Gold Hill daily news. [volume] (Gold Hill, N.T. [Nev.]) 1863-1882, 1866-04-26
cARLYLE's PHILOSOPHY OF
FORCE,

Va
and better than might have been expected.
n has probed the heart and motives
of this man Of gigantic force so deeply
and thoroughly as Carlyle. There is not
o battle but he makes the whole thing
msrvellously clear, provided the reader
has ordinary familiarity with Prussian
history. The story seems to be told by
one who stands in the centre and sees the
whole, and knows the NOTES of each
actor.
Most readers, especially in this country
will ask, as they close this laboriously writ
ten history Of lives, why Carlyle has taken
such q fancy to study u so intensely the
life Of such a man. The answer, we fear,
mus, be given somewhat thus: 1t is be-
cause Carlyle worships~ forcs-force OF WILL
of character, all that surmounts great OBJ
s,acles successfully. After going through
a season of skepticism, from doubling
everything, and asking what is good for a
man under the sun, most speculative
thinkers have q fit of worshipping force,
irrespective, for the moment, of all con-
siderations Of right and wrong. The
present King of Prussia and Count Bis
marck seem to have a ft Of this kind on
them Just now, and they rob Denmark,
quarrel with Austria about the spoils, and
are only KEEP. in check at this moment BY
the uncertainty whether France is not 60
ing 10 unite with Austria. 1t is BY no
means sure but this opening up Of the
grave Of Frederick the Great by Carlyle
has had something to do with the revival
of his comba,ve spirit.
There is a general tendency, among
quite a large circle Of those who have con-
fused themselves with a philosophy like
Carlyle's to resolve now all right into
might. Mr.. Froude has just been prov
ing Henry VIII a saint of the mus
cular Christianity order. In fact. for
the last half generation, the leading
writers, thinkers and actors, in England
and on this continent, have been strongly
tending to the idea that whoever can
bring the greatest weight to bear on carry
ing his points is the truest man. Soon
experience c~onvinces all that right is the
,ruest strength, while momentary might,
without it, is weakness and folly. Yet SC
it is tina, each generation seems to have to
learn this over for itself. The young
Prince of Wales, not knowing how else to
show his might, has, during the last sea-
son, killed, j, is said. no fewer than 26,00C
head Of game! and it would, perhaps, b
well for him and his country were these
the worst uses of his power.
While, therefore, i, is impossible for u:
to admire the philosophy on which a pro-
duction like this life Of Frederick is oil
seems to be based, and while we can easily
see how great a mischief it may do in
misleading a few prominent intellects, who
in turn influence the heads and hearts OIL
thousands Of others, who are mere follow
er, Of a fashion OF thought, we can also
see how much may be learned from study.
ing this exhibition Of the Carlyle phil
osophy.
There is much in it. so much, that the
deepes, thinker Of Charles First's reign,
the celebrated Hobbies, taught, as the sun
of his philosophy, that the most natural
state Of man is q state Of warfare-a wal
Of all against all-unsil a man by force oil
fraud can so far master all around him
that he shall have no power left to fear
| No doubt the Creator has so constituted
US that the true course Of life will give
strength and overcoming power that mont
other will-every error bringing weakness
and defeat in its train somewhere, and oil
goodness bringing strength and conquer
ing power. But the true and final theory
the end of all philosophy, as Of all re-
ligion-is to assure ourselves that an over.
coming love for mankind Is a superior enc
Of each individual to the love Of himself
the good Of the community being only ex-
celled in his esteem by the good Of the
whole human race.