Four Mystery Plays
GA 14
The Guardian of the Threshold
Scene 1
A hall in a prevailing tone of indigo blue. The ante-chamber to the rooms in which a Mystic League carries on its work. In the centre a large door with curtain. Above it is the Rosy Cross. On each side of the door two pictures which represent, beginning from the right of the stage, the Prophet Elijah, John the Baptist, Raphael, the poet Novalis. There are present, in lively conversation twelve Persons, who in one way or another take an interest in the activities of the League. Beside them: Felix Balde and Doctor Strader. (see notes)
Ferdinand Fox:
A most unusual summons 'tis indeed,
That draws us here together at this time.
It comes from men, who ever hold that they,
From all Earth's other children separate,
Are honoured with a special spirit-aim.
Yet now, 'tis said, their spirit-eyes behold,
That in the world's plan they must be bound close
With men whose spirit is unconsecrate;
Who face life's fight in their own strength alone.
I ne'er felt drawn towards such spirit-ways
As find their chief resource in secrecy;
I only care to hold fast to sound thought,
And to the commonsense of human minds.
This Spirit-League by which we now are called
Means not through this same call that we should be
Initiated in its higher aims.
It will thro' mystic dim word-portraiture
Keep us but in the Temple's outer courts;
And use our powers but as the people's voice—
A cunning plan to strengthen its own will.
So shall we merely be the helpers blind
Of men who from the spirit heights above,
Look down to lead us on with beckoning hand
They do not hold that we are ready yet
Even to take one step that might lead on
Toward their holy Temple's treasure-house,
Or to the spirit-light in which they dwell.
When I observe the true state of this league
It seems I see but pride and self-deceit
Clothed in a prophet's robe and humble dress.
And so 'twere surely best to shun each thing
That here is offered us in wisdom's garb;
That we at any rate may not appear
To strive without due proof against the work
Which is so highly prized by many men;
So would I counsel you at first to hear
What aim this wisdom-teacher hath in view
And then to follow simple commonsense.
Who takes such sense as guide within himself
Will not be led astray by tempting lures
Which from the Mystic Temple issue forth.
Michael Nobleman:
I do not know, I cannot even guess
With what strange spirit-gift these men are dowered
Who now desire to find a bridge to us.
But still I know well several honest men
Within the ranks of this same Spirit-League.
Strictly they guard the secret of the fount
Whence this their knowledge is supposed to come;
But that the fountain whence they drink is good,
Their life and deeds make manifest to all.
And all that from their circle issues forth
Bears on its face the mark of truest love.
So may we well believe the aim is good
Which leads them in this special way to men,
To whom the mystic path is strange and new,
But in whose souls the instinct for the truth
And honest goals of spirit-life find place.
Bernard Straight:
Caution would seem to me our duty now.
I think the mystics find the time draws nigh
Which brings an ending to their sovereign power.
Reason will scarcely ask in future times
What dreams of truth these holy temples had.
If this league tells of goals of such a kind
As have seemed wise to mankind's general thought
Then it were good to join our lot to theirs.
Yet they had better shun the mystic's robe
If they would truly pass the portal by,
Which, like some barrier of heavenly light,
Conceals their sacred shrine from worlds profane.
For in that world 'twill be of small account
What value each shall put upon himself.
No higher value shall each one receive
Than universal judgment granteth him.
Francesca Humble:
So much that here I needs must listen to
Sounds like the words of those poor blinded men,
Who cannot see the noble spirit-light
Which streams from every consecrated shrine
In rays of wisdom to the outer world
To comfort and to heal the souls of men.
He only in whose heart this light doth shine,
And pierce with warming glow his inmost soul
Can recognize the true worth of this hour,
Which opens up the mystic's solemn realm
Even to those who feel themselves too weak
To reach, through deep soul struggle, to the high
And consecrate abodes of spirit-light.
Mary Steadfast:
Many sure signs show plainly much must change
Within those souls who strive to follow close
The Spirit's guidance, in their daily life.
But little can be said which goes to prove
That mystic ways can lead on to those ends
Which bring strong powers into the souls of men.
It seems to me that what our time requires
Is leaders, who by using nature's powers
Can join dexterity to genius,
And working thus amidst the things of Earth
Fulfil their purpose in. the world of men.
Such men do search for roots of spirit-work
Deep in the mother-earth of truth itself,
And thus are kept from idle wandering
Along the path away from human health.
Feeling myself possessed with this idea
I recognize in Doctor Strader's self
The powers which for such guidance of the soul
Are better suited than the mystics' are.
How long path man with sorrow had to feel
That thro' the great inventions of machinery
Full many a fetter has been riveted
On the free spirit-instinct in his soul.
But now a hope Both rise within the breast
Whereof none heretofore can e'er have dreamed.
In Strader's workshops we can see, in small,
The working of those wonders, which, in great
Shall soon transform the meaning of technique
And free its shoulders from that heavy load
Which in our day Both weigh on many souls.
Strader:
Indeed such words as these are full of hope
About my seemingly successful work.
'Tis true there yet remains the bridge to pass
Between experiment and actual use,
But all that science up till now can show
Proves it is technically possible.
The author of this work may be allowed
To speak here freely of the hopes he bears
As to the service it may render man.
He begs to be forgiven any words
That sound vainglorious to the general ear,
They only shadow forth the feelings whence
The strength for this work flows into his soul.
We see how in man's daily life on earth
The workings of emotion and the soul
Disperse and lapse into a soulless state
The more the spirit masters all the powers
That it can find within the realm of sense.
Each day the work grows more mechanical,
Which makes for worth in life; and through such work
Man's life itself becomes mechanical.
Many have sought with painful diligence,
Devising methods that might prove of use,
So that the arts of cold machinery
Might no more lame the soul-life of mankind
Or prove a hindrance to true spirit-aims.
But little was achieved through all this strife
In which one question only seemed of weight,
How man should act towards his fellow-men.
I have myself spent many a solemn hour
In thinking out this riddle of man's life.
But ever did I find such thought produced
No fruit of any value for real life.
I felt myself draw near the bitter thought
That cosmic fate hath foreordained the lot
That victory in this material realm
Must ever be to spirit-paths a foe.
Release from this bewilderment of thought
Was brought me by a seeming accident.
It was my lot to make experiments
In matters from such questions far removed;
When suddenly there flashed across my mind
A thought which showed me where the right path lay.
Test followed close on test, until at last
Such powers were gathered there in front of me,
As in their full expression shall some day
Through application purely technical
Restore that freedom to humanity
In which the soul may find development.
No more shall men be forced to dream away
Their whole existence plant-like, fashioning
In narrow factory rooms unlovely things.
Industrial powers will be so dispersed
That every man shall have what he may need
To keep him in his work, in his own home
Arranged by him, as he may think it best.
I thought it well to speak first of this hope
So that it may not seem quite out of place
To say, what I must say, about this call
Which now the Rosicrucian Brotherhood
Issues to men who stand outside their league.
'Tis only when a human soul unfolds
And finds its own true being in itself
That those fine instincts, which from endless time
Draw spirits each to each, can have full scope.
And therefore, only he will think aright
Who recognizes that this call conforms
To signs, which we have learned to know full well.
The brotherhood in future will bestow
Its highest treasures freely on mankind
Because all men will learn to long for them.
Felix Balde:
The words just spoken have been wrung from out
A soul, which hath been given to our times
To grace the realms of sense with life's true worth.
And in this field I doubt if any one
With Doctor Strader could compete to-day.
But I myself trod very different paths
To find out what is needful for the soul.
So I, too, beg your leave to speak a word.
Fate hath made clear to me that I must search
Among those treasures, which disclose themselves
To every man within his inmost soul.
Therein I seemed to find true wisdom's light
Which can full well illuminate life's worth.
The mystic pupilship was given me
In solitude and contemplation deep.
And thus I learned that all that makes man lord
Of this strong realm of sense, doth only serve
To blind his being, and condemn mankind
To search in darkness for the way of life.
Aye, e'en those gems of knowledge which the use
Of reason and of sense hath found on earth,
Are but faint gropings in a darkened realm.
I know it is the mystic way alone
That can direct our steps to life's true light.
Myself I stood upon that path of truth
As one who strives without a helping hand;
But all men cannot struggle thus alone.
The knowledge gained by sense and intellect
Seems like a body left without a soul
When it doth set itself defiantly
Against the light that since Earth's dawn hath streamed
From sacred temples of true mystery.
Ye therefore ought in gratitude to grasp
The hand that beckons from the Temple now
Upon whose threshold roses full of light
Girdle significant the sign of death.
Louisa Fear-God:
A man who feels the worth of his own soul
Can but rely upon his own ideas,
If he desire to know the spirit-worlds
And find himself therein in very truth.
Whoe'er can give himself, with blindfold faith,
To outside guidance, first must lose himself.
Aye, e'en that light, which deep within himself
A man may feel as highest wisdom's power
Claims spirit-recognition only when
Its truth admits of proof within itself.
This light may be a danger to a man
If he draws near thereto without such proof.
For often on this path the soul mistakes
For a true picture, of the cosmic depths,
Fancies begotten from its unconscious wish.
Frederick Clear-Mind:
Fully to understand the mystic way
Each man must trace its impulse in himself.
Who, ere he enters on the search, doth form
In his own soul a picture of the goal,
Whereto that search must lead, is sure to find
Instead of truth, delusion's fantasy.
For, we may say, that each true mystic should
Thus hold himself toward the goal of truth
As one who from a mountain-top would gaze
Upon the beauty of a distant view.
He waits till be has gained the utmost height
Before he tries to picture all the scene
Whereto his pilgrimage hath guided him.
Ferdinand Fox:
At such a time as this we should not ask
How men should hold themselves toward the truth.
The brethren of the league will not require
To hear about such things from men like us.
It hath indeed already reached mine ears
That an occurrence of a special sort
Hath forced the league to turn and think of us.
Thomasius, who came some years ago
Beneath the influence of a spirit-stream,
Which sets itself to follow mystic aims,
Hath learned just how to use such forms of thought
As in our time compel men's confidence,
And hang them, as a mantle, round that lore
Which, it is claimed, to seers is revealed.
In this way he was able to succeed,
And gain approval from both far and near
For writings which had borrowed logic's garb
But which, in fact, contained but mystic dreams.
Even inquirers of acknowledged worth
Are with the message of the man inspired
And so lend colour to his present fame,
Which grows, I fear, in dangerous degree.
Initiates did dread this line of thought
Since it must needs destroy the fixed idea
That wisdom is their sole prerogative.
And so they try to shelter 'neath their wing
That which Thomasius is giving forth.
Indeed, they wish it to appear as if
They knew already in the years gone by
That such a message would just now be sent
To serve in building up their own great work.
If they succeed now at this present time
In drawing us with craft into their net,
They will make clear unto the world at large
That powers of destiny did wisely send
Thomasius with his message at this time
So that belief in their significance
Might with the commonsense of man combine.
Casper Hotspur:
This Mystic League is bold to make the claim
That it alone must ever guide mankind:
It proves thereby what small account it takes
Of all that can be won for man's true weal
Just by sound commonsense, for we may say
That 'tis now proved that nature and the soul
Can be explained as things mechanical.
And 'tis indeed a check to all free thought
That Doctor Strader with so clear a brain,
Should countenance this mystic fallacy.
Who thus doth master powers mechanical
Should not indeed lack insight, to perceive
That e'en to gain true knowledge of the soul
All mystic learnings needs must be destroyed.
Yet this false science, which Thomasius
Is giving forth to-day to all the world,
Enables e'en extreme sagacity
To reconcile itself with wildest dreams,
When once it falls a victim to that snare.
If through strict training in the way of thought,
Most natural to man, Thomasius
Had for this work of his prepared himself,
Instead of studying the mystic art,
He might have plucked full many a noble fruit
From wisdom's tree through his own inborn gifts.
Instead of which upon the way he chose
Naught but disastrous error could occur.
No doubt the brotherhood may like to think
Such error can be turned to their account.
It finds acceptance, since it seeks to show
That science now hath giv'n souls strong proof
Of knowledge only found in dreams before.
George Candid:
That it is possible to speak such words
As we have just been forced with pain to hear,
Shows clearly how that insight which flows forth
From spirit-life hath scarce indeed begun
To grow at all 'midst all our modern thoughts.
Turn your eyes backward o'er the flight of time
And see what things lived in the souls of men
Before the science which is now in flower
Was even able to reveal its seed.
Then you will find that this same Mystic League
Doth but to-day fulfil a work which then
Was traced beforehand in the cosmic scheme.
We had to wait until Thomasius
Had finished this great work he had in hand.
The way is new by which the spirit-light
Illuminates through him the souls of men.
And yet this light did ever work in all
That men have dared to make upon the Earth.
But where, then, was the source of all this light
Which, tho' souls knew it not, could shine so clear?
We find all signs point to the mystic art,
Which dwelt in secret consecrated shrines,
Before mankind let reason be its guide.
The Spirit League which now hath called us here
Will gladly let the mystic light stream forth
On that bold work, which out of human thought
Strives to the knowledge of the spirit-world.
And we, who, in this hour so big with fate,
May stay awhile on consecrated ground,
Shall be the first who, uninitiate,
Shall see the torch of God from spirit-heights
Leap down into the depths of human souls.
Mary Dauntless:
Thomasius, indeed, needs not the shield,
The Rose-Cross Brothers have in mind for him,
If in an earnest scientific way
He can portray the pathway of the soul
Through many earthly lives and spirit-realms.
This work kath now revealed the light on high,
To which they say the mystic temples lead,
E'en unto men who erstwhile had to shun
The very threshold of such sacred shrines.
Such recognition doth he well deserve
As he already hath so richly found
Because he gave that freedom unto thought,
Which was denied it by the mystic schools.
Erminia Stay-at-Home:
The Rose-Cross Brothers can in future live
But in the recollection of mankind.
That which they call for, at this very time
Will soon gain consciousness of its own power
And undermine the Temple's fundaments.
They boldly wish to join in future days
Reason and science to their sacred shrine.
Thomasius, therefore, whom so willingly
They now admit into their Temple's midst
Will count hereafter as their conqueror.
Strader:
I have been sorely blamed because I think
That he acts well, who holds himself prepared
To further, in close union with the league,
The work which through Thomasius is fulfilled.
One speaker took objection to my views
And held I ought to know how dangerous
The mystic's true soul-searching may become.
I often felt I best could understand
The spirit-way when I gave up myself
Completely to the influence binding me
To mechanisms which I made myself.
The way in which I stood toward my works
Hath shown the meaning of the sacred shrine.
And while I was at work, I often thought:
‘How do I seem to one who only tries
To understand the working of those powers
Which I put into things mechanical?
And yet what might I be unto a soul
To whom I might reveal myself in love?’
I have to thank such thoughts as these that now
The learning which from mystic circles springs
Reveals itself to me in its true light.
And so, though not initiate, I know
That souls of gods can in the sacred shrine
Reveal themselves in love to human souls.
Katharine Counsel:
The noble words which Doctor Strader speaks
About the sacred shrines must surely find
An echo in those souls which stand outside
The gates through which initiates may pass,
But yet are counted worthy to receive
The lore initiates do strive to teach:
It is not difficult to understand
Why our forefathers held to the belief
That mystics were the enemies of light.
It even was denied their souls to guess
What hidden secrets lay within the shrine.
All this is changed to-day. The Mystic Light
Is not entirely hid, but tells the world
As much as uninitiate folk may know.
And many souls, who have received this light
And been revived thereby, have felt forthwith
A rousing up of soul-powers, which before
Worked in them, as in sleep, unconsciously.
(Three knocks are heard.)
Felix Balde:
The owners of this place will soon approach
And ye will hear what they desire to say.
But if ye wish to understand their words
And to receive through them the light yourselves
Ye must not by pre-judgment blind yourselves.
The power of the initiates will now
Prove itself mighty, wheresoe'er it finds
Good hearts and wills prepared to offer up
Erroneous fancies to the light of truth;
But where the will hath grown through error hard
And thus hath slain the sense of truth itself,
This power will there be proved of none effect.
Ferdinand Fox:
Such words as these might be of use to one
Who through self-contemplation did desire
To find himself within his inmost soul.
But at the first appearance of this league
'Twere better to hold fast to those reports
About this kind of spirit-brotherhood,
Which may be credited historically.
From them we see that very many men
Have been enticed into the holy shrine
By secret words, which led them to believe
That in these temples, step by step, the soul
Could from the lowliest grades of wisdom rise
Up to the heights where spirit-sight is gained.
Who followed such inducements soon perceived
That in the lower grades he could see signs
Whose purport offered him much food for thought.
He dared to hope that in the higher grades
The meaning of these signs would be disclosed,
And wisdom be revealed: but when he reached
Those higher grades himself, he found instead
That masters knew but little of those signs
And did but speak about the world and life—
Nothing but meaningless and barren words.
If he was not deceived by these same words
Nor yet was tricked by their futility,
He turned himself away from such pursuits.
And so at this time 'tis perhaps of use
To listen to the judgment of the past
As well as unto edifying speech.
(Again three knocks are heard.)
(The curtain is drawn back, and there enter the Grand Master of the Mystic League, Hilary True-to-God; after him, Magnus Bellicosus, the Second Preceptor; Albertus Torquatus, the First Master of the Ceremonies; and Frederick Trustworthy, the Second Master of the Ceremonies. The persons who were before assembled group themselves on each side of the hall.)
Frederick Trustworthy:
Dear friends, this moment, when you join us first
At this our temple's ancient holy gates
Is most significant for you and us.
The call which we have given to you now
Was strongly laid upon us by the signs
Which our Grand Master could discern full well
In the wise plan of earth's development.
There it is very plainly shadowed forth
That at this time the service wise and true
Of this our sacred Temple must unite
With universal commonsense of man,
Which seeks for truth far off from mystic paths.
Yet in the plan were also signs to show
That ere this consummation could be reached,
A man must first arise who understood
How to bring knowledge, built on commonsense
And reason only, into such a form
As truly to comprise the spirit-world:
This now hath happened. To Thomasius
The lot has fallen to produce a work
Based on that very science, which to-day
All men demand. This work in their own tongue
Doth bring full proof of spirit-worth, which men
Could only find in mystic paths before,
And in the temples of initiates.
This work will now become the binding link
That you with us unites in spirit-life;
Through it will ye be able to discern
How firm the base on which our teaching rests.
And through it, too, ye will receive the power
To take from us that knowledge with free will
Which is confined to mystic paths alone;
And so, in living fruitfulness, that Life
Can now unfold itself, which doth unite
The universal commonsense of man
With all the customs of the sacred shrine.
Magnus Bellicosus:
Our brother's words have made it clear to you,
That we have been induced by solemn signs
To call you to the Threshold of our Shrine.
The Master soon will speak to you and show
The deeper reasons for thus calling you.
But first I must, so far as may be meet,
Tell you of this great man, whose work hath made
Our present union possible to-day.
Thomasius gave himself to painting's art
Until he felt an inward spirit-call
To take up science as his work in life.
His gifts which were so great and so unique
Within the region of the painter's art,
Were first developed when he passed within
The spheres devoted to true mystic lore;
These led him to the Master, and, through him,
He learnt the first steps in that world of truth
Where wisdom teaches spiritual sight.
Upborne to spirit-heights and thus infilled
With great creative power, he painted then
Pictures, which seem indeed like living men.
That which would soon have driven other men
To strive amain toward the highest goal
Upon the beaten track of art—all this
Was but a fresh incentive to his soul
To use hard-won success in such a way
As might prove best for welfare of mankind.
He saw full well that spirit-science must
First find a firm foundation, and for this
The sense for science and strict reasoning
Must be released from mania for set form
Through contact with an artist mind, and gain
The inward strength to realize the truth
Of world-relationship in life and deed.
And so Thomasius hath offered up,
A willing off'ring to humanity,
The artist-power, he might have used himself.
O friends, read ye aright this man's true soul;
Then will we understand our mystic call
And hesitate no more to follow it.
Hilary True-to-God:
In that same Spirit's Name, which is revealed
To souls within our sacred shrine, we come
To men who until now might never hear
The word which here doth secretly sound forth.
Those Powers which guide the purpose of our Earth
Could not in its beginning be revealed
To all humanity in their full light.
As in the body of a child, the powers
Through which it learns to act and use its mind,
Must gradually ripen, and grow strong
So must humanity unfold itself
As one great whole throughout its earthly course.
The impulse in the soul which later on
Might worthy prove to gaze on spirit-light
In higher worlds, first lived unconsciously.
Yet in the Earth's beginning there were sent
From out the higher kingdoms of real life
Exalted spirit-beings, who might act
As wise instructors of humanity.
In mystic holy shrines did they employ
Those mighty spirit powers, which were poured forth
In secret into souls which could know nought
Of their exalted leaders or their work.
Then later from the ranks of men themselves
These masters wise could choose for pupils those
Who by well-tested lives of self-denial
Had proved that they were ripe to be ordained
Into the mystic aims and wisdom's lore.
And when the pupils of those early seers
Could guard in worthy way the good and. true,
Then those sublime instructors turned their steps
Back to their own especial realms of life.
These pupils of the gods then chose out men
Who might succeed them in the guardianship
Of spirit-treasures; and in such a way
The treasures were passed on from age to age.
Until the present time all mystic schools,
If they are such in truth, have really sprung
Prom that which first was founded from on high.
Humbly we cherish in this very place
That which our fathers handed down to us.
We do not ever speak about the dues,
Which through our office we inherited,
But only of the favour shown to us
By those great spirit-powers, who chose weak men
As mediators, and entrusted them
With treasures which bring forth the spirit-light
In souls of men: and 'tis our lot, dear friends,
To open to you now this treasured store.
For signs which in the plan of all the worlds
Can clearly be discerned by spirit-eyes
Show most propitious at this very time.
Ferdinand Fox:
From distant worlds, it seems, the reasons come
Which should convince us that 'twere meet that we
Should join ourselves to you, and in this way
Should be the first to give the impetus
To this great work Thomasius gives the world.
However grand what thou hast spoken sounds,
It cannot drown in hearts of homely men
The thought that such a work will take effect
Through its own power, if it should prove to hold
Within itself what souls of men require.
If this work prove important, it will be,
Not through the things the mystics offer us,
But since true science comes to the support
Of spirit-knowledge, and doth prove it true.
If this be really so, what use is there,
If mystic approbation paves the way,
And not th' intrinsic merit of the work?
Albertus Torquatus:
The science which is opening on the world
From such foundations as Thomasius laid
Will neither gain nor lose through such applause
As we or ye may choose to render it.
And yet thereby a way can now be found
By which mankind may study mystic lore.
It would accomplish only half its work
If it should show the goal, but not the road.
And now it rests with you to understand
That now at last the moment hath arrived
For reason and the mystic path to join;
And to the spirit-life of this our world
To give thereby the power which can but work
When it reveals itself in season due.
Erstes Bild.
Ein Saal in indigoblauem Grundton. Er ist als Vorsaal gedacht zu den Räumen, in denen ein Mystenbund seinen Arbeiten obliegt. In freier Unterredung sind zwölf Personen anwesend, welche in der einen oder andern Art an den Bestrebungen des Mystenbundes Interesse nehmen. Ausserdem: Felix Balde und Dr. Strader. Die Bilder stellen Ereignisse dar, welche etwa dreizehn Jahre nach der Zeit liegen, in welcher die »Pforte der Einweihung« spielt.
Ferdinand Reinecke:
Es ist ein sonderbarer Ruf fürwahr,
der uns in dieser Stunde hier vereint.
Er geht von Menschen aus, die, stets getrennt
von allen andern Erdenkindern, sich
besondrer Geistesziele würdig glauben.
Doch jetzt soll deutlich sich im Weltenplane
für ihre Geistesaugen schauen lassen,
daß sie mit Menschen sich verbinden müssen,
die ohne Weihe ihres Geistestempels
den Lebenskampf durch eigne Kräfte führen.
Mich zog es nie zu solcher Geistesart,
die zum Geheimnis ihre Zuflucht nimmt.
Ich möchte an gesundes Denken nur
und an gemeinen Menschensinn mich halten.
Es wird der Geistesbund, der jetzt uns ruft,
zu Eingeweihten seiner höchsten Ziele
durch diesen Ruf uns nicht erheben wollen.
Er wird in mystisch dunklen Wortgebilden
in seines Tempels Aussenraum uns halten,
und unsre Kräfte nur als Volkesstimme
zur Stärkung seines Wollens klug gebrauchen.
So sollen wir bloß blinde Helfer werden
den Menschen, die herab von Geistes-Höhen
zu uns mit Führermiene blicken wollen.
Sie würden uns als reif nicht gelten lassen,
um einen Schritt auch nur zu tun, der uns
zu ihres Weihetempels wahren Schätzen
und ihrem Geisteslichte führen könnte.
Betrachte ich des Bundes wahres Wesen,
erscheint mir Hochmut nur und Geistestrug
im Demutkleid und im Prophetenmantel.
Am besten war’ es wohl, zu meiden alles,
was hier als Weisheit sich uns geben will.
Auf daß jedoch der Schein vermieden werde,
als ob wir ohne Prüfung widerstrebten
dem Werk, das man so hoch zu preisen weiß,
so möchte ich euch raten, erst zu hören,
was dieser Weisheitsträger Absicht ist,
und dann zu folgen rechtem Menschensinn.
Wer solchen Sinn in sich zum Führer wählt,
er wird der Lockung nicht verfallen können,
die aus dem Mystagogentempel kommt.
Michael Edelmann:
Welch Geistesschatz den Menschen anvertraut,
die jetzt die Brücke zu uns finden wollen,
ich weiß es nicht, ich ahn’ es nicht einmal.
Doch kenne ich gar manchen edlen Mann,
der sich zu diesem Geistesbunde zählt.
Sie halten streng geheim den Wissensquell,
der ihren Seelen offenbar soll sein;
Doch ihre Taten und ihr Leben künden,
daß gut der Quell muß sein, aus dem sie schöpfen.
Und alles, was aus ihren Kreisen stammt,
es trägt der wahren Liebe Wesenszüge.
So wird auch gut wohl sein, was sie bewog,
zu ganz besondrem Werke sich zu schließen
an Menschen, welchen Mystenwege fremd,
vertraut jedoch der Seele Wahrheitstriebe
und echten Geisteslebens Ziele sind.
Bernhard Redlich:
Es scheint mir Vorsicht hier die nächste Pflicht.
Die Mysten finden wohl die Zeiten nahe,
die ihrer Herrschaft Ende bringen müssen.
Es wird Vernunft in Zukunft wenig fragen,
wie Weihetempel über Wahrheit schwärmen.
Wenn Ziele solcher Art der Bund uns nennt,
die klug erscheinen allgemeinem Denken,
so ist’s vernünftig, sich an ihn zu schliessen.
Doch ist’s an ihm, der Mystik Kleid zu meiden,
wenn er die Pforte überschreiten will,
die seine Stätte von der andern Welt
wie ein erhabnes Lichtgebiet verschliesst.
Denn dieser Welt wird wenig nur bedeuten,
was seine Diener vor sich selber gelten.
Sie werden höher nicht geachtet werden,
als allgemeinem Urteil sie erscheinen.
Franziska Demut:
So manches, was ich hier vernehmen muß,
es klingt wie jener Menschen Worte mir,
die blind sind für das wahre Geisteslicht,
das lange schon die edlen Weisheitsstrahlen
aus Weiheorten in die Aussenwelt
zum Trost und Heil der Seelen strömen ließ.
Nur wer von diesem Licht sein Herz erleuchten
und seine Seele warm durchdringen ließ,
nur der erkennt der Stunde rechten Wert.
Sie soll eröffnen ernster Mystik Reich
auch solchen Menschen, die zu schwach sich fühlen,
das Geisteslicht nach schwerer Seelenprüfung
in hohen Weiheorten zu empfangen.
Maria Treufels:
Daß jetzt so manches sich wird wandeln müssen
in Seelen, die zu folgen sind bestrebt
der Führung in des Menschen Erdenlauf,
das offenbaren viele sichre Zeichen.
Doch wenig spricht dafür, daß Mystenwege
zu jenen Zielen führen können,
die Menschenseelen starke Kräfte bringen.
Mich dünkt, daß unsre Zeiten Führer heischen,
die im Gebrauch naturgemässer Kräfte
Genie mit Fertigkeit vereinen können
und die also am Erdenwerke schaffend
sich selbst im Weltenwesen zweckvoll fühlen.
Daß sie im Mutterboden echter Wirklichkeit
die Wurzeln suchen auch für Geisteswerke,
wird solche Menschen fern von Schwärmerei
den Weg des Menschenheiles wandeln lassen.
Von solcher Meinung mich durchdrungen fühlend,
erkenne ich in Doctor Straders Wesen
die Kräfte, die zur Seelenführerschaft
sich besser wahrlich als die Mysten eignen.
Wie lange hat man schmerzlich fühlen müssen,
daß durch der Technik wunderbares Schaffen
dem freien Geistestrieb der Menschenseele
so manche Fessel aufgezwungen wurde.
Doch jetzt eröffnet eine Hoffnung sich,
von der vor kurzem niemand träumen konnte.
In Straders Arbeitsstätte finden sich
im Kleinen schon die Wunderwerke wirksam,
die bald im Großen alle Technik umgestalten
und sie von jener Schwere lösen werden,
die heute noch auf viele Seelen drückt.
Doctor Strader:
Es ward soeben hoffnungsvoll gesprochen
von jenem Werk, das mir gelungen scheint.
Zwar muß es noch die Brücke überschreiten,
die vom Versuch zur Lebenspraxis führt,
doch kann des Kenners Blick bis jetzt nur finden,
daß alles technisch möglich sich erweist.
Es möge hier dem Finder dieses Werkes
gestattet sein, die Meinung frei zu sagen,
die er von seiner Leistung hegt.
Verziehen mögen ihm die Worte sein,
die unbescheiden manchem scheinen werden,
und die doch nur Gefühle schildern wollen,
aus welchen Kräfte ihm zum Werke flossen.
Es zeigt sich in des Menschen Erdenlauf,
daß alles Wirken von Gefühl und Seele
sich löst, und seelenlosem Sein verfällt,
je mehr der Geist die Kräfte meistern lernt,
die er im Sinnenreiche finden kann.
Mechanisch fliesst mit jedem Tage mehr
die Arbeit hin, die Lebenswerte schafft,
und mit der Arbeit auch das Leben selbst.
Man hat gar vieles sorgsam wohl erdacht,
was wahrhaft wirksam sich erweisen könnte,
daß kalter Technik Art und Arbeitsform
nicht lähmend für des Menschen Seelenleben
und für die wahren Geistesziele werden.
Nur wenig ward erreicht durch dieses Streben,
dem nur die eine Frage wichtig schien,
wie Menschen sich zu Menschen stellen sollen.
Auch ich verbrachte manche ernste Stunde
mit Sinnen über dieses Lebensrätsel.
Doch fand ich stets, daß meines Sinnens Frucht
von wahren Lebenswerten nichts enthielt.
Schon nahe fühlt’ ich mich der bittern Meinung,
es sei im Weltenschicksal vorbestimmt,
daß sich der Siegeszug im Stoffgebiet
der Geistentfaltung feindlich zeigen müsse.
Es brachte, was ein Zufall scheinen könnte,
mir aus des Denkens Wirrnis die Erlösung.
Als ich Versuche anzustellen hatte,
die solchen Fragen wahrlich ferne lagen,
entrangen sich ganz plötzlich meiner Seele
Gedanken, die den rechten Weg mir wiesen.
Es reihte dann Versuch sich an Versuch,
bis endlich der Zusammenklang von Kräften
auf meinem Arbeitstische sich ergab,
der einst in seiner vollen Ausgestaltung
rein technisch jene Freiheit bringen wird,
in welcher Seelen sich entfalten können.
Nicht weiter wird man Menschen zwingen müssen,
in enger Arbeitsstätte würdelos
ihr Dasein pflanzenähnlich zu verträumen.
Man wird der Technik Kräfte so verteilen,
daß jeder Mensch behaglich nutzen kann,
was er zu seiner Arbeit nötig hat,
im eignen Heim, das er nach sich gestaltet.
Ich mußte erst von dieser Hoffnung reden,
um nicht ganz unbegründet vorzubringen,
was ich zu jenem Ruf zu sagen habe,
den jetzt des Rosenkreuzes Bruderschaft
an Menschen ausser ihrem Kreise richtet.
Wenn Menschenseelen sich erst voll entfalten
und in dem eignen Wesen finden können,
dann werden jene Triebe herrlich wirken,
die Geist zum Geiste ewig streben lassen.
Drum zeigt nur der ein rechtes Denken jetzt,
der anerkennen will, wie jener Ruf
den Zeichen wohl entspricht, die wir vernehmen.
Die Geistesbrüder wollen hohe Schätze
in Zukunft allen Menschen frei gewähren,
weil alle Menschen sie verlangen müssen.
Felix Balde:
Die Worte, welche eben hier gesprochen,
sie haben einer Seele sich entrungen,
die unsre Zeit mit wahren Lebenswerten
im Reich des Sinnenseins beschenken durfte.
Es kann auf diesem Felde sich wohl niemand
mit Doctor Strader heute messen wollen.
Nun hab’ ich selbst auf völlig andren Wegen
gefunden, was der Seele nötig ist.
Drum wolle man auch mir ein Wort verstatten.
Mich hat das Schicksal deutlich hingewiesen,
die Schätze aufzusuchen, die dem Menschen
im Innern seiner Seele sich erschliessen.
Und dort schien mir das Weisheitslicht zu finden,
das Lebenswerte recht beleuchten kann.
Der Mystik Schülerschaft ward mir geschenkt
in Einsamkeit und durch Beschaulichkeit.
Und lernen konnte ich auf solchem Wege,
wie alles, was den Menschen jetzt zum Herrscher
im Kräftereich der Sinne machen will,
doch nur zum blinden Wesen ihn gestaltet,
das seine Bahn durch Finsternisse nimmt.
Und auch die Wissensschätze, die dem Stoffe
durch Sinnes- und Vernunftgebrauch entbunden,
sie sind ein Tasten nur in dunklen Reichen.
Ich weiß, wie Mystenpfade nur allein
zum wahren Lebenslichte führen können.
Ich selber stand auf solchen Wahrheitswegen,
als Mensch, der ohne fremde Hilfe strebte;
doch ist dies nicht der ganzen Menschheit möglich.
Das Sinneswissen und Verstandesdenken,
sie gleichen einem Leibe wahrlich nur,
der ohne Seeleninhalt bleiben muß,
wenn er sich trotzend widersetzen will
dem Licht, das seit dem Erdenurbeginn
in Weihestätten wahrer Mystik strahlet.
Drum sollte liebevoll ergriffen werden
die Hand, die jetzt sich aus dem Tempel bietet,
an dessen Schwelle helle Lichtesrosen
bedeutungsvoll des Todes Sinnbild zieren.
Luise Fürchtegott:
Ein Mensch, der seiner Seele Würde fühlt,
der kann das eigne Urteil nur berufen,
wenn er von Geist und Geisteswelten wissen
und sich in ihnen wahrhaft finden will.
Sich selbst verlieren muß, wer äussrer Führung
in blindem Glauben sich ergeben kann.
Ja selbst das Licht, das man im eignen Innern
als Kraft der höhern Weisheit fühlen möchte,
verdient des Geistes Anerkennung nur,
wenn seine Wahrheit sich beweisen lässt.
Gefährlich kann das Licht dem Menschen werden
wenn er beweislos ihm sich neigen will.
Denn allzuoft erscheint auf diesem Wege
der Seele nur als Bild des Weltengrundes,
was ihrem unbewußten Wunsch entspringt.
Friedrich Geist:
Es sollte jeder Mensch den Trieb verspüren,
der Mysten Wege wirklich zu verstehn.
Mir scheint, daß Wahn statt Wahrheit finden muß,
wer schon, bevor er strebt, des Strebens Ziel
in seiner Seele vorgebildet hat.
Vom Mysten aber wird gesagt, daß er
zu seinem Wahrheitsziele sich verhält
wie Menschen, welche eines Fernblicks Schönheit
von eines Berges Gipfel schauen wollen.
Sie warten, bis sie oben angelangt,
und malen sich nicht vorher schon das Bild,
zu dem sie ihre Wandrung führen soll.
Ferdinand Reinecke:
In dieser Stunde wollen wir nicht fragen,
wie sich der Mensch zur Wahrheit stellen soll.
Die Bundesbrüder werden ganz gewiß
von uns nicht solche Dinge hören wollen.
Es ist ja schon zu meinem Ohr gedrungen,
daß ein Ereignis ganz besondrer Art
den Bund gezwungen hat, an uns zu denken.
Thomasius, der schon vor vielen Jahren
in einer Geistesströmung sich befand,
die Mystenzielen sich ergeben hatte,
er hat verstanden, solche Wissensformen,
zu welchen unsre Zeit Vertrauen hat,
als Mantel umzuhängen jener Weisheit,
die Eingeweihten sich erschliessen soll.
Durch diesen Vorgang ist es ihm gelungen,
in weiten Kreisen Beifall zu erzwingen
für Schriften, die den Schein der Logik borgen
und doch nur Mystenschwärmerei enthalten.
Selbst Forscher, die als ernst uns gelten müssen,
begeistern für des Mannes Botschaft sich
und tragen so zu seinem Ruhme bei,
den man gefährlich wachsen sehen muß.
Die Eingeweihten fürchten diese Wirkung,
da sie die Meinung doch zerstören muß,
nur ihnen sei die Weisheit übergeben.
Deshalb erstreben sie, in Schutz zu nehmen,
was durch Thomasius verbreitet wird.
Erwecken wollen sie den Schein, als ob
seit langen Zeiten sie vorher gewußt,
daß diese Botschaft jetzt der Welt erscheinen
und ihrem Werke planvoll dienen müsse.
Gelingt es ihnen, uns in dieser Stunde
in ihre Kreise listig einzufangen,
so werden sie der Welt wohl offenbaren,
es sei Thomasius mit seiner Botschaft
von Schicksalsmächten weise ausgesandt,
daß auch gemeinem Menschensinn der Glaube
an ihre Weltbedeutung kommen müsse.
Caspar Stürmer:
Daß diese Mystenschule immer noch
so kühn die Menschenführung fordern will,
es zeigt, wie wenig Achtung sie empfindet
vor allem, was gesunder Menschensinn
dem wahren Menschenheil erobern konnte,
seit als bewiesen gelten kann, daß rein mechanisch
Natur und Seele zu erklären sind.
Und recht bedrückend ist es freiem Denken,
daß ein so heller Kopf wie Doctor Strader
dem Mystenwahn geneigt sich zeigen kann.
Wer so den Kräftemechanismus meistert,
der sollte doch der Einsicht nicht ermangeln,
wie nötig auch der Seelenwissenschaft
Vernichtung aller Mystik sich erweist.
Er sollte an der falschen Wissenschaft,
die jetzt Thomasius der Welt verkündet,
ersehen wie der grösste Scharfsinn selbst
der wilden Phantasie sich fügen kann,
sobald er jenem Wahn zum Opfer fällt.
Wenn statt durch Mystenkunst Thomasius
durch strenge Zucht naturgemässen Denkens
sich für sein Schaffen vorbereitet hätte,
es wäre ihm gewiß durch seine Gaben
manch edle Wissensfrucht herangereift.
Auf seinem Wege aber konnte nur
verhängnisvoller Irrtum sich entfalten.
Dem Geistesbunde kann ein solcher Irrtum
für seine Ziele wohl recht nützlich dünken.
Er findet Anerkennung durch den Schein,
als habe Wissenschaft nun streng bewiesen,
was Menschenseelen als Erkenntnis träumen.
Georg Wahrmund:
Wenn jemand solche Worte sprechen kann,
wie man sie eben schmerzlich hören mußte,
So zeigt sich deutlich, wie gering entwickelt
in unsrer Zeit noch jene Einsicht ist,
die aus dem Gang des Geisteslebens fliesst.
Man wende doch den Blick zur Vorzeit hin,
und prüfe, was in Menschenseelen lebte,
bevor die Wissenschaft, die jetzt erblüht,
auch nur als Keim sich offenbaren konnte.
Man wird dann finden, daß der Mystenbund
in dieser Stunde eine Tat vollbringt,
die vorgezeichnet ist im Weltenplane.
Erwarten mußte man das große Werk,
das jetzt Thomasius gelungen ist.
Der Weg ist neu, auf dem das Geisteslicht
in ihm der Menschenseele leuchten soll.
Doch wirkte dieses Licht in allem schon,
was Menschen je auf Erden schaffen durften.
Wo aber war die Quelle dieses Lichtes,
das, unbewußt den Seelen, leuchten konnte?
Es weisen alle Zeichen auf die Mystik,
die in den Weiheorten heimisch war,
bevor Vernunft die Menschen lenken durfte.
Der Geistesbund, der uns berufen hat,
er will der Mystik Licht erstrahlen lassen
auf jenes Werk, das aus dem Menschendenken
die Geist-Erkenntnis kühn erstreben will.
Und wir, die jetzt an diesem Weiheorte
in schicksalsschwerer Stunde weilen dürfen,
wir sollen als die ersten Ungeweihten
den Gottesfunken überspringen sehen
von Geisteshöhen zu den Seelentiefen.
Marie Kühne:
Thomasius bedarf des Schutzes nicht,
der ihm vom Rosenkreuze zugedacht,
wenn er in wissenschaftlich ernster Art
den Seelenweg durch viele Erdenleben
und durch die Geistgebiete zeichnen kann.
Durch diese Tat ist jenes Höhenlicht,
zu dem die Mystentempel führen sollen,
auch jenen Menschen offenbar geworden,
die solcher Orte Schwelle meiden müssen.
Thomasius gebührt die Anerkennung,
die er so reichlich schon gefunden hat,
weil er dem Denken jene Freiheit gab,
die Mystenschulen ihm verwehren wollen.
Hermine Hauser:
Die Rosenkreuzer werden künftig nur
im Menschenangedenken leben können.
Was sie in diesem Augenblicke rufen,
das wird des Tempels Gründe untergraben,
wenn es der eignen Kraft bewußt sich wird.
Sie wollen mit Vernunft und Wissenschaft
die Weihestätten künftig kühn vereinen.
Drum wird Thomasius, dem sie so willig
in dieser Stunde ihren Tempel öffnen,
der Nachwelt als ihr Überwinder gelten.
Strader:
Ich bin getadelt worden, weil ich meine,
der handle gut, der sich bereit erklärt,
gemeinsam mit dem Mystenbund das Werk,
das durch Thomasius vollbracht, zu fördern.
Bedrückend fand ein Redner meine Ansicht,
da ich doch wissen müsse, wie gefährlich
die Mystik wahrer Seelenforschung ist.
Ich fühlte aber diese Geistesart
verständlich oft am besten, wenn ich ganz
dem Wesen mich ergab, das mich verband
mit Mechanismen, die ich selber schuf.
Die Art, wie ich zu meinen Werken stand,
sie zeigte mir der Weiheorte Wesen.
Und während meiner Arbeit dacht’ ich oft:
was kann ich einem Menschen sein, der nur
versucht zu wissen, wie die Kräfte wirken,
die ich dem Mechanismus eingepflanzt?
Und was dagegen bin ich einer Seele,
der ich mein Innres liebend öffnen darf?
Gedanken solcher Art verdanke ich,
daß mir die Lehren, die von Mysten stammen,
ihr wahres Wesen offenbaren konnten;
so weiß ich, ohne eingeweiht zu sein,
daß in den Weiheorten Götterseelen
den Menschenseelen liebend sich erschliessen.
Katharina Ratsam:
Die edlen Worte, welche Doctor Strader
soeben über Weiheorte sprach,
sie müssen Beifall auch bei Seelen finden,
die zwar der Pforte ferne bleiben mußten,
durch welche Eingeweihte schreiten dürfen,
die aber doch vertraut geworden sind
mit dem, was diese Eingeweihten lehren.
Daß unsre Väter sich dem Glauben neigten,
die Mysten seien wahren Lichtes Feinde,
ist zu verstehn. Es war ja ihrer Seele
verwehrt, auch nur zu ahnen, was die Tempel
geheimnisvoll in ihrem Innern bargen.
So ist es heute nicht. Die Mysten halten
ihr Licht nicht ganz verschlossen: sie verkünden
der Welt, was Ungeweihte wissen dürfen.
Und viele Seelen, welche dieses Licht
empfangen und in sich belebt schon haben,
Sie fühlten dies Erlebnis als Erwachen
der Seelenkräfte, die vorher von Schlaf
umfangen unbewußt im Innern wirkten.
Man hört dreimal klopfen.
Felix Balde:
Schon nahen uns die Herren dieses Ortes;
ihr werdet ihre Worte hören dürfen.
Nur jene Seelen werden sie jedoch
verstehen und in sich als Licht empfinden,
die nicht vom Vorurteil sich blenden lassen.
Die Kraft der Eingeweihten wird gewaltig
sich jetzt bezeugen, wo sie guten Willen
und Herzen findet, die bereit sich zeigen,
den Wahn zu opfern, wenn die Wahrheit strahlt;
doch wird sie wirkungslos sich dort erweisen,
wo sich der Wille schon im Wahn verhärtet
und so den Wahrheitssinn ertötet hat.
Ferdinand Reinecke:
Es mag der Mensch, wenn er durch Selbstbesinnung
in seinem Innern sich erkennen will,
ein solches Wort sich vor die Seele stellen.
Doch beim Erscheinen dieses Mystenbundes
ist’s besser wohl, man hält sich an Berichte,
die über solche Geistes-Bruderschaften
geschichtlich glaubhaft überliefert sind.
Und diese zeigen, wie gar viele Menschen
sich in die Weihetempel locken ließen,
wenn ihnen mit geheimnisvollen Worten
verkündet wurde, daß in diesen Tempeln
die Seele von den niedern Weisheitsgraden
zu höhern stufenweise sich erhebe
und so zuletzt die Geistesschau erhalte.
Wer solcher Lockung folgte, der erfuhr,
daß er in niedern Graden Zeichen sehen
und über deren Inhalt denken dürfe.
Er konnte hoffen, daß die höhern Grade
der Zeichen Deutung und damit die Weisheit
enthüllen würden. Doch erkannte er
in diesen höhern Graden, daß die Meister
gar wenig über diese Zeichen wußten,
und daß sie über Welt und Leben nur
bedeutungslose Worte offenbarten.
Wenn er durch diese Worte nicht betäubt,
und nicht der Eitelkeit verfallen war,
so wandte er sich von dem Treiben ab.
In dieser Stunde ist’s vielleicht doch gut,
nicht nur Erbauungsworte, sondern auch
Geschichtsberichte willig anzuhören.
Man hört nochmals dreimal klopfen.
Es tritt der Großmeister des Mystenbundes, Hilarius Gottgetreu, ein. Ihm folgen: Magnus Bellicosus, der 2. Praezeptor, Albert Torquatus, der erste Zeremonienmeister und Friedrich Trautmann, der zweite Zeremonienmeister. Die vorher versammelten Personen treten auseinander und gruppieren sich zu beiden Seiten des Saales.
Friedrich Trautmann, der 2. Ceremonienmeister:
Ihr lieben Freunde, dieser Augenblick,
der euch zum erstenmal mit uns vereint
an unsres Tempels uralt heil’ger Pforte:
er ist bedeutungsvoll für euch und uns.
Und daß wir unsern Ruf an euch gerichtet,
Ward durch die Zeichen streng uns auferlegt,
die unser hoher Meister schauen konnte
im weisheitsvollen Plan des Erdgeschehens.
Es ist in diesem deutlich vorgezeichnet,
daß sich in dieser Zeit verbinden müsse
der Weihetempel heil’ger Weisheitsdienst
mit allgemeinem Menschensinn, der fern
von Mystenpfaden nach der Wahrheit sucht.
Doch sagten auch des Weltenplanes Zeichen,
dass, ehe dieses sich vollziehen könne,
ein Mensch erst kommen müsse, der das Wissen,
das auf Vernunft und Sinn allein gegründet,
in solche Formen bringet, die vermögend sind,
die Geisteswelten wirklich zu begreifen.
Dies ist geschehen. Thomasius vermochte
der Wissenschaft, die unsre Zeit verlangt,
ein Werk zu liefern, das in ihrer Sprache
Beweise für die Geisteswerte bringt,
die man bisher auf Mystenpfaden nur
und in den Weihetempeln finden konnte.
Dies Werk, es soll das feste Band nun werden,
das euch mit uns im Geistesleben bindet.
Ihr werdet durch dies Werk erfahren können,
wie gut begründet unsre Lehren sind.
und dies wird euch die Kraft verleihn, von uns
auch jenes Wissen willig hinzunehmen,
das sich auf Mystenpfaden nur erschliesst.
So kann lebendig fruchtbar sich entfalten
das Leben, das den allgemeinen Sinn
mit Weihesitten schön zusammenschliesst.
Magnus Bellicosus, der 2. Praeceptor:
Des Bruders Worte durften euch verkünden,
daß ernste Weltenzeichen uns bewogen,
an unsres Tempels Schwelle euch zu rufen.
Der Meister wird sogleich durch seine Worte
des Rufes Sinn noch tiefer euch begründen.
Doch mir obliegt, soviel als nötig scheint,
von jenem großen Manne noch zu reden,
durch dessen Werk wir hier vereint uns finden.
Es war Thomasius der Malerei
ergeben, ehe er zur Wissenschaft
durch innren Geistesruf gedrängt sich fühlte.
Er konnte im Gebiete seiner Kunst
die großen Gaben, die ihm eigen waren,
entfalten erst, als er in Kreise trat,
die wahrer Mystik sich ergeben hatten,
und die ihn zu dem hohen Meister führten,
der ihm des Geistesschauens erste Schritte
im Sinne wahrer Weisheit zeigen konnte.
Er malte dann, in Geisteshöhn getragen
und in den Schöpfermächten sich erlebend,
die Bilder, die wie Wesen wirken konnten.
Was jeden andern Künstler wohl getrieben hätte,
auf dem betretnen Felde höchste Ziele,
sich klug begrenzend, kräftig anzustreben,
ihm war es Anlass nur, erworbnes Können
in solcher Art zu nutzen, die am besten
dem Menschenheile sich erweisen würde.
Es ward ihm klar, daß Geisteswissenschaft
nur wahrhaft gut begründet werden könne,
wenn Sinn für Wissenschaft und strenges Denken
durch Künstlergeist von steifer Formensucht
befreit und innerlich erkraftet werden
zum wahren weltverwandten Sein-Erleben.
So hat Thomasius das Künstlerschaffen,
das seinem Wesen hätte dienen können,
dem Geist der Menschheit willig hingeopfert.
Erkennt, o Freunde, dieses Mannes Wesen,
und ihr versteht den Ruf des Mystenbundes
und werdet nicht mehr zögern, ihm zu folgen.
Hillarius Gottgetreu, der Großmeister:
In jenes Geistes Namen, der den Seelen
in unserm Weiheorte sich verkündet,
erscheinen wir in diesem Augenblicke
vor Menschen, die bis jetzt nicht hören durften
das Wort, das hier geheimnisvoll erklingt.
Nicht allen Menschen konnten jene Mächte,
die unsres Erdenwerdens Ziele lenken,
im Urbeginn sich lichtvoll offenbaren.
Denn wie im Kinderleibe erst allmählich
die Kräfte reifen müssen und erstarken,
die zu des Wissens Trägern sind bestimmt,
so mußte sich als Ganzes auch entfalten
das Menschentum in seinem Erdenlauf.
In Dumpfheit lebten erst die Seelentriebe,
die später würdig sich erweisen sollten,
aus hohen Welten Geisteslicht zu schauen.
Doch wurden als der Menschen weise Führer
im Erdbeginn erhabne Geisteswesen
aus höhren Daseinsreichen abgesandt.
Sie pflegten in der Mystik Weihestätten
die Geisteskräfte, die geheimnisvoll
in Seelen sich ergossen, welche nichts
von ihren hohen Führern wissen konnten.
Und später konnten aus der Menschen Reihen
die weisen Meister sich die Schüler holen,
die durch entsagungsvolles Prüfungsleben
sich reif erwiesen, eingeweiht zu werden
in Mystenziele und in Weisheitslehren.
Und als der ersten Meister Schüler später
das edle Gut in Würde pflegen konnten,
da wandten die erhabnen Lehrer sich
zurück zu ihren eignen Lebenswelten.
Die Götterschüler wählten sich dann Menschen,
die ihnen folgen durften in der Pflege
des Geistesschatzes; und so ging es weiter
von einem Menschheitsalter hin zum andern.
Es sind bis jetzt ja alle Mystenschulen,
die dies in Wahrheit sind, gerecht entsprungen
der ersten, die von höhern Geistern stammt.
In Demut pflegen wir an diesem Orte,
was uns von unsern Vätern übertragen.
Wir werden niemals von Verdiensten sprechen,
die unsre Ämter uns erwerben liessen;
allein von Gnade hoher Geistesmächte,
die schwache Menschen sich zu Mittlern wählen
und ihnen jene Schätze anvertrauen,
die in der Seele Geisteslicht entbinden.
Zu diesen Schätzen euch, geliebte Freunde,
den Zugang zu eröffnen, ist an uns
in dieser Zeit; die Zeichen sind fürwahr
verheissungsvoll, die sich im Weltenplane
dem Geistesauge deutlich offenbaren.
Ferdinand Reinecke:
Ihr holt aus fernen Welten eure Gründe,
die uns beweisen sollen, daß wir uns
mit euch verbinden und dadurch dem Werke,
das von Thomasius der Welt geschenkt,
die rechte Wirkung erst verleihen sollen.
Wie schön auch klingen mag, was Ihr gesprochen,
es kann in schlichten Menschenherzen nicht
die Meinung übertönen, daß dies Werk
durch eigne Kraft sich wirksam zeigen werde,
wenn es enthält, was Menschenseelen brauchen.
Bedeutsam soll es sein, weil Wissenschaft
und nicht, was Mystik vorzubringen weiß,
in diesem Werk das Geisteswissen stützt.
Wie kann, wenn dies sich wirklich so verhält,
dem Werke nützen, wenn der Mysten Beifall
und nicht sein eigner Wert den Weg ihm bahnt?
Albert Torquatus, der 1. Zeremonienmeister:
Die Wissenschaft, die durch Thomasius
so gut begründet sich der Welt erschliesst,
sie selbst wird nicht gewinnen, noch verlieren
durch unsre und durch eure Anerkennung.
Doch kann durch sie der Weg gefunden werden,
auf dem die Menschen sich zur Mystik wenden.
Sie wird ihr Werk nur halb verrichtet haben,
wenn sie ein Ziel und nicht ein Weg will sein.
Es wird an euch nun liegen, zu verstehen,
daß jetzt der Augenblick gekommen ist,
Vernunft mit Mystenpfaden zu vereinen,
und so dem Geistesleben unsrer Welt
die Kraft zu geben, die nur wirken kann,
wenn sie zur rechten Zeit sich offenbart.
Der Vorhang fällt.
Scene One
A hall with an indigo blue background. It is intended as an antechamber to the rooms where a mystical society carries out its work. Twelve people are engaged in free conversation, all of whom are interested in one way or another in the endeavors of the mystical society. Also present: Felix Balde and Dr. Strader. The scenes depict events that take place about thirteen years after the time in which “The Gate of Initiation” is set.
Ferdinand Reinecke:
It is indeed a strange call
that unites us here at this hour.
It comes from people who, always separated
from all other children of the earth,
believe themselves worthy of special spiritual goals.
But now it should be clearly visible in the world plan
for their spiritual eyes to see
that they must connect with people
who, without consecration of their spiritual temple,
fight the battle of life through their own strength.
I have never been drawn to such a mindset,
which takes refuge in mystery.
I would like to stick to healthy thinking
and common human sense.
The spiritual alliance that now calls us
will not seek to elevate us
to initiates of its highest goals
through this call.
It will keep us in the outer space of its temple with mystically dark word formations,
and will only use our powers wisely as the voice of the people
to strengthen its will.
Thus we are to become merely blind helpers
to the people who, looking down on us from spiritual heights
with a leader's air,
They would not consider us mature enough
to take even a single step that could lead us
to the true treasures of their temple of consecration
and their spiritual light.
When I consider the true nature of the covenant,
all I see is arrogance and spiritual deception
cloaked in humility and the mantle of prophecy.
It would probably be best to avoid everything
that presents itself to us here as wisdom.
However, in order to avoid the appearance
that we are resisting without examination
the work that is so highly praised,
I would advise you to first listen
what this bearer of wisdom intends,
and then to follow true human sense.
Whoever chooses such sense as their guide
will not be able to succumb to the lure
that comes from the temple of the mystagogue.
Michael Edelmann:
What spiritual treasure is entrusted to those
who now want to find the bridge to us,
I do not know, I cannot even guess.
But I know many a noble man
who counts himself among this spiritual brotherhood.
They keep the source of knowledge strictly secret,
which is to be revealed to their souls;
But their deeds and their lives proclaim
that the source from which they draw must be good.
And everything that comes from their circles
bears the traits of true love.
So what motivated them must also be good,
to devote themselves to a very special work
for people who are unfamiliar with mystical paths,
but who trust in the soul's striving for truth
and the goals of genuine spiritual life.
Bernhard Redlich:
It seems to me that caution is the next duty here.
The mystics may well find the times approaching
that must bring an end to their rule.
In the future, reason will ask little of how temples of initiation rave about truth.
When goals of this kind call us to the covenant,
which seem wise to general thinking,
it is reasonable to join it.
But it is up to him to avoid the garb of mysticism,
if he wants to pass through the gate
that separates his place from the other world
like a sublime realm of light.
For this world will care little about what his servants consider themselves to be.
They will not be held in higher esteem
than the general judgment they appear to be.
Franziska Demut:
Much of what I hear here
sounds to me like the words of those people
who are blind to the true light of the spirit,
which has long since allowed the noble rays of wisdom
to stream from sacred places into the outside world
for the comfort and salvation of souls.
Only those who have allowed this light to illuminate their hearts
and warmly penetrate their souls
can recognize the true value of this hour.
It shall open the realm of serious mysticism
even to those who feel too weak
to receive the light of the spirit after severe trials of the soul
in high places of consecration.
Maria Treufels:
That many things will now have to change
in souls who strive to follow
the guidance in man's earthly journey,
many sure signs reveal.
But there is little to suggest that mystical paths
can lead to those goals
that bring strong powers to human souls.
It seems to me that our times call for leaders
who, in the use of natural powers,
can combine genius with skill
and who, working on earthly tasks,
feel themselves to be purposeful in the world.
That they seek roots in the mother soil of genuine reality
also for works of the spirit,
will allow such people, far from enthusiasm,
to walk the path of human salvation.
Feeling imbued with this opinion,
I recognize in Doctor Straders' nature
the powers that are truly better suited to spiritual guidance
than the mystics.
How long have we had to feel the pain
that the wonderful creations of technology
have imposed so many constraints
on the free spirit of the human soul.
But now a hope is opening up,
which no one could have dreamed of until recently.
In Strader's workplace,
the small-scale wonders are already taking effect,
which will soon transform all technology on a large scale
and free it from the heaviness
that still weighs on many souls today.
Doctor Strader:
Hopeful words have just been spoken
about the work that seems to me to have been successful.
Admittedly, it still has to cross the bridge
that leads from experiment to practical application,
but so far, the connoisseur's eye can only find
that everything proves to be technically possible.
May the discoverer of this work
be permitted to freely express
his opinion of his achievement.
May his words be forgiven,
which may seem immodest to some,
but which only seek to describe the feelings from which the power for his work flowed.
It is evident in the human journey on earth that all activity of feeling and soul
It is evident in man's earthly journey
that all activity of feeling and soul
is detached and falls into soulless existence,
the more the mind learns to master the powers it can find in the realm of the senses.
With each passing day, work that creates life values
flows more mechanically,
and with work, life itself.
the work that creates life values flows mechanically,
and with the work, life itself flows mechanically.
Much has been carefully thought out
that could prove truly effective,
so that cold technology and forms of work
do not paralyze the soul life of human beings
and the true goals of the spirit.
Little has been achieved by this endeavor,
which seemed to care only about one question:
how people should relate to each other.
I, too, spent many a serious hour
pondering this mystery of life.
But I always found that the fruit of my musings
contained nothing of true life values.
I felt close to the bitter opinion
that it was predestined in the fate of the world
that the triumphal march in the material realm
must be hostile to the development of the spirit.
What might seem a coincidence
brought me salvation from the confusion of my thoughts.
When I had to conduct experiments
that were truly far removed from such questions,
thoughts suddenly escaped my soul
that showed me the right path.
Then one experiment followed another,
until finally the harmony of forces
emerged on my work table,
which, once fully developed,
will bring, purely technically, that freedom
in which souls can unfold.
No longer will people be forced
to dream away their existence like plants
in cramped workplaces.
The forces of technology will be distributed in such a way
that every person can comfortably use
what they need for their work
in their own home, which they design themselves.
I had to speak of this hope first,
in order not to present, without good reason,
what I have to say about that call,
which the Rosicrucian Brotherhood
is now addressing to people outside their circle.
When human souls can first unfold fully
and find themselves in their own being,
then those impulses will work wonderfully,
that cause the spirit to strive eternally toward the spirit.
Therefore, only those who recognize how this call
corresponds to the signs we perceive
are thinking correctly now.
The spiritual brothers want to freely grant great treasures
to all people in the future,
because all people must demand them.
Felix Balde:
The words just spoken here
have been wrested from a soul
that has been allowed to gift our time
with true values of life in the realm of sensory existence.
No one in this field can wish to compete
with Doctor Strader today.
Now I myself have found, in completely different ways,
what the soul needs.
Therefore, allow me to say a few words.
Fate has clearly shown me
to seek the treasures that are revealed to people
within their souls.
And there I seemed to find the light of wisdom,
which can truly illuminate what is worth living for.
The mystical discipleship was given to me
in solitude and through contemplation.
And in this way I was able to learn
how everything that now makes man the ruler
in the realm of the senses,
only shapes them into blind beings
that take their path through darkness.
And even the treasures of knowledge that are released from matter
through the use of the senses and reason
are only groping in dark realms.
I know how only mystical paths
can lead to the true light of life.
I myself stood on such paths of truth,
as a human being who strove without outside help;
but this is not possible for all of humanity.
Sensory knowledge and intellectual thinking,
they truly resemble only a body
that must remain without soul content
if it wants to defiantly resist
the light that has been shining since the beginning of time
in sacred places of true mysticism.
Therefore, the hand that now offers itself from the temple
the hand that now offers itself from the temple,
at whose threshold bright roses of light
meaningfully adorn the symbol of death.
Luise Fürchtegott:
A person who feels the dignity of their soul
can only call upon their own judgment
if they want to know about the spirit and spiritual worlds
and truly find themselves in them.
Those who can surrender to external guidance
in blind faith must lose themselves.
Yes, even the light that one would like to feel within oneself
as the power of higher wisdom
deserves the spirit's recognition only
if its truth can be proven.
The light can become dangerous to people
if they want to bow to it without proof.
For all too often, on this path,
the soul sees only an image of the foundation of the world
that springs from its unconscious desire.
Friedrich Geist:
Every person should feel the urge
to truly understand the ways of the mystic.
It seems to me that delusion must find truth
in those who, even before they strive, have already formed the goal of their striving
in their souls.
But it is said of the mystic that he
relates to his goal of truth
like people who want to see the beauty of a distant view
from the summit of a mountain.
They wait until they reach the top,
and do not paint a picture in advance
of where their journey will lead them.
Ferdinand Reinecke:
At this hour, let us not ask
how man should relate to truth.
The brothers of the fraternity will certainly
not want to hear such things from us.
It has already reached my ears that an event of a very special kind
has forced the fraternity to think of us.
Thomasius, who many years ago
was part of a spiritual movement
that had surrendered to mystical goals,
understood how to use such forms of knowledge,
in which our time has confidence,
as a cloak to cover the wisdom
that is to be revealed to the initiated.
Through this process, he succeeded in
forcing widespread acclaim
for writings that borrow the appearance of logic
and yet contain only mystical enthusiasm.
Even researchers who must be considered serious
are enthusiastic about this man's message
and thus contribute to his fame,
which must be seen as growing dangerously.
The initiates fear this effect,
as it must destroy the opinion
that wisdom is only given to them.
Therefore, they strive to protect
what is spread by Thomasius.
They want to create the illusion that
they have known for a long time
that this message must now appear to the world
and serve their work in a planned manner.
If they succeed in cunningly ensnaring us
in their circles at this hour,
they will reveal to the world
that Thomasius, with his message,
was wisely sent by the powers of destiny,
so that even the common sense of mankind
must come to believe in its global significance.
Caspar Stürmer:
That this school of mysticism still
so boldly claims to guide humanity
shows how little respect it has
for everything that common sense
has been able to achieve for the true welfare of humanity,
since it can be considered proven that nature and the soul
can be explained purely mechanically.
And it is quite depressing for free thinking
that such a bright mind as Doctor Strader
can show himself inclined toward mystical delusion.
Anyone who masters the mechanism of forces in this way
should not lack the insight into how necessary the science of the soul is
proves to be the destruction of all mysticism.
He should see in the false science
that Thomasius is now proclaiming to the world
how even the greatest acumen
can succumb to wild fantasy
as soon as it falls victim to that delusion.
If, instead of mystical art, Thomasius
had prepared himself for his work
through the strict discipline of natural thinking,
his gifts would certainly have brought him
many noble fruits of knowledge.
But on his path, only
fatal error could unfold.
Such an error may seem quite useful to the intellectual community
for its goals.
It finds recognition through the appearance
that science has now strictly proven
what human souls dream of as knowledge.
Georg Wahrmund:
When someone can utter such words,
which one has just had to hear with pain,
it clearly shows how little developed
in our time is still that insight
which flows from the course of spiritual life.
Let us turn our gaze to the past
and examine what lived in human souls
before science, which is now flourishing,
could even reveal itself as a seed.
One will then find that the Mystic Brotherhood
is accomplishing a deed at this hour
that is predestined in the world plan.
One had to expect the great work
that Thomasius has now accomplished.
The path is new, on which the light of the spirit
is to shine in him upon the human soul.
But this light already worked in everything
that humans were ever allowed to create on earth.
But where was the source of this light,
which could shine, unconsciously to the souls?
All signs point to mysticism,
which was at home in the places of consecration
before reason was allowed to guide people.
The spiritual union that has called us
wants to let mysticism shine its light
on that work which, out of human thinking,
boldly strives for spiritual knowledge.
And we, who are now allowed to dwell in this sacred place
in this fateful hour,
we, as the first uninitiated,
shall see the spark of God leap
from the heights of the spirit to the depths of the soul.
Marie Kühne:
Thomasius does not need the protection
intended for him by the Rosicrucians,
if he can scientifically and seriously
chart the soul's path through many earthly lives
and through the spiritual realms.
Through this act, that light of the heights,
to which the mystery temples are supposed to lead,
has also become apparent to those people
who must avoid the threshold of such places.
Thomasius deserves the recognition
he has already found so abundantly,
because he gave thinking that freedom
which the mystery schools seek to deny it.
Hermine Hauser:
In future, the Rosicrucians will only
be able to live on in human memory.
What they are calling for at this moment
will undermine the foundations of the temple
when it becomes aware of its own power.
They want to boldly unite the sacred sites in the future with reason and science.
Therefore, Thomasius, to whom they so willingly
open their temple at this hour,
will be regarded by posterity as their conqueror.
Strader:
I have been rebuked because I believe
that he is acting well who agrees
to promote, together with the Mystic League, the work
accomplished by Thomasius.
One speaker found my view depressing,
since I must surely know how dangerous
the mysticism of true soul-searching is.
But I felt that this way of thinking
understandably best when I completely
surrendered myself to the being that connected me
with mechanisms that I myself created.
The way I stood by my works
was shown to me by the beings of the sacred sites.
And while I was working, I often thought:
What can I be to a person who only
tries to know how the forces work
that I have implanted in the mechanism?
And what, on the other hand, am I to a soul
to whom I may lovingly open my inner being?
I owe thoughts of this kind
to the fact that the teachings that come from mystics
were able to reveal their true nature to me;
so I know, without being initiated,
that in the places of consecration, divine souls
lovingly open themselves to human souls.
The noble words that Doctor Strader
just spoke about places of consecration
must also find approval among souls
who had to remain far from the gate
through which initiates are allowed to pass,
but who have nevertheless become familiar
with what these initiates teach.
That our fathers were inclined to believe
that the Mystics were enemies of true light
is understandable. For their souls were
denied even the slightest inkling of what the temples
secretly held within them.
This is not the case today. The Mystics do not
their light completely hidden: they proclaim
to the world what the uninitiated are allowed to know.
And many souls who have received this light
and already have it alive within them,
felt this experience as an awakening
of the powers of the soul, which previously, enveloped by sleep,
worked unconsciously within.
Three knocks are heard.
Felix Balde:
The lords of this place are already approaching us;
you will be allowed to hear their words.
However, only those souls
who are not blinded by prejudice will understand them
those who are not blinded by prejudice.
The power of the initiated will now manifest itself mightily
where it finds good will
and hearts that are willing to sacrifice delusion when truth shines forth;
but it will prove ineffective where
where the will has already hardened in delusion
and thus killed the sense of truth.
Ferdinand Reinecke:
When a person wants to recognize himself within himself through self-reflection,
he may place such a word before his soul.
But with the appearance of this mystical brotherhood,
it is better to stick to reports
that have been historically reliably handed down about such spiritual brotherhoods.
And these show how many people
allowed themselves to be lured into the temples of initiation
when they were told in mysterious words
that in these temples
the soul would rise step by step from the lower degrees of wisdom
to higher ones
and thus ultimately attain spiritual vision.
Those who followed such enticements learned
that in the lower degrees they could see signs
and were allowed to think about their content.
They could hope that the higher degrees
would reveal the interpretation of the signs and thus wisdom.
But in these higher degrees, they realized
that the masters knew very little about these signs
and that they revealed only meaningless words about the world and life.
and that they revealed only meaningless words about the world and life.
If they were not numbed by these words
and did not succumb to vanity,
they turned away from the hustle and bustle.
At this hour, it is perhaps good
to listen willingly not only to words of edification, but also to historical accounts.
historical accounts.
There is another knock three times.
The Grand Master of the Mystic Order, Hilarius Gottgetreu, enters. He is followed by Magnus Bellicosus, the second preceptor, Albert Torquatus, the first master of ceremonies, and Friedrich Trautmann, the second master of ceremonies. The people who were gathered before disperse and group themselves on both sides of the hall.
Friedrich Trautmann, the second master of ceremonies:
Dear friends, this moment,
which unites you with us for the first time
at the ancient sacred gate of our temple:
it is significant for you and for us.
And that we have addressed our call to you
was strictly imposed on us by the signs
which our high master could see
in the wise plan of earthly events.
It is clearly marked in this plan
that in this time the consecrated temple of sacred wisdom
must unite
with the general human mind, which seeks the truth far from mystical paths.
But the signs of the world plan also said
But the signs of the world plan also said
that before this could be accomplished,
a person must first come who would take the knowledge
based solely on reason and meaning
and put it into forms capable of truly comprehending the spiritual worlds.
This has happened. Thomasius was able to provide science,
which our time demands, with a work that, in its language,
This has happened. Thomasius was able to
provide science, which our time demands,
with a work that, in its language,
provides evidence of spiritual values
that until now could only be found on mystical paths
and in temples of initiation.
This work shall now become the strong bond
that binds you to us in spiritual life.
Through this work you will be able to learn
how well-founded our teachings are.
And this will give you the strength to willingly accept from us
even that knowledge
which can only be gained on mystical paths.
Thus can unfold in a living and fruitful way
the life that beautifully unites the general meaning
with consecrated customs.
Magnus Bellicosus, the 2nd Praeceptor:
The brother's words were allowed to proclaim to you
that serious signs from the world have moved us
to call you to the threshold of our temple.
The Master will immediately explain to you
the deeper meaning of this call through his words.
But it is my duty to say as much as seems necessary
about that great man
whose work has brought us together here.
Thomasius was devoted to painting
before he felt compelled by an inner calling
to devote himself to science.
It was only when he entered circles
devoted to true mysticism
that he was able to unfold the great gifts
that were his own in the field of his art,
and who led him to the great master,
who was able to show him the first steps
of spiritual insight in the sense of true wisdom.
Carried away by spiritual heights
and experiencing himself in the creative powers,
he then painted pictures that could appear as beings.
What would have driven any other artist
to strive vigorously for the highest goals in the field he had entered,
limiting himself wisely,
was for him only an occasion to use his acquired skills
in such a way that would best
prove beneficial to humanity.
It became clear to him that spiritual science
could only be truly well-founded
if a sense of science and rigorous thinking
were freed from rigid formalism by artistic spirit
and internally strengthened
to a true world-related experience of being.
Thus Thomasius willingly sacrificed his artistic creativity,
which could have served his nature,
willingly sacrificed to the spirit of humanity.
Recognize, O friends, the essence of this man,
and you will understand the call of the Mystic Brotherhood
and will no longer hesitate to follow it.
Hillarius Gottgetreu, the Grand Master:
In the name of that spirit who proclaimed to the souls
in our place of consecration,
we appear at this moment
before people who until now were not allowed to hear
the word that resounds here mysteriously.
Not all people could see those powers
that guide the goals of our earthly existence
revealed in light at the very beginning.
For just as in the child's body,
the powers that are destined to be the bearers of knowledge
must gradually mature and grow stronger,
so too must humanity as a whole unfold
in its earthly journey.
At first, the soul's impulses lived in dullness,
which later proved themselves worthy
to behold the light of the spirit from higher worlds.
But when wise leaders of humanity
were sent from higher realms of existence
at the beginning of the Earth,
They cultivated in mystical sanctuaries
the spiritual powers that mysteriously
poured into souls who could know nothing
of their high leaders.
And later, from among the ranks of humanity,
the wise masters were able to choose disciples
who, through a life of renunciation and trials,
proved themselves ready to be initiated
into mystical goals and wisdom teachings.
And when the first masters' disciples were later
able to cultivate the noble gift with dignity,
the exalted teachers turned
back to their own realms of existence.
The divine disciples then chose people
who were allowed to follow them in cultivating
the treasure of the spirit; and so it continued
from one age of humanity to the next.
To this day, all mystery schools
that are truly such have rightly sprung
from the first, which originated from higher spirits.
In humility, we cultivate in this place
what has been passed down to us from our fathers.
We will never speak of merits
that our offices have earned us;
only of the grace of higher spiritual powers,
who choose weak humans as mediators
and entrust them with those treasures
which give birth to spiritual light in the soul.
It is up to us, beloved friends,
to open up access to these treasures
at this time; the signs are truly
promising, clearly revealing themselves
to the spiritual eye in the world plan.
Ferdinand Reinecke:
You draw your reasons from distant worlds,
which are supposed to prove to us that we should
connect with you and thereby give the work
that Thomasius has given to the world
its true effect.
However beautiful your words may sound,
it cannot drown out the opinion in simple human hearts
that this work
will prove effective through its own power,
if it contains what human souls need.
It should be significant because science
and not what mysticism has to offer
supports spiritual knowledge in this work.
If this is really the case, how can
it benefit the work if the mystic's applause
and not its own value paves the way for it?
Albert Torquatus, the 1st Master of Ceremonies:
The science that Thomasius
has so well established for the world
will neither win nor lose
through our and your recognition.
But through it, the path can be found
on which people turn to mysticism.
It will have only half accomplished its work
if it wants to be a goal and not a path.
It will now be up to you to understand
that now is the moment has come
to unite reason with mystical paths,
and thus give the spiritual life of our world
the power that can only work
when it reveals itself at the right time.
The curtain falls.
