Novalis (1772 – 1801), the pseudonym of Georg Philipp Friedrich von Hardenberg, was a German poet, author, and philosopher. Following completion of his studies in jurisprudence, he began work as an actuary in 1794. Following the death of his betrothed, he began working for his father as a salt-mine inspector, just shortly before attending the Mining Academy of Freiberg. He eventually became a director of the salt mines and a magistrate of Thuringia. In the course of his short life he wrote poetry, novels, essays, and notes on a variety of subjects. His most famous work is Hymns to the Night.
Quotes by Novalis…
We are more closely connected to the invisible than to the visible.
Philosophy is, to tell the truth, a homesickness, an effort to return to home.
The individual soul should seek for an intimate union with the soul of the universe.
The highest purpose of intellectual cultivation is to give a man a perfect knowledge and command of his own inner self; to render his consciousness its own light.
