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Carlyle History Book Muhammad Heroes Hero Worship Heroic Lectures

Front On Heroes, Hero-Worship, and the Heroic in History
Back A group of six lectures
Thomas Carlyle
1840

The history of the world is but the biography of great men

On Heroes, Hero-Worship, and The Heroic in History is a book by Thomas Carlyle, published by James Fraser, London, in 1841

Carlyle was one of the few philosophers who lived through the British industrial revolution but maintained a non-materialistic view of historical development. The book included lectures discussing people ranging from the field of religion through to literature and politics. The figures chosen for each lecture were presented by Carlyle as archetypal examples of individuals who, in their respective fields of endeavour, had dramatically impacted history in some way, for good or ill. Muhammad himself found a place in the book in the lecture titled "The Hero as Prophet". In his work, Carlyle outlined Muhammad as a Hegelian agent of reform, insisting on his sincerity and commenting "how one man single-handedly, could weld warring tribes and wandering Bedouins into a most powerful and civilized nation in less than two decades". His interpretation has been widely cited by Muslim scholars seeking Western support that Muhammad was one of the great men of history.


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