Ex oriente lux
Ex oriente lux is a Latin catchphrase that translates as light from the East .
Originally this saying probably only referred to the sunrise ("In the east the sun rises"), but was then transferred to Christianity , which came from the East, the Orient , when viewed from Europe , and used in the sense that from there the enlightenment (the wisdom of God, Christ or his good news) came.
In the Classical and Romantic periods this saying was reinterpreted again and reflected the questionable view that human culture (knowledge, knowledge, science) came from the Orient or even the Far East.
At the beginning of the 20th century, the catchphrase in the sense of cultural association was fiercely fought , especially in circles of racial ideologues and so-called völkisch movement, with the catchphrase ex septentrione lux - the light (comes) from the north .
In Russian cultural history, the slogan played a role in connection with the question of whether Russia belongs to Europe or to Asia. Vladimir Solovyov's poem “Ex oriente lux” from 1890 inspired, among other things, the Eurasism movement around Prince Nikolai Sergejewitsch Trubetzkoy .
The GDR CDU took a stand in the Cold War ideologically with the phrase “Ex oriente pax” (“Peace comes from the East”) .
See also
Individual evidence
- ^ "Originally related to the sunrise, later related to Christianity and culture" according to the Großes Fremdsprachebuch , directed by the authors: Ruth Küfner, Leipzig, 1977, p. 228, column 1; DNB 790250381
- ^ Paul Kunitzsch : Science in the Dialogue between Orient and Occident. In: Fachprosaforschung - Grenzüberreitungen 8/9, 2012/2013 (2014), pp. 477-482 ( Lecture on the occasion of the opening of the special exhibition "Ex Oriente lux? Paths to Modern Science" at the State Museum of Nature and Man in Oldenburg on October 25, 2009 ).