and his monks of Bury St. Edmund’s monastery. Carlyle shows the organisation of life and work of the medieval monks as an authentic idyll, whereas he finds contemporary life increasingly unbearable due to the lack of true leadership. Carlyle argues that a new "Aristocracy of Talent" should take the lead in the country, and the English people must themselves choose true heroes and not sham-heroes or quacks. In the third chapter of the fourth book of Past and Present, Carlyle makes three practical suggestions for the improvement of social conditions in England. He calls for the introduction of legal hygienic measures, improvement of education and promotion of emigration. Although the first two proposals were soon adopted, the third proposal affected mainly the Irish and Scottish people, and, in a smaller degree, the English population. Bibliography Notes External links Thomas Carlyle and the Origin of the "Condition of England Question" on Victorian Web Thomas Carlyle on the 'Condition of England Question' on A Web of English History "Sign of the Times" Essay on p.490~506, The Edinburgh Review: Selections Vol.2 Industrial Revolution in England 1839 in England 1839 in politics Poverty in England Thomas Carlyle Working class in England 1839 introductions