On Heroes, Hero-Worship, and the Heroic in History. Six Lectures

On Heroes, Hero-Worship, and The Heroic in History – is a collection of six lectures written and delivered by Thomas Carlyle. He was a British writer, publicist, historian and philosopher of Scottish descent. Thomas Carlyle was one of the few philosophers who survived the British Industrial Revolution but retained a non-materialistic view of historical development. The book includes lectures that discussed a wide variety of people - from religion to literature and politics. The figures chosen for each lecture were presented by Carlisle as archetypal examples of people who, in their fields of activity, somehow strongly influenced history. Thus, Carlisle distributed the archetypes as follows: the Hero as Divinity – Odin, the Hero as Prophet – Mahomet, the Hero as Poet - Dante and Shakespeare, the Hero as Priest – Luther, The Hero as King – Cromwell and Napoleon, the Hero as Man of Letters – Johnson and Rousseau. This work demonstrates the author's belief in the importance of heroic leadership.