The work an unknown good man has done is like a vein of water flowing hidden underground, secretly making the ground green.
Thomas CarlyleRead
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.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Carlyle critiques the concept of superiority in morality, suggesting it stems from social control rather than genuine virtue.
In this quote, Thomas Carlyle reflects on the nature of morality and suggests that what is often labeled as 'superior morality' is actually driven by societal pressures and the enforcement of social norms. He argues that the perception of moral superiority may be a function of a highly developed system of social control—not genuine virtue arising from love of goodness. This critical view indicates that the public's opinion and the mechanisms of regulation play a significant role in shaping moral behavior, potentially distorting the true essence of virtue.
Themes
MoralitySocietyPublic OpinionControlVirtue
In practice
Example use cases
In a debate on ethical behavior in communities, one might cite Carlyle to illustrate how public opinion shapes moral standards.
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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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.
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Philosophy dwells aloft in the Temple of Science, the divinity of its inmost shrine; her dictates descend among men, but she herself descends not : whoso would behold her must climb with long and laborious effort, nay, still linger in the forecourt, till manifold trial have proved him worthy of admission into the interior solemnities.
Thomas CarlyleRead
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