Fader i Himlene! Hvad er dog et Menneske uden Dig!
Hvor er Alt hvad han veed, var det end det Mangfoldiges Mængde, kun et afbrudt Stykke, hvis han ikke kjender Dig;
er al hans Stræben, var den end omfattende en Verden, kun et halvgjort Arbeide, hvis han ikke kjender Dig, Du den Ene, som er Eet og som er Alt!
Saa give Du i Forstanden Viisdom til at fatte det Ene, i Hjertet Oprigtighed til at annamme Forstaaelsen, i Villien Reenhed ved kun at ville Eet;
saa give Du i gode Dage Vedholdenhed til at ville Eet, i Adspredelser Samling til at ville Eet, i Lidelser Taalmod til at ville Eet.
O, Du som giver baade at begynde og at fuldkomme, Du give aarle, naar Dagen gryer, den Unge Beslutningen at ville Eet;
naar Dagen helder give Du Oldingen en fornyet Ihukommelse af sin første Beslutning, at det Sidste maatte være som det Første, det Første som det Sidste, være Dens Liv, der kun har villet Eet.
Father in heaven, what is man without you!
What is all that he knows, vast accumulation though it be, but a chipped fragment if he does not know you!
What is all his striving, could it even encompass a world, but a half-finished work if he does not know you: you the One, who is one thing and who is all!
So may you give to the intellect, wisdom to comprehend that one thing; to the heart, sincerity to receive this understanding; to the will, purity that wills only one thing.
In prosperity may you grant perseverance to will one thing; amid distractions, collectedness to will one thing; in suffering, patience to will one thing.
O you who give both the beginning and the completion, may you early, at the dawn of day, give to the young person the resolution to will one thing.
As the day wanes, may you give to the old person a renewed remembrance of their first resolution, that the first may be like the last, the last like the first, in possession of a life that has willed only one thing.
Søren Aabye Kierkegaard – Danish Protestant theologian an philosopher (1813-1855), known as one of the most important academics in Denmark, from “Purity of Heart Is to Will One Thing”, in “Edifying Discourses in Diverse Spirits” (1847), Quotations book 2017