Rudolf Steiner (1861–1925), the Austrian polymath philosopher, cosmologist, scientist, artist, educator, founder of anthroposophy (the list goes on), was—in addition to or in conjunction with all of these things—one of the most prolific writers and lecturers of the twentieth century. His complete oeuvre spans some forty written works and over 6,000 lectures (comprising roughly 400 volumes in the current German complete edition). Considering he died at the relatively young age of sixty-four, this is a remarkable feat. To study this immense and profound body of work is itself a life-long pursuit.
Many of Rudolf Steiner’s works and transcripts of lectures (most of which he did not have time to review) were published in his lifetime and in the decades following his death. Then, in 1961, the initiative arose to publish a Gesamtausgabe (complete edition) of Rudolf Steiner’s works, planned, at that time, for 354 volumes. Since then, additional volumes have been added to the German edition.
