Chapter 4 Waldzell-1

"Waldzell is also the holy land of glass bead players" is an old saying that describes the famous Waldzell School.Among the many schools in Castalia, Walzell focuses on music in the second and third stages of the curriculum, that is to say, many other schools have their own focus, for example: Copperheim Whereas the school focused on classical linguistics, the Porta School on Aristotle and scholasticism, the Plainwater School on mathematics, the Waldzell School's tradition, in contrast, tends to foster a culture that can reconcile science and art. Talent, the highest symbol of this tendency is the glass bead game.Although the game of glass bead here, as in other schools, is neither an official activity nor a formally taught compulsory subject.However, almost without exception, all students at Walzell study this subject outside the classroom.It's easy to understand, since the venue for the Glass Bead Games and its various affiliates are located in the small town of Waldzell: such as the famous Glass Bead Hall dedicated to the game celebration, the large-scale Glass Bead Game Archive The library and its various offices and libraries, and even the apartment of the master of the glass bead game are located here.Even though the various institutions are independent units, and the Waldzell School is by no means affiliated or branched, their spirit pervades the whole school, especially the solemn atmosphere of holding the public game competition permeates the whole town.Of course, the whole city is proud of the school and the game.The local residents call the students of Waldzell School "scholars" and the guests who come to study the glass bead game "knot-solvers", which is the transformation of the Latin word "player".

Incidentally, Waldzell School is the smallest of all the schools in Castalia, and the total number of students enrolled at each time has never exceeded sixty. This situation will undoubtedly make the school a little special and aristocratic. A little different, it seems to only breed the best of the best.And indeed, many of the masters of the art and all of the glass bead games have come out of this venerable school over the decades.Of course, this brilliant reputation for Waldzell is by no means undisputed.Everywhere it is always thought that the people of Waldzell are mere self-satisfied beauty admirers and pampered princes who can do nothing but play glass bead.Occasionally there was an anti-Walzell rebuke in a few other schools, but it was precisely this biting remark, half jest, half reprimand, which showed that it all arose from envy and jealousy.Regardless, it is always a privilege for a student to be placed at Walzell.Joseph Knecht understood this too, and although he was neither vain nor ambitious, he accepted the honor with a pleasant sense of pride.

Knecht walked to Walzell with a few classmates.He is full of expectations for the future and has made full spiritual preparations. As soon as he stepped into the south gate, he was immediately attracted by the brown appearance of the ancient town, and was fascinated by the solemn and solemn campus. The school used to be a monastery of the Church of West.He had just had tea in the reception room, and, impatient to change into his new clothes, he slipped out alone to see his new home.He found a walking path next to the ruins of what was once an ancient city wall, so he walked along the path by the small river, stopped at the top of an arched bridge, listened to the rustling of the water, and passed Walking into a tree-lined avenue in the cemetery, he saw and recognized the "Glass Bead Player Academy" behind the tall hedge, a small city specially set up for glass bead players.There is a great hall for ceremonies, archives, various classrooms, VIP buildings, and teachers' residences.He saw a man in a Glass Bead costume coming out of one of the houses, and wondered if it could be a fabled game master, perhaps the Glass Bead Master himself.He felt that the atmosphere here had a strong charm for him, everything seemed so ancient, respectable, sacred, and full of traditional colors, and suddenly he felt closer to the "center" than Eichholtz.As he walked back from the Glass Bead game area, he discovered another charm of the city, perhaps less admirable, but equally exciting.This is the town itself—a small profane world: the bustling commerce, the puppies and children, the smells of shops and workshops, the bearded townsfolk sitting behind shop doors. The fat ladies, the boys playing noisily, the young girls squinting.Many things reminded Knecht of the distant world of the past, of the small town of Belofengen he knew well, and of everything he had believed deeply in the past and had long been forgotten by him.Now, in the depths of his soul, everything was responding to sights, smells and sounds.Compared with Eichholtz, what awaits him here is a secular world that is not very peaceful, but more colorful and richer.

After the school started, although there were several new courses, Knecht initially felt that it was just a continuation of the old courses.Nothing really new, except for the retreat exercises.For him, it is also because of the guidance of a music master rather than a new attempt.Back then, he was happy to accept meditation instruction, but only regarded it as a pleasant game to relax his body and mind.It was not until later—and we shall come to this—that he realized, from his own personal experience, its true great value. Otto Cheppington, the headmaster of the Waldzell School, was an extraordinary and somewhat frightening man, and Knecht was nearly sixty years old when he saw him.Many of the records we saw about the student Knecht later came from the principal's beautiful and powerful calligraphy.In fact, it was the classmates, not the teachers, who were initially curious about the newcomers.Knecht in particular established a very manly friendship with two of them, which is attested by many written correspondence.One was Carlo Pheromonti, who was the same age as Knecht. They became good friends in the first few months of school. Pheromonti later became the music master's agent, second only to the highest educational authority. Twelve members.We are very grateful for his help, especially for his historical account of the style of lute playing in the sixteenth century.His nickname at school was "The Rice Addict", and his classmates admired his game skills.His friendship with Knecht started from talking about music, and continued to study and learn from each other, and their relationship lasted for many years.In this regard, we get partly from the letters written by Knecht to the masters of music, which are rare but very rich in content.In his first letter, Knecht called Pheromonti a "musical expert, skilled in ornate, ornamental notes, vibrato, etc.", and they practiced together playing Copalin, Purcell and other great masters of the 1700s s work.In one of Knecht's letters, such exercises and music are described in detail, "in certain passages almost every note is given grace notes".He went on to write: "When people play repeated notes, strong trills and legatos continuously for hours on end, they feel as if electricity is charged in their fingers."

After Knecht entered Walzell in his second or third year, he really made great progress in music. He was familiar with and could play music scores, clefs, abbreviations and symbols of various centuries and styles. Low notes, all the treasures of the Western music kingdom that we know, he strives to get close to familiarity in his own unique way. Starting from technical research, he carefully explores the feeling and technique of each piece of music, and finally understands its spiritual essence deeply. .It is precisely because he is keen on grasping the feeling of music, and strives to read through the spiritual essence of various music styles from the ear's experience of the sensibility, acoustics and touching of the music, that he has not been able to devote himself to learning glass. The basic lessons of the ball game, so that others wonder how he has been so long behind in this area.Many years later, he said the following in a lecture: "Whoever knows music only from the abstracts extracted from the glass bead game may be a good glass bead player, but not a good musician. It is probably impossible to become a good historian. Music is not only composed of pure vibrations and patterns that we abstracted with theories. Looking at the music of the world for thousands of years, all of them are firstly based on the pleasure of feeling, breathing The burst of rhythm and the percussion of beats are born from the tones, friction and stimulation that people experience in the blending of various singing voices and the ensemble of various instruments. There is no doubt that the spirit is the most important. And the new instrument The invention and improvement of old musical instruments, the introduction of new singing and new ideas, the absorption of new rules or new taboos are always just a gesture and appearance, just like the clothes and fashions of all countries in the world are only appearances. However, people These superficial sensory features must be grasped and savored perceptually, so that it is possible to understand the era and style from which they came. People play music with their hands and fingers, with our mouth and lungs, not with our brains alone; Therefore, a person who can only read music scores but is not very good at playing any instrument should not participate in the conversation about music. Therefore, the history of the development of music is by no means a historical work that infers the development of its style in the abstract. It is understandable. Take for example whether we can recognize periods of decline in music, if we do not see that every decline is the sensory and quantitative factors overpowering the spiritual factors, we must not be able to get started at all."

For a while Knecht seemed determined that he only wanted to be a musician.His preference for music was so great that he missed other electives, including a basic course in the glass bead game, and the situation developed so badly that he was summoned by the headmaster before the first term was over.Without fear, Knecht stubbornly insisted on his right to be a student.He is said to have replied to the headmaster: "If I fail any of the regular subjects, you have the right to punish me, but I have not. Similarly, I also have the right to dispose of my spare time, and I can use three-quarters or even the whole time to study music.I obey the school rules. "Principal Cheppington is very shrewd, so he stopped insisting on his own opinion. Of course, he paid special attention to this student from then on. It is said that for a long time after that, he treated Knecht quite cold and strict.

This strange period of Knecht's student years lasted roughly a year, maybe half a year more.His academic performance is average, his performance is not outstanding - judging from the conflict between him and the principal - his behavior is a kind of stubborn self-retreat, he does not make friends with anyone, only devotes all his enthusiasm to music, and almost abandons music. All other extra-curricular projects, including learning the glass bead game.There is no doubt that some of his performances are characteristic of puberty.During this period, he was suspicious of occasional encounters with members of the opposite sex, perhaps out of shyness—like other Eichholtz students who had no sisters in their families.He read many books, especially German philosophical works. He loved to read books by Leibniz, Kant and many romantic authors, but Hegel was the most attractive to him.

We must now briefly introduce another classmate of Knecht's, the auditor Plinio Tesignoli, who played a pivotal role in Waldzell's life at that time.The so-called auditor is to attend classes at the school as a guest, that is to say, he does not plan to stay in Castalia Academy for a long time, let alone join a religious group. There are often such auditors in the academy, but the number is very small. Obviously, the highest education authority is not happy to absorb such students, because once they finish their studies, they will immediately go home and return to secular life.However, there are several ancient noble families in the country who have made great efforts in the founding of Castalia, and the old custom is still preserved (at least not completely eliminated), and they always choose a child who is talented enough to learn the standard of human beings as a guest. Attending an elite school is a privilege inherited by those noble families.

Although these auditors have to abide by the same school rules as other students, they don't have to be alienated from their families and hometowns all year round, thus forming a rather special group among the students.They return to their families every holiday, so they always retain the habits and ways of thinking of their birthplace, and they are always just guests and outsiders in the eyes of their classmates.A parental family, a worldly career, a career, and marriage awaited them.Some of these distinguished students were inspired by the spirit of the school and ended up staying in Castalia with the consent of their families, and joined religious groups, but these were rare.Most people say the opposite, but history proves that whenever public opinion turned against elite schools and religious groups for various reasons, many prominent politicians in our country's history have stood up to defend both, Many of them were such VIP students in their youth.

One such auditor was Plinio Tesignoli, a friend of the younger Knecht from the moment he entered Walzell.Tsignoli is very talented, he is eloquent and good at debating; He also refused to forget his special status as an auditor. Instead, he tried his best to attract attention, even bluntly proclaiming himself as a non-Castalian with secular views in a challenging posture. Two students unexpectedly form a special friendship.Both were extremely gifted and both felt a spiritual calling which made them brothers despite being diametrically opposed in every other way.Perhaps it takes an extraordinary teacher with superhuman wisdom and high skill to be able to search for gold in the sand and use the law of dialectics to constantly seek synthesis among contradictions and opposites.Principal Cheppington does not lack the talent and desire in this regard. He does not belong to the type of teacher who hates geniuses, but to solve the current example, he lacks the most important prerequisite: the trust of the two students.

Plinio, a self-proclaimed outsider and a reformer, has always kept a wary attitude towards the principal.What's even more unfortunate is that Principal Cheppington and Joseph had conflicts over extracurricular learning issues. Of course, Joseph would not turn to him for teaching advice. Fortunately, there is also a music master.Knecht asked for his help and advice, and the wise old musician, after much deliberation, steered his glass bead lessons on the right track with great ingenuity, as we shall see.The great crisis and misguided path encountered by the young Knecht were saved by the master and turned into a glorious mission for Knecht, and the young man did not disappoint the old man's expectations.The history of the friendly and hostile friendship between Joseph and Plinio, or it can also be called a piece of music with two themes going hand in hand, or a dialectical relationship in which two different spirits complement each other. The general situation of this period of history is as follows. The first to attract the other party's attention and be attracted by it was of course Tsignoli.This is not only because he is older, handsome, and eloquent, but mainly because he does not belong to Castalia, but is an "outsider", an outsider from the world, a man with parents, uncles and aunts, A man with brothers and sisters, to whom the kingdom of Castalia, with all its rules, traditions, and ideals, is but a journey, a stopover, a brief sojourn.In the eyes of this outsider, Castalia is not the whole world, and Walzell is no different from an ordinary school. In his view, returning to the "mortal world" is neither shame nor punishment. What awaits him is not The religious community, but the path to success, career, marriage, politics, in short, the "real life" that every Castalian secretly longs to know as much as possible.For, to the Castalians, as to the monks of old, the word "mortal world" signified something base and untouchable, and therefore mysterious, seductive, and alluring.Now this Plinio does not hide his attachment. He is not ashamed of belonging to the secular world, but proud of it.His emphasis on his differing views is partly out of childishness and joking, and partly out of self-conscious propaganda enthusiasm.Whenever he had the opportunity, he compared Castalian standards with his own worldly views and yardsticks, and declared his own views to be better, more correct, more natural, and more human.In the future, he repeatedly put forward "in line with nature", "healthy human common sense", etc., in order to criticize the inhuman school spirit of abstinence.He did not spare a great deal of catchphrases and hyperbole, but he was tactful and entertaining enough not to reduce his remarks to low-grade invective, and employed more or less the usual Waldzell tactic.He would defend the "secular world" and its ordinary life against Castalian's "arrogant scholastic spirit," and he would prove that he could fight with the weapons of the enemy. It's not wrong to win.He never wanted to be thought of as a brutish fool who blindly trampled upon the gardens of spirituality and culture. Joseph Knecht would often stop near a small group of students centered on the orator Tesignoli, silent and listening intently.The orator's words made him feel strange and surprised, even a little frightened. Plinio denigrated everything that was regarded as authoritative and sacred in Castalia, and everything was questioned and questioned by him. Or ridiculous, but Knecht firmly believed in all of this.He soon noticed that not everyone was listening to the speeches, and that many were apparently just doing it for fun, like people listening to hawking in a market.In addition, he heard from time to time someone responded to Plinio's attack on the school with a mockery or a serious kiss.Even so, there are always a few classmates who always gather around this Plinio. He is always the center. No matter what the occasion, there happens to be no opponent or an opponent appears. He is always attractive, a kind of attraction that is close to seduction. Joseph, like the crowd gathered around the active orator, listened with astonishment or derision to his volleys of fiery speeches.Although Knecht felt that speeches often made him uneasy or even fearful, he was still attracted by their great allure. This was not because the words were wonderful and interesting, no, but because they had a very serious relationship with himself. relation.It's not that he resonates with the bold speaker in his heart, but once he knows that those doubts really exist or do exist.They cause you pain.The pain didn't start too badly, just a little bit of confusion and a little bit of uneasiness, a mix of strong urges and pangs of conscience. At last the time came for them to make friends.Tesignoli noticed a man in the audience who was thinking about his remarks rather than taking them as mere banter and scolding, and what he saw was a taciturn blond boy, handsome and gentle, a little shy , when he answered this Plinio's polite question, he blushed and stuttered.Plinio guessed that the boy had been following him for some time, and decided to return the favor with a gesture of friendliness.In order to completely conquer the other party, he invited Knecht to sit down at his residence the next afternoon.But this shy and reserved boy was not easy to conquer.Plinio had to be taken by surprise.The kid stood away, not wanting to talk to him, and just declined his invitation, which irritated the older counterpart.On the other hand, the pursuit of the taciturn Joseph, perhaps at first out of vanity and conceit, became more and more serious, because he sensed here an adversary, who might become a future friend or an enemy.Plinio saw Joseph appearing near him again and again, and felt that he was listening attentively, but as soon as he moved towards him, the shy boy immediately backed away. There was a reason for Knecht's avoidance.For a long time, Knecht felt that another child might be of great significance to him, might also bring something beautiful, could expand his horizons, knowledge and understanding, might also bring him traps and dangers, no matter what In other words, they are all realities that he must face up to.He told his friend Feromonti of the first impulse of doubt which Plinio's statement had aroused in him, but the friend paid no heed to it, and asserted that Plinio was an insolent man whose time was not worth wasting The arrogant person, after finishing speaking, he devoted himself to music performance again.Joseph instinctively felt that maybe the headmaster was the right person to explain his doubts, but since that little festival, there was no frank relationship of trust between them, and he was also worried that he would not be understood by Cheppington, and even more so. Worried that his rebellious remarks about Plinio would be regarded as an informant by the principal. This dilemma made him feel more and more painful because of Plinio's active approach.Knecht had no choice but to turn to his protector and soul teacher for help.He wrote an extremely long letter to the music master.The letter has been preserved, and we quote one of these passages as follows: "Does Plinio want my approval of him, or does he just want a dialogue partner? I don't know quite yet. I hope it is the latter, Because asking me to turn to his point of view would lead me to infidelity and ruin my life. After all, I am a child of Castalia. If I really want to return to the secular world, I will I have no parents or friends to turn to. However, even if Plinio's blasphemy against Castalia had no aim at all in trying to influence others to become vulgar, I am baffled. To tell you the truth, dear master , Plinio's views do contain something that I cannot simply deny. He arouses a resonance in me, sometimes very strong. Asks me to support his views. If this is the voice of nature, then it is the same as my The education we received was completely contrary to our familiar views. Plinio described our teachers and masters as a privileged group of monks, and our classmates as a group of sheep who were circumcised under guardianship. The words are, of course, crude and exaggerated, but there may be some truth in them, which would not have disturbed me so much.Plinio dared to say everything that surprised and discouraged.For example, he said: The glass bead game is a game that goes back to the era of supplementary writing. It is an irresponsible alphabet game that may destroy our previous languages ​​of various arts and sciences.This game only makes associations and analogies.He also said: Our unproductive retirement just proves the worthlessness of all our spiritual education and attitudes.He also analyzed that: we analyze the rules and techniques of music works of various styles in various eras as examples, but we cannot come up with new music created by ourselves.He added that we read and interpret Pindar or Goethe, but are ashamed to take up a pen and write our own verses.I cannot laugh off these accusations.The above accusation is not the worst, the one that pains me the most is that we Castalians live like caged birds fed by humans, that we don't have to earn our own bread, that we don't have to face reality, that we don't have to Participating in the struggle for existence, we neither know nor want to know about those who have built our luxurious lives with hard work and hard living. " The letter concluded with this: "I may have failed your kindness and kindness, sir, and I am ready to accept punishment. Scold me, punish me, and I will be grateful for it. But I In particular, I need guidance. I can support this situation for a while, but I have no ability to develop myself effectively because I am too small and inexperienced. Maybe there is a bad situation. Confess, Mr. Headmaster, unless you order me to tell him. So I am compelled to write to bother you, and this has begun to be my catastrophe, and I am too much to bear. It would be great if we could also have a personal reply letter from the master of music to answer this distress book!Unfortunately his reply was verbal.Soon after receiving Knecht's letter, the music master came to Walzell himself. He was going to give a music test, so he did a lot of work for his little friend during his short stay.We know this from Knecht's later postscripts.The music master didn't let him pass easily.First, he carefully reviewed Knecht's report card and extracurricular subjects, and found that he was overemphasized in extracurricular projects, so he judged that the principal's view was correct, and he insisted that Knecht admit his mistakes to the principal.As for the relationship between Knecht and Tesignoli, he also put forward a detailed plan, and he did not leave Walzell until he discussed this issue with the headmaster.The consequences of this trip were twofold: first, a remarkable rivalry game began between Tesignoli and Knecht, which all participants will never forget; second, Knecht and the headmaster established a a whole new relationship.Of course, this relationship does not have the mysterious intimacy between him and the music master, but at least it is mutually open and relaxed. Knecht spent a considerable amount of time within the lifestyle framed by the music master.He was allowed to accept Tesignoli's friendship, to bear the influence and attacks of the other party by himself, and no teacher was allowed to intervene and supervise.His mentors had only one task for him: to defend Castalia against its critics and raise the debate to the highest level.This means that no matter what the situation is, Knecht must master the basic systems and principles of Castalia and religious groups. He must study them thoroughly, memorize them repeatedly, and never forget them.The debate between the two friends and rivals quickly became famous throughout the school, with people flocking to help. Tesignoli's formerly aggressive sarcasm softened, his arguments became more rigorous and responsible, and his criticisms more realistic.Before their confrontation, Plinio was always the winner in such debates, because he came from the "worldly world", with worldly experience, methods, means of attack, and a kind of unscrupulous attitude. He was familiar with the accusations of Castalia from the secular world through conversations with adults in his hometown.Now Knecht's defense forces him to see that although he knows the secular world better than any Castalian, he can never be like a man who sees Castalia as his home, his homeland, as He knows Castalia and his spirit as deeply as anyone whose fate depends on him.He had to see clearly, and gradually had to admit, that he was just a passer-by rather than a permanent resident. He also realized that this education kingdom, like the secular world outside, has hundreds of years of accumulated experience and self-evident There is also a tradition here, yes, a so-called "natural" tradition, of which he knows little, and which Knecht is currently defending as spokesman. In order to play his role as apologist well, Knecht must work hard to study, meditate, and self-denial in order to further clarify and deeply grasp the issues before him to defend.Tesignoli is slightly better than his opponent in eloquence, and his secular social experience and wisdom also add some luster to his fiery and vanity nature.Even if he loses to the opponent on a certain issue, he will think of a decent or humorous retreat with the audience in mind.Knecht was different. Whenever he was cornered by his opponent, he generally said: "Plinio, I have to think about this issue again. Please wait a few days and I will tell you .” The debate has always maintained this form of mutual respect.In fact, this kind of debate had long since become an indispensable element of Waldzell school life, both for the debaters and for the spectators.However, for Knecht, the sense of oppression and contradiction has never been slightly alleviated.He is a man of great responsibilities and trust, and his ability to live up to his mission is a testament to his potential and soundness of nature, for he has accomplished his mission without any visible sign of damage.But privately he was very distressed.If he felt friendship for Plinio, it was not only for a wise and tactful companion, a articulate worldly friend, but also for the strange world that this friend and rival represented, for he had never Plinio was a man, and by his words and demeanor he knew—or rather imagined—that world, which is called "real," of loving mothers and children, of hungry poor and their family, with newspapers and election contests.Plinio would go back to that primitive and refined world every holiday, to visit his parents and brothers and sisters, to court the girls, to attend staff meetings, or to be guests in elegant clubs, while Knecht and others Sometimes I stayed in Castalia, either walking or swimming with my companions, or practicing Froberg's fugue.Or read Hegel's philosophy. Joseph knew that he belonged to Castalia, and he must live a life prescribed for Castalians, without family burdens, luxury entertainment, newspapers and magazines, but he did not suffer from hunger or cold—although Pliny Oh also aggressively accused students of elite schools of living a parasitic life, but he himself never suffered from hunger or cold, nor did he support himself.No, he's not right, the world to which Plinio belongs is neither more perfect nor more correct.But this world does exist, not only does it exist, but it exists forever just as Knecht read from the world history book, and today is always exactly the same as in the past, and people in many countries are completely unaware that there is another world. A world of one nature, ignorant of elite schools and educational academies, of religious groups, subject masters, and glass bead games.Most people on Earth live a simpler, more primitive, chaotic, and more dangerous unprotected life, which is quite different from the life of the Castalians.The primordial instinctive world is inherent in every human being, and all human beings will perceive its existence in the depths of their hearts, and will be somewhat curious about it, have some nostalgia, and have some sympathy for it.Man's task is to rationally dispose of this primitive instinctive world.You can keep a place for it in your heart, but you will never return to it.Because parallel to it, and above it, is the second world—the world of Castalia, the spiritual world, a more orderly, more sheltered, artificially created world that needs continuous development and improvement.This is the only right way for men to serve this world without misrepresenting or belittling the other world, without prejudice to any vague desire or nostalgia. As a matter of fact, the small world of Castalia has long served the other great world. It has contributed teachers, books, and scientific methods to maintain the wisdom and moral purity of that world. Castalia is To nurture and train the very few who are dedicated to ideas and truth.Why can't these two worlds live in harmony and harmony like brothers?Why can't people unite the two in everyone's heart? Just when Joseph was exhausted from completing the task, almost exhausted and unable to maintain balance, the music master who rarely visited suddenly came to Walzell.The master diagnosed the poor condition of the young man from several signs of his appearance. Joseph's face was tired, his eyes were irritable, and his movements were tense.The master asked a few probing questions, and all he got was a sad face and reserved words. The conversation could not continue. The situation was very serious. The master took him into a piano practice room under the pretext of telling him a little discovery about music. Let him fetch the clavichord and tune it up. The old man played for a long time while explaining the origin and development of the sonata form, until the young man forgot his troubles a little, became relaxed and focused, and began to listen with gratitude. Master's lectures and performances.The master patiently took the necessary time and finally brought him into a state ready to receive advice.When the old man had achieved this goal, he stopped explaining, played a Gabriel sonata as a conclusion, then stood up, and while slowly pacing back and forth in the small piano room, he told the following story: “许多年以前，我曾一度下苦功夫研习这首奏鸣曲。那是我担任教师以及后来升为音乐大师之前的事，当时我正从事自由研究。我年少气盛，想要用新观点写一部奏鸣曲的发展史，但是过了好长一段日子后，我的工作不仅毫无进展，而且日益怀疑这种音乐和历史研究是否确有价值，是否比那类游手好闲之徒的无聊嬉戏更具真实内容，是否纯属生动实际生活的华而不实的代用品。总而言之，我已处在一个必须突破的危机之中，当时，一切研究工作，一切求知努力，一切属于精神生活的内容，都因受到怀疑而失去了价值，转而情不自禁地羡慕每一个在田地里耕作的农夫，每一对在夜幕下的情侣，甚至每一只在树叶间鸣啭的鸟儿，以及在夏日枝头高唱的知了，因为它们看来比我们更符合自然，它们的生活看来多么充实多么幸福，虽然我们对它们的苦恼全不知晓，对于它们生活中的艰难、危险和不幸一无所知。 简单地说，当时我几乎失去了平衡，那是一种糟糕状态，简直可说难以忍受。我为取得自由想出了许多荒唐透顶的逃避办法，譬如我曾想进入世俗世界当一名乐师，在结婚宴会上演奏舞曲。当时倘若就像古老小说里描述的出现了一位外国来的募兵官，邀请我穿上军服，跟着任何哪支军队开赴任何哪个战场，我都会跟着去的。情况越来越糟，正是这类状态的必然结果。我完全丧失了自持能力。以致不能独力对付困境，不得不寻求援助。 " 音乐大师停顿了片刻。轻轻唉了一声，便接着往下说：“当然，我那时有一位指导老师，这是学校的规定，我有问题请他指点，毫无疑问是合理而正确的。但是事实往往悻于常理，正当我们碰到困难，偏离正途，极须纠正之际，却恰恰是我们最嫌恶常轨，最不愿意回归正途之时。我的指导老师对我上个季度的学习报告很不满意，曾严肃地批评我的错误，但我那时深信自己有了新发现或者具有新观点，对他的指责颇为反感。总之。我不想去找他，我不愿向他低声下气，也不愿承认他是正确的。我也不愿意向我的同学们吐露心事。那时，我们附近住着一位怪人，一位梵文学者，人们都戏称他'瑜伽僧人'，我只是见过他，听说过他的传奇而已。有一天我在心清恶劣得忍无可忍之际，便去访问了这个怪人。虽然我也与旁人一样经常嘲笑他的离群索居和古怪行径，心里却是暗暗仰慕他的。我走进他的小房间，想和他谈话，却见他正以印度教的端正的坐姿在闭目静修，一副不容打扰的样子。我见他脸上似笑非笑，显出一副完全脱离尘世的模样。我无可奈何，只得站在门边，等候他从出神入化的状态中返归人世。我等待了很长时间，总有一两个钟点之久，后来实在太累，顺势滑倒地上，就在那里靠墙而坐，继续等待。末了，我终于见他慢慢醒了过来，他微微转动头部，晃晃肩膀，缓缓伸开盘着的双腿，就在他正要站直身子时一眼瞥见了我。 “有什么事？'他问。 “我站起身，不假思索地回答，其实自己也不知道在说什么：”是那首安德列'加布里尔的奏鸣曲。'“他也站起身来，让我坐在屋里唯一的椅子上，他自己则侧身坐在桌子边。 '加布里尔？他的奏鸣曲于扰你了？'“我开始向他叙述奏鸣曲和我的关系，供认自己正因而陷于困境。他极详尽地询问我的情形，让我感到吹毛求疵。他要知道我研究加布里尔及其奏鸣曲的一切细节，他还要知道我何时起床，读书多久，演奏多久，何时用餐，直至何时就寝。我不得不如实答复，既然已经向他求教，就只能忍受他的盘问。事实上他使我羞愧不堪，在每一件细枝末节上都查问不休，把我过去几周乃至几个月内的整个精神和道德生活状况作了无情的解剖分析。 “接着，这位瑜林信仰者突然沉默下来，看到我对此毫无反应，便耸耸肩膀问道：”你还看不出自己错在哪里么？ '我说实在看不出。于是他以惊人的精确性把刚才所提的问题的答案统统叙述了一遍，直至追忆到我开始出现疲乏、厌倦以及思想停滞的种种症状，随即告诉我，唯有过分埋头研究的人才会发生这类情况，也许对我而言，现在正是关键时刻，要恢复业已丧失的自制能力，还要借助外力重新振作精神。他又向我指出，当初我自作主张中断了有规律的正常静修课程，那么至少应该在出现疾病苗头时就联想到是玩忽这一功课的恶果，而立即恢复静修。他说得完全正确。我的静坐作业已荒废了很长时间，要么没有空闲，要么没有心情，或者干脆就是放不下手头的研究工作，——更严重的是，随着时间的流逝，我的持续疏忽竟使我把这门功课忘得一干二净。如今我已发展到近乎悲观绝望的境地，这才不得不经由另一个外人提醒自己延误了的功课。事实上，我费了极大努力才把自己从这种迷茫堕落状况中拯救出来，我不得不从头开始有规律的静坐练习，以便逐渐恢复沉思潜修能力。 " 音乐大师说到这里，停止在房间里来回踱步，轻轻叹息一声后，继续往下说道：一这就是我当年发生的事，直到今天，提起此情此景，我仍觉羞愧难当。但是事实就是如此。约瑟夫，我们对自己要求越多，或者换句话说，我们当时的工作对我们要求越多，我们就越需要凭借静修作为积蓄力量的源泉，使我们的精神和灵魂不断在协调和解中得到更新。而且我，——我还想再给你讲几个例子，譬如一件工作越是热切吸弓哦们，时而使我们兴奋激动，时而又使我们疲乏压抑，那么我们就越容易忽视这一源泉，如同人们执着于某项精神工作时往往很容易忘记照料自己的身体。 历史上那些真正伟大的人，要么深谙静修之道，要么是不自觉地掌握了静修所导向的境界。至于其他人，即或是才华横溢又精力过人的人，最终的结果都是失败和垮台，因为他们自认为的重要工作或者雄心壮志反倒成了支配者，使他们丧失了摆脱眼前纷繁、保持间距以达目标的能力。是的，其实你是知道的，你第一次练习静坐时就知道了。但是这又是无情的现实。一个人倘若有一次误入歧途，才会懂得什么是无情的现实。 " 这则故事对约瑟夫无疑如醍醐灌顶，他这才感到自己处境的危险，于是便战战兢兢地重新练习静坐。音乐大师第一回向他展示了个人私生活的片断，讲了他的少年时代和学习研究时代，约瑟夫对此也满怀感激之情，因为这让他破天荒地懂得了，即使一个半人半神，他也可能犯有幼稚的错误，也曾经误入歧途。约瑟夫更深深感激这位可敬老人的信任，竟肯向他坦述自己的秘密。一个人可以误入歧途，灰心丧气，屡犯错误，违反规章，但他也可以结束这些错误，回转正路，甚至最后还可以成为一位大师。约瑟夫克服了自己的危机。 约瑟夫在华尔采尔的头两三年间，当他在和普林尼奥持续进行友谊辩论时期，校方对这两个朋友的争论始终持观看戏剧的态度，而上自校长，下至最年轻的新生，无不或多或少参与了演出。克乃西特和特西格诺利是两个世界、两种原则的具体化身，他们互相促进对方的提高，每一次辩论都变成了又庄严又富代表性色彩的论争，与全校人人都密切关联。普林尼奥每次放假回家，每次拥抱过故土之后，都能带回新的精神；同样，约瑟夫每读一本书，每进行一次思索，每练习一曲静修功夫，每次与音乐大师重逢后，也都能获得新的力量，使自己更为胜任卡斯塔里辩护人的角色。很久以前，他还是个孩子时曾初次体验精神感召的力量。如今他又第二次体验到了感召的力量，流逝的岁月渐渐把他铸就成了完全的卡斯塔里人。 现在他早已修完了玻璃球游戏的基础课程，甚至就在学习期间，他便趁假期在一位老师帮助下设计了自己独创的玻璃球游戏草图。如今他已在这里发现了一种取之不尽的使内心愉快、轻松的精神源泉。自从他与卡洛·费罗蒙梯如饥似渴地演奏翼琴和钢琴以进行游戏练习以来，他觉得没有任何事物比终于进入玻璃球游戏无限辽阔星空那样令他如此痛快、清醒、强大、自信和幸福的了。 年轻的克乃西特也正是在这几年里写下了一些早期诗歌，我们在费罗蒙梯的手抄本里读到的很可能比原作数量要少得多，因此我们只可以假定，这些诗篇——其中最早之作甚至写于克乃西特对玻璃球游戏尚未人门的年代——不仅曾协助他演好自己承担的角色，还帮他度过了那些危机年代。诗篇中有的颇见艺术匠心，有的显示出匆匆急就的粗糙痕迹，但是每一个读者都会不时在这里或那里窥见到克乃西特当年受普林尼奥的影响而导致的精神震动和深刻危机。某些诗句发出一种不和谐音，表露出他曾深感迷惑，对自己以及自己所过生活的意义产生了根本性的怀疑，以致后来写下那首题名为的诗，才好似重返了虔诚信仰。此外还得提一下，这些诗篇本身就包含一定程度承认普林尼奥世界的意义，也是对卡斯塔里某些不成文规定的小小反叛，因为他不仅敢写诗，还敢不时拿出来给许多同学公开传阅。 而卡斯塔里原则上是禁止纯艺术创作的（即使是音乐创作也只限于严格的乐式组合），至于写诗那简直就是旁门左道，绝不许可的。因此这些诗篇断然不是打油诗，不是闲暇之余的娱乐词藻，它们诞生于压力的激流之中，能够写下这样的诗句，并敢于坦露信仰，必然需要相当顽强的勇气。 这里也不能不提另一方的情况。同样的，普林尼奥·特西格诺利在他论敌的影响下也有显著的变化和发展，不仅见之于他在辩论方法上的巨大改变。普林尼奥和约瑟夫相互切磋又相互争论的几个学期里，他目睹自己的对手不间断地发展成长，已经成为卡斯塔里人的典范。朋友的形象在他眼中日益强大而生气勃勃地体现着这个思想王国的精神。正如他曾以自己出生世界的那种骚动气氛感染过约瑟夫一样，他本人也同样因吸入了卡斯塔里空气而折服于它的迷人魅力。普林尼奥在学校的最后一年，曾以僧侣制度及其危险性为题作过一次两小时的辩论发言，当时领导玻璃球游戏课目的最高当局也在场。他讲完后便拉了约瑟夫出去散步，向他坦白了自己的情况，下面所引，出自费罗蒙梯的一封书信：“约瑟夫，我当然早就知道你并非盲目虔诚的玻璃球游戏者和卡斯塔里的圣徒，虽然你极其出色地扮演了这一角色。我们两人在同一论战中各有自己的薄弱点，我们也显然知道敌方不仅有存在的权利，而且具有无可争议的价值。你站在培养精神这一方，我则站在符合自然生活这一边。在论战中，你已经学会如何追踪世俗生活的诸多危险，并把攻击的矛头瞄准了它们。你的职务是指出：缺乏精神滋养的自然生活会陷入泥潭，会转化成兽性，甚至必然越陷越深。因而我不得不一再提醒你们，纯粹建立在精神上的生活是多么冒险，多么可怕，最终必然一无所获。嗯，我们各以自己的信仰为优而辩论，你为精神思想，我为自然生活。但是请别为我下面说的话生气，有时候我感觉你是真正天真地把我看作了卡斯塔里原则的一个敌人，一个从根本上把你们的研究、静修和游戏视为蠢事的家伙，即使他出于某种原因也曾短期涉足其中。我的朋友，你若真认为如此，你就彻底错了！我要坦白告诉你，我已愚蠢地爱上你们的严格宗教制度，常常情不自禁地当作幸福本身而喜爱和迷恋。我也不隐瞒你，几个月前我回家逗留期间，我和父亲有一场意见不同的谈话，我最后总算争得他的允许，学习结束后仍继续留在卡斯塔里，并可为进入宗教团体而努力——倘若我始终坚持自己的愿望和决定的话。当他最后表示同意时，我真是高兴极了。然而，我现在决定不使用他的允许，这是我最近才明白的道理。哦，千万别以为我已失去了兴趣！我只是越来越清楚地看到，对我而言，继续留在你们身边也许意味着一种逃避，这种逃避也许很崇高很正派，却无论如何只可说是逃避。我决定回去做一个世俗世界的人，但是这个外人会永远感谢卡斯塔里，他会继续保持你们的许多精神训练方法，他会每年都来参加伟大的玻璃球游戏庆典。” 克乃西特听了这番话很感动，便把普林尼奥的自白转告了好朋友费罗蒙梯，而费罗蒙梯则在方才援引的同一信中添加了自己的看法：“我对普林尼奥的看法总是不够公正，在我这个音乐家看来，普林尼奥的自白竟像是一种音乐上的体验。两种对立物：世俗世界和精神世界，或者普林尼奥和约瑟夫的两种对立观点，在我眼前逐渐升华，从不可调和的原则性矛盾转化为一次音乐协奏。” 普林尼奥结束四年学业即将离校时，他把自己父亲邀请约瑟夫·克乃西特到他家度假的亲笔信交给了校长。这是一项不同寻常的非份要求。离开校园外出旅行或短期逗留的事倒确实有过先例，但主要是为了研究工作；情况倒也并非罕见，却大都有特殊原因，而且只是那类较年长、较有成就的研究人员，年轻的学生则史无前例。由于邀请信出自有声望家族的家长之手，校长切宾顿不便直截了当地拒绝，就转呈给了最高教育当局裁决，并立即得到两个字的简洁答复：“不准”。两个朋友只得就此分手。 “我们以后还会努力邀请你的，”普林尼奥说，“这件事迟早会办成的。你总有一天会来我们家，会认识我们这里的人；你会看到我们也是人，而不是一钱不值的粪土。我会非常想念你的。还有，约瑟夫，我看你很快就会升到这个复杂的卡斯塔里世界的上层。你确实很合宜于进入宗教团体，按我的看法，你担任领袖要比当助手更合宜，尽管你名字的意思恰恰相反。我预祝你前程远大，你会成为游戏大师，你会脐身显要人物之列的。” 约瑟夫只是神色悲哀地望着他。 “只管讥笑吧！”他竭力压制着离愁别情说道：“我从不像你那样具有雄心大志。待我得到一官半职时，你早就当上总统、市长、大学教授或者国会议员了。到时可别忘了我们，普林尼奥，不要忘了卡斯塔里，不要完全把我们当成陌生人！我们毕竟需要在外面也有了解卡斯塔里的人。而并非仅有只会嘲笑我们的人才是。” 他们互相握手道别，普林尼奥离开了。 约瑟夫最后一个学年的生活过得十分安静。他那曾经十分重要的任务，作为公开辩论的头面人物的使命突然结束，卡斯塔里不再需要人为它辩护了。这样，他就把课余时间全都倾注在玻璃球游戏上了，游戏也越来越吸引他。在他那时期的一本笔记本里，有一篇阐释游戏意义及其理论的文章，开头第一句便是：“由精神和肉体两者组成的生命整体是一种动力学现象，玻璃球游戏基本上仅能把握其美学的一面，而且主要是在韵律运转过程产生的意象中才得以把握。” >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> 研究年代 约瑟夫·克乃西特如今已经二十四岁左右。华尔采尔学业终结，他也就结束上学生涯，开始了研究岁月。除去艾希霍兹那几年天真无邪的童年生活，华尔采尔年代可算他一生中最快乐幸福的时候了。对于一个刚刚摆脱学校约束正热烈向往无限的精神世界的青年来说，眼前所见无不具有既美丽又动人的光彩，他还从未经历过幻想破灭，因而不论对自己舍身奉献的能力，还是对无穷无尽的精神世界，全都没有丝毫怀疑。 恰恰是约瑟夫·克乃西特这类人——不因具有某种特长而早早被迫专注于某项专业，从而向整体性、综合性和万有性发展自己的才华——，这种自由研究的初春年代往往是幸福快乐到近乎沉醉的时期。倘若没有受过精英学校的训练，没有学过保护灵魂健康的静修课程，没有接受过教育当局的仁慈管教，这种自由研究也许会严重危及他的天性，成为他的厄运，就像在卡斯塔里教育模式建立之前几个世纪里发生在无数天才青年身上的情况。当年那些古老的高等学校里，浮士德式的年轻人简直比比皆是，他们在学术自由、波涛冲天的科学海洋上扬帆飞驶，他们一知半解而横冲直撞，结果必然招致船只失事而失败。浮士德正是这类一知半解天才的典型，他的悲剧也正在这里。 其实，今日卡斯塔里的研究自山程度比较以往几个世纪一般大学里不知要高上多少倍，因为这里提供研究的材料和机会极其丰富。此外，在卡斯塔里做研究绝无物质匮乏的后顾之忧，也不必受虚荣心、恐惧心、父母干扰、生计事业等等的限制和影响。在卡斯塔里王国属下的一切学科分院、研究机构、图书室、档案馆和实验室，对每一个研究者，不论其家世如何，也不论其前途如何，全都一视同仁，一律平等。在这个宗教性的教育团体里，完全依照每个人的心智和性格品性区分等级。 与世俗世界高等学校里许多有才能的大学生往往成为自由、精神诱惑的牺牲品恰恰相反，卡斯塔里大致不存在这种情况。当然这里也有大量危险、灾难和困惑——何处存在人类免受灾难之地呢？——不过卡斯塔里的学生至少排除了某些能够令人越轨、堕落或者陷于困境的因素。学生既不会成为醉鬼，也不会将青春年华虚度在夸夸其谈或者秘密结社的愚蠢活动上，那却是古老时代的学生们常犯的过错。另外，他们也不会突然发现读错专业，拿错学位，造成无法弥补的缺陷，因为卡斯塔里的规章制度排除了这类弊端。 甚至就连沉醉于女性或者迷恋某项体育运动之类的危险，也被控制在最低限度之内。说到他们与妇女的关系问题，卡斯塔里的学生不会因为受到诱惑而落入婚姻的陷阱，他们不必像旧时代的学生那样被迫压制性欲，或者向出卖肉体的女性求欢，因为卡斯塔里人既不准结婚，也就不存在任何婚姻道德的约束。但是卡斯塔里人既没钱也没私人财产，故而也不可能用金钱购买爱情。在卡斯塔里地区，普通市民家庭的姑娘习惯晚婚，因此婚前几年特别喜欢找某个学生或者学者作情人。这些青年大都无意于财富门第，他们重视思想能力却也同样重视感情能力，又大都富于想象力和幽默感，因而，既然不能够为对方提供钱财，便不得不以自己本身作为酬谢了。 在卡斯塔里，学生们的女友绝不会产生这样的问题：他会娶我为妻么？她知道他不会结婚。事实上，这一情况却也偶有发生。时不时会出现某位精英学生由于婚姻而返回世俗世界的事。他们放弃了卡斯塔里和进入宗教团体的权利。不过在学校和宗教团体的整个历史中，这类叛教行为还是少而又少的稀罕事件。 读完全部课程后，每个精英学生从事研究工作的自由程度确实是极高的，他可以自行决定自己学习和研究的范围。唯有当这个学生一开始并无法按照自己的才能和兴趣决定方向时，这种自由才受到限制，也即是每半年必须提交一份研究计划，其实教育当局对此计划执行情况也只是宽厚地稍作检查而已。对于那些兴趣广泛、多才多艺的青年人——克乃西特正是其中之一——刚涉足研究工作便能够获得如此广阔的活动天地，简直叫人有点又喜又惊。教育当局允许他们享有这种近似天堂生活的自由，其实目的只为不让他们流于懒散怠惰。他们可以涉足一切科学领域，可以综合研究各式各样不同的科学学科，既可以同时爱上六种或八种科目，也可以一开始便只研究某个狭窄的课题。他们只需遵守卡斯塔里学园范围内普遍通行的道德标准，每年交一份记录他们当年听过的演讲、读过的书籍以及所完成研究工作的报告之外，便对他们无任何要求了。只有当他们参与某项专题研讨会时——包括研习玻璃球游戏和音乐——，才会对他们进行严格的考核和考试，他们得依照研究会领导人的要求提交论文或完成考试，这一切当然是不言而喻的。但是这类课程纯属课外兴趣，他们也可以凭兴趣一连几个学期、几个学年总是呆在图书室里，总是只去听听演讲就算了。有些学生拖了很久也决不定主攻课目，以致耽误了进入宗教团体的机会，然而教育当局总以极大耐心等待他们的考察性漫游，是的，甚至鼓励他们在一切可能的学科项目和研究方式中进行筛选。只要他们品行端正，每年撰写一份“传记”，便别无要求了。 我们今天得以拥有克乃西特在自由研究年代撰写的三篇“传记”，真要感谢这种经常受嘲笑的古老习俗。这些文字因而完全不像他在华尔采尔时期撰写的诗篇那么具有私人感情色彩，嗯，那是一种多少带有违禁成份的纯粹文学作品，而这些文字只是正规而普通的学校作业。这种习俗早在卡斯塔里开创初期就已产生。那些尚未获准进入宗教团体的年轻研究人员，必须不断撰写一种特殊形式和风格的语文作业，也即当时命名为“传记”的随笔性文字，一种虚构的自传，他们可以任选一个过去的时代作为自传的背景。此种作业的目的在于能够让每位作者置身于所写时代的文化环境之中，能够让他倒退回任何古老时代的精神气氛里去，并且设想自己如何在那里过着一种符合实际的生活。他们最优先选择的时代是：古罗马帝国，十七世纪的法兰西，或者十五世纪的意大利，普里克利时代的雅典或者莫扎特时代的奥地利，是的，他们熟悉那些时代及其时尚。专攻语言学的年轻学子们习惯于用他们业已掌握其语言和风俗演变国家和时代的语言风格撰写自己的学校作业。因此常有写得极有水平的虚构传记，其中有以一二零零年左右罗马教廷文体，以修道院通用的拉丁文体，以《传奇小说一百篇》中的意大利文体，以法国的蒙且文体，还有以许万斯·冯·鲍勃费尔德所用的巴洛克式德语撰写的传记。 古老亚洲神仙投胎下凡和灵魂转世学说的残余痕迹，也在这些自由撰写的、充满游戏色彩的文字中遗留了下来。所有的教师和学生全都熟知这样的想象：在他们今生今世之前可能有过前生前世，他们曾在另一个时代里、另一种环境中，以另一个肉体生活过。当然，他们并没有视之为严格的信仰，也不认为是一种学说，而不过是一种锻炼想象力的游戏而已，设想着自己在各种不同情况和环境下的情景。人们从事这项撰写工作，就如同参与形形式式的文体研讨会，或者就像他们经常进行的玻璃球游戏一样。他们小心翼翼地深入渗进许多不同的文化、时代和国家之中，他们试着把自己本人视为一张面具，视为一种生命现极的须臾转换外衣。这种撰写传记的风俗既有刺激性，又有许多实际优点，否则就不可能长久流传至今了。 此外还得提一下学生中有不少人不仅程度不等地相信了转生观念，还认为自己杜撰的生平传记乃是事实。由此可见这类想象出来的前生前世已经不是单纯的文体练习和历史研究，它们也是作者的愿望图景和升华了的自画像。作者们用特定服饰和品格描绘出了自己渴望实现的希翼和理想。再进一步从教育角度来说，这种撰写传记的做法也不失为好主意，对血气方刚青年的创作需求提供了合法途径。在卡斯塔里，独具个性的严肃艺术创作历经几代的禁忌之后，已被科学研究和玻璃球游戏所取代，然而青年学子们的艺术创作冲动并没有就此消失。它出现在他们的往往扩展成了短篇小说的“传记”中，这是一片获准开拓的沃土。许多撰写者通过这类工作向着认识自我的王国迈出了最初的步伐。 另外，还常常出现年轻人利用写作自传对今日世俗社会和卡斯塔里进行批评或者革命性的斥责，而老师们大都对此持体谅的宽容态度。此外，还必须说这些传记对老师们了解那些不受严密管束享受最大自由的学生这一段学习时代状况颇有裨益，其中常常惊人清晰地显示出作者们的智慧和道德品性。 约瑟夫·克乃西特所写的三篇传记已被保存下来，我们将一字不差地收入本书，它们也许还是本书最珍贵的部分呢。克乃西特是否仅仅写过三篇传记，是否已有散失，人们对此颇多怀疑，但只能是猜测而已。我们则确知下列情况：克乃西特递交了第三篇作文《印度传记》后，最高教育当局的秘书处曾向他传达领导指示说，倘若他还写传奇的话，希望他以近代历史为背景，要多多引证当时的文献资料，尤其是具体的历史细节。我们从传闻和书信中得知，他确实曾着手准备下一篇以十八世纪为背景的传记。他想把自己写成一个施瓦本的神学家，后来放弃宗教而改事音乐，这个人曾是约翰·阿尔布莱希特·本格尔的弟子，又做过欧丁格尔的朋友，还曾在辛岑道夫的兄弟会团体里短暂作客人我们知道，他当年曾阅读而且摘抄了大量古老的，甚至是极为冷僻的书籍，既有关于教堂、虔敬主义和辛岑道夫的著作，也有论述那一时期祈祷仪式以及教堂音乐的书籍。我们还知道，他曾切切实实迷上具有魔力的主教欧丁格尔，也曾对本格尔大师有过真纯的敬爱之情。他曾设法复印了一张本格尔的照片，在他书桌上搁了好多时候。此外，他还曾试图从正反两种角度如实记述他所尊敬的辛岑道夫，但最后还是放弃了这项工作，满足于自己已经学得的东西。他声称自己还没有能力撰写这样的传记，他无法进行如此多角度的研究，也无法收集到大量细节材料。克乃西特这番自述使我们有理由判定，那三篇业已完工的传记与其说是一位学者的著作，还不如说是一位品性高尚又诗意盎然的男子的创造性自白。我们认为这才符合实情。 对克乃西特来说，如今除了享受自选研究课题的自由之外，还能够从中获取另一种放松的快乐。他毕竟与其他学生不同，不仅与他人一样受过一个精英学生的全部教育：严格的学习制度，精确分配的课外作业，教师们细心周到的管理和监督，而且，在这一切之外，他还因普林尼奥的原故而承担过重大责任，这压力诚然把他的精神与思想潜能激发到了极点，却也令他不堪负荷，消耗了太多精力。让他扮演卡斯塔里代表人物，让他承担辩护人角色，确实超出了他的年龄和能力，以致他常常觉得处境危险，他获得成功，完全由于一种坚强过人的意志力和超人的才能。同时，如果没有音乐大师从中大力协助，他恐怕也根本完不成任务。 克乃西特度过了几年不同寻常的华尔采尔学习年代后，人们发现这位年方二十四岁的青年显得比实际年龄老成得多，还略带疲劳过度的模样，令人惊奇的是毫无身体受损的迹象。那几年沉重的负荷几乎把他的精力消耗殆尽，我们虽然没有可资证明的直接材料，却可以从他对待自己盼望已久才获得的头几年自由研究岁月的态度中略见端倪。克乃西特在华尔采尔最后几学期里始终处于显眼位置，几乎成了公众偶像，可他一毕业就立即毫无保留地引退了，是的，如果人们探访一下他当年的行迹，便会得出下列印象：他最愿意让自己隐匿得无影无踪，他觉得没有任何环境和社会对他完全无害，也没有任何生活方式让他完全隐蔽。因此他对特西格诺利若干又冗长又热情澎湃的来信，最初还有简短而冷淡的回信，后来便彻底置之不理了。 闻名全校的克乃西特消失了，再也找不到他的踪迹。他的声誉在华尔采尔却长存不衰，甚至继续繁荣，随着时间的推移后来竟发展成了一种令人神往的传统。 在克乃西特从事研究的初期，他曾因上述原因而回避华尔采尔，这也就使他不得不暂时放弃研究高级的玻璃球游戏课程。从表面来看，这似乎可以确定克乃西特当时曾引人注目地忽视了玻璃