Novalis

Novalis, the pseudonym of Friedrich von Hardenberg (1772-1801), one of the founders of the German romantic school, born in Prussian Saxony. At the university of Jena, which he entered in 1790, he came under the influence of Fichte, and formed an enduring friendship with Friedrich Schlegel. After residing at Arnstadt and Weissenfels he settled in Freiberg to study mineralogy, but his career was soon cut short by consumption. Among the friends of his later life were A. W. Schlegel and Tieck, the latter of whom edited his works in conjunction with Fr. Schlegel. His philosophical romances Heinrich von Ofterdingen and The Pupil at Sais show a deep sense of the beauty and mystery of the universe and a conviction that moral truth is known by immediate intuition and not through any intellectual process. He also wrote Hymns to the Night recording his sorrow at the death of his first love, and philosophical, critical, and moral fragments.