Excerpts Prepared by Dr. Neil Chadwick
Hermann Hesse, who died in 1962, was a Swiss author. He was brought up in a missionary household, but ran away from Maulbronn seminary when he was 14, and later was expelled from high school. However, he became successful as a writer, and one of his works, "Magister Ludi", earned him the Nobel Prize in 1946.
"Journey to the East" was written in 1932. Its fictional story, written as though autobiographical, is the account of Hermann joining a kind of mystical organization called "The League". The particular group within this League to which Hermann attached himself was a group that was in fact on a Journey to the East. Each member had his own personal goal in relation to this journey, for Hermann it was that he wanted to find the beautiful princess of Arabia. A variety of members are described, among them artists, musicians and poets; Hermann himself served as the group's chorister and storyteller. One of the lesser noticed members was a man known only as Leo, one of the servants. "He helped to carry the luggage and was often assigned to the personal service of the Speaker (the group's acknowledged leader). This unaffected man had something so pleasing, so unobtrusively winning about him that everyone loved him. He did his work gaily, usually sang or whistled as he went along, was never seen except when needed - in fact, an ideal servant. (It seems that it was the search for Solomon's wisdom that led Leo to join this Journey to the East.) This servant Leo worked in a very simple and natural manner, friendly in an unassuming way, alongside the many forms of our League, which, without doing harm to the value and sincerity of the League, had within them something exalting, something singular, solemn, or fantastic." (p.25) Once, in a conversation with Leo, reference was made to a "law", the law of service. Leo explained to Hermann that the person "who wished to live long must serve, but he who wished to rule does not live long." (p.35) Shortly after that conversation, while the group moved through a gorge called "Morbio Inferiore", Leo suddenly disappeared. No one knew why; a search party was organized, but Leo was not found, and the reason for his leaving not understood. For Hermann, and for the whole travelling troupe, for that matter, the departure of the servant Leo had dire results. Faith began to diminish, dissention destroyed the peaceful unity the group had enjoyed from the beginning. It seemed that when Leo left, with him went the prosperity of the League and the cohesion of the whole group of travellers. Hermann himself became depressed and distrustful of the others, began to neglect his duties and became very nervous and quarrelsome. It wasn't long before Hermann too deserted the Journey. Ten years later, Hermann found himself in a certain city, there trying to fulfill a long standing goal, to write a history of "The League". Frustrated in this project, he sought advice from the editor of the city newspaper, a man by the name of Lukas. Not much help was given, but during the second and last visit, when Hermann mentioned "Leo", Lukas found the name "Andreas Leo" in a directory. His address found, Hermann watched for an opportunity to meet this "Leo", to find out if this was the fondly remembered servant. Finally, standing in the shadows outside 69a Seilergraben, Hermann heard a beautifully whistled tune - he knew that it came from Leo, and he followed him from the house to a park nearby where the two men talked. For Hermann, the evening ended in despair, for it appeared the he was not recognized by Leo. Before falling into an exhausted sleep as a new day dawned, Hermann wrote a long letter to his former friend, the servant Leo, and dropped it in a nearby mail box. A full day later, when Hermann finally awoke, he was greeted by Leo, who quietly indicated that the officers of the League had summoned, and Hermann must follow him to meet them. For two hours, Hermann dutifully followed the servant. The distance was not that far, but on two occasions Leo stopped to spend time in prayer. Finally the pair reached a large nondescript building and entered. It turned out to be the headquarters for the "League", a multistory building; on the top floor was a large hall surrounded by archives. It was there the officials gathered to hear the confession of the "self-accuser", and decide the fate of Hermann Hess the deserter. As the large number of League officials filled the hall, Leo disappeared among them. When the hall became silent, the Speaker called forth Hermann who was to stand before the High Throne and give answer for his having deserted the "Journey". The question was raised as to whether Hermann would prefer judgement to be passed by the officials of the Court of Justice, or by the President of the League. He answered that either would be acceptable, but just then a soft voice from the rear of the hall spoke up, "The President is ready to pass judgement himself." To his utter amazement, Hermann watched as this man, clad in a brilliant golden robe made his way to the front of the hall. As he approached the High Throne, each row of officials rose to greet him, and Hermann looked on in shocked disbelief. It was Leo the servant; he who so willingly carried the luggage for the Journey. It was Leo the messenger who had summoned Hermann to this judgement hall. Leo the humble servant was, in reality, Leo the President of the League. It is he who would now extend forgiveness and acceptance back into the League.
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