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THE HERO AS PROPHET AMHOMET A;D ISLAM ﻭ
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THE HERO AS PROPHET
ﺯ
A Presentation to Members of the Bahrain Historical
ﺃand Archaeological Socieyt
By Dr. CIli;ford .G Holland
Thomas Calyle (1795-1881) was probably the most
influential English literary figure of the Victorian period, he
was not a great novelist like Charles Dickens, but a historian,
biographer, philosopher and social critic. Generations of
readers and students were influenced by his use of rhetoric and
his exciting prose which is alternately colloquial, humorous
and doom laden. To many of the older generation like myself,
Carlyle was a towering figure who influences us still, although
he may no longer be fashionable. In his Memoirs the late John
F. Kennedy paid tribute to the rhetorical and writing skill of
Carlyle.
Born in Scotland the son of a farmer he was influenced by his
Calvinist convictions and was himself a life-long puritan. He
was a graduate of Edinburgh University, read widely and
studied law, wanted to enter the ministyr of the church but
felt increasingly doubtful of his vocation. His early years were
marked by poverty as he devoted himself to teaching, tutoring
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