The Destinies of Individuals and Nations

The Destinies of Individuals and Nations

14 Lectures in Berlin, Sept. 1, 1914 to July 6, 1919 (CW 157)

Steiner started each of these lectures, given during the war years, with a verse for those who had died. He begins this volume with a consideration of the destinies of nations from a spiritual point of view. He goes on to consider the Christ-Impulse and the Michaelic Spirits that serve him. Also included are lectures on the three stages of imaginative knowledge, the rhythm of sleeping and waking, the relation between our physical and etheric bodies, and the prophetic nature of dreams. The last lecture takes up the question of the cosmic meaning of our sense impressions and of our thinking, feeling, and willing. –

This volume is an translation from German of Menschenschicksale und Völkerschicksale (GA 157).

About the Author

Rudolf Steiner (1861–1925) was born in the small village of Kraljevec, Austro-Hungarian Empire (now in Croatia), where he grew up. As a young man, he lived in Weimar and Berlin, where he became a well-published scientific, literary, and philosophical scholar, known especially for his work with Goethe’s scientific writings. At the beginning of the twentieth century, he began to develop his early philosophical principles into an approach to systematic research into psychological and spiritual phenomena. Formally beginning his spiritual teaching career under the auspices of the Theosophical Society, Steiner came to use the term Anthroposophy (and spiritual science) for his philosophy, spiritual research, and findings. The influence of Steiner’s multifaceted genius has led to innovative and holistic approaches in medicine, various therapies, philosophy, religious renewal, Waldorf education, education for special needs, threefold economics, biodynamic agriculture, Goethean science, architecture, and the arts of drama, speech, and eurythmy. In 1924, Rudolf Steiner founded the General Anthroposophical Society, which today has branches throughout the world. He died in Dornach, Switzerland.