So soon again such gruesome speech from thee! This too I heard before in mine own soul, When once a seeress threateningly did wish To wreck the firm foundations of my thought And make me feel the sharp dread sting of doubt. But that is past, and I defy thy might, Thou aged rogue, so cunningly concealed Beneath a mask devised by thine own self To counterfeit the form of nature's lord. Reason will overthrow thee, otherwise Than thou dost think, when once she is enthroned Upon the proud heights of the mind of man. As mistress will she reign assuredly Not as some handmaiden in nature's realm. SPIRIT: The world is ordered so, that every act Requires a like reaction: unto you I gave the self; ye owe me my reward. CAPESIUS: I will myself create from mine own soul The spirit counterpart of things of sense. And when at length all nature stands transformed, Idealized through man's creative work, Her mirrored form shall be reward enough; And then if thou dost feel thyself akin To that great mother of all worlds, and spring'st From depths where world-creating forces reign. Then let my will, which lives in head and breast, Inspiring me to aim at highest goals, Be thy reward for deeds done at my best. Thy help hath raised me from dull sentiment To thought's proud heights--Let this be thy reward! (Lightning and thunder.) SPIRIT: Ye well can see, how little your bold words Bear weight in my domain: they do but loose The storm, and rouse the elements to wrath, Fierce adversaries of the ordered world. CAPESIUS: Take then thine own reward where't may be found. The impulse that doth drive the souls of men To seek true spirit-heights within themselves Set their own measure, their own order make. Creation were not possible for man If others wished to claim what he had made. The song that trills from out the linnet's throat Sufficeth for itself; and so doth man Find his reward, when in his fashioning work He doth experience creative joy. (Lightning and thunder.) SPIRIT: It is not meet to grudge me my reward. If ye yourselves cannot repay the debt Then tell the woman, who endowed your souls With power, that she must pay instead of you. (Exit.) CAPESIUS: He hath departed. Whither turn we now? To find our way aright in these new worlds Must be, it seems, the first care of our minds. STRADER: To follow confidently the best way, That we can find, with sure but cautious tread, Methinks should lead us straightway to the goal. CAPESIUS: