I have a secret to confide to you, my confidante. Who should I confide it to? To Echo? She would betray it. To the stars? They are cold. People? They do not understand. Only to you can I confide it, for you know how to safeguard it. There is a girl, more beautiful than my souls dream, purer than the light of the sun, deeper than the source of the ocean, more proud than the flight of the eaglethere is a girloh! bend your head to my ear and my words, that my secret may steal into itthis girl I love more dearly than my life, for she is my life; more dearly than all my desires, for she is the only one; more dearly than all my thoughts, for she is the only one; more warmly than the sun loves the flower, more intensely than sorrow the privacy of the troubled mind; more longingly than the deserts burning sand loves the rainI cling to her more tenderly than the mothers eye to the child, more confidingly than the pleading soul to God, more inseparably than the plant to its root.Your head grows heavy and thoughtful, it sinks down on your breast, your bosom rises to its aidmy Cordelia! You have understood me, you have understood me exactly, to the letter, not one jot have you ignored. Shall I stretch the membrane of my ear and let your voice assure me of this? Should I doubt? Will you safeguard this secret? Can I depend on you? One hears of people who, in terrible crimes, dedicate themselves to mutual silence. I have confided to you a secret which is my life and my lifes content. Have you nothing to confide to me, nothing so beautiful, so significant?Johannes de Silentio, from_Either/Or_
About This Quote
About Sren Kierkegaard
Sren Kierkegaard.
Themes
- Love — Quotes exploring romantic love, compassion, and human connection
- Philosophy — Deep thoughts on existence, knowledge, and the nature of reality