Four Mystery Plays
GA 14
The Soul's Awakening
Scene 13
A large reception room in Hilary's house. As the curtain rises Hilary and Romanus are in conversation.
Hilary:
I must with grief confess to thee, dear friend,
That this fate's tangle, which is forming here
Within our circle, well-nigh crusheth me.
On what can one rely, when nothing holds?
The friends of Benedictus are by thee
Kept far from our endeavours; Strader, too,
Is torn by bitter agonies of doubt.
A man who, full of shrewdness and of hate,
Hath oft opposed the mystic life and aims,
Hath pointed out grave errors in his plans
And shewn that his invention cannot work,
And is not only stopped by outward checks.
Life hath not brought me any ripened fruit;
I longed for perfect deeds. And yet the thoughts
That bring deeds unto ripeness never came.
My soul was ever plagued by loneliness.
By spirit-sight alone was I upborne.
And yet;—in Strader's case I was deceived.
Romanus:
I often felt as though some gruesome shape
Was pressing painfully upon my soul
Whene'er thy words were in the course of life
Shown to be naught but errors and mistakes
And as the spirit-sight appeared as false,
My mystic master did this shape become
Within me and did set a feeling free
Which now enables me to give thee light.
Too blindly hast thou trusted spirit-sight;
And so as error it appears to thee
When it doth surely lead thee to the truth.
In Strader's case thy sight was true, despite
The things this super-clever man hath shown.
Hilary:
Thy faith still doth not waver, and thou hast
The same opinion now of Strader's work?
Romanus:
The reasons whereon I did build it up
Have naught to do with Strader's friends at all
And still are valid, whether his machine
Prove itself true or faulty in design.
Supposing he hath made an error; well,
A man through error finds the way to truth.
Hilary:
The failure then doth not affect thee—thee
To whom life hath brought nothing but success?
Romanus:
Those who do not fear failure will succeed.
It only needs an understanding eye
To see what bearing mysticism has
Upon our case, and forthwith there appears
The view that we should take of Strader's work.
He will come off victorious in the fight
Which flings the spirit-portals open wide;
Undaunted by the watchman will he stride
Across the threshold of the spirit-land.
My soul hath deeply realized the words
Which that stern Guardian of the threshold spake.
I feel him even now at Strader's side.
Whether he sees him, or toward him goes
Unknowing, this indeed I cannot say;
But I believe that I know Strader well.
He will courageously make up his mind
That self-enlightenment must come through pain;
The Will shall ever bear him company
Who bravely goes to meet what lies before,
And, fortified by Hope's strength-giving stream,
Doth boldly face the pain,which Knowledge brings.
Hilary:
My friend, I thank thee for these mystic words.
Oft have I heard them; now for the first time
I feel the secret meaning they enfold.
The cosmic ways are hard to comprehend—
My portion, my dear friend, it is to wait
Until the spirit points me out the way
Which is appropriate unto my sight.
(Exeunt left.)
(Enter Capesius and Felix Balde, shown In by Secretary, on right.)
Secretary:
I think that Benedictus will return
Sometime to-day from off his journey; but
He is not here at present; if thou com'st
Again to-morrow thou shouldst find him here.
Felix Balde:
Can we then have a talk with Hilary?
Secretary:
I'll go and ask him now to come to you.
(Exit)
Felix Balde:
A vision of deep import hast thou seen.
Couldst thou not tell it to me o'er again?
One cannot apprehend such things aright
Till they are fully grasped by spirit-sight.
Capesius:
It came this morning, when I thought myself
Wrapt in the stillness of the mystic mood.
My senses slept, and with them memory.
To spirit things alone was I alive.
At first I saw naught but familiar sights.
Then Strader's soul came clearly into view
Before mine inner eye, and for a while
Stood silent, so that I had ample time
To make sure I was awake.
But soon I also heard him clearly say
‘Abandon not the real true mystic mood.’
As if the sound came from his inmost soul.
He then continued, with sharp emphasis:
‘To strive for naught, but just to live in peace:
Expectancy the soul's whole inner life:—
That is the mystic mood. And of itself
It wakes, unsought amid the stream of life,
Whene'er a human soul is rightly strong
And seeks the spirit with all-powerful thought.
This mood comes often in our stillest hours
Yet also in the heat of action; then
It's only will is that the soul should not
By thoughtlessness withdraw and fail to heed
The tender sight of spirit happenings.’
Felix Balde:
Like to the very echo of my words
This utt'rance sounds,—yet not quite what I meant.
Capesius:
On close consideration one might find
The opposite of thine own words therein,—
And more distinctly doth this fact appear
When we give heed to this his further speech
‘Whoever falsely wakes the mystic mood
It leads his inmost soul but to himself.
And weaves betwixt himself and realms of light
The dark veil of his own soul's enterprise.
If this thou wouldst through mysticism seek
Mystic illusion will destroy thy life.’
Felix Balde:
This can be nothing else than words of mine
By Strader's spirit-views transformed; in thee
They echo as a grievous mystic fault.
Capesius:
Moreover Strader's final words were these:
‘A man can not attain the spirit-world
By seeking to unlock the gates himself.
Truth doth not sound within the soul of him
Who only seeks a mood for many years.’
(Philia appears, perceptible only to Capesius; Felix Balde shows that he does not comprehend what follows.)
Philia:
Capesius, if soon thou markest well
What in thy seeking comes to thee unsought,
'Twill strengthen thee with many-coloured light;
In pictured being it will pierce thee through
Since thy soul-forces show it unto thee.
That which thy self's sun-nature rays on thee
By Saturn's ripened wisdom will be dulled;
Then to thy vision will there be disclosed
That which in earth-life thou canst comprehend.
Then I will lead thee to the Guardian
Who on the spirit-threshold keeps his watch.
Felix Balde:
From circles which I know not issue words.
Their sound awakes no being full of light,
And so they are not fully real to me.
Capesius:
The hint which Philia hath given me
Shall be my guide so that from this time forth
In spirit too may be revealed what I
Already as a man upon the earth,
Can find within the circuit of my life.
Curtain
Dreizehntes Bild.
Größeres Empfangszimmer im Hause des Hilarius. Beim Aufgehen des Vorhangs Hilarius und Romanus miteinander im Gespräch.
Hilarius:
Ich muß Euch schmerzvoll sagen, lieber Freund,
daß mich der Schicksalsknoten, der sich hier
in unserm Kreise formt, beinah’ zerdrückt.
Worauf noch soll man bau’n, wenn alles wankt?
Des Benedictus Freunde sind durch Euch
von unsrem Ziele ferngehalten; Strader
beschwert sich nun mit bittren Zweifelqualen. ‒
Ein Mann, der oft mit Klugheit und mit ‒ Hass
dem Mystenstreben sich entgegenstellte,
hat ihm beweisen können, daß er sich
mit seinem Mechanismus stark verirrt;
daß dieser an sich selbst nicht möglich ist,
nicht nur durch äußern Widerstand gehemmt. ‒
Mir hat das Leben keine Frucht gebracht;
nach Taten sehnt’ ich mich. ‒ Gedanken, die
sie reifen konnten, fehlten mir doch immer.
Die Seelenöde quälte mich recht herbe.
Nur meine Geistesschau erhielt mich stets.
Und doch, ‒ sie konnte mich bei Strader täuschen.
Romanus:
Oft fühlte ich, als ob sich mir ein Alp
recht schmerzlich auf die Seele legen wollte,
wenn eure Worte durch den Lauf der Dinge
sich als ein schwerer Irrtum zeigen konnten,
und so die Geistesschau als Trug erschien.
Der Alp ward mir zum innern Mystenmeister;
er hat in mir ein Fühlen losgelöst,
das mir das Urteil jetzt erleuchten kann. ‒ ‒
Ihr habt der Geistesschau zu blind vertraut;
so kann sie euch als Irrtum da erscheinen,
wo sie euch doch gewiß zum Wahren führte.
Bei Strader habt Ihr recht geschaut, trotz allem,
was jener überkluge Mann erwiesen.
Hilarius:
So wankt jetzt Euer Glaube nicht; Ihr hält
die Meinung fest, die Ihr von Strader hattet?
Romanus:
Ich hab’ sie mir aus Gründen doch gebildet,
die nichts zu tun mit Straders Freunden haben,
und sie bestehn, ob sich sein Mechanismus
als richtig oder fehlerhaft erweist.
hat er mit ihm sich auch getäuscht, nun wohl,
es muß der Mensch durch Irrtum Wahrheit finden.
Hilarius:
Der Mißerfolg beirrt Euch nicht, ‒ Euch, dem
Erfolge nur das Leben stets gebracht?
Romanus:
Erfolge hat, wer Mißerfolg nicht fürchtet.
Man soll die Mystik doch nur sinngemäss
für unsern Fall verstehn; und sie bezeugt
recht klar, was man von Strader denken muß.
Der wird als Sieger sich bewähren können
im Kampfe, der die Geistespforten öffnet;
er wird am Wächter kühn vorüber schreiten,
der vor des Geisterlandes Schwelle steht.
Ich hab’ in meiner Seele wohl durchfühlt
das Wort vom strengen Hüter an der Schwelle. ‒
Ich ahne ihn an Straders Seite jetzt.
ob er ihn schaut, ob er ihm unbewußt
sich naht, ich kann es wahrlich nicht ergründen;
doch Strader glaub’ ich gut genug zu kennen.
Der wird sich mutvoll zu der Einsicht wenden,
daß Selbsterkenntnis Schmerzen zeugen muß.
Es wird der Wille ihm Genosse werden,
der mutig sich der Zukunft übergibt
und durch der Hoffnung Kräftequell gestärkt
Erkenntnisschmerzen sich entgegenstellt.
Hilarius:
Habt Dank, mein Freund, für diese Mystenworte.
Ich habe sie schon oft gehört; jetzt erst
erfühle ich, was sie geheim enthalten.
Der Welten Wege sind nur schwer ergründlich. ‒
Und mir, mein lieber Freund, geziemt zu warten,
bis mir der Geist die Richtung zeigen will,
die meinem Schauen angemessen ist.
(Hilarius und Romanus gehen nach der rechten Seite ab. Es treten von links ein
Capesius und Felix Balde; der Sekretär führt sie in das Zimmer.)
Der Sekretär:
Ich meinte, Benedictus werde heute
von seiner Reise wiederkommen, doch
jetzt ist er noch nicht hier; Ihr werdet ihn
wohl treffen, wenn Ihr morgen Euch bemüht.
Felix Balde:
So können wir Freund Gottgetreu wohl sprechen?
Der Sekretär:
Ich will ihm sagen, daß er kommen möge.
(Sekretär geht ab.)
Felix Balde:
Was Ihr erlebt, ist wahrlich tief bedeutsam.
Könnt’ Ihr mir nicht Erzähltes wiederholen?
Man wertet diese Dinge doch nur richtig,
wenn man sie ganz genau im Geist erfaßt.
Capesius:
Es war an diesem Morgen, als ich mich
der Mystenstimmung nahe glauben konnte;
die Sinne schwiegen; auch Erinn’rung schwieg.
Erwartend lebt’ ich nur dem Geistgeschehn.
Es kam zuerst, was mir schon gut bekannt.
Dann aber stand ganz deutlich Straders Seele
in meiner Geistesschau. Erst sprach er nicht;
ich hatte Zeit, mein Wachen zu besinnen.
Doch bald vernahm ich auch sein Wort ganz klar.
»Entfernt Euch nicht von wahrer Mystenstimmung«,
So klang es wie aus seinen Seelentiefen.
Dann sagte er, die Worte scharf betonend:
»Erstreben nichts; ‒ nur friedsam ruhig sein,
der Seele Innen-Wesen ganz Erwartung ‒ ‒:
das ist die Mystenstimmung. ‒ Sie erweckt
sich selbst ‒ ganz ungesucht im Lebensstrom,
wenn sich die Menschenseele recht erkraftet, ‒
wenn sie gedankenkräftig geistig sucht.
Die Stimmung kommt in stillen Stunden oft,
doch auch im Tatensturm; sie will dann nur,
daß nicht gedankenlos die Seele sich
dem zarten Schau’n des Geistgeschehns entzieht.«
Felix Balde:
Wie meiner eignen Worte Widerhall
erklingt dies fast, ‒ doch nicht im vollen Sinne.
Capesius:
Wenn man es recht bedenkt, so könnte man
den Gegensinn auch eurer Worte finden. ‒
Und vollends ist man dieser Deutung nah’,
wenn man erwägt, was er noch weiter sprach.
»Wer Mystenstimmung aber künstlich weckt,
der führt sein Innres nur in sich hinein;
er webt sich vor das Lichtesreich fürwahr
des eignen Seelenwirkens Finsternis.
Wer durch die Mystik dieses suchen will,
ertötet sich mit Mystenwahn das Schauen.«
Felix Balde:
Nichts andres kann dies sein, als meine Worte
durch Straders Geistesart verkehrt, in Euch
als schlimmer Mystenirrtum widerklingend.
Capesius:
Auch waren Straders letzte Worte diese:
»Es kann der Mensch die Geisteswelt nicht finden,
wenn er sie suchend sich erschliessen will.
In jener Seele tönt die Wahrheit nicht,
die nur durch viele Jahre Stimmung sucht.«
(Philia erscheint, nur für Capesius wahrnehmbar; Felix Balde zeigt
durch seine Haltung, daß er das Folgende nicht erfaßt.)
Philia:
Capesius, wenn bald du achten wirst,
was ungesucht im Suchen sich dir weist,
wird dich der vielen Farben Licht erkraften;
es wird dich bilderwesenhaft durchdringen,
weil dir’s die Seelenkräfte offenbaren.
Was deines Selbstes Sonnenwesen strahlt,
wird dir Saturns gereifte Weisheit dämpfen.
Es wird sich deinem Schauen dann enthüllen,
was du als Erdenmensch begreifen kannst.
Ich werde dich dann selbst zum Hüter führen,
der an des Geistes Schwelle Wache hält. ‒
Felix Balde:
Es tönen Worte aus mir fremden Kreisen.
Ein leuchtend Sein erzeugt ihr Tönen nicht,
so sind sie mir nicht völlig wesenhaft.
Capesius:
Die Weisung, welche Philia mir gibt,
sie soll mich führen, daß in Zukunft mir
im Geiste auch sich offenbaren mag,
Was ich begreiflich schon als Erdenmensch
in meinem Lebenskreise finden kann.
(Vorhang fällt.)
Scene Thirteen
Large reception room in Hilarius's house. When the curtain rises, Hilarius and Romanus are talking to each other.
Hilarius:
I must tell you, dear friend, with great pain,
that the knot of fate that is forming here
in our circle is almost crushing me.
What can we still build on when everything is shaking?
Benedictus' friends are being kept away from our goal by you;
Strader is now complaining with bitter doubts. ‒
A man who often opposed mystical pursuits with wisdom and with ‒ hatred
A man who often opposed mysticism with wisdom and ‒ hatred
has been able to prove to him that he is greatly mistaken
with his mechanism;
that it is not possible in itself,
not only hindered by external resistance. ‒
Life has brought me no fruit;
Life has brought me no fruit;
I longed for deeds. ‒ Thoughts that
could mature were always lacking in me.
The desolation of my soul tormented me bitterly.
Only my spiritual vision sustained me.
And yet, ‒ it could deceive me in Strader's case.
Romanus:
I often felt as if a nightmare
wanted to weigh heavily on my soul,
when your words, through the course of events,
could prove to be a grave error,
and thus spiritual insight appeared to be a deception.
The nightmare became my inner mystic master;
it unleashed a feeling in me
that can now enlighten my judgment. ‒ ‒
You trusted spiritual insight too blindly;
so it may appear to you as an error,
when in fact it certainly led you to the truth.
You were right about Strader, despite everything
that clever man proved.
Hilarius:
So now your faith does not waver; you hold
fast to the opinion you had of Strader?
Romanus:
I formed it for reasons
that have nothing to do with Strader's friends,
and they remain valid whether his mechanism
proves to be correct or flawed.
If he was mistaken in using it, well,
man must find truth through error.
Hilarius:
Does failure not dissuade you, you who
have always enjoyed success in life?
Romanus:
Success comes to those who do not fear failure.
One should only understand mysticism in the sense
in our case; and it testifies
quite clearly what one must think of Strader.
He will prove himself the victor
in the battle that opens the gates of the spirit;
he will boldly pass the guardian
who stands before the threshold of the spirit realm.
I have felt deeply in my soul
the words of the stern guardian at the threshold. ‒
I sense him now at Strader's side.
Whether he sees him, whether he unconsciously
approaches him, I truly cannot fathom;
but I believe I know Strader well enough.
He will courageously turn to the realization
that self-knowledge must cause pain.
His will become his companion,
bravely surrendering to the future
and strengthened by the source of hope's power,
he will face the pain of knowledge.
Hilarius:
Thank you, my friend, for these mysterious words.
I have heard them many times before; only now
do I feel what they secretly contain.
The ways of the world are difficult to fathom.
And it befits me, my dear friend, to wait
until the spirit shows me the direction
which is appropriate for my vision.
(Hilarius and Romanus exit to the right. Capesius and Felix Balde enter from the left; the secretary leads them into the room.)
The secretary:
I thought Benedictus would return from his journey today,
but he is not here yet; you will probably meet him
if you try again tomorrow.
Felix Balde:
So we can speak faithfully to our friend?
The secretary:
I will tell him to come.
(Secretary exits.)
Felix Balde:
What you have experienced is truly profound.
Could you repeat what you have told me?
One can only judge these things correctly
if one grasps them precisely in one's mind.
Capesius:
It was this morning when I could believe myself close to the mystical mood;
my senses were silent; even my memory was silent.
I lived expectantly only for the spiritual event.
First came what was already well known to me.
But then Straders' soul stood quite clearly
in my spiritual vision. At first he did not speak;
I had time to reflect on my waking state.
But soon I heard his words quite clearly.
“Do not stray from the true mystical mood,”
it sounded as if from the depths of his soul.
Then he said, emphasizing the words sharply:
"Strive for nothing; ‒ just be peacefully calm,
the soul's inner being completely expectant ‒ ‒:
that is the mystical mood. ‒ It awakens
itself ‒ completely unsought in the stream of life,
when the human soul is truly empowered, ‒
when it seeks spiritually with powerful thoughts.
The mood often comes in quiet hours,
but also in the storm of action; then it only wants
that the soul does not thoughtlessly
withdraw from the delicate vision of spiritual events."
Felix Balde:
This almost sounds like an echo of my own words,
but not in the full sense.
Capesius:
If you think about it carefully, you could
also find the opposite meaning in your words. ‒
And one is quite close to this interpretation
when one considers what he said further.
"But whoever artificially awakens a mystical mood
only leads his inner self into himself;
he truly weaves before the realm of light
the darkness of his own soul's workings.
Whoever seeks this through mysticism
Those who seek this through mysticism
kill their vision with mystical delusion."
Felix Balde:
This can be nothing other than my words
twisted by Straders' mindset, echoing in you
as a terrible mystical error.
Capesius:
Strader's last words were also these:
“Man cannot find the spiritual world
if he seeks to open it up to himself.
The truth does not resound in that soul
which seeks only through many years of mood.”
(Philia appears, visible only to Capesius; Felix Balde's posture shows
that he does not understand what follows.)
Philia:
Capesius, if you will soon pay attention
to what reveals itself to you unsought in your search,
the light of many colors will empower you;
it will permeate you like an image,
because the powers of the soul reveal it to you.
What shines from the solar being of your self
will be tempered by Saturn's mature wisdom.
It will then reveal itself to your gaze,
what you can comprehend as an earthly human being.
I will then lead you myself to the guardian,
who stands guard at the threshold of the spirit. ‒
Felix Balde:
Words from circles foreign to me resound.
Their sound does not create a luminous being,
so they are not completely essential to me.
Capesius:
The instruction that Philia gives me,
it shall guide me, so that in the future
may also be revealed to me in spirit,
what I can already comprehend as an earthly human being
in my circle of life.
(Curtain falls.)