"Without authority," a phrase Kierkegaard repeatedly applied to himself and his writings, is an appropriate title for this volume of five short works that in various ways deal with the concept and practice of authority. The Lily in the Field and the Bird of the Air contemplates the teaching authority of these creatures based on three different passages in the Gospels. The first of Two Ethical-Religious Essays mediates on the ethics of Jesus' martyrdom; the second contrasts the authority of the genius with that of the apostle. The remaining works--Three Discourses at the Communion on Fridays (1849), An Upbuilding Discourse (1850), and Two Discourses at the Communion on Fridays (1851)--are meditations on sin, forgiveness, and the power of love.

HISTORICAL INTRODUCTION The Lily in the Field and the Bird of the Air: Three Devotional Discourses PREFACE I. "Look at the Birds of the Air; Look at the Lily in the Field." II. "No One Can Serve Two Masters, for He Must Either Hate the One and Love the Other or Be Devoted to the One and Despise the Other." III. "Look at the Birds of the Air; They Sow Not and Reap Not and Gather Not into Barns"--without Worries about Tomorrow. "Look at the Grass in the Field, Which Today Is." Two Ethical-Religious Essays H. H. PREFACE Does a Human Being Have the Right to Let Himself Be Put to Death for the Truth? The Difference between a Genius and an Apostle Three Discourses at the Communion on Fridays PREFACE [The High Priest] [The Tax Collector] [The Woman Who Was a Sinner] An Upbuilding Discourse PREFACE The Woman Who Was a Sinner Two Discourses at the Communion on Fridays PREFACE [But One Who Is Forgiven Little Loves Little] [Love Will Hide a Multitude of Sins] SUPPLEMENT Key to References Original Title Page of The Lily in the Field and the Bird of the Air Selected Entries from Kierkegaard's Journals and Papers Pertaining to The Lily in the Field and the Bird of the Air Original Title Page of Two Ethical-Religious Essays Selected Entries from Kierkegaard's Journals and Papers Pertaining to Two Ethical-Religious Essays Original Title Page of Three Discourses at the Communion on Fridays Selected Entries from Kierkegaard's Journals and Papers Pertaining to Three Discourses at the Communion on Fridays Original Title Page of An Upbuilding Discourse Selected Entries from Kierkegaard's Journals and Papers Pertaining to An Upbuilding Discourse Original Title Page of Two Discourses at the Communion on Fridays Selected Entries from Kierkegaard's Journals and Papers Pertaining to Two Discourses at the Communion on Fridays EDITORIAL APPENDIX Acknowledgments Collation of the Five Publications in the Danish Editions of Kierkegaard's Collected Works Notes Bibliographical Note Index