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will give ear to thee, that thou hast seen
What all mankind shall soon experience:
Once, long ago, Christ lived upon the earth,
And from this life ensued the consequence
That in soul-substance clad He hovers o’er
The evolution of humanity,
In union with the earth’s own spirit-sphere;
And though as yet invisible to men,
When in such form He manifests Himself,
Since now their being lacks that spirit sight,
Which first will show itself in future times;
Yet even now this future draweth nigh
When that new sight shall come to men on earth.
What once the senses saw, when Christ did live
Upon the earth; this shall be seen by souls
When soon the time shall reach its fulness due.’
(Exit.)
Maria:
This is the first time we have heard her speak
In such a manner to so many folk.
At other times she felt constrained to speech,
Only when two or three were gathered round.
Capesius:
To me indeed it seems most curious,
That she, as though commanded or required,
Should find herself to revelation urged.
Maria:
It may so seem; but we know well her ways.
If at this moment she desired to send
Her inward soul-voice deep into your souls,
The only reason was, that unto you
The source, whence came her voice, desired to speak.
Capesius:
Concerning this strange future gift of sight,
Whereof she spake, as dreaming, we have heard
That he, who of this circle is the soul,
Hath oft already given full report.
Is it not possible that from his words
The content of her speech hath origin,
The mode of utterance coming from herself?
Maria:
If matters thus did stand, we should not deem
Her words of any consequence or weight:
But we have tested this condition well.
Before she came into our circle here,
Our friend had never heard in any way
Of that same leader’s speeches, nor had we
Heard aught of her before she came to us.
Capesius:
Then what we have to deal with is a state,
Such as so often happens, contrary
To all the laws of nature; and which we
Must merely estimate as some disease.
And only healthy thought, securely based
On fully conscious sense-impressions, can
Pass judgment on the riddles set by life.
Strader:
Yet even here one fact presents itself;
And what we now have heard must have some worth—
For, even if we set aside all else
It doth compel the thought that spirit-power
Can cause thought-transference from soul to soul.
Astrid:
Ah me, if ye would only dare to tread
The ground your mode of thought doth choose to shun:
As snow before the sunlight’s piercing glare
Your vain delusion needs must melt away,
Which makes the moods revealéd, in such minds
Appear diseased, abnormal, wonderful.
They are suggestive, but they are not strange.
And small this wonder doth appear to me
When I compare it with the myriad
Of wonders that make up my daily life.
Capesius:
Nay, nay, one thing it is to recognize
What lies before our eyes on every side,
But quite another, what is shown us here.
Strader:
Of spirit ’tis not necessary to speak
Until there are things shown to us which lie
Outside the strictly circled boundary
Set by the laws of scientific thought.
Astrid:
The clear shaft of the sunlight on the dew
Which glistens in the morning’s golden light,
(Enter Felix Balde.)
The hurling stream that riseth ’neath the rock,
The thunder rumbling in the cloud-wrapped sky,
All these do speak to me a spirit tongue:
I strove to understand it; and I know
That of this speech’s meaning and its might,
Only a faint reflection can be glimpsed
Through your investigations, as they are.
And when that kind of speech sank deep within
My heart, I found my soul’s true joy at last.
Nor could aught else, but human words alone
And spirit teaching grant this gift to me.
Felix Balde:
Those words rang true indeed.
Maria:
Those words rang true indeed. I must essay
To tell what joy fills all my heart to see
(Enter Felicia Balde.)
For the first time here with us yonder man,
Of whom we oft have heard; and joy doth cause
The wish to see him here full many times.
Felix Balde:
It is not usual for me that I should
Associate with such a crowd of men:
And not alone unusual——
Felicia:
And not alone unusual—— Aye, ’tis so.
His nature drives us into solitude
Away from all; year in, year out, we hear
Scarce