“No, the Great Man does not boast himself sincere, far from that; perhaps does not ask himself if he is so: I would say rather, his sincerity does not depend on himself; he cannot help being sincere! The great Fact of Existence is great to him. Fly as he will, he cannot get out of the awful presence of this Reality. His mind is so made; he is great by that, first of all. Fearful and wonderful, real as Life, real as Death, is this Universe to him. Though all men should forget its truth, and walk in a vain show, he cannot. At all moments the Flame-image glares in upon him; undeniable, there, there!—I wish you to take this as my primary definition of a Great Man. A little man may have this, it is competent to all men that God has made: but a Great Man cannot be without it.”

1840s, Heroes and Hero-Worship (1840), The Hero as Prophet

Adopted from Wikiquote. Last update June 3, 2021. History

Help us to complete the source, original and additional information

Do you have more details about the quote "No, the Great Man does not boast himself sincere, far from that; perhaps does not ask himself if he is so: I would say …" by Thomas Carlyle?
Thomas Carlyle photo
Thomas Carlyle 481
Scottish philosopher, satirical writer, essayist, historian… 1795–1881

Related quotes

Thomas Carlyle photo
Sri Chinmoy photo
Ambrose Bierce photo
Wilhelm Reich photo

“The Little Man does not want to hear the truth about himself. He does not want the great responsibility which is his. He wants to remain a Little Man.”

Listen, Little Man! (1948)
Context: My intellect tells me: "Tell the truth at any cost." The Little Man in me says: "It is stupid to expose oneself to the little man, to put oneself at his mercy. The Little Man does not want to hear the truth about himself. He does not want the great responsibility which is his. He wants to remain a Little Man. He wants to remain a Little Man, or wants to become a little great man. He wants to become rich, or a party leader, or commander of a legion, or secretary of the society for the abolition of vice. But he does not want to assume responsibility for his work..."

Leo Tolstoy photo
Frederick II of Prussia photo
Laozi photo
Alfred von Waldersee photo

“The more inwardly pure a man is, the higher his rank and the nobler his station, so much he assiduously labors with sincere performance and a great fear.”

Abu Bakr al-Kalabadhi Sufi Maturidi scholar and Hanafi jurist

of God
Source: The Sayings and Teachings of the Great Mystics of Islam (2004), p. 83

Thomas Carlyle photo

“I should say sincerity, a deep, great, genuine sincerity, is the first characteristic of all men in any way heroic.”

Thomas Carlyle (1795–1881) Scottish philosopher, satirical writer, essayist, historian and teacher

1840s, Heroes and Hero-Worship (1840), The Hero as Prophet

Related topics