Scene 2

Scene 2In the open. Rocks and springs. The entire scene is to be thought of as taking place in the soul of Johannes Thomasius. What follows is the content of his meditation.(There sounds from the springs and rocks:)Know thou thyself, O man.Johannes:’Tis thus I hear them, now these many years,These words of weighty import all around,(hear them in the wind and in the wave:Out from earth’s depths do they resound to me:And as a tiny acorn’s mystery,Confines the structure of a mighty oak,So in the kernel of these words there lies,All elemental nature; all I graspOf soul, of spirit, time, eternity.It seems mine own peculiaritiesAnd all the world besides live in these words:‘Know thou thyself, O man. Know thou thyself.’(From the springs and rocks resounds:)Know thou thyself, O man.Johannes:Know thou thyself, O man.And now—I feelMine inmost being terrified to life:Without the gloom of night doth weave me round,And deep within my soul thick darkness yawns:And sounding from this universal gloomAnd up from out the darkness of my soulThese words ring forth: ‘Know thou thyself, O man.’(From the springs and rocks resounds:)Know thou thyself, O man.Johannes:It robs me of my very self: I changeEach hour of day, and am transformed by night.The earth I follow on its cosmic course:I seem to rumble in the thunder’s peal,And flash adown the lightning’s fierce-forked tongue—IAM.—Alas, already do I feelMine own existence snatched away from me.I see what was my former carnal shape,As some strange being, quite outside myself,And infinitely far away from me.But now another body hovers near,And through its mouth I am compelled to speak:—‘Ah, bitter sorrow hath he brought to me;So utterly I trusted him of old.He left me lonely with my sorrow’s pain,He robbed me of the very warmth of life,And thrust me deep beneath the chill, cold ground.’Poor soul, ’tis she I left, and leaving herIt was in truth mine own self that I left;And I must suffer all her pain and woe.For knowledge hath endowed me with the powerMyself into another’s self to fuse.Ah me! Ye quench again by your own powerThe light of inner knowledge ye have brought,Ye cruel words, ‘Know thou thyself, O man.’(From the springs and rocks resounds:)Know thou thyself, O man.Johannes:Ye lead me back again within the sphereOf mine own being’s former fantasies.Yet in what shape know I myself again!My human form is lost and gone from me;Like some fierce dragon do I see myself;Begotten out of primal lust and greed.And clearly do I see how up till nowSome dim deluding veil of phantom formsHath hid from me mine own monstrosity.Mine own self’s fierceness must devour my Self.And through my veins run like consuming fireThose words, that once with elemental forceRevealed the core of suns and earths to me.They throb within my pulse, beat in mine heart;And even in mine inmost thoughts I feelStrange worlds e’en now blaze forth like passions fierce.They are the fruitage of these very words:‘Know thou thyself, O man. Know thou thyself,’(From the springs and rocks resounds:)Know thou thyself, O man.Johannes:There,—from that dark abyss, what creature glares?I feel the chains that hold me chained to thee.So fast was not Prometheus rivettedUpon the naked rocks of Caucasus,As I am rivetted and forged to thee—Who art thou, fearful, execrable shape?(From the springs and rocks resounds:)Know thou thyself, O man.Johannes:Oh yea, I know thee; for thou art myself:Knowledge doth chain to thee, pernicious beast,(Enter Maria unnoticed by Johannes.)Chain mine own self to thee, pernicious beast.I willed to flee from thee; but I was blind,Blinded by glamour of the worlds, wheretoMy folly fled to free me from myself;And now once more within my sightless soulBlind through these words: ‘Know thou thyself, O man.’(From the springs and rocks resounds:)Know thou thyself, O man.Johannes:(As though coming to himself, sees Maria. The meditation passes to the plane of inner reality.)Know thou thyself, O man.Thou here, my friend?Maria:I sought thee, friend, although I know full wellHow comforting to thee is solitude,When many varying thoughts of many menHave flooded o’er thy soul. I also knowI cannot by my presence help my friendIn this dark hour of strife—yet yearnings vagueDrive me in this same moment unto thee;When Benedictus’ words, instead of light,Such grievous sorrow drew from thy soul’s depths.Johannes:How comforting to me is solitude!Yea, I have sought to find myself therein,So often when to labyrinths of thoughtThe joys and griefs of men had driven me.But now, O friend, that, too, is past and gone.What Benedictus’ words at first arousedWithin my soul, and all that I lived throughWhen listening to the speeches of those men,Seems but indeed a little thing, when ICompare therewith the storm that solitudeWith sullen brooding hath brought forth in me.Ah me! when I recall this solitude!It hounded me into the voids of space,And tore me from my very self in two.Within that soul to whom I brought such painI stood, as though I were some other man.And there I had to suffer all the painOf which I was myself the primal cause.Ah cruel, sombre, fearful solitudeThou giv’st me back unto myself indeed,Yet but to terrify me with the sightOf mine own nature’s fathomless abyss.Man’s final refuge hath been lost to me:I have been robbed of solitude itself.Maria:I must repeat what I have said before.Alone can Benedictus succour thee;Only from him may we obtain supportAnd that firm basis which we both do lack.For know thou this: I also can no moreEndure the riddle of my life, unlessHis gentle guidance solveth it for me.Full often have I kept before mine eyesThis truth sublime, that o’er all life doth floatAppearance and deception if we graspLife’s surface only in our moods of thought.And o’er and o’er again it spake to me:Thou must take knowledge how illusion’s veilWeaves all around thee; and however oftIt may appear to thee as truth, beware;For evil fruitage may in truth ariseIf thou shouldst try within another’s soulTo wake the light that lives within thyself.Yet in the best part of my soul I knowThat even this oppressive weight of careWhich hath o’erwhelmed thy soul, dear friend of mine,As thou didst tread with me the path of life,Is part and parcel of the thorny way,That leads unto the light of Truth itself.Thou must live through each horror and alarmThat can spring forth from vain imaginingBefore the Truth in essence stands revealed.Thus speaks thy star; and by that same star speechIt doth appear to me that we shall walkOne day united, on the spirit-paths.And yet whene’er I seek to tread these pathsBlack night doth spread a curtain round my sight.And many things that I must live and do,Which spring as fruitage from my character,Intensify the darkness of that night.We two must seek clear vision in that light,Which, though it vanish for a while from sight,Can never be extinguished in the soul.Johannes:But then, Maria, dost thou realizeThrough what my soul hath fought its way but now?A grievous destiny awaiteth thee,Most noble friend. For well I know that farFrom thy pure nature lies that potent force,That hath so wholly shattered me to bits.Thou canst ascend the clearest heights of truth,And scan with steadfast gaze life’s tangled path;And whether in the darkness or the lightThou wilt retain thine own identity.But me each moment may deprive of Self.Deep down I had to dive within the heartsOf those who late revealed themselves in speech.I followed one to cloistered solitude,—And in another’s soul I listened toFelicia’s fairy lore. I was each one;Only unto myself I seemed as dead;For I must fain believe that primal lifeDid spring from very Nothingness itself,If it were right to entertain the hope,That out of that dread nothingness in meA human being ever could arise.For I am driven from fear into the darkAnd from the darkness back again to fearBy wisdom stored within these living words:‘Know thou thyself, O man. Know thou thyself.’(From the springs and rocks the words resound:)Know thou thyself, O man.CurtainScene 3A room for meditation. The background is a great purple curtain. The scene is purple in colour with a large yellow pentagonal lamp suspended from the ceiling. No other furniture or ornaments are in the room except the lamp and one chair. Benedictus, Johannes, Maria, and a child.Maria:I bring to thee this child who needs some wordFrom out thy mouth.Benedictus:From out thy mouth.My child, henceforth each eveThou shalt come unto me to hear the wordThat shall fill full thy soul ere thou dost treadThe realm of souls in sleep. Wilt thou do this?Child:Most gladly will I come.Benedictus:Most gladly will I come.This very eveFill thy soul full ere sleep embraceth thee,With strength from these few words: ‘The powers of lightBear me aloft unto the spirit’s home.’(Maria leads the child away.)Maria:And now, that this child’s destiny doth flowHarmoniously through future days beneathThe shadow of thy gracious fatherhood,I too may claim my leader’s kind advice,Who am its mother, not by bond of bloodBut through the mighty power of destiny.For thou hast shown to me the way whereinI had to guide its footsteps from that day,When I discovered it before my doorLeft by its unknown mother desolate.And wonder-working proved themselves those rulesWhereby thou madest me train my foster-child.All powers, that deep in body and in soulLay hidden, issued forth to light and life:Clear proof it was that all thy counsellingSprang from the realm which sheltered this child’s soulBefore it built its body’s covering.We saw the hopes of manhood blossom forthAnd radiate more brightly each new day;Thou dost know well how hard it was for meTo gain the child’s affection, at the first.It grew up ’neath my care, and yet nought elseSave habit chained its soul at first to mine.It only realized and felt that IGave it the nurture and the food that servedThe needs of body and the growth of soul.Then came the time when in the child-like heartThere dawned the love for her who fostered it.An outer incident brought forth this change—The visit of the seeress to our group.Gladly the child did go about with herAnd soon did learn full many a beauteous wordSteeped in the mystic charm that graced her speech.Then came the moment when her ecstasyDescended on our friend with magic power.The child could see her eyes’ strange smouldering light,And, terrified unto its vital core,The young soul dawned to consciousness of self.In her dismay she fled unto mine arms;And from that hour did grow her love for me.Since that same time she doth accept from meThe gifts of life with her full consciousnessNot with blind instinct: aye, and since that dayWhen this young heart first quivered into warmth,Whene’er her gaze met mine with loving glance,Thy wisdom’s treasures of their fruitage failed,And much already ripe hath withered up.I saw appear in her those tokens strangeThat proved so terrible unto my friend.A dark enigma am I to myself,And grow still darker. Thou wilt not denyTo solve for me life’s fearful questionings?Why do I thus destroy both friend and child,When I in love approach my work with themTo give them knowledge of that spirit-loreWhich in my soul I know to be the good?Oft hast thou taught me this exalted truth—‘Illusion’s veil o’erspreads life’s surfaces’—Yet must I see with greater clarityWhy I must bear this heavy destiny,That seems so cruel and which works such harm.Benedictus:Within our circle there is formed a knotOf threads that Karma spins world-fashioning.Thy sufferings, my friend are links in chains,Forged by the hand of destiny, wherebyThe deeds of gods unite with human lives.—When in life’s pilgrimage I had attainedThat rank which granted me the dignityTo serve with counsel in the spirit-spheres,A godlike Being did draw nigh to me,Who would descend into the realms of earth,And dwell there, veiled in form of flesh, as man.For just at this one turning-point of timeThe Karma of mankind made this demand.For each great step in world-developmentIs only possible when gods do stoopTo link themselves with human destiny.And this new spirit-sight that needs must growAnd germinate henceforth in souls of menCan only be unfolded when a godDoth plant the seed within some human heart.My task it was to find that human soulWhich worthy seemed to take within itselfThe powerful Seed of God. I had to joinThe deed of heaven to some human lot.My spirit’s eye then sought, and fell on thee.Thy course of life had fitted thee to beThe mediator in salvation’s work.Through many former lives thou hadst acquiredReceptiveness for all the greatest thingsThat human hearts can e’er experience.Within thy tender soul thou didst bring forth,As spirit heritage, the noble giftOf beauty, joined to virtue’s loftiest claim:And that which thine eternal Self had formedAnd brought to being through thy birth on earthDid reach ripe fruitage when thy years were few.—Too soon thou didst not scale steep spirit-heights;Nor grew thy yearning for the spirit-landBefore thou hadst the full enjoyment knownOf harmless pleasures in the world of sense.Anger and love thy soul did learn to knowWhen thy thoughts dwelt yet far from spirit-life.Nature in all her beauty to enjoy,And pluck the fruits of art,—these didst thou striveTo make thy life’s sole content and its wealth.Merry thy laughter, as a child can laughWho hath not known as yet life’s shadowed fears.And thus thou learn’dst to understand life’s joy,And mourn its sadness, each in its own time,Before thy dawning conscience grew to seekOf sorrow and of happiness the cause.A ripened fruit of many lives that soul,That enters earth’s domains, and shows such moods.Its childlike nature is the blossomingAnd not the ground-root of its character.And such a soul alone was I to chooseAs mediator for the God, who soughtThe power to work within our human world.And now thou learnest that thy nature mustTransform itself into its opposite,When it flows forth to other human souls.The spirit in thee ripens whatsoe’erIn human nature can attain the realmOf vast eternity; and much it slaysThat is but part of transitory realms.And yet the sacrifices of such deathsAre but the seeds of immortality,All that which blossoms forth from death belowMust grow unto the higher life above.Maria:E’en so it is with me. Thou giv’st me light:But light that doth deprive me of my sight,And sunder me from mine own self in twain.Then do I seem some spirit’s instrumentNo longer master of myself. No moreDo I endure that erstwhile form of mineWhich only is a mask and not the truth.Johannes:O friend, what ails thee? Vanished is the lightThat filled thine eye: as marble is thy frame.I grasp thine hand and find it cold as death.Benedictus:My son, full many trials have come to thee;And now thou stand’st before life’s hardest test.Thou seest the carnal covering of thy friend;But her true self doth float in spirit-spheresBefore mine eyes.Johannes:Before mine eyes.See! Her lips move; she speaks.Maria:Thou gav’st me clearness; yet this clearness throwsA veil of darkness round on every side.I curse thy clearness; and I curse thee too,Who didst make tool of me for weird wild artsWhereby thou willedst to deceive mankind.No doubt at any moment hithertoHad crossed my mind of heights thy spirit reached;But now one single moment doth sufficeTo tear all faith in thee from out my heart.Those spirit-beings thou art subject to,I now must recognize as hellish fiends.Others I had to mislead and deceiveBecause at first I was deceived by thee.—But I will flee unto dim distances,Where not a sound of thee shall reach mine ears;Yet near enough that thy soul may be reachedBy bitter curses framed by these my lips.For thou didst rob my blood of all its fire,That thou mightst sacrifice to thy false godThat which was rightly mine and mine alone.But now this same blood’s fire shall thee consume.Thou madest me trust in vain imaginings;And that this might be so, thou first didst makeA pictured falsehood of my very self.Often had I to mark how in my soulEach deed and thought turned to its opposite;So now doth turn what once was love for thee,Into the fire of wild and bitter hate.Through all worlds will I seek to find that fireWhich can consume thee. See—I cur—Ah—woe!Johannes:Who speaketh here? I do not see my friend.I hear instead some gruesome being speak.Benedictus:Thy friend’s soul hovers in the heights above.Only her mortal image hath she leftHere with us: and where’er a human formIs found bereft of soul, there is the roomSought by the enemy, the foe of good,To enter into realms perceptible,And find some carnal form through which to speak.Just such an adversary spake e’en now,Who would destroy the work imposed on meFor thee, my son, and millions yet unborn.Were I to deem these wild anathemas,Which our friend’s shell did utter here and now,Aught else but some grim tempter’s cunning skill,Thou durst not follow more my leadership.The enemy of Good stood by my side,And thou hast seen into the darkness plungedAll that is temporal of that dear form,For whom, my son, thy whole love burns and glows.Since through her mouth spirits spake oft to thee,The Karma of the world could not restrainHell’s princes also speaking thus through her.First now thou mayst seek her very soulAnd learn her nature’s inmost verity;For she shall form for thee the prototypeOf that new higher type of humankindTo which thou dost aspire to raise thyself.Her soul hath soared aloft to spirit-heights,Where every man may find his being’s sourceWhich springs to life and fulness in himself.Thou too shalt follow her to spirit-realms,And see her in the Temple of the Sun.—Within this circle there is formed a knotOf threads which Karma spins, world fashioning.My son, since thou hast now attained thus far,Thou shalt still further pierce beyond the veil.I see thy star in fullest splendour shine.There is no place within the realm of senseFor strife, such as men wage when they do striveAnd struggle after consecration’s gift.The riddles which arise in worlds of senseMust find solution through man’s intellect;From all that sense engenders in man’s heartWhether of love or hate, whate’er its sourceAnd howsoever direful its results,The spirit-seeker needs must stand aloof,Whence he may cast his glance all undisturbedUpon the fields where such contentions rage.For him must other powers unfold themselvesWhich are not found upon that field of strife.So didst thou need to fight to prove thy soulIn combat such as comes to him alone,Who finds himself accoutred for such powersAs do belong unto the spirit-worlds.And had these powers found thee not ripe enoughTo tread the path of knowledge, they needs mustHave maimed thy powers of feeling, ere thou daredstTo know all that which now is known to thee.The Beings, who can gaze into world-depths,Lead on those men, who would attain the heights,First to that summit whence it may be shownWhether there lies in them the power to reachTo conscious sight within the spirit-realms.And those in whom such powers are found to lieAre straightway from the world of sense set free.The others all must wait their season due.But thou, thou hast preserved thy Self, my son,When Powers on high stirred to its depths thy soul.And potent spirits shrouded thee with fear.Right powerfully thy Self hath fought its wayE’en though thy very heart was torn by doubts,That willed to thrust thee into darksome depths.True pupil of my teaching hast thou been,First since that hour, so fraught with fate for thee,When thou didst learn to doubt thy very self,And gavest up thyself as wholly lost,But yet the strength within thee held thee fast.Then might I give thee of my treasured storeOf wisdom, whence to draw the strength to standAssured, e’en when mistrusting thine own self.Such was the wisdom which thou didst attainMore steadfast than the faith once given to thee.Ripe wast thou found, and thou may’st be set free.Thy friend hath gone before and waits for theeIn spirit-worlds, and thou shalt find her there.I can but add this guidance for thee now:Kindle the full power of thy soul with wordsWhich through my lips shall grant to thee the keyTo spirit-heights, and they will lead thee onWhen naught else leads, that eyes of sense can see.Receive them in the fulness of thy heart:‘The weaving essence of the light streams forthThrough depths of space to fill the world with light;Love’s grace doth warm the centuries of timeTo call forth revelation of all worlds.And spirit-messengers come forth to wedThe weaving essence of creative lightWith revelation of the souls of men:And that man, who can wed to both of theseHis very Self, he lives in spirit-heights.’O spirits, who are visible to man,Quicken with life the soul of this our son:From inmost depths may there stream forth for himThat which can fill his soul with spirit-light.From inmost depths may there resound for himThat which can wholly wake in him his SelfTo the creative joy of spirit-life.A Spirit-Voice behind the stage:To founts of worlds primevalHis surging thoughts do mount;—What as shadow he hath thoughtWhat as fancy he hath livedSoars up beyond the world of form and shape;On whose fulness ponderingMankind in shadow dreams,O’er whose fulness gazing forthMankind in fancy lives.CurtainScene 4A landscape, which seeks to express the world of souls by its characteristic peculiarities.Enter Lucifer and Ahriman. Johannes is seen at the right of the stage in deep meditation. What follows is experienced by him in meditation.Lucifer:O man, know thou thyself; O man, feel me.From spirit guidance, thou hast freed thyself,And into earth’s free realms thou hast escaped.Midst earth’s confusion thou didst seek to proveThine own existence; and to find thyselfWas thy reward, and was thy destiny.Me didst thou find: for certain spirits willedTo cast a veil before the eyes of sense;Which veil I rent in twain. Those spirits willedTo follow out their own desires in thee;But I gave thee self-will and foiled their aim.O man, know thou thyself; O man, feel me.Ahriman:O man, know me; O man, feel thou thyself.Thou hast escaped from darkened spirit-realmsAnd thou hast found again the earth’s pure light,So now from my sure ground drink strength and truth.I make earth hard and fast. The spirits willedTo snatch away from thee the charm of sense;Which charm I weave for thee in light condensed.I lead thee unto true reality.O man, know me; O man, feel thou thyself.Lucifer:Time was not when thou didst not live through me.I followed thee throughout the course of life,And was permitted to bestow on theeStrong personal traits and joy in thine own self.Ahriman:Time was not when thou didst not me behold.Thy mortal eyes saw me in all earth’s growth;I was permitted to shine forth for theeIn beauty proud and revelation’s bliss.Johannes(to himself in meditation):This is the sign as Benedictus told.Before the world of souls stand these two powers:The one, as Tempter, lives within the soul;The other doth obscure the sight of manWhen he directeth it to outward things.The one took on the woman’s form e’en now,To bring the soul’s illusions ’neath my gaze;The other may be found in everything.(Enter the Spirit of the Elements with Capesius and Strader, whom he has brought to the earth’s surface from the earth’s depths. They are conceived as souls looking out upon the earth’s surface. The Spirit of the Elementsis aged and stands erect upon a sphere. Capesius and Strader are in astral garb; the former, though the older man of the two in years, here appears the younger. He wears blue robes of various shades, Strader wears brown and yellow.)Spirit:So have ye reached the spot ye longed to find.It proved indeed a heavy care to me,To grant your wish. Spirits and elementsDid rage in mad wild storm when their domainI had to enter with your essences.Your minds opposed the ruling of my powers.Capesius:Mysterious Being, who art thou, who hastBrought me to this fair realm through spirit-spheres?Spirit:The soul of man may only look on me,Whene’er the service which I render itHath been achieved. Then may it trace my powersThrough all the moving sequences of time.Capesius:It matters little to me to enquireWhat spirit led me hither to this place.I feel life’s powers revive in this new land,Whose light doth seem to widen mine own breast;In my pulse-beat I feel the whole world’s might;And premonitions of exalted deedsThrill in my heart. I will translate in wordsThe revelation of this beauteous realm,That hath refreshed me in such wondrous wise;And souls of men shall bloom, as choicest flowersIf I can pour into their life on earthThe inspiration flowing from these founts.(Lightning and thunder from the depths and heights.)Strader:Why quake the depths, and why resound the heights?When hope’s young dreams surge upward in the soul?(Lightning and thunder.)Spirit:To human dreamers words of hope like theseSound proud indeed; but in the depths of earthThe vain illusions of mistaken thoughtAwake such thunderous echoes evermore.Ye mortals hear them only at those timesWhen ye draw nigh to my domain. Ye thinkTo build exalted temples unto Truth,And yet your work’s effects do but unchainStorm-spirits in primeval depths of earth.Nay more, the spirits must destroy whole worlds,That deeds ye do in realms where time hath swayMay not cause devastation and cold deathThrough all the ages of eternity.Strader:So these eternal ages must regardAs empty fantasy what seems the truthTo man’s best observation and research.(Lightning and thunder.)Spirit:An empty fantasy, so long as senseDoth only search in realms to spirit strange.Strader:Thou may’st well call a dreamer that friend’s soulWhich in the joy of youth its goal doth setWith such a noble strength and high desire;But in mine aged heart thy words fall deadDespite their summoned aid of thunderous storms.I tore myself from cloistered quietudeTo proud achievement in my search for truth.In life’s storm-centres many a year I stood,And men had confidence in me, and whatI taught them through my deep strong sense for truth.(Lightning and thunder.)Spirit:’Tis fitting for thee to confess that noneCan tell whence stream the fountains of our thought,Nor where the fundaments of Being lie.Strader:Oh this same speech, which in youth’s hopeful daysSo oft with chill persistence pierced my soulWhen thought-foundations quaked, which once seemed firm!(Lightning and thunder.)Spirit:If thou dost fail to gain the victoryO’er me with those blunt weapons of thy thoughtThou art a fleeting phantom, nothing more,Formed by thine own deluded imagery.Strader:So soon again such gruesome speech from thee!This too I heard before in mine own soul,When once a seeress threateningly did wishTo wreck the firm foundations of my thoughtAnd make me feel the sharp dread sting of doubt.But that is past, and I defy thy might,Thou aged rogue, so cunningly concealedBeneath a mask devised by thine own selfTo counterfeit the form of nature’s lord.Reason will overthrow thee, otherwiseThan thou dost think, when once she is enthronedUpon the proud heights of the mind of man.As mistress will she reign assuredlyNot as some handmaiden in nature’s realm.Spirit:The world is ordered so, that every actRequires a like reaction: unto youI gave the self; ye owe me my reward.Capesius:I will myself create from mine own soulThe spirit counterpart of things of sense.And when at length all nature stands transformed,Idealized through man’s creative work,Her mirrored form shall be reward enough;And then if thou dost feel thyself akinTo that great mother of all worlds, and spring’stFrom depths where world-creating forces reign.Then let my will, which lives in head and breast,Inspiring me to aim at highest goals,Be thy reward for deeds done at my best.Thy help hath raised me from dull sentimentTo thought’s proud heights—Let this be thy reward!(Lightning and thunder.)Spirit:Ye well can see, how little your bold wordsBear weight in my domain: they do but looseThe storm, and rouse the elements to wrath,Fierce adversaries of the ordered world.Capesius:Take then thine own reward where’t may be found.The impulse that doth drive the souls of menTo seek true spirit-heights within themselvesSet their own measure, their own order make.Creation were not possible for manIf others wished to claim what he had made.The song that trills from out the linnet’s throatSufficeth for itself; and so doth manFind his reward, when in his fashioning workHe doth experience creative joy.(Lightning and thunder.)Spirit:It is not meet to grudge me my reward.If ye yourselves cannot repay the debtThen tell the woman, who endowed your soulsWith power, that she must pay instead of you.(Exit.)Capesius:He hath departed. Whither turn we now?To find our way aright in these new worldsMust be, it seems, the first care of our minds.Strader:To follow confidently the best way,That we can find, with sure but cautious tread,Methinks should lead us straightway to the goal.Capesius:Rather should we be silent as to goal.That we shall find if we courageouslyObey the impulse of our inner self,Which speaks thus to me: ‘Let Truth be thy guide;May it unfold strong powers within thyselfAnd mould them with the noblest fashioningIn all that thou shalt do; then must thy stepsAttain their destined goal, nor go astray.’Strader:Yet from the outset it were best our stepsShould not lack consciousness of their true goal,If we would be of service unto menAnd give them happiness. He, who would serveHimself alone, doth follow his own heart;But he, who wills to serve his neighbour best,Must surely know his life’s necessities.(The Other Maria, also in soul-form, emerges from the rocks, covered with precious stones.)But see! What wondrous being’s this? It seemsAs though the rock itself did give it birth.From what world-depths do such strange forms arise?The Other Maria:I wrest my way through solid rock, and fainWould clothe in human speech its very will;I sense earth’s essence and with human brainsI fain would think the thoughts of Earth herself.I breathe the purest airs of life, and shapeThe powers of air to feel as doth mankind.Strader:Then thou canst not assist us in our quest.For far aloft from men’s endeavour standsAll that which must abide in nature’s realm.Capesius:Lady, I like thy words, and I would fainTranslate thy form of speech into mine own.The Other Maria:Most strange doth seem to me your proud discourse.For, when ye speak yourselves, unto mine earYour words do sound incomprehensible.But if I let them echo in my heartAnd issue in new form, they spread abroadO’er all that lives in mine environmentAnd solve for me its hidden mystery.Capesius:If this, thy speech, be true, then change for usInto thy speech, that nature may respond,The question of the true worth of our lives.For we ourselves lack power to question thusGreat mother nature that we may be heard.The Other Maria:In me ye only see an humble maidOf that high spirit-being, which doth dwellIn that domain whence ye have just now come.There hath been given me this field of workThat here in lowliness I may show forthHer mirrored image unto mortal sense.Capesius:So then we have just fled from that domainWherein our longing could have been assuaged?The Other Maria:And if ye do not find again the way,Your efforts shall be fruitless evermore.Capesius:Then tell which way will lead us back again.The Other Maria:There are two ways. If my power doth attainTo its full height all creatures of my realmShall glow in beauty’s most resplendent dress.From rocks and water, glittering light shall stream,And colours in their richest fulness flashOn all around, whilst life in merry moodShall fill the air with joyous harmony.And if your souls do then but steep themselvesIn mine own being’s purest ecstasyOn spirit pinions shall ye wing your wayUnto primeval origins of worlds.Strader:That is no way for us; for in our speechWe name such talk mere fancy, and we fainWould seek firm ground, not fly to cloud-capped heights.The Other Maria:Then if ye wish to tread the other pathYe must forthwith renounce your spirit’s pride.Ye must forget what reason doth command,And let the touch of nature conquer you.In your men’s breasts let your child-soul have sway,Artless and undisturbed by thought’s dim shades.So will ye surely reach Life’s fountain-head,Although unconscious of the way ye go.(Exit.)Capesius:Thus are we thrown back on ourselves alone,And have but learned that it behoveth usTo work and wait in patience for the fruitThat future days shall ripen from our work.Johannes(speaking, as it were, from his meditation. Here and in the following scene he sits aside and takes no part in the action):So do I find within the soul’s domainThose men who are already known to me:First he who told us of Felicia’s tales,Though here I saw him in his youthful prime;And also he who in his younger daysHad chosen for his life monastic rule,As some old man did he appear: with themThere stood the Spirit of the Elements.Curtain

In the open. Rocks and springs. The entire scene is to be thought of as taking place in the soul of Johannes Thomasius. What follows is the content of his meditation.

(There sounds from the springs and rocks:)Know thou thyself, O man.

(There sounds from the springs and rocks:)

Know thou thyself, O man.

Johannes:’Tis thus I hear them, now these many years,These words of weighty import all around,(hear them in the wind and in the wave:Out from earth’s depths do they resound to me:And as a tiny acorn’s mystery,Confines the structure of a mighty oak,So in the kernel of these words there lies,All elemental nature; all I graspOf soul, of spirit, time, eternity.It seems mine own peculiaritiesAnd all the world besides live in these words:‘Know thou thyself, O man. Know thou thyself.’

Johannes:

’Tis thus I hear them, now these many years,

These words of weighty import all around,

(hear them in the wind and in the wave:

Out from earth’s depths do they resound to me:

And as a tiny acorn’s mystery,

Confines the structure of a mighty oak,

So in the kernel of these words there lies,

All elemental nature; all I grasp

Of soul, of spirit, time, eternity.

It seems mine own peculiarities

And all the world besides live in these words:

‘Know thou thyself, O man. Know thou thyself.’

(From the springs and rocks resounds:)Know thou thyself, O man.

(From the springs and rocks resounds:)

Know thou thyself, O man.

Johannes:Know thou thyself, O man.And now—I feelMine inmost being terrified to life:Without the gloom of night doth weave me round,And deep within my soul thick darkness yawns:And sounding from this universal gloomAnd up from out the darkness of my soulThese words ring forth: ‘Know thou thyself, O man.’

Johannes:

Know thou thyself, O man.And now—I feel

Mine inmost being terrified to life:

Without the gloom of night doth weave me round,

And deep within my soul thick darkness yawns:

And sounding from this universal gloom

And up from out the darkness of my soul

These words ring forth: ‘Know thou thyself, O man.’

(From the springs and rocks resounds:)Know thou thyself, O man.

(From the springs and rocks resounds:)

Know thou thyself, O man.

Johannes:It robs me of my very self: I changeEach hour of day, and am transformed by night.The earth I follow on its cosmic course:I seem to rumble in the thunder’s peal,And flash adown the lightning’s fierce-forked tongue—IAM.—Alas, already do I feelMine own existence snatched away from me.I see what was my former carnal shape,As some strange being, quite outside myself,And infinitely far away from me.But now another body hovers near,And through its mouth I am compelled to speak:—‘Ah, bitter sorrow hath he brought to me;So utterly I trusted him of old.He left me lonely with my sorrow’s pain,He robbed me of the very warmth of life,And thrust me deep beneath the chill, cold ground.’Poor soul, ’tis she I left, and leaving herIt was in truth mine own self that I left;And I must suffer all her pain and woe.For knowledge hath endowed me with the powerMyself into another’s self to fuse.Ah me! Ye quench again by your own powerThe light of inner knowledge ye have brought,Ye cruel words, ‘Know thou thyself, O man.’

Johannes:

It robs me of my very self: I change

Each hour of day, and am transformed by night.

The earth I follow on its cosmic course:

I seem to rumble in the thunder’s peal,

And flash adown the lightning’s fierce-forked tongue—

IAM.—Alas, already do I feel

Mine own existence snatched away from me.

I see what was my former carnal shape,

As some strange being, quite outside myself,

And infinitely far away from me.

But now another body hovers near,

And through its mouth I am compelled to speak:—

‘Ah, bitter sorrow hath he brought to me;

So utterly I trusted him of old.

He left me lonely with my sorrow’s pain,

He robbed me of the very warmth of life,

And thrust me deep beneath the chill, cold ground.’

Poor soul, ’tis she I left, and leaving her

It was in truth mine own self that I left;

And I must suffer all her pain and woe.

For knowledge hath endowed me with the power

Myself into another’s self to fuse.

Ah me! Ye quench again by your own power

The light of inner knowledge ye have brought,

Ye cruel words, ‘Know thou thyself, O man.’

(From the springs and rocks resounds:)Know thou thyself, O man.

(From the springs and rocks resounds:)

Know thou thyself, O man.

Johannes:Ye lead me back again within the sphereOf mine own being’s former fantasies.Yet in what shape know I myself again!My human form is lost and gone from me;Like some fierce dragon do I see myself;Begotten out of primal lust and greed.And clearly do I see how up till nowSome dim deluding veil of phantom formsHath hid from me mine own monstrosity.Mine own self’s fierceness must devour my Self.And through my veins run like consuming fireThose words, that once with elemental forceRevealed the core of suns and earths to me.They throb within my pulse, beat in mine heart;And even in mine inmost thoughts I feelStrange worlds e’en now blaze forth like passions fierce.They are the fruitage of these very words:‘Know thou thyself, O man. Know thou thyself,’

Johannes:

Ye lead me back again within the sphere

Of mine own being’s former fantasies.

Yet in what shape know I myself again!

My human form is lost and gone from me;

Like some fierce dragon do I see myself;

Begotten out of primal lust and greed.

And clearly do I see how up till now

Some dim deluding veil of phantom forms

Hath hid from me mine own monstrosity.

Mine own self’s fierceness must devour my Self.

And through my veins run like consuming fire

Those words, that once with elemental force

Revealed the core of suns and earths to me.

They throb within my pulse, beat in mine heart;

And even in mine inmost thoughts I feel

Strange worlds e’en now blaze forth like passions fierce.

They are the fruitage of these very words:

‘Know thou thyself, O man. Know thou thyself,’

(From the springs and rocks resounds:)Know thou thyself, O man.

(From the springs and rocks resounds:)

Know thou thyself, O man.

Johannes:There,—from that dark abyss, what creature glares?I feel the chains that hold me chained to thee.So fast was not Prometheus rivettedUpon the naked rocks of Caucasus,As I am rivetted and forged to thee—Who art thou, fearful, execrable shape?

Johannes:

There,—from that dark abyss, what creature glares?

I feel the chains that hold me chained to thee.

So fast was not Prometheus rivetted

Upon the naked rocks of Caucasus,

As I am rivetted and forged to thee—

Who art thou, fearful, execrable shape?

(From the springs and rocks resounds:)Know thou thyself, O man.

(From the springs and rocks resounds:)

Know thou thyself, O man.

Johannes:Oh yea, I know thee; for thou art myself:Knowledge doth chain to thee, pernicious beast,

Johannes:

Oh yea, I know thee; for thou art myself:

Knowledge doth chain to thee, pernicious beast,

(Enter Maria unnoticed by Johannes.)

Chain mine own self to thee, pernicious beast.I willed to flee from thee; but I was blind,Blinded by glamour of the worlds, wheretoMy folly fled to free me from myself;And now once more within my sightless soulBlind through these words: ‘Know thou thyself, O man.’

Chain mine own self to thee, pernicious beast.

I willed to flee from thee; but I was blind,

Blinded by glamour of the worlds, whereto

My folly fled to free me from myself;

And now once more within my sightless soul

Blind through these words: ‘Know thou thyself, O man.’

(From the springs and rocks resounds:)Know thou thyself, O man.

(From the springs and rocks resounds:)

Know thou thyself, O man.

Johannes:(As though coming to himself, sees Maria. The meditation passes to the plane of inner reality.)Know thou thyself, O man.Thou here, my friend?

Johannes:(As though coming to himself, sees Maria. The meditation passes to the plane of inner reality.)

Know thou thyself, O man.Thou here, my friend?

Maria:I sought thee, friend, although I know full wellHow comforting to thee is solitude,When many varying thoughts of many menHave flooded o’er thy soul. I also knowI cannot by my presence help my friendIn this dark hour of strife—yet yearnings vagueDrive me in this same moment unto thee;When Benedictus’ words, instead of light,Such grievous sorrow drew from thy soul’s depths.

Maria:

I sought thee, friend, although I know full well

How comforting to thee is solitude,

When many varying thoughts of many men

Have flooded o’er thy soul. I also know

I cannot by my presence help my friend

In this dark hour of strife—yet yearnings vague

Drive me in this same moment unto thee;

When Benedictus’ words, instead of light,

Such grievous sorrow drew from thy soul’s depths.

Johannes:How comforting to me is solitude!

Johannes:

How comforting to me is solitude!

Yea, I have sought to find myself therein,So often when to labyrinths of thoughtThe joys and griefs of men had driven me.But now, O friend, that, too, is past and gone.What Benedictus’ words at first arousedWithin my soul, and all that I lived throughWhen listening to the speeches of those men,Seems but indeed a little thing, when ICompare therewith the storm that solitudeWith sullen brooding hath brought forth in me.Ah me! when I recall this solitude!It hounded me into the voids of space,And tore me from my very self in two.Within that soul to whom I brought such painI stood, as though I were some other man.And there I had to suffer all the painOf which I was myself the primal cause.Ah cruel, sombre, fearful solitudeThou giv’st me back unto myself indeed,Yet but to terrify me with the sightOf mine own nature’s fathomless abyss.Man’s final refuge hath been lost to me:I have been robbed of solitude itself.

Yea, I have sought to find myself therein,

So often when to labyrinths of thought

The joys and griefs of men had driven me.

But now, O friend, that, too, is past and gone.

What Benedictus’ words at first aroused

Within my soul, and all that I lived through

When listening to the speeches of those men,

Seems but indeed a little thing, when I

Compare therewith the storm that solitude

With sullen brooding hath brought forth in me.

Ah me! when I recall this solitude!

It hounded me into the voids of space,

And tore me from my very self in two.

Within that soul to whom I brought such pain

I stood, as though I were some other man.

And there I had to suffer all the pain

Of which I was myself the primal cause.

Ah cruel, sombre, fearful solitude

Thou giv’st me back unto myself indeed,

Yet but to terrify me with the sight

Of mine own nature’s fathomless abyss.

Man’s final refuge hath been lost to me:

I have been robbed of solitude itself.

Maria:I must repeat what I have said before.Alone can Benedictus succour thee;Only from him may we obtain supportAnd that firm basis which we both do lack.For know thou this: I also can no moreEndure the riddle of my life, unlessHis gentle guidance solveth it for me.Full often have I kept before mine eyesThis truth sublime, that o’er all life doth floatAppearance and deception if we graspLife’s surface only in our moods of thought.And o’er and o’er again it spake to me:Thou must take knowledge how illusion’s veilWeaves all around thee; and however oftIt may appear to thee as truth, beware;For evil fruitage may in truth ariseIf thou shouldst try within another’s soulTo wake the light that lives within thyself.Yet in the best part of my soul I knowThat even this oppressive weight of careWhich hath o’erwhelmed thy soul, dear friend of mine,As thou didst tread with me the path of life,Is part and parcel of the thorny way,That leads unto the light of Truth itself.Thou must live through each horror and alarmThat can spring forth from vain imaginingBefore the Truth in essence stands revealed.Thus speaks thy star; and by that same star speechIt doth appear to me that we shall walkOne day united, on the spirit-paths.And yet whene’er I seek to tread these pathsBlack night doth spread a curtain round my sight.And many things that I must live and do,Which spring as fruitage from my character,Intensify the darkness of that night.We two must seek clear vision in that light,Which, though it vanish for a while from sight,Can never be extinguished in the soul.

Maria:

I must repeat what I have said before.

Alone can Benedictus succour thee;

Only from him may we obtain support

And that firm basis which we both do lack.

For know thou this: I also can no more

Endure the riddle of my life, unless

His gentle guidance solveth it for me.

Full often have I kept before mine eyes

This truth sublime, that o’er all life doth float

Appearance and deception if we grasp

Life’s surface only in our moods of thought.

And o’er and o’er again it spake to me:

Thou must take knowledge how illusion’s veil

Weaves all around thee; and however oft

It may appear to thee as truth, beware;

For evil fruitage may in truth arise

If thou shouldst try within another’s soul

To wake the light that lives within thyself.

Yet in the best part of my soul I know

That even this oppressive weight of care

Which hath o’erwhelmed thy soul, dear friend of mine,

As thou didst tread with me the path of life,

Is part and parcel of the thorny way,

That leads unto the light of Truth itself.

Thou must live through each horror and alarm

That can spring forth from vain imagining

Before the Truth in essence stands revealed.

Thus speaks thy star; and by that same star speech

It doth appear to me that we shall walk

One day united, on the spirit-paths.

And yet whene’er I seek to tread these paths

Black night doth spread a curtain round my sight.

And many things that I must live and do,

Which spring as fruitage from my character,

Intensify the darkness of that night.

We two must seek clear vision in that light,

Which, though it vanish for a while from sight,

Can never be extinguished in the soul.

Johannes:But then, Maria, dost thou realizeThrough what my soul hath fought its way but now?A grievous destiny awaiteth thee,Most noble friend. For well I know that farFrom thy pure nature lies that potent force,That hath so wholly shattered me to bits.Thou canst ascend the clearest heights of truth,And scan with steadfast gaze life’s tangled path;And whether in the darkness or the lightThou wilt retain thine own identity.But me each moment may deprive of Self.Deep down I had to dive within the heartsOf those who late revealed themselves in speech.I followed one to cloistered solitude,—And in another’s soul I listened toFelicia’s fairy lore. I was each one;Only unto myself I seemed as dead;For I must fain believe that primal lifeDid spring from very Nothingness itself,If it were right to entertain the hope,That out of that dread nothingness in meA human being ever could arise.For I am driven from fear into the darkAnd from the darkness back again to fearBy wisdom stored within these living words:‘Know thou thyself, O man. Know thou thyself.’

Johannes:

But then, Maria, dost thou realize

Through what my soul hath fought its way but now?

A grievous destiny awaiteth thee,

Most noble friend. For well I know that far

From thy pure nature lies that potent force,

That hath so wholly shattered me to bits.

Thou canst ascend the clearest heights of truth,

And scan with steadfast gaze life’s tangled path;

And whether in the darkness or the light

Thou wilt retain thine own identity.

But me each moment may deprive of Self.

Deep down I had to dive within the hearts

Of those who late revealed themselves in speech.

I followed one to cloistered solitude,—

And in another’s soul I listened to

Felicia’s fairy lore. I was each one;

Only unto myself I seemed as dead;

For I must fain believe that primal life

Did spring from very Nothingness itself,

If it were right to entertain the hope,

That out of that dread nothingness in me

A human being ever could arise.

For I am driven from fear into the dark

And from the darkness back again to fear

By wisdom stored within these living words:

‘Know thou thyself, O man. Know thou thyself.’

(From the springs and rocks the words resound:)Know thou thyself, O man.

(From the springs and rocks the words resound:)

Know thou thyself, O man.

Curtain

Scene 3A room for meditation. The background is a great purple curtain. The scene is purple in colour with a large yellow pentagonal lamp suspended from the ceiling. No other furniture or ornaments are in the room except the lamp and one chair. Benedictus, Johannes, Maria, and a child.Maria:I bring to thee this child who needs some wordFrom out thy mouth.Benedictus:From out thy mouth.My child, henceforth each eveThou shalt come unto me to hear the wordThat shall fill full thy soul ere thou dost treadThe realm of souls in sleep. Wilt thou do this?Child:Most gladly will I come.Benedictus:Most gladly will I come.This very eveFill thy soul full ere sleep embraceth thee,With strength from these few words: ‘The powers of lightBear me aloft unto the spirit’s home.’(Maria leads the child away.)Maria:And now, that this child’s destiny doth flowHarmoniously through future days beneathThe shadow of thy gracious fatherhood,I too may claim my leader’s kind advice,Who am its mother, not by bond of bloodBut through the mighty power of destiny.For thou hast shown to me the way whereinI had to guide its footsteps from that day,When I discovered it before my doorLeft by its unknown mother desolate.And wonder-working proved themselves those rulesWhereby thou madest me train my foster-child.All powers, that deep in body and in soulLay hidden, issued forth to light and life:Clear proof it was that all thy counsellingSprang from the realm which sheltered this child’s soulBefore it built its body’s covering.We saw the hopes of manhood blossom forthAnd radiate more brightly each new day;Thou dost know well how hard it was for meTo gain the child’s affection, at the first.It grew up ’neath my care, and yet nought elseSave habit chained its soul at first to mine.It only realized and felt that IGave it the nurture and the food that servedThe needs of body and the growth of soul.Then came the time when in the child-like heartThere dawned the love for her who fostered it.An outer incident brought forth this change—The visit of the seeress to our group.Gladly the child did go about with herAnd soon did learn full many a beauteous wordSteeped in the mystic charm that graced her speech.Then came the moment when her ecstasyDescended on our friend with magic power.The child could see her eyes’ strange smouldering light,And, terrified unto its vital core,The young soul dawned to consciousness of self.In her dismay she fled unto mine arms;And from that hour did grow her love for me.Since that same time she doth accept from meThe gifts of life with her full consciousnessNot with blind instinct: aye, and since that dayWhen this young heart first quivered into warmth,Whene’er her gaze met mine with loving glance,Thy wisdom’s treasures of their fruitage failed,And much already ripe hath withered up.I saw appear in her those tokens strangeThat proved so terrible unto my friend.A dark enigma am I to myself,And grow still darker. Thou wilt not denyTo solve for me life’s fearful questionings?Why do I thus destroy both friend and child,When I in love approach my work with themTo give them knowledge of that spirit-loreWhich in my soul I know to be the good?Oft hast thou taught me this exalted truth—‘Illusion’s veil o’erspreads life’s surfaces’—Yet must I see with greater clarityWhy I must bear this heavy destiny,That seems so cruel and which works such harm.Benedictus:Within our circle there is formed a knotOf threads that Karma spins world-fashioning.Thy sufferings, my friend are links in chains,Forged by the hand of destiny, wherebyThe deeds of gods unite with human lives.—When in life’s pilgrimage I had attainedThat rank which granted me the dignityTo serve with counsel in the spirit-spheres,A godlike Being did draw nigh to me,Who would descend into the realms of earth,And dwell there, veiled in form of flesh, as man.For just at this one turning-point of timeThe Karma of mankind made this demand.For each great step in world-developmentIs only possible when gods do stoopTo link themselves with human destiny.And this new spirit-sight that needs must growAnd germinate henceforth in souls of menCan only be unfolded when a godDoth plant the seed within some human heart.My task it was to find that human soulWhich worthy seemed to take within itselfThe powerful Seed of God. I had to joinThe deed of heaven to some human lot.My spirit’s eye then sought, and fell on thee.Thy course of life had fitted thee to beThe mediator in salvation’s work.Through many former lives thou hadst acquiredReceptiveness for all the greatest thingsThat human hearts can e’er experience.Within thy tender soul thou didst bring forth,As spirit heritage, the noble giftOf beauty, joined to virtue’s loftiest claim:And that which thine eternal Self had formedAnd brought to being through thy birth on earthDid reach ripe fruitage when thy years were few.—Too soon thou didst not scale steep spirit-heights;Nor grew thy yearning for the spirit-landBefore thou hadst the full enjoyment knownOf harmless pleasures in the world of sense.Anger and love thy soul did learn to knowWhen thy thoughts dwelt yet far from spirit-life.Nature in all her beauty to enjoy,And pluck the fruits of art,—these didst thou striveTo make thy life’s sole content and its wealth.Merry thy laughter, as a child can laughWho hath not known as yet life’s shadowed fears.And thus thou learn’dst to understand life’s joy,And mourn its sadness, each in its own time,Before thy dawning conscience grew to seekOf sorrow and of happiness the cause.A ripened fruit of many lives that soul,That enters earth’s domains, and shows such moods.Its childlike nature is the blossomingAnd not the ground-root of its character.And such a soul alone was I to chooseAs mediator for the God, who soughtThe power to work within our human world.And now thou learnest that thy nature mustTransform itself into its opposite,When it flows forth to other human souls.The spirit in thee ripens whatsoe’erIn human nature can attain the realmOf vast eternity; and much it slaysThat is but part of transitory realms.And yet the sacrifices of such deathsAre but the seeds of immortality,All that which blossoms forth from death belowMust grow unto the higher life above.Maria:E’en so it is with me. Thou giv’st me light:But light that doth deprive me of my sight,And sunder me from mine own self in twain.Then do I seem some spirit’s instrumentNo longer master of myself. No moreDo I endure that erstwhile form of mineWhich only is a mask and not the truth.Johannes:O friend, what ails thee? Vanished is the lightThat filled thine eye: as marble is thy frame.I grasp thine hand and find it cold as death.Benedictus:My son, full many trials have come to thee;And now thou stand’st before life’s hardest test.Thou seest the carnal covering of thy friend;But her true self doth float in spirit-spheresBefore mine eyes.Johannes:Before mine eyes.See! Her lips move; she speaks.Maria:Thou gav’st me clearness; yet this clearness throwsA veil of darkness round on every side.I curse thy clearness; and I curse thee too,Who didst make tool of me for weird wild artsWhereby thou willedst to deceive mankind.No doubt at any moment hithertoHad crossed my mind of heights thy spirit reached;But now one single moment doth sufficeTo tear all faith in thee from out my heart.Those spirit-beings thou art subject to,I now must recognize as hellish fiends.Others I had to mislead and deceiveBecause at first I was deceived by thee.—But I will flee unto dim distances,Where not a sound of thee shall reach mine ears;Yet near enough that thy soul may be reachedBy bitter curses framed by these my lips.For thou didst rob my blood of all its fire,That thou mightst sacrifice to thy false godThat which was rightly mine and mine alone.But now this same blood’s fire shall thee consume.Thou madest me trust in vain imaginings;And that this might be so, thou first didst makeA pictured falsehood of my very self.Often had I to mark how in my soulEach deed and thought turned to its opposite;So now doth turn what once was love for thee,Into the fire of wild and bitter hate.Through all worlds will I seek to find that fireWhich can consume thee. See—I cur—Ah—woe!Johannes:Who speaketh here? I do not see my friend.I hear instead some gruesome being speak.Benedictus:Thy friend’s soul hovers in the heights above.Only her mortal image hath she leftHere with us: and where’er a human formIs found bereft of soul, there is the roomSought by the enemy, the foe of good,To enter into realms perceptible,And find some carnal form through which to speak.Just such an adversary spake e’en now,Who would destroy the work imposed on meFor thee, my son, and millions yet unborn.Were I to deem these wild anathemas,Which our friend’s shell did utter here and now,Aught else but some grim tempter’s cunning skill,Thou durst not follow more my leadership.The enemy of Good stood by my side,And thou hast seen into the darkness plungedAll that is temporal of that dear form,For whom, my son, thy whole love burns and glows.Since through her mouth spirits spake oft to thee,The Karma of the world could not restrainHell’s princes also speaking thus through her.First now thou mayst seek her very soulAnd learn her nature’s inmost verity;For she shall form for thee the prototypeOf that new higher type of humankindTo which thou dost aspire to raise thyself.Her soul hath soared aloft to spirit-heights,Where every man may find his being’s sourceWhich springs to life and fulness in himself.Thou too shalt follow her to spirit-realms,And see her in the Temple of the Sun.—Within this circle there is formed a knotOf threads which Karma spins, world fashioning.My son, since thou hast now attained thus far,Thou shalt still further pierce beyond the veil.I see thy star in fullest splendour shine.There is no place within the realm of senseFor strife, such as men wage when they do striveAnd struggle after consecration’s gift.The riddles which arise in worlds of senseMust find solution through man’s intellect;From all that sense engenders in man’s heartWhether of love or hate, whate’er its sourceAnd howsoever direful its results,The spirit-seeker needs must stand aloof,Whence he may cast his glance all undisturbedUpon the fields where such contentions rage.For him must other powers unfold themselvesWhich are not found upon that field of strife.So didst thou need to fight to prove thy soulIn combat such as comes to him alone,Who finds himself accoutred for such powersAs do belong unto the spirit-worlds.And had these powers found thee not ripe enoughTo tread the path of knowledge, they needs mustHave maimed thy powers of feeling, ere thou daredstTo know all that which now is known to thee.The Beings, who can gaze into world-depths,Lead on those men, who would attain the heights,First to that summit whence it may be shownWhether there lies in them the power to reachTo conscious sight within the spirit-realms.And those in whom such powers are found to lieAre straightway from the world of sense set free.The others all must wait their season due.But thou, thou hast preserved thy Self, my son,When Powers on high stirred to its depths thy soul.And potent spirits shrouded thee with fear.Right powerfully thy Self hath fought its wayE’en though thy very heart was torn by doubts,That willed to thrust thee into darksome depths.True pupil of my teaching hast thou been,First since that hour, so fraught with fate for thee,When thou didst learn to doubt thy very self,And gavest up thyself as wholly lost,But yet the strength within thee held thee fast.Then might I give thee of my treasured storeOf wisdom, whence to draw the strength to standAssured, e’en when mistrusting thine own self.Such was the wisdom which thou didst attainMore steadfast than the faith once given to thee.Ripe wast thou found, and thou may’st be set free.Thy friend hath gone before and waits for theeIn spirit-worlds, and thou shalt find her there.I can but add this guidance for thee now:Kindle the full power of thy soul with wordsWhich through my lips shall grant to thee the keyTo spirit-heights, and they will lead thee onWhen naught else leads, that eyes of sense can see.Receive them in the fulness of thy heart:‘The weaving essence of the light streams forthThrough depths of space to fill the world with light;Love’s grace doth warm the centuries of timeTo call forth revelation of all worlds.And spirit-messengers come forth to wedThe weaving essence of creative lightWith revelation of the souls of men:And that man, who can wed to both of theseHis very Self, he lives in spirit-heights.’O spirits, who are visible to man,Quicken with life the soul of this our son:From inmost depths may there stream forth for himThat which can fill his soul with spirit-light.From inmost depths may there resound for himThat which can wholly wake in him his SelfTo the creative joy of spirit-life.A Spirit-Voice behind the stage:To founts of worlds primevalHis surging thoughts do mount;—What as shadow he hath thoughtWhat as fancy he hath livedSoars up beyond the world of form and shape;On whose fulness ponderingMankind in shadow dreams,O’er whose fulness gazing forthMankind in fancy lives.Curtain

A room for meditation. The background is a great purple curtain. The scene is purple in colour with a large yellow pentagonal lamp suspended from the ceiling. No other furniture or ornaments are in the room except the lamp and one chair. Benedictus, Johannes, Maria, and a child.

Maria:I bring to thee this child who needs some wordFrom out thy mouth.

Maria:

I bring to thee this child who needs some word

From out thy mouth.

Benedictus:From out thy mouth.My child, henceforth each eveThou shalt come unto me to hear the wordThat shall fill full thy soul ere thou dost treadThe realm of souls in sleep. Wilt thou do this?

Benedictus:

From out thy mouth.My child, henceforth each eve

Thou shalt come unto me to hear the word

That shall fill full thy soul ere thou dost tread

The realm of souls in sleep. Wilt thou do this?

Child:Most gladly will I come.

Child:

Most gladly will I come.

Benedictus:Most gladly will I come.This very eveFill thy soul full ere sleep embraceth thee,With strength from these few words: ‘The powers of lightBear me aloft unto the spirit’s home.’

Benedictus:

Most gladly will I come.This very eve

Fill thy soul full ere sleep embraceth thee,

With strength from these few words: ‘The powers of light

Bear me aloft unto the spirit’s home.’

(Maria leads the child away.)

Maria:And now, that this child’s destiny doth flowHarmoniously through future days beneathThe shadow of thy gracious fatherhood,I too may claim my leader’s kind advice,Who am its mother, not by bond of bloodBut through the mighty power of destiny.For thou hast shown to me the way whereinI had to guide its footsteps from that day,When I discovered it before my doorLeft by its unknown mother desolate.And wonder-working proved themselves those rulesWhereby thou madest me train my foster-child.All powers, that deep in body and in soulLay hidden, issued forth to light and life:Clear proof it was that all thy counsellingSprang from the realm which sheltered this child’s soulBefore it built its body’s covering.We saw the hopes of manhood blossom forthAnd radiate more brightly each new day;Thou dost know well how hard it was for meTo gain the child’s affection, at the first.It grew up ’neath my care, and yet nought elseSave habit chained its soul at first to mine.It only realized and felt that IGave it the nurture and the food that servedThe needs of body and the growth of soul.Then came the time when in the child-like heartThere dawned the love for her who fostered it.An outer incident brought forth this change—The visit of the seeress to our group.Gladly the child did go about with herAnd soon did learn full many a beauteous wordSteeped in the mystic charm that graced her speech.Then came the moment when her ecstasyDescended on our friend with magic power.The child could see her eyes’ strange smouldering light,And, terrified unto its vital core,The young soul dawned to consciousness of self.

Maria:

And now, that this child’s destiny doth flow

Harmoniously through future days beneath

The shadow of thy gracious fatherhood,

I too may claim my leader’s kind advice,

Who am its mother, not by bond of blood

But through the mighty power of destiny.

For thou hast shown to me the way wherein

I had to guide its footsteps from that day,

When I discovered it before my door

Left by its unknown mother desolate.

And wonder-working proved themselves those rules

Whereby thou madest me train my foster-child.

All powers, that deep in body and in soul

Lay hidden, issued forth to light and life:

Clear proof it was that all thy counselling

Sprang from the realm which sheltered this child’s soul

Before it built its body’s covering.

We saw the hopes of manhood blossom forth

And radiate more brightly each new day;

Thou dost know well how hard it was for me

To gain the child’s affection, at the first.

It grew up ’neath my care, and yet nought else

Save habit chained its soul at first to mine.

It only realized and felt that I

Gave it the nurture and the food that served

The needs of body and the growth of soul.

Then came the time when in the child-like heart

There dawned the love for her who fostered it.

An outer incident brought forth this change—

The visit of the seeress to our group.

Gladly the child did go about with her

And soon did learn full many a beauteous word

Steeped in the mystic charm that graced her speech.

Then came the moment when her ecstasy

Descended on our friend with magic power.

The child could see her eyes’ strange smouldering light,

And, terrified unto its vital core,

The young soul dawned to consciousness of self.

In her dismay she fled unto mine arms;And from that hour did grow her love for me.Since that same time she doth accept from meThe gifts of life with her full consciousnessNot with blind instinct: aye, and since that dayWhen this young heart first quivered into warmth,Whene’er her gaze met mine with loving glance,Thy wisdom’s treasures of their fruitage failed,And much already ripe hath withered up.I saw appear in her those tokens strangeThat proved so terrible unto my friend.

In her dismay she fled unto mine arms;

And from that hour did grow her love for me.

Since that same time she doth accept from me

The gifts of life with her full consciousness

Not with blind instinct: aye, and since that day

When this young heart first quivered into warmth,

Whene’er her gaze met mine with loving glance,

Thy wisdom’s treasures of their fruitage failed,

And much already ripe hath withered up.

I saw appear in her those tokens strange

That proved so terrible unto my friend.

A dark enigma am I to myself,And grow still darker. Thou wilt not denyTo solve for me life’s fearful questionings?Why do I thus destroy both friend and child,When I in love approach my work with themTo give them knowledge of that spirit-loreWhich in my soul I know to be the good?Oft hast thou taught me this exalted truth—‘Illusion’s veil o’erspreads life’s surfaces’—Yet must I see with greater clarityWhy I must bear this heavy destiny,That seems so cruel and which works such harm.

A dark enigma am I to myself,

And grow still darker. Thou wilt not deny

To solve for me life’s fearful questionings?

Why do I thus destroy both friend and child,

When I in love approach my work with them

To give them knowledge of that spirit-lore

Which in my soul I know to be the good?

Oft hast thou taught me this exalted truth—

‘Illusion’s veil o’erspreads life’s surfaces’—

Yet must I see with greater clarity

Why I must bear this heavy destiny,

That seems so cruel and which works such harm.

Benedictus:Within our circle there is formed a knotOf threads that Karma spins world-fashioning.Thy sufferings, my friend are links in chains,Forged by the hand of destiny, wherebyThe deeds of gods unite with human lives.—

Benedictus:

Within our circle there is formed a knot

Of threads that Karma spins world-fashioning.

Thy sufferings, my friend are links in chains,

Forged by the hand of destiny, whereby

The deeds of gods unite with human lives.—

When in life’s pilgrimage I had attainedThat rank which granted me the dignityTo serve with counsel in the spirit-spheres,A godlike Being did draw nigh to me,Who would descend into the realms of earth,And dwell there, veiled in form of flesh, as man.For just at this one turning-point of timeThe Karma of mankind made this demand.For each great step in world-developmentIs only possible when gods do stoopTo link themselves with human destiny.And this new spirit-sight that needs must growAnd germinate henceforth in souls of menCan only be unfolded when a godDoth plant the seed within some human heart.My task it was to find that human soulWhich worthy seemed to take within itselfThe powerful Seed of God. I had to joinThe deed of heaven to some human lot.My spirit’s eye then sought, and fell on thee.Thy course of life had fitted thee to beThe mediator in salvation’s work.Through many former lives thou hadst acquiredReceptiveness for all the greatest thingsThat human hearts can e’er experience.Within thy tender soul thou didst bring forth,As spirit heritage, the noble giftOf beauty, joined to virtue’s loftiest claim:And that which thine eternal Self had formedAnd brought to being through thy birth on earthDid reach ripe fruitage when thy years were few.—Too soon thou didst not scale steep spirit-heights;Nor grew thy yearning for the spirit-landBefore thou hadst the full enjoyment knownOf harmless pleasures in the world of sense.Anger and love thy soul did learn to knowWhen thy thoughts dwelt yet far from spirit-life.Nature in all her beauty to enjoy,And pluck the fruits of art,—these didst thou striveTo make thy life’s sole content and its wealth.Merry thy laughter, as a child can laughWho hath not known as yet life’s shadowed fears.And thus thou learn’dst to understand life’s joy,And mourn its sadness, each in its own time,Before thy dawning conscience grew to seekOf sorrow and of happiness the cause.A ripened fruit of many lives that soul,That enters earth’s domains, and shows such moods.Its childlike nature is the blossomingAnd not the ground-root of its character.And such a soul alone was I to chooseAs mediator for the God, who soughtThe power to work within our human world.And now thou learnest that thy nature mustTransform itself into its opposite,When it flows forth to other human souls.The spirit in thee ripens whatsoe’erIn human nature can attain the realmOf vast eternity; and much it slaysThat is but part of transitory realms.And yet the sacrifices of such deathsAre but the seeds of immortality,All that which blossoms forth from death belowMust grow unto the higher life above.

When in life’s pilgrimage I had attained

That rank which granted me the dignity

To serve with counsel in the spirit-spheres,

A godlike Being did draw nigh to me,

Who would descend into the realms of earth,

And dwell there, veiled in form of flesh, as man.

For just at this one turning-point of time

The Karma of mankind made this demand.

For each great step in world-development

Is only possible when gods do stoop

To link themselves with human destiny.

And this new spirit-sight that needs must grow

And germinate henceforth in souls of men

Can only be unfolded when a god

Doth plant the seed within some human heart.

My task it was to find that human soul

Which worthy seemed to take within itself

The powerful Seed of God. I had to join

The deed of heaven to some human lot.

My spirit’s eye then sought, and fell on thee.

Thy course of life had fitted thee to be

The mediator in salvation’s work.

Through many former lives thou hadst acquired

Receptiveness for all the greatest things

That human hearts can e’er experience.

Within thy tender soul thou didst bring forth,

As spirit heritage, the noble gift

Of beauty, joined to virtue’s loftiest claim:

And that which thine eternal Self had formed

And brought to being through thy birth on earth

Did reach ripe fruitage when thy years were few.—

Too soon thou didst not scale steep spirit-heights;

Nor grew thy yearning for the spirit-land

Before thou hadst the full enjoyment known

Of harmless pleasures in the world of sense.

Anger and love thy soul did learn to know

When thy thoughts dwelt yet far from spirit-life.

Nature in all her beauty to enjoy,

And pluck the fruits of art,—these didst thou strive

To make thy life’s sole content and its wealth.

Merry thy laughter, as a child can laugh

Who hath not known as yet life’s shadowed fears.

And thus thou learn’dst to understand life’s joy,

And mourn its sadness, each in its own time,

Before thy dawning conscience grew to seek

Of sorrow and of happiness the cause.

A ripened fruit of many lives that soul,

That enters earth’s domains, and shows such moods.

Its childlike nature is the blossoming

And not the ground-root of its character.

And such a soul alone was I to choose

As mediator for the God, who sought

The power to work within our human world.

And now thou learnest that thy nature must

Transform itself into its opposite,

When it flows forth to other human souls.

The spirit in thee ripens whatsoe’er

In human nature can attain the realm

Of vast eternity; and much it slays

That is but part of transitory realms.

And yet the sacrifices of such deaths

Are but the seeds of immortality,

All that which blossoms forth from death below

Must grow unto the higher life above.

Maria:E’en so it is with me. Thou giv’st me light:But light that doth deprive me of my sight,And sunder me from mine own self in twain.Then do I seem some spirit’s instrumentNo longer master of myself. No moreDo I endure that erstwhile form of mineWhich only is a mask and not the truth.

Maria:

E’en so it is with me. Thou giv’st me light:

But light that doth deprive me of my sight,

And sunder me from mine own self in twain.

Then do I seem some spirit’s instrument

No longer master of myself. No more

Do I endure that erstwhile form of mine

Which only is a mask and not the truth.

Johannes:O friend, what ails thee? Vanished is the lightThat filled thine eye: as marble is thy frame.I grasp thine hand and find it cold as death.

Johannes:

O friend, what ails thee? Vanished is the light

That filled thine eye: as marble is thy frame.

I grasp thine hand and find it cold as death.

Benedictus:My son, full many trials have come to thee;And now thou stand’st before life’s hardest test.Thou seest the carnal covering of thy friend;But her true self doth float in spirit-spheresBefore mine eyes.

Benedictus:

My son, full many trials have come to thee;

And now thou stand’st before life’s hardest test.

Thou seest the carnal covering of thy friend;

But her true self doth float in spirit-spheres

Before mine eyes.

Johannes:Before mine eyes.See! Her lips move; she speaks.

Johannes:

Before mine eyes.See! Her lips move; she speaks.

Maria:Thou gav’st me clearness; yet this clearness throwsA veil of darkness round on every side.I curse thy clearness; and I curse thee too,Who didst make tool of me for weird wild artsWhereby thou willedst to deceive mankind.No doubt at any moment hithertoHad crossed my mind of heights thy spirit reached;But now one single moment doth sufficeTo tear all faith in thee from out my heart.Those spirit-beings thou art subject to,I now must recognize as hellish fiends.Others I had to mislead and deceiveBecause at first I was deceived by thee.—But I will flee unto dim distances,Where not a sound of thee shall reach mine ears;Yet near enough that thy soul may be reachedBy bitter curses framed by these my lips.For thou didst rob my blood of all its fire,That thou mightst sacrifice to thy false godThat which was rightly mine and mine alone.But now this same blood’s fire shall thee consume.Thou madest me trust in vain imaginings;And that this might be so, thou first didst makeA pictured falsehood of my very self.Often had I to mark how in my soulEach deed and thought turned to its opposite;So now doth turn what once was love for thee,Into the fire of wild and bitter hate.Through all worlds will I seek to find that fireWhich can consume thee. See—I cur—Ah—woe!

Maria:

Thou gav’st me clearness; yet this clearness throws

A veil of darkness round on every side.

I curse thy clearness; and I curse thee too,

Who didst make tool of me for weird wild arts

Whereby thou willedst to deceive mankind.

No doubt at any moment hitherto

Had crossed my mind of heights thy spirit reached;

But now one single moment doth suffice

To tear all faith in thee from out my heart.

Those spirit-beings thou art subject to,

I now must recognize as hellish fiends.

Others I had to mislead and deceive

Because at first I was deceived by thee.—

But I will flee unto dim distances,

Where not a sound of thee shall reach mine ears;

Yet near enough that thy soul may be reached

By bitter curses framed by these my lips.

For thou didst rob my blood of all its fire,

That thou mightst sacrifice to thy false god

That which was rightly mine and mine alone.

But now this same blood’s fire shall thee consume.

Thou madest me trust in vain imaginings;

And that this might be so, thou first didst make

A pictured falsehood of my very self.

Often had I to mark how in my soul

Each deed and thought turned to its opposite;

So now doth turn what once was love for thee,

Into the fire of wild and bitter hate.

Through all worlds will I seek to find that fire

Which can consume thee. See—I cur—Ah—woe!

Johannes:Who speaketh here? I do not see my friend.I hear instead some gruesome being speak.

Johannes:

Who speaketh here? I do not see my friend.

I hear instead some gruesome being speak.

Benedictus:Thy friend’s soul hovers in the heights above.Only her mortal image hath she leftHere with us: and where’er a human formIs found bereft of soul, there is the roomSought by the enemy, the foe of good,To enter into realms perceptible,And find some carnal form through which to speak.Just such an adversary spake e’en now,Who would destroy the work imposed on meFor thee, my son, and millions yet unborn.Were I to deem these wild anathemas,Which our friend’s shell did utter here and now,Aught else but some grim tempter’s cunning skill,Thou durst not follow more my leadership.The enemy of Good stood by my side,And thou hast seen into the darkness plungedAll that is temporal of that dear form,For whom, my son, thy whole love burns and glows.Since through her mouth spirits spake oft to thee,The Karma of the world could not restrainHell’s princes also speaking thus through her.First now thou mayst seek her very soulAnd learn her nature’s inmost verity;For she shall form for thee the prototypeOf that new higher type of humankindTo which thou dost aspire to raise thyself.Her soul hath soared aloft to spirit-heights,Where every man may find his being’s sourceWhich springs to life and fulness in himself.Thou too shalt follow her to spirit-realms,And see her in the Temple of the Sun.—Within this circle there is formed a knotOf threads which Karma spins, world fashioning.My son, since thou hast now attained thus far,Thou shalt still further pierce beyond the veil.I see thy star in fullest splendour shine.There is no place within the realm of senseFor strife, such as men wage when they do striveAnd struggle after consecration’s gift.The riddles which arise in worlds of senseMust find solution through man’s intellect;From all that sense engenders in man’s heartWhether of love or hate, whate’er its sourceAnd howsoever direful its results,The spirit-seeker needs must stand aloof,Whence he may cast his glance all undisturbedUpon the fields where such contentions rage.For him must other powers unfold themselvesWhich are not found upon that field of strife.So didst thou need to fight to prove thy soulIn combat such as comes to him alone,Who finds himself accoutred for such powersAs do belong unto the spirit-worlds.And had these powers found thee not ripe enoughTo tread the path of knowledge, they needs mustHave maimed thy powers of feeling, ere thou daredstTo know all that which now is known to thee.The Beings, who can gaze into world-depths,Lead on those men, who would attain the heights,First to that summit whence it may be shownWhether there lies in them the power to reachTo conscious sight within the spirit-realms.And those in whom such powers are found to lieAre straightway from the world of sense set free.The others all must wait their season due.But thou, thou hast preserved thy Self, my son,When Powers on high stirred to its depths thy soul.And potent spirits shrouded thee with fear.Right powerfully thy Self hath fought its wayE’en though thy very heart was torn by doubts,That willed to thrust thee into darksome depths.True pupil of my teaching hast thou been,First since that hour, so fraught with fate for thee,When thou didst learn to doubt thy very self,And gavest up thyself as wholly lost,But yet the strength within thee held thee fast.Then might I give thee of my treasured storeOf wisdom, whence to draw the strength to standAssured, e’en when mistrusting thine own self.Such was the wisdom which thou didst attainMore steadfast than the faith once given to thee.Ripe wast thou found, and thou may’st be set free.Thy friend hath gone before and waits for theeIn spirit-worlds, and thou shalt find her there.I can but add this guidance for thee now:Kindle the full power of thy soul with wordsWhich through my lips shall grant to thee the keyTo spirit-heights, and they will lead thee onWhen naught else leads, that eyes of sense can see.Receive them in the fulness of thy heart:‘The weaving essence of the light streams forthThrough depths of space to fill the world with light;Love’s grace doth warm the centuries of timeTo call forth revelation of all worlds.And spirit-messengers come forth to wedThe weaving essence of creative lightWith revelation of the souls of men:And that man, who can wed to both of theseHis very Self, he lives in spirit-heights.’O spirits, who are visible to man,Quicken with life the soul of this our son:From inmost depths may there stream forth for himThat which can fill his soul with spirit-light.From inmost depths may there resound for himThat which can wholly wake in him his SelfTo the creative joy of spirit-life.

Benedictus:

Thy friend’s soul hovers in the heights above.

Only her mortal image hath she left

Here with us: and where’er a human form

Is found bereft of soul, there is the room

Sought by the enemy, the foe of good,

To enter into realms perceptible,

And find some carnal form through which to speak.

Just such an adversary spake e’en now,

Who would destroy the work imposed on me

For thee, my son, and millions yet unborn.

Were I to deem these wild anathemas,

Which our friend’s shell did utter here and now,

Aught else but some grim tempter’s cunning skill,

Thou durst not follow more my leadership.

The enemy of Good stood by my side,

And thou hast seen into the darkness plunged

All that is temporal of that dear form,

For whom, my son, thy whole love burns and glows.

Since through her mouth spirits spake oft to thee,

The Karma of the world could not restrain

Hell’s princes also speaking thus through her.

First now thou mayst seek her very soul

And learn her nature’s inmost verity;

For she shall form for thee the prototype

Of that new higher type of humankind

To which thou dost aspire to raise thyself.

Her soul hath soared aloft to spirit-heights,

Where every man may find his being’s source

Which springs to life and fulness in himself.

Thou too shalt follow her to spirit-realms,

And see her in the Temple of the Sun.—

Within this circle there is formed a knot

Of threads which Karma spins, world fashioning.

My son, since thou hast now attained thus far,

Thou shalt still further pierce beyond the veil.

I see thy star in fullest splendour shine.

There is no place within the realm of sense

For strife, such as men wage when they do strive

And struggle after consecration’s gift.

The riddles which arise in worlds of sense

Must find solution through man’s intellect;

From all that sense engenders in man’s heart

Whether of love or hate, whate’er its source

And howsoever direful its results,

The spirit-seeker needs must stand aloof,

Whence he may cast his glance all undisturbed

Upon the fields where such contentions rage.

For him must other powers unfold themselves

Which are not found upon that field of strife.

So didst thou need to fight to prove thy soul

In combat such as comes to him alone,

Who finds himself accoutred for such powers

As do belong unto the spirit-worlds.

And had these powers found thee not ripe enough

To tread the path of knowledge, they needs must

Have maimed thy powers of feeling, ere thou daredst

To know all that which now is known to thee.

The Beings, who can gaze into world-depths,

Lead on those men, who would attain the heights,

First to that summit whence it may be shown

Whether there lies in them the power to reach

To conscious sight within the spirit-realms.

And those in whom such powers are found to lie

Are straightway from the world of sense set free.

The others all must wait their season due.

But thou, thou hast preserved thy Self, my son,

When Powers on high stirred to its depths thy soul.

And potent spirits shrouded thee with fear.

Right powerfully thy Self hath fought its way

E’en though thy very heart was torn by doubts,

That willed to thrust thee into darksome depths.

True pupil of my teaching hast thou been,

First since that hour, so fraught with fate for thee,

When thou didst learn to doubt thy very self,

And gavest up thyself as wholly lost,

But yet the strength within thee held thee fast.

Then might I give thee of my treasured store

Of wisdom, whence to draw the strength to stand

Assured, e’en when mistrusting thine own self.

Such was the wisdom which thou didst attain

More steadfast than the faith once given to thee.

Ripe wast thou found, and thou may’st be set free.

Thy friend hath gone before and waits for thee

In spirit-worlds, and thou shalt find her there.

I can but add this guidance for thee now:

Kindle the full power of thy soul with words

Which through my lips shall grant to thee the key

To spirit-heights, and they will lead thee on

When naught else leads, that eyes of sense can see.

Receive them in the fulness of thy heart:

‘The weaving essence of the light streams forth

Through depths of space to fill the world with light;

Love’s grace doth warm the centuries of time

To call forth revelation of all worlds.

And spirit-messengers come forth to wed

The weaving essence of creative light

With revelation of the souls of men:

And that man, who can wed to both of these

His very Self, he lives in spirit-heights.’

O spirits, who are visible to man,

Quicken with life the soul of this our son:

From inmost depths may there stream forth for him

That which can fill his soul with spirit-light.

From inmost depths may there resound for him

That which can wholly wake in him his Self

To the creative joy of spirit-life.

A Spirit-Voice behind the stage:To founts of worlds primevalHis surging thoughts do mount;—What as shadow he hath thoughtWhat as fancy he hath livedSoars up beyond the world of form and shape;On whose fulness ponderingMankind in shadow dreams,O’er whose fulness gazing forthMankind in fancy lives.

A Spirit-Voice behind the stage:

To founts of worlds primeval

His surging thoughts do mount;—

What as shadow he hath thought

What as fancy he hath lived

Soars up beyond the world of form and shape;

On whose fulness pondering

Mankind in shadow dreams,

O’er whose fulness gazing forth

Mankind in fancy lives.

Curtain

Scene 4A landscape, which seeks to express the world of souls by its characteristic peculiarities.Enter Lucifer and Ahriman. Johannes is seen at the right of the stage in deep meditation. What follows is experienced by him in meditation.Lucifer:O man, know thou thyself; O man, feel me.From spirit guidance, thou hast freed thyself,And into earth’s free realms thou hast escaped.Midst earth’s confusion thou didst seek to proveThine own existence; and to find thyselfWas thy reward, and was thy destiny.Me didst thou find: for certain spirits willedTo cast a veil before the eyes of sense;Which veil I rent in twain. Those spirits willedTo follow out their own desires in thee;But I gave thee self-will and foiled their aim.O man, know thou thyself; O man, feel me.Ahriman:O man, know me; O man, feel thou thyself.Thou hast escaped from darkened spirit-realmsAnd thou hast found again the earth’s pure light,So now from my sure ground drink strength and truth.I make earth hard and fast. The spirits willedTo snatch away from thee the charm of sense;Which charm I weave for thee in light condensed.I lead thee unto true reality.O man, know me; O man, feel thou thyself.Lucifer:Time was not when thou didst not live through me.I followed thee throughout the course of life,And was permitted to bestow on theeStrong personal traits and joy in thine own self.Ahriman:Time was not when thou didst not me behold.Thy mortal eyes saw me in all earth’s growth;I was permitted to shine forth for theeIn beauty proud and revelation’s bliss.Johannes(to himself in meditation):This is the sign as Benedictus told.Before the world of souls stand these two powers:The one, as Tempter, lives within the soul;The other doth obscure the sight of manWhen he directeth it to outward things.The one took on the woman’s form e’en now,To bring the soul’s illusions ’neath my gaze;The other may be found in everything.(Enter the Spirit of the Elements with Capesius and Strader, whom he has brought to the earth’s surface from the earth’s depths. They are conceived as souls looking out upon the earth’s surface. The Spirit of the Elementsis aged and stands erect upon a sphere. Capesius and Strader are in astral garb; the former, though the older man of the two in years, here appears the younger. He wears blue robes of various shades, Strader wears brown and yellow.)Spirit:So have ye reached the spot ye longed to find.It proved indeed a heavy care to me,To grant your wish. Spirits and elementsDid rage in mad wild storm when their domainI had to enter with your essences.Your minds opposed the ruling of my powers.Capesius:Mysterious Being, who art thou, who hastBrought me to this fair realm through spirit-spheres?Spirit:The soul of man may only look on me,Whene’er the service which I render itHath been achieved. Then may it trace my powersThrough all the moving sequences of time.Capesius:It matters little to me to enquireWhat spirit led me hither to this place.I feel life’s powers revive in this new land,Whose light doth seem to widen mine own breast;In my pulse-beat I feel the whole world’s might;And premonitions of exalted deedsThrill in my heart. I will translate in wordsThe revelation of this beauteous realm,That hath refreshed me in such wondrous wise;And souls of men shall bloom, as choicest flowersIf I can pour into their life on earthThe inspiration flowing from these founts.(Lightning and thunder from the depths and heights.)Strader:Why quake the depths, and why resound the heights?When hope’s young dreams surge upward in the soul?(Lightning and thunder.)Spirit:To human dreamers words of hope like theseSound proud indeed; but in the depths of earthThe vain illusions of mistaken thoughtAwake such thunderous echoes evermore.Ye mortals hear them only at those timesWhen ye draw nigh to my domain. Ye thinkTo build exalted temples unto Truth,And yet your work’s effects do but unchainStorm-spirits in primeval depths of earth.Nay more, the spirits must destroy whole worlds,That deeds ye do in realms where time hath swayMay not cause devastation and cold deathThrough all the ages of eternity.Strader:So these eternal ages must regardAs empty fantasy what seems the truthTo man’s best observation and research.(Lightning and thunder.)Spirit:An empty fantasy, so long as senseDoth only search in realms to spirit strange.Strader:Thou may’st well call a dreamer that friend’s soulWhich in the joy of youth its goal doth setWith such a noble strength and high desire;But in mine aged heart thy words fall deadDespite their summoned aid of thunderous storms.I tore myself from cloistered quietudeTo proud achievement in my search for truth.In life’s storm-centres many a year I stood,And men had confidence in me, and whatI taught them through my deep strong sense for truth.(Lightning and thunder.)Spirit:’Tis fitting for thee to confess that noneCan tell whence stream the fountains of our thought,Nor where the fundaments of Being lie.Strader:Oh this same speech, which in youth’s hopeful daysSo oft with chill persistence pierced my soulWhen thought-foundations quaked, which once seemed firm!(Lightning and thunder.)Spirit:If thou dost fail to gain the victoryO’er me with those blunt weapons of thy thoughtThou art a fleeting phantom, nothing more,Formed by thine own deluded imagery.Strader:So soon again such gruesome speech from thee!This too I heard before in mine own soul,When once a seeress threateningly did wishTo wreck the firm foundations of my thoughtAnd make me feel the sharp dread sting of doubt.But that is past, and I defy thy might,Thou aged rogue, so cunningly concealedBeneath a mask devised by thine own selfTo counterfeit the form of nature’s lord.Reason will overthrow thee, otherwiseThan thou dost think, when once she is enthronedUpon the proud heights of the mind of man.As mistress will she reign assuredlyNot as some handmaiden in nature’s realm.Spirit:The world is ordered so, that every actRequires a like reaction: unto youI gave the self; ye owe me my reward.Capesius:I will myself create from mine own soulThe spirit counterpart of things of sense.And when at length all nature stands transformed,Idealized through man’s creative work,Her mirrored form shall be reward enough;And then if thou dost feel thyself akinTo that great mother of all worlds, and spring’stFrom depths where world-creating forces reign.Then let my will, which lives in head and breast,Inspiring me to aim at highest goals,Be thy reward for deeds done at my best.Thy help hath raised me from dull sentimentTo thought’s proud heights—Let this be thy reward!(Lightning and thunder.)Spirit:Ye well can see, how little your bold wordsBear weight in my domain: they do but looseThe storm, and rouse the elements to wrath,Fierce adversaries of the ordered world.Capesius:Take then thine own reward where’t may be found.The impulse that doth drive the souls of menTo seek true spirit-heights within themselvesSet their own measure, their own order make.Creation were not possible for manIf others wished to claim what he had made.The song that trills from out the linnet’s throatSufficeth for itself; and so doth manFind his reward, when in his fashioning workHe doth experience creative joy.(Lightning and thunder.)Spirit:It is not meet to grudge me my reward.If ye yourselves cannot repay the debtThen tell the woman, who endowed your soulsWith power, that she must pay instead of you.(Exit.)Capesius:He hath departed. Whither turn we now?To find our way aright in these new worldsMust be, it seems, the first care of our minds.Strader:To follow confidently the best way,That we can find, with sure but cautious tread,Methinks should lead us straightway to the goal.Capesius:Rather should we be silent as to goal.That we shall find if we courageouslyObey the impulse of our inner self,Which speaks thus to me: ‘Let Truth be thy guide;May it unfold strong powers within thyselfAnd mould them with the noblest fashioningIn all that thou shalt do; then must thy stepsAttain their destined goal, nor go astray.’Strader:Yet from the outset it were best our stepsShould not lack consciousness of their true goal,If we would be of service unto menAnd give them happiness. He, who would serveHimself alone, doth follow his own heart;But he, who wills to serve his neighbour best,Must surely know his life’s necessities.(The Other Maria, also in soul-form, emerges from the rocks, covered with precious stones.)But see! What wondrous being’s this? It seemsAs though the rock itself did give it birth.From what world-depths do such strange forms arise?The Other Maria:I wrest my way through solid rock, and fainWould clothe in human speech its very will;I sense earth’s essence and with human brainsI fain would think the thoughts of Earth herself.I breathe the purest airs of life, and shapeThe powers of air to feel as doth mankind.Strader:Then thou canst not assist us in our quest.For far aloft from men’s endeavour standsAll that which must abide in nature’s realm.Capesius:Lady, I like thy words, and I would fainTranslate thy form of speech into mine own.The Other Maria:Most strange doth seem to me your proud discourse.For, when ye speak yourselves, unto mine earYour words do sound incomprehensible.But if I let them echo in my heartAnd issue in new form, they spread abroadO’er all that lives in mine environmentAnd solve for me its hidden mystery.Capesius:If this, thy speech, be true, then change for usInto thy speech, that nature may respond,The question of the true worth of our lives.For we ourselves lack power to question thusGreat mother nature that we may be heard.The Other Maria:In me ye only see an humble maidOf that high spirit-being, which doth dwellIn that domain whence ye have just now come.There hath been given me this field of workThat here in lowliness I may show forthHer mirrored image unto mortal sense.Capesius:So then we have just fled from that domainWherein our longing could have been assuaged?The Other Maria:And if ye do not find again the way,Your efforts shall be fruitless evermore.Capesius:Then tell which way will lead us back again.The Other Maria:There are two ways. If my power doth attainTo its full height all creatures of my realmShall glow in beauty’s most resplendent dress.From rocks and water, glittering light shall stream,And colours in their richest fulness flashOn all around, whilst life in merry moodShall fill the air with joyous harmony.And if your souls do then but steep themselvesIn mine own being’s purest ecstasyOn spirit pinions shall ye wing your wayUnto primeval origins of worlds.Strader:That is no way for us; for in our speechWe name such talk mere fancy, and we fainWould seek firm ground, not fly to cloud-capped heights.The Other Maria:Then if ye wish to tread the other pathYe must forthwith renounce your spirit’s pride.Ye must forget what reason doth command,And let the touch of nature conquer you.In your men’s breasts let your child-soul have sway,Artless and undisturbed by thought’s dim shades.So will ye surely reach Life’s fountain-head,Although unconscious of the way ye go.(Exit.)Capesius:Thus are we thrown back on ourselves alone,And have but learned that it behoveth usTo work and wait in patience for the fruitThat future days shall ripen from our work.Johannes(speaking, as it were, from his meditation. Here and in the following scene he sits aside and takes no part in the action):So do I find within the soul’s domainThose men who are already known to me:First he who told us of Felicia’s tales,Though here I saw him in his youthful prime;And also he who in his younger daysHad chosen for his life monastic rule,As some old man did he appear: with themThere stood the Spirit of the Elements.Curtain

A landscape, which seeks to express the world of souls by its characteristic peculiarities.

Enter Lucifer and Ahriman. Johannes is seen at the right of the stage in deep meditation. What follows is experienced by him in meditation.

Lucifer:O man, know thou thyself; O man, feel me.From spirit guidance, thou hast freed thyself,And into earth’s free realms thou hast escaped.Midst earth’s confusion thou didst seek to proveThine own existence; and to find thyselfWas thy reward, and was thy destiny.Me didst thou find: for certain spirits willedTo cast a veil before the eyes of sense;Which veil I rent in twain. Those spirits willedTo follow out their own desires in thee;But I gave thee self-will and foiled their aim.O man, know thou thyself; O man, feel me.

Lucifer:

O man, know thou thyself; O man, feel me.

From spirit guidance, thou hast freed thyself,

And into earth’s free realms thou hast escaped.

Midst earth’s confusion thou didst seek to prove

Thine own existence; and to find thyself

Was thy reward, and was thy destiny.

Me didst thou find: for certain spirits willed

To cast a veil before the eyes of sense;

Which veil I rent in twain. Those spirits willed

To follow out their own desires in thee;

But I gave thee self-will and foiled their aim.

O man, know thou thyself; O man, feel me.

Ahriman:O man, know me; O man, feel thou thyself.Thou hast escaped from darkened spirit-realmsAnd thou hast found again the earth’s pure light,So now from my sure ground drink strength and truth.I make earth hard and fast. The spirits willedTo snatch away from thee the charm of sense;Which charm I weave for thee in light condensed.I lead thee unto true reality.O man, know me; O man, feel thou thyself.

Ahriman:

O man, know me; O man, feel thou thyself.

Thou hast escaped from darkened spirit-realms

And thou hast found again the earth’s pure light,

So now from my sure ground drink strength and truth.

I make earth hard and fast. The spirits willed

To snatch away from thee the charm of sense;

Which charm I weave for thee in light condensed.

I lead thee unto true reality.

O man, know me; O man, feel thou thyself.

Lucifer:Time was not when thou didst not live through me.I followed thee throughout the course of life,And was permitted to bestow on theeStrong personal traits and joy in thine own self.

Lucifer:

Time was not when thou didst not live through me.

I followed thee throughout the course of life,

And was permitted to bestow on thee

Strong personal traits and joy in thine own self.

Ahriman:Time was not when thou didst not me behold.Thy mortal eyes saw me in all earth’s growth;I was permitted to shine forth for theeIn beauty proud and revelation’s bliss.

Ahriman:

Time was not when thou didst not me behold.

Thy mortal eyes saw me in all earth’s growth;

I was permitted to shine forth for thee

In beauty proud and revelation’s bliss.

Johannes(to himself in meditation):This is the sign as Benedictus told.Before the world of souls stand these two powers:The one, as Tempter, lives within the soul;The other doth obscure the sight of manWhen he directeth it to outward things.The one took on the woman’s form e’en now,To bring the soul’s illusions ’neath my gaze;The other may be found in everything.

Johannes(to himself in meditation):

This is the sign as Benedictus told.

Before the world of souls stand these two powers:

The one, as Tempter, lives within the soul;

The other doth obscure the sight of man

When he directeth it to outward things.

The one took on the woman’s form e’en now,

To bring the soul’s illusions ’neath my gaze;

The other may be found in everything.

(Enter the Spirit of the Elements with Capesius and Strader, whom he has brought to the earth’s surface from the earth’s depths. They are conceived as souls looking out upon the earth’s surface. The Spirit of the Elementsis aged and stands erect upon a sphere. Capesius and Strader are in astral garb; the former, though the older man of the two in years, here appears the younger. He wears blue robes of various shades, Strader wears brown and yellow.)

Spirit:So have ye reached the spot ye longed to find.It proved indeed a heavy care to me,To grant your wish. Spirits and elementsDid rage in mad wild storm when their domainI had to enter with your essences.Your minds opposed the ruling of my powers.

Spirit:

So have ye reached the spot ye longed to find.

It proved indeed a heavy care to me,

To grant your wish. Spirits and elements

Did rage in mad wild storm when their domain

I had to enter with your essences.

Your minds opposed the ruling of my powers.

Capesius:Mysterious Being, who art thou, who hastBrought me to this fair realm through spirit-spheres?

Capesius:

Mysterious Being, who art thou, who hast

Brought me to this fair realm through spirit-spheres?

Spirit:The soul of man may only look on me,Whene’er the service which I render itHath been achieved. Then may it trace my powersThrough all the moving sequences of time.

Spirit:

The soul of man may only look on me,

Whene’er the service which I render it

Hath been achieved. Then may it trace my powers

Through all the moving sequences of time.

Capesius:It matters little to me to enquireWhat spirit led me hither to this place.I feel life’s powers revive in this new land,Whose light doth seem to widen mine own breast;In my pulse-beat I feel the whole world’s might;And premonitions of exalted deedsThrill in my heart. I will translate in wordsThe revelation of this beauteous realm,That hath refreshed me in such wondrous wise;And souls of men shall bloom, as choicest flowersIf I can pour into their life on earthThe inspiration flowing from these founts.

Capesius:

It matters little to me to enquire

What spirit led me hither to this place.

I feel life’s powers revive in this new land,

Whose light doth seem to widen mine own breast;

In my pulse-beat I feel the whole world’s might;

And premonitions of exalted deeds

Thrill in my heart. I will translate in words

The revelation of this beauteous realm,

That hath refreshed me in such wondrous wise;

And souls of men shall bloom, as choicest flowers

If I can pour into their life on earth

The inspiration flowing from these founts.

(Lightning and thunder from the depths and heights.)

Strader:Why quake the depths, and why resound the heights?When hope’s young dreams surge upward in the soul?

Strader:

Why quake the depths, and why resound the heights?

When hope’s young dreams surge upward in the soul?

(Lightning and thunder.)

Spirit:To human dreamers words of hope like theseSound proud indeed; but in the depths of earthThe vain illusions of mistaken thoughtAwake such thunderous echoes evermore.Ye mortals hear them only at those timesWhen ye draw nigh to my domain. Ye thinkTo build exalted temples unto Truth,And yet your work’s effects do but unchainStorm-spirits in primeval depths of earth.Nay more, the spirits must destroy whole worlds,That deeds ye do in realms where time hath swayMay not cause devastation and cold deathThrough all the ages of eternity.

Spirit:

To human dreamers words of hope like these

Sound proud indeed; but in the depths of earth

The vain illusions of mistaken thought

Awake such thunderous echoes evermore.

Ye mortals hear them only at those times

When ye draw nigh to my domain. Ye think

To build exalted temples unto Truth,

And yet your work’s effects do but unchain

Storm-spirits in primeval depths of earth.

Nay more, the spirits must destroy whole worlds,

That deeds ye do in realms where time hath sway

May not cause devastation and cold death

Through all the ages of eternity.

Strader:So these eternal ages must regardAs empty fantasy what seems the truthTo man’s best observation and research.

Strader:

So these eternal ages must regard

As empty fantasy what seems the truth

To man’s best observation and research.

(Lightning and thunder.)

Spirit:An empty fantasy, so long as senseDoth only search in realms to spirit strange.

Spirit:

An empty fantasy, so long as sense

Doth only search in realms to spirit strange.

Strader:Thou may’st well call a dreamer that friend’s soulWhich in the joy of youth its goal doth setWith such a noble strength and high desire;But in mine aged heart thy words fall deadDespite their summoned aid of thunderous storms.I tore myself from cloistered quietudeTo proud achievement in my search for truth.In life’s storm-centres many a year I stood,And men had confidence in me, and whatI taught them through my deep strong sense for truth.

Strader:

Thou may’st well call a dreamer that friend’s soul

Which in the joy of youth its goal doth set

With such a noble strength and high desire;

But in mine aged heart thy words fall dead

Despite their summoned aid of thunderous storms.

I tore myself from cloistered quietude

To proud achievement in my search for truth.

In life’s storm-centres many a year I stood,

And men had confidence in me, and what

I taught them through my deep strong sense for truth.

(Lightning and thunder.)

Spirit:’Tis fitting for thee to confess that noneCan tell whence stream the fountains of our thought,Nor where the fundaments of Being lie.

Spirit:

’Tis fitting for thee to confess that none

Can tell whence stream the fountains of our thought,

Nor where the fundaments of Being lie.

Strader:Oh this same speech, which in youth’s hopeful daysSo oft with chill persistence pierced my soulWhen thought-foundations quaked, which once seemed firm!

Strader:

Oh this same speech, which in youth’s hopeful days

So oft with chill persistence pierced my soul

When thought-foundations quaked, which once seemed firm!

(Lightning and thunder.)

Spirit:If thou dost fail to gain the victoryO’er me with those blunt weapons of thy thoughtThou art a fleeting phantom, nothing more,Formed by thine own deluded imagery.

Spirit:

If thou dost fail to gain the victory

O’er me with those blunt weapons of thy thought

Thou art a fleeting phantom, nothing more,

Formed by thine own deluded imagery.

Strader:So soon again such gruesome speech from thee!This too I heard before in mine own soul,When once a seeress threateningly did wishTo wreck the firm foundations of my thoughtAnd make me feel the sharp dread sting of doubt.But that is past, and I defy thy might,Thou aged rogue, so cunningly concealedBeneath a mask devised by thine own selfTo counterfeit the form of nature’s lord.Reason will overthrow thee, otherwiseThan thou dost think, when once she is enthronedUpon the proud heights of the mind of man.As mistress will she reign assuredlyNot as some handmaiden in nature’s realm.

Strader:

So soon again such gruesome speech from thee!

This too I heard before in mine own soul,

When once a seeress threateningly did wish

To wreck the firm foundations of my thought

And make me feel the sharp dread sting of doubt.

But that is past, and I defy thy might,

Thou aged rogue, so cunningly concealed

Beneath a mask devised by thine own self

To counterfeit the form of nature’s lord.

Reason will overthrow thee, otherwise

Than thou dost think, when once she is enthroned

Upon the proud heights of the mind of man.

As mistress will she reign assuredly

Not as some handmaiden in nature’s realm.

Spirit:The world is ordered so, that every actRequires a like reaction: unto youI gave the self; ye owe me my reward.

Spirit:

The world is ordered so, that every act

Requires a like reaction: unto you

I gave the self; ye owe me my reward.

Capesius:I will myself create from mine own soulThe spirit counterpart of things of sense.And when at length all nature stands transformed,Idealized through man’s creative work,Her mirrored form shall be reward enough;And then if thou dost feel thyself akinTo that great mother of all worlds, and spring’stFrom depths where world-creating forces reign.Then let my will, which lives in head and breast,Inspiring me to aim at highest goals,Be thy reward for deeds done at my best.Thy help hath raised me from dull sentimentTo thought’s proud heights—Let this be thy reward!

Capesius:

I will myself create from mine own soul

The spirit counterpart of things of sense.

And when at length all nature stands transformed,

Idealized through man’s creative work,

Her mirrored form shall be reward enough;

And then if thou dost feel thyself akin

To that great mother of all worlds, and spring’st

From depths where world-creating forces reign.

Then let my will, which lives in head and breast,

Inspiring me to aim at highest goals,

Be thy reward for deeds done at my best.

Thy help hath raised me from dull sentiment

To thought’s proud heights—Let this be thy reward!

(Lightning and thunder.)

Spirit:Ye well can see, how little your bold wordsBear weight in my domain: they do but looseThe storm, and rouse the elements to wrath,Fierce adversaries of the ordered world.

Spirit:

Ye well can see, how little your bold words

Bear weight in my domain: they do but loose

The storm, and rouse the elements to wrath,

Fierce adversaries of the ordered world.

Capesius:Take then thine own reward where’t may be found.The impulse that doth drive the souls of menTo seek true spirit-heights within themselvesSet their own measure, their own order make.Creation were not possible for manIf others wished to claim what he had made.The song that trills from out the linnet’s throatSufficeth for itself; and so doth manFind his reward, when in his fashioning workHe doth experience creative joy.

Capesius:

Take then thine own reward where’t may be found.

The impulse that doth drive the souls of men

To seek true spirit-heights within themselves

Set their own measure, their own order make.

Creation were not possible for man

If others wished to claim what he had made.

The song that trills from out the linnet’s throat

Sufficeth for itself; and so doth man

Find his reward, when in his fashioning work

He doth experience creative joy.

(Lightning and thunder.)

Spirit:It is not meet to grudge me my reward.If ye yourselves cannot repay the debtThen tell the woman, who endowed your soulsWith power, that she must pay instead of you.

Spirit:

It is not meet to grudge me my reward.

If ye yourselves cannot repay the debt

Then tell the woman, who endowed your souls

With power, that she must pay instead of you.

(Exit.)

Capesius:He hath departed. Whither turn we now?To find our way aright in these new worldsMust be, it seems, the first care of our minds.

Capesius:

He hath departed. Whither turn we now?

To find our way aright in these new worlds

Must be, it seems, the first care of our minds.

Strader:To follow confidently the best way,That we can find, with sure but cautious tread,Methinks should lead us straightway to the goal.

Strader:

To follow confidently the best way,

That we can find, with sure but cautious tread,

Methinks should lead us straightway to the goal.

Capesius:Rather should we be silent as to goal.That we shall find if we courageouslyObey the impulse of our inner self,Which speaks thus to me: ‘Let Truth be thy guide;May it unfold strong powers within thyselfAnd mould them with the noblest fashioningIn all that thou shalt do; then must thy stepsAttain their destined goal, nor go astray.’

Capesius:

Rather should we be silent as to goal.

That we shall find if we courageously

Obey the impulse of our inner self,

Which speaks thus to me: ‘Let Truth be thy guide;

May it unfold strong powers within thyself

And mould them with the noblest fashioning

In all that thou shalt do; then must thy steps

Attain their destined goal, nor go astray.’

Strader:Yet from the outset it were best our stepsShould not lack consciousness of their true goal,If we would be of service unto menAnd give them happiness. He, who would serveHimself alone, doth follow his own heart;But he, who wills to serve his neighbour best,Must surely know his life’s necessities.

Strader:

Yet from the outset it were best our steps

Should not lack consciousness of their true goal,

If we would be of service unto men

And give them happiness. He, who would serve

Himself alone, doth follow his own heart;

But he, who wills to serve his neighbour best,

Must surely know his life’s necessities.

(The Other Maria, also in soul-form, emerges from the rocks, covered with precious stones.)

But see! What wondrous being’s this? It seemsAs though the rock itself did give it birth.From what world-depths do such strange forms arise?

But see! What wondrous being’s this? It seems

As though the rock itself did give it birth.

From what world-depths do such strange forms arise?

The Other Maria:I wrest my way through solid rock, and fainWould clothe in human speech its very will;I sense earth’s essence and with human brainsI fain would think the thoughts of Earth herself.I breathe the purest airs of life, and shapeThe powers of air to feel as doth mankind.

The Other Maria:

I wrest my way through solid rock, and fain

Would clothe in human speech its very will;

I sense earth’s essence and with human brains

I fain would think the thoughts of Earth herself.

I breathe the purest airs of life, and shape

The powers of air to feel as doth mankind.

Strader:Then thou canst not assist us in our quest.For far aloft from men’s endeavour standsAll that which must abide in nature’s realm.

Strader:

Then thou canst not assist us in our quest.

For far aloft from men’s endeavour stands

All that which must abide in nature’s realm.

Capesius:Lady, I like thy words, and I would fainTranslate thy form of speech into mine own.

Capesius:

Lady, I like thy words, and I would fain

Translate thy form of speech into mine own.

The Other Maria:Most strange doth seem to me your proud discourse.For, when ye speak yourselves, unto mine earYour words do sound incomprehensible.But if I let them echo in my heartAnd issue in new form, they spread abroadO’er all that lives in mine environmentAnd solve for me its hidden mystery.

The Other Maria:

Most strange doth seem to me your proud discourse.

For, when ye speak yourselves, unto mine ear

Your words do sound incomprehensible.

But if I let them echo in my heart

And issue in new form, they spread abroad

O’er all that lives in mine environment

And solve for me its hidden mystery.

Capesius:If this, thy speech, be true, then change for usInto thy speech, that nature may respond,The question of the true worth of our lives.For we ourselves lack power to question thusGreat mother nature that we may be heard.

Capesius:

If this, thy speech, be true, then change for us

Into thy speech, that nature may respond,

The question of the true worth of our lives.

For we ourselves lack power to question thus

Great mother nature that we may be heard.

The Other Maria:In me ye only see an humble maidOf that high spirit-being, which doth dwellIn that domain whence ye have just now come.There hath been given me this field of workThat here in lowliness I may show forthHer mirrored image unto mortal sense.

The Other Maria:

In me ye only see an humble maid

Of that high spirit-being, which doth dwell

In that domain whence ye have just now come.

There hath been given me this field of work

That here in lowliness I may show forth

Her mirrored image unto mortal sense.

Capesius:So then we have just fled from that domainWherein our longing could have been assuaged?

Capesius:

So then we have just fled from that domain

Wherein our longing could have been assuaged?

The Other Maria:And if ye do not find again the way,Your efforts shall be fruitless evermore.

The Other Maria:

And if ye do not find again the way,

Your efforts shall be fruitless evermore.

Capesius:Then tell which way will lead us back again.

Capesius:

Then tell which way will lead us back again.

The Other Maria:There are two ways. If my power doth attainTo its full height all creatures of my realmShall glow in beauty’s most resplendent dress.From rocks and water, glittering light shall stream,And colours in their richest fulness flashOn all around, whilst life in merry moodShall fill the air with joyous harmony.And if your souls do then but steep themselvesIn mine own being’s purest ecstasyOn spirit pinions shall ye wing your wayUnto primeval origins of worlds.

The Other Maria:

There are two ways. If my power doth attain

To its full height all creatures of my realm

Shall glow in beauty’s most resplendent dress.

From rocks and water, glittering light shall stream,

And colours in their richest fulness flash

On all around, whilst life in merry mood

Shall fill the air with joyous harmony.

And if your souls do then but steep themselves

In mine own being’s purest ecstasy

On spirit pinions shall ye wing your way

Unto primeval origins of worlds.

Strader:That is no way for us; for in our speechWe name such talk mere fancy, and we fainWould seek firm ground, not fly to cloud-capped heights.

Strader:

That is no way for us; for in our speech

We name such talk mere fancy, and we fain

Would seek firm ground, not fly to cloud-capped heights.

The Other Maria:Then if ye wish to tread the other pathYe must forthwith renounce your spirit’s pride.Ye must forget what reason doth command,And let the touch of nature conquer you.In your men’s breasts let your child-soul have sway,Artless and undisturbed by thought’s dim shades.So will ye surely reach Life’s fountain-head,Although unconscious of the way ye go.

The Other Maria:

Then if ye wish to tread the other path

Ye must forthwith renounce your spirit’s pride.

Ye must forget what reason doth command,

And let the touch of nature conquer you.

In your men’s breasts let your child-soul have sway,

Artless and undisturbed by thought’s dim shades.

So will ye surely reach Life’s fountain-head,

Although unconscious of the way ye go.

(Exit.)

Capesius:Thus are we thrown back on ourselves alone,And have but learned that it behoveth usTo work and wait in patience for the fruitThat future days shall ripen from our work.

Capesius:

Thus are we thrown back on ourselves alone,

And have but learned that it behoveth us

To work and wait in patience for the fruit

That future days shall ripen from our work.

Johannes(speaking, as it were, from his meditation. Here and in the following scene he sits aside and takes no part in the action):So do I find within the soul’s domainThose men who are already known to me:First he who told us of Felicia’s tales,Though here I saw him in his youthful prime;And also he who in his younger daysHad chosen for his life monastic rule,As some old man did he appear: with themThere stood the Spirit of the Elements.

Johannes(speaking, as it were, from his meditation. Here and in the following scene he sits aside and takes no part in the action):

So do I find within the soul’s domain

Those men who are already known to me:

First he who told us of Felicia’s tales,

Though here I saw him in his youthful prime;

And also he who in his younger days

Had chosen for his life monastic rule,

As some old man did he appear: with them

There stood the Spirit of the Elements.

Curtain

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