Four Mystery Plays. Rudolf Steiner
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thou canst not assist us in our quest.
For far aloft from men’s endeavour stands
All that which must abide in nature’s realm.
Capesius:
Lady, I like thy words, and I would fain
Translate thy form of speech into mine own.
The Other Maria:
Most strange doth seem to me your proud discourse.
For, when ye speak yourselves, unto mine ear
Your words do sound incomprehensible.
But if I let them echo in my heart
And issue in new form, they spread abroad
O’er all that lives in mine environment
And solve for me its hidden mystery.
Capesius:
If this, thy speech, be true, then change for us
Into thy speech, that nature may respond,
The question of the true worth of our lives.
For we ourselves lack power to question thus
Great mother nature that we may be heard.
The Other Maria:
In me ye only see an humble maid
Of that high spirit-being, which doth dwell
In that domain whence ye have just now come.
There hath been given me this field of work
That here in lowliness I may show forth
Her mirrored image unto mortal sense.
Capesius:
So then we have just fled from that domain
Wherein our longing could have been assuaged?
The Other Maria:
And if ye do not find again the way,
Your efforts shall be fruitless evermore.
Capesius:
Then tell which way will lead us back again.
The Other Maria:
There are two ways. If my power doth attain
To its full height all creatures of my realm
Shall glow in beauty’s most resplendent dress.
From rocks and water, glittering light shall stream,
And colours in their richest fulness flash
On all around, whilst life in merry mood
Shall fill the air with joyous harmony.
And if your souls do then but steep themselves
In mine own being’s purest ecstasy
On spirit pinions shall ye wing your way
Unto primeval origins of worlds.
Strader:
That is no way for us; for in our speech
We name such talk mere fancy, and we fain
Would seek firm ground, not fly to cloud-capped heights.
The Other Maria:
Then if ye wish to tread the other path
Ye must forthwith renounce your spirit’s pride.
Ye must forget what reason doth command,
And let the touch of nature conquer you.
In your men’s breasts let your child-soul have sway,
Artless and undisturbed by thought’s dim shades.
So will ye surely reach Life’s fountain-head,
Although unconscious of the way ye go.
(Exit.)
Capesius:
Thus are we thrown back on ourselves alone,
And have but learned that it behoveth us
To work and wait in patience for the fruit
That future days shall ripen from our work.
Johannes (speaking, as it were, from his meditation. Here and in the following scene he sits aside and takes no part in the action):
So do I find within the soul’s domain
Those men who are already known to me:
First he who told us of Felicia’s tales,
Though here I saw him in his youthful prime;
And also he who in his younger days
Had chosen for his life monastic rule,
As some old man did he appear: with them
There stood the Spirit of the Elements.
Curtain
Scene 5
A subterranean rock-temple: a hidden site of the Mysteries of the Hierophants.
At the right of the stage, Johannes is seen in deep meditation.
Benedictus (in the East):
Ye, who have been companions unto me
In the domain of everlasting life,
Here in your midst I stand today to ask
The help of which I stand in need from you
To weave the thread of destiny for one,
Who from our midst must now receive the light.
Through bitter trials and sorrows hath he passed,
And hath in deepest agony of soul
Prepared the way to consecrate his life
And thus attain to knowledge of the truth.
Accomplished now the task assigned to me,
As spirit-messenger, to bring to men
The treasured wisdom of this temple’s shrine.
And now, ye brethren, ’tis your sacred task
To bring my work to full accomplishment.
I showed to him the light that proved the guide
To his first vision of the spirit-world,
But that this vision may be turned to truth
Your work must needs be added unto mine.
My words proceed from mine own mouth alone,
But through your lips world-spirits do sound forth.
Theodosius (in the South):
Thus speaks the power of love, which bindeth worlds
And filleth beings with the breath of life:—
Let warmth flow in his heart that he may grasp
How by the sacrificing of that vain
Illusion of his personality
He