--- ga: 44 title: "Fourth Act. Fragment" words: 1461 --- # Fourth Act. Fragment LUCIFER: O human, recognize yourself, O human, feel me. You have turned away From the guidance of the spirit Into the free realms of the earth. From purity of soul, From clarity of mind You fled And sought your own being In earthly confusion. You found me. The gods wanted to place veils Before your senses. I tore the veils in two. The gods wanted you To follow only their will. I gave you your own will. O human, recognize yourself, O human, feel me. AHRIMAN: O human, recognize me, O human, feel yourself. You have fled The darkness of the spirit. You have found The light of the earth. So draw strength from truth From my security. I give gifts, I work beauty. The gods wanted to snatch from you The reality of the earth. I led you Into true being. O human, recognize me, O human, feel yourself. LUCIFER: There were no times When you did not have me. I followed you through lifetimes, I was allowed to fill you With strong essence. AHRIMAN: There were no times When you did not see me. Your physical eyes saw me In all earthly becoming. I was allowed to shine for you In proud beauty. JOHANNES: I resist you. You let me feel In my many lives The proud impulses of will... MACROCOSM: So you are now in the place You so ardently desired. You cause me great concern. I had to guide you through The hidden realm of the elements, But your nature caused a storm. The gate of initiation Your minds resisted The rule of my powers. CAPESIUS: Who are you, Mysterious being, Who led me through spiritual realms To this beautiful realm? MACROCOSM: I am the spirit That is only seen by the human soul When it has served her. I have been with you for eternity. CAPESIUS: I do not ask much now About the origin of your being. I feel a zest for life In my whole being. I draw the joys of existence From everything I see. I feel a world In my spirit And awaken From the deepest depths of my soul The truths That lift people To proud creative impulses. Infinity lies before me. MACROCOSM: This is the echo of your own words, With which you intoxicate yourself. Recognize your powerlessness. In your pride, you want to Build worlds, But your bold construction lives only in your dreams, And your words Unleash only And your words Only unleash The storm of the elements; Which, unable to create, Only shows itself to be destructive. STRADER: You may call him a dreamer, Who in the firepower of youth Paints his goal before his soul. But such a word cannot apply to me. I have fervently implored the spirit in monks' cells. I have conquered the pillars of truth in life's struggles. I was led by error. [The fragment ends here; the continuation comes from another notebook.] STRADER: Again, such an eerie word. This, too, once resounded within me. When a seer wanted to disturb the circles of my self-assured reason and made me feel the sting of doubt, I could hear it clearly. But that is now over. I defy your power, you old man, who was born only from the elements of nature. Oh no, reason will conquer you in a different way than you imagine. Once it has climbed its proud heights by itself, it will be your master. MACROCOSM: The world is arranged in such a way that every achievement demands its reward. I have given you yourselves; you owe me the reward for this. CAPESIUS: I will create from my spirit a transfigured counter-image of nature. Nature elevated to an idea, arising from the human soul, that may be your reward, since you have shown man the field where he boldly rises from the depths of nature to the arena of thought. MAKROKOSMOS: You have seen how little your proud words mean in my realm. They unleash the storm and make the elements of destruction only suitable. CAPESIUS: So you may reap your reward where you can find it. The human soul, at the height of its development, feels only the calling to satisfy itself It cannot create benefits for others. It feels that it has done enough when it has given form to what wants to push its way out from within . And is not such an impulse in the human spirit also nature? Is it not a higher nature? — — — He is gone. But where do we turn? We must first find our way in the new realm. STRADER: Let us follow the next path that presents itself. Let us not neglect caution, and it will bring us to our destination. CAPESIUS: It seems to me that one should not speak of a destination. The goal may be found if we courageously follow the impulse that drives us from within. Wherever the path may lead, let us walk it in such a way that we choose truth as our guide and, in a noble manner and with the best of intentions, direct our steps: we may follow ourselves. STRADER: But we must determine the direction of our actions. Those who do not know where they want to go from the very first step can be of little use. They may be satisfied if they only want to serve themselves, but serving humanity requires firm goals. - - - (The other Mary becomes visible.) - - - But look, what a creature. It is as if the rock had given birth to it. From which realm do you come? THE OTHER MARY: I struggle through rocky ground And am the rock's own voice, I suck the moist sap of the earth And ponder the earth's own meaning, I slurp the air of life from above And educate myself from its being. (Musical motif.) STRADER: Then you cannot help us. What grows only in nature, Is far from the higher human mind. CAPESIUS: I like to look at you. Trusting that through you My own powers will sprout. THE OTHER MARIA: It is so strange to me by your words. They penetrate my whole being, but they do not make sense to me. CAPESIUS: That is proof that the mystery of your being can only be solved by us. STRADER: And it is your duty is your duty. THE OTHER MARIA: I will serve you. Let me hear your wish. Fourth scene CAPESIUS: And do you also demand a favor in return, like that earthly being Who brought us here? THE OTHER MARY: I am grateful to you For the melodious sound of your voices. They are nourishing fire to me. I absorb your words And feel well-being, When I give them back To the stones and the ores From my being I am able to give. STRADER: So you seem to be intertwined With the innermost being of all creatures. Then you should be able to explain to us How we ourselves can grasp the innermost being Of the world. THE OTHER MARIA: You cannot achieve this with me. I am only the daughter of the spirit being That dwells in that realm From which you have just come. She has assigned this field to me So that I may show her reflection here. CAPESIUS: So we have fled the realm That can satisfy our longing? The gate of initiation THE OTHER MARY: If you cannot find your way back, You will never prosper. You will never prosper. CAPESIUS: But which is the right path? THE OTHER MARY: There are two paths. If my power rises to the heights, Then all beings in my kingdom Can shine in the most sublime beauty And sparkling light will shine from the rock, The rich abundance of colors Will stretch across the vastness And the cheerfulness of the creatures Will fill the air with sounds. If your soul then surrenders To the pure delights of my being, You will float on wings of spirit Into worlds of primordial beginnings. STRADER: The path is too difficult For our strength. And what is the other? THE OTHER MARY: To walk it, you must Renounce your proud spirit. Forget what reason dictates. Let nature conquer you. In the breast of man, the childlike mind, Untouched by the shadows of thought, Fourth Scene I Fifth Scene Let nature take its course. Thus you will not arrive knowing, But surely at the origin of being. (The other Mary disappears.) CAPESIUS: So we are only Left to ourselves. And only this seems clear To be the case, That we must work all the time And patiently await The fruits of our labor.