The truth is a snare: you cannot have it, without being caught.

Hear the words of Søren Kierkegaard, the prophet of inward struggle, who declared: “The truth is a snare: you cannot have it, without being caught. You cannot have the truth in such a way that you catch it, but only in such a way that it catches you.” These words are heavy with paradox, for they overturn the proud assumption that man may seize truth as a prize, to carry and control. Kierkegaard warns us: truth is no servant to be commanded, no possession to be stored in books or trophies. Rather, truth is a net, a living fire, a force that seizes the one who dares approach it. He who seeks truth does not bind it; truth binds him.

In these words, Kierkegaard reveals the heart of his philosophy. To him, truth was not mere doctrine or abstract reasoning, but a living encounter with God and existence. Many men imagine that they “catch” truth, mastering it through intellect, logic, or argument. But Kierkegaard saw that such mastery is illusion. For when the soul encounters the deepest truth, it is overwhelmed. It is caught, humbled, and transformed. To claim that one owns truth is arrogance; to confess that truth owns you is wisdom.

The ancients too knew this pattern. Think of Moses upon Mount Sinai, who did not “catch” the truth of God as one might trap an animal, but was seized by it—so deeply that his face shone with light. Or recall Paul of Tarsus, who pursued his own certainties until he was struck blind upon the road to Damascus. Truth did not bow to him; it conquered him, and from that moment he belonged to it. So too Kierkegaard reminds us: truth is not the hunter’s prey, but the hunter itself.

Consider also the story of Galileo Galilei, who studied the heavens and found that the earth moved around the sun. At first, he thought he had caught a truth, something to prove and display. But as the weight of this discovery pressed upon him, he realized the reverse: truth had caught him. He could not turn away from what he had seen, even when threatened with condemnation. His life was forever bound to this truth, and he bore its snare until his death. This is the cost of being seized by reality—it demands your allegiance.

Thus Kierkegaard teaches us that truth is not comfortable. It is not a trophy for our shelves, nor an ornament for our vanity. It is a snare, and to be caught in it is to lose the freedom of illusion, the ease of falsehood, the pride of mastery. Yet in this losing is our true gain, for only by being caught in truth do we find freedom of the soul. To live otherwise is to wander in a dream where all seems under our control, while reality slips ever away.

The lesson for us is both sobering and glorious: if you seek truth, prepare to be caught. Do not imagine you will master it, bend it, or tame it. Instead, approach with humility, ready to surrender. Ask not, “How can I possess truth?” but, “How may I be possessed by truth?” For the one who is caught by truth will be changed, purified, and set upon a new path. And though this path is hard, it is also the path to life itself.

Therefore, my child, live in this way: seek truth with courage, but also with reverence. Do not try to make it your servant, but allow it to become your master. When it seizes you, do not resist, but yield, for in yielding you will find the deepest freedom. And remember Kierkegaard’s words: truth is a snare. You cannot have it unless it has you. To be caught by truth is not defeat, but the beginning of wisdom, the first step into eternity.