Kierkégaard

1843 · 53093 — Kjøbenhavn Copenhagen 1843-1845. 8vo. Near contemporary half calf with richly gilt spine. Binding with very light wear. Front free end-paper with the ownership-inscription of Michael Bentzon and his acquisition date of 1855 the same year that Kierkegaard died. Some brownspotting here and there and the first couple of leaves of "To opbyggelige Taler 1844" with a damp stain. Neat underlinings in the text as well as several marginalia mostly in pencil. A very good copy indeed. IV 52 62 84 59 70 111pp. Complete with all the half-titles and the joint title-page without the blank leaf after the preface of "To opbyggelige Taler 1844" - which is not called for and hardly ever present. <br/><br/><em>First edition of Kierkegaard's important Eighteen Upbuilding Discourses which comprise his two three and four upbuilding discourses from the years 1843-45 with the joint title-page of all eighteen. The work constitutes Kierkegaard's religious works which supplement his theological and philosophical ones.The first upbuilding discourses were published the same year as Either-Or and it is interesting to note that in opposition to his major philosophical works the religious upbuilding discourses actually bear the name of the author on the title-page -a fact that was by no means incidental. While the pseudonymous works could make one doubt the religiousness of the author the parallelly written religious discourses stress the fact that we are dealing with an author who was religious from the very beginning -a fact that Kierkegaard also wished to underline himself; in his journals he clearly states that the religious discourses bear as much significance for his work as a whole as do the larger pseudonymous works "I began with "Either-Or" and two upbuilding discourses." he says and explains that he intended the upbuilding the religious to advance and that he wanted to show "that the writer was not an esthetic author who in the course of time grew older and for that reason became religious" Journals IX A 227.The importance of the upbuilding discourses and the close relationship they have with the major works and Kierkegaard's philosophical development is also stressed by the fact that every pseudonymous work was accompanied by a little collection of "upbuilding discourses" until "Concluding Postscript" appeared.Himmelstrup 85. </em> unknown