HEAVENLY SPLENDOUR

The satisfaction of the new King did not last for he saw an object which excited his displeasure. The great Giant, who appeared not yet to have awoke completely from his morning sleep, came stumbling along the Bridge, producing great confusion all around him.

As usual he had arisen stupefied with sleep and had meant to bathe in the well known bay of the River. Instead he found firm land and plunged upon the broad pavement of the Bridge.

Yet although he reeled into the midst of men and cattle in the clumsiest way, his presence, wondered at by all, was felt by none. As the sunshine came into his eyes and he raised his hands to rub them, the shadows of his monstrous fists moved to and fro behind him with such force and awkwardness, that men and beats were heaped together in masses. They were hurt by such rude contact and in danger of being pitched into the River.

The King as he saw this mischief, grasped with an involuntary movement at his sword; but he bethought himself and looked calmly at his sceptre, then at the Lamp and the rudder of his attendants.

The Man with the Lamp said, "I guess thy thoughts but we and our gifts are powerless against this powerless monster. Be calm! He is doing hurt for the last time and happily his shadow is not turned to us."

Meanwhile the Giant was approaching nearer. In astonishment at what he saw with open eyes, he had dropped his hands. He was not now doing any injury and came staring agape into the fore-court.

He was walking straight to the door of the Temple, when all at once in the middle of the court, he halted and was fixed to the ground. He stood there like a strong colossal statue, or reddish glittering stone and his shadow pointed out the hours, which were marked in a circle on the floor around him, not in numbers, but in noble and expressive emblems.

Much delighted was the King to see the monster's shadow turned to some useful purpose. Much astonished was the Queen, who, on mounting from within the Altar, decked in royal pomp, with her virgins, first noticed the huge figure, which almost closed the prospect from the Temple to the Bridge.

Meanwhile the people had crowded after the Giant as he ceased to move. They were walking round him, wondering at this metamorphosis. From him they turned to the Temple, which they now first appeared to notice and pressed towards the door.

At this instant the Hawk with the mirror soared aloft above the dome; caught the light of the Sun and reflected it upon the group, which was standing on the Altar. The King, the Queen and their attendants, in the dusky concave of the Temple, seemed illuminated by a heavenly splendour and the people fell upon their faces.

When the crowd had recovered and risen, the King with his followers had descended into the Altar to proceed by secret passages into his palace and the multitude dispersed about the Temple to content their curiosity.  

They viewed the three Kings that were standing erect with astonishment and reverence; but the more eager were they to discover what mass it could be that was hid behind the hangings, in the fourth niche; for by some hand or another, charitable decency had spread over the resting-place of the fallen King a gorgeous curtain, which no eye could penetrate and no hand may dare to draw aside.

The people would have found no end to their gazing and admiration had not their attention been again attracted to the open space.

Unexpectedly some gold-pieces, as if falling from the air, came tinkling down upon the marble flags; the nearest passers-by rushed to pick them up; the wonder was repeated several times. It is easy to conceive that the shower came from our two retiring Flames, who wished to have a little sport here once more and were thus gaily showering the gold which they had licked from the members of the sunken King. The people still ran about eagerly, pressing and pulling one another, even when the gold had ceased to fall.

At length they gradually dispersed and went their way and to the present hour the Bridge is swarming with travellers and the Temple is the most frequented on the whole Earth. 

                                        BRIDGE FOR HUMANITY

Amid this solemnity (as described in the last post) this happiness and rapture, no one had observed that it was now broad day and all at once, on looking through the open portal, a crowd of altogether unexpected objects met the eye.

A large space surrounded with pillars formed the fore-court, at the end of which was seen a broad and stately Bridge stretching with many arches across the River.

It was furnished on both sides, with commodious and magnificent colonnades for foot-travellers, many thousands of whom were already there, busily passing this way or that. The broad pavement in the centre was thronged with herds and mules, with horsemen and carriages, flowing like two streams on their several sides and neither interrupting the other.

All admired the splendour and convenience of the structure and the new King and his spouse were delighted with the motion and activity of this great people, as they were already happy in their own mutual love.

The Man with the Lamp said: "Remember the Snake with honour. Thou owest her thy life; thy people owe her the Bridge, by which these neighbouring banks are now animated and combined into one land. Those swimming and shining jewels, the remains of her sacrificed body are the piers of this royal bridge; upon these she has built and will maintain herself."

The party were about to ask some explanation of this strange mystery, when there entered four lovely maidens at the portal of the Temple. By the Harp. the Parasol and the Folding-stool, it was not difficult to recognise the waiting-maids of the Lily; but the fourth, more beautiful than any of the rest, was an unknown fair one and in sisterly sportfulness she hastened with them through the Temple and mounted the steps of the Altar.

The Man with the Lamp said to the fair one: "Wilt thou have better trust in me another time, good wife?"

The fair one, his wife, replied: "Well for thee and every living thing that bathes this morning in the River!"  

The renewed and beautified old Woman, of whose former shape no trace remained, embraced with young eager arms the Man with the Lamp, who kindly received her caresses.

"If  I am too old for thee," said he, smiling, "thou mayest choose another husband today; from this hour no marriage is of force, which is not contracted anew."

"Dost thou not know, then," answered she, "that thou too art grown younger?" - "It delights me if to thy young eyes I seem a handsome youth: I take thy hand anew, and am well content to live with thee another thousand years." 

The Queen welcomed her new friend and went down with her into the interior of the Altar while the King stood between his two men, looking towards the Bridge and attentively contemplating the busy tumult of the people.

……………………………………………………………………………………………

One final instalment remains entitled Heavenly Splendour. It will be Posted next month.

                  THE YOUTH NOW BECOMES THE PRINCE KING

In this scene the Youth receives attributes from the Gold, Silver and Bronze Kings. During his receipt of them the Man with the Lamp sees visibly and feels the growth in stature and presence of the Youth. He becomes a Prince.

The Old Man cried with a loud voice: "There are three which have rule on Earth; Wisdom, Appearance and Strength."

At the first word, the gold King rose; at the second, the silver one and at the third, the brass King rose slowly, while the mixed King suddenly and very awkwardly plumped down.

Whoever noticed him could scarcely keep from laughing, solemn as the moment was; for he was not sitting, he was not lying, he was not leaning, but shapelessly sunk together.

The Will-o'-wisps, once more well fed, having dexterously licked out the gold veins of the colossal figure to its very heart. When at last the tenderest filaments were eaten out, the image crashed together suddenly and that, alas, in the very parts which continue unaltered when one sits down; whereas the limbs, which should have bent, sprawled themselves out unbowed and stiff. Whoever could not laugh was obliged to turn away his eyes; this miserable shape and no-shape was offensive to behold. 

The Man with the Lamp now led the handsome Youth, who still kept gazing vacantly before him, down from the Altar and straight to the brazen King. At the feet of this mighty Potentate lay a sword in a brazen sheath. The young man girt it round him.

The brazen King cried: "The sword on the left, the right hand free!"

They next proceeded to the silver King; he bent his sceptre to the Youth; the latter seized it with his left hand:

In a pleasing voice the silver King said: "Feed the sheep!"

On turning to the golden King, he stooped with gestures of paternal blessing and pressing his oaken garland on the young man's head:

The golden King said: "Understand what is highest!"

During this progress, the old Man observed the Prince. After girding on the sword, his breast swelled, his arms waved and his feet trod firmer; when he took the sceptre in his hand, his strength appeared to soften and by an unspeakable charm to become still more subduing; but as the oaken garland came to deck his hair, his features kindled, his eyes with inexpressible spirit and the first word out of the mouth of the Prince was: "Lily, Dearest Lily!" cried he hastening up the silver stairs to her, for she had viewed his progress from the pinnacle of the Altar. 

 The Prince continued: "Dearest Lily! What more precious can a man, equipped with all, desire for himself than innocence and the still affection which thy bosom brings me?"

Turning to the old Man and looking at the three statues the Prince said: "Oh my friend! Glorious and secure is the kingdom of our fathers; but thou hast forgotten the fourth power, which rules the world, earlier, more universally, more certainly, the power of Love."

With these words, he fell upon the lovely maiden's neck; she cast away her veil and her cheeks were tinged with the fairest, most imperishable red.

Here the old Man said with a smile: "Love does not rule; but it builds and that is more."










 

                       THE RISING OF THE TEMPLE - PART TWO!

The Old Man held the fair Lily fast and said to her: "We are now beneath the River; we shall soon be at the mark."

Ere long they thought the Temple made a halt; but they were in an error; it was mounting upwards.

And now a strange uproar rose above their heads. Planks and beams in disordered combination now came pressing and crashing in at the opening of the dome. Lily and the Woman started to a side; the Man with the Lamp laid hold of the Youth and kept standing still. The little cottage of the Ferryman, - for it was this which the Temple in ascending had severed from the ground and carried up with it, - sank gradually down and covered the old Man and the Youth.

The woman screamed aloud and the Temple shook, like a ship running unexpectedly aground. In sorrowful perplexity, the Princess and her old attendant wandered round the cottage in the dawn; the door was bolted and to their knocking no one answered. They knocked more loudly and were not a little struck, when at length the wood began to ring.

By virtue of the Lamp locked up in it, the hut had been converted from the inside to the outside into solid silver. Ere long too it's form changed; for the noble metal shook aside the accidental shape of planks, posts and beams and stretched itself out into a noble case of beaten ornamented workmanship.

Thus a fair little temple stood erected in the middle of the large one; or if you will, an Altar worthy of the Temple.

By a staircase which ascended from within, the noble Youth now mounted aloft, lighted by the old Man with the Lamp; and as it seemed, supported by another, who advanced in a white robe, with a silver rudder in his hand and was soon recognised as the Ferryman, the former possessor of the cottage.

The fair Lily mounted the others steps, which led from the floor of the Temple to the Altar; but she was still obliged to keep herself apart from her lover.

In this setting the old Man and the Kings will bestow attributes upon the Youth Prince. The nature of these and the necessity for the balanced combination of all three will be given in the next Post.

      CONTINUING THE BENEFIT OF BEETHOVEN'S 9TH SYMPHONY

The sheer joy inherent within the last movement through the words, is in itself a joy to experience.

The last post described how through the chorus in the last movement two communities become one through the sacrifice, in the story of The Green Snake and The Beautiful Lily, the Green Snake forming herself into a resplendent bridge between two communities on opposite sides of a River.

The words in first passage of the chorus were written by Beethoven. Those in the second passage were written by Schiller.

Beethoven's use of vowel sounds especially with the futuristic quality often found particularly in the vowels O and U, create a strong imaginative environment.

For example:      Laufet Bruder, eure Bahn,  Brothers, run your joyous race,

                           fruedig wie ein Held zum Siegen,   Hero like to conquest flying.

In German the value of the futuristic nature of the au and u vowel sounds in Laufet Bruder for Brothers, and eure for joyous, and eu again in freudig, for Hero, and u in zum, for quest, is very powerful.

This theme of joyous quest for development of the characters and the community in The Green Snake and The Beautiful Lily is supported firmly and strongly by these o and u vowels sounds. I created a Post some while ago about the particular nature of these two vowel sounds.

In this story these sound help portray a feeling, a hope, an imagination that "anything is possible now." A wonderful example of practical Hope which in the The Green Snake and The Beautiful Lily fable is for the gradual recovery of the Youth to full consciousness enabling him to become a Prince and then a King.

Hope that the characters in two communities, through working collaboratively together, kollective, enabling two communities to become one single united community, through really effective conversation, dialogue, for the common good.

These were the word picture images Goethe gave as a gift to Schiller and all those who read, speak and became the characters in this story, this fairy tale, this fable - for our common good.