from a lecture delivered on February 4th, 1907, translated by A.H. Parker:
from a lecture delivered on February 4th, 1907, translated by
A.H. Parker:
"First there is the physical body. Its substances and
forces are identical with the mineral kingdom and the whole of
inorganic nature. This physical body however is not, as the materialist
imagines, simply an object in space, but it is also the lowest
member of the human being. The next member is the etheric or life-body
which man shares in common with the plants and animals, for every
plant, animal or human being must call upon the chemical and physical
substances so that they are galvanised into life, since of themselves
they would remain inert. The third member is the astral body,
the bearer of joy and sorrow, of impulses, desires and passions
and the normal impressions of daily life. All these are the province
of the astral body. Man shares this astral body only with the
animal kingdom for the animal also is subject to joy and sorrow,
impulses, desires and passions. To sum up, therefore: man shares
the physical body in common with inorganic nature, the etheric
with all that grows and propagates, with the entire plant kingdom,
and the astral body with the animal kingdom. In addition there
is a fourth member of his being which raises him above these kingdoms
of nature and makes him the crown of Creation.
Such is the conclusion we arrive at after a little reflection.
Now there is a name that differs from all the others, the "I",
which can only refer to oneself. To everyone else I am a "thou"
and everyone else is a "thou" to me. As a name for the
identity of the individual, the "I" can only arise within
the soul itself; it cannot be experienced from without. The great
religions have always been aware of this and therefore they said:
when the soul recognizes itself as an "I", then the
God in man begins to speak, the God who speaks through the soul.
The name "I" cannot be experienced from without, it
must be experienced within the soul itself. This is the fourth
principle or member of the human being.
The occult science of the Hebrews called this "I" the
ineffable name of God. "Jahve" signifies simply "I
am." Whatever interpretations may be given by external scholarship,
it really meant "I am", namely, the fourth principle
of the human being. Man consists of these four principles and
we call them the four principles of man's lower nature."
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