Thomas Carlyle

Although Thomas Carlyle was said to be a difficult and cranky person, his works played a large role in the other writers in his generation. "Mill, Tennyson, Browning, Dickens, Ruskin, and many others idolized him." (475) Carlyle was the son of a stonemason and his wife who raised numerous children under a strict Calvinist household. His parents recognized his intelligence and sent him to study for the ministry at the University of Edinburgh. He grew tired of the ministry and began his career as a writer soon after.



In his writing Past and Present, Carlyle states his opinion of the current state of England. Although England has become wealthier than ever, that wealth did not improve the wellbeing of its people. "England is full of wealth, of multifarious produce, supply for human want of every kind; yet England is dying of inanition." (477) This writing seems to agree with the other writings of the time which spoke about how the wealth of England was being made on the back of the poor. They were forced to live in poor houses which were designed to be as uncomfortable as possible so that they would not want to stay there any longer than they had to. The plight of the poor in England in this period is similar to the poor in our country. There are areas of every town where those who are less fortunate live, and much of the hardest work is done by those who get paid the least.



The Gospel of Mammonism is almost like a parable for modern culture. A widow who had lost everything, applied for assistence and got none. Due to her circumstances she got sick and died with typhus fever. Not only did this fever kill her but it also killed 17 other people. This shows a powerful example of the plight of the poor in the modern capitalist culture. The financial costs are seen to be much more important than the human costs. "Seventeen of you lying dead will not deny such proof that she was of your flesh; and perhaps some of the living may lay it to heart." (481) Instead of looking at the widow as if she were a person, they simply saw her as someone that they could deny without much consequence. Little did they know her sickness would not die with her.

The last writing of Carlyle I have chose to look at is his writing entitled Labour. In this he believed that there was a sacredness in work. "Work, never so Mammonish, mean, is in communication with Nature; the real desire to get Work done will itself lead one more and more to truth, to Nature's appointments and regulations, which are truth." (481) Many people think of work simply as a means to make money, but Carlyle argues that truly knowing oneself involves finding one's true vocation. Without this true vocation, one cannot be blessed.