# Thomas Carlyle — The Varieties of Religious Experience character guide

> Thomas Carlyle in The Varieties of Religious Experience by William James.

**Role:** minor

**Also known as:** Carlyle, Thomas Carlyle, Tom

**First appearance:** 0005-lecture-iii-the-reality-of-the-unseen

## Who they are

Essayist quoted on the sense of wonder and the infinite.

## Relationships

### [William James](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_varieties_of_religious_experience_se/characters/william_james)

_psychological_

James quotes Carlyle's writings on heroism and the divine to illustrate the psychological roots of religious sentiment.

### [William James](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_varieties_of_religious_experience_se/characters/william_james)

_psychological_

James quotes Carlyle's writings on heroism and the divine to illustrate the psychological roots of religious sentiment.

## In the story

### [Lecture I: Religion and Neurology](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_varieties_of_religious_experience_se/chapters/lecture-i-religion-and-neurology)

Referenced as a figure whose melancholy is attributed by medical materialism to a gastro-duodenal catarrh.

### [Lecture II: Circumscription of the Topic](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_varieties_of_religious_experience_se/chapters/lecture-ii-circumscription-of-the-topic)

Quoted for his sardonic comment on Margaret Fuller's acceptance of the universe.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_varieties_of_religious_experience_se/characters/thomas_carlyle
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_varieties_of_religious_experience_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_varieties_of_religious_experience_se/characters