Related drafts for the first, second, and third scenes

MARIA: Thus man stands before the threshold of a strict guardian; He shows him what, before the encounter, Escapes the gaze through wise providence; He releases the impulses of the soul And lifts them into conscious being. We approach him and learn everything What slumbers within our being. It must be the fate of the initiate To live on fearlessly with such knowledge, Which remains hidden from ignorance. I see you, O friend, standing before this guardian. Oh, if the powers of our wise guide Were now inclined toward you, To keep you far from those terrors, Which are the consequences of true self-knowledge.