Neue Lotusblüten 4, no. 11-12 (November-December 1911), 321-329[*]
Translation from the German by Robert Hütwohl
There are two kinds of worldview and two kinds of knowledge. The lower worldview is that which sees nothing in this world of appearances but appearances; the higher world view arises from the feeling or consciousness that all phenomena have a higher spiritual cause from which all the phenomena we perceive originate, and that there is an indwelling intelligence in this cause.
Lower science arises from the investigation of the physical, mechanical and chemical effects of seemingly blind laws of nature. She knows well how the substances interact with each other, but she does not yet recognize the intelligence that determines this behavior. The higher science proceeds from a higher activity than the blind intellect; it springs from the spirit that is permeated by the light of true knowledge and sees in all temporary phenomena their eternal lasting cause. We must not confuse the human knowledge which arises from the observation of natural phenomena in the universe, and the consequent speculations of the human brain, with that higher knowledge which arises from the inward knowledge of God, who is the source of all these phenomena and the soul of all.
Let’s see what Emerson talks about this subject:[1]
“We are involuntarily compelled to recognize the perfection of this world with which our senses commune. How far, how rich, how much speaking! In their fertile fields, in their navigable seas, in their mountains of metal and stone, in their woody forests, in their animals, in their chemical substances, in the forces and paths of light, warmth, attraction and life they are well worthy of great men’s hearts and marrow striving to subjugate and enjoy them. The planters, the mechanics, the inventors, the astronomers, the navigators, and the founders of cities, are joyfully honored by world history.
“But as soon as the mind opens up and begins to comprehend and reveal the laws that flow through the universe and make things as they appear to us, then this vast world suddenly shrinks to a mere textual image, even a fable of ours spirit together. “What am I? What is it anyway?” asks the human mind with a constantly renewed but never satisfied curiosity. For those laws are like monster lines, which our imperfect comprehension can only aim here and there, but can never see closing in a circle. We discover infinite relationships; everything is so equal and yet so unequal; many things and yet only one. You always want to learn, always research, just always admire!
“And yet a still more mysterious, sweet, and overwhelming beauty reveals itself to us when heart and mind begin to open to moral sentiments. Thus begins the teaching of what is above us. Here we learn that our being is without limit, that we are born to be good and perfect, however deeply we may lie in weakness and sin. What man initiates is his if he has not yet achieved it. He shall I We know the meaning of this great word, although our research cannot explain it. If one, whether innocent or of the highest spiritual maturity, has managed to say: “I love justice, the truth is glorious within and without, today and forever.” forever—eternal spirit of goodness, I am thine, keep me, rule me, I will serve thee day and night, in great things and in small things, so that I may not be virtuous, but virtue itself.” Then the end goal of creation is reached and God sees it with pleasure.
“Moral feeling is nothing but a feeling of awe and delight at the perception of certain divine laws. It rests on the realization that the homely game of life hides amazing principles beneath seemingly ridiculous details. Just as the child learns in its games the effectiveness of light, movement, gravity and muscle power, so in the game of life love and fear, justice and desire, man and divinity interact. It is impossible to state these laws in precise terms; they cannot be written down, human language cannot express them; they mock our most enduring thoughts. And yet we read them daily and hourly in one another’s faces, in one another’s deeds, and in each one’s own conscience.
“The intuition of moral feeling is the knowledge of the perfection of spiritual laws. These laws are at the same time their own executors. They stand outside of time, of space, and are not subject to change. This is how it is: There is a justice that works in the soul of every human being and immediately and infallibly repays every impulse, every deed. Anyone who performs a good deed is thereby immediately ennobled; whoever commits a mean act is immediately humiliated. Whoever detaches himself from the impure thereby falls into purity. A person who is pure in heart is therefore God. The security of God, the immortality of God, the majesty of God enter his heart. A person who hypocrites and cheats deceives himself and loses a clear idea of his own nature. A person who beholds absolute goodness worships with perfect humility. Every such step down is a step up. The man who gives up himself comes to himself.
“See how this rapid inner force is at work everywhere, everywhere turning wrong into right, making appearances into being, and establishing harmony between fact and thought. Through them each man becomes his own providence, creating good for his goodness and evil for his wickedness. character is always recognized; Theft never enriches; Alms don’t make anyone poor. This law is no less perfect in its influence on the inclinations of men and as the fundamental law of human society. The good join the good by affinity, the bad join the bad by affinity. Thus the soul goes to heaven or hell by virtue of its own volition.
“These facts have always led man to the sublime thought that the world is not the product of multiple forces, but that of one will and one spirit, and that one spirit is at work everywhere, in every ray of stars as in every ring of water in the pond, and Whatever opposes this will is defeated and lost everywhere, because things are created this way and no other. The good is the positive; evil exists only as negation; it has no absolute being; it is like cold, which is only the denial of heat. All evil is as much as death and non-existence. Only the “good” will is absolute and real. As much “good” will a person has, as much life he has. As long as a man has good intentions, he is strong with all the strength of nature. To the extent that he strays from these ends, he deprives himself of strength and means; his being withdraws like a fluid from the most distant canals; it becomes less and less, a point, a nothing, until absolute badness becomes absolute death.
“The knowledge of this law of laws awakens in man a feeling which we call the religious consciousness and ours? constitutes supreme bliss. Wonderful is his power to charm and command. It exalts the sky and the mountains; it resounds in the silent song of the seas. The world owes its safety and livability to him alone; not knowledge or power. Thought can only affect things coldly and temporarily; he finds no end and no unity; but the dawning of moral feeling in the heart gives and is the certainty that one law rules all natures, and the worlds, time, space, and eternity seem to erupt in loud rejoicing.
“This feeling is divine and it divinizes. It is man’s highest bliss; it makes him unlimited. Only now does the soul get to know itself. Only now will the main fault of the minor be eliminated, who strives to be great by following the great; who hopes to gain benefit from others; for this feeling shows that the source of all goodness is within himself and that he, like any other human being, is a gateway to the depths of reason. When he says: “I shall,” when love warms him, when he, obeying the voice on high, chooses the great and good, then deep melodies of the highest wisdom flow through his soul. Only now can he worship and grow through his devotion; for beyond that feeling! it can never reach. In its loftiest flights the spirit never soars above the heights of morality, never above the summit of love.”
What is designated here as “ethics” or “morality” is to be understood as religious consciousness; for there are two kinds of morality: the learned pseudo-morality, in which the calculation of the advantage arising from it forms the background, and that which springs from the consciousness of the bond which binds humanity to divinity. Through “devotion,” that is, through the fact that the mind is constantly directed towards the highest, the growth of this consciousness and the spread of spiritual knowledge takes place; the more man rises above the uniqueness he has created and approaches the throne As he approaches God, who has his existence in the heart of all beings, he learns all the more, through this union with the spirit from which the thought of creation arose, the laws that govern his creation. This is the basis of the higher world view and higher science which is called “secret” or “occult” because it is hidden from the wise of this world and is not for everyone, since it cannot be taught, but springs from the consciousness of the omnipresence of God.
Notes
[*] See Ralph Waldo Emerson, Essays, translated by Dr. Karl Federn.
[1] Higher World-view and Higher Spiritual-science [Höhere Weltanschauung und höhere Geisteswissenschaft. Franz Hartmann, M.D. and Ralph Waldo Emerson. Neue Lotusblüten 4, no. 11-12 (November-December 1911), 321-329] {This article was reformatted from the original, but with the content unchanged other than fixing minor typos. Translation from the German by Robert Hütwohl, ©2025}