It is the universal experience of one on the path to grasp at the tools of genius when he encounters these sublime realms. Pain often compels us to think, “Nothing personal has worked well in my life, so I will write. That will be a realm where I can express myself.” This is basically correct. But in fact the old self, the three-dimensional man, tries to do this in an egocentric way and therefore his efforts are doomed. This is not to say that you should not write or paint, but you must understand that your first attempts will be so ego-contaminated that they will catch fire and fall into the sea like Euphorion.
Helen of Troy vanishes, the great archetypal vision fades away, but she has left enough of herself to activate the artistic, visionary faculty in Faust. And this lesser way of possessing Helen is not too much for mortals to bear. When you know at what level and in what manner you can relate to the impersonal archetypal world, you are truly safe. Then creation can begin.
an artist has failed his calling because he refused a limited, less-than-perfect expression of his original vision. A man cannot handle the great artistic tools of the boy-god Euphorion, and he may not be able to embrace the superhuman vision of pure beauty, Helen of Troy, but a man can touch Helen’s garment, which is sufficient to bring a small part of his artistic vision into creation. To do more would burn us up in gigantic inflation.