Chapter IX: Introduction (9)

Johannes, that which here within this place
Reveals itself is proving of thy soul.
Gaze on the groundwork of thy self, and see
What thou, unknowing, willst and canst perform.
All that was hidden in thine inmost depths
While thou wert living with thy soul still blind.

(Lucifer appears.)

Will now appear and rob thee of the dark
In whose protection thou wast living then.
So now perceive what human soul it is
To whom thou dost bow down in ardent love,
And who indwelt the body thou didst see.
Perceive to whom thy strongest love is given.

LUCIFER:

Sink thyself deep in depths of thine own self;
Perceive the strongest powers of thine own soul;
And learn to know how this strong love of thine
Can hold thee upright in the cosmic life.

THOMASIUS:

Yea, now I feel the soul that wished to show
Itself to me--'tis Theodora's self--
'Twas she who wished to be revealed to me.
She stood before me since 'tis her I'll see
When I have gained an entrance through this gate.
'Tis right to love her, for her soul did stand
Before me in that other body-form
Which showed me how 'tis her that I must love.
Through thee alone will I now find myself
And win the future, fighting in thy strength.

THE GUARDIAN:

I cannot keep thee back from what must be.
In pictured form thou hast already seen
The soul thou lovest best; her shalt thou see
When thou hast crossed the threshold of this realm.
Perceive, and let experience decide
If it shall prove so healing as thou dream'st.

THE OTHER PHILIA:

Ah, heed thou not the guardian strict
Who leadeth thee to wastes of life
And robs thee of thy warmth of soul;
He can but see the spirit-forms,
And knoweth naught of human woe
Which souls can only then endure
When earthly love doth guard them safe
From chilling cosmic space.
Strictness to him belongs,
From him doth kindness flee,
And power to wish
He hath abhorred
Since first the Earth began.

Curtain

SCENE 8

Ahriman's Kingdom. No sky is visible. A dark enclosure like a mountain gorge whose black masses of rock tower up in fantastic forms, divided by streams of fire. Skeletons are visible everywhere; they appear to be crystallized out of the mountain, but are white. Their attitude suggests the habitual egoism of their last life. Prominent on one side is a miser and on the other a massive glutton etc., etc. Ahriman is seated on a rock. Hilary, Frederick Trustworthy, then the Twelve who were gathered together in the first scene; then Strader; later on Thomasius and Maria; last of all Thomasius' Double.

TRUSTWORTHY:

How often have I trod this realm before.--
And yet how horrible it seems to me
That e'en from here we must so often fetch
The wise direction for full many a plan
Which is important for us and our league
And points significantly to our aims.

HILARY:

The grain of corn must fall to earth and die
Before the life within it can return.
All that in earthly life hath run to waste
Shall here unto new being be transformed.
And when our league desires to plant the seeds
Of human acts, to ripen in due course,
'Tis from the dead that we must fetch the grain.

TRUSTWORTHY:

Uncanny is the lord who here bears rule;
And if it were not written in our books,
Which are the greatest treasures of our shrine,
That he whom here we often meet, is good,
One would indeed as evil reckon him.

HILARY:

Not only books, but e'en my spirit-sight
Declares that what is here revealed is good.

AHRIMAN (in a feigned voice, sardonically):

I know why ye are gathered here again.
Ye would discover from me how 'twere best
To guide the soul of him who oft before
Hath stood upon the threshold of your shrine.
Because ye think Thomasius is lost
Ye now believe that Strader is the man
To do you service in the mystic league.
What he hath won for progress of mankind
By use of powers which follow nature's laws,
For this he oweth thanks to me, since I
Hold sway where powers mechanical obtain
Strength for themselves from their creative founts.
So all that he may do to help mankind
It needs must turn itself unto my realm.
But this time I myself will see to it
That what I wish shall happen to this man
In future, since ye lost Thomasius
By your own work through leaving me aside.
If ye desire to serve the spirit-powers
Ye first must conquer for yourselves those powers
Which in this case ye tried to cast aside.

(Ahriman becomes invisible.)

TRUSTWORTHY (after a pause, during which he has withdrawn into himself):

Exalted Master, care oppresseth me
Though I have striven long to banish it,
For this is laid upon me by strict rules
Which have been ordered for us by our league.
But much that shows the life of this same league
Hath made the struggle in my soul severe;
Yet would I ever thankfully submit
My darkness to the spirit-light, which thou
Art capable of giving through thy powers.
But when I must full often clearly see
Thou wert a victim of delusion's snare
And how thy words, e'en as events fell out,
Did often prove so grievously at fault,
Then have I felt as though some wicked elf
Were resting painfully upon my soul.
And this time also are thy words at fault.
Thou couldst have reckoned that we certainly
Should hear good tidings from this spirit here.

HILARY:

'Tis hard to understand the cosmic ways.
My brother, we are well-advised to wait
Until the spirit indicates the way
Which is ordained for that which we create.

(Exeunt Hilary and Trustworthy.)

AHRIMAN (who has re-appeared):

They see, but do not recognize me yet;
For had they known who rules within this place
They certainly would not have ventured here
To seek direction; and they would condemn
To age-long pains of hell that human soul
Of whom, they heard, that it did visit me.

(All the persons who at the beginning of the play were assembled in the ante-room of the mystic league now appear on the scene; they are blindfolded to show their ignorance of the fact that they are in Ahriman's kingdom. The words they speak live in their souls, but they know nothing of them. They are experiencing during sleep unconscious dreams which are audible in Ahriman's kingdom. Strader, who also appears, is however semi-conscious with regard to all that he experiences, so that later on he will be able to recollect it.)

STRADER:

The hint that Benedictus gave to me
That I should cultivate my power of thought,
Hath led me to this kingdom of the dead.
Although I hoped that raised to spirit-realms
I should find truth on wisdom's sun-clad heights.

AHRIMAN:

What thou canst learn of wisdom in this place
Thou wilt find all-sufficient for long time,
If here thou dost comport thyself aright.

STRADER:

Before what spirit doth my soul then stand?

AHRIMAN:

That shalt thou know when memory presently
Can call again to thee what here thou see'st.

STRADER:

And all these folk, why do I find them here
Within thy darksome realm?

AHRIMAN:

'Tis but as souls
That they are in this place: they do not know
Aught of themselves when here, since in their homes
Sunk now in deepest sleep they would be found.
But here quite clearly all will be revealed
That lives within their souls, though they would scarce
On waking think such thoughts could be their own.
So too, they cannot hear us when we speak.

LOUISA FEAR-GOD:

The soul should not in blind devotion think
That it can raise itself in haughty pride
Up to the light, or that it can unfold
Unto its full extent its own true self.
I will but recognize what I do know.

AHRIMAN (only audible to Strader):

And dost not know how bluntly thou dost lead
In haughty pride thyself into the dark.
She too will serve thee, Strader, in the work
That thou hast wrung so boldly from my powers.
She doth not need for that the spirit-faith
Which seems so ill-accorded with her pride.

FREDERICK CLEAR-MIND:

Entrancing are indeed these mystic paths;
Nor will I henceforth fail in diligence,
But give myself completely to the lore
That I can gather from the Temple's words.

MICHAEL NOBLEMAN:

The impulse after truth within my soul
Is drawing me toward the spirit-light;
The noble teaching which now shines so clear
In human life, will surely find that I
Am the best pupil that it ever had.

GEORGE CANDID:

I ever have been deeply moved by all
That hath revealed itself from many a source
Of noble mystic spirit-treasuries.
With all my heart would I yet further strive.

AHRIMAN (audible only to Strader):

Such men mean well: yet doth their striving stay
But in the upper layers of their souls.
And so can I make use for many years
Of all these mighty treasures which lie hid
Unconsciously within their spirits' depths.
They too seem useful to my constant aim
That Strader's work in mankind's life on earth
Shall with proud brilliance unfold itself.

MARY STEADFAST:

A healthy view of life will of itself
Bring to the soul the fruits of spirit-realms
When men join reverence for the universe
To a clear view of sense-reality.

AHRIMAN (audible only to Strader):

She speaks in dreams of this reality;
She'll dream so much the better when she wakes.
Yet she will be of little service now.
Perchance in her next life she'll help me more,
For then she will appear as occultist
And as need may arise will teach mankind
About their life since first the Earth began.
And yet she scarce will treasure truth aright;
In former lives she oft did Strader chide
And now she praiseth him: so doth she change,
And Lucifer will be more glad of her.

FRANCESCA HUMBLE:

The solemn mystic kingdom will one day
Be pictured by mankind as one great whole,
When thought through feeling shall express itself
And feeling let itself be led by thought.

KATHARINE COUNSEL:

Mankind, 'tis true, doth strive to see the light;
But strange indeed the methods he pursues.
For first he quencheth it, and is surprised
That he can find it nowhere in the dark.

AHRIMAN (audible only to Strader):

So too with souls: they find it good to talk
As voicing the well-being of their mind,
But underneath they fail in constancy.
Such are for me quite unapproachable,
And yet they will in future much achieve
From which I'll reap a harvest of good fruit.
They are by no means what they think themselves.

BERNARD STRAIGHT:

If knowledge is not gained through cautious search
Then fantasy brings nought but airy forms
To solve the riddle of the universe,
Which only can be mastered by strict thought.

ERMINIA STAY-AT-HOME:

The cosmic substance must for ever change
That all existence may unfold itself;
And he who fain would keep all things the same
Will lack the power to understand life's aims.

GASPER HOTSPUR:

To live in fantasy, doth only mean
To rob men's souls of every power in life
Through which they can grow strong to serve themselves
And do true service to their fellow men.

MARY DAUNTLESS:

The soul that would but burden its own self
Should form itself through outside powers alone;
True men will only seek development
From out their hidden personalities.

AHRIMAN (audible only to Strader):

It is but human what these souls conceal.
One cannot tell what they may yet achieve;
For Lucifer may try his power on them,
And make them think they are but working out
Each his own powers of soul with steadfast aim;
And so perchance he hath not lost them yet.

FOX:

He who would cosmic riddles rightly read
Must wait till understanding and right thought
Reveal themselves through powers within his life,
And he who fain would find his way aright
Must seize all he can use that gives him joy.
Above all else the search for wisdom's lore
To give high aims to weak humanity--
This leads to nothing on this Earth of ours.

AHRIMAN (audible only to Strader):

He hath been chosen as philosopher,
And such he will appear in his next life--
With him I do but balance my account.
Seven of twelve I ever need myself
And five I give to Brother Lucifer.
From time to time I take account of men
And see both what they are and what they do.
And when I once have chosen out my twelve
I do not need to search for any more.
For if I come in number to thirteen
The last is just exactly like the first.
When I have got these twelve within my realm
And can through their soul-nature fashion them,
Then others too must ever follow them.

(To himself; holding his hands over Strader's ears so that he shall not hear.)

True, none of this have I achieved as yet,
Since Earth refused to give herself to me.
But I shall strive throughout eternity,
[1] Until--perchance--I gain the victory.
One must make use of what is not yet lost.

(The following so that it is again audible to Strader):

Thou seest I do not flatter with fine words,
Indeed I do not wish to please mankind.
He who would inspiration seek for lofty aims
In speech well-regulated and arranged,
Needs must betake himself to other worlds.
But, who with reason and a sense for truth
Perceives the things which here I bring to pass,
He can acknowledge that it is with me
The powers are found, without which human souls
Must lose themselves whilst living on the Earth.
The very worlds of gods make use of me,
And only seek to draw souls from my grasp
When I grow active in their own domain.
And then if my opponent doth succeed
In leading men astray with this belief
That my existence hath been proved to be
Unnecessary for the universe,
Then souls may dream indeed of higher worlds,
But strength and power decay in earthly life.

STRADER:

Thou seest in me one who would follow thee
And give his powers to thee to use at will.
What I have witnessed here doth seem to show
That all that makes mankind thine enemy
Is lack of reason's power and strength of mind.
In truth thou didst not flatter with fine words;
For thou didst well-nigh mock these poor weak men
When it did please thee to portray their fate.

I must confess that it seems good to me
What thou wouldst give unto the souls of men,
For they will only be enriched with strength
For what is good through thee, and will but gain
That which is bad, if they were bad before.
If only men did better know themselves
They must for certain feel with all their hearts
The bitter scorn that thou dost cast on them.

But what is here wrung forth from out my soul?
I speak such words as would destroy my life
If on the Earth I found that they were true.

Thou must so think; I cannot otherwise
Than find that what thou hast just said is true;
Yet 'tis but truth when in this realm of thine:
It would be error for the world of Earth
If it prove there to be what it seems here.
I must no further trace my human thoughts
Within this place--they now must have an end.
In thy rough words there soundeth pain for thee,
And they are painful too in mine own soul.

I can--whilst facing thee--but weep--and cry----

(Exit quickly.)

(Enter Maria and Thomasius both fully conscious, so that they can hear and understand all that goes on, and speak about it.)

THOMASIUS:

Maria, terror reigns on every side,
It closeth in and presseth on my soul;
Whence shall come inward strength to conquer it?

MARIA:

My holy, earnest vow doth ray out power:
And thou canst bear this pressure on thy soul
If thou wilt feel the healing power it gives.

AHRIMAN (to himself):

'Tis Benedictus who hath sent them here;
He guided them that they might recognize
And know me, when they feel me in my realm.

(He speaks the rest so that Thomasius and Maria can hear.)

Thomasius, the Guardian did direct
Thy footsteps first of all toward my realm
Since they will lead thee to the very light
Thou seekest in the depths of thine own self.
Here I can give thee truth although with pain,
As I have suffered many thousand years,
For though the truth can penetrate to me,
It must first separate itself from joy
Before it dares to venture though my porch.

THOMASIUS:

So must I joylessly behold the soul
Whom I so ardently desire to see?

AHRIMAN:

A wish doth only lead to happiness
When warmth of soul can cherish it; but here
All wishes freeze, and needs must live in cold.

MARIA:

E'en in the ever empty fields of ice
I may go with my friend, where he will be
Encircled by the light which spirits bring
When darkness wounds and maims the powers of life.
Thomasius, feel now thy soul's full strength.

(The Guardian appears upon the Threshold.)

AHRIMAN:

The Guardian himself must bring the light
That thou dost now so ardently desire.

THOMASIUS:

'Tis Theodora whom I wish to see.

THE GUARDIAN:

The soul that on my threshold clothed itself
In that same veil which many years ago
It wore on earth, hath kindled in the depths
Of thine own soul in solemn hours of life
The strongest love which was concealed in thee.
While thou wert standing yet outside this realm
And first didst beg from me an entrance here,
It stood before thee in a pictured form,
And, being thus conceived by inward wish,
Can only show delusion's vain conceits.
But now thou shalt in very truth behold
The soul that in a life of long ago
Was dwelling in that old man whom thou saw'st.

THOMASIUS:

I see him now again in his long cloak,
That worthy ancient with his earnest brow;
O soul, who dwelt within this covering
Why dost thou hide thyself so long from me?
It must--it can--but Theodora be.
Ah, see--now from the covered picture, comes
Reality: 'tis Theo ... 'tis myself----

(As Thomasius begins the name 'Theodora,' his Double appears.)

HIS DOUBLE (coming close up to Thomasius):

Perceive me--and then know thyself in me.

MARIA:

And I may follow thee to cosmic depths
Where souls can win perception e'en as gods
By conquest that destroyeth, yet acquires
By bold persistence life from seeming death.

(Peals of thunder, and increasing darkness.)

Curtain

SCENE 9

A pleasant, sunny morning landscape, in a terraced garden overlooking a town with many factories.

Benedictus, Capesius, Maria, Thomasius, and Strader are discovered walking up and down and engaged in leisurely conversation. Benedictus wears a white biretta and is in his white robe, but without the golden stole.

CAPESIUS:

Here is the place, where Benedictus oft
In soft warm sunlight of a summer morn
Gave himself to his pupils that they might
In reverent mood receive his wisdom's words.
Out yonder lies what ever must divide
With pitiless intent the souls of men
From all the wondrous beauty of the earth,
That nature's God doth shower so bounteous here.
In yon waste sea of houses in the town
Doth Benedictus ever nobly strive
To heal this human woe by deeds of love.
And when with human words so wise and true
He tells his pupils of the spirit-world,
He seeks for hearts, which free creative power
That here reveals itself in wakening souls,
Hath filled with sunshine and with love for men.
I, too, may now behold the happiness
Which through his words doth reach the heart of man.
Since he in love hath underta'en the task
Of guiding me within the spirit-world:
And now when I may feel that he is near
I shall again discover mine own self.

BENEDICTUS:

Within the circle of my pupils here
Through free-will acts of others and thyself
A knot shall one day loosen in the threads
Which Karma spins in lives of men on earth.
Thy life itself will help to loose this knot.
In hearts of men who give themselves in truth
To follow wisdom, which I serve myself,
Thou canst by thine own power discover those
Joined unto whom thou wilt complete the work
For which in spirit thou hast been prepared.

CAPESIUS:

Thee have I known, and I will follow thee.
As I held converse with mine inmost soul,
When I had been allowed to hear thy words
Within the spirit-realm in their true form,
And thou hadst brought me to myself again,
Then could I see portrayed in spirit-light
The aims which in the progress of the earth
I was to follow in my future lives.
And now I know that thou didst choose for me
The one right way for this to be revealed.

BENEDICTUS:

Thomasius and Strader will henceforth
United with thyself accomplish much
That best may serve to further human health.
They have prepared the soul-powers which are theirs
With such intent since first the Earth began
That they can join to form a trinity
With thine own spirit in the cosmic course.

CAPESIUS:

So I must thank my fate's unbending powers
Which seemed at first incomprehensible,
That when the rightful moment came at last
My life's aim suddenly revealed itself.

(He pauses meditatively.)

How wonderfully hast thou led me on:
It seemed at first as if I strove in vain
To enter with my spirit consciously
Into those worlds which by thy words are placed
So thoughtfully before the souls of men.
For many years I could find nought but thoughts
When in thy writings I absorbed myself.
And then, quite suddenly, around me flowed
The spirit-world in its reality;
I scarce knew how to find myself aright
Within my former more accustomed world.

BENEDICTUS:

That would have hid the spirit-life from thee
For ever by its strong effective power
Unless the stronger forces of this life
Had first reduced it to a shadow dim.
And so thou too, with thy full spirit-sight
Must on that threshold learn to know thyself,
Where others first can gain their spirit-sight.

(During the last words Strader walks up to Capesius and the three go away together: after a short time Benedictus returns with Strader.)

STRADER:

It gave deep pain, within mine inmost self
And weighed with heavy pressure on my soul
When on awaking to myself I found
I was again within my body pent
From which thy words had given me release.
My deadened soul-life first tormented me
On my return, yet 'twas not only pain;
For it brought forth in me the memory
Of all I lived through ere I saw with dread
What I could learn from Ahriman himself,
That every thought must cease its progress there.
I had to ask myself why I was set
By Benedictus' word within this realm
Where souls alone are taken into count
And only those are valued which can help
Toward the objects, which that power desires
To make his own through deeds that I have done.
He, in his wisdom, wanted to select
Twelve helpers from the number of mankind.

BENEDICTUS:

Yet 'tis well known to thee why all these souls,
Which Ahriman showed forth, drew near to thee,
When he would force himself upon their fates.

STRADER:

That also bitter pain revealed to me:
It showed how in a former life on Earth
I was united to a brotherhood
Which now hath formed again its mystic league,
And how those people stood towards myself,
Who were in their true nature then revealed.
And I could feel quite sure that Ahriman
Will use the bond, which e'en in future lives
Must ever surely bind their souls to mine.

BENEDICTUS:

The cosmic powers do so direct their deeds
That these with cosmic progress may unite
By following in wisdom number's laws.
The sign how this direction is fulfilled
Shows itself clearly to the outer sense;
If it doth watch the Sun upon the course
He takes throughout the constellations twelve.
It is his place amongst those very signs
Which shows how on the Earth things come to pass
In strict succession in long course of time.
So Ahriman desired to mould the souls
Of those who are united thus to thee
To powers from whence thy work might shine afar.
He also wished to follow number's laws
In binding their soul-nature unto thine.

STRADER:

Since I have learned the sense of number's law,
So shall I too succeed in rescuing
My work from out the realm of Ahriman
And offering it to the gods of Earth.

BENEDICTUS:

It was through Ahriman thou hadst to learn
The sense of number in the universe;
So was it needful for thine own soul's good.
'Twas spirit-pupilship that guided thee
Into that realm, which thou didst need to know
If thy creative power should bloom aright.

(Exeunt Benedictus and Strader. Maria and Thomasius appear from the other side.)

MARIA:

Johannes, knowledge hath thy soul acquired
From truth's cold realms. No longer wilt thou now
Weave only in thy pictures that which souls,
Still pent within the body, live in dreams,
For far from cosmic progress are those thoughts
Which but as self-begotten show themselves.

THOMASIUS:

'Tis love of self--although they may pretend
'Tis thirst for knowledge maketh them do this.

MARIA:

Whoe'er desires to dedicate himself
To human progress and perform such work
As shall in course of time prove living force
Must first entrust himself unto those powers
Who work in deep realities and bring,
Where order with confusion aye doth fight,
The rhythmic law of number and its power.
For knowledge only hath true active life,
That can reveal itself within the soul
When it can bring to men, still clothed in flesh,
The memory of life in spirit-realms.

THOMASIUS:

My course of life is thus made clear to me.
I had to feel myself a twofold man.
Through Benedictus' help and through thine own
I am a being standing by myself;
And all the forces that within me stir
Do not belong at all to mine own self.
Ye now have given me a manhood new
Who must be willing to give other men
What he hath gained by spirit-pupilship.
He must devote himself unto the world
As best he can: naught from that other man
Must mingle and disturb what now at last
He hath as true self-knowledge recognized.
Contained in his own world he will go on,
If his own strength and help from both his friends
Shall in the future serve to form his fate.

MARIA:

Whether thou walk'st in error or in truth
Thou canst keep ever clear the view ahead;
Which lets thy soul press farther on its path,
If thou dost bravely bear necessities
Imposed upon thee by the spirit-realm.

Curtain

SCENE 10

The Temple of the mystic League mentioned in the first and second pictures. Here Benedictus, Torquatus, and Trustworthy have the robes and insignia of their office of Hierophant as described in the 'Portal of Initiation.' The Eastern altar supports a golden sphere; a blue sphere rests upon the Southern altar; whilst the sphere upon the altar of the West is red. As the scene opens Benedictus and Hilary are standing at the altar in the East; Bellicosus and Torquatus at the altar in the South; Trustworthy at the altar in the West; then enter Thomasius, Capesius, Strader; then Maria, Felix Balde, and Dame Balde; and later on the Soul of Theodora; and last of all the four Soul-Forces.

BENEDICTUS:

The souls of all my pupils have received
The spirit-light, each in that special form
Which was appointed for him by his fate.
What they have now achieved each for himself
Each now must render fruitful for mankind.
But this can only happen, if their powers
According unto number's rhythmic law
Desire to join within the holy place
To form the higher unity, which first
Can waken to true life what otherwise
Could only stay in solitary state.
They stand upon the threshold of the shrine,
Whose souls must first unite, and then shall sound
In unison according to the rules
Imprinted in the cosmic book of fate.
That what it could not bring to pass itself
The spirit harmony may thus achieve.
'Twill bring fresh inspiration to the old
Which here hath nobly reigned since time was not.
To you, ye brethren, I these pupils bring
Who found their way here through the spirit-worlds
And through the strictest proving of their souls.
The holy customs will they treat with awe.
And treasure ancient sacred mystic ways
Which here are seen as powers of spirit-light.
Ye too, who have fulfilled in truest wise
Your lofty spirit-service for so long,
Henceforth will be entrusted with new tasks.
The cosmic plan doth call the sons of men
But for a time unto the sacred shrine,
And when in service they exhaust their strength
It guideth them to other fields of work.
Even this temple had to stand its trial;
And one man's error had to guard it once,
The guardian of the light--from darkness deep,
One cosmic hour big with the fate of worlds.
Thomasius perceived through inward light
Which rules unconscious in the souls of men,
That o'er its threshold he must not pursue
His way unto the holy mystic shrine
Ere he had crossed that other threshold o'er,
Of which this only is the outward sign.
So of himself he shut the door again
Which you would fain have opened wide in love.
He will now as another come again
Worthy of your initiation's gift.

HILARY:

Our souls here humbly offer sacrifice
Unto the spirit by whose power alone
The inner soul of man is fructified.
And we would strive that our own wills may be
A revelation of the spirit-will.
By cosmic wisdom is the temple led
Which unconfused doth guide to future times.
Thou showest us directions which thyself
Hast read within the cosmic book of fate,
What time thy pupils passed their proof severe.
So lead them now within our sacred shrine,
That they may join their work unto our own.

(Hilary knocks within the Temple; then enter Thomasius, Capesius, Maria, Felix Balde, Dame Balde, and Strader. Trustworthy and Torquatus so guide their entrance that when they come to the middle of the Temple, Thomasius is standing in front of Benedictus and Hilary, Capesius in front of Bellicosus and Torquatus, Strader in front of Trustworthy, whilst Maria is with Felix and Dame Balde.)

HILARY:

My son, the words man utters in this place
Spell guilt which cries aloud to spirit-worlds
Unless the speaker follows truth alone.
As great the guilt, so strong too are the powers
Which strike it, and destroy the one who speaks
And proves himself unworthy of his task.
He who is standing here before thee now,
Was conscious of the working of his words
And tried to full extent of all his powers
To render service to the spirit-world
Before this holy symbol of that light
Which shines upon our Earth from out the east.
It is the will of fate that thou henceforth
Shalt stand and serve within this sacred place.
And he who consecrates thee to the task
And of his office hands thee now the key,
Doth give his blessing also that it may
Prove of good service, in so far as he
Hath served the sacred customs worthily.

THOMASIUS:

Exalted Master, he would not presume--
This poor weak mortal, who doth dare to stand
Before thee now in body,--e'en to shape
One wish that thy successor he might be
Within this ancient consecrated place.
He is not worthy e'en to place one step
Across the threshold of this mystic shrine,
But what he dares not wish for, for himself,
He must perceive in deep humility
Since powers of fate have of necessity
Desired to send this call unto his soul.
It was not I, as I am in my life
Nor as I saw myself a short time back
In spirit, as a wholly worthless soul,
That let me now draw near unto this place.
And yet the man who stands here visible
Hath been, by Benedictus and his friend,
Endowed with second manhood, which the first
Shall henceforth only as a bearer serve.
The spirit-pupilship hath given me
A self that can show forth itself with power
And to the full unfold its own pursuits
E'en when the bearer needs must know himself
Full far removed from lofty aims of soul.
If, in such case, his duty it doth seem
To give this second self that's roused in him
To service in the progress of the Earth
His life must aye observe this strictest rule
To be a light before his spirit-eyes,
That nought from his own self must enter in
Nor cause disturbance in that work, which he
Hath not himself arranged nor brought to pass
But which his second self must execute.
Concealed within himself he thus will work
That one day he may be what he doth know
To be the future goal of his true self.
Throughout his life he'll carry his own cares
Locked fast in deep recesses of his soul.
I told thee when at first thou called'st me
That I could never tread the temple courts
In mine own human personality.
He who now comes, as though another's life
Had been entrusted to him, sees that fate
Hath laid on him the task of watching o'er
Results of his own work and guiding them
With dutiful attention from this place
For such time as the spirit doth command.

TORQUATUS (in the South, to Capesius):

Capesius, henceforth 'twill be thy task
To serve the holy temple in this place
Whence love through wisdom shall stream forth to men
As warmly as the sunshine's noontide rays.
He who would to the spirit sacrifice
With understanding of the mystic work,
Must needs face dangers here, for Lucifer
Can in this place draw near with secret tread
To whomsoever faithfully doth try
To carry out the spirit-service here,
And on each word he can impress the seal
That marks the adversary of the gods.
Thou stood'st before the adversary's throne
And saw'st what follows his activities;
So for thine office thou art well prepared.

CAPESIUS:

He who hath viewed the adversary's realm
As powers of fate permitted me to do,
He knows that 'good' and 'evil' are but words
Which mankind scarce can understand aright.
Who speaks of Lucifer as wholly bad
Might also say that fire is evil too,
Because it hath a power that can kill life;
He might call water evil, since a man
Might in the water easily be drowned.

TORQUATUS:

Through other things doth Lucifer appear
As evil to thee; not through that which he
Would indicate as evil of himself.

CAPESIUS:

The cosmic spirit who could bring the light
To souls of men when first the Earth was formed
Must render service to the universe,
In ways which in themselves seem neither good
Nor evil unto spirits who have learned
What stern necessity doth oft reveal.
For good can turn to ill, if evil minds
Make use of it for their destructive ends;
And what seems evil may be turned to good
If some good being guideth it aright.

TORQUATUS:

So dost thou know what thou wilt have to do
So long as thou dost stand within this place.
Love doth not value powers that are revealed
Within the world by judgment's stern decree--
She treasures them for what they may bring forth
And asks how she can mould and use the life
Which is created out of cosmic depths.

BENEDICTUS (in the East):

Yet love speaks often with such gentle words,
And needs support within the depths of soul.
Here in this place she will unite with all
That follows cosmic law with threefold will
And is unto the spirit dedicate.
Maria will unite her work to thine.
The vow she took in Lucifer's domain
Is now permitted to ray forth its powers.

MARIA:

Capesius spake words of deep import
Which can reveal the truth if they proceed
From that same spirit which can guide mankind
Toward true love, in progress of the Earth,
But which but error upon error heap
When they are fashioned by an evil mind
And in the soul transform themselves to ill.
'Tis true that Lucifer doth show himself
As bearer of the light to man's soul-sight
When it would seek to gaze on spirit-space.
But then the human soul will always wish
To waken also in its inmost depths
What it can only gaze on and admire.
Although upon his beauty it may look
Ne'er may it fall 'neath Lucifer's fell sway
Lest he should gain the power to work within.
When he, the bearer of the light, sends forth
His rays of wisdom and the worlds are filled
With haughty sense of self, and with full light
Each creature's personality shines forth
A pattern of his own imperious self,
Then may the inmost being of the soul
Build up on this appearance, and rejoice
In all its senses, whilst it radiates
The joy of wisdom, all around, that lives
In its own self and loves to feel alive.
But, more than any other spirit, man
Requires a God who doth not only ask
For admiration when his outward form
Reveals itself in glory to the soul,
But One who radiates His highest power
When He Himself doth dwell within man's soul,
And loving unto death foretelleth life.
A man may turn to Lucifer and feel
Inspired by beauty, or some splendour bright:
And yet so live his life within himself
That Lucifer can ne'er find entrance there;
But to that other Spirit man doth cry,
When he can fathom his own self aright:
'The goal of love for earthly souls--'tis this
Not I, but Christ, doth live within me now.'

BENEDICTUS (turning to Maria):

And when her soul shall to her spirit bow
As she hath vowed to Lucifer, it shall,
Then through her power on to the temple stream
With all that leads unto the health of Earth.
And Christ will kindle in the hallowed place
Of wisdom warming rays of spirit-love.
What she can thus accomplish in the world
Is done because the course of her own life
Is bound up closely with that knot of fate
Which Karma spins in human lives on Earth.
In some long-past existence, it was she
Who caused the son to leave his father's home;
And now she leads the son to him again.
The soul, which in Thomasius now dwells
In former life was to that one which now
Fulfils itself within Capesius,
As son to father bound by ties of blood.
The father will not now through Lucifer
Demand the debt Maria owes to him,
For by Christ's power, the debt hath been annulled.

MAGNUS BELLICOSUS (speaking to Hilary and Benedictus, but frequently turning to Felix Balde and Dame Balde):

Within the holy place doth shine the light
Which flows with power from out the spirit-heights,
When souls can worthily receive its strength.
But yet those lofty powers of wisdom's realm
Which thus reveal themselves in mystic shrines
Have chosen also other paths to souls.
The signs of our own times have made it clear
That all these paths must now be joined in one.
The temple must unite itself with souls
Who have reached spirit-light in other ways
And yet have been enlightened in good truth.
Now Dame Felicia and her husband too,
Are such as may approach this sacred place
And who can bring to it a wealth of light.

DAME BALDE:

I can but tell the fairy-tales that rise
Within my heart quite of their own accord--
only know about their spirit-source
What oft Capesius hath told to me.
In all humility I must believe,
What he hath told me of my gift of soul;
So also I believe what ye make clear
Why I am called within these temple walls.

FELIX BALDE:

I followed not alone the outward call
Sent to me by the guardian of this shrine;
But true unto my spirit-pathway's goal
I have applied myself unto the power
Which, as mine inmost guide, doth ever point
In what direction I shall turn my steps
That I may best be able to fulfil
In life what spirit-powers have foreordained.
This time I saw quite clearly I was meant
To shun that way which Benedictus now
Hath shown his pupils in the spirit-life.
The signs that now I see within this shrine
Appeared to me in vision previously.
For often when my soul did tread the depths
And all self-will had been destroyed in me,
And power and patience could maintain themselves
In that dread loneliness which aye approached
Before I could experience spirit-light,
Then all the universe seemed one with me,
And soon I found myself within that world,
Where life's true purpose was revealed to me.
During such spirit-wand'rings I have been
In many a temple which it seems to me
Resembles that which now my sense perceives,
Just as the writing of the spoken word
Must show a written picture of the speech.

TRUSTWORTHY (in the West, to Strader):

Dear Strader, it is now thy destiny
To speak that word henceforth within the shrine
Which will agree with all Thomasius
Makes known to us, as sunset must agree
With that hope-giving glow of morning light.
This word, in its full sense doth seize upon
The working of that Power who showed himself
To thee, when thou wert standing on thy trial.
Thou hadst to stand within that spirit-place
Where thought is strictly ordered to stand still.
For if thine hand should wield a hammer now
And only strike the air, it could not know
The power it hath, unless the blow should reach
Some anvil; even so it is with thought.
It ne'er could really fathom its own depth
If Ahriman were not opposed to it.
All thought within thy life hath led thee on
To contradict thyself and this hath caused
Within thy soul both pain and heavy doubt.
Thus didst thou learn to know thyself through thought;
As light can only gaze upon itself,
But through reflection that its rays cast forth;
The words of him who serves the temple here
Thus, in a picture, life's reflection show.

STRADER:

In truth the light of thought for long time streamed
But through reflection into mine own life;
Yet for full seven years the spirit showed
Itself to me in its bright splendour too,
And did reveal those worlds unto my soul,
In front of which my soul had formerly
Stood ever still in torment and in doubt.
Within my soul this light must grow so deep
That it shall last through all eternity,
If I would find the path to spirit-aims
And make my own creations bring forth health.

THEODORA (becoming visible, as a spirit-being, at Strader's side):

I was allowed to win this light for you,
Because thy power did strive toward my light,
As soon as thy right time had been fulfilled.

STRADER:

So too thy light, thou spirit-messenger,
Will stream o'er all the words that in this place
Shall be wrung forth from out mine inmost soul.
For Theodora's self is now with mine
To holy mystic service consecrate.

(Philia, Astrid, Luna, and the Other Philia appear in a glowing cloud of light.)

THE OTHER PHILIA:

To Earth's primeval source
Mount thoughts of sacrifice
From many a holy shrine;
Let all that lives in souls,
Let all that spirit lights
Soar to the world of form;
Let cosmic-powers incline
With graciousness to men,
To kindle spirit-light
Within their powers of soul.

PHILIA:

From cosmic spirits I
Will beg their being's light,
The soul-sense to uphold;
The sound too of their words,
To loose the spirit-ear,
That what hath been aroused
Upon the paths of soul
May not become extinct
In lives of men on Earth.

ASTRID:

The love-streams will I guide
That fill the world with warmth
Unto the spirits of
Initiated men,
That thus the sacred rite
May be preserved and kept
Within the hearts of men.

LUNA:

From primal powers will I
For might and courage pray,
For these will help to make
Self-sacrifice to grow,
So that it may transform
What now is seen in time
And change to spirit-seeds
For all eternity.

Curtain falls while all the characters, including Theodora, Philia, Astrid, Luna, and the Other Philia are still inside the Temple.

THE SOUL'S AWAKENING

SUMMARY OF THE SCENES

Scene 1: Hilary's business is threatened with disaster because of his attempt to introduce into it his spiritual ideals and occult methods. He has engaged as controller of his machinery, Strader, who is generally known to be a failure because of his unpractical inventions. With him comes a group of similar "cranks." Hilary's old manager is in despair.

Scene 2: Johannes is a prey to delusion and loves to wander in his own dreamland. He is warned by Maria and Benedictus. Capesius, in a moment of clairvoyance gets a glimpse of Johannes' inner mood, and is so alarmed that he decides that there can be no blending of spiritual gifts with earthly things, and he withdraws from Hilary's group and goes to the old mystic Felix. Maria urges Johannes to discriminate between truth end self-delusion which can be done by the study of elemental sprites.

The dance of gnomes and sylphs.

The youth of Johannes appears. It is in despair because it is separated from Johannes. Lucifer tries to console it with promises of human wisdom and love of beauty. Theodora offers divine wisdom.

Scene 3: Arguments on various phases of occult development. During the discussion, Ahriman glides stealthily across the stage to bring dissension and confusion of thought among the speakers, who are ignorant of his presence.

Strader's temptations.

Felix speaks on mysticism.

The appearance in spirit form of Maria and Benedictus to help Strader, and of Ahriman to thwart him. There is a repetition of Strader's part in Scene II.

Scene 4: Similar discussions between Hilary's manager and Romanus. Ahriman had succeeded in separating the various mystics.

During the discussion, Romanus, by his arguments on occultism, makes a great impression upon the manager.

Johannes and his double.

Ahriman scoffs at the Guardian of the Threshold. Strader with Benedictus. The vision of the latter is troubled; he--the occult leader--is mistaken.

Scene 5: The Spirit World.

This scene needs careful meditation and some knowledge of the author's system. Attention should be given to the indications of the planetary spheres--Mercury, Venus, Sun, Jupiter, and Saturn--to which in turn we expand after death. Heed should be paid to the warning given by the Guardian of the Threshold.

Lucifer here appears as a beneficent guide, so, too, the other Philia.

Scene 6: The Spirit World. The same remarks apply. Capesius is struck by the figures of his previous incarnations, as shown in the former plays. The Guardian of the Threshold will allow an even earlier incarnation to appear.

(Scenes 7 and 8: The earlier incarnations in Egypt giving the key to the four plays, and showing the origin of development of the different characters.)

Scene 7: Shows in a remarkable way how the future development of the Baldes and Capesius is going to proceed. The concluding speech of the hierophant foreshadows the approach of a new Era when candidates for initiation will get the hidden light independently and not under the hypnotic suggestion of the guiding priest.

Scene 8: Drop scene. Egyptian woman (otherwise Johannes Thomasius) is in love with a man who is a neophyte or candidate for mysticism and about to retire from the world. This mystic is known to us otherwise as Maria.

Scene 8: About 2000 B.C. The hierophant (Capesius) has refused to use his thought power to suggest to the candidate what his vision should be. The candidate has a free vision looking far into the future. A breath of love and freedom is wafted into the closely sealed precincts. 'The truth shall make thee free.' But with this rebellion against the old order, there is a consequence. Lucifer and Ahriman hitherto chained within the temple break their chains and begin to work their will. The ancient temple has been invaded, but the Ego begins to wake. The reader will not overlook, in all this cosmic development, the individual development of the different characters which are difficult to understand from the other plays without this glimpse into their previous incarnation. The author has presented it in this order, because it corresponds to the reader's own experience.

Scene 9: Maria's awakening. The reminiscence in waking of what has happened in a psychic condition.

Scene 10: Johannes' awakening. The quotations refer to Scenes 7 and 8.

Scene 11: Strader's awakening. Benedictus' vision is again clouded. The reason here is probably Strader's approaching death. The quotations refer to Scene 3.

Scene 12: Ahriman's manner, shape, and speech betray the fact that he is being found out by the followers of Benedictus. Ahriman hopes, however, to catch Strader. Note the satire indulged in at the expense of those occultists, theosophists, and others whose air of superiority makes them a laughing stock.

Note also the last line showing the importance of remembering the dead.

Scene 13: Hilary and Romanus.

Scene 14: Strader's death is announced and Hilary's manager is converted.

Scene 15: Secretary and Nurse.

The Secretary's speech.

Ahriman's shape is here even more that of the conventional devil than in Scene 12. This is to show that his true nature is now fully grasped by Benedictus and his followers. This is seen in Ahriman's last speech. Note Benedictus' speech about the dead and their messages.

Benedictus tells Ahriman that one can only serve Good when one does good not for oneself.

The triumph and initiation of Strader and his future power.

The defeat and exit of Ahriman.

PERSONS, FIGURES, AND EVENTS

The psychic and spiritual events portrayed in this play are to be conceived as following, at about a year's interval, those delineated in 'The Guardian of the Threshold.'

I. Representatives of the Element of Spirit:

1. Benedictus, the personality in whom a number of his 'pupils'
recognize the sage who knows the deep spiritual connection of earthly
events. In my earlier soul pictures 'The Portal of Initiation' and
'The Soul's Probation,' he is portrayed as the Hierophant of the
Sun-Temple; in 'The Guardian of the Threshold' he manifests that
particular phase of spiritual activity which aims to substitute the
actual spiritual life of modern times for the merely traditional
views upheld therein by the Mystic Brotherhood. In 'The Soul's
Awakening' Benedictus must no longer be conceived only as a sage who
has authority over his pupils but also as having his own psychic
destiny interwoven with their psychic experiences.
2. Hilary True-to-God, the adept in traditional spiritual life,
which, in his case, is accompanied by individual spirit-experience.
He is the same individuality who appears in 'The Soul's Probation'
as Grand Master of a Mystic Brotherhood.
3. The Manager of Hilary's business of sawmills.
4. Hilary's Secretary. He appears in 'The Guardian of the Threshold'
as Frederick Clear-Mind.

II. Representatives of the Element of Sacrifice:

1. Magnus Bellicosus named Germanus in 'The Portal of Initiation.' In
'The Soul's Probation' and in the 'Guardian of the Threshold' he is
the Preceptor of a Mystic Brotherhood.
2. Albertus Torquatus named 'Theodosius' in 'The Portal of
Initiation.' He appears in the 'Soul's Probation' as the First Master
of Ceremonies of the Mystic Brotherhood.
3. Professor Capesius appearing in 'The Soul's Probation' as First
Preceptor.
4. Felix Balde, representing in 'The Portal of Initiation' a kind of
natural mysticism, but here, a subjective mysticism. He appears as
Joseph Keane in 'The Soul's Probation.'

III. Representatives of the Element of Will:

1. Romanus who is here re-introduced under the same name used for
him in 'The Portal of Initiation' because it expresses the inner
state of being to which he has worked upwards during the years which
elapse between 'The Portal of Initiation' and the 'Awakening.' In
'The Guardian of the Threshold' the name given him of Frederick
Trustworthy is the one by which he is supposed to be known in the
physical world, and the name is used there because his inner life
has very little to do with the events represented. In 'The Soul's
Probation' he appears as Second Master of Ceremonies in the mediæval
Mystic Brotherhood.
2. Doctor Strader the individual appearing in 'The Soul's Probation'
as the Jew, Simon.
3. The Nurse of Doctor Strader the individual called Mary Steadfast
in 'The Guardian of the Threshold.' In 'The Portal of Initiation'
she is known as 'The Other Maria' because the imaginative perception
of Johannes Thomasius constructs, under her guise, an imaginative
picture of certain nature-forces. Her individuality appears in 'The
Soul's Probation' as Bertha, Keane's daughter.
4. Dame Balde who appears in 'The Soul's Probation' as Dame Keane.

IV. Representatives of the Element of Soul:

1. Maria whose individuality appears in 'The Soul's Probation' as the Monk. 2. Johannes Thomasius whose individuality appears in 'The Soul's Probation' as Thomas. 3. Hilary's wife.

V. Beings from the Spirit World:

1. Lucifer.
2. Ahriman.
3. Gnomes.
4. Sylphs.

VI. Beings of the Element of Human Spirit: