Thomas Carlyle (4 December 1795 – 5 February 1881) was a British historian, satirical writer, essayist, translator, philosopher, mathematician, and teacher. In his book On Heroes, Hero-Worship, and The Heroic in History (1841), he argued that the actions of the “Great Man” play a key role in history, claiming that “the history of the world is but the biography of great men”. Other major works include The French Revolution: A History, 3 vols (1837) and The History of Friedrich II of Prussia, Called Frederick the Great, 6 vols (1858–65). Thomas Carlyle quotes will motivate you.
Best Thomas Carlyle Quotes
- “What we become depends on what we read after all of the professors have finished with us. The greatest university of all is a collection of books.” ― Thomas Carlyle
- “A loving heart is the beginning of all knowledge.” ― Thomas Carlyle
- “The tragedy of life is not so much what men suffer, but rather what they miss.” ― Thomas Carlyle
- “Go as far as you can see; when you get there, you’ll be able to see further.” ― Thomas Carlyle
- “If Jesus Christ were to come today, people would not even crucify him. They would ask him to dinner, and hear what he had to say, and make fun of it.” ― Thomas Carlyle
- “Every man is my superior in that I may learn from him.” ― Thomas Carlyle
- “The merit of originality is not novelty; it is sincerity.” ― Thomas Carlyle
- “A man lives by believing something; not by debating and arguing about many things.” ― Thomas Carlyle
- “Tell a man he is brave, and you help him to become so.” ― Thomas Carlyle
- “Idleness is worst, Idleness alone is without hope: work earnestly at anything, you will by degrees learn to work at almost all things. There is endless hope in work, were it even work at making money.” ― Thomas Carlyle
- “Our main business is not to see what lies dimly at a distance but to do what lies clearly at hand. ” ― Thomas Carlyle
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“A good book is the purest essence of a human soul.” ― Thomas Carlyle
- “Silence is more eloquent than words.” ― Thomas Carlyle
- “A great man shows his greatness by the way he treats little men.” ― Thomas Carlyle
- “Wondrous is the strength of cheerfulness, and its power of endurance – the cheerful man will do more in the same time, will do it better, will preserve it longer, than the sad or sullen.” ― Thomas Carlyle
- “Have a purpose in life, and having it, throw into your work such strength of mind and muscle as God has given you.” ― Thomas Carlyle
- “The true University of these days is a Collection of Books.” ― Thomas Carlyle
- “The block of granite which was an obstacle in the pathway of the weak becomes a stepping-stone in the pathway of the strong.” ― Thomas Carlyle
- “Every noble work is at first impossible.” ― Thomas Carlyle
- “Wonder is the basis of worship.” ― Thomas Carlyle
- “The best effect of any book is that it excites the reader to self-activity.” ― Thomas Carlyle
- “The greatest of faults is to be conscious of none.” ― Thomas Carlyle
- “In a controversy, the instant we feel anger we have already ceased striving for the truth, and have begun striving for ourselves.” ― Thomas Carlyle
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“It is the heart always that sees before the head can see.” ― Thomas Carlyle
- “Love is ever the beginning of knowledge as fire is of light.” ― Thomas Carlyle
- “A person usually has two reasons for doing something, a good reason and the real reason.” ― Thomas Carlyle
- “Show me the man you honor, and I will know what kind of man you are” ―
- “The history of the world is but a biography of great men.” ― Thomas Carlyle
- “If you look deep enough you will see music; the heart of nature being everywhere music.” ― Thomas Carlyle
- “Make yourself an honest man, and then you may be sure that there is one less scoundrel in the world.” ― Thomas Carlyle
- “Conviction is worthless unless it is converted into conduct.” ― Thomas Carlyle
- “Fame is no sure test of merit.” ― Thomas Carlyle
- “Of all your troubles, great and small, the greatest are the ones that don’t happen at all.” ― Thomas Carlyle
- “Adversity is the diamond dust Heaven polishes its jewels with” ― Thomas Carlyle
- “All that mankind has done thought, gained, or been; it is lying as in magic preservation in the pages of books.” ― Thomas Carlyle
- “When the oak is felled the whole forest echoes with its fall, but a hundred acorns are sown in silence by an unnoticed breeze.” ― Thomas Carlyle
- “If you are ever in doubt as to whether or not you should kiss a pretty girl, always give her the benefit of the doubt.” ― Thomas Carlyle
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“My books are friends that never fail me.” ― Thomas Carlyle
- “I’ve got a great ambition to die of exhaustion rather than boredom.” ― Thomas Carlyle
- “Music is well said to be the speech of angels; in fact, nothing among the utterances allowed to man is felt to be so divine. It brings us near to the infinite.” ― Thomas Carlyle
- “History is the essence of innumerable biographies.” ― Thomas Carlyle
- “In books lies the soul fo the whole past time.” ― Thomas Carlyle
- “May blessings be upon the head of Cadmus, the Phoenicians, or whoever it was that invented books.” ― Thomas Carlyle
- “Silence is deep as Eternity, speech is shallow as Time.” ― Thomas Carlyle
- “Popular opinion is the greatest lie in the world. ” ― Thomas Carlyle
