Thomas Carlyle quotes. Thomas Carlyle: biography, works. Quotes and aphorisms of Thomas Carlyle. Philosophical views on life

Stupidity and good digestion are indispensable qualities to combat deprivation.
Two or three is already Society. One will become God, the other - the devil, one will speak from the pulpit, the other will dangle under the crossbar.
If Jesus Christ appeared today, no one would crucify him. They would have invited him to dinner, listened to him and laughed heartily.
If you want to keep a person from doing something, make him talk about it: the more people talk, the less inclined they are to do it.
If a person knows when to stop, he knows everything.
Health is a great thing both for the one who enjoys it and for others.
Golden shower blurs all boundaries.
The ideal is within yourself. The obstacles to achieving it are within you. Your position is the material from which you must realize this ideal.
Of all the rights, the most irrefutable is the right of a smart person (whether by force or persuasion) to lead a fool.
The history of the world is the biography of great people.
History is the quintessence of gossip.
A book is the purest essence of the human soul.
Any reform other than moral is useless.
People should be more modest.
The silence is as deep as Eternity; conversations are small, like Time.
Music with its melody takes us to the very edge of eternity and gives us the opportunity to comprehend its greatness within a few minutes.
Cash is not the only person-to-person connection.
There is always a dark spot on our radiant horizon - and this is our own shadow.
To the extent that a person overcomes fear, he is a person.
The present is the sum of the past.
Our purpose is not to try to see clearly what is distant from us and hidden in the fog, but to work on what is at hand.
Don't be a slave to words.
There is no sadder proof of man's insignificance than lack of faith in great people.
There is no more moral law among people than the law of power and submission.
No one knows what the crowd will do, especially the crowd itself.
Nothing teaches you more than realizing your mistake. This is one of the main means of self-education.
The new point of view is always in the minority...
Experience, in any case, charges more for teaching, but he teaches better than all teachers.
Man's first duty is to overcome fear. As long as a person's veins are shaking, his actions will remain slavish.
Hero worship should be expressed in the fact that we ourselves will be heroically inclined.
The writer is the same clergyman.
It is correctly said in all respects: every person is judged by his faith. And out of disbelief.
Nature does not tolerate lies.
Speech is the destiny of man; silence is the lot of God, but also of the beast and of death. Therefore, we must comprehend both arts.
The biggest guilt is not recognizing your guilt.
The most unpleasant feeling is the feeling of your own powerlessness.
The most terrible lack of faith is lack of faith in yourself.
The most unfortunate person is the one for whom there is no work in the world.
Sentimental people are the most senseless of mortals.
A blind person can travel around the world and not notice anything.
You can prove anything with numbers.
Happy are those people whose annals are absent from history books.
Hundreds of people can endure hardships, but only a few can endure prosperity.
A person should not complain about the times; Nothing comes of this. It's a bad time: well, that's what a person is for, to improve it.
A person cannot be incorrigibly bad if he has laughed heartily at least once.
Man lives only by hope; hope is, in fact, his only property.
Economics is a sinister science...
I don’t even pretend to comprehend the universe - it is many times larger than me.
I don't believe in the collective wisdom of ignorant individuals.

Thomas Carlyle (1795–1881) was an English journalist, historian, philosopher and satirist who was very popular in Victorian England.

All there is in the universe are endless conjugations of the verb “to do.”

In France, despotism, limited to epigrams, reigned for a long time.

All disadvantaged people must understand only one thing: being disadvantaged is stupid.

Everywhere, constantly, a person must “pay the price of his life,” he must, like a soldier, do his job at the expense of his life.

All work is noble, and only work is noble.

All greatness is unconscious - otherwise it is worth little or nothing.

Genius is, first of all, an outstanding ability to be responsible for everything.

Geniuses are our real people, our leaders of the stupid crowd that follows them, as if obeying the dictates of fate. They had the rare ability not only to “guess” and “think,” but to know and believe. By nature, they tended to live not relying on rumors, but based on certain views. While others, blinded by the mere appearance of things, rushed aimlessly through the great fair of life, they considered the essence of things and walked forward like people who have a guiding star before their eyes and walk along reliable paths.

The main organ of the human body, the unshakable foundation on which the soul rests, is the wallet.

Stupidity and good digestion are indispensable qualities to combat deprivation.

Two or three is already Society. One will become God, the other - the devil, one will speak from the pulpit, the other will dangle under the crossbar.

If Jesus Christ appeared today, no one would crucify him. They would have invited him to dinner, listened to him and laughed heartily.

If you want to keep a person from doing something, make him talk about it: the more people talk, the less inclined they are to do it.

If we ourselves are slaves, then there can be no heroes for us.

If a person knows when to stop, he knows everything.

Life is a short, very short time between two eternities...

The life of a great man is not a merry dance, but a battle and a campaign, a struggle with rulers and entire kingdoms.

The errors of a wise man are positively more instructive than the truths of a fool, for he soars in elevated regions, from where everything can be seen far away, while a fool tramples along low-lying beaten paths.

A healthy person is the most precious product of nature.

Health is a great thing both for the one who enjoys it and for others.

The ideal is within yourself. The obstacles to achieving it are within you. Your position is the material from which you must realize this ideal.

Of all the rights, the most irrefutable is the right of a smart person (whether by force or persuasion) to lead a fool.

Of all the manifestations of human creativity, the most amazing and worthy of attention is this. The thoughts of past times live in books; The voices of people whose ashes have long scattered, like a dream, can be heard clearly and distinctly. Everything that humanity has done, changed its mind, everything that it has achieved - all this has been preserved, as if by magic, on the pages of books.

Sincere joy comes from being able to admire someone; nothing elevates him - at least for a short time - above all petty conditions like sincere admiration.

History is the quintessence of gossip.

The history of the world is the biography of great people.

A book is the purest essence of the human soul.

No matter how often we are told that a closer and more detailed acquaintance with people and things will lessen our admiration, or that only the dark and half-unfamiliar can seem sublime, we still should not absolutely believe it. And here, as in many other things, it is not knowledge, but only a little knowledge that forces, and in place of admiration for the recognized object, admiration for the person who recognized it takes place.

Any reform other than moral is useless.

People should be more modest.

Metaphysics is the attempt of the mind to rise above the mind.

You can adore something, even if it is very insignificant; but it is impossible to adore the purest, aching insignificance.

The silence is as deep as Eternity; conversations are small, like Time.

Music with its melody takes us to the very edge of eternity and gives us the opportunity to comprehend its greatness within a few minutes.

There is always a dark spot on our radiant horizon - and this is our own shadow.

Cash is not the only person-to-person connection.

To the extent that a person overcomes fear, he is a person.

The present is the total taken.

Our purpose is not to try to clearly see what is distant from us and hidden in the fog, but to work on what is beneath us.

There is no sadder proof of man's insignificance than lack of faith in great people.

There is no more moral law among people than the law of power and submission.

Nobody knows what the Crowd will do, especially not itself.

Nothing teaches you more than realizing your mistake. This is one of the main means of self-education.

The new point of view is always in the minority...

Experience is the most best teacher, but the tuition fee is too high.

Man's first duty is to overcome fear. As long as a person's veins are shaking, his actions will remain slavish.

The writer is the same clergyman.

Hero worship should be expressed in the fact that we ourselves will be heroically inclined.

It is correctly said in all respects: every person is judged by his faith. And out of disbelief.

In every dispute, the moment we begin to get angry, we stop fighting for the truth and enter into an argument already
for ourselves.

Nature does not tolerate lies.

Speech is the destiny of man; silence is God's destiny; but also the beast and death... And therefore we must comprehend both.

You can prove anything with numbers.

The biggest guilt is not recognizing your guilt.

The most unpleasant feeling is the feeling of your own powerlessness.

The most terrible lack of faith is lack of faith in yourself.

The most unfortunate of people is the one for whom there is no work in the world.

Sentimental people are the most senseless of mortals...

How many people are there in the people who can generally see the invisible justice of heaven and know that it is omnipotent on earth - so many people stand between the people and their fall.

That much, and no more. The almighty heavenly power is sending us more and more people who have a heart of flesh, not of stone, but a serious misfortune, and already quite severe, will turn out to be people!

A blind person can travel around the world and not notice anything.

Happy are those people whose annals are absent from historical books.

Anyone who has not done anything knows nothing.

Three main components modern civilization: Gunpowder, Printing and Protestantism.

Hundreds of people can endure hardships, but only a few can endure prosperity.

A life well written is almost as rare as a life well lived.

A person should not complain about the times; Nothing comes of this. It's a bad time: well, that's what a person is for, to improve it.

A person cannot be incorrigibly bad if he has laughed heartily at least once.

Man lives only by hope; hope is, in fact, his only property.

Economics is a sinister science...

I think that respect for the heroes, in different eras manifested in various ways, is the soul of social relations between people and that the way of expressing this respect serves as the true scale of the normality or abnormality of the relations prevailing in the world.

I don’t even pretend to comprehend the Universe - it is many times larger than I am...

I don't believe in the collective wisdom of ignorant individuals.

Thomas Carlyle (December 4, 1795 - February 5, 1881) - Scottish writer, publicist, historian and philosopher, popularizer and one of the founders of a special style of artistic and philosophical historical literature- “Cult of Heroes.” A very popular stylist. He had a great influence on legal thought.

Family

Born into the Calvinist family of James Carlyle and his second wife Janet Aitken, he was the eldest of nine children (Thomas's mother is pictured). The father was a mason, later a small farmer. He was respected for his tenacity and independence. Severe in appearance, he had a kind soul. The Carlyle family ties were unusually strong, and Thomas held his father in high esteem, as reflected in his memoirs. He always had the most tender feelings for his mother and was a wonderful brother.

Studies

His parents did not have much money, so seven-year-old Carlyle was sent to study at a parochial school. When he turned ten years old, he was transferred to high school Annana. His tendency to fight got him into trouble with many of the school's students, but he soon showed a strong interest in his studies, which prompted his father to train him for worship. In 1809 he entered the University of Edinburgh. He had little interest in his studies, except for a course in mathematics by Sir John Lasley, who later became his good friend.

He also read a lot. However, the greatest influence on him was literature, and the work of his contemporaries. Several fellows in the same position as him saw him as an intellectual leader, and their correspondence reflected common literary tastes. In 1814, Carlyle, still preparing to become a priest, received a master's degree in mathematics from the Annan School, which allowed him to save some money. In 1816 he was appointed teacher at a school in Kirkland.

Spiritual crisis

In 1818 Carlyle decided to abandon his ecclesiastical career. He did not explain to anyone the details of the transformations that had taken place in him, but his desire to abandon the dogmatic views of his spiritual mentors, whom he always deeply respected, was obvious. For some time, atheism seemed the only way out, but he was deeply disgusted with it. All this led Carlyle to a spiritual crisis, which he managed to overcome only after writing SartorResartus. The Life and Thoughts of Mr. Teufelsdreck" in June 1821. He cast out the spirit of denial, and from then on the nature of his suffering was changed forever. It was no longer “whining,” but “indignation and gloomy defiance.” In 1819, he began to study German, which led him to new interesting acquaintances. He was much interested in German literature. Most of all he liked the works of Goethe. In them he saw an opportunity to discard outdated dogmas without plunging into materialism. They met and corresponded for a long time. Goethe spoke positively about the translations of his books.

Personal life

After a long courtship, in 1826 Thomas Carlyle married Jane Bailey Welsh. She came from a much wealthier family, and it took him several years to earn enough to get her consent to marry. They lived together for forty years, until Jane's death. The first years after marriage they lived in the village, but in 1834 they moved to London. Lady Welsh was childless, which later led to quarrels and jealousy. Their correspondence is evidence of this. Their life was also difficult because of Carlyle's psychological problems. Possessing great emotionality and a fragile psyche, he often suffered from the pangs of depression, he was tormented by insomnia, and the loud singing of birds in his neighbor's garden drove him crazy. Bouts of rage alternated abruptly with bursts of exaggerated humor. The only thing that saved him was immersing himself in his work. For this, solitude and peace were necessary, and a special soundproof room was equipped in their house. As a result, his wife was often forced to do all household chores alone and often felt abandoned.

Literary works

In the mid-1830s, Carlyle published SartorResartus. The Life and Thoughts of Mr. Teufelsdreck" in Fraser's Magazine. Despite the depth of philosophical thought and the impressive validity of his conclusions, this book was not sufficiently successful. In 1837 his work “On french revolution", which brought him real success. From 1837 to 1840 he gave several lectures, of which only one ("The Cult of the Hero") was published. All of them brought him financial success, and at the age of forty-five he managed to become financially independent. He had many students and followers. From 1865 he became rector of the University of Edinburgh.

Views on the structure of society

Thomas Carlyle, whose biography is presented in the article, contrasted the revolutionary and bitter sentiments of Byron's era with the Gospel. He spoke out for social reforms. In the struggle against the mechanical view of the world, reverence for the majority and utilitarianism, he advocated a life filled with meaning, the development of the highest, super-individual human values. Thomas Carlyle opposed the leveled strength of democratic tendencies with the cult of heroes. He believed that only those who have a winning desire for power should rule in society and the state. The success of the will leading to power was cited as an argument for idealism based on the constant desire for personal higher goals, and this is the weakness and danger of his science, which is a mixture of Scottish Puritanism and German idealism.

In politics, he played a major role as a theorist of imperialism, defending the idea of the historical mission of the English people to embrace the whole world. From journalism, it should be noted, first of all, the philosophical and historical reflections “Heroes, the veneration of heroes and the heroic in history”, “On the French Revolution”, “SartorResartus. The life and thoughts of Mr. Teufelsdrek” and others.

Philosophical views on life

Under the influence of the charm of German romanticism, he left Calvinism. His passion for romantic philosophy was expressed in the translation of Goethe’s book “The Years of Science of Wilhelm Meister” and the work “The Life of Schiller”. From romanticism he drew, first of all, deeply developed individualism (Byronism).

At the center of Carlyle's works is a hero, an outstanding personality who overcomes himself with the power of vital activity, primarily moral. In emphasizing the superiority of the hero's moral qualities over intellectual ones, the influence of Puritanism is visible. Contrary to this, Carlyle also blindly accepted Nietzsche's anthropology.

The end of existence

Thomas Carlyle, whose photo is presented in the article, died on February 5, 1881 in London. After an official farewell ceremony, his remains were transferred to Scotland, where he was buried in the same cemetery as his parents.

Thomas Carlyle: aphorisms and quotes

His most famous aphorisms include the following:

Every outstanding work seems impossible at first glance.
Love is not the same as insanity, but they have a lot in common.
Without pressure there will be no diamonds.
A person who wants to work but cannot find a job is perhaps the saddest situation that fate has presented to us.
Isolation is the result of human misery.
My wealth is not what I have, but what I do.
In every event, the beginning is always the most memorable moment.
Selfishness is the source and result of all mistakes and suffering.
No one great person doesn't live in vain. The history of the world is only the biographies of great people.
Endurance is concentrated patience.

Thomas Carlyle, whose quotes are full of wisdom and depth, left behind a bright mark in the history of philosophical thought.

Thomas Carlyle was born on December 4, 1795, in Ecclefechan. British (Scottish) writer, historian and philosopher. Author of books - “History of the French Revolution”, “Historical and Critical Experiments”, “Heroes and the Heroic in History”, “Nibelungs”, etc. He died on February 5, 1881 in London.

Aphorisms, quotes, sayings, phrases Thomas Carlyle

Don't be a slave to words.
History is the quintessence of gossip.
If a person knows when to stop, he knows everything.
The present is the sum of the past.
The history of the world is the biography of great people.
A book is the purest essence of the human soul.
You can prove anything with numbers.
Metaphysics is the attempt of the mind to rise above the mind.
The most terrible disbelief is disbelief in yourself.
Every crown of glory is also a crown of thorns.
Cash is not the only person-to-person connection.
To the extent that a person overcomes fear, he is a human being.
Life is a very short time between two eternities.
Nobody knows what the Crowd will do, especially not itself.
A healthy person is the most precious product of nature.
The silence is as deep as Eternity; conversations are small, like Time.
The most unpleasant feeling is the feeling of your own powerlessness.
Of all the nations in the world, the English are the stupidest in conversation and the most intelligent in action.
Man lives only by hope; hope, in fact, is his only property.
A person cannot be incorrigibly bad if he has laughed heartily at least once.
The greatness of a great man is revealed in the way he treats little people.
There is no sadder proof of man's insignificance than lack of faith in great people.
As soon as we feel anger during an argument, we are no longer arguing for the truth, but for ourselves.
There is always a dark spot on our radiant horizon, and this is our own shadow.
In the field of literature, they will even go so far as to pay writers for what they did not write.
The main organ of the human body, the unshakable foundation on which the soul rests, is the wallet.
A person who does not know how to keep his opinions to himself is not capable of anything outstanding in any matter.
Become an honest man, and then you can be sure that there is one less rogue in the world.
Each person has his own theater under his hat, where dramas unfold, often more complex than those given in theaters.
Music with its melody takes us to the very edge of eternity and gives us the opportunity to comprehend its greatness within a few minutes.
Two or three is already Society. One will become God, the other - the devil, one will speak from the pulpit, the other will dangle under the crossbar.
The ideal is in yourself. The obstacles to achieving it are within you. Your position is the material from which you must realize this ideal.
If you want to keep a person from doing something, make him talk about it: the more people talk, the less inclined they are to do it.
It is impossible to take a single step on this earth without coming into contact with responsibility and duty that must be fulfilled.
Our purpose is not to try to see clearly what is distant from us and hidden in the fog, but to work on what is at hand.