I must repeat what I have said before. Alone can Benedictus succour thee; Only from him may we obtain support And that firm basis which we both do lack. For know thou this: I also can no more Endure the riddle of my life, unless His gentle guidance solveth it for me. Full often have I kept before mine eyes This truth sublime, that o'er all life doth float Appearance and deception if we grasp Life's surface only in our moods of thought. And o'er and o'er again it spake to me: Thou must take knowledge how illusion's veil Weaves all around thee; and however oft It may appear to thee as truth, beware; For evil fruitage may in truth arise If thou shouldst try within another's soul To wake the light that lives within thyself. Yet in the best part of my soul I know That even this oppressive weight of care Which hath o'erwhelmed thy soul, dear friend of mine, As thou didst tread with me the path of life, Is part and parcel of the thorny way, That leads unto the light of Truth itself. Thou must live through each horror and alarm That can spring forth from vain imagining Before the Truth in essence stands revealed. Thus speaks thy star; and by that same star speech It doth appear to me that we shall walk One day united, on the spirit-paths. And yet whene'er I seek to tread these paths Black night doth spread a curtain round my sight. And many things that I must live and do, Which spring as fruitage from my character, Intensify the darkness of that night. We two must seek clear vision in that light, Which, though it vanish for a while from sight, Can never be extinguished in the soul. JOHANNES: But then, Maria, dost thou realize Through what my soul hath fought its way but now? A grievous destiny awaiteth thee, Most noble friend. For well I know that far From thy pure nature lies that potent force, That hath so wholly shattered me to bits. Thou canst ascend the clearest heights of truth, And scan with steadfast gaze life's tangled path; And whether in the darkness or the light Thou wilt retain thine own identity. But me each moment may deprive of Self. Deep down I had to dive within the hearts Of those who late revealed themselves in speech. I followed one to cloistered solitude,-- And in another's soul I listened to Felicia's fairy lore. I was each one; Only unto myself I seemed as dead; For I must fain believe that primal life Did spring from very Nothingness itself, If it were right to entertain the hope, That out of that dread nothingness in me A human being ever could arise. For I am driven from fear into the dark And from the darkness back again to fear By wisdom stored within these living words: 'Know thou thyself, O man. Know thou thyself.' (From the springs and rocks the words resound:)