Four Mystery Plays
GA 14
The Soul's Probation (Written 1911)
Scene 2
A meditation chamber. Prevailing colour violet. Serious, but not gloomy atmosphere.
Benedictus, Maria, then the Spirit-Figures representing soul-powers.
Maria:
Great conflicts in my soul bid me invoke
Wise counsel from my master in this hour.
Gloomy forebodings rise within my heart.
And I am powerless to withstand the thoughts,
That overwhelm me ever and again.
They pierce me to my being's inmost core;
They seek to lay upon me a command
Which to obey doth seem like sacrilege.
Deceitful powers must be obsessing me;
Oh, I implore thee—lend me aid ... that I
May exorcise them.
Benedictus:
Never shalt thou lack
What thou dost need of me at any time.
Maria:
I know how closely to my soul are knit
Johannes' life and aims. A stony road
Of fate brought us together; and God's will
Hath hallowed in high spirit-realms our bond.
All this stands out before me e'en as clear
As only truth itself can be. And yet—
Horror o'erpowers me that these lips of mine
Must utterance give to sacrilegious words—
And yet—deep in my soul I hear a voice
Which tells me plainly and repeatedly
Despite my utmost will to fight it down:
‘Thou must give up Johannes, let him go.
No longer mayst thou keep him at thy side
If thou wouldst not work evil to his soul.
Alone he must proceed along the road
On which he travels to his longed for goal.’
I know that if thou dost but speak the word
This lying dream will cease to haunt my soul,
Benedictus:
Maria, noble grief leads thee astray
To see the truth, yet call it counterfeit.
Maria:
What I have seen—is truth ... It cannot be!
Between my master's utterance and mine ear
Delusion steals. 0 speak to me again.
Benedictus:
What I have spoken, thou hast heard aright:
Thy love is noble, and Johannes stands
Close-knit to thee. But love must not forget
That she is wisdom's sister. Long indeed
For his salvation hath Johannes been
With thee united. Now his soul demands,
For its own progress, freedom to pursue
Its aims unhindered. Fate doth not decree
That ye shall be no longer outward friends;
But this it doth demand with strict decree—
Johannes' freedom in the spirit-realm.
Maria:
Still do I hear delusion: so let me
Alone continue speaking, for I know
That thou must understand me without fail.
For sure it is no lying shape will dare
To change the words unto thine ear addressed.
My host of doubts were easily dispersed
If earth-life's tortuous course alone it were
That knits Johannes' soul unto mine own.
But to our bond was lofty sanction given
Which knits soul unto soul eternally.
And spirit-powers did speak with blessings meet
The word that bans all doubts for evermore:
‘He hath won truth within the eternal realms
Because in worlds of sense his inmost self
Already was united with thine own.’
What can this revelation mean to me
If now its very opposite is true?
Benedictus:
Thou hast to learn that even one to whom
There hath been much revealed, may yet be found
Lacking perfection still in divers ways.
Tangled the paths that lead to higher truths:
And only those may hope to reach the goal
Who walk in patience through their labyrinth.
Thou didst but see one part of what is real
In that great realm of everlasting light,
When with thine inner vision thou didst gaze
Upon a picture of the spirit-land.
Not yet hast thou seen full reality.
Johannes' soul is knit unto thine own
By earthly ties of such complexity,
That it may be allotted unto each
To find his way into the spirit-realm
Through forces borrowed from the other one.
But nothing hitherto hath clearly shown
That ye have conquered each and every test.
To see a picture hath been granted you
Of what the future holds for you in store
When ye can pass unscathed the full ordeal.
That ye have seen the ultimate reward
Of unremitting effort is no sign
That ye have reached the end of all your strife.
Ye have beheld a picture, which your will
Alone can turn unto reality.
Maria:
Although thy words just spoken fall on me
Like bitter pain that follows hours of bliss,
There is at least one lesson I have learned,
Which is to bow my head to wisdom's light
When it doth prove itself through inward force.
Already something is becoming clear
Which up till now lay hidden in my heart.
But when in highest bliss delusion's snare
Doth wear the mask of truth to human minds,
Darkness of soul is difficult to ban.
I need still more than that which thou hast given
To plumb the depth of meaning in thy words.
Thou once didst lead myself to those soul-depths
Wherein a light was then vouchsafed to me
By which I could behold the lives I spent
In previous incarnations long ago.
Thus was it granted me to learn the way
In which my soul was linked unto my friend's.
My act of bringing, in those days of old,
Johannes' soul unto the spirit-fount
I felt and recognized to be the seed
Which grew and bore such cherished friendship's fruit,
As was found ripe for all eternity.
Benedictus:
Thou wart accounted worthy to retrace
Thy path on earth in days long since gone by.
But thou must not forget to look and see
If thou canst be assured with certainty
That of thy past lives none concealed doth stay
When backward thou dost turn thy spirit's eye.
Maria (after a pause betokening deep reflection):
How, could I be so blinded, so misled?
The rapture which I felt on looking back
Over a period of bygone times
Deluded me to vain forgetfulness
of manifold shortcomings. Not till now
Did I foresee that I must turn my gaze
Into the darkness ere I comprehend
The road that leads back from this present life
To olden days when my friend's soul sought mine.
To thee, my master, will I make my vow
Henceforth to bridle my soul's arrogance ...!
Now for the first time do I realize
How pride of knowledge leads the soul astray;
So that, instead of its imbibing strength
From freely offered stores of spirit-wealth,
It misapplies the gift in wanton use
And only holds the mirror up to self.
I know at last from my heart's warning call,
To which thy words lend added power, how far
I am to-day e'en from the nearest goal.
No more will I be overswift to read
A meaning into words from spirit-lands.
I will esteem them power wherewith my soul
May shape its course—, not as some message sent
To free me from the need of finding out
The goal of action in my daily life.
Had I paid earlier heed unto this truth
And gone my way in due humility,
I had not failed to see that only then
When he decides to tread a path not traced
By me beforehand, can my friend unfold
To fullest bloom his richly-gifted soul.
And now that this is clear I shall not fail
In finding strength sufficient to fulfil
What love and duty may require of me.
Yet do I feel assured this very hour
More clearly than I ever was before
That some grave testing of my soul draws nigh.
For mostly, when men tear from out their hearts
That of themselves which in another lives,
Love hath been changed into its opposite.
Themselves they change the ties that coupled them,
Yet passion's impulse gives to them the power.
Whilst I must of mine own free will uproot
The workings of my soul's life, which I saw
Accomplishing themselves in my friend's acts;
And still unchanging must my love abide.
Benedictus:
If thou wouldst steer thy course direct, thou must
Become aware of what thou most didst prize
In this thy love. For once thou knowst the force
That leads thee all unknown within thy soul,
Thou wilt find power to do what duty bids.
Maria:
By saying this thou giv'st e'en now that aid
Of which my soul so sorely stands in need.
I must investigate mine inmost self
With earnest questionings: and so I ask,
What potent cause impels me in my love?
I see my own soul's life and strength at work
In my friend's nature and activities.
So that which I desire to satisfy
Is nothing but the hunger of myself,
Which I, deluded, call unselfishness.
Thus it hath been concealed from me till now
That in my friend I mirror but myself.
It was the dragon Selfishness who veiled
The truth from me in wrappings of deceit.
And selfishness can take an hundred forms:—
see it clearly now. And when one thinks
The enemy subdued, behold him rise
Out of defeat and stronger than before.
Moreover 'tis a foe with added skill
To hide the truth with cloak of counterfeit.
(Maria sinks into deep thought.)
(The three Spirit-Figures of the soul- owers appear.)
Maria:
O ye my sisters, whom
I find in Being's depths,
Whene'er my soul expands
And guides itself within
The cosmic distances:
The powers of sight for me
From ether's heights release
And lead to earthly paths
That I may know myself
As I exist in Time
And may direct my course
From out old ways of life
Unto new spheres of Will.
Philia:
I will myself imbue
With soul's aspiring light
From my heart's inmost depths:
I will breathe deep within
Will's might that giveth life
From out the spirit powers:
Dear sister, that thou may'st
Experience the Light
I thine old ways of life.
Astrid:
I will weave self-hood in
All conscious of itself
With Love's submissive will;
I will release forthwith
The budding powers of Will
From fetters of desire
And change thy yearning weak
To spirit certainty;
Dear Sister, that thou may'st
In distant paths on earth
Unravel thine own self.
Luna:
The self-denying powers
Of heart will I call forth,
And will make hard and fast
Enduring soul-repose
Then shall they wed, and raise
The powerful spirit light
From out the depths of soul.
They shall impenetrate,
And force Earth's bounds to heed
The listening spirit ear;
Dear Sister, that thou may'st
Find in Time's vast expanse
The traces of thy life.
Maria:
If I could only tear
My 'wildered self away
And give myself to you
That ye from cosmic space
Might thus reflect my soul;
Then could I loose myself
From out this sphere of life
And find myself again
In other states of being,
(Long pause, then the following:)
In you, my sisters, I see spirit-beings
Quickening the souls of men from cosmic founts,
Ye bring to fruitage in the self of man
The seedling forces from eternity.
Through my soul's gates oft have I found the way
Into your, kingdom, and have there beheld
The primal shaping of this earthly globe
With inner vision. Now your help I crave
Since I am bidden to retrace the way
That stretches back far from my present life
To long past ages of humanity.
Release my soul from consciousness of self
In time-enclosed existence, and reveal
The duties laid on me by former lives.
A Spirit-voice,—the spiritual conscience:
Her thoughts are seeking now
For Clues in Time's vast space.
What as debt she still loth owe,
What as duty is imposed,
Arise from out her inmost depths of soul,
From whose deepness dreaming
Mankind doth guide his life,
In whose deepness straying
Mankind himself doth lose.
Curtain falls; everybody still standing on the stage
Zweites Bild.
(Ein Meditationszimmer. In violettem Grundton. Ernste, doch nicht düstere Stimmung.
Benedictus, Maria, dann Geistgestalten, die Seelenkräfte darstellen.)
Maria:
Es drängen schwere Seelenkämpfe mich,
in dieser Stunde meines Führers weisen Rat zu hören.
Es steiget finstre Ahnung mir im Herzen auf.
und unvermögend bin ich,
zu widersetzen mich Gedanken,
die immer wieder mich bestürmen.
Sie treffen mich in meines Wesens tiefstem Kern;
sie wollen ein Gebot mir auferlegen,
daß zu befolgen mir wie Frevel scheint.
Es müssen Truggewalten mich berücken – –;
ich fleh’ Euch – helft – –,
daß ich sie bannen kann.
Benedictus:
Es soll in keiner Zeit Euch fehlen,
was Ihr von mir erwünscht.
Maria:
Ich weiß, wie eng verbunden meiner Seele
Johannes’ Lebenswege sind.
Ein schwerer Schicksalspfad hat uns geeint;
und in den hohen Geisteswelten
hat Götterwille unsern Bund geweiht.
Das alles steht so klar vor mir,
wie nur der Wahrheit Bild allein.
Und doch – mich faßt ein Grausen schon,
wenn ich die Lippen öffnen soll
zu diesem frevelhaften Wort –,
und doch – ich hör’s aus Seelentiefen
ganz deutlich zu mir sagen,
und stets von neuem wiederholen,
wenn ich es überwunden glaube –:
»Du mußt Johannes von dir trennen:
du darfst ihn halten nicht an deiner Seite,
willst Unheil an seiner Seele du vermeiden.
Er muß allein die Bahnen wandeln,
die ihn zu seinen Zielen führen.«
Ich weiß, wenn Ihr ein Wort nur sprecht,
so flieht das Wahneswerk aus meiner Seele.
Benedictus:
Maria, dir läßt ein edler Schmerz
Die Wahrheit jetzt als Truggebild erscheinen.
Maria:
Es wäre – Wahrheit – – – –
Doch nein! – auch zwischen meines Führers Rede
Und mein Gehör schleicht sich das Wahneswesen.
O sprecht zum zweiten Male.
Benedictus:
Du hast mich recht verstanden –.
Deine Liebe ist von edler Art,
und eng verbunden war Johannes dir.
Doch darf die Liebe nicht vergessen,
daß sie der Weisheit Schwester ist.
Zu Johannes’ Heil ward er
Durch lange Zeiten dir vereint;
Doch fordert seiner Seele weitre Bahn,
daß er in Freiheit sich die eignen Ziele suche.
Es spricht der Schicksalswille
Von äußrer Freundschaftstrennung nicht;
Doch fordert er mit aller Strenge
Johannes’ freie Tat im Geistgebiet.
Maria:
Noch immer hör ich Wahn!
So lasset mich nur weitersprechen;
Ihr müsset mich verstehn;
Denn wagen wird kein Truggebild
Vor eurem Ohr das Wort zu wandeln.
Es wären alle Zweifel leicht zu bannen,
Wenn nur des Erdenlebens wirrer Lauf allein
Johannes’ Seele an der meinen halten wollte.
Doch ward die Weihe unserm Bund verliehen,
Die ewig Seel’ an Seele bindet.
Und Geistgewalten sprachen segnend
Das Wort, das alle Zweifel bannt:
»Er hat die Wahrheit sich errungen
im Reich der Ewigkeiten,
weil er in Sinnes-Welten schon
dir war im tiefsten Sein verbunden.«
Wie kann ich fassen jene Offenbarung,
wenn jetzt das Gegenteil als Wahrheit gelten soll?
Benedictus:
Du mußt erfahren, wie noch vieles
Auch dem zur vollen Reife fehlen kann,
der manche Offenbarung schon erleben durfte.
Der höhern Wahrheit Wege sind verworren; –
Nur der vermag zurecht zu finden sich,
der in Geduld durch Labyrinthe wandeln kann.
Du hast erst einer Teil der Wirklichkeit
Im Reich des Höhenlichtes schauen können,
als dir vor deine Seelenaugen trat
ein Bild des Geisterlandes.
Noch ist das Bild nicht volle Wirklichkeit.
Johannes’ Seele und die deine
Verbinden Erdenbande solcher Art,
daß einer jeden kann beschieden sein,
den Weg ins Geistgebiet zu finden
durch Kräfte, welche sie der andern dankt.
Jedoch hat nichts bisher geoffenbart,
ob Ihr genügt habt jeder Forderung.
Ihr habt im Bilde schauen dürfen,
was in der Zukunft Euch beschieden ist,
wenn Ihr die volle Prüfung könnt bestehen.
Daß Euch des Strebens Früchte sind gezeigt,
beweist Euch nicht, daß Ihr
des Strebes Ende habt erreicht.
Ihr habt ein Bild erblickt – –,
doch Euer Wille kann allein
das Bild in Wirklichkeit verwandeln.
Maria:
Zwar treffen Eure Worte mich
Wie schwerster Schmerz nach langem Glücksempfinden;
Doch hab’ ich wohl gelernt,
dem Licht der Weisheit mich zu beugen,
wenn sie durch innre Kraft sich wirksam zeigt.
Und schon beginnt in Klarheit sich zu wandeln,
was dunkel meinem Herzen war bis jetzt.
Doch wenn des Irrtums Schein in höchstem Glückserlebnis
Gewaltsam sich als Wahrheit gibt dem Menschensinn,
ist Seelenfinsternis nur schwer zu bannen.
Ich brauche mehr noch, als Ihr schon gegeben,
soll Eurer Rede ich auch wirklich folgen können.
Ihr habt mein Selbst geführt in jene Seelengründe,
in welchen Licht mir ward gewährt,
daß ich durchschauen durfte Erdenleben,
die mir in lang vergangner Zeit beschieden waren.
Erfahren durfte ich, wie sich gefunden
Des Freundes Seele und die meine.
Daß ich in jenen alten Zeiten
Johannes’ Seele zum echten Geistesworte führte,
das durft’ ich als den Keim betrachten,
der wachsend uns gebracht der Freundschaft Frucht,
die reif befunden ward für Ewigkeiten.
Benedictus:
Für würdig wurdest du erkannt,
in Erdenpfade einzudringen,
die dir beschieden waren
in langvergangnen Tagen.
Doch sollst du nicht vergessen,
Zu forschen, ob du auch Gewißheit hast,
daß keiner deiner Lebenspfade sich verbirgt,
wenn du das Geistesauge rückwärts wendest.
Maria (nach einer Pause, die auf tiefe Selbstbesinnung weist):
O wie nur konnt ich so verblendet sein!
Die Seligkeit, die ich empfand,
als ich ein Teil der Vorzeit durft’ erblicken,
sie hat in eitlem Wahn vergessen mich schon lassen
wie vieles mir noch fehlt.
Und jetzt erst kann ich ahnen,
daß ich in Finsternisse blicken muß,
wenn ich den Weg ergründen will,
der von des Lebens Gegenwart mich führt in jene Zeiten,
da meines Freundes Seele
sich zugewandt der meinen.
Geloben will ich Euch, mein Führer,
zu zähmen meiner Seele Übermut – –!
Erst jetzt erkenne ich, wie Wissenseitelkeit
die Seele kann verführen;
daß sie, statt Kraft zu saugen
aus ihr gereichtem Geistesgut,
die Gabe nur gebrauchen will
zu frevler Selbstbespiegelung.
Ich weiß in diesem Augenblicke
Durch meines Herzens Warnungsruf,
dem eure Worte Kraft verleihn,
wie weit vom nächsten Ziele
entfernt ich mich noch fühlen muß.
Nicht vorschnell will ich ferner deuten
Das Wissen aus dem Geistesland.
Ich will als Kraft es schätzen,
die meine Seele bilden soll –,
und nicht als Weisung,
die mir ersparen kann die Mühe,
im Leben selbst des Handelns Ziele zu erkennen.
Hätt’ ich befolgt schon früher dieses Wort,
das mir Bescheidenheit gebietet:
es wär mir dunkel nicht geblieben,
daß frei sich nur entfalten kann
des Freundes reichbegabte Seele,
wenn sie sich Wege sucht,
die nicht von mir ihr vorgezeichnet werden.
Und da ich dies erkannt,
so werde ich die Kraft gewinnen,
zu tun, was Pflicht und Liebe fordern.
Doch fühle ich in dieser Stunde mehr,
als ich vorher es jemals fühlte,
daß ich vor schwerer Seelenprüfung stehe.
Wenn sonst die Menschen aus den Herzen reißen,
was von dem Einen in dem andern lebt,
so hat die Liebe sich ins Gegenteil verwandelt.
Sie wandeln selbst die Bande, welche sie verknüpfen,
doch geben ihnen Trieb und Leidenschaft die Kraft.
ich aber soll durch freien Willen tilgen
die Wirkung, welche ich von meinem Seelenleben
in meines Freundes Taten sich vollziehen sah.
Und doch muß meine Liebe unverändert bleiben.
Benedictus:
Du wirst den Weg im rechten Sinne gehn,
wenn du erkennen willst,
was dir am meisten wertvoll war an dieser Liebe.
Denn weißt du, welche Kraft
in deiner Seele unbewußt dich lenkt,
so findest du die Macht,
zu tun, was die die Pflicht gebieten muß.
Maria:
Dies sprechend, gebt Ihr schon die Hilfe,
die meine Seele jetzt so nötig hat.
Ich muß an meine Wesenstiefen
Die ernste Frage stellen:
Was treibt mit starker Kraft in dieser Liebe mich?
Ich sehe meiner Seele Eigenleben wirkend
In meines Freundes Wesen und in seinem Schaffen.
So such’ ich nach Befriedigung
Die ich empfinde an dem eignen Selbst,
und lebe in dem Wahne, daß ich selbstlos sei.
Verborgen ist mir doch geblieben,
daß ich im Freunde nur mich selbst bespiegle.
Es war der Selbstsucht Drache,
der täuschend mir verhüllte,
was mich in Wahrheit trieb.
Es wandelt sich die Selbstsucht hundertfach ‒
das muß ich jetzt erkennen.
Und hält man sie besiegt,
entsteht sie nur mit größrer Kraft
aus ihrer Herrschaft Trümmern.
Und auch an jener Kraft gewinnt sie dann,
die Wahn als Wahrheit täuschend offenbart.
(Maria verfällt in tiefes Sinnen.)
(Die drei Gestalten der Seelenkräfte erscheinen.)
Maria:
Ihr, meine Schwestern, die ich
In Wesenstiefen finde,
wenn meine Seele sich erweitet,
und die in Weltenfernen
sich selbst geleitet,
entbindet mir die Seherkräfte
aus Ätherhöhen,
und führet sie auf Erdenpfade;
daß ich im Zeitensein
mich selbst ergründe,
und die Richtung mir geben kann
aus alten Lebensweisen
zu neuen Willenskreisen.
– – – – – – – – – – – – – –
Philia:
Ich will erfüllen mich
mit strebendem Seelenlicht
aus Herzenstiefen;
ich will eratmen mir
belebende Willensmacht
aus Geistestrieben;
daß du, geliebte Schwester,
in alten Lebenskreisen
das Licht erfühlen kannst.
– – – – – – – – – – – – –
Astrid:
Ich will verweben
sich fühlende Eigenheit
mit ergebenem Liebewillen;
Ich will entbinden
Die keimenden Willensmächte
aus Wunschesfesseln,
und dir das lähmende Sehnen
verwandeln in findendes Geistesfühlen;
daß du, geliebte Schwester,
In fernen Erdenpfaden
dich selbst ergründen kannst.
– – – – – – – – – – – – –
Luna:
Ich will berufen entsagende Herzensmächte,
ich will erfestigen tragende Seelenruhe.
Sie sollen sich vermählen,
und kraftendes Geistesleuchten
aus Seelengründen heben;
sie sollen sich durchdringen,
und lauschendem Geistgehör
die Erdenfernen zwingen;
daß du, geliebte Schwester,
in weitem Zeitensein
die Lebensspuren finden kannst.
– – – – – – – – – – – – –
Maria (nach einer Pause):
Wenn ich mich entreißen kann
Verwirrendem Selbstgefühl,
und mich euch geben darf:
daß ihr mein Seelensein
mir spiegelt aus Weltenfernen:
vermag ich zu lösen mich
aus diesem Lebenskreise,
und kann ergründen mich
in andrer Daseinsweise.
(Längere Pause, dann das folgende):
Maria:
In euch, ihr Schwestern, schau’ ich Geisteswesen,
die Seelen aus dem Weltenall beleben.
Ihr könnt die Kräfte, die in Ewigkeiten keimen,
im Menschen selbst zur Reife bringen.
Durch meiner Seele Tor durft’ ich oft
Den Weg in eure Reiche finden,
und Erdendaseins Urgestalten
mit Seelenaugen schauen.
Bedürftig bin ich eurer Hilfe jetzt,
da mir obliegt, den Weg zu finden
von meiner gegenwärtigen Erdenfahrt
in langvergangne Menschheitstage.
Entbindet mir das Seelensein vom Selbstgefühl
In seinem Zeitenleben.
Erschließet mir den Pflichtenkreis
Aus meiner Vorzeit Lebensbahnen.
– – – – – – – – – – – – –
(Geistes-Stimme, das geistige Gewissen):
Es suchen ihre Gedanken
in Zeiten-Spuren.
Was als Schuld ihr geblieben,
was als Pflicht ihr gegeben,
entsteige ihrem Seelengrunde,
aus dessen Tiefe
die Menschen träumend
ihr Leben führen;
in dessen Tiefe
die Menschen irrend
sich selbst verlieren.
(Vorhang fällt, während noch alles auf der Bühne steht.)
Scene Two
(A meditation room. Purple tones. Serious, but not gloomy atmosphere.
Benedictus, Mary, then spirit figures representing the powers of the soul.)
Mary:
Severe soul struggles compel me
to listen to my guide's wise counsel at this hour.
A dark foreboding rises in my heart.
And I am unable
to resist the thoughts
that assail me again and again.
They strike me at the deepest core of my being;
they want to impose a command on me,
which seems to me like sacrilege to obey.
Deceptive powers must be bewitching me – –;
I implore you – help me – –,
that I may banish them.
Benedictus:
You shall never lack
what you desire from me.
Mary:
I know how closely connected to my soul
are the paths of John's life.
A difficult path of destiny has united us;
and in the high spiritual worlds
the will of the gods has consecrated our union.
All this stands before me as clearly
as the image of truth itself.
And yet – I am already seized with horror
when I am to open my lips
to utter this sacrilegious word –
and yet—I hear it from the depths of my soul
saying to me very clearly,
and repeating it again and again,
when I think I have overcome it—:
"You must separate yourself from Johannes:
you must not keep him by your side,
if you want to avoid disaster for his soul.
He must walk alone the paths
that lead him to his goals."
I know that if you speak just one word,
the delusion will flee from my soul.
Benedictus:
Mary, a noble pain
now makes the truth appear to you as an illusion.
Mary:
It would be – truth – – – –
But no! – even between my guide's words
And my hearing, the illusion creeps in.
O speak a second time.
Benedictus:
You have understood me correctly –.
Your love is of a noble kind,
and John was closely connected to you.
But love must not forget
that it is the sister of wisdom.
For John's salvation, he was
united with you for a long time;
But his soul demands a wider path,
that he may seek his own goals in freedom.
The will of fate speaks
Not of an external separation of friendship;
But it demands with all severity
John's free action in the realm of the spirit.
Mary:
I still hear delusion!
So let me continue speaking;
You must understand me;
For no illusion will dare
To change the word before your ears.
All doubts would be easy to dispel,
If only the confused course of earthly life
Would keep Johannes' soul close to mine.
But the consecration was bestowed upon our union,
which binds souls together eternally.
And spiritual powers spoke a blessing,
the word that dispels all doubts:
“He has attained the truth
in the realm of eternity,
because in the worlds of the senses
he was already connected to you in the deepest being.”
How can I comprehend that revelation,
when now the opposite is supposed to be true?
Benedictus:
You must learn how much
can still be lacking in full maturity,
even for those who have already experienced many revelations.
The paths of higher truth are confusing; –
Only those who can walk through labyrinths with patience
will be able to find their way.
You have only been able to see a part of reality
in the realm of the light of the heights,
when an image of the spirit realm appeared before the eyes of your soul.
The image is not yet full reality.
John's soul and yours
The image is not yet full reality.
Johannes' soul and yours
are connected by earthly bonds of such a nature
that each of you may be granted
the path to the spirit realm
through powers that you owe to each other.
However, nothing has yet revealed
whether you have fulfilled every requirement.
You have been allowed to see in the image
what is in store for you in the future,
if you can pass the full test.
That the fruits of your striving have been shown to you
does not prove that you
have reached the end of your striving.
You have seen an image – –,
but your will alone can
transform the image into reality.
Maria:
Your words strike me
like the heaviest pain after a long period of happiness;
but I have learned well
to bow to the light of wisdom
when it shows itself effective through inner strength.
And already what was dark in my heart until now
begins to change in clarity.
But when the illusion of error in the highest experience of happiness
violently presents itself as truth to the human mind,
the darkness of the soul is difficult to banish.
I need more than you have already given
so that I may truly follow your words.
You have guided my self into those depths of the soul,
where light was granted to me,
so that I might see through earthly life,
which was granted to me in times long past.
I was allowed to experience how
my friend's soul and mine found each other.
That in those ancient times
I guided Johannes' soul to true spiritual words,
I was able to regard this as the seed
that, growing, brought us the fruit of friendship,
which was found ripe for eternity.
Benedictus:
You were recognized as worthy
to enter the paths of the earth,
which were destined for you
in days long past.
But you must not forget
to search whether you also have certainty
that none of your life's paths are hidden
when you turn the eye of your mind backward.
Mary (after a pause that indicates deep self-reflection):
Oh, how could I have been so blind!
The bliss I felt
when I was allowed to glimpse a part of the past
has already made me forget, in vain delusion,
how much I still lack.
And only now can I guess
that I must look into darkness if I want to fathom the path that leads me from the present of life into those times
when my friend's soul
turned toward mine.
I will vow to you, my guide,
to tame my soul's exuberance – –!
Only now do I recognize how the vanity of knowledge
can seduce the soul;
that instead of drawing strength
from the spiritual wealth bestowed upon it,
it only wants to use the gift
for sacrilegious self-reflection.
I know at this moment,
through my heart's warning cry,
to which your words give strength,
how far from the nearest goal
I still feel myself to be.
I will not hastily interpret
the knowledge from the land of the spirit.
I want to value it as a force
that should shape my soul—
and not as an instruction
that can spare me the trouble
of recognizing goals for action in life itself.
Had I followed this word earlier,
which commands me to be modest:
it would not have remained dark to me
that only the richly gifted soul of a friend can unfold freely
when it seeks paths
that are not predetermined by me.
And since I have recognized this,
I will gain the strength
to do what duty and love demand.
But in this hour I feel more
than I have ever felt before
that I am facing a difficult test of my soul.
When people tear from their hearts
what lives in one another,
love has turned into its opposite.
They themselves change the bonds that bind them,
but drive and passion give them strength.
But I must, of my own free will, erase
the effect that I saw my soul life
have on my friend's actions.
And yet my love must remain unchanged.
Benedictus:
You will walk the path in the right sense,
if you want to recognize
what was most valuable to you in this love.
For if you know what power
unconsciously guides you in your soul,
you will find the strength
to do what duty must command.
Mary:
In saying this, you are already giving the help
that my soul so desperately needs right now.
I must ask my innermost being
the serious question:
What drives me with such force in this love?
I see my soul's own life at work
in my friend's being and in his work.
So I seek satisfaction
that I feel in my own self,
and live in the delusion that I am selfless.
Yet it has remained hidden from me
that I only see myself reflected in my friend.
It was the dragon of selfishness
that deceptively concealed from me
what truly drove me.
Selfishness transforms itself a hundredfold—
I must now recognize that.
And if one thinks it has been defeated,
it only arises with greater force
from the ruins of its dominion.
And it also gains from that power,
which deceptively reveals delusion as truth.
(Maria falls into deep thought.)
(The three figures of the soul forces appear.)
Maria:
You, my sisters, whom I
find in the depths of being,
when my soul expands,
and who guide yourselves in distant worlds,
release my powers of vision
from the heights of ether,
and lead them on earthly paths;
so that I may, in the flow of time,
that I may, in the flow of time,
fathom myself,
and give myself direction
from old ways of life
to new circles of will.
– – – – – – – – – – – – – –
Philia:
I want to fulfill myself
with striving soul light
from the depths of my heart;
I want to breathe in
invigorating willpower
from spiritual impulses;
so that you, beloved sister,
in old circles of life
can feel the light.
– – – – – – – – – – – – –
Astrid:
I want to weave together
feeling individuality
with devoted will to love;
I want to release
the germinating powers of will
from the bonds of desire,
and transform your paralyzing longing
into a finding of spiritual feeling;
that you, beloved sister,
in distant earthly paths
may fathom yourself.
– – – – – – – – – – – – –
Luna:
I want to call upon renouncing powers of the heart,
I want to strengthen sustaining peace of mind.
They shall marry,
and lift up powerful spiritual light
from the depths of the soul;
they shall interpenetrate,
and force the listening spirit
compel the distant earth;
so that you, beloved sister,
in the vastness of time
may find the traces of life.
– – – – – – – – – – – – –
Maria (after a pause):
If I can tear myself away
from confusing self-awareness,
and give myself to you:
that you may reflect my soul
to me from worlds far away:
I can free myself
from this circle of life,
and can explore myself
in another way of being.
(Longer pause, then the following):
Mary:
In you, sisters, I see spiritual beings,
who enliven souls from the universe.
You can bring the powers that germinate in eternity
to maturity in human beings themselves.
Through the gate of my soul, I was often allowed
to find the way into your realms,
and to see the archetypes of earthly existence
with the eyes of my soul.
I am now in need of your help,
as it is incumbent upon me to find the way
from my present earthly journey
to the long-gone days of humanity.
Release me from the self-consciousness
of my soul's existence in its temporal life.
Open up to me the circle of duties
from my past life paths.
– – – – – – – – – – – – –
(Voice of the spirit, the spiritual conscience):
Her thoughts seek
in traces of time.
What remains as her guilt,
what is given to her as duty,
arise from the depths of her soul,
from whose depths
people dream
their lives;
in whose depths
people err
and lose themselves.
(The curtain falls while everything is still on stage.)