It is perfectly true, as the philosophers say, that life must be understood backwards. But they forget the other proposition, that it must be lived forwards.
Journals (1843)
SK
Søren Kierkegaard quotes
1813-1855 · Philosophers and ancient wisdom
Danish philosopher and theologian often called the father of existentialism.
6 quotes, 6 traced to where Kierkegaard said or wrote them.
Most men pursue pleasure with such breathless haste that they hurry past it.
Either/Or (1843), tr. Swenson
What I really need is to get clear about what I must do, not what I must know, except insofar as knowledge must precede every act.
Journal entry, Gilleleie (1835)
The tyrant dies and his rule is over; the martyr dies and his rule begins.
Journals (1848)
The greatest danger, that of losing one's own self, may pass off as quietly as if it were nothing.
The Sickness unto Death (1849)
How absurd men are! They never use the liberties they have, they demand those they do not have.
Either/Or, Part I (1843), tr. Swenson