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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

       Table of Contents

       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

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