Four Mystery Plays
GA 14
The Soul's Awakening
Scene 9
A study in Hilary's house. A general atmosphere of seriousness pervades the room. Maria alone in meditation.
Maria:
A starry soul, on yonder spirit-shore,
Draws near,—draws near me clad in spirit-light,
Draws near with mine own self, and as it nears—
Its radiance gains in power,—and gains in calm.
O star within my spirit-circle, what
Doth thine approach shed on my gazing soul?
(Astrid appears to right.)
Astrid:
Perceive that which I now can bring to thee;
From cosmic strife 'twixt darkness and the light
I stole thy power of thought I bring it now
From out its cosmic midnight's wakening
With service true back to thine earthly form.
Maria:
My Astrid, thou hast ever till to-day
Appeared to me as shining shadow-soul;
What turns thee now to this bright spirit-star?
Astrid:
I kept the lightning's and the thunder's power
For thee, that they might stay within thy soul,
And now thou canst behold them consciously—
When of the cosmic midnight thou dost think.
Maria:
The cosmic midnight!—Ere for this earth-life
My self enclosed me in my body's sheath,
In Saturn's coloured light kept endless watch!
Mine earthly thoughts concealed from me before
This spirit scene in soul-obscurity
Now in soul clarity it doth emerge.
Astrid:
Thyself in cosmic light didst speak these words:
‘Of thee, Duration, would I crave a boon
Pour out thyself into this blessedness
And let my guide, and let that other soul
Now dwell with me therein in peacefulness.’
Maria:
Dwell with me also. O thou moment blest,
In which this spirit happening creates
New powers of self. Equip my soul with strength
That thou mayst not pass from me like a dream.
In light which on the cosmic midnight shines,
Which Astrid brings from soul-obscurity,
Mine ego joins that self which fashioned me
To serve its purpose in the cosmic life.
But how, 0 moment, can I hold thee fast,
So that I do not lose thee when once more
My senses feel earth clearness once again?
Their power is great; and often, if they slay
The spirit-vision, it stays dead e'en when
The self in spirit finds itself again.
(Immediately after the last words, as if summoned by them, Luna appears.)
Luna:
Preserve, before the sense-life once again
Makes thee to dream, the power of thine own will
With which this moment hath presented thee.
Think of the words that I myself did speak
When at the cosmic midnight seen by thee.
Maria:
My Luna, from the cosmic midnight thou
Hast brought me hither mine own power of will
To be my prop throughout my life on earth.
Luna:
The Guardian's warning followed thus my words:
‘Then shalt thou see thyself in other guise,
E'en in a picture of an olden time,
And know how strength for lofty spirit-flight
E'en from disaster may the soul's wings gain.
A soul may never wish itself to fall;
Yet, when it falls it must a lesson learn.’
Maria:
Whereto doth thy word's power now carry me?
A spirit-star on yonder shore of souls!
It gleams, it draweth nigh—in spirit-form;
Draws nigh with mine own self; and, as it nears,
The light grows denser and within the light
Forms darken, taking on their being's shape!
A youthful mystic, and a sacred flame,
The stern call of the highest hierophant
To tell the vision seen within the flame!
The group of mystics overcome with fear
At that young mystic's self-acknowledgment.
(The Guardian of the Threshold appears while the latter sentences are being uttered.)
The Guardian:
Hear once again within thy spirit-ear
The stern call of the highest hierophant.
Maria:
‘O human soul, read now what through the flame
(Benedictus appears.)
The cosmic word declares within thyself.’
Who spoke the words my thought brings back to me,
Recalling them from waters of the soul?
Benedictus:
With mine own words thou callest me to thee.
When in times past I uttered this command,
It did not find thee ready to respond.
And so it stayed in evolution's womb;
The course of time kath lent new force thereto
Which flowed therein from out thine own soul's life;
And so it wrought in later lives on earth
In thy soul's depth although thou knew'st it not.
It let thee find me as thy guide again;
By conscious thought it now transforms itself
Into a powerful motive in thy life.
‘This holy mystic rite, which we perform,
Hath not importance for ourselves alone;
Fate's stream of cosmic evolution pours
Through word and deed of sacred priestly rites.’
Maria:
Thou didst not speak this word within that place.
The hierophant did speak, who used to be
Thy colleague in that ancient mystic band.
He knew e'en then that powers of destiny
Foresaw the ending of this mystic band.
Unconsciously the hierophant beheld
The beauteous rising of the rosy dawn
Which to the spirit-stream of earth foretold
A new sun over Hellas should arise.
So he forbore to send the powerful thought
Which he should have directed to my soul.
The cosmic spirit's instrument was he
At that initiation, during which
He heard the whispering stream of cosmic life.
He spoke a word from out his inmost soul
‘One thing especially I deeply feel:
The solitude of this stern spirit-shrine.
Why do I feel so lonely in this place?’
Benedictus:
In his soul there was planted even then
The germ of solitude, which later on
Matured to soul-fruit in the womb of time.
This fruit Capesius as mystic now
Must taste, and so must follow Felix' steps.
Maria:
That woman, too, who near the temple stayed,
I see her as she was in olden time,
But not yet can my vision penetrate
To where she is; how can I find her then
When sense-life causeth me to dream again?
The Guardian:
Thou wilt discover her when thou dost see
That being in the realm of souls whom she
Doth count a shade amongst the other shades.
She seeks to reach it with strong power of soul.
She will not free it from the world of shades
Till in her present body, through thine aid,
She hath beheld her long past life on earth.
Maria:
Like some soul-star my highest guardian glides,
In glowing light toward my shore of souls;—
His light spreads peace, far round the wide flung space;—
His light hath grandeur;—and his dignity
Makes strong my being in its inmost depth;
In this peace will I now submerge myself;—
I feel before that through it I shall find
My way to fullest spirit-wakefulness.
And ye, too, messengers into my soul—
I'll keep within myself as beacon-lights.
Upon thee, Astrid, will I call when thought
Would from soul-clearness fain withdraw itself.
And thee, O Lima, may my prayer then find
When will-power slumbers deep in my soul depth.
The curtain falls while Maria, Astrid, and Luna are still in the room
Neuntes Bild.
Ein kleines, ernst stimmungsvolles Zimmer, – wie ein Studierzimmer – im Hause des Hilarius. – Zunächst Maria allein in Meditation.
Maria:
Ein Seelenstern, am Geistesufer dort, ‒
er nahet, ‒ nahet mir in Geisteshelle,
mit meinem Selbste nahet er, ‒ im Nahen ‒
gewinnt sein Licht an Kraft, ‒ an Ruhe auch.
Du Stern in meinem Geisteskreise, was
erstrahlt dein Nahen meiner Seelenschau?
(Es erscheint Astrid.)
Astrid:
Erkenne, was ich dir verleihen darf;
dem Weltenkampf des Lichts mit Finsternissen
entwand ich deines Denkens Kraft; ich bring’
sie dir aus Weltenmitternachterwachen
in deine Erdenform getreu zurück.
Maria:
Du, meine Astrid, warst bisher mir stets
als leuchtend’ Seelenschatten nur erschienen;
was schafft dich mir zum hellen Geistesstern?
Astrid:
Die Blitz- und Donnerkraft erhielt ich dir,
daß sie im Seelensein bewahrt dir blieb, ‒
und du sie wissend jetzt erschauen kannst, ‒
erinnernd dir die Weltenmitternacht.
Maria:
Die Weltenmitternacht! ‒ bevor die Hülle
zu diesem Erdeleben mir das Selbst
umschloss; ‒ im Farbenlicht Saturns durchwacht!
Das Erdendenken hüllte mir bisher
dies Geisterlebnis in die Seelentrübnis; ‒ ‒
es steigt empor zur Seelenhelle jetzt.‒ ‒
Astrid:
Du sprachst im Weltenlichte selbst das Wort:
»O Zeitendauer, ich erflehe mir:
ergiesse dich in diese Seligkeit,
und lass’ den Führer, lass’ die andre Seele
mit mir in dir jetzt friedevoll verweilen.«
Maria:
Verweile du auch mir, O Augenblick,
der mir dies Geistgeschehn als Kraft des Selbst
erschaffen durfte. Rüste meine Seele,
daß du mir nicht, dem Traume gleich, entschwindest. ‒
Im Licht, das Weltenmitternacht erleuchtet,
das Astrid mir aus Seelentrübnis schafft,
vereint mein Ich sich jenem Selbst, das mich
im Weltenwesen sich zum Dienst erschuf.
Doch wie erhalt’ ich dich, du Augenblick,
daß ich dich nicht verliere, wenn die Sinne
um mich die Erdenhelle wieder fühlen?
Denn groß ist ihre Kraft; ertöten sie
das Geistgeschaute, ‒ ist es oft auch tot,
wenn sich das Selbst im Geiste wiederfindet.
(Auf die letzten Worte hin erscheint, wie durch diese gerufen, Luna.)
Luna:
Bewahre dir, bevor das Sinnensein
dich wieder träumend macht, die Willenskraft,
die dieser Augenblick dir schaffen durfte.
Gedenk’ der Worte, die ich selber sprach,
als du zur Weltenmitternacht mich sahst.
Maria:
Du, meine Luna, hast die Willenskraft
mir aus der Weltenmitternacht hieher
als Stütze in das Erdesein gebracht.
Luna:
Es folgte meinem Wort des Hüters Mahnung:
»Du wirst jetzt anders vor dir selber stehn;
in ältrer Zeiten Bild dein Selbst erschauen.
Erkennen, wie zum Geisteshöhenflug
die Schwingen auch im Seelensturz erstarken;
es darf die Seele niemals stürzen wollen;
doch muß sie Weisheit aus dem Sturze holen.«
Maria:
Wohin entführt mich deines Wortes Kraft?
Ein Geistesstern am Seelenufer dort! ‒
Er leuchtet, ‒ nahet sich ‒ als Geistgestalt;
mit meinem Selbste ‒ nahet er, ‒ im Nahen
gewinnt das Licht an Dichte. ‒ Formen, die
im Licht sich dunklen, wesenhaft sich gebend ‒!
Ein junger Myste, eine Opferflamme,
des höchsten Opferweisen streng Gebot,
der Flamme Inhalt sinngemäß zu künden!
‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒
Der Mystenkreis, von Schrecken ganz verwirrt,
ob jenes jungen Mysten Selbstbekenntnis!
(Der Hüter der Schwelle erscheint während der letzten Sätze.)
Der Hüter:
Im Geistgehör ergründe dir auch noch
des höchsten Opferweisen streng’ Gebot.
Maria:
»So lies, du Menschenseele, was die Flamme
im Weltenwort als Innres dir verkündet.»
Wer sprach das Wort, das mir mein eignes Denken
erinnernd aus den Seelenfluten trägt?
(Benedictus erscheint nach den ersten Sätzen.)
Benedictus:
Mit meinem Worte riefst du mich zu dir. ‒
Als ich dies Wort vor Zeiten dir gebot:
es fand dich nicht zum Folger mir bereit.
Es ruhte dann im Schoss des Weltgeschehns;
der Zeiten Länge hat ihm Kraft verliehn,
die ihr aus deiner Seele Leben floss;
so wirkte dir’s in spätern Erdeleben
in deinen Seelentiefen unbewußt.
Es ließ dich mich als Führer wiederfinden.
Es schafft sich jetzt bewußt gedankenhaft
in dir zum starken Lebensinhalt um.
»Was wir als mystisch Weihewerk vollbringen,
Bedeutung hat es doch nicht hier allein;
es geht des Weltgeschehens Schicksalsstrom
durch Wort und Tat des ernsten Opferdienstes.«
Maria:
Nicht du sprachst dieses Wort an jenem Orte;
der Opferweise sprach’s, der dir Gefährte
in jenem alten Mystenbunde war.
Daß dieses Bundes Ende Schicksalsmacht
in jener Zeit schon vorgesehn, war ihm
bekannt. ‒ Des schönen Scheines Morgenröte
erschaut’ der Opferweise unbewußt,
die über Hellas eine neue Sonne
dem Geistesstrom der Erde vorverkündet’.
So unterdrückte er Gedankenmacht,
die er in meine Seele lenken sollte.
Er diente als des Weltengeistes Werkzeug
bei jenem Weihewerk, durch welches er
des Weltgeschehens Strömung raunen hörte.
Er sprach ein Wort aus tiefstem Seelengrunde:
»Ich lerne sie fürwahr hier tief erkennen:
die Einsamkeit am ernsten Geistesort.
Warum bin ich an diesem Ort allein?«
Benedictus:
In seiner Seele keimte so der Trieb
nach Einsamkeit; es reifte dieser Keim
im Zeitenschoss zur Seelenfrucht sich aus.
Capesius erlebt die Frucht als Myste;
sie trieb ihn, Felix’ Vorbild nachzufolgen.
Maria:
Doch jene Frau, die in des Tempels Näh’
sich hielt; ich schaue sie in alter Zeit,
doch dringt mein Blick in ihre Gegenwart
noch nicht; wie find ich sie, wenn Sinnensein
mich wieder träumend macht?
Der Hüter:
Du wirst sie finden,
wenn du im Seelenreich das Wesen schaust,
das sie als Schatten unter Schatten ahnt.
Sie strebt nach ihm mit starker Seelenkraft.
Sie wird es aus dem Schattenreich erst lösen,
wenn sie durch dich in ihrer Gegenwart
ihr langvergangnes Erdensein erschaut.
Maria:
Es schwebt als Seelenstern der ernste Hüter
nach meinem Seelenufer leuchtend hin ‒;
sein Leuchten breitet Ruhe weit im Weiten ‒ ‒,
Erhabenheit entstrahlet ihm; ‒ sein Ernst
durchkraftet mich im tiefsten Wesensgrunde;
ich will in diese Ruhe untertauchen ‒ ‒;
ich fühl’ es vor, ich werde mich durch sie
zum vollen Geisteswachen führen können.
Ich werde euch, ihr meine Seelenboten ‒ ‒ ‒
als Leuchtesterne mir im Sein erhalten ‒ ‒.
Dich, Astrid, will ich rufen, wenn Gedanken
der Seelenhelle sich entwinden wollen. ‒
Und dich, O Luna, mög’ mein Wort mir finden,
wenn Willensmacht in Seelentiefen schläft. ‒
(Der Vorhang fällt, während Maria, Astrid und Luna noch im Zimmer sind.)
Scene Nine
A small, solemn room, like a study, in Hilarius' house. At first, Maria is alone in meditation.
Maria:
A star of the soul, there on the shore of the spirit, ‒
it approaches, ‒ approaches me in spiritual light,
it approaches with my self, ‒ in its approach ‒
its light gains in power, ‒ and in tranquility too.
You star in my circle of spirit, what
illuminates your approach to my soul's vision?
(Astrid appears.)
Astrid:
Recognize what I may bestow upon you;
from the world's struggle of light with darkness
I have taken the power of your thoughts; I bring
it back to you faithfully from the midnight awakening of the worlds
into your earthly form.
Maria:
You, my Astrid, have always appeared to me
as a shining shadow of the soul;
what makes you a bright star of the spirit?
Astrid:
I received the power of lightning and thunder for you,
so that it would remain preserved in your soul, ‒
and you can now see it knowingly, ‒
remembering the midnight of the worlds.
Maria:
The midnight of the world! ‒ Before the shell
Enclosed my self
In this earthly life; ‒ Awake in the colored light of Saturn!
Earthly thinking has hitherto enveloped
This spiritual experience in the gloom of the soul; ‒ ‒
it now rises to the brightness of the soul. ‒ ‒
Astrid:
You spoke the word yourself in the light of the world:
"O duration of time, I implore you:
pour yourself into this bliss,
and let the guide, let the other soul
with me now dwell peacefully in you."
Maria:
Dwell with me too, O moment,
which allowed me to create this spiritual event as the power of the self.
Prepare my soul,
that you may not vanish from me like a dream. ‒
In the light that illuminates the midnight of the world,
which Astrid creates for me out of the gloom of my soul,
my ego unites with that Self which created me
in the being of the world to serve it.
But how do I preserve you, O moment,
that I may not lose you when the senses
feel the brightness of the earth around me again?
For great is their power; they destroy
what the spirit has seen, ‒ it is often dead,
when the self finds itself again in the spirit.
(At the last words, Luna appears, as if summoned by them.)
Luna:
Before the senses
make you dream again, preserve the willpower
that this moment has allowed you to create.
Remember the words I myself spoke
when you saw me at midnight of the world.
Maria:
You, my Luna, brought the willpower
from the midnight of the world here
as a support in earthly existence.
Luna:
It followed my word of the guardian's warning:
“You will now stand differently before yourself;
in older times, behold the image of yourself.
Recognize how, in the flight of the spirit,
the wings are strengthened even in the fall of the soul;
the soul must never want to fall;
but it must draw wisdom from the fall.”
Maria:
Where does the power of your words carry me?
A star of the spirit on the shore of the soul there! ‒
It shines, ‒ approaches ‒ as a spirit form;
with my self ‒ it approaches, ‒ in the nearness
the light gains in density. ‒ Forms that
dark in the light, giving themselves as beings ‒!
A young mystic, a sacrificial flame,
the strict commandment of the highest sacrifice,
to proclaim the meaning of the flame!
‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒
The circle of mystics, completely confused by terror,
whether that young mystic's self-confession!
(The Guardian of the Threshold appears during the last sentences.)
The Guardian:
In your spiritual hearing, also fathom
the strict commandment of the highest form of sacrifice.
Maria:
"So read, O human soul, what the flame
proclaims to you as your innermost being in the word of the world."
Who spoke the word that carries my own thoughts
from the floods of my soul, reminding me?
(Benedictus appears after the first sentences.)
Benedictus:
With my words you called me to you. ‒
When I commanded you this word long ago:
it did not find you ready to follow me.
It then rested in the bosom of world events;
the length of time has given it power,
which flowed from the life of your soul;
so it worked in your later earthly life
unconsciously in the depths of your soul.
It let you find me again as your guide.
It now consciously creates itself in your thoughts
into a strong purpose in life.
"What we accomplish as a mystical consecration,
it has meaning not only here;
it flows through the stream of world events
through the words and deeds of solemn sacrifice."
Maria:
It was not you who spoke these words in that place;
it was the sacrificer who spoke them, your companion
in that ancient mystical covenant.
That the end of this covenant, the power of fate,
was already foreseen at that time, was known to him.
The sacrificial rite unconsciously beheld
the beautiful dawn
that heralded a new sun over Hellas
to the spiritual stream of the earth.
So he suppressed the power of thought
that he was supposed to direct into my soul.
He served as the instrument of the world spirit
in that consecration work, through which he
heard the murmurings of the world's events.
He spoke a word from the depths of his soul:
“I truly learn to recognize it deeply here:
the solitude in the serious place of the spirit.
Why am I alone in this place?”
Benedictus:
Thus the urge for solitude germinated in his soul;
this seed matured
in the womb of time into the fruit of the soul.
Capesius experiences the fruit as mystical;
it drove him to follow Felix's example.
Maria:
But that woman who kept herself near the temple
; I see her in ancient times,
but my gaze does not yet penetrate her presence
; how will I find her when being conscious
makes me dream again?
The Guardian:
You will find her
when you see the being in the realm of the soul
that she senses as a shadow among shadows.
She strives for him with strong soul power.
She will only release it from the realm of shadows
when, through you, she sees in her presence
her long-past earthly existence.
Maria:
The solemn guardian floats like a soul star
towards the shore of my soul, shining;
its light spreads calm far and wide ‒ ‒,
sublimity radiates from it; ‒ its seriousness
penetrates me to the deepest core of my being;
I want to immerse myself in this calm ‒ ‒;
I feel it coming, I will be led by it
to full spiritual awakening.
I will keep you, my soul messengers ‒ ‒ ‒
as shining stars in my being ‒ ‒.
I will call you, Astrid, when thoughts
want to escape the brightness of the soul. ‒
And you, O Luna, may my words find me,
when the power of will sleeps in the depths of the soul. ‒
(The curtain falls while Maria, Astrid, and Luna are still in the room.)