Søren brugte ti år på at blive teologisk kandidat, Peter Christian klarede paragrafferne på bare fire. Sin disputats Om Løgnen forsvarede han i Göttingen, hvor man kaldte ham "den nordiske disputererdjævel". Sine uomtvistelige kvalifikationer til trods blev han forbigået ved besættelsen af professorater i både filosofi og teologi. Dette skyldtes bl. a. hans tiltagende sympati for Grundtvig, der blev hans nære ven og åndsfælle. Da han 1849 i et foredrag på Roskilde Præstekonvent karakteriserede Martensen som "Besindigheden" og sin yngre bror som "Extasen", såredes Søren så dybt, at han end ikke på sit dødsleje ville se dette "Coryphae for Middelmaadighed".

Søren took ten years to get his degree in theology, Peter Christian managed the work in just four. He defended his dissertation Om Løgnen [On Lies] in Göttingen, where he was called the "Nordic disputing devil." Despite his undeniable qualifications he was passed over in filling both professorships in philosophy and theology. This was in part due to his increasing sympathy for Grundtvig, who was a kindred spirit and became his close friend. When in 1849 at the Roskilde Ecclesiatical Convention he characterized Martensen as "sober-minded" and his younger brother as "ecstatic," Søren was so deeply wounded that he would not even on his deathbed see this "Coryphae for mediocrity."

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