A Very Brief Introduction to Thomas Carlyle and 27 Thought-Provoking Quotes

Over the course of 40 years of writing, I've lost track of how many times I unearthed a pointed, pithy quote by Thomas Carlyle. Even so, I never really knew who he was. I found in a folder on my laptop a Word doc with ten pages of quotes by Carlyle, and was aiming to share a batch today, but thought maybe it's time to find out a little more who he was.  

Thomas Carlyle  (4 December 1795 – 5 February 1881) was a prominent Scottish essayist, historian, philosopher, and satirical writer. He was a major intellectual figure in the Victorian era, often called the "Sage of Chelsea" and regarded by contemporaries as the "undoubted head of English letters" and a secular prophet.

He was born in Scotland, into a strict Calvinist family and died in London at the age of 85. Carlyle's writings influenced literature, history, and social thought with a passionate, idiosyncratic style that blended philosophy, history, and moral critique.

I only knew him for his one sentence zingers, but learned this weekend that he wrote volumes. His three-volume The French Revolution: A History has been called a "a masterpiece of historical writing." Carlyle's work directly influenced Charles Dickens' A Tale of Two Cities.

In 1841 he published a collection of his lectures On Heroes, Hero-Worship, and The Heroic in History in which he argued that great individuals (heroes) shape history. In our post-modern era, we tend to focus on their feet of clay. His six-volume bio of Friedrich II of Prussia was published in 1858-65, who must have evidently been a hero of his. 

Carlyle's satrical, philosophic novel Sartor Resartus is so strikingly original that I'm thinking of writing a blog post about it. It's full title: Sartor Resartus: The Life and Opinions of Herr Teufelsdröckh in Three Books. The novel is a hybrid of fiction, autobiography, and social commentary. Its Latin title translates to "The Tailor Re-tailored" (or "The Tailor Patched"). The premise actually sounds hilarious. It's available at Project Gutenberg.

I was only intending to write a very brief intro to a boatload of quotes, but thought you may find him worth knowing better. Carlyle criticized the "machinery" of modern industrial society, laissez-faire economics, and what he saw as moral decay. He championed strong leadership, work ethic, and spiritual renewal. He profoundly shaped Victorian culture, with admirers including Ralph Waldo Emerson, and remains studied for his prose style and role in Romanticism-to-Victorian transitions.  

Though Carlyle is included in Hammerton's Outline of Great Books, he is not covered in 501 Great Writers, edited by Julian Patrck.

Without further adieu, a small collection of quotes from Carlyle.

Bust of Carlyle in Chelsea Library

A laugh, to be joyous, must flow from a joyous heart, for without kindness, there can be no true joy. 

A loving heart is the beginning of all knowledge. 

A man cannot make a pair of shoes rightly unless he do it in a devout manner. 

A man lives by believing something: not by debating and arguing about many things. 

 

A man willing to work, and unable to find work, is perhaps the saddest sight that fortune's inequality exhibits under this sun. 

A man without a goal is like a ship without a rudder. 

A man's felicity consists not in the outward and visible blessing of fortune, but in the inward and unseen perfections and riches of the mind. 

A person who is gifted sees the essential point and leaves the rest as surplus. 

A strong mind always hopes, and has always cause to hope. 

A well-written life is almost as rare as a well-spent one. 

Adversity is the diamond dust Heaven polishes its jewels with. 

Conviction is worthless unless it is converted into conduct. 

Do the duty which lies nearest to you, the second duty will then become clearer.  

Egotism is the source and summary of all faults and miseries. 

Every new opinion, at its starting, is precisely in a minority of one. 

Every noble work is at first impossible. 

Everywhere in life, the true question is not what we gain, but what we do. 

He who could foresee affairs three days in advance would be rich for thousands of years.  (EdNote: Especially now with Polymarket.)

I don't pretend to understand the Universe - it's a great deal bigger than I am. 

If what you have done is unjust, you have not succeeded. 

Make yourself an honest man, and then you may be sure there is one less rascal in the world. 

Men do less than they ought, unless they do all that they can. 

No pressure, no diamonds. 

Nothing builds self-esteem and self-confidence like accomplishment. 

Show me the man you honor, and I will know what kind of man you are. 

Silence is as deep as eternity; speech, shallow as time. 

The greatest university of all is a collection of books. 

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Do you find Carlyle stimulating? Leave a note in the comments.