ity, and all
tools for expressing the worker. When the appearance becomes a
substitute for the reality, and the tools absorb the attention that
should be devoted to the work for whose accomplishment they exist, then
we have relapsed into the fundamental human error. The object of the
book is to plunge back from appearance to reality, from clothes to him
who wears them. "Who am I? What is this ME?... some embodied,
visualised Idea in the Eternal Mind."

This swift retreat upon reality occurs at intervals throughout the whole
book, and in connection with every conceivable department of human life
and interest. In many parts there is little attempt at sequence or
order. The author has made voluminous notes on men and things, and the
whole fantastic structure of _Sartor Resartus_ is a device for
introducing these disjointedly. In the remainder of this lecture we
shall select and displace freely, in order to present the main teachings
of the book in manageable groups.

1. _Language and Thought._--Language is the natural garment of thoughts,
and while sometimes it performs its function of revealing them, it often
conceals them. Many people's whole intellectual life is spent in dealing
with words, and they never penetrate to the thoughts at all. Still more
commonly, people get lost among words, especially words which have come
to be used metaphorically, and again fail to penetrate to the thought.
Thus the _Name_ is the first garment wrapped around the essential
ME; and all speech, whether of science, poetry, or politics, is
simply an attempt at right naming. The names by which we call things are
apt to become labelled pigeon-holes in which we bury them. Having
catalogued and indexed our facts, we lose sight of them thenceforward,
and think and speak in terms of the catalogue. If you are a Liberal, it
is possible that all you may know or care to know about Conservatism is
the name. Nay, having catalogued yourself a Liberal, you may seldom even
find it necessary to inquire what the significance of Liberalism really
is. If you happen to be a Conservative, the corresponding risks will
certainly not be less.

The dangers of these word-garments, and the habit of losing all contact
with reality in our constant habit of living among mere words, naturally
suggest to Carlyle his favourite theme--a plea for silence. We all talk
too much, and the first lesson we have to learn on our way to reality is
to be oftener silent. This duty of