153. The Free Literary Society in Berlin 1899

On March 13, the fourth lecture evening of the winter took place at the "Freie Literarische Gesellschaft" in Berlin. A one-act drama "Märtyrer" by Georg Reicke and modern Iyrian poems were performed, both by the royal court actor Arthur Kraußneck. The lecture was preceded by a conference held by Dr. Rudolf Steiner. In particular, he sought to derive Nietzsche's Iyrian poems and two ballads by Maurice Maeterlinck, which were presented, from the nature of these two personalities. Nietzsche's poetry mostly emerges from a mood that at first glance makes us wonder at the proud philosopher who, rejoicing, has replaced the God of the hereafter with the superman of this world, who wants to show people that they should be creators, not recipients of divine powers. But Nietzsche, the poet, is Nietzsche, the man on whom individual life weighs heavily, who has known happiness all too little. Nietzsche created an image of the laughing philosopher out of the suffering human being. The greatness of this image crushed Nietzsche, the human being. His poems grew out of such moods. What Nietzsche, the suffering individual, felt towards the lofty image of his superman flows out of his poems. - Maeterlinck is averse to the crude, in-your-face facts of life. Not the big words, not the strong feelings and passions are for him the heralds of the deepest things in the world. When I see a person only fleetingly, something can happen between his soul and mine that is deeper and more divine than what is expressed in the words of a Plato or a Fichte or in the passion of an Othello. Such crude sayings, such passions only obscure for us the deeper things that can be seen in the seemingly most mundane events. The two ballads performed show how simple means Maeterlinck uses to express shocking truths.

Mr. Kraußneck's performance made a deep impression on the audience. Reicke's one-act play depicts the sad situation of the family of a pastor who has to give up his office because his conscience has brought him into conflict with the teachings of the church. The wife is dead. The daughter alone has to earn a living for her father and siblings. She could marry and find happiness. But she is not allowed to leave her position within the family. The way her father tries to keep her in this position and her heartbreaking renunciation of happiness is portrayed in a gripping way in connection with the characters. Mr. Kraußneck found a way to bring out the subtle psychology of the work. No less effective was the expression he gave to the poignant poems of Nietzsche and Maeterlinck.

The final piece was a legend "The Four Robbers" by Ludwig Jacobowski, written in a genuinely folksy tone. This poet seeks the simplest, unaffected tones and thus achieves a height of art that we admire in the perfect folk song.