Excerpt from Critical and Miscellaneous Essays, Vol. 4 of 5
Another remark, on a lower scale, not unworthy of notice, is by Jean Paul: that as in art, so in conduct, or what we call morals, before there can be an Aristotle with his critical canons, there must be 9. Homer, many Homers with their heroic performances. In plainer words, the original man is the true creator (or call him revealer) of Morals too: it is from his example that precepts enough are derived, and written down in books and systems: he properly is the thiazg; all that follows after is but talk about the thing, better or worse interpretation of it, more or less wearisome and ineffectual discourse of logic on it. A remark this Of Jean Paul's which, ' well meditated, may seem one of the most pregnant late written on these matters. If any man had the ambition of building a new system of morals (not a promising enterprise.
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Thomas Carlyle was a Scottish satirical writer, essayist, historian and teacher during the Victorian era. He called economics "the dismal science", wrote articles for the Edinburgh Encyclopedia, and became a controversial social commentator.
Coming from a strict Calvinist family, Carlyle was expected by his parents to become a preacher, but while at the University of Edinburgh, he lost his Christian faith. Calvinist values, however, remained with him throughout his life. This combination of a religious temperament with loss of faith in traditional Christianity made Carlyle's work appealing to many Victorians who were grappling with scientific and political changes that threatened the traditional social order.
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