This youthful mystic will not be to blame, Who hopes this day to dedicate himself Unto the wisdom, if in these next hours A wrong emotion, such as may gush out Unheeded from his heart, should throw its rays Upon our sacred rite, and in this act Should through our symbols draw nigh spirit-spheres Whence ill results in consequence must flow Into the current of our human life. The guides and leaders are themselves to blame. Have they not learned to know the mystic force Which penetrates in some mysterious way With spirit every word and sigh of ours; And ceases not from action even when The contents of a soul are poured therein Which hinders cosmic evolution's course? Instead of this young mystic consciously Here to the spirit off'ring up himself, His teachers drag him like a sacrifice Into the holy precincts, where his soul Unconsciously he to the spirit yields. For verily he would not take this road If he were conscious master of his soul. Within the circle of our mysteries The highest hierophant alone doth know What mystic truths lurk in our sacred forms. But he is dumb as solitude itself. Such silence his high dignity commands. The others gaze uncomprehendingly When of our ritual's real intent I speak. So am I left to bear my cares alone; Well-nigh unbearable their burden seems When all the meaning of our ritual And of our temple is borne in on me. One thing especially I deeply feel-- The solitude of this stern spirit-shrine. Why do I feel so lonely in this place? The soul must ask this question. When, ah, when Will to my soul the spirit make reply? Curtain falls slowly SCENE 8 PART I Outside the Egyptian temple. An Egyptian woman is seen crouching by the wall. She is a previous incarnation of Johannes Thomasius. EGYPTIAN WOMAN: This is the hour in which he dedicates Himself to serve the ancient holy laws Of sacred wisdom,--and in doing this He must forever tear himself from me. From out those heights of light to which his soul Progresses there must flash into mine own The ray of death. When I am torn from him-- Naught doth remain for me in life on earth But mourning--resignation--sorrow--death. (Clinging to the wall.) Yet though in this hour he abandons me I, none the less, will stay close to the spot Where he unto the spirit gives himself. And if mine eyes are not allowed to see How he doth tear himself away from earth, Perchance 'twill be now granted in a dream To linger disembodied by his side. PART II