Walter Johannes Stein

‘We think that most of the content of The Present Age, published by W. J. Stein about 70 years ago, is of extreme relevance today, especially the impulses of Dr. Steiner and D. N. Dunlop that shine through its articles. Most of those ideas have yet to be fully grasped.’

Zo motiveren de ‘editors’ (wie dat zijn, blijft ongenoemd) hun website ‘The Present Age’, die in ieder geval sinds 21 september 2009 online is, getuige ‘Welcome to our new layout!’

‘This update of our website should make the website more readable and attractive. We also want to encourage debate by enabling the comment function. W. J. Stein’s World Economy, published in 1937, has its own page to emphasize its content. Until now, everything up to Chapter 2 has been converted and uploaded.’

Deze World Economy is intussen compleet:

‘World Economy by W. J. Stein

Please find here the digital version W. J. Stein’s special issue on the economy published in June-July 1937. Since we converted it into this format, we are grateful to receive any spelling mistakes on editorspresentage@gmail.com.

This is the complete study: The Earth as a basis of World Economy

Here, a short overview of the Chapters:

– Preface

– Introduction

– The Earth as a Star among Stars

– The Cosmological and Geological Aspect as Foundation for the Distribution of Raw Materials on the Earth

– The Cosmological Origin of Metals

– The Oceans

– The Air and the Temperature System of the Earth

– The Sun and Planetary Influences on Weather and Climate as Foundation for Harvests and Prices

– World Economy

– The Organization of World Economy by D. Ferguson, M. A. (NOT included in our document, yet)’

Wie deze Walter Johannes Stein is, daarover zou een heel boek geschreven kunnen worden. Dat heeft Johannes Tautz trouwens al gedaan, in 1989. Meer over Stein is te vinden onder de biografieën bij ‘Forschungsstelle Kulturimpuls’. Nu gaat het vooral om deze Engelse website, en om deze hier een beetje te introduceren, de tekst die gisteren werd geplaatst, ‘Article: Portugal as Preparer for the British Mission’:

‘In a brief but relevant article, which was originally published in May 1936 (a few months after Keynes published his General Theory), W. J. Stein describes Portugal’s involvement in the preparation of a solution to one of the most pressing problems of our present age: how to unite a true world economy with the political and cultural aspirations of individual countries? In the end of this article Stein calls it the Philosophers Stone for our age, which couldn’t be a more appropriate description for our present times where one has not to look far to sense the urgency of this question.

More specifically, Stein focuses on how in de 15th century the foundation for a world economy was laid with the great impulses of the Portuguese discoveries, most of which were inspired by motives that go far beyond economical or political gains. In other words, the voyages of Bartolomeas Diaz, Vasco da Gama and their followers had an inner spiritual meaning which were connected with the ongoing stream of the Grail. According to Stein: “It was the great knightly Orders that were the instrument of this spirit of modern time. [...] In the name of Christ, that is to say with a religious motive, and by the power of the sword, the foundations were thus laid for the modern time – the time in which we life, wherein we must learn to lay aside the sword and to make all the Earth the bearer of a peaceful world-economy, embracing all nations.” According to Stein, these impulses from the 15th century Portugal were later brought to the Northern part of Europe to the Dutch and British peoples.

To illuminate certain aspects of the 15th century in Portugal, the article zooms into the lives of two individuals: princess Juana of Castile and the seafarer Francesco de Almeida. In describing some parts of the life of princess Juana, Stein shows the battle between forces of conserving the old against forces of new impulses; in describing some part of the life of Francesco de Almeida, Stein reveals that the seafarer fulfilled a task, which had its origins in Aristotle, is connected with the alchemist Basil Valentine, with the writer Thomas Malory in England, and continues today in a new form.

It is worth mentioning that Stein himself felt very connected with the Portuguese. In 1932 he travelled to Portugal with his younger friend and pupil Alex Leroi, who showed him the important places. Stein was also invited to give lectures on the Grail and the social question when they stayed in Lisbon. This article is the fruit of intensive inner experiences that he had in connection the first Vice Roy for the Portuguese in India, Francisco d’ Almeida. It is also is why a part of this article is focused on the life and impulses of the person Francesco de Almeida and his place in world history.

Although the article was already available on our website, we decided to republish it with the above introduction. Please find the article here.’

Wat zien ik: ‘the time in which we life’ (in de tweede alinea)? Dat moet toch ‘in which we live’ zijn! Zijn deze editors soms geen ‘native speakers’? Maar maakt ook niet uit, het is hartstikke goed wat ze doen. Om dat te illustreren, een stukje uit het begin van het artikel, waarin ook Nederland figureert. Het komt uit ‘The Present Age’, Vol.1, May 1936. No 6:

‘The immense change from mediaeval bonds of consciousness to the free and world-wide outlook of the modern is profoundly rooted in the history of the Portuguese, more especially in their voyages of discovery, whereby the Far East – India above all – was brought into more intimate contact with Europe. What in antiquity, in Alexander’s time, had been but an isolated adventure, now became a firmly established relationship of commerce between East and West.

Vasco de Gama’s discovery was followed by Francisco Almeida’s conquest of India on behalf of the Portuguese crown, and Albuquerque made what was thus achieved into a lasting possession. Thus there arose the world-embracing trade of modern time, which became a thing of far wider than merely national significance. Men of all nations indeed took part in these voyages, whether as merchants, scientists and scholars, or simple adventurers. Martin Behaim constructed his famous globe, which can be seen to this day in the Nuremberg museum and bears witness to the extent of his knowledge – a knowledge founded still in ancient spiritual traditions. He too, in the spirit, accompanied the bold seafarers. In the State Library at Munich there is a manuscript account of the journey by a German who accompanied the Portuguese on their voyage to India. Members of nearly all the European nations were present there. Indeed, there can be no doubt that the voyage was inspired by the great Orders of Chivalry, all of which were cosmopolitan in character. These knightly Orders – I mention for example those that were founded in England with the renewal of the Arthurian legends by Henry VII – were intimately connected, above all, with the Order of Knights of Santiago di Compostella. Maximilian too, the Roman king, had his share in these international communities of the Spirit.

The Portuguese voyagers owed their knowledge and their skill to the School of Navigation at Sagres in the south of Portugal, the founder of which was Henry the Seafarer. The latter was Grand Master of the “Order of Christ,” which had been founded by the Portuguese king Dinis after the dissolution of the Knights Templars with the intention to protect and carry forward the valuable impulses of the latter Order. These Orders, too, stood for an international community of Spirit.

Henry the Seafarer himself was half Portuguese and half English. His mother was Phillipa, daughter of John of Gaunt, who was the third son of King Edward III of England. Phillipa’s mother was Blanche of Lancaster. Thus the Red Rose of Lancaster is also interwoven with the history of the Portuguese discoveries. Azurara has bequeathed to us Henry the Seafarer’s horoscope. In the interpretation we read that Henry was well fitted to seek out things that were hidden from other men, as is shown by the position of Saturn, the guardian of secrets. If ever a horoscope was of significance it was this one, which, though recorded and worked out at the time of his birth, was literally fulfilled by his life; for Henry was chosen by destiny to discover the hitherto unknown African continent, and it was his ocean map which at a later time guided Columbus to the West.

Henry the Seafarer was a man of extraordinary features. The mighty and prominent chin was some indication of his unusual character. He was a mathematical genius, knowing in advance, with intuitive feeling what others had to calculate. Small wonder if the things he initiated worked on into the future. Englishman and Portuguese at one and the same time, he united realistic common sense with fine sensibility. Thus he became not only a national hero of Portugal, but a representative of the spirit of the coming time.

The Dutch inherited what the Portuguese had discovered and had made into the lasting foundation of a new world-commerce. At the end of the sixteenth century, when Spain put an end to Portugal’s independence and the reactionary spirit was threatening to gain the upper hand once more, the united Netherlands were separated off from the same Spanish empire. The two events were simultaneous. It was as though the spirit of modern time, at the moment of losing hold on Portugal, created a new instrument for itself in the Netherlands, the heroic characters of which, by their strong sense of liberty, appeared as the true children of modern time. The Dutch trading companies inherited what the Portuguese seamen had achieved in the Far East, and the Dutch inheritance was taken over by the English in their turn. England can therefore look back on all this as on a page of her own history.’

Wie van geschiedenis houdt, zal smullen van zo’n website als deze! En al helemaal als W.J. Stein erachter staat...

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