Ney; a neially untouc and lig period in Goldmunds life y offered itself in all its arts; t games and images. On tsmansions and experiences. iters  t, and at ters as  to er, colors, varnish, and gold leaf.

    Goldmund  one of tists  means of expression. Quite a number of people are able to feel ty of tly, and to carry  to exteriorize to create t of oto communicate t suffer from to ricks and practices of t, and o play te er o dance on Sundays in t easily; it came by itself.   ies and disappointments, spoiled a fe imes. But ed till, ter en dissatisfied ;Fortunately  youre not my apprentice or my assistant, Goldmund. Fortunately  youve  youll go back t kno youre a er and not a burgisan migo temptation to ask t of you, ter demands of   all  erday you slept yard o polis;

    ter  justifying  a reliable, ask fascinated  like   difficult but demanded time and application. Many of tient parts of craftsmansen completely unbearable to  sometimes made o make ance groer, . ience t noin syntax and all ts indefatigably, alt ttom of , te unimportant to  t. Love eeled ant courtseem and recognition. In to slave for ive glance from teacrangely enoug  learned Narcissus ude for learning, ead of learning, monkue, poincts ers: sex, ers madonna and discovered tist aken a neled doem from?

    At first o define it.  ly admired Master Niklaus, but in no o trasts in ters nature. t least t among t ter  an example.

    Beside tist  beautiful mouto transform deep experience and intuition into tangible forms, ter Niklaus: a someern and fearful fat, sliger and an ugly servant in  ly resisted Goldmunds strongest impulses, o a calm, moderate, orderly, respectable life.

    Alted er, altted o question ot o judge  of oter a year to t detail all t o be kno Niklaus. ter meant muco ed  stay ay, trated ters nature and of  Niklaus alloice nor assistant to live in   out and equally rarely invited guests to  iful daugouc ried to  berict, premature abstinence of tincts ill at play, t ter could strangely transform and rejuvenate o travel for a ferange little toing up a carved pulpit,  Niklaus inely visited a w less and ill-erwards.

    As time  on, somety tied Goldmund to ters ers beautiful daugtracted ly.  to see o t determine  of ure.  overlook t t ter never again invited  ried to make any meeting . Lisbet precious, sered young girl;  o ed to marry o come from a good family, be a member of one of the higher guilds and probably have money and a house besides.

    Lisbety, so different from t of t racted Goldmunds eyes t first day. t   deciprange t violently attracted  also made ated  calm and innocence, y  cesy and ease lay a  reason  move  annoyed and provoked ly familiar to  to create a statue of  t an a a young virgin. en dreamed of seeing iful, immobile face distorted in ecstasy or pain, of seeing it unfold and yield its secret.

    t did not altogeto o capture and re-create artistically, but again and again it dre o  memories, after ion  s of love, during o deat ler. traits and colors o an impersonal moter Niklauss madonnas poion t seemed unsurpassable to Goldmund,  one day, e t, , most c  ant transformation and gro, eac, eac  it and fass traits. to be able to make visible some day  to represent any specific  tself, times  ; often it appeared in

    t  o express, except t ed it to simate relationsasy to pain and death.

    Goldmund learned a great deal in tsman; occasionally, beside  ry  modeling  successful , seductive figure of little Julie, Lydias sister. ter praised t did not fulfill Goldmunds  in metal; oo unce and o become its godfatarted atue of Narcissus, in raying tle Joed to include to execute and on ants e some time, leaving touco ter.

    Goldmund  tatue of Narcissus. ime  off track, and distracted and grumpy over  at . Joures came to meet  of ter and greater purity, ion and y. During t of time. Again  t, ligal feeling in  o o be guided by   anding ting an image of   s o step out of ting transitions of life, to express the pure image of his being.

    times felt rue art came about. ters unforgettable madonna ed in ter again and again on many a Sunday. tatues airs in ters foyer o being in t, sacred manner. And one day t ot e suc, sucial images, untainted by y. But it  t ed: pretty, delig mastery, t lovers, t of coainly, but not sacred, not true images of t only by Niklaus and oters—, in spite of tsmans playto  t in ,  in ist can put sucty t of delig of ambition and dissipation.

    time,   ist in order to make little angel figures and similar frivolities, no matter iful. Perisans, tisfied souls mig  not o  and craftsmansorms.  broug, pleasantness, only small joys. y croask for ter er Niklaus accept all tants? en for o tors and prelates al from icks in to be a famous artist flooded ed to pile up money, not for any great ac or pleasure but for er, iful girl could not come to kno as well in a .

    irred deeply in Goldmund in tions;  ttled, tors. At times craft and master o  en came close to running aer angrily regretted aken on t, unreliable felloried ience to tmost. t Goldmunds life, about o money and o make ic; aken a gypsy into ranger. Nor  escaped  eyes t looked at er Lisbeto be patient, it  out of a sense of duty or out of fear, but because of t. Joatue,   quite admit to er co  of t, ser tiful, yet clumsy dra  time.  tenaciously, unerringly, Goldmund fasatue of ter did not doubt t it erruptions, t it  one of ants o make, a  even great masters did not often accomplise of ter disliked in  fits of rage— t. John.

    During t t of t grace and boyis iful, strong man, muctle popular ly cer years. orld and y, gentle, pious, er student o  o resist a o test . In spite of rong sense of beauty, of  tle beauty ed, y alone, but also a constantly vigilant curiosity. As soon as o a ed  iful to ely. Experience taug every iful and able to bring joy, t a mousy creature ion, t ted ernal, mourningly s tenderness, t eacs and o unlock t respect, all y ure. But not every eful too and prettiest;  some ied o trongly after ten niged after t time and forgotten.

    Love and ecstasy o ruly  gave life its value. Ambition o  distinguisempt for t sacrifice for t not. omen, t on , and  accesses of melanc gre of t desire ransitory, fleeting experience. ts brief, longing flame, its rapid extinction—to o contain to o t all transitory  o love. tasy, at tension, is certain t it must vanis breat loneliness and abandonment to melancain t it  to t side of life. Deatasy ernally sernally sy. t became a parable and a sacred symbol to him.

    Not   o o desire and to deat   penetrated by ood terpart, and tatue of St. Jo visible. o t of tears;   reac become like him.

    Secretly Goldmund also sensed ist meant to ense love of art could also occasionally turn to red.  s but ions, make many different distinctions: art  migart in utter sensuality and lead to total abstraction; t mige in pure concept and end in bleeding fles t ruly sublime, not just a good jugglers trick; t ernal secret, like ters madonna; every obviously genuine  inct and pure spirituality. One day atue, if he succeeded in making her.

    In art, in being an artist, Goldmund say of reconciling  contradictions, or at least of expressing nely t in ure. But art  just a gift. It could not be  cost a great deal; it demanded sacrifices. For over t essential need, t next to desire and love: ing in a limitless —all t  judge e, and overly independent  embittered er nor ure nor need demanded   itself.

    Art, sucual goddess in appearance, required so many petty tools,  and patience. o toxication of to be made again and again, ceeth.

    Part of tures, s ituted a small revenge against tary order of  life. All rengture steamed out of ttack in a dark side street, on o see a girl or on tick, tning sness to pass from defense to attack, to press ting enemy to o land a fist under ttle ily—all tasted good to Goldmund and cured , too.

    All ty to do, and it all made sense as long as . Jo took a long time. t delicate sient concentration. atue in a small s iculously clean, gently brus sa from s ood in front of atue for a long time, an  experience  remain unique. A man on ted, a er t c feel sucions in t: a deep reverence, a great earnestness, and at time a secret fear of t he days.

    years, clad in tiful, favorite disciple, stand listening ed face and an expression of stillness, devotion, and reverence t  unknoo tiful, pious, spiritualized face, to t seemed to be floating, to t despair o traits mig its pitc suffered no discordant note.

    Goldmund stood and contemplated emplation began as a meditation in front of t to  it ended in a tempest of sorroiful disciple  o part omorro  seemed to  it  to say fareoday not only to . Jo also to ter, to ty, to art. to do any more; no images filled

    yet accessible to  be accessible for a long time. So polistle angel figures nos?

    ore o ters ood at til Niklaus noticed  to him.

    quot; is it, Goldmund?quot;

    quot;My statue is finisake a look at it before you go up to eat.quot;

    quot;Gladly. Ill come rig;

    toget. Niklaus  seen t Goldmund undisturbed at   attention. iful and ligern eyes grow happy.

    quot;It is good,quot; ter said. quot;It is very good. It is your assistants piece, Goldmund. No t ter for it; you deserve it.quot;

    Goldmund did not value t ion ters , and he was glad.

    . Jo;ty and lig is grave, but filled  t t lig.quot;

    Goldmund smiled.

    quot;You kno I did not portray myself in t my dearest friend. It is  ligo ture, not I. It  really I ue;  into my soul.quot;

    quot;t may be so,quot; said Niklaus. quot;It is a secret o being. I am not particularly  I must say: I  fall far be in craft and care, but in trut suc be repeated. It is a secret.quot;

    quot;Yes,quot; Goldmund said. quot; it, I t: you cant make t again. And ter, t Ill soon go back to ;

    Astonis ern again.

    quot;ell speak about t. For you,  to run a take t noon youll be my guest.quot;

    At noon Goldmund appeared  and o be invited to ters table. As airs to t atues,  ime, t first time o tiful quiet rooms .

    Lisbetoo, aining tue.

    time  sit in silence alked. Boto oasts. Goldmunds eyes y to study carefully tiful girl inguisly contemptuous face, and  conceal reated eously, but  disappointed t s blused. Again ly to make tiful immobile face speak, to force it to surrender its secret.

    After tatues in ternoon rolled ty, an aimless idler. ly er, beyond all expectation.  not make ive taste?

    ed a  to ter er and   seemed unted ter catue delig iful t. Jo ery, and superior in craft, in free, gravity-less floating. No only an artist sees, soft delicate movements in ties in tion of tive utilization of ties o to ty and dept ties of ely. In order to be able to create a  only to carry images in ones soul; one also o rained, practiced eyes and  er all o place ones entire life at t, at to be able once to make sometiful, somet  only been experienced and envisioned and received in love, but also executed to t detail e mastery? It ant question.

    Late at nigurned to ty on a tired avern still stood open. took bread and o  t, not at peace ions, full of doubts.