On the morning of Good Friday, 1857, Richard Wagner, the master artist of the nineteenth century, sat on the verandah of a Swiss villa1 by the Zurich Sea. The landscape about him was bathed in most glorious sunshine; peace and good will seemed to vibrate through nature. All creation was throbbing2 with life; the air was laden3 with the fragrant4 perfume of budding pine forests—a grateful balm to a troubled heart or a restless mind.
Then suddenly, as a bolt from an azure5 sky, there came into Wagner’s deeply mystic soul a remembrance of the ominous6 significance of that day—the darkest and most sorrowful in the Christian7 year. It almost overwhelmed him with sadness, as he contemplated8 the contrast. There was such a marked incongruity9 between the smiling scene before him, the plainly observable activity of nature, struggling to renewed life after winter’s long sleep, and the death struggle of a tortured Savior upon a cross; between154 the full-throated chant of life and love issuing from the thousands of little feathered choristers in forest, moor10, and meadow, and the ominous shouts of hate issuing from an infuriated mob as they jeered11 and mocked the noblest ideal the world has ever known; between the wonderful creative energy exerted by nature in spring, and the destructive element in man, which slew12 the noblest character that ever graced our earth.
While Wagner meditated13 thus upon the incongruities14 of existence, the question presented itself: Is there any connection between the death of the Savior upon the cross at Easter, and the vital energy which expresses itself so prodigally15 in spring when nature begins the life of a new year?
Though Wagner did not consciously perceive and realize the full significance of the connection between the death of the Savior and the rejuvenation16 of nature, he had, nevertheless, unwittingly stumbled upon the key to one of the most sublime17 mysteries encountered by the human spirit in its pilgrimage from clod to God.
In the darkest night of the year, when earth sleeps most soundly in Boreas’ cold embrace, when material activities are at the very lowest ebb18, a wave of spiritual energy carries upon its crest19 the divine creative “Word from Heaven” to a mystic birth at Christmas; and as a luminous20 cloud the spiritual impulse broods over the world that “knew it not,” for it155 “shines in the darkness” of winter when nature is paralyzed and speechless.
This divine creative “Word” has a message and a mission. It was born to “save the world,” and “to give its life for the world.” It must of necessity sacrifice its life in order to accomplish the rejuvenation of nature. Gradually it buries itself in the earth and commences to infuse its own vital energy into the millions of seeds which lie dormant21 in the ground. It whispers “the word of life” into the ears of beast and bird, until the gospel or good news has been preached to every creature. The sacrifice is fully22 consummated23 by the time the sun crosses its Easter(n) node at the spring equinox. Then the divine creative Word expires. It dies upon the cross at Easter in a mystical sense, while uttering a last triumphant24 cry, “It has been accomplished” (consummatum est).
But as an echo returns to us many times repeated, so also the celestial25 song of life is re-echoed from the earth. The whole creation takes up the anthem26. A legion-tongued chorus repeats it over and over. The little seeds in the bosom27 of Mother Earth commence to germinate28; they burst and sprout29 in all directions, and soon a wonderful mosaic30 of life, a velvety31 green carpet embroidered32 with multicolored flowers, replaces the shroud33 of immaculate wintry white. From the furred and feathered tribes “the word of life” re-echoes as a song of love, impelling34 them to mate. Generation and multiplication35 are the watchwords156 everywhere—the Spirit has risen to more abundant life.
Thus, mystically, we may note the annual birth, death, and resurrection of the Savior as the ebb and flow of a spiritual impulse which culminates36 at the winter solstice, Christmas, and has egress37 from the earth shortly after Easter when the “word” “ascends to Heaven” on Whitsunday. But it will not remain there forever. We are taught that “thence it shall return,” “at the judgment39.” Thus when the sun descends40 below the equator through the sign of the scales in October, when the fruits of the year are harvested, weighed, and assorted42 according to their kind, the descent of the spirit of the new year has its inception43. This descent culminates in birth at Christmas.
Man is a miniature of nature. What happens on a large scale in the life of a planet like our earth, takes place on a smaller scale in the course of human events. A planet is the body of a wonderfully great and exalted44 Being, one of the Seven Spirits before the Throne (of the parent sun). Man is also a spirit and “made in their likeness45.” As a planet revolves46 in its cyclic path around the sun whence it emanated47, so also the human spirit moves in an orbit around its central source—God. Planetary orbits, being ellipses48, have points of closest approach to and extreme deviation49 from their solar centers. Likewise the orbit of the human spirit is elliptical. We are closest to God157 when our cyclic journey carries us into the celestial sphere of activity—heaven, and we are farthest removed from Him during earth life. These changes are necessary to our soul growth. As the festivals of the year mark the recurring50 events of importance in the life of a Great Spirit, so our births and deaths are events of periodical recurrence51. It is as impossible for the human spirit to remain perpetually in heaven or upon earth as it is for a planet to stand still in its orbit. The same immutable52 law of periodicity which determines the unbroken sequence of the seasons, the alternation of day and night, the tidal ebb and flow, governs also the progression of the human spirit, both in heaven and upon earth.
From realms of celestial light where we live in freedom, untrammeled by limitations of time and space, where we vibrate in tune53 with infinite harmony of the spheres, we descend41 to birth in the physical world where our spiritual sight is obscured by the mortal coil which binds54 us to this limited phase of our existence. We live here awhile; we die and ascend38 to heaven, to be reborn and to die again. Each earth life is a chapter in a serial55 life story, extremely humble56 in its beginnings, but increasing in interest and importance as we ascend to higher and higher stations of human responsibility. No limit is conceivable, for in essence we are divine and must therefore have the infinite possibilities of God dormant within. When we have learned all that this world158 has to teach us, a wider orbit, a larger sphere of superhuman usefulness, will give scope to our greater capabilities57.
“Build thee more stately mansions58, O my Soul.
As the swift seasons roll,
Leave thy low vaulted59 past;
Let each new temple, nobler than the last,
Shut thee from heaven with a dome60 more vast,
Till thou at length art free,
Leaving thine outgrown61 shell by life’s unresting sea.”
Thus says Oliver Wendell Holmes, comparing the spiral progression in the widening coil of a chambered nautilus to the expansion of consciousness which is the result of soul growth in an evolving human being.
“But what of Christ?” someone will ask. “Don’t you believe in Him? You are discoursing62 upon Easter, the feast which commemorates63 the cruel death and glorious, triumphant resurrection of the Savior, but you seem to be alluding64 to Him more from an allegorical point of view than as an actual fact.”
Certainly we believe in the Christ; we love Him with our whole heart and soul, but we wish to emphasize the teaching that Christ is the first fruits of the race. He said that we shall do the things He did, “and greater.” Thus we are Christs-in-the-making.
“Though Christ a thousand times in Bethlehem be born,
And not within thyself, thy soul will be forlorn.
The cross on Golgotha thou lookest to in vain,
Unless within thyself it be set up again.”
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Thus proclaims Angelus Silesius, with true mystic understanding of the essentials of attainment65.
We are too much in the habit of looking to an outside Savior while harboring a devil within; but till Christ be formed IN US, as Paul says, we shall seek in vain, for as it is impossible for us to perceive light and color, though they be all about us, unless our optic nerve registers their vibrations66, and as we remain unconscious of sound when the tympanum of our ear is insensitive, so also must we remain blind to the presence of Christ and deaf to His voice until we arouse our dormant spiritual natures within. But once these natures have become awakened67, they will reveal the Lord of Love as a prime reality; this on the principle that when a tuning68 fork is struck, another of identical pitch will also commence to sing, while tuning forks of different pitches will remain mute. Therefore the Christ said that His sheep knew the sound of His voice and responded, but the voice of the stranger they heard not. (John 10:5). No matter what our creed69, we are all brethren of Christ, so let us rejoice, the Lord has risen! Let us seek Him and forget our creeds70 and other lesser71 differences.
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1 villa | |
n.别墅,城郊小屋 | |
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2 throbbing | |
a. 跳动的,悸动的 | |
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3 laden | |
adj.装满了的;充满了的;负了重担的;苦恼的 | |
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4 fragrant | |
adj.芬香的,馥郁的,愉快的 | |
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5 azure | |
adj.天蓝色的,蔚蓝色的 | |
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6 ominous | |
adj.不祥的,不吉的,预兆的,预示的 | |
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7 Christian | |
adj.基督教徒的;n.基督教徒 | |
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8 contemplated | |
adj. 预期的 动词contemplate的过去分词形式 | |
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9 incongruity | |
n.不协调,不一致 | |
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10 moor | |
n.荒野,沼泽;vt.(使)停泊;vi.停泊 | |
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11 jeered | |
v.嘲笑( jeer的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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12 slew | |
v.(使)旋转;n.大量,许多 | |
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13 meditated | |
深思,沉思,冥想( meditate的过去式和过去分词 ); 内心策划,考虑 | |
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14 incongruities | |
n.不协调( incongruity的名词复数 );不一致;不适合;不协调的东西 | |
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15 prodigally | |
adv.浪费地,丰饶地 | |
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16 rejuvenation | |
n. 复原,再生, 更新, 嫩化, 恢复 | |
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17 sublime | |
adj.崇高的,伟大的;极度的,不顾后果的 | |
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18 ebb | |
vi.衰退,减退;n.处于低潮,处于衰退状态 | |
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19 crest | |
n.顶点;饰章;羽冠;vt.达到顶点;vi.形成浪尖 | |
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20 luminous | |
adj.发光的,发亮的;光明的;明白易懂的;有启发的 | |
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21 dormant | |
adj.暂停活动的;休眠的;潜伏的 | |
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22 fully | |
adv.完全地,全部地,彻底地;充分地 | |
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23 consummated | |
v.使结束( consummate的过去式和过去分词 );使完美;完婚;(婚礼后的)圆房 | |
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24 triumphant | |
adj.胜利的,成功的;狂欢的,喜悦的 | |
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25 celestial | |
adj.天体的;天上的 | |
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26 anthem | |
n.圣歌,赞美诗,颂歌 | |
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27 bosom | |
n.胸,胸部;胸怀;内心;adj.亲密的 | |
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28 germinate | |
v.发芽;发生;发展 | |
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29 sprout | |
n.芽,萌芽;vt.使发芽,摘去芽;vi.长芽,抽条 | |
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30 mosaic | |
n./adj.镶嵌细工的,镶嵌工艺品的,嵌花式的 | |
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31 velvety | |
adj. 像天鹅绒的, 轻软光滑的, 柔软的 | |
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32 embroidered | |
adj.绣花的 | |
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33 shroud | |
n.裹尸布,寿衣;罩,幕;vt.覆盖,隐藏 | |
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34 impelling | |
adj.迫使性的,强有力的v.推动、推进或敦促某人做某事( impel的现在分词 ) | |
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35 multiplication | |
n.增加,增多,倍增;增殖,繁殖;乘法 | |
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36 culminates | |
v.达到极点( culminate的第三人称单数 ) | |
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37 egress | |
n.出去;出口 | |
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38 ascend | |
vi.渐渐上升,升高;vt.攀登,登上 | |
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39 judgment | |
n.审判;判断力,识别力,看法,意见 | |
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40 descends | |
v.下来( descend的第三人称单数 );下去;下降;下斜 | |
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41 descend | |
vt./vi.传下来,下来,下降 | |
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42 assorted | |
adj.各种各样的,各色俱备的 | |
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43 inception | |
n.开端,开始,取得学位 | |
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44 exalted | |
adj.(地位等)高的,崇高的;尊贵的,高尚的 | |
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45 likeness | |
n.相像,相似(之处) | |
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46 revolves | |
v.(使)旋转( revolve的第三人称单数 );细想 | |
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47 emanated | |
v.从…处传出,传出( emanate的过去式和过去分词 );产生,表现,显示 | |
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48 ellipses | |
n.椭园,省略号;椭圆( ellipse的名词复数 );(语法结构上的)省略( ellipsis的名词复数 ) | |
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49 deviation | |
n.背离,偏离;偏差,偏向;离题 | |
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50 recurring | |
adj.往复的,再次发生的 | |
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51 recurrence | |
n.复发,反复,重现 | |
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52 immutable | |
adj.不可改变的,永恒的 | |
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53 tune | |
n.调子;和谐,协调;v.调音,调节,调整 | |
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54 binds | |
v.约束( bind的第三人称单数 );装订;捆绑;(用长布条)缠绕 | |
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55 serial | |
n.连本影片,连本电视节目;adj.连续的 | |
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56 humble | |
adj.谦卑的,恭顺的;地位低下的;v.降低,贬低 | |
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57 capabilities | |
n.能力( capability的名词复数 );可能;容量;[复数]潜在能力 | |
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58 mansions | |
n.宅第,公馆,大厦( mansion的名词复数 ) | |
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59 vaulted | |
adj.拱状的 | |
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60 dome | |
n.圆屋顶,拱顶 | |
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61 outgrown | |
长[发展] 得超过(某物)的范围( outgrow的过去分词 ); 长[发展]得不能再要(某物); 长得比…快; 生长速度超过 | |
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62 discoursing | |
演说(discourse的现在分词形式) | |
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63 commemorates | |
n.纪念,庆祝( commemorate的名词复数 )v.纪念,庆祝( commemorate的第三人称单数 ) | |
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64 alluding | |
提及,暗指( allude的现在分词 ) | |
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65 attainment | |
n.达到,到达;[常pl.]成就,造诣 | |
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66 vibrations | |
n.摆动( vibration的名词复数 );震动;感受;(偏离平衡位置的)一次性往复振动 | |
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67 awakened | |
v.(使)醒( awaken的过去式和过去分词 );(使)觉醒;弄醒;(使)意识到 | |
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68 tuning | |
n.调谐,调整,调音v.调音( tune的现在分词 );调整;(给收音机、电视等)调谐;使协调 | |
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69 creed | |
n.信条;信念,纲领 | |
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70 creeds | |
(尤指宗教)信条,教条( creed的名词复数 ) | |
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71 lesser | |
adj.次要的,较小的;adv.较小地,较少地 | |
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