A priori it seems clear that without self-control exercised by the individuals participating in conversation, conversation is impossible. In general, conversations do not occur among the inmates of Bedlam, or other houses of the insane. Thus,

(P5) Principle of self-control.

For higher conversation, where spiritual enlightenment and initiation are being sought, it seems equally clear that self-control will entail some positive aspect, and not merely the negative one of self-restraint. In anthroposophical conversation, the individual will want to contribute contents that disclose his (her) understanding of the spiritual world, and will want to do this in a manner that everyone else present can accept and to which they can respond. Self-control in Goethean conversation is self-control on behalf of others.

The maxim or injunction of the anthroposophist in conversation is thus "Be a work of art." Self-expression in anthroposophical company is never a gesture of self-indulgence, of private commentary, of undisciplined rambling or any expression of subjective inclination applied to a particular moment. It is always a gesture on behalf of that which is objective and universal in the moment. Conversational control is maintaining the contents and the attitudes of conversation as something that everyone present can always respond to objectively.