Four Mystery Plays. Rudolf SteinerЧитать онлайн книгу.
If we believe that in no way at all
Our teaching is our own;—but that alone
The spirit shows itself within our souls—
Then may we surely venture to assert
That in thy mode of thinking may be found
But feeble shadows waving to and fro
Athwart the real true source of human life:
And that the spirit, which ensouls our work
Is linked in inward harmony with all
That weaves the web of destiny for man
Deep in the very fundaments of life.
I have been privileged for many years
To give myself to vital work in life:
And during all this time more bleeding hearts
And yearning souls have come before mine eyes,
Than many would conceive were possible.
I do esteem thy high ideal flight,
The proud assurance of thy sciences:
I like to see the student-audience,
Respectful, sit and listen at thy feet:
And that to many souls thy work doth bring
Ennobling clarity of thought, I know.
But yet regarding thought like this, it seems,
Trustworthiness can only dwell therein
So long as thought lives in itself alone.
Whereas the realm of which I am a part
Sends into deep realities of life
The fruitage of its words, since it desires
To plant in deep realities its roots.
Far, far away from all thy thought doth lie
The written word upon the spirit-heaven
Which with momentous tokens doth announce
New growth upon the tree of humankind.
And though indeed such thought seems clear and sure
As follows faithfully the ancient path,
Yet can it only touch the tree’s coarse bark,
And never reach the marrow’s living power.
Romanus:
For my part I do seek in vain the bridge
That truly leadeth from ideas to deeds.
Capesius:
On one side thou dost over-estimate
The power which can be wielded by ideas,
And on the other thou dost fail to grasp
The actual course of true reality:
For it is certain that ideas must form
The germ of all the actual deeds of men.
Romanus:
If this friend doth so many deeds of good,
The impulse thereunto lies in herself
And her warm-hearted nature, not in thought.
Most certainly ’tis necessary for man,
Whene’er he hath accomplished any work,
To find foundation for it in ideas.
But yet ’tis only schooling of man’s will
In harmony with all his skill and power
To undertake some real work in life
Which will help forward all the human race.
When whirr of busy wheels sounds in mine ears,
Or when I see some creaking windlass drawn
By strong stout hands of men content to work,
Then do I sense indeed the powers of Life.
Germanus:
Often in careless speech have I maintained
That I preferred things droll and humorous
And held these only full of wit and charm,
Deeming that for my brain at any rate,
They always would provide material
Best fitted to fill up the time that lies
Between my recreation and my work.
But now quite tasteless to me seem such things;
The Power Invisible hath conquered me;
And I have learned to feel that there may be
More powerful forces in humanity,
Than all our wit’s frail castles in the air.
Capesius:
And did it seem that nowhere else but here
’Twas possible to find such spirit-powers?
Germanus:
Indeed the life I lived did offer me
Full many a type of intellectual works:
Yet cared I not to pluck or taste their fruit.
But this strange mode of thought which blossoms here
Seemed to attract and draw me to itself
However little I desired to come.
Capesius:
Most pleasant hath this hour of converse been,
And we are debtors to our hostess here.
(Exeunt all, except Maria and Johannes.)
Johannes:
Oh, stay a little while yet by my side,
I am afraid:—so desperately afraid:—
Maria:
What is it aileth thee, my friend? Speak forth.
Johannes:
The first cause was our leader’s speech; and then
The chequered converse of these people here.
It all hath moved and stirred me through and through.
Maria:
But how could simple speeches such as these
Seize on thine heart with such intensity?
Johannes:
Each word seemed in that moment unto me
A dreadful symbol of our nothingness.
Maria:
Indeed it was significant to see
Pour forth in such short time so many kinds
Of life and man’s conflicting tendencies,
In all the speeches that we lately heard.
Yet ’tis indeed a most peculiar trait
Of life, as it is lived amongst us here,
To bring to speech the inner mind of man;
And much that otherwise comes slowly forth,
Stands here