Thomas Carlyle
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Thomas Carlyle (4 December 17955 February 1881) was a Scottish essayist, historian and philosopher. A leading writer of the
Victorian era In the history of the United Kingdom and the British Empire, the Victorian era was the period of Queen Victoria's reign, from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. The era followed the Georgian period and preceded the Edwardia ...
, he exerted a profound influence on 19th-century art, literature and philosophy. Born in
Ecclefechan Ecclefechan (Scottish Gaelic: ''Eaglais Fheichein'') is a small village located in Dumfries and Galloway in the south of Scotland. The village is famous for being the birthplace of Thomas Carlyle. Ecclefechan lies in the valley of the Mein Wate ...
,
Dumfriesshire Dumfriesshire or the County of Dumfries or Shire of Dumfries (''Siorrachd Dhùn Phris'' in Gaelic) is a historic county and registration county in southern Scotland. The Dumfries lieutenancy area covers a similar area to the historic county. I ...
, Carlyle attended the
University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh ( sco, University o Edinburgh, gd, Oilthigh Dhùn Èideann; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in post-nominals) is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Granted a royal charter by King James VI in 15 ...
where he excelled in mathematics, inventing the
Carlyle circle In mathematics, a Carlyle circle (named for Thomas Carlyle) is a certain circle in a coordinate plane associated with a quadratic equation. The circle has the property that the solutions of the quadratic equation are the horizontal coordinates of ...
. After finishing the arts course, he prepared to become a minister in the
Burgher Burgher may refer to: * Burgher (social class), a medieval, early modern European title of a citizen of a town, and a social class from which city officials could be drawn ** Burgess (title), a resident of a burgh in northern Britain ** Grand Bu ...
Church while working as a schoolmaster. He quit these and several other endeavours before settling on literature, writing for the ''
Edinburgh Encyclopædia The ''Edinburgh Encyclopædia'' is an encyclopaedia in 18 volumes, printed and published by William Blackwood and edited by David Brewster between 1808 and 1830. In competition with the Edinburgh-published ''Encyclopædia Britannica'', the ''Edin ...
'' and working as a translator. He found initial success as a disseminator of
German literature German literature () comprises those literature, literary texts written in the German language. This includes literature written in Germany, Austria, the German parts of Switzerland and Belgium, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, South Tyrol in Italy a ...
, then little-known to English readers, through his translations, his ''Life of'' ''
Friedrich Schiller Johann Christoph Friedrich von Schiller (, short: ; 10 November 17599 May 1805) was a German playwright, poet, and philosopher. During the last seventeen years of his life (1788–1805), Schiller developed a productive, if complicated, friends ...
'' (1825), and his review essays for various journals. His first major work was a novel entitled ''
Sartor Resartus ''Sartor Resartus: The Life and Opinions of Herr Teufelsdröckh in Three Books'' is an 1831 novel by the Scottish essayist, historian and philosopher Thomas Carlyle, first published as a serial in ''Fraser's Magazine'' in November 1833 – August ...
'' (1833–34). After relocating to London, he became famous with his ''
French Revolution The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in November 1799. Many of its ideas are considere ...
'' (1837), which prompted the collection and reissue of his essays as ''
Miscellanies A miscellany is a collection of various pieces of writing by different authors. Meaning a mixture, medley, or assortment, a wikt:miscellany, miscellany can include pieces on many subjects and in a variety of different Literary genre, forms. In c ...
''. Each of his subsequent works, from ''
On Heroes ''On Heroes, Hero-Worship, & the Heroic in History'' is a book by the Scottish essayist, historian and philosopher Thomas Carlyle, published by James Fraser, London, in 1841. It is a collection of six lectures given in May 1840 about prominent h ...
'' (1841) to ''
History of Frederick the Great ''History of Friedrich II. of Prussia, Called Frederick the Great'' is a biography of Friedrich II of Prussia by Scottish essayist, historian and philosopher Thomas Carlyle. It was first published in six volumes from 1858 to 1865. Composition ...
'' (1858–65) and beyond, were highly regarded throughout Europe and North America. He founded the
London Library The London Library is an independent lending library in London, established in 1841. It was founded on the initiative of Thomas Carlyle, who was dissatisfied with some of the policies at the British Museum Library. It is located at 14 St James' ...
, contributed significantly to the creation of the National Portrait Galleries in
London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
and
Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...
, was elected
Lord Rector of Edinburgh University The Lord Rector of The University of Edinburgh is elected every three years by the students and staff at The University of Edinburgh. Seldom referred to as ''Lord Rector'', the incumbent is more commonly known just as the ''Rector''. Role T ...
in 1865, and received the ''
Pour le Mérite The ' (; , ) is an order of merit (german: Verdienstorden) established in 1740 by Frederick the Great, King Frederick II of Prussia. The was awarded as both a military and civil honour and ranked, along with the Order of the Black Eagle, the Or ...
'' in 1874, among other honours. Carlyle's corpus spans the genres of history, the critical essay, social commentary, biography, fiction, and poetry. His innovative
writing style In literature, writing style is the manner of expressing thought in language characteristic of an individual, period, school, or nation. As Bryan Ray notes, however, style is a broader concern, one that can describe "readers' relationships with, t ...
, known as Carlylese, greatly influenced
Victorian literature Victorian literature refers to English literature during the reign of Queen Victoria (1837–1901). The 19th century is considered by some to be the Golden Age of English Literature, especially for British novels. It was in the Victorian era tha ...
and anticipated techniques of
postmodern literature Postmodern literature is a form of literature that is characterized by the use of metafiction, unreliable narrator, unreliable narration, self-reflexivity, intertextuality, and which often thematizes both historical and political issues. This sty ...
. While not adhering to any formal religion, he asserted the importance of belief and developed his own
philosophy of religion Philosophy of religion is "the philosophical examination of the central themes and concepts involved in religious traditions". Philosophical discussions on such topics date from ancient times, and appear in the earliest known texts concerning ph ...
. He preached "
Natural Supernaturalism Natural Supernaturalism is one of Thomas Carlyle's philosophical concepts. It derives from the name of a chapter in his novel ''Sartor Resartus'' (1833–34) in which it is a central tenet of Diogenes Teufelsdröckh's "Philosophy of Clothes". Natur ...
", the idea that all things are "Clothes" which at once reveal and conceal the divine, that "a mystic bond of brotherhood makes all men one", and that duty, work and silence are essential. He postulated the Great Man theory, a
philosophy of history Philosophy of history is the philosophical study of history and its discipline. The term was coined by French philosopher Voltaire. In contemporary philosophy a distinction has developed between ''speculative'' philosophy of history and ''crit ...
which contends that history is shaped by exceptional individuals. He viewed history as a "Prophetic Manuscript" that progresses on a cyclical basis, analogous to the
phoenix Phoenix most often refers to: * Phoenix (mythology), a legendary bird from ancient Greek folklore * Phoenix, Arizona, a city in the United States Phoenix may also refer to: Mythology Greek mythological figures * Phoenix (son of Amyntor), a ...
and the seasons. Raising the "
Condition-of-England Question The Condition-of-England question was a debate in the Victorian era over the issue of the English working-class during the Industrial Revolution. It was first proposed by Thomas Carlyle in his essay ''Chartism'' (1839). After assessing Chartism ...
" to address the impact of the
Industrial Revolution The Industrial Revolution was the transition to new manufacturing processes in Great Britain, continental Europe, and the United States, that occurred during the period from around 1760 to about 1820–1840. This transition included going f ...
, his
political philosophy Political philosophy or political theory is the philosophical study of government, addressing questions about the nature, scope, and legitimacy of public agents and institutions and the relationships between them. Its topics include politics, l ...
is characterised by
medievalism Medievalism is a system of belief and practice inspired by the Middle Ages of Europe, or by devotion to elements of that period, which have been expressed in areas such as architecture, literature, music, art, philosophy, scholarship, and variou ...
, advocating a "
Chivalry Chivalry, or the chivalric code, is an informal and varying code of conduct developed in Europe between 1170 and 1220. It was associated with the medieval Christianity, Christian institution of knighthood; knights' and gentlemen's behaviours we ...
of Labour" led by "
Captains of Industry Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...
". He attacked
utilitarianism In ethical philosophy, utilitarianism is a family of normative ethical theories that prescribe actions that maximize happiness and well-being for all affected individuals. Although different varieties of utilitarianism admit different charact ...
as mere
atheism Atheism, in the broadest sense, is an absence of belief in the existence of deities. Less broadly, atheism is a rejection of the belief that any deities exist. In an even narrower sense, atheism is specifically the position that there no d ...
and
egoism Egoism is a philosophy concerned with the role of the self, or , as the motivation and goal of one's own action. Different theories of egoism encompass a range of disparate ideas and can generally be categorized into descriptive or normative ...
, criticised ''
laissez-faire ''Laissez-faire'' ( ; from french: laissez faire , ) is an economic system in which transactions between private groups of people are free from any form of economic interventionism (such as subsidies) deriving from special interest groups. ...
''
political economy Political economy is the study of how Macroeconomics, economic systems (e.g. Marketplace, markets and Economy, national economies) and Politics, political systems (e.g. law, Institution, institutions, government) are linked. Widely studied ph ...
as the "
Dismal Science The dismal science is a derogatory term for the discipline of economics. Scottish essayist, historian and philosopher Thomas Carlyle used the phrase in his 1849 essay, ''Occasional Discourse on the Negro Question'', in contrast with the then-famil ...
", and rebuked "big black
Democracy Democracy (From grc, δημοκρατία, dēmokratía, ''dēmos'' 'people' and ''kratos'' 'rule') is a form of government in which the people have the authority to deliberate and decide legislation (" direct democracy"), or to choose gov ...
" while championing "''Hero''archy (Government of Heroes)". Carlyle occupied a central position in Victorian culture, being considered not only, in the words of
Ralph Waldo Emerson Ralph Waldo Emerson (May 25, 1803April 27, 1882), who went by his middle name Waldo, was an American essayist, lecturer, philosopher, abolitionist, and poet who led the transcendentalist movement of the mid-19th century. He was seen as a champ ...
, the "undoubted head of English letters", but a secular prophet. Posthumously, his reputation suffered as publications by his friend and disciple
James Anthony Froude James Anthony Froude ( ; 23 April 1818 – 20 October 1894) was an English historian, novelist, biographer, and editor of '' Fraser's Magazine''. From his upbringing amidst the Anglo-Catholic Oxford Movement, Froude intended to become a clerg ...
provoked controversy about Carlyle's personal life, particularly his marriage to
Jane Welsh Carlyle Jane Baillie Carlyle ( Welsh; 14 July 1801 – 21 April 1866) was a Scottish writer and the wife of Thomas Carlyle. She did not publish any work in her lifetime, but she was widely seen as an extraordinary letter writer. Virginia Woolf ca ...
. His reputation further declined in the 20th century, as the onsets of
World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
and
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
brought forth accusations that he was a progenitor of both
Prussianism Prussianism comprises the practices and doctrines of the Prussians, specifically the militarism and the severe discipline traditionally associated with the Prussian ruling class. History Prussianism had its origins with the rise to the thron ...
and
fascism Fascism is a far-right, authoritarian, ultra-nationalist political ideology and movement,: "extreme militaristic nationalism, contempt for electoral democracy and political and cultural liberalism, a belief in natural social hierarchy an ...
. Since the 1950s, extensive scholarship in the field of Carlyle Studies has improved his standing, and he is now recognised as "one of the enduring monuments of our literature who, quite simply, cannot be spared."


Biography


Early life

Thomas Carlyle was born on 4 December 1795 to James (1758–1832) and Margaret Aitken Carlyle (1771–1853) in the village of Ecclefechan in Dumfriesshire in southwest Scotland.
Nicholas Carlisle Sir Nicholas Carlisle, KH, FRS, MRIA, (1771 in York, England – 27 August 1847 in Margate, England) was an English antiquary and librarian. In 1806, he became a candidate for the office of Secretary to the Society of Antiquaries, which he o ...
traced Carlyle's ancestry back to Margaret Bruce, sister of
Robert the Bruce Robert I (11 July 1274 – 7 June 1329), popularly known as Robert the Bruce (Scottish Gaelic: ''Raibeart an Bruis''), was King of Scots from 1306 to his death in 1329. One of the most renowned warriors of his generation, Robert eventual ...
. His parents were members of the
Burgher Burgher may refer to: * Burgher (social class), a medieval, early modern European title of a citizen of a town, and a social class from which city officials could be drawn ** Burgess (title), a resident of a burgh in northern Britain ** Grand Bu ...
secession
Presbyterian Presbyterianism is a part of the Reformed tradition within Protestantism that broke from the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland by John Knox, who was a priest at St. Giles Cathedral (Church of Scotland). Presbyterian churches derive their nam ...
church. James Carlyle was a stonemason, later a farmer, who built the Arched House wherein his son was born. His maxim was that "man was created to work, not to speculate, or feel, or dream." As a result of his disordered upbringing, James Carlyle became deeply religious in his youth, reading many books of sermons and doctrinal arguments throughout his life. He married his first wife in 1791, distant cousin Janet, who gave birth to John Carlyle and then died. He married Margaret Aitken in 1795, a poor farmer's daughter then working as a servant. They had nine children, of whom Thomas was the eldest. Margaret was pious and devout and hoped that Thomas would become a minister. She was close to her eldest son, being a "smoking companion, counselor and confidante" in Carlyle's early days. She suffered a manic episode when Carlyle was a teenager, in which she became "elated, disinhibited, over-talkative and violent." She suffered another breakdown in 1817, which required her to be removed from her home and restrained. Carlyle always spoke highly of his parents, and his character was deeply influenced by both of them. Carlyle's early education came from his mother, who taught him reading (despite being barely literate), and his father, who taught him arithmetic. He first attended "Tom Donaldson's School" in Ecclefechan followed by Hoddam School (), which "then stood at the
Kirk Kirk is a Scottish and former Northern English word meaning "church". It is often used specifically of the Church of Scotland. Many place names and personal names are also derived from it. Basic meaning and etymology As a common noun, ''kirk' ...
", located at the "Cross-roads" midway between Ecclefechan and Hoddam Castle. By age 7, Carlyle showed enough proficiency in English that he was advised to "go into Latin", which he did with enthusiasm; however, the schoolmaster at Hoddam did not know Latin, so he was handed over to a minister that did, with whom he made a "rapid & sure way". He then went to Annan Academy (), where he studied rudimentary Greek, read Latin and French fluently, and learned arithmetic "thoroughly well". Carlyle was severely bullied by his fellow students at Annan, until he "revolted against them, and gave stroke for stroke"; he remembered the first two years there as among the most miserable of his life.


Edinburgh, the ministry and teaching (1809–1818)

In November 1809 at nearly fourteen years of age, Carlyle walked one hundred miles from his home in order to attend the
University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh ( sco, University o Edinburgh, gd, Oilthigh Dhùn Èideann; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in post-nominals) is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Granted a royal charter by King James VI in 15 ...
(), where he studied mathematics with John Leslie, science with
John Playfair John Playfair FRSE, FRS (10 March 1748 – 20 July 1819) was a Church of Scotland minister, remembered as a scientist and mathematician, and a professor of natural philosophy at the University of Edinburgh. He is best known for his book ''Illu ...
and moral philosophy with Thomas Brown. He gravitated to mathematics and geometry and displayed great talent in those subjects, being credited with the invention of the
Carlyle circle In mathematics, a Carlyle circle (named for Thomas Carlyle) is a certain circle in a coordinate plane associated with a quadratic equation. The circle has the property that the solutions of the quadratic equation are the horizontal coordinates of ...
. In the University library, he read many important works of eighteenth-century and contemporary history, philosophy, and ''
belles-lettres is a category of writing, originally meaning beautiful or fine writing. In the modern narrow sense, it is a label for literary works that do not fall into the major categories such as fiction, poetry, or drama. The phrase is sometimes used pejora ...
''. He began expressing religious scepticism around this time, asking his mother to her horror, "Did God Almighty come down and make wheelbarrows in a shop?" In 1813 he completed his arts curriculum and enrolled in a theology course at Divinity Hall the following academic year. This was to be the preliminary of a ministerial career. Carlyle began teaching at Annan Academy in June 1814. He gave his first trial sermons in December 1814 and December 1815, both of which are lost. By the summer of 1815 he had taken an interest in
astronomy Astronomy () is a natural science that studies astronomical object, celestial objects and phenomena. It uses mathematics, physics, and chemistry in order to explain their origin and chronology of the Universe, evolution. Objects of interest ...
and would study the astronomical theories of
Pierre-Simon Laplace Pierre-Simon, marquis de Laplace (; ; 23 March 1749 – 5 March 1827) was a French scholar and polymath whose work was important to the development of engineering, mathematics, statistics, physics, astronomy, and philosophy. He summarized ...
for several years. In November 1816, he began teaching at
Kirkcaldy Kirkcaldy ( ; sco, Kirkcaldy; gd, Cair Chaladain) is a town and former royal burgh in Fife, on the east coast of Scotland. It is about north of Edinburgh and south-southwest of Dundee. The town had a recorded population of 49,460 in 2011, ...
, having left Annan. There, he made friends with
Edward Irving Edward Irving (4 August 17927 December 1834) was a Scottish clergyman, generally regarded as the main figure behind the foundation of the Catholic Apostolic Church. Early life Edward Irving was born at Annan, Annandale the second son of Ga ...
, whose ex-pupil Margaret Gordon became Carlyle's "first love". In May 1817, Carlyle abstained from enrolment in the theology course, news which his parents received with "magnanimity". In the autumn of that year, he read '' De l'Allemagne'' (1813) by
Germaine de Staël Anne Louise Germaine de Staël-Holstein (; ; 22 April 176614 July 1817), commonly known as Madame de Staël (), was a French woman of letters and political theorist, the daughter of banker and French finance minister Jacques Necker and Suzan ...
, which prompted him to seek a German teacher, with whom he learned the pronunciation. In Irving's library, he read the works of
David Hume David Hume (; born David Home; 7 May 1711 NS (26 April 1711 OS) – 25 August 1776) Cranston, Maurice, and Thomas Edmund Jessop. 2020 999br>David Hume" ''Encyclopædia Britannica''. Retrieved 18 May 2020. was a Scottish Enlightenment philo ...
and
Edward Gibbon Edward Gibbon (; 8 May 173716 January 1794) was an English historian, writer, and member of parliament. His most important work, ''The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire'', published in six volumes between 1776 and 1788, is k ...
's ''Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire'' (1776–1789); he would later recall that
I read Gibbon, and then first clearly saw that
Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. It is the world's largest and most widespread religion with roughly 2.38 billion followers representing one-third of the global pop ...
was not true. Then came the most trying time of my life. I should either have gone mad or made an end of myself had I not fallen in with some very superior minds.


Mineralogy, law and first publications (1818–1821)

In the summer of 1818, following a "Tour" with Irving through "
Peebles Peebles ( gd, Na Pùballan) is a town in the Scottish Borders, Scotland. It was historically a royal burgh and the county town of Peeblesshire. According to the 2011 census, the population was 8,376 and the estimated population in June 2018 wa ...
-
Moffat Moffat ( gd, Mofad) is a burgh and parish in Dumfriesshire, now part of the Dumfries and Galloway local authority area in Scotland. It lies on the River Annan, with a population of around 2,500. It was a centre of the wool trade and a spa town. ...
moor Moor or Moors may refer to: Nature and ecology * Moorland, a habitat characterized by low-growing vegetation and acidic soils. Ethnic and religious groups * Moors, Muslim inhabitants of the Maghreb, Iberian Peninsula, Sicily, and Malta during ...
country", Carlyle made his first attempt at publishing, forwarding an article "of a descriptive Tourist kind" to "some Magazine Editor in Edinburgh", which was not published and is now lost. In October, Carlyle resigned from his position at Kirkcaldy, and left for Edinburgh in November. Shortly before his departure, he began to suffer from
dyspepsia Indigestion, also known as dyspepsia or upset stomach, is a condition of impaired digestion. Symptoms may include upper abdominal fullness, heartburn, nausea, belching, or upper abdominal pain. People may also experience feeling full earlier ...
, which remained with him throughout his life. He enrolled in a
mineralogy Mineralogy is a subject of geology specializing in the scientific study of the chemistry, crystal structure, and physical (including optical) properties of minerals and mineralized artifacts. Specific studies within mineralogy include the proces ...
class from November 1818 to April 1819, attending lectures by
Robert Jameson Robert Jameson Robert Jameson FRS FRSE (11 July 1774 – 19 April 1854) was a Scottish naturalist and mineralogist. As Regius Professor of Natural History at the University of Edinburgh for fifty years, developing his predecessor John ...
, and in January 1819 began to study German, desiring to read the mineralogical works of
Abraham Gottlob Werner Abraham Gottlob Werner (; 25 September 174930 June 1817) was a German geologist who set out an early theory about the stratification of the Earth's crust and propounded a history of the Earth that came to be known as Neptunism. While most tenet ...
. In February and March, he translated a piece by Jöns Jacob Berzelius, and by September he was "reading
Goethe Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (28 August 1749 – 22 March 1832) was a German poet, playwright, novelist, scientist, statesman, theatre director, and critic. His works include plays, poetry, literature, and aesthetic criticism, as well as treat ...
". In November he enrolled in "the class of Scots law", studying under
David Hume David Hume (; born David Home; 7 May 1711 NS (26 April 1711 OS) – 25 August 1776) Cranston, Maurice, and Thomas Edmund Jessop. 2020 999br>David Hume" ''Encyclopædia Britannica''. Retrieved 18 May 2020. was a Scottish Enlightenment philo ...
(the advocate). In December 1819 and January 1820, Carlyle made his second attempt at publishing, writing a review-article on
Marc-Auguste Pictet Marc-Auguste Pictet (; 23 July 1752 – 19 April 1825) was a Swiss scientific journalist and experimental natural philosopher. Pictet's main contribution to learning was his editing of the scientific section of the ''Bibliothèque Britanni ...
's review of
Jean-Alfred Gautier Jean-Alfred Gautier or Alfred Gautier (18 July 1793 – 30 November 1881) was a Swiss astronomer. Biography He was born in Cologny. He was the son of François Gautier, merchant, and of Marie de Tournes. He studied astronomy at the Univers ...
's ''Essai historique sur le problème des trois corps'' (1817) which went unpublished and is lost. The law classes ended in March 1820 and he did not pursue the subject any further. In the same month, he wrote several articles for David Brewster's ''
Edinburgh Encyclopædia The ''Edinburgh Encyclopædia'' is an encyclopaedia in 18 volumes, printed and published by William Blackwood and edited by David Brewster between 1808 and 1830. In competition with the Edinburgh-published ''Encyclopædia Britannica'', the ''Edin ...
'' (1808–1830), which appeared in October. These were his first published writings. In May and June, Carlyle wrote a review-article on the work of Christopher Hansteen, translated a book by
Friedrich Mohs Carl Friedrich Christian Mohs (; 29 January 1773 – 29 September 1839) was a German chemist and mineralogist. He was the creator of the Mohs scale of mineral hardness. Mohs also introduced a classification of the crystal forms in crystal syst ...
, and read Goethe's ''Faust''. By the autumn, Carlyle had also learned Italian and was reading
Vittorio Alfieri Count Vittorio Alfieri (, also , ; 16 January 17498 October 1803) was an Italian dramatist and poet, considered the "founder of Italian tragedy." He wrote nineteen tragedies, sonnets, satires, and a notable autobiography. Early life Alfieri was ...
,
Dante Alighieri Dante Alighieri (; – 14 September 1321), probably baptized Durante di Alighiero degli Alighieri and often referred to as Dante (, ), was an Italian poet, writer and philosopher. His ''Divine Comedy'', originally called (modern Italian: '' ...
and Sismondi, though German literature was still his foremost interest, having "revealed" to him a "new Heaven and new Earth". In March 1821, he finished two more articles for Brewster's encyclopedia, and in April he completed a review of
Joanna Baillie Joanna Baillie (11 September 1762 – 23 February 1851) was a Scottish poet and dramatist, known for such works as ''Plays on the Passions'' (three volumes, 1798–1812) and ''Fugitive Verses'' (1840). Her work shows an interest in moral philoso ...
's ''Metrical Legends'' (1821). In May, Carlyle was introduced to Jane Baillie Welsh by Irving in Haddington. The two began a correspondence, and Carlyle sent books to her, encouraging her intellectual pursuits; she called him "my German Master".


"Conversion": Leith Walk and Hoddam Hill (1821–1826)

During this time, Carlyle struggled with what he described as "the dismallest Lernean Hydra of problems, spiritual, temporal, eternal". Spiritual doubt, lack of success in his endeavours, and dyspepsia were all damaging his physical and mental health, for which he found relief only in "sea-bathing". In early July 1821, an "incident" occurred to Carlyle in
Leith Walk Leith Walk is one of the longest streets in Edinburgh, Scotland, and is the main road connecting the centre of the city to Leith. Forming most of the A900 road, it slopes downwards from Picardy Place at the south-western end of the street to th ...
, "during those 3 weeks of total sleeplessness, in which almost" his "one solace was that of a daily bathe on the sands between nowiki/>Leith.html"_;"title="Leith.html"_;"title="nowiki/>Leith">nowiki/>Leith">Leith.html"_;"title="nowiki/>Leith">nowiki/> nowiki/>Leith.html"_;"title="Leith.html"_;"title="nowiki/>Leith">nowiki/>Leith">Leith.html"_;"title="nowiki/>Leith">nowiki/>Leithand_Portobello,_Edinburgh">Portobello_ Portobello,_Porto_Bello,_Porto_Belo,_Portabello,_or_Portabella_may_refer_to: _Places_Brazil *_Porto_Belo _Ireland *_Portobello,_Dublin *_Cathal_Brugha_Barracks,_Dublin_formerly_''Portobello_Barracks''_ _New_Zealand *_Portobello,_New_Zealand,_on_Ot_...
."_The_incident_was_the_beginning_of_Carlyle's_"Conversion",_the_process_by_which_he_"'authentically_took_the_Devil_by_the_nose'"_and_flung_"''him''_behind_me"._It_gave_Carlyle_courage_in_his_battle_against_the_"Hydra";_to_his_brother_John,_he_wrote,_"What_is_there_to_fear,_indeed?" Carlyle_wrote_several_articles_in_July,_August_and_September,_and_in_November_began_a_translation_of_Adrien-Marie_Legendre.html" ;"title="Leithand_Portobello,_Edinburgh.html" "title="Leith">nowiki/>Leith.html" ;"title="Leith.html" ;"title="nowiki/>Leith">nowiki/>Leith">Leith.html" ;"title="nowiki/>Leith">nowiki/>Leithand Portobello, Edinburgh">Portobello Portobello, Porto Bello, Porto Belo, Portabello, or Portabella may refer to: Places Brazil * Porto Belo Ireland * Portobello, Dublin * Cathal Brugha Barracks, Dublin formerly ''Portobello Barracks'' New Zealand * Portobello, New Zealand, on Ot ...
." The incident was the beginning of Carlyle's "Conversion", the process by which he "'authentically took the Devil by the nose'" and flung "''him'' behind me". It gave Carlyle courage in his battle against the "Hydra"; to his brother John, he wrote, "What is there to fear, indeed?" Carlyle wrote several articles in July, August and September, and in November began a translation of Adrien-Marie Legendre">Adrien Marie Legendre's ''Elements of Geometry''. In January 1822, Carlyle wrote "Goethe's Faust" for the ''New Edinburgh Review'', and shortly afterwards began a tutorship for the distinguished Buller family, tutoring Charles Buller and his brother Arthur William Buller until July; he would work for the family until July 1824. Carlyle completed the Legendre translation in July 1822, having prefixed his own essay "On
Proportion Proportionality, proportion or proportional may refer to: Mathematics * Proportionality (mathematics), the property of two variables being in a multiplicative relation to a constant * Ratio, of one quantity to another, especially of a part compare ...
", which Augustus De Morgan later called "as good a substitute for the fifth Book of Euclid as could have been given in that space". Carlyle's translation of Goethe's ''
Wilhelm Meister's Apprenticeship ''Wilhelm Meister's Apprenticeship'' ( ger, Wilhelm Meisters Lehrjahre) is the second novel by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, published in 1795–96. Plot The eponymous hero undergoes a journey of self-realization. The story centers upon Wilhelm's ...
'' (1824) and '' Travels'' (1825) and his biography of Schiller (1825) brought him a decent income, which had before then eluded him, and he garnered a modest reputation. He began corresponding with Goethe and made his first trip to London in 1824, meeting with prominent writers such as Thomas Campbell,
Charles Lamb Charles Lamb (10 February 1775 – 27 December 1834) was an English essayist, poet, and antiquarian, best known for his '' Essays of Elia'' and for the children's book '' Tales from Shakespeare'', co-authored with his sister, Mary Lamb (1764 ...
, and
Samuel Taylor Coleridge Samuel Taylor Coleridge (; 21 October 177225 July 1834) was an English poet, literary critic, philosopher, and theologian who, with his friend William Wordsworth, was a founder of the Romantic Movement in England and a member of the Lake ...
, and gaining friendships with Anna Montagu, Bryan Waller Proctor, and
Henry Crabb Robinson Henry Crabb Robinson (13 May 1775 – 5 February 1867) was an English lawyer, remembered as a diarist. He took part in founding London University. Life Robinson was born in Bury St. Edmunds, Suffolk, third and youngest son of Henry Robinson ( ...
. He also travelled to Paris in October–November with
Edward Strachey Edward Strachey may refer to: * Edward Strachey, 1st Baron Strachie Edward Strachey, 1st Baron Strachie, PC (30 October 1858 – 25 July 1936), known as Sir Edward Strachey, Bt, between 1901 and 1911, was a British Liberal politician. He was ...
and Kitty Kirkpatrick, where he attended
Georges Cuvier Jean Léopold Nicolas Frédéric, Baron Cuvier (; 23 August 1769 – 13 May 1832), known as Georges Cuvier, was a French natural history, naturalist and zoology, zoologist, sometimes referred to as the "founding father of paleontology". Cuvier ...
's introductory lecture on
comparative anatomy Comparative anatomy is the study of similarities and differences in the anatomy of different species. It is closely related to evolutionary biology and phylogeny (the evolution of species). The science began in the classical era, continuing in t ...
, gathered information on the study of
medicine Medicine is the science and practice of caring for a patient, managing the diagnosis, prognosis, prevention, treatment, palliation of their injury or disease, and promoting their health. Medicine encompasses a variety of health care pract ...
, introduced himself to Legendre, was introduced by Legendre to
Charles Dupin Baron Pierre Charles François Dupin (6 October 1784, Varzy, Nièvre – 18 January 1873, Paris, France) was a French Catholic mathematician, engineer, economist and politician, particularly known for work in the field of mathematics, where the ...
, observed Laplace and several other notables while declining offers of introduction by Dupin, and heard
François Magendie __NOTOC__ François Magendie (6 October 1783 – 7 October 1855) was a French physiologist, considered a pioneer of experimental physiology. He is known for describing the foramen of Magendie. There is also a ''Magendie sign'', a downward ...
read a paper on the " fifth pair of nerves". In May 1825, Carlyle moved into a cottage farmhouse in Hoddam Hill near Ecclefechan, which his father had leased for him. Carlyle lived with his brother Alexander, who, "with a cheap little man-servant", worked the farm, his mother, with one maid-servant, and his two youngest sisters, Jean and Jenny. He had constant contact with the rest of his family, most of whom lived close by at Mainhill, a farm owned by his father. Jane made a successful visit in September 1825. Whilst there, Carlyle wrote ''German Romance'' (1827), a collection of previously untranslated German novellas by
Johann Karl August Musäus Johann Karl August Musäus (29 March 1735 – 28 October 1787) was a popular German author and one of the first collectors of German folk stories, most celebrated for his ''Volksmärchen der Deutschen'' (1782–1787), a collection of German fairy ...
,
Friedrich de la Motte Fouqué Friedrich Heinrich Karl de la Motte, Baron Fouqué (); (12 February 1777 – 23 January 1843) was a German writer of the Romantic style. Biography He was born at Brandenburg an der Havel, of a family of French Huguenot origin, as evidenced in ...
,
Ludwig Tieck Johann Ludwig Tieck (; ; 31 May 177328 April 1853) was a German poet, fiction writer, translator, and critic. He was one of the founding fathers of the Romantic movement in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. Early life Tieck was born in B ...
, E. T. A. Hoffmann, and
Jean Paul Jean Paul (; born Johann Paul Friedrich Richter, 21 March 1763 – 14 November 1825) was a German Romantic writer, best known for his humorous novels and stories. Life and work Jean Paul was born at Wunsiedel, in the Fichtelgebirge mountain ...
. In Hoddam Hill, Carlyle found respite from the "intolerable fret, noise and confusion" that he had experienced in Edinburgh, and observed what he described as "the finest and vastest prospect all round it I ever saw from any house", with "all
Cumberland Cumberland ( ) is a historic county in the far North West England. It covers part of the Lake District as well as the north Pennines and Solway Firth coast. Cumberland had an administrative function from the 12th century until 1974. From 19 ...
as in amphitheatre unmatchable". Here, he completed his "Conversion" which began with the Leith Walk incident. He achieved "a grand and ''ever''-joyful victory", in the "final chaining down, and trampling home, 'for good,' home into their caves forever, of all" his "''Spiritual Dragons''". By May 1826, problems with the landlord and the agreement forced the family's relocation to Scotsbrig, a farm near Ecclefechan. Later in life, he remembered the year at Hoddam Hill as "perhaps the most triumphantly important of my life."


Marriage, Comely Bank and Craigenputtock (1826–1834)

In October 1826, Thomas and Jane Carlyle were married at the Welsh family farm in
Templand Templand is a village in Dumfriesshire, Scotland, located around northwest of Lockerbie. Templand was built during the Industrial Revolution. When the nearby sandstone quarry ( Corncockle Quarry) was built it became home to many quarry worke ...
. Shortly after their marriage, the Carlyles moved into a modest
home A home, or domicile, is a space used as a permanent or semi-permanent residence for one or many humans, and sometimes various companion animals. It is a fully or semi sheltered space and can have both interior and exterior aspects to it. H ...
on
Comely Bank Comely Bank (; gd, Bruach Cheanalta, IPA: pɾuəxˈçɛnəɫ̪t̪ʰə is an area of Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland. It lies southwest of Royal Botanic Garden and is situated between Stockbridge and Craigleith. It is bound on its norther ...
in Edinburgh, that had been leased for them by Jane's mother. They lived there from October 1826 to May 1828. In that time, Carlyle published ''German Romance'', began ''Wotton Reinfred'', an autobiographical novel which he left unfinished, and published his first article for the '' Edinburgh Review'', " Jean Paul Friedrich Richter" (1827). "Richter" was the first of many essays extolling the virtues of German authors, who were then little-known to English readers; "State of German Literature" was published in October. In Edinburgh, Carlyle made contact with several distinguished literary figures, including '' Edinburgh Review'' editor
Francis Jeffrey Francis Jeffrey, Lord Jeffrey (23 October 1773 – 26 January 1850) was a Scottish judge and literary critic. Life He was born at 7 Charles Street near Potterow in south Edinburgh, the son of George Jeffrey, a clerk in the Court of Session ...
, John Wilson of ''
Blackwood's Magazine ''Blackwood's Magazine'' was a British magazine and miscellany printed between 1817 and 1980. It was founded by the publisher William Blackwood and was originally called the ''Edinburgh Monthly Magazine''. The first number appeared in April 1817 ...
'', essayist
Thomas De Quincey Thomas Penson De Quincey (; 15 August 17858 December 1859) was an English writer, essayist, and literary critic, best known for his '' Confessions of an English Opium-Eater'' (1821). Many scholars suggest that in publishing this work De Quinc ...
, and philosopher William Hamilton. In 1827 Carlyle attempted to land the Chair of Moral Philosophy at St. Andrews without success, despite support from an array of prominent intellectuals, including Goethe. He also made an unsuccessful attempt for a professorship at the
University of London The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in post-nominals) is a federal public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The university was established by royal charter in 1836 as a degree ...
. In May 1828, the Carlyles moved to
Craigenputtock Craigenputtock (usually spelled by the Carlyles as Craigenputtoch) is an estate in Scotland where Thomas Carlyle lived from 1828 to 1834. He wrote several of his early works there, including ''Sartor Resartus''. The estate's name incorporate ...
, the main house of Jane's modest agricultural estate in Dumfriesshire, which they occupied until May 1834. He wrote a number of essays there which earned him money and augmented his reputation, including "Life and Writings of Werner", "Goethe's Helena", "Goethe", "
Burns Burns may refer to: * Burn, an injury (plural) People: * Burns (surname), includes list of people and characters Business: * Burns London, a British guitar maker Places: ;In the United States * Burns, Colorado, unincorporated community in Eagle ...
", "The Life of Heyne" (each 1828), "German Playwrights", "
Voltaire François-Marie Arouet (; 21 November 169430 May 1778) was a French Age of Enlightenment, Enlightenment writer, historian, and philosopher. Known by his ''Pen name, nom de plume'' M. de Voltaire (; also ; ), he was famous for his wit, and his ...
", "
Novalis Georg Philipp Friedrich Freiherr von Hardenberg (2 May 1772 – 25 March 1801), pen name Novalis (), was a German polymath who was a writer, philosopher, poet, aristocrat and mystic. He is regarded as an idiosyncratic and influential figure of ...
" (each 1829), "Jean Paul Friedrich Richter Again" (1830), "Cruthers and Jonson; or The Outskirts of Life: A True Story", " Luther's Psalm", and "Schiller" (each 1831). He began but did not complete a history of German literature, from which he drew material for essays " The Nibelungen Lied", "Early German Literature" and parts of "Historic Survey of German Poetry" (each 1831). He published early thoughts on the philosophy of history in "Thoughts on History" (1830) and wrote his first pieces of social criticism, "Signs of the Times" (1829) and "Characteristics" (1831).D. Daiches (ed.), ''Companion to Literature 1'' (London, 1965), p. 89. "Signs" garnered the interest of
Gustave d'Eichthal Gustave Séligmann d'Eichthal (3 March 1804, Nancy, Meurthe-et-Moselle - 9 April 1886, Paris) was a French writer, publicist, and Hellenist. Life At the age of thirteen he became a convert to Roman Catholicism from Judaism, and when he left the ...
, a member of the Saint-Simonians, who sent Carlyle Saint-Simonian literature, including
Henri de Saint-Simon Claude Henri de Rouvroy, comte de Saint-Simon (17 October 1760 – 19 May 1825), often referred to as Henri de Saint-Simon (), was a French political, economic and socialist theorist and businessman whose thought had a substantial influence on p ...
's ''Nouveau Christianisme'' (1825), which Carlyle translated and wrote an introduction for. Most notably, he wrote ''
Sartor Resartus ''Sartor Resartus: The Life and Opinions of Herr Teufelsdröckh in Three Books'' is an 1831 novel by the Scottish essayist, historian and philosopher Thomas Carlyle, first published as a serial in ''Fraser's Magazine'' in November 1833 – August ...
''. Finishing the manuscript in late July 1831, Carlyle began his search for a publisher, leaving for London in early August. He and his wife lived there for the winter at 4 (now 33) Ampton Street, Kings Cross, in a house built by
Thomas Cubitt Thomas Cubitt (25 February 1788 – 20 December 1855) was a British master builder, notable for his employment in developing many of the historic streets and squares of London, especially in Belgravia, Pimlico and Bloomsbury. His great-great-g ...
. The death of Carlyle's father in January 1832 and his inability to attend the funeral moved him to write the first of what would become the ''Reminiscences'', published posthumously in 1881. Carlyle had not found a publisher by the time he returned to Craigenputtock in March but he had initiated important friendships with
Leigh Hunt James Henry Leigh Hunt (19 October 178428 August 1859), best known as Leigh Hunt, was an English critic, essayist and poet. Hunt co-founded '' The Examiner'', a leading intellectual journal expounding radical principles. He was the centr ...
and
John Stuart Mill John Stuart Mill (20 May 1806 – 7 May 1873) was an English philosopher, political economist, Member of Parliament (MP) and civil servant. One of the most influential thinkers in the history of classical liberalism, he contributed widely to ...
. That year, Carlyle wrote the essays "Goethe's Portrait", "Death of Goethe", "Goethe's Works", "Biography", " Boswell's Life of Johnson", and " Corn-Law Rhymes". Three months after their return from a January to May 1833 stay in Edinburgh, the Carlyles were visited at Craigenputtock by Ralph Waldo Emerson. Emerson (and other like-minded Americans) had been deeply affected by Carlyle's essays and determined to meet him during the northern terminus of a literary pilgrimage; it was to be the start of a lifelong friendship and a famous correspondence. 1833 saw publication of the essays " Diderot" and " Count Cagliostro"; in the latter, Carlyle introduced the idea of "
Captains of Industry Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...
".


Chelsea (1834–1845)

In June 1834, the Carlyles moved into 5 Cheyne Row,
Chelsea Chelsea or Chelsey may refer to: Places Australia * Chelsea, Victoria Canada * Chelsea, Nova Scotia * Chelsea, Quebec United Kingdom * Chelsea, London, an area of London, bounded to the south by the River Thames ** Chelsea (UK Parliament consti ...
, which became their home for the remainder of their respective lives. Residence in London wrought a large expansion of Carlyle's social circle. He became acquainted with scores of leading writers, novelists, artists, radicals, men of science, Church of England clergymen, and political figures. Two of his most important friendships were with
Lord Lord is an appellation for a person or deity who has authority, control, or power over others, acting as a master, chief, or ruler. The appellation can also denote certain persons who hold a title of the peerage in the United Kingdom, or ar ...
and Lady Ashburton; though Carlyle's warm affection for the latter would eventually strain his marriage, the Ashburtons helped to broaden his social horizons, giving him access to circles of intelligence, political influence, and power.Carlyle eventually decided to publish ''Sartor'' serially in ''
Fraser's Magazine ''Fraser's Magazine for Town and Country'' was a general and literary journal published in London from 1830 to 1882, which initially took a strong Tory line in politics. It was founded by Hugh Fraser and William Maginn in 1830 and loosely directe ...
'', with the instalments appearing between November 1833 and August 1834. Despite early recognition from Emerson, Mill and others, it was generally received poorly, if noticed at all. In 1834, Carlyle applied unsuccessfully for the astronomy professorship at the
Edinburgh observatory The Royal Observatory, Edinburgh (ROE) is an astronomical institution located on Blackford Hill in Edinburgh. The site is owned by the Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC). The ROE comprises the UK Astronomy Technology Centre (UK&nbs ...
. That autumn, he arranged for the publication of a history of the
French Revolution The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in November 1799. Many of its ideas are considere ...
and set about researching and writing it shortly thereafter. Having completed the first volume after five months of writing, he lent the manuscript to Mill, who had been supplying him with materials for his research. One evening in March 1835, Mill arrived at Carlyle's door appearing "unresponsive, pale, the very picture of despair". He had come to tell Carlyle that the manuscript was destroyed. It had been "left out", and Mill's housemaid took it for wastepaper, leaving only "some four tattered leaves". Carlyle was sympathetic: "I can be angry with no one; for they that were concerned in it have a far deeper sorrow than mine: it is purely the hand of
Providence Providence often refers to: * Providentia, the divine personification of foresight in ancient Roman religion * Divine providence, divinely ordained events and outcomes in Christianity * Providence, Rhode Island, the capital of Rhode Island in the ...
". The next day, Mill offered Carlyle £200, of which he would only accept £100. He began the volume anew shortly afterwards. Despite an initial struggle, he was not deterred, feeling like "a runner that tho' ''tripped'' down, will not lie there, but rise and run again." By September, the volume was rewritten. That year, he wrote a eulogy for his friend, "Death of Edward Irving". In April 1836, with the intercession of Emerson, ''Sartor Resartus'' was first published in book form in Boston, soon selling out its initial run of five hundred copies. Carlyle's three-volume history of the French Revolution was completed in January 1837 and sent to the press. Contemporaneously, the essay "Memoirs of Mirabeau" was published, as was " The Diamond Necklace" in January and February, and "Parliamentary History of the French Revolution" in April. In need of further financial security, Carlyle began a series of lectures on German literature in May, delivered extemporaneously in Willis' Rooms. ''
The Spectator ''The Spectator'' is a weekly British magazine on politics, culture, and current affairs. It was first published in July 1828, making it the oldest surviving weekly magazine in the world. It is owned by Frederick Barclay, who also owns ''The ...
'' reported that the first lecture was given "to a very crowded and yet a select audience of both sexes." Carlyle recalled being "wasted and fretted to a thread, my tongue … dry as charcoal: the people were there, I was obliged to stumble in, and start. ''Ach Gott!''" Despite his inexperience as a lecturer and deficiency "in the mere mechanism of oratory," reviews were positive and the series proved profitable for him. During Carlyle's lecture series, '' The French Revolution: A History'' was officially published. It marked his career breakthrough. At the end of the year, Carlyle reported to
Karl August Varnhagen von Ense Karl August Varnhagen von Ense (21 February 1785 in Düsseldorf – 10 October 1858 in Berlin) was a German biographer, diplomat and soldier. Life and career He was born in Düsseldorf, the younger brother of Rosa Maria Varnhagen, a noted poet, ...
that his earlier efforts to popularise German literature were beginning to produce results, and expressed his satisfaction: "''Deutschland'' will reclaim her great Colony; we shall become more ''Deutsch'', that is to say more ''English'', at same time." ''The French Revolution'' fostered the republication of ''Sartor Resartus'' in London in 1838 as well as a collection of his earlier writings in the form of the ''
Critical and Miscellaneous Essays ''Critical and Miscellaneous Essays'' is the title of a collection of reprinted reviews and other magazine pieces by the Scottish essayist, historian and philosopher Thomas Carlyle. Along with ''Sartor Resartus'' and ''The French Revolution'' it ...
'', facilitated in Boston with the aid of Emerson. Carlyle presented his second lecture series in April and June 1838 on the history of literature at the Marylebone Institution in
Portman Square Portman Square is a garden square in Marylebone, central London, surrounded by elegant townhouses. It was specifically for private housing let on long leases having a ground rent by the Portman Estate, which owns the private communal garden ...
. '' The Examiner'' reported that at the end of the second lecture, "Mr. Carlyle was heartily greeted with applause." Carlyle felt that they "went on better and better, and grew at last, or threatened to grow, quite a flaming affair." He published two essays in 1838, "Sir Walter Scott", being a review of
John Gibson Lockhart John Gibson Lockhart (12 June 1794 – 25 November 1854) was a Scottish writer and editor. He is best known as the author of the seminal, and much-admired, seven-volume biography of his father-in-law Sir Walter Scott: ''Memoirs of the Life of Sir ...
's biography, and "Varnhagen von Ense's Memoirs". In April 1839, Carlyle published "Petition on the Copyright Bill". A third series of lectures was given in May on the revolutions of modern Europe, which the ''Examiner'' reviewed positively, noting after the third lecture that "Mr. Carlyle's audiences appear to increase in number every time." Carlyle wrote to his mother that the lectures were met "with very kind acceptance from people more distinguished than ever; yet still with a feeling that I was far from the ''right'' lecturing point yet." In July, he published "On the Sinking of the Vengeur" and in December he published ''Chartism'', a pamphlet in which he addressed the movement of the same name and raised the
Condition-of-England question The Condition-of-England question was a debate in the Victorian era over the issue of the English working-class during the Industrial Revolution. It was first proposed by Thomas Carlyle in his essay ''Chartism'' (1839). After assessing Chartism ...
. In May 1840, Carlyle gave his fourth and final set of lectures, which were published in 1841 as ''
On Heroes, Hero-Worship, & the Heroic in History ''On Heroes, Hero-Worship, & the Heroic in History'' is a book by the Scottish essayist, historian and philosopher Thomas Carlyle, published by James Fraser, London, in 1841. It is a collection of six lectures given in May 1840 about prominent ...
.'' Carlyle wrote to his brother John afterwards, "The Lecturing business went of 'sic''with sufficient ''éclat;'' the Course was generally judged, and I rather join therein myself, to be the bad ''best'' I have yet given." In the 1840 edition of the ''Essays'', Carlyle published "Fractions", a collection of poems written from 1823 to 1833. Later that year, he declined a proposal for a professorship of history at Edinburgh. Carlyle was the principal founder of the
London Library The London Library is an independent lending library in London, established in 1841. It was founded on the initiative of Thomas Carlyle, who was dissatisfied with some of the policies at the British Museum Library. It is located at 14 St James' ...
in 1841. He had become frustrated by the facilities available at the
British Museum Library The British Library is the national library of the United Kingdom and is one of the largest libraries in the world. It is estimated to contain between 170 and 200 million items from many countries. As a legal deposit library, the British ...
, where he was often unable to find a seat (obliging him to perch on ladders), where he complained that the enforced close confinement with his fellow readers gave him a "museum headache", where the books were unavailable for loan, and where he found the library's collections of pamphlets and other material relating to the French Revolution and English Civil Wars inadequately catalogued. In particular, he developed an antipathy to the Keeper of Printed Books,
Anthony Panizzi Sir Antonio Genesio Maria Panizzi (16 September 1797 – 8 April 1879), better known as Anthony Panizzi, was a naturalised British citizen of Italian birth, and an Italian patriot. He was a librarian, becoming the Principal Librarian (i.e. head ...
(despite the fact that Panizzi had allowed him many privileges not granted to other readers), and criticised him in a footnote to an article published in the ''
Westminster Review The ''Westminster Review'' was a quarterly British publication. Established in 1823 as the official organ of the Philosophical Radicals, it was published from 1824 to 1914. James Mill was one of the driving forces behind the liberal journal unt ...
'' as the "respectable Sub-Librarian". Carlyle's eventual solution, with the support of a number of influential friends, was to call for the establishment of a private subscription library from which books could be borrowed. Carlyle had chosen Oliver Cromwell as the subject for a book in 1840 and struggled to find what form it would take. In the interim, he wrote '' Past and Present'' (1843) and the articles "
Baillie A bailie or baillie is a civic officer in the local government of Scotland. The position arose in the burghs, where bailies formerly held a post similar to that of an alderman or magistrate (see bailiff). Baillies appointed the high constables ...
the
Covenanter Covenanters ( gd, Cùmhnantaich) were members of a 17th-century Scottish religious and political movement, who supported a Presbyterian Church of Scotland, and the primacy of its leaders in religious affairs. The name is derived from ''Covenan ...
" (1841), " Dr. Francia" (1843), and "An Election to the
Long Parliament The Long Parliament was an English Parliament which lasted from 1640 until 1660. It followed the fiasco of the Short Parliament, which had convened for only three weeks during the spring of 1640 after an 11-year parliamentary absence. In Septem ...
" (1844). Carlyle declined an offer for professorship from St. Andrews in 1844. The first edition of ''
Oliver Cromwell's Letters and Speeches ''Oliver Cromwell's Letters and Speeches: with Elucidations'' is a book by the Scottish essayist, historian and philosopher Thomas Carlyle. It "remains one of the most important works of British history published in the nineteenth and twentieth ...
: with Elucidations'' was published in 1845; it was a popular success, and did much to revise Cromwell's standing in Britain. Financially secure, Carlyle wrote little in the years that immediately followed ''Cromwell''.


Journeys to Ireland and Germany (1846–1865)

Carlyle visited Ireland in 1846 with Charles Gavan Duffy for a companion and guide, and wrote a series of brief articles on the
Irish question The Irish question was the issue debated primarily among the British government from the early 19th century until the 1920s of how to respond to Irish nationalism and the calls for Irish independence. The phrase came to prominence as a result ...
in 1848. These were "Ireland and the British Chief Governor", "Irish Regiments (of the New Æra)", and "The Repeal of the Union", each of which offered solutions to Ireland's problems and argued to preserve England's connection with Ireland. Carlyle wrote an article titled "Ireland and
Sir Robert Peel Sir Robert Peel, 2nd Baronet, (5 February 1788 – 2 July 1850) was a British Conservative statesman who served twice as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (1834–1835 and 1841–1846) simultaneously serving as Chancellor of the Exchequer ...
" (signed "C.") published in April 1849 in ''
The Spectator ''The Spectator'' is a weekly British magazine on politics, culture, and current affairs. It was first published in July 1828, making it the oldest surviving weekly magazine in the world. It is owned by Frederick Barclay, who also owns ''The ...
'' in response to two speeches given by Peel wherein he made many of the same proposals which Carlyle had earlier suggested; he called the speeches "like a prophecy of better things, inexpressibly cheering." In May, he published "Indian Meal", in which he advanced
maize Maize ( ; ''Zea mays'' subsp. ''mays'', from es, maíz after tnq, mahiz), also known as corn (North American and Australian English), is a cereal grain first domesticated by indigenous peoples in southern Mexico about 10,000 years ago. Th ...
as a remedy to the Great Famine as well as the worries of "disconsolate
Malthusians Malthusianism is the idea that population growth is potentially exponential while the growth of the food supply or other resources is linear, which eventually reduces living standards to the point of triggering a population die off. This event, c ...
". He visited Ireland again with Duffy later that year while recording his impressions in his letters and a series of memoranda, published as ''Reminiscences of My Irish Journey in 1849'' after his death; Duffy would publish his own memoir of their travels, ''Conversations with Carlyle''. Carlyle's travels in Ireland deeply affected his views on society, as did the
Revolutions of 1848 The Revolutions of 1848, known in some countries as the Springtime of the Peoples or the Springtime of Nations, were a series of political upheavals throughout Europe starting in 1848. It remains the most widespread revolutionary wave in Europea ...
. While embracing the latter as necessary in order to cleanse society of various forms of anarchy and misgovernment, he denounced their democratic undercurrent and insisted on the need for authoritarian leaders. These events inspired his next two works, "
Occasional Discourse on the Negro Question "Occasional Discourse on the Negro Question" is an essay by the Scottish essayist, historian and philosopher Thomas Carlyle. It was first published anonymously in '' Fraser's Magazine for Town and Country'' of London in December 1849, and was r ...
" (1849), in which he coined the term "
Dismal Science The dismal science is a derogatory term for the discipline of economics. Scottish essayist, historian and philosopher Thomas Carlyle used the phrase in his 1849 essay, ''Occasional Discourse on the Negro Question'', in contrast with the then-famil ...
" to describe political economy, and ''
Latter-Day Pamphlets ''Latter-Day Pamphlets'' was a series of "pamphlets" published by Scottish essayist, historian and philosopher Thomas Carlyle in 1850,Carlyle, Thomas (1850)''Latter-Day Pamphlets.''London: Chapman & Hall. in vehement denunciation of what he be ...
'' (1850). The illiberal content of these works sullied Carlyle's reputation for some progressives, while endearing him to those that shared his views. In 1851, Carlyle wrote ''
The Life of John Sterling ''The Life of John Sterling'' is a biography of the Scottish author John Sterling (1806–1844) written by his friend, the Scottish essayist, historian and philosopher Thomas Carlyle. It was first published in 1851. John Sterling was a colleag ...
'' as a corrective to Julius Hare's unsatisfactory 1848 biography. In late September and early October, he made his second trip to Paris, where he met Adolphe Thiers and
Prosper Mérimée Prosper Mérimée (; 28 September 1803 – 23 September 1870) was a French writer in the movement of Romanticism, and one of the pioneers of the novella, a short novel or long short story. He was also a noted archaeologist and historian, and a ...
; his account, "Excursion (Futile Enough) to Paris; Autumn 1851", was published posthumously. In 1852, Carlyle began research on Frederick the Great, whom he had expressed interest in writing a biography of as early as 1830. He travelled to Germany that year, examining source documents and prior histories. Carlyle struggled through research and writing, telling von Ense it was "the poorest, most troublesome and arduous piece of work he has ever undertaken". In 1856, the first two volumes of ''
History of Friedrich II. of Prussia, Called Frederick the Great ''History of Friedrich II. of Prussia, Called Frederick the Great'' is a biography of Friedrich II of Prussia by Scottish essayist, historian and philosopher Thomas Carlyle. It was first published in six volumes from 1858 to 1865. Composition ...
'' were sent to the press and published in 1858. During this time, he wrote "The Opera" (1852), "Project of a National Exhibition of Scottish Portraits" (1854) at the request of David Laing, and "The Prinzenraub" (1855). In October 1855, he finished ''The Guises'', a history of the
House of Guise The House of Guise (pronunciation: ɥiz Dutch: ''Wieze, German: Wiese'') was a prominent French noble family, that was involved heavily in the French Wars of Religion. The House of Guise was the founding house of the Principality of Joinvil ...
and its relation to Scottish history, which was first published in 1981. Carlyle made a second expedition to Germany in 1858 to survey the topography of battlefields, which he documented in ''Journey to Germany, Autumn 1858'', published posthumously. In May 1863, Carlyle wrote the short dialogue "Ilias (Americana) in Nuce" (American
Iliad The ''Iliad'' (; grc, Ἰλιάς, Iliás, ; "a poem about Ilium") is one of two major ancient Greek epic poems attributed to Homer. It is one of the oldest extant works of literature still widely read by modern audiences. As with the ''Odysse ...
in a Nutshell) on the topic of the
American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...
. Upon publication in August, the "Ilias" drew scornful letters from
David Atwood Wasson David Atwood Wasson (1823–1887) was an American minister and Transcendentalist author, an essayist and poet. He was early influenced by Thomas Carlyle, an influence he would shed; he is usually regarded as a disciple of Ralph Waldo Emerson. Lif ...
and
Horace Howard Furness Horace Howard Furness (November 2, 1833 – August 13, 1912) was an American Shakespearean scholar of the 19th century. Life and career Horace Furness was the son of the Unitarian minister and abolitionist William Henry Furness (1802–1896), ...
. In the summer of 1864, Carlyle lived at 117 Marina (built by
James Burton James Edward Burton (born August 21, 1939, in Dubberly, Louisiana) is an American guitarist. A member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame since 2001 (his induction speech was given by longtime fan Keith Richards), Burton has also been recognized ...
) in St Leonards-on-Sea, in order to be nearer to his ailing wife who was in possession of caretakers there. Carlyle planned to write four volumes but had written six by the time ''Frederick'' was finished in 1865. Before its end, Carlyle had developed a tremor in his writing hand. Upon its completion, it was received as a masterpiece. He earned a
sobriquet A sobriquet ( ), or soubriquet, is a nickname, sometimes assumed, but often given by another, that is descriptive. A sobriquet is distinct from a pseudonym, as it is typically a familiar name used in place of a real name, without the need of expla ...
, the "
Sage Sage or SAGE may refer to: Plants * ''Salvia officinalis'', common sage, a small evergreen subshrub used as a culinary herb ** Lamiaceae, a family of flowering plants commonly known as the mint or deadnettle or sage family ** ''Salvia'', a large ...
of Chelsea", and in the eyes of those that had rebuked his politics, it restored Carlyle to his position as a great man of letters. Carlyle was elected
Lord Rector of Edinburgh University The Lord Rector of The University of Edinburgh is elected every three years by the students and staff at The University of Edinburgh. Seldom referred to as ''Lord Rector'', the incumbent is more commonly known just as the ''Rector''. Role T ...
in November 1865, succeeding
William Ewart Gladstone William Ewart Gladstone ( ; 29 December 1809 – 19 May 1898) was a British statesman and Liberal politician. In a career lasting over 60 years, he served for 12 years as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, spread over four non-conse ...
and defeating
Benjamin Disraeli Benjamin Disraeli, 1st Earl of Beaconsfield, (21 December 1804 – 19 April 1881) was a British statesman and Conservative politician who twice served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. He played a central role in the creation o ...
by a vote of 657 to 310.


Final years (1866–1881)

Carlyle travelled to Scotland to deliver his "Inaugural Address at Edinburgh" as Rector in April 1866. During his trip, he was accompanied by John Tyndall,
Thomas Henry Huxley Thomas Henry Huxley (4 May 1825 – 29 June 1895) was an English biologist and anthropologist specialising in comparative anatomy. He has become known as "Darwin's Bulldog" for his advocacy of Charles Darwin's theory of evolution. The stori ...
and Thomas Erskine. One of those that welcomed Carlyle on his arrival was Sir David Brewster, president of the university and the commissioner of Carlyle's first professional writings for the ''Edinburgh Encyclopædia''. Carlyle was joined onstage by his fellow travelers, Brewster,
Moncure D. Conway Moncure Daniel Conway (March 17, 1832 – November 15, 1907) was an American abolitionist minister and radical writer. At various times Methodist, Unitarian, and a Freethinker, he descended from patriotic and patrician families of Virginia and ...
, George Harvey,
Lord Neaves Charles Neaves, Lord Neaves FRSE (14 October 1800 – 23 December 1876) was a Scottish advocate, judge, theologian and writer. He served as Solicitor General for Scotland, Solicitor General (1852), as a judge of the Court of Session, the supr ...
and others. Carlyle spoke extemporaneously on several subjects, concluding his address with a quote from Goethe: "Work, and despair not: ''Wir heissen euch hoffen,'' 'We bid you be of hope!'" Tyndall reported to Jane in a three-word telegram that it was "A perfect triumph." The warm reception he received in his homeland of Scotland marked the climax of Carlyle's life as a writer. While still in Scotland, Carlyle received abrupt news of Jane's sudden death in London. Upon her death, Carlyle began to edit his wife's letters and write reminiscences of her. He experienced feelings of guilt as he read her complaints about her illnesses, his friendship with Lady Harriet Ashburton, and his devotion to his labour, particularly on ''Frederick the Great''. Although deep in grief, Carlyle remained active in public life. Amidst controversy over governor
John Eyre John Eyre may refer to: Politicians *John Eyre (died 1581), Member of Parliament for Wiltshire and Salisbury *John Eyre (died 1639), MP for Cricklade * John Eyre (1659–1709), MP for Galway Borough, son of the above *John Eyre (died 1745), MP for ...
's violent repression of the
Morant Bay rebellion The Morant Bay Rebellion (11 October 1865) began with a protest march to the courthouse by hundreds of people led by preacher Paul Bogle in Morant Bay, Jamaica. Some were armed with sticks and stones. After seven men were shot and killed by th ...
, Carlyle assumed leadership of the Eyre Defence and Aid Fund in 1865 and 1866. The Defence had convened in response to the anti-Eyre
Jamaica Committee The Jamaica Committee was a group set up in Great Britain in 1865, which called for Edward Eyre, Governor of Jamaica, to be tried for his excesses in suppressing the Morant Bay rebellion of 1865. More radical members of the Committee wanted him ...
, led by Mill and backed by
Charles Darwin Charles Robert Darwin ( ; 12 February 1809 – 19 April 1882) was an English naturalist, geologist, and biologist, widely known for his contributions to evolutionary biology. His proposition that all species of life have descended fr ...
,
Herbert Spencer Herbert Spencer (27 April 1820 – 8 December 1903) was an English philosopher, psychologist, biologist, anthropologist, and sociologist famous for his hypothesis of social Darwinism. Spencer originated the expression "survival of the fittest" ...
and others. Carlyle and the Defence were supported by
John Ruskin John Ruskin (8 February 1819 20 January 1900) was an English writer, philosopher, art critic and polymath of the Victorian era. He wrote on subjects as varied as geology, architecture, myth, ornithology, literature, education, botany and politi ...
,
Alfred, Lord Tennyson Alfred Tennyson, 1st Baron Tennyson (6 August 1809 – 6 October 1892) was an English poet. He was the Poet Laureate during much of Queen Victoria's reign. In 1829, Tennyson was awarded the Chancellor's Gold Medal at Cambridge for one of his ...
,
Charles Dickens Charles John Huffam Dickens (; 7 February 1812 – 9 June 1870) was an English writer and social critic. He created some of the world's best-known fictional characters and is regarded by many as the greatest novelist of the Victorian e ...
and Charles Kingsley.D. Daiches ed., ''Companion to Literature 1'' (London, 1965), p. 90. From December 1866 to March 1867, Carlyle resided at the home of
Louisa Baring, Lady Ashburton Louisa Caroline Baring, Lady Ashburton (; 5 March 1827 – 2 February 1903), was a Scottish art collector and philanthropist who had close connections with several artistic and literary figures of the period. Early life Louisa Caroline Stewart ...
in
Menton Menton (; , written ''Menton'' in classical norm or ''Mentan'' in Mistralian norm; it, Mentone ) is a commune in the Alpes-Maritimes department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region on the French Riviera, close to the Italian border. Me ...
, where he wrote reminiscences of Irving, Jeffrey,
Robert Southey Robert Southey ( or ; 12 August 1774 – 21 March 1843) was an English poet of the Romantic school, and Poet Laureate from 1813 until his death. Like the other Lake Poets, William Wordsworth and Samuel Taylor Coleridge, Southey began as a ra ...
, and
William Wordsworth William Wordsworth (7 April 177023 April 1850) was an English Romantic poet who, with Samuel Taylor Coleridge, helped to launch the Romantic Age in English literature with their joint publication '' Lyrical Ballads'' (1798). Wordsworth's ' ...
. In August, he published "Shooting Niagara: And After?", an essay in response and opposition to the Second Reform Bill. In 1868, he wrote reminiscences of John Wilson and William Hamilton, and his niece Mary Aitken Carlyle moved into 5 Cheyne Row, becoming his caretaker and assisting in the editing of Jane's letters. In March 1869, he met with
Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until Death and state funeral of Queen Victoria, her death in 1901. Her reign of 63 years and 21 ...
, who wrote in her journal of "Mr. Carlyle, the historian, a strange-looking eccentric old Scotchman, who holds forth, in a drawling melancholy voice, with a broad Scotch accent, upon Scotland and upon the utter degeneration of everything." In 1870, he was elected president of the London Library, and in November he wrote a letter to ''
The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper ''The Sunday Times'' (fou ...
'' in support of Germany in the Franco-Prussian War. His conversation was recorded by a number of friends and visitors in later years, most notably
William Allingham William Allingham (19 March 1824 – 18 November 1889) was an Irish poet, diarist and editor. He wrote several volumes of lyric verse, and his poem "The Faeries" was much anthologised. But he is better known for his posthumously published ''Di ...
, who became known as Carlyle's Boswell. In the spring of 1874, Carlyle accepted the ''
Pour le Mérite für Wissenschaften und Künste Pour may refer to these people: * Kour Pour (born 1987), British artist of part-Iranian descent * Mehdi Niyayesh Pour (born 1992), Iranian footballer * Mojtaba Mobini Pour (born 1991), Iranian footballer * Pouya Jalili Pour (born 1976), Iranian si ...
'' from
Otto von Bismarck Otto, Prince of Bismarck, Count of Bismarck-Schönhausen, Duke of Lauenburg (, ; 1 April 1815 – 30 July 1898), born Otto Eduard Leopold von Bismarck, was a conservative German statesman and diplomat. From his origins in the upper class of J ...
and declined Disraeli's offers of a state pension and the Knight Grand Cross in the Order of the Bath in the autumn. On the occasion of his eightieth birthday in 1875, he was presented with a commemorative medal crafted by Sir Joseph Edgar Boehm and an address of admiration signed by 119 of the leading writers, scientists, and public figures of the day. "Early Kings of Norway", a recounting of historical material from the
Icelandic sagas The sagas of Icelanders ( is, Íslendingasögur, ), also known as family sagas, are one genre of Icelandic sagas. They are prose narratives mostly based on historical events that mostly took place in Iceland in the ninth, tenth, and early el ...
transcribed by Mary acting as his amanuensis, and an essay on "The Portraits of
John Knox John Knox ( gd, Iain Cnocc) (born – 24 November 1572) was a Scottish minister, Reformed theologian, and writer who was a leader of the country's Reformation. He was the founder of the Presbyterian Church of Scotland. Born in Giffordgat ...
" (both 1875) were his last major writings to be published in his lifetime. In November 1876, he wrote a letter in the ''Times'' "On the Eastern Question", entreating England not to enter the
Russo-Turkish War The Russo-Turkish wars (or Ottoman–Russian wars) were a series of twelve wars fought between the Russian Empire and the Ottoman Empire between the 16th and 20th centuries. It was one of the longest series of military conflicts in European histo ...
on the side of the Turks. Another letter to the ''Times'' in May 1877 "On
the Crisis ''The Crisis'' is the official magazine of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). It was founded in 1910 by W. E. B. Du Bois (editor), Oswald Garrison Villard, J. Max Barber, Charles Edward Russell, Kelly Mi ...
", urging against the rumoured wish of Disraeli's to send a fleet to the
Baltic Sea The Baltic Sea is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that is enclosed by Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Russia, Sweden and the North and Central European Plain. The sea stretches from 53°N to 66°N latitude and from ...
and warning not to provoke Russia and Europe at large into a war against England, marked his last public utterance. The
American Academy of Arts and Sciences The American Academy of Arts and Sciences (abbreviation: AAA&S) is one of the oldest learned societies in the United States. It was founded in 1780 during the American Revolution by John Adams, John Hancock, James Bowdoin, Andrew Oliver, and ...
elected him a Foreign Honorary Member in 1878. On 2 February 1881, Carlyle fell into a coma. For a moment he awakened, and Mary heard him speak his final words: "So this is Death—well . . ." He thereafter lost his speech and died on the morning of 5 February. An offer of interment at
Westminster Abbey Westminster Abbey, formally titled the Collegiate Church of Saint Peter at Westminster, is an historic, mainly Gothic church in the City of Westminster, London, England, just to the west of the Palace of Westminster. It is one of the United ...
, which he had anticipated, was declined by his executors in accordance with his will. He was laid to rest with his mother and father in Hoddam
Kirkyard In Christian countries a churchyard is a patch of land adjoining or surrounding a church, which is usually owned by the relevant church or local parish itself. In the Scots language and in both Scottish English and Ulster-Scots, this can also ...
in Ecclefechan, according to old Scottish custom. His private funeral, held on 10 February, was attended by family and a few friends, including Froude, Conway, Tyndall, and William Lecky, as local residents looked on.


Philosophy

Carlyle's religious, historical and political thought has long been the subject of debate. In the 19th century, he was "an enigma" according to Ian Campbell in the '' Dictionary of Literary Biography'', being "variously regarded as sage and impious, a moral leader, a moral desperado, a radical, a conservative, a Christian." Carlyle continues to perplex scholars in the 21st century, as Kenneth J. Fielding quipped in 2005: "A problem in writing about Carlyle and his beliefs is that people think that they know what they are." Carlyle identified two philosophical precepts. The first is derived from Novalis: "The True philosophical Act is annihilation of self (''Selbsttödtung''); this is the real beginning of all Philosophy; all requisites for being a Disciple of Philosophy point hither." The second is derived from Goethe: "It is only with Renunciation (''Entsagen'') that Life, properly speaking, can be said to begin." Through ''Selbsttödtung'' (annihilation of self), liberation from
material Material is a substance or mixture of substances that constitutes an object. Materials can be pure or impure, living or non-living matter. Materials can be classified on the basis of their physical and chemical properties, or on their geologi ...
, self-imposed constraints, which arise from the misguided pursuit of unfulfilling happiness and result in atheism and egoism, is achieved. With this liberation and ''Entsagen'' (renunciation, or humility) as the guiding principle of conduct, it is seen that "there is in man a HIGHER than Love of Happiness: he can do without Happiness, and instead thereof find Blessedness!" "Blessedness" refers to the serving of duty and the sense that the universe and everything in it, including humanity, is meaningful and united as one whole. Awareness of the fraternal bond of mankind brings discovery of the "''Divine Depth of Sorrow''", the feeling of "an infinite Love, an infinite Pity" for one's "fellowman".


Natural Supernaturalism

Carlyle rejected doctrines which profess to fully know the true nature of God, believing that to possess such knowledge is impossible. In an 1835 letter, he asked, "''Wer darf ihn'' NENNEN ho dares name him I dare not, and do not", while rejecting charges of
pantheism Pantheism is the belief that reality, the universe and the cosmos are identical with divinity and a supreme supernatural being or entity, pointing to the universe as being an immanent creator deity still expanding and creating, which has ex ...
and expressing the empirical basis of his belief:
Finally assure yourself I am neither Pagan nor Turk, nor circumcised Jew, but an unfortunate Christian individual resident at Chelsea in ''this'' year of Grace; neither Pantheist nor Pottheist, nor any
Theist Theism is broadly defined as the belief in the existence of a supreme being or deities. In common parlance, or when contrasted with ''deism'', the term often describes the classical conception of God that is found in monotheism (also referred to ...
or ''ist'' whatsoever; having the most decided contem tfor all manner of System-builders and Sectfounders—as far as contempt may be com atiblewith so mild a nature; feeling well beforehand (taught by long experience) that all such are and even must be ''wrong''. By God's blessing, one has got two eyes to look with; also a mind capable of knowing, of believing: that is all the creed I will at this time insist on.
With this empirical basis, Carlyle conceived of a "new Mythus", Natural Supernaturalism. Following
Kant Immanuel Kant (, , ; 22 April 1724 – 12 February 1804) was a German philosopher and one of the central Enlightenment thinkers. Born in Königsberg, Kant's comprehensive and systematic works in epistemology, metaphysics, ethics, and aest ...
's distinction between Reason (''Vernunft'') and Understanding (''Verstand'') in '' Critique of Pure Reason'' (1781), Carlyle held the former to be the superior faculty, allowing for insight into the transcendent. Hence, Carlyle saw all things symbols, or clothes, representing the eternal and infinite. In ''Sartor'', he defines the "Symbol proper" as that in which there is "some embodiment and revelation of the Infinite; the Infinite is made to blend itself with the Finite, to stand visible, and as it were, attainable there." Carlyle writes: "All visible things are emblems . . . all Emblematic things are properly Clothes". Therefore, "Language is the Flesh-Garment, the Body, of Thought", and "the Universe is but one vast Symbol of God", as is "man himself". In ''On Heroes'', Carlyle spoke of
the sacred mystery of the Universe; what Goethe calls 'the open secret.' . . . open to all, seen by almost none! That divine mystery, which lies everywhere in all Beings, 'the Divine Idea of the World,' that which lies at 'the bottom of Appearance,' as
Fichte Johann Gottlieb Fichte (; ; 19 May 1762 – 29 January 1814) was a German philosopher who became a founding figure of the philosophical movement known as German idealism, which developed from the theoretical and ethical writings of Immanuel Ka ...
styles it; of which all Appearance . . . is but the ''vesture'', the embodiment that renders it visible.
The "Divine Idea of the World", the belief in an eternal, omnipresent and metaphysical order which lies in the "unknown Deep" of nature, is at the core of Natural Supernaturalism.


Bible of Universal History

Carlyle revered what he called the "Bible of Universal History", a "real Prophetic Manuscript" which incorporates the poetic and the factual to show the divine reality of existence. For Carlyle, "the right interpretation of Reality and History" is the highest form of poetry, and "true History" is "the only possible Epic". He imaged the "burning of a World-Phoenix" to represent the cyclical nature of civilisations as they undergo death and " ''Palingenesia'''', or Newbirth''". Periods of creation and destruction do overlap, however, and before a World-Phoenix is completely reduced to ashes, there are "organic filaments, mysteriously spinning themselves", elements of regeneration amidst degeneration, such as hero-worship, literature, and the unbreakable connection between all human beings. Akin to the seasons, societies have autumns of dying faiths, winters of decadent atheism, springs of burgeoning belief and brief summers of true religion and government. Carlyle saw history since the
Reformation The Reformation (alternatively named the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation) was a major movement within Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the Catholic Church and in ...
as a process of decay culminating in the French Revolution, out of which renewal must come, "for lower than that savage '' Sansculottism'' men cannot go." Heroism is central to Carlyle's view of history. He saw individual actors as the prime movers of historical events: "The History of the world is but the Biography of great men." In the area of
historiography Historiography is the study of the methods of historians in developing history as an academic discipline, and by extension is any body of historical work on a particular subject. The historiography of a specific topic covers how historians ha ...
, Carlyle focused on the complexity involved in faithfully representing both the facts of history and their meaning. He perceived "a fatal discrepancy between our manner of observing
assing things Assing is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include: * David Assing (1787–1842), German physician and poet * Rosa Maria Assing, née Varnhagen (1783–1840), German writer ** Ottilie Assing (1819–1884), German writer ** Ludmilla ...
and their manner of occurring", since "History is the essence of innumerable Biographies" and every individual's experience varies, as does the "general inward condition of Life" throughout the ages. Furthermore, even the best of historians, by necessity, presents history as a "''series''" of "''successive''" instances (a narrative) rather than as a "group" of "''simultaneous''" things done (an action), which is how they occurred in reality. Every single event is related to all others before and after it in "an ever-living, ever-working Chaos of Being". Events are multi-dimensional, possessing the physical properties of "breadth", "depth" and "length", and are ultimately based on "Passion and Mystery", characteristics that narrative, which is by its nature one-dimensional, fails to render. Emphasising the disconnect between the typical discipline of history and history as lived experience, Carlyle writes: "Narrative is ''linear'', Action is ''solid''." He distinguishes between the "Artist in History" and the "Artisan in History". The "Artisan" works with historical facts in an atomised, mechanical way, while the "Artist" brings to his craft "an Idea of the Whole", through which the essential truth of history is successfully communicated to the reader.


Heroarchy (Government of Heroes)

As with history, Carlyle believed that "Society is founded on Hero-worship. All dignities of rank, on which human association rests, are what we may call a ''Hero''archy (Government of Heroes)". This fundamental assertion about the nature of society itself informed his political doctrine. Noting that the etymological root meaning of the word "King" is "Can" or "Able", Carlyle put forth his ideal government in "The Hero as King":
Find in any country the Ablest Man that exists there; raise ''him'' to the supreme place, and loyally reverence him: you have a perfect government for that country; no ballot-box, parliamentary eloquence, voting, constitution-building, or other machinery whatsoever can improve it a whit. It is in the perfect state; an ideal country.
Carlyle did not believe in
hereditary monarchy A hereditary monarchy is a form of government and succession of power in which the throne passes from one member of a ruling family to another member of the same family. A series of rulers from the same family would constitute a dynasty. It is h ...
but in a kingship based on
merit Merit may refer to: Religion * Merit (Christianity) * Merit (Buddhism) * Punya (Hinduism) * Imputed righteousness in Reformed Christianity Companies and brands * Merit (cigarette), a brand of cigarettes made by Altria * Merit Energy Company, ...
. He continues:
The Ablest Man; he means also the truest-hearted, justest, the Noblest Man: what he ''tells us to do'' must be precisely the wisest, fittest, that we could anywhere or anyhow learn;—the thing which it will in all ways behoove us, with right loyal thankfulness, and nothing doubting, to do! Our ''doing'' and life were then, so far as government could regulate it, well regulated; that were the ideal of
constitutions A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organisation or other type of entity and commonly determine how that entity is to be governed. When these prin ...
.
It was for this reason that he regarded the Reformation, the
English Civil War The English Civil War (1642–1651) was a series of civil wars and political machinations between Parliamentarians (" Roundheads") and Royalists led by Charles I ("Cavaliers"), mainly over the manner of England's governance and issues of re ...
and the French Revolution as triumphs of truth over falsehood, despite their undermining of necessary societal institutions.


Chivalry of Labour

Carlyle advocated a new kind of hero for the age of
industrialisation Industrialisation ( alternatively spelled industrialization) is the period of social and economic change that transforms a human group from an agrarian society into an industrial society. This involves an extensive re-organisation of an econo ...
: the Captain of Industry, who would re-imbue workhouses with dignity and honour. These Captains would make up a new "
Aristocracy Aristocracy (, ) is a form of government that places strength in the hands of a small, privileged ruling class, the aristocracy (class), aristocrats. The term derives from the el, αριστοκρατία (), meaning 'rule of the best'. At t ...
of Talent", or "Government of the Wisest". Instead of competition and "''Cash Payment''", which had become "the universal sole nexus of man to man", the Captain of Industry would oversee the Chivalry of Labour, in which loyal labourers and enlightened employers are joined together "in veritable brotherhood, sonhood, by quite other and deeper ties than those of temporary day's wages!"


Glossary

The 1907 edition of ''
The Nuttall Encyclopædia ''The Nuttall Encyclopædia: Being a Concise and Comprehensive Dictionary of General Knowledge'' is a late 19th-century encyclopedia, edited by Rev. James Wood, first published in London in 1900 by Frederick Warne & Co Ltd. Editions were rec ...
'' contains entries on the following Carlylean terms: ;''Cash Nexus'': The reduction (under
capitalism Capitalism is an economic system based on the private ownership of the means of production and their operation for Profit (economics), profit. Central characteristics of capitalism include capital accumulation, competitive markets, pric ...
) of all human relationships, but especially relations of production, to monetary exchange. ;''Clothes'': Carlyle's name in "Sartor Resartus" for the guises which the spirit, especially of man, weaves for itself and wears, and by which it both conceals itself in shame and reveals itself in grace. ;''
Dismal Science The dismal science is a derogatory term for the discipline of economics. Scottish essayist, historian and philosopher Thomas Carlyle used the phrase in his 1849 essay, ''Occasional Discourse on the Negro Question'', in contrast with the then-famil ...
'': Carlyle's name for the political economy that with self-complacency leaves everything to settle itself by the law of supply and demand, as if that were all the law and the prophets. The name is applied to every science that affects to dispense with the spiritual as a ruling factor in human affairs. ;''Eternities, The Conflux of'': Carlyle's expressive phrase for Time, as in every moment of it a centre in which all the forces to and from Eternity meet and unite, so that by no past and no future can we be brought nearer to Eternity than where we at any moment of Time are; the Present Time, the youngest born of Eternity, being the child and heir of all the Past times with their good and evil, and the parent of all the Future, the import of which (see Matt. xvi. 27) it is accordingly the first and most sacred duty of every successive age, and especially the leaders of it, to know and lay to heart as the only link by which Eternity lays hold of it and it of Eternity. ;''Everlasting No, The'': Carlyle's name for the spirit of unbelief in God, especially as it manifested itself in his own, or rather Teufelsdröckh's, warfare against it; the spirit, which, as embodied in the
Mephistopheles Mephistopheles (, ), also known as Mephisto, is a demon featured in German folklore. He originally appeared in literature as the demon in the Faust legend, and he has since appeared in other works as a stock character (see: Mephistopheles i ...
(''q. v.'') of Goethe, is for ever denying,—''der stets verneint''—the reality of the divine in the thoughts, the character, and the life of humanity, and has a malicious pleasure in scoffing at everything high and noble as hollow and void. ;''Everlasting Yea, The'': Carlyle's name for the spirit of faith in God in an express attitude of clear, resolute, steady, and uncompromising antagonism to the Everlasting No, on the principle that there is no such thing as faith in God except in such antagonism, no faith except in such antagonism against the spirit opposed to God. ;''Gigman'': Carlyle's name for a man who prides himself on, and pays all respect to, respectability; derived from a definition once given in a court of justice by a witness who, having described a person as respectable, was asked by the judge in the case what he meant by the word; "one that keeps a
gig Gig or GIG may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Gig'' (Circle Jerks album) (1992) * ''Gig'' (Northern Pikes album) (1993) * ''The Gig'', a 1985 film written and directed by Frank D. Gilroy * GIG, a character in ''Hot Wheels AcceleRacers'' ...
", was the answer. ;''Hallowed Fire'': an expression of Carlyle's in definition of Christianity "at its rise and spread" as sacred, and kindling what was sacred and divine in man's soul, and burning up all that was not. ;''Immensities, Centre of'': an expression of Carlyle's to signify that wherever any one is, he is in touch with the whole universe of being, and is, if he knew it, as near the heart of it there as anywhere else he can be. ;''Logic Spectacles'': Carlyle's name for eyes that can only discern the external relations of things, but not the inner nature of them. ;''Mights and Rights'': the Carlyle doctrine that Mights are nothing till they have realised and established themselves as Rights; they ''are'' mights first only then. ;''
Natural Supernaturalism Natural Supernaturalism is one of Thomas Carlyle's philosophical concepts. It derives from the name of a chapter in his novel ''Sartor Resartus'' (1833–34) in which it is a central tenet of Diogenes Teufelsdröckh's "Philosophy of Clothes". Natur ...
'': Carlyle's name in "Sartor" for the supernatural found latent in the natural, and manifesting itself in it, or of the miraculous in the common and everyday course of things; name of a chapter which, says Dr. Stirling, "contains the very first word of a higher philosophy as yet spoken in Great Britain, the very first English word towards the restoration and rehabilitation of the dethroned Upper Powers"; recognition at bottom, as the
Hegelian philosophy Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel (; ; 27 August 1770 – 14 November 1831) was a German philosopher. He is one of the most important figures in German idealism and one of the founding figures of modern Western philosophy. His influence extends a ...
teaches, and the life of
Christ Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label=Hebrew/Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other Names and titles of Jesus in the New Testament, names and titles), was ...
certifies, of the finiting of the infinite in the transitory forms of space and time. ;''Pig-Philosophy'': the name given by Carlyle in his "Latter-Day Pamphlets", in the one on
Jesuitism In ethics, casuistry ( ) is a process of reasoning that seeks to resolve Ethical dilemma, moral problems by extracting or extending theoretical rules from a particular case, and reapplying those rules to new instances. This method occurs in appli ...
, to the wide-spread philosophy of the time, which regarded the human being as a mere creature of appetite instead of a creature of God endowed with a soul, as having no nobler idea of well-being than the gratification of desire—that his only Heaven, and the reverse of it his Hell. ;''Plugson of Undershot'': Carlyle's name in "Past and Present" for a member or "Master-Worker" of the English
mammon Mammon in the New Testament of the Bible is commonly thought to mean money, material wealth, or any entity that promises wealth, and is associated with the greedy pursuit of gain. The Gospel of Matthew and the Gospel of Luke both quote Jesus us ...
-worshipping manufacturing class in rivalry with the aristocracy for the ascendency in the land, who pays his workers his wages and thinks he has done his duty with them in so doing, and is secure in the fortune he has made by that cash-payment gospel of his as all the law and the prophets, called of "
Undershot A water wheel is a machine for converting the energy of flowing or falling water into useful forms of power, often in a watermill. A water wheel consists of a wheel (usually constructed from wood or metal), with a number of blades or bucket ...
", his mill being driven by a wheel, the working power of which is hidden unheeded by him, to break out some day to the damage of both his mill and him. ;''Present Time'': defined by Carlyle as "the youngest born of Eternity, child and heir of all the past times, with their good and evil, and parent of all the future with new questions and significance", on the right or wrong understanding of which depend the issues of life or death to us all, the sphinx riddle given to all of us to rede as we would live and not die. ;''Printed Paper'': Carlyle's satirical name for the literature of France prior to the Revolution. ;''Progress of the Species Magazines'': Carlyle's name for the literature of the day which does nothing to help the progress in question, but keeps idly boasting of the fact, taking all the credit to itself, like Æseop's fly on the axle of the careening chariot soliloquising, "What a dust I raise!" ;''Sauerteig'': (''i.e.''
leaven In cooking, a leavening agent () or raising agent, also called a leaven () or leavener, is any one of a number of substances used in doughs and batters that cause a foaming action (gas bubbles) that lightens and softens the mixture. An altern ...
), an imaginary authority alive to the "celestial infernal" fermentation that goes on in the world, who has an eye specially to the evil elements at work, and to whose opinion Carlyle frequently appeals in his condemnatory verdict on sublunary things. ;''Silence, Worship of'': Carlyle's name for the sacred respect for restraint in speech till "thought has silently matured itself, . . . to hold one's tongue till ''some'' meaning lie behind to set it wagging", a doctrine which many misunderstand, almost wilfully, it would seem; silence being to him the very womb out of which all great things are born. ;''Sincerity'': in Carlyle's ethics the one test of all worth in a human being, that he really with his whole soul means what he is saying and doing, and is courageously ready to front time and eternity on the stake. ;''Tailors'': Carlyle's humorous name in "Sartor" for the architects of the customs and costumes woven for human wear by society, the inventors of our spiritual toggery, the truly ''poetic'' class. ;''Weissnichtwo'' (Know-not-where): in Carlyle's "Sartor", an imaginary European city, viewed as the focus, and as exhibiting the operation, of all the influences for good and evil of the time we live in, described in terms which characterised city life in the first quarter of the 19th century; so universal appeared the spiritual forces at work in society at that time that it was impossible to say ''where'' they were and ''where'' they were ''not'', and hence the name of the city, Know-not-where.


Style

Carlyle believed that his time required a new approach to writing:
But finally do you reckon this really a time for Purism of Style; or that Style (mere dictionary style) has much to do with the worth or unworth of a Book? I do not: with whole ragged battallions of Scott's-Novel Scotch, with Irish, German, French and even Newspaper Cockney (when "Literature" is little other than a Newspaper) storming in on us, and the whole structure of our Johnsonian English breaking up from its foundations,—revolution ''there'' as visible as anywhere else!
Carlyle's style lends itself to several nouns, the earliest being Carlylism from 1841. The ''
Oxford English Dictionary The ''Oxford English Dictionary'' (''OED'') is the first and foundational historical dictionary of the English language, published by Oxford University Press (OUP). It traces the historical development of the English language, providing a com ...
'' records Carlylese, the most commonly used of these terms, as having first appeared in 1858. Carlylese makes characteristic use of certain literary, rhetorical and grammatical devices, including
apostrophe The apostrophe ( or ) is a punctuation mark, and sometimes a diacritical mark, in languages that use the Latin alphabet and some other alphabets. In English, the apostrophe is used for two basic purposes: * The marking of the omission of one o ...
,
apposition Apposition is a grammatical construction in which two elements, normally noun phrases, are placed side by side so one element identifies the other in a different way. The two elements are said to be ''in apposition'', and one of the elements is ...
, archaism, exclamation,
imperative mood The imperative mood is a grammatical mood that forms a command or request. The imperative mood is used to demand or require that an action be performed. It is usually found only in the present tense, second person. To form the imperative mood, ...
,
inversion Inversion or inversions may refer to: Arts * , a French gay magazine (1924/1925) * ''Inversion'' (artwork), a 2005 temporary sculpture in Houston, Texas * Inversion (music), a term with various meanings in music theory and musical set theory * ...
, parallelism,
portmanteau A portmanteau word, or portmanteau (, ) is a blend of wordspresent tense The present tense (abbreviated or ) is a grammatical tense whose principal function is to locate a situation or event in the present time. The present tense is used for actions which are happening now. In order to explain and understand present ...
,
neologism A neologism Greek νέο- ''néo''(="new") and λόγος /''lógos'' meaning "speech, utterance"] is a relatively recent or isolated term, word, or phrase that may be in the process of entering common use, but that has not been fully accepted int ...
s,
metaphor A metaphor is a figure of speech that, for rhetorical effect, directly refers to one thing by mentioning another. It may provide (or obscure) clarity or identify hidden similarities between two different ideas. Metaphors are often compared wit ...
, personification, and
repetition Repetition may refer to: * Repetition (rhetorical device), repeating a word within a short space of words *Repetition (bodybuilding), a single cycle of lifting and lowering a weight in strength training *Working title for the 1985 slasher film '' ...
.


Carlylese

At the beginning of his literary career, Carlyle worked to develop his own style, cultivating one of intense energy and visualisation, characterised not by "balance, gravity, and composure" but "imbalance, excess, and excitement." Even in his early anonymous periodical essays his writing distinguished him from his contemporaries. Carlyle's writing in ''Sartor Resartus'' is described as "a distinctive mixture of exuberant poetic rhapsody, Germanic speculation, and biblical exhortation, which Carlyle used to celebrate the mystery of everyday existence and to depict a universe suffused with creative energy." Carlyle's approach to historical writing was inspired by a quality that he found in the works of Goethe, Bunyan and
Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...
: "Everything has form, everything has visual existence; the poet's imagination ''bodies forth'' the forms of things unseen, his pen turns them to ''shape''." He rebuked typical,
Dryasdust Dryasdust was an imaginary and tediously thorough literary authority cited by Sir Walter Scott to present background information in his novels; thereafter, a derisory term for anyone who presents historical facts with no feeling for the pers ...
historiography: "Dull Pedantry, conceited idle Dilettantism,—prurient Stupidity in what shape soever,—is darkness and not light!" Rather than reporting events in a detached, distanced manner, he presents immediate, tangible occurrences, often in the present tense. In his ''French Revolution'', "the great prose epic of the nineteenth century", Carlyle managed to craft an overwhelmingly original voice, producing deliberate tension by combining the common language of the time with self-conscious allusions to traditional epics, Homer, Shakespeare, Milton, or some contemporary French history source in nearly every sentence of its three volumes. Carlyle's social criticism directs his penchant for metaphor toward the Condition-of-England question, depicting a thoroughly diseased society. Declaiming the aimlessness and infirmity of English leadership, Carlyle made use of satirical characters like Sir Jabesh Windbag and Bobus of Houndsditch in ''Past and Present''. Memorable catchphrases such as Morrison's Pill, the Gospel of Mammonism, and "Doing as One Likes" were employed to counteract empty platitudes of the day. Carlyle transformed his depicted reality in various ways, whether by conversion of actual human beings into grotesque caricatures, envisioning isolated facts as emblems of morality, or by manifestation of the supernatural; in the ''Pamphlets'', pampered felons appear in nightmarish visions and wrongheaded philanthropists wallow in their own filth. Carlyle could at once use imaginative powers of rhetoric and vision to "render the familiar unfamiliar". He could also be a sharp-eyed, keen observer of the actual, reproducing scenes with imagistic clarity, as he does in the ''Reminiscences'', the ''Life of John Sterling'' and the letters; he has often been called the Victorian
Rembrandt Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn (, ; 15 July 1606 – 4 October 1669), usually simply known as Rembrandt, was a Dutch Golden Age painter, printmaker and draughtsman. An innovative and prolific master in three media, he is generally consid ...
. As Mark Cumming explains, "Carlyle's intense appreciation of visual existence and of the innate energy of object, coupled with his insistent awareness of language and his daunting verbal resources, formed the immediate and lasting appeal of his style."


Coinages

The present table represents data gathered from ''Oxford English Dictionary Online'', 2012. An explanatory footnote is provided for each "Type". Over fifty percent of these entries come from ''Sartor Resartus'', ''French Revolution'', and ''History of'' ''Frederick the Great''. Of the 547 First Quotations cited by the ''O.E.D.'', 87 or 16% are listed as being "in common use today."


Humour

Carlyle's sense of humour and use of humorous characters was shaped by early readings of
Cervantes Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra (; 29 September 1547 (assumed) – 22 April 1616 Old Style and New Style dates, NS) was an Early Modern Spanish writer widely regarded as the greatest writer in the Spanish language and one of the world's pre-emin ...
, Samuel Butler,
Jonathan Swift Jonathan Swift (30 November 1667 – 19 October 1745) was an Anglo-Irish Satire, satirist, author, essayist, political pamphleteer (first for the Whig (British political party), Whigs, then for the Tories (British political party), Tories), poe ...
, and
Laurence Sterne Laurence Sterne (24 November 1713 – 18 March 1768), was an Anglo-Irish novelist and Anglican cleric who wrote the novels ''The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman'' and ''A Sentimental Journey Through France and Italy'', published ...
. He initially attempted a fashionable irony in his writing, which he soon abandoned in favour of a "deeper spirit" of humour. In his essays on Jean Paul, Carlyle rejects the dismissive, ironic humour of Voltaire and
Molière Jean-Baptiste Poquelin (, ; 15 January 1622 (baptised) – 17 February 1673), known by his stage name Molière (, , ), was a French playwright, actor, and poet, widely regarded as one of the greatest writers in the French language and world ...
, embracing the warm and sympathetic approach of Jean Paul and Cervantes. Carlyle establishes humour in many of his works through his use of characters, such as the Editor (in ''Sartor Resartus''), Diogenes Teufelsdröckh (), Gottfried Sauerteig,
Dryasdust Dryasdust was an imaginary and tediously thorough literary authority cited by Sir Walter Scott to present background information in his novels; thereafter, a derisory term for anyone who presents historical facts with no feeling for the pers ...
, and Smelfungus. Linguistically, Carlyle explores the humorous possibilities of his subject through exaggerated and dazzling wordplay, "in sentences abounding with rhetorical devices: emphasis by capitalization, punctuation marks, and italics; allegory, symbol, and other poetic devices; hyphenated words, Germanic translations and etymologies; quotations, self-quotations, and bizarre allusions; and repetitious and antiquated speech."


Allusion

Carlyle's writing is highly allusive.
Ruth apRoberts Ruth apRoberts (1919 – March 26, 2006) was a Canadian scholar of Victorian and religious literature. Her work focused on 19th-century British literature as it intersected with philosophical issues and spiritual traditions. Biography Born as R ...
writes that "Thomas Carlyle may well be, of all writers in English, the most thoroughly imbued with the
Bible The Bible (from Koine Greek , , 'the books') is a collection of religious texts or scriptures that are held to be sacred in Christianity, Judaism, Samaritanism, and many other religions. The Bible is an anthologya compilation of texts of a ...
. His language, his imagery, his syntax, his stance, his worldview—are all affected by it."
Job Work or labor (or labour in British English) is intentional activity people perform to support the needs and wants of themselves, others, or a wider community. In the context of economics, work can be viewed as the human activity that contr ...
,
Ecclesiastes Ecclesiastes (; hbo, קֹהֶלֶת, Qōheleṯ, grc, Ἐκκλησιαστής, Ekklēsiastēs) is one of the Ketuvim ("Writings") of the Hebrew Bible and part of the Wisdom literature of the Christian Old Testament. The title commonly use ...
,
Psalms The Book of Psalms ( or ; he, תְּהִלִּים, , lit. "praises"), also known as the Psalms, or the Psalter, is the first book of the ("Writings"), the third section of the Tanakh, and a book of the Old Testament. The title is derived ...
and
Proverbs A proverb (from la, proverbium) is a simple and insightful, traditional saying that expresses a perceived truth based on common sense or experience. Proverbs are often metaphorical and use formulaic language. A proverbial phrase or a proverbia ...
are Carlyle's most frequently referenced books of the
Old Testament The Old Testament (often abbreviated OT) is the first division of the Christian biblical canon, which is based primarily upon the 24 books of the Hebrew Bible or Tanakh, a collection of ancient religious Hebrew writings by the Israelites. The ...
, and
Matthew Matthew may refer to: * Matthew (given name) * Matthew (surname) * ''Matthew'' (ship), the replica of the ship sailed by John Cabot in 1497 * ''Matthew'' (album), a 2000 album by rapper Kool Keith * Matthew (elm cultivar), a cultivar of the Ch ...
that of the
New Testament The New Testament grc, Ἡ Καινὴ Διαθήκη, transl. ; la, Novum Testamentum. (NT) is the second division of the Christian biblical canon. It discusses the teachings and person of Jesus, as well as events in first-century Christ ...
. The structure of ''Sartor'' uses a basic typological Biblical pattern. ''The French Revolution'' is filled with dozens of
Homer Homer (; grc, Ὅμηρος , ''Hómēros'') (born ) was a Greek poet who is credited as the author of the ''Iliad'' and the ''Odyssey'', two epic poems that are foundational works of ancient Greek literature. Homer is considered one of the ...
ic allusions, quotations, and a liberal use of epithets drawn from Homer as well as Homeric epithets of Carlyle's own devising. The influence of Homer, particularly his attention to detail, his strongly visual imagination, and his appreciation of language, is also seen in ''Past and Present'' and ''Frederick the Great''. The language and imagery of
John Milton John Milton (9 December 1608 – 8 November 1674) was an English poet and intellectual. His 1667 epic poem '' Paradise Lost'', written in blank verse and including over ten chapters, was written in a time of immense religious flux and political ...
is present throughout Carlyle's writings. His letters are full of allusions to a wide range of Milton's texts, including ''
Lycidas "Lycidas" () is a poem by John Milton, written in 1637 as a pastoral elegy. It first appeared in a 1638 collection of elegies, ''Justa Edouardo King Naufrago'', dedicated to the memory of Edward King, a friend of Milton at Cambridge who dro ...
'', ''
L'Allegro ''L'Allegro'' is a pastoral poem by John Milton published in his 1645 ''Poems''. ''L'Allegro'' (which means "the happy man" in Italian) has from its first appearance been paired with the contrasting pastoral poem, '' Il Penseroso'' ("the me ...
'', ''
Il Penseroso ''Il Penseroso'' ("the thinker") is a poem by John Milton, first found in the 1645/1646 quarto of verses ''The Poems of Mr. John Milton, both English and Latin'', published by Humphrey Moseley. It was presented as a companion piece to ''L'Al ...
'', ''Comus'', ''
Samson Agonistes ''Samson Agonistes'' (from Greek Σαμσών ἀγωνιστής, "Samson the champion") is a tragic closet drama by John Milton. It appeared with the publication of Milton's '' Paradise Regained'' in 1671, as the title page of that volume ...
'' and, most frequently, ''
Paradise Lost ''Paradise Lost'' is an epic poem in blank verse by the 17th-century English poet John Milton (1608–1674). The first version, published in 1667, consists of ten books with over ten thousand lines of verse (poetry), verse. A second edition fo ...
''. Carlyle's works abound with direct and indirect references to
William Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...
. ''The French Revolution'' contains two dozen allusions to ''
Hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play, with 29,551 words. Set in Denmark, the play depicts ...
'' alone, and dozens more to ''
Macbeth ''Macbeth'' (, full title ''The Tragedie of Macbeth'') is a tragedy by William Shakespeare. It is thought to have been first performed in 1606. It dramatises the damaging physical and psychological effects of political ambition on those w ...
'', ''
Othello ''Othello'' (full title: ''The Tragedy of Othello, the Moor of Venice'') is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare, probably in 1603, set in the contemporary Ottoman–Venetian War (1570–1573) fought for the control of the Island of Cypru ...
'', ''
Julius Caesar Gaius Julius Caesar (; ; 12 July 100 BC – 15 March 44 BC), was a Roman general and statesman. A member of the First Triumvirate, Caesar led the Roman armies in the Gallic Wars before defeating his political rival Pompey in a civil war, and ...
'', ''
King Lear ''King Lear'' is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare. It is based on the mythological Leir of Britain. King Lear, in preparation for his old age, divides his power and land between two of his daughters. He becomes destitute and insane an ...
'', ''
Romeo and Juliet ''Romeo and Juliet'' is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy written by William Shakespeare early in his career about the romance between two Italian youths from feuding families. It was among Shakespeare's most popular plays during his lifetim ...
'', the histories, and the comedies.


Reception

The earliest literary criticism on Carlyle is an 1835 letter from Sterling, who complained of the "positively barbarous" use of words in ''Sartor'', such as "environment," "stertorous," and "visualised," words "without any authority" that are now widely used.
William Makepeace Thackeray William Makepeace Thackeray (; 18 July 1811 – 24 December 1863) was a British novelist, author and illustrator. He is known for his satirical works, particularly his 1848 novel ''Vanity Fair'', a panoramic portrait of British society, and t ...
recorded his mixed response in his 1837 review of ''French Revolution'', decrying its "Germanisms and Latinisms" while acknowledging that "with perseverance, understanding follows, and things perceived first as faults are seen to be part of his originality, and powerful innovations in English prose."
Henry David Thoreau Henry David Thoreau (July 12, 1817May 6, 1862) was an American naturalist, essayist, poet, and philosopher. A leading Transcendentalism, transcendentalist, he is best known for his book ''Walden'', a reflection upon simple living in natural su ...
expressed appreciation in "
Thomas Carlyle and His Works "Thomas Carlyle and His Works" is an essay written by Henry David Thoreau that praises the writings of Thomas Carlyle. The essay demonstrates a few themes that show up elsewhere in Thoreau's writings. First of these is Thoreau's eagerness to fi ...
":
Indeed, for fluency and skill in the use of the English tongue, he is a master unrivalled. His felicity and power of expression surpass even his special merits as historian and critic. . . . we had not understood the wealth of the language before. . . . He does not go to the dictionary, the wordbook, but to the word-manufactory itself, and has made endless work for the lexicographers . . . it would be well for any who have a lost horse to advertise, or a town-meeting warrant, or a sermon, or a letter to write, to study this universal letter-writer, for he knows more than the grammar or the dictionary.
Oscar Wilde Oscar Fingal O'Flahertie Wills Wilde (16 October 185430 November 1900) was an Irish poet and playwright. After writing in different forms throughout the 1880s, he became one of the most popular playwrights in London in the early 1890s. He is ...
wrote that among the very few masters of English prose, "We have Carlyle, who should not be imitated."
Matthew Arnold Matthew Arnold (24 December 1822 – 15 April 1888) was an English poet and cultural critic who worked as an inspector of schools. He was the son of Thomas Arnold, the celebrated headmaster of Rugby School, and brother to both Tom Arnold, lit ...
advised: "Flee Carlylese as you would the devil."
Frederic Harrison Frederic Harrison (18 October 1831 – 14 January 1923) was a British jurist and historian. Biography Born at 17 Euston Square, London, he was the son of Frederick Harrison (1799–1881), a stockbroker and his wife Jane, daughter of Alex ...
deemed Carlyle the "literary dictator of Victorian prose." T. S. Eliot complained that "Carlyle partly originates and partly marks the disturbances in the equilibrium of English prose style", a problem that only disappeared with ''Ulysses''. Indeed,
Georg B. Tennyson Georg Bernhard Tennyson (July 13, 1930 – May 19, 2007) was an American scholar. He was emeritus professor of English at UCLA, a longtime editor of the journal ''Nineteenth-Century Literature'', and a prominent scholar of Thomas Carlyle and Owen ...
remarked that "not until Joyce is there a comparable inventiveness in English prose."Tennyson, G. B. (1965). ''Sartor Called Resartus: The Genesis, Structure, and Style of Thomas Carlyle's First Major Work''. Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton University Press.
LCCN The Library of Congress Control Number (LCCN) is a serially based system of numbering cataloged records in the Library of Congress, in the United States. It is not related to the contents of any book, and should not be confused with Library of ...
65017162. p. 241.


Character

Froude recalled his first impression of Carlyle:
He was then fifty-four years old; tall (about five feet eleven), thin, but at that time upright, with no signs of the later stoop. His body was angular, his face beardless, such as it is represented in Woolner's medallion, which is by far the best likeness of him in the days of his strength. His head was extremely long, with the chin thrust forward; his neck was thin; the mouth firmly closed, the under lip slightly projecting; the hair grizzled and thick and bushy. His eyes, which grew lighter with age, were then of a deep violet, with fire burning at the bottom of them, which flashed out at the least excitement. The face was altogether most striking, most impressive in every way.
He was often recognised by his
wideawake hat A wideawake hat is a broad brimmed felt "countryman's hat" with a low crown, similar to a slouch hat. A wideawake hat is most commonly seen in dark shades of cloth, such as dark brown or black felt. The brim is fairly wide, and is flat in front ...
. Carlyle was a renowned conversationalist. Emerson described him as "an immense talker, as extraordinary in his conversation as in his writing,—I think even more so." Darwin considered him "the most worth listening to, of any man I know." Lecky noted his "singularly musical voice" which "quite took away anything grotesque in the very strong Scotch accent" and "gave it a softening or charm".
Henry Fielding Dickens Sir Henry Fielding Dickens, KC (16 January 1849 – 21 December 1933), was the eighth of ten children born to English author Charles Dickens and his wife Catherine. The most successful of all of Dickens's children, he was a barrister, a KC an ...
recollected that he was "gifted with a high sense of humour, and when he laughed he did so heartily, throwing his head back and letting himself go."
Thomas Wentworth Higginson Thomas Wentworth Higginson (December 22, 1823May 9, 1911) was an American Unitarian minister, author, abolitionist, politician, and soldier. He was active in the American Abolitionism movement during the 1840s and 1850s, identifying himself with ...
remembered his "broad, honest, human laugh," one that "cleared the air like thunder, and left the atmosphere sweet." Lady Eastlake called it "the best laugh I ever heard".
Charles Eliot Norton Charles Eliot Norton (November 16, 1827 – October 21, 1908) was an American author, social critic, and Harvard professor of art based in New England. He was a progressive social reformer and a liberal activist whom many of his contemporaries c ...
wrote that Carlyle's "essential nature was solitary in its strength, its sincerity, its tenderness, its nobility. He was nearer
Dante Dante Alighieri (; – 14 September 1321), probably baptized Durante di Alighiero degli Alighieri and often referred to as Dante (, ), was an Italian poet, writer and philosopher. His ''Divine Comedy'', originally called (modern Italian: '' ...
than any other man." Harrison similarly observed that "Carlyle walked about London like Dante in the streets of
Verona Verona ( , ; vec, Verona or ) is a city on the Adige River in Veneto, Northern Italy, Italy, with 258,031 inhabitants. It is one of the seven provincial capitals of the region. It is the largest city Comune, municipality in the region and the ...
, gnawing his own heart and dreaming dreams of
Inferno Inferno may refer to: * Hell, an afterlife place of suffering * Conflagration, a large uncontrolled fire Film * ''L'Inferno'', a 1911 Italian film * Inferno (1953 film), ''Inferno'' (1953 film), a film noir by Roy Ward Baker * Inferno (1973 fi ...
. To both the passers-by might have said, See! there goes the man who has seen hell". Higginson rather felt that Jean Paul's humorous character
Siebenkäs ''Siebenkäs'' (Sevencheese) is a German Romantic novel by Jean Paul, published in Berlin in three volumes between 1796 and 1797. The novel's full title is ''Blumen-, Frucht- und Dornenstücke oder Ehestand, Tod und Hochzeit des Armenadvokaten ...
"came nearer to the actual Carlyle than most of the grave portraitures yet executed", for, like Siebenkäs, Carlyle was "a satirical improvisatore". Emerson saw Carlyle as "not mainly a scholar," but "a practical Scotchman, such as you would find in any saddler's or iron-dealer's shop, and then only accidentally and by a surprising addition, the admirable scholar and writer he is."Emerson, Ralph Waldo (1881).
XVIII. Carlyle
. The Complete Works of Ralph Waldo Emerson. Vol. X. Boston and New York: Houghton, Mifflin and Company (published 1904).
Paul Elmer More Paul Elmer More (December 12, 1864 – March 9, 1937) was an American journalist, critic, essayist and Christian apologist. Biography Paul Elmer More, the son of Enoch Anson and Katherine Hay Elmer, was born in St. Louis, Missouri. He was edu ...
found Carlyle "a figure unique, isolated, domineering—after Dr. Johnson the greatest personality in English letters, possibly even more imposing than that acknowledged dictator."


Legacy


Influence

George Eliot Mary Ann Evans (22 November 1819 – 22 December 1880; alternatively Mary Anne or Marian), known by her pen name George Eliot, was an English novelist, poet, journalist, translator, and one of the leading writers of the Victorian era. She wro ...
summarised Carlyle's impact in 1855:
It is an idle question to ask whether his books will be read a century hence: if they were all burnt as the grandest of
Suttee Sati or suttee is a Hindu practice, now largely historical, in which a widow sacrifices herself by sitting atop her deceased husband's funeral pyre. Quote: Between 1943 and 1987, some thirty women in Rajasthan (twenty-eight, according to offic ...
s on his funeral pile, it would be only like cutting down an oak after its acorns have sown a forest. For there is hardly a superior or active mind of this generation that has not been modified by Carlyle's writings; there has hardly been an English book written for the last ten or twelve years that would not have been different if Carlyle had not lived.
Carlyle's two most important followers were Emerson and Ruskin. In the 19th century, Emerson was often thought of as "the American Carlyle". He sent Carlyle one of his books in 1870 with the inscription, "To the General in Chief from his Lieutenant". In 1854, Ruskin made his first public acknowledgement that Carlyle was the author to whom he "owed more than to any other living writer". After reading Ruskin's ''
Unto This Last ''Unto This Last'' is an essay critical of economics by John Ruskin, first published between August and December 1860 in the monthly journal ''Cornhill Magazine'' in four articles. Title The title is a quotation from the Parable of the Workers i ...
'' (1860), Carlyle felt that they were "in a minority of ''two''", a feeling which Ruskin shared. From the 1860s onward, Ruskin frequently referred to him as his "master" and "papa," writing after Carlyle's death that he was "throwing myself now into the mere fulfilment of Carlyle's work." By 1960, Carlyle had become "the single most frequent topic of doctoral dissertations in the field of Victorian literature". While preparing for a study of his own, German scholar
Gerhart von Schulze-Gävernitz Gerhart von Schulze-Gävernitz (born 25 July 1864 in Breslau; died 10 July 1943 in Krainsdorf) was a German economist. Biography He became professor at Freiburg in 1893, and at Heidelberg Heidelberg (; Palatine German language, Palatine Ge ...
found himself overwhelmed by the amount of material already written about Carlyle—in 1894.


Literature

"The most explosive impact in English literature during the nineteenth century is unquestionably Thomas Carlyle's", writes Lionel Stevenson. "From about 1840 onward, no author of prose or poetry was immune from his influence." Authors on whom Carlyle's influence was particularly strong include
Matthew Arnold Matthew Arnold (24 December 1822 – 15 April 1888) was an English poet and cultural critic who worked as an inspector of schools. He was the son of Thomas Arnold, the celebrated headmaster of Rugby School, and brother to both Tom Arnold, lit ...
, Elizabeth Barrett Browning,
Robert Browning Robert Browning (7 May 1812 – 12 December 1889) was an English poet and playwright whose dramatic monologues put him high among the Victorian poets. He was noted for irony, characterization, dark humour, social commentary, historical settings ...
, Arthur Hugh Clough, Dickens, Disraeli, George Eliot, Elizabeth Gaskell,
Frank Harris Frank Harris (14 February 1855 – 26 August 1931) was an Irish-American editor, novelist, short story writer, journalist and publisher, who was friendly with many well-known figures of his day. Born in Ireland, he emigrated to the United State ...
, Kingsley,
George Henry Lewes George Henry Lewes (; 18 April 1817 – 30 November 1878) was an English philosopher and critic of literature and theatre. He was also an amateur physiologist. American feminist Margaret Fuller called Lewes a "witty, French, flippant sort of m ...
,
David Masson David Mather Masson LLD DLitt (2 December 18226 October 1907), was a Scottish academic, supporter of women's suffrage, literary critic and historian. Biography He was born in Aberdeen, the son of William Masson, a stone-cutter, and his wi ...
,
George Meredith George Meredith (12 February 1828 – 18 May 1909) was an English novelist and poet of the Victorian era. At first his focus was poetry, influenced by John Keats among others, but he gradually established a reputation as a novelist. ''The Ord ...
, Mill,
Margaret Oliphant Margaret Oliphant Wilson Oliphant (born Margaret Oliphant Wilson; 4 April 1828 – 20 June 1897) was a Scottish novelist and historical writer, who usually wrote as Mrs. Oliphant. Her fictional works cover "domestic realism, the historical nove ...
,
Marcel Proust Valentin Louis Georges Eugène Marcel Proust (; ; 10 July 1871 – 18 November 1922) was a French novelist, critic, and essayist who wrote the monumental novel ''In Search of Lost Time'' (''À la recherche du temps perdu''; with the previous Eng ...
, Ruskin,
George Bernard Shaw George Bernard Shaw (26 July 1856 – 2 November 1950), known at his insistence simply as Bernard Shaw, was an Irish playwright, critic, polemicist and political activist. His influence on Western theatre, culture and politics extended from ...
and
Walt Whitman Walter Whitman (; May 31, 1819 – March 26, 1892) was an American poet, essayist and journalist. A humanist, he was a part of the transition between transcendentalism and realism, incorporating both views in his works. Whitman is among ...
. Germaine Brée has shown the considerable impact that Carlyle had on the thought of
André Gide André Paul Guillaume Gide (; 22 November 1869 – 19 February 1951) was a French author and winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature (in 1947). Gide's career ranged from its beginnings in the Symbolism (arts), symbolist movement, to the advent o ...
. Carlylean influence is also seen in the writings of
Ryūnosuke Akutagawa , art name , was a Japanese writer active in the Taishō period in Japan. He is regarded as the "father of the Japanese short story", and Japan's premier literary award, the Akutagawa Prize, is named after him. He committed suicide at the age of ...
,
Marcu Beza Marcu Beza (June 30, 1882 in Kleisoura, Ottoman Empire – May 6, 1949 in Bucharest, Romania) was a Romanian poet, writer, essayist, literary critique, publicist, folklorist, and diplomat of Aromanian origin. Beza was elected a corresponding ...
,
Jorge Luis Borges Jorge Francisco Isidoro Luis Borges Acevedo (; ; 24 August 1899 – 14 June 1986) was an Argentine short-story writer, essayist, poet and translator, as well as a key figure in Spanish-language and international literature. His best-known bo ...
,
the Brontës ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...
,
Arthur Conan Doyle Sir Arthur Ignatius Conan Doyle (22 May 1859 – 7 July 1930) was a British writer and physician. He created the character Sherlock Holmes in 1887 for ''A Study in Scarlet'', the first of four novels and fifty-six short stories about Ho ...
,
E. M. Forster Edward Morgan Forster (1 January 1879 – 7 June 1970) was an English author, best known for his novels, particularly ''A Room with a View'' (1908), ''Howards End'' (1910), and ''A Passage to India'' (1924). He also wrote numerous short stori ...
,
Ángel Ganivet Ángel Ganivet García (13 December 1865 in Granada, Spain – 29 November 1898 in Riga) was a Spanish writer and diplomat. He was considered a precursor to the Generation of '98. On 29 November 1898, disillusioned in love, Ganivet drowned himse ...
, Lafcadio Hearn,
William Ernest Henley William Ernest Henley (23 August 184911 July 1903) was an English poet, writer, critic and editor. Though he wrote several books of poetry, Henley is remembered most often for his 1875 poem "Invictus". A fixture in London literary circles, the o ...
,
Marietta Holley Marietta Holley (pen names, Jemyma, later, Josiah Allen's Wife; July 16, 1836 – March 1, 1926), was an American humorist who used satire to comment on U.S. society and politics. Holley enjoyed a prolific writing career and was a bestselling au ...
,
Rudyard Kipling Joseph Rudyard Kipling ( ; 30 December 1865 – 18 January 1936)''The Times'', (London) 18 January 1936, p. 12. was an English novelist, short-story writer, poet, and journalist. He was born in British India, which inspired much of his work. ...
,
Selma Lagerlöf Selma Ottilia Lovisa Lagerlöf (, , ; 20 November 1858 – 16 March 1940) was a Swedish author. She published her first novel, '' Gösta Berling's Saga'', at the age of 33. She was the first woman to win the Nobel Prize in Literature, which she wa ...
,
Herman Melville Herman Melville (Name change, born Melvill; August 1, 1819 – September 28, 1891) was an American people, American novelist, short story writer, and poet of the American Renaissance (literature), American Renaissance period. Among his bes ...
,
Edgar Quinet Edgar Quinet (; 17 February 180327 March 1875) was a French historian and intellectual. Biography Early years Quinet was born at Bourg-en-Bresse, in the ''département'' of Ain. His father, Jérôme Quinet, had been a commissary in the army, ...
, Samuel Smiles, Lord Tennyson,
William Makepeace Thackeray William Makepeace Thackeray (; 18 July 1811 – 24 December 1863) was a British novelist, author and illustrator. He is known for his satirical works, particularly his 1848 novel ''Vanity Fair'', a panoramic portrait of British society, and t ...
,
Anthony Trollope Anthony Trollope (; 24 April 1815 – 6 December 1882) was an English novelist and civil servant of the Victorian era. Among his best-known works is a series of novels collectively known as the '' Chronicles of Barsetshire'', which revolves ar ...
,
Miguel de Unamuno Miguel de Unamuno y Jugo (29 September 1864 – 31 December 1936) was a Spanish essayist, novelist, poet, playwright, philosopher, professor of Greek and Classics, and later rector at the University of Salamanca. His major philosophical essa ...
,
Alexandru Vlahuță Alexandru Vlahuță (; 5 September 1858 – 19 November 1919) was a Romanian writer. His best known work is '' România pitorească'', an overview of Romania's landscape in the form of a travelogue. He was also the main editor of ''Sămănătorul ...
and
Vasile Voiculescu Vasile Voiculescu (, literary pseudonym V. Voiculescu; 27 November 1884 – 26 April 1963) was a Romanian poet, short-story writer, playwright, and physician. Biography Early life and education Voiculescu was born in Pârscov, Buzău County ...
. Carlyle's German essays and translations as well as his own writings were pivotal to the development of the English ''
Bildungsroman In literary criticism, a ''Bildungsroman'' (, plural ''Bildungsromane'', ) is a literary genre that focuses on the psychological and moral growth of the protagonist from childhood to adulthood ( coming of age), in which character change is impo ...
''. His concept of symbols influenced French literary
Symbolism Symbolism or symbolist may refer to: Arts * Symbolism (arts), a 19th-century movement rejecting Realism ** Symbolist movement in Romania, symbolist literature and visual arts in Romania during the late 19th and early 20th centuries ** Russian sym ...
. Victorian specialist Alice Chandler writes that the influence of his medievalism is "found throughout the literature of the Victorian age". Carlyle's influence was also felt in the negative sense.
Algernon Charles Swinburne Algernon Charles Swinburne (5 April 1837 – 10 April 1909) was an English poet, playwright, novelist, and critic. He wrote several novels and collections of poetry such as ''Poems and Ballads'', and contributed to the famous Eleventh Edition ...
, whose comments on Carlyle throughout his writings range from high praise to scathing critique, once wrote to
John Morley John Morley, 1st Viscount Morley of Blackburn, (24 December 1838 – 23 September 1923) was a British Liberal statesman, writer and newspaper editor. Initially, a journalist in the North of England and then editor of the newly Liberal-leani ...
that Carlyle was "the illustrious enemy whom we all lament", reflecting a view of Carlyle as a totalizing figure to be rebelled against. Despite the broad
Modernist Modernism is both a philosophical and arts movement that arose from broad transformations in Western society during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The movement reflected a desire for the creation of new forms of art, philosophy, an ...
reaction against the Victorians, the influence of Carlyle has been traced in the writings of T. S. Eliot,
James Joyce James Augustine Aloysius Joyce (2 February 1882 – 13 January 1941) was an Irish novelist, poet, and literary critic. He contributed to the modernist avant-garde movement and is regarded as one of the most influential and important writers of ...
,
Wyndham Lewis Percy Wyndham Lewis (18 November 1882 – 7 March 1957) was a British writer, painter and critic. He was a co-founder of the Vorticist movement in art and edited ''BLAST,'' the literary magazine of the Vorticists. His novels include ''Tarr'' ( ...
and
D. H. Lawrence David Herbert Lawrence (11 September 1885 – 2 March 1930) was an English writer, novelist, poet and essayist. His works reflect on modernity, industrialization, sexuality, emotional health, vitality, spontaneity and instinct. His best-k ...
.


Philosophy

J. H. Muirhead wrote that Carlyle "exercised an influence in England and America that no other did upon the course of philosophical thought of his time". Ralph Jessop has shown that Carlyle powerfully forwarded the Scottish School of Common Sense and reinforced it by way of further engagement with
German idealism German idealism was a philosophical movement that emerged in Germany in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. It developed out of the work of Immanuel Kant in the 1780s and 1790s, and was closely linked both with Romanticism and the revolutionary ...
. Examining his influence on late 19th- and early 20th-century philosophers, Alexander Jordan concluded that "Carlyle emerges as far-and-away the most prominent figure in a tradition of
Scottish philosophy Scottish philosophy is a philosophical tradition created by philosophers belonging to Scottish universities. Although many philosophers such as Francis Hutcheson, David Hume, Thomas Reid, and Adam Smith are familiar to almost all philosophers ...
that stretched across three centuries and which culminated in British Idealism". His formative influence on British idealism touched its nearly every aspect, including its theology, its moral and ethical philosophy and its social and political thought. Leading British idealist
F. H. Bradley Francis Herbert Bradley (30 January 1846 – 18 September 1924) was a British idealist philosopher. His most important work was ''Appearance and Reality'' (1893). Life Bradley was born at Clapham, Surrey, England (now part of the Greater ...
cited from the "Everlasting Yea" chapter of ''Sartor Resartus'' in his argument against utilitarianism: "Love not Pleasure; love God." Carlyle had a foundational influence on
American Transcendentalism Transcendentalism is a philosophical movement that developed in the late 1820s and 1830s in New England. "Transcendentalism is an American literary, political, and philosophical movement of the early nineteenth century, centered around Ralph Wald ...
. Virtually every member followed him with enthusiasm, including
Amos Bronson Alcott Amos Bronson Alcott (; November 29, 1799 – March 4, 1888) was an American teacher, writer, philosopher, and reformer. As an educator, Alcott pioneered new ways of interacting with young students, focusing on a conversational style, and a ...
, Louisa May Alcott, Orestes Brownson,
William Henry Channing William Henry Channing (May 25, 1810 – December 23, 1884) was an American Unitarian clergyman, writer and philosopher. Biography William Henry Channing was born in Boston, Massachusetts. Channing's father, Francis Dana Channing, died when he wa ...
, Emerson,
Margaret Fuller Sarah Margaret Fuller (May 23, 1810 – July 19, 1850), sometimes referred to as Margaret Fuller Ossoli, was an American journalist, editor, critic, translator, and women's rights advocate associated with the American transcendentalism movemen ...
,
Frederic Henry Hedge Frederic Henry Hedge (December 12, 1805 – August 21, 1890) was a New England Unitarian minister and Transcendentalist. He was a founder of the Transcendental Club, originally called Hedge's Club, and active in the development of Transcendent ...
, Henry James Sr., Thoreau, and
George Ripley George Ripley may refer to: * George Ripley (alchemist) (died 1490), English author and alchemist *George Ripley (transcendentalist) George Ripley (October 3, 1802 – July 4, 1880) was an American social reformer, Unitarian minister, and journ ...
.
James Freeman Clarke James Freeman Clarke (April 4, 1810 – June 8, 1888) was an American minister, theologian and author. Biography Born in Hanover, New Hampshire, on April 4, 1810, James Freeman Clarke was the son of Samuel Clarke and Rebecca Parker Hull, though h ...
wrote that "He did not seem to be giving us a new creed, so much as inspiring us with a new life." Chandler writes that "Carlyle's contribution to English medievalism was first to make the contrast between modern and medieval England sharper and more horrifying than it had ever been." Secondly, he "gave new direction to the practical application of medievalism, transferring its field of action from agriculture, which was no longer the center of English life, to manufacturing, in which its lessons could be extremely valuable." G. K. Chesterton posited that "Out of arlyleflows most of the philosophy of
Nietzsche Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche (; or ; 15 October 1844 – 25 August 1900) was a German philosopher, prose poet, cultural critic, philologist, and composer whose work has exerted a profound influence on contemporary philosophy. He began his car ...
," a view held by many; the connection has been studied since the late-nineteenth century. But Nietzsche rejected this. Carlyle influenced the
Young Poland Young Poland ( pl, Młoda Polska) was a modernist period in Polish visual arts, literature and music, covering roughly the years between 1890 and 1918. It was a result of strong aesthetic opposition to the earlier ideas of Positivism. Young Pol ...
movement, particularly its main thought leaders Stanisław Brzozowski and
Antoni Lange Antoni Lange (1863 – 17 March 1929) was a Polish poet, philosopher, polyglot (15 languages), writer, novelist, science-writer, reporter and translator. A representative of Polish Parnassianism and symbolism, he is also regarded as belonging ...
. In Romania,
Titu Maiorescu Titu Liviu Maiorescu (; 15 February 1840 – 18 June 1917) was a Romanian literary critic and politician, founder of the ''Junimea'' Society. As a literary critic, he was instrumental in the development of Romanian culture in the second half of ...
of ''
Junimea ''Junimea'' was a Romanian literary society founded in Iași in 1863, through the initiative of several foreign-educated personalities led by Titu Maiorescu, Petre P. Carp, Vasile Pogor, Theodor Rosetti and Iacob Negruzzi. The foremost pers ...
'' spread Carlyle's works, influencing Constantin Antoniade and others, including Panait Mușoiu,
Constantin Rădulescu-Motru Constantin Rădulescu-Motru (; born Constantin Rădulescu, he added the surname ''Motru'' in 1892; February 15, 1868 – March 6, 1957) was a Romanian philosopher, psychologist, sociologist, logician, academic, dramatist, as well as left-nat ...
and Ion Th. Simionescu.
Percival Chubb Percival Ashley Chubb (1860–1959) was a founding member of the Fabian Society, an influential British socialist organization that aims to advance the principles of democratic socialism via gradualist and reformist effort in democracies. Born in ...
delivered an address on Carlyle to The Ethical Society of St. Louis in 1910. It was the first in a series entitled "Forerunners of Our Faith".


Historiography

David R. Sorensen affirms that Carlyle "redeemed the study of history at a moment when it was being threatened by a host of convergent forces, including religious dogmatism,
relativism Relativism is a family of philosophical views which deny claims to objectivity within a particular domain and assert that valuations in that domain are relative to the perspective of an observer or the context in which they are assessed. Ther ...
, utilitarianism, Saint-Simonianism and
Comtism Religion of Humanity (from French ''Religion de l'Humanité'' or '' église positiviste'') is a secular religion created by Auguste Comte (1798–1857), the founder of positivist philosophy. Adherents of this religion have built chapels of Huma ...
" by defending the "miraculous dimension of the past" from attempts to make "history a science of progress, philosophy a justification of self-interest, and faith a matter of social convenience."
James Anthony Froude James Anthony Froude ( ; 23 April 1818 – 20 October 1894) was an English historian, novelist, biographer, and editor of '' Fraser's Magazine''. From his upbringing amidst the Anglo-Catholic Oxford Movement, Froude intended to become a clerg ...
attributed his decision to become an historian to Carlyle's influence.
John Mitchel John Mitchel ( ga, Seán Mistéal; 3 November 1815 – 20 March 1875) was an Irish nationalist activist, author, and political journalist. In the Great Famine (Ireland), Famine years of the 1840s he was a leading writer for The Nation (Irish n ...
's ''Life of
Aodh O'Neill Aodh may refer to: * Aodh (given name) (Old and Middle Irish spelling ''Áed''), a masculine given name *Aed (god) Aed, or Aodh, is the prince of the Daoine Sidhe and a god of the underworld in Irish mythology. He is known from inscriptions as t ...
, Prince of Ulster'' (1845) has been called "an early incursion of Carlylean thought into the romantic construction of the Irish nation".
Standish James O'Grady Standish James O'Grady ( ga, Anéislis Séamus Ó Grádaigh; 18 September 1846 – 18 May 1928) was an Irish author, journalist, and historian. O'Grady was inspired by Sylvester O'Halloran and played a formative role in the Celtic Revival, publ ...
's presentation of a heroic past in his ''History of Ireland'' (1878–80) was strongly influenced by Carlyle. Wilhelm Dilthey deemed Carlyle "the greatest English writer of the century". Carlyle's histories were also praised by
Heinrich von Treitschke Heinrich Gotthard Freiherr von Treitschke (; 15 September 1834 – 28 April 1896) was a German historian, political writer and National Liberal member of the Reichstag during the time of the German Empire. He was an extreme nationalist, who favo ...
,
Wilhelm Windelband Wilhelm Windelband (; ; 11 May 1848 – 22 October 1915) was a German philosopher of the Baden School. Biography Windelband was born the son of a Prussian official in Potsdam. He studied at Jena, Berlin, and Göttingen. Philosophical work Win ...
, George Peabody Gooch, Pieter Geyl, Charles Firth (historian), Charles Firth, Nicolae Iorga, Vasile Pârvan and Andrei Oțetea. Others were hostile to Carlyle's method, such as Thomas Babington Macaulay, Leopold von Ranke, Lord Acton, Hippolyte Taine and Jules Michelet. Sorensen says that "modern historians and historiographers owe a debt to arlylethat few are prepared to acknowledge". Among those few is C. V. Wedgwood, who said "It is the measure of Carlyle's greatness that, although he did make mistakes, he emerges none the less as one of the great masters." Another is John Philipps Kenyon, who noted that despite his challenging style, Carlyle's "books are still read, and he has commanded the respect of historians as diverse as James Anthony Froude, G. M. Trevelyan and Hugh Trevor-Roper."


Social and political movements

Chandler, writing in 1970, said that the influence of Carlyle's medievalism can be found "in much of the social legislation of the past hundred and more years". It is perhaps most pronounced in Forster's Education Act, the Industrial Conciliation and Arbitration Act, the Factory Acts, and the rise of such practices as business ethics and profit sharing throughout the 19th- and early 20th-centuries. His attacks on ''laissez-faire'' became an important inspiration for Progressivism in the United States, U.S. progressives, influencing the creations of the American Association for Labor Legislation, the National Child Labor Committee and the National Consumers League. His economic statism influenced the progressive American Economic Association's early concept of "intelligent social engineering" (which has been described as Elitism, elitist and Eugenics, eugenicist). Leopold Caro credited Carlyle with influencing the social altruism of Henry Ford. Carlyle's influence on modern socialism has been described as "constitutive". Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels cited him in ''The Condition of the Working Class in England'' (1844–1845), The Holy Family (book), ''The Holy Family'' (1845), and ''The Communist Manifesto'' (1848). Alexander Herzen and Vasily Botkin valued his writings, the former calling him "a Scotch Proudhon." He was one of the main "intellectual sources" for Christian socialism. His importance to the British ''fin de siècle'' labour movement was acknowledged by major figures such as William Morris, Keir Hardie and Robert Blatchford. Individual reformers took inspiration from him, including Octavia Hill, Emmeline Pankhurst and Jane Addams.Carlyle's aversion to the label notwithstanding, 19th-centuy conservatives were influenced by him. Morris Edmund Speare cites Carlyle as "one of the greatest influences" on Disraeli's life. Robert Blake, Baron Blake, Robert Blake links the two as "romantic, conservative, organic thinkers who revolted against Benthamism and the legacy of eighteenth-century rationalism." Leslie Stephen noted Carlyle's influence on his brother James Fitzjames Stephen in the early 1870s. Nationalist movements also looked to Carlyle. He was admired by the Young Irelanders, despite his opposition to their cause. Duffy wrote that in Carlyle, they found a "very welcome" teacher, who "confirmed their determination to think for themselves", and that his writings were "often a cordial to their hearts in doubt and difficulty". Carlyle's philosophy was popular in the Antebellum South and eventual Confederacy (American Civil War), Confederacy. In 1848, ''The Southern Quarterly Review'' declared: "The spirit of Thomas Carlyle is abroad in the land." American historian William Dodd (ambassador), William E. Dodd wrote that Carlyle's "doctrine of social subordination and class distinction . . . was all that Thomas Roderick Dew, Dew and William Harper (South Carolina politician), Harper and John C. Calhoun, Calhoun and James Henry Hammond, Hammond desired. The greatest Realism (philosophical), realist in England had weighed their system and found it just and humane." Southern sociologist George Fitzhugh's notions of palingenesis, multi-racial slavery, and authoritarianism were profoundly influenced by Carlyle (as was his prose style). Richard Wagner used Carlyle, whom he called a "great thinker", to justify his later German nationalism. References to Carlyle appear in the writings of Indian nationalist Mahatma Gandhi throughout his life. More recently, figures associated with the Nouvelle Droite, the Neoreactionary movement, and the alt-right have claimed Carlyle as an influence on their approach to metapolitics. At a meeting of the New Right (UK), New Right in London in July 2008, English artist Jonathan Bowden delivered a lecture in which he said, "All of our great thinkers are shooting arrows into the future. And Carlyle is one of them." In 2010, American blogger Curtis Yarvin labeled himself a Carlylean "the way a Marxism, Marxist is a Marxist." New Zealand-born writer Kerry Bolton wrote in 2020 that Carlyle's works "could be the ideological basis of a true British Right" and that they "remain as timeless foundations on which the Anglophone Right can return to its actual premises."


Art

Carlyle's medievalist critique of industrial practice and political economy was an early utterance of what would become the spirit of both the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood and the Arts and Crafts movement, and several leading members recognised his importance. John William Mackail, friend and official biographer of William Morris, wrote, that in the years of Morris and Edward Burne-Jones attendance at University of Oxford, Oxford, ''Past and Present'' stood as "inspired and absolute truth." Morris read a letter from Carlyle at the first public meeting of the Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings. Fiona MacCarthy, a recent biographer, affirmed that Morris was "deeply and lastingly" indebted to Carlyle. William Holman Hunt considered Carlyle to be a mentor of his. He used Carlyle as one of the models for the head of Christ in ''The Light of the World (painting), The Light of the World'' and showed great concern for Carlyle's portrayal in Ford Madox Brown's painting ''Work (painting), Work'' (1865). Carlyle helped Thomas Woolner to find work early in his career and throughout, and the sculptor would become "a kind of surrogate son" to the Carlyles, referring to Carlyle as "the dear old philosopher". Phoebe Anna Traquair depicted Carlyle, one of her favourite writers, in murals painted for the Royal Hospital for Sick Children, Edinburgh, Royal Hospital for Sick Children and St Mary's Cathedral, Edinburgh (Episcopal), St Mary's Cathedral in Edinburgh. According to Marylu Hill, the Roycrofters were "very influenced by Carlyle's words about work and the necessity of work", with his name appearing frequently in their writings, which are held at Villanova University. apRoberts writes that Carlyle "did much to set the stage for the Aesthetic Movement" through both his German and original writings, noting that he even popularised (if not introduced) the term "''Aesthetics, Æesthetics''" into the English language, leading her to declare him as "the apostle of aesthetics in England, 1825–27." Carlyle's rhetorical style and his views on art also provided a foundation for aestheticism, particularly that of Walter Pater, Wilde, and W. B. Yeats.


Reputation

Few figures in the history of English literature have been so highly esteemed and then utterly neglected within such a short timespan as Thomas Carlyle. Tennyson divided the history of his reputation into three chronological periods: # Carlyle's lifetime (to 1881): The Popular Period # From Carlyle's Death to about 1930: The Reactionary Period # From 1930 to the Present: The Scholarly-Critical Period He also provides a brief overview of these developments:
If we were plotting the whole course of Carlyle's reputation through the three periods on a graph, we would note a generally rising curve in Period I up to a very high peak towards the end of his life, a drastic plunge in Period II to a valley almost as deep as the peak was high, and a cautious rise in Period III to a modest eminence but with perhaps a further rise in prospect.


Carlyle's lifetime (to 1881): The Popular Period

"If one had to settle upon a single word to characterize the Victorian view of Carlyle, that word should be—Teacher", writes Tennyson. This designation is supported by Harriet Martineau's 1849 assessment of Carlyle: "Whether we call him philosopher, poet, or moralist, he is the first teacher of our generation." For Victorian readers, the Teacher could easily become the Philosopher or the Theologian, and many attempted to extract Carlyle's "system" from his writings. Tennyson draws the connection from teacher to prophet and sage, two frequently used nouns when describing Carlyle. Tennyson considers Froude's biography (1882–1884) as at once "the shining example of the Victorian view of Carlyle" in its reverent adherence to Carlyle's message and the herald of "a new and rather untidy phase of Carlyle's reputation" for its focus on his personal relationships, particularly with his wife.


From Carlyle's Death to about 1930: The Reactionary Period

Once the Teacher, Carlyle has become the Denouncer. In this stage, the "dominant tone" of negativity is "set by what seemed to be Froude's undermining of Carlyle's reputation as a man and thinker." The focus turned away from Carlyle's "teachings" and towards negative aspects of Carlyle's personal life; it became fashionable to "denounce the denouncer". Owen Dudley Edwards remarked that in this period, "Carlyle was known more than read". As Campbell describes:
The effect of Froude’s work in the years following Carlyle’s death was extraordinary. Almost overnight, it seemed, Carlyle plunged from his position as Sage of Chelsea and Grand Old Victorian to the object of puzzled dislike, or even of revulsion.
Tennyson distinguishes two camps that arose from this state of affairs—the Loyalists, those who knew and admired Carlyle, and the Revisionists, those who supported Froude's "undermining". Large amounts of material were published in response to the provocations of the Revisionists, so, in a sense, their approach "dominat[ed] Carlyle scholarship for many years". Tennyson observes that the effects of Froude's legacy are still felt in the way that Carlyle is read and perceived, as the controversy is better known than Carlyle's writings. Similar to Froude's biography, two publications from this time, David Alec Wilson's biography (1923–1934) and Isaac Watson Dyer's bibliography (1928), provide the "last gasp" of the Reactionary period in their open Loyalist partiality, while also ushering in a new era in their emphasis on scholarship, accuracy, and facts.


From 1930 to the Present: The Scholarly-Critical Period

Whereas the Popular Period pictured Carlyle as Teacher and the Reactionary as Denouncer, the Scholarly-Critical Period imaged him as Influence. In the 1930s, scholarly attention to Carlyle increased, and despite hostilities during and after the Second World War, the general upward trend resumed in the 1950s. For the first time, it was possible "to write about Carlyle without necessarily appearing either as his sycophant or as his grim-eyed detractor." The "scholarly" centerpiece of this period is the ''Collected Letters'', a correspondence whose sheer size (50 volumes) and timespan of composition (1812–1881) testifies to the enduring importance of Carlyle both as an individual and as a means through which to view his era. On the "critical" end, there was a new emphasis on the literary and technical aspects of Carlyle's work, inspired by John Holloway's ''The Victorian Sage'' (1953) and continued in further studies. The dual approach to Carlyle as Influence and Carlyle as literary genius brought forth a "palingenesis" in Carlyle studies, which would reaffirm Carlyle as pre-eminent among Victorians. Tennyson predicted that a fourth stage would follow: Carlyle as ''Vates'', in whom, as Carlyle spake in "The Hero as Poet", poet and prophet are one. "Despite the pleas of these critics," Cumming reported in 2004, "Carlyle's status as a great, powerful writer has not been rehabilitated even within the universities, and his name is unlikely ever to have the widespread popular currency of such contemporaries as George Eliot, Charles Dickens, or the Brontës." Several factors have contributed to this state of affairs, one of which is Carlyle's resistance to categorisation, limiting his applicability and presence in academic curricula. Another is the common association of Carlyle with racism and fascism. Besides these, the difficulty of his prose can be a challenge to modern readers. Subsequent scholarship has tended stress his influence and his place in the history of ideas.


Controversies


Racism and antisemitism

Fielding writes that Carlyle "was often ready to play up to being a caricature of prejudice". Targets for his ire included the French, the Irish, Slavs, Turks, Americans, Catholics, and, most explicitly, blacks and Jews. Duffy recorded Carlyle's response to Duffy's telling him that "he had taught Mitchel to oppose the liberation of the negroes and the emancipation of the Jews."
Mitchel, he said, would be found to be right in the end; the black man could not be emancipated from the laws of nature, which had pronounced a very decided decree on the question, and neither could the Jew.
Carlyle "resembled most of his contemporaries" in his beliefs about Jews, identifying them with capitalist materialism and outmoded religious orthodoxy. He wished that the English would throw off their "Hebrew Old-Clothes" and abandon the Hebraic element in Christianity, or Christianity altogether. Carlyle had once considered writing a book called ''Exodus from Houndsditch'', "a pealing off of fetid ''Jewhood'' in every sense from myself and my poor bewildered brethren". Froude described Carlyle's aversion to the Jews as "Teutonic". He felt they had contributed nothing to the "wealth" of mankind, comparing "the Jews with their morbid imaginations and foolish sheepskin Targums" to "The Norse with their steel swords guided by fresh valiant hearts and clear veracious understanding". Carlyle refused an invitation by Sir Anthony de Rothschild, 1st Baronet, Baron Rothschild in 1848 to support a Bill in Parliament to allow Emancipation of the Jews in the United Kingdom, voting rights for Jews in the United Kingdom, asking Richard Monckton Milnes, 1st Baron Houghton, Richard Monckton Milnes in a correspondence how a Jew could "try to be Senator, or even Citizen, of any Country, except his own wretched Palestine," and expressed his hope that they would "arrive" in Palestine "as soon as possible". Henry Crabb Robinson heard Carlyle at dinner in 1837 speak approvingly of slavery. "It is a natural aristocracy, that of ''colour'', and quite right that the stronger and better race should have dominion!" The 1853 pamphlet "Occasional Discourse on the Negro Question, Occasional Discourse on the Nigger Question" expressed concern for the excesses of the practice, considering "How to abolish the abuses of slavery, and save the precious thing in it."


Nazi appropriation

From Goethe's recognition of Carlyle as "a moral force of great importance" in 1827 to the celebration of his centennial as though he were a national hero in 1895, Carlyle had long enjoyed a high reputation in Germany. With the rise of Adolf Hitler, many agreed with the assessment of K. O. Schmidt in 1933, who came to see Carlyle as ''den ersten englischen Nationalsozialisten'' (the first English National Socialist). William Joyce (founder of the National Socialist League and the Carlyle Club, a cultural arm of the NSL named for Carlyle) wrote of how "Germany has repaid him for his scholarship on her behalf by honouring his philosophy when it is scorned in Britain." German academics viewed him as having been immersed in and an outgrowth of German culture, just as National Socialism was. They proposed that ''Heroes and Hero-Worship'' justified the ''Führerprinzip'' (Leadership principle). Theodor Jost wrote in 1935: "Carlyle established, in fact, the mission of the Führer historically and philosophically. He fights, himself a Führer, vigorously against the masses, he . . . becomes a pathfinder for new thoughts and forms." Parallels were also drawn between Carlyle's critique of Victorian England in ''Latter-Day Pamphlets'' and Nazi opposition to the Weimar Republic. Some believed that Carlyle was German by blood. Echoing Paul Hensel's earlier claim in 1901 that Carlyle's ''Volkscharakter'' (Folk character) had preserved "the peculiarity of the Low German tribe", Egon Friedell, an anti-Nazi and Jewish Austrian, explained in 1935 that Carlyle's affinity with Germany stemmed from his being "a Scotsman of the lowlands, where the Celts, Celtic imprint is far more marginal than it is with the High Scottish and the Low German element is even stronger than it is in England." Others regarded him, if not ethnically German, as a ''Geist von unserem Geist'' (Spirit from our Spirit), as Karl Richter wrote in 1937: "Carlyle's ethos is the ethos of the Nordic race, Nordic soul par excellence." In 1945, Joseph Goebbels frequently sought consolation from Carlyle's ''History of'' ''Frederick the Great''. Goebbels read passages from the book to Hitler during his last days in the ''Führerbunker''. While some Germans were eager to claim Carlyle for the Reich, others were more aware of incompatibilities. In 1936, Theodor Deimel argued that because of the "profound difference" between Carlyle's philosophical foundation of "a personally shaped religious idea" and the ''Völkisch'' foundation of National Socialism, the designation of Carlyle as the "first National Socialist" is "mistaken". Ernst Cassirer rejected the notion of Carlyle as proto-fascist in ''The Myth of the State'' (1946), emphasizing the moral underpinning of his thought. Tennyson has also commented that Carlyle's anti-modernist and anti-egoist stances disqualify him from association with 20th-century totalitarianism.


In literature

This section lists parodies of and references to Carlyle in literature. * William Maginn parodied Carlyle in the "Gallery of Literary Characters" Number 37, appearing in ''Fraser's Magazine'' for June 1833. * In January 1838 Disraeli published a series of political letters in the ''Times'' under the heading of Old England and signed Couer de Lion, which imitated Carlyle's style. * Carlyle is cast as Collins in "The Onyx Ring," a tale by John Sterling (author), John Sterling which first appeared in ''
Blackwood's Magazine ''Blackwood's Magazine'' was a British magazine and miscellany printed between 1817 and 1980. It was founded by the publisher William Blackwood and was originally called the ''Edinburgh Monthly Magazine''. The first number appeared in April 1817 ...
'' in 1843. * James Russell Lowell's ''The Biglow Papers'' of 1848 features a "notice" from the fictitious ''World-Harmonic-Æolian-Attachment'' in parody of Carlyle. * Kingsley introduced Carlylean characters in Yeast (novel), ''Yeast, A Novel'' (1848) and Alton Locke, ''Alton Locke: Tailor and Poet, An Autobiography'' (1850). * ''Fraser's'' again parodied Carlyle in November 1849, this time by Charles Henry Waring. * Carlyle received two parodic treatments in Punch (magazine), ''Punch'' shortly after the publication of the ''Pamphlets'' in 1850. * Edward FitzGerald (poet), Edward FitzGerald referred to Carlyle in ''Euphranor'' (1851) and ''Polonius'' (1852), his first published works. * Trollope parodied Carlyle in chapter 15 of ''The Warden'' (1855) in the figure of Dr. Pessimist Anticant. * Barrett Browning mentions Carlyle by name in book five of ''Aurora Leigh'' (1856). * Scottish author and businessman Patrick Proctor Alexander published "An Occasional Discourse on Sauerteig" (1859), attributed to Smelfungus. *
David Atwood Wasson David Atwood Wasson (1823–1887) was an American minister and Transcendentalist author, an essayist and poet. He was early influenced by Thomas Carlyle, an influence he would shed; he is usually regarded as a disciple of Ralph Waldo Emerson. Lif ...
parodied Carlyle in 1863 in a "strongly critical rejoinder" to "Ilias (Americana) in Nuce". * Harrison wrote "A New Lecture on Hero-Worship" in 1867, attacking Carlyle's support of Governor Eyre. * Mark Twain wrote a satirical response to "Shooting Niagara" entitled "A Day at Niagara" (1869). * Meredith wrote a sonnet "To Carlyle" for his eightieth birthday in 1875. * Carlyle figures in Meredith's ''Beauchamp's Career'' (1876) as Dr. Shrapnel. * Swinburne coupled Carlyle with John Henry Newman in "Two Leaders" (1878). * James D. Merritt suggests that Carlyle be considered as the original of St. Barbe in Disraeli's Endymion (Disraeli novel), ''Endymion'' (1880). * Swinburne wrote the sonnets "On the Deaths of Thomas Carlyle and George Eliot" and "After Looking into Carlyle's Reminiscences" (1882). * Montgomery Schuyler composed a sonnet, "Carlyle and Emerson" (1883). * Sarah Orne Jewett wrote "Carlyle in America", an unpublished short story, in 1885. *
Arthur Conan Doyle Sir Arthur Ignatius Conan Doyle (22 May 1859 – 7 July 1930) was a British writer and physician. He created the character Sherlock Holmes in 1887 for ''A Study in Scarlet'', the first of four novels and fifty-six short stories about Ho ...
references Carlyle in his 1887 novel ''A Study in Scarlet'', using a character's unfamiliarity with the name to illustrate his utter ignorance. * William Bell Scott, in his ''Autobiographical Sketches'' (1892), refers to a piece published in "an obscure magazine" titled "More Letters of Oliver Cromwell" wherein "the style of Carlyle [is] imitated." * In Samuel Butler (novelist), Samuel Butler's ''The Way of All Flesh'' (1903), Ernest Pontifex is assured that he will "make a kind of Carlyle sort of a man one day." * Carlyle is mentioned and quoted in ''The Column of Dust'' (1909) by Evelyn Underhill. * Bliss Carman, in "The Last Day at Stormfield" (1912), a poetic tribute to Twain, described Carlyle as a "dour philosopher . . . Yet sound at the core." *
James Joyce James Augustine Aloysius Joyce (2 February 1882 – 13 January 1941) was an Irish novelist, poet, and literary critic. He contributed to the modernist avant-garde movement and is regarded as one of the most influential and important writers of ...
parodied Carlyle in Episode 14 of ''Ulysses (novel), Ulysses'' (1922), ''Ulysses (novel)#Episode 14, Oxen of the Sun, Oxen of the Sun''. * In ''To the Lighthouse'' (1927) by Virginia Woolf, Mr. Bankes bemoaned that "the young don't read Carlyle." * ''Two Passengers for Chelsea'' (1928), a one-act play by American playwright Oscar W. Firkins, first appeared in ''The Cornhill Magazine, Cornhill Magazine''. * Hugh Kingsmill published "Some Modern Light-Bringers, As They Might have been Extinguished by Thomas Carlyle" in The Bookman (London), ''The Bookman'' in 1932. * In the Dorothy L. Sayers novel ''Gaudy Night'' (1935), Miss Lydgate criticises her former pupil Harriet's popular biography of Carlyle for having "reproduced all the old gossip without troubling to verify anything." * ''The Fire-Lighters: A Dialogue on a Burning Topic'' (1938), a play by Laurence Housman, younger brother of Shropshire poet A. E. Housman. * Elsie Prentys Thornton-Cook, a New Zealand-born writer, wrote ''Speaking Dust'' (1938), a novel that is "a reconstruction of the lives of Thomas Carlyle and his wife shown against the dramatic background of the time." * ''Mrs. Carlyle: A Historical Play'' (1950), a three-act play by Glenn Hughes first performed at the University of Washington's Showboat Theatre on 7 October 1948 with Lillian Gish in the role of Jane. * "The Inimitable Mr. Carlyle," one of the ''Grandfather Stories'' (1955) by Samuel Hopkins Adams, relates the impact of Carlyle on the culture of Rochester, New York, Rochester, New York (state), New York in the 1880s. * ''Carlyle and Jane'' by Henry Donald, first presented at the Edinburgh International Festival in 1974; the text mostly conforms to "what the two principal correspondents, their relations and friends, actually wrote." * ''Neighboring Lives'' (1980), by Thomas M. Disch and Charles Naylor, is a fictional study of the Carlyles and their Chelsea neighbours from their arrival at No. 5, Cheyne Row in 1834 until the death of Jane in 1866.


Bibliography


By Carlyle


Major works

The standard edition of Carlyle's works is the ''Works in Thirty Volumes'', also known as the ''Centenary Edition''. The date given is when the work was "originally published." * ** Vol. I. ''
Sartor Resartus ''Sartor Resartus: The Life and Opinions of Herr Teufelsdröckh in Three Books'' is an 1831 novel by the Scottish essayist, historian and philosopher Thomas Carlyle, first published as a serial in ''Fraser's Magazine'' in November 1833 – August ...
: The Life and Opinions of Herr Teufelsdröckh in Three Books'' (1831) ** Vols. I–III. '' The French Revolution: A History'' (1837) ** Vol. IV. ''On Heroes, Hero-Worship, & the Heroic in History, On Heroes, Hero-Worship, and the Heroic in History'' (1841) ** Vols. V–IX. ''
Oliver Cromwell's Letters and Speeches ''Oliver Cromwell's Letters and Speeches: with Elucidations'' is a book by the Scottish essayist, historian and philosopher Thomas Carlyle. It "remains one of the most important works of British history published in the nineteenth and twentieth ...
: with Elucidations'' (1845) ** Vol. X. Past and Present (book), ''Past and Present'' (1843) ** Vol. XI. ''
The Life of John Sterling ''The Life of John Sterling'' is a biography of the Scottish author John Sterling (1806–1844) written by his friend, the Scottish essayist, historian and philosopher Thomas Carlyle. It was first published in 1851. John Sterling was a colleag ...
'' (1851) ** Vols. XII–XIX. ''
History of Friedrich II. of Prussia, Called Frederick the Great ''History of Friedrich II. of Prussia, Called Frederick the Great'' is a biography of Friedrich II of Prussia by Scottish essayist, historian and philosopher Thomas Carlyle. It was first published in six volumes from 1858 to 1865. Composition ...
'' (1858–1865) ** Vol. XX. ''
Latter-Day Pamphlets ''Latter-Day Pamphlets'' was a series of "pamphlets" published by Scottish essayist, historian and philosopher Thomas Carlyle in 1850,Carlyle, Thomas (1850)''Latter-Day Pamphlets.''London: Chapman & Hall. in vehement denunciation of what he be ...
'' (1850) ** Vols. XI–XII. ''German Romance: Translations from the German, with Biographical and Critical Notices'' (1827) ** Vols. XXIII–XXIV. ''Wilhelm Meister's Wilhelm Meister's Apprenticeship, Apprenticeship and Travels, Translated from the German of Goethe'' (1824) ** Vol. XXV. ''The Life of Friedrich Schiller, Comprehending an Examination of His Works'' (1825) ** Vols. XXVI–XXX. ''
Critical and Miscellaneous Essays ''Critical and Miscellaneous Essays'' is the title of a collection of reprinted reviews and other magazine pieces by the Scottish essayist, historian and philosopher Thomas Carlyle. Along with ''Sartor Resartus'' and ''The French Revolution'' it ...
''


Marginalia

This is a list of selected books, pamphlets and broadsides uncollected in the ''Miscellanies'' through 1880 as well as posthumous first editions and unpublished manuscripts. *
Ireland and Sir Robert Peel
' (1849) * ''Legislation for Ireland'' (1849) *
Ireland and the British Chief Governor
' (1849) * Froude, James Anthony, ed. (1881). ''Reminiscences''. London: Longmans, Green, and Co. * ''Reminiscences of My Irish Journey in 1849'' (1882). London: Sampson Low, Marston, Searle & Rivington. * ''Last Words of Thomas Carlyle: On Trades-Unions, Promoterism and the Signs of the Times'' (1882). 67 Princes Street, Edinburgh: William Paterson. * Norton, Charles Eliot, ed. (1883). ''The Correspondence of Thomas Carlyle and Ralph Waldo Emerson''. Boston: James R. Osgood and Company. * Norton, Charles Eliot, ed. (1886). ''Early Letters of Thomas Carlyle''. London and New York: Macmillan and Co. * ''Thomas Carlyle's Counsels to a Literary Aspirant: A Hitherto Unpublished Letter of 1842 and What Came of Them'' (1886). Edinburgh: James Thin, South Bridge. * Norton, Charles Eliot, ed. (1887). ''Reminiscences''. London and New York: Macmillan and Co. * Norton, Charles Eliot, ed. (1887). ''Correspondence Between Goethe and Carlyle''. London and New York: Macmillan and Co. * Norton, Charles Eliot, ed. (1888). ''Letters of Thomas Carlyle''. London and New York: Macmillan and Co. * ''Thomas Carlyle on the Repeal of the Union'' (1889). London: Field & Tuer, the Leadenhall Press. * Newberry, Percy, ed. (1892). ''Rescued Essays of Thomas Carlyle''. The Leadenhall Press. * ''Last Words of Thomas Carlyle'' (1892). London: Longmans, Green, and Co. * Karkaria, R. P., ed. (1892). ''Lectures on the History of Literature''. London: Curwen, Kane & Co. * Joseph Reay Greene, Greene, J. Reay, ed. (1892). ''Lectures on the History of Literature''. London: Ellis and Elvey. * Carlyle, Alexander, ed. (1898). ''Historical Sketches of Notable Persons and Events in the Reigns of James I and Charles I''. London: Chapman and Hall Limited. * Norton, Charles Eliot, ed. (1898). ''Two Note Books of Thomas Carlyle''. New York: The Grolier Club. * Copeland, Charles Townsend, ed. (1899). ''Letters of Thomas Carlyle to His Youngest Sister''. Boston and New York: Houghton, Mifflin and Company. * Jones, Samuel Arthur, ed. (1903). ''Collecteana''. Canton, Pennsylvania: The Kirgate Press. * Carlyle, Alexander, ed. (1904). ''New Letters of Thomas Carlyle''. London: The Bodley Head. * * * Carlyle, Alexander, ed. (1923). ''Letters of Thomas Carlyle to John Stuart Mill, John Sterling and Robert Browning''. London: T. Fisher Unwin LTD. * Brooks, Richard Albert Edward, ed. (1940). ''Journey to Germany, Autumn 1858''. New Haven: Yale University Press. * Graham Jr., John, ed. (1950). ''Letters of Thomas Carlyle to William Graham''. Princeton: Princeton University Press. * Shine, Hill, ed. (1951). ''Carlyle's Unfinished History of German Literature''. Lexington: University of Kentucky Press. * Bliss, Trudy, ed. (1953). ''Letters to His Wife''. London: Victor Gollancz Ltd. * * * * * * Henderson, Heather, ed. (1979). ''Wooden-Headed Publishers and Locust-Swarms of Authors''. University of Edinburgh. * Campbell, Ian, ed. (1980). ''Thomas and Jane: Selected Letters from the Edinburgh University Library Collection''. Edinburgh. * * * * * Tarr, Rodger L.; McClelland, Fleming, eds. (1986). ''The Collected Poems of Thomas and Jane Welsh Carlyle''. Greenwood, Florida: The Penkevill Publishing Company. * * * * * Tom Hubbard, Hubbard, Tom (2005), "Carlyle, France and Germany in 1870", in Hubbard, Tom (2022), ''Invitation to the Voyage: Scotland, Europe and Literature'', Rymour, pp. 44 - 46,


Scholarly editions

* * * * * * ** * * *


Memoirs, etc.

* * * * * * * * * * * * Charles Eliot Norton, Norton, Charles Eliot (1886)
"Recollections of Carlyle"
''The New Princeton Review''. 2 (4): 1–19. * *


Biographies

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Julian Symons, Symons, Julian (1952). ''Thomas Carlyle: The Life and Ideas of a Prophet.'' New York: Oxford University Press. * *


Secondary sources

* * Augustine Birrell, Birrell, Augustine
"Carlyle," from ''Obiter Dicta''
(New York: Chas. Scribner's Sons, 1885). * * * * * * * * * * Harrold, Charles Frederick (1934). ''Carlyle and German Thought: 1819–1834''. New Haven: Yale University Press. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Rosenberg, John D. (1985). ''Carlyle and the Burden of History.'' Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press. * Rosenberg, Philip (1974). ''The Seventh Hero: Thomas Carlyle and the Theory of Radical Activism''. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press. * * * * * * * * * * * * * Vanden Bossche, Chris R. (1991).

'. Columbus: Ohio State University Press. * * * *


Explanatory notes


References


External links


''Carlyle Studies Annual''
on JSTOR
The Norman and Charlotte Strouse Edition of the Writings of Thomas Carlyle

''The Collected Letters of Thomas and Jane Welsh Carlyle''

The Carlyle Society of Edinburgh

The Ecclefechan Carlyle Society

Thomas & Jane Carlyle's Craigenputtock
the official site *


Electronic editions

* * * *

at PoetryFoundation.org
''The Carlyle Letters Online''
* ''The Green Snake and the Beautiful Lily''
Thomas Carlyle's translation (1832) from the German of Goethe's ''Märchen or Das Märchen''


Archival material

* * A guide to the hdl:10079/fa/beinecke.carlyle, Thomas Carlyle Collection at th
Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library

Thomas and Jane Welsh Carlyle Photographs
at the Mortimer Rare Book Collection, Smith College Special Collections {{DEFAULTSORT:Carlyle, Thomas Thomas Carlyle, 1795 births 1881 deaths 19th-century biographers 19th-century essayists 19th-century Scottish historians 19th-century novelists 19th-century philosophers 19th-century translators 19th-century Scottish novelists 19th-century Scottish philosophers Alumni of the University of Edinburgh Anti-Masonry Antisemitism in the United Kingdom Conservatism in the United Kingdom Critics of political economy Fellows of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences Historians of the French Revolution Lecturers People associated with the National Portrait Gallery People educated at Annan Academy People from Dumfries and Galloway People of the Victorian era Proslavery activists Racism in the United Kingdom Recipients of the Pour le Mérite (civil class) Rectors of the University of Edinburgh Right-wing politics in the United Kingdom Romantic critics of political economy Scottish biographers Scottish essayists 19th-century Scottish mathematicians Scottish literary critics Scottish monarchists Scottish novelists Scottish philosophers Scottish satirists Scottish social commentators Scottish translators Sexism in the United Kingdom Translators of Johann Wolfgang von Goethe Writers of the Romantic era