Thomas Carlyle

Thomas Carlyle (1795–1881), Scottish born biographer, historian, philosopher and prolific author wrote Sartor Resartus: The Life and Opinions of Herr Teufelsdrockh (1831);

Thomas Carlyle, the eldest of nine children, was born on 4 December 1795. The family home was built and designed in part by his hard working father, stonemason James Carlyle (1757-1832) and was called Arch House, in Ecclefechan, in the district of Annandale, county Dumfries, Scotland. An arched doorway and an arched window centred on the second floor give the home its name. Carlyle would later write of his father "He was among the last of the true men, which Scotland (on the old system) produced, or can produce." His father often spoke metaphorically though he did not know what metaphor was and didn't have much time for poetry and fiction. He instilled the Gospel of Work into his children, however, and, like many peasant Scotsmen who had sons with a gift for great learning he wanted his eldest Thomas to become a minister and was surprisingly patient while he tried to find his vocation in school. Carlyle's childhood home was dominated by his father who rarely showed emotion and where the absolutes of Religion, Conduct and Work prevailed. Carlyle's doting and loving mother, Margaret née Aitken, taught him to read and was a true Christian believer, living in the frugal Calvinist way.