Project Gutenberg 2008-07-31 Public domain in the USA. 445 Carlyle, Thomas 1795 1881 Carlyle, T. (Thomas) Past and Present Thomas Carlyle's Collected Works, Vol. XIII. Produced by Stacy Brown, Thierry Alberto and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net "Past and Present" by Thomas Carlyle is a social and political critique written in the mid-19th century. The work reflects on the state of England, focusing on the disparities between wealth and poverty, and the social responsibilities of citizens towards each other. Carlyle critiques the contemporary society’s values, proposing a return to genuine human connections and a system of government led by those of true merit and wisdom. The opening of "Past and Present" sets the stage for an exploration of England's dire conditions, where despite abundant resources and a capable workforce, many workers languish in poverty without meaningful employment. Carlyle describes this societal malaise through vivid imagery and poignant examples, such as the suffering of the unemployed workers in workhouses. He introduces the metaphor of Midas, likening the enchantment of wealth that brings no happiness or fulfillment to the plight of the English populace. By posing urgent philosophical queries about justice, labor, and the human condition, Carlyle urges a recognition of inner truth and moral integrity that he believes are essential for societal redemption. The opening serves to engage readers with the pressing issues of his time, calling for reflection and action in the face of injustice and despair. (This is an automatically generated summary.) en Social problems Great Britain -- Social conditions -- 19th century PR Text Browsing: Culture/Civilization/Society Browsing: History - British Browsing: Literature 777952 777961 2024-09-11T08:25:36.281713 2023-09-11T11:31:01.389024 text/html text/html 775110 2008-07-31T17:33:30 text/html; charset=iso-8859-1 295082 2008-07-31T17:33:30 text/html; charset=iso-8859-1 application/zip 361676 2024-09-11T08:25:50.356654 application/epub+zip 370796 2024-09-11T08:25:39.784704 application/epub+zip 370796 2024-09-11T08:25:37.994716 application/epub+zip 659220 2024-09-11T08:25:57.945643 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 573669 2024-09-11T08:25:48.370635 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 591198 2022-09-12T08:18:10.455479 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 678102 678002 2024-09-11T08:25:34.741730 2023-09-11T11:30:59.894929 text/plain; charset=us-ascii text/plain 677998 2008-07-31T17:33:30 text/plain; charset=iso-8859-1 278094 2008-07-31T17:33:30 text/plain; charset=iso-8859-1 application/zip 678042 2008-07-31T17:33:30 text/plain; charset=us-ascii 277970 2008-07-31T17:33:30 text/plain; charset=us-ascii application/zip 20496 2024-09-11T08:25:58.114616 application/rdf+xml 13909 2024-09-11T08:25:38.404696 image/jpeg 3563 2024-09-11T08:25:38.199695 image/jpeg 340625 2024-09-11T08:25:36.346733 application/octet-stream application/zip Archives containing the RDF files for *all* our books can be downloaded at https://www.gutenberg.org/wiki/Gutenberg:Feeds#The_Complete_Project_Gutenberg_Catalog en.wikipedia