Excerpt from Biographical Lectures This was altogether one of the most extraordinary and deeply interesting extemporaneous addresses we have ever heard. Not so much for its eloquence, though replete with that quality, of an earnest, real, and glowing character; nor for its illustrations and imagery, though these were numerous, varied, and striking; but for its deep thought, wide comprehensive views, earnest sin cerity and truthfulness, its elevated tone, its noble and generous estimate of man's nature and worth, and its manly putting aside of petty conventionalities, and solemn regard for the great verities of life and immortality5 - we repeat, it was one of the most thought-awakening lectures we ever listened to. It was not a mere lecture on Carlyle, but a comprehensive survey of the spirit of the 18th century, and that which is dawning, or dawned, in the 19th5 a vigorous examination of the faults and merits of their literature and morality; an inquiry into the circumstances of the men that have effected a change in that spirit5 a bold sweeping away of much of the nonsense written and spoken of the style of Carlyle; a glance at what he has done to bring us acquainted with the greatest men of the age, the writers of Germany 5 and, with all these, an excursive, yet not discursive, going forth into and laying bare of popular fallacies, prejudices, and weaknesses, and a manly, fearless assertion of the right, the just, and the true, which astonished and delighted his auditors, and won the assent of their conviction, as manifested by their enthusiastic plaudits. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.