Natureza e Linguagem em Os Discípulos em Saïs, de Novalis

Abstract

This paper examines the novel Die Lehrlinge zu Sais by Novalis and aims to identify features of a language theory which is based on German Idealism. For Novalis, who has witnessed the establishment of modern linguistics and was himself a reputed researcher on philology, language reflects a potential relation betw een spirit and world. This suggestion is the opposite of today’s classic concept of the arbitrariness of signs. Considered by critics as unfinished, this novel contains a rich range of material which may serve as the basis of a symbolic-poetic language theory. The approach therefore looks at  Die Lehrling zu Sais with a view to identifying features of a romantic philosophy or theory of language.