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On Heroes, Hero-Worship, and the Heroic in History

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On Heroes, Hero-Worship, and the Heroic in History ON HEROES, HERO-WORSHIP, AND THE HEROIC IN HISTORY By Thomas Carlyle AN ELECTRONIC CLASSICS SERIES PUBLICATION On Heroes, Hero-Worship, and the Heroic in History by Thomas Carlyle is a publication of The Electronic Classics Series. This Portable Document file is furnished free and without any charge of any kind. Any person using this document file, for any purpose, and in any way does so at his or her own risk. Neither the Pennsylvania State University nor Jim Manis, Editor, nor anyone associated with the Pennsylvania State University assumes any responsi- bility for the material contained within the document or for the file as an electronic trans- mission, in any way. On Heroes, Hero-Worship, and the Heroic in History by Thomas Carlyle, The Electronic Classics Series, Jim Manis, Editor, PSU-Hazleton, Hazleton, PA 18202 is a Portable Document File produced as part of an ongoing publication project to bring classical works of literature, in English, to free and easy access of those wishing to make use of them. Jim Manis is a faculty member of the English Department of The Pennsylvania State University. This page and any preceding page(s) are restricted by copyright. The text of the following pages is not copyrighted within the United States; however, the fonts used may be. Cover Design: Jim Manis Copyright © 2001 - 2013 The Pennsylvania State University is an equal opportunity university. Contents LECTURES ON HEROES.......................................................................................................4 THE HERO AS DIVINITY. ODIN. PAGANISM: SCANDINAVIAN MYTHOLOGY. .............4 LECTURE II. THE HERO AS PROPHET. MAHOMET: ISLAM. .......................................... 38 LECTURE III. THE HERO AS POET. DANTE: SHAKSPEARE............................................ 68 LECTURE IV. THE HERO AS PRIEST. LUTHER; REFORMATION: KNOX; PURITANISM. 99 LECTURE V.THE HERO AS MAN OF LETTERS. JOHNSON, ROUSSEAU, BURNS. ....... 131 LECTURE VI.THE HERO AS KING. CROMWELL, NAPOLEON: MODERN REVOLUTIONISM. ....................................................................................................... 165 Index ................................................................................................................................... 206 Thomas Carlyle The text is taken from the printed “Sterling Edition” of Carlyle’s Complete Works, in 20 volumes, with the following modifications: The footnote (there is only one) has been embedded directly into text, in brackets, [thusly]. Greek text ON HEROES, has been transliterated into Latin characters with the notation [Gr.] juxtaposed. Otherwise, the punctuation and spelling of HERO-WORSHIP, the print version have been retained. AND LECTURES ON HEROES THE HEROIC IN [May 5, 1840.] HISTORY LECTURE I THE HERO AS DIVINITY. ODIN. PAGAN- By ISM: SCANDINAVIAN MYTHOLOGY. E HAVE UNDERTAKEN to discourse here for a little Thomas Carlyle on Great Men, their manner of appearance in Wour world’s business, how they have shaped themselves in the world’s history, what ideas men formed of 4 On Heroes them, what work they did;—on Heroes, namely, and on their near. The light which enlightens, which has enlightened the reception and performance; what I call Hero-worship and the darkness of the world; and this not as a kindled lamp only, Heroic in human affairs. Too evidently this is a large topic; but rather as a natural luminary shining by the gift of Heaven; deserving quite other treatment than we can expect to give it a flowing light-fountain, as I say, of native original insight, of at present. A large topic; indeed, an illimitable one; wide as manhood and heroic nobleness;—in whose radiance all souls Universal History itself. For, as I take it, Universal History, feel that it is well with them. On any terms whatsoever, you the history of what man has accomplished in this world, is at will not grudge to wander in such neighborhood for a while. bottom the History of the Great Men who have worked here. These Six classes of Heroes, chosen out of widely distant coun- They were the leaders of men, these great ones; the modellers, tries and epochs, and in mere external figure differing alto- patterns, and in a wide sense creators, of whatsoever the gen- gether, ought, if we look faithfully at them, to illustrate sev- eral mass of men contrived to do or to attain; all things that eral things for us. Could we see them well, we should get we see standing accomplished in the world are properly the some glimpses into the very marrow of the world’s history. outer material result, the practical realization and embodi- How happy, could I but, in any measure, in such times as ment, of Thoughts that dwelt in the Great Men sent into the these, make manifest to you the meanings of Heroism; the world: the soul of the whole world’s history, it may justly be divine relation (for I may well call it such) which in all times considered, were the history of these. Too clearly it is a topic unites a Great Man to other men; and thus, as it were, not we shall do no justice to in this place! exhaust my subject, but so much as break ground on it! At all One comfort is, that Great Men, taken up in any way, are events, I must make the attempt. profitable company. We cannot look, however imperfectly, It is well said, in every sense, that a man’s religion is the upon a great man, without gaining something by him. He is chief fact with regard to him. A man’s, or a nation of men’s. the living light-fountain, which it is good and pleasant to be By religion I do not mean here the church-creed which he 5 Thomas Carlyle professes, the articles of faith which he will sign and, in words tion of this Mystery of Life, and for chief recognized element or otherwise, assert; not this wholly, in many cases not this at therein Physical Force? Was it Christianism; faith in an Invis- all. We see men of all kinds of professed creeds attain to al- ible, not as real only, but as the only reality; Time, through most all degrees of worth or worthlessness under each or any every meanest moment of it, resting on Eternity; Pagan em- of them.This is not what I call religion, this profession and pire of Force displaced by a nobler supremacy, that of Holi- assertion; which is often only a profession and assertion from ness? Was it Scepticism, uncertainty and inquiry whether there the outworks of the man, from the mere argumentative re- was an Unseen World, any Mystery of Life except a mad gion of him, if even so deep as that. But the thing a man does one;—doubt as to all this, or perhaps unbelief and flat denial? practically believe (and this is often enough without asserting Answering of this question is giving us the soul of the history it even to himself, much less to others); the thing a man does of the man or nation. The thoughts they had were the parents practically lay to heart, and know for certain, concerning his of the actions they did; their feelings were parents of their vital relations to this mysterious Universe, and his duty and thoughts: it was the unseen and spiritual in them that deter- destiny there, that is in all cases the primary thing for him, mined the outward and actual;—their religion, as I say, was and creatively determines all the rest. That is his religion; or, it the great fact about them. In these Discourses, limited as we may be, his mere scepticism and no-religion: the manner it is are, it will be good to direct our survey chiefly to that reli- in which he feels himself to be spiritually related to the Un- gious phasis of the matter. That once known well, all is known. seen World or No-World; and I say, if you tell me what that We have chosen as the first Hero in our series Odin the cen- is, you tell me to a very great extent what the man is, what the tral figure of Scandinavian Paganism; an emblem to us of a kind of things he will do is. Of a man or of a nation we most extensive province of things. Let us look for a little at inquire, therefore, first of all, What religion they had? Was it the Hero as Divinity, the oldest primary form of Heroism. Heathenism,—plurality of gods, mere sensuous representa- Surely it seems a very strange-looking thing this Paganism; 6 On Heroes almost inconceivable to us in these days. A bewildering, inex- suade other men, not worthy of the name of sane, to believe tricable jungle of delusions, confusions, falsehoods, and ab- it! It will be often our duty to protest against this sort of surdities, covering the whole field of Life! A thing that fills us hypothesis about men’s doings and history; and I here, on the with astonishment, almost, if it were possible, with incredu- very threshold, protest against it in reference to Paganism, lity,—for truly it is not easy to understand that sane men and to all other isms by which man has ever for a length of could ever calmly, with their eyes open, believe and live by time striven to walk in this world. They have all had a truth such a set of doctrines. That men should have worshipped in them, or men would not have taken them up. Quackery their poor fellow-man as a God, and not him only, but stocks and dupery do abound; in religions, above all in the more and stones, and all manner of animate and inanimate objects; advanced decaying stages of religions, they have fearfully and fashioned for themselves such a distracted chaos of hallu- abounded: but quackery was never the originating influence cinations by way of Theory of the Universe: all this looks like in such things; it was not the health and life of such things, an incredible fable.
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