Quote by Mechthild of Magdeburg: “Without God, the soul is a fish out of water.”

This vivid metaphor illustrates the soul's natural and essential need for God, comparing it to a fish's desperate need for water to survive. It conveys that without a connection to the divine, the soul is left struggling and unfulfilled, outside its true element.

Mechthild's mystical theology emphasized the intimate and vital relationship between the human soul and God. Her imagery often conveyed the urgency and necessity of this spiritual connection for true fulfillment.

German mystic and Beguine writer born around 1207, author of The Flowing Light of the Godhead, the first major mystical work written in the German vernacular rather than Latin. She wrote with startling emotional directness about her visions and spiritual experiences. She spent her later years at the Helfta monastery under Gertrude the Great.