Thomas Carlyle
Thomas Carlyle
Thomas Carlylewas a Scottish philosopher, satirical writer, essayist, historian and teacher. Considered one of the most important social commentators of his time, he presented many lectures during his lifetime with certain acclaim in the Victorian era. One of those conferences resulted in his famous work On Heroes, Hero-Worship, and The Heroic in History where he explains that the key role in history lies in the actions of the "Great Man", claiming that "History is nothing but the biography of the...
NationalityScottish
ProfessionPhilosopher
Date of Birth4 December 1795
The infinite, absolute character of Virtue has passed into a finite, conditional one; it is no longer a worship of the Beautiful and Good; but a calculation of the Profitable.
Society is founded on hero-worship.
Man always worships something; always he sees the Infinite shadowed forth in something finite; and indeed can and must so see it in any finite thing, once tempt him well to fix his eyes thereon.
Worship of a hero is transcendent admiration of a great man.
Hero-worship exists, has existed, and will forever exist, universally, among mankind.
Does not every true man feel that he is himself made higher by doing reverence to what is really above him?
Heroes, it would seem, exist always and a certain worship of them.
Wonder is the basis of worship.
Worship is transcendent wonder.
The block of granite which was an obstacle in the pathway of the weak becomes a stepping-stone in the pathway of the strong
The battle that never ends is the battle of belief against unbelief.
That monstrous tuberosity of civilized life, the capital of England.
Permanence, perseverance and persistence in spite of all obstacles, discouragements, and impossibilities: It is this, that in all things distinguishes the strong soul from the weak.
Under all speech that is good for anything there lies a silence that is better. Silence is deep as Eternity; speech is shallow as Time.