Third Act, partly prose

MARY: You, bearer of the forces of light, you once turned the minds of men away from serving your enemies. You gave them knowledge in an instant, when the good gods could only give them love. Since that time, there has been a struggle between you, and your battlefield is the earth. But already, the downfall of your kingdom is imminent. A bold thinker has opened the spirit to man through science. Knowledge can be taken from your power and led to the good gods. But you want to secure it for yourself. You want to give love to Theodora, John, the founder of knowledge, which is to fight the light of man, just as your light once fought the love of the gods. But know that in the depths of my being, a divine vow to the existence of the heart has risen up. Mary, who now stands before you, will find the strength to close her soul's eye forever to all knowledge of the earth. She will take in only what is granted to her by grace from the heights of the gods, without earthly striving. Thus, that which is permeated by your spirit on earth will never be able to approach her. And that which is then revealed to me through grace will flow as love for Johannes. And if he ever turns his gaze to earthly things and hears your tempting words in them, then what I was allowed to give him will reach you. You will often speak to him: Your human nature will flourish in love; and your heart will live selfhood. But he will one day answer you: I will live the love that God lived by dying for earthly existence; I will live the selfhood that I do not feel through myself, that I feel because he reveals himself in me.