Alister E. McGrath Quote

Sehnsucht? The German word is rich with emotional and imaginative associations, famously described by the poet Matthew Arnold as a wistful, soft, tearful longing. And what of the Blue Flower? Leading German Romantic writers, such as Novalis (1772–1801) and Joseph von Eichendorff (1788–1857), used the image of a Blue Flower as a symbol of the wanderings and yearnings of the human soul, especially as this sense of longing is evoked—though not satisfied—by the natural world.

Alister E. McGrath

Sehnsucht? The German word is rich with emotional and imaginative associations, famously described by the poet Matthew Arnold as a wistful, soft, tearful longing. And what of the Blue Flower? Leading German Romantic writers, such as Novalis (1772–1801) and Joseph von Eichendorff (1788–1857), used the image of a Blue Flower as a symbol of the wanderings and yearnings of the human soul, especially as this sense of longing is evoked—though not satisfied—by the natural world.

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