--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I venture to say Kierkegaard meant that…" description: "\"“I venture to say Kierkegaard meant that truth has lost its force with us and horrible pain and evil must teach it to us again, the eternal punishments..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4e8/saul-bellow-558_kierkegaard_i-venture-to-say-kierkegaard-meant-that_433940.png" --- # I venture to say Kierkegaard meant that truth has lost its… ![“I venture to say Kierkegaard meant that truth has lost its force with us and horrible pain and evil must teach it to us again, the eternal punishments of Hell will have to regain their reality before mankind turns serious once more. I do not see this. Let us set aside the fact that such…” quote by Saul Bellow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4e8/saul-bellow-558_kierkegaard_i-venture-to-say-kierkegaard-meant-that_433940.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4e8/saul-bellow-558_kierkegaard_i-venture-to-say-kierkegaard-meant-that_433940.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4e8/saul-bellow-558_kierkegaard_i-venture-to-say-kierkegaard-meant-that_433940.png) > ““I venture to say Kierkegaard meant that truth has lost its force with us and horrible pain and evil must teach it to us again, the eternal punishments of Hell will have to regain their reality before mankind turns serious once more. I do not see this. Let us set aside the fact that such convictions in the mouths of safe, comfortable people playing at crisis, alienation, apocalypse and desperation, make me sick. We must get it out of our heads that this is a doomed time, that we are waiting for the end, and th rest of it, mere junk from fashionable magazines. Things are grim enough without these shivery games. People frightening one another--a poor sort of moral exercise. But, to get to the main point, the advocacy and praise of suffering take us in the wrong direction and those of us who remain loyal to civilization must not go for it. You have to have the power to employ pain, to repent, to be illuminated, you must have the opportunity and even the time.”” [Saul Bellow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-bellow/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Suffering should not be glorified; true insight comes from confronting pain responsibly, not from sensationalism. **In simple terms:** Don’t romanticize suffering; use pain wisely. Key Takeaway Seek constructive meaning from pain, not glorification. Themes philosophy ethics human condition Mood introspective serious Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - counseling - ethical debates - personal development Key Concepts existentialism moral responsibility spiritual growth Questions to Reflect On - What role does pain play in your life? - How can we honor pain without glorifying it? A Different Perspective Suffering can be exploited for attention, losing its true lesson. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Kierkegaard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/kierkegaard/) [Kierkegaard Meant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/kierkegaard-meant-3818848/) [Pain Evil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pain-evil-341894/) [Pain Repent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pain-repent-3818850/) [Say Kierkegaard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/say-kierkegaard-3818849/) [Suffering](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/suffering/) [Truth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/truth/) [Wrong direction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wrong-direction/) ## Related quotes > [“You have to have the power to employ pain, to repent, to be illuminated, you must have the opportunity and even the time.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-bellow/you-have-to-have-the-power-to-employ-pain-to-repent-to-be-illuminated/) [Saul Bellow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-bellow/) > [That there is much suffering in the world no one disputes. Which is more likely, that pain and evil are the result of an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-darwin/that-there-is-much-suffering-in-the-world-no-one-disputes-which-is/) [Charles Darwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-darwin/) > [People suffer from pain and call it evil, yet in reality it may be growing pains of the Spirit-the changing of the body into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-thomas-hamblin/people-suffer-from-pain-and-call-it-evil-yet-in-reality-it-may-be/) [Henry Thomas Hamblin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-thomas-hamblin/) > [This is Heaven, when pain and evil cease, and when the Benignant Principle, untrammelled and uncontrolled, visits in the fulness of its power the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/percy-bysshe-shelley/this-is-heaven-when-pain-and-evil-cease-and-when-the-benignant/) [Percy Bysshe Shelley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/percy-bysshe-shelley/) > [Pain is no evil, unless it conquers us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-kingsley/pain-is-no-evil-unless-it-conquers-us/) [Charles Kingsley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-kingsley/) > [Is your cucumber bitter? Throw it away. Are there briars in your path? Turn aside. That is enough. Do not go on and say,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-aurelius/is-your-cucumber-bitter-throw-it-away-are-there-briars-in-your-path/) [Marcus Aurelius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-aurelius/) > [“When faced with pain and evil, we have to make a choice. We can choose to be taken by the evil. Or we can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-smart/when-faced-with-pain-and-evil-we-have-to-make-a-choice-we-can-choose/) [Elizabeth Smart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-smart/) > [“You heard him say it? 'Pain's the only evil I know about.' You heard that?" The monk nodded solemnly. "And that society is the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-m-miller-jr/you-heard-him-say-it-pain-s-the-only-evil-i-know-about-you-heard-that/) [Walter M. Miller Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-m-miller-jr/) > [One of the most astonishing things about Jesus is that as God he actually chose to come into our fallen, sick, twisted, unjust, evil,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-driscoll/one-of-the-most-astonishing-things-about-jesus-is-that-as-god-he/) [Mark Driscoll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-driscoll/) > [I cannot but think that he who finds a certain proportion of pain and evil inseparably woven up in the life of the very…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-huxley/i-cannot-but-think-that-he-who-finds-a-certain-proportion-of-pain-and/) [Thomas Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-huxley/) > [“...in this world He's apt to repay service with pain while those who do evil ride over the roads in Cadillac cars.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/in-this-world-he-s-apt-to-repay-service-with-pain-while-those-who-do/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [“As I have said, the Bible consistently changes the questions we bring to the problem of pain. It rarely, or ambiguously, answers the backward-looking…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-yancey/as-i-have-said-the-bible-consistently-changes-the-questions-we-bring/) [Philip Yancey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-yancey/) > [The Bible teaches us that God does not cause pain, but that He uses pain and evil to advance His cause and shape His…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-lucado/the-bible-teaches-us-that-god-does-not-cause-pain-but-that-he-uses/) [Max Lucado](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-lucado/) > [It is a sin to persue pleasure as a good and to avoid pain as a evil.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-aurelius/it-is-a-sin-to-persue-pleasure-as-a-good-and-to-avoid-pain-as-a-evil/) [Marcus Aurelius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-aurelius/) > [“I am poor—you are my riches; dark—you are my light; I own nothing, need nothing. And how could I own anything? After all, it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/s-ren-kierkegaard/i-am-poor-you-are-my-riches-dark-you-are-my-light-i-own-nothing-need/) [Søren Kierkegaard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/s-ren-kierkegaard/) ## More by Saul Bellow > [... a fellow can't predict what he will pick up in the form of influence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-bellow/a-fellow-can-t-predict-what-he-will-pick-up-in-the-form-of-influence/) [Saul Bellow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-bellow/) > [If I'm out of my mind, it's all right with me, thought Moses Herzog.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-bellow/if-i-m-out-of-my-mind-it-s-all-right-with-me-thought-moses-herzog/) [Saul Bellow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-bellow/) > [I have begun in old age to understand just how oddly we are all put together. We are so proud of our autonomy that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-bellow/i-have-begun-in-old-age-to-understand-just-how-oddly-we-are-all-put/) [Saul Bellow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-bellow/) > [“On Broadway it was still bright afternoon and the gassy air was almost motionless under the leaden spokes of sunlight, and sawdust footprints lay…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-bellow/on-broadway-it-was-still-bright-afternoon-and-the-gassy-air-was/) [Saul Bellow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-bellow/) > [There are evils that have the ability to survive identification and go on for ever... money, for instance, or war.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-bellow/there-are-evils-that-have-the-ability-to-survive-identification-and/) [Saul Bellow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-bellow/) > [Myself is thus and so, and will continue thus and so. And why fight it? My balance comes from instability.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-bellow/myself-is-thus-and-so-and-will-continue-thus-and-so-and-why-fight-it/) [Saul Bellow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-bellow/) > [“A strange heart. I myself can't account for it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-bellow/a-strange-heart-i-myself-can-t-account-for-it/) [Saul Bellow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-bellow/) > [The late philosopher Morris R. Cohen of CCNY was asked by a student in the metaphysics course, Professor Cohen, how do I know that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-bellow/the-late-philosopher-morris-r-cohen-of-ccny-was-asked-by-a-student-in/) [Saul Bellow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-bellow/) > [“Therefore we didn't talk of genuine things.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-bellow/therefore-we-didn-t-talk-of-genuine-things/) [Saul Bellow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-bellow/) > [Is our species crazy? Plenty of evidence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-bellow/is-our-species-crazy-plenty-of-evidence/) [Saul Bellow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-bellow/) > [“But now the emphasis has shifted to making it. People have surrendered their personal moral objectives to government or schools or psychologists. It’s a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-bellow/but-now-the-emphasis-has-shifted-to-making-it-people-have-surrendered/) [Saul Bellow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-bellow/) > [There's a kind of emptiness at the center of life ... nothing to form your life on, or by.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-bellow/there-s-a-kind-of-emptiness-at-the-center-of-life-nothing-to-form/) [Saul Bellow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-bellow/) > [“I don't know how it all at once came to me to talk a lot, tell jokes, kick up, and suddenly have views. When…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-bellow/i-don-t-know-how-it-all-at-once-came-to-me-to-talk-a-lot-tell-jokes/) [Saul Bellow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-bellow/) > [There are times when the most practical thing is to lie down.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-bellow/there-are-times-when-the-most-practical-thing-is-to-lie-down/) [Saul Bellow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-bellow/) > [“For knowledge of death makes us wish to extend our lives at the expense of others. And this is the root of the struggle…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-bellow/for-knowledge-of-death-makes-us-wish-to-extend-our-lives-at-the/) [Saul Bellow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-bellow/) [Explore all 464 Saul Bellow quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-bellow/) ## More Kierkegaard quotes > [“I am poor—you are my riches; dark—you are my light; I own nothing, need nothing. And how could I own anything? After all, it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/s-ren-kierkegaard/i-am-poor-you-are-my-riches-dark-you-are-my-light-i-own-nothing-need/) [Søren Kierkegaard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/s-ren-kierkegaard/) > [“As Kierkegaard said, “To venture causes anxiety; not to venture is to lose oneself.” I”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gregg-krech/as-kierkegaard-said-to-venture-causes-anxiety-not-to-venture-is-to/) [Gregg Krech](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gregg-krech/) > [“as in Heinrich Heine’s (a contemporary of Kierkegaard’s) well-known saying that one should value above everything else ‘freedom, equality and crab soup’. ‘Crab soup’…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/slavoj-i-ek/as-in-heinrich-heine-s-a-contemporary-of-kierkegaard-s-well-known/) [Slavoj Žižek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/slavoj-i-ek/) > [“I would have liked to say, "I'm a doctor," to those who asked me what I did, doctors being the current purveyors of magic…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yann-martel/i-would-have-liked-to-say-i-m-a-doctor-to-those-who-asked-me-what-i/) [Yann Martel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yann-martel/) > [“And therefore, all of those for whom authentic transformation has deeply unseated their souls must, I believe, wrestle with the profound moral obligation to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-wilber/and-therefore-all-of-those-for-whom-authentic-transformation-has/) [Ken Wilber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-wilber/) > [“What is particularly striking about his reconstruction and criticisms of the traditional account of friendship is that he finds it deficient not only by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/graham-smith/what-is-particularly-striking-about-his-reconstruction-and-criticisms/) [Graham Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/graham-smith/) > [Perhaps unsurprisingly, there's a paradox here! Kierkegaard's own indirect communication proposes that we start with the experience of those who don't believe and meet…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-pattison/perhaps-unsurprisingly-there-s-a-paradox-here-kierkegaard-s-own/) [George Pattison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-pattison/) > [“It was not surprising that after the war Dostoevsky was linked to Kierkegaard as a prophet of social resignation.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-jay/it-was-not-surprising-that-after-the-war-dostoevsky-was-linked-to/) [Martin Jay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-jay/) > [I ... had what Kierkegaard called 'the sickness of infinitude,' wandering from one path to another with no real recognition that I was embarked…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-matthiessen/i-had-what-kierkegaard-called-the-sickness-of-infinitude-wandering/) [Peter Matthiessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-matthiessen/) > [What Kierkegaard said about love is also true of creativity: every person must start at the beginning.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rollo-may/what-kierkegaard-said-about-love-is-also-true-of-creativity-every/) [Rollo May](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rollo-may/) > [“I never really saw the celerity of your heart When steadily fighting off the Kierkegaardian part I listened to Plutarch While you threw out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/criss-jami/i-never-really-saw-the-celerity-of-your-heart-when-steadily-fighting/) [Criss Jami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/criss-jami/) > [ But, inevitably, as he \[Kierkegaard\] approaches what we might call his Christocentric climax many readers drop off. Many scholars just leave that part of… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-pattison/but-inevitably-as-he-kierkegaard-approaches-what-we-might-call-his/) [George Pattison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-pattison/) > [Kierkegaard was by far the most profound thinker of the last century. Kierkegaard was a saint.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ludwig-wittgenstein/kierkegaard-was-by-far-the-most-profound-thinker-of-the-last-century/) [Ludwig Wittgenstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ludwig-wittgenstein/) > [“My love consumes me. Only my voice is left, a voice which has fallen in love with you whispers to you everywhere that I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/s-ren-kierkegaard/my-love-consumes-me-only-my-voice-is-left-a-voice-which-has-fallen-in/) [Søren Kierkegaard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/s-ren-kierkegaard/) > [“Everybody, whether they are religious or not, implicitly knows that religion is costly, counterfactual, and even counterintuitive. The more one accepts what is materially…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-atran/everybody-whether-they-are-religious-or-not-implicitly-knows-that/) [Scott Atran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-atran/) [Browse all 68 Kierkegaard quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/kierkegaard/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“I venture to say Kierkegaard meant that truth has lost its force with us and horrible pain and evil must teach it to us again, the eternal punishments of Hell will have to regain their reality before mankind turns serious once more. I do not see this. Let us set aside the fact that such convictions in the mouths of safe, comfortable people playing at crisis, alienation, apocalypse and desperation, make me sick. We must get it out of our heads that this is a doomed time, that we are waiting for the end, and th rest of it, mere junk from fashionable magazines. Things are grim enough without these shivery games. People frightening one another--a poor sort of moral exercise. But, to get to the main point, the advocacy and praise of suffering take us in the wrong direction and those of us who remain loyal to civilization must not go for it. 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