The
profoundly symbolical words, "The new life is beginning," are written at
the commencement of his _Vita Nuova_, and with his _Divine Comedy_ the
art of Europe had attained perfection.
It is necessary to give a more detailed account of Eckhart. He had been
almost forgotten in favour of his pupils, Tauler and Suso, and the
unknown author of the _Theologica Germanica_ (to which Luther wrote a
preface), but to-day a faint idea of the great importance of this man is
beginning to dawn upon the world. Eckhart was the greatest creative
religious genius since Jesus, and I believe that in time his writings
will be considered equal to the Gospel of St. John. He grasped the
spirit of religion with unparalleled depth; everything produced by the
highly religious later mediaeval era pales before his illumination.
Compared to him, St. Augustine, St. Bernard, and even St. Francis
dwindle into insignificance; all the later reformers are small beside
the greatness of his soul. Every one of his sermons contains profound
passages, such as "God must become I and I must become God.
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