Thomas Carlyle

No pressure, no diamonds.
– Thomas Carlyle

Not what I have but what I do is my kingdom.
– Thomas Carlyle

The man without a purpose is like a ship without a rudder – a waif, a nothing, a no man.
Have a purpose in life and having it, throw such strength of mind and muscle into your work
as God has given you.
– Thomas Carlyle

Show me the man you honor, and I will know what kind of man you are, for it shows me what
your ideal of manhood is and what kind of man you long to be.
– Thomas Carlyle

Make yourself an honest man, and then you may be sure there is one less rascal in the
world.
– Thomas Carlyle

Every noble work is at first impossible.
– Thomas Carlyle

It is the heart always that sees, before the head can see.
– Thomas Carlyle

Popular opinion is the greatest lie in the world.
– Thomas Carlyle

Literature is the thought of thinking souls.
– Thomas Carlyle

Our main business is not to see what lies dimly at a distance, but to do what lies clearly at
hand.
– Thomas Carlyle

If you are ever in doubt as to whether or not you should kiss a pretty girl, always give her
the benefit of the doubt.
– Thomas Carlyle

The true university of these days is a collection of books.
– Thomas Carlyle

Look to be treated by others as you have treated others.
– Thomas Carlyle

The tragedy of life is not so much what men suffer, but rather what they miss.
– Thomas Carlyle

In a controversy, the instant we feel anger we have already ceased striving for the truth,
and have begun striving for ourselves.
– Thomas Carlyle

Work alone is noble.
– Thomas Carlyle

Music is well said to be the speech of angels.
– Thomas Carlyle

Adversity is the diamond dust Heaven polishes its jewels with.
– Thomas Carlyle

Man’s unhappiness, as I construe, comes of his greatness; it is because there is an infinite
in him, which with all his cunning he cannot quite bury under the finite.
– Thomas Carlyle

My books are friends that never fail me.
– Thomas Carlyle

All that mankind has done, thought, gained, or been; it is lying as in magic preservation in
the pages of books.
– Thomas Carlyle

Every man is my superior in that I may learn from him.
– Thomas Carlyle

Go as far as you can see; when you get there, you’ll be able to see further.
– Thomas Carlyle

The battle that never ends is the battle of belief against disbelief.
– Thomas Carlyle

The greatest of faults is to be conscious of none.
– Thomas Carlyle

I’ve got a great ambition to die of exhaustion rather than boredom.
– Thomas Carlyle

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

Thought is the parent of the deed.
– Thomas Carlyle

He who has a secret should not only hide it, but hide that he has it to hide.
– Thomas Carlyle

A person who is gifted sees the essential point and leaves the rest as surplus.
– Thomas Carlyle

Nothing builds self-esteem and self-confidence like accomplishment.
– Thomas Carlyle

The work of an unknown good man is like a vein of water flowing hidden underground, secretly
making the ground greener.
– Thomas Carlyle

A loving heart is the beginning of all knowledge.
– Thomas Carlyle

Have a purpose in life, and having it, throw into your work such strength of mind and muscle
as God has given you.
– Thomas Carlyle

Doubt, of whatever kind, can be ended by action alone.
– Thomas Carlyle

Everywhere in life, the true question is not what we gain, but what we do.
– Thomas Carlyle

A man lives by believing something; not by debating and arguing about many things.
– Thomas Carlyle

Do the duty which lies nearest to you, the second duty will then become clearer.
– Thomas Carlyle

Tell a man he is brave, and you help him to become so.
– Thomas Carlyle

The history of the world is but a biography of great men.
– Thomas Carlyle

If Jesus Christ were to come today, people would not even crucify him. They would ask him
to dinner and hear what he had to say, and make fun of it.
– Thomas Carlyle

Fame is no sure test of merit.
– Thomas Carlyle

Conviction is worthless unless it is converted into conduct.
– Thomas Carlyle

A strong mind always hopes, and has always causes to hope.
– Thomas Carlyle

One must verify or expel his doubts, and convert them into the certainty of Yes or No.
– Thomas Carlyle

Talk that does not end in any kind of action is better suppressed altogether.
– Thomas Carlyle

Nothing is more terrible than activity without insight.
– Thomas Carlyle

He who could foresee affairs three days in advance would be rich for thousands of years.
– Thomas Carlyle

He who has health has hope; and he who has hope, has everything.
– Thomas Carlyle

Every new opinion, at its starting, is precisely in a minority of one.
– Thomas Carlyle