Four Mystery Plays

Name: Four Mystery Plays
Author: Steiner, Rudolf

Steiner, Rudolf

Mysteries and miracle-plays

Such men mean well: yet doth their striving stay
    But in the upper layers of their souls.
    And so can I make use for many years
    Of all these mighty treasures which lie hid
    Unconsciously within their spirits' depths.
    They too seem useful to my constant aim
    That Strader's work in mankind's life on earth
    Shall with proud brilliance unfold itself.

MARY STEADFAST:

    A healthy view of life will of itself
    Bring to the soul the fruits of spirit-realms
    When men join reverence for the universe
    To a clear view of sense-reality.

AHRIMAN (audible only to Strader):

    She speaks in dreams of this reality;
    She'll dream so much the better when she wakes.
    Yet she will be of little service now.
    Perchance in her next life she'll help me more,
    For then she will appear as occultist
    And as need may arise will teach mankind
    About their life since first the Earth began.
    And yet she scarce will treasure truth aright;
    In former lives she oft did Strader chide
    And now she praiseth him: so doth she change,
    And Lucifer will be more glad of her.

FRANCESCA HUMBLE:

    The solemn mystic kingdom will one day
    Be pictured by mankind as one great whole,
    When thought through feeling shall express itself
    And feeling let itself be led by thought.

KATHARINE COUNSEL:

    Mankind, 'tis true, doth strive to see the light;
    But strange indeed the methods he pursues.
    For first he quencheth it, and is surprised
    That he can find it nowhere in the dark.

AHRIMAN (audible only to Strader):

    So too with souls: they find it good to talk
    As voicing the well-being of their mind,
    But underneath they fail in constancy.
    Such are for me quite unapproachable,
    And yet they will in future much achieve
    From which I'll reap a harvest of good fruit.
    They are by no means what they think themselves.

BERNARD STRAIGHT:

    If knowledge is not gained through cautious search
    Then fantasy brings nought but airy forms
    To solve the riddle of the universe,
    Which only can be mastered by strict thought.

ERMINIA STAY-AT-HOME:

    The cosmic substance must for ever change
    That all existence may unfold itself;
    And he who fain would keep all things the same
    Will lack the power to understand life's aims.

GASPER HOTSPUR:

    To live in fantasy, doth only mean
    To rob men's souls of every power in life
    Through which they can grow strong to serve themselves
    And do true service to their fellow men.

MARY DAUNTLESS:

    The soul that would but burden its own self
    Should form itself through outside powers alone;
    True men will only seek development
    From out their hidden personalities.

AHRIMAN (audible only to Strader):

Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.

Opening the text

Four Mystery PlaysSteiner, Rudolf

Religion

Four Mystery Plays

Steiner, Rudolf

Mysteries and miracle-plays

Such men mean well: yet doth their striving stay
    But in the upper layers of their souls.
    And so can I make use for many years
    Of all these mighty treasures which lie hid
    Unconsciously within their spirits' depths.
    They too seem useful to my constant aim
    That Strader's work in mankind's life on earth
    Shall with proud brilliance unfold itself.

MARY STEADFAST:

    A healthy view of life will of itself
    Bring to the soul the fruits of spirit-realms
    When men join reverence for the universe
    To a clear view of sense-reality.

AHRIMAN (audible only to Strader):

    She speaks in dreams of this reality;
    She'll dream so much the better when she wakes.
    Yet she will be of little service now.
    Perchance in her next life she'll help me more,
    For then she will appear as occultist
    And as need may arise will teach mankind
    About their life since first the Earth began.
    And yet she scarce will treasure truth aright;
    In former lives she oft did Strader chide
    And now she praiseth him: so doth she change,
    And Lucifer will be more glad of her.

FRANCESCA HUMBLE:

    The solemn mystic kingdom will one day
    Be pictured by mankind as one great whole,
    When thought through feeling shall express itself
    And feeling let itself be led by thought.

KATHARINE COUNSEL:

    Mankind, 'tis true, doth strive to see the light;
    But strange indeed the methods he pursues.
    For first he quencheth it, and is surprised
    That he can find it nowhere in the dark.

AHRIMAN (audible only to Strader):

    So too with souls: they find it good to talk
    As voicing the well-being of their mind,
    But underneath they fail in constancy.
    Such are for me quite unapproachable,
    And yet they will in future much achieve
    From which I'll reap a harvest of good fruit.
    They are by no means what they think themselves.

BERNARD STRAIGHT:

    If knowledge is not gained through cautious search
    Then fantasy brings nought but airy forms
    To solve the riddle of the universe,
    Which only can be mastered by strict thought.

ERMINIA STAY-AT-HOME:

    The cosmic substance must for ever change
    That all existence may unfold itself;
    And he who fain would keep all things the same
    Will lack the power to understand life's aims.

GASPER HOTSPUR:

    To live in fantasy, doth only mean
    To rob men's souls of every power in life
    Through which they can grow strong to serve themselves
    And do true service to their fellow men.

MARY DAUNTLESS:

    The soul that would but burden its own self
    Should form itself through outside powers alone;
    True men will only seek development
    From out their hidden personalities.

AHRIMAN (audible only to Strader):

Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.

Four Mystery Plays

Four Mystery Plays

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