‘Everyone can derive joy and hope from the communications of another, for what we are told about the higher worlds is not mere theory, unrelated to life. As its fruits, it brings us two things we must have if we are to lay hold of life in the right way – strength and security – and both are given in the highest measure.’ – Rudolf Steiner Rudolf Steiner speaks with great clarity and precision on the fundamental nature of the human being in relation to the cosmos, the evolution of the Earth, the journey of the soul after death, reincarnation and karma, good and evil, and the modern path of meditative training. Throughout, his emphasis is on a scientific exposition of spiritual phenomena. As he says in the final lecture: ‘the highest knowledge of mundane things is thoroughly compatible with the highest knowledge of spiritual truths’. This popular course of lectures offers a fine introduction to the whole of Steiner’s teaching, and is an excellent complement to his fundamental texts. At the same time, it features valuable material that cannot be found elsewhere, such as two rare question-and-answer sessions, where the lecturer offers immediate and often surprising responses to audience members’ queries. This new edition features an introduction by Brien Masters, notes and an index. Fourteen lectures, Stuttgart; Aug.–Sept. 1906, GA 95