The Ring

Carlsburg Weekly, vol. VI, nos. 32 and 33

A summer's tale by Rudolf Steiner. From the author's life, shared by Marius.

S. entered the lively “Schottengasse” in the city of W. with his confidant Z. Both walked silently next to each other for a while; you could see from their faces that they were both thinking about something that moved them very much. Only Z. looked radiantly happy, while S.'s features became darker and darker and more and more serious. Z. began with the following words: “You can hardly imagine how happy you made me today with your good humor and cheerfulness, which you showed throughout the day. I have never been able to think of such a mood in you at the same time as the awareness that I have caused it for you. You have never expressed such unreserved approval of any of my actions either.” S. seemed not to have heard anything that had been said, because he did not say a word. To force him to answer, Z. addressed a question directly to him: “Do you think that I should tell my trusted friend in my distant homeland about my current experiences?” $ still seemed absentminded. “How come you are suddenly so taciturn, after you were so cheerful all day?” Only now was S. drawn out of his silence and said: “We had a happy evening today. You, my dear friend, have found a girl whose unassuming nature must captivate your mind, whose indescribable kindness is capable of putting your spiritual powers into the most beautiful harmony, and whose magnificent beauty must inspire in you a venerable affection for divine form. It was a charming sight for me when I saw you so devoted to her this evening, when I, the third in your beautiful company, saw you so blissfully happy in her presence. When we had taken leave of her, a ray of light from the street lamp suddenly fell on the finger of the hand I had extended to her in farewell, and my eyes fell on the ring on my hand, and this ring, I assure you, is a magic ring. In certain moments of life, it always conjures up things for me that you cannot imagine.” ‘Well, magic rings are found in all fairy tales,’ Z. said, ‘and you probably don't want to make such old stories new.’ Yes, rings are old magic things, I also said at the time when I received the ring in such a wonderful place.” “Well, now, let me hear the story of your magic ring,” Z. said. S. began: ”I had just completed the years during which I had to prepare my mind for higher things, and I lived in anxious anticipation of the time when I would be introduced to the deeper secrets of science. Then it so happened that I was walking along the street without any particular destination or important thoughts. In a rapid pace, a wondrous vehicle came up behind me. It was drawn by horses of a beauty that no one who has only seen earthly horses has any idea of. The carriage was as light as a feather and most beautifully decorated. Inside sat the goddess Fortuna, her face radiant with flowers. She beckoned to me and motioned for me to take a seat next to her. I could not resist. We now went through areas, sometimes desolate and empty, sometimes with an abundance of all things glorious. On a plain, where nothing was to be seen for miles around but a small house, our vehicle began to go slower. We approached the small house, and I soon realized that this was the destination of our journey. When we stopped, my divine guide said to me: “This is one of my best possessions, ring the bell, I have prepared everything for you.”

When I fully came to my senses, my goddess with her vehicle had already disappeared and I had no choice but to fearfully ring the bell. The mysterious door opened and an active girl became visible. Before I could even say a word, she said: “Everything is prepared for you here, I will take you to my mistress. But I must warn you that my mistress's appearance may at first seem frightening to you, but she will overcome any fear. After this preparation, she led me through a side door into her mistress's room, where I saw a woman sitting in an armchair with a face as pale as I have never seen on earth. A picture of deepest emotion: a woman whose whole being betrayed youth, but whose every facial feature seemed to express only one word: deepest sorrow. The dull eyes, the furrowed brow, the indescribably distorted mouth, which seemed to open at any moment to a sighing lament, offered me a picture that captured all the powers of my mind with such power that I would not have been able to speak even if so much wonder had not preceded this sight. The woman, after becoming aware of me, laid both her hands on my shoulders and spoke the following words from the bottom of her heart: “I have chosen this house in which you find yourself as my dwelling; I must live far, far away from the world, for I have experienced so much suffering in it that I can never look at it again. The only one who is with me, besides my servant, is my dear, dear daughter.

I have renounced the joys and life of the earth. But she shall not. I cannot leave her out of my sight, for her hour has not yet come. So she shall receive here everything that the earth offers in the way of spiritual goods, the most beautiful and best. And to teach her this, I have chosen you. I hope you will fulfill your task. After these words, she took me by the hand and led me to the girl's room, introduced me to her, and left us with some further instructions. Now the lessons should begin soon. But as I went to the first lesson, I noticed that the wonderful events that had taken place around me had robbed me of all my memory, I knew nothing at all and so I sat down to the first lesson in the most embarrassing situation. But suddenly it went very well. I fluently explained to the girl a world of which I myself had never had an idea, the nature of which I had never learned. The uplifting quality of my lecture inspired the girl; she listened to my words with an attention that was unparalleled. Where did this wondrous knowledge come from so suddenly? Oh, I read the whole text in the dear eyes that were fixed on me so intently, they gave me everything I needed to give back to the girl. The mother had infinite trust in me. I lived the happiest of times. A year after my arrival at this wonderful place, the lady of the house came to me and spoke with a seriousness that never left her face: “The time has come when we must part. The goddess who brought you here will come for you in a few moments. In a short time my daughter will be returned to the life of the world, to dwell again with men. I have nothing to give you but this magic ring. I know not its effect, but I must give it to you for some reason unknown to myself. At least the goddess Fortuna can explain its significance to you.” Just then the door opened and the goddess appeared, to tear me away from the greatest happiness. I boarded the carriage that had brought me here a year ago, and I had to travel through the same areas that I had traveled through back then. I said nothing to the goddess, but I had to ask about the meaning of the ring. The goddess knew. “The ring,” she said, “will have the wonderful effect for you that you will not be able to think of any female without remembering the girl you met here, and it will help you to find her again if she should need a friend in the hustle and bustle of the world.” The prediction was fulfilled. The last words of the suffering woman: “My daughter will soon be restored to the life of the world,” have left a deep echo in me. Now that I have been transported back from that magical realm into this world, my longing is to meet that being, who must also come here and will need me, somewhere, in order to save and protect her with my faithful love.