"But now what about the person who was so avid to judge, to vent his resentment, his powerless indignation, upon someone else without really knowing anything about what he was judging; what if in eternity he discovers, and is compelled to admit, that the person he judged was not only to be excused but that he was a most noble, unselfish, and magnanimous person! It has been said that some day in eternity we (hoping, alas, that we ourselves will not be excluded) shall with amazement miss this one and that one whom we had definitely expected to find there; but will we not with amazement also see that one and that one whom we would have summarily excluded and see that he was far better than we ourselves, not as if he had become that later, but precisely in that which made the judger decide to exclude him. Yet the person who loves believes all things. With the blessed joy of amazement, he will someday see that he was right; and if he made a mistake by believing too much of the good-to believe the good is itself a blessing. Lovingly to believe the good is certainly no defect-but then one does not make a mistake by it either. Mistrustingly to believe nothing at all (which is entirely different from knowledge about the equilibrium of opposite possibilities) and lovingly to believe all things are not a cognition, nor a cognitive conclusion, but a choice that occurs when knowledge has placed the opposite possibilities in equilibrium; and in this choice, which, to be sure, is in the form of a judgment of others, the one judging will be disclosed."
Quote Details
Added by wikiquote-import-bot
Unverified quote
0 likes
Original Language: English
Available Languages (1)
Sources
Soren Kierkegaard Works of Love, 1847, Hong 1995 p. 234
https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Heaven
Revision History
No revisions have been submitted for this quote.
Categories
Heaven
211 quotes on TrueQuotesView all quotes by Heaven →
Related Quotes
"Bog govori: pomozi si sam, pomoći ću ti."
"“The point is: what happens in heaven?” “Unknowable wonderfulness?” “Nonsense. The answer is nothing. Nothing can hap…"
"He who seldom thinks of heaven is not likely to get thither; as the only way to hit the mark is to keep the eye fixed…"
"Heav'n but the Vision of fulfill'd Desire. And Hell the Shadow from a Soul on fire."
"Phil When I die I'll go to heaven, cause I've spent my time in hell. Grenada, '83 ."
"If our Creator has so bountifully provided for our existence here, which is but momentary, and for our temporal wants…"
"I cannot be content with less than heaven; Living, and comprehensive of all life. Thee, universal heaven, celestial a…"
"I don't believe in an afterlife, so I don't have to spend my whole life fearing hell, or fearing heaven even more. Fo…"
"Heaven is not a place, and it is not a time. Heaven is being perfect."
"I’m sure I’ll go to heaven. I’ve been dull enough."