&ivity depend . Itdetermines their right inward and outward rela-tionships : inwardly their relation to the unfoldingof the life of soul and Spirit ; and outwardly, in thesense that it provides in each case for the properexclusion of the a&ivities of external Nature .

This special organism of silica will only beworking rightly, if silica is present in the body insuch quantities that the organization of the Ego isable to make full use of it. Any remaining amountsof silica, the astral organization which lies beneaththat of the Ego must have the power to excrete-either through the urine or in some other way .

Excessive quantities of silica, which are neitherexcreted nor taken hold of by the Ego-organiza-tion, will be deposited as foreign substances in thebody. Through the very form-creating tendency

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whereby-in the right quantity-they serve theEgo-organization, they will then disturb it.Excessive quantities of silica, introduced into theorganism, will thus impair the workings of thestomach and intestinal system, giving rise toconditions of indigestion . For it will be the taskof the digestive tra& to get rid of the excessiveform-creating tendency . Where the fluid elementshould predominate, desiccation will be broughtabout . This is most plainly evident when theexcessive introdu&ion of silica is followed bypsychological disturbances of equilibrium, behindwhich the corresponding organic effe&s are un-mistakable . One feels a sense of giddiness and isunable to repress the tendency to fall asleep ; onefeels unable to dire& the perceptions of sight andhearing in the proper way . Nay, one may evenhave a feeling as though the impressions of thesenses became congested and held up at the pointwhere they should be continued into the interiorof the nervous system . All this shows how silicapresses out towards the periphery of the body ;and how, if it arrives there in excessive quantities,it disturbs the normal configurating process byintroducing a foreign influence of configuration.Towards the inner boundary of the form-creatingprocess too, disturbances occur . One feels adifficulty in dire&ing the movements of the body,

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and experiences pain in the joints . All theseconditions may eventuate in processes of inflam-oration, arising wherever the foreign force ofconfiguration, introduced by the silica, ° makesitself felt too strongly .

Now this points at the same time to the healingforces which silica can unfold in the human organ-ism. Assume that an organ-not a sense-organ inthe proper meaning of the termbecomes over-sensitive in its unconscious power of perceptionwith respe& to the parts of the organism externalto it. We shall then observe a disturbance in thefun&ions of this organ . We shall be able to dealeffeMively with the morbid condition if we arein a position to eliminate the over-sensitiveness byadministering silica . It will, however, be necessaryso to influence the organic workings of the bodythat the added silica takes effe& in the neighbour-hood of the diseased organ, and does not workupon the whole body with a general influence ofthe kind above described .

By a combination of silica with other remediesthe desired result can be brought about . Thesilica introduced into the organism will then findits way to the organ where it is needed, whence-if properly administered-it will be carried outagain as a produ& of excretion without doingharm to other organs of the system .

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In another case the sensitiveness of an organ tothe a&ivities of the remaining organs may beunduly lowered . . We then have to do with anaccumulation of the silica-a&ivity in the neigh-bourhood of this organ. It will be necessary,therefore, to find a means of influencing the silica-a&ivity of the whole organism, so as to deprivethe localized a&ion of its excessive power. Oragain, the removal of the silica may be stimulatedby the use of laxatives . , The former method is tobe preferred, for an accumulation of silica in onelocality generally calls forth a correspondingdeficiency in another. The distribution of thelocalized silica-a&ivity over the whole organismmay be brought about, .for instance, ,by a sulphurcure. The reader will perceive why this is so, ifhe will refer again to another chapter where theinfluences of sulphur are chara&erized .

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CHAPTER XV

THE METHOD OF HEALING

OUR knowledge of remedial effe&s dependsupon our clear perception of the forces that

unfold in the world external to man. For in orderto bring about a healing process, we must bringinto the organism substances which will distributethemselves in it in such a way that the morbidprocess gradually passes over into a normal one .It is of the essence of a morbid process, thatsomething is going on within the organism whichrefuses to become an integral part of its a&ivities .A morbid process has this feature in common witha process of external Nature . We may say ineffe& : If there arises within the organism aprocess similar to one of external Nature, illnessensues. Such a process may take hold of thephysical organism or of the etheric . Either theastral body or the Ego will then have to fulfil a taskwhich they do not normally fulfil . In a period oflife when they should be unfolding in free a&ivityof soul, they have to return perforce to the func-

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tions of an earlier age-in some cases even as farback as the embryonic period . They have to assistin creating physical and etheric formations whichshould already have passed into the domain of thephysical and etheric organism . Nurtured in theearliest periods of human life by the astral bodyand Ego-organization, these formations are after-wards taken over by the physical and ethericorganism alone . Altogether, the development ofthe human organism depends upon this : Originally the entire form and configuration of the physi-cal and etheric body proceed from the affivity ofthe astral body and Ego-organization. Then, withincreasing age, the astral and Ego-a&ivities go onof their own accord within the physical andetheric organization . If on the other hand theyfail to do so, the astral body and Ego-org anisation.will have to interpose, at a later stage of theirdevelopment, in a way for which they are no longerproperly adapied.

Let us assume that we have to do with abdominalcongestion . The physical and etheric organisa-tions are failing to carry out, in the correspondingparts of the human body, the a&ivities which weretransmitted to them at a former age of life . Theastral and Ego-a&ivities have to interpose, andthey are thereby weakened for their other fun6tionsin the organism. They are no longer present where

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they ought to be: for instance, in the formation ofthe nerves that go into the muscles . Paralyticsymptoms arise as a result, in certain parts of theorganism.

It will then, be necessary to bring into the bodysubstances which can relieve the aural and Ego-organization of the aftivity that does not properlybelong to them. We find, that the processes whichwork in the produ&ion of powerful essential oils inthe plant organism, notably in the formation of theflower, are able to fulfil this purpose. The sameapplies to certain substances containing phos-phorus ; but we must see to it that the phosphorusis so mingled with other substances as to unfoldits aftion in the intestinal canal and not in the meta-bolism that lies outside this region .

If it is a case of inflammatory conditions in theskin, here too the astral body and Ego-organizationare unfolding an abnormal aftivity . They are thenwithdrawn from the influences which they oughtto bring to bear on organs situated more internally .In effeft, they reduce the sensitiveness of internalorgans . These again, owing to their lessenedsensitiveness, will cease to carry out their properfun pons. In this way abnormal conditions mayarise, for instance in the a&ion of the liver ; andthe digestion may be badly influenced. If now weintroduce silica into the body, the a&ivities which

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the aural and Ego-organization have been devotingto the skin are relieved. The normal inwarda&ivity of these organizations is set free again anda healing process is thus initiated.

Again, we may be confronted by morbid con-ditions manifesting themselves in an abnormalheartbeat. In such a case, an abnormal a&ion ofthe astral organism is influencing the circulationof the blood . The astral a&ivity is correspondinglyweakened for the processes in the brain . Epilepti-form conditions arise, since the weakened astralaftivity in the head organism involves an unduetension and exertion of the etheric a&ivitiesallotted to that region. We may then introduceinto the system the gum-like substance obtainablefrom levi fticum (lovage)-as a deco&ion, or prefer-ably in the somewhat modified form of a specialpreparation. The a&ivity of the astral body,wrongly absorbed by the circulation, is then setfree, and the astral a&ivity for the brain systemcorrespondingly strengthened .

In all these cases the real direftion of the morbida&ivities must be determined by a proper diag-nosis . Take the last mentioned case . It may bein fa& that the disturbance in the interplay of theetheric and astral bodies proceeds originally fromthe circulation. The brain symptoms are then aconsequence and we can proceed with a curealong the lines above described.

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But the opposite may also be the case. Theoriginal cause of irregularity may arise betweenthe astral and etheric aaivities in the brain system .Then the irregular circulation and abnormal heart-beat will be the consequence . In such a case weshall have to introduce sulphates, for example,into the metabolic process . These work on theetheric organization of the brain in such a way asto call forth in it a strong force of attraaion to theastral body . The effeft can be observed in theconsequent improvement in initiative of thought,in the sphere of volition, and in the patient's generalMate of composure and control. It will probablybe necessary to supplement this treatment by theuse, for instance, of a copper salt, so as to assistthe astral forces in regaining their renewed influ-ence upon the circulatory system .We shall observe that the organism as a whole,

returns to its regular a Evity when the excessivea&ion of the astral and Ego-organism in somepart of the body, conditioned by the physical andthe etheric, is replaced by an a&ivity externallyinduced. The organism has an inherent tendencyto balance and readjust its own deficiencies . Henceit will restore itself to a right condition if an exit-ing irregularity is regulated artificially, for aperiod of time, by opposing the process internallyinduced, which must be made to cease, with asimilar process brought about by external agencies .

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CHAPTER XVI

KNOWLEDGE OF MEDICAMENTS

fO judge of the efficacy of any substances forremedial purposes, we must be able to estimate

in the first place the potential forces and influences-within the human organism and without it-which they contain. In this conne&ion therea&ions which ordinary Chemistry investigatescome into consideration only to a small extent .The important thing is, to observe those effe&swhich result from the inner constitution of theforces in a substance in relation to the forces thatradiate outward from the Earth and in towards it.

From this point of view we may consider greyantimony ore for an example . Antimony shows astrong relationship to the sulphur compounds ofother metals . Sulphur possesses a number ofproperties which only remain constant within-comparatively speaking-narrow limits . It issensitive to processes of Nature such as heating,combustion, etc . This also makes it able to playan important part in the albuminous substances

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which, as we have seen, have the power to freethemselves entirely from earthly forces and enterthe domain of etheric aaivity . Antimony, withits peculiar affinity to sulphur, will readily partakein this intimate conne&ion with the etheric forces .Hence antimony is easy to introduce into thea&ivity of albumen in the human body, and itwill help the latter in its etheric anion when theorganism itself, through some morbid condition,is unable to transform an albuminous substanceintroduced from without, so as to make it anintegral part of its own aaivity .

But antimony shows other peculiarities as well.Wherever it can do so, it tends to assume a radiant(" Marry ") configuration. It distributes itself inlines which strive away from the Earth, towardsthe forces that are aaive in the Ether . Withantimony, we thus introduce into the humanorganism something that comes to meet the influ-ences of the etheric body half-way . That whichantimony undergoes in the Seiger process alsopoints to its etheric a&ivity . It assumes a delicatefibrous texture . Now the Seiger process is aprocess which begins, as it were, physically frombelow, and passes upward into the etheric .Antimony enters organically into this transition .

Antimony oxidizes at a red heat . In process ofcombustion it gives off a- white smoke, which,

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deposited on a cold surface, produces the" flowersof antimony."

Moreover, it has a certain force of opposition toele&rical influences . Under certain conditions,when deposited ele&rolytically on the cathode, itwill readily explode by conta& with a metallicpoint.

All this shows that antimony has a quick tendencyto pass into the etheric element the moment therequisite conditions are given even to a slightdegree. To the spiritual seer these many detailsare merely valuable as signs and indications of thetruth, for he beholds direly the relationshipbetween the Ego's a&ivity and the working ofantimony . He sees in effe& how the antimonyprocesses, when brought into the human organism,work in the same way as the Ego-organization .

The blood as it flows through the humanorganism shows a tendency to coagulate . Thistendency, above all, stands under the influence ofthe Ego-organization, by which it must be regu-lated properly. Blood is an intermediate organicprodu&. The blood-substance, as it originates,has undergone processes which are already on theway to the fully human organization, i.e ., to theorganization of the Ego . But to enter the innerconfiguration of this human organism it still hasfurther processes to undergo, the nature of which

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may be recognized from the following : Whenremoved from the body, the blood coagulates. Itthus shows that it has in it the tendency to coagu-late, and -that within the organism it must beperpetually prevented from doing so . Now thepower that hinders the coagulation of the blood isthe very power by which it is made an integralpart of the human organism . It enters the innerconfiguration of the body by virtue of the form-forces which lie just on the point to coagulation .If coagulation a&ually took place, life would beendangered .

Hence if we are dealing with a morbid conditionwhere the body is deficient in these forces dire&edto the coagulation of the blood, antimony in oneform or another will have a remedial effe&

The configurating process of the body is in allessentials a transformation of albuminous sub-stance, whereby the latter comes into conne&ion .with mineralizing forces . Such forces are containedfor instance in calcium. We have a graphicillustration of the fa&s in the formation of theoyster shell. The oyster must rid itself of theelements which are present in the shell, in order topreserve the albuminous substance in its owninherent nature . A similar thing happens in theshell-formation of the egg .

In the oyster the calcium nature is secreted and107

separated out, in order not to be incorporated inthe albumen a&ivities . In the human organismthe opposite is the case; the calcium element mustbe incorporated. The a&ion of the albumen alonemust be transmuted into a mode of a&ion whereinan essential part is played by the inner form-givingforces, which the Ego-organization is able toevoke in the element of calcium . This has to takeplace in the formation of the blood. Now antimonycountera&s the calcium-excreting force . Wherethe albumen tends to preserve its own form,antimony, by virtue of its relationship to theetheric element, leads it over into the formlesscondition where it is receptive to the influence ofcalcium and similar agencies .

Take the case of typhoid fever . The morbidcondition clearly consists in a deficient transmuta-tion of albuminous substance, into blood-substancewith its power of configuration . The form ofdiarrhoea, occurring in this disease, shows thatthe incapacity for this transformation beginsalready in the intestinal canal . The severe symp-toms of diminution or loss of consciousness showthat the Ego-organization is driven out of the bodyand prevented from working properly . This isdue to the fa& that the albuminous substancecannot approach those mineralizing processeswhere the Ego-organization has power to work .

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A further evidence lies in the fa& that the evacua- .tions carry the danger of infe&ion . Here thetendency to destroy the inner forces of configura-tion shows itself highly enhanced .

Antimony preparations properly composed, andapplied to these typhoid symptoms, prove anefficacious remedy . They divest the albuminous .subftance of the inherent forces to which it clings,and incline it to receive and incorporate the form-giving forces of the Ego-organization .

From the points of view that are so widespreadand habitual to-day it will be said : Such concep-tions as these about antimony are inexa& . Andthey will emphasize in contrast the exa& scientificnature of the methods of ordinary Chemistry. Butin reality the chemical rea&ions of substances areno more significant for their a&ion in the humanorganism than is the chemical composition of apaint for its manipulation by the artist . Un-doubtedly the artist will do well to have someknowledge of the chemical starting-point fromwhich he works. But the way in which he treatshis materials as he paints the pi&ure, is derivedfrom quite another domain of principle andmethod. So it is with the therapeutic worker.Chemistry he can regard as an initial basis whichhas some real importance for him . But the modeof a&ion of the substances within the human

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organism has nothing to do with this chemicaldomain. So long as we only see exa&itude ofmethod in the conclusions of ordinary Chemistry(including even its pharmaceutical branch), .weannul the possibility of gaining true conceptionsof what is taking place within the human body inthe processes of healing .

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CHAPTER XVII

KNOWLEDGE OF MEDICAMENTS-conttnueed

Fundamental Knowledge of Subilances1-10 etimate the a&ion of medicaments we musthave an eye for the influences of forces which

arise within the human organism, when a substancewhich shows certain chara&erigtic a&ivities whileit is outside, is introduced into the body .

A classical instance is to be found in FormicAcid . Formic Acid occurs as a caustic inflam-matory substance in the body of the ant . Here itappears as a secretion, which the organism of theanimal must produce if it is to fulfil its propera&ivities . The life inherently consists in thesecretory a&ivity. Once it has been produced,the secretion no longer has a task within theorganism; it must be excreted . The essence of aliving organism lies not in its substances, but in itsa&ion . ; The organization is not a system ofsubstances, it is an a&ivity . A substance carries init the stimulus and incitement to a&ivity ; once ithas loft its stimulating power, it is no longer ofimportance to the organism .

III

In the human organism, too, formic acid isproduced. Here, however, it has its importance .It serves the Ego-organization . The astral bodyseparates out, from the organic substance, portionswhich tend to become lifeless . The Ego-organiza-tion needs this transition of organic substance tothe lifeless state . But it is the process of transitionwhich it needs, not the substance which is producedas a result. Once the substance which is on theway to the lifeless state has been produced, itbecomes a burden to the organism . It must eitherthen be separated out direly, or it must bedissolved in order to be eliminated indire&ly .

Now if the solution of something which oughtthus to be dissolved fails to take place, it willaccumulate within the organism and may thenconstitute a foundation for conditions of gout orrheumatism . Here it is that the formic acid as itarises within the human organization plays itsdissolving part. If the necessary amount of formicacid is produced, the organism will properlyremove those produ&s which are tending to thelifeless state. If the force to create formic acid isunduly weakened, rheumatic and gout-like con-ditions are the outcome . By introducing formicacid into the organism from outside, we can thencome to its support, giving it what it is unable tocreate for itself .

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We learn to recognize such modes of aftion bycomparing one substance with another,with respefto the way in which they go on working in thehuman organism. Take Oxalic Acid for example.Under certain conditions it passes over into formicacid. 'The latter represents, in its influences andworkings, a metamorphosis of , oxalic acid.Oxalic acid is a secretion of the plant, as formicacid is of the animal nature. The creation ofoxalic acid in the plant-organism is an a&ivityanalogous to that of formic acid in the animal.Which means, in other words, that the creationof oxalic acid corresponds to the domain of theEtheric and the creation of formic acid to thedomain of the Aural. The diseases which revealthemselves in rheumatic and gout-like symptomsare to be ascribed to a deficient aftion of the astralbody. Now the faftors which in the case of goutand rheumatism proceed from the aural organismmay also lie farther back, namely, in the eheric.Other morbid conditions will then present them-selves. There will :arise, not .merely conge§donsof forces in the astral dire ion, to hinder andobtru& the Ego-organization, but hindrances inthe etheric sphere which the astral organizationitself is powerless to overcome . Such conditionsreveal themselves in a sluggish aftion of the lowerbody, in the arrested fun&ioning of liver and

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spleen, in the secretion of gall-stones and the like .If oxalic acid is administered in such cases, thea&ivity of the etheric organism is correspondinglysupported . Through oxalic acid the etheric bodyis strengthened ; for the force of the Ego-organiza-tion is transformed by this acid into a force of theastral body, which a&s in turn more vigorously onthe etheric.

Taking our start from observations such asthese, we can learn to recognize the wholesomeand healing effe&s of various substances upon thebody. In the plant, the physical a&ivity is per-meated by the etheric . In studying the plant, welearn to recognize how much can be attained bymeans of etheric a&ivity . In the animal-astralorganism, this a&ivity is carried over to the astral .If, as etheric a&ivity, it is too weak, it can then bestrengthened by addition of the etheric a&ivityproceeding from some plant produ& introducedinto the body. The human organism is foundedupon the underlying animal nature . Hence,within certain limits, where the interplay betweenthe etheric bodyand the astral is concerned the sameapplies to the human organism as to the animal .

By the use of medicaments from the plantkingdom, we shall thus be able to remedy adisturbed relationship between the etheric andastral a&ivities . But such medicaments will not

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suffice when the physical, etheric, or astral organ-izations of man are disturbed in their mutualrelation to the organization of the Ego . For theEgo-organization must apply its a&ivity to pro-cesses which are tending to become mineral.

Accordingly, in the corresponding conditions ofillness, mineral medicaments alone will be effica-cious. To learn to know the remedial effe&s of amineral substance, we must discover in what way andto what extent the substance can be disintegrated .For in the organism, the mineral introduced fromoutside must first be disintegrated, and then builtup again in a new form by the organic forcesproper to the body. In the disintegrative andreconstruaive process any healing influence of themineral must needs consist, and the outcome of itmust lie in this direaion : that a deficient a&ion ofthe organism itself is taken over by the a&ivityinherent in the medicament .

Take the case of an excessive menstruation.Here the power of the Ego-organization isenfeebled . It is expended one-sidedly in thepreparation of blood . Too little is left of it forthe power to absorb the blood within the organism .The path, which the forces in the organism thatincline towards the lifeless realm should take, isunduly shortened. For they are working toovehemently and exhaust themselves half-way .

"5

We can come to their assistance by administeringcalcium in some suitable combination. Calciumco-operates in the produ&ion and formation of theblood. The Ego is thus relieved of this sphere ofits a&.ivity and enabled to devote its forces to theabsorption of the blood .

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CHAPTER XVIII

CURATIVE EURHYTHMY

WTHIN the domain of our therapeuticmethod, a special position is occupied by

what we describe as Curative Eurhythmy. It isbased on the Eurhythmy which was evolved-tobegin with as a new form of Artby RudolfSteiner out of Anthroposophy.

The essential nature of the Art of Eurhythmyhas often been described by Dr . Steiner, and indeedin its artistic form it has enjoyed wide recognition .

Eurhythmy is represented on the stage by thehuman being in movement ; but it is not a formof dancing. This is evident already from the fa&,that in Eurhythmy the movements of the arms andhands are above all important . Group move-ments enhance the whole effea, and the resultingpi&ure on the stage gives a dire& artisticimpression.

All our movements are based on the innernature of the human organization. From thesame organization, in the earliest years of life,

[17

human speech proceeds . Now as in speech thespoken sound breaks forth from the inner con§ti-tution of man ; so, with a real knowledge of thishuman constitution, we can derive from the singlehuman being-or from the human beings in agroup-movements which represent a true visiblespeech or visible song. These movements are aslittle arbitrary as speech itself . As in a spokenword an 0 cannot be pronounced where an Ibelongs, so in Eurhythmy only one kind of move-ment-gefture can appear for an I or for a C-sharp .Eurhythmy is thus a real and true manifestationof human nature, which can be evolved out of it,not indeed unconsciously like speech or song, butconsciously by means of a true Knowledge ofMan.

In the presentation of Eurhythmy we havehuman beings or groups of human beings inmovement on the stage . The poem which is thustranslated into visible speech is spoken simultane-ously by a reciter . The audience hear the contentof the poem and see it at the same time with theireyes. Or again, a piece of music is presented andappears at the same time as visible song in themovement-gestures of the performers .Eurhythmy as a plastic Art of Movement

constitutes a true extension of the sphere of theFine Arts .

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What has thus been discovered in the pure realmof Art can now be elaborated in two differentdire&ions. On the one hand it can be applied toEducation. In the Waldorf School at Stuttgart,which was founded by Emil Molt and placed underthe dire&ion of Rudolf Steiner, educationalEurhythmy is done throughout the school' inaddition to the physical exercises or Gymnaftics .The fa& is, that in ordinary Gymnaftics only thedynamics and ftatics of the physical body aredeveloped. In Eurhythmy the full human being-body, soul, and spiritgoes out into move-ment. The growing child feels that this is so, andexperiences the Eurhythmy exercises as a perfe&lynatural expression of his human nature-no lessso than when in the earlier years of life he learnedto speak.

The other application of Eurhythmy is thera-peutic. The movement-gestures of the pure Art,and of educational Eurhythmy, modified so as toarise out of the morbid nature of man in the sameway as they originally proceed from the healthy,give rise to a curative form of Eurhythmy .

The movements thus carried out rea& on thediseased organs. We observe how the movementoutwardly executed is continued inwardly with ahealth-giving influence into the organs, providedalways that the gesture of movement is accurately

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adapted to the organic disease . This method ofinfluencing the human being through movement,affe&ing him as it does in body, soul, and Spirit,works more intensely into the inner nature of thepatient than any other system of therapeuticmovement.

For this very reason, Curative Eurhythmy cannever become an affair for amateurs. On noaccount must it be regarded or applied as such .

The Curative Eurhythmist, who must be welltrained in a knowledge of the human organization,may only work in conne&ion with the qualifiedDo&or. All amateurish performances in thisdire&ion can but lead to ill results . It is only onthe basis of a true and thorough diagnosis that theCurative Eurhythmy exercises can properly bedone.

The results of Curative Eurhythmy, as applied.in pra&ice, are indeed such as to warrant itsdescription as an exceedingly beneficial elementwithin the therapeutic method explained in thisbook.

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CHAPTER XIX

CHARACTERISTIC CASES

~N this chapter we shall describe a number ofcases from the pra&ice of the Clinical and

Therapeutic Institute at Arlesheim . They willshow how with the help of a knowledge of spiritualman, we may try to gain an exhaustive and pene-trating pi&ure of the diseased condition, so muchso that the very diagnosis teaches us the remedyto be applied. Fundamental to this is a perceptionwhich recognizes the process of illness and ofhealing as a single cycle . The illness begins withan irregularity in the constitution of the humanorganism, with respe& to its several parts whichhave been described in this book . It has alreadyreached a certain stage when the patient is receivedfor treatment . Our obje& must now be to bringabout a reversal of all the processes which havetaken place in the organism since the beginning ofthe illness, so that they return to their starting-point, and we arrive at length at the condition ofhealth in which the organism was to begin with ..A cyclic process of this kind, returning in itself,

III

cannot be accomplished without the organism asa whole suffering some loss in forces of growth-forces equivalent to those which the humanorganism needs during childhood in order toenlarge its volume . The medicaments musttherefore be so composed as not only to bring thediseased process back to its starting-point, but tosupplement once more the decreasing vitality.To some extent this latter influence must be leftto dietary treatment ; but as a general rule, in themore serious cases of illness, the body is not in acondition to evolve sufficient vitality in theassimilation of its food. Thus the therapeutictreatment proper will also have to be so constitutedas to give the organism the necessary support inthis respe& . In the typical remedies supplied byour Clinical and Therapeutic Institutes, thisprovision has been made throughout. Hence itwill only be realized on a closer inspe&ion why agiven preparation contains such and such constitu-ents. In estimating the course of the disease, notonly the localized morbid process, but the changessuffered by the organism as a whole must beconsidered, and included in the returning processof the cure. How this is to be conceived in detailwill be shown by the individual cases which weshall now describe . We shall then continue themore general considerations .

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Firft CaseA woman patient, twenty-six years old. The

whole personality reveals an extraordinarily un-stable condition . It is clear from the patient'sappearance that that part of the organism whichwe have here called the astral body is in an ex-cessive state of a&ivity . One observes that theEgo-organization cannot master the astral bodysave in a very deficient way. As soon as the patientbegins to do some work, the aural body is imme-diately in a Mate of agitation. The Ego-organiza-tion tries to make itself felt, but is constantlypushed back again, with the result that whenevershe tries to work, a rise of temperature occurs .The regular a&ivity of digestion in the humanbeing is in the highest degree dependent on anormal Ego-organization . The powerlessness ofthis patient's Ego-organization accordingly findsexpression in an obstinate state of constipation.The migraine-like conditions and vomiting fromwhich she suffers are another consequence of this.disturbance in the digestive a&ivity . In sleep herweak Ego-organization appears to give rise to adeficient organic a&ivity from below upwards,and the out-breathing process is impaired. Thusthere-is-an excessive accumulation of carbonic acidin the system during sleep . Organically this findsexpression in palpitation on awakening, psychically

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in a sense of terror : the patient will suddenly cryout. Examination of her bodily condition revealsnothing else than a lack of those forces whichbring about a regular conne&ion of the aural,etheric, and physical bodies . Owing to theexcessive a&ivity of the aural body in itself, toolittle of its powers can flow over into the physicaland - the etheric . The latter, therefore, haveremained too delicate and tender in their develop-ment during the period of growth . This findsexpression in the patient's slight and feeble build,and also in the fa& that she complains of frequentpains in the back. Such pains arise, because in thea&ivity of the spinal cord the Ego-organizationabove all mu§t make itself Strongly felt . Thepatient tells of frequent and continual dreams .The reason is that the aural body, separated insleep from the physical and the etheric, gives ventto its own excessive a&ivity.

We therefore take our start from the fa& that theEgo-organization needs to be strengthened, andthe over-a&ivity of the astral body simultaneouslylowered. The former obje& is attained by sele&inga remedy that can assist the weakened Ego-organization in the digestive tra& . Such a remedyis to be found in copper. Applied in the form of acopper ointment to the region of the loins, it hasa Strengthening effe& on the evolution of inner

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warmth, which, proceeding from the Ego-organ-ization, is deficient . The good effe& of this isobserved in a redu&ion of the abnormal a&ivityof the heart and a cessation of the feeling of terror.The excessive a&ivity of the aftral body in itself iscombated by exceedingly minute doses of lead takeninternally . Lead draws the astral body togetherand awakens in it the forces to unite more intenselywith the physical body and the etheric . (Leadpoisoning, in fa&, represents an over-intense unionof the astral with the etheric and physical bodies,so that the latter are made subje& to excessiveprocesses of disintegration .)

The patient recovered visibly under this treat-ment. Her unstable condition gave way to acertain inner firmness and assurance. Her life offeeling, recovering from its disrupted state, grewinwardly calm and contented. The constipationand the pains in the back disappeared, likewise themigraine conditions and the headaches . Thepatient's power of work was restored .

Second CaseA man of forty-eight years. He had been a

robust child with a healthy and vigorous inner life .During the war, as he informed us, he had under-gone a five months' treatment for nephritis andbeen discharged as cured . Married at the age of

ax3

thirty-five, he had five healthy children ; a sixthchild died at birth. At the age of thirty-three, as aconsequence of mental overwork, he began tosuffer from depression, weariness, and apathy.These conditions grew more and more intense .At the same time he began to feel mentally andspiritually at a loss . He is confronted by endlessquestions and misgivings, in which his profession(that of a schoolmaster) appears to him in a negativelight, nor can he bring forth anything positivewith which to meet his troubles . This morbidcondition reveals an astral body having too littleaffinity with the etheric and physical, and in itsown nature immobile. The physical and ethericbodies are thus enabled to assert their owninherent qualities . The feeling of the etheric notbeing rightly united with the astral body givesrise to states of depression, while the deficientunion with the physical produces fatigue andapathy. That the patient is mentally and spiritu-ally at a loss, is due to the fad that the astral bodycannot make proper use of the physical and theetheric . Consistently with all this, his sleep isgood ; for the astral body has little conne&ionwith the etheric and physical . For the same reasonhe has great difficulty in waking up ; the astralbody is loath to enter into the physical . It is onlyin the evening, when the physical and etheric

iz6

bodies are tired, that their normal union with theastral begins to take place . Thus the patient doesnot become properly awake until the evening .

This whole condition indicates that it is necessaryfiat of all to strengthen the astral body in itsa&ivity-a thing that can always be attained bygiving arsenic internally in the form of a mineralwater. After a time under such treatment thehuman being is seen to gain more command overhis body. The conne&ion between the astral andthe etheric is strengthened ; the depression, apathy,and fatigue are made to cease. But the physicalbody also, which during the prolonged defe&iveunion with the astral has grown sluggish andimmobile, must be assisted. This is done by givingphosphorus in weak doses . Phosphorus sup-ports the Ego-organization, enabling it to over-come the resistance of the physical body . Rose-mary baths are applied to open a way out for theaccumulated produ&s of metabolism . A curativeeurhythmy treatment re-establishes the harmonyof the several members of the organization (nerves-and-senses system, rhythmic system, motor andmetabolic system), impaired as it is by the longina&ion of the astral body. Finally, by giving thepatient elder-flower tea, the metabolism, which hasgradually become sluggish owing to the ina&ivityof the astral body, is restored to a normal condition,

1 27

We had the satisfa&ion of observing a completecure in this case.

Third CaseThis patient was a musician, thirty-one years old,

who visited our Clinic during a concert tour . Hewas suffering from a severe inflammatory andfun&ional disorder of the urinary organs ; catarrhalsymptoms, fever, excessive bodily fatigue, generalweakness, and incapacity for work .

The pant hiftory of the patient showed that hehad repeatedly suffered from similar conditions.Investigation of his spiritual condition revealed ahypersensitive and excessively tender astral body .The quick susceptibility of the physical and ethericbodyto catarrhal and inflammatory conditions is dueto this . Already as a child, the patient had a weakphysical body, badly nurtured and supported bythe aural. Hence measles, scarlet fever, chicken-pox, whooping-cough, and frequent affe&ionsof the throat. At the age of fourteen there was aninflammation of the urethra, which recurred at theage of twenty-nine in conjun&ion with cygtitis .At the age of eighteen, pneumonia and pleurisy ; attwenty-nine, pleurisy again, following on an attackof influenza ; and at the age of thirty, catarrhalinflammation of the frontal sinus . There is also aperpetual tendency to catarrhal conjun&ivitis .

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During the two months which he spent at theClinic, the patient's temperature curve rose at firstto ioz, after which it descended, but only to riseagain a fortnight later . It then oscillated between98.6 and 96.8, occasionally rising above 98 .6 andgoing downseven' as low as 95 . This temperaturecurve gives a clear pi&ure of the changing moodsin the Ego-organization . Such a curve ariseswhen the effe&s of the semi-conscious contents ofthe Ego-organization find expression in thewarmth-processes of the physical and ethericbodies, without being reduced to a normalrhythm by the aural. In this patient, the wholepower of a&ion of the astral body was, concen-trated on the rhythmic system, where it foundexpression in his artistic talent . The other systemsno longer received their proper share .

As a significant result of this, the patient suffersfrom severe fatigue and insomnia during thesummer. In the summer season, considerabledemands are made upon the astral body by theouter world, and its power of inward activityis thereby reduced. The forces of the physicaland etheric body become predominant . Thismanifests itself, in the patient's general sense oflife, as an intense feeling of fatigue. At the sametime the weakened power and initiative of theastral body hinder its separation from the physical :

K

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hence the insomnia. The deficient severance of-the astral body from the etheric finds expression inunpleasant and exciting dreams, arising from thesensitiveness of the etheric body to the lesions inthe physical organism. Chara&er&ically, thedreams symbolize these lesions in images ofmutilated human beings. Their terrifying aspe&is simply their natural quality and emphasis offeeling . As a consequence of the astral bodyfun&ioning deficiently in the metabolic system,there is a tendency to constipation . And owing tothe independence of the etheric body, which is too.little influenced by the astral, the albumen receivedas food cannot be completely transformed fromvegetable and animal albumen into human. Hencealbumen is excreted in the urine: the albumenrea&ion is positive. Moreover, when the astralbody is fun&ioning deficiently, processes will arisein the physical body which are really foreign pro-cesses in the human organism . Such processesexpress themselves in the formation of pus, whichrepresents, as it were, an extra-human processwithin the human being. Thus in the sediment ofthe urine we find pure pus . But this formation ofpus is accompanied by a parallel process in thelife of the soul. The astral body of the patient isno less deficient psychically in assimilating theexperiences of life, than physically in assimilating

s;c

the s

ces of food. While extra-hwsubdtanccformations are produced in the shape ofpus, mental and psychic contents of an extra-human charaaer arise at the same time-as a keeninterest in abnormal relationships of life, fore-bodings, premonitions, and the like.

We therefore set out to bring a balancing,purifying, and strengthening influence to bearupon the astral body. The Ego-orga nization beingvery much alive, its a&ivity could be used, in amanner of speaking, as a carrier of the influencesof healing. Now the Ego-organization, which isfocussed on the external world, is most readilyapproached by influences whose dire#tion is fromwithout inward. This is attained by . the use ofbandages or compresses. We first apply a com-press of melilotus, a remedy which works uponthe astral body in such a way as to improve thebalance and distribution of its forces, counter-a&ing their one-sided concentration on the rhythmicsystem . Naturally the compresses must not beapplied to those portions of the body where therhythmic system is especially concentrated .. Weapplied it to the organs where the metabolic andmotor systems have their main centre. Head-bandages we avoided, because the changing moodof the Ego-organization, proceeding from thehead, would only have paralysed the remedial

I,'

influence . For the melilotus to take effe&, it wasalso necessary to assist the astral body and Ego-organization, drawing them together and tighten-ing their union. This we sought to do by an addedcon$tituent containing oxalic acid, derived fromradix bardanae . Oxalic acid works in such a wayas to transform the a&ivity of the Ego-organizationinto that of the astral body .

In addition, we administered internal remediesin very minute doses with the obje& of bringingthe secretions into a regular conne&ion with theinfluences of the astral body . The secretions whichare dire&ed from the head-system, we tried tonormalize by means of potassium sulphate . Thosethat depend. upon the metabolic system in thenarrower sense of the word, we sought to influenceby potassium carbonate . The secretion of urinewe regulated by the use of teucrium . We there-fore gave a medicament consisting of equal partsof potassium sulphate, potassium carbonate, andteucrium. The whole of this treatment had toreckon with a very unstable balance in the organismas a whole : physically, psychically, and spiritually .Thus we had to provide for physical rest by keep-ing the patient in bed, and for spiritual equilibriumby promoting quiet of mind and soul . This alonemade possible the proper interpenetration of thevarious remedies.

13 2

On the completion of the cure, the patient wasrestored to bodily strength and vigour, and wasmentally in good condition. With a constitutionso unstable it goes without saying that some exter-nal disturbance may bring about a recurrence ofone disorder or another. In such a case it isessential to a complete cure that violent disturb-ances should be avoided .

Fourth CaseA child, who was brought into our Clinic twice,

first at the age of four, and then at the age offive and a half years ; also the mother of the child,and the mother's sister. Diagnosis led from thedisease of the child to that of the mother and ofher sister. As to the child itself; we received thefollowing information : It was a twin-child, bornsix weeks too early . The other twin died in thelast stage of embryonal life . At the age of sixweeks, the child was taken ill, screaming to anunusual extent, and was transferred to hospitalwhere they diagnosed pylorospasmus . The childwas nourished by a nurse and also artificially, Atthe age of eight months it left the hospital, Onthe first day after arrival home the child had con-vulsions, which were repeated every day for thenext two months . During the attacks the childbecame stiff, with the eyes distorted . The attacks

1133

were preceded by 'fear and crying . The childsquinted with the right eye, and vomited beforethe attack began. At the age of two and a halfyears there was another attack lasting five hours .The child was Miff and lay there as though dead.At the age of four there was an attack lasting halfan hour. According to the report we received,this was the first attack which was seen to beaccompanied by fever symptoms . After the attacksthat had followed direaly on the return fromhospital, the parents had noticed a paralysis of theright arm and the right leg. At two and a half thechild made the first attempt to walk, but was onlyable to step out with the left leg, dragging theright after it . The right arm, too, remained with-out volition.

Our first concern was to determine the conditionof the child with respe& to the several members ofthe human organization . This was attemptedindependently of the external complex of symptoms .We found a severe atrophy of the etheric body,which in certain parts received the influence of theastral body only to a very slight extent . Theregion of the right breast was as though paralysedin the etheric body. On the other hand, there wasa kind of hypertrophy of the astral body in theregion of the stomach. The next thing was toestablish the relation between this diagnosis and

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the outer complex of symptoms. There coWd ino doubt that the stomuh was powerfully engagedby the a body in the process of digestion. Atthe same time, owing to the paralysed conditionof the etheric body, the digestive process becamecongested and held up in its passage from theintestinal tra& into the lymphatic vessels. Hencethe blood was under-nourished . We thus attachedgreat importance to the symptoms of nausea -andvomiting . Convulsions always occur when theetheric body becomes atrophied and the astralgains a dire& influence over the physical withoutthe mediation of the etheric . . Such a conditionexisted in the highest degree in this littie child...Moreover, if, as in this case, the condition becomespermanent during the period of growth, thoseprocesses which normally prepare the motorsystem to receive the Will fail to take place . Thisshowed itself in the impotence of the child on theright side of the body .

We had now to relate the condition of the childwith that of the mother. The latter was thirty-seven years old when she came to us . At the ageof thirteen, she told us, she had already reached herpresent size. She had bad teeth at an early age,and had suffered in childhood from articularrheumatism. She also said that she had beeninclined, to rickets. Menstruation began can

15;5

paratively soon. At _the age of sixteen, accordingto her account, she had had a disease of the kidneys,and she told of cramp-like conditions from whichshe had suffered in this conne&ion . At twenty-five she had constipation owing to cramp in thesphin&or ani, which had to be artificially dilated .Even now she suffered from cramp during evacua-tion.

Diagnosis by dire& observation (without draw-ing any conclusions from this complex of symp-toms) revealed a condition extraordinarily similarto that of the child, with this difference, thateverything appeared in a far milder form . Wemust bear in mind that the human etheric bodyhas its special period of development between thechange of teeth and puberty. In the mother thisfa& expressed itself as follows : With their deficientstrength, the available forces of the etheric bodyenabled growth to take place only until puberty.At puberty the special development of the astralbody begins. At this stage the patient's astralbody, being hypertrophied, overwhelmed theetheric body and took hold of the physicalorganization too intensely . This showed itselfin the arrest of growth at the thirteenth year . Thepatient was, however, by no means small ; on thecontrary, she was very big. In effe&, the growthforces of the etheric body, small as they were, had

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been, unhindered by the astral body, and had thusbrought about a large expansion of the physicalbody in volume . But they had not been able toenter regularly into. the fun&ions of the physicalbody; hence the appearance of articular rheumat-ism, and at a later stage, cramp and convulsions .Owing to the weakness of the etheric body therewas an abnormally strong influence of the astralbody on the physical . Now this influence is adisintegrating one. In the normal development ofman's life, it is balanced and held in check by theupbuilding forces during sleep, when the astralbody is severed from the physical and the etheric .If, as in this case, the etheric body is too weak, theresult is an excess of disintegration . Thus thebad condition of the patient's teeth had made thefirst stopping necessary at the early age of twelve .Moreover, if great demands are made on the forces,of the etheric body as in pregnancy, on every,such occasion the condition of the teeth growsworse. The weakness of the etheric body withrespe& to its conne&ion with the astral was alsoshown by the frequency of the patient's dreams,and by the sound sleep which she enjoyed in spiteof all irregularities . Again, when the etheric bodyis weakened, foreign processes are apt to takeplace in the physical body which the ethericcannot master. Such processes revealed them-

1 37

selves in the urine as albumen, isolated hyalinecasts, and salts.Very remarkable was the relation of the

disease-processes in the mother with those fromwhich her sifter was suffering . As to the com-position of the members of the human being,diagnosis revealed almost exaaly the same : afeebly working etheric body and hence a preponder-ance of the astral . The astral body was, however,weaker than that of the former patient. Accord-ingly, menftruation had begun too soon as inthe former case, but instead of inflammatoryconditions she had only suffered from pains dueto an irritation of the organs, notably the articula-tions. In the articulations the etheric body mustbe peculiarly aaive if the vitality is to go on inthe normal way. If the a&ivity of the ethericbody is weak, that of the physical body will .predominate-a fart which appeared in this case'in the swollen joints and in chronic arthritis . Theweakness of the astral body, which did not workenough in the subje&ive feeling of the patient, wasindicated by her liking for sweet dishes . Sweetfood enhances the conscious feeling of the astralbody. When the weak aural body is exhausted atthe end of the day, then, if the weakness persists, thepains will increase in intensity . Thus the patientcomplained of increased pain in the evening .

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The cont ion between the morbid conditionsof these three patients points to the generationpreceding that of the two sifters, and more especi-ally to the grandmother of the child . It is herethat the real cause mutt be sought for. Thedisordered equilibrium between the astral andetheric bodies in all three patients can only havearisen from a similar condition in the grandmotherof the child . The irregularity must, in fa&, havebeen due to an under-development, by the astraland etheric bodies of the grandmother, of theembryonal organs of nourishment-especially theallantois . There must have been a deficientdevelopment of the allantois in all three patients .We determined this to begin with by purelyspiritual scientific methods . The physical allantois,passing into the spiritual realm, is metamorphosedinto the strength and vigour of the forces of theastral body. A degenerated allantois gives rise toa lessened efficiency of the aural body, which willexpress itself especially in all the motor organs .Such was the case in all three patients . It is indeedpossible to recognize, from the constitution of theastral body, that of the allantois . From this it willbe seen that our reference to the preceding genera-tion was the result, not of an adventurous andfancied drawingof conclusions,but of real spiritual-scientific observation .

1 39

To anyone who is irritated by this fa.&, we wouldsay that our statements here are not inspired by anylove of paradox . We simply desire that knowledge,which has in ,fart come into being, shall be withheldfrom no one . Conceptions of heredity will alwaysremain dark and mystical as they are to-day, solong as science shrinks from recognizing themetamorphosis from the physical to the spiritualwhich takes place in the sequence of the genera-tions,

Therapeutically, this insight could of courseonly lead us to perceive the right starting-point fora healing process . Had not our attention thusbeen drawn to the hereditary aspe& had wesimply observed the irregularity in the conditionof the astral and etheric bodies-we should haveused remedies apt to influence these two membersof the human being . But such remedies wouldhave been ineffe&ive in this case, for the disorder-continuing, as it did, through the successivegenerations-was too deep-seated to be restored toa normal condition within the etheric and astralbodies themselves . In a case like this, one mustwork on the organization of the Ego . Here it isthat one must bring to bear all those influenceswhich relate to a harmonizing and strengthening ofthe etheric and astral bodies . To do so, one mustgain access to the Ego-organization, as it were,

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through intensified sensory stimuli, (Sensorystimuli work upon the Ego-organization .)

For the child, we attempted this in the followingway. We bandaged the right hand with a f percent. iron pyrites ointment . Simultaneously wemassaged the left half of the head with ointmentof amanita casarea. Externally applied:, pyrites-a compound of iron and sulphur-has the effeftof stimulating the Ego-organization to make theastral body more alive and increase its affinity tothe etheric . The amanita substance, with itspeculiar contents of organized nitrogen, gives riseto an influence proceeding from the head, which,working through the Ego-organization, makes theetheric body more alive and increases its affinityto the astral . This treatment was supplementedby Curative Eurhythmy, which brings the Ego-organization as such into a quickened a&ion . Thehealing processes externally applied are thuscarried right into the depths of the sysgtem .Initiated in this way, the healing process was thenintensified, with remedies contrived to make theastral and etheric bodies especially sensitive to theinfluence of the Ego-organization . In rhythmicsuccession day after day, we gave baths with adeco&ion of solidago, massaged the back with adeco&ion of ftellaria media, and gave internally atea prepared from willow-bark (which affe&s the

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receptivity especially of the astral body) and fAwxxwo.ooi (which makes the etheric body especiallyreceptive) . We also gave weak doses of poppyjuice, to make the disordered organization as awhole less assertive, and more susceptible to theinfluences of healing.

In the mother's case, the latter kind of treatmentwas mainly adopted, since the inherited forces-one generation farther backhad not yet workedto so great an extent. The same applied to thesifter of the mother .

While the child was (till with us in the Clinic,we observed that it became more easily diretedand the general psychological condition wasimproved. It grew far more obedient. Move-ments which it had done very clumsily, it nowaccomplished with greater skill . Subsequently theaunt reported that a great change had taken placein the child. It had grown quieter, and the excessof involuntary movements had decreased. Thechild is now sufficiently adroit to be able to playby itself,, and in the inner life of soul, the formerobstinacy has disappeared.

Fifth CaseA woman patient, twenty-six years old, who

came to our Clinic suffering from the seriousconsequences of influenza and catarrhal pneumonia

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which she had undergone in 1gi.8 . Thus-h beenpreceded in 1917 by pleurisy . Since the influenzashe had never properly recovered. In 1920 shewas very much emaciated and in a feeble condition,with slight temperature and noelperspiration.Soon after the influenza she had begun to sufferfrom pains in the back which grew increas inglytill the end of 1920. Then, with a violent increasein the pain, curvature ofthe spine became apparentin the lumbar region. At the same time there wasa swelling of the right forefinger. A refit cure wassaid to have considerably lessened the pains in theback.

When the patient came to us, she was sufferingfrom a gravitation abscess on the right thigh . Herbody was distended and she had slight ascites .There were catarrhal noises over the apices ofboth lungs. Digestion and appetite were good .The urinewas concentrated,with'traces of albumen .

Spiritual-scientific invesiggation revealed ahypersensitiveness of the astral body and the Ego-organization. An abnormality of this kindyes itself to begin with in the etheric body,which evolves, in place of the etheric funaionsproper, an etheric impress of the astral funftions .Now the astral fun&ions are disintegrative . Thusthe general vitality and the normal process in thephysical organs were necessarily atrophied. Such a

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condition is always accompanied by processes tosome extent extra-human, taking place within thehuman organism, Hence the gravitation abscess,the lumbar pains, the distended abdomen, thecatarrhal symptoms in the lungs, and also thedeficient assimilation of albumen . The thera-peutic-treatment must therefore seek to lower thesensitiveness of the astral body and the Ego-organization . This may be done by administeringsilica, which always strengthens the a&ive inherentforces against undue sensitiveness . In this casewe gave powdered silica in the food and in anenema treatment . We also diverted the excessivesensitiveness by applying mustard planters, to theloins. The effe& of this depends upon the fa&that it induces sensitiveness of its own accord, thusrelieving the astral body and Ego-organization tosome extent of theirs . By a process which dampsdown the over-sensitiveness of the astral body inthe digestive tra&, we contrived to divert theastral a&ivity in this region to the etheric bodywhere it ought normally to be. To this end wegave minute doses of copper and carbo animals .The possibility that the etheric body might shrinkfrom the normal a&ivity of digestion, to which itwas unaccustomed, was countered by administeringpancreatic fluid .

The gravitation abscess was pun&ured several144

times. Large quantities of pus' were evacuated byaspiration, the abscess became very much reducedand the distended stomach decreased at the sametime. The formation of pus grew continuouslyless and came to an end . While it was Mill flowing-we were surprised one day by a renewed rise intemperature . This was not inexplicable to us,since, with the above-described constitution of theastral body, even small psychological excitementscould easily give rise to fever. But the possibilityof accounting for a rise in temperature in suchcases in no way lessens the very serious efffe& ofit when it occurs. For under these conditions,such a fever is a most deadly mediator for a far-reaching -entry of the disintegrative processes intothe system . One must provide at once for astrengthening :of the etheric body, which will thenparalyse the harmful efffe&s,of the astral. We gavesilver inje&ions at a high potency and the feverdeclined .

The patient left the Clinic with a twentypounds' increase in weight, and considerablystronger. -We are well aware that an after-treat-ment will be necessary in this case to make thecure a lasting one .

With the cases hitherto described, we wished toL

T45

chara&erize the principles whereby we seek to findthe remedies direly out of the diagnosis . For thesake of clear and vivid illustration we sele&ed caseswhere it was necessary to proceed along veryindividual lines. But we have also prepared typicalremedies, applicable to typical diseases . We will.now deal with a few cases where such typicalmedicaments were applied.

Sixth Case. Treatment of Hay FeverWe received a patient with severe hay fever

symptoms. He had suffered from it already in hischildhood and was in his fortieth year when hecame to us for treatment . Against this morbidcondition we have our preparation " Gencydo,"which we applied in this case in the season (themonth of May) when the disease affe&ed the patientin its most violent form. We gave him the injec-tions and also the local treatment, painting theinterior of the nose with Gencydo fluid . At a timeof year when in former years he had still had tosuffer severely from the hay fever symptoms, therewas a marked improvement . He then undertooka journey, whence he reported that he felt incom-parably better than in former years . In the hayfever season of the next year, he was travellingagain from America to Europe and had only a farslighter attack . Our repeated treatment during

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that year put him in a very bearable condition.To make the cure a thorough one he was treatedagain the following year, though there was noproper attack . In the fourth year the patienthimself described his condition in the followingwords : In the spring of 1923, I again began thetreatment, as I was expe&ing fresh attacks . Ifound my nasal mucous membranes far lesssensitive than before . I had to spend my timeworking in the midst of flowering grasses andpollen-producing trees . I also had to ride allthrough the summer along hot and dusty roads .But with the exception of a single day, no symptomsof hay fever occurred the whole summer, and Ihave every reason to believe that on that day itwas an ordinary cold, and not an attack of hayfever. For thirty-five years this was the first timethat I could stay and work unhindered in anenvironment where in former years I sufferedindescribably."

Seventh Case . Treatment of SclerosisA woman patient, sixty-one years old, came to

our Clinic with sclerosis and albuminuria . Herimmediate condition was the sequel of an attackof influenza, with slight fever and disturbances ofthe stomach and intestines . She had not felt wellagain since the influenza . She complained of

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difficult breathing on awakening, attacks of vertigo,and a knocking or beating sensation in the head,ears, and hands, which was especially troublesomeon awakening, but occurred also when she walkedor climbed uphill. Her sleep was good . Therewas a tendency to constipation and the urine con-tained albumen. Her blood pressure was 18 5 mm .

We took our start from the sclerosis, which wasnoticeable in the over-a&ivity of the astral body .The physical and etheric bodies were unable toreceive into themselves the full a&ivity of theastral. In such a case, an extra a&ivity of theastral body remains over, which the physical andetheric fail to re-absorb . Now the normal andfirm composure of the human organization is onlypossible when this re-absorption is complete .Otherwise, as in the case of our patient, the non-absorbed remnant will make itself felt in attacks ofvertigo and subje&ive sensory illusions-knockingnoises and the like . Also the non-absorbedportion seizes hold of the substances received asfood, and forces certain processes upon them .before they have penetrated into the normal .metabolism. This became apparent in the tend--ency to constipation, in the secretion of albumen,,and in the stomach and intestinal disorders . The.blood pressure is increased in such a case becausethe over-a&ivity of the astral body heightens also

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the aaivity of the Ego, which a&ivity revealsitself in the high blood pressure .

We treated the case mainly with our " Scleron "remedy, which we only supplemented with veryminute doses of belladonna, in order to meet theattacks of vertigo momentarily as well, when theyoccurred . We gave elder-flower tea to help thedigestion and regulated the anion of the bowelsby enemas and laxative tea . We ordered a saltlessdiet because salts will rapidly assist sclerosis . Acomparatively quick improvement was the result .The attacks of vertigo receded, likewise the beatingsensations. The blood pressure went down to 112.The patient's subje&ive feeling visibly improved .During the subsequent year the sclerosis made nofurther progress . At the end of a year the patientcame to us again with the same symptoms in alesser degree . A similar treatment brought abouta further improvement, and now, after a lapse ofconsiderable time, it is evident that the sclerosis isproducing no further degeneration of the organism .The external symptoms chara&eristic of sclerosisare on the decline, and the rapid ageing process bywhich the patient had been seized exists no longer .

Eighth Case. A Treatment of GoitreA woman patient, who came to us in the thirty-

fourth year of her life . She is the very type of a149

human being whose whole inner life is stronglyinfluenced by a certain heaviness, an internalcrumbling, of the physical body . Every word sheutters seems to cost her an effort. Extremelycharafteristic is the concavity in the shape of herface ; the root of the nose seems to be held back,as it were, within the organism . She tells us thatshe was delicate and sickly even as a child . Theonly proper disease she underwent was a slightattack of measles. She was always pale andsuffered from fatigue and a bad appetite . She wassent from one doftor to another, and the followingwere diagnosed in succession : Apex pulmonarycatarrh, gastric catarrh, anemia . In her ownconsciousness, the patient feels that she is ill notso much in body as in soul .

Having given this extra& of her past history,we will now indicate the spiritual-scientific diag-nosis, in conneftion with which all other thingswill then be examined .

The patient reveals a highly atonic condition ofthe astral body . The Ego-organization is thusthrown back, as it were, from the physical andetheric bodies. The whole life of consciousness ispermeated in a delicate way by a dim, sleepycondition. The physical body is exposed to theprocesses arising from the substances it receivesfrom outside, which substances are thus trans-

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formed into parts of the human organization . Theetheric body is too much damped and lowered inits own coherent vitality by the Ego and astralbody. Hence the inner sensations-namely, thegeneral sense of life and the sense of the gtatics ofthe body-become far too strong and vivid, whileon the other hand the life of the external senses istoo dim. All the bodily fun&ions thus have totake a course whereby they come into disharmonywith one another . Inevitably the feeling arises inthe patient that she cannot hold the fun&ions ofher body together with her own Ego . Thisappears to her as weakness, powerlessness of soul ;and hence she says she is more ill in soul than inbody.

If the weakness of the Ego and aural bodyincrease, morbid conditions will necessarily arisein various parts of the body, as indicated by thedifferent diagnoses . Powerlessness of the Egocomes to expression in irregularities of glands,such as the thyroid and the suprarenal ; also indisorders of the stomach and intestinal system .All this is to be expe&ed in the patient and doesin fa& occur . Her goitre and the condition of herstomach and intestinal system agree entirely withthe spiritual-scientific diagnosis . Most chara&er-istic is the following : Owing to the powerlessnessof the Ego and astral body, part of the required

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sleep is absolved during the waking life . Henceher sleep is lighter than in the normal humanbeing. To the patient herself this appears as anobstinate insomnia . In close conne&ion with this,she has a sense of easily falling asleep and easilyawakening . Again, she thinks she has manydreams ; they are not, however, real dreams butmixtures of dreams and waking impressions . Thusthey do not remain in her memory and are not at allpowerfully exciting, for her excitability is lowered .

In the inner organs the powerlessness of theEgo finds expression first of all in the lungs. Apexpulmonary catarrhs are in reality always a manifesta-tion of a weak Ego-organization . The metabolismnot being fully accomplished by the Ego expressesitself in rheumatism. Subje&ively these thingscome to expression in the patient's general state offatigue. Menftruation began at the age of four-teen. The weak Ego-organization cannot supplya sufficient unfolding of forces to repress andrestrain the menstrual process once it is in flow .Now the work of the Ego in this a& of restraintcomes to conscious sensation through the nervesthat enter the spinal cord in the region of thesacrum. Nerves insufficiently permeated by thecurrents of the Ego-organization and astral bodyare generally painful. Thus. the patient complainsof lumbar pains during menstruation .

If2

All this led us to a therapeutic treatment in thefollowing manner : We have discovered thatcolchicum autumnale has a powerfully stimulatinga&ion on the astral body, notably on the part thatcorresponds to the organization of the neck andhead . Hence we apply colchicum autumnale to allthose diseases which have their most importantsymptom in goitre . Accordingly we gave thepatient five drops of our colchicum preparationthree times a day. The goitre swelling recededand the patient felt much relieved. When theastral body is thus strengthened, it mediates for abetter fun&ioning of the Ego-organism., so thatremedies which can work upon the organs ofdigestion and reprodu&ion receive their properpower in the organism . We administered wormwood as an enema treatment, mingling it with oil,since oil gives rise to an excitation in the digestivetra&. With this remedy we attained a consider-able improvement.

We hold that the above treatment can developitss favourable influence especially about the thirty-fifth year of life, for at this age the Ego-organiza-tion has a peculiarly strong affinity to the rest of theorganism and can readily be stimulated and calledto life, even when weak in its own nature . Thepatient was thirty-four years old when she cameto us .

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Ninth Case. Migraine Conditions in the MenopauseThis patient comes to us at the age of fifty-five .

She tells that she was a slender and delicate child .During childhood she had measles, scarlet fever,chicken-pox, whooping cough, and mumps . Men-ftruation began at the age of fourteen to fifteen .The hxmorrhages were unusually intense andpainful from the outset. At the age of forty sheunderwent a total extirpation owing to a tumourin the abdomen . She also reports that she sufferedsince the age of thirty-five, every three or fourweeks, from a migraine-headache lasting threedays. At forty-six this was intensified, developinginto a regular disease of the head which went onfor three days and involved even a loss of con-sciousness .

The spiritual-scientific diagnosis of her presentcondition is as follows : General weakness of theEgo-organization, which proves unable sufficientlyto tone down the a&ivity of the etheric body .Hence the vegetative organic a&ivity spreads itselfout over the head-system-the sy9tem of nervesand senses-to a far higher degree than is the casewhen the Ego-organization is normal . Thisdiagnosis is corroborated by certain symptoms, forexample, the frequent desire for urination . Thisis due to the fa& that the astral body which regu-lates the secretion of the kidneys is normallydeveloped, while the Ego-organization, which

154"

should normally hold it in check, is not gongenough. Another symptom is the long time shetakes to fall asleep and her tiredness on awakening .The astral body has a difficulty in leaving thephysical and etheric, for the Ego is not strongenough in drawing it away. And when she hasawakened, the vital a&ivity, working on as anafter-effe& from sleep, gives her a feeling offatigue owing to the weakness of the Ego . Athird symptom is to be found in the fewness ofher dreams ; the pi&ures which the Ego-organiza-tion can stamp upon the astral body are but feebleand cannot express themselves as vivid dreams .

These perceptions led to the following thera-peutic treatment: It was necessary to make wayfor the Ego-organization to enter into the physicaland etheric bodies . We did this by compresseswith a 2 per cent. salt-of-sorrel solution on theforehead in the evening ; bandages with a 7 percent. solution of urtica dioica on the abdomen inthe .morning ; and bandages with a 2o per cent.solution of lime-tree flower on the feet at noon .The obje& was in the first place to weaken andtone down the vital a&ivity during the night .This was brought about by the oxalic salt, whichexercises, within the organism, the fun&ion ofsuppressing an excessive vital a&ivity . In themorning our care was to help the Ego-organizationto find its way into the physical body . This is

'55

done by stimulating the circulation of the blood .The influence of iron, contained in the influence ofthe nettle (urtica dioica), was applied for thispurpose. Finally, it was desirable to assist thepenetration of the physical body with the Ego-organization during the rest of the day . This wasdone by the downward-drawing influence of thelime-tree flower bandages at noon .

We have already referred to the headaches towhich the patient had become subje&, with theirintensification at the forty-sixth year of life . Wehad to relate these headaches to the cessation ofthe menses on extirpation ; their intensificationwith symptoms of unconsciousness must indeedbe regarded as a compensatory symptom of themenopause. We first tried to effe& an improve-ment by the . use of antimony, which wouldcertainly have worked if it had been a question ofthe general metabolism, regulated by the organiza-tion of the Ego .

There was, however, no improvement. Thisshowed us that the relatively independent part ofthe Ego-organization which primarily regulatesthe organs of reprodu&ion was in reality concerned .For the treatment of this, we see a specific in theroot ofpotentilla tormentilla at a very high dilution ;and indeed this remedy had the desired effe& .

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CHAPTER XX

TYPICAL MEDICAMENTS

WE shall now describe, and explain theremedial value of a few of our typical

medicaments, some of which have been placedupon the market . They are adapted to the typicalforms of disease ; and in so far as a morbidcondition is typical, our medicament will representthe, necessary means to bring about a therapeutica&ion in the sense of the explanations of this book .From this point of view a number of our medica-ments will be described .

1 . "Scleron "Scleron consists of metallic lead, honey, and

sugar. Lead works upon the organism in such away as to Simulate the disintegrating a&ion of theEgo-organization. If we introduce it into the

-organism where this a&ion is deficient, it willtherefore Stimulate it, if administered in sufficientlyStrong doses. If the -doses are excessive, hyper-

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trophy of the Ego-organization is the result, andthe body disintegrates more than it can build . InSclerosis the Ego-organization becomes too weak,and its own disintegrating a&ion is insufficient .Hence disintegration begins to take place by theagency of the aural body alone . The produ&s ofdisintegration fall out of the totality of theorganism, and give rise to a thickening of theorgans, consisting in salt-like substances . Lead,given in proper doses, brings the disintegratinga&ion back into the Ego-organization. Theprodu&s of disintegration no longer remain as ahardening within the body, but are driven outward .There can, indeed, be no cure of Sclerosis exceptby enabling the salt-forming processes, whichotherwise remain in the body, to find their wayout.

By means of lead we thus determine the directionof the processes of the Ego-organization . But it isnecessary to keep these processes fluid, as it were,in their further course . This 'is done by theadmixture of honey. Honey enables the Ego-organization to exercise the necessary dominionover the astral body. It deprives the astral bodyof that relative independence which it acquires inSclerosis. Sugar works upon the Ego-organizationdirely, strengthening it in its own nature. Ourremedy, therefore, has the following effe& : The

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lead itself works disintegratingly, not like theastral body, but like the Ego-organization. Thehoney transfers the disintegrating a&ion of theastral body to the Ego-organization, and the sugarputs the Ego-organization in a condition to fulfilits specific task .

The initial stages of Sclerosis may be observedto express themselves in psychological symptoms .The human being loses his quickness and readinessof thought and his precise command of memory .Applied in this early stage of Sclerosis, our remedywill enable the maturer stages to be avoided . Itproves effe&ive, however, in the later stages too .(Detailed instru&ions are included with the pre-paration .)

a . " Bidor " as a Remedy for MigraineThe head-system is so constituted that the inter-

nal greyish-white portion of the brain (the " whitematter ") represents physically the most highlyadvanced member of the human organization.This portion of the brain contains the sensorya&ivity, in which the remaining a&ivities of thesenses are gathered up, and into which the Egoand astral body pour their forces . It shares alsoin the rhythmic system of the body, into whichthe astral body and the etheric are working .Lastly, it partakes, though to a very small extent,

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in the metabolic and limbs system in which thephysical and etheric body make their influences felt .This part of the brain is different from the sur-rounding periphery (the " grey matter "), whichcontains in its physical constitution far more ofthe metabolic and limbs system, somewhat moreiof the rhythmic system, and least of all of thenerves-and-senses system. Now if, owing to arepressed a&ivity of the Ego-organization, thenervous and sensory a&ivity in the interior of thebrain is impoverished and the ~digeftive enhanced-i.e ., if the interior becomes more like theperiphery of the brain than in the normal state--Migraine arises . The cure of this ailment will,therefore, depend : i. On a stimulation of thea&ivity of the nerves and senses ; z. On the trans-formation of a rhythmic a&ivity that inclines to themetabolism into one that inclines more to thebreathing process ; and 3. On a restraint of thepurely vegetative metabolic a&ivity which is un-regulated by the organization of the Ego. Thefirst of these results is attained by the use of silica.Silicon, in combination with oxygen, containsprocesses equivalent to those that take place,within the organism, in the transition from thebreathing to the a&ivity of nerves and senses . Thesecond result is to be achieved through sulphur,which contains processes whereby the rhythm that

16o

inclines to the digestive system is transformed intoa rhythm that inclines to the breathing . Lastly,the third effect is attained by the use of iron, whichconveys the metabolism immediately afterwardsinto the rhythmic process of the blood, wherebythe metabolic process as such is restrained . Iron,sulphur, and silica, properly combined and ad-miniftered, mutt therefore represent a remedy forMigraine . We have found this confirmed incountless cases .

3 . A Remedy for Tracheitis and Bronchitis-Iron Pyrites

The medicament we will now discuss owes itsexistence to the perception which is able rightlyto relate the processes, inherent in the substancesof Nature, to those in the human organism . Inthis connexion we must bear in mind that asubstance is really a process brought to a standstill,a frozen process, as it were . Properly speaking weshould say, not "pyrites, but " pyrites-process ."The process which is thus fastened or frozen, as itwere, in the mineral pyrites, represents what canresult from the co-operation of the several pro-cesses of iron and sulphur . Iron, as we saw in theprevious se&ion, stimulates the circulation of theblood, while sulphur mediates for the conne&ionof the circulation and the breathing . Now the

M

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origin of tracheitis and bronchitis, and of certainkinds of impediment of speech, lies at the verypoint where the circulation and the breathingcome into mutual relation. This process betweenthe circulation and the breathing (it is the processwhereby the corresponding organs are created inthe embryo period, and re-created again and againin the further course of life) can be taken over, ifit is not working normally, by the iron-sulphursubstance introduced into the body from outside .Starting from this perception, we prepare a remedyfor the above forms of disease out of the mineralpyrites. In preparation of the remedy, the mineralis so transformed that its forces can find their way(internal treatment being indicated) into the dis-eased organs . We mus`t,of course, have knowledgeof the paths which certain substance-processes willtake within the body. The metabolism carries theiron-process into the circulation of the blood ; thesulphur-process passes on from the circulationinto the breathing .

4. E ec`ts of Antimony CompoundsAntimony has an extraordinarily strong affinity

to other bodies, such, for instance, as sulphur . Itthus reveals that it will readily accompany sulphuron the path which the latter takes through theorganism-into all the breathing processes, for

x62

example . A further property of antimony is- itstendency to radiant or Marry forms of cryttallization. Here it shows how easily it follows certainradiations of forces in the Earth's environment .This property becomes more evident whenantimony is subje&ed to the Seiger process, wherebyit assumes a fine and delicate texture . Stillmore significantly, it appears when antimony isbrought into the process of combustion. Thewhite smoke which it evolves, deposited on coldsurfaces, forms the very chara&eri§tic " flowers ofantimony." Now just as antimony gives itselfup to the forces that work upon it when it isoutside the human organism, so too, it followsthe form-giving forces when it is within. In theblood, there is, as it were, a Mate of equilibriumbetween the form-giving and form-dissolvingforces. By virtue of its properties above described,antimony can carry the form-creating forces of thehuman organism into the blood, if the way isprepared for it by combination with sulphur . Theforces of antimony are indeed the very forces thatwork in the coagulation of the blood . To spiritualscience the process appears as follows : The auralbody is strengthened in the forces leading to thecoagulation of the blood . For we must recognize inthe antimony-forces and in the astral body similarforces which work in the organism centrifugally,

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from within outward . These antimonizing forcesoppose the forces, dire&ed from without inward,which liquefy the blood and place the liquefiedblood plastically in the service of the formationof the body. In the dire&ion of these latter forces,those of albumen are also working . The forcescontained in the albuminous process do in fa&perpetually hinder the coagulation of the blood .Take the case of typhoid fever . It is due to apreponderating influence of, the albuminizingforces . If antimony is administered in veryminute doses, the forces that give rise to typhoidfever are countera&ed . It must, however, beborne in mind that the effe& of antimony is alto-gether different according as it is applied internallyor externally. Applied externally, in ointmentsand the like, it weakens those centrifugal forcesof the astral body which express themselves forinstance in the symptoms of eczema. Internallyadministered it countera&s the excessive centri-petal forces which manifest themselves in typhoidfever, for example .Antimony is an important remedy in all diseases

accompanied by a dangerous lowering of conscious-ness or somnolence. Here the formative centri-fugal forces of the astral body, and hence also theprocesses of the brain and the senses, are to someextent out of a&ion . If antimony is administered,

164

the deficient aural forces are artificially engendered .We. shall always observe that the absorption ofantimony strengthens the memory, enhances thecreative powers, and generally improves the innerpoise and composure of the soul . From thestrengthened soul the organism is regenerated . Inthe older medicine this was felt to be so, . andantimony was thus regarded as a universal medica-ment. And if this extreme standpoint is no longerours, nevertheless, as will be seen from the above,we cannot but perceive in antimony a many-sidedremedy.

5 . CinnabarWe have found cinnabar a valuable remedy .

This substance affords a good opportunity ofstudying the relationship, so frequently allegedand no less frequently disputed, of mercury to theorganization of man . Mercury is once more a" frozen process " ; it stands in the very midst ofthe reprodu&ive processes which, working withinthe organism, detach themselves almost entirelyfrom its existence .

The mercury forces have the peculiar propertyof bringing about a re-absorption of these detachedforces into the organism as a whole. Therapeutic-ally mercury may therefore be applied (in veryminute doses, needless to say) when there are

16

processes arising in the organism which tend tobecome detached and separated out of the organismas a whole, and need to be brought back under itsdominion. All catarrhal processes are of this kind .They arise when, by some external agency, one orother tra& within the body is torn away from thedominion of the whole. This is the case, forexample, with tracheitis and other catarrhal symp-toms in the same region. Mercury forces, con-veyed to this part of the body, will have a curativeeffe&. We have referred already to the chara&er-iftic property of sulphur, which makes its influencefelt in that domain of the organism where thecirculation and the breathing processes meet-that is to say, in all that proceeds from the lungs .Cinnabar, as a compound of mercury and sulphur,is therefore an effe&ive remedy for all catarrhalsymptoms in these regions .

6 . " Gencydo " as a Aernedy for Hay FeverThe morbid symptoms of Hay Fever represent

an inflammatory condition of the mucous mem-branes of the eyes, the nose, the throat, and upperair-passages . The past history of the patientgenerally indicates that he suffered already inchildhood from diseased processes which may beincluded in the term " exudative diathesis ." Theseindications point to the etheric body and to the

X66

abnormal behaviour of the astral . The ethericbody is preponderating in its forces, while theastral body withdraws and shows a0disinclinationto take proper hold of the etheric and physical .The catarrhal symptoms result from the fast thatin the parts diseased the regular influence of theastral body, and hence, too, of the Ego-organiza-tion, is disturbed . The astral body and Ego-organization become hypersensitive, which explainsthe sudden attacks and spasmodic rea&ions to sense-impressions : to light, to heat and cold, to dust, etc .

A healing process for Hay Fever must thereforecome to the assistance of the astral body, helpingit to enter in and take proper hold of the etheric .This can be done by the aid of the juices of fruitsthat possess a leathery skin or rind . We needonly look at these fruits in a true way, to realizehow strongly they are subje& to form-creatingforces of the kind that work from without inwards .Applying the juices of such fruits externally andinternally, we can stimulate the astral body andurge it in the dire&ion of the etheric . In themineral constituents of the fruit-juices (potassium,calcium, and silica, for example) this influencereceives further support from the side of the Ego-organization (cf. Chap. XVII) . In this way a realcure of hay fever is effe&ed . (Detailed instructionsare included with the preparation .)

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AFTERWORD

THUS far the fruits of our common work ; andat this point, to the great grief of us all, the

writing had to be discontinued, when RudolfSteiner's illness began . In the sequel it had beenour plan to describe what works, by way of earthlyand cosmic forces, in the metals gold, silver, lead,iron, copper, mercury, and tin, and to explainhow these are to be applied in the art of healing .It was also our intention to describe how theancient Mysteries contained a deep and true under-standing of the relation of the metals to theplanets, and their relations again to the variousorgans of the human body . To speak of this kindof Knowledge, to lay the foundations of it oncemore for our own time-such was our purpose .

It will be my task in the near future, from thenotes and verbal indications that were given me,to compile and publish the second volume .-I.W.

NOTE

FOR the convenience of the medical professionand others interested in the development of An-throposophical Therapy, arrangements have beenmade for the distribution of the medicamentsprepared by the Clinical and Therapeutic Institute,and the "ILAG " Laboratories of Arlesheim-Dor-nach, Switzerland, through a London agencyTHE BRITISH WELEDA Co . LTD.,

21 Bloomsbury Square, London, W .C.1,where full particulars can be obtained on applica-tion .

LONDON : CHARLES WHITTINGHAM AND GRIGGS (PRINTERS), LTD .CHISWICK PRESS, TOOKS COURT, CHANCERY LANE.