Dear brother, I must openly confess That our Grand Master's clemency exceeds My comprehension, when I needs must see What bitter wrong our foes inflict on us. Although they will not study what we teach They scruple not to paint us in men's eyes As heretics and messengers from hell. SECOND MASTER OF CEREMONIES: His clemency from our own teaching flows. Can we proclaim life's highest aim to be To understand the soul of every man, And then misunderstand our foes ourselves? There are amongst them many men indeed Who follow in the footsteps of the Christ. Yet even from the souls of such as these The essence of our teachings must be veiled, Though they should hear them with the outer ear. Remember, brother, how reluctantly, And with what inner conflict, thou wast led To grant admission to the spirit-voice. We know, from what the master hath revealed, That future men will see in Spirit-light The lofty Being of the Sun, who trod This Earth once only in a human frame. This revelation we with joy believe And gladly follow where our leaders tread. Yet but a short time since these weighty words Were said by him whom we acclaim as Head: 'Your souls must ripen slowly, if indeed With eyes prophetic ye would see today That which the men of later days shall see And ye must not imagine,' said our chief, 'That after passing one initial test Ye can have sight of things that are to be. When ye shall have attained to certainty That all mankind must needs be born again, Ye then will have to meet the second test Which sets your personal illusions free To dim the radiance of the Spirit-light.' This solemn warning, too, the master gave: 'Ofttimes reflect, in meditation's hour, How psychic monsters, of illusion born, Beset the path of those who seek the light. Who falls their victim may see even there Human existence where the Spirit seeks To be revealed to Spirit-light alone. If ye would worthily prepare yourselves To recognize, by help of inner sight, The Light of Wisdom streaming from the Christ, Over yourselves ye must keep watch and ward Lest personal illusion blind you then When your souls think that it is furthest off.' With this injunction clearly held in view We soon shall rid us of the vain belief That in these times we can transmit these truths, Whose beauty we confess within our souls, In easy manner to posterity. Rather must we take comfort from the fact, That we today can meet so many souls In whom the seed, although they know it not, Already hath been sown for future lives. This seed can only manifest itself In man, by opposition to those Powers With which it later will ally itself. In all this hatred which pursues us now I do but see the seed of future love. FIRST MASTER OF CEREMONIES: