(Exeunt the Grand Master and two Brothers.)
He speaks of spirit-worlds in just such words As men may speak of villages or towns.... The way in which our loftiest brothers speak Of other states of life oppresseth me. And yet I am devoted fervently Unto the progress of our earthly aims.
My firm reliance is our master's words. The man who cannot hear with perfect faith The tale of spirit and of spirit-worlds,-- Is nowise lacking in the faculties To grasp a revelation of this kind. The things he lacks are of a different mould. He may well guess, unwilling to admit, That he is conscious of unworthiness To be a member of the higher worlds. A soul must be defiled by secret stain And eager to deny that they are there, That will not bow before the spirit-lore.
(Enter the Monk; the Second Preceptor enters and steps up to him.)
What errand bringeth thee to this our house Which is for thee the home of enemies?
I must include amongst my friends all those Who bear the form of men. This is our rule. But hostile thou mayst well esteem the claim Which I, by duty bound, must here present. Those who are over me have sent me here. And their desire is that the property Belonging to the Church, as by old deeds Is well attested, should be given back To them without dispute. Yon tract of ground Upon which ye have sunk your mine, belongs In law and equity unto the Church. The manner in which ye possessed yourselves Of this estate confers no legal rights.
Whether in law we have a right to call It ours or no, would constitute a case For legal disputation long drawn out. But certain 'tis that it belongs to us If we refer it to a higher law. Yon tract of ground was lying lost and waste When it was purchased by our brotherhood: Not e'en an inkling had ye of the fact That far below rich treasure lay concealed. This have we won for human industry. Its treasures travel far and wide today To distant lands, to further human weal. And many honest souls are now at work In shaft and tunnel underneath the ground Which in your hands lay waste and desolate.
Then it doth not seem fair and right to thee To urge upon thy brotherhood the need Of peaceably accepting our demand That so we may regain our property?
Since we are not aware of any guilt, But are convinced our cause is wholly just, We can but wait in quiet confidence To see if ye are really bent on strife, When as before, yourselves are in the wrong.