(The Double of Johannes Thomasius appears.)
Ah!--whosoe'er thou art; if human blood Doth course within thy veins, or if thou art Some spirit only--leave me and depart. Who is it?--Here some demon brings to me My own self's likeness,--he will not depart;-- It is the picture of my very self And seems to be more powerful than that self.--
Maria, I do love thee;--beating heart And fevered blood are mine when at thy side. And when thine eye meets mine, my pulse doth thrill With passion's tremor: when thy dearest hand Doth nestle in mine own, my body swoons With rapture and delight.
Thou phantom ghost, Of mist and fog compact, how dost thou dare To utter blasphemy and so malign The purest feelings of my heart. How great A load of guilt must I have laid on me, That I must be compelled to look upon Such lust--befouled distortion of that love That is to me so holy.
I have lent Full oft unto thy words a listening ear. I seemed to draw them up into my soul As 'twere some message from the spirit-world. But more than any scene thy words disclosed I loved to have thy body close to mine. And when thou spakst of soul-paths I was filled With rapture that went leaping through my veins.
This is the unconfessed But not yet dispossessed Apparently repressed Still by the blood possessed The hidden lure Of sexual power.
DOUBLE (with a slightly different voice):
I have no power to go away from thee; Oft wilt thou find me standing by thy side; I leave thee not till thou hast found the power Which makes of me the very counterpart Of that pure being which thou shalt become. As yet thou hast not reached that high estate. In the illusion of thy personal self Thou thinkst mistakenly that thou art he.
O man, o'ercome thyself. O man, deliver me. Thou hast defeated me In thy soul's highest realm; But I am bound to thee In thine own being's depth. Me shalt thou ever find Across thy path in life If thou wouldst strive to shield All of thyself from me. O man, o'ercome thyself, O man, deliver me.
O man, be bold and dare. O man, experience me. Thou hast availed to win To spirit seership here, But I must spoil for thee The longing of thy heart. Still must thou suffer oft Deep agony of soul, If thou dost not consent To make use of my powers. O man be bold and dare. O man, experience me.