Four Mystery Plays
GA 14
The Portal of Initiation
Scene 4
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 prove
Thine own existence; and to find thyself
Was thy reward, and was thy destiny.
Me didst thou find: for spirits willed
To cast a veil before the eyes of sense;
Which veil I rent in twain. Those spirits willed
To follow out their will alone 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-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 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 thee
In beauty proud and revelation's bliss.
(Exit with Lucifer.)
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 Elements is 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 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 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 him
Hath been achieved. Yet he obeys my powers
Through all the moving sequences of time.
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?
(Lightning and thunder.)
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 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 sense
Doth only search in realms to spirit strange.
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 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 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 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 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.
(Lightning and thunder.)
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 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 commanded.
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 words
Bear weight in my domain: they do but loose
The storm, and rouse the elements to wrath,
As adversaries of the ordered world.
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 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 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.
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 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 I 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 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 pure air of life, and I transmute
Beings of air into the feeling flow
That surging swells within the breast of man.
Strader:
Then thou canst not assist us in our quest.
For far aloft from men's endeavour stands
All that must abide in nature's realm.
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 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 us
Into thy speech, that nature may respond,
The question of the true worth of man's life.
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 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 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.
Capesius:
Then tell which way will lead us back again.
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 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 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 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 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.
Viertes Bild
(Eine Landschaft, die durch ihre Eigenart den Charakter der Seelenwelt ausdrücken soll.)
(Es treten auf zuerst Lucifer und Ahriman; Johannes ist, in Meditation versunken, an der Seite sichtbar; das Folgende wird von ihm in der Meditation erlebt.)
Lucifer:
O Mensch, erkenne dich,
O Mensch, empfinde mich.
Du hast dich entrungen
Der Geistesführung
Und bist geflohn
In freie Erdenreiche.
Du suchtest eignes Wesen
In Erdenwirrnis;
Dich selbst zu finden,
Es ward dir Lohn,
Es ward dein Los.
Du fandest mich.
Es wollten Geister
Dir Schleier vor die Sinne legen.
Ich riß entzwei die Schleier.
Es wollten Geister
In dir nur ihrem Willen folgen.
Ich gab dir Eigenwollen.
O Mensch, erkenne dich,
O Mensch, empfinde mich.
Ahriman:
O Mensch, erkenne mich,
O Mensch, empfinde dich,
Du bist entflohen
Aus Geistesfinsternis.
Du hast gefunden
Der Erde Licht.
So sauge Kraft der Wahrheit
Aus meiner Festigkeit.
Ich härte sichern Boden.
Es wollten Geister
Der Sinne Schönheit dir entreißen.
Ich wirke diese Schönheit
In dichtem Licht.
Ich führe dich
In wahre Wesenheit.
O Mensch, erkenne mich,
O Mensch, empfinde dich.
Lucifer:
Es gab nicht Zeiten,
Da du mich nicht erlebtest.
Ich folgte dir durch Lebensläufe.
Erfüllen durft ich dich
Mit starker Eigenheit,
Mit Selbstseinsglück.
Ahriman:
Es gab nicht Zeiten,
Da du mich nicht erschautest.
Mich schauten deine Leibesaugen
In allem Erdenwerden.
Erglänzen durft ich dir
In stolzer Schönheit,
In Offenbarungsseligkeit.
Johannes (in der Meditation zu sich selbst):
Das ist das Zeichen, von dem Benedictus sprach.
Die beiden Mächte stehen vor der Seelenwelt.
Die Eine lebt im Innern als Versucher,
Die Andre trübt den Blick,
Wenn er nach außen ist gerichtet.
Die eine nahm des Weibes Form jetzt an,
Das mir den Seelenwahn vors Auge brachte,
Die andre findet sich in allen Dingen.
(Es tritt auf der Geist der Elemente mit Capesius und Strader, die er aus Erdentiefen zur Erdenoberfläche gebracht hat. Es ist zu denken, daß sie die Erdenoberfläche als Seelen sehen.)
Geist der Elemente:
So seid ihr denn am Orte,
Den ihr so heiß ersehnt.
Es machte mir gar schwere Sorge,
Den Wunsch euch zu erfüllen.
In wildem Sturme rasten
Die Elemente und die Geister,
Als ihr Bereich betreten
Ich mußt’ mit eurem Wesen;
Es widerstrebte euer Sinn
Dem Walten meiner Kräfte.
Capesius (verjüngt):
Geheimnisvolles Wesen.
Wer bist du,
Der mich durch Geistersphären
In dieses schöne Reich gebracht?
Geist der Elemente:
Mich schaut die Menschenseele,
Erst wenn zu Ende ist
Der Dienst, den ich ihr leiste.
Doch folgt sie meinen Mächten
Durch alle Zeitenläufe.
Capesius:
Es drängt nur wenig mich,
Zu fragen nach dem Geist,
Der mich hierher geführt.
Ich fühle in dem neuen Feld
Erwarmen meines Lebens Kräfte.
Dies Licht, es weitet mir die Brust.
Ich spüre alle Macht der Welt
In meinen Pulsen schlagen.
Und Vorgefühl der höchsten Leistung
Entringt sich meinem Herzen.
Ich will in Worte wandeln
Des Reiches Offenbarung,
Das herrlich mich erquickt.
Und Menschenseelen sollen
Zu schönstem Sein erblühn,
Wenn ich Begeistrung aus den Quellen,
Die hier mir fließen,
Eröffnen kann dem Leben.
(Blitz und Donner aus den Tiefen und Höhen.)
Strader (gealtert):
Warum erbebt die Tiefe,
Warum erdröhnt die Höhe,
Da schönste Hoffnungsträume
Entringen sich der jugendlichen Seele?
(Blitz und Donner.)
Geist der Elemente:
Euch Menschenträumern
Erklingt gar stolz solch Hoffnungswort;
Doch ruft in Weltentiefen
Des irren Denkens Wahn
Solch Echo immerdar.
Ihr hört es nur in Zeiten,
Die euch in meine Nähe führen.
Ihr glaubt der Wahrheit
Erhabne Tempel zu erbauen,
Doch eurer Arbeit Folge
Entfesselt Sturmgewalten
In Urwelttiefen.
Es müssen Geister Welten brechen,
Soll euer Zeitenschaffen
Verwüstung nicht und Tod
Den Ewigkeiten bringen.
Strader:
So wäre vor den Ewigkeiten
Ein irrer Wahn,
Was Wahrheit scheint
Dem besten Menschenforschen!
(Blitz und Donner.)
Geist der Elemente:
Ein irrer Wahn,
So lang der Sinn nur forscht
Im geisterfremden Reich.
Strader:
Du magst wohl Träumer nennen
Die jugendfrohe Freundesseele,
Die mit so edler Feuerkraft
Das Ziel sich wacker malt.
In meinem alten Herzen
Erstirbt jedoch dein Wort,
Trotz Sturm und Donner,
Die es zu Helfern hat.
Ich rang mich aus dem Klosterfrieden
Zu stolzem Forschersinn.
Ich habe viele Jahre lang
Im Lebenssturm gestanden.
Man glaubt mir, was
Aus tiefstem Wahrheitssinn
Ich Menschen anvertraut.
(Blitz und Donner.)
Geist der Elemente:
Es ziemt dir, zu bekennen,
Daß niemand wissen kann,
Woraus des Denkens Quellen strömen,
Und wo des Daseins Gründe liegen.
Strader:
O dieses Wort, es ist das gleiche,
Das in der Jugend Hoffnungstagen
In eigner Seele mir
So grausig oft erklungen,
Wenn festgeglaubte Stützen
Im Menschendenken wankten.
(Blitz und Donner.)
Geist der Elemente:
Bezwingst du mich
Mit deinen stumpfen Denkerwaffen nicht,
Bist mehr du nicht
Als flüchtig Truggebild
Des eignen Wahnes nur.
Strader:
Schon wieder solch ein schaurig Wort.
Auch dies erklang mir einst
Aus meinem eignen Innern,
Als eine Seherin
Den Kreis des sichern Denkens mir zerstören,
Und mich des Zweifels Stachel
Bedrohlich wollte fühlen lassen.
Doch das ist wohl vorbei.
Ich trotze deiner Macht,
Du Alter, der des eignen Wesens Abbild
In des Naturgebieters Maske
So täuschend mir versinnlicht.
Es wird Vernunft dich niederzwingen.
Doch anders, als du meinst.
Hat sie im Menschen erst
Erstiegen ihre stolze Höhe,
Wird sie die Meisterin wohl sein
Und nicht die Dienerin in der Natur.
(Blitz und Donner.)
Geist der Elemente:
Es ist die Welt geordnet so,
Daß Leistung stets verlangt
Die Gegenleistung.
Ich habe euch das Selbst gegeben;
Ihr schuldet mir den Lohn.
Capesius:
Ich will aus meiner Seele schaffen
Der Dinge geistig Ebenbild.
Und wenn Natur, zu Idealen
Verklärt, ersteht in Menschenwerken,
Ist sie belohnt genug
Durch ihre echte Spiegelung.
Und wenn du selber
Verwandt dich fühlst
Der großen Weltenmutter
Und aus den Tiefen stammst,
Wo Urweltmächte walten,
So laß dir meinen Willen,
Der zu den hohen Zielen
In Kopf und Brust mir lebt,
Den Lohn sein deiner Tat.
Sie hat aus stumpfem Fühlen
Zu stolzem Denken mich gehoben.
(Blitz und Donner.)
Geist der Elemente:
Ihr konntet sehen,
Wie wenig eure kühnen Worte
In meinem Reiche gelten.
Den Sturm entfesseln sie,
Und Elemente rufen sie
Zu aller Ordnung Gegnern auf.
Capesius:
So magst du holen dir
Den Lohn, wo du ihn findest;
Des Menschen Seelentriebe müssen
Auf echten Geisteshöhen
Sich selber Maß und Ordnung geben.
Er kann nicht schaffen,
Wenn seines Schaffens Werk
Die andern nutzen wollen.
Es ist des Vogels Lied,
Das aus der Kehle dringt,
Sich selbst genug.
Und so ist Lohn dem Menschen auch,
Wenn schaffend er
Im Wirken Seligkeit erlebt.
(Blitz und Donner. )
Geist der Elemente:
Es geht nicht an,
Daß ihr den Lohn mir weigert;
Und könnt ihr selbst ihn mir nicht leisten,
So sagt der Frau,
Die euren Seelen Kraft verleiht,
Daß sie für euch bezahle.
(Der Geist der Elemente verschwindet.)
Capesius:
Er ist fort.
Wohin wohl wenden wir uns nun?
Zurecht erst uns zu finden
In diesen neuen Welten,
Wird unsre Sorge sein.
Strader:
Dem besten Wege,
Den wir nun treffen können,
Vertrauend folgen
Und unsre Vorsicht brauchen:
Das wird das Ziel uns gehen.
Capesius:
Mich dünkt, man sollte
Vom Ziele lieber schweigen.
Es wird sich finden,
Wenn mutig wir gehorchen
Dem Trieb der innern Wesenheit.
Und mir sagt dieser Trieb:
Das Wahre sei dir Führer;
Entfalte starke Kräfte
Und forme sie in edler Art
In allem, was du wirkst,
Und deine Schritte müssen
Ans rechte Ziel gelangen.
Strader:
Doch darf vom Anbeginn
Bewußtsein rechter Ziele
Ermangeln nicht den Schritten,
Die Menschen Nutzen bringen
Und Glück erschaffen wollen.
Wer nur sich selber dienen mag,
Er folgt allein dem Herzensdrang;
Wer andern aber helfen will,
Muß sicher wissen,
Was seinem Leben nötig ist.
(Die andre Maria wird - ebenfalls in Seelenform - sichtbar.)
Doch sieh, welch sonderbares Wesen!
Es ist, als ob der Fels
Es selbst geboren hätte.
Aus welchem Weltengrund
Erstehen solche Wesen?
Die andre Maria:
Ich ringe mich durch Felsengründe
Und will der Felsen eignen Willen
In Menschenworte kleiden;
Ich wittre Erdenwesenheit
Und will der Erde eignes Denken
Im Menschenkopfe denken.
Ich schlürfe reine Lebenslüfte,
Und bilde Luftgewalten
In Menschenfühlen um.
Strader:
Dann kannst du uns nicht helfen.
Was in Natur verbleiben muß,
Ist fern dem Menschenstreben.
Capesius:
Ich liebe deine Sprache, Frau,
Und möchte gerne übersetzen
In meine Art die Deine.
Die andre Maria:
Mir wird so sonderbar
Bei euren stolzen Reden.
So wie ihr selber sprecht,
Ist unverständlich meinem Ohr.
Doch lasse ich erst eure Worte
Aus meinem Wesen anders tönen,
Verbreiten sie sich über alle Dinge,
Die meinen Umkreis füllen,
Und deuten ihre Rätsel.
Capesius:
Ist Wahrheit deine Rede,
So wandle uns
Die Fragen nach den rechten
Lebenswerten in deine Sprache,
So daß Natur uns Antwort gebe.
Denn unvermögend sind wir selbst,
Die große Mutter so zu fragen,
Daß sie uns hören kann.
Die andere Maria:
Ihr seht in mir die niedre Schwester nur
Des hohen Geisteswesens,
Das jenes Reich bewohnt,
Aus dem ihr eben kommt.
Sie hat dies Feld mir angewiesen,
Daß hier ich ihren Abglanz
Für Menschensinne zeige.
Capesius:
So sind dem Reiche wir entflohn,
Das unsre Sehnsucht stillen könnte?
Die andre Maria:
Wenn ihr den Weg zurück
Nicht wieder findet,
Gedeiht ihr nimmermehr.
Capesius:
Und welcher ist der rechte Weg?
Die andre Maria:
Es gibt der Wege zwei.
Erwächst mir meine Kraft zu ihrer Höhe,
So können alle Wesen meines Reichs
In hehrster Schönheit strahlen.
Es glänzt dann funkelnd Licht
Von Fels und Wasser;
Der Farben reichste Fülle
Verbreitet sich im Umkreis,
Und Heiterkeit der Wesen
Erfüllt die Luft mit frohen Tönen.
Ergibt sich eure Seele dann
Den reinen Wonnen meines Seins,
So schwebet ihr auf Geistesflügeln
Im Weltenurbeginne.
Strader:
Das ist kein Weg für uns.
Er heißt in unsrer Sprache Schwärmerei.
Wir wollen auf dem Boden bleiben,
Nicht in die Wolkenhöhen fliegen.
Die andre Maria:
Und wollt ihr wandeln
Den andern Weg,
Ihr müßt verzichten
Auf euren stolzen Geist.
Vergessen, was Vernunft gebeut,
Natursinn erst erobern eurem Wesen,
In Mannesbrust die Kindesseele,
Von des Gedankens Schattenbildern unberührt
Natürlich walten lassen.
So kommt ihr zwar nicht wissend,
Doch sicher zu des Lebens Quellen.
(Die andre Maria verschwindet.)
Capesius:
So sind wir doch
Auf uns nur selbst zurückgewiesen.
Und haben bloß gelernt,
Daß uns geziemt zu wirken
Und in Geduld die Früchte zu erwarten,
Die aus dem Wirken reifen.
Johannes (wie aus der Meditation; er ist hier wie auch im Folgenden abseits sitzend und gehört nicht selbst in die Handlung hinein):
So finde ich im Seelenreich
Die Menschen wieder, die bekannt mir sind:
Den Mann, der von Felicias Geschichten sprach ‒
Nur konnt’ ich hier ihn schauen,
Wie er in jungen Jahren war;
Und jenen, der als junger Mann
Zum Mönche sich bestimmt ‒
Als alter Mann erschien er mir.
Der Geist der Elemente war bei ihnen.
(Vorhang)
Scene Four
(A landscape that, through its unique character, is intended to express the nature of the soul world.)
(Lucifer and Ahriman appear first; John is visible at the side, lost in meditation; the following is experienced by him in meditation.)
Lucifer:
O human, recognize yourself,
O human, feel me.
You have freed yourself
From spiritual guidance
And fled
To the free realms of the earth.
You sought your own being
In the confusion of the earth;
To find yourself,
It became your reward,
It became your lot.
You found me.
Spirits wanted
To place veils before your senses.
I tore the veils in two.
Spirits wanted
To follow only their will within you.
I gave you your own will.
O human, recognize yourself,
O human, feel me.
Ahriman:
O human, recognize me,
O human, feel yourself,
You have escaped
From spiritual darkness.
You have found
The light of the earth.
So draw strength from the truth
From my steadfastness.
I harden secure ground.
Spirits wanted
The beauty of the senses from you.
I work this beauty
In dense light.
I lead you
Into true being.
O human, recognize me,
O human, feel yourself.
Lucifer:
There were no times
When you did not experience me.
I followed you through lifetimes.
I was allowed to fill you
With strong individuality,
With the happiness of self-being.
Ahriman:
There were no times
When you did not see me.
Your physical eyes saw me
In all earthly becoming.
I was allowed to shine for you
In proud beauty,
In revelatory bliss.
John (in meditation to himself):
This is the sign Benedictus spoke of.
The two powers stand before the soul world.
One lives within as a tempter,
The other clouds the gaze When it is directed outward.
One now took the form of a woman,
Who brought the delusion of the soul before my eyes,
The other is found in all things.
(The Spirit of the Elements appears with Capesius and Strader, whom he has brought from the depths of the earth to the earth's surface. It is conceivable that they see the earth's surface as souls.)
Spirit of the Elements:
So you are now in the place
You so ardently desired.
It caused me great concern
To fulfill your wish.
In a wild storm
The elements and spirits raged
When I entered their realm
With your beings;
Your minds resisted
To the rule of my powers.
Capesius (rejuvenated):
Mysterious being.
Who are you,
Who brought me through spirit realms
To this beautiful realm?
Spirit of the Elements:
The human soul sees me,
Only when it is over
The service I render her.
But she follows my powers
Through all the ages.
Capesius:
I am hardly tempted
To ask about the spirit
That led me here.
I feel in this new field
The warming forces of my life.
This light expands my chest.
I feel all the power of the world
Beating in my pulse.
And a premonition of the highest achievement
Escapes from my heart.
I want to transform into words
The revelation of the kingdom,
Which gloriously refreshes me.
And human souls shall
Blossom into the most beautiful being,
When I draw inspiration from the sources
That flow here to me,
To life.
(Lightning and thunder from the depths and heights.)
Strader (aged):
Why do the depths tremble,
Why do the heights roar,
When the most beautiful dreams of hope
Escape the youthful soul?
(Lightning and thunder.)
Spirit of the elements:
To you human dreamers
Such words of hope sound so proud;
But in the depths of the world
The delusion of mad thinking
Always echoes such words.
You hear it only in times
That bring you close to me.
You believe in truth
To build sublime temples,
But the result of your work
Unleashes storm forces
In the depths of the primeval world.
Spirits must break worlds,
If your temporal creations
Are not to bring devastation and death
To eternity.
Strader:
So before eternity
There would be a mad delusion,
What seems to be truth
The best human research!
(Lightning and thunder.)
Spirit of the Elements:
A mad delusion,
As long as the mind only searches
In the realm alien to spirits.
Strader:
You may well call dreamers
The youthful, joyful souls of friends,
Who with such noble fiery power
Bravely paint their goal.
In my old heart, however,
Your words die away,
Despite storm and thunder,
Which are their helpers.
I wrestled myself out of the peace of the monastery
To a proud spirit of research.
For many years
I stood in the storm of life.
People believe me when
From the deepest sense of truth
I entrust myself to people.
(Lightning and thunder.)
Spirit of the elements:
It befits you to confess
That no one can know
From whence the springs of thought flow,
And where the reasons for existence lie.
Strader:
O this word, it is the same
That in the days of hope in youth
In my own soul
So often sounded so gruesomely,
When firmly believed supports
Wavered in human thought.
(Lightning and thunder.)
Spirit of the Elements:
If you conquer me
With your blunt weapons of thought,
You are nothing more
Than a fleeting illusion
Of your own delusion.
Strader:
Another such eerie word.
This too once resounded
From within my own heart,
When a seer
Destroyed the circle of my secure thinking,
And wanted to make me feel
The sting of doubt threateningly.
But that is probably over now.
I defy your power,
You old man, who so deceptively symbolizes
The image of your own being
In the mask of the ruler of nature.
Reason will subdue you.
But not as you think.
Once it has reached
Its proud height in man,
It will be the master
And not the servant in nature.
(Lightning and thunder.)
Spirit of the Elements:
The world is ordered thus,
That achievement always demands
A return.
I have given you the self;
You owe me the reward.
Capesius:
I want to create from my soul
The spiritual image of things.
And when nature, transfigured into ideals,
Arises in human works,
It is rewarded enough
By its true reflection.
And if you yourself
Feel akin
To the great mother of the world
And come from the depths,
Where primeval forces reign,
Then let my will,
Which lives in my head and heart
Towards lofty goals,
Be the reward for your deed.
It has lifted me from dull feeling
To proud thinking.
(Lightning and thunder.)
Spirit of the elements:
You could see
How little your bold words
Count in my realm.
They unleash the storm,
And call upon the elements
To oppose all order.
Capesius:
So you may reap
The reward where you find it;
The impulses of the human soul must
On genuine spiritual heights
Give themselves measure and order.
He cannot create
If others want to use
The fruits of his labor.
It is the song of the bird
That springs from its throat,
Is enough for itself.
And so is the reward for man,
When he creates
And experiences bliss in his work.
(Lightning and thunder.)
Spirit of the Elements:
It is not right
That you refuse me my reward;
And if you yourselves cannot afford it,
Then tell the woman
Who gives strength to your souls
That she pay for you.
(The Spirit of the Elements disappears.)
Capesius:
He is gone.
Where shall we turn now?
To find our way
In these new worlds,
Will be our concern.
Strader:
The best path,
That we can now take,
Follow with confidence
And use our caution:
That will be our goal.
Capesius:
It seems to me that we should
Rather remain silent about our goal.
It will be found
If we courageously obey
The impulse of our inner being.
And this impulse tells me:
Let truth be your guide;
Unleash your inner strength
And shape it in a noble way
In everything you do,
And your steps will
Lead you to the right destination.
Strader:
But from the very beginning,
Awareness of right goals
Must not be lacking in the steps
That bring benefit to people
And seek to create happiness.
Those who only want to serve themselves
Follow only the urges of their hearts;
But those who want to help others
Must know for sure
What is necessary for their life.
(The other Mary becomes visible, also in soul form.)
But look, what a strange creature!
It is as if the rock
Had given birth to it itself.
From what world
Do such beings arise?
The other Mary:
I struggle through rocky grounds
And want to clothe the rock's own will
In human words;
I sense the earth's presence
And want to think the earth's own thoughts
In the human mind.
I breathe pure air of life,
And transform the forces of the air
Into human feelings.
Strader:
Then you cannot help us.
What must remain in nature
Is far from human striving.
Capesius:
I love your language, woman,
And would like to translate
Yours into my own.
The other Maria:
I feel so strange
When I hear your proud words.
The way you speak
Is incomprehensible to my ears.
But first I let your words
Sound differently from my being,
They spread over all things,
That fill my surroundings,
And interpret their mysteries.
Capesius:
If your speech is truth,
Then transform us
The questions about the right
Values in life into your language,
So that nature may give us answers.
For we ourselves are incapable
Of asking the great mother
In such a way that she can hear us.
The other Mary:
You see in me only the lowly sister
Of the lofty spirit being
That inhabits that realm
From which you have just come.
She has assigned this field to me,
That here I may show her reflection
To human senses.
Capesius:
So we have fled the realm
That could satisfy our longing?
The other Mary:
If you cannot find your way back,
You will never prosper.
Capesius:
And which is the right way?
The other Mary:
There are two ways.
If my power grows to its height,
Then all beings in my realm
Will shine in sublime beauty.
Sparkling light will then shine
From rock and water;
The richest abundance of colors
Will spread throughout the surroundings,
And the cheerfulness of the beings
Will fill the air with joyful sounds.
If your soul then surrenders
To the pure delights of my being,
You will float on wings of spirit
In the beginning of the world.
Strader:
That is not the way for us.
In our language, it is called fanaticism.
We want to stay on the ground,
Not fly up into the clouds.
The other Mary:
And if you want to walk
The other path,
You must renounce
Your proud spirit.
Forget what reason dictates,
First conquer your nature,
Let the childlike soul in the man's breast,
Untouched by the shadows of thought,
Rule naturally.
Then you will come, not knowing,
But surely to the sources of life.
(The other Mary disappears.)
Capesius:
So we are
Left to rely only on ourselves.
And have merely learned
That it behooves us to work
And wait patiently for the fruits
That ripen from our labor.
John (as if out of meditation; he is sitting apart here and in the following and is not part of the action himself):
So I find in the realm of the soul
The people who are familiar to me:
The man who spoke of Felicia's stories ‒
Only here I could see him,
As he was in his younger years;
And the one who as a young man
Decided to become a monk—
He appeared to me as an old man.
The spirit of the elements was with them.
(Curtain)