“The unspeakable Turk”

— Thomas Carlyle

A phrase which came into common use after a letter by Carlyle on the Balkan crisis of 1875-76:
The only clear advice I have to give is, as I have stated, that the unspeakable Turk should be immediately struck out of the question, and the country left to honest European guidance.
Public letter to George Howard, published in the Times and other newspapers, 28 November 1876 [Memoirs of the life and writings of Thomas Carlyle, Shepherd, Richard Herne, Williamson, Charles Norris, 1881, 2, 307-311, 2762132, http://books.google.com/books?id=uwJLAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA307]
1870s

Adopted from Wikiquote. Last update May 22, 2020. History

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Thomas Carlyle 481

Scottish philosopher, satirical writer, essayist, historian… 1795–1881

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