Four Mystery Plays, by Rudolf Steiner

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The Portal of Initiation

Scene 6

Scene the same as the Fourth.

(The Spirit of the Elements stands in the same place.)

Felicia:
Thou calledst me. What wouldst thou hear of me?

Spirit:
Two men did I present unto the earth
Whose spirit-powers were fructified through thee.
They found their soul's awakening in thy words
When barren thought had paralysed them both.
Thy gifts to them make thee my debtor too.
Their spirit doth not of itself suffice
To render full repayment unto me
For all the service which I did for them.

Felicia:
For many years one of these men did come
To our small cottage, that he might obtain
The strength that lent unto his words their fire.
Later he brought the other with him too;
And so they two consumed the fruits, whose worth
Was then unknown to me: but little good
Did I receive from them as recompense.
Their kind of knowledge to our son they gave,
With good intent indeed, but yet the child
Found nought therein but death unto his soul.
He grew to manhood steeped in all the light,
His father Felix, through the spirit-speech,
Taught him from fountains and from rocks and hills:
To this was joined all that had lived and grown
In my own soul from my first childhood's years;
And yet our son's clear spirit-sense was killed
By the deep gloom of sombre sciences.
Instead of some blithe happy child, there grew
A man of desert soul and empty heart.
And now forsooth thou dost demand of me
That I should pay what they do owe to thee!

Spirit:
It must be so, for thou at first didst serve
The earthly part in them; and so through me
The spirit bids thee now complete the work.

Felicia:
'Tis not my wont to shrink from any debt;
But tell me first what detriment will grow
In mine own self from this love-service done?

Spirit:
What thou at first didst do for them on earth,
Robbed of his strength of soul thine only son;
And what thou givest to their spirits now
Is lost henceforth to thee from thine own self;
Which lessening of the powers of life in thee
Will show as ugliness in thine own flesh.

Felicia:
They robbed my child of all his strength of soul,
And in return I needs must wander forth
A monster in the sight of men, that fruits
May ripen for them, which work little good!

Spirit:
Yet thy work aids the welfare of mankind
And leads as well to thine own happiness.
Thy mother's beauty and thy child's own life
Will blossom for thee in a loftier way,
When one day in the souls and hearts of men,
New spirit-powers shall seed and fructify.

Felicia:
What must I do?

Spirit:
Mankind thou hast inspired
Full often with thy words. Inspire then now
The spirits of the rocks: in this same hour
Thou must bring forth from out thy treasured store
Of fairy pictures some one tale to give
Those beings who do serve me in my work.

Felicia:
So be it then: — A being once did live
Who flew from East to West, as runs the sun.
He flew o'er lands and seas, and from this height
He looked upon the doings of mankind.
He saw how men did one another love,
And, how in hatred they did persecute.
Yet naught could stay this being in his flight,
For love and hatred none the less bring forth
Full many thousand times the same results.
Yet o'er one house — there must the being stay;
For therein dwelt a tired and weary man,
Who pondered on the love of humankind,
And pondered also over human hate.
His contemplations had already graved
Deep furrows on his brow; his hair was white.
And, grieving o'er this man, the being lost
His sun-guide's leadership, and stayed with him
Within his room e'en when the sun went down.
And when the sun arose again, once more
The being joined the spirit of the sun;
And once again he saw mankind pass through
The cycle of the earth in love and hate.
But when he came, still following the sun,
A second time above that selfsame house,
His gaze did fall upon a dying man.

(Germanus, invisible behind the rock, speaks. As he speaks, he gradually drags his unwieldy size on to the stage; his feet like clogs are almost earth-bound.)
Germanus:
A man once lived, who went from East to West:
Whose eager thirst for knowledge lured him on
O'er land and sea; with learned pedantry
He looked upon the doings of mankind.
He saw how men did one another love,
And, how in hatred they did persecute;
And every day anon he fondly hoped
His wisdom's goal was now at length in sight.
But, though the world is ruled by love and hate,
Yet could he not combine them into law.
A thousand single cases wrote he down,
Yet still he lacked the comprehending eye.
This dull, dry seeker after truth once met
Upon his path a being formed of light;
Who found existence fraught with heaviness
Since it must live in constant combat with
A darksome being formed of shadows black.
‘Who art thou then?’ the dry truth-seeker asked.
‘Love,’ said the one; the other answered, ‘Hate.’
But these two beings' words fell on deaf ears;
The man heard not, but wandered blindly on
In his dry search for truth from East to West.

Felicia:
And who art thou, who thus against my wish
Dost parody my words in his own way
Until they sound a very mockery?

Germanus:
Only a dwarf-like image of me lives
In man, and therein many things are thought,
That are but mockery of their own selves,
When I do show them in the actual size,
In which they do appear within my brain.

Felicia:
And therefore dost thou also mock at me?

Germanus:
I must right often ply this trade of mine;
Yet mostly men do hear me not, so now
I seized for once this opportunity
To speak as well where men can hear my words.

Johannes (out of his meditation):
This was the man, who of himself did say
That spirit-light grew of its own accord
Within his brain; and Dame Felicia came,
Just like her husband, as she is in life.

Curtain

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The Portal of Initiation

Scene 7

The domain of spirit: a scene of various coloured crystal rocks and a few trees. Maria, Philia, Astrid, Luna; the child; Johannes, first at a distance, then coming nearer; Theodora; lastly Benedictus.

Maria:
My sisters who of old
So oft my helpers were;
In this hour help me too
That Ether of the worlds
May quiver in itself;
Resound in harmony,
And thus resounding reach
And permeate a soul
With knowledge that is true.
I now can see the signs
Which guide us to our work;
For your work must to-day
Unite itself with mine.
Johannes who doth strive
Must be by our designs
To real existence raised.
Within the temple walls
The brethren counsel took
How they should raise him up
From depths to heights of light;
From us they do expect
To fill the soul with power
For such high spirit flight.
From breadths of space shalt thou,
My Philia, win for me
Clear essence of the light;
And fill thyself with all
The charm of sound which wells
From soul-creating power.
That thou mayst give to me
Gifts gathered by thyself
From out the spirit's depths.
Then can I weave for him
Their perfect harmonies
In the soul-stirring dance
And rhythm of the spheres.
And thou, my Astrid,
Dear image of my spirit,
Shalt cause within the light
The power of shade to grow
That colours may shine forth.
To formless harmonies
Thou shalt give shape, and thus
World-substance, weaving life,
May sound upon its way.
So I can give to man
When he doth seek therefor
A spirit consciousness.
And thou, strong Luna, too,
So firm in thine own self;
E'en like the living sap
Hid deep within the tree,
To these thy sister's gifts
Do then unite thine own.
Impress thyself thereon
That he who seeks may find
True wisdom's surety.

Philia:
I will myself imbue
With clearest rays of light
From cosmic spaces wide.
I will breathe deep within
Sound-substance that gives life
From distant ether-bounds,
Dear sister, that thou may'st
Succeed in this thy work.

Astrid:
Through all the streaming light
I will weave darkness in
To cloud its radiant beam.
I will make dense and thick
The living life of sound;
That glowing it may sound
And sounding it may glow,
Dear sister, that thou may'st
Direct the soul-life's rays.

Luna:
Soul substance will I warm,
Life's ether harden too.
That they may thus condense
And may thus feel themselves
As living in themselves
And powerful to create,
Dear sister, that thou may'st
Prove wisdom's certainty
To mankind's seeking soul.

Maria:
From Philia's realm
Shall stream forth delight;
And transforming powers
Of Undines arouse
The sensitive soul.
That he who is roused
May feel all the mirth
And feel all the woe
In cosmic domains.

From Astrid's close web
Love's joy shall come forth.
The Sylphs' airy life
Shall rouse in the soul
Self-sacrifice true;
That consecrate man
May rouse to new life
Souls laden with grief,
Souls yearning for joy.

From Luna's domain
Shall firmness stream forth.
And Fire-Beings' might
Shall form for the soul
Security's strength.
That he who doth know
May find his own self
In weaving of souls
And life of the worlds.

Philia:
From cosmic spirits I
Will beg their being's light
The soul-sense to enchant,
The sound too of their words
To charm the spirit's ear;
That he, whose wakening nears,
May raise himself aloft
Upon the paths of soul
Unto celestial heights.

Astrid:
The love-streams will I guide
That fill the world with warmth
Unto the heart of man Who is initiate;
That thus he may bring down
Into his work on earth
The grace of Heaven, and give
The joy of holy rite
Unto the sons of men.

Luna:
From primal powers will I
For might and courage pray
And lay them deep within
The human seeker's heart:
That so trust in himself
May guide him through his life,
Then shall he feel secure
In his own self, and pluck
Each moment's ripened fruit
And draw the seeds therefrom
For all eternity.

Maria:
With you, my sisters, joined in noble work
I shall succeed in what I long to do.
But hark! There rises to our world of light
The cry of him who hath been sorely tried.
(Johannes appears.)

Johannes:
'Tis thou, Maria! Then my suffering
Hath at the last born richest fruit for me.
It hath withdrawn me from the phantom shape
Which I at first did make out of myself,
And which then held me fast, a prisoner.
Pain do I thank for thus enabling me
To reach thee o'er the pathways of the soul.

Maria:
And what then was the path that led thee here?

Johannes:
I felt myself from bonds of sense released:
My sight was freed from that close barrier,
Which hid all but the present from mine eyes.
Quite otherwise I viewed the life of one
I knew on earth, and looked beyond the space
Bound by the present moment's narrow ring.
Capesius, whom with the eyes of sense
In his old age I saw — this man
The spirit placed before my soul a youth;
As first he entered on life's thorny path
Full of those dreams of hope, which ofttimes brought
A group of faithful hearers to his feet.
And Strader, also could I see e'en thus
As he appeared in earthly life when young,
E'er he had full outgrown his cloistered youth:
And I could see what he might once have been,
If he had followed out in that same way
The goal he set before himself of old.
And only those who in their earthly life
Are filled already with the spirit's power
Appear unchanged within the spirit-realms.
Both Dame Felicia and good Felix too
Had kept the forms in which they lived on earth,
When I beheld them with my spirit's sight.
And then my guides showed kindness unto me,
And spake of gifts which shall one day be mine
When I can reach to wisdom's lofty heights.
And many things besides have I beheld
With spirit-organs which sense-sight at first
Had shown to me in its own narrow way.
And judgment's all-illuminating light
Irradiated this new world of mine.
But whether I lived in some shadowy dream,
Or whether spirit-truth surrounded me
Already, I could not as yet decide.
Whether my spirit-sight was really stirred
By other things, or whether mine own self
Expanded into some world of its own,
I knew not. Then didst thou appear thyself;
Not as thou seemest at the present time,
Nor as the past beheld thee; nay — I saw
Thee as thou art in spirit evermore.
Not human was thy nature: in thy soul
Clear could I recognize the spirit-light,
Which worked not as man clothed in flesh doth work.
As spirit did it act, that strives to do
Such work as in eternity hath root.
And only now, when I dare stand complete
In spirit nigh thee, doth the full light glow.
In thee my sight of sense already grasped
Reality so fast, that certainty
Doth meet me even here in spirit-realms
And well I know that now before me stands
No phantom shape. 'Tis thy true character
In which I met thee yonder, and in which
'Tis now permitted me to meet thee here.

Theodora:
I feel compelled to speak. A glow of light
From out thy brow, Maria, upward mounts.
This glow takes shape, and grows to human form.
It is a man with spirit deep imbued,
And other men do gather round his feet.
I gaze into dim times, long passed away
On that good man who rose from out thy head:
His eyes do shine with perfect peace of soul;
And deep true feeling glows in every line
And feature of his noble countenance.
A woman facing him mine eye doth see,
Who listens with devotion to the words
Proceeding from his mouth; which words I hear,
And thus they sound: ‘Ye have unto your gods
Looked up with awed devotion until now.
These gods I love, as ye love them yourselves.
They did present unto your thought its power,
And planted courage in your heart; but yet
Their gifts spring from a higher spirit still.’
I see how rage doth spread amongst the throng
At this man's words. I hear their mad wild cries:
‘Kill him; for he desires to take from us
The gifts the gods have given to our race.’
But unconcernedly the man speaks on.
He tells now of that God in human form,
Who did descend to earth and conquer death.
He tells of Christ; and as his words flow on
The souls around grow calm and pacified.
One only of the heathen hearts resists,
And swears it will wreak vengeance on the man.
I recognize this heart; it beats again
In yonder child, that nestles at thy side.
The messenger of Christ speaks to it thus:
‘Thy fate doth not permit thee to draw nigh
In this life; but I shall wait patiently,
For thy path leads thee to me in the end.’
The woman who doth stand before the man
Falls at his feet and feels herself transformed.
A soul prays to the God in human form;
A heart doth love God's messenger on earth.
(Johannes sinks upon his knees before Maria.)

Maria:
Johannes, that which dawneth in thy mind
Thou shalt awaken to full consciousness.
E'en now within thee hath thy memory
Wrenched itself free from fetterings of sense.
Thou hast found me, and thou hast felt thyself,
As we were joined in former life on earth.
Thou wast the woman whom the seeress saw,
For so didst thou lie prostrate at my feet,
When I as messenger of Christ did come
Unto thy tribe in days long since gone by.
What in Hibernia's consecrated shrines
Was then entrusted to me by that God,
Who dwelt in human form, and did become
A conqueror o'er all the powers of death,
I had to bring to tribes, in whom still lived
A soul that brought a willing sacrifice
To mighty Odin, and with sorrow thought
Upon the death of Balder, god of light.
The power, which from that message grew in thee,
Attracted thee to me from the first day
Thine eyes of sense beheld me in this life.
And since it strove so mightily in us,
And yet remained unrecognized by both,
It wove into our life those sufferings,
Which we o'ercame. Yet in that pain itself
There lay the power to guide us on our way
To spirit-realms, where we might recognize
And know in very truth each other's soul.
Intolerably did thy pain increase
Through all the men who thronged thee round about,
With whom by fate's decree thou art conjoined.
Hence was the revelation of their selves
Able so fiercely to convulse thine heart.
These men hath Karma gathered round thee now,
To wake in thee the power that once did urge
Thee on the path of life, which selfsame power
Hath thus far roused thee, that, from body freed,
Thou couldst ascend into the spirit-world.
Thou standest nearest to my soul, since thou
Hast kept through pain thy steadfast faith in me.
And therefore hath it fallen to my lot
That consecration to complete in thee,
To which thou owest this thy spirit-light.
The brethren, who within the temple serve,
Have wakened sight in thee; yet canst thou know
That what thou seest is very truth indeed,
Only when thou dost find in spirit-realms
A being, unto whom in worlds of sense
Thou wast united in thine inmost soul.
And that this being might thus meet thee here,
Before thee did the brethren send me out.
And this did prove the hardest of thy tests,
When I was summoned here to wait for thee.
Our leader, Benedictus, did I ask
To solve for me the riddle of my life,
That seemed to be so cruel and unkind;
And blessedness streamed from his every word,
Telling of his own mission and of mine.
He told me of the spirit I must serve
With all the power which I have found in me.
And at his words it seemed to me as though,
All in a moment clearest spirit-light
Streamed through and through my soul, and suffering
Was changed to joyous blessedness; one thought
Alone then filled my soul; — he gave me light,
Yea, light, that gave to me the power of sight; —
And in that thought there lived the firm resolve
To this same spirit to devote myself
And make me ready for the sacrifice
Which in due time would draw me near to him.
This thought did generate the highest power:
It gave wings to my soul and wafted me
Into that realm where thou hast found me now.
In that same moment when I felt released
From my sense body, I was free to turn —
My spirit's eye upon thee, and I saw
Not only thee, Johannes, standing there;
I saw the woman too, that followed me
In ancient times; and had bound close to mine
Her destiny. E'en thus was spirit-truth
Revealed to me in spirit-realms through thee,
Who in the world of sense already wast
Made one with me in inmost consciousness.
So did I gain this spirit-certainty
And was endowed to give it unto thee.
Sending a ray of highest, tenderest love
To Benedictus, I went on before;
And he hath given unto thee the power
To follow me into the spirit-spheres.
(Benedictus appears.)

Benedictus:
Ye here have found yourselves in spirit-realms;
And so it is permitted unto me
To stand once more beside you in these realms.
I could confer the power that urged you here,
But I could not conduct you here myself.
Thus reads the law, which I must needs obey: —
Ye must through your own selves first gain the eye
Of spirit, which doth here make visible
My spirit to you. Ye have just begun
E'en now the path of spirit-pilgrimage.
Henceforth indeed upon the plane of sense
Endowed with novel powers shall ye both stand,
And with the spirit in your hearts unsealed
The cause of human progress shall ye serve,
For Fate itself hath so united you,
That ye together may unfold the powers
Which needs must serve divine creative work.
And as ye journey on the path of souls
Wisdom will teach you that the loftiest tasks
May be achieved for the weal of men
When souls that gave each other spirit certainty
Unite in faith to do salvation's work.
My spirit-guidance hath united you
To realize each other: now do ye
Unite yourselves to do the spirit's work.
May powers that dwell within this realm confer
On you through these my lips this Word of strength: —
‘The weaving essence of the light streams forth
From man to man to fill all worlds with truth.
The grace of love spreads warmth from soul to soul
To work out bliss eternal for all worlds.
And spirit-messengers come forth to wed
Man's works of love and grace to cosmic aims.
And when the man who finds himself in man
Can wed these twain, there doth stream forth on earth
True spirit-light from his warm loving soul.’

Curtain

[admin]

The Portal of Initiation

INTERLUDE

Scene: same as in the Prelude. The day after the play to which Estella, in the Prelude, invited her friend to accompany her.

Sophia: Forgive me, dear Estelle, for keeping you waiting. I had to attend to something for the children.

Estella: Here I am back again with you already. I long for your sympathy whenever anything stirs me deeply.

Sophia: Well, you know that I shall always sympathize most warmly with you in your interests.

Estella: This play, of which I spoke to you, Outcasts from Body and from Soul touched me so deeply. Does it seem to you odd when I say that there were moments when all I had ever known of human sorrow stood before me? With highest artistic force the work not only gives the outer mischances happening to so many people, but also points out with wonderful penetration he deepest agonies of the soul.

Sophia: One cannot, I fear, form a proper conception a work of art by simply hearing of its contents. But would like you to tell me what stirred you so.

Estella: The construction of the play was admirable. The artist wished to show how a young painter loses all his creative desire, because he begins to doubt his love for a woman. She had endowed him with the power to develop his promising talents. Pure enthusiasm for his art had produced in her the most beautiful love of sacrifice. To her he owed the fullest development of his abilities in his chosen field. He blossomed, as it were, in the sunshine of his benefactress. Constant association with this woman developed his gratitude into passionate love. This caused him to neglect, more and more, a poor creature who was faithfully devoted to him, and who finally died of grief, because she had to confess to herself that she had lost the heart of the man she loved. When he heard of her death, the news did not seriously disturb him, for his heart belonged entirely to his benefactress. Yet he grew ever more and more certain that her noble feeling of friendship for him would never turn to passionate love. This conviction drove all creative joy from his soul, and his inner life grew constantly more desolate. In this condition of life the poor girl, whom he had forsaken, came again into his mind, and a wrecked life was all that resulted from a hopeful and promising man. Without prospect of a single ray of light he pined away. All this is portrayed with intense dramatic vividness.

Sophia: I can easily see how the play must have worked upon your feelings. As a girl you always suffered intensely at the destiny of such people, who had been driven to bitterness by heavy misfortunes in their life.

Estella: My dear Sophy; you misunderstand me. I can easily distinguish between what is real and what is merely artistic. And criticism fails, I know, if one carries into it the feelings one had in life. What stirred me here so deeply was the really perfect representation of a deep problem of life. I was once again able to realize clearly how art can only mount to such heights, when it keeps close to the fulness of life. As soon as it departs therefrom, its works are untrue.

Sophia: I understand you perfectly when you speak like that. I have always admired the artists who could represent what you call the reality of life. And I believe a great many have that power, — especially nowadays. Nevertheless even the very highest attainments leave behind them in my soul a certain discomfort For a long time I was unable to explain this to myself, but one day the light came that brought the answer.

Estella: You mean to tell me, that your conception of the world has dispelled your appreciation of so-called realistic art.

Sophia: Dear Estelle, let us not speak of my conception of the world to-day. You know quite well, that the feeling I have just described was entirely familiar to me long before I knew anything at all about what you call my ‘conception of the world.’ And these feelings are not only aroused in me with reference to so-called realistic art: but other things also create a similar feeling in me. It grows especially marked when I become aware of what I might call, in a higher sense, the want of truth in certain works of art.

Estella: There I really cannot follow you.

Sophia: A vivid grasp of real truth must needs create in the heart a sense of a certain poverty in works of art. For of course the greatest artist is always a novice compared with nature in her perfection. The most accomplished artist fails to give me what I can get from the revelation of a landscape or a human countenance.

Estella: But that is in the nature of the case and cannot be altered.

Sophia: But it could be altered, if men would only become clear on one point. They could say that it is irrational for the soul to reproduce what higher powers have already set before us as the highest works of art. These same powers have implanted in man an impulse to continue the great work of creation, in order to give the world what they themselves have not yet placed before the senses. In all that man can create, the original powers of creation have left nature incomplete. Why should he reproduce nature's perfections in an imperfect form, when he has the ability to change the imperfect into perfection? If you think of this assertion as changed into an elemental feeling you will understand why I feel a sense of distress towards much that you call art. It is distressing to see an external sense-reality imperfectly, portrayed in realistic art. On the other hand, the least perfect representation of what is concealed behind the outwardly observed phenomenon may prove a revelation.

Estella: You are really talking. of something that nowhere exists. No true artist really tries to give a bare reproduction of nature.

Sophia: That is just why so many works of art are imperfect; for the creative function leads of itself beyond nature, and the artist does not know the appearance of what is outside his senses.

Estella: I see no possibility of our coming to any understanding with one another on this point. It is indeed sad that, in these most important problems of the soul, my best friend follows views so different from my own. I hope our friendship may yet fall on better days.

Sophia: On such a point we shall surely be able to accept whatever life may bring us.

Estella: Au revoir, dear Sophy.

Sophia: Good-bye, dear Estelle.

Curtain

[admin]

The Portal of Initiation

Scene 8

Same room as for Scene 1. Johannes at an easel, before which Capesius, Maria, and Strader are also seated.

Johannes:
I think those are the final touches now,
And feel that I may call my work complete.
Especial pleasure hath it given me
Thy nature to interpret through mine art.

Capesius:
This picture is a marvel unto me,
But its creator still more wonderful.
For naught, which men like me have up till now
Considered possible, can be compared
With this change that hath taken place in thee.
One only can believe, when actual sight
Compels belief. We met three years ago;
And I was then allowed to count myself
A visitor in that community,
In which thou didst attain thine excellence.
A man of sad demeanour wast thou then,
Witness each glance and aspect of thy face.
Once did I hear a lecture in thy group,
And at the end felt urged to add thereto
Words that were wrenched with pain from out my soul.
I spake in such a mood wherein one doth
Think almost always of oneself alone;
And none the less my gaze did ever rest
Upon that painter, whelmed 'neath sorrow's load,
Who sat and kept still silence, far apart.
Silent he pondered in a fashion strange,
And one might well believe that he heard not
A single word of all those spoken near.
The sorrow unto which he gave himself
Seemed of itself to have a separate life;
It seemed as though the man himself heard not,
But rather that his very grief had ears:
It is perhaps not inappropriate
To say he was by sorrow quite obsessed.
Soon after that day did we meet again,
And even then there was a change in thee;
For happiness did beam forth from thine eyes;
Within thy nature power did dwell again,
And noble fire did ring in all thy words.
Thou, didst express a wish to me that day
Which seemed to me most strange and curious —
To be my pupil didst thou then desire.
of a truth thou hast throughout these years
With utmost diligence absorbed thyself
In all I had to say on world events.
And, as we grew more intimate, I then
Did know the riddle of thine artist life,
And each new picture proved a fresh surprise.
My thought in former days was ill-inclined
To soar to worlds beyond the life of sense —
Not that I doubted them — but yet it seemed
Presumptuous to draw near with eager mind.
But now I must admit that thou hast changed
My point of view. I hear thee oft repeat
That thine artistic skill depends alone
Upon the gift to function consciously
In other worlds; and that thou canst implant
Naught in thy works but what thou hast first seen
In spirit worlds: indeed thy works do show
How spirit stands revealed in actual life.

Strader:
Never so little have I understood
Thy speech; for surely in all artists' work
The living spirit is thus manifest.
How therefore doth thy friend, Thomasius,
Differ from other masters in his art?

Capesius:
Ne'er have I doubted that the spirit shows
Itself in man, who none the less remains
Unconscious of its nature. He creates
Through this same spirit, but perceives it not.
Thomasius however doth create
In worlds of sense what he in spirit-realms
Can consciously behold; and many times
Hath he assured me, that, for men like him,
No other method of creation serves.

Strader:
Thomasius is a marvel unto me,
And freely I admit this picture here
Hath first revealed to me in his true self
Capesius, whom I thought I knew full well.
In thought I knew him; but this work doth show
How little of him I had really known.

Maria:
How comes it, doctor, that thou canst admire
The greatness of this work so much, and yet
Canst still deny the greatness of its source?

Strader:
What hath my wonder at the artist's work
In common with my faith in spirit-sight?

Maria:
One can indeed admire a work, e'en when
One hath no faith in that which is its source;
Yet in this case there would be naught to rouse
Our admiration, had this artist not
Trodden the path that led to spirit-life.

Strader:
Yet still we must not say that whoso'er
Doth to the spirit wholly give himself
Will consciously be guided by its power.
The spirit power creates in artists' souls,
E'en as it works within the trees and stones:
Yet is the tree not conscious of itself.
And only he, who sees it from without,
Can recognize the spirit's work therein.
So too each artist lives within his work
And not in spiritual experience.
But when mine eyes now on this picture fall,
I do forget all that allures to thought;
The very soul-force of my friend doth gleam
From out those eyes, and yet — they are but paint!
The seeker's thoughtfulness dwells on that brow;
And e'en his noble warmth of words doth stream
From all the colour-tones with which thy brush
Hath solved the mystery of portraiture.
Ah, these same colours, surely they are flat!
And yet they are not; they seem visible
Only to vanish straightway from my sight.
The moulding too doth seem like colour's work
And yet it tells of spirit intertwined
In every line, and many things besides,
That are not of itself. — Where then is that
Whereof it speaks? Not on the canvas there,
Where only spirit-barren colours lie.
Is it then in Capesius himself?
But why can I perceive it not in him?
Thomasius, thou hast so painted here
That what is painted doth destroy itself,
The moment that the eye would fathom it.
I cannot grasp whereto it urgeth me.
What must I grasp from it? What should I seek?
I fain would pierce this canvas through and through
To find what I must seek within its depths;
To find where I may grasp all that which streams
From this same picture into my soul's core.
I must attain it. — Oh — deluded fool!
It seems as though some ghost were haunting me,
A ghost I cannot see, nor have I power
Which doth enable me to focus it.
Thou dost paint ghostly things, Thomasius,
Ensnaring them by magic in thy work.
They do allure us on to seek for them,
And yet they never let themselves be found.
Oh — how I suffer from your pictures!

Capesius:
My friend, in this same moment hast thou lost
The thinker's peace of mind. Consider now,
If from this picture some ghost speaks to thee
Then I myself must surely ghostly be.

Strader:
Forgive me, friend, 'twas weakness on my part.

Capesius:
Ah, speak but good, not evil, of this hour!
For though thou seemed'st to have lost thyself,
Yet in reality thou wast upraised
Far, far above thyself; and thou didst feel,
Even as I myself full oft have felt.
At such times, howsoe'er one feels oneself
Strong-armoured at all points with logic's might,
One can but be convinced that one is seized
By some strange power that can have origin
Not in sense-knowledge or sense-reasoning.
Who hath endowed this picture with such power?
To me it seems the symbol in sense-life
Of soul-experiences gained thereby.
It hath taught me to recognize my soul,
As never heretofore seemed possible;
And most convincing this self-knowledge proved.
Thomasius did search me through and through:
For unto him was given power to pierce
Through sense-appearance unto spirit-self.
With his developed sight he penetrates
To spirit verity; and thus for me
Those ancient words of wisdom: ‘Know thyself,’
In new light do appear. To know ourselves
E'en as we are, we must first find that power
Within ourselves, which, as true spirit, doth
Conceal itself from us in our own selves.

Maria:
We must, to find ourselves, that power unfold
Which can pierce through into our very souls:
And truly do these words of wisdom speak —
Unfold thyself and thou shalt find thyself.

Strader:
If we admit now, that Thomasius
Hath through the unfolding of his spirit power,
Attained to knowledge of that entity,
That dwells, invisible, within thy soul,
Then must we say that on each plane of life
Knowledge doth differ.

Capesius:
So would I maintain.

Strader:
If matters thus do stand, then is all thought
Nothing all learning but illusory;
And every moment I must lose myself.
Oh, do leave me alone. ...
(Exit.)

Capesius:
I'll go with him.
(Exit.)

Maria:
Capesius is nearer far to-day
To spirit lore, then he himself doth think;
And Strader suffers deeply. What his soul
So hotly craves, his spirit cannot find.

Johannes:
The inner nature of these two did stand
Already then before my spirit's eye
When first I dared to tread the realm of souls.
As a young man I saw Capesius,
And Strader in the years he hath not reached
By some long span as yet. Capesius
Did show a youthful promise which conceals
Much that this life will not allow to come
To due fruition in the realms of sense.
I was attracted to his inner self:
In his soul's essence I could first behold
What is the essential kernel of a man;
And how a man's peculiarities
In earthly life do manifest themselves
As consequences of some former life.
Saw the struggles that he overcame,
Which in his other lives had origin,
And which have shaped his present mode of life.
I could not see his death-discarding being
With my soul's vision, yet I did perceive
Within his nature that which could not rise
From his surroundings as they are to-day.
Thus in the picture I could reproduce,
What dwells within the basis of his soul.
My brush was guided by the powers, which he
Unfolded in his former lives on earth.
If thus I have revealed his inmost self,
My picture will have served the aim, which I
Did purpose for it in my thought: for as
A work of art I do not rate it high.

Maria:
It will confirm its work within that soul
To whom it showed the path to spirit-realms.

Curtain falls whilst Maria and Johannes are still in the room

[admin]

The Portal of Initiation

Scene 9

Same region as in Scene 2.

From rocks and springs resounds:
‘O man, feel thou thyself.’

Johannes:
O man, feel thou thyself! For three long years
I have sought strength of soul, with courage winged,
Which doth give truth unto these words, whereby
A man may free himself to conquer first;
Then conquering himself may freedom find
Through these same words: ‘O man, feel thou thyself.’

From rocks and springs resounds:
‘O man, feel thou thyself.’

I note their presence in mine inmost soul,
Their whispered breathing thrills my spirit-ear;
And hid within themselves they bear the hope,
That they will grow and lead man's spirit up,
Out of his narrow self to world-wide space,
E'en as a giant oak mysteriously
Builds his proud body from an acorn small.
Spirit can cause to live in its own self
All weaving forms of water and of air,
And all that doth make hard the solid earth.
Man too can grasp whate'er hath ta'en firm hold
Of being, in the elements, in souls,
In time, in spirits and eternity.
The whole world's essence lies in one soul's core,
When such power in the spirit roots itself,
Which can give truth unto these selfsame words:
O man, experience and feel thyself —

From rocks and springs resounds:
‘O man, feel thou thyself.’

I feel them sounding in my very soul,
Rousing themselves to grant me strength and power.
The light doth live in me; the brightness speaks
Around me; soul light germinates in me;
The brightness of all worlds creates in me:
O man, experience and feel thyself;

From rocks and springs resounds:
‘O man, feel thou thyself.’

I find myself secure on every side,
Where'er these words of power do follow me.
They will give light in sense-life's darkened ways:
They will sustain me on the spirit-heights:
Soul-substance will they pour into my heart
Through all the eons of eternity.
I feel the essence of the worlds in me,
And I must find myself in all the worlds.
I gaze upon the nature of my soul,
Which mine own power hath vivified;
I rest Within myself; I look on rocks and springs;
They speak the native language of my soul.
I find myself again within that soul,
Into whose life I brought such bitter grief;
And out of her I call unto myself:
‘Thou must find me again and ease my pain.’
The spirit-light will give to me the strength
To live this other self in mine own self.
Oh hopeful words, ye stream forth strength to me
From all the worlds: O man, feel thou thyself.

From rocks and springs resounds:
‘O man, feel thou thyself.’

Ye make me feel my feebleness, and yet
Ye place me near the highest aims of gods;
And blissfully I feel creative power
From these high aims in my weak, earthly form.
And out of mine own Self shall stand revealed
Those powers, whereof the germ lies hid in me.
And I will give myself unto the world
By living out mine own essential life;
Yea, all the might of these words will I feel,
Which sound within me softly at the first.
They shall become for me a quickening fire
In my soul-powers and on my spirit-paths.
I feel how now my very thought doth pierce
To deep-concealed foundations of the world;
And how it streams through them with radiant light.
E'en thus doth work the fructifying power
Of these same words: O man, feel thou thyself.

From rocks and springs resounds:
‘O man, feel thou thyself.’

From heights of light a being shines on me,
And I feel wings to lift myself to him:
I too will free myself, like all those souls,
Who conquered self.

From springs and rocks resounds:
‘O man, feel thou thyself.’

That being do I see
Whom I would fain be like in future times.
The spirit in me shall grow free, through thee
Sublime example, I will follow thee.
(Enter Maria.)

The spirit-beings, who did take me up,
Have woken now the vision of my soul.
And as I gaze into the spirit worlds,
I feel in mine own self the quickening power
Of these same words: O man, feel thou thyself.

From springs and rocks resounds:
‘O man, feel thou thyself.’

Thou here, my friend?

Maria:
My soul did urge me here.
I saw thy star shining in fullest strength.

Johannes:
This strength can I experience in myself.

Maria:
So closely are we one, that thy soul's life
Allows its light to shine forth in my soul.

Johannes:
Maria, then thou also art aware
Of what has just revealed itself to me.
Man's first conviction has just come to me,
And I have gained the certainty of self.
I feel that power to guide me everywhere
Lies in these words: O man, feel thou thyself.

From rocks and springs resounds:
‘O man, feel thou thyself.’

Curtain

[admin]

The Portal of Initiation

Scene 10

A room for meditation as in Scene 3

Theodosius (in spirit-garb):
Now canst thou feel all worlds within thyself:
So now feel me as love-power of all worlds.
A nature, that is lighted up by me,
Feels its own being's power enhanced, whene'er
It gives itself to give another joy.
Thus do I work with true creative joy
To build the worlds. Without me none can live,
And naught without my strength can e'er exist.

Johannes:
So thou dost stand before my spirit's eye,
Joy-giver of all worlds, My spirit's strength
Doth feel creative joy, when I behold
Thee as the fruit of self-experience.
Within the temple to my spirit's eye
Once didst thou show thyself, yet at that time
I knew not whether dream or truth appeared.
But now the scales have fallen from mine eyes,
Which kept the spirit's light concealed from me:
Now know I that thou dost exist indeed.
I will reveal thy nature in my deeds;
And they shall work salvation through thy power.
To Benedictus I owe deepest thanks:
Through wisdom hath he given me the strength
To turn my spirit's sight unto thy world.

Theodosius:
Feel me in thy soul-depths, and bear my power
To all the worlds. Thus, serving Love's behests
Thou shalt experience true blessedness.

Johannes:
I feel thy presence through its warming light;
I feel creative power arise in me.
(Theodosius disappears.)

He hath departed: but he will return
And give me strength from out the springs of love.
His light can disappear but for awhile;
Then, in mine own existence, it lives on.
I can resign myself unto my Self,
And feel Love's spirits in mine inmost soul:
My love uplifted I can feel my Self:
Love shall through me reveal himself to man.
(He grows uncertain, as is gradually made manifest by his gestures.)

Yet what is it I feel about me now?
It seems some spirit-being draweth near.
Since I was counted worthy to receive
The spirit's sight, I feel it ever thus,
When evil powers desire to seize on me.
Yet, come what may, I have strength to resist;
For I can feel myself within my Self;
Which quickening words give strength invincible.
Yet now most strong resistance do I feel;
Well may it be the fiercest of all foes:
But let him come, for he will find me armed.
Thou foe of Good; 'tis surely thine own self!
For near me I can feel thy potent strength,
I know thou dost desire to rend in twain
Whate'er has wrenched itself from thy control.
But I shall strengthen in me that new strength,
Wherein thou canst have neither part nor lot.
(Benedictus appears in spirit garb.)

O Benedictus, fount of my new life!
It is not possible. It cannot be.
Nay, nay, it cannot be thyself. Thou art
Some vain illusion. Oh, revive in me
Ye good powers of my soul, and straightway crush
This phantom image, that would mock at me!

Benedictus:
Ask of thy soul now, whether it can feel,
What through these years my nearness meant to it.
Through me the fruits of wisdom grew for thee;
And wisdom only now can lead thee on,
And fend from error in the spirit's realm.
So now experience me within thyself.
Yet wouldst thou go still further, thou must then
Enter that way, which to my temple leads.
And if my wisdom is to guide thee still
To loftier heights, it must flow from that spot
Where with my brethren close conjoined I work.
The strength of truth I gave to thee myself;
And if this kindles power from its own fire
Within thyself, then shalt thou find the way.
(Exit.)

Johannes:
Oh, he doth leave me. How shall I decide
Whether I have some phantom form dispelled,
Or if reality hath left me now?

Yet do I feel in me my strength renewed.
'Twas no illusion, but the man himself.
I will experience thee within myself,
O Benedictus, thou hast given me power,
Which, growing of itself within myself,
Will teach me to distinguish false from true.
And yet to vain illusion I succumbed:
I felt a shudd'ring fear at thine approach;
And could consider thee a fantasy,
When thou didst stand before my very eyes.
(Theodosius appears.)

Theodosius:
From all illusion thou shalt free thyself,
When thou dost fill thyself with mine own strength:
To me could Benedictus lead thy steps,
But thine own wisdom now must be thy guide.
If thou dost only live what he hath put
Within thee, then thou canst not live thyself.
In freedom strive unto the heights of light;
And for this striving now receive my strength.
(Exit.)

Johannes:
How glorious these words of thine do sound!
I must now live them out within myself.
From all illusion they will set me free,
If they but fill my nature to the full.

Work on then further in my soul's deep core,
Ye words, sublime and grand! Ye surely must
Proceed from out the temple's shrine alone,
Since Benedictus' brother uttered you.
I feel already how ye mount within
Mine inmost being.

Soon shall ye resound
From out my very Self, that I may read
Your meaning rightly. Spirit, that doth dwell
Within me, forth from thy concealment come!
Now in thine own true nature show thyself!
I feel thy near approach: thou must appear.

(Lucifer and Ahriman appear.)

Lucifer:
O man, know me. O man, feel thou thyself.
From spirit guidance hast thou 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. So now use this reward.
In spirit-ventures keep thyself secure.
In the wide realms on high a being strange
Thou shalt discover, who to human lot
Will fetter thee, and will oppress thee too.
O man, feel thou thyself: O man, know me.

Ahriman:
O man, know thou thyself: O man, feel me.
From spirit darkness hast thou now escaped;
And thou hast found again the light of earth.
So now from my sure ground draw strength and truth.
The solid earth do I make hard and fast:
Yet canst thou also lose that certainty.
Weak hesitation can e'en now destroy
The power of being, and thou canst misuse
The spirit-strength e'en in the heights of light.
Thou canst be rent in twain within thyself.
O man, feel me. O man, know thou thyself.
(Exit with Lucifer.)

Johannes:
What meaneth this? First Lucifer arose
Prom me, and Ahriman did follow him.
Doth now some new illusion haunt my soul,
Although I prayed so ardently for truth?
Hath Benedictus' brother roused in me
Only those powers, which in the souls of men
Do but create illusion and deceit?
(The following is a spirit voice coming from the heights.)

Spirit:
To founts of worlds primeval
Thy surging thoughts do mount.
What unto illusion urged,
What in error held thee fast,
Appeareth to thee now in spirit-light.
Through whose fulness seeing,
Mankind doth think in truth;
Through whose fulness striving,
Mankind doth live in Love.

Curtain

[admin]

The Portal of Initiation

Scene 11

The Temple of the Sun. Hidden site of the mysteries of the Hierophants.

Capesius and Strader appear as in Scene 4.

Retardus (to Capesius and Strader before him):
Ye have brought bitter grief to me, my friends.
The office which I did entrust to you
Ye have administered with ill success.
I call you now before my judgment seat.
To thee, Capesius, I did entrust
Full measure of the spirit, that ideas
Of mankind's upward striving might compose,
With graceful words, the content of thy speech,
Which should have worked convincingly on man.
Then thine activity I did direct
Into those gatherings of men, wherein
Thou didst Johannes and Maria meet.
Their tendency towards the spirit-sight
Thou shouldst have superseded by the power
Which thy words should have exercised on them.
Instead of that thou didst thyself give up
Unto the influence which flows from them. —
And to thee, Strader, did I show the way
That leads to scientific certainty.
Thou hadst by rigid thinking to destroy
The magic power that comes from spirit-sight.
But yet thou lackedst feeling's certain touch.
The power of thought did slip away from thee,
When opportunity for conquest came.
My fate is close-entwined with your deeds,
Through you are these two seekers after truth
Now lost for evermore from my domain;
For to the Brethren I must give their souls.

Capesius:
Thy trusty messenger I could not be.
Thou gav'st me power to picture human life;
And I could well portray whate'er inspired
The souls of men at this time or at that:
But yet it was impossible for me
To gift my words, which painted but the past,
With power to fill and satisfy men's souls.

Strader:
The weakness which must needs befall me too
Was but a true reflection of thine own.
Knowledge indeed thou couldest give to me:
But not the power to still that yearning voice,
Which strives for truth in every human heart.
Deep in mine inmost soul I none the less
Felt other powers continually arise.

Retardus:
See now then what result your weakness brings.
The Brethren are approaching with those souls
In whom they will o'erthrow my power. E'en now
Johannes and Maria feel their might.

(Enter Benedictus with Lucifer and Ahriman; behind them Johannes and Maria.)
Benedictus (to Lucifer):
Johannes' and Maria's souls have now
No longer room for blind unseeing power:
To spirit-life they have been lifted up.

Lucifer:
Then must I straightway from their souls depart.
The wisdom unto which they have attained,
Doth give them power to see me, and my sway
O'er souls of men doth only last so long
As I remain invisible to them.
Yet doth the power continue which hath been
From the creation of the worlds mine own.
Now that I can no longer tempt their souls,
My power will cause within their spirit-life
Most beauteous fruits to ripen and endure.

Benedictus (to Ahriman):
Johannes' and Maria's souls have now
Destroyed all error's darkness in themselves;
And spirit-sight hath been revealed to them.

Ahriman:
I must indeed renounce their spirits then:
For they will turn henceforth unto the light.
Yet one thing hath not yet been ta'en from me;
With sense-appearance to delight their souls.
And though no longer they will deem it truth,
Yet will they see how truth it doth reveal.
(Enter the Other Maria.)

Theodosius (to the Other Maria):
Close intertwined was thy destiny
With thine exalted sister's loftier life:
The light of love I could impart to her:
But not the warmth of love, so long as thou
Didst only let thy noble gift arise
From the dim feeling life within thy soul,
And didst not strive to see it clear and bold
In the full light of wisdom's certainty.
The influence of the Temple does not reach
Unto the nature of vague impulses,
E'en though such impulse wills to work for good.

The Other Maria:
I must admit a noble gift of love
Can only work salvation in the light.
So to the temple I now wend my way.
Mine inner feeling shall in future times
Not rob the light of love of its results.

Theodosius:
Through this, thine insight, thou dost give me power
To make Maria's soul-light on the earth
Run smooth and evenly upon its path:
For aye aforetime it must lose its might
In souls, such as thine own was heretofore,
Which would not unify their love with light.

Johannes (to the Other Maria):
I see in thee that nature of the soul,
Which also holdest sway within mine own.
I was unable to find out the way
Which led to thine exalted sister's soul
So long as in my heart the warmth of love
From love's light ever held itself apart.
The sacrifice which to the temple's shrine
Thou bring'st, shall be repeated in my soul.
Therein the warmth of love shall sacrifice
Itself unto love's wonder-working light.

Maria:
Johannes, in the realm of spirit-life
Thou hast attained to knowledge through myself.
To spirit knowledge thou canst only add
True soul-existence, when thou findest too
Thine own soul, as thou didst find mine before.
(Enter Philia, Astrid, and Luna.)

Philia:
Then from the whole creation of the worlds
The joy of souls shall be revealed to thee.

Astrid:
From thine whole being then can be outpoured
The light and radiance of the warmth of souls.

Luna:
Then shalt thou dare to live out thine own self,
When such light can illuminate thy soul.
(Enter Felix and Felicia Balde.)

Romanus (to Felix Balde):
Long hast thou from the temple held thyself.
Thou only wouldst admit enlightenment,
When light from thine own soul revealed itself.
Men of thy nature rob me of the power
To give my light unto men's souls on earth.
They will but draw from unillumined deeps
The gifts they have to offer in their life.

Felix Balde:
But now at length 'twas even man's illusion
That urged me on from the dark deeps to light,
And let me to the temple find my way.

Romanus:
The fact that thou hast hither found thy way
Gives me the power to give light to the will
Of both Johannes and Maria here.
That it no more may follow forces blind,
But from world-aims henceforth direct itself.

Maria:
Johannes, thou hast seen thine own self now
In spirit in myself. Thou shalt live out
Thine own existence as a spirit, when
The world's light can behold itself in thee.

Johannes (to Felix Balde):
In thee, good brother Felix, I behold
The force of soul which in my spirit too
Hath held the will fast bound. This temple's light
Thou hast at length been ready to approach;
So will I guide my spirit's strength of will
Straight forward to the temple of the soul.

Retardus:
Johannes' and Maria's souls e'en now
Escape from my domain: how then shall they
Discover all that springs forth from my might?
So long as they did lack within their souls
The fundaments of knowledge they did still
Find joy and pleasure in my gifts, but now
I see myself compelled to let them go.

Felicia:
That man without thine aid may fire himself
To rational thought, that have I shown to thee:
From me a learning streams that shall bear fruit.

Johannes:
This learning shall be wedded to the light,
Which from this temple's source can fill men's souls.

Retardus:
Capesius, my son, thou art now lost.
Thou hast withdrawn thyself from my domain
Before the temple's light can shine for thee.

Benedictus:
He hath begun the path. He feels the light.
And he will win the strength to search and know
In his own soul all that, which up till now
Good Dame Felicia hath produced for him.

Strader:
Then I alone seem lost, for of myself
I cannot cast all doubts from out my heart;
And surely I shall never find again
The way that doth unto the temple lead.

Theodora:
From out thine heart a glow of light spreads forth;
A human image is now born therefrom;
And I can hear the words, which do proceed
From this same human form. E'en thus they sound:
‘I have achieved the power to reach the light.’
My friend, trust thou thyself! These very words,
When thy time is fulfilled, thyself shalt speak.

Curtain

[admin]

The Soul's Probation

EDITORIAL SUMMARY OF THE SCENES

SCENE 1:

Capesius. His occult exercises; and his despair.

SCENE 2:

Meditation chamber the same as Scenes 3 and 10 of Play 1. Benedictus warns Maria that Johannes must be free. She resolves to look back upon past incarnations.

SCENE 3:

Johannes and his painting. Maria resolves not to hinder his freedom by her love.

SCENE 4:

As Scene 1. Capesius and Strader.

SCENE 5:

Capesius at the Baldes' cottage. Dame Felicia's fable. Johannes and his double.

SCENE 6:

The 14th century. The meadows by the Castle of the Mystic Knights. Country folk. The Jew. Thomas confesses to the Monk his love for Keane's daughter.

SCENE 7:

Same period. The Interior of the Castle. The Grand Master and Council. The Monk's demand. The apparition of his late Master, Benedictus.

SCENE 8:

Same period. Keane has discovered that Thomas and his sweetheart are the children of the First Preceptor and informs the First Preceptor of the fact. The scene closes with a discussion on evolution, and the inspired warning of the Second Master of Ceremonies.

SCENE 9:

Same period. The Keanes. Dame Keane's fable. The Country folk. Thomas and Cecilia.

SCENE 10:

Scene same as Scene 5. The return to the present day. Explanation of Scenes 6 to 9.

SCENE 11:

Meditation chamber as in Scene 2. Maria defeats Ahriman.

SCENE 12:

The same. Johannes and Lucifer.

SCENE 13:

The Temple of the Sun. Destiny.

[admin]

The Soul's Probation

PERSONS, FORMS, AND FEATURES

The spiritual and psychic experiences of the characters appearing in this ‘Soul's Probation’ are a continuation of the experiences given in the scenes of ‘The Portal of Initiation,’ and the events related occur several years later.

Benedictus, Theodosius, Romanus, Hierophants of the Temple of the Sun.

Professor Capesius.

Philia, Astrid, Luna, The spiritual beings who facilitate the connection between the Soul and the Cosmos. They are not allegorical, but are realities for the spirit Seer.

The Other Philia, The spiritual being who enters the connection between the Soul and the Cosmos.

The Voice of Conscience, not allegorical, but a reality, for the spirit Seer.

Maria

Thomasius.

Doctor Strader.

Felix Balde.

Felicia, his wife.

The ‘Double’ of Johannes Thomasius.

Lucifer

Ahriman

The events of the Sixth to the Ninth Scenes contain the spiritual vision, of Capesius into his former life. Maria and Johannes share the experiences at the same time; but Strader's former incarnation is only seen by Capesius, Maria, and Johannes.

These scenes back into the fourteenth century are conceived as results of imaginative cognition, and in the physical world are only recognizable by their effect. The way in which these lives are repeated (from occurrences of the fourteenth century into the present day) should not be generalised. This kind of repetition can only happen at a turning point of time.

THE VISION OF CAPESIUS INTO THE FOURTEENTH CENTURY

The Spirit of Benedictus.

The Grand Master, chief of a branch of mystic brotherhood.

First Preceptor, of the mystic brotherhood. (A former incarnation of Professor Capesius.)

Second Preceptor, of the mystic brotherhood.

First Master of the Ceremonies, of the mystic brotherhood.

Second Master of the Ceremonies, of the mystic brotherhood.

Simon, the Jew (a former incarnation of Dr. Studer).

Thomas (a former incarnation of Johannes Thomasius).

A Monk (a former incarnation of Maria).

Joseph Keane (a former incarnation of Felix Baide). His Wife (a former incarnation of Felicia Balde)

Bertha, their daughter (a former incarnation of the Other Maria).

Cecilia, their foster-daughter (a former incarnation of Theodora).

Six Country Men, and

Six Country Women.

NOTE ON THE COSTUMES WORN (see also notes to the “Portal of Initiation”). The knights are in chain armour and dark blue robes of their order, with a white Maltese cross on their mantle and on their tunic. The mantle of the Grand Master is crimson; his tunic is white with a red cross. Their blue caps and the Grand Master's red cap are flat and triangular. The apparition Benedictus in Scene 7, is in pink peach blossom colour. He spears in the background about nine feet above the stage and mains rigid with his arms extended in cross fashion the whole ire of his appearance in this scene.

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The Soul's Probation

Scene 1

The library and study of Caaesius. Prevailing colour brown. Evening. First Capesius, then the Spirit Forms who are powers of soul later Benedictus.

Capesius (reading in a book):
‘By inward gazing on the Beingless,
And dreaming through the shadowy picture realm
Of thought, conformably to self-made laws: —
Thus erring human nature often seeks
To find the meaning and the goal of life:
The soul from its own depths would draw replies
To questions that concern the universe.
Yet such attempts are vain, illusory
E'en at the outset, and they lead at last
To feeble visions which destroy themselves.’

(Speaking as follows.)

Thus is portrayed in words of import grave
Through Benedictus' noble spirit-sight,
The inward life of many human souls.
Each phrase goes home destructive to my heart —
Unfolding truly mine own way and life
Until this day, with cruel vividness.
And should a god this very hour appear
Descending on me in a raging storm
And clad in wrath, yet could his threatening might
Not torture me with more appalling fears
Than do the Master's words, as strong as fate.
Long hath my life been, but its web displays
Nothing but pictures shadowy and dim
Which haunt my dreaming soul and fondly strive
To mirror truths of nature and of mind.
With this dream-fabric hath my thought essayed
To solve the riddles of the universe.
Down many a path my restless soul I turned.
Yet do I clearly see that I myself,
Was not the active master of my soul
When threads of thought along illusion's path
Spun themselves out to cosmic distances.

So that which I in my content beheld
In pictures, left me empty, led to naught.
Then came across my path Thomasius,
The youthful painter. He indeed strode on,
Upheld by truest energies of soul
To that exalted spiritual way
Which transforms human life, and makes to rise
From hidden gulfs of soul the energy
Which feeds the springs of life within ourselves.
That which awoke from out his inmost soul
Abides in every man. And since from him
I gained this revelation, I do count
As chief amongst the many sins of life
To let the spirit's treasure grow corrupt.

I know henceforth that I must search and seek
And nevermore allow myself to doubt.
In days gone by my vanity of thought
Could have enticed me to the false belief
That unto knowledge man aspires in vain;
And only failure and despair belong
To those who would lay bare the springs of life,

And were all wisdom to unite in this,
And were I powerless to reject the claim
That human destiny demands of man
That he shall lose his individual self
And sink into the gulf of nothingness,
Yet would I make the venture unafraid.

Such thoughts would be a sacrilege to-day,
Since I have learned I cannot win repose
Until the spirit treasure in my soul
Hath been unveiled to the light of day.

The fruits of work of lofty spirit-beings
Have been implanted in the human soul,
And whoso leaves the spirit seed to lie
Unheeded and decay, he brings to naught
The work divine committed unto man.
Thus do I recognize life's highest task;
Yet when I try to take one single step
Across the threshold that I dare not shun,
I feel my strength desert me, which of yore
Did pride itself on elevated thought,
And sought the goals of life in time and space.
Once did I reckon it an easy thing
To set the brain in action and to grasp
The nature of reality by thought.
But now, when I would search the fount of life
And comprehend it as in truth it is,
My thought appears as some blunt instrument;
I have no power, no matter how I strive,
To form a clear thought-image from the words of
Benedictus, though his earnest speech
Should now direct me to the spirit's path.

(Resuming his reading.)

‘In silence sound the depths of thine own soul,
And ever let strong courage be thy guide.
Thy former ways of thinking cast away
What time thou dost withdraw into thyself;
For only when thine own light is put out
Will spirit-radiance show itself to thee.’

(Resuming his soliloquy.)

It seems as though I could not draw my breath
When I attempt to understand these words.
And ere I feel the thoughts that I must think,
Fear and misgiving have beset my soul.
It is borne in on me that everything
Which hitherto was my environment
Is crumbling into ruin, and therewith
I too am crumbling into nothingness:
An hundred times at least have I perused
The words which follow, and each several time
Darkness enfolds me deeper than before.

(Resuming his reading.)

‘Within thy thinking cosmic thought loth live,
Within thy feeling cosmic forces play,
Within thy will do cosmic beings work;
Abandon thou thyself to cosmic thought,
Experience thyself through cosmic force,
Create thyself anew from cosmic will.
End not at last in cosmic distances
By fantasies of dreamy thought beguiled.
Do thou begin in farthest spirit-realms
And end in the recesses of thy soul.
The plan divine then shalt thou recognize
When thou hast realized thy Self in thee.’

(Becomes entranced by a vision, then comes to himself and speaks.)

What was this?

(Three Figures, representing soul forces, float round him.)

Luna:
Abundant power is thine
For lofty spirit-flight;
Its sure foundation rests
Upon the human will.
Its temper hath been tried
By sure and certain hope.
It hath grown strong as steel
By sight of future times.
Thou dost but courage lack
To pour into thy will
Thy confidence in life.
Into the vast Unknown
Dare but to venture forth!

Astrid:
From cosmic distances
And from the sun's glad light,
From utmost realms of stars
And magic might of worlds,
From heaven's ethereal blue
And spirit's lofty power,
Win mightiness of soul;
And send its radiant beams
Deep down within thine heart;
That knowledge glowing warm
May thus be born in thee.

The Other Philia:
They are deceiving thee
This evil sisterhood;
They seek but to ensnare
By trickery and guile.
Thy gifts so seeming fair
Which they have offered thee
Will vanish into air
When thou wouldst hold them fast
With all thy human strength.
They lead thee on to worlds
Inhabited by gods,
Where thou wilt be destroyed
If thou mak'st bold to rise
Into their cosmic realm
With thy humanity.

Capesius:
It was quite plain that here some beings spake —
And yet it is most sure that no one else —
Beside myself — is present in this place.

So have I but held converse with myself
And yet that too seems quite impossible
For ne'er could I imagine such discourse
As here I listened to —

Am I still he was before?

(From his gestures it is plain he feels unable to reply ‘yes.’)

Oh! I am — I am not.

The Spirit-Voice of Conscience:
Thy thoughts do now descend
To depths of human life
And what as soul loth compass thee around
And what as spirit is enchained in thee,
Expands in cosmic depth,
From whose fulness quaffing
Mankind doth live in thought
From whose fulness living
Mankind illusion weaves.

Capesius:
Enough ... Enough ... Where is Capesius?
You I implore ... ye forces all unknown ...
Where is Capesius? Where is ... myself?

(Once more he relapses into a reverie.)

(Enter Benedictus. Capesius does not notice him at first. Benedictus touches him on the shoulder.)

Benedictus:
I learned that thou didst wish to speak with me,
And so I came to seek thee in thy home.

Capesius:
Right good it is of thee to grant my wish.
Yet it had scarce been possible that thou
Shouldst find me in worse case than now I am.
That I am not this moment on the ground
Prostrate before thy feet, after such pain
As even now hath racked my soul, I owe
To thy kind glance alone which sought mine own,
So soon as thou didst with thy gentle touch
Arouse me from the horrors of my dream.

Benedictus:
I am aware that I have found thee now
Fighting a battle for thy very life.
Since I have known full well this long time past
That thus it was appointed us to meet.
Prepare to change the sense of many words
If thou wouldst understand my speech aright,
And do not marvel that thy present pain
Bears in my language quite another name —
I call thy state good fortune.

Capesius:
Then indeed
Thou dost but heap the measure of the woe
Which casts me into gloom's abysmal deeps.
Just now I felt as if my real self
Had flown afar to cosmic distances,
And unfamiliar beings through its sheaths
Were speaking here. But this I took to be
Hallucination, spirit mockery,
And mourned that thus my soul could be deceived:
This thought alone kept me from breaking down.
Take not away my right thus to believe,
The only prop I lean on; tell me not
My fevered dreaming was good fortune; else
I shall be lost indeed.

Benedictus:
A man can lose
Nought else but that which keeps him separate
From cosmic being. When he seems to lose
That which in dreamy fantasies of thought
He misapplied to labours purposeless,
Then let him seek for what has gone from him.
For he will surely find it, and withal
The proper use to which it should be put
In human life. Mere words of comfort now
Were nothing more than clever play on words.

Capesius:
Nay — teachings that by intellect alone
Are comprehended, thou dost not impart.
Bitter experience has shown me this.
Like deeds which lead one on to lofty heights
And also cast one to abysmal depth,
Thy counsels pour a stream of fiery life
And also deathly chill into men's souls.
They work at once e'en as the nod of fate
And also as the storms of life and love.
Much had I sought and thought in earlier days
Before I met thee; yet the spirit's powers,
Creative and destructive, I have learned
Only since I have followed in thy steps.
The turmoil and confusion of my soul,
Caused by thy words, was evident when thou
Didst come within my chamber. Oft I felt
Much pain whilst reading in thy book of life,
Until to-day my cup of woe was full.
And so my agony of soul o'erflowed,
Spilled by thy fateful words. Their meaning swept.
O'er all my soul unrecognized, and yet
Like some elixir they revived my heart.
In such wise wrought they in the magic worlds
That all my clarity of sense was lost.
Then ghostly phantoms made a mock of me,
And words of import dark I seemed to hear
Issue from my distraught tormented soul.
I know that all the secrets thou dost guard
For human souls may not be written down,
But that the answer to men's doubts may be
Revealed to each according to his need.
So grant me that of which I stand in need;
For verily I must indeed be told
What robbed me of my senses and my wits
And compassed me with magic's airy spells.

Benedictus:
Another meaning hides within my words
Than that of the ideas which they convey;
They guide the natural forces of the soul
To spirit-verities their inward sense
Cannot be understood until the day
On which they waken vision in the soul
That yields itself to their compelling power.
They are not fruitage of mine own research;
But spirits have entrusted them to me,
Spirits well skilled to read the signs in which
The Karma of the world doth stand revealed.
The special virtue of these words is this,
Unto the source of knowledge they can guide.
Yet none the less it must be each man's task,
Who understands them in their truest sense,
To drink the spirit-waters from that source.
Nor are my words designed to hinder thee
From being swept away to worlds that seem
To thee fantastic. Thou hast seen a realm
Which must remain illusion just as long
As thou dost lose thyself on entering it.
But wisdom's outer portal will be found
Unsealed to thine advancing soul so soon
As thou dost near it with self-consciousness.

Capesius:
And how can I maintain self-consciousness?

Benedictus:
The answer to this riddle thou shalt find
When, with awakened inner eye, thou dost
Perceive before thee many wondrous things,
Which shortly will be found to cross thy path.
Know that a test path been ordained for thee
By lords of fate and by the spirit-powers.

(Exit.)

Capesius:
Although their meaning is not clear to me
I feel his words at work within myself.
He hath appointed me a goal; and I
Am ready to obey. He doth not ask
For stress of thought; it seems that he desires
I should press forward with exploring feet
To find the spirit-verities myself.

I cannot tell how he was sent to me;
And yet his actions, have compelled my trust;
He hath restored me to myself once more.
So though at present I may not divine
The nature of the spell that shook me so,
I will not shrink from facing these events
Which his prophetic vision hath foretold.

Curtain whilst Capesius remains standing