SCENE 2
The same. The persons who were at first assembled have left, with the exception of Felix Balde and Dr. Strader, who remain with Hilary True-to-God, the Grand Master; Magnus Bellicosus, the Second Preceptor; Albertus Torquatus, the First Master of the Ceremonies; Frederick Trustworthy, the Second Master of the Ceremonies; Maria; and Johannes Thomasius.
HILARY:
My son, what thou hast perfected must now Within this holy place receive the seal, Which sacred and primeval knowledge gives, Besides the blessing of the Rosy Cross. What thou hast brought the world must be through us Unto the Spirit offered, that it may Bear fruit in all the worlds, where power of man Can be made use of for world-fashioning.
BELLICOSUS:
That thou might'st give unto the world this work Thou had'st to part for many years with much That in thine inmost soul thou loved'st best. There stood a spirit-teacher at thy side, Who went from thee, so that thy human soul Might perfectly unfold its powers in thee. Thou wast in closest touch with one dear friend; She also left thee, for thou had'st to learn That which men only learn when they are set To follow out their soul's powers in themselves. With courage hast thou passed through this ordeal. That which was taken from thee for thy good Is, for thy good, restored to thee anew. Thy friend stands here before thee: in the shrine She waits for thee to follow out our wish. Soon, thou wilt meet thy teacher once again. These friends, who on our temple's threshold stand, Desire to join with us in greeting thee, As one who brings great knowledge here with him.
FELIX BALDE (to Thomasius):
The mystic art which heretofore aspired Through inward contemplation toward the light, Will through thine act be able now to work Through knowledge gained within the world of sense.
STRADER (to Thomasius):
Those souls who after spirit-knowledge strive While life still unto matter binds them fast, Will now through thee find out a road by which They can attain the light in their own way.
THOMASIUS:
Exalted Master, and ye, honoured sirs! Ye think to see before you now a man Who, through the Spirit's power and earnest strife, Was able to produce the work you praise And can acknowledge with your fostering care. Ye think that he will certainly succeed In reconciling science of today With ever-ancient sacred mystic art. And truly were there anything besides The voice of mine own soul, which could instil Belief about it into me, I think It well might be your words....
TRUSTWORTHY:
The Master's word Doth but express that which without a doubt Thou feelest in thy soul. There is no need To strengthen what thine inner voice declares.
THOMASIUS:
Ah! were it so, most humbly would I stand Before you and implore that I might gain The temple's blessing on this work of mine. I used to think it so, when first I heard The word by which I came to understand That ye would take my work beneath your care And open gateways to me, which before Only initiates could e'er approach. But as I trod the path that led to you There opened out upon my soul a world To which, at such a time ye certainly Would not have wished to lead me. Ahriman In all his greatness stood before me there. And then I saw that he it is in truth Who is the expert in real cosmic laws. What human beings think they know of him Is of no value. Only he can know Who once hath seen him in the spirit-world. It was from him alone that I could learn The truth about this work of mine in full. He showed how in the progress of the world One could not judge effects of such a work; Since its true progress cannot be appraised By those impressions men may form of it Who judge by science and strict logic's law. The final verdict cannot be pronounced Till creature from creator is set free, And, freed from him, can follow its own path Throughout the courses of the spirit-life. Yet now the work is so bound up with me That it is possible that I might turn That which I guide back from the spirit-realms To something evil, even though it were Good in itself and in its working power. I must myself from out the spirit-world Send forth afar my influence on all Which shows itself on Earth as the result Of that which I have brought forth from my mind. And if I should let evil issue forth From out the spirit-world, through these results, Then would the truth do damage greater far Than error, for men follow after truth According to their insight, error not. I shall for certain at some future time Turn the results of this my act to ill For Ahriman hath clearly shewn to me That these results must all belong to him. While I was at my work, and filled with joy That it should lead me with such certain tread Step after step, up truth's great pyramid, I only noticed in my soul that part Which lent itself to help me in my search; And all the rest I left without a guard. All those wild impulses, which formerly Were but in bud, could now in quietude Bloom forth and ripen into full grown fruits. I thought I dwelt in highest spirit-realms, But was in truth in deepest night of soul. It was the strength of these same impulses Which showed me clearly Ahriman's own realm. And so I know the effect that I shall have, For in the future all these impulses Will go to form my personality. Before I took this work in hand, I gave Myself to Lucifer, because I wished To learn to know and understand his realm. Now know I, what I could not see before When I was lost entirely in my work, That he it was who wove around my thought Those beauteous pictures, which within my soul Brought forth wild impulses, which silent now Will surely one day gain control of me.
TRUSTWORTHY:
How can one who hath reached such spirit-heights And knows all this for certain, yet believe That he hath no escape from evil left? Why, thou canst see where danger for thee lies; And so canst crush it, and with courage save Thyself, and the results of thy great work: A spirit-pupil is in duty bound To kill what hinders progress in himself.
THOMASIUS:
I see, thou judgest not by cosmic laws, I could e'en now fulfil what thou dost wish And I myself could quite well tell myself In this same hour all that thou tellest me. But that which Karma now doth let me do Will not in future be permissible. For things must come which will o'ershadow me And darken all my spirit, till I turn To that which I described to thee just now. Then as the world progresses I will seize With greed on anything that's in my work Which can be used for harm, and all of this I will embody in my spirit-life. Then I shall have to love great Ahriman And joyfully to his possession give All that I have derived from earthly life.
(Pause, during which Thomasius meditates deeply.)
If all alone I could encounter this, And bear it also in my soul alone, I could await with fullest peace of mind All that was destined for me on my way. But it will harm your league as much as me. Whatever bad shall follow from my work Both for myself and other souls of men, Will find its balance through just Karma's law. The fact that ye fell victims to this fault Makes it far harder for the life of earth, Since ye are leaders in this self-same life And ought to read the spirit-worlds aright. Ye ought not to have failed to notice then That it was someone else, and not myself Who should have had the doing of this work. Ye should have known it must be put aside For now; and later would appear again Through one who otherwise would guide its course. So by your judgment, ye deprive the league Of rights it ought to have, if it would still Direct the service of the Sacred Place. Because this fate for you was shown to me I now appear upon your threshold here. Knowledge would otherwise have kept me far, For truly I can claim no blessing now Upon this work, which does both good and harm.
HILARY:
Dear brethren, that which we have just begun, Cannot be carried any further now. We must betake ourselves unto the Place From whence the Spirit can make known His will.
(Hilary leaves the hall with Bellicosus, Torquatus, and Trustworthy. Doctor Strader and Felix Balde also leave. Only Maria and Thomasius are left.)
(The hall grows dark. After a short pause the three Spirit-forms Philia, Astrid, and Luna appear in a cloud of light, and group themselves so that they completely hide Maria. The following is a spirit-experience of Thomasius.)
PHILIA:
The soul is athirst To drink of the light Which flows from the worlds, An all-caring will Hides close from mankind. But eagerly seeks The spirit to hear The language divine Which wisdom in love Doth hide from the heart. For danger surrounds The thoughts that would search In realms of the soul, Where secret things rule The senses from far.
ASTRID:
Yet souls are enlarged, Which follow the light And work through the worlds Which bold spirit-sight Reveals to mankind. The spirit doth strive Enraptured to live In realms of the gods Which wisdom benign Makes known to the seer. There mysteries beckon The bold keen desire To win those new worlds Which far from man's thought Deep secrets conceal.
LUNA:
It ripens the soul To picture the sight Whence powers will spring forth Which will, reft of fear, Doth kindle in man. The ransoming powers From primeval depths Bring magical might That sense cannot know, Close barriered in earth. And traces are there That each searching soul May find out the gate Fast closed by the gods 'Gainst erring desire.
THE VOICE OF CONSCIENCE (invisible):
Now totter thy thoughts In Being's abyss; And what was lent as help to them, Thou now hast lost. And what shone as the sun for them For thee is quenched. Alone in cosmic depths thou wanderest, Which men intoxicated with desire Would seek to win. Thou tremblest in the fundaments of growth Where men must learn to be bereft of all Comfort of soul....
(The last words run straight on into the following ones spoken by Maria, who is still hidden by the Spirit-forms and cannot be seen. She speaks at first in a ghostly inward voice.)
MARIA:
So blend thy soul To powers of love Which once could penetrate her with the hope Of living warmth, Which once could all her will illuminate With spirit-light. Rescue from loneliness The powers of heart that seek And feel the nearness of thy friend In the darkness of thy strife.
(The Spirit-forms vanish with the cloud of light. Maria becomes visible in her old place. Maria and Thomasius are alone, standing opposite each other. From now onwards the experiences are on the physical plane.)
THOMASIUS (rousing himself from deep meditation):
Where was I even now? My powers of soul Unveiled the conflict of my inner-self; The conscience of the world revealed to me What I had lost; and then as blessing came The voice of Love within the darksome realm.
MARIA:
Johannes, the companion of thy soul May once again be present at thy side, And follow thee to earth's primeval depths, Where souls can win perception e'en as gods, By conquest that destroyeth, yet acquires By bold persistence life from seeming death. E'en in the ever empty fields of ice She may go with her friend, where he will be Encircled with the light which spirits form When darkness wounds and maims the powers of life. My friend, thou standest at that threshold now, Where man must lose what once he hath attained. Full many a glance thou hast toward spirit-realms Directed, and from them hast gained the power That made thee capable of thy great work. It seems to thee, that now that work is lost; Desire not then that it were otherwise, For such desire must rob thee of all power Of further progress into spirit-realms. Whether thou walk'st in error or in truth, Thou canst keep ever clear the view ahead, Which lets thy soul press further on its path If thou dost bravely bear necessities Imposed upon thee by the spirit-realm. This is the law of spirit-pupilship. So long as thou still harbourest the wish That what hath happened might be otherwise Thou wilt forego the power which must be thine, If thou dost wish to stay in spirit-land. That thou hast lost what thou erewhile hadst won Is surest sign to thee that thou may'st walk In safety further on the spirit-path. Henceforward thou must not rely upon, If thou in truth regardest it as lost, That understanding which thou hast till now Well-used as the criterion of thy work. Therefore thy being must become quite still And wait in silence for the spirit's gifts; Then only wilt thou commune with thyself When thou once more hast won thyself anew. Oft hast thou met the solemn Guardian Who on the Threshold keeps so strict a watch When spirit-life must part from world of sense; But past that presence hast thou never been. At sight of him aye didst thou turn away And all thy view was pictured from without.... Ne'er in that inner world which widens out Beyond thee as the spirit-verity, Have thy steps trod: so must thou now await That which shall be revealed, when at my side Thou shalt not only to such world draw nigh, But shalt pass o'er the Threshold's boundary.
Curtain