"We, the people of the fifth post-Atlantean period...we have to resolve, to the greatest extent possible and in a way that is filled with the power of life, the problem that one can call the problem of evil. I ask you to think about this in some depth. The fact that evil, which will approach the human being of the fifth post-Atlantean period in every possible form and will do this in such a way that the human being will have to resolve the very nature and being of evil scientifically, will have to come to grips, in all his or her loving and hating, with everything that stems from evil, and battle and wrestle with evil's resistance to impulses of the will; all this belongs to the task of the fifth post-Atlantean period." -- Rudolf Steiner, Goethe's Faust in the Light of Anthroposophy, p. 85)

The two essays published here were written on the basis of lectures given to members of the School for Spiritual Science. Their content therefore deals directly with the path of inner development outlined in the lessons of the First Class of the School.

In the first essay, Selg address the necessary confrontation with the powers of evil as they appear in the Class Lessons and in our time more broadly. Only through confronting and overcoming these powers are we able to find the path to our true humanity.

The second essay deals with the figure of the Guardian of the Threshold as a Michaelic teacher and guide along the soul's path into the spiritual world. This figure, Selg argues, is far too little understood in our time. He is a spiritual being of great significance who offers help to all earnest seekers.

This book represents an ongoing effort on the part of Peter Selg and the leaders of the General Anthroposophical Section at the Goetheanum to deepen and internalize the work with the Class Lessons for all members of the School for Spiritual Science.

This book is comprised of translations of texts originally published in German by Verlag des Ita Wegman Instituts: Die Auseinandersetzung mit dem Bsen: Zur Schulung der Ersten Klasse . Hochschulvortrge Band 1 (2019); Die Sprache des Hters: Zur Schulung der Ersten Klasse . Hochschulvortrge Band 2 (2020).

Facing Evil and the Guardian Speaks: Esoteric Lessons of the First Class