Thomas Carlyle quotes - page 5

Literature is the Thought of thinking Souls. (Thomas Carlyle)
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. View quote
Thomas Carlyle
The English are a dumb people. They can do great acts, but not describe them. View quote
Thomas Carlyle
War is a quarrel between two thieves too cowardly to fight their own battle; therefore they take boys from one village and another village, stick them into uniforms, equip them with guns, and let them loose like wild beasts against each other. View quote
Thomas Carlyle
The eye of the intellect "sees in all objects what it brought with it the means of seeing." View quote
Thomas Carlyle
The All of Things is an infinite conjugation of the verb To do. View quote
Thomas Carlyle
Do nothing, only keep agitating, debating; and things will destroy themselves. View quote
Thomas Carlyle
They have their belief, these poor Thibet people, that Providence sends down always an Incarnation of Himself into every generation. At bottom some belief in a kind of Pope! At bottom still better, belief that there is a Greatest Man; that he is discoverable; that, once discovered, we ought to treat him with an obedience which knows no bounds! This is the truth of Grand Lamaism; the "discoverability" is the only error here. View quote
Thomas Carlyle
I came hither [Craigenputtoch] solely with the design to simplify my way of life and to secure the independence through which I could be enabled to remain true to myself. View quote
Thomas Carlyle
A healthy hatred of scoundrels. View quote
Thomas Carlyle
I should say sincerity, a deep, great, genuine sincerity, is the first characteristic of all men in any way heroic. (Thomas Carlyle)
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. View quote
Thomas Carlyle
There are depths in man that go to the lowest hell, and heights that reach the highest heaven, for are not both heaven and hell made out of him, everlasting miracle and mystery that he is. View quote
Thomas Carlyle
Misery which, through long ages, had no spokesman, no helper, will now be its own helper and speak for itself. View quote
Thomas Carlyle
Nature admits no lie. View quote
Thomas Carlyle
He that has a secret should not only hide it, but hide that he has it to hide. View quote
Thomas Carlyle
The highest ensign that men ever met and embraced under, the Cross itself, had no meaning save an accidental extrinsic one. View quote
Thomas Carlyle
Fire is the best of servents; but what a master! View quote
Thomas Carlyle
If they be inhabited, what a scope for misery and folly; if they be na inhabited, what a waste of space. View quote
Thomas Carlyle
One life; a little gleam of Time between two Eternities; no second chance to us for evermore! View quote
Thomas Carlyle
The infinite, absolute character of Virtue has passed into a finite, conditional one; it is no longer a worship of the Beautiful and Good; but a calculation of the Profitable. (Thomas Carlyle)
The fine arts once divorcing themselves from truth are quite certain to fall mad, if they do not die. View quote
Thomas Carlyle
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. View quote
Thomas Carlyle
He who takes not counsel of the Unseen and Silent, from him will never come real visibility and speech. View quote
Thomas Carlyle
It is now almost my sole rule of life to clear myself of cants and formulas, as of poisonous Nessus shirts. View quote
Thomas Carlyle