Thomas Carlyle lived from 1795 until 1881. He was a Scot essayist and historian. During his lifetime he became one of the world’s greatest writers. But he was a human and humans make mistakes.
On October 17, 1826, Carlyle married his secretary Jane Welsh. She was an intelligent, attractive and somewhat temperamental daughter of a welltodo doctor. They had their quarrels and misunderstandings, but still loved each other dearly.
After their marriage, Jane continued to serve as his secretary. But, after several years of marriage, Jane became ill. Being a hard worker, Carlyle became so absorbed in his writings that he let Jane continue working for several weeks after she became ill. She had cancer, and though it was one of the slow growing kind, she finally became confined to her bed. Although Carlyle loved her dearly, he very seldom found time to stay with her long. He was busy with his work.
When Jane died they carried her to the cemetery for the service. The day was a miserable day. It was raining hard and the mud was deep. Following the funeral Carlyle went back to his home. He was taking it pretty hard. He went up the stairs to Jane’s room and sat down in the chair next to her bed. He sat there thinking about how little time he had spent with her and wishing so much he had a chance to do it differently. Noticing her diary on a table beside the bed, he picked it up and began to read it. Suddenly he seemed shocked. He saw it. There, on one page, she had written a single line. “Yesterday he spent an hour with me and it was like heaven; I love him so.”
Something dawned on him that he had not noticed before. He had been too busy to notice that he meant so much to her. He thought of all the times he had gone about his work without thinking about and noticing her. Then Carlyle turned the page in the diary. There he noticed she had written some words that broke his heart. “I have listened all day to hear his steps in the hall, but now it is late and I guess he won’t come today.”
Carlyle read a little more in the book. Then he threw it down and ran out of the house. Some of his friends found him at the grave, his face buried in the mud. His eyes were red from weeping. Tears continued to roll down his cheeks. He kept repeating over and over again, “If I had only known, if I had only known.” But it was too late for Carlyle. She was dead.
After Jane’s death, Carlyle made little attempt to write again. The historian says he lived another 15 years, “weary, bored and a partial recluse.” I share the story with in the hope that you will not make the same mistake. While our loved ones must have the money we make to live, it is the love we have that they really want. Give it now before it is too late.
托马斯·卡莱尔生于1795年，卒于1881年，是苏格兰散文家和历史学家，是世界最著名的作家之一。但他毕竟是个凡人，是凡人就难免要犯错误。
1826年10月17日，卡莱尔和他的秘书简·威尔斯喜结良缘。简出生在一个富裕的医师之家，她聪慧、迷人，就是有时脾气坏点儿。夫妻俩虽然有时会发生争吵和误解，但还是真挚地爱着对方。
婚后，简仍做卡莱尔的秘书。几年后，简病了，但仍带病工作。由于卡莱尔全身心地投入写作，便也没有劝阻简。简患的是癌症，虽然病情发展缓慢，但最终她还是倒下了。尽管卡莱尔深爱着简，但因一直忙于工作，很少能有时间陪她。
简去世了，亲朋好友都来参加了葬礼。那是个令人悲痛的日子。下着倾盆大雨，道路泥泞不堪。回到家中，卡莱尔的心情异常沉重。他上楼来到简的房间，坐到她床边的椅子上。想到自己很少抽时间陪爱妻，他不禁后悔至极，恨不得时间能够倒流。他看到简的一本日记在床头桌上放着，便顺手拿起来看。他震惊了，他看到她这样写道：“昨天他陪了我一个小时，我感受到了天堂般的幸福，我真喜欢他总这样。”
他意识到自己忽略了很多。一直以来他都把精力投入到工作中，对妻子那么需要自己竟全然不知。他想起了那些埋头工作，置爱妻子于不顾的日子。翻看着简的日记，几句令他心碎的话映入眼帘，“我一整天都在倾听，期望大厅能传来他的脚步声，但是现在已经很晚了，我想今天他不会来了。”
卡莱尔又读了一会儿，然后扔掉日记本，冲出了房间。朋友们在墓地找到他时，他把脸埋进泥泞之中，眼睛哭得红肿，泪水仍不停地从脸旁滑过。他反复念叨着：“假如当初我知道就好了，假如当初我知道就好了……”但为时已晚，简已永远离他而去。
简死后，卡莱尔就很少尝试创作了。历史学家说，在妻子死后的15年，卡莱尔的生活完全变了样，生活对于他来说只是“苦闷、无聊与孤寂”。我把这个故事讲给大家，是希望各位不要重蹈覆辙。爱人是需要我们去努力工作赚钱的，但她们更需要我们的爱。去关爱你所爱的人吧，不要太迟。
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