Mans 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
The block of granite which was an obstacle in the pathway of the weak, became a stepping-stone in the pathway of the strong. – Thomas Carlyle
The hell of these days is the fear of not getting along, especially of not making money. – Thomas Carlyle
No conquest can ever become permanent which does not show itself beneficial to the conquered as well as to the conquerors. – Thomas Carlyle
Nature is sanative, refining, elevating. How cunningly she hides every wrinkle of her inconceivable antiquity under roses, and violets, and morning dew! Every inch of the mountains is scarred by unimaginable convulsions, yet the new day is purple with the bloom of youth and love. – Ralph Waldo Emerson, “Progress of Culture”