Everybody felt his power, and all earnest thinkers were
seized in the strong grip of reality with which he laid hold upon his
time.
The religious thought and faith both of England and of Scotland felt
him, but his mark was deepest upon Scotland, because of two interesting
facts. First of all, Carlyle represented that old Calvinism which had
always fitted so exactly the national character and spirit; and second,
there were in Scotland many people who, while retaining the Calvinistic
spirit, had lost touch with the old definite creed. Nothing could be
more characteristic of Carlyle than this Calvinism of the spirit which
had passed beyond the letter of the old faith. He stands like an old
Covenanter in the mist; and yet a Covenanter grasping his father's iron
sword. It is because of these two facts _Sartor Resartus_ has taken so
prominent a place in our literature. It stands for a kind of conscience
behind the manifold modern life of our day. Beneath the shrieks and the
laughter of the time we hear in it the boom of great breakers. Never
again can we forget, amidst the gaieties of any island paradise, the
solemn ocean that surrounds it.
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