Thomas Carlyle

History a distillation of Rumour.

Battles, in these ages, are transacted by mechanism; with the slightest possible development of human individuality or spontaneity: men now even die, and kill one another, in an artificial manner.

Do nothing, only keep agitating, debating; and things will destroy themselves.

O poor mortals, how ye make this earth bitter for each other.

A whiff of grapeshot.

"The people may eat grass": hasty words, which fly abroad irrevocable—and will send back tidings.

To a shower of gold most things are penetrable.

No lie you can speak or act but it will come, after longer or shorter circulation, like a Bill drawn on Nature's Reality, and be presented there for payment, — with the answer, No effects.

For what imaginable purpose was man made, if not to be "happy"?

France was long a despotism tempered by epigrams.

Not only was Thebes built by the music of an Orpheus; but without the music of some inspired Orpheus was no city ever built, no work that man glories-in ever done.

In vain, while here on Earth, shall you endeavor to strip them off; you can, at best, but rend them asunder for moments, and look through.

But deepest of all illusory Appearances, for hiding Wonder, as for many other ends, are your two grand fundamental world-enveloping Appearances, SPACE and TIME.

Ever, as before, does Madness remain a mysterious-terrific, altogether infernal boiling-up of the Nether Chaotic Deep, through this fair-painted Vision of Creation, which swims thereon, which we name the Real.

Innumerable are the illusions and legerdemain-tricks of Custom: but of all these, perhaps the cleverest is her knack of persuading us that the Miraculous, by simple repetition, ceases to be Miraculous.

That there should one Man die ignorant who had capacity for Knowledge, this I call a tragedy.

The highest ensign that men ever met and embraced under, the Cross itself, had no meaning save an accidental extrinsic one.

For is not a Symbol ever, to him who has eyes for it, some dimmer or clearer revelation of the God-like?

As the Swiss inscription says: Sprechen ist silbern, Schweigen ist golden— "Speech is silvern, Silence is golden"; or, as I might rather express it: speech is of time, silence is of eternity.

"Do the Duty which lies nearest thee," which thou knowest to be a Duty! Thy second Duty will already have become clearer.

Love not Pleasure; love God.

Great men are the inspired (speaking and acting) texts of that divine Book of Revelations, wherof a chapter is completed from epoch to epoch, and by some named History.

Thou too art a Conqueror and Victor; but of the true sort, namely over the Devil: thou too hast built what will outlast all marble and metal, and be a wonder-bringing City of the Mind, a Temple and Seminary and Prophetic Mount, whereto all …

Alas! the fearful Unbelief is unbelief in yourself.