Thomas Carlyle (December 4, 1795 – February 5, 1881) was a Scottish essayist, satirist, and historian, whose work was hugely influential during the Victorian era. Coming from a strictly Calvinist family, Carlyle was expected by his parents to become a preacher. However, while at the University of Edinburgh, he lost his Christian faith; nevertheless, Calvinist values remained with him throughout his life. This combination of a religious temperament with loss of faith in traditional Christianity made Carlyle's work appealing to many Victorians who were grappling with scientific and political changes that threatened the traditional social order. Carlyle was born in Ecclefechan, Dumfries and Galloway, and was educated at Annan Academy, Annan. He was powerfully influenced by his family's (and his nation's) strong Calvinism. After attending the University of Edinburgh, Carlyle became a mathematics teacher, first in Annan and then in Kirkcaldy, where Carlyle became close friends with the mystic Edward Irving. In 1819 - 1821, Carlyle went back to the University of Edinburgh, where he suffered an intense crisis of faith and conversion that would provide the material for Sartor Resartus. He also began reading deeply in German literature. Carlyle's thinking was heavily influenced by German Transcendentalism, in particular the work of Fichte. He established himself as an expert on German literature in a series of essays for Fraser's Magazine, and by translating German writers, notably Goethe. His home in residence for much of his life was Craigenputtock a beautiful house in Dumfrieshire, Scotland where he wrote many of his works. He often wrote about his life at Craigenputtock, "It is certain that for living and thinking in I have never since found in the world a place so favourable.... How blessed, might poor mortals be in the straitest circumstances if their wisdom and fidelity to heaven and to one another were adequately great!"
the old gray wall
Time out of mind I have stood
Fronting the frost and the sun,
That the dream of the world ...[read poem]
Fronting the frost and the sun,
That the dream of the world ...
the heart of night
When all the stars are sown
Across the night-blue space,
With the immense unknown,
In...[read poem]
Across the night-blue space,
With the immense unknown,
In...
the eavesdropper
In a still room at hush of dawn,
My Love and I lay side by side
And heard the roaming...[read poem]
My Love and I lay side by side
And heard the roaming...
cui bono
What is Hope? A smiling rainbow
Children follow through the wet;
'Tis not here, still ...[read poem]
Children follow through the wet;
'Tis not here, still ...
the ships of yule
When I was just a little boy,
Before I went to school,
I had a fleet of forty sail
I ...[read poem]
Before I went to school,
I had a fleet of forty sail
I ...
a song before sailing
Wind of the dead men's feet,
Blow down the empty street
Of this old city by the sea
W...[read poem]
Blow down the empty street
Of this old city by the sea
W...
the winter scene
The rutted roads are all like iron; skies
Are keen and brilliant; only the oak-leaves cling...[read poem]
Are keen and brilliant; only the oak-leaves cling...
earth voices
I heard the spring wind whisper
Above the brushwood fire,
"The world is made forever
...[read poem]
Above the brushwood fire,
"The world is made forever
...
lord of my heart's elation
Lord of my heart's elation,
Spirit of things unseen,
Be thou my aspiration
Consuming ...[read poem]
Spirit of things unseen,
Be thou my aspiration
Consuming ...
by the aurelian wall
In Memory of John Keats
By the Aurelian Wall,
Where the long shadows of the centuri...[read poem]
By the Aurelian Wall,
Where the long shadows of the centuri...
the ships of saint john
Where are the ships I used to know,
That came to port on the Fundy tide
Half a centur...[read poem]
That came to port on the Fundy tide
Half a centur...
a sea child
The lover of child Marjory
Had one white hour of life brim full;
Now the old nurse, t...[read poem]
Had one white hour of life brim full;
Now the old nurse, t...
rivers of canada
O all the little rivers that run to Hudson's Bay,
They call me and call me to follow them away....[read poem]
They call me and call me to follow them away....
"if death be good"
(Sappho LXXIV)
If death be good,
Why do the gods not die?
If life be ill,...[read poem]
If death be good,
Why do the gods not die?
If life be ill,...
the vagabonds
We are the vagabonds of time,
And rove the yellow autumn days,
When all the roads are...[read poem]
And rove the yellow autumn days,
When all the roads are...
on the plaza
One August day I sat beside
A café window open wide
To let the shower-freshened air...[read poem]
A café window open wide
To let the shower-freshened air...
white nassau
There is fog upon the river, there is mirk upon the town;
You can hear the groping ferries as t...[read poem]
You can hear the groping ferries as t...
"i loved thee, atthis, in the long ago"
(Sappho XXIII)
I loved thee, Atthis, in the long ago,
When the great oleanders were...[read poem]
I loved thee, Atthis, in the long ago,
When the great oleanders were...
low tide on grand pré
The sun goes down, and over all
These barren reaches by the tide
Such unelusive glories fa...[read poem]
These barren reaches by the tide
Such unelusive glories fa...
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