Carlyle by John Morley (1881)

Name: Carlyle
Author: John Morley

The biography focuses on Carlyle's life and career from his early days as a student to his later years as a prominent literary figure. It explores his relationships with notable figures of the time, including Thomas De Quincey and Ralph Waldo Emerson. The work also examines Carlyle's intellectual development, particularly in relation to his views on history, politics, and literature.

By John Morley · First published 1881 · Genre: Biography, Literary Criticism, History · 19,570 words

First lines

The new library edition of Mr. Carlyle's works may be taken for the final presentation of all that the author has to say to his contemporaries, and to possess the settled form in which he wishes his words to go to those of posterity who may prove to have ears for them. The canon is definitely made up. The golden Gospel of Silence is effectively compressed in thirty fine volumes. After all has been said about self-indulgent mannerisms, moral perversities, phraseological outrages, and the rest, these volumes will remain the noble monument of the industry, originality, conscientiousness, and genius of a noble character, and of an intellectual career that has exercised on many sides the profoundest sort of influence upon English feeling. Men who have long since moved far away from these spiritual latitudes, like those who still find an adequate shelter in them, can hardly help feeling as they turn the pages of the now disused pieces which they were once wont to ponder daily, that whatever later teachers may have done in definitely shaping opinion, in giving specific form to sentiment, and in subjecting impulse to rational discipline, here was the friendly fire-bearer who first conveyed the Promethean spark, here the prophet who first smote the rock.

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Carlyle is listed on Textopian as an essay by John Morley, dated 1881 CE.

This source record anchors work identity, reading entry points, and catalog context for checking claims about the work.

Work type: Essay
Author: John Morley
Date: 1881 CE
Language: English
Genres: Biography, Literary Criticism, History, Philosophy, Essay
Length: 19,570 words
Structure: 1 section, 100 paragraphs
Reading fit: Fairly Difficult (10th-12th Grade)

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Genres

Biography — The work primarily focuses on the life and contributions of a significant historical figure.
Literary Criticism — It analyzes the subject's literary works and their impact on literature and society.
History — The text provides context about the historical period in which the subject lived and worked.
Philosophy — It explores the philosophical ideas and themes present in the subject's work.