Steiner Quote

“If an oriental sage of earlier times, who had been initiated into the Mysteries of the ancient East, were to turn his glance towards western civilization, he might perhaps say to its representatives: ‘You are living entirely in fear; your whole mood of soul is governed by fear. All that you do, as well as all that you feel, is saturated with fear and its reverberations in the most important moments of life. And since fear is closely related to hatred, so hatred plays a great part in your civilisation.’
“In the time of this sage, it was joy that played that role; love was a fundamental force.
“... it must certainly be admitted that but little of this love can be traced directly in the present. But one who is able to discern it can perceive even now, in the phenomena of decline of the Asiatic culture, the penetration of this primeval element of joy — delight in the world and love for the world.”