Editing Thomas Carlyle (section)

==Biography==
=== Early life ===
[[File:Arched House, Ecclefechan (Thomas Carlyle's birthplace).jpg|thumb|left|[[Thomas Carlyle's Birthplace]]]]
[[File:Silhouettes of Thomas Carlyle's father and mother made by Jane Welsh Carlyle with captions in Carlyle's hand 2.jpg|thumb|Silhouettes of Carlyle's father and mother with captions in Carlyle's hand|left]]
Thomas Carlyle was born on 4 December 1795 to James and Margaret Aitken Carlyle in the village of Ecclefechan in Dumfriesshire in southwest Scotland. His parents were members of the [[Burgher (Church history)|Burgher]] secession [[Presbyterian]] church.<ref>"Among these humble, stern, earnest religionists of the Burgher phase of Dissent Thomas Carlyle was born." – Sloan, John MacGavin (1904). [https://archive.org/stream/carlylecountrywi00sloauoft#page/n9/mode/2up ''The Carlyle Country, with a Study of Carlyle's Life.''] London: Chapman & Hall, p. 40.</ref> James Carlyle was a stonemason, later a farmer, who built the [[Thomas Carlyle's Birthplace|Arched House]] wherein his son was born. His [[maxim (philosophy)|maxim]] was that "man was created to work, not to speculate, or feel, or dream."{{Sfn|''Reminiscences''||p=5}} [[Nicholas Carlisle]], an English antiquary, traced his ancestry back to Margaret Bruce, sister of [[Robert the Bruce]].{{sfn|Marrs|1968|p=1}} 

As a result of his disordered upbringing, James Carlyle became deeply religious in his youth, reading many books of sermons and doctrinal arguments throughout his life. In 1791, he married his first wife, distant cousin Janet, who gave birth to John Carlyle and then died. He married Margaret Aitken in 1795, a poor farmer's daughter then working as a servant. They had nine children, of whom Thomas was the eldest. Margaret was pious and devout and hoped that Thomas would become a minister. She was close to her eldest son, being a "smoking companion, counsellor and confidante" in Carlyle's early days. She suffered a manic episode when Carlyle was a teenager, in which she became "elated, disinhibited, over-talkative and violent."<ref>Ingram, I. M. Margaret Carlyle: ''Her Illness of 1817 and its Consequences''. Carlyle Society Papers: Edinburgh, 2004.</ref> She suffered another breakdown in 1817, which required her to be removed from her home and restrained.{{Sfn|Cumming|2004|pp=76–77}} Carlyle always spoke highly of his parents, and his character was deeply influenced by both of them.{{Sfn|''Reminiscences''||p=27}}

Carlyle's early education came from his mother, who taught him reading (despite being barely literate), and his father, who taught him arithmetic.{{Sfn|Cumming|2004|pp=66–67}} He first attended "Tom Donaldson's School" in Ecclefechan followed by [[Hoddom|Hoddam]] School ({{Circa|1802–1806|}}), which "then stood at the [[Kirk]]", located at the "Cross-roads" midway between Ecclefechan and [[Hoddom Castle|Hoddam Castle]].{{Sfn|''LL''||loc=2:369, n. 2}} By age 7, Carlyle showed enough proficiency in English that he was advised to "go into Latin", which he did with enthusiasm; however, the schoolmaster at Hoddam did not know Latin, so he was handed over to a minister that did, with whom he made a "rapid & sure way".{{Sfn|''TR''||pp=29–30}} He then went to [[Annan Academy]] ({{Circa|1806–1809}}), where he studied rudimentary Greek, read Latin and French fluently, and learned arithmetic "thoroughly well".{{Sfn|''TR''||p=31}} Carlyle was severely bullied by his fellow students at Annan, until he "revolted against them, and gave stroke for stroke"; he remembered the first two years there as among the most miserable of his life.{{Sfn|''TR''||p=32}}

=== Edinburgh, the ministry and teaching (1809–1818) ===
[[File:Thomas Carlyle plaque, Buccleuch Place - geograph.org.uk - 1419955.jpg|thumb|Plaque at 22A [[Buccleuch (parish), Edinburgh|Buccleuch]] Place, Edinburgh<ref>{{Cite news |title=Thomas Carlyle |url=https://www.ed.ac.uk/about/people/plaques/carlyle |access-date=19 July 2022 |website=The University of Edinburgh |date=13 May 2015 |language=en}}</ref>|left|185x185px]]
In November 1809 at nearly fourteen years of age, Carlyle walked one hundred miles from his home in order to attend the [[University of Edinburgh]] ({{Circa|1809–1814}}), where he studied mathematics with [[John Leslie (physicist)|John Leslie]], science with [[John Playfair]] and moral philosophy with [[Thomas Brown (philosopher)|Thomas Brown]].{{Sfn|Cumming|2004|p=78}} He gravitated to mathematics and geometry and displayed great talent in those subjects, being credited with the invention of the [[Carlyle circle]]. In the University library, he read many important works of eighteenth-century and contemporary history, philosophy, and ''[[belles-lettres]]''.{{Sfn|Neff|1932|p=28}} He began expressing religious scepticism around this time, asking his mother to her horror, "Did God Almighty come down and make wheelbarrows in a shop?"{{Sfn|Allingham||p=253}} In 1813 he completed his arts curriculum and enrolled in a theology course at Divinity Hall the following academic year. This was to be the preliminary of a ministerial career.{{Sfn|Wilson||loc=1:87}}

Carlyle began teaching at Annan Academy in June 1814.{{Sfn|''Letters''||loc=1:14, 16}} In December 1814 and December 1815, he gave his first trial sermons, both of which are lost.{{Sfn|''Reminiscences''||p=189}} By the summer of 1815 he had taken an interest in [[astronomy]]{{Sfn|''Letters''||loc=1:103}} and would study the astronomical theories of [[Pierre-Simon Laplace]] for several years.{{Sfn|''Letters''||loc=1:127–128}} In November 1816, he began teaching at [[Kirkcaldy]], having left Annan. There, he made friends with [[Edward Irving]], whose ex-pupil Margaret Gordon became Carlyle's "first love". In May 1817,{{Sfn|''Letters''||loc=1:97}} Carlyle abstained from enrolment in the theology course, news which his parents received with "[[magnanimity]]".{{Sfn|''TR''||p=35}} In the autumn of that year, he read ''[[De l'Allemagne]]'' (1813) by [[Germaine de Staël]], which prompted him to seek a German teacher, with whom he learned the pronunciation.{{Sfn|''TR''||p=13}} In Irving's library, he read the works of [[David Hume]] and [[Edward Gibbon]]'s [[The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire|''Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire'']] (1776–1789); he would later recall that <blockquote>

I read Gibbon, and then first clearly saw that [[Christianity]] was not true. Then came the most trying time of my life. I should either have gone mad or made an end of myself had I not fallen in with some very superior minds.{{Sfn|Allingham||p=232}} </blockquote>

=== Mineralogy, law and first publications (1818–1821) ===

[[File:Jane Baillie Welsh, Mrs Thomas Carlyle, 1801 - 1866. Wife of the historian Thomas Carlyle.jpg|thumb|upright|Jane Baillie Welsh by [[Kenneth Macleay (painter)|Kenneth Macleay]], 1826, shortly before marriage]]

In the summer of 1818, following an expedition with Irving through the moors of [[Peebles]] and [[Moffat]], Carlyle made his first attempt at publishing, forwarding an article describing what he saw to the editor of an Edinburgh magazine, which was not published and is now lost.{{Sfn|''Reminiscences''||p=319}} In October, Carlyle resigned from his position at Kirkcaldy, and left for Edinburgh in November.{{Sfn|''Letters''||loc=1:143}} Shortly before his departure, he began to suffer from [[dyspepsia]], which remained with him throughout his life.{{Sfn|''TR''||p=50}} He enrolled in a [[mineralogy]] class from November 1818 to April 1819, attending lectures by [[Robert Jameson]],{{Sfn|''Letters''||loc=1:149}} and in January 1819 began to study German, desiring to read the mineralogical works of [[Abraham Gottlob Werner]].{{Sfn|''Letters''||loc=5:28}} In February and March, he translated a piece by [[Jöns Jacob Berzelius]],{{Sfn|Dyer|1928|p=30}} and by September he was "reading [[Goethe]]".{{Sfn|''Letters''||loc=1:196}} In November he enrolled in "the class of [[Scots law]]", studying under [[David Hume (advocate)|David Hume]] (the advocate).{{Sfn|''Letters''||loc=1:208}} In December 1819 and January 1820, Carlyle made his second attempt at publishing, writing a review-article on [[Marc-Auguste Pictet]]'s review of [[Jean-Alfred Gautier]]'s ''Essai historique sur le problème des trois corps'' (1817) which went unpublished and is lost.{{Sfn|''Reminiscences''||pp=318–319}} The law classes ended in March 1820 and he did not pursue the subject any further.{{Sfn|''Letters''||loc=1:236}}

In the same month, he wrote several articles for [[David Brewster]]'s ''[[Edinburgh Encyclopædia]]'' (1808–1830), which appeared in October. These were his first published writings.{{Sfn|Shepherd Bibliography||p=1}} In May and June, Carlyle wrote a review-article on the work of [[Christopher Hansteen]], translated a book by [[Friedrich Mohs]], and read [[Goethe's Faust|Goethe's ''Faust'']].{{Sfn|''Letters''||loc=1:251, 253, 254}} By the autumn, Carlyle had also learned Italian and was reading [[Vittorio Alfieri]], [[Dante Alighieri]] and [[Sismondi]],{{Sfn|''Letters''||loc=1:272–273}} though German literature was still his foremost interest, having "revealed" to him a "new Heaven and new Earth".{{Sfn|''Letters''||loc=1:286}} In March 1821, he finished two more articles for Brewster's encyclopedia, and in April he completed a review of [[Joanna Baillie]]'s ''Metrical Legends'' (1821).{{Sfn|''Letters''||loc=1:352}}

In May, Carlyle was introduced to [[Jane Welsh Carlyle|Jane Baillie Welsh]] by Irving in Haddington.{{Sfn|Cumming|2004|p=79}} The two began a correspondence, and Carlyle sent books to her, encouraging her intellectual pursuits; she called him "my German Master".{{Sfn|''Letters''||loc=1:368}}

=== "Conversion": Leith Walk and Hoddam Hill (1821–1826) ===
During this time, Carlyle struggled with what he described as "the dismallest [[Lernaean Hydra|Lernean Hydra]] of problems, spiritual, temporal, eternal".{{Sfn|''TR''||pp=50–51}} Spiritual doubt, lack of success in his endeavours, and dyspepsia were all damaging his physical and mental health, for which he found relief only in "sea-bathing". In early July 1821,{{Sfn|Vijn|2017|p=28}} "during those 3 weeks of total sleeplessness, in which almost" his "one solace was that of a daily bathe on the sands between [<nowiki/>[[Leith]]] and [[Portobello, Edinburgh|Portobello]]", an "incident" occurred in [[Leith Walk]] as he "went ''down''" into the water.{{Sfn|''TR''||p=49}} This was the beginning of Carlyle's "Conversion", the process by which he "authentically took the Devil by the nose"{{Sfn|Froude||loc=1:101}} and flung "''him'' behind me".{{Sfn|''TR''||p=51}} It gave him courage in his battle against the "Hydra"; to his brother John, he wrote, "What is there to fear, indeed?"{{Sfn|''Letters''||loc=1:371–372}}
[[File:Repentance Tower.jpg|thumb|[[Repentance Tower]] near the farm in Hoddam Hill, which Carlyle called "a fit memorial for reflecting sinners."{{Sfn|''CLO''||loc=TC to Janie Baillie Welsh; 23 March 1825}}|left]]
Carlyle wrote several articles in July, August and September, and in November began a translation of [[Adrien-Marie Legendre|Adrien Marie Legendre]]'s ''Elements of Geometry''. In January 1822, Carlyle wrote "Goethe's Faust" for the ''[[New Edinburgh Review]]'', and shortly afterwards began a tutorship for the distinguished Buller family, tutoring [[Charles Buller]] and his brother [[Arthur William Buller]] until July; he would work for the family until July 1824. Carlyle completed the Legendre translation in July 1822, having prefixed his own essay "On [[Proportionality (mathematics)|Proportion]]", which [[Augustus De Morgan]] later called "as good a substitute for the fifth [[Euclid's Elements|Book of Euclid]] as could have been given in that space".{{Sfn|Fielding|Tarr|1976|p=62|loc=}} 

Carlyle's translation of Goethe's ''[[Wilhelm Meister's Apprenticeship]]'' (1824) and ''[[Wilhelm Meister's Journeyman Years|Travels]]'' (1825) and his biography of [[Schiller]] (1825) brought him a decent income, which had before then eluded him, and he garnered a modest reputation. He began corresponding with Goethe and made his first trip to London in 1824, meeting with prominent writers such as [[Thomas Campbell (poet)|Thomas Campbell]], [[Charles Lamb]], and [[Samuel Taylor Coleridge]], and gaining friendships with Anna Montagu, [[Bryan Procter|Bryan Waller Proctor]], and [[Henry Crabb Robinson]]. He also travelled to Paris in October–November with [[Sir Edward Strachey, 3rd Baronet|Edward Strachey]] and [[Kitty Kirkpatrick]], where he attended [[Georges Cuvier]]'s introductory lecture on [[comparative anatomy]], gathered information on the study of [[medicine]], introduced himself to Legendre, was introduced by Legendre to [[Charles Dupin]], observed Laplace and several other notables while declining offers of introduction by Dupin, and heard [[François Magendie]] read a paper on the "[[Trigeminal nerve|fifth pair of nerves]]".{{Sfn|''Letters''||p=3:187–188}}

In May 1825, Carlyle moved into a cottage farmhouse in Hoddam Hill near Ecclefechan, which his father had leased for him. Carlyle lived with his brother Alexander, who, "with a cheap little man-servant", worked on the farm, his mother with her one maid-servant, and his two youngest sisters, Jean and Jenny.{{Sfn|''CLO''||loc=JBW to Thomas Carlyle; 2 September 1825}} He had constant contact with the rest of his family, most of whom lived close by at Mainhill, a farm owned by his father.{{Sfn|Cumming|2004|p=303}} Jane made a successful visit in September 1825. Whilst there, Carlyle wrote ''German Romance'' (1827), a translation of German novellas by [[Johann Karl August Musäus]], [[Friedrich de la Motte Fouqué]], [[Ludwig Tieck]], [[E. T. A. Hoffmann]], and [[Jean Paul]]. In Hoddam Hill, Carlyle found respite from the "intolerable fret, noise and confusion" that he had experienced in Edinburgh, and observed what he described as "the finest and vastest prospect all round it I ever saw from any house", with "all [[Cumberland]] as in amphitheatre unmatchable".{{Sfn|''CLO''||loc=JBW to Thomas Carlyle; 2 September 1825}} Here, he completed his "Conversion" which began with the Leith Walk incident. He achieved "a grand and ''ever''-joyful victory", in the "final chaining down, and trampling home, 'for good,' home into their caves forever, of all" his "''Spiritual Dragons''".{{Sfn|''CLO''||loc=JBW to Mrs. George Welsh; 1 October 1826}} By May 1826, problems with the landlord and the agreement forced the family's relocation to [[Scotsbrig]], a farm near Ecclefechan. Later in life, he remembered the year at Hoddam Hill as "perhaps the most triumphantly important of my life."{{Sfn|Cumming|2004|pp=223–224}}

=== Marriage, Comely Bank and Craigenputtock (1826–1834) ===

[[File:Thomas Carlyle's house, Comely Bank - geograph.org.uk - 1462840.jpg|thumb|[[21 Comely Bank]]]]

In October 1826, Thomas and Jane Welsh were married at the Welsh family farm in [[Templand]]. Shortly after their marriage, the Carlyles moved into a modest [[Thomas Carlyle's house, Comely Bank|home]] on [[Comely Bank]] in Edinburgh, that had been leased for them by Jane's mother. They lived there from October 1826 to May 1828. In that time, Carlyle published ''German Romance'', began ''Wotton Reinfred'', an autobiographical novel which he left unfinished, and published his first article for the ''[[Edinburgh Review#Edinburgh Review, 1802–1929|Edinburgh Review]]'', "Jean Paul Friedrich Richter" (1827). "Richter" was the first of many essays extolling the virtues of German authors, who were then little-known to English readers; "State of German Literature" was published in October.{{Sfn|Cumming|2004|p=442}} In Edinburgh, Carlyle made contact with several distinguished literary figures, including ''[[Edinburgh Review]]'' editor [[Francis Jeffrey, Lord Jeffrey|Francis Jeffrey]], [[John Wilson (Scottish writer)|John Wilson]] of ''[[Blackwood's Magazine]]'', essayist [[Thomas De Quincey]], and philosopher [[Sir William Hamilton, 9th Baronet|William Hamilton]].{{Sfn|Cumming|2004|p=79}} In 1827 Carlyle attempted to land the Chair of Moral Philosophy at [[University of St Andrews|St. Andrews]] without success, despite support from an array of prominent intellectuals, including Goethe.<ref>Nichol, John (1892). [https://archive.org/stream/thomascarlyle00nichuoft#page/n5/mode/2up ''Thomas Carlyle.''] London: Macmillan & Co., p. 49.</ref> He also made an unsuccessful attempt for a professorship at the [[University College London|University of London]].{{Sfn|Cumming|2004|p=79}}

[[File:Craigenputtock.jpg|left|thumb|[[Craigenputtock]]]]

In May 1828, the Carlyles moved to [[Craigenputtock]], the main house of Jane's modest agricultural estate in Dumfriesshire, which they occupied until May 1834.<ref name="Du">{{cite web |title=Thomas Carlyle and Dumfries & Galloway |url=https://www.dumfries-and-galloway.co.uk/people/carlyle.htm |access-date=9 July 2020 |website=D&G online}}</ref> He wrote a number of essays there which earned him money and augmented his reputation, including "Life and Writings of [[Zacharias Werner|Werner]]", "Goethe's Helena", "Goethe", "Robert Burns|Burns", "The Life of [[Christian Gottlob Heyne|Heyne]]" (each 1828), "German Playwrights", "Voltaire", "Novalis" (each 1829), "Jean Paul Friedrich Richter Again" (1830), "Cruthers and Jonson; or The Outskirts of Life: A True Story", "Luther's Psalm", and "Schiller" (each 1831). He began but did not complete a history of German literature, from which he drew material for essays "The Nibelungen Lied", "Early German Literature" and parts of "Historic Survey of German Poetry" (each 1831). He published early thoughts on the philosophy of history in "Thoughts on History" (1830) and wrote his first pieces of social criticism, "Signs of the Times" (1829) and "Characteristics" (1831).<ref name="daiches89">D. Daiches (ed.), ''Companion to Literature 1'' (London, 1965), p. 89.</ref> "Signs" garnered the interest of [[Gustave d'Eichthal]], a member of the [[Saint-Simonianism|Saint-Simonians]], who sent Carlyle Saint-Simonian literature, including [[Henri de Saint-Simon]]'s ''Nouveau Christianisme'' (1825), which Carlyle translated and wrote an introduction for.{{Sfn|Cumming|2004|pp=406–407}}

[[File:Carlyle_Maclise_Original.jpg|thumb|upright|Portrait of Carlyle by [[Daniel Maclise]] for the ''Fraser's'' "Gallery of Literary Characters", June 1833]]

Most notably, he wrote ''[[Sartor Resartus]]''. Finishing the manuscript in late July 1831, Carlyle began his search for a publisher, leaving for London in early August.{{Sfn|Cumming|2004|p=414}} He and his wife lived there for the winter at 4 (now 33) Ampton Street, [[Kings Cross, London|Kings Cross]], in a house built by [[Thomas Cubitt]].{{Sfn|''Reminiscences''||p=83}}<ref>{{Cite web |title=Numbers 21–39 and Attached Railings, Non Civil Parish – 1246998 {{!}} Historic England |url=https://historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/list-entry/1246998 |access-date=6 August 2022 |website=historicengland.org.uk |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Thomas Carlyle {{!}} Essayist & Historian {{!}} Blue Plaques |url=https://www.english-heritage.org.uk/visit/blue-plaques/thomas-carlyle/ |access-date=6 August 2022 |website=English Heritage}}</ref> The death of Carlyle's father in January 1832 and his inability to attend the funeral moved him to write the first of what would become the [[Reminiscences (Carlyle)|''Reminiscences'']], published posthumously in 1881.{{Sfn|Cumming|2004|p=67}} Carlyle had not found a publisher by the time he returned to Craigenputtock in March but he had initiated important friendships with [[Leigh Hunt]] and [[John Stuart Mill]]. That year, Carlyle wrote the essays "Goethe's Portrait", "Death of Goethe", "Goethe's Works", "Biography", "Boswell's Life of Johnson", and "Corn-Law Rhymes". Three months after their return from a January to May 1833 stay in Edinburgh, the Carlyles were visited at Craigenputtock by Ralph Waldo Emerson. Emerson (and other like-minded Americans) had been deeply affected by Carlyle's essays and determined to meet him during the northern terminus of a literary pilgrimage; it was to be the start of a lifelong friendship and [[Carlyle–Emerson correspondence|a famous correspondence]]. 1833 saw the publication of the essays "Diderot" and "Count Cagliostro"; in the latter, Carlyle introduced the idea of "[[Captains of Industry]]".{{Sfn|Cumming|2004|p=61}}

=== Chelsea (1834–1845) ===
In June 1834, the Carlyles moved into [[5 Cheyne Row]], [[Chelsea, London|Chelsea]], which became their home for the remainder of their respective lives. Residence in London wrought a large expansion of Carlyle's social circle. He became acquainted with scores of leading writers, novelists, artists, radicals, men of science, Church of England clergymen, and political figures. Two of his most important friendships were with [[Bingham Baring, 2nd Baron Ashburton|Lord]] and [[Lady Harriet Mary Montagu|Lady Ashburton]]; though Carlyle's warm affection for the latter would eventually strain his marriage, the Ashburtons helped to broaden his social horizons, giving him access to circles of intelligence, political influence, and power.{{Sfn|Cumming|2004|p=81}}

[[File:Thomas Carlyle House - 24 Cheyne Row Chelsea London SW3 5HL.jpg|thumb|left|upright|[[Carlyle's House]]]]

Carlyle eventually decided to publish ''Sartor'' serially in ''[[Fraser's Magazine]]'', with the instalments appearing between November 1833 and August 1834. Despite early recognition from Emerson, Mill and others, it was generally received poorly, if noticed at all. In 1834, Carlyle applied unsuccessfully for the astronomy professorship at the [[Edinburgh observatory]].{{Sfn|Cumming|2004|p=418}} That autumn, he arranged for the publication of a history of the [[French Revolution]] and set about researching and writing it shortly thereafter. Having completed the first volume after five months of writing, he lent the manuscript to Mill, who had been supplying him with materials for his research. One evening in March 1835, Mill arrived at Carlyle's door appearing "unresponsive, pale, the very picture of despair". He had come to tell Carlyle that the manuscript was destroyed. It had been "left out", and Mill's housemaid took it for wastepaper, leaving only "some four tattered leaves". Carlyle was sympathetic: "I can be angry with no one; for they that were concerned in it have a far deeper sorrow than mine: it is purely the hand of [[Divine providence|Providence]]". The next day, Mill offered Carlyle {{Inflation|UK-GDP|200|1835|fmt=eq|orig=yes|cursign=£|r=-3}},{{Inflation/fn|UK-GDP}} of which he would only accept £100. He began the volume anew shortly afterwards. Despite an initial struggle, he was not deterred, feeling like "a runner that tho' ''tripped'' down, will not lie there, but rise and run again."{{Sfn|''CLO''||loc=TC to John A. Carlyle; 23 March 1835}}{{Sfn|''CLO''||loc=TC to James Fraser; 7 March 1835}} By September, the volume was rewritten. That year, he wrote a eulogy for his friend, "Death of Edward Irving".{{Sfn|Cumming|2004|p=245}}

In April 1836, with the intercession of Emerson, ''Sartor Resartus'' was first published in book form in Boston, soon selling out its initial run of five hundred copies.{{Sfn|Tarr|1989|p=39}}{{Sfn|Cumming|2004|p=474}} Carlyle's three-volume history of the French Revolution was completed in January 1837 and sent to the press.{{Sfn|Tarr|1989|p=55}} Contemporaneously, the essay "Memoirs of [[Honoré Gabriel Riqueti, comte de Mirabeau|Mirabeau]]" was published,{{Sfn|Cumming|2004|p=331}} as was "[[Affair of the Diamond Necklace|The Diamond Necklace]]" in January and February,{{Sfn|Cumming|2004|p=121}} and "Parliamentary History of the French Revolution" in April.{{Sfn|Cumming|2004|p=366}} In need of further financial security, Carlyle began a series of lectures on German literature in May, delivered extemporaneously in [[Almack's|Willis' Rooms]]. ''[[The Spectator]]'' reported that the first lecture was given "to a very crowded and yet a select audience of both sexes." Carlyle recalled being "wasted and fretted to a thread, my tongue ... dry as charcoal: the people were there, I was obliged to stumble in, and start. ''Ach Gott!''"{{Sfn|''Letters''||loc=9:215}} Despite his inexperience as a lecturer and deficiency "in the mere mechanism of oratory", reviews were positive and the series proved profitable for him.{{Sfn|Shepherd|1881|loc=1:170}}

[[File:Crayon portrait of Thomas Carlyle by Samuel Laurence, circa 1838.png|thumb|upright|Crayon portrait of Thomas Carlyle by [[Samuel Laurence]], 1838]]

During Carlyle's lecture series, ''[[The French Revolution: A History]]'' was officially published. It marked his career breakthrough. At the end of the year, Carlyle reported to [[Karl August Varnhagen von Ense]] that his earlier efforts to popularise German literature were beginning to produce results, and expressed his satisfaction: "''Deutschland'' will reclaim her great Colony; we shall become more ''Deutsch'', that is to say more ''English'', at same time."{{Sfn|''Letters''||loc=9:382–385}} ''The French Revolution'' fostered the republication of ''Sartor Resartus'' in London in 1838 as well as a collection of his earlier writings in the form of the ''[[Critical and Miscellaneous Essays]]'', facilitated in Boston with the aid of Emerson. Carlyle presented his second lecture series in April and June 1838 on the history of literature at the Marylebone Institution in [[Portman Square]]. ''[[The Examiner (1808–1886)|The Examiner]]'' reported that at the end of the second lecture, "Mr. Carlyle was heartily greeted with applause."{{Sfn|Shepherd|1881|loc=1:179}} Carlyle felt that they "went on better and better, and grew at last, or threatened to grow, quite a flaming affair."{{Sfn|''Letters''||loc=10:93}} He published two essays in 1838, "Sir Walter Scott", being a review of [[John Gibson Lockhart]]'s biography, and "Varnhagen von Ense's Memoirs". In April 1839, Carlyle published "Petition on the [[Copyright Act 1842|Copyright Bill]]".{{Sfn|''Works''||loc=29:205}} A third series of lectures was given in May on the revolutions of modern Europe, which the ''Examiner'' reviewed positively, noting after the third lecture that "Mr. Carlyle's audiences appear to increase in number every time."{{Sfn|Shepherd|1881|loc=1:206}} Carlyle wrote to his mother that the lectures were met "with very kind acceptance from people more distinguished than ever; yet still with a feeling that I was far from the ''right'' lecturing point yet."{{Sfn|''Letters''||loc=11:102}} In July, he published "On the Sinking of the [[French ship Vengeur du Peuple|Vengeur]]"{{Sfn|Cumming|2004|p=478}} and in December he published ''Chartism'', a pamphlet in which he addressed the [[Chartism|movement of the same name]] and raised the [[Condition-of-England question]].{{Sfn|Cumming|2004|pp=89–90}}

[[File:The Proposed London Library.jpg|left|thumb|upright|Report in [[The Examiner (1808–1886)|''The Examiner'']] of "the speech that gave birth to [[The London Library]]",<ref>{{Cite web |date=24 June 2015 |title=175 years ago: Carlyle's speech that gave birth to The London Library |url=https://www.londonlibrary.co.uk/about-us/latest-news/1458-175-years-ago-carlyle-s-speech-that-gave-birth-to-the-london-library-2 |access-date=24 July 2022 |website=www.londonlibrary.co.uk}}</ref> given by Thomas Carlyle 24 June 1840]]

In May 1840, Carlyle gave his fourth and final set of lectures, which were published in 1841 as ''[[On Heroes, Hero-Worship, & the Heroic in History]].'' Carlyle wrote to his brother John afterwards, "The Lecturing business went of [''sic''] with sufficient ''éclat;'' the Course was generally judged, and I rather join therein myself, to be the bad ''best'' I have yet given."{{Sfn|''Letters''||loc=12:152}} In the 1840 edition of the ''Essays'', Carlyle published "Fractions", a collection of poems written from 1823 to 1833.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Tennyson |first=G. B. |date=1963 |title=Carlyle's Poetry to 1840: A Checklist and Discussion, a New Attribution, and Six Unpublished Poems |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/40001193 |journal=Victorian Poetry |volume=1 |issue=3 |pages=161–181 |jstor=40001193 |issn=0042-5206}}</ref> Later that year, he declined a proposal for a professorship of history at Edinburgh.<ref>{{Cite DNB |wstitle= Carlyle, Thomas (1795-1881) | volume= 09 |last= Stephen  |first= Leslie |author-link= Leslie Stephen |pages = 111–127 |short=1}}</ref> Carlyle was the principal founder of the [[London Library]] in 1841.<ref>{{cite book |url=https://archive.org/details/londonlibrary0000unse/page/9 |title=The London Library |publisher=Boydell Press/Adam Books |year=1978 |isbn=0851150985 |editor-last=Grindea |editor-first=Miron |editor-link=Miron Grindea |place=Ipswich |pages=[https://archive.org/details/londonlibrary0000unse/page/9 9–13] |url-access=registration}}</ref> He had become frustrated by the facilities available at the [[British Library|British Museum Library]], where he was often unable to find a seat (obliging him to perch on ladders), where he complained that the enforced close confinement with his fellow readers gave him a "museum headache", where the books were unavailable for loan, and where he found the library's collections of pamphlets and other material relating to the French Revolution and English Civil Wars inadequately catalogued. In particular, he developed an antipathy to the Keeper of Printed Books, [[Anthony Panizzi]] (despite the fact that Panizzi had allowed him many privileges not granted to other readers), and criticised him in a footnote to an article published in the ''[[Westminster Review]]'' as the "respectable Sub-Librarian".<ref>Wells (1991), pp. 26–31.</ref> Carlyle's eventual solution, with the support of a number of influential friends, was to call for the establishment of a private [[subscription library]] from which books could be borrowed.<ref>{{cite book |last=Wells |first=John |title=Rude Words: a discursive history of the London Library |publisher=Macmillan |year=1991 |isbn=978-0333475195 |place=London |pages=12–56 |author-link=John Wells (satirist)}}</ref>

Carlyle had chosen [[Oliver Cromwell]] as the subject for a book in 1840 and struggled to find what form it would take. In the interim, he wrote ''[[Past and Present (book)|Past and Present]]'' (1843) and the articles "[[Robert Baillie|Baillie]] the [[Covenanters|Covenanter]]" (1841), "Dr. Francia" (1843), and "An Election to the [[Long Parliament]]" (1844). Carlyle declined an offer for professorship from St. Andrews in 1844. The first edition of ''[[Oliver Cromwell's Letters and Speeches]]: with Elucidations'' was published in 1845; it was a popular success and did much to revise Cromwell's standing in Britain.{{Sfn|Cumming|2004|p=81}}<!-- Financially secure, Carlyle wrote little in the years that immediately followed ''Cromwell''.{{sfn|Stephen|1911|p=352}}ref doesn't point to any citation-->

=== Journeys to Ireland and Germany (1846–1865) ===

[[File:Thomas Carlyle Reading.jpg|thumb|upright|Thomas Carlyle by Robert Scott Tait, 25 May 1855]]

Carlyle visited Ireland in 1846 with [[Charles Gavan Duffy (Australian politician)|Charles Gavan Duffy]] as a companion and guide, and wrote a series of brief articles on the [[Irish question]] in 1848. These were "Ireland and the British Chief Governor", "Irish Regiments (of the New Æra)", and "The Repeal of the Union", each of which offered solutions to Ireland's problems and argued to preserve England's connection with Ireland.<ref>Seigel, Jules. "Carlyle and Peel: The Prophet’s Search for a Heroic Politician and an Unpublished Fragment". ''Victorian Studies'', vol. 26, no. 2, 1983, pp. 181–195, {{JSTOR|3827005}}. Accessed 13 April 2022.</ref> Carlyle wrote an article titled "Ireland and [[Robert Peel|Sir Robert Peel]]" (signed "C.") published in April 1849 in ''[[The Spectator]]'' in response to two speeches given by Peel wherein he made many of the same proposals which Carlyle had earlier suggested; he called the speeches "like a prophecy of better things, inexpressibly cheering."<ref>Carlyle, Thomas. "[https://archive.org/details/sim_spectator-uk_1849-04-14_22_1085/page/343/mode/1up?view=theater Ireland and Sir Robert Peel]". ''Spectator'' 22 (14 April 1849): 343–334.</ref> In May, he published "Indian Meal", in which he advanced [[maize]] as a remedy to the [[Great Famine (Ireland)|Great Famine]] as well as the worries of "disconsolate [[Malthusians]]".{{Sfn|Cumming|2004|p=237}} He visited Ireland again with Duffy later that year while recording his impressions in his letters and a series of memoranda, published as ''Reminiscences of My Irish Journey in 1849'' after his death; Duffy would publish his own memoir of their travels, ''Conversations with Carlyle''.{{Sfn|Duffy|1892}}

Carlyle's travels in Ireland deeply affected his views on society, as did the [[Revolutions of 1848]]. While embracing the latter as necessary in order to cleanse society of various forms of anarchy and misgovernment, he denounced their democratic undercurrent and insisted on the need for authoritarian leaders. These events inspired his next two works, "[[Occasional Discourse on the Negro Question]]" (1849), in which he coined the term "[[Dismal science|Dismal Science]]" to describe political economy, and ''[[Latter-Day Pamphlets]]'' (1850). The illiberal content of these works sullied Carlyle's reputation for some progressives, while endearing him to those that shared his views. In 1851, Carlyle wrote ''[[The Life of John Sterling]]'' as a corrective to [[Julius Hare (theologian)|Julius Hare]]'s unsatisfactory 1848 biography. In late September and early October, he made his second trip to Paris, where he met [[Adolphe Thiers]] and [[Prosper Mérimée]]; his account, "Excursion (Futile Enough) to Paris; Autumn 1851", was published posthumously.<ref>''Last Words of Thomas Carlyle'', 1892.</ref>

In 1852, Carlyle began research on [[Frederick the Great]], whom he had expressed interest in writing a biography of as early as 1830.{{Sfn|''Letters''||loc=5:102}} He travelled to Germany that year, examining source documents and prior histories. Carlyle struggled through research and writing, telling von Ense it was "the poorest, most troublesome and arduous piece of work he has ever undertaken".{{Sfn|Shepherd|1881|loc=2:168}} In 1856, the first two volumes of ''[[History of Friedrich II. of Prussia, Called Frederick the Great]]'' were sent to the press and published in 1858. During this time, he wrote "The Opera" (1852),<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://clyx.com/books/various/harper's_new_monthly_magazine_vol_iv._no._xx._january_1852/the_opera_by_thomas_carlyle.htm|title=The Opera|first=Thomas|last=Carlyle|magazine=[[ Harper's New Monthly Magazine]]|volume=IV|number=XX|date=January 1852|via=Clyx.com}}</ref> "Project of a National Exhibition of Scottish Portraits" (1854) at the request of [[David Laing (antiquary)|David Laing]], and "The Prinzenraub" (1855). In October 1855, he finished ''The Guises'', a history of the [[House of Guise]] and its relation to Scottish history, which was first published in 1981.{{Sfn|Carlyle|1981}} Carlyle made a second expedition to Germany in 1858 to survey the topography of battlefields, which he documented in ''Journey to Germany, Autumn 1858'', published posthumously. In May 1863, Carlyle wrote the short dialogue "Ilias (Americana) in Nuce" (American [[Iliad]] in a Nutshell) on the topic of the [[American Civil War]]. Upon publication in August, the "Ilias" drew scornful letters from [[David Atwood Wasson]] and [[Horace Howard Furness]].{{Sfn|Cumming|2004|p=235}} In the summer of 1864, Carlyle lived at 117 Marina (built by [[James Burton (property developer)|James Burton]])<ref>{{Cite web |title=117–118 Marina, Non Civil Parish – 1353240 {{!}} Historic England |url=https://historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/list-entry/1353240 |access-date=6 August 2022 |website=historicengland.org.uk |language=en}}</ref> in [[St Leonards-on-Sea]], in order to be nearer to his ailing wife who was in possession of caretakers there.{{Sfn|''Reminiscences''||pp=172–180}}

Carlyle planned to write four volumes but had written six by the time ''Frederick'' was finished in 1865. Before its end, Carlyle had developed a tremor in his writing hand.{{Sfn|Cumming|2004|p=177}} Upon its completion, it was received as a masterpiece. He earned a [[sobriquet]], the "[[Sage (philosophy)|Sage]] of Chelsea",{{Sfn|Wilson||loc=6:3}} and in the eyes of those that had rebuked his politics, it restored Carlyle to his position as a great man of letters.<ref>{{Cite Americana|wstitle= Carlyle, Thomas |volume= V |last= Brewster |first= William Tenney |author-link= |short=1 }}</ref> Carlyle was elected [[Rector of the University of Edinburgh|Lord Rector of Edinburgh University]] in November 1865, succeeding [[William Ewart Gladstone]] and defeating [[Benjamin Disraeli]] by a vote of 657 to 310.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Symons |first=Julian |title=Thomas Carlyle: The Life & Ideas of a Prophet |publisher=House of Stratus |year=2001 |isbn=978-1842329368 |page=1 |chapter=The Imperfect Triumph}}</ref>

=== Final years (1866–1881) ===

[[File:Dr John Carlyle, Thomas Carlyle, Miss Mary Aitken, Provost Swan (Crop).jpg|thumb|upright|Carlyle and his niece Mary Aitken, 1874]]

Carlyle travelled to Scotland to deliver his "Inaugural Address at Edinburgh" as Rector in April 1866. During his trip, he was accompanied by [[John Tyndall]], [[Thomas Henry Huxley]], and [[Thomas Erskine (theologian)|Thomas Erskine]]. One of those that welcomed Carlyle on his arrival was Sir David Brewster, Principal of the university and the commissioner of Carlyle's first professional writings for the ''Edinburgh Encyclopædia''. Carlyle was joined onstage by his fellow travellers, Brewster, [[Moncure D. Conway]], [[George Harvey (painter)|George Harvey]], [[Lord Neaves]], and others. Carlyle spoke extemporaneously on several subjects, concluding his address with a quote from Goethe: "Work, and despair not: ''Wir heissen euch hoffen,'' 'We bid you be of hope!'" Tyndall reported to Jane in a three-word telegram that it was "A perfect triumph."{{Sfn|Cumming|2004|pp=236–237}} The warm reception he received in his homeland of Scotland marked the climax of Carlyle's life as a writer. While still in Scotland, Carlyle received abrupt news of Jane's sudden death in London. Upon her death, Carlyle began to edit his wife's letters and write reminiscences of her. He experienced feelings of guilt as he read her complaints about her illnesses, his friendship with Lady Harriet Ashburton, and his devotion to his labour, particularly on ''Frederick the Great''. Although deep in grief, Carlyle remained active in public life.{{Sfn|Cumming|2004|p=83}}

[[File:Mr. Carlyle delivering the address on his installation as Lord Rector of Edinburgh University, April 2, 1866.jpg|thumb|Engraving depicting the Inaugural Address|left]]

Amidst controversy over governor [[Edward John Eyre|John Eyre]]'s violent repression of the [[Morant Bay rebellion]], Carlyle assumed leadership of the Eyre Defence and Aid Fund in 1865 and 1866. The Defence had convened in response to the anti-Eyre [[Jamaica Committee]], led by Mill and backed by [[Charles Darwin]], [[Herbert Spencer]], and others. Carlyle and the Defence were supported by [[John Ruskin]], [[Alfred, Lord Tennyson]], [[Charles Dickens]], and [[Charles Kingsley]].<ref>Hall, Catherine (2002). ''Civilising Subjects: Metropole and Colony in the English Imagination, 1830–1867''. University of Chicago Press, p. 25.</ref><ref name="daiches90">D. Daiches ed., ''Companion to Literature 1'' (London, 1965), p. 90.</ref> From December 1866 to March 1867,{{Sfn|Nichol|1904|loc=Chapter VII. Decadence [1866–1881]}} Carlyle resided at the home of [[Louisa Baring, Lady Ashburton]] in [[Menton]], where he wrote reminiscences of Irving, Jeffrey, [[Robert Southey]], and [[William Wordsworth]]. In August, he published "Shooting [[Niagara Falls|Niagara]]: And After?", an essay in response and opposition to the [[Reform Act 1867|Second Reform Bill]].<ref>Trella, D. J. (1992). "Carlyle's 'Shooting Niagara': The Writing and Revising of an Article and Pamphlet", ''Victorian Periodicals Review'' '''25''' (1), pp. 30–34.</ref> In 1868, he wrote reminiscences of [[John Wilson (Scottish writer)|John Wilson]] and [[William Hamilton (metaphysician)|William Hamilton]], and his niece Mary Aitken Carlyle moved into 5 Cheyne Row, becoming his caretaker and assisting in the editing of Jane's letters. In March 1869, he met with [[Queen Victoria]], who wrote in her journal of "Mr. Carlyle, the historian, a strange-looking eccentric old Scotchman, who holds forth, in a drawling melancholy voice, with a broad Scotch accent, upon Scotland and upon the utter degeneration of everything."<ref>{{Cite book |last=Weintraub |first=Stanley |title=Victoria: An Intimate Biography |publisher=Dutton |year=1987 |isbn=978-0525244691 |location=New York |page=352}}</ref> In 1870, he was elected president of the London Library, and in November he wrote a letter to ''[[The Times]]'' in support of Germany in the [[Franco-Prussian War]]. His conversation was recorded by a number of friends and visitors in later years, most notably [[William Allingham]], who became known as Carlyle's [[James Boswell|Boswell]].{{Sfn|Allingham||p=202}}

[[File:Commemoration Medal for Thomas Carlyle LACMA 79.4.41 (2 of 5).jpg|thumb|Commemoration Medal for Thomas Carlyle, front]]

In the spring of 1874, Carlyle accepted the ''[[Pour le Mérite für Wissenschaften und Künste]]'' from [[Otto von Bismarck]] and [[List of people who have declined a British honour|declined]] Disraeli's offers of a state pension and the [[Knight Grand Cross in the Order of the Bath]] in the autumn. On the occasion of his eightieth birthday in 1875, he was presented with a commemorative medal crafted by [[Joseph Edgar Boehm|Sir Joseph Edgar Boehm]] and an address of admiration signed by 119 of the leading writers, scientists, and public figures of the day.{{Efn|For the letter, written by [[John Morley]] and [[David Masson]], and list of signatories, see ''New Letters of Thomas Carlyle'', edited by Alexander Carlyle, vol. II, pp. 323–324.}} "Early Kings of Norway", a recounting of historical material from the [[Sagas of Icelanders|Icelandic sagas]] transcribed by Mary acting as his [[amanuensis]],<ref>Ousby, I. (ed.), ''The Cambridge Guide to Literature in English'' (Cambridge, 1995), p. 154.</ref> and an essay on "The Portraits of [[John Knox]]" (both 1875) were his last major writings to be published in his lifetime. In November 1876, he wrote a letter in the ''Times'' "On the [[Eastern question|Eastern Question]]", entreating England not to enter the [[Russo-Turkish War (1877–1878)|Russo-Turkish War]] on the side of the Turks. Another letter to the ''Times'' in May 1877 "On [[Great Eastern Crisis|the Crisis]]", urging against the rumoured wish of Disraeli's to send a fleet to the [[Baltic Sea]] and warning not to provoke Russia and Europe at large into a war against England, marked his last public utterance.{{sfn|Marrs|1968|p=790}} The [[American Academy of Arts and Sciences]] elected him a Foreign Honorary Member in 1878.<ref name="AAAS">{{cite web |title=Book of Members, 1780–2010: Chapter C |url=http://www.amacad.org/publications/BookofMembers/ChapterC.pdf |access-date=23 September 2016 |publisher=American Academy of Arts and Sciences}}</ref>

On 2 February 1881, Carlyle fell into a coma. For a moment he awakened, and Mary heard him speak his final words: "So this is Death—well ..."{{Sfn|Wilson|||pp=|loc=6:470–471}} He thereafter lost his speech and died on the morning of 5 February.{{Sfn|Froude||p=|loc=4:501}} An offer of interment at [[Westminster Abbey]], which he had anticipated, was declined by his executors in accordance with his will.<ref>Froude, James (1903). ''My Relations with Carlyle''. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons. p. 70.</ref> He was laid to rest with his mother and father in Hoddam [[Kirkyard]] in Ecclefechan, according to old Scottish custom.{{Sfn|Wilson|||p=|loc=6:471}} His private funeral, held on 10 February, was attended by family and a few friends, including Froude, Conway, Tyndall, and [[William Edward Hartpole Lecky|William Lecky]], as local residents looked on.{{Sfn|Cumming|2004|p=83}}