Have we forgotten Isilda, the beautiful, the beloved? No change had taken place in her. She was now the betrothed2 of Basil Wolgemuth, loving him with a depth and steadfastness3 far beyond the first fresh love of girlhood[94] and romance. And Basil himself, was he still the same? Let us see.
The student was sitting, as we first beheld4 him, in the room more peculiarly his own; it looked the same as in former days; and the fire, the brilliant and beautiful fire, which Basil loved to have as a companion for his solitary5 hours, burned brightly as ever. He kept continually feeding it with new brands, and often looked up from his book to gaze at it. If the blaze grew dim for a moment, it seemed as if his powers of intellect and comprehension grew dim with it. Basil was dull and cheerless without his beloved fire; he needed its genial6 warmth, its inspiring brightness; even in the summer-time he could not study without it; and so it had been from his childhood.
There was a change in the young man, more than the one short year added to his age could have effected. He looked like a man who had thought much, suffered much. An expression of pain constantly hovered7 over his features, and the lines of his beautiful mouth were contracted. He read intently; but at intervals8 laid down the book, and fixed9 his eyes vacantly on the fire, absorbed in thought.
A light knock at the door broke in upon the student’s meditations10, and a stranger entered. He was a man of middle age, tall, spare, and meagre. His face was calm, and his bearing dignified11; while on his noble forehead, which bore not a single wrinkle, unmistakable intellect sat enthroned; but at times there was a wildness in his eyes, and a sudden kindling12 of his features, which almost belied13 his serene14 deportment. He advanced towards the young man, who arose and greeted him with deep respect.
[95]
“Michael Meyer need not stay to ask admittance of Basil Wolgemuth, I trust?” said the stranger, in tones of mingled15 gentleness and conscious dignity.
“My master,” answered Basil, meekly16, “thou art ever most welcome; all that is mine is thine also.”
“I thank thee, gentle scholar,” returned the other, simply, with a slight inclination17 of the head, as he suffered the young man to take from him his outer garment, and sat down on the chair which Basil offered. The student himself continued standing18 until his guest pointed19 to a low stool, where Basil placed himself at a little distance from his master.
“And now let us talk,” said Michael Meyer; “for it is long since I have seen thee. What hast thou learned meanwhile?”
“Much, O master! I have been studying thy book.” And he pointed to the open page.
A gleam of pleasure illuminated20 Michael’s sallow features. “And dost thou ever regret that thou hast become one of us, one of the brethren of the Rosie Cross?”
“Never, honored master mine,” cried the student; “but I have yet so much to learn, before I am worthy21 even to kiss the hem22 of thy garment; and I am so young.”
“It may be that a young heart is purer than one which has longer mingled with the world. Thou hast not yet travelled out of sight of the home which thy spirit left at birth; the memory of that pristine23 existence dimly remains24 with thee still. Therefore it is well with thee, Basil.”
[96]
“Master, if I could only think so,——if I could only revive within me that higher life,——but I fear it is hard.”
“It is hard, my son; for it is a struggle of matter against spirit. O, didst thou but know the joys that are opened unto us who mortify25 the body for the sake of the soul; the glorious and beautiful world that is revealed to us,——a life within life, a double existence, our mortal eyes being strengthened to behold26 the Invisible,——our mortal frames endowed with the powers of angels!”
“It is glorious——glorious!” murmured the student as he gazed on his master, whose whole countenance27 gleamed with enthusiasm.
“It is indeed glorious,” continued Michael Meyer. “To be as a god to mankind; to bear in this human body the gift of healing; to know that the riches for which men toil28, and pine, and slay29 one another, are at our will in such abundance that they seem to us like dust. And more than all, to have the power of holding communion with those good spirits which God created as he created man, more beautiful and yet less perfect, for they must remain as first made, while man may rise through various stages of existence, higher and higher, until he reach the footstool of divinity itself.”
“Hast thou ever seen those glorious beings?” asked Basil, glancing doubtfully round, his voice sinking into a low whisper.
“I have!” answered Michael Meyer. “But no more of this. To attain30 this state of perfection, thou must needs deaden thyself to all human pleasures; thou must[97] forsake31 the grossness of an appetite pampered32 with the flesh of beasts and the fruit of the poison-vine. As thou readest in my book, the soul must retire within itself,——must shut out all human feelings, all human love.”
A dark shadow came over the young student’s face.
“Must one attain all this, O father, to be a follower33 of Christian34 Rosencreutz?”[2]
“All this, and more. Does thy heart fail thee?” said Michael, sternly.
Basil cast down his eyes.
“No, my noble master, no! but human will is feeble, and the steep is hard to climb.”
“Then lie down, and perish at its foot, Basil Wolgemuth,” said the Rosicrucian; and then added, with a regretful tone, “After thou hadst journeyed half-way, I had not thought thy heart would have failed thee, my son.”
“It has not failed me,” cried the student, earnestly. “I have followed implicitly35 all thy precepts36. No food, save what nature rigorously requires, has passed these lips; I have kept myself pure as a little child, yet still I seem further than ever from that blessed state when the soul is free from all mortal longings37, and the eyes are purged38 to behold the Invisible.”
[98]
“Wait, my son; wait and faint not! the time will surely come at last; and when it does, oh, what joy for thee! Thou wilt39 count as nothing the pleasures of taste, when thou mayst banquet on celestial40 food; thou wilt scorn all earthly loveliness, to bask41 in the smile of immortal42 beauty. This, indeed, is an aim worthy of man’s aspiring43.”
“It is——it is! O master, I follow thee!——teach me, guide me as thou wilt.” And he knelt at the feet of the Rosicrucian, kissing his hands and his garments with deep emotion.
“Thou art worthy to become one of us, my son,——nay, my brother,——for thou wilt erelong equal the wisest of us,” answered Michael Meyer, as he raised Basil from the earth. “Go on in that noble path; thou hast little need of me, for thine own soul is thy best teacher. Now farewell, for this night I leave Cologne; my work is accomplished44, and I have added one more to the brethren of the Rosie Cross.”
“And hast thou no word, no parting admonition, for me, O my father?”
“None, save this: Strive ever after the highest; content thyself with nothing below perfection; be humble45 in thine own eyes; and more than all, keep thy heart and hand from evil: sin clouds the soul’s aspirations46; and the highest life is a life of perfect holiness. With thy noble intellect and ardent47 mind, keep an unspotted heart!——and so fare thee well, my son.”
Thus Michael Meyer the Rosicrucian parted from Basil Wolgemuth.
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1
desolate
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| adj.荒凉的，荒芜的；孤独的，凄凉的；v.使荒芜，使孤寂 | |
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2
betrothed
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| n. 已订婚者 动词betroth的过去式和过去分词 | |
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3
steadfastness
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| n.坚定，稳当 | |
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4
beheld
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| v.看，注视( behold的过去式和过去分词 )；瞧；看呀；（叙述中用于引出某人意外的出现）哎哟 | |
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5
solitary
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| adj.孤独的，独立的，荒凉的；n.隐士 | |
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6
genial
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| adj.亲切的，和蔼的，愉快的，脾气好的 | |
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7
hovered
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| 鸟( hover的过去式和过去分词 )； 靠近（某事物）； （人）徘徊； 犹豫 | |
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8
intervals
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| n.[军事]间隔( interval的名词复数 )；间隔时间；[数学]区间；（戏剧、电影或音乐会的）幕间休息 | |
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9
fixed
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| adj.固定的，不变的，准备好的；(计算机)固定的 | |
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10
meditations
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| 默想( meditation的名词复数 )； 默念； 沉思； 冥想 | |
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11
dignified
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| a.可敬的，高贵的 | |
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12
kindling
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| n. 点火, 可燃物 动词kindle的现在分词形式 | |
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13
belied
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| v.掩饰( belie的过去式和过去分词 )；证明（或显示）…为虚假；辜负；就…扯谎 | |
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14
serene
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| adj. 安详的，宁静的，平静的 | |
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15
mingled
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| 混合，混入( mingle的过去式和过去分词 )； 混进，与…交往[联系] | |
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16
meekly
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| adv.温顺地，逆来顺受地 | |
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17
inclination
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| n.倾斜；点头；弯腰；斜坡；倾度；倾向；爱好 | |
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18
standing
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| n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的 | |
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19
pointed
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| adj.尖的，直截了当的 | |
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20
illuminated
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| adj.被照明的；受启迪的 | |
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21
worthy
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| adj.(of)值得的，配得上的；有价值的 | |
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22
hem
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| n.贴边，镶边；vt.缝贴边；(in)包围，限制 | |
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23
pristine
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| adj.原来的，古时的，原始的，纯净的，无垢的 | |
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24
remains
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| n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹 | |
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25
mortify
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| v.克制，禁欲，使受辱 | |
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26
behold
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| v.看，注视，看到 | |
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27
countenance
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| n.脸色，面容；面部表情；vt.支持，赞同 | |
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28
toil
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| vi.辛劳工作，艰难地行动；n.苦工，难事 | |
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29
slay
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| v.杀死，宰杀，杀戮 | |
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30
attain
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| vt.达到，获得，完成 | |
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31
forsake
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| vt.遗弃，抛弃；舍弃，放弃 | |
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32
pampered
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| adj.饮食过量的，饮食奢侈的v.纵容，宠，娇养( pamper的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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33
follower
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| n.跟随者；随员；门徒；信徒 | |
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34
Christian
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| adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒 | |
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35
implicitly
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| adv. 含蓄地, 暗中地, 毫不保留地 | |
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36
precepts
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| n.规诫，戒律，箴言( precept的名词复数 ) | |
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37
longings
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| 渴望，盼望( longing的名词复数 ) | |
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38
purged
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| 清除（政敌等）( purge的过去式和过去分词 )； 涤除（罪恶等）； 净化（心灵、风气等）； 消除（错事等）的不良影响 | |
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39
wilt
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| v.(使)植物凋谢或枯萎；(指人)疲倦，衰弱 | |
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40
celestial
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| adj.天体的；天上的 | |
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41
bask
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| vt.取暖，晒太阳，沐浴于 | |
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42
immortal
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| adj.不朽的；永生的，不死的；神的 | |
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43
aspiring
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| adj.有志气的；有抱负的；高耸的v.渴望；追求 | |
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44
accomplished
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| adj.有才艺的；有造诣的；达到了的 | |
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45
humble
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| adj.谦卑的，恭顺的；地位低下的；v.降低，贬低 | |
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46
aspirations
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| 强烈的愿望( aspiration的名词复数 )； 志向； 发送气音； 发 h 音 | |
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47
ardent
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| adj.热情的，热烈的，强烈的，烈性的 | |
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