Carlyle as Prophet, Part II [pp. 1-17]

1885.] CARLYLEASPROPIfET, 3
"Carlyle's wide study of modern literature had shown him that much
of this had appeared to many of the strongest minds in Europe to be
doubtful or even positively incredible.... If any part of what was called
revelation was mistaken, how could he be assured of the rest? How could
he tell that the moral part of it, to which the phenomena that he saw
round him were in plain contradiction, was more than a`devout imagination`?"*
Carlyle himself says:
"It is certain we have in these two centuries greatly improved in our
geologies, in our notions of the early history of man. Have got rid of
MosEs in fact, which surely was no very sublime achievement." t
"He did not," Mr. Froude says, "think it possible that educated, honest
men could even profess much longer to believe in historical Christianity." ~
Miracles Carlyle asserted to be incredible, ~ priori, as being
impossible; and, of course, he could not believe in any divine
revelation or revealed religion. All religions, according to him,
are embodiments of the sublime, eternal truths and laws known
by our natural intelligence, good and useful so long as they are
believed in undoubtingly, useless, even noxious, after they become questionable and incredible. For this reason Catholicism
had to be got out of the way; so that the Reformation was necessary and useful, and, for the same reason, the Church of England,
though the best of all the sects in his estimation, was still regarded by him as a rusty kettle, sure to be knocked in pieces by
the attempts which are made to tinker it, and only made ridiculous by claiming for it "celestial-miraculous" prerogatives.
Catholicism long ago become incredible; Frotestantism, in its
orthodox, Unitarian, and rationalistic forms, rapidly becoming
incredible and useless; Christianity in general, though credible
and true as to its spirit and soul, not credible in any embodied
`form of it-is the summary of Carlyle's prophecy of negation, so
far as religion is concerned. He prophesied agaiiist some other
things also, which are pet theories and projects of great classes
of unbelieving agitators against the old in favor of a new order
of things. Such are agnostic, materialistic, utilitarian, radical
theories and schemes for the progress of humanity. For all
pseudo.science he had a most hearty contempt, and for real
science in respect to corporeal things he professed only a very
moderate veneration. In his view, human affairs are at a very
low ebb indeed, the tide still sinking lower, and a refluent wave,
on which humanity can ride, only to be expected after some ages
more have passed.
* L~, part I. voL 1. ch. V. t Part ii. vol. ii. ch. xxxv. ~ Ibid. C, xxxiv.