God manifests himself to us in the first degree through the life of the universe, and in the second through the thought of man. The second manifestation is not less holy than the first. The first is named Nature, the second is named Art. Hence this reality: the poet is a priest.

[Dieu se manifeste à nous au premier degré à travers la vie de l’univers, et au deuxième degré à travers la pensée de l’homme.
La deuxième manifestation n’est pas moins sacrée que la première. La première s’appelle la Nature, la deuxième s’appelle l’Art. De là cette réalité : le poëte est prêtre.]

Victor Hugo (1802–1885) French writer, journalist, human rights activist, politician
William Shakespeare, Part 1, Book 2 “Men of Genius [Les Génies], ch. 1 (1.2.1) (1864) [tr. Anderson (1886)]
    (Source)

(Source (French)). Another translation:

God manifests himself to us in the first degree through the life of the universe, and in the second through the thought of man. The second manifestation is not less holy than the first. The first is named Nature, the second is named Art. Hence this reality: the poet is a priest.
[tr. Baillot (1864)]