“the amen of truth” (Hostinský 1847, 469). Solovyov, too, understands the birth of sophiology as a logical developmental moment in the context of a progressive sequence of cultures and corresponding shifts in the centre of creativity from the East towards the West and back again. In the oriental cultures of the past, science, the arts and religion originally formed an undifferentiated unity. The beginnings of science were included in the wisdom of the priests, and the arts were closely linked to religion, too. This initial unity, however, was instinctive, unconscious, and unfree. Later on in the West, all three components became independent, which boosted their conscious development, but also caused them to lose their mutual interconnection. The Slavic East is supposed to reunite them again, but into an organic whole while consciously maintaining their inherent differences. The West has a greater aptitude for analysis, the East for synthesis. However, analysis must precede a correct synthesis, so the Slavs are building the next floor of culture upon Germanic foundations: “The Germans learned step by step and we shall cognize entirely, if God wills it so; but if the latter should be, the former would also have to be” (Zoch 1847, 412). “A good teacher is not one who discerns well, but who unites well” (Hostinský 1847, 476). Thus, on the one hand, Slavic knowledge differs from oriental knowledge and resembles western knowledge with its analytical concreteness. On the other hand, with its integrality it reminds one of the Indian concept of knowledge (jñāna) or Byzantine wisdom (sophia). Such knowledge results not only in a theoretical system of thought, but affects and transforms all components of personality, including feelings and will. True wisdom unites clarity of thought within itself with a sense of beauty and moral conduct. To emphasize this, the followers of Štúr invent composite neologisms like faith-knowledge, science-feat, intention-deed, truth-song. The West detached thinking from moral will and went astray within the wasteland of a dead intellect. Selflessness and sacrifice vanished among westerners, their education went commercial and “is not able to lend strength and vigour to nations” (Hurban 1846, 10). Slavic man seeks to bring his knowledge and moral intuitions into harmony; true science leads to God and not away from Him: “In our midst, science is not trampled by faith, but invokes feats of life, celebrated and transformed into a vision of certitude and truth; we need faith for science, and science is needed for faith... The power which shall compel the world to believe in the kingdoms of heaven rests in science alone; science creates the heroes who shall conquer the world by faith”. With us “Christianity shall be the spirit of the castle of Slavonic science” (Hurban 1846, 4, 9). The Slavic sage is a scientist, priest and poet in one. Kellner-Hostinský therefore sought to write in a poetic language. Both he and Trentowski were sure that science and philosophy must be “expressed in a fine style”, even “sung out” because the unity of truth, beauty and goodness is embedded in the very nature of creation, which is the speech of God (Hostinský, manuscript M45E9). For the Slavs, a sense of beauty – the eye of the heart – Spirituality Studies 1 (1) Spring 2015 51 (15)
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