Four Mystery Plays
GA 14
The Soul's Awakening
Scene 14
The same. Hilary's Wife in conversation with the Manager.
Hilary's Wife:
That fate itself doth not desire the deed
Which yet my husband thinks imperative,
Seems likely when one views the tangled threads
This power doth weave to form the knot in life,
Which holds us here in its compelling bonds.
Manager:
A knot of fate indeed, which truly seems
Unable to be loosed by human sense—
And so, I take it, it must needs be cut.
I see no other possibility
Than that the strand which links thy husband's life
To mine must now at last be cut in twain,
Hilary's Wife:
What! Part from thee!—My husband never will.
'Twould go against the spirit of the house
Which by his own dear father was inspired
And which the son will faithfully uphold.
Manager:
But hath he not already broken faith?
The aims that Hilary hath now in view
Can surely not be found along the road
On which his father's spirit ever walked.
Hilary's Wife:
My husband's happiness in life now hangs
On the successful issue of these aims.
I saw the transformation of his soul
As soon as, like a lightning flash, the thought
Illumined him. He had found hitherto
Nothing in life but sad soul-loneliness,
A feeling which he was at pains to hide
E'en from the circle of his closest friends
But which consumed him inwardly the more.
Till then he deemed himself of no account
Because thoughts would not spring up in his soul
Which seemed to him to be of use in life.
But when this plan of mystic enterprise
Then stood before his soul, he grew quite young,
He was another man, a happy man;
This aim first gave to him a worth in life.
That thou couldst e'er oppose him in his work
Was inconceivable till it occurred.
He felt the blow more keenly than aught else
That in his life hath yet befallen him.
Couldst thou but know the pain that thou hast caused,
Thou wouldst not surely be so harsh with him.
Manager:
I feel as if my manhood would be lost
If I should set myself to go against
Mine own convictions.—I shall find it hard
To do my work with Strader at my side.
Yet I decided I would bear this load
To help Romanus, whom I understand
Since he concerning Strader spake with me.
What he explained became the starting-point
For me of mine own spirit-pupilship.
There was a power that flamed forth from his words
And entered actively within my soul;
I never yet had felt it so before.
His counsel is most precious, though as yet
I cannot understand and follow it;
Romanus only cares for Strader now;
He thinks the other mystics by their share
Not only are a hindrance to the work
But also are a danger to themselves.
For his opinion I have such regard
That I must now believe the following:
If Strader cannot find a way to work
Without his friends, 'twill be a sign of fate,—
A sign that with these friends he must abide,
And only later fashion faculties,
Through mystic striving for some outward work.
The fact that recently he hath become
More closely knit to them than formerly,
Despite a slight estrangement for a while,
Makes me believe that he will find his place
Within this state of things, though it involves
A failure, for the present, of his aims.
Hilary's Wife:
Thou see'st the man with only that much sight
With which Romanus hath entrusted thee;
Thou shouldst gaze on him with unbiased eye.
He can so steep himself in spirit-life
That he appears quite sundered from the earth.
Then spirit forms his whole environment
And Theodora liveth then for him.
In speaking with him it appears as if
She too were present. Many mystics can
Express the spirit-message in such words
As bring conviction after careful thought;
What Strader says strikes home e'en as he speaks;
One sees that he sets little store upon
Mere inward spirit-life that is content
With feelings only; the explorer's zeal
Doth ever prove his guide in mystic life.
And so his mystic aims do not destroy
His sense for scientific schemes which seem
Both practical and useful for this life.
Try to perceive-this faculty in him,
And thou shalt learn his judgment of his friends
Is far more weighty than the adverse views
Romanus hath acquired of their worth.
Manager:
In such a case as this, so far removed
From all the vista of my usual thought,
The judgment of Romanus seems to me
Some solid ground to stand on. If, myself,
I enter realms to mysticism near,
I surely need such guidance as indeed
A man can only give me who can win
My confidence by so much of himself
As I myself can fully comprehend.
(Enter the Secretary.)
Thou looks't distracted, friend; what is thy news?
Secretary (hesitatingly):
Good doctor Strader died a few hours since.
Manager:
Died?—Strader?
Hilary's Wife:
What. Not Strader dead?—Where now Is Hilary?
Secretary:
He is in his own room.
He seemed quite stricken when the messenger
First brought the news to him from Strader's house.
(Exit Hilary's Wife, followed by the Secretary.)
Manager (alone):
Dead—Strader! Is this reality?
Or has the dreaded spirit sleep o'ercome me?
The fate which here doth guide
The threads of life wears now a serious face.—
O little soul of mine, what mighty hand
Hath now laid hold upon thy thread of fate,
And given it a part within this knot.
‘But that which must will surely come to pass!’
Why is it that these words have never left
My mind since Strader spake them long ago
When talking with myself and Hilary?—
As if they reached him from another world
So did they sound;—he spake as if entranced,—
What is to come to pass?—Right well I know
The spirit-world laid hands upon me then.
Within those words there sounds the spirit-speech—
Sounds earnest—; how can I its meaning learn?
Curtain
Vierzehntes Bild.
Dasselbe Zimmer wie im vorigen Bilde. Im Beginne der Szene
die Frau des Hilarius im Gespräch mit dem Bureauchef.
Frau Hilarius:
Als ob das Schicksal selbst die Tat nicht wünschte,
die meinem Gatten doch notwendig dünkt,
so scheint es fast, ‒ bedenkt man, wie verworren
die Fäden sind, die diese Macht zum Knoten
des Lebens spann, der uns hier fest umschliesst.
Bureauchef:
Zum Schicksalsknoten, der dem Menschensinn
zunächst unlösbar wahrlich scheinen kann. ‒ ‒
‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒
So wird er wohl zerschnitten werden müssen. ‒
‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒
Ich sehe keine andre Möglichkeit,
als daß der Schnitt sich zwischen Ihres Gatten
und meinem Lebenskreise jetzt ergibt. ‒ ‒
Frau Hilarius:
Von Euch sich trennen, ‒ niemals wird’s mein Gatte, ‒
dem Geist des Hauses widerspräche dies,
der noch vom teuren Vater sich bewahrt,
und dem der Sohn die Treue halten will.
Bureauchef:
Ist diese Treue denn nicht schon gebrochen?
Die Ziele, die Hilarius sich setzt,
sie liegen in der Richtung sicher nicht,
die jener Geist für sich stets nehmen wollte.
Frau Hilarius:
Es hängt jetzt meines Gatten Lebensglück
von dieses Ziels Gelingen völlig ab.
Ich sah, wie seine Seele sich verwandelt’,
nachdem gedankenblitzeshaft es sich
in ihm erzeugt. ‒ Das Leben brachte ihm
nur trübe Seelenöde, die er sorgsam
dem nächsten Freundeskreise selbst verbarg,
die um so stärker ihm am Innern zehrte.
Er fand vorher sich nichtig, weil Gedanken
in seiner Seele nicht erkeimen wollten,
die ihm des Lebens wert erscheinen konnten.
Als dann der Plan der Mystentätigkeit
vor dieser Seele stand, ward er verjüngt;
ein andrer Mensch, stets froh; ‒ er fühlte sich
mit diesem Ziele erst des Lebens würdig. ‒ ‒
Daß Ihr Euch ihm entgegenstellen könntet:
es lag ihm fern, zu denken, bis er’s sah.
Dann traf es ihn, wie kaum vorher ein Schlag
in seinem Leben ihn getroffen hat.
O wüsstet Ihr, was er durch Euch erleidet,
ihr würdet sicher eure Härte mildern.
Bureauchef:
Mich meiner Überzeugung widersetzen,
mir schien’s, als ob die Menschenwürde mir
verloren ginge. ‒ Strader an die Seite
gestellt mich sehn, wird mir bedrückend sein;
doch ich entschloss mich, diese Last zu tragen,
weil sie Romanus stützt, den ich versteh’,
Seit er von Strader mir gesprochen hat.
was er mir sagen konnte, ist für mich
der Anfang meiner eignen Geistesschulung.
Aus seinen Worten flammte eine Kraft;
die ging in meine Seele wirksam über;
ich hatte sie vorher noch nie gefühlt.
Gewichtig muß sein Rat mir sein, auch wenn
ich ihm noch nicht verstehend folgen kann.
Romanus tritt allein für Strader ein;
der andern Mysten Anteil an dem Werk
erscheint ihm nicht nur diesem hinderlich;
er hält ihn für die Mysten selbst gefährlich.
So viel ist mir Romanus’ Meinung wert,
daß ich jetzt glauben muß, wenn Strader nicht
zur Tat sich findet ohne seine Freunde,
dies ihm ein Schicksalszeichen werden müsse.
Es zeigt, daß er an dieser Freunde Seite
verbleiben, und aus seinem Mystenstreben
erst später Triebe für die äussre Tat
sich schaffen solle. Daß er diesen Freunden
in letzter Zeit viel näher steht als je,
nachdem sie kurze Zeit ihm fremder waren,
erzeugt in mir den Glauben, daß er sich
in seine Lage finden werde, selbst
wenn er sein Ziel für jetzt verloren sähe.
Frau Hilarius:
Ihr seht den Mann mit jenem Blicke nur,
den Euch Romanus hat erschließen können.
Ihr solltet unbefangen ihn betrachten.
Er kann dem Geistesleben sich ergeben,
daß er der Erde ganz entrückt erscheint.
Dann ist der Geist ihm volle Gegenwart.
Ihm ist dann Theodora noch im Leben.
Man spricht mit ihm, als hätte man auch sie
sich gegenüber. Viele Mysten können
die Geistesbotschaft wohl in Worte prägen,
die nachbedacht die Überzeugung schaffen;
was Strader spricht, es wirkt im Sprechen selbst.
Man sieht, daß er bloss innres Geist-Erleben,
das sich im Fühlen schon befriedigt weiß,
gering nur schätzt, daß er dem Forschertrieb
als Myste stets die Führung übergibt.
Deshalb verwirrt er auch durch Mystik nicht
den Sinn für Wissenschaft, die praktisch sich
dem Leben dienstbar zeigt. ‒ Versucht doch dies
an ihm zu sehn, und lernt durch ihn dann auch,
daß man sein Urteil über seine Freunde
wird höher als das andre schätzen müssen,
das sich Romanus hat erwerben können.
Bureauchef:
Mir ist in dieser Lage, die ganz fern
dem Kreise mir gewohnten Denkens liegt,
Romanus’ Urteil wie der feste Boden,
auf dem ich stehen kann. ‒ Begeb’ ich mich
in ein Bereich, das mich der Mystik nähert,
so brauch’ ich wahrlich solcher Führung, die
doch nur ein Mensch mir bieten kann, der mir
Vertrauen abgewinnt durch das, was ich
von seinem Wesen voll verstehen kann.
(Der Sekretär tritt ein.)
Bureauchef:
Ihr kommt verstört, mein Freund, was ist geschehn?
Sekretär (zögernd):
Es starb vor wenig Stunden Doktor Strader.
Bureauchef:
Gestorben Strader?
Frau Hilarius:
Strader tot! ‒ ‒ Wo ist
Hilarius?
Sekretär:
Er ist auf seinem Zimmer ...
Wie wenn die Botschaft ihn gelähmt, die man
ihm eben aus der Wohnung Straders brachte,
(Die Frau des Hilarius geht ab, der Sekretär folgt ihr.)
Bureauchef (allein):
Gestorben Strader! ‒ Ist dies Wirklichkeit?
‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒
Berührt der Geistesschlaf mich schon, von dem
ich viel gehört? ‒ Ein ernstes Antlitz zeigt
die Schicksalsmacht, die hier die Fäden lenkt.
O, meine kleine Seele, welche Kraft
ergriff wohl deinen Schicksalsfaden jetzt,
daß er an diesem Knoten Anteil hat?
‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒
Es wird geschehen, was geschehen muß!
‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒
Warum verliessen diese Worte mich
seit jener Stunde nicht, in der sie Strader
vor Gottgetreu und mir gesprochen hat?
Wie wenn sie ihm aus andrer Welt gekommen,
so klangen sie; ‒ wie geistentrückt gesprochen! ‒
Was sollte denn geschehn? ‒ Ich fühle wohl,
die Geisteswelt hat damals mich ergriffen.
In jenem Worte ‒ klingt mir ihre Sprache ‒;
sie klingt mir ernst; ‒ wie lern’ ich sie verstehn?
(Der Vorhang fällt.)
Scene Fourteen
The same room as in the previous scene. At the beginning of the scene, Hilarius's wife is talking to the bureau chief.
Mrs. Hilarius:
As if fate itself did not want the deed,
which seems necessary to my husband,
it almost seems, considering how tangled
the threads are that this power has spun into the knot
of life that binds us here.
Head of the Bureau:
The knot of fate, which to human understanding
at first glance. ‒ ‒
‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒
So it will have to be cut. ‒
‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒
I see no other possibility
than that the cut now falls between your husband's
and my circle of life. ‒ ‒
Mrs. Hilarius:
Separate from you, ‒ my husband would never do that, ‒
it would contradict the spirit of the house,
which is still preserved by his dear father,
and to which his son wants to remain faithful.
Head of the Bureau:
Hasn't this loyalty already been broken?
The goals that Hilarius has set himself
are certainly not in the direction
that this spirit always wanted to take.
Mrs. Hilarius:
My husband's happiness in life now
depends entirely on the success of this goal.
I saw how his soul was transformed
after a flash of inspiration
arose in him. ‒ Life brought him
only a bleak spiritual wasteland, which he carefully
hid even from his closest friends,
and which consumed him all the more inside.
He had previously found himself empty, because thoughts
that could make life seem worthwhile to him
would not take root in his soul.
When the plan of mystical activity
came before this soul, he was rejuvenated;
a different person, always happy; he felt
worthy of life only with this goal.
That you could oppose him:
it was far from his mind to think so until he saw it.
Then it struck him like hardly any blow
in his life had ever struck him before.
Oh, if you knew what he suffers through you,
you would surely soften your harshness.
Bureau chief:
To oppose my convictions,
it seemed to me as if my human dignity
would be lost. ‒ Seeing Strader at my side
will be oppressive for me;
but I decided to bear this burden,
because it supports Romanus, whom I understand,
since he told me about Strader.
What he was able to tell me is, for me,
the beginning of my own spiritual training.
A power flared from his words;
it passed effectively into my soul;
I had never felt it before.
His advice must be important to me, even if
I cannot yet follow it with understanding.
Romanus stands up for Strader alone;
the other Mystics' involvement in the work
not only seems to him to be a hindrance;
he considers it dangerous for the Mystics themselves.
Romanus' opinion is so valuable to me
that I now have to believe that if Strader does not
find himself capable of action without his friends,
this must be a sign of fate.
It shows that he should remain at his friends' side
and only later allow his mystical aspirations
to drive him to external action.
. The fact that he has been much closer to these friends
lately than ever before,
after they had been strangers to him for a short time,
makes me believe that he will find himself
in his situation, even
if he sees his goal as lost for now.
Mrs. Hilarius:
You see the man only with that gaze
that Romanus has been able to reveal to you.
You should look at him impartially.
He can surrender himself to spiritual life,
so that he appears completely detached from the earth.
Then the spirit is fully present to him.
Then Theodora is still alive to him.
One speaks to him as if one were also speaking to her.
Many mystics can express the spiritual message in words that,
when reflected upon, create conviction;
what Strader says has an effect in the very act of speaking.
One sees that he is merely experiencing the inner spirit,
which is already satisfied in feeling, and considers it insignificant
that he always surrenders to the urge to explore as a mystic.
which is already satisfied in feeling,
and that he values little the fact that,
as a mystic, he always surrenders leadership to the urge to explore.
Therefore, he does not confuse the sense of science, which is practically
useful in life, with mysticism. ‒ Try to see this
in him, and you will learn through him
that one must value one's judgment of one's friends
in him, and learn through him
that one must value his judgment of his friends
more highly than the other
that Romanus has been able to acquire.
Bureau chief:
In this situation, which is very far
from my usual way of thinking,
Romanus' judgment is like solid ground
on which I can stand. ‒ When I enter
a realm that brings me closer to mysticism,
I truly need such guidance, which
only a person who gains my trust
through what I can fully understand
about his nature can offer me.
(The secretary enters.)
Head of the Bureau:
You seem upset, my friend, what has happened?
Secretary (hesitantly):
Dr. Strader died a few hours ago.
Bureau chief:
Strader died?
Mrs. Hilarius:
Strader dead! ‒ ‒ Where is
Hilarius?
Secretary:
He's in his room ...
As if paralyzed by the news that
has just been brought to him from Strader's apartment,
Bureau chief (alone):
Strader is dead! Is this real?
‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒
Am I already touched by the spiritual slumber of which
I have heard so much? ‒ A serious countenance reveals
the power of fate that pulls the strings here.
O, my little soul, what force
has now seized your thread of fate,
that it has a share in this knot?
‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒
What must happen will happen!
‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒
Why have these words not left me
since that hour when Strader
spoke them before God and me?
As if they had come to him from another world,
so they sounded; ‒ spoken as if in a trance! ‒
What was to happen? ‒ I feel well,
the spirit world took hold of me then.
In those words ‒ I hear her language ‒;
it sounds serious to me; ‒ how can I learn to understand it?
(The curtain falls.)