The work an unknown good man has done is like a vein of water flowing hidden underground, secretly making the ground green.
Thomas CarlyleRead
Stern accuracy in inquiring, bold imagination in describing, these are the cogs on which history soars or flutters and wobbles.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Attention to detail in inquiry and creativity in description are essential for understanding history.
This quote highlights the dual importance of meticulous research and imaginative storytelling in the study of history. Carlyle suggests that accurate questioning forms the foundation of historical inquiry, while bold imagination brings those facts to life, allowing history to transcend mere chronology and resonate more deeply with people.
Themes
HistoryAccuracyImaginationInquiryDescription
In practice
Example use cases
In a history class discussing the importance of primary sources, this quote could be used to emphasize the balance between research and storytelling.
More from Thomas Carlyle
All quotes βThirty 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.
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Enjoying things which are pleasant; that is not the evil; it is the reducing of our moral self to slavery by them that is.
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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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