The human being is a storytelling animal. Language and stories belong to the most human characteristics of our species. In all cultures, people invented stories to formulate an answer for fundamental questions like “Where do we come from and where do we go?” In myths and legends, they fathomed the mystery of nature, trying to get an insight in what overwhelms people. Literature is a colorful myriad of texts and genres, each with their own tone and expression. Novels and short stories connect the inward-looking world of emotions with the broader context of society; plays often focus on inner conflicts due to personal choices or a clash of interests; while poems give an expression to the inexpressible whether astonishment, amazement, love or grief.

Most literary genres have roots in religion(s), but a long process of emancipation and secularization has turned literature into an autonomous entity. Still, the link with wisdom, spirituality and ethics remains standing, at least for those readers who accept that literature mirrors reality, that it raises questions and formulates answers. Part 1 of this essay reflects on the trumps of narratives, plays and poetry for a more spiritual way of life. Part 2 considers literature as a storage of wisdom and focuses on different genres like the epic, the fable and the fairy tale. Part 3 highlights the idea that literature challenges and nourishes our moral imagination.