To: <anthroposophy_tomorrow@yahoogroups.com>
References: <20040311173131.93834.qmail@web14422.mail.yahoo.com>
Subject: Re: [anthroposophy_tomorrow] To Peter
Date: Thu, 11 Mar 2004 23:07:36 -0500

Hi Daniel, you wrote:
"Sorry that I wasn't clear. I have the German in front of me (primary sources). The title of Chapter 6 is "Die fünf Hauptrassen der Menschheit""

Peter Staudenmaier:
I have two German editions: an original printing of the lectures, and the current official Gesamtausgabe edition published by the Nachlassverwaltung (the 1994 paperback edition, which says it is identical to the 1982 hardcover edition). Neither of these German editions gives any titles for the individual chapters. If the 1962 edition that you have does give titles, then that's likely where the authorized English translation came from.

Daniel:
Thanks for the information. So regardless of how you translate "Hauptrassen" we agree that the word itself in that work does not originate with Steiner.
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Daniel wrote:
"If it stands as the "Root Races" in the English version, then it has been mistranslated."

Peter Staudenmaier:
Why do you believe that "Root Races" is a mistranslation of "Hauptrassen"???

Daniel:
Well aside from the fact that we have established that the question is irrelevant, as the word does not originate from Steiner, let us look at the word:

Hauptrassen is a compound of Haupt and Rassen.
Haupt = main, chief, central
Rassen = races

The German word for "Root" is Wurzel. The formulation in theosophical literature is "Wurzelrassen."

So you tell me, Peter, why on earth would you translate Hauptrassen as Root Races? I thought you presumed some degree of expertise in this subject area.
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Daniel wrote:
"The word "Aryan" (and I looked for Arier and arische) is nowhere in the German."

Peter Staudenmaier:
Yes, it is. On p. 114 Steiner writes of "denjenigen Rassen, die zur Jupiter-Menschheit gehören," and specifies as follows: "Das ist bei den arischen, vorderasiatischen und europäischen Völkern, bei denen, die wir zu den Kaukasiern rechnen, mehr oder weniger der Fall." That's in the latter third of chapter 6, in case your pagination is different. The passage is identical in the original printing that I have as well (though the two editions otherwise diverge at several points).

Daniel:
Thank you. I stand corrected. There is one instance of the word "Aryan" in the original (in the form "arischen"). It is on page 110 of the 1962 German edition. The sentence (in English for the sake of the rest of our listmates) is:

"Here is the seat of those forces which determine the particular racial character of those races belonging to the Jupiter humanity. This applies more or less to the Aryans, to the peoples of Asia Minor and Europe whm we regard as members of the Caucasian race. In these peoples the modifications of the generic character which stems from the abnormal Spirits of Form is accounted for by the influence of the senses of the abnormal Spirits whom we may describe as Jupiter Spirits."

I've read around, and I am having a hard time finding any indication that the Jupiter-forces are somehow superior to the Mercury forces, or the Venus forces, or the Saturn forces, or the Mars forces. As I noted, the word "superiority" or "superior" are not present in the text.
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Daniel wrote:
"I am ignoring the revised version of your article only by accident. I did a google search for "Anthroposophy and Ecofascism" and took the first search result."

Peter Staudenmaier:
But that's exactly what Sune is complaining about. He's upset because the revised version of my article still contains what he thinks are errors. How did you miss that?

Daniel:
Um, Peter, you're missing the point again. I am stating that when I look, I find this version of your text. I frankly don't care that Sune finds that your new version also contains (surprise, surprise) further errors. If you took the time to correct the mistakes that you were able to acknowledge, perhaps you might take a few minutes to get your corrected version in place of the even more incorrect version. Unless, of course, you prefer that people read the wrong version.
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Daniel Hindes

In light of this exchange, I corrected myself and reposted an updated version of my allegations.