quotes by Søren Kierkegaard

"People demand freedom of speech as a compensation for the freedom of thought which they seldom use.
"
— Søren Kierkegaard

"The function of prayer is not to influence God, but rather to change the nature of the one who prays."
— Søren Kierkegaard

"Life is not a problem to be solved, but a reality to be experienced."
— Søren Kierkegaard

"Once you label me you negate me."
— Søren Kierkegaard

"Life can only be understood backwards; but it must be lived forwards"
— Søren Kierkegaard

"Of all ridiculous things the most ridiculous seems to me, to be busy — to be a man who is brisk about his food and his work. Therefore, whenever I see a fly settling, in the decisive moment, on the nose of such a person of affairs; or if he is spattered with mud from a carriage which drives past him in still greater haste; or the drawbridge opens up before him; or a tile falls down and knocks him dead, then I laugh heartily. "
— Søren Kierkegaard

"Anxiety is the dizziness of freedom."
— Søren Kierkegaard

"What is a poet? An unhappy man who hides deep anguish in his heart, but whose lips are so formed that when the sigh and cry pass through them, it sounds like lovely music.... And people flock around the poet and say: 'Sing again soon' - that is, 'May new sufferings torment your soul but your lips be fashioned as before, for the cry would only frighten us, but the music, that is blissful.' "
— Søren Kierkegaard (Either - Or)

"Life must be understood backwards; but... it must be lived forward."
— Søren Kierkegaard

"I see it all perfectly; there are two possible situations — one can either do this or that. My honest opinion and my friendly advice is this: do it or do not do it — you will regret both."
— Søren Kierkegaard

"''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.''
"
— Søren Kierkegaard

"The Bible is very easy to understand. But we Christians are a bunch of scheming swindlers. We pretend to be unable to understand it because we know very well that the minute we understand, we are obliged to act accordingly."
— Søren Kierkegaard

"In addition to my other numerous acquaintances, I have one more intimate confidant. . . . My depression is the most faithful mistress I have known- no wonder, then, that I return the love."
— Søren Kierkegaard

"Face the facts of being what you are, for that is what changes what you are. "
— Søren Kierkegaard

"God creates out of nothing. Wonderful you say. Yes, to be sure, but he does what is still more wonderful: he makes saints out of sinners."
— Søren Kierkegaard

"The tyrant dies and his rule is over, the martyr dies and his rule begins."
— Søren Kierkegaard

"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...."
— Søren Kierkegaard (Either/Or: A Fragment of Life (Penguin Classics))

"If I were to wish for anything, I should not wish for wealth and power, but for the passionate sense of the potential, for the eye which, ever young and ardent, sees the possible. Pleasure disappoints, possibility never. And what wine is so sparkling, what so fragrant, what so intoxicating, as possibility!"
— Søren Kierkegaard

"Life can only be understood backwards; but it must be lived forwards."
— Søren Kierkegaard

"A strange thing happened to me in my dream. I was rapt into the Seventh Heaven. There sat all the gods assembled. As a special dispensation I was granted the favor to have one wish. "Do you wish for youth," said Mercury, "or for beauty, or power, or a long life; or do you wish for the most beautiful woman, or any other of the many fine things we have in our treasure trove? Choose, but only one thing!" For a moment I was at a loss. Then I addressed the gods in this wise: "Most honorable contemporaries, I choose one thing — that I may always have the laughs on my side." Not one god made answer, but all began to laugh. From this I concluded that my wish had been granted and thought that the gods knew how to express themselves with good taste: for it would surely have been inappropriate to answer gravely: your wish has been granted. "
— Søren Kierkegaard