The work an unknown good man has done is like a vein of water flowing hidden underground, secretly making the ground green.
Thomas CarlyleRead
Armed Soldier, terrible as Death, relentless as Doom; doing God's judgement on the Enemies of God. It is a phenomenon not of joyful nature; no, but of awful, to be looked at with pious terror and awe.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote reflects on the fearsome nature of a soldier's duty in executing divine judgment.
Thomas Carlyle's quote presents the soldier as a solemn figure tasked with a grave responsibility, embodying both power and dread. Armed with lethal force, the soldier is likened to death and doom, emphasizing the seriousness of their role in enacting what is perceived as God's judgment against enemies. This reflects a complex interplay of terror, reverence, and the moral implications of warfare, urging a recognition of the fearsome nature of such duty, which is imbued with a sense of pious awe rather than celebration.
Themes
SoldierJudgmentWarFearDuty
In practice
Example use cases
In a speech about the sacrifices of military personnel, one might reference this quote to highlight the gravity of their duties.
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.
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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.
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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