Four Mystery Plays
GA 14
The Soul's Probation
Scene 12
The same. Johannes and Lucifer.
Lucifer:
Take warning by Capesius' fate and learn
What fruits are ripened when a soul attempts
To penetrate too soon the spirit-world.
He knows the words writ in his book of life
And knows his tasks for many lives to come.
But suffering not ordained by destiny
Is wrought by knowledge which hath not the power
To change itself to deeds in earthly life.
The choice that to successful issue leads
Depends upon the ripeness of the will.
At every step that he would take in life
Henceforth Capesius must ask himself:
Can all my obligations thus be met
Which are the outgrowth of my former lives?
So o'er his path a dazzling light is shed,
Causing his eyes to suffer from the glare
And giving him no help upon his way.
It kills the forces which, whilst still unknown,
Are trusty guides for every human soul,
Yet does not aid the power of conscious thought.
Thus it can only hurt the body's strength
Before the soul hath learned to master it.
Johannes:
I do perceive the error of my life.
The forces of the soul that worked unconsciously
Deep in the body, I did steal from thence
And proudly carried to the spirit heights.
Yet it was not a human being whole
That thus was carried upward to the light.
Nought was it but the shadow of a soul,
Which could but rhapsodize of spirit-realms
And feel a oneness with creative powers;
It wished to live all blissful in the light,
And deeds of light in colour to behold;
It fancied that as artist it could paint
Spirit-existence in a world of sense.
This form that took its semblance from mine own
hath shown to me myself with cruel truth.
I dreamed of soul-love, pure and free from stain,
Whilst passion yet was coursing through my veins.
But now I have beheld the past earth life
From which my present life derives its source
This shows me whither I must truly strive.
The spirit-pathways which of late I trod
Cannot be followed far by such a soul
As just before its present life on earth
Lived in the body of the miner, Thomas.
The fashion of his life must be for me
The rule by which to seek my present goal.
I've striven for attainment here and now
Of things that only later can bear fruit.
Lucifer:
My light must serve to guide thy further steps
As it hath done to guide them hitherto,
The spirit-path which thou hast sought to tread
Can wed the spirit to the lofty heights,
But to thy soul it bringeth nought but gloom.
Johannes:
What hath a man attained who gives himself
A soul-less puppet to the spirit-world?
E'en at the end of all his earthly days
He is but that same being which he was,
When in earth's primal days his human form
From out the cosmic womb did first emerge.
If to those impulses I yield myself
Which, springing from unfathomed depths of soul,
Clamour imperiously for life and form,
Then.in me works the universal all.
I know not then what drives me on to act;
But surely it must be the cosmic will
Which leads me on to its appointed goal.
This will must know the wherefore of man's life
Though human knowledge cannot make it plain.
That which in perfect manhood it creates
Is vital wealth wherewith to form the soul.
To it will I surrender, and no more
By idle spirit-striving kill it out.
Lucifer:
Myself I work in this same cosmic. will
When it flows mightily through human souls;
They are but limbs of higher entities
Until they can experience my power.
'Tis only I who make them men indeed
Whose human self stands firm within the world.
Johannes:
I long have thought I knew the whole of thee;
Yet dwelt within me but thy phantom shade
Portrayed there by my visionary dreams.
Now must I feel thee, live thee by my will;
Then can I overcome thee later on
If so 'tis written in my destiny.
Let spirit-knowledge, that I gained too soon,
Repose henceforth within mine inmost soul
Till impulses in life shall call it forth.
With confidence I yield me to that will
That hath more wisdom than the human soul.
(Exit Johannes with Lucifer.)
Zwölftes Bild
(Dasselbe Zimmer wie im vorigen Bild. Johannes und Lucifer.)
Lucifer:
Erkenne an Capesius die Früchte,
die reifen müssen, wenn die Seelen sich
dem Geistgebiet zu früh erschließen wollen.
Er kennt die Worte seines Lebensbuches
und weiß, was ihm obliegt für viele Leben. ‒ ‒
Doch Leid, das nicht im Schicksalsplane liegt,
ersteht aus Wissen, dem die Kräfte fehlen,
zu Taten sich im Leben umzubilden.
Ob dieses oder jenes kann gelingen,
das liegt an eines Menschen Willensreife.
Bei jedem Schritt, den er ins Leben macht,
wird jetzt Capesius sich fragen müssen:
Erfülle ich auch jedes Pflichtgebot,
das aus dem frühern Leben mir erwachsen?
So breitet sich ein Licht ihm über alles,
das ihm das Auge schmerzlich blenden muß,
und das doch nimmermehr ihm helfen kann.
Es tötet Kräfte, die im Unbewußten
der Menschenseele sichre Führer sind,
und kann Besonnenheit doch nicht erhöhn.
So lähmt es nur des Leibes starke Macht,
bevor die Seele sie bemeistern kann.
Johannes:
Ich kann den Irrtum meines Lebens schauen.
Ich raubte meinem Leib die Seelenkraft,
und trug sie stolz in hohe Geisterreiche.
Doch nicht ein ganzes Menschenwesen ward
auf diesem Weg dem Lichte zugeführt.
Ein leichter Seelenschatten war es nur.
Er konnte schwärmen für die Geistesweiten,
und Eins sich fühlen mit den Schöpfermächten.
Er wollte mit dem Lichte selig leben,
und in der Farbe Lichtes-Taten schauen.
Als Künstler meinte er das Geistessein
in Sinneswelten schaffend nachzubilden.
Das Wesen, das von mir die Züge lieh,
es hat mir furchtbar wahr mich selbst gezeigt.
Ich träumte nur von reinster Seelenliebe,
im Blute aber wühlte Leidenschaft. ‒
Ich durfte jetzt den Erdenweg erblicken,
der dieses Lebens echter Schöpfer ist.
Es zeigt mit, wie ich wahrhaft streben muß.
Die Geisteswege, welche ich gewandelt,
wie soll die Seele sie verfolgen können,
die vor dem gegenwärt’gen Erdenpfad
in Thomas’ Leibe ihre Hülle fand?
Wie er das Leben sich gestaltet hat,
das muß mir jetzt das Ziel vor Augen stellen.
Erreichen wollte ich in diesem Dasein,
was mir erst später wahrhaft fruchten kann.
Lucifer:
Es muß mein Licht dich sicher weiterführen,
wie du bis jetzt von ihm dich führen ließest.
Der Geistesweg, den du betreten hast:
er kann den Geist der Höhenwelt vermählen,
doch deiner Seele bringt er Finsternis.
Johannes:
Was hat ein Mensch erreicht, der seelenlos
dem Geisterland sich überliefern muß!
Er ist am Ende seiner Erdenzeiten
nur jenes Wesen wieder, das er war,
als seine Menschenform im Urbeginn
sich aus dem Weltenschoße lösen durfte.
Wenn ich den Trieben mich ergeben werde,
die aus den unbewußten Seelentiefen
nach Lebensinhalt machtvoll drängen,
dann wirkt in mir das ganze Weltenall.
Ich weiß dann nicht, was mich zum Handeln treibt;
doch ist’s gewiß der Weltenwille selbst,
der mich nach seinen Zielen vorwärts lenkt.
Und er muß wissen, was das Leben soll,
auch wenn Erkenntnis ihn nicht fassen kann.
Was er im vollen Menschenwesen schafft,
ist Lebensreichttum, der die Seele bildet.
Ich will mich ihm ergeben und nicht weiter
durch eitles Geistesstreben ihn ertöten.
Lucifer:
In diesem Weltenwillen wirke ich,
wenn er durch Menschenseelen kraftvoll strömt.
Sie sind ein Glied an höhern Wesenheiten,
so lang sie mich nicht voll erleben konnten.
Ich mache sie zum wahren Menschen erst,
der sich als Selbst ins Weltall fügen kann.
Johannes:
Seit lange glaubt’ ich dich schon ganz zu kennen,
doch lebte mir im Innern nur ein Schemen,
den Geistesschau von dir mir vorgebildet.
Ich muß dich fühlen, muß dich wollend leben,
Dann kann ich künftig dich auch überwinden,
wenn so mein Schicksalsplan es fügen will.
Das Geisteswissen, das ich früh erlangt,
es ruhe mir fortan im Seelengrunde,
bis meine Lebenstriebe selbst es wecken.
Vertrauensvoll ergeb’ ich mich dem Willen,
der weiser als die Menschenseele ist.
(Johannes geht mit Lucifer ab.)
Scene Twelve
(Same room as in the previous image. Johannes and Lucifer.)
Lucifer:
Recognize in Capesius the fruits
that must ripen when souls
want to open themselves to the spiritual realm too soon.
He knows the words of his book of life
and knows what is incumbent upon him for many lifetimes. ‒ ‒
But suffering that is not part of the plan of destiny
arises from knowledge that lacks the power
to transform itself into deeds in life.
Whether this or that can succeed
depends on the maturity of a person's will.
With every step he takes in life,
Capesius will now have to ask himself:
Am I fulfilling every duty that has arisen from my previous life?
Thus a light spreads over everything,
which must painfully blind his eyes,
and yet can never help him.
It kills the powers that in the unconscious
are the sure guides of the human soul,
and yet cannot increase prudence.
Thus it only paralyzes the body's strong power,
before the soul can master it.
Johannes:
I can see the error of my life.
I robbed my body of its soul power,
and proudly carried it into high spiritual realms.
But not a whole human being was
led to the light on this path.
It was only a slight shadow of the soul.
It could rave about the vastness of the spirit,
and feel at one with the creative powers.
It wanted to live blissfully with the light,
and see deeds of light in color.
As an artist, he meant to recreate the spiritual being
in the worlds of the senses.
The being that borrowed my features
showed me myself in a terribly true light.
I dreamed only of the purest love of the soul,
but passion raged in my blood. ‒
I was now allowed to see the earthly path,
which is the true creator of this life.
It shows me how I must truly strive.
The spiritual paths I have walked,
how can the soul pursue them, which found its shell in Thomas' body before the present earthly path?
How he has shaped his life, that must now be the goal before my eyes.
How he shaped his life,
that must now set the goal before my eyes.
I wanted to achieve in this existence
what can only truly bear fruit for me later.
Lucifer:
My light must surely guide you further,
as you have let it guide you until now.
The spiritual path you have entered:
it can marry the spirit of the higher world,
but it brings darkness to your soul.
John:
What has a person achieved who, soulless,
must surrender to the spirit world!
At the end of his earthly days,
only that being which he was
when his human form in the beginning
was allowed to detach itself from the womb of the world.
When I surrender to the urges
that powerfully urge me from the unconscious depths of my soul
to find meaning in life,
then the whole universe works within me.
I do not know what drives me to act;
but it is certainly the will of the universe itself
that guides me forward toward its goals.
And it must know what life is for,
even if knowledge cannot grasp it.
What it creates in the complete human being
is a richness of life that shapes the soul.
I want to surrender to it and no longer
kill it with vain intellectual striving.
Lucifer:
I work in this will of the universe
when it flows powerfully through human souls.
They are a link to higher beings,
as long as they could not fully experience me.
I make them true human beings,
who can fit themselves into the universe as themselves.
John:
For a long time I believed I knew you completely,
but only a shadow lived within me,
formed by the spiritual vision you presented to me.
I must feel you, must live you willingly,
then I can also overcome you in the future,
if that is what my destiny plan intends.
The spiritual knowledge I attained early on
will rest in the depths of my soul from now on,
until my life instincts themselves awaken it.
Trustingly, I surrender myself to the will
that is wiser than the human soul.
(John exits with Lucifer.)