The work an unknown good man has done is like a vein of water flowing hidden underground, secretly making the ground green.
Thomas CarlyleRead
Skepticism . . . is not intellectual only it is moral also, a chronic atrophy and disease of the whole soul.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Skepticism undermines both intellect and morality, impacting the entire essence of a person.
In this quote, Thomas Carlyle emphasizes that skepticism goes beyond merely questioning or doubting; it affects the moral fabric of an individual. When a person becomes overly skeptical, it leads to a deterioration of not only their intellectual pursuits but also the core values and ethics that govern their behavior and decisions, ultimately resulting in a decline of the whole soul.
Themes
SkepticismMoralityIntellectSoulDoubt
In practice
Example use cases
During a lecture on philosophy, this quote could be used to provoke thought about the implications of a skeptical mindset.
More from Thomas Carlyle
All quotes →Thirty millions, mostly fools.
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There is a great discovery still to be made in literature, that of paying literary men by the quantity they do not write.
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For the superior morality, of which we hear so much, we too would desire to be thankful: at the same time, it were but blindness to deny that this superior morality is properly rather an inferior criminality, produced not by greater love of Virtue, but by greater perfection of Police; and of that far subtler and stronger Police, called Public Opinion.
Thomas CarlyleRead
Enjoying things which are pleasant; that is not the evil; it is the reducing of our moral self to slavery by them that is.
Thomas CarlyleRead
Clean undeniable right, clear undeniable might: either of these once ascertained puts an end to battle. All battle is a confused experiment to ascertain one and both of these.
Thomas CarlyleRead
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