Eighteen Upbuilding Discourses

585 Pages·1990·16.96 MB·English

by  Soren Kierkegaard, Howard V. Hong, Edna H. Hong

EIGHTEEN
UPBUILDING DISCOURSES
KIERKEGAARD'S WRITINGS, V

EIGHTEEN
UPBUILDING DISCOURSES
by Seren Kierkegaard
Edited and Translated
with Introduction and Notes by
Howard V. Hong and
Edna H. Hong
PRINCETON UNIVERSITY PRESS
PRINCETON NEW JERSEY
1
Copyright© 1990 by Howard V Hong
Published by Princeton University Press
41 William Street, Princeton, New Jersey 08540
In the United Kingdom: Princeton University Press, Chichester, West Sussex
All Rights Reserved
Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data
Kierkegaard, Seren, 1813-1855.
{Atten opbyggelige taler. English]
Eighteen upbuilding discourses I by Seren Kierkegaard; edited and translated with
introduction and notes by Howard V Hong and Edna H. Hong.
p. cm.-(Kierkegaard's writings; 5)
Translation of Atten opbyggelige taler.
Includes bibliographical references.
1. Spiritual life. I. Hong, Howard Vincent, 1912- . ll. Hong, Edna Hatlestad,
1913- . Ill. Title. IV Title: 18 upbuilding discourses. V Series: Kierkegaard, Seren,
1813-1855. Works. English. 1978; 5.
BV4505.K3713 1990
248.4-dc20 90-34571
ISBN 0-691-07380-5
ISBN 0-691-02087-6 (pbk.)
Preparation of this volume has been made possible in part by a grant from
the Division of Research Programs of the National Endowment
for the Humanities, an independent federal agency
Prirtceton University Press books are printed
on acid-free paper, and meet the guidelines for
permanence and durability of the Committee on
Production Guidelines for Book Longevity
of the Council on Library Resources
Designed by Frank Mahood
http: I lpup.princeton.edu
Printed in the United States of America
First Princeton Paperback printing, with corrections, 1992
5 7 9 10 8 6 4
CONTENTS
HISTORICAL INTRODUCTION ix
Two UpbuildinJ? Discourses (1843)
1
The Expectancy of Faith
7
Every Good and Every Perfect Gift Is from Above
31
Three UpbuildinJ? Discourses (1843)
49
Love Will Hide a Multitude of Sins
55
Love Will Hide a Multitude of Sins
69
Strengthening in the Inner Being
79
Four Upbuilding Discourses (1843)
103
The Lord Gave, and the Lord Took A way;
Blessed Be the N arne of the Lord
109
Every Good Gift and Every Perfect Gift Is from Above
125
VI Contents
Every Good Gift and Every Perfect Gift Is from Above
141
To Gain One's Soul in Patience
159
Two Upbuilding Discourses (1844)
177
To Preserve One's Soul in Patience
181
Patience in Expectancy
205
Three Upbuilding Discourses (1844)
227
Think about Your Creator in the Days of Your Youth
233
The Expectancy of an Eternal Salvation
253
He Must Increase; I Must Decrease
275
Four Upbuilding Discourses (1844)
291
To Need God Is a Human Being's Highest Perfection
297
The Thorn in the Flesh
327
Against Cowardliness
347
Contents vn
One Who Prays Aright Struggles in Prayer
and Is Victorious-in That God Is Victorious
377
SUPPLEMENT 403
Key to References 404
Original Title Pages 406
Selected Entries from Kierkegaard's Journals
and Papers Pertaining to Eighteen Upbuilding Discourses 423
EDITORIAL APPENDIX 491
Acknowledgments 493
Collation of the Six Volumes of Upbuilding
Discourses in the Danish Editions of
Kierkegaard's Collected Works 495
Notes 503
Bibliographical Note 539
Index 541

HISTORICAL INTRODUCTION
A few years after the publication of his six small volumes of
upbuilding1 discourses (1843-1844), S0ren Kierkegaard was
faced with the question of whether to publish The Point of
View for My Work as an Author. 2
Ifl do nothing at all directly to assure a full understanding
of my whole literary production ... then what? Then there
will be no judgment at all on my authorship in its totality,
for no one has sufficient faith or time or competence to
look for a comprehensive plan [Total-Anlceg] in the entire
production. Consequently the verdict will be that I have
changed somewhat over the years.
So it will be. This distresses me. I am deeply convinced
that there is another integral coherence, that there is a com
prehensiveness in the whole production (especially through
the assistance of Governance), and that there certainly is
something else to be said about it than this meager com
ment that in a way the author has changed. 3
Part of the evidence that there is a comprehensive plan or
structure in the whole variegated authorship and that the au
thor was not one who changed essentially as he became older
is the publication pattern of the six volumes of discourses.
Signed Upbuilding Discourses Pseudonymous Works
Either/Or ... February 20, 1843
Two Upbuilding
Discourses . . . . . . May 16, 1843
Fear and Trembling and
Three . . . . . . October 16, 1843 Repetition . . . October 16, 1843
1 On this term, seep. 5 and note 3.
2 Published posthumously in 1859.
3 ]P VI 6346 (Pap. X1 A 116).