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Quote by Thomas Carlyle

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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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“Conventions vs. spontaneity. This is a dialectical choice, it depends on the assessment you make of your own times. If you judge that your own time is ridden with empty insincere formalities, you plump for spontaneity, for indecorous behavior even...Much of morality is the task of compensating for one's age. One assumes unfashionable virtues, in an indecorous time. In a time hollowed out by decorum, one must school oneself in spontaneity.”

IfsAgeSchoolChoicesVirtueJudgingDependsMoralityBehaviorTasksEmptyAssumingOneselfConventionsSpontaneityAssessmentFormalityDecorumInsincere
Book:Reborn: Journals and Notebooks, 1947-1963
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“She ran her gaze over his chest with frank appreciation. Then he shivered, realizing he hadn't really considered the weather. It was forty-five degrees max, but Chloe was giving him a go-on gesture with her hand. "All I have left is my pants," he said. "Yes, please." "It's cold, Chloe." She tilted her head. "Are you worried about shrinkage?" Well, he was now. -Chloe and Sawyer”

GivingWellsSaidHandsLeftRealizingFiveGoes OnColdPleaseDegreesAppreciationWeatherWorriedRanFortyChestsPantsGesturesFrankMaxChloeSawyerShrinkage
Author:Jill Shalvis
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“It seems to me that the great pleasure of human life is not in having an opinion, but rather in learning all the ways you are wrong, and all the nuances you failed to account for, and all the truths that turned out to be not as simple as you once believed. And it seems to me that one of the central pleasures of attending school is that you get to read with really well-informed people who can help welcome you into a complex world stuffed with rich and maddening ambiguity.”

PeopleWorldWayHumansWellsHelpingSeemsSchoolLife IsSimplePleasureOpinionRichAccountsComplexesWelcomeHuman LifeAmbiguityNuanceAttending
Author:John Green
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“When you stand out there," John continues in a hoarse voice, "keep your chin up, all right? Don't let them get to you." "I won't." "Make them work for it. Punch someone if you have to." John gives me a sad, crooked smile. "You're a scary kid. So scare them. Okay? All the way until the end." For the first time in a long time, I feel like a little brother. I have to swallow hard to keep my eyes dry. "Okay," I whisper.”

IfsWayGivingFeelsFirstsLittlesLongEndsHardEyeKidsVoiceBrotherLong TimeFirst TimeOkayGive MeScaryDryScareStanding OutChinsCrookedLittle BrotherChin UpCrooked SmilesHoarse Voice
Author:Marie Lu
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“There is, in fact, not much point in writing a novel unless you can show the possibility of moral transformation, or an increase in wisdom, operating in your chief character or characters. Even trashy bestsellers show people changing. When a fictional work fails to show change, when it merely indicates that human character is set, stony, unregenerable, then you are out of field of the novel and into that of the fable or the allegory. - from the introduction of the 1986 Norton edition”

PeopleWritingHumansCharacterFactsShowsMoralNovelFailingFieldsPossibilityIncreaseTransformationChiefsIntroductionFablesAllegoryPeople Changing
Author:Anthony Burgess
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