Four Mystery Plays
GA 14
The Soul's Probation (Written 1911)
Scene 7
A chamber in the castle whose exterior was shown in the preceding scene. Decorated throughout with symbols of a Mystic Brotherhood. (For costumes, see note on page 145.) Columns, arches, and vaulted roof with the mystic symbols shown in the Author's ‘Occult Symbols.’ First the Knights assemble; then the Monk and one of the Knights later appears the spirit of Benedictus who has passed away about fifty years earlier. Then Lucifer and Ahriman. The Grand Master seated at a long table with four of the Brethren, indicated in the course of the scene.
Grand Master:
Ye who are joined with me in comradeship
To seek the goal appointed unto man,
And bring that knowledge from the spirit-realm
Into the scope of earth's activities,
As is appointed to our brotherhood,
Must also truly help me in this hour
When heavy trials impend. Then, know ye all
That since our venerated master fell,
A victim by the Powers of Darkness claimed,
Who draw their strength from Evil, helping on
The plan of Wisdom by their natural means,
That is by means of Opposition's strength,
Since Wisdom turneth Evil into Good.
Since that sad loss we strive on earth in vain,
For many a castle of our brotherhood
Hath by our enemies been overwhelmed,
And many Brethren dear to us have fallen
In fight, and followed our great Master home
Into the realm of everlasting light.
For us too doth the hour approach apace
When these stout walls that shelter us shall fall.
Our foes already spy the country round
To find a pretext under which they may
Rob us of our possessions, ne'er acquired
For our own use, but as a means to draw
Around us individuals, in whose souls
We could implant the germs of things to come.
These germs shall ripen when those men themselves
Find their way back from out the spirit-land
To live anew in future days on earth.
First Master of Ceremonies:
That this our brotherhood should be o'erthrown
By some obscure design of destiny,
Is something nowise inconceivable.
But that the fall of our community
Should doom so many brothers' single lives,
Would seem to contravene the cosmic law.
I do not wish my words to make complaint,
Since willingly our brothers suffer death.
But still my soul desires to comprehend
The sacrifice demanded from these men
Who have allied themselves unto a whole,
Because the powers of destiny decree
The overthrow and ruin of that whole.
Grand Master:
The separate life of individual men
Is linked most wisely to the world's design.
Amongst our brothers there will surely be
Some who have given proof of competence
To serve our brotherhood with their soul's power
And yet whose nature still shows many a stain.
The errors and misdeeds of such a heart
Must find their expiation in the pain
Suffered by it in service for the whole.
And he who, blameless both in act and deed,
Must none the less walk in the thorny way
Traced by the Karma of the brotherhood,
Will find his pain requited by the power
To mount aloft unto the higher life.
First Master of Ceremonies:
So then the brotherhood may tolerate
Within its ranks souls not yet purified
Who vow themselves to its exalted aims?
Grand Master:
He who to lofty works is dedicate
Doth mark alone the goodness in men's souls;
He lets the evil work its ransom out
As cosmic justice in its course decides.
My brothers, I have bid you meet me here
In order to remind you with grave words
That we have duties in our days of grief.
We must be ready to lay down our lives
For those high purposes to which we swore
Lifelong allegiance, Truly ye are
My brothers, if undauntedly your souls
Repeat the motto of our brotherhood:
‘Separate existence must be sacrificed
By those who would set eyes on spirit goals,
Piercing the outer veil of world of sense,
And dare to let the spirit's will pour down
And flood their individual purposes.’
First Preceptor:
Exalted Master, shouldst thou design to test
The heart of each man in our brotherhood,
It would repeat that motto loud and clear!—
Yet do we beg thee to explain to us
Why, not content with robbing us of life
And our possessions, now our enemies
Would rob us also of those humble souls
Whom we have tended with unselfish love.
For every day affords new evidence
That not alone compulsion makes our folk
Submit themselves unto our conquerors;
But that indeed they too have learned to hate
The spirit-path which we had shown to them.
Grand Master:
That which we have implanted in men's souls
May die indeed to-day; but these same men,
Who once have breathed our spirit-radiance,
Will come again to earth, and then bestow
Upon the world the fruitage of our work.
Thus speaks unto my spirit oftentimes
Our mighty leader from the realm of death,
When in my quiet hours, I do sink down
Into my soul's deep places, and arouse
Strength to abide awhile in spirit-lands.
Then may I feel the master's presence near
And hear his words, as in the life of sense
I often heard them. Never doth he speak
About our work as drawing to a close;
But only of fulfilment of our aims
In later days that are to come on earth.
(Exeunt the Grand Master and two of the Brotherhood.)
First Preceptor:
He speaks of spirit-worlds in just such words
As men may speak of villages or towns.
The way in which our loftiest brothers speak
Of other states of life oppresseth me.
And yet I am devoted fervently
Unto the progress of our earthly aims.
Second Master of Ceremonies:
I place reliance in our master's words.
The man who cannot hear with perfect faith
The tale of spirit and of spirit-worlds,
Is nowise lacking in capacity
To grasp a revelation of this kind.
The things he lacks are of a different mould.
Though he admit it not, he well may feel
That he is conscious of unworthiness
To be a member of the higher worlds.
A soul must be defiled by secret stains
And eager to deny that they are there,
That will not bow before the spirit-lore.
(Exeunt.)
(Enter the Monk; the Second Preceptor enters and steps up to him)
Second Preceptor:
What errand bringeth thee to this our house
Which is for thee the home of enemies?
Monk:
I must include amongst my friends all those
Who bear the form of men this is our rule.
But hostile thou mayst well esteem the claim
Which I, by duty bound, must here present.
Those who are over me have sent me here,
And their desire is that the property
Belonging to the Church, as by old deeds
Is well attested, should be given back
To them without dispute. You tract of ground
Upon which ye have sunk your mine, belongs
In law and equity unto the Church.
The manner in which ye possessed yourselves
Of this estate confers no legal rights.
Second Preceptor:
Whether in law we have a right to call
It ours or no, would constitute a case
For legal disputation long drawn out.
But certain 'tis that it belongs to us
If we refer it to a higher law.
You tract of ground was lying lost and waste
When it was purchased by our brotherhood
Not e'en an inkling had ye of the fact
That far below rich treasure lay concealed.
This have we won for human industry:
Its treasures travel far and wide to-day
To distant lands, to further human weal,
And many honest souls are now at work
In shaft and tunnel underneath the ground
Which in your hands lay waste and desolate.
Monk:
Then it doth not seem fair and right to thee
To urge upon thy brotherhood the need
Of peaceably accepting our demand
That so we may regain our property?
Second Preceptor:
Since we are not aware of any guilt,
But are convinced our cause is wholly just,
We can but wait in quiet confidence
To see if ye are really bent. on strife,
When as before, yourselves are in the wrong.
Monk:
Then will ye have to thank your headstrong will
If we are driven to a sterner course.
Second Preceptor:
The honour of our brotherhood demands
That only when defeated, sword in hand,
Do we allow ourselves to be despoiled.
Monk:
So be it! Now my mission is fulfilled,
Between us there is no more need of words.
Will it be possible for me to have
An audience with thy lord, who here commands?
Second Preceptor:
The Master doubtless will concede thee this;
Yet wait, I pray thee, for a little while.
He cannot at this moment come to thee.
(Exit.)
Monk:
O, that mine office forceth me to tread
The halls of this detested brotherhood!
Turn where they may, my eyes must contemplate
Sinful devices and satanic spells.—
Almost a horror seizeth hold on me;—
A crackling and a rumbling fill the air;—
I feel the powers of ill are gathered round.
(Noises heard.)
But as my conscience is entirely clear
I will defy the enemy.
(Noises heard.)
Oh, this
Is terrible.
(The spirit of Benedictus appears.)
Defend me, Saints of Heaven!
Benedictus:
Collect thyself, my son. I often came
To meet thee, when the fervour of thy prayers
Transported thee unto the spirit-world.
Take therefore courage in this present hour
And learn a truth which thou must realize
If spirit clearness is to hold its sway
And drive away the darkness from thy soul.
Monk:
When in my trials I prayed to Heaven for light,
And when my supplication winged its way
To realms celestial, and won repose,
Thou, venerated master, didst appear.
Thou, who wast aye our Order's ornament,
The while thou wert amongst us here on earth,
And out of higher realms didst speak to me,
Enlightening my mind and strengthening me.
My soul beheld thee with its inner eye,
My spirit ear was open to thy words.
In this hour also then, will I receive
The revelation with humility
Which thou shalt cause to flow into my soul.
Benedictus:
Thou art within that brotherhood's abode
Whom thou dost charge with wicked heresies.
They seem to hate what we are taught to love
And hold in honour what we count as sin.
Our brethren feel themselves in duty bound
To haste the spirit-brethren's overthrow,
And think their action sanctioned by the words
I spake myself whilst I was still on earth.
Yet do they not imagine that these words
Can only hold the living truth so long
As they are livingly evolved by those
Who have been my successors in my work.—
So let those thoughts which I once held on earth
Rise up afresh and live within thy soul
In harmony with needs of newer times;
And thus behold this Order, which doth seek
Its goal in mystic realms, as I should judge
And look on it, if it had been my lot
To dwell on earth and work with thee to-day.
This brotherhood is vowed to lofty aims;
Those human beings who have joined its ranks
Have premonitions of the days to come
Their leaders see with a prophetic eye
The fruits that shall grow ripe in future times.
Science and daily life shall undergo
A change of form and seek ideals new;
And what this brotherhood doth now achieve,
Whom thou hast lent a hand to persecute,
Are deeds which serve to bring this change about.
Alone by peaceful union of the aims
Sought by our brethren and these heretics
Can good be made to blossom on this earth.
Monk:
This warning, of which I am worthy found,
How can I act upon it? It departs
Amazingly from all that I have held,
Up to this moment, to be right and good.
(Ahriman and, Lucifer appear.)
But other beings now are drawing nigh!
Why do they come and stand beside thee now?
Ahriman:
This further message comes from other realms.
It cannot seem an easy thing for thee
Thy predecessor's bidding to obey,
Reflect—he dwells in everlasting bliss.
And actions by decree and duty there
Desirable, may well upon the earth
Lead to confusion at the present time.
Lift up thine eyes to where he dwells on high
If thou wouldst seek for comfort from the bliss
Which, when the latter days of earth draw near,
By cosmic spirits is to be bestowed.
But if at present thou wouldst act aright,
Be guided only, in the choice of paths,
By that which reason and the senses teach.
Thou hast been able clearly to discern
The sinful ways of yonder brotherhood
Which they would fain keep secret from the world;
Thus hast thou learned that laws for future life
Can well be framed by souls now steeped in sin!
How canst thou wish, now that thou knowest these things,
To live in friendship with the brotherhood?
For error is a poor and sterile soil
Where good fruit cannot come to ripening.
Lucifer:
Thy pious mind hath shown the road to thee.
It is most true that times and objects change;
But none the less 'tis not for heretics
To trace the paths on which mankind must tread.
The error of this spirit-brotherhood
Is dangerous, because it speaks the truth,
And yet expresses it in such a way
As makes the truth more deadly than a lie.
A man who openly avowed he lied
Would have to be bereft of common sense
'Ere he could bring himself to such belief
That men would gladly follow where he led.
The spirit-knights indeed are shrewd of mind;
They do not fail to speak about the Christ
Because this name can open every door
That gives admission to the souls of men.
But ever can men easiest be led
Into the service of the Antichrist
When in the name of Christ he is proclaimed.
Monk:
Conflicting voices from the world of souls
Assail mine ears, as often heretofore,
And always with an aim to counteract
The pious promptings of a mind devout.
How shall I find the paths that lead to good
If by the Powers of Evil they be praised?
Almost it seems to me as if indeed—
But no, such words shall not be thought by me—,
The wisdom of my master shall reveal
The meaning of his words, so dark to me.
Benedictus:
I can direct thee to the proper path,
If thou wilt let the words which once I spake
On earth possess thee in thine inmost soul.
And if thou art resolved to find the life
That lives within those words upon those planes
On which thou now canst see me face to face,
The proper path shall be made plain to thee.
Curtain, while the Monk, the Spirit of Benedictus,
Lucifer, and Ahriman are still on the stage
Siebentes Bild
(Ein Zimmer jener Burg, die im vorigen Bild von außen zu sehen war. Alles geschmückt mit Symbolen einer mystischen Brüderschaft. Die geistigen Ritter während einer Versammlung, dann der Mönch mit einem der Ritter, später die Erscheinung des Geistes Benedictus’, der etwa fünfzig Jahre vorher verstorben. Lucifer und Ahriman. Der Großmeister mit vier Brüdern an einem langen Versammlungstisch.)
Großmeister:
Die ihr Gefährten mir geworden
im Suchen nach der Menschheit Zukunftzielen,
die aus dem Geistgebiet zu tragen
ins Reich des Erdenwirkens
als Bundessatzung uns gegeben:
ihr sollt’ mir treu zur Seit’ auch stehn
in dieser Zeit der schweren Sorgen.
Seit unser teures Haupt gefallen
als Opfer jener dunklen Mächte,
die aus dem Bösen ihre Kräfte holen,
um durch des Widerstandes Kraft
in ihrer Art der Weisheit Plan zu dienen,
die Gutes auch aus Bösem wirkt –
seit dieser Zeit ist hoffnungslos all unser Erdenstreben.
Schon haben uns die Feinde überwältigt
gar manche unsrer Bundesburgen, –
und viele unsrer teuren Brüder
sind kämpfend ihm gefolgt, dem großen Meister,
ins lichte Reich der Ewigkeiten.
Auch uns muß bald die Stunde schlagen,
in der auch diese Mauern fallen,
die schützend uns umgeben.
Schon spähen unsre Feinde allerorten,
wie sie der Güter uns berauben können,
die wir zum eignen Nutzen nicht erworben,
die nur als Mittel wir gebrauchten,
um uns zu scharen solche Menschen,
in deren Seele wir
die Keime für die Zukunft pflanzen können.
Sie sollen reifen dann, wenn jene Menschen
die Rückkehr finden aus dem Geisterland
zu einem spätern Erdenleben.
1. Ceremonienmeister:
Daß unser Bund sich beugen muß
dem dunklen Sinn des Schicksalsplanes:
begreiflich muß es scheinen.
Doch daß im Fallen die Gemeinschaft mit sich reißt
So vieler Brüder Einzelleben:
Ein Unrecht scheint es vor dem Weltgesetz.
Nicht klagen soll mein Mund;
denn willig starben unsre Brüder. –
Doch sucht Verständnis meine Seele
des Opfers, das vom Menschen wird gefordert,
der an ein Ganzes sich gebunden hat,
wenn Schicksalsmächte diesem Ganzen
den Untergang bereiten müssen.
Großmeister:
Es ist des Menschen Sonderleben
gar weise mit dem Weltenplan verknüpft.
In unsrer Brüder Reihen
ist mancher wohl, der fähig sich erweist,
mit seinen Geisteskräften unserm Bund zu dienen,
und der doch Flecken hat in seinem Dasein.
Es müssen seines Herzens irre Wege
die Sühne finden duch die Leiden,
die er im Dienst des Ganzen tragen muß.
Und wer nicht schuldig durch die eignen Taten
die Dornenwege wandern muß,
die aus dem Bundeskarma stammen,
dem wird der Schmerz die Kraft verleihn,
zum höhern Leben aufzusteigen.
1. Ceremonienmeister:
So darf der Bund auch Menschen
in seiner Mitte dulden,
die nicht mit reinster Seele nur
sich weihen können seinen hohen Zielen?
Großmeister:
Es wägt allein das Gute in den Seelen,
wer hohem Werke sich gewidmet,
und läßt das Schlimme seine Sühne finden
im Lauf der Weltgerechtigkeit.
Ich habe euch, ihr Brüder, jetzt zu mir gerufen,
Um euch in unsern Trauertagen
Mit ernstem Worte zu erinnern:
Daß freudig uns geziemt zu sterben –
für unsre Ziele, denen lebend uns zu weihn
wir treu gelobet haben.
Ihr seid im rechten Sinne meine Brüder,
wenn mutig wiederklingt in euren Seelen
des Bruderbundes Weihespruch:
»Es muß sein Sondersein und Leben opfern,
wer Geistesziele schauen will
durch Sinnesoffenbarung;
wer sich erkühnen will
in seinen Eigenwillen
den Geisteswillen zu ergießen.«
1. Praeceptor:
Erhabner Meister, wenn du prüfen wolltest
die Herzen aller unsrer Brüder:
erklingen müßte dir der hellste Widerhall
der Worte unsres Weihespruches.
Doch möchten wir aus deinem Munde hören,
wie wir zu deuten haben,
daß unsre Feinde mit unsern Gütern, unserm Leben,
uns rauben auch die Seelen,
die wir in Liebe pflegten.
Schon zeigt es sich mit jedem Tage klarer,
wie unsre Leute nicht allein
den Siegern sich durch Zwang ergeben;
wie sie auch hassen lernen
den Geistesweg, den wir gewiesen.
Großmeister:
Was wir gepflanzt in Seelen haben,
es mag für diese Zeiten sterben;
doch werden wiederkehren solche Menschen,
die unsres Geistes Licht geatmet,
und unsre Werke dann der Welt verleihn.
So spricht zu meinem Geiste oft
der große Führer aus dem Totenreich,
wenn ich in meinen stillen Stunden
In meine Seelengründe tauche,
und Kräfte mir erwachen,
zu weilen in dem Geisterlande.
Ich fühle dann des Meisters Gegenwart
und höre seine Worte,
wie ich im Sinnesleben
sie oftmals hören durfte.
Er spricht von unsres Werkes Ende nicht;
nur von Erfüllung unsrer Ziele
in spätren Erdentagen.
(Es gehen der Großmeister und zwei Brüder ab, während zwei zurückbleiben.)
1. Praeceptor:
Er spricht von Geisteswelten in der gleichen Art,
wie andre Menschen über Dörfer oder Städte – ‒ ‒.
Bedrückend find’ ich diese Art,
wie unsre höchstgeweihten Brüder
von andern Daseinsreichen sprechen.
Und doch bin ich ganz streng verbunden
mit allen unsern Erdenzielen.
2. Ceremonienmeister:
Ich halte mich an unsrer Meister Worte:
Wer nicht mit vollem Glauben
die Kunde kann vernehmen
von Geist und Geisteswelten, –
ihm fehlt es nicht an Fähigkeit,
zu fassen solche Offenbarung.
Es fehlt ganz andres ihm.
Daß er nicht wert sich fühlen darf
der höhern Welten Glied zu sein,
er ahnt es wohl, doch möcht’ er sich’s verbergen.
Die Seele muß geheime Flecken haben
und sich darüber täuschen wollen,
wenn sie sich nicht dem Geisteswissen beugen will.
(Die beiden gehen ab.)
(Der Mönch erscheint in demselben Zimmer; zu ihm tritt der zweite Praeceptor.)
2. Praeceptor:
Was führt Euch her in dieses Haus,
das auch als Feindesstätte gilt?
Mönch:
Ich muß zu meinen Freunden zählen,
was Menschenantlitz trägt.
So will es unsre strenge Regel.
Doch feindlich könnt’ Euch wohl erscheinen,
was pflichtgetreu zu fordern mir obliegt.
In meiner Obern Auftrag bin ich hier.
Sie wollen auf dem Friedenswege
der Kirche Gut zurückerstattet haben,
das ihr durch alter Briefe Inhalt zugehört.
Das Grundstück, das zum Bergwerk umgestaltet,
ist unsrer Kirche rechtlich Eigentum.
Es kann die Art als Recht nicht gelten,
wie Ihr das Gut erworben habt.
2. Praeceptor:
Ob wir durch Recht es unser nennen oder nicht,
darüber können Richter lange streiten.
Doch sicher ist es unser Eigentum
Im Sinne eines höhern Rechtes.
Das Grundstück war ein ungenützter Boden
als unser Bund es angekauft.
Es war Euch gänzlich unbekannt,
daß dieses Bodens Tiefen reiche Schätze bergen.
Wir haben sie dem Menschenfleiß erobert.
Es wandern heute diese Schätze
in fernste Länder, Menschenwohl zu fördern.
Und viele wackre Leute schaffen
in jenes Bodens Schachten,
die Ihr als Wüstenei besessen habt.
Mönch:
So haltet Ihr es nicht für Recht,
in eurem Bunde durchzusetzen,
daß er im Frieden sich mit uns verständigt,
wie wir zu unserm Rechte kommen sollen?
2. Praeceptor:
Da wir uns keiner Schuld bewußt,
vielmehr des vollen Rechtes sicher sind,
so können wir in Ruhe warten,
ob auch in dieser Sache Euch belieben wird,
das Unrecht doch auf eure Seite hinzuwenden.
Mönch:
Ihr habt es eurem starren Willen zuzuschreiben,
wenn wir zu andern Mitteln so gezwungen sind.
2. Praeceptor:
Die Ehre unsres Bundes heischt,
daß er nur kämpfend
sich seines Rechts berauben läßt.
Mönch:
So ist mein Auftrag denn erfüllt,
ich kann nun Euch und mir die weitern Worte sparen.
Ist’s möglich wohl, zu sprechen
das Haupt, das hier gebietet?
2. Praeceptor:
Der Meister wird Euch wohl zu Diensten stehn;
Doch bitt’ ich Euch, verweilet kurze Zeit,
er wird sogleich nicht kommen können.
(Er geht ab.)
Mönch:
O, daß mein Amt mich zwingt,
die Räume des verhaßten Bundes zu betreten.
Es trifft mein Blick nach allen Seiten
auf Teufelszeichen und auf Sündenbilder.
Ein Grauen will mich fast ergreifen ...
Es knistert – oh, es poltert durch den Raum;
Ich fühle wie von bösen Mächten mich umgeben.
‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒
Da ich bewußt mir keiner Sünde bin,
will ich den Widersachern trotzen –
‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒
Es wird ganz furchtbar …
Oh – ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒
(Es erscheint der Geist des Benedictus.)
Ihr guten Geister, steht mir bei!
Benedictus:
Besinne dich, mein Sohn!
Ich durfte oft mich zu dir wenden,
wenn deines Betens Inbrunst
dich in die Geisteswelt entrückte.
So höre mutvoll auch in dieser Stunde,
was du erkennen mußt,
wenn Geisteshelle statt der Finsternis
in deiner Seele walten soll.
Mönch:
Wenn ich um Klarheit flehte
in solch’ bedeutungsvollen Dingen,
und mein ergebnes Beten
Erhörung fand im Geistesland,
erschienst du mir, mein großer Meister,
der unsres Ordens Zierde war,
als er im Erdenleibe lebte.
Du sprachst zu mir aus höhern Reichen,
erleuchtend mir den Sinn,
und stärkend mir die Kraft.
Es schaute dich mein Seelenblick,
es hörte dich mein Geistgehör.
Ergeben will ich auch in dieser Stunde
der Offenbarung lauschen,
die du in meine Seele fließen läßt.
Benedictus:
Du bist im Hause eines Bruderbundes,
den deine Seele böser Ketzerei beschuldigt.
Er scheint zu hassen, was wir lieben;
und zu verehren, was uns Sünde dünkt.
Es halten unsre Brüder sich verpflichtet,
den Untergang der Geistessünde zu befördern.
Sie können sich dabei auf jene Worte stützen,
die ich im Erdensein gesprochen.
Sie ahnen nicht, daß diese Worte
sich lebend nur erzeugen können,
wenn sie im rechten Sinne fortgebildet werden
von jenen, welche meiner Arbeit Folger sind.
So lasse du in deiner Seele
im Sinne einer neuen Zeit erstehen,
was ich auf Erden habe denken dürfen.
Den Orden, welcher aus der Mystik Reich
sich seine Ziele weisen läßt,
erblicke ihn in jenem Lichte,
in dem ich selbst ihn heute sehen würde,
wenn mir beschieden wäre,
im Erdenleibe wirksam unter euch zu wandeln.
Der Bund ist hohen Zielen zugewandt.
Die Menschen, die sich ihm gewidmet,
empfinden ahnend spätre Erdenzeiten;
und ihre Führer schauen schon im Vorgesicht
die Früchte, die in Zukunft reifen sollen.
Es werden Wissenschaft und Lebensführung
die Formen und die Ziele wandeln.
Und was der Bund, den du verfolgen hilfst,
in dieser Zeit zu leisten sich getrieben fühlt,
sind Taten, welche dieser Wandlung dienen.
Nur wenn zum Friedenswerk sich einen will
das Ziel, dem unsre Brüder dienen,
mit jenem, dem die Ketzer folgen,
kann Heil dem Erdenwerden blühn.
Mönch:
Die Mahnung, der ich würdig bin befunden,
wie kann ich ihr nur folgen – ‒ ‒?
Sie weicht gewaltig ab von allem,
was mir bisher als richtig wollte scheinen.
(Es erscheinen Ahriman und Lucifer.)
Doch nahen mir noch andre Wesen!
Was wollen sie an deiner Seite?
Ahriman:
Die weitre Weisung kommt von andern Orten.
Es kann dir leicht nicht scheinen,
des Vorfahrs Winken zu gehorchen.
Bedenk’, daß er im Reich der Seligkeiten lebt.
Was dort Gebot und Pflicht ersehnt,
es kann in eurer Gegenwart
auf Erden nur Verwirrung stiften.
Erheb’ den Blick zu seinen Höhen,
wenn du Erbauung suchen willst
im Glück, das fernsten Erdentagen
von Weltengeistern wird beschieden sein.
Doch willst du jetzt schon richtig wirken,
so lass’ von dem allein dich führen,
was dir Vernunft und Sinne lehren.
Es ist dir gut gelungen,
die Sünden jener Bundesbrüder zu ergründen,
die sie vor aller Welt verbergen müssen.
Sie zeigen dir, wie ihre Zukunftssatzung
gar wohl in Sünderseelen leben kann.
Wie könntest du bei solcher Wissenschaft
In Frieden mit dem Bunde leben wollen!
Der Irrtum ist ein schlechter Boden;
er läßt nicht gute Früchte reifen.
Lucifer:
Es hat dein frommer Sinn
Die rechten Wege dir gewiesen.
Wohl wandeln sich die Zeitenziele;
doch dürfen Ketzer nicht
des Menschen Pfade vorbestimmen.
An diesem Geistesbunde ist gefährlich,
daß er in Worten Wahrheit spricht,
und doch der Wahrheit jene Wendung gibt,
durch die sie an Gefährlichkeit
den Irrtum übertreffen muß.
Wer offen wollt’ der Lüge dienen,
der müßte sinnbetört wohl sein,
wenn er im Glauben leben könnte,
die Menschen folgten seiner Führung.
Die Geistesritter sind so unklug nicht; –
sie sprechen wohl von Christi Wesenheit,
weil dieser Name alle Tore öffnet,
die zu den Menschenseelen führen.
Man kann für Christi Gegenbild
am besten Menschenherzen fangen,
wenn Christi Namen man dem Bilde gibt.
Mönch:
Verwirrend klingen mir aus Seelenwelten
die Stimmen, die ich oft gehört,
und die doch stets bekämpfen wollten,
was frommer Sinn befiehlt.
Wie soll ich denn die guten Wege finden,
wenn böse Mächte sie mir loben.
Bedünken will es mich doch fast – ‒ ‒;
Doch nein, das Wort, es bleibe ungedacht –.
Mein weiser Führer wird mich leiten,
daß seiner Worte Sinn sich mir enthüllen kann,
der mir so dunkel scheint.
Benedictus:
Ich kann den rechten Weg dir weisen,
wenn du in tiefster Seele dich durchdringst
mit Worten, die ich einst auf Erden sprach.
Und willst du dieser Worte Leben
In jenen Welten dann erstreben,
in welchen du mich jetzt erschauen kannst,
wird dir der rechte Weg gewiesen sein.
(Vorhang fällt, während noch der Mönch, der Geist des Benedictus,
Lucifer und Ahriman im Saale sind.)
Seventh Picture
(A room in the castle seen from the outside in the previous picture. Everything is decorated with symbols of a mystical brotherhood. The spiritual knights during a meeting, then the monk with one of the knights, later the apparition of the spirit of Benedictus, who died about fifty years earlier. Lucifer and Ahriman. The Grand Master with four brothers at a long meeting table.)
Grand Master:
You who have become my companions
in the search for humanity's future goals,
which are to be carried from the spiritual realm
into the realm of earthly activity
as given to us in the covenant:
you shall stand faithfully by my side
in this time of grave concern.
Since our dear leader fell
as a victim of those dark forces
that draw their strength from evil
in order to serve their plan of wisdom
through the power of resistance,
which also works good from evil –
since that time, all our earthly endeavors are hopeless.
Already our enemies have overwhelmed us
in many of our federal strongholds, –
and many of our dear brothers
have followed him, the great Master, in battle,
into the bright realm of eternity.
The hour will soon strike for us too,
when these walls will also fall,
which protectively surround us.
Our enemies are already watching us everywhere,
waiting to rob us of our possessions,
which we did not acquire for our own benefit,
which we used only as a means
to gather around us such people
in whose souls we
can plant the seeds for the future.
They shall ripen when those people
find their way back from the spirit world
to a later life on earth.
1st Master of Ceremonies:
That our union must bow
to the dark meaning of the plan of fate:
it must seem understandable.
But that in falling, the community takes with it
the individual lives of so many brothers:
it seems unjust before the law of the world.
My mouth shall not complain;
for our brothers died willingly. –
Yet my soul seeks understanding
of the sacrifice demanded of a person
who has bound himself to a whole,
when the powers of fate must bring about
the downfall of this whole.
Grand Master:
The special life of man
is wisely linked to the plan of the world.
Among our brothers
there are many who prove themselves capable
of serving our covenant with their mental powers,
and yet who have blemishes in their existence.
The errant ways of his heart
must find atonement through the suffering
he must bear in the service of the whole.
And those who are not guilty through their own deeds
and must walk the thorny paths
that arise from the karma of the covenant,
will be given the strength by the pain
to ascend to a higher life.
1st Master of Ceremonies:
So may the Covenant also tolerate people
in its midst
who cannot consecrate themselves to its lofty goals with only the purest soul?
Grand Master:
It weighs only the good in souls,
those who have devoted themselves to high works,
and lets the bad find its atonement
in the course of world justice.
I have now called you, brothers, to me,
To remind you in our days of mourning
with solemn words:
That it befits us to die joyfully—
for our goals, to which we have faithfully vowed
to devote ourselves while alive.
You are my brothers in the true sense,
if the consecration vow of the brotherhood
echoes courageously in your souls:
“He must sacrifice his individuality and life,
who wants to see spiritual goals
through sensory revelation;
who wants to dare
in his own will
to pour out the will of the spirit.”
1st Praeceptor:
Sublime Master, if you were to examine
the hearts of all our brothers:
you would hear the brightest echo
of the words of our consecration oath.
But we would like to hear from your mouth
how we are to interpret that our enemies, with our goods, our lives,
rob us of the souls
we cherished with love.
With each passing day, it becomes clearer
how our people not only
surrender to the victors by force,
but also learn to hate
the spiritual path we have shown them.
Grand Master:
What we have planted in souls,
it may die for these times;
but such people will return,
who have breathed the light of our spirit,
and then lend our works to the world.
So often speaks to my spirit
the great leader from the realm of the dead,
when in my quiet hours
I dive into the depths of my soul,
and powers awaken in me,
to dwell in the land of spirits.
I then feel the master's presence
and hear his words,
as I was often allowed to hear them
in my sensory life.
He does not speak of the end of our work;
only of the fulfillment of our goals
in later earthly days.
(The Grand Master and two brothers depart, while two remain behind.)
1st Praeceptor:
He speaks of spiritual worlds in the same way
as other people speak of villages or cities – ‒ ‒.
I find this manner oppressive,
the way our most consecrated brothers
speak of other realms of existence.
And yet I am very strongly attached
to all our earthly goals.
2nd Master of Ceremonies:
I abide by our Master's words:
Whoever cannot hear
the news
of spirits and spirit worlds with complete faith
–
lacks the ability
to grasp such a revelation.
He lacks something else entirely.
That he may not feel worthy
of being a member of the higher worlds,
he senses it well, but would like to hide it from himself.
The soul must have secret places
and want to deceive itself about them,
if it does not want to bow to spiritual knowledge.
(The two exit.)
(The monk appears in the same room; the second preceptor approaches him.)
2nd Preceptor:
What brings you to this house,
which is also considered an enemy stronghold?
Monk:
I must count among my friends
those who bear the face of man.
Such is our strict rule.
But what I am duty-bound to demand may well appear hostile to you.
I am here on behalf of my superior.
They want to have the church's property returned to it by peaceful means,
which belongs to it according to the contents of old letters.
The land that has been converted into a mine
is the legal property of our church.
The land, which has been converted into a mine,
is legally the property of our church.
The manner in which you acquired the property cannot be considered lawful.
2nd Praeceptor:
Whether we can call it ours by right or not,
judges can argue about that for a long time.
But it is certainly our property
in the sense of a higher right.
The land was unused
when our union purchased it.
It was completely unknown to you
that the depths of this land harbor rich treasures.
We have conquered them through human diligence.
Today, these treasures are traveling
to distant lands to promote human welfare.
And many brave people are working
in the shafts of that land,
which you owned as a wasteland.
Monk:
So you do not consider it right
to enforce in your alliance
that he should come to an agreement with us in peace
about how we can obtain our rights?
2nd Praeceptor:
Since we are not aware of any guilt,
but rather are certain of our full rights,
we can wait calmly
to see whether, in this matter too, you will choose
to turn injustice to your side.
Monk:
You have your own stubborn will to blame
if we are forced to resort to other means.
2nd Praeceptor:
The honor of our covenant demands
that it only allow itself to be deprived of its rights through struggle.
Monk:
My mission is thus fulfilled,
I can now spare you and myself further words.
Is it possible to speak
to the head who commands here?
2nd Praeceptor:
The master will be at your service;
But I beg you to wait a short while,
he will not be able to come immediately.
(He exits.)
Monk:
Oh, that my office compels me
to enter the rooms of the hated covenant.
My gaze falls on all sides
upon signs of the devil and images of sin.
A horror almost seizes me...
There is a crackling sound—oh, it rumbles through the room;
I feel as if I am surrounded by evil forces.
‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒
Since I am consciously free of sin,
I will defy my adversaries –
‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒
It is becoming quite terrible ...
Oh – ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒
(The spirit of Benedictus appears.)
Good spirits, stand by me!
Benedictus:
Reflect, my son!
I was often allowed to turn to you
when the fervor of your prayers
transported you to the spiritual world.
So listen courageously in this hour
to what you must recognize
if spiritual light is to reign in your soul
instead of darkness.
Monk:
When I begged for clarity
in such meaningful matters,
and my devout prayers
were answered in the spiritual realm,
you appeared to me, my great master,
who was the pride of our order
when he lived in the earthly body.
You spoke to me from higher realms,
enlightening my mind,
and strengthening my power.
My soul's eye saw you,
my spirit's ear heard you.
In this hour, too, I will listen devotedly
to the revelation
that you allow to flow into my soul.
Benedictus:
You are in the house of a brotherhood
that your soul accuses of evil heresy.
It seems to hate what we love;
and to revere what we consider sin.
Our brothers feel obliged
to promote the downfall of spiritual sin.
In doing so, they can rely on those words
that I spoke during my earthly life.
They do not suspect that these words
can only come to life
if they are developed in the right sense
by those who follow my work.
So let what I was allowed to think on earth
arise in your soul
in the spirit of a new age.
The Order, which draws its goals
from the mystical realm,
see it in that light
in which I myself would see it today
if I were granted
to walk among you in an earthly body.
The Covenant is dedicated to lofty goals.
The people who have dedicated themselves to it
sense that later earthly times are approaching;
and their leaders already foresee
the fruits that will ripen in the future.
Science and lifestyle
will change the forms and goals.
And what the alliance, which you help to pursue,
feels compelled to achieve in this time,
are deeds that serve this transformation.
Only if the goal our brothers serve
is united with that which the heretics follow,
can salvation blossom on earth.
Monk:
The warning I have been found worthy of,
how can I possibly follow it – ‒ ‒?
It deviates greatly from everything
that has seemed right to me until now.
(Ahriman and Lucifer appear.)
But other beings are approaching me!
What do they want at your side?
Ahriman:
Further instructions come from other places.
It may not seem easy for you
to obey the beckoning of your ancestor.
Remember that he lives in the realm of bliss.
What is commanded and required there,
can only cause confusion in your presence
on earth.
Raise your gaze to his heights,
if you seek edification
in the happiness that will be granted to the most distant earthly days
by the spirits of the world.
But if you want to act correctly now,
let yourself be guided only by
what reason and your senses teach you.
You have succeeded well
in fathoming the sins of those brothers,
which they must hide from the whole world.
They show you how their future statutes
can indeed live in sinful souls.
How could you, with such knowledge,
want to live in peace with the brotherhood!
Error is poor soil;
it does not allow good fruit to ripen.
Lucifer:
Your pious mind has shown you the right paths.
The goals of the times may change,
but heretics must not predetermine the paths of man.
What is dangerous about this spiritual covenant
is that it speaks the truth in words,
yet gives the truth a twist
that makes it more dangerous
than error itself.
Anyone who openly wants to serve lies
must be deluded
if he could live in the belief that people would follow his lead.
The spiritual knights are not so unwise; they speak well of Christ's essence,
The spiritual knights are not so unwise; –
they speak well of Christ's essence,
because this name opens all gates
that lead to human souls.
One can best capture Christ's counter-image
in human hearts
when Christ's name is given to the image.
Monk:
Confusing to me are the voices from the worlds of the soul
that I have often heard,
and yet always wanted to fight
what pious sense commands.
How am I to find the good paths
when evil powers praise them to me?
It almost seems to me – ‒ ‒;
But no, let the word remain unspoken –.
My wise guide will lead me,
so that the meaning of his words may be revealed to me,
which seems so dark to me.
Benedictus:
I can show you the right path,
if you penetrate your deepest soul
with words that I once spoke on earth.
And if you want these words to come to life
in those worlds where you can now behold me,
the right path will be shown to you.
(The curtain falls while the monk, the spirit of Benedictus,
Lucifer, and Ahriman are still in the hall.)