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Works of Love
A New Translation
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Brief Description
First published in 1847, Works of Love is among Søren Kierkegaard's most explicitly religious works. Intended to awaken rather than convince—to replicate "the stinging, impatient character of a 'gadfly,'" as translator Bruce H. Kirmmse writes—the book consists of a series of fifteen deliberations on love. Contrasting...
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See moreFollowing his “brisk, readable, accurate” (Gregory R. Beabout) translations of Fear and Trembling and The Sickness Unto Death, Bruce H. Kirmmse presents a new translation of Kierkegaard’s discourses on love
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Description
First published in 1847, Works of Love is among Søren Kierkegaard's most explicitly religious works. Intended to awaken rather than convince—to replicate "the stinging, impatient character of a 'gadfly,'" as translator Bruce H. Kirmmse writes—the book consists of a series of fifteen deliberations on love.
Contrasting romantic love and love for one's friends with the selfless Christian love—agape—of the New Testament, Works of Love contends that the only way to purge self-interest from love is to love one's neighbour, who is "indeed unconditionally every person."
Though always careful to distinguish his "deliberations" from clerical "sermons," Kierkegaard insisted that in order to grasp the full meaning of the work, one must hear it. Whereas other translations have obscured or disregarded the rhetorical aspect of the text, Kirmmse's translation preserves it—thus making the same request of its readers that Kierkegaard once made of his: to hear the argument by reading it aloud.
Book Details
INFORMATION
ISBN: 9781324093671
Publisher: WW Norton & Co
Format: Hardback
Date Published: 29 August 2025
Country: United States
Imprint: WW Norton & Co
Contributors:
- Translated by Bruce H. Kirmmse
Audience: General / adult, Tertiary education
DIMENSIONS
Spine width: 33.0mm
Width: 160.0mm
Height: 236.0mm
Weight: 736g
Pages: 464
About the Author
Søren Kierkegaard (1813–1855) was a Danish philosopher and theologian whose work has been widely recognized as foundational both to modern psychology and existentialism. A professor emeritus at Connecticut College, Bruce H. Kirmmse has published several books and numerous articles on Kierkegaard and is general editor of Kierkegaard’s Journals and Notebooks. He lives in Randolph, New Hampshire, and Copenhagen, Denmark.
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