It was very good of God to let Carlyle and Mrs Carlyle marry one another and so make only two people miserable instead of four.
About this quote
- What does it mean?
- A self-deprecating joke suggesting marriage between two difficult people saved others from their company.
- In plain terms
- Carlyle jokes that his marriage saved others from misery.
- What can you take from it?
- Self-deprecation can ease social tension.
Where it applies
Putting it to work
Questions to consider
- How does humor handle pain?
- Is self-deprecation helpful?
Another view
This relies on a cynical view of marriage.
More from Thomas Carlyle
No pressure, no diamonds.
Permalink to quote #99 Lord Bacon could as easily have created this planet as he could have written Hamlet.
Permalink to quote #98 A sad spectacle. If they be inhabited, what a scope for misery and folly. It they be not inhabited, what a waste of space.
Permalink to quote #97
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