Quotes by Thomas Carlyle

"The work an unknown good man has done is like a vein of water flowing hidden underground, secretly making the ground green."

"Be not a slave of words."

"The first duty of man is to conquer fear; he must get rid of it, he cannot act till then."

"I've got a great ambition to die of exhaustion rather than boredom."

"True humor springs not more from the head than from the heart. It is not contempt; its essence is love. It issues not in laughter, but in still smiles, which lie far deeper."

"Music is well said to be the speech of angels."

"If you look deep enough you will see music; the heart of nature being everywhere music."

"Wondrous is the strength of cheerfulness, and its power of endurance - the cheerful man will do more in the same time, will do it; better, will preserve it longer, than the sad or sullen."

"The three great elements of modern civilization, Gun powder, Printing, and the Protestant religion."

"Permanence, perseverance and persistence in spite of all obstacles, discouragements, and impossibilities: It is this, that in all things distinguishes the strong soul from the weak."

"What we become depends on what we read after all of the professors have finished with us. The greatest university of all is a collection of books."

"Old age is not a matter for sorrow. It is matter for thanks if we have left our work done behind us."

"I do not believe in the collective wisdom of individual ignorance."

"Every noble work is at first impossible."

"The old cathedrals are good, but the great blue dome that hangs over everything is better."

"There are good and bad times, but our mood changes more often than our fortune."