This anthology covers the whole of Kierkegaard's literary career. The selections range from the terse epigrams of the Journal through the famous "Diary of the Seducer" and the "Banquet" scene, in which Kierkegaard reveals his great lyric and dramatic gifts, and continues with the philosophical and psychological works of his maturity. These are climaxed by the beautiful and moving religious discourses which accompany them; finally, there is the biting satire of his Attack upon "Christendom."

"[Mr. Bretall] has let Kierkegaard speak for himself... he has made his selections carefully and sensitively, and the prefatory remarks that accompany each selection are models of what such remarks should be." New York Herald Tribune

SØREN AABYE KIERKEGAARD was born in Copenhagen in 1813. He studied philosophy at the University of Copenhagen, but graduated with a degree in theology. Kierkegaard attacked organized Christianity in his books, accusing theologians of turning it into a philosophy; he placed primary emphasis on the individual's experience of religion in solitude. His writings have influenced Heidegger, Jaspers, Barth, and the French existentialists. Kierkegaard died in 1855, refusing to re-ceive the sacrament from a clergyman.