Life is the beginning of death. Life is for the sake of death. Death is at once the end and the beginning—at once separation and closer union of the self. Through death the reduction is complete.

Even though a lyrical "I" rather than Novalis himself is the speaker there are many relationships between the hymns and Hardenberg’s experiences from 1797 to 1800. Fichte Studies trans. The core of Hardenberg’s literary works is the quest for the connection of science and poetry and the result was supposed to be a "progressive universal poesy” (fragment no.