Publisher's Synopsis
This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can usually download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1900 edition. Excerpt: ... thomas carlyle and his gospel of work we are somewhat startled when we remember that England has already celebrated the one hundredth anniversary of the birth of Carlyle. It is hard to realize that his date is more than a century old, for he seems to belong particularly to our own day. Nevertheless, he was born while that other great Scotchman, Robert Burns, was still in the world, whose life he has painted as none other could; born before the Reign of Terror had died away, which he was yet to make so terribly real to us; born before " that portentous mixture of quackery and hero," Napoleon, had commenced to show his hand. The men who came into the world at the same time with Carlyle belong without question to a past age. Keats was born a year later, Shelley three years earlier, Byron six years earlier. All three, Byron, Shelley, and Keats, had done what they were to do in the world, and had passed out of it, before Carlyle had found out what his work was to be. Had his life been no longer than that of these three contemporaries, his name would never have been known. At the age when their genius was fully flowered, he was simply a country schoolmaster in an unknown Scotch village; for Carlyle matured late, and it was characteristic of him that he should keep silence until he had something to say. He did not begin by feeling his way as other writers do, but when his message was ready he uttered it. What, then, was his message? It may well be called " the gospel of work " "If you have anything to do in the world, do it." This was the text upon which he continued to ring the changes for more than half a century. He insisted that we are placed here for a purpose, --to be of use in the world; and if we fail to acco
