BOOK REVIEW: 'Works of Love' by Søren Kierkegaard

Michael Guirgies -

Works of Love explicates the characteristics of love described in scripture from both the Old and New Testament. For the most part, inspiration for the entire book is solely based on two references:

  • 1 Corinthians 13: (“love…bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things…”)
  • Leviticus 9:18 (“You shall love your neighbour as yourself.”)
  • Matthew 7:17-20 (…every good tree bears good fruit…Therefore by their fruits you will know them.”)

While the chapters of the book are separated into the characteristics of love, it would be a slander to merely list them. Ultimately, Kierkegaard never sought to describe the aspects of love or the traits of a loving person: an experiential approach to love will limit us to what love should strive towards, how close to pinnacle of love we could reach. What was more expedient was to rather stand firm on the knowledge and faith of what is means to love, as opposed to considering ways in which we could love.

Crucially, Kierkegaard deems unimportant whether others see the ‘fruits ‘of our love; that is, just because others fail to discern our love, it does not make it false or ingenuine. This approach removes for us that beginning obstacle which places others’ perceiving our love as marker for how real the love is. Although Christ teaches us that ‘every tree is known by their fruits’, Kierkegaard explains that this should:

“…encourage [us] not to allow [our] love to become unfruitful but to work so that it could be known by its fruits, whether or not these come to be known by others.”

If others react poorly to our displaying love, we should not be distracted or convinced by it, but merely taught by it, reminded again that we have much to learn about loving others. And this is the crucial backbone of the book, so to speak: that love we bear on those around us comes first from our knowledge and certainty of it, and our faith in its existence, which is merely outwardly reflected on the world.

Works of Love shows us the great seriousness and depth which Christianity has towards Love, and this is testified by its great length (600 pages).

Below are some uplifting quotes from the book:

“Holy Scripture is very consistent in its use of language. It does not name as hope any and every expectancy, the expectancy of a multitude of things; it knows only one hope, the hope, the possibility of the good; and of this hope, the only one that could be put to shame because to have it is an honor, of this hope Scripture says that it shall not be made ashamed.”
“The one who truly loves, who could not find it in his heart at any price to let the beloved girl feel his superiority, communicates the truth to her in such a way that she does not notice that he is the teacher; he lures it out of her, places it upon her lips, and thus hears not himself say it but her, or he helps the truth forward and hides himself. Now, is it humiliating to learn the truth in this way?”
“Oh, have not many crimes been averted, many evil intentions frustrated, many desperate resolutions consigned to oblivion, many sinful thoughts halted on the way to becoming action, many rash words suppressed in time because love did not give the occasion!”