Past and Present: Thomas Carlyle's Collected Works, Vol. XIII.Carlyle, Thomas
Philosophy
Past and Present: Thomas Carlyle's Collected Works, Vol. XIII.
Carlyle, Thomas
Great Britain -- Social conditions -- 19th century; Social problems
But mean Governments, as mean-limited individuals do, have stood by
the physically indispensable; have realised that and nothing more. The
Soldier is perhaps one of the most difficult things to realise; but
Governments, had they not realised him, could not have existed:
accordingly he is here. O Heavens, if we saw an army ninety-thousand
strong, maintained and fully equipt, in continual real action and
battle against Human Starvation, against Chaos, Necessity, Stupidity,
and our real 'natural enemies,' what a business were it! Fighting and
molesting not 'the French,' who, poor men, have a hard enough battle
of their own in the like kind, and need no additional molesting from
us; but fighting and incessantly spearing down and destroying
Falsehood, Nescience, Delusion, Disorder, and the Devil and his
Angels! Thou thyself, cultivated reader, hast done something in that
alone true warfare; but, alas, under what circumstances was it? Thee
no beneficent drill-sergeant, with any effectiveness, would rank in
line beside thy fellows; train, like a true didactic artist, by the
wit of all past experience, to do thy soldiering; encourage thee when
right, punish thee when wrong, and everywhere with wise
word-of-command say, Forward on this hand, Forward on that! Ah, no:
thou hadst to learn thy small-sword and platoon exercise where and how
thou couldst; to all mortals but thyself it was indifferent whether
thou shouldst ever learn it. And the rations, and shilling a day, were
they provided thee,--reduced as I have known brave Jean-Pauls,
learning their exercise, to live on 'water _without_ the bread'? The
rations; or any furtherance of promotion to corporalship,
lance-corporalship, or due cat-o'-nine tails, with the slightest
reference to thy deserts, were not provided. Forethought, even as of a
pipe-clayed drill-sergeant, did not preside over thee. To
corporalship, lance-corporalship, thou didst attain; alas, also to the
halberts and cat: but thy rewarder and punisher seemed blind as the
Deluge: neither lance-corporalship, nor even drummer's cat, because
both appeared delirious, brought thee due profit.
It was well, all this, we know;--and yet it was not well! Forty
soldiers, I am told, will disperse the largest Spitalfields mob: forty
to ten-thousand, that is the proportion between drilled and undrilled.
Much there is which cannot yet be organised in this world; but
somewhat also which can, somewhat also which must. When one thinks,
for example, what Books are become and becoming for us, what Operative
Lancashires are become; what a Fourth Estate, and innumerable
Virtualities not yet got to be Actualities are become and
becoming,--one sees Organisms enough in the dim huge Future; and
'United Services' quite other than the redcoat one; and much, even in
these years, struggling to be born!
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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