THOMAS
CARLYLE

FAMOUS SCOTS SERIES

The following Volumes are now ready:—

THOMAS CARLYLE. By Hector C. Macpherson.
ALLAN RAMSAY. By Oliphant Smeaton.
HUGH MILLER. By W. Keith Leask.
JOHN KNOX. By A. Taylor Innes.
ROBERT BURNS. By Gabriel Setoun.
THE BALLADISTS. By John Geddie.
RICHARD CAMERON. By Professor Herkless.
SIR JAMES Y. SIMPSON. By Eve Blantyre Simpson.
THOMAS CHALMERS. By Professor W. Garden Blaikie.
JAMES BOSWELL. By W. Keith Leask.
TOBIAS SMOLLETT. By Oliphant Smeaton.
FLETCHER OF SALTOUN. By G. W. T. Omond.
THE BLACKWOOD GROUP. By Sir George Douglas.
NORMAN MACLEOD. By John Wellwood.
SIR WALTER SCOTT. By Professor Saintsbury.
KIRKCALDY OF GRANGE. By Louis A. Barbé.
ROBERT FERGUSSON. By A. B. Grosart.
JAMES THOMSON. By William Bayne.
MUNGO PARK. By T. Banks Maclachlan.
DAVID HUME. By Professor Calderwood.

THOMAS
CARLYLE

BY
HECTOR: C
MACPHERSON

FAMOUS
SCOTS:
SERIES

PUBLISHED BY
OLIPHANT ANDERSON
& FERRIER · EDINBURGH
AND LONDON

Second Edition completing Seventh Thousand.

PREFACE TO THE SECOND EDITION

Of the writing of books on Carlyle there is no end. Why, then, it may pertinently be asked, add another stone to the Carlylean cairn? The reply is obvious. In a series dealing with famous Scotsmen, Carlyle has a rightful claim to a niche in the temple of Fame. While prominence has been given in the book to the Scottish side of Carlyle's life, the fact has not been lost sight of that Carlyle owed much to Germany; indeed, if we could imagine the spirit of a German philosopher inhabiting the body of a Covenanter of dyspeptic and sceptical tendencies, a good idea would be had of Thomas Carlyle. Needless to say, I have been largely indebted to the biography by Mr Froude, and to Carlyle's Reminiscences. After all has been said, the fact remains that Froude's portrait, though truthful in the main, is somewhat deficient in light and shade—qualities which the student will find admirably supplied in Professor Masson's charming little book, "Carlyle Personally, and in his Writings." To the Professor I am under deep obligation for the interest he has shown in the book. In the course of his perusal of the proofs, Professor Masson made valuable corrections and suggestions, which deserve more than a formal acknowledgment. To Mr Haldane, M.P., my thanks are also due for his suggestive criticism of the chapter on German thought, upon which he is an acknowledged authority.

I have also to express my deep obligations to Mr John Morley, who, in the midst of pressing engagements, kindly found time to read the proof sheets. In a private note Mr Morley has been good enough to express his general sympathy and concurrence with my estimate of Carlyle.

Edinburgh, October 1897.

CONTENTS

THOMAS CARLYLE

CHAPTER I

EARLY LIFE

'A great man,' says Hegel,