Meister Eckhart 1260 – 1328
Meister Eckhart (1260 – 1328) was a German philosopher of the Medieval era, associated with Medieval Philosophy and Christian Philosophy.
Meister Eckhart was a German Dominican theologian, philosopher, and mystic. Trained in scholastic theology and twice the regent master at Paris, he is best known for his vernacular sermons, which articulate a radical mysticism centered on the ground of the soul and the birth of God within it. His teaching that the soul possesses an uncreated spark in which it is one with God led to a posthumous condemnation of twenty-eight of his propositions. Eckhart's influence shaped the Rhineland mystics and, through them, German philosophy from Hegel and Schopenhauer to Heidegger.
Meister Eckhart — Eckhart von Hochheim — was born around 1260 in the Thuringian village of Tambach or Hochheim. He entered the Dominican order as a young man and was sent to study at Cologne, where Albert the Great's school still set the tone, and to Paris, where he twice held a Dominican chair of theology (1302-1303 and 1311-1313), an unusual distinction shared with Aquinas.
He served as provincial of the Dominican province of Saxonia and as vicar of Bohemia, taught at Strasbourg and Cologne, and preached extensively in Middle High German to nuns and lay audiences. His Latin scholastic works include the Opus Tripartitum and a commentary on the Sentences; his German sermons and treatises — the Counsels on Discernment, On Detachment, the Talks of Instruction — gave shape to the vernacular language of speculative mysticism.
Eckhart taught the unity of the soul's ground with the divine ground, the birth of the Word in the soul, and a Gelassenheit or releasement that lets God be God in the soul. Charged with heresy late in life, he died around 1328 on his way to defend himself at the papal court in Avignon; in 1329 a bull of John XXII condemned twenty-eight of his propositions. His influence on Tauler, Suso, Cusanus, German idealism, and twentieth-century theology has been profound.
Key facts
- Nationality
- German
- Era
- Medieval
- Movements
- Medieval Philosophy, Christian Philosophy
Selected quotes
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“The eye through which I see God is the same eye through which God sees me.”
Sermon IV : True Hearing -
Attributed to Meister Eckhart:
“If the only prayer you ever say in your entire life is thank you, it will be enough.”
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Attributed to Meister Eckhart:
“God is at home; we are in the far country.”
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Attributed to Meister Eckhart:
“What we plant in the soil of contemplation, we shall reap in the harvest of action.”
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Attributed to Meister Eckhart:
“Truly, it is in darkness that one finds the light.”
Meister Eckhart by topic
Frequently asked about Meister Eckhart
- When did Meister Eckhart live?
- Meister Eckhart was born in 1260 and died in 1328.
- Where was Meister Eckhart from?
- Meister Eckhart was a German philosopher of the Medieval era.
- What philosophical movements is Meister Eckhart associated with?
- Meister Eckhart was associated with Medieval Philosophy and Christian Philosophy.
- What was Meister Eckhart known for?
- Meister Eckhart was a German Dominican theologian, philosopher, and mystic.
- How many quotes are attributed to Meister Eckhart?
- There are 22 attributed quotations from Meister Eckhart in the 1001Philosophers collection, organized by topic.
Quotes that are not actually from Meister Eckhart
These lines are widely circulated as Meister Eckhart, but they do not appear in Meister Eckhart's works. Each entry below identifies the actual source.
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“Variant: If "thank you" is the only prayer you can utter in your lifetime, that would be enough.”
Very commonly attributed to Eckhart on the internet and some publications, the source of the first formulation however is: A Bucket of Surprises (2002) by J. John and Mark Stibbe. (Disputed.)
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“However a quote very similar to this one can actually be found in his works. In Sermon XXVII ( Walshe translation/in Quint Sermon XXXIV ) we can read:”
If a man had no more to do with God than to be thankful, that would suffice. Middle High German: Haete der mensche niht me ze tuonne mit gote, dan daz er dankbaere ist, ez waere genuoc. (Disputed.)
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“And suddenly you know: It's time to start something new and trust the magic of beginnings.”
Widely circulated on the internet, but no actual text to tie it back to Eckhart, as of yet. (Disputed.)
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“The knower and the known are one.”
Widely circulated on the Internet, but no actual text to tie it back to Eckhart. (Disputed.)
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“The knower and the known are one. Simple people imagine that they should see God as if he stood there and they here. This is not so. God and I, we are one in knowledge.”
Circulated on the Internet, this is an amended version of a quote from Eckhart's sermon iusti vivent in aeternum : There are simple people who imagine they are going to see God as if He were standing here and they there. This is not true. God and I are one. Middle High German: “Sumlîche einveltige liute wænent, sie süln got sehen, als er dâ stande und sie hie. Des enist niht. Got und ich wir sîn ein.” (Disputed.)