Carlyle as Critic, Thinker, Mystic and Iconoclast

CARLYLE AS A CRITIC, THINKER, MYSTIC AND ICONOCLAST Carlyle is well known as a teacher and a prophet. As a teacher, he teaches the people of his age noble social principals. As a prophet, he calls them back to God and religion. Some philosophers call him a tonic because;   “He is a source of moral and intellectual stimulus.”   We can call him awakener because he tries to awaken ‘Mammon’ worshipers of his age. When he warns the ‘Mammon’ worshipers, he becomes a seer. His readers also admire him as a thinker because he had devoted himself to a noble mission of reformation. In this book ‘Past and Present’, Carlyle exposes several evils, shams and ‘Mammon’ worshipers of Victorian age. His condemnation of prevalent false values makes him an iconoclast. The writers like ‘Mill’ and ‘Macaulay’ glorified the material prosperity of Victorian period but Carlyle condemned this material prosperity which had brought destruction to the millions. In this context, Carlyle suggests equal d