Chapter 5 -2

Years later, he wrote to his friend Fritz de Glarius, who was with him in the glass bead review course and later his assistant, describing a spiritual experience that not only determined his inevitable Becoming a glass bead player also had a huge impact on his research path.The letter has survived, and includes the following passage: "Let me remind you of a time in the past when we were assigned to the same group and eagerly conceived of our first Glass Globe Draft games, you always remember what day and what game it was. The group leader provided lots of suggestions and countless topics for us to choose from. We were just learning the tricky transformation process and were trying to learn from astronomy, mathematics and physics From studies to linguistics and history, our team leader was so skilled that it was easy to lure impatient beginners like us into a trap, leading to the impenetrable thin ice of abstract concepts and abstract analogies. He often went from Etymology and Comparative Linguistics carried something tempting for us to grab, and he took pleasure in seeing our efforts fail. We counted the number of Greek syllables, and counted to exhaustion, but felt that The floor under our feet seemed to be pulled away suddenly, and it was only at this time that we came to point out why it is possible to count by accent instead of the rhythm of reciting, and it is inevitable to be able to count, and so on. He does work. In fact, it is very correct and very clever, but some of his expressions make me unhappy. He points us to a wrong way and induces us to make wrong speculations. Although he has good intentions and lets us know where the danger lies, he still slightly to play tricks on dumb youths like us, and to infuse a great deal of skepticism precisely into our fanaticism. Yet under his tutelage, in an intricate and torturous laboratory class he taught, while we trembled When I fumbled and tried to come up with my own half-baked game plan, I was hit by a sudden awakening. The meaning and greatness of the glass bead game shocked me from head to toe and to the bottom of my heart. At that time, we Analyzing a difficult problem drawn from the history of linguistics, trying to trace in detail how a language belongs to its glorious zenith. In a few minutes we have traveled a path that has taken centuries to travel, and I am strongly moved by a We are seized by a fleeting spectacle: we witness how an institution so ancient, complex, respectable, built over generations, has gradually reached its peak, but the germs of decay have already been born in it, making the whole healthy and meaningful architecture. Began to sink, degenerate, and crumble.—At this time, a thought of surprise and joy crossed my mind at the same time. It is true that the language has declined and died, but it has not completely disappeared after all. Its growth, prosperity and decline , remains alive in our memory, alive in the study of it and in its own history, and it lives on not only in the symbols and formulas of academic research, or in the magic rules of the glass bead game, but in Reconstruct any era. I suddenly realized that, whether it is language or the spirit of the glass bead game, everything in the world has its own rich meaning. Every symbol and every connection between symbols and symbols does not have to be To enter here or there is not to lead to any kind of illustration, experiment and evidence, but to enter the center of the world, the heart of the world full of mysteries, and a kind of primitive understanding.middle.Every major and minor change in a sonata, the evolution of a myth or religious worship, and every formation of classical art are all like this.I saw it completely in a flash of inspiration, just like what I saw through a sincere and meditative inner observation, all of them are the way to directly reach the inner mysteries of the universe. In the continuous alternation of yin and yang, they complete their own eternal divinity.

"I had been a listener to several well-conceived and successfully-run games of the Glass Bead at that time, and I did hear many insights that greatly improved and delighted me. Up until then, however, my understanding of the true meaning of the Glass Bead Game It is true that every time you successfully solve a mathematical problem, you can get spiritual pleasure; every time you listen to a beautiful piece of music, let alone play it yourself, you can improve your mental health. The soul enters greatness; every pious meditation brings peace of mind and harmony with the universe. But, perhaps because of all this, there is always a doubt in my heart that speaks to me, that this glass bead game is just a kind of An art of form, a clever exercise in skill, a mere amusing assembly; and it is better to devote yourself to pure mathematics and good music than to the glass bead game.

"At this moment, for the first time in my life, I heard the inner voice of the game itself and understood the meaning of the game. It has captured me and penetrated into my heart. From this moment on, I have believed in glass. ball game, that our sublime game is indeed a 'sacred language', a sacred and divine language. You will remember, for you also noticed a change in my heart then, I definitely had a spiritual call. I really can only compare it to the first call of my life that I will never forget. It not only lifted my heart, but changed my life. I was a little teenager , after passing the test of the music master, he obeyed the summons and came to Castalia. You must have noticed the change in me. Although you didn't say a word, I sensed that you did. Of course we don't need to discuss this matter today. .Today I come to ask you for help. To illustrate my request, I have to tell you something that no one knew before. I have to say that I am currently doing a lot of research work. It was completely out of a clear and established plan. You can at least remember the general outline of the glass bead game practice under the guidance of our team leader. We were in the third stage of the game course, and I heard it during the game. That voice, and experienced the inspiring experience that called me to be a gamer. Remember, that game exercise started with a prosodic analysis of the theme of a fugue, and in the middle of the piece was an aphorism supposedly from Confucius Right now, I'm going through that exercise from start to finish, which means I'm going to study every phrase thoroughly, retranslate it from the language of the game back to its original language, and restore it to its original form, regardless of Mathematics, Ornament, Chinese, Greek, or anything else. At least this time I want to do my best to thoroughly research and reconstruct the entire content of this glass bead game layer by layer. I have completed The first part of the work took two years. No doubt I will have to devote a few more years to it. Now that we have the freedom of research that Castalia is famous for, I intend to make the most of it. Objection I I have heard it all by myself. Most teachers will say: We have spent many centuries inventing the glass bead game and then building it into a universal language and method capable of expressing all spiritual concepts and all artistic values, Turn it into a common measure of everything. Now you have to double-check to judge whether it is true or not! You will spend your whole life on this, and you will regret it in the end.

"Yes, I don't want to spend my whole life on this, and I don't want to regret it too late. I'm begging you. Because you are now a staff member of the game archive room, and I want to avoid Hua Er again for special reasons. Zell for some time, I would like to ask you to look up and answer a considerable number of questions for me from time to time, specifically, to transcribe - in uncompressed and abbreviated form - the relevant clefs and symbols on various subjects existing in the archives give me one. I'm counting on you, and I hope that you will also ask me to do my best wherever there is merit. "

Perhaps there is nothing wrong with quoting here a fragment of another letter from Knecht, which also touches on the problem of the glass bead game, although it is addressed to the maestro and is much more important than the one addressed to De Glariou. His letter was at least a year or two late. "As far as I can imagine," Knecht wrote to his benefactor, "it is possible for a man to become a skilled gamer without premonition and imagination of the true mystical content and ultimate significance of the glass bead game." expert, even a really competent master of the glass bead game. Yes, there is also the possibility that precisely someone who can sense and understand the true meaning of the game will become a dangerous enemy of the glass bead game, if he is allowed to If you are a game leader or an expert who guides the game, because those who are good at prying into the inner secrets of the game will finally be able to see the One and Everything, enter into the depths of the eternal breath that exists forever, and be self-sufficient without looking outside. Therefore, anyone who has experienced the ultimate meaning of the glass bead game may no longer be a glass bead player. He may also no longer care about the secular world because he has tasted another completely different kind of pleasure and ecstasy. I can invent, build, and connect again. I feel that I am so close to understanding the meaning of the glass bead game that it would be best for me, and for others, not to make the glass bead game my profession, but to Music is right."

After reading the letter, the music master was obviously disturbed by this confession, and contrary to the norm of rarely writing letters, he wrote a long letter to Knecht as a friendship advice. "Very well, you don't want to be a master of the glass bead game anymore, when one has become a 'mystic' in the sense you know, I hope, you are not writing this as a sarcasm. One just pays attention Can I get very close to the game master or teacher of 'deepest inner meaning', he will probably be a very bad teacher. In my case, let's be honest, I have never said a single thing about music to my students in my life' meaning'. If there is such a content, it is self-evident and I do not need to say. On the contrary, I often ask them to attach great importance to the correct and beautiful calculation and performance of eighths and sixteenths. One-tenth of a beat. Whether you are a teacher, a scholar, or a musician, you have to respect 'meaning', but meaning cannot be taught. Many historians have corrupted half the history of the world in the past because they wanted to put it in their writings. To teach 'meaning', they reveal that the age of the supplementary text is to share the amount of blood that has been shed. If I were to introduce Homer or Greek tragedy to students, I probably would not try to exert a spiritual influence on them and say, Shino is a visible form of the gods, and will endeavor to give them an accurate understanding of poetic language and prosody techniques. The job of the teacher or scholar is to study techniques, to exploit the heritage handed down, to preserve the purity of research methods, not to teach those Stunning spiritual experiences that cannot be taught—that is left to the selected students to experience for themselves, and it often makes them losers and victims.”

In addition, in Knecht's correspondence at that time, apart from the above-mentioned letters, there is no other place where the glass bead game and its "mysterious" meaning are mentioned. Either he did not write many letters at that time, or Some letters are missing.At any rate, his correspondence with Pheromonti is well preserved, and the discussions are almost exclusively concerned with music and musical style. From this, we can see how Knecht started his own unique and tortuous research path, with only one purpose, to conduct a precise retrospective analysis of a unique glass bead game, and to explore its very definite meaning.

In order to understand the content of a game, the students only need a few days to complete the homework, and it only takes a quarter of an hour to read it in the language of the game, but Knecht can read it year after year. Sitting in the classroom and library, studying the works of Froberg and Alexander Scarlatti, analyzing the structure of fugues and sonatas, reviewing mathematics, learning Chinese, and engaging in a kind of research on the relationship between color and color according to Furstel's theory A sound-graphic system in which tones are correlated with each other. One wonders why he chose such a rough, unique, and peculiarly lonely path, when his ultimate goal (someone outside Castalia might say: it was dictated by his career choice) was Bibi. It's still a glass bead game.First of all, he could have entered any research institute of the Waldzell Glass Bead Gamer Academy as a guest scholar without restriction. In that case, it would be much easier to do any special research involving games , he can inquire about all individual issues at any time, and can discuss the pursuit of goals with young scholars who also study games, instead of struggling alone like voluntary exile.However, he still went his own way.We speculate that he avoided Waldzell because he not only wanted to try to forget and make others forget the famous role he played, but he also didn't want to repeat the same mistakes and become a new analogue in the glass bead game group.Because he had a premonition from then on that he was destined to be a leader and a representative, so he tried his best to break free from the oppression of fate.He has long felt the weight of responsibility, and now he feels especially pressured by the students of Waldzell. They keep encouraging him, and even if he keeps avoiding, they are unwilling to let him go.Especially Deglarius, he instinctively felt that the other party was willing to go through fire and water for him.

So he tried to cope with the fate that forced him to be seen by seclusion and escapism.This is how we speculated on his inner state back then.However, there is another very important factor or motivation, which is driving him to retreat from the normal research rules of the high-level glass bead game school and become a bystander. An irresistible urge to research.Undoubtedly, he has had that kind of experience, and experienced that games can truly have incomparably noble and sacred meanings. However, he has also witnessed that most gamers and students, and even many leaders and teachers have no lofty and sacred meaning. , Sacred experience, most of them don't regard the game language as a sacred language, but Yu Jian regards it as a relatively clever shorthand method.They engage in games only out of interest or entertainment, as an intellectual exercise or a competition for fame.In fact, as he described in his letter to the music master, he has already had a premonition that exploring the ultimate meaning of the game does not necessarily determine the quality of a glass bead player, because the game also has a shallower level, because it is after all It is a synthesis of technology, science, and social institutions.In short, he had doubts about the glass bead game, and he had dissonantly divided feelings, and the glass bead game became a problem for him, and it was a huge, important life problem.But he had no intention of letting fate have those well-meaning soul soothers come to tide him over, or those smiling teachers write off his problems as insignificant trifles.

Of course, he can choose a favorite one from tens of thousands of game precedents and millions of game possibilities as his research basis.He knew this, and he had also studied the game plan that he and his classmates conceived in the seminar course by chance.That game gave him his first taste of what the glass bead game was all about, and felt his calling to be a player of the glass bead game.During those years, he kept firmly in his mind the outline of the game, which he wrote down in ordinary shorthand.A mathematical formula in astronomy, the formal structure of an ancient sonata, a famous saying of Confucius, etc., are all recorded here in the form of signs, symbols, numbers and ellipsis in the game language.A reader who is completely ignorant of the glass bead game might therefore think that such a scheme is roughly similar to a chess scheme, except that the meanings contained by the pieces and the possibilities for the development of interrelationships differ.The mutual influence of chess pieces multiplies with development, and each chess piece, each position, each chess move is a definite content, and it is precisely these chess moves, chess pieces, etc. that become Symbols that symbolize content.

The scope of Knecht's work in the research era went beyond the intended task: to recognize precisely the contents, principles, books and systems contained in the program of a glass bead game, and to trace back the various cultural, scientific, linguistic, artistic and various To find the right way in different times.He did not give himself less tasks that even the teachers were not familiar with, so as to test the operating system and expressive possibilities used in the artistic activities of the glass bead game. Let us first introduce the results of his inspection: here and there he found a crack here and there, a little lack, but on the whole, our glass bead game must have withstood his strict inspection, otherwise Knecht probably would not have Will return to the territory of the glass bead game after finishing the research work. If we want to study and describe Knecht from the perspective of cultural history, then the places where Knecht stayed and some scenes when he was a student are definitely worth writing about.Whenever possible, he always chooses first workplaces where he is likely to work alone or with only a handful of people.There are several places that he will never forget all his life.He often goes to Monte Polo to stay, sometimes to visit music masters, and sometimes to attend seminars on music history.We found out that he had been twice to Hillsland, where the religious order was headquartered, for "the grand retreat exercise" - a twelve-day fast and retreat.Later, he often described with joy to his friends a place he called "the cottage in the bamboo forest", where a hermit taught him to learn, and he not only learned and experienced the extremely important content, but also seemed to be old Guided by heaven or magical premonition, he found there an incomparable environment and an extraordinary figure, that is, the "elder elder", the founder and presiding officer of this Chinese-style bamboo hut.We thought it necessary to dwell a little here on this very peculiar episode of Knecht's research years. Knecht began his study of Chinese language and classics at the famous Faculty of the Far East, a school of classical linguistics that had been attached to St. Aubin's Church for centuries.During his advanced studies in the college, he not only made rapid progress in reading and writing, but also made friends with several Chinese colleagues who worked in the school, so he learned to recite many poems in the book.When he stayed in the second year, he became interested in the Sutra, and as time went by, his interest became more and more intense.Under his urgent request, Chinese friends provided him with various materials, but no one could guide him to get started, because the school did not hire a teacher to teach the course.In order to study thoroughly, he repeatedly asked people to recommend a teacher, and they described to him the "old elders" and the conditions of the hermitage. Knecht was so interested in this that he finally realized that the people in the academy were already looking sideways at him.He had to go about his inquiries with care.His efforts were not in vain, and as he got to know the legend better, he found that people respected the hermit.Yes, one could say that he was famous, but he was more of a curious outsider than a scholar.Feeling that he could only rely on himself in this matter, Knecht finished the paper he had just begun to submit to the seminar as soon as possible, and then left the academy.He walked all the way to the area of ​​bamboo huts that the mysterious figure—perhaps a wise man and a sage, perhaps an idiot—had created himself. Knecht has collected a considerable amount of information on this hermit: about twenty-five years ago, this man was the most promising student in the Chinese Department of Far Eastern College. He seems to have been born for the study of Chinese. In terms of calligraphy, as well as in interpreting and interpreting classical scriptures, he surpassed the best teachers in the school, and even a real Chinese, but he was a little too enthusiastic, trying to make himself look like a Chinese, making him feel like a Chinese. Everyone looked sideways at him.However, he was stubborn, and later he stubbornly refused to call the leaders of various seminars and experts in various disciplines as teachers like his classmates, and replaced them with "elders". As a result, this title eventually became his own nickname .He paid special attention to the divination method of Ci Jing, devoted a lot of energy to it, and learned to skillfully use the traditional yarrow divination method.In addition to related commentary books, his favorite book is . Apparently, the strict Confucian spirit of rationalism and anti-mystic tendencies, as Knecht saw with his own eyes, showed its signs in the Chinese Department of Far Eastern College at that time, so one day the elder finally left In order to keep the Far Eastern Institute where he taught, he went out on a trip, and only brought a brush, inkstone, and two or three scriptures with him.He has been walking south, and along the way he can always spend the night at the brothers and sisters of the church group.He searched around and finally found a place where he could live in seclusion. He applied to the secular authorities and religious groups in writing and orally, and finally obtained the right to settle and farm. The ancient hermit model led a pastoral life.Some ridiculed him as a freak, while others revered him as a sort of saint.But he does not compete with the world and does not ask for others. Every day, he is not working in the bamboo forest hut, but is meditating and copying ancient scriptures. Under his careful management, the bamboo forest hut has become a barrier to the north. Windy Chinese garden. Joseph Knecht walked all the way to the bamboo forest, and the pleasant scenery often attracted him to take a rest; whenever he climbed up the mountain path, he always stopped and looked down at the light blue thin In the foggy south, the sunny vineyards, the majestic chestnut groves, the fields and mountains in the south, intertwined in a richly scented scene before his eyes.It was evening when he reached the bamboo forest.He went into the courtyard, and was surprised to see a Chinese-style pavilion standing in the middle of this wonderful garden, and a mountain spring drawn by a wooden pipe was leaking. The spring water first filled a stone river bed and then flowed into a nearby one. In the stone pond, various plants grow in the gaps between the stones, and a few goldfish swim leisurely in the crystal clear water.On the slender and tough bamboo poles, clusters of green leaves sway lightly in the wind, and one stone tablet after another is dotted on the grass, with ancient inscriptions engraved on them. A thin, bespectacled man in tan linen clothes straightened up from behind the flower bed where he was squatting to work, his blue eyes showed a questioning look, and he slowly greeted the visitor.His manner was not unfriendly, but there was something of the shyness of a recluse and a man of the world.He asked Knecht with his eyes, waiting to explain why he came.Embarrassed, Knecht said in the prepared Chinese: "Young disciples greet the elders." "Welcome distinguished guests," the elder replied. "Young fellows are welcome to drink tea with me and have a chat. If you want to stay for a while, you might as well stay overnight." After Knecht bowed his head to thank him, he was led into the house. After serving tea, the host showed him the garden, stone monument, pond and goldfish, and even told the age of the goldfish.It was not until dinner time that they sat down under the whirling bamboo forest, exchanged condolences, recited classic poems and warnings to each other, and watched the flowers and the light red sunset on the ridge together.Then they went back into the house, and the elder brought bread and fruit, and fried an omelette for each of them on a very small stove.It was not until the dinner was over that he asked the young people about their visit in German. Knecht also described the purpose and wish of the trip in German: If the elders allow him to stay here for a few days, then he will fulfill his duties as a disciple and serve the about. "Let's discuss the matter tomorrow," replied the hermit, before putting his guests to bed. In the early morning of the next day, Knecht was sitting by the goldfish pond, gazing at the small cool world intertwined with light and darkness. He saw golden bodies swaying among the dark green and pitch black, and they flashed one after another. Wonderful brilliance; at times it seemed that this little world had been bewitched and fallen into a sleepless dream, and those little bodies suddenly jumped up without missing a beat, slicing out the crystals with supple, terrified gestures. And the golden light breaks the sleeping darkness.He stared down, becoming more and more focused, not so much watching quietly, but rather dreaming, so that he didn't realize that the elder had walked out of the house and walked towards him slowly, and stopped, and was standing there for a long time. While looking at the guest in ecstasy.When Knecht finally got up and stood up, the elder had already left, and soon came the voice of inviting guests to have tea from the room.After saying good morning to each other, they sat down to drink tea, and listened to the murmur of the little fountain in the stillness of dawn, an eternal melody.Then the hermit stood up and walked back and forth in the irregularly built room, glanced at Knecht from time to time, and asked suddenly: "Are you going to put on your shoes and continue your journey? " Knecht hesitated for a moment, then replied: "If it has to be done, then I have no choice but to continue on my way." "If you are asked to stay here for a while, will you obey and keep silent like a goldfish?" The young student nodded again. "Okay," said the elderly elder. "I'm going to use a stick to do a fortune telling now and see what the oracle says." Knecht looked at the elder with curiosity and awe, and "remained silent like a goldfish". The old man took out a handful of yarrow sticks from a wooden cup like a quiver, counted them carefully, put some back into the container, took one out of his hand and set it aside, and divided the rest into equal parts. Two handfuls, first pick up one with the left hand, and then use the sensitive right fingertips to pick out small bunches, count the number while picking, and then put it aside until there are only a few sticks left in the hand , and then clamp tightly with the two fingers of the left hand.After distributing one lot in accordance with the religious ceremony, he immediately used the same procedure to deal with the second lot.After setting aside the counted yarrow, he went on to handle the remaining two handfuls, going over one after the other, holding the remaining bits between his fingers, which were nimble and deft. Playing with these yarrow sticks is like playing a well-trained, mastered mystery game with strict rules.After he had picked it many times in this way, there were only three small ones left in the end.He read a symbol out of the three small handfuls of yarrow, and wrote it on a small piece of paper with the tip of a brush.Then, he went through the whole complicated procedure again, divided into two equal bundles, counted, put some aside, and clamped some between his fingers, until at last only three small bundles remained, and finally calculated second symbol.These straw sticks are constantly dancing like dancing, sometimes converging and adjoining, sometimes exchanging positions, sometimes forming a bunch, sometimes dispersing, and sometimes gathering again, making faint crisp collision sounds from time to time.They dance rhythmically and wonderfully like ghosts.After each process is over, the old man will write down a symbol, and finally the yin and yang and six lines are all obtained and the hexagram is formed, which is a symbol stacked into six lines.At this time, the wizard sitting cross-legged on the reed mat gathered the yarrow stalks and put them back into the lottery respectfully. Then he stared at the hexagrams drawn on the paper and remained silent for a long time. "The original hexagram is Meng." The old man said, "The name of the hexagram is Tongmeng. The upper part is the mountain, the lower part is water, the upper part is good, and the lower part is hurdle. There is a spring under the mountain, which is a symbol of heavy Mongolian. The word is: Meng .Henry. Bandit I beg Tong Meng. Tong Meng begged me. Read it at the beginning, read it again and again, but don't tell it after reading it. Li Zhen. " Knecht had been watching nervously, holding his breath, until after hearing these words, he breathed a deep sigh of relief in the silence.He dared not ask.But he thought he understood the meaning of the hexagram: Tong Meng has come, and he will be allowed to stay.As soon as he was fascinated by the delicate puppet show of fingers and yarrow—which became more meaningful the longer he watched it—he knew the result.Now that the hexagram has been predicted, the verdict is in his favor. We describe this episode in such detail because Knecht would often later relate this experience to friends and students with satisfaction.Now let's get back to the text. Knecht stayed in the bamboo hut for several months, learning how to handle yarrow sticks, almost as flawlessly as his teacher.The old man practiced counting lottery skills with him for an hour every day, guided him to master the memorization and image-taking method of the Book of Changes, taught him to recite the sixty-four hexagrams and practice writing hexagram images.The old man also read the ancient interpretations of the Book of Changes to Knecht, and explained a fable of Zhuangzi to Knecht every auspicious day.In addition, the student had to learn to sweep the courtyard, wash brushes, grind ink, cook soup and tea, gather dry firewood, observe celestial phenomena, and check the Chinese almanac from time to time.Knecht occasionally tried to insert glass bead games and music into their rare conversations, but it was always in vain.The other party either doesn't seem to hear, or laughs it off, or replies with an irrelevant adage, such as: "Thick clouds without rain" or "White walls are flawless".However, when Knecht received a clavichord from Montepo, he played it for an hour every day without hearing any objections, so that Knecht confessed to the old man one day that he hoped to learn it by himself. After learning the Book of Changes, one day the system of the Book of Changes can be dissolved in the glass bead game.The elder just smiled. "Try it!" he said, "and what will you see? It is possible for everyone to build a small and beautiful bamboo garden in the world. As for whether this person can make the whole world Into his bamboo forest, I don't know at all."——That's the end of the matter. It will suffice for us to cite one more example.Some years later, when Knecht had become a respected and important person in Walzell, he invited the elder to give a course, but the old man did not give any reply. Joseph Knecht later described his few months in the bamboo hut not only as an extraordinary happy time, but also often called the "beginning of awakening period". In fact, from that period on, the imagination of awakening The scene appeared in his speech from time to time, although it was not exactly the same as the inspiration scene he described in the past, it was quite similar.We speculate that his so-called "awakening" specifically refers to his self-awareness of each stage, as well as his understanding of his status within Castalia and the secular human order.It seems to us that the emphasis has increasingly shifted to the aspect of self-knowledge, that is to say, since Knecht "began to wake up", more and more aware of his unusual position and unique destiny, and more and more aware of himself. The relative relationship between general ideas and particular order categories with Castalia. Knecht's Chinese research work during his stay in the Bamboo Forest Hut did not end with his departure, and continued later, especially the research on Chinese classical music.Knecht found that in ancient Chinese books, words praising music can be found everywhere, and he praised it as the root of all social order, moral customs, health and beauty.In fact, he was already familiar with this broad and moral concept of music, and the old music master himself is the embodiment of this concept. Knecht never gave up on this basic research project - we can get a glimpse of it from his letters to Fritz de Glarius -, but also expanded in all directions, no matter when and where, wherever he It is estimated that there will be important value, that is: everything he thinks is related to his path to "awakening", he will go all out.One of the positive results of Knecht's apprenticeship with the elders was that he overcame his shyness about returning to Walzell.Since then, he went there every year to participate in a senior seminar, and unknowingly became a widely respected and loved figure in the Glass Bead Game Academy, and unconsciously became the head of the most core and most sensitive institution of the Glass Bead Game organization. Dignitaries, he was already a member of the anonymous core organization that controlled the fate of the game of Glass Bead, or at least determined the direction and popularity of the game at that time. The leading officials of the organizing organization of the Glass Bead Game also participate in this organization, but they do not have control over it. Most of them hold meetings from time to time in several secluded rooms in the game archives to discuss and study the activities of the Glass Bead Game.新的项目而争吵，为了赞成或者反对经常略有变动的趣味而辩论不休，不论是对游戏的方式、程序，还是对举行比赛的事项。凡是在小组里占有一席之地者无不精于玻璃球游戏之道，每个人对其他成员的才能和特点也莫不了如指掌，聚会的气氛与政府部长会议或者某个贵族俱乐部内的情况颇相类似，各种权威人士和即将成为权威人士的人在这里互相见面，互相结交。人们说话时无～不是压低了嗓音，尽管他们野心勃勃，却都藏而不露，谨慎小心，批评他人时却不嫌过分。卡斯塔里有许多人，再加上外界也有许多人，都把这群人视作玻璃球游戏的最高精英人才，代表卡斯塔里传统的最高成就，也是杰出贵族思想的精华，因而使得不少年轻人年复一年地梦想有朝一日也能济身其中。但是，在另外还有一些人眼里，这群觊觎玻璃球游戏团体高位的年轻候选人既可厌又下贱，不过是一个目中无人的狂妄小集团，一群不懂生活与现实意义、糟蹋自己才能的天才，是一伙傲慢自负、说到底是过着寄生生活的所谓的高人雅士，他们的职务和生活内容不过是一种无益的游戏，一种不结果实的自我精神享受。 克乃西特丝毫没有受到这些青年精英的观点影响，完全不介意学生们在闲谈中把他赞为旷世奇才或者骂成暴发户和野心家。对他而言，唯有他的研究工作是最重要的，如今一切都以玻璃球游戏为中心而展开。对他而言，也许还有另一个问题也同等重要，那就是：玻璃球游戏是否确应成为卡斯塔里的最高目标，并且值得自己为之奉献一生？因为，随着他对游戏法则与游戏发展潜力的比较隐蔽奥秘的认识越来越清楚，随着他对色彩缤纷档案迷宫和游戏符号的复杂内在世界日益熟悉，他对游戏的疑虑，并没有一丝一毫的减弱。他从自己的经验中体会到：信仰与怀疑是相互关连的，就像吸气与呼气一样互相制约，他在玻璃球游戏小宇宙一切领域所取得的进展，无疑也增长了他看清和感觉游戏存在问题之处的能力。竹林茅舍的田园理想在一个短时期里，也许可以说是既恢复了他的信念，又搅混了他的信念。年长的长老是一个实例，说明逃避诸如此类问题的出路很多。譬如：一个人可以让自己变成一个中国人，把自己封闭在篱笆后面，过一种自给自足的完美生活，就像那位隐士。一个人也可以成为毕达哥拉斯式的哲学家，或者去当和尚，或者做一个穷修士。 然而，所有这一切仅是逃避而已，仅是放弃追求万有的少数人士的作为，这些人为了享受完美而放弃了现在和未来；他们只活在过去之中，这是一种被理想化了的逃避。克乃西特及时察觉到这不是自己要走的道路。但是他应该走什么样的路呢？他知道自己除了对音乐和玻璃球游戏具有很高才能之外，还具有别的能力，一种内在的独立精神，一种高层次的执拗自恃，这些能力绝不阻碍他服务他人，还要求他侍奉至高无上的天主。而这些能力，这种独立精神，这种执拗自恃，还不仅是他品性中的特点，不单在自己内心起作用，同时也能影响到外在世界。 早在求学时代，尤其是他与普林尼奥·特西格诺利相互抗衡的时期，约瑟夫·克乃西特就常常有受人仰慕的经历，许多同龄人，当然更多的是较年幼的同学，都非常喜欢他，设法接近他，甚至愿意受他控制。他们请他指点以便接纳他的影响。 从那时以后，这类情况就一再反复重演。这类经历固然有令人惬意的一面，可以满足虚荣心，增强自信心。但是它们也有又黑暗又危险的另一面，因为就在他面对那些急于恳求忠告、指导和示范的同学们时，难免对他们的软弱，他们的缺乏独立与自尊产生轻蔑之情，甚而还会不时冒出一种隐秘的欲望（至少是在思想上），要把他们变成自己驯顺的奴隶，这便是它们又卑劣又丑恶的一面。此外，他与普林尼奥展开辩论的几年中，他曾为那种光荣而代表性的地位付出了多少沉重的代价，品尝了多少承担责任、勤奋努力、内心超重负荷的滋味啊。他也知道，音乐大师也曾有过不胜重负的感觉。对别人施行权力，对别人耀武扬威，诚然是颇能令人陶醉的开心事情，其中却同时蕴含着危险性和灾难性，世界的历史总的说来是由密密一连串君王、首领、独裁者和指挥官所组成，他们开始时无不说得天花乱坠，结果却坏事干尽，很少有哪个人例外。所有这些人开始时都愿意替天行善——至少嘴上如此标榜，但一旦真的获取了政权，就会麻木不仁，只为自己抓权了。 克乃西特一直认为自己应当做的事，是通过服务于宗教团体而让自然赋予自己的这些能力得到净化和强健。但是这个地方在哪里呢，他该去何处发挥自己的能力并获得这种结果呢？他这种吸引人、多少能够影响他人，尤其是较年轻的人的能力，对于一位军官或者政治家确乎极有价值，在卡斯塔里却没有发挥余地，这里只需要充当教师和教育家的能力，而克乃西特恰恰对此类工作较少感兴趣。如果问题仅仅在于个人意愿，那么他也许会拒绝任何工作而去过一种独立学者的生活——或者干脆成为玻璃球游戏者。但是每当他作出这一决定时，那个折磨他多年的老问题便立即显现在眼前：玻璃球游戏果真是至高无上的吗？果真是精神王国里的至尊君王么？ 不论其有多少好处，最终会不会只是一场游戏呢？值得为之奉献全部力量，为之服务终身么？这一闻名遐尔的游戏，若干世代以前不过是一种艺术的代用品，后来才逐渐通过许多人的概念而发展成为一种以聚精会神、虔诚修炼为主的培养高度才智的信仰，某一种类型的宗教信仰。 人们看到，克乃西特正面临美学和伦理学这一双亘古存在的矛盾。他的矛盾从未得到充分的表露，也从未受到完全的抑制，却始终依然故我，它们曾那么浓烈、那么咄咄逼人地出现在华尔采尔学生时代的诗篇中——问题不只针对玻璃球游戏，而首先是针对了整个卡斯塔里王国。 有一个时期，当这个问题把他困扰得难以承受时，他常常在梦中与特西格诺利一决胜负。有一次，他正走在华尔采尔玻璃球游戏区一处宽敞的庭园里，忽听得身后有人喊叫自己的名字，那声音听着很熟悉，但他一下子想不起是什么人。他掉转身子，看见一个蓄小胡子的高个子青年，正向他狂奔而来。他认出了普林尼奥，不禁百感交集，诚恳地欢迎他到来。他们约定当晚聚谈。普林尼奥早已在世俗世界的大学里完成研究课程，现在是一名政府官员，趁短暂休假以贵客身份来此参加一个玻璃球游戏研讨会，其实他几年前便已参加过一次。 两个朋友当晚相聚不久便相互都觉得很窘。普林尼奥现在是客人，一位来自世俗世界的宽容大度业余爱好者，尽管他怀着极大热诚，然而参与的只是替外行和爱好者开办的课程，两人间的距离确实太大了。普林尼奥如今面对的已是一位成熟的玻璃球游戏专家，虽然对朋友的兴趣颇能爱护体贴，却依旧让他感到自己在这里不是同行，对方已经深人这门学科的精髓，而自己不过是在边缘嬉戏的顽童而已。克乃西特试着调换话题，便请普林尼奥介绍他在外面的工作和生活情况。这一来形势立即倒转，克乃西特成了幼稚的孩子，尽提些天真问题，不得不接受对方爱护体贴的指点。普林尼奥已进人法律界，正努力谋求政治影响，并且即将和某一党派领袖的女儿订立婚约。约瑟夫对他说的话只能听懂一半，许多反复出现的概念在他听来空空洞洞，它们对他而言，至少是毫无意义的。无论如何，克乃西特总算听明白普林尼奥在他那世俗天地里已取得相当成就，并且懂得如何达到自己雄心勃勃的目标。 十年之前，两位年轻人曾各自怀着好奇和同情心接触、接近两个不同的世界，如今已互相陌生，产生了互不相容的裂缝。 克乃西特赞许这位俗世政治家还对卡斯塔里保留着一份依恋之情，竟然两度牺牲休假来参加玻璃球游戏。但是，结果如何呢，克乃西特心想，即便他有一天回访普林尼奥的工作地区，以好奇的客人身份听几次法庭审判，参观几家工厂或者福利机构，大概情况也一如既往。两位朋友都彼此觉得失望。克乃西特感到老朋友显得粗鲁和外露，特西格诺利则感到往日的伙伴对秘传而得的知识过分自傲，似乎成了一个只关注自己游戏的“精神至上”者。 不过两个人都努力与对方交谈，特西格诺利更有形形式式的话题可讲，从他的研究课程和考试毕业，说到英国之行和南方旅游，一直说到种种政治集会和他在国会的活动。他还在叙述某件事的时候，说了一句听着有些威胁和警告意味的话，他说：“你瞧着吧，很快就要天下大乱了，也许会爆发战争，完全可能的，到那时，你们整个卡斯塔里的存在都会受到严肃指责的。” 约瑟夫对此并没有大认真，只是问道：“那么你呢？普林尼奥，你会支持卡斯塔里呢，还是反对？” “啊，”普林尼奥不自然地勉强笑着答道，“大概不会有人来征询我的意见。 当然，我不赞成干扰卡斯塔里的继续存在；否则我现在不会在这儿了。不论怎么说，你们在物质需求上一贯十分节制，然而卡斯塔里每年仍要国家支付一笔相当可观的款子。 " “对啊，”约瑟夫笑着接下去说，“我听人说，比起国家在本世纪里每年支付武器军火的款项，这笔费用约占其中的十分之后来他们又聚过几次，越接近普林尼奥课程结束，他们互相间的礼仪越发殷勤周到。两三个星期后，当普林尼奥动身时，两人都有解脱之感。 当时的玻璃球游戏大师托马斯·封·德·特拉维是一个游历过世界各地的著名人士，对待每一个接近他的人，无不亲切友好，只在涉及玻璃球游戏的事务上，为维护游戏往往严厉得可怕。凡是仅在公众场合——例如在他华服盛装主持玻璃球游戏庆典或者接见外国贵宾时见过他的人们，都无法想象他是一个了不起的劳作者。 人们背后议论他是一个冷静的、甚至是冷酷的理性至上者，对艺术持冷淡态度，在那批年轻热情的业余玻璃球游戏爱好者中间更不时传出否定他的言论，——当然都是些错误判断，因为他若不热爱游戏，就不会想方设法在举行大规模比赛时有意避免触及许多刺激人的重大问题，而由他设计的一场场美轮美奂的玻璃球游戏，也不会因其几近完全掌握游戏世界的内在奥秘，受到专家们一致公认了。 有一天这位游戏大师邀请克乃西特去他家，大师只穿着日常便服，询问克乃西特可否在近几天里每日同一时间到他家坐半个钟点。素日克乃西特与这位大师从无私交，对这一吩咐不禁大为惊讶。 大师这天交给他一叠材料，是一位管风琴家寄给他的一份建议书，也是玻璃球游戏最高当局经常要审议的无数提议之一。这类文件大都是建议档案馆采纳新材料的建议，种类很多，例如有一个人下功夫研究了田园牧歌的历史后发现其风格发展过程中有一条曲线，便从音乐和数学两种角度记录下来，要求吸收入玻璃球游戏语言的语汇库中。另一个人将尤里乌斯·悄撒撰写的拉丁文字中韵律特点进行研究后，发现它与人人尽知的拜占庭赞美诗音程研究结果，有着惊人的相似之处。再例如有位热心人，又一次发现了隐藏在十五世纪记谱法文字里的一种新犹太教义。更不用说还有一些古怪的实验家，常常写来热情澎湃的书信，认为对歌德与斯宾诺沙的算命天宫图进行比较研究，定能得到惊人的结果，来信中还常常附寄十分鲜艳夺目的彩色几何图案。 克乃西特迫不及待地立即着手阅读材料，他自己头脑里也经常出现类似的种种建议，即使并不曾递交给当局。每一个积极的玻璃球游戏者都会梦想不断开拓自己的游戏境界，直至把整个宇宙都纳人其中，或者更确切地说，他不仅持续不断地在自己的设计和私人练习中开拓着游戏境界，而且迫切渴望那些似乎值得保存的游戏设计获得官方承认，而能够参加公开比赛。技艺精湛玻璃球游戏高手们的私人游戏练习也都具独特谋略而不同一般，原因在于他们具有熟练地掌握控制游戏规律的表达、命名和构成的能力，使他们得以把纯属个人的随意想象灌注入任何一场以客观历史材料构成的游戏之中。一位著名植物学家有一次讲了一句引人发笑的名言：“玻璃球游戏必须包容一切，譬如一棵植物也会用拉丁语同植物学家林纳聊天。” 接着，克乃西特协助大师分析研究这份建议。半个钟头飞快过去了，次日他准时到达，整整两个星期，他每天按时和游戏大师一起工作半个小时。开头几天，他很惊讶大师竟要他谨慎处理这些一眼便可看出毫无采用价值的建议报告。他奇怪大师居然为此花费时间。但终于逐渐懂得，大师让他分担工作不是为减轻自己的负担，而首先要借此机会对他这个青年弟子进行有礼貌的严格考察。整个事件的情况和童年时代音乐大师出现的情景颇为相似。他是从同事们的态度上觉察到问题的，他们开始对他疏远、拘谨，甚至加以讽刺挖苦。有些传闻已不胫而走，他也觉察到了，但是这一次已没有从前那样的幸福感觉。 他们最后一次商讨完后，玻璃球游戏大师用他那稍嫌高亢的声音，以十分精确的语言，丝毫不带官腔地对克乃西特说道：“很好，你明天就不必来了，我们的工作现在已告一段落。不久我还会有事情烦劳。多谢你的合作，事情对我很有价值。 此外，我想你应该申请加入宗教团体了。你不会有什么困难的，我已经同主管部门打过招呼。你总不会反对加入吧？ “当他站起身子时又补充道：”我顺便再对你讲几句吧：大概你也和大多数优秀青年游戏者一样，有一种把玻璃球游戏当作某种进行哲学推理工具的倾向。我这几句话不可能治愈你的毛病，然而我还是要说给你听：哲学推理只应当合理地施用于哲学工作。而我们的游戏既非哲学，也非宗教，它自成学科，在性质上与艺术最为相近，是一种无与伦比的艺术。一个人若能领悟，便会大发展，远胜失败百次之后才略有所见略有所进。哲学家康德——现在已罕为人知，却是第一流的思想家——曾说，对神学进行哲学推理乃是'幻觉的幻灯'。我们不该把我们的玻璃球游戏弄成那般东西。 " 克乃西特感到震惊，激动得几乎没有听清最后那几句警告。他像被闪电一下子照亮似的，内心里猛然明白：这番话意味着自由研究年代业已告终，不久将被接纳加入宗教团体，也即将路身圣人之列了。他向大师深深鞠躬表示谢意，匆匆来到设在华尔采尔的宗教团体的办事处，看见自己的名字果真已登记在新人名单之上。克乃西特与其他同一级别同学们全都十分熟悉宗教团体的各项条款，记得其中有这样的一条：凡是团体最高当局的成员都有权执行吸收新人人会的仪式。他便请求由音乐大师主持典礼，获准之后即刻请假于次日启程赴蒙特坡，来到自己恩人和朋友的住处。克乃西特发现可敬的老人正偶染微恙，不过他还是受到了热烈欢迎。 “你来得正是时候，”老人说。“不久我就无权接纳你入会了。我的辞呈已经获准，我就要离职了。” 典礼仪式本身很简单。依照条文规定，音乐大师第二天邀请了两位教友担任证人。许多年前，音乐大师曾从宗教团体教规中摘引了一段话作为克乃西特默修课的题目：“如果最高行政当局委以职务，便当自知：职位每高一级，并非向自由，而是向约束迈出一步；职位越高，约束越严；个性越强，任意专断越受禁忌。” 几个人集合在音乐大师的小音乐室里，这里正是多年前克乃西特第一次学习静观默想之道的地方。为了表示庆祝，音乐大师要求克乃西特为典礼演奏巴赫的一首合唱序曲，证人之一便在这时宣读了宗教团体教规的缩写本，随后音乐大师亲自提问了若于仪式性的问题，并听取了自己青年朋友的誓词。仪式完毕后，音乐大师又赠送他一个钟点，他们同坐在花园里，大师亲切地指点他如何掌握教规的意义，如何符合教规地生活。“太好了，”他说，“你在我即将离职之时来填补空隙，好像我有了一个会继承父业的儿子。”当他看见克乃西特的表情变得很悲伤时，又补充道：“啊，别难过，我还没有难过呢。我已经很疲倦，很乐意享受一下清闲生活，也希望你能常来和我分享这份快乐。我们下次再见面，你就用普通的称谓称呼我吧，不要再像我在职时那么用尊称了。”大师说完就用克乃西特已熟悉二十年之久的让人心折的笑容与他辞别了。 克乃西特匆匆赶回华尔采尔，因为他仅请准三天假期。他刚踏进住所，便被玻璃球游戏大师请去，以接待同事的态度热情祝贺他加入宗教团体。“一旦下达了明确的职务任命，”他告诉他，“你就完全是我们这个组织里的同行和同事了。” 克乃西特稍稍觉得有些惊惧。那么他的自由年代真的要结束了。 “啊，”他怯生生地说道，“我希望自己能够在某些较小的工作上有些用处。 然而，我还得向您坦白，我总希望再从事一段时间的研究工作。 " 游戏大师面带笑容，用他那既睿智又微含讥讽的目光迫视着对方，问道：“一段时间，你要多久？” 克乃西特迟疑地笑了：“我也说不清楚。” “我想正是这样，”大师应声接下去说道：“你现在仍然用学生的语言说话，仍然以学生的概念思索，约瑟夫·克乃西特，现在这样做当然很正常，但是不久还这样做就完全不对了，因为我们需要你担任职务。你得知道，你以后即或已在我们最高当局担任要职，也仍然能够获得研究假期。例如我的前任兼老师，当他还在职期间，而且年龄业已老迈之时，为了想去伦敦档案研究所进行研究工作，曾请假一年，因理由充分而获得批准。他的假期不是什么'一段时间'，而是一个明确的数字，几月，几周，几天。你今后必须注意这个问题。目前我有一个建议要同你商量。 我们现在需要一个可靠的人士承担一项特殊任务，这个人务必不是外界熟悉的卡斯塔里知名人士。 " 这项使命的全部内容大致如下：在玛丽亚费尔的本笃会修道院——这是全国历史最悠久的教育中心之一，几十年来一直与卡斯塔里保持良好关系，尤其支持玻璃球游戏的活动，——多次要求选派一位青年教师去那里逗留较长时间，一则传授玻璃球游戏初级课程，此外也可以促进修道院中几位游戏高手的技艺。托马斯大师几经挑选后，决定让克乃西特去完成使命。这便是克乃西特受到如此慎重审查的原因，也是他被加速提前纳入宗教团体的缘由。