“Our wearier spirit faints,
Vexed in the world‘s employ:
His soul was of the saints;
And art to him was joy.”
By the Statue of King Charles at Charing Cross (1895)
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Lionel Johnson 20
English poet 1867–1902Related quotes
"Saul", ix.
Dramatic Romances and Lyrics (1845)
The SDA Bible Commentary, vol. 6, p. 1112.
Nobel lecture (1978)
Context: The storyteller and poet of our time, as in any other time, must be an entertainer of the spirit in the full sense of the word, not just a preacher of social or political ideals. There is no paradise for bored readers and no excuse for tedious literature that does not intrigue the reader, uplift him, give him the joy and the escape that true art always grants. Nevertheless, it is also true that the serious writer of our time must be deeply concerned about the problems of his generation. He cannot but see that the power of religion, especially belief in revelation, is weaker today than it was in any other epoch in human history. More and more children grow up without faith in God, without belief in reward and punishment, in the immortality of the soul and even in the validity of ethics. The genuine writer cannot ignore the fact that the family is losing its spiritual foundation.
“The knight's bones are dust,
And his good sword rust;
His soul is with the saints, I trust.”
"The Knight's Tomb" (c. 1817)
“The saints were his friends, and blessed him; the monsters were his friends, and guarded him.”
Source: The Hunchback of Notre-Dame
Sermon VII : Outward and Inward Morality
Meister Eckhart’s Sermons (1909)
Context: Grace is from God, and works in the depth of the soul whose powers it employs. It is a light which issues forth to do service under the guidance of the Spirit. The Divine Light permeates the soul, and lifts it above the turmoil of temporal things to rest in God. The soul cannot progress except with the light which God has given it as a nuptial gift; love works the likeness of God into the soul. The peace, freedom and blessedness of all souls consist in their abiding in God's will. Towards this union with God for which it is created the soul strives perpetually.
