--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Literature is the thought of thinking…" description: "\"Literature is the thought of thinking souls.\" — Thomas Carlyle" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/444/thomas-carlyle-207_books_literature-is-the-thought-of-thinking-so_761368.png" --- # Literature is the thought of thinking souls. ![“Literature is the thought of thinking souls.” quote by Thomas Carlyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/444/thomas-carlyle-207_books_literature-is-the-thought-of-thinking-so_761368.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/444/thomas-carlyle-207_books_literature-is-the-thought-of-thinking-so_761368.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/444/thomas-carlyle-207_books_literature-is-the-thought-of-thinking-so_761368.png) > “Literature is the thought of thinking souls.” [Thomas Carlyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-carlyle/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The quote suggests that literature expresses the inner reflections of thoughtful individuals. **In simple terms:** Literature reflects thoughtful minds. Key Takeaway Read to understand deeper thoughts. Themes creativity reflection intellect Mood contemplative inspired Type analytical reflective When to use this quote - writing workshops - book clubs - personal journals Key Concepts philosophy literary theory Questions to Reflect On - How does literature capture inner thought? - What other mediums reveal thinking souls? A Different Perspective May overlook non‑literary expressions of thought. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Literature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/literature/) [Literature Thought](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/literature-thought-1240079/) [Philosophy of Mind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/philosophy-of-mind/) [Soul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/soul/) [Souls](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/souls/) [Spirituality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/spirituality/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) [Thinking Souls](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking-souls-5903424/) [Thought](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thought/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) ## Related quotes > [I start thinking: How many souls hip-hop has affected? How many dead folks this art resurrected? How many nations this culture connected? Who am…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/common/i-start-thinking-how-many-souls-hip-hop-has-affected-how-many-dead/) [Common](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/common/) > [I'd studied English literature and American history, but the English literature, which I thought was going to be helpful to me in an immediate…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lynne-tillman/i-d-studied-english-literature-and-american-history-but-the-english/) [Lynne Tillman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lynne-tillman/) > [The appeal of reading, she thought, lay in its indifference: there was something undeferring about literature. Books did not care who was reading them…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-bennett/the-appeal-of-reading-she-thought-lay-in-its-indifference-there-was/) [Alan Bennett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-bennett/) > [“Literature, I have always thought, is in most places and companies a singularly dull and uninteresting thing to talk about, but one may, as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-hurrell-mallock/literature-i-have-always-thought-is-in-most-places-and-companies-a/) [William Hurrell Mallock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-hurrell-mallock/) > [“Look at it this way: if you were convinced that the world had forgotten how to think and teach, if you believed it had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natalia-sanmartin-fenollera/look-at-it-this-way-if-you-were-convinced-that-the-world-had/) [Natalia Sanmartín Fenollera](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natalia-sanmartin-fenollera/) > [“In literature there is no such thing as a pure thought; in literature, thought is always the handmaid of emotion.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-middleton-murry/in-literature-there-is-no-such-thing-as-a-pure-thought-in-literature/) [John Middleton Murry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-middleton-murry/) > [I used to be more of a purist about literature. I thought, 'If it's a really propulsive story, then maybe there's something unliterary about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-heighton/i-used-to-be-more-of-a-purist-about-literature-i-thought-if-it-s-a/) [Steven Heighton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-heighton/) > [I think the great artists, especially in literature, have always thought with the heart.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-sirk/i-think-the-great-artists-especially-in-literature-have-always/) [Douglas Sirk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-sirk/) > [I used to do miserably in English literature, which I thought was a sign of moral turpitude. As I look back on it, I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patricia-wentworth/i-used-to-do-miserably-in-english-literature-which-i-thought-was-a/) [Patricia Wentworth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patricia-wentworth/) > [“The appeal of reading, she thought, lay in its indifference: there was something undeferring about literature. Books did not care who was reading them…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-bennett/the-appeal-of-reading-she-thought-lay-in-its-indifference-there-was-2/) [Alan Bennett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-bennett/) > [Iliad by Homer is one of the great stories in literature. And I thought its themes really resonated today, whether that was my projection…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brad-pitt/iliad-by-homer-is-one-of-the-great-stories-in-literature-and-i/) [Brad Pitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brad-pitt/) > [Thought will not work except in silence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-carlyle/thought-will-not-work-except-in-silence/) [Thomas Carlyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-carlyle/) > [“I travel to know the life of great souls in the pages of a book.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lailah-gifty-akita/i-travel-to-know-the-life-of-great-souls-in-the-pages-of-a-book/) [Lailah Gifty Akita](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lailah-gifty-akita/) > [In a general way, the literature of the twentieth century is essentially psychological; and psychology consists of describing states of the soul by displaying…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simone-weil/in-a-general-way-the-literature-of-the-twentieth-century-is/) [Simone Weil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simone-weil/) > [Forgotten thought is the ultimate entropy!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-lintern/forgotten-thought-is-the-ultimate-entropy/) [Neil Lintern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-lintern/) ## More by Thomas Carlyle > [O thou that pinest in the imprisonment of the Actual, and criest bitterly to the gods for a kingdom wherein to rule and create,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-carlyle/o-thou-that-pinest-in-the-imprisonment-of-the-actual-and-criest/) [Thomas Carlyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-carlyle/) > [Whose school-hours are all the days and nights of our existence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-carlyle/whose-school-hours-are-all-the-days-and-nights-of-our-existence/) [Thomas Carlyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-carlyle/) > [No sadder proof can be given by a man of his own littleness than disbelief in great men.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-carlyle/no-sadder-proof-can-be-given-by-a-man-of-his-own-littleness-than/) [Thomas Carlyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-carlyle/) > [Fame, we may understand, is no sure test of merit, but only a probability of such: it is an accident, not a property, of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-carlyle/fame-we-may-understand-is-no-sure-test-of-merit-but-only-a/) [Thomas Carlyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-carlyle/) > [The sincere alone can recognize sincerity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-carlyle/the-sincere-alone-can-recognize-sincerity/) [Thomas Carlyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-carlyle/) > [Be a pattern to others, and then all will go well; for as a whole city is affected by the licentious passions and vices…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-carlyle/be-a-pattern-to-others-and-then-all-will-go-well-for-as-a-whole-city/) [Thomas Carlyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-carlyle/) > [The glory of a workman, still more of a master workman, that he does his work well, ought to be his most precious possession;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-carlyle/the-glory-of-a-workman-still-more-of-a-master-workman-that-he-does/) [Thomas Carlyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-carlyle/) > [All human things do require to have an ideal in them; to have some soul in them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-carlyle/all-human-things-do-require-to-have-an-ideal-in-them-to-have-some/) [Thomas Carlyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-carlyle/) > [Insurrection, never so necessary, is a most sad necessity; and governors who wait for that to instruct them are surely getting into the fatalest…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-carlyle/insurrection-never-so-necessary-is-a-most-sad-necessity-and-governors/) [Thomas Carlyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-carlyle/) > [What is philosophy but a continual battle against custom?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-carlyle/what-is-philosophy-but-a-continual-battle-against-custom/) [Thomas Carlyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-carlyle/) > [Let Time and Chance combine, combine! Let Time and Chance combine! The fairest love from heaven above, That love of yours was mine, My…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-carlyle/let-time-and-chance-combine-combine-let-time-and-chance-combine-the/) [Thomas Carlyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-carlyle/) > [Thought will not work except in silence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-carlyle/thought-will-not-work-except-in-silence/) [Thomas Carlyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-carlyle/) > [The public is anold woman.Let her maunderand mumble.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-carlyle/the-public-is-anold-woman-let-her-maunderand-mumble/) [Thomas Carlyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-carlyle/) > [Does not every true man feel that he is himself made higher by doing reverence to what is really above him?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-carlyle/does-not-every-true-man-feel-that-he-is-himself-made-higher-by-doing/) [Thomas Carlyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-carlyle/) > [The press is the fourth estate of the realm.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-carlyle/the-press-is-the-fourth-estate-of-the-realm/) [Thomas Carlyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-carlyle/) [Explore all 917 Thomas Carlyle quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-carlyle/) ## More Books quotes > [I think a new world will arise out of the religious mists when we approach our Bible with the idea that it is not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aiden-wilson-tozer/i-think-a-new-world-will-arise-out-of-the-religious-mists-when-we/) [Aiden Wilson Tozer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aiden-wilson-tozer/) > [If I had a dollar for every time I couldn’t sleep, I could buy a billion locks and finally read a book in peace.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aesop-rock/if-i-had-a-dollar-for-every-time-i-couldn-t-sleep-i-could-buy-a/) [Aesop Rock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aesop-rock/) > [If what I write is literature, I guess you'd better emphasize the 'litter.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lydia-lunch/if-what-i-write-is-literature-i-guess-you-d-better-emphasize-the/) [Lydia Lunch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lydia-lunch/) > [My sentences got sharper and my stories more efficient, and I gradually learned to imagine the reader more clearly and to empathize with that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-thompson-walker/my-sentences-got-sharper-and-my-stories-more-efficient-and-i/) [Karen Thompson Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-thompson-walker/) > [Young men, especially in America, write to me and ask me to recommend “a course of reading.” Distrust a course of reading! People who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-lang/young-men-especially-in-america-write-to-me-and-ask-me-to-recommend-a/) [Andrew Lang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-lang/) > [“Within the pages of books, I've journeyed to Mandalay, the Milky Way and Santa Fe, without once having to leave my armchair.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-ansbro/within-the-pages-of-books-i-ve-journeyed-to-mandalay-the-milky-way/) [Kevin Ansbro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-ansbro/) > [The Rosary is the book of the blind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fulton-j-sheen/the-rosary-is-the-book-of-the-blind/) [Fulton J. Sheen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fulton-j-sheen/) > [“Tacitus did not write a most dangerous book. His readers made it so.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-k-krebs/tacitus-did-not-write-a-most-dangerous-book-his-readers-made-it-so/) [Christopher K. Krebs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-k-krebs/) > [“Take some books and read; that’s an immense help; and books are always good company if you have the right sort.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louisa-may-alcott/take-some-books-and-read-that-s-an-immense-help-and-books-are-always/) [Louisa May Alcott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louisa-may-alcott/) > [Reader, if you are gifted with nerves like mine, aspire to any character but that of a wit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-lamb/reader-if-you-are-gifted-with-nerves-like-mine-aspire-to-any/) [Charles Lamb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-lamb/) > [I have many who keep me going, I am very fortunate in this sense. There is nothing like a child who knows more about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/floyd-cooper/i-have-many-who-keep-me-going-i-am-very-fortunate-in-this-sense-there/) [Floyd Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/floyd-cooper/) > [I think books in which people are really happy and things are going well are probably the most challenging novels there are to write,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/i-think-books-in-which-people-are-really-happy-and-things-are-going/) [Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/) > [It's like the query letter problem that I just mentioned, magnified a hundredfold. You might be good at telling a story, but that doesn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-rothfuss/it-s-like-the-query-letter-problem-that-i-just-mentioned-magnified-a/) [Patrick Rothfuss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-rothfuss/) > [“Be careful about reading health books. Some fine day you'll die of a misprint.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/markus-herz/be-careful-about-reading-health-books-some-fine-day-you-ll-die-of-a/) [Markus Herz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/markus-herz/) > [But editors are still the world's readers. And thus the eyes of the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/betsy-lerner/but-editors-are-still-the-world-s-readers-and-thus-the-eyes-of-the/) [Betsy Lerner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/betsy-lerner/) [Browse all 59,485 Books quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Literature is the thought of thinking souls.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Thomas Carlyle" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-carlyle/literature-is-the-thought-of-thinking-souls/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Books" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-carlyle/literature-is-the-thought-of-thinking-souls/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/444/thomas-carlyle-207_books_literature-is-the-thought-of-thinking-so_761368.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/444/thomas-carlyle-207_books_literature-is-the-thought-of-thinking-so_761368.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/444/thomas-carlyle-207_books_literature-is-the-thought-of-thinking-so_761368.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Literature is the thought of thinking souls.” — Thomas Carlyle", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Thomas Carlyle", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-carlyle/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Literature is the thought of thinking...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-carlyle/literature-is-the-thought-of-thinking-souls/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-carlyle/literature-is-the-thought-of-thinking-souls/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```