Book Ten: The Book of the Double Twilight
| Music | Book Ten. Canto One:The Dream Twilight of the Ideal |
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071 Night is not our beginning nor our end; 072 She is the dark Mother in whose womb we have hid 073 Safe from too swift a waking to world-pain. |
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086 Assailed in the sovereign emptiness of its reign 087 The intolerant Darkness paled and drew apart 088 Till only a few black remnants stained that Ray. 089 But on a failing edge of dumb lost space 090 Still a great dragon body sullenly loomed; 091 Adversary of the slow struggling Dawn 092 Defending its ground of tortured mystery, 093 It trailed its coils through the dead martyred air 094 And curving fled down a grey slope of Time. |
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095 There is a morning twilight of the gods; 096 Miraculous from sleep their forms arise 097 And God’s long nights are justified by dawn. . . . 109 Into a happy misty twilit world 110 Where all ran after light and joy and love 111 She slipped; there far-off raptures drew more close |
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252 Above, her spirit in its mighty trance 253 Saw all, but lived for its transcendent task, 254 Immutable like a fixed eternal star |
| Music | Book Ten. Canto Two:The Gospel of Death and Vanity of the Ideal |
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001 Then pealed the calm inexorable voice: . . . 011 This is the world from which thy yearnings came. |
| Music | Book Ten. Canto Three:The Debate of Love and Death |
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004 But Savitri answered to almighty Death: . . . 432 “O Death, I have triumphed over thee within; . . . 443 O Death, not for my heart’s sweet poignancy 444 Nor for my happy body’s bliss alone 445 I have claimed from thee the living Satyavan, 446 But for his work and mine, our sacred charge. 447 Our lives are God’s messengers beneath the stars; 448 To dwell under death’s shadow they have come 449 Tempting God’s light to earth for the ignorant race, |
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462 But to the woman Death the god replied, . . . 480 O human face, put off mind-painted masks: 481 The animal be, the worm that Nature meant; 482 Accept thy futile birth, thy narrow life. . . . 523 But Savitri replied to mighty Death: 524 “My heart is wiser than the Reason’s thoughts, 525 My heart is stronger than thy bonds, O Death. 526 It sees and feels the one Heart beat in all, 527 It feels the high Transcendent’s sunlike hands, |
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567 Death bowed his sovereign head in cold assent: 568 “I give to thee, saved from death and poignant fate 569 Whatever once the living Satyavan 570 Desired in his heart for Savitri. . . . 582 Return, O child, to thy forsaken earth.” 583 But Savitri replied, “Thy gifts resist. 584 Earth cannot flower if lonely I return.” |
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585 Then Death sent forth once more his angry cry, . . . 587 “What knowst thou of earth’s rich and changing life 588 Who thinkst that one man dead all joy must cease? . . . 597 But Savitri replied to the vague god, 598 “Give me back Satyavan, my only lord. 599 Thy thoughts are vacant to my soul that feels 600 The deep eternal truth in transient things.” . . . 645 Thus with armed speech the great opponents strove. |
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674 The mortal led, the god and spirit obeyed 675 And she behind was leader of their march 676 And they in front were followers of her will. . . . |
| Music | Book Ten. Canto Four:The Dream Twilight of the Earthly Real |
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083 Once more arose the great destroying Voice: . . . 087 “Behold the figures of this symbol realm, 088 Its solid outlines of creative dream 089 Inspiring the great concrete tasks of earth. . . . 096 Where Nature changes not, man cannot change: . . . 121 Hope not to call God down into his life. 122 How shalt thou bring the Everlasting here? 123 There is no house for him in hurrying Time. |
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234 But Savitri answered to the sophist God: . . . 290 If the chamber’s door is even a little ajar, 291 What then can hinder God from stealing in 292 Or who forbid his kiss on the sleeping soul? 293 Already God is near, the Truth is close: . . . 305 A lonely freedom cannot satisfy 306 A heart that has grown one with every heart: 307 I am a deputy of the aspiring world, 308 My spirit’s liberty I ask for all.” |
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309 Then rang again a deeper cry of Death. . . . 378 Mighty art thou with the dread goddess filled, 379 To whom thou criedst at dawn in the dim woods. 380 Use not thy strength like the wild Titan souls! 381 Touch not the seated lines, the ancient laws, 382 Respect the calm of great established things.” 383 But Savitri replied to the huge god: 384 “What is the calm thou vauntst, O Law, O Death? . . . 401 I trample on thy law with living feet; 402 For to arise in freedom I was born. |
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408 . . . Death replied to her, 409 “Why should the noble and immortal will 410 Stoop to the petty works of transient earth, 411 Freedom forgotten and the Eternal’s path? . . . 424 She answered, “Straight I trample on the road 425 The strong hand hewed for me which planned our paths. . . . 446 Freedom is this with ever seated soul, 447 Large in life’s limits, strong in Matter’s knots, 448 Building great stuff of action from the worlds 449 To make fine wisdom from coarse, scattered strands 450 And love and beauty out of war and night, 451 The wager wonderful, the game divine. |
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461 Immutable, Death’s denial met her cry: . . . 496 All things hang here between God’s yes and no, 497 Two Powers real but to each other untrue, 498 Two consort stars in the mooned night of mind 499 That towards two opposite horizons gaze, 500 The white head and black tail of the mystic drake, 501 The swift and the lame foot, wing strong, wing broken 502 Sustaining the body of the uncertain world, 503 A great surreal dragon in the skies. |
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539 The Woman answered to the mighty Shade, 540 And as she spoke, mortality disappeared; 541 Her Goddess self grew visible in her eyes, 542 Light came, a dream of heaven, into her face. |
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666 On summit Mind are radiant altitudes 667 Exposed to the lustre of Infinity, 668 Outskirts and dependencies of the house of Truth, . . . 671 A cosmic Thought spreads out its vastitudes; 672 Its smallest parts are here philosophies 673 Challenging with their detailed immensity, |
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675 But higher still can climb the ascending light; 676 There are vasts of vision and eternal suns, 677 Oceans of an immortal luminousness, 678 Flame-hills assaulting heaven with their peaks, |
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684 A highest flight climbs to a deepest view: 685 In a wide opening of its native sky 686 Intuition’s lightnings range in a bright pack 687 Hunting all hidden truths out of their lairs, . . . 695 Thought there has revelation’s sun-bright eyes; 696 The Word, a mighty and inspiring Voice, 697 Enters Truth’s inmost cabin of privacy 698 And tears away the veil from God and life. |