Four Mystery Plays
GA 14
The Soul's Probation (Written 1911)
Scene 8
The same. The First Preceptor; Joseph Keane then the Grand Master with Simon; later the First and the Second Master of Ceremonies. Joseph Keane is there first; the Preceptor approaches him.
First Preceptor:
Thou didst send word thou wouldst have speech with me.
What is the news that thou art come to bring?
Keane:
Most weighty matters both to thee and me.
Thou knowest the master miner Thomas here,
Who renders service to thee?
First Preceptor:
Well I know
The worthy man; we prize him for his skill,
And his subordinates hold him in love.
Keane:
And dost thou know my child, Cecilia, too?
First Preceptor (moved):
It hath so chanced that I have seen the maid
When I have met thee with thy family.
Keane:
It happened that soon after Thomas came
He paid us frequent visits in our home.
They grew more frequent; it was evident
That to Cecilia his whole heart went out.
We did not marvel that this should be so.
But, knowing the girl's nature, it was long
Ere we could think that she returned his love.
Her life was well nigh one continuous prayer,
And almost all society she shunned.
Yet ever doth it now appear more clear
That to this stranger she hath giv'n her heart.
And as things are, we feel ourselves compelled
Not to oppose the wishes of our child;
Thomas she loves, and she would marry him.
First Preceptor (with faltering movements):
Why runs this marriage counter to thy will?
Keane:
My lord, there is no need for me to tell
Of my devotion to the brotherhood.
My heart would have to bear a heavy load
If my child's love, in its entirety,
Were cast upon the side of those who say
That you and I alike are heretics.
The monk who now o'er yonder abbey rules
Close by our home, and who doth ever seek
To thwart the mission of the brotherhood,
Hath won dominion o'er our daughter's soul.
As long as she is still beneath my roof
So long shall I too not abandon hope
That she may yet again retrace the path
Which leads from spirit-darkness unto light.
But I shall have to give her up for lost
When she shall have become the wife of one
Who, like herself, looks for salvation's light
According to the precepts of that monk.
His Reverence hath had complete success
In foisting such opinions as he holds
On Thomas, who receives them in full faith.
A thrill of terror would run over me
To hear the curses pour from Thomas' lips
Whene'er our speech should touch the brotherhood.
First Preceptor:
Our enemies are many if one more
Is added it cannot affect us much.
Thy words have not yet made it clear to me
What my concern is with this tale of love.
Keane:
My lord, thou seest this packet in mine hand.
Its contents warrant me to come to thee.
My wife and I alone have read the lines;
None else in these parts knows a word of them.
Now must they be made known to thee as well—
The maid who passeth for our flesh and blood
Is not the offspring of my wife and me.
We undertook the training of the child
When her own mother died. What I have still
To say will make it seem unnecessary,
To tell at length how all this came to pass.
For long we knew not who her father was;
The girl to-day knows not her parentage;
Father and mother she beholds in us.
And such a state of things might have gone on
Since we do love her as our very own.
But some years later than her mother's death
The papers that I hold were brought to us;
They make it plain who our child's father is
I cannot tell if he is known to thee.
(The Preceptor loses control over himself.)
But now I know—am sure ...
... that thou art he.
There is no need for me to tell thee more.
But since it is thy child who is concerned
I beg thee to extend to me thine aid.
United our endeavours may succeed
To save her from the darkness that impends.
First Preceptor:
Dear Keane. Thou hast been ever true to me,
And I would fain still further count on thee.
Neither within nor yet without these walls
Must any in this country ever know
The truth of my relation to this girl.
Keane:
My word thereon. I mean no harm to thee;
I only beg that thou wilt lent thine aid.
First Preceptor:
Thou dost perceive that at the present time
I cannot talk with thee at greater length
I pray thee come to-morrow.
Keane:
I will come.
(Exit.)
First Preceptor:
How cruelly my fate fulfils itself.
I left my wife and child in misery,
Since they seemed hindrances upon the path
Along which vanity did beckon me.
It led me on to join this brotherhood.
In words of solemn import I then vowed
My service to the cause of human love
Albeit I was laden with the guilt
Arising from the opposite of love.
The brotherhood's clear vision, as applied
To acts of men, is manifest in me.
It welcomed me a brother in its ranks
And forthwith laid on me its rules severe.
To self-examination Was I led
And knowledge of myself, which otherwise
In other walks of life I had not found.
And then when, under Fate's decree, my son
Came and dwelt near me, I was fain to think
That mighty Powers were merciful to me
In showing how to expiate my sin.
I knew long since that this Keane's foster-child
Was none else than the daughter whom I left.
The brotherhood is near its overthrow,
Each brother resolute to meet his death,
Convinced that those high purposes will live
For which he makes his life the sacrifice.
But I, alas, have felt for many days
I was not worthy of this glorious end.
My purpose ever ripened to make known
My case unto the master, and to crave
Permission to forsake the brotherhood.
I had in mind thenceforward to devote
My days unto my children, and so far
As in this earth-life yet is possible,
To offer penance. But I clearly see,
That 'twas not filial longing brought my son
To this same spot to seek his father out,
Although his good heart made him thus believe.
But he was led by forces in the blood
Which drew him to his sister. Other ties,
Blood-born, were loosened by a father's guilt,
Or else yon monk had never had the power
To rob me so entirely of my son.
Indeed the robbery is so complete,
That with the brother will the sister too
From my paternal longings be estranged.
And so nought else remains for me but this,
To take immediate measures to ensure
That they shall know the truth about themselves,
And then with resignation to await
The penance laid upon me by those powers
Who keep the reckoning of our misdeeds.
(Exit.)
(After an interval the Grand Master and Simon enter.)
Grand Master:
Henceforward, Simon, in the castle walls
Thou must abide, for since that lying tale
Was published that thou art a sorcerer,
Peril awaits thine every step outside.
Simon:
My heart is sore indeed to find that men
Assail in ignorance a proffered aid
Whose only object is to do them good.
Grand Master:
Those who, by grace of lofty spirit-powers,
Can turn their gaze upon the souls of men,
Will see the enemies therein arrayed
Which fight against the nature of the soul.
The battle which our mortal foes prepare
Is but the emblem of that greater strife
Waged in the heart incessantly by powers
Which are at enmity amongst themselves.
Simon:
My lord, in very truth these words of thine
Arouse an echo in my deepest soul.
Indeed my nature is not prone to dreams;
Yet when I walk alone through wood and field
A picture often riseth in my soul
Which with my will I can no more control
Than any object which mine eye beholds.
A human form appears in front of me
Which fain would grasp my hand in fellowship.
Such suffering on his features is expressed
As never yet I saw in any face.
The greatness and the beauty of this man
Seize firmly hold of all my powers of soul;
I fain would sink to earth and humbly bow
Before this messenger from other worlds.
Next moment like a raging flame, there comes
The wildest anger searing through my heart;
Nor can I gain the mastery o'er the power
That fans the opposition of my soul,
And I am forced to thrust aside the hand
Which is so lovingly held out to me.
So soon as to my senses I return
The radiant form hath vanished from my sight.
And thereupon, when I recall in thought
That which my spirit hath so often seen,
Before my soul this thought presents itself
Which moves me to the bottom of my heart.
I feel myself attracted by thy lore,
In which a Spirit-being is revealed
Descending from the Kingdom of the Sun,
To take a human form upon Himself,
In order to disclose Himself to men.
I cannot keep the glowing beauty out
That pours upon me from thy noble lore,
And yet my soul will not assent thereto.
The primal form of our humanity
In thy great Spirit-being I admit;
But still my individual self rebels
When I would turn to him in faith and love.
So must I ever wage an inward war
The archetype of every outer strife.
In sore distress, I seek in vain a clue
To solve the riddle of my life and fate:
How comes it that I understand so well
And yet that I in no wise can believe
The things thy noble teachings do reveal?
I follow thine example faithfully,
Yet find myself opposed at every point
To this example's goal and origin.
And when I must thus recognize myself,
A flood of doubt o'erwhelms my falt'ring faith
That in this life I may yet find myself.
Nay, worse than this, the dread doth haunt me oft
That this bewilderment of doubt may run
Through all the lives that I shall live on earth.
Grand Master:
The picture, which thou sawest, my good friend,
Before my spirit stood out strong and clear
Whilst thou didst paint it in those vivid words;
And as thou didst speak further, then it grew
In breadth before mine eyes until I saw
How cosmic aims are linked to human fate.
(Exeunt.)
First Master of Ceremonies:
Dear brother, I must openly confess
That our Grand Master's clemency exceeds
My comprehension, when I needs must see
What bitter wrong our foes inflict on us.
Although they will not study what we teach
They scruple not to paint us in men's eyes
As heretics and messengers from hell.
Second Master of Ceremonies:
His clemency from our own teaching flows.
Can we proclaim life's highest aim to be
To understand the soul of every man,
And then misunderstand our foes ourselves?
There are amongst them many men indeed
Who follow in the footsteps of the Christ.
Yet even from the souls of such as these
The essence of our teachings must be veiled,
Though they should hear them with the outer ear.
Remember, brother, how reluctantly,
And with what inner conflict, thou vast led
To grant admission to the spirit-voice.
We know, from what the master path revealed,
That future men will see in Spirit-light
The lofty Being of the Sun, who trod This
Earth once only in a human frame.
This revelation we with joy believe
And gladly follow where our leaders tread.
Yet but a short time since these weighty words
Were said by him whom we acclaim as Head:
‘Your souls must ripen slowly, if indeed
With eyes prophetic ye would see to-day
That which the men of later days shall see;
And ye must not imagine,’ said our chief,
‘That after passing one initial test
Ye can have sight of things that are to be.
When ye shall have attained to certainty
That all mankind must needs be born again,
Ye then will have to meet the second test
Which sets your personal illusions free
To dim the radiance of the Spirit-light.’
This solemn warning, too, the master gave:
‘Ofttimes reflect, in meditation's hour,
How psychic monsters, of illusion born,
Beset the path of those who seek the light.
Who falls their victim may see even there
Human existence where the Spirit seeks
To be revealed to Spirit-light alone.
If ye would worthily prepare yourselves
To recognize, by help of inner sight,
The Light of Wisdom streaming from the Christ,
Over yourselves ye must keep watch and ward
Lest personal illusion blind you then
When your souls think that it is furthest off.’
With this injunction clearly held in view
We soon shall rid us of the vain belief
That in these times we can transmit these truths,
Whose beauty we confess within our souls,
In easy manner to posterity.
Rather must we take comfort from the fact,
That we to-day can meet so many souls
In whom the seed, although they know it not,
Already path been sown for future lives.
This seed can only manifest itself
In man, by opposition to those Powers
With which it later will ally itself.
In all this hatred which pursues us now
I do but see the seed of future love.
First Master of Ceremonies:
Certain it is that highest truth's intent
Can only in such manner be disclosed;
Yet hard it seems in this our present age
To shape our lives to follow out its aim.
Second Master of Ceremonies:
Here too I follow out our master's words:
‘It is not granted unto all mankind
To live Earth's future stages in advance.
But individuals there must ever be
Who can foresee what later days will bring,
And who devote their feeling to those Powers
Which loose all being from its present ties
To guard it safe for all Eternity.’
The curtain falls, while the two Masters of Ceremonies are still in the hall
Achtes Bild
(Derselbe Saal wie im vorigen Bilde. Der erste Praeceptor, Joseph Kühne, dann der Großmeister mit Simon, später der erste und der zweite Ceremonienmeister. Joseph Kühne ist zuerst da; der Praeceptor tritt zu ihm.)
Der erste Praeceptor:
Ihr wünschtet mich zu sprechen.
Was habt Ihr mir zu sagen?
Joseph Kühne:
Bedeutsam ist für Euch und mich,
was mich hierher getrieben hat.
Ihr kennt den Bergmeister Thomas?
Er steht bei euch in Euren Diensten.
Der erste Praeceptor:
Wohl kenne ich den wackern Mann,
wir schätzen seine kluge Leistung;
und alle Menschen lieben ihn,
die seiner Führung unterstellt.
Joseph Kühne:
Und wohl auch Cilli, meine Tochter, kennt Ihr?
Der erste Praeceptor (bewegt):
Ich habe sie gesehn,
wenn ich mit Euren Leuten Euch begegnet.
Joseph Kühne:
Es traf sich, daß wir Thomas
recht oft in unserm Hause sahn,
schon bald, nachdem er zugereist.
Er kam dann immer öfter.
Wir sahen, daß er bald zu unsrer Cilli
die tiefste Neigung faßte.
Das war uns nicht gerade sonderbar.
Doch wollten wir bei Cillis Wesen
an Gegenliebe lange Zeit nicht denken.
Sie lebte stets nur im Gebet
und floh fast aller Menschen Umgang.
Doch zeigt es sich stets klarer,
daß sie aus vollen Herzen
dem fremden Mann ergeben ist.
Und wie die Dinge stehen,
sind wir gezwungen, unsres Kindes Wunsch
uns nicht zu widersetzen,
das Thomas in die Ehe folgen will.
1. Praeceptor (mit unsichern Gebärden):
Warum ist diese Ehe wider Euren Willen?
Joseph Kühne:
Mein hoher Herr, Ihr wißt,
wie treu ergeben ich dem Geist des Bundes hin.
Nur schweren Herzens konnte ich ertragen,
daß meine Tochter ihre ganze Liebe
nach jener Seite hat gewandt,
die Euch und mich der Ketzerei beschuldigt.
Der Mönch, der unsres Nachbarklosters Haupt jetzt ist,
und der des Bundes Ziele stets bekämpft,
er hat die Seele unsrer Tochter ganz erobert.
So lange sie in meinem Hause ist,
wird mir die Hoffnung niemals schwinden,
daß sie den Weg zurück muß finden
aus Geistesfinsternis zum Licht.
Doch muß ich sie verloren geben,
ist sie des Mannes Frau geworden,
der gleich ihr selbst das Menschenheil
im Sinnes jenes Mönches sucht.
Es ist dem Pater ganz gelungen,
die Meinung, die er selber hat,
dem Thomas auch als Glauben aufzudrängen.
Nur schaudernd konnt’ ich immer hören
die Flüche, die aus Thomas’ Munde flossen,
wenn auf den Bund die Rede kam.
1. Praeceptor:
Wie haben viele Feinde,
und wenig kann es nur bedeuten,
daß ihre Zahl um Einen sich vermehrt.
Mir leuchtet nicht aus Euren Worten ein,
was ich mit diesem Ehebund zu tun kann haben.
Joseph Kühne:
Mein hoher Herr, Ihr seht dies Bündel – ‒.
sein Inhalt birgt mir sichre Zeugnisse.
Nur ich und meine Frau, wir lasen ihn bisher.
sonst war er hierzulande allen unbekannt.
Er muß in diesem Augenblicke
Auch Euch vertraut nun werden.
Das Mädchen, das als unsre Tochter gilt,
ist mein und meines Weibes Sprosse nicht.
Wir haben dieses Kind in Pflege übernommen,
als seine Mutter ihm gestorben war.
Ich glaube, daß, was Ihr noch weiter hören sollt,
es nötig nicht erscheinen lassen wird,
zu sagen, wie dies alles so gekommen ist.
Wir kannten unsres Pfleglings Vater lange nicht,
und Cilli kennt noch heute ihren wahren Ursprung nicht.
Sie sieht in uns die wahren Eltern.
Es hätte immer so auch bleiben können;
denn lieb ist uns das Kind wie unser eignes.
Es wurden viele Jahre nach der Mutter Tod
uns diese Schriften zugebracht, die Klarheit geben,
wer unsres Pflegekindes Vater ist.
(Der Praeceptor wird vollends unsicher.)
Ich weiß nicht, ob er Euch bekannt;
doch mir ist nun gewiß – ‒
‒ ‒ ‒ – daß Ihr es selber seid.
Ich brauche Euch wohl mehr zu sagen nicht.
Doch da es sich um Euer Blut hier handelt,
so bitt’ ich Euch um Euren Beistand.
Vielleicht gelingt es uns zusammen,
das Mädchen vor der Finsternis zu retten.
1. Praeceptor:
Mein lieber Kühne, Ihr erwieset Euch stets treu.
Ich möcht’ auf Euch auch weiter gerne zählen können.
Es wird doch in und außer diesen Mauern,
in dieser Gegend niemand hören,
wie ich zu diesem Mädchen stehe?
Joseph Kühne:
Dafür verbürg’ ich Euch mein Wort.
Ich werde Euch nicht schaden.
Ich bitte nur um eure Hilfe.
1. Praeceptor:
Begreift, daß ich Euch dieses Mal
nicht länger Rede stehen kann.
Ich bitte Euch, mich morgen anzuhören.
Joseph Kühne:
Ich werde kommen – ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒.
(Kühne geht ab.)
Der 1. Praeceptor (allein):
Wie grausam sich mein Schicksal doch erfüllt!
Im Elend ließ ich Weib und Kind,
weil ich als Fesseln sie empfand.
Die Wege, welche mir die Eitelkeit gezeigt,
sie führten mich in diesen Geistesbund.
Ich habe mit den Worten, die erhaben klingen,
dem Werk der Menschenliebe mich verpflichtet.
Ich konnte dies, mit jener Schuld beladen,
die aus der Liebe Gegenteil entsprungen.
Des Bundes weise Menschenführung,
sie hat an mir sich klar gezeigt.
Er hat in seine Mitte mich genommen
und seine strengen Regeln mir gegeben.
Ich sah zur Selbsterkenntnis mich gezwungen,
die wohl auf andern Lebenspfaden
mir ferne hätte bleiben müssen.
Als dann durch Schicksalsfügung
der Sohn in meine Nähe kam,
vermeinte ich, daß hohe Mächte mitleidvoll
den Weg zur Sühne mich erkennen ließen.
Ich wußte längst, daß Kühnes Pflegekind
die Tochter ist, die ich verlassen habe.
‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒
Dem Bunde steht der Untergang bevor,
Die Brüder werden sich dem Tode weihn,
bewußt sich, daß die Ziele leben werden,
für welche sie das Leben opfern.
Ich fühle nun seit lange schon,
daß ich nicht würdig eines solchen Todes bin.
So reifte nur der Vorsatz immer mehr,
dem Meister meine Lage zu enthüllen,
ihn bittend, mir den Austritt zu gewähren.
Ich wollte dann mich meinen Kindern widmen,
um so in diesem Erdenleben noch
zu bringen jene Sühne, die mir möglich ist.
Ich seh’ es klar, den Sohn hat nicht
die Sehnsucht nach dem Vater hergeführt;
das hat sein gutes Herz geglaubt.
Ihn führten seines Blutes Kräfte,
die mit der Schwester ihn verbinden.
Gelockert durch des Vaters Unrecht
erwiesen sich die alten Blutesbande.
Sonst hätte jener Mönch es nicht vermocht
ihn mir so ganz zu rauben.
Es ist der Raub so gut gelungen,
daß mit dem Bruder nun die Schwester auch
dem Vater sich entfremden wird.
So bleibt mir weiter nichts zu tun,
als jetzt zu sorgen, daß die Kinder
den wahren Sachverhalt erfahren,
und dann die Sühne in Ergebenheit
von jenen Mächten zu erwarten,
die unsres Lebens Schuldbuch führen. –
(Praeceptor geht ab.)
(Es treten nach einer Pause in den Saal der Großmeister und Simon.)
Großmeister:
Ihr müßt fortan im Schlosse bleiben, Simon.
Seit man das Märchen von der Zauberei
verbreitet hat, wa’ jeder Schritt gefährlich,
den Ihr in dieser Gegend machen wolltet.
Der Jude:
Es macht mir wahrlich großen Schmerz, zu wissen,
daß Menschen sich durch ihren Unverstand
der Hilfeleistung feindlich zeigen können,
die ihrem eignen Wohle dienen soll.
Großmeister:
Wer durch die Gnade hoher Geistesmächte
die Blicke werden darf in Menschenseelen,
der schaut die Feinde, die, in ihnen selbst,
sich ihrem eignen Wesen widersetzen.
Der Kampf, den unsre Gegner uns bereiten,
ist nur ein Bild des großen Krieges,
den eine Macht im Herzen unaufhörlich
aus Feindschaft gegen andre führen muß.
Der Jude:
Mein hoher Herr, Ihr sprechet jetzt ein Wort,
das mich in tiefster Seele treffen muß.
Ich bin zum Träumer wahrlich nicht geboren;
doch wenn ich einsam Feld und Wald durchwandle,
da tritt vor meine Seele oft ein Bild,
das ich so wenig mit dem Willen meistre,
wie jene Dinge, welche Augen schauen.
Es stellt sich vor mich hin ein Meschenwesen,
das seine Hand mir liebend reichen will.
In seinen Zügen drückt ein Schmerz sich aus,
den ich in keinem Antlitz noch gesehn.
Die Größe und die Schönheit dieses Menschen
ergreifen alle meine Seelenkräfte;
ich möchte niedersinken, und in Demut
ergeben mich dem Boten andrer Welten. – ‒
Da flammt im nächsten Augenblicke schon
ein wilder Zorn in meinem Herzen auf.
Ich kann dem Trieb in mir nicht widerstehn,
der meiner Seele Widerstand entfacht ‒ –,
und von mir stoßen muß ich jene Hand,
die sich so liebend mir entgegenhält.
Sobald Besonnenheit mir wiederkehrt,
ist schon die Lichtgestalt von mir gewichen.
Wenn ich mir dann im Denken wiederhole,
was sich mir oft im Geiste vorgestellt,
dann tritt mir der Gedanke vor die Seele,
der mich im tiefsten Herzen kann erschüttern.
Zu euren Lehren fühl’ ich mich gezogen,
die von dem Geisteswesen offenbaren,
das aus dem Sonnenreiche niederstieg,
und durch des Menschen Sinnenform erscheinend,
begreiflich wollte Menschenherzen werden;
verschließen kann ich mich der Schönheit nicht,
die eurer edlen Lehren eigen ist;
und kann ihr doch die Seele nicht ergeben.
Ich muß des Menschenwesens Urgestalt
in eurem Geisteswesen wohl erkennen;
doch hält mich trotzig ab mein Eigenwesen,
wenn ich mich gläubig an sie wenden will.
So muß ich in mir selbst der Krieg erleben,
der aller äußern Kämpfe Urbild ist.
Mich ängstigt oft die schwere Rätselfrage,
die meines ganzen Lebens Schicksal trifft:
Wie soll ich fassen, daß ich euch verstehn,
doch nicht im Glauben mich ergeben kann
dem Inhalt eurer edlen Offenbarung?
Ich folge treu dem Vorbild, das Ihr gebt,
und bin im Widerspruch mit allem doch,
was Ziel und Ursprung meines Vorbilds ist.
Und wenn ich so mich selbst erkennen muß,
so übertönt der Zweifel jeden Glauben,
in diesem Erdensein mich selbst zu finden.
Und oft sogar erfüllt mich Furcht und Sorge,
es könnte dieses Zweifels wirrer Rest
durch meine künft’gen Erdenleben ziehen.
Großmeister:
Das Bild, das du geschaut, mein lieber Simon,
es stand vor meinem Geist in vollem Licht,
als du es mir in Worten lebhaft maltest.
Und während du dann weiter zu mir sprachst,
erweitert’ sich das Bild vor meinem Blick;
und ich vermochte Dinge zu erschauen,
die Weltenziel und Menschenschicksal binden.
(Der Großmeister und Simon gehen ab.)
(Es treten nach einer Pause die beiden Ceremonienmeister in den Saal.)
I. Ceremonienmeister:
Ich muß dir frei gestehen, lieber Bruder,
daß unverständlich unsres Hauptes Milde
mir oft erscheint, wenn ich erblicken muß,
wie stark das Unrecht unsrer Gegner ist.
Sie wollen unsre Lehren nicht erfahren,
die sie als Ketzerei und Teufelswerk
den Menschen grausig vor die Seelen malen.
‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒
II. Ceremonienmeister:
Des Meisters Milde fließt aus unsern Lehren.
Wir dürfen nicht als höchstes Lebensziel
Verständnis aller Menschenseelen künden,
und unsre Gegner selbst doch mißverstehen.
Es sind in ihrer Mitte viele Menschen,
die wahrhaft nach dem Vorbild Christi leben.
Verschlossen bleiben müßte ihren Seelen
auch dann noch unsrer Lehre tiefster Sinn,
wenn sie mit äußrem Ohr ihn hören wollten.
Bedenke, lieber Bruder, wie du selbst
mit innerm Widerstreben, zaghaft nur,
dem Geistgehör dich hast erschließen wollen.
Wir wissen aus des Meisters Offenbarung,
wie künftig Menschen durch das Geisteslicht
das hohe Sonnenwesen schauen werden,
das einmal nur im Erdenleibe wohnte.
Wir glauben freudig an die Offenbarung,
weil wir vertrauensvoll den Führern folgen.
Doch sprach vor kurzer Zeit bedeutungsvoll
der Mann, in dem wir unser Haupt erkennen:
»Es müssen langsam eure Seelen reifen,
wenn ihr schon jetzt prophetisch schauen wollt,
was sich den Menschen künftig zeigen wird. –
Ihr sollt nicht glauben, ‒ sprach der Meister ferner, ‒
Daß schon nach eurer ersten Seelenprüfung
dies Vorgesicht der Zukunft euch erscheint.
Auch wenn euch Sicherheit bereits gewährt,
daß alles Menschenleben wiederkehrt,
so tritt die zweite Prüfung erst an euch heran,
die eurem Eigenwahn die Fesseln löst,
so daß er euch das Geisteslicht verdirbt.«
Und auch die ernste Mahnung gab der Meister:
»Erforscht in stillsten Andachtsstunden oft,
wie dieser Wahn, als Seelenungeheuer,
gefährlich wird dem Pfad des Geistessuchers.
Wer ihm verfällt, der möchte Menschensein
auch dort erblicken, wo der Geist allein
dem Geisteslicht sich offenbaren will.
Wenn ihr euch würdig wollet vorbereiten,
das Weisheitslicht von Christi Wesenheit
in euer Seelenauge aufzunehmen,
so müsset ihr euch sorgsam selbst bewachen,
daß Eigenwahn euch nicht befallen mag,
wenn eure Seele ihn am fernsten glaubt.«
Wenn wir dies Wort uns klar vor Augen stellen,
wird uns die falsche Meinung bald verlassen,
daß wir in unsrer Zeit in leichter Art
die hohen Lehren überliefern können,
zu denen unsre Seelen sich bekennen.
Beglückend müssen wir schon dies empfinden,
daß wir so manche Seele treffen können,
die schon in diesen Tagen unbewußt
dem Keim empfängt für künft’ge Erdenleben.
Und dieser Keim, er kann im Menschen erst
als Gegner jener Mächte sich erweisen,
zu denen er sich später wenden will.
Ich kann in vielem Hass, der uns verfolgt,
den Samen spätrer Liebe nur entdecken.
I. Ceremonienmeister:
Es ist gewiß, daß höchster Wahrheit Ziel
sich nur in solchen Worten kann erschließen;
doch schwer erscheint es, schon in diesen Tagen,
das Dasein ganz in ihrem Sinn zu lenken.
II. Ceremonienmeister:
Auch darin folg’ ich meines Meisters Worten.
Es ist der ganzen Menschheit nicht verliehn,
der Erden Zukunftsein voraus zu leben.
Doch müssen solche Menschen stets sich finden,
die spätrer Tage Wesen schauen können,
und die ihr Fühlen jenen Kräften weihn,
die alles Sein der Gegenwart entreißen
und für die Ewigkeit bewahren wollen.
(Vorhang fällt, während die beiden Ceremonienmeister noch im Saale sind.)
Scene Eight
(The same hall as in the previous scene. The first Praeceptor, Joseph Kühne, then the Grand Master with Simon, later the first and second Masters of Ceremonies. Joseph Kühne is there first; the Praeceptor approaches him.)
The first Praeceptor:
You wished to speak to me.
What do you have to say to me?
Joseph Kühne:
What is important for you and me
is what has brought me here.
You know the mountain master Thomas?
He is in your service.
The first Praeceptor:
I know the brave man well,
we value his wise achievements;
and all the people love him,
who are under his leadership.
Joseph Kühne:
And surely you also know Cilli, my daughter?
The first Praeceptor (moved):
I have seen her,
when I met you with your people.
Joseph Kühne:
It so happened that we saw Thomas
quite often in our house,
soon after he arrived.
He came more and more often.
We saw that he soon developed the deepest affection for our Cilli.
That was not exactly strange to us.
That was not exactly strange to us.
But given Cilli's nature,
we did not want to think about reciprocated love for a long time.
She lived only in prayer
and shunned almost all human contact.
But it is becoming increasingly clear
that she is devoted to this stranger with all her heart.
And as things stand,
And as things stand,
we are forced not to oppose our child's wish
to follow Thomas into marriage.
1st Praeceptor (with uncertain gestures):
Why is this marriage against your will?
Joseph Kühne:
My lord, you know
how faithfully I am devoted to the spirit of the covenant.
It was only with a heavy heart that I could bear
my daughter turning all her love
towards those
who accuse you and me of heresy.
The monk who is now the head of our neighboring monastery,
and who always fights against the goals of the covenant,
has completely conquered our daughter's soul.
As long as she is in my house,
I will never lose hope
that she must find her way back
from spiritual darkness to the light.
But I must give her up for lost,
she has become the wife of a man
who, like her, seeks human salvation
in the spirit of that monk.
The Father has succeeded completely
in imposing his own opinion
on Thomas as a belief.
I could only listen with horror
to the curses that flowed from Thomas' mouth
whenever the union was mentioned.
1st Praeceptor:
We have many enemies,
and it can mean little
that their number increases by one.
I do not understand from your words
what I can have to do with this marriage covenant.
Joseph Kühne:
My lord, you see this bundle – ‒.
Its contents hold sure evidence for me.
Only my wife and I have read it so far.
Otherwise, it was unknown to everyone in this country.
At this moment,
it must also become familiar to you.
The girl who is considered our daughter
is not the offspring of mine and my wife.
We took this child into our care
when her mother died.
I believe that what you are about to hear
will make it unnecessary
to explain how all this came about.
We did not know our foster child's father for a long time,
and Cilli still does not know her true origins.
She sees us as her real parents.
It could have stayed that way forever,
for we love this child as our own.
Many years after the mother's death,
these writings were brought to us, which clarify
who our foster child's father is.
(The Praeceptor becomes completely uncertain.)
I do not know if you are familiar with him;
but I am now certain – ‒
‒ ‒ ‒ – that it is you yourself.
I need say no more.
But since this concerns your blood,
I ask for your assistance.
Perhaps together we will succeed
in saving the girl from darkness.
1st Praeceptor:
My dear Kühne, you have always proven yourself loyal.
I would like to continue to be able to count on you.
No one inside or outside these walls,
in this area, will hear
how I feel about this girl, will they?
Joseph Kühne:
I give you my word.
I will not harm you.
I only ask for your help.
1st Preceptor:
Understand that this time
I cannot listen to you any longer.
I ask you to hear me out tomorrow.
Joseph Kühne:
I will come – ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒.
(Kühne exits.)
The 1st Praeceptor (alone):
How cruel my fate has been!
I left my wife and child in misery,
because I felt they were shackles.
The paths that vanity showed me
led me to this spiritual union.
With words that sound sublime,
I committed myself to the work of human love.
I was able to do this, burdened with the guilt
that sprang from the opposite of love.
The wise guidance of the brotherhood
has clearly shown itself in me.
It has taken me into its midst
and given me its strict rules.
I saw myself compelled to self-knowledge,
which would have remained distant from me
on other paths of life.
When, by a twist of fate,
the son came into my vicinity,
I believed that higher powers, in their compassion,
had shown me the way to atonement.
I had long known that Kühne's foster child
was the daughter I had abandoned.
‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒
The alliance is facing destruction,
The brothers will devote themselves to death,
aware that the goals for which they sacrifice their lives will live on.
I have long felt
that I am not worthy of such a death.
So I became increasingly determined
to reveal my situation to the master,
So the intention grew stronger and stronger
to reveal my situation to the Master,
asking him to grant me permission to leave.
I then wanted to devote myself to my children,
in order to bring about in this earthly life
the atonement that is possible for me.
I see clearly that it was not
the longing for his father that brought the son here;
that is what his good heart believed.
He was led by the forces of his blood,
which connect him to his sister.
Weakened by his father's injustice,
the old blood ties proved themselves.
Otherwise, that monk would not have been able
to rob me of him so completely.
The robbery was so successful
that now, along with her brother, the sister
will also become estranged from her father.
So there is nothing left for me to do
but to ensure that the children
learn the true facts,
and then to expect atonement in devotion
from those powers
that keep the record of our lives' sins. –
(Praeceptor exits.)
(After a pause, the Grand Master and Simon enter the hall.)
Grand Master:
From now on, you must remain in the castle, Simon.
Since the fairy tale of witchcraft
has been spread, every step has been dangerous,
you have wanted to take in this area.
The Jew:
It truly pains me greatly to know
that people, through their ignorance,
can be hostile to help
that is meant for their own good.
Grand Master:
Those who, through the grace of higher spiritual powers,
are allowed to see into human souls,
see the enemies who, within themselves,
oppose their own nature.
The struggle that our opponents prepare for us
is only a reflection of the great war
that a power in the heart incessantly
out of enmity toward others.
The Jew:
My noble lord, you now speak a word
that must strike me in the depths of my soul.
I was truly not born to be a dreamer;
but when I wander alone through fields and forests,
an image often appears before my soul,
which I can control as little with my will
as those things which the eyes see.
A human being stands before me,
wishing to lovingly extend his hand to me.
His features express a pain
which I have never seen on any face before.
The greatness and beauty of this human being
captivate all my soul's powers;
I want to sink down and, in humility,
surrender myself to the messenger from other worlds. – ‒
But in the next moment,
a wild anger flares up in my heart.
I cannot resist the urge within me,
which ignites my soul's resistance ‒ –,
and I must push away that hand
which is held out to me so lovingly.
As soon as my prudence returns,
the luminous figure has already departed from me.
When I then repeat to myself in my thoughts
what I have often imagined in my mind,
then a thought enters my soul
that can shake me to the core of my heart.
I feel drawn to your teachings,
which reveal the spirit being
that descended from the sun kingdom
and appearing through the form of human senses,
wanted to become comprehensible to human hearts;
I cannot close myself off to the beauty
that is inherent in your noble teachings;
and yet I cannot surrender my soul to them.
I must recognize the original form of the human being
in your spiritual being;
yet my own nature defiantly holds me back
when I want to turn to it in faith.
So I must experience within myself the war
that is the archetype of all external struggles.
I am often frightened by the difficult riddle
that affects the fate of my whole life:
How can I comprehend that I understand you,
yet cannot surrender in faith
to the content of your noble revelation?
I faithfully follow the example you set,
and yet I am in conflict with everything
that is the goal and origin of my example.
And when I must recognize myself in this way,
doubt drowns out all faith
in finding myself in this earthly existence.
And often I am even filled with fear and worry
that this confused remnant of doubt
might carry through my future earthly lives.
Grand Master:
The image you saw, my dear Simon,
stood before my mind in full light,
as you vividly painted it for me in words.
And as you continued to speak to me,
the image expanded before my eyes;
and I was able to see things
that bind the goal of the world and the fate of mankind.
(The Grand Master and Simon exit.)
(After a pause, the two Masters of Ceremonies enter the hall.)
First Master of Ceremonies:
I must confess to you, dear brother,
that the mercy of our leader is often incomprehensible to me
when I see
how strong the injustice of our opponents is.
They do not want to learn our teachings,
which they paint as heresy and the work of the devil
in a gruesome way before the souls of men.
‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒
II. Master of Ceremonies:
The Master's mercy flows from our teachings.
We must not proclaim
understanding of all human souls as the highest goal in life,
and yet misunderstand our opponents ourselves.
There are many people among them
who truly live according to the example of Christ.
The deepest meaning of our teaching would remain closed to their souls,
even if they wanted to hear it with their outer ears.
Consider, dear brother, how you yourself,
with inner resistance, only timidly,
have wanted to open yourself to the hearing of the spirit.
We know from the Master's revelation how in the future people will see, through the light of the spirit,
We know from the Master's revelation
how in the future people will see through the light of the spirit
the high sun being
that once dwelt only in the earthly body.
We joyfully believe in the revelation
because we trustingly follow the leaders.
But recently, the man in whom we recognize our leader spoke meaningfully:
“Your souls must mature slowly,
if you already want to see prophetically
what will be revealed to people in the future. –
You should not believe,” the Master continued, "that after your first soul test,
that after your first soul test
this foresight of the future will appear to you.
Even if you are already assured
that all human life returns,
the second test will only come to you
when it loosens the shackles of your self-delusion,
so that it does not spoil the light of your spirit."
And the Master also gave this serious warning:
"In your quietest hours of devotion, explore often
how this delusion, like a monster of the soul,
becomes dangerous to the path of the spirit seeker.
Those who fall prey to it would like to see humanity
even where the spirit alone
wants to reveal itself to the light of the spirit.
If you want to prepare yourselves worthily
to receive the light of wisdom from Christ's being
into the eye of your soul,
you must guard yourselves carefully
so that self-delusion may not befall you
when your soul believes it to be far away."
If we keep these words clearly in mind,
the false opinion will soon leave us
that in our time we can easily
pass on the high teachings
to which our souls profess.
We must already feel happy
that we can meet so many souls
who, even in these days, unconsciously
receive the seed for future earthly lives.
And this seed can only prove itself in humans
as an opponent of those powers to which they later want to turn.
In much of the hatred that pursues us,
I can only discover the seed of later love.
I. Master of Ceremonies:
It is certain that the goal of the highest truth
can only be revealed in such words;
but it seems difficult, even in these days,
to direct existence entirely in accordance with their meaning.
II. Master of Ceremonies:
In this, too, I follow my master's words.
It is not granted to all of humanity
to live ahead of the future of the earth.
But such people must always be found,
who can see the essence of later days,
and who consecrate their feelings to those forces
that want to snatch all being from the present
and preserve it for eternity.
(The curtain falls while the two masters of ceremonies are still in the hall.)