Heroes And Hero-worship

All-the poB ling Irg 1Pl. i, llar. X. W. Thomas Carlyle. A ON HEROES, HERO-WORSHIP AND THE HEROIC IN HISTORY nfa zztfact tre i d z Great Britcin LECTURE I. PACE THE HERO AS DIVINITY. ODIN. PAGANISM SCANI I-. . . . . . . NAVIANMYTHOLOGY 7 LECTURE 11. THE HERO AS PROPHET. MAHOIIfET ISLAM . 58 LECTURE 111. THE HERO AS POET. DANTE SHAKSPEARE . . 103 LECTUKE IV. THE HERO AS PRIEST. LUTAER REFORMATION KNOS PURITANISM. . . . . . . . . 150 LECTURE V. THE HERO AS A MAN OF LETTERS. JOHNSON, ROUSSEAL, B U R N S . . . . . 199 LECTURE V. THE HERO AS KIYG. CROMUrEI. L, NAPOLEON MODERN REVOLUTIONISM. . . . . . . . 251 On Heroes, Hero-Worship, and the yeroic in History. LECTURE I. THE HERO AS DIVINITY. ODIN. PAGANISM SCANDINAVIAN MYTHOLOGY. Tuesday, 5th May, 1840.1 WE have undertaken to discourse here for a little on Great Men, their manner of appearance in our worlds business, how they have shaped themselves in the worlds history, what ideas men formed of them, what work they did -on Heroes, namely, and on their reception and performance what I call Hero-worship and the I-leroic in human affairs. Too evidently this is a large topic deserving quite other treatment than we can expect to give it at present. A large topic indeed, an illimitable one wide as Universal History itself. For, as I take it, Universal History, the history of what man has accomplished in this world, is at bottom the History of the Great Men who have worked here. They were the leaders of men, these great ones the modellers, patterns, and in a wide sense creators, of whatsoever the general mass of men contrived to do or to attain all things that we see standing accomplished in the world are properly the outer material result, thepractical realisation and embodiment, of Thoughts that dwelt in the Great Men sent into the world the soul of the whole worlds 1 8 LECTURES ON HEROES. history, it may justly be considered, were the history of these. Too clearly it is a topic we shall do no justice to in this place One comfort is, that Great Men, taken up in any way, are profitable company. We cannot look, however imperfectly, upon a great man, without gaining something, by him. He is the living light-fountain, which it is good and pleasant to be near. The light which enlightens, which has enlightened the darkness of the world and this not as a kindled lamp only, but rather as a natural luminary shining by the gift of Heaven a flowing light-fountain, as I say, of native origitial insight, of manhood and heroic nobleness -in whose radiance all souls feel that it is well with them. On any terms whatqoever, you will not grudge to wander in such neighbobrhood for a while. These Six classes of Heroes, chosen out of widelydistant countries and epochs, and in mere external figure differing altogether, ought, if we look faithfully at them, to illustrate several things for us. Could we see them well, we should get some glimpses into the very marrow of the worlds history. How happy, could I but, in any measure, in such times as these, make manifest to you the meanings of Heroism the divine relation for I may well call it such which in all times unites a Great Man to other men and thus, as it were, not exhaust any subject, but so much break ground on it l At all events, I must make the attempt. It is well said, in every sense, that a mans religion is the chief fact with regard to him. A mans, or a nation of mens. By religion I donot mean here the THE HERO AS DIVINITY. 9 church-creed which he professes, the articles of faith which he will sign and, in words or otherwise, assert not this wholly, in many cases not this at all. We see men of all kinds of professed creeds attain to almost all degrees of worth or worthlessness under each or any of them...