CarlylethereforewasessentiallyprotestingagainstthemechanicaldoctrinesembodiedinUtilitarianism。Buthesawthehopelessnessofmeetingtheattackintheold-fashionedarmouroftheology。Thedogmasofthechurchesweredead，beyondallhopesofresuscitation。TheverseinPastandPresentgiveshisview：
’ThebuilderoftheUniversewaswise，Heplannedallsouls，allsystems，planets，particles；
TheplanHeshapedallworldsandaeonsby，Was——Heavens！——wasthysmallnine-and-thirtyArticles。’190*
Anearlierversionoftheselinesspeaksofthe’logicofMaurice，’whohadcharacteristicallyprovedthatthearticleswereacharterofreligiousliberty。191*Carlylerejectedformulas。TheMauricianrehabilitationledtomerecant。LikeMaurice，hewasinprincipleamystic，andholdsthatmysticismmaybetakeninatruesense，192*inwhichitseemstobemuchthesamewithanIdealistascontrastedwithamaterialistdoctrine。WhenhefirstmadeMill’sacquaintance，itwasundertheerroneousimpressionthatMilltoowasamystic。193*
IhavespokenofCarlyle’spersonalrelationstoMill。HisjudgmentoftheUtilitariansgenerallyissignificant。FroudepublishessomeentriesfromCarlyle’sjournalof1829-30，atimewhentheprophetwasonlypreludinghisfullerutterances。194*
TheUtilitarians，heholds，exhibittendenciesspreadoverthewholeintellectandmoralsofthetime。Utilitarianismmustcollapse，becausethereasonwilltriumphoverthesenses，andtheangelatlastprevailoverthebrute。Themoralnatureofmanisdeeperthantheintellectual；thesignificanceofChrist，hesays，isaltogethermoral，andthesignificanceofBentham’altogetherintellectual，logical。’Wherelogicistheonlymethod，theresultingsystemcanbeonlymechanical。’Alas！poorEngland！Stupid，purblind，pudding-eatingEngland，’BenthamwithhisMills195*grinding’theeoutmorality——andsomeMacaulay，alsobe-apronedandagrinder，testinganddecryingit。’ThementionofMacaulayremindshimthattheUtilitarianshavearelativemerit。’Theyhavelogicalmachinery，’anddogrind’fiercelyandpotentlyontheirownfoundation，whereastheWhigshavenofoundation。TheWhigsareamateurs，theradicalsareguild-brethren。’196*Thepublicutterancesareversionsofthesamedoctrines。InSartorResartusTeufelsdr鯿khwouldconsentthatthe’monsterUtilitaria’shouldtrampledownpalacesandtemples’withherbroadhoof，’thatnewandbettermightbebuilt。197*SointheHero-Worship198*hecalls’thisgrosssteam-engineUtilitarianism’anapproachtowardsanewfaith。Itisatleasta’layingdownofcant，’anhonestacceptanceofthebeliefinmechanism：’Benthamismisaneyelessheroism；thehumanspecies，likeahaplessblindedSamson，grindinginthePhilistinemill，claspsconvulsivelythepillarsofitsmill，bringshugeruindown，butultimatelydeliverancewithal。OfBenthamImeanttosaynoharm。’InlateryearsCarlyleinsistsmoreemphaticallyuponthebadsideofUtilitarianism。Hehadgrownmorebitter，andwasmorealienatedpersonally。IntheChartism1839heattacksthe’ParalyticRadicalism’——
paralyticbeingsubstitutedfor’philosophical’whichhassoundedstatisticallya’seaoftroubles’aroundus，andconcludedthatnothingistobedonebuttolookon。ParalyticRadicalism，accordingly，is’oneofthemostafflictivephenomenathemindofmancanbecalledupontocontemplate！’199*Thesummaryofhislaterviewisgiveninthefamoussummaryofthe’PigPhilosophy’
intheLatter-dayPamphlets。Theuniverseisregardedasan’immeasurableswine’strough，’andtheconsequencesdeducedinakindofSwiftiancatechism。200*Utilitarianismmeansmeresensualism。Carlyle’sinterpretation，trueorfalse，reducestheissuetothesimplestterms。Willyouacceptthemechanicalorthemysticalview？Carlyle’smetaphysicalleaningsweretosomeformsoftranscendentalidealism。Timeandspace，ashesaysintheSartorResartus，arethecanvasonwhichourlife-visionsarepainted。Theyaremysterious’world-embracingphantoms，’toberentasunderbytheseerwhowouldpiercetotheHolyofHolies。
Theyareillusions，thoughwhileweareonearthwetryinvaintostripthemoff。Menarespirits；theearthbutavision。Weissuefromandfallbackintomystery。’Wearesuchstuff，’inhisfavouritequotation，’
Asdreamsaremadeof，andourlittleLifeIsroundedwithasleep。’201*
Thisispoetryratherthanphilosophy；andthoughthethoughtisalwayspresenttoCarlyleandconstitutesonesecretofhismostpowerfulpassages，itwouldbeimpossibletograspitasalogicaltheoryorimprisonitinanyformulawhatever。Allsystemsandformulasaresuspicioustohim。Heisa’seer’whonotonlydoesnotrequireanylogicalapparatus，butholdsthattorequireoneistogiveupthepoint。Itisthesenseoftheephemeralnatureofman，ofhissuspensioninthemidstofinfinities，whichstimulatesoroverpowershim。Thatsentimentliesdeeperthanallreasoning。The’mechanical’viewhastheadvantagederivedfromtheauthorityofthephysicalsciences；
butthesciences，heholds，lieinasuperficialregion；theybelongtotheworldofappearance，nottotheworldofreality。
Whenthemysticventuresintotheordinarydaylightandfightsthemanofsciencewithhisownweapons，hewillgettheworstofit。Sciencemusthaveitsrightsonitsownground；andtosupposethesupernaturalintrudinghereandthereintonaturalphenomenaistocourtdefeat。Thereareno’miracles，’buttheuniverseisitselfmiraculous。Hisgreatmessage，giveninSartorResartus，isthatthenaturalisthesupernatural。202*Wearenottopickup’intuitions’hereandthere；butwehaveoneintuition，thattheworldisnotamechanismbutarevelationofGod。Nosetofwordscanholdthegreatmystery。Theyarehopelesslyinadequate，andthesoonertheyaresweptintooblivionthebetter。Buttheoneprofoundmysteryremains。
EvensuchavagueindicationofCarlyle’sgeneralmeaningisanattempttodefineanimaginativetendencywhichshrinksfromdefiniteformulation。Themorepracticalapplicationisperhapsmoredefinable。The’EverlastingNo’means：Iwillnotbelievethattheworldisameredeadmechanism，northatthesoleforcesbywhichsocietyismouldedarethesensualappetites。Rightlyorwrongly，CarlyleattributedthoseviewstotheUtilitarians。Theyhadacertainnegativemerit，insofarastheytooktheirownlinedirectlyandconsistently。Theordinarytheologywasamassof’shams’and’cants’——acollectionofsubterfugesbywhichmencouldblindthemselvesforthetimetothenecessarydriftofthecurrent。ThewaytomeettheUtilitarianwasnottocompromiseortoargue，buttoleavetheworldofoutwardfactandtoplantyourselfonadeeperbase：thedirect，imperative，andunassailableconvictionorintuitionofthedivineorderimpliedeverywherebeneaththe’livingraiment。’Theissuethenbecomessimpleandabsolute。Nosetofcreedsand’formulas’canmatter；’evidences’areanabsurdity；theoneformulaisthedivinityoftheuniverse；theonlyevidence，thedirectintuitionoftheeternalverities。Thereligionsoftheworldaregoodsofarastheyrecognisethistruth；badsofarastheytrytoimprisonitinanysortofformulaormakeitdependentuponanyparticularfact。ToMaurice，astoothers，thisattitudeseemedtobehopeless。Doesitnotbecomemerepantheismasentimenttoovaguetobeefficient？
PantheismisaphrasescarcelyappropriateforCarlyle’screed。IfCarlylebelievedinGod，healsobelievedforpracticalpurposesinthedevil。HemighthavebeenexpectedtoacceptsomesuchpessimisticschemeasSchopenhauer’s。HewasdeterredbyhisinnatePuritanism。ThevoiceofGodforhim，howevervaguelydefined，isheardinmorality。Godisessentiallythegiverofthesupremelawsofhumanconduct，howevermuchthelegislatormaybewrappedinmystery。The’simplecreed，’accordingtohischiefdisciple，whichwasthe’centralprinciple’ofallCarlyle’sthought，wasthecreedoftheJewsandthePuritans，namely，thatobediencetothedivinelawistheoneconditionofhumanwelfare，andthatnationswhoworshipBaalevenintheguiseofartorofmaterialprosperityareontheroadtodestruction。203*
Carlyle，then，issofarlikeColeridgeandMaurice，thathefeelsthatareligionmustfindsomedeeperandmoreuniversalbasethancanbediscoveredintheregionofempiricalfact。Itmustcorrespondtoanimperativedictateofthewholeheartortheintellect。Hecarriesouttheprinciplewithincomparablymorevigourbyrejectingallhistoricalsupportsandparticularformulas。NeithertheThirty-nineArticlesnorthedecreesofcouncilsorpopescanbeadequatetoexpressthemystery；norcanthereligioussentimentbedependentuponparticulareventsand’miracles。’Itisthedifficultyofallsuchmethodsthattheappealtotheheartcomestobetheappealtotheprejudicesoftheindividualprophet。InamanofsuchmarkedidiosyncrasiesasCarlyle’sthisisofcourseconspicuous。Hisversionofhistoryandofphilosophyreflectshisinheritedprepossessions。Itisenoughheretomarkoneortwoofthemainpointsuponwhichhecameintoconflictwithcontemporaries。Acharacteristicresultishistheoryofhero-worship。Thedivineelementintheworldcannotbeenshrinedinonesacredbookorasinglesupernaturalorder。TherevelationcomesnotonlythroughMosesorChrist，butthrougheverygreatman。Odin，Mahomet，Dante，Shakespeare，Luther，JohnKnox，Johnson，Rousseau，Burns，Cromwell，andNapoleonarehischiefinstancesinthe’lectures’；each，moreorlessperfectly，wasthevehicleofamoreorlesspartialrevelation。Butthen，maywenotseegleamsofthesamelightinallthemultitudinousstrugglingsofthepoorhumanbeingswhohavemoreorlessconsciouslyco-operatedintheworld’sprogress？Hereandtherehisshrewdcommonsenseleadshimtorecognisethevalueevenofthestupidandtheformula-ridden。204*But，asarule，hethinksoftheworldasacollectionof’dullmillions’who’asadumbflockrollhitherandthither，’ledbylittlemorethan’animalinstincts。’Amongthematrareintervalsarescatteredmenofintellectandwill。205*Thegreatmen，ashesayselsewhere，are’childrenoftheidea’——suchaoneasRamDass，whosetupforagodbecausehehad’fireenoughinhisbellytoburnupallthesinsintheworld。’206*Inspirationbelongstotheinspiredfew，whohavetostruggleamidthevastchaoticmassesincapableoforiginatingthoughtoraction。ToCarlyle，theessenceofhistorywasbiography；thepersonalinfluenceofasmallminorityofgreatmen。Theviewcondemnsscientificmodesofhistory。Todisbelieveintheimportanceofgreatmenissupposedtoshowmaterialisticprinciples。A’law’ofhumandevelopmentdeniestheimportanceofindividualpeculiarities。ToholdthatCromwelloraNapoleonwasarelativelyinsignificantaccident，themereflyonthewheelofgreatevolutionaryprocesses，seemstobetoleadtotheexclusionofallactionofthewillorofthought。ToCarlyleaccordinglythehistoricalmethodinsomeofitstendencieswasprofoundlyantipathetic。Todiminishthepoweroftheindividualwas，inhisview，todenythespiritualforcesuponwhichsocietyisdependent。Inspiration，therefore，thoughnolongerconfinedtoaparticularchurch，isstillconfinedtotheelectwhostandoutasburningandshininglightsinthedimtwilightofhisRembrandtesquepictures。
Thegreatmovements，then，ofmoderntimescorrespondtotheblind’animalinstincts’ofthe’dumbflock。’TheyaregoodastheUtilitariansweregood，orastheFrenchrevolutionistsweregood，sofarastheirblindactionleadstothedepositionofthefalseleadersandthedestructionoftheireffetesystems。TheFrenchRevolutionis’thecrowningphenomenonofourmoderntime；
theinevitablesternendofmuch：thefearfulbutalsowonderful，indispensable，andsternlybeneficentbeginningofmuch。’207*
Thisisabriefsummaryofthegreatproseepic，thanwhichnobook，ashetrulydeclared，hadforahundredyearscomemoredirectandflamingly’fromtheheartofalivingman。’208*ThepassagefromwhichIhavequoted，however，indicatesafurtherpoint。TheFrenchRevolution，heholds，wasessentiallypartoftherevoltoftheoppressedclassesofEuropeagainsttheiroppressors。Butthepositivedoctrineofthe’rightsofman，’
theorieswhichdeniedtheneedofgovernmentordemandedsimplytothrowthereinsupontheneckofthegoverned，couldleadonlytochaos。Thereconstructionmustbebyanewgovernment；byagovernmentofwisdomor，whattohimstemsthesamething，agovernmentbythewise。The’newDowningStreet，’asheputsit，istobeaDowningStreetinhabitedbythe’giftedoftheintellectsofEngland。’209*Nothingthereforecouldseemmorecontemptible。thanthedoctrineoflaissezfaire。Thatissimplytoleavethefoolstothemselves。Modernparliaments，withtwenty-sevenmillionsmostlyfoolslisteningtothem，fillhimwithamazement。210*Adefinitionof’right，’then，whichmakesitultimatelydependonthewishesofthefools，issimplyabsurd。Notthe’animalinstinct’buttheconformitytothedivinelawisthetestofmorality；andthereforenotobediencetothemajoritybutloyaltytothe’hero。’Buthowistheherotobeknown？Couldhetellusthat，hereplies，hewouldbeaTrismegistus。No’ableeditor’cantellmenhow’toknowHeroismwhentheyseeitthattheymightdoreverencetoitonly，andloyallymakeitruleroverthem。’211*Hereis，however，thedifficulty。Obediencetotheheroisouronlywisdom，andobediencetothequackistheroadtodestruction。Oneis，itmaybesaid，obediencetoright，andtheotherobediencetomight。
Howarewetotellrightfrommight？ThestatementthatCarlyleconfusedthetwo，thatheadmiredmightinreality，whileprofessingtoadmirerightsimply，wasthemostpopularandeffectivecriticismofhisopinions。Heisconstantlyaccusedofapprovingmerebrute-force。Nothingcouldlesscorrespondtohisintention；butheispuzzledinparticularcases。Hedeclaresagainandagainthattheycoincideinasense。’Mightandrightdodifferfrightfullyfromhourtohour；butgivethemcenturiestotryitin，theyarefoundtobeidentical。’212*’Thatwhichisjustendures，’isanedifyingstatement，andonewhichheconstantlyemphasises；butmaywenotinferthatthatwhichenduresisright，andbeledtoadmireveryquestionableproceedings？DoesthesuccessofaCromwellforhislife-time，orthemorepermanentsuccessofaFrederick，justifytheirproceedings？Carlylemayhaveoftenbegunatthewrongend；butthecuriouspointisthatthispartofCarlyle’steachingapproximatessocloselytoadoctrinewhichhefirstdetested。