Translation from German by Robert Hutwohl [1]

                                           “If you are finished, nothing will please you.

A person who is becoming will always be more thoughtful.”

Goethe.

          If we descend from the Olympic heights, where the pure light of the knowledge of truth dwells, to this world of appearances and look closely at samsara [saṃsāra], we see that it is in a state of fermentation. Science and technology have certainly made many advances in promoting the external well-being of people; the cry for enlightenment and freedom is heard everywhere, especially from those who do not want enlightenment if it contradicts their prejudices and are not in favor of freedom; but everywhere a sea of ​​moral filth stares at us, just as Maria Janitschek describes it in her novel “Ninive” [R.H.—Ninive, Novel, Leipzig 1896]. Much has improved in recent years; much is worse advertised than it used to be. The organ for perceiving the true, the good and the beautiful seems to be becoming increasingly ossified and shrinking in our modern civilized people, and it may soon come to the point where when one hears the words “ love, faith, justice, wisdom” and the like, one must first look them up in a conversational dictionary to find out what they mean. Despite all the praised civilization, mass murder in various parts of the . . . [Next page is missing.]

Note:

[1] Hartmann, F. (1903). “Our Order.” Oriflamme 2, no. 2 (February), 16 cutoff] Translation from German by Robert Hutwohl, ©2025