Shut not your doors to me, proud libraries,
For that which was lacking among you all, yet needed most, I bring;
A book I have made for your dear sake, O soldiers,
And for you, O soul of man, and you, love of comrades;
The words of my book nothing, the life of it everything;
A book separate, not link’d with the rest, nor felt by the intellect;
But you will feel every word, O Libertad! arm’d Libertad!
It shall pass by the intellect to swim the sea, the air,
With joy with you, O soul of man.
—Walt Whitman, "Shut not your Doors to me, proud Libraries"
New Release
The Library of Rudolf Steiner
Catalogue of a Book Collection
Edited by Martina Maria Sam
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This three-volume set is the English translation of the original catalogue, published in 2019, detailing the entire contents of Rudolf Steiner’s personal library. The catalogue is the result of years of thorough and careful work by Dr. Martina Maria Sam of the Rudolf Steiner Archiv in Dornach, Switzerland, where the library is housed and kept fully intact in Haus Duldeck.
It is introduced with a preface by David Marc Hoffman, leader of the Archiv. This is followed by a series of photographs of Haus Duldeck, of the library itself, and of Rudolf Steiner through the course of his life. In a substantial introduction, Dr. Sam describes Rudolf Steiner’s relation to books throughout the phases of his biography and recounts numerous valuable anecdotes; she then details the history of how his library developed, began to be catalogued and ordered according to various sections (History, Medicine, Philosophy and Psychology, etc.), and eventually arrived at the nuanced and differentiated form in which it exists today.
The titles of the books are generally given in English with the original language following in parentheses. Subtitles and other descriptive and bibliographic information come next. Various specific details are also noted for each book, such as dedications (which are reproduced in full), particularly significant marginal notes, the presence of markings and underlining, dog-ears, drawings, bookmarks, etc. Throughout the catalogue, nearly 200 photographs are reproduced showing notable examples of dedications, notes, drawings, and the various details just mentioned. A comprehensive Index of Authors is provided at the end of volume three
Books by Sergei O. Prokofieff
Relating to Rudolf Steiner and the Mystery of the Laying of the Foundation Stone
Even within the Anthroposophical Society and the anthroposophic movement, the relationship to Rudolf Steiner is weakening. This is problematic, says Prokofieff, as the future of both the Society and movement depends on a sufficient number of people aspiring to and realizing a true spiritual connection with Steiner. Prokofieff deals in detail with this issue and asks, “Can one be an anthroposophist without being Rudolf Steiner’s pupil?” READ MORE
Rudolf Steiner: Fragment of a Spiritual Biography
In a sequence of five past incarnations—as indicated by Steiner himself—and culminating in the life of Rudolf Steiner, Prokofieff searched for the inner thread between the six stages of Steiner’s remarkable and all-encompassing life. His intention was to discover not only the outer connections in this sequence, but also the profounder, more esoteric stream that would offer a key to the unique significance of this individuality. READ MORE
Rudolf Steiner and the Founding of the New Mysteries
In this revised and expanded edition of his classic debut, Sergei O. Prokofieff investigates the deepest mysteries of Rudolf Steiner’s life and individuality, from “the years of apprenticeship” and “the great Sun period” to “the path of the Teacher of Humanity” and “the birth of the New Mysteries.” READ MORE
Rudolf Steiner and the Masters of Esoteric Christianity
Continuing from his first book Rudolf Steiner and the Founding of the New Mysteries, Sergei Prokofieff researches the working of seven Masters of esoteric Christianity: Manes, Master Jesus, Scythianos, Gautama Buddha, The Maitreya Bodhisattva, Novalis, and Christian Rosenkreutz. READ MORE
From the Collected Works of Rudolf Steiner
Autobiography
Chapters in the Course of My Life, 1861–1907
Written 1924–1925 (CW 28)
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When I was about fifteen, I was allowed to have closer contact with the physician in Wiener-Neustadt whom I mentioned. I had grown very fond of him because of the way he talked with me when he visited Neudörfl. I often passed his place—a ground-floor apartment at the corner of two very narrow streets in Wiener-Neustadt. One day he was at the window and called me into his room. I stood there gazing at what, at the time, seemed to be an enormous library. He again talked of literature and took from the shelves Lessing’s Minna von Barnhelm. He told me to read it and then return. He repeatedly loaned me books in this way to read, and he allowed me to go and see him occasionally. Each time I had to tell him my impressions of what I had read. Thus he actually became my teacher in poetry. Apart from one or two samplings, very little of this had previously come my way at home or at school. Through this lovable doctor, who was so enthusiastic about all things beautiful, I learned more, especially about Lessing.
—Rudolf Steiner, Autobiography: Chapters in the Course of My Life, 1861–1907 (CW 28)
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