Past And Present (book)
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''Past and Present'' is a book by the
Scottish Scottish usually refers to something of, from, or related to Scotland, including: *Scottish Gaelic, a Celtic Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family native to Scotland *Scottish English *Scottish national identity, the Scottish ide ...
essayist,
historian A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human species; as well as the ...
and
philosopher Philosophy ('love of wisdom' in Ancient Greek) is a systematic study of general and fundamental questions concerning topics like existence, reason, knowledge, Value (ethics and social sciences), value, mind, and language. It is a rational an ...
Thomas Carlyle Thomas Carlyle (4 December 17955 February 1881) was a Scottish essayist, historian, and philosopher. Known as the "Sage writing, sage of Chelsea, London, Chelsea", his writings strongly influenced the intellectual and artistic culture of the V ...
. It was published in April 1843 in England and the following month in the United States. It combines
medieval history In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of World history (field), global history. It began with the fall of the West ...
with criticism of 19th-century British society. Carlyle wrote it in seven weeks as a respite from the harassing labor of writing '' Oliver Cromwell's Letters and Speeches''. He was inspired by the recently published ''Chronicles of the Abbey of Saint Edmund's Bury'', which had been written by
Jocelin of Brakelond Jocelyn or Jocelin de Brakelond or Brakelonde (; century) was an English Benedictine monk at Bury St. Edmunds Abbey in Suffolk, England. He is only known through his work, the Chronicle of the Abbey of St. Edmunds, which narrates the fortunes of ...
at the close of the 12th century. This account of a medieval
monastery A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of Monasticism, monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in Cenobitic monasticism, communities or alone (hermits). A monastery generally includes a ...
had taken Carlyle's fancy, and he drew upon it in order to contrast the monks' reverence for work and heroism with the sham leadership of his own day.


Composition

Carlyle wrote on 27 October 1841 that he had thought of editing a journal, asking
James Garth Marshall James Garth Marshall (20 February 1802 – 22 October 1873) was an English Liberal Party politician, the Member of Parliament for Leeds (1847–1852). He was the third son of the wealthy industrialist John Marshall who introduced major innovatio ...
,
Is it not now that we are to sing and act the great new Epic, not "
Arms and the Man ''Arms and the Man'' is a comedy by George Bernard Shaw, whose title comes from the opening words of Virgil's ''Aeneid'', in Latin: ''Arma virumque cano'' ("Of arms and the man I sing"). The play was first produced on 21 April 1894 at the Av ...
," but "Tools and the Man";—to preach and prophesy in all ways that Labor is honorable, that Labor alone is honorable; that Idleness shall and must move out of its way, or be frightfully thrown into the howling dog-kennel?
Having borrowed and read
George Calvert Holland George Calvert Holland (28 February 1801 – 7 March 1865) was an English physician, phrenologist, mesmerist and homeopath. In later life he was active in politics and the railway boom. Life Holland was born 28 February 1801 at Pitsmoor, Sheffi ...
's ''The Millocrat'' and Marshall's address to the
Leeds Leeds is a city in West Yorkshire, England. It is the largest settlement in Yorkshire and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds Metropolitan Borough, which is the second most populous district in the United Kingdom. It is built aro ...
Parliamentary Reform Association denigrating the " corn-law of aristocracy" while praising industry and industrialists, Carlyle became convinced that "we must have industrial ''barons'', of a quite new suitable sort; workers ''loyally'' related to their taskmasters,—related in God (as we may well say); not related in
Mammon Mammon (Aramaic: מָמוֹנָא, māmōnā) in the New Testament 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 ...
alone! This will be the real aristocracy, in place of the sham one". The idea of a journal was soon discarded as he turned to writing '' Oliver Cromwell's Letters and Speeches''. Carlyle grew increasingly concerned with the state of England, as he observed widespread hunger and riots in the spring and summer of 1842. In August he wrote to
Ralph Waldo Emerson Ralph Waldo Emerson (May 25, 1803April 27, 1882), who went by his middle name Waldo, was an American essayist, lecturer, philosopher, minister, abolitionism, abolitionist, and poet who led the Transcendentalism, Transcendentalist movement of th ...
expressing how it distracted him from the writing of ''Cromwell'':
One of my grand difficulties I suspect to be that I cannot write ''two Books at once;'' cannot be in the seventeenth century and in the nineteenth at one and the same moment . . . For my heart is sick and sore in behalf of my own poor generation; nay, I feel withal as if the one hope of help for it consisted in the possibility of new Cromwells, and new
Puritans The Puritans were English Protestants in the 16th and 17th centuries who sought to rid the Church of England of what they considered to be Roman Catholic practices, maintaining that the Church of England had not been fully reformed and should b ...
: thus do the two centuries stand related to me, the seventeenth ''worthless'' except precisely in so far as it can be made the ''nineteenth''; and yet let anybody ''try'' that enterprise! Heaven help me.
In the first week of September, Carlyle made a trip to
East Anglia East Anglia is an area of the East of England, often defined as including the counties of Norfolk, Suffolk and Cambridgeshire, with parts of Essex sometimes also included. The name derives from the Anglo-Saxon kingdom of the East Angles, ...
for research on ''Cromwell'', in which he observed both the workhouse of St Ives, about which there was "something that reminded me of
Dante's Hell ''Inferno'' (; Italian for 'Hell') is the first part of Italian writer Dante Alighieri's 14th-century narrative poem ''The Divine Comedy'', followed by and . The ''Inferno'' describes the journey of a fictionalised version of Dante himself t ...
", and the ruins of
Bury St. Edmunds Abbey The Abbey of Bury St Edmunds was once among the richest Benedictine monasteries in England, until its dissolution in 1539. It is in the town that grew up around it, Bury St Edmunds in the county of Suffolk, England. It was a centre of pilgrima ...
, "the Heaven's- Watchtower of our Fathers, the fallen God's-Houses, the
Golgotha Calvary ( or ) or Golgotha () was a site immediately outside Jerusalem's walls where, according to Christianity's four canonical gospels, Jesus was crucified. Since at least the early medieval period, it has been a destination for pilgrimage. ...
of true Souls departed". In mid-October 1842 while writing ''Cromwell'', Carlyle read J. G. Rokewood's edition of the ''Chronica Jocelini de Brakelonda de Rebus Gestis Samsonis Abbatis Monasterii Sancti Edmundi'' published by the
Camden Society The Camden Society was a text publication society founded in London in 1838 to publish early historical and literary materials, both unpublished manuscripts and new editions of rare printed books. It was named after the 16th-century antiquary ...
in 1840. Carlyle was much taken with Abbot Samson's strong leadership of the Monastery of
Bury St. Edmunds Abbey The Abbey of Bury St Edmunds was once among the richest Benedictine monasteries in England, until its dissolution in 1539. It is in the town that grew up around it, Bury St Edmunds in the county of Suffolk, England. It was a centre of pilgrima ...
and he planned to contrast it with modern England. During the final two months of 1842, he wrote quickly, and the first portion of the manuscript was sent to the printers in February 1843, completing the book on 9 March. The first autograph of Past and Present is in the
British Library The British Library is the national library of the United Kingdom. Based in London, it is one of the largest libraries in the world, with an estimated collection of between 170 and 200 million items from multiple countries. As a legal deposit li ...
while the printer's copy is in the
Yale University Library The Yale University Library is the library system of Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut. Originating in 1701 with the gift of several dozen books to a new “Collegiate School," the library's collection now contains approximately 14.9 m ...
.


Summary


Book 1: Proem

Carlyle expresses his ideas about the Condition of England question in an elevated rhetorical style invoking classical allusions (such as
Midas Midas (; ) was a king of Phrygia with whom many myths became associated, as well as two later members of the Phrygian royal house. His father was Gordias, and his mother was Cybele. The most famous King Midas is popularly remembered in Greek m ...
and the
Sphinx A sphinx ( ; , ; or sphinges ) is a mythical creature with the head of a human, the body of a lion, and the wings of an eagle. In Culture of Greece, Greek tradition, the sphinx is a treacherous and merciless being with the head of a woman, th ...
) and fictional caricatures (such as Bobus and Sir Jabesh Windbag). Carlyle complains that despite England's abundant resources, the poor are starving and unable to find meaningful work, as evinced by the Manchester Insurrection. Carlyle argues that the ruling class needs to guide the nation, and supports an "Aristocracy of Talent". But in line with his concept of "hero-worship", Carlyle argues that first the English must themselves become heroic in order to esteem true heroes rather than quacks.


Book 2: The Ancient Monk

Carlyle presents the history of Samson of Tottington, a 12th-century monk who became Abbot of
Bury St. Edmunds Bury St Edmunds (), commonly referred to locally as ''Bury,'' is a cathedral as well as market town and civil parish in the West Suffolk district, in the county of Suffolk, England.OS Explorer map 211: Bury St. Edmunds and Stowmarket Scale: . P ...
, as chronicled by
Jocelin of Brakelond Jocelyn or Jocelin de Brakelond or Brakelonde (; century) was an English Benedictine monk at Bury St. Edmunds Abbey in Suffolk, England. He is only known through his work, the Chronicle of the Abbey of St. Edmunds, which narrates the fortunes of ...
. Carlyle describes Samson as a lowly monk with no formal training or leadership experience who, on his election to the abbacy, worked earnestly and diligently to overcome the economic and spiritual maladies that had befallen the abbey under the rule of Hugo, the former abbot. Carlyle concludes from this history that despite the monks' primitive knowledge and superstitions (he refers to them repeatedly as "blockheads"), they were able to recognize and promote genuine leadership, in contrast to contemporary Englishmen: Carlyle presents his history as the narrative of the lives of men and their deeds, rather than as a dry chronicle of external details. To this end, he repeatedly contrasts his history with the style of the fictional historian Dryasdust.


Book 3: The Modern Worker

Carlyle transitions from discussing a medieval society, imbued with meaning, to the plight of the modern worker who lacks absolute meaning in his own existence. He directs his vitriol across multiple fronts, from the injustices of the
Corn Laws The Corn Laws were tariffs and other trade restrictions on imported food and corn enforced in the United Kingdom between 1815 and 1846. The word ''corn'' in British English denotes all cereal grains, including wheat, oats and barley. The la ...
to the utilitarian reductionism of ''
laissez-faire ''Laissez-faire'' ( , from , ) is a type of economic system in which transactions between private groups of people are free from any form of economic interventionism (such as subsidies or regulations). As a system of thought, ''laissez-faire'' ...
'' thinkers. The British
aristocracy Aristocracy (; ) is a form of government that places power in the hands of a small, privileged ruling class, the aristocracy (class), aristocrats. Across Europe, the aristocracy exercised immense Economy, economic, Politics, political, and soc ...
is attacked for not performing their traditional obligations in guiding society, and the
bourgeois The bourgeoisie ( , ) are a class of business owners, merchants and wealthy people, in general, which emerged in the Late Middle Ages, originally as a "middle class" between the peasantry and Aristocracy (class), aristocracy. They are tradition ...
elements of society are attacked for reducing life to a money-driven farce of empty talk. He in fact attacks industrial society more generally, which he sees exuding '
Midas Midas (; ) was a king of Phrygia with whom many myths became associated, as well as two later members of the Phrygian royal house. His father was Gordias, and his mother was Cybele. The most famous King Midas is popularly remembered in Greek m ...
-eared Mammonism'.


Book 4: Horoscope

Carlyle ends the book in proposing what must be done to remedy the faults he sees in society, which he boils down to the problem of governing men and relates closely to the matter of organizing labour. He notes that some combination of aristocracy and priesthood must be restored in society to give it guidance, with the force of a radical rejuvenation of spirit to elevate the working man from his wretched existence and away from the 'anarchy of
supply and demand In microeconomics, supply and demand is an economic model of price determination in a Market (economics), market. It postulates that, Ceteris_paribus#Applications, holding all else equal, the unit price for a particular Good (economics), good ...
'. This new society would see wise leaders elevate the mob into a firm regimented mass.


Reception and influence

Lord Acton John Emerich Edward Dalberg-Acton, 1st Baron Acton, 13th Marquess of Groppoli, (10 January 1834 – 19 June 1902), better known as Lord Acton, was an English Catholic historian, Liberal politician, and writer. A strong advocate for individua ...
called it "the most remarkable piece of historical thinking in the language."
G. K. Chesterton Gilbert Keith Chesterton (29 May 1874 – 14 June 1936) was an English author, philosopher, Christian apologist, journalist and magazine editor, and literary and art critic. Chesterton created the fictional priest-detective Father Brow ...
considered it along with ''Chartism'' (1839) to be "the work arlylewas chosen by gods and men to achieve". ''Past and Present'' contributed to several social developments in the 19th and early-20th centuries, including the decline of ''laissez-faire'', the crafting and passage of the
Factory Acts The Factory Acts were a series of acts passed by the Parliament of the United Kingdom beginning in 1802 to regulate and improve the conditions of industrial employment. The early acts concentrated on regulating the hours of work and moral wel ...
, the
Elementary Education Act 1870 The Elementary Education Act 1870 ( 33 & 34 Vict. c. 75), commonly known as Forster's Education Act, set the framework for schooling of all children between the ages of 5 and 12 in England and Wales. It established local education authorities wit ...
, and the
Industrial Conciliation and Arbitration Act The Industrial Conciliation and Arbitration Act 1894 was a piece of industrial relations legislation passed by the Parliament of New Zealand in 1894. Enacted by the Liberal Government of New Zealand, it was the world's first compulsory system o ...
, the emigration of labourers from England to the United States during the
Great Rapprochement The Great Rapprochement was the convergence of diplomatic, political, military, and economic objectives of the United States and Great Britain from 1895 to 1915, the two decades before American entry into World War I as an ally against Germany. ...
, the rise of practices such as
business ethics Business ethics (also known as corporate ethics) is a form of applied ethics or professional ethics, that examines ethical principles and moral or ethical problems that can arise in a business environment. It applies to all aspects of business c ...
,
profit sharing Profit sharing refers to various incentive plans introduced by businesses which provide direct or indirect payments to employees, often depending on the company's profitability, employees' regular salaries, and bonuses. In publicly traded compa ...
, and the
redistribution of income and wealth Redistribution of income and wealth is the transfer of income and wealth (including physical property) from some individuals to others through a social mechanism such as taxation, welfare, public services, land reform, monetary policies, con ...
, the establishment of
state education A state school, public school, or government school is a primary school, primary or secondary school that educates all students without charge. They are funded in whole or in part by taxation and operated by the government of the state. State-f ...
, and even
playgrounds A playground, playpark, or play area is a place designed to provide an environment for children that facilitates Play (activity)#Children, play, typically outdoors. While a playground is usually designed for children, some are designed for othe ...
. Carlyle's influence on modern socialism can be seen most acutely in the response to ''Past and Present''. '' New Moral World'', the official newspaper of the
Owenite Owenism is the utopian socialist philosophy of 19th-century social reformer Robert Owen and his followers and successors, who are known as Owenites. Owenism aimed for radical reform of society and is considered a forerunner of the cooperativ ...
movement, published a six-part review by then-editor George Fleming between August and November 1843, further issuing an additional excerpt two months afterwards. Fleming expressed "gratification in finding . . . the true philosophy of Socialism . . . arrayed in the gorgeous and striking drapery of Carlyle''ism''." Fleming believed that a "new, unexpected, and powerful ally to our cause has come into the field", finding in the work "identical principles with those of nowiki/>Robert Owen">Robert_Owen.html" ;"title="nowiki/>Robert Owen">nowiki/>Robert Owen, portraying Carlyle as a covert socialist that has infiltrated the "charmed circle" of high society. In January 1844, Friedrich Engels published an extensive, laudatory review in the ''Deutsch–Französische Jahrbücher''. He wrote that Carlyle's acute analysis of the social question in England made it the only book by a contemporary educated Englishman worth reading. Engels praised Carlyle's humanitarian point of view yet considered it only a nonscientific preliminary to socialism. He characterized Carlyle as a German pantheist and a romantic Tory, a follower of
Schelling Schelling is a surname. Notable persons with that name include: * Friedrich Wilhelm Joseph Schelling (1775–1854), German philosopher * Caroline Schelling (1763–1809), German intellectual and wife of Friedrich Wilhelm Joseph Schelling * Felix E ...
rather than of
Hegel Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel (27 August 1770 – 14 November 1831) was a 19th-century German idealism, German idealist. His influence extends across a wide range of topics from metaphysical issues in epistemology and ontology, to political phi ...
, too hung up on religion and the myth of aristocratic leadership to accept freedom and self-determination as the ultimate aim of history, while expressing hope that Carlyle would overcome these limitations. The book greatly influenced the development of
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 ...
and the
Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood The Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood (PRB), later known as the Pre-Raphaelites, was a group of English painters, poets, and art critics, founded in 1848 by William Holman Hunt, John Everett Millais, Dante Gabriel Rossetti, William Michael Rossett ...
.
John William Mackail John William Mackail (26 August 1859 – 13 December 1945) was a Scottish academic of Oxford University and reformer of the British education system. He is most often remembered as a scholar of Virgil and as the official biographer of the so ...
wrote that during
William Morris William Morris (24 March 1834 – 3 October 1896) was an English textile designer, poet, artist, writer, and socialist activist associated with the British Arts and Crafts movement. He was a major contributor to the revival of traditiona ...
and
Edward Burne-Jones Sir Edward Coley Burne-Jones, 1st Baronet, (; 28 August 183317 June 1898) was an English painter and designer associated with the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood's style and subject matter. Burne-Jones worked with William Morris as a founding part ...
' days at
Oxford Oxford () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and non-metropolitan district in Oxfordshire, England, of which it is the county town. The city is home to the University of Oxford, the List of oldest universities in continuou ...
, "Carlyle's ''Past and Present'' stood alongside of ''
Modern Painters Modern may refer to: History *Modern history ** Early Modern period ** Late Modern period *** 18th century *** 19th century *** 20th century ** Contemporary history * Moderns, a faction of Freemasonry that existed in the 18th century Philosophy ...
'' as inspired and absolute truth."
John Ruskin John Ruskin (8 February 1819 20 January 1900) was an English polymath a writer, lecturer, art historian, art critic, draughtsman and philanthropist of the Victorian era. He wrote on subjects as varied as art, architecture, Critique of politic ...
gifted his personal, extensively annotated copy to a friend in 1887, along with a letter in which he called it "a book which I read no more because it has become a part of myself, and my old marks in it are now useless, because in my heart I mark it all." ''
Fors Clavigera ''Fors Clavigera: Letters to the Workmen and Labourers of Great Britain'' was the name given by John Ruskin to a series of letters addressed to British workmen during the 1870s. They were published in the form of pamphlets. The letters formed par ...
'' has been called "in effect the resumption of the concerns of Carlyle's ''Past and Present'' in another form."Mallett, Phillip (2004). "Ruskin, John". In Cumming, Mark (ed.). ''The Carlyle Encyclopedia''. Madison and Teaneck, NJ: Fairleigh Dickinson University Press. p. 404. .


References


External links


''Past and Present''
at
Project Gutenberg Project Gutenberg (PG) is a volunteer effort to digitize and archive cultural works, as well as to "encourage the creation and distribution of eBooks." It was founded in 1971 by American writer Michael S. Hart and is the oldest digital li ...
*
Past and Present
' at the
Internet Archive The Internet Archive is an American 501(c)(3) organization, non-profit organization founded in 1996 by Brewster Kahle that runs a digital library website, archive.org. It provides free access to collections of digitized media including web ...

A review of ''Past and Present'', by Thomas Carlyle, London, 1843
by Frederick Engels at the
Marxists Internet Archive Marxists Internet Archive, also known as MIA or Marxists.org, is a non-profit online encyclopedia that hosts a multilingual library (created in 1990) of the works of communist, anarchist, and socialist writers, such as Karl Marx, Friedrich Enge ...
{{Authority control 1843 non-fiction books British books History books about the United Kingdom Works by Thomas Carlyle