--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: No grand inquisitor has in readiness such…" description: "\"No grand inquisitor has in readiness such terrible tortures as has anxiety and no spy knows how to attack more artfully the man he suspects, choosing t..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0f1/soren-kierkegaard-578_accused_no-grand-inquisitor-has-in-readiness-suc_2833435.jpg" --- # No grand inquisitor has in readiness such terrible… ![“No grand inquisitor has in readiness such terrible tortures as has anxiety and no spy knows how to attack more artfully the man he suspects, choosing the instant when he is weakest; nor knows how to lay traps where he will be caught and ensnared as anxiety knows how, and no sharp-witted judge…” quote by Soren Kierkegaard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0f1/soren-kierkegaard-578_accused_no-grand-inquisitor-has-in-readiness-suc_2833435.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0f1/soren-kierkegaard-578_accused_no-grand-inquisitor-has-in-readiness-suc_2833435.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0f1/soren-kierkegaard-578_accused_no-grand-inquisitor-has-in-readiness-suc_2833435.jpg) > “No grand inquisitor has in readiness such terrible tortures as has anxiety and no spy knows how to attack more artfully the man he suspects, choosing the instant when he is weakest; nor knows how to lay traps where he will be caught and ensnared as anxiety knows how, and no sharp-witted judge knows how to interrogate, to examine the accused, as anxiety does, which never lets him escape...” [Soren Kierkegaard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/soren-kierkegaard/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Anxiety is a relentless, cunning tormentor that outwits judges and spies, trapping the mind. **In simple terms:** Anxiety constantly traps and outsmarts us. Key Takeaway Recognize anxiety’s deceptive power to better manage it. Themes psychology existentialism anxiety Mood reflective serious Type existential therapeutic When to use this quote - therapy sessions - philosophical study - mindfulness training - self‑reflection Key Concepts cognitive distortion mental health Questions to Reflect On - How can anxiety be transformed into insight? - What strategies prevent anxiety’s domination? A Different Perspective Anxiety may also motivate growth. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Anxiety](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/anxiety/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Spy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/spy/) [Torture](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/torture/) ## Related quotes > [“And no Grand Inquisitor has in readiness such terrible tortures as has anxiety, and no spy knows how to attack more artfully the man…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/soren-kierkegaard/and-no-grand-inquisitor-has-in-readiness-such-terrible-tortures-as/) [Soren Kierkegaard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/soren-kierkegaard/) > [“Life has enough torturers as it is, without you going around moonlighting as a Grand Inquisitor against yourself.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carlos-ruiz-zafon/life-has-enough-torturers-as-it-is-without-you-going-around/) [Carlos Ruiz Zafón](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carlos-ruiz-zafon/) > [“He turned his head just then and for a moment, our eyes met. 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Is this a proof of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/but-every-state-says-an-inquisitor-has-established-some-religion-no/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [“To choose a good book, look in an inquisitor’s prohibited list. ~John Aikin”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-aikin/to-choose-a-good-book-look-in-an-inquisitor-s-prohibited-list-john/) John Aikin > [Catching sight of himself in the long mirrors that ran along the walls, he stiffened in shock...His eyes were surrounded by black shadows, his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cassandra-clare/catching-sight-of-himself-in-the-long-mirrors-that-ran-along-the/) [Cassandra Clare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cassandra-clare/) > [He (Jace) glanced down at his bound hands. 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If we must have a tyrant, a robber baron is far better than an inquisitor. The baron's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-lewis/theocracy-is-the-worst-of-all-governments-if-we-must-have-a-tyrant-a/) [C. S. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis/) ## More by Soren Kierkegaard > [Christianity does not oppose debauchery and uncontrollable passions and the like as much as it opposes... flat mediocrity, this nauseating atmosphere, this homey, civil…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/soren-kierkegaard/christianity-does-not-oppose-debauchery-and-uncontrollable-passions/) [Soren Kierkegaard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/soren-kierkegaard/) > [Christians remind me of schoolboys who want to look up the answers to their math problems in the back of the book rather than…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/soren-kierkegaard/christians-remind-me-of-schoolboys-who-want-to-look-up-the-answers-to/) [Soren Kierkegaard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/soren-kierkegaard/) > [People commonly travel the world over to see rivers and mountains, new stars, garish birds, freak fish, grotesque breeds of human; they fall into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/soren-kierkegaard/people-commonly-travel-the-world-over-to-see-rivers-and-mountains-new/) [Soren Kierkegaard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/soren-kierkegaard/) > [“A strange thing happened to me in my dream. I was rapt into the Seventh Heaven. There sat all the gods assembled. As a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/soren-kierkegaard/a-strange-thing-happened-to-me-in-my-dream-i-was-rapt-into-the/) [Soren Kierkegaard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/soren-kierkegaard/) > [That which is truly human no generation learns from the one before it. No generation learns from another how to love. No generation has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/soren-kierkegaard/that-which-is-truly-human-no-generation-learns-from-the-one-before-it/) [Soren Kierkegaard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/soren-kierkegaard/) > [A man may perform astonishing feats and comprehend a vast amount of knowledge, and yet have no understanding of himself. But suffering directs a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/soren-kierkegaard/a-man-may-perform-astonishing-feats-and-comprehend-a-vast-amount-of/) [Soren Kierkegaard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/soren-kierkegaard/) > [Be that self which one truly is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/soren-kierkegaard/be-that-self-which-one-truly-is/) [Soren Kierkegaard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/soren-kierkegaard/) > [I go fishing for a thousand monsters in the depths of my own self](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/soren-kierkegaard/i-go-fishing-for-a-thousand-monsters-in-the-depths-of-my-own-self/) [Soren Kierkegaard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/soren-kierkegaard/) > [In addition to my other numerous acquaintances, I have one more intimate confidant… My depression is the most faithful mistress I have known —…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/soren-kierkegaard/in-addition-to-my-other-numerous-acquaintances-i-have-one-more/) [Soren Kierkegaard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/soren-kierkegaard/) > [The greatest danger to Christianity is, I contend, not heresies, not heterodoxies, not atheists, not profane secularism - no, but the kind of orthodoxy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/soren-kierkegaard/the-greatest-danger-to-christianity-is-i-contend-not-heresies-not/) [Soren Kierkegaard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/soren-kierkegaard/) > [Future is everything that past has forgotten.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/soren-kierkegaard/future-is-everything-that-past-has-forgotten/) [Soren Kierkegaard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/soren-kierkegaard/) > [Without risk, faith is an impossibility.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/soren-kierkegaard/without-risk-faith-is-an-impossibility/) [Soren Kierkegaard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/soren-kierkegaard/) > [I have only one confidant, and that is the silence of night.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/soren-kierkegaard/i-have-only-one-confidant-and-that-is-the-silence-of-night/) [Soren Kierkegaard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/soren-kierkegaard/) > [A road well begun is the battle half won. The important thing is to make a beginning and get under way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/soren-kierkegaard/a-road-well-begun-is-the-battle-half-won-the-important-thing-is-to/) [Soren Kierkegaard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/soren-kierkegaard/) > [I have, I believe, the courage to doubt everything; I have, I believe, the courage to fight against everything; but I do not have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/soren-kierkegaard/i-have-i-believe-the-courage-to-doubt-everything-i-have-i-believe-the/) [Soren Kierkegaard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/soren-kierkegaard/) [Explore all 462 Soren Kierkegaard quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/soren-kierkegaard/) ## More Accused quotes > [We resent being faced with facts we'd prefer to ignore as much as being wrongly accused of doing something we haven't.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aidan-chambers/we-resent-being-faced-with-facts-we-d-prefer-to-ignore-as-much-as/) [Aidan Chambers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aidan-chambers/) > [Jesus Himself was criticized. 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