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Quote by Thomas Carlyle

Work

History of Friedrich II. of Prussia, Called Frederick the Great

This book offers an in-depth look at the life and rule of Friedrich II, also known as Frederick the Great, focusing on his reign as King of Prussia and his influence on the political and cultural landscape of the 18th century. more

Author

Thomas Carlyle
Thomas Carlyle

Thomas Carlyle, born on December 4, 1795, and died on February 5, 1881, was a prominent Scottish philosopher, historian, and writer. His works are known for their profound social criticism and unique literary style, which had a significant impact on 19th-century British literature and thought. more

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“This we take it is the grand characteristic of our age. By our skill in Mechanism, it has come to pass, that in the management ofexternal things we excel all other ages; while in whatever respects the pure moral nature, in true dignity of soul and character, we are perhaps inferior to most civilised ages.”

“They have their belief, these poor Tibet 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, a 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.”

“So much of truth, only under an ancient obsolete vesture, but the spirit of it still true, do I find in the Paganism of old nations. Nature is still divine, the revelation of the workings of God; the Hero is still worshipable: this, under poor cramped incipient forms, is what all Pagan religions have struggled, as they could, to set forth.”

“Science is a capital or fund perpetually reinvested; it accumulates, rolls up, is carried forward by every new man. Every man of science has all the science before him to go upon, to set himself up in business with. What an enormous sum Darwin availed himself of and reinvested! Not so in literature; to every poet, to every artist, it is still the first day of creation, so far as the essentials of his task are concerned. Literature is not so much a fund to be reinvested as it is a crop to be ever new-grown.”