Nothing is more indispensable to true religiosity than a mediator that links us with divinity.
NovalisRead
The seat of the soul is where the inner world and the outer world meet. Where they overlap, it is in every point of the overlap.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote suggests that the essence of our being lies in the intersection of our internal experiences and the external reality.
Novalis emphasizes that the seat of the soul is found at the convergence of our inner thoughts, emotions, and perceptions with the physical world around us. This overlap is significant as it suggests that understanding ourselves requires acknowledging both our inner experiences and the influences of the outside world, highlighting the interconnectedness of being and reality.
Themes
SoulInner WorldOuter WorldOverlapPerception
In practice
Example use cases
In a discussion about self-discovery, one could use this quote to illustrate the importance of understanding both internal feelings and external circumstances.
More from Novalis
All quotes βEvery beloved object is the center point of a paradise.
NovalisRead
Man has his being in truth--if he sacrifices truth he sacrifices himself. Whoever betrays truth betrays himself. It is not a question of lying--but of acting against one's conviction.
NovalisRead
Poetry heals the wounds inflicted by reason.
NovalisRead
Learning is pleasurable but doing is the height of enjoyment.
NovalisRead
The highest purpose of intellectual cultivation is to give a man a perfect knowledge and mastery of his own inner self.
NovalisRead
Similar quotes
I think [religion] is presumptuous and I think it is silly, because it makes you believe that you are less than what you can be. As long as you can blame everything on some unseen deity, you donβt ever have to be responsible for your own behavior.
Harlan EllisonRead
Human pride and egoism always create divisions, build walls of indifference, hate and violence. The Holy Spirit, on the other hand, makes hearts capable of understanding the languages of all, as he re-establishes the bridge of authentic communication between earth and Heaven.
Pope Benedict XviRead
Empathy requires something extremely difficult: accepting the fact that we are not and never will be in the other person's shoes. There's no rational, universal course because individuals have different goals, different worldviews and different experiences.
Seth GodinRead
The assumption that things which have been conjured in the past will always be conjured in the guiding principle not of rational but of animal behavior.
C. S. LewisRead
Truthiness is what you want the facts to be as opposed to what the facts are. What feels like the right answer as opposed to what reality will support.
Stephen ColbertRead
The skull regarded Ralph like one who knows all the answers and won't tell.
William GoldingRead