Early Rennaisance Quotes by Meister Eckhart

There are lots of German mystics whose work helps us explore the inner workings of our mind and spirit, including medical pioneer (Africa) and concert organist, Dr. Albert Schweitzer (d. 1965), philosopher and poet, Friedrich Nietzsche (d.1900), writer and painter, Hermann Hesse (d.1962), and lyricist/poet Rainer Maria Rilke (d.1926). They were all influenced by a mystic from the late middle ages, Meister Eckhart (d. mysteriously, 1328).





Eckhart von Hochheim, 1260-1327, a German theologian, philosopher and mystic from Thuringen, was tried as a heretic by Pope John XXII. His defense is famous, and he died without record or official burial before a verdict was reached.

The outward work will never be puny if the inward work is great.
Meister Eckhart

The price of inaction is far greater than the cost of making a mistake.
Meister Eckhart

The more we have the less we own.
Meister Eckhart

The outward man is the swinging door; the inner man is the still hinge.
Meister Eckhart

When you are thwarted, it is your own attitude that is out of order.
Meister Eckhart

God is at home, it's we who have gone out for a walk.
Meister Eckhart

He who would be serene and pure needs but one thing, detachment.
Meister Eckhart

Truly, it is in darkness that one finds the light, so when we are in sorrow, then this light is nearest of all to us.
Meister Eckhart

Words derive their power from the original word.
Meister Eckhart

OK. So how about this one, from the Theologia Germanica:

"The two eyes of the soul of man cannot both perform their work at once. But if the soul shall see with the right eye into eternity, then the left eye must close itself and refrain from working, and be as though it were dead. For if the left eye be fulfilling its office toward outward things, that is holding converse with time and the creatures. So then, the right eye must be hindered in its working; that is, in its contemplation. Therefore, whosoever will have the one must let the other go; for ‘no man can serve two masters.’"

Alle Liebe dieser Welt ist auf Eigenliebe gebaut.
[All the love in this world is built on self-respect; love for self.]
Meister Eckhart

Alles Leid und alle Freude kommt von der Liebe.
[All sorrow and all joy come from love.]
Meister Eckhart

Je mehr daher der Mensch vor dem Geschöpf flieht, um so mehr läuft ihm der Schöpfer nach.
[The more a person tries to flee from the Creator, the more the Creator runs after him.]
Meister Eckhart

Wer werden will, was er sein sollte, der muß lassen, was er jetzt ist.
[Whomever wants to become what he is meant to be, must first leave that which he now is.]
Meister Eckhart


I find it interesting that the puzzle regarding the centuries-long ban on Meister Eckardt's writing was resolved in 2010:

From Wikipedia: There was finally a response from the Vatican in a letter dated 1992. Timothy Ratcliffe, then Master of the Dominicans and recipient of the letter, summarized the contents as follows:

'We tried to have the censure lifted on Eckhart', writes Timothy Ratcliffe, 'and were told that there was really no need since he had never been condemned by name, just some propositions which he was supposed to have held, and so we are perfectly free to say that he is a good and orthodox theologian.'[11]