Søren Kierkegaard Quotes

Danish theologian, philosopher, poet and social critic (1813–1855)

Søren Aabye Kierkegaard (5 May 1813 – 11 November 1855) was a Danish Christian philosopher and theologian, considered to be a founder of Existentialist thought and Absurdist traditions. He wrote critical texts on organized religion, Christendom, morality, ethics, psychology and philosophy of religion, displaying a fondness for metaphor, irony and parables.

From: Wikiquote (CC BY-SA 4.0)

Pen Names: Victor Eremita • A • Judge William • Johannes de silentio • Constantine Constantius • Young Man • Vigilius Haufniensis • Nicolaus Notabene • Hilarius Bookbinder • Johannes Climacus • Inter et Inter • H.H. • Anti-Climacus • B • Johannes de Silentio • Constantin Constantius • P. CH. Kierkegaard

Native Name: Søren Aabye Kierkegaard

Alternative Names: Kierkegaard • Climacus • Sören Aaby Kierkegaard

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I stick my finger into existence and it smells of nothing.

It is very important in life to know when your cue comes.

A 'no' does not hide anything, but a 'yes' very easily becomes a deception.

Hope is a passion for the possible.

Every mental act is composed of doubt and belief,
but it is belief that is the positive, it is belief
that sustains thought and holds the world together.

Do you not know that there comes a midnight hour when every one has to throw off his mask? Do you believe that life will always let itself be mocked? Do you think you can slip away a little before midnight in order to avoid this? Or are you not terrified by it? I have seen men in real life who so long deceived others that at last their true nature could not reveal itself;... In every man there is something which to a certain degree prevents him from becoming perfectly transparent to himself; and this may be the case in so high a degree, he may be so inexplicably woven into relationships of life which extend far beyond himself that he almost cannot reveal himself. But he who cannot reveal himself cannot love, and he who cannot love is the most unhappy man of all.

When I was young, I forgot how to laugh in the cave of Trophonius; when I was older, I opened my eyes and beheld reality, at which I began to laugh, and since then, I have not stopped laughing. I saw that the meaning of life was to secure a livelihood, and that its goal was to attain a high position; that love’s rich dream was marriage with an heiress; that friendship’s blessing was help in financial difficulties; that wisdom was what the majority assumed it to be; that enthusiasm consisted in making a speech; that it was courage to risk the loss of ten dollars; that kindness consisted in saying, “You are welcome,” at the dinner table; that piety consisted in going to communion once a year. This I saw, and I laughed.

And this is one of the most crucial definitions for the whole of Christianity; that the opposite of sin is not virtue but faith.

The self is a relation which relates itself to its own self, or it is that in the relation that the relation relates itself to its own self; the self is not the relation but that the relation relates itself to its own self.

The only intelligent tactical response to life’s horror is to laugh defiantly at it

Therefore do not deceive yourself! Of all deceivers fear most yourself!

My melancholy is the most faithful sweetheart I have had.

Idleness, we are accustomed to say, is the root of all evil. To prevent this evil, work is recommended.... Idleness as such is by no means a root of evil; on the contrary, it is truly a divine life, if one is not bored....

Now, with God's help, I shall become myself.

Never cease loving a person, and never give up hope for him, for even the prodigal son who had fallen most low, could still be saved; the bitterest enemy and also he who was your friend could again be your friend; love that has grown cold can kindle.