Consistency and daily habits
‘Do the Duty which lies nearest thee,’ which thou knowest to be a Duty! Thy second Duty will already have become clearer.
— Thomas Carlyle (1795–1881), Sartor Resartus (1833–1834), Bk. II, ch. 9.

Consistency and daily habits

What it means

When you are unsure what to do, do the duty right in front of you. Doing it tends to make the next step clearer.

About the author

Thomas Carlyle — Scottish essayist, historian and philosopher (1795–1881).

Source and verification

Source
Sartor Resartus (1833–1834), Bk. II, ch. 9.
Reference
Thomas Carlyle on Wikiquote
Checked
Wording and source taken from the sourced section of the author’s Wikiquote page, which cites the work given here (accessed 2026-10-11).
Copyright
Public domain: the author died in 1881.

The explanation above is ToDoMatriX’s own reading of the quote, not the author’s words.

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