Søren Kierkegaard

It is the duty of the human understanding to understand that there are things which it cannot understand.

—Søren Kierkegaard

Whoever has learned to be anxious in the right way has learned the ultimate.

—Søren Kierkegaard

It is perfectly true, as philosophers say, that life must be understood backwards. But they forget the other proposition, that it must be lived forwards.

—Søren Kierkegaard

People understand me so poorly that they don’t even understand my complaint about them not understanding me.

—Søren Kierkegaard

What labels me, negates me.

—Søren Kierkegaard

Love is the expression of the one who loves, not of the one who is loved. Those who think they can love only the people they prefer do not love at all. Love discovers truths about individuals that others cannot see

—Søren Kierkegaard

The task must be made difficult, for only the difficult inspires the noble-hearted.

—Søren Kierkegaard

Faith is the highest passion in a human being. Many in every generation may not come that far, but none comes further.

—Søren Kierkegaard

The proud person always wants to do the right thing, the great thing. But because he wants to do it in his own strength, he is fighting not with man, but with God.

—Søren Kierkegaard

Only the person who is essentially capable of remaining silent is capable of speaking essentially.

—Søren Kierkegaard

What is youth? A dream. What is love? The dream’s content.

—Søren Kierkegaard

It is impossible to exist without passion

—Søren Kierkegaard

Face the facts of being what you are, for that is what changes what you are.

—Søren Kierkegaard

What if everything in the world were a misunderstanding, what if laughter were really tears?

—Søren Kierkegaard

This, then, is the ultimate paradox of thought: to want to discover something that thought itself cannot think.

—Søren Kierkegaard

My sorrow is my castle.

—Søren Kierkegaard

The self-assured believer is a greater sinner in the eyes of God than the troubled disbeliever.

—Søren Kierkegaard

To dare is to lose one’s footing momentarily. Not to dare is to lose oneself.

—Søren Kierkegaard

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

—Søren Kierkegaard

When you were called, did you answer or did you not? Perhaps softly and in a whisper?

—Søren Kierkegaard

For he who loves God without faith reflects on himself, while the person who loves God in faith reflects on God.

—Søren Kierkegaard

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

—Søren Kierkegaard

How absurd men are! They never use the liberties they have, they demand those they do not have. They have freedom of thought, they demand freedom of speech.

—Søren Kierkegaard

The highest and most beautiful things in life are not to be heard about, nor read about, nor seen but, if one will, are to be lived.

—Søren Kierkegaard

You train yourself in the art of being mysterious to everyone. My dear friend! What if there were no one, who cared about guessing your riddle, what pleasure would you then take in it?

—Søren Kierkegaard

It is perhaps the misfortune of my life that I am interested in far too much but not decisively in any one thing; all my interests are not subordinated in one but stand on an equal footing.

—Søren Kierkegaard

Life can only be understood going backward, but must be lived going forward.

—Søren Kierkegaard

Once you are born in this world you’re old enough to die.

—Søren Kierkegaard

The greatest hazard of all, losing one’s self, can occur very quietly in the world, as if it were nothing at all. No other loss can occur so quietly; any other loss – an arm, a leg, five dollars, a wife, etc. – is sure to be noticed.

—Søren Kierkegaard

Anxiety is the dizziness of freedom.

—Søren Kierkegaard