the Mechanics’ Institute: college for working-men, founded in Glasgow (1823) and in London (1824).
Old-Roman geese: the alarm given by disturbed geese is said to have saved the Capitol from capture when attacked by the Gauls in 390 BC.
Armer Teufel: ‘Poor devil’.
Hebrew Psalmist … God is there: Psalms 139: 9–10.
too: ‘thyself in later editions.
Attention a Stretching-to: the literal meaning of the Latin verb attendere is ‘to stretch [the neck] towards’.
Goethe … remarked: in Wilhelm Meister’s Apprenticeship (1795-6), 11. iv.
Old-Clothes Jewry: humorous allusion to the Old Jewry, a street in London, formerly a ghetto.
sympathetic-ink: invisible ink, made visible by heating.
verehrtester Herr Herausgeber: ‘most esteemed Mr. Editor.’
stand: ‘will stand’ in later editions.
cursiv-schrift: running handwriting in which the characters are joined.
Sibylline leaves: in Virgil’s Aeneid, the Cumaean sibyl writes her oracles on leaves to be blown to the wind and thus lost.
P.P. Clerk of this Parish: an allusion to Pope and Gay’s Memoirs of P. P. Clerk of this Parish (1728), which parodies self-important memoirs such as Bishop Burnet’s History of his Own Time.
BOOK II
Entepfuhl: duck-pond.
Desdemona … Othello: Othello, 1. iii. 128–68.
least: ‘heart’ in later editions.
camisade: night attack.
Pitt Diamond: brought from India by Thomas Pitt, it was sold to the French Regent in 1817, becoming one of the crown jewels of France.
Friedrichs: Prussian gold coins.
Walter Shandy … Names: the pet theory of Walter Shandy, Tristram’s father; Tristram Shandy, 1. xix.
Gneschen: ‘little Diogenes’; a diminutive formed from the last syllable of Diogenes’ name.
Arnauld … rest in: remark made by Antoine Arnauld (1612–94), French philosopher and theologian, in response to a friend who had expressed a desire for tranquillity.
Kuhbach: Cow-brook.
pengun: pop-gun, formed from the barrel of a quill pen.
double-barrelled Game-preserver: ironic term for the aristocracy, with their love of game-shooting; cf. the epitaph at the end of 11. iv.
Incredible: ‘Incalculable’ in later editions.
Schiller’s Wilhelm Tell … the World: from Tell’s soliloquy as he awaits the Austrian Tyrant Gessler, whom he has resolved to kill; Wilhelm Tell (1804), iv. iii. 58.
Prospero’s Island: in Shakespeare’s The Tempest.
Hindoo character: i.e. meditative, contemplative, patient, etc.
Gymnasium: grammar school, at which classics and literature are taught.
Hinterschlag: ‘Slap-behind.’
boundless: ‘bottomless’ in later editions.
nowise: ‘never or seldom’ in later editions.
Zähdarm: ‘Tough-gut.’
Frisch zu, Bruder: ‘Get on with it, brother.’
Soul … Stomach: the suggestion that ‘soul’ and ‘stomach’ are related in Finnish is a hoax.
Scottish Brassmith’s Idea: the steam-engine, invented by a Scot, James Watt (1736–1819).
gin-horse: horse used for working a gin, a machine for raising ore in a mine.
words of Ancient Pistol: in Shakespeare’s Merry Wives of Windsor, 11. ii. 2.
Examen Rigorosum … Auscultator: final law examination in a German university; Auscultator: a student lawyer, who has passed his first examination.
ever Life for the Living: ‘always life for a living one’ in later editions.
Herr Teufelsdröckh … eingeladen: ‘Mr Teufelsdröckh is cordially invited by the Countess on Thursday to an aesthetic tea.’
unison: ‘harmony’ in later editions.
Bübchen: ‘small boys’, not ‘young gentlemen’.
Holy Alliance of Sovereigns: league formed by the sovereigns of Russia, Austria, and Prussia in 1815.
Sir Hudibras’s sword … hack: Hudibras, 1. i. 361–2.
Hic Jacet … sub dato: ‘Here lies Philip Zähdarm, surnamed the Great, Count of Zähdarm, of the Imperial Council, Knight of the Golden Fleece, the Anklet, and the Black Vulture. Who during his sublunary existence destroyed with lead five thousand partridges and openly turned into dung, through himself and his servants, quadrupeds and bipeds, not without tumult in the process, ten thousand million pounds of assorted food. He now rests from labour, his works following him. If you seek his monument, look at the dung-heap. He made his first kill on earth [date]; his last [date].’ The penultimate sentence alludes to the inscription on the tomb at St Paul’s Cathedral, London, of its architect, Sir Christopher Wren: ‘Si monumentum requiris, circumspice’ (If you seek his monument, look around you).
herring-busses: small boats used in the herring-fishery.
Calypso-Island: the nymph Calypso detained Ulysses for seven years on the island of Ogygia; Odyssey, 1. v.
St. Martin’s Summer: fine weather in November; St Martin’s day is 11 November.
Petrarchan and Werterean: in the style of the Italian poet Petrarch (1304–74), famous for his love lyrics; and of Goethe’s sentimental novel, The Sorrows of Young Werther.
Waldschloss … absolved … Relatio ex Actis: ‘Forest-castle’; ‘graduated’; ‘official reports’.
ahnungsvoll: ‘full of foreboding.’ In later editions this is mistakenly changed to ahndungsvoll (full of revenge).
Archimedes-lever: alluding to the famous saying on leverage by Archimedes (287–212 BC), Greek mathematician: ‘Give me a place to stand and I will move the world.’
Satanic Poetry: term used by Southey in 1821 to characterize the poetry of Byron, Shelley, and others.
suit: ‘suit thee’ in later editions.
Du Himmel: ‘Good Heavens.’
Richter’s words … Night: passage from the end of Richter’s Quintus Fixlein (1796).
Fortunatus’ Hat: legendary folk hero, whose wishing hat transports him wherever he desires.
Lover’s Leap: a cliff in western Greece, from which Sappho is said to have plunged to her death for love of Phaon.
The end of Man … Thought: adapted from Aristotle’s Ethics, 1. iii.
rugged … names her: Philoctetes, 1.391.
new: ‘mad’ in later editions.
Profit-and-Loss Philosophy: Utilitarianism.
Prometheus Vinctus: Prometheus Bound, the title of a play by Aeschylus. In Greek mythology Prometheus, having endowed mankind with the gift of fire stolen from heaven, was punished by Zeus, who chained him to a rock and sent a vulture to chew his liver.
even: ‘ever’ in later editions.
recks: ‘boots’ in later editions.
Stècle de Louis Quinze: the century of Louis XV, King of France from 1715 to 1774, the age of rationalism and scepticism.
Lubberland: ‘land of sluggards’; a favourite word of Carlyle’s.
Milton says … misery: Paradise Lost, 1. 57.
have often: ‘often’ in later editions.
Faust’s Deathsong: Goethe’s Faust, 1. iv. 1573.
Rue Saint Thomas de I’Enfer: ‘St Thomas Hell Street.’
Baphometic Fire-baptism: a phrase of uncertain meaning; perhaps ‘baptism of wisdom’. Baphomet is the idol that the medieval Knights Templars were accused of worshipping.
Centre of Indifference: literally, the point midway between the two poles of a magnet, at which the attractive force is stable; see the final sentence of this chapter.
required: ‘acquired’ in later editions.
Armida’s Palace: in Tasso’s Jerusalem Delivered (1580–1), book 16, the palace of an enchantress.
Dumdrudge: Carlyle’s invention, from ‘dumb drudgery’.
fiction of the English Smollett: Tobias Smollett’s The Adventures of Ferdinand Count Fathom (1753), ch. xli.
Berlin-and-Milan Customhouse-officers: alluding to Napoleon’s Berlin and Milan de
crees of 1806–7, ordering the seizure of British exports, which the kings of Europe were obliged to enforce.
La carrière ouverte aux talens: literally, the career open to those with talent.
caput-mortuum: ‘death’s-head.’ An old chemical term denoting the residuum after distillation or sublimation; here, a worthless residue.
Apage Satanas: ‘Get thee hence, Satan’ (Matthew 4: 10).
Hochheimer … Ophiuchus: Rhine wine from Hochheim near Mainz; the throat of the serpent borne by Ophiuchus the Serpent Bearer, one of the constellations.
Wisest of our time … begin: Goethe in Wilhelm Meister’s Travels, ch. xiv.
opened: ‘founded’ in later editions.
Fichte’s Wissenschaftslehre: ‘The Theory of Knowledge’ (1794) by Johann Gottlieb Fichte.
Whole Duty of Man: an anonymous devotional work (1659).
a wise man … Action: Goethe in Wilhelm Meister’s Apprenticeship (v. xvi).
Do the Duty … nearest thee: Wilhelm Meister’s Apprenticeship (VII. i).
Lothario … nowhere: Wilhelm Meister’s Apprenticeship (VII. iii).
Ecce Homo … Choice of Hercules: ‘Behold the man’ (i.e. Christ), John 19: 5; proverbial choice between Virtue and Vice.
Code Napoléon: compilation of the laws of France, drawn up under Napoleon in 1802–8, which still forms the basis of the French legal system.
deliration: delirium.
BOOK III
Diet of Worms … Peterloo: at the Diet of Worms, Austria, in 1521, Luther was summoned (but refused) to retract his heresies. At the battles of Austerlitz and Waterloo, 1805 and 1815, Napoleon won his greatest victory and suffered his final defeat. At St Peter’s Field, Manchester, ironically named ‘Peterloo’ after Waterloo, an assembly of protesting workers was attacked by the military in 1819.
Thirdborough in his Hundred: constable in his district.
Fancy-Bazaar … Day and Martin: the Soho bazaar in London; manufacturers of blacking.
man: ‘men’ in later editions.
the Frenchman … Thought: Voltaire, Dialogue xiv.
right hand … left hand: ‘left hand … right hand’ in later editions, as in Matthew 6: 3.
Shame: ‘Shame (Schaam)’ in later editions; the only occasion on which a German word has been added to the text.
Motive-Millwrights: Utilitarians.
long-eared enough: the sophism known as Buridan’s Ass; if an ass stands between two equally attractive bundles of hay and chooses one, it has free will. If we deny the existence of free will, the ass must starve.
Marseillese Hymns, and Reigns of Terror: i.e. the French Revolutionary marching song ‘La Marseillaise’, and the climax of bloodshed during the Revolution, 1793–4.
groschen: German coin of small value.
Peasants’ War: uprising of the peasants in Germany, 1524–5; their symbol was a ‘clouted Shoe’.
Wau-Wau: corrected in later editions to ‘pawaw’ (i.e. powow), the medicine man of North American Indians.
Ancient Pistol … little price: Henry V, 111. vi. 47.
Champion of England: coronation official who appears in full armour to challenge anyone who might dispute the sovereign’s right of succession. At the coronation of George IV in 1821, the aged Champion mounted his horse with difficulty.
Now last but one—Ed.: ‘That of George IV in later editions.
Helotage: Carlyle’s coinage for helotism; the system of serfdom in ancient Sparta. The Helots, slaves of the Spartans, were periodically murdered to reduce their numbers.
Indignation: ‘Indignation bear him company’ in later editions.
united: ‘our united’ in later editions.
dogleech: veterinary surgeon for dogs, or medical quack.
Job’s news: i.e. bad news.
sic-vos-non-vobis: ‘thus you labour not for yourselves’ (Virgil); i.e. a state of unfairness.
we find: ‘we to find’ in later editions.
Doctor Utriusque Juris: Doctor of Civil and Canon Law.
Spartan broth: served to the hardy Spartans as a guard against luxury.
called: ‘men call’ in later editions.
Mirza’s Hill: in Addison’s ‘Vision of Mirza’; Spectator 159 (1 September 1711).
Whispering-gallery: gallery running round the dome of St Paul’s Cathedral, London, with an unusual capacity to carry sound.
with even: ‘within’ in later editions.
Hebrew Lawgiver … Apostle of the Gentiles: Moses and Paul.
Herzog … Marshall: Herzog and Dux, German and Latin for duke; Jarl, Danish for nobleman; ‘Marshall’ (’Marshal’ in later editions) from Danish Marskal, horse-servant.
Popinjay: see Scott’s Old Mortality (1816), ch. iv.
Ballot-Box: demanded by the Chartists, but not introduced until 1872.
Peace Society: founded by the Society of Friends (Quakers) in London in 1816.
Paris and Voltaire: after an absence of twenty-eight years, Voltaire returned to Paris in triumph in 1778, three months before his death.
Hortus Siccus … Italian Gumflowers: ‘dry garden’, i.e. a collection of dried plants for study; artificial flowers.
Miserere: have mercy; from the fifty-first Psalm, ‘Have mercy upon me, O God’.
Diogenes the First: when a tedious lecture was ending, Diogenes reputedly said: ‘Courage friends! I see land.’
Dutch King of Siam: in his Essay Concerning Human Understanding (1690), Locke describes a Dutch ambassador telling the King of Siam about the thick ice formed in winter in Holland; the incredulous King is sure that the ambassador is lying (iv. xv).
wise: ‘manner’ in later editions.
Luther’s Picture of the Devil: Luther reputedly flung his inkstand at the Devil who appeared to him while he was translating the Psalms.
imagings (not imaginings): ‘imagings or imaginings’ in later editions.
Orpheus: ‘Orpheus or Amphion’ in later editions. Amphion, son of Zeus, made stones move of their own accord during the building of the walls of Thebes. Orpheus, less relevantly, tamed wild beasts with his lyre.
Steinbruch: quarry.
truth: ‘true’ in later editions.
English Johnson … Cock Lane: the ‘Cock Lane Ghost’ was an imposture, produced by a girl living in Cock Lane, London. Samuel Johnson visited the girl’s house in 1762, but declared the ghost to be a fraud.
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