--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: No doubt Carlyle has a propensity to…" description: "\"No doubt Carlyle has a propensity to exaggerate the heroic in history, that is, he creates you an ideal hero rather than another thing… Yet what were h..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/330/henry-david-thoreau-20_age_no-doubt-carlyle-has-a-propensity-to-exa_2004507.jpg" --- # No doubt Carlyle has a propensity to exaggerate the heroic… ![“No doubt Carlyle has a propensity to exaggerate the heroic in history, that is, he creates you an ideal hero rather than another thing… Yet what were history if he did not exaggerate it? How comes it that history never has to wait for facts, but for a man to write it? The ages may go on forgetting…” quote by Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/330/henry-david-thoreau-20_age_no-doubt-carlyle-has-a-propensity-to-exa_2004507.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/330/henry-david-thoreau-20_age_no-doubt-carlyle-has-a-propensity-to-exa_2004507.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/330/henry-david-thoreau-20_age_no-doubt-carlyle-has-a-propensity-to-exa_2004507.jpg) > “No doubt Carlyle has a propensity to exaggerate the heroic in history, that is, he creates you an ideal hero rather than another thing… Yet what were history if he did not exaggerate it? How comes it that history never has to wait for facts, but for a man to write it? The ages may go on forgetting the facts never so long, he can remember two for every one forgotten. The musty records of history, like the catacombs, contain the perishable remains, but only in the breast of genius are embalmed the souls of heroes.” [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. History is shaped by the narratives of geniuses, who preserve heroic ideals beyond factual decay. **In simple terms:** Heroes live on through stories. Key Takeaway Recognize the power of narrative in shaping legacy. Themes history heroism memory narrative genius Mood reflective inspirational Type essay philosophical When to use this quote - education - public speaking - writing - museum curation Key Concepts mythmaking cultural memory Questions to Reflect On - What stories shape your view of history? - How do we balance myth and fact? A Different Perspective Narratives can distort factual truth. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Age](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/age/) [Breasts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/breasts/) [Doubt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/doubt/) [Doubt Carlyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/doubt-carlyle-3545122/) [Exaggerate Heroic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/exaggerate-heroic-3545120/) [Facts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/facts/) [Forget](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/forget/) [Forgotten](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/forgotten/) [Genius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/genius/) [Goes on](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/goes-on/) [Hero](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hero/) [Heroic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/heroic/) [Heroic History](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/heroic-history-3545121/) [Heroines](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/heroines/) [History](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/history/) [History Creates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/history-creates-949477/) [History Wait](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/history-wait-3545123/) [Ideals](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ideals/) [Ifs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ifs/) [Long](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/long/) [May](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/may/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [No doubt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/no-doubt/) [Propensity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/propensity/) [Records](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/records/) [Remains](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/remains/) [Remember](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/remember/) [Soul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/soul/) [Two](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/two/) [Waiting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/waiting/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [“My own story, anyone's own story, is always told against me, even what I myself am writing here, because I have no heroic history…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sebastian-barry/my-own-story-anyone-s-own-story-is-always-told-against-me-even-what-i/) [Sebastian Barry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sebastian-barry/) > [“Look, this is helping me out quite a bit, but could you just get to the punishment part? 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I think in our modern world we are much more aware of its essential…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/talal-asad/the-propensity-to-intellectualize-is-itself-both-essential-and/) [Talal Asad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/talal-asad/) > [Self-love . . . is the sole antagonist of virtue, leading us constantly by our propensities to self-gratification in violation of our moral duties to others.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/self-love-is-the-sole-antagonist-of-virtue-leading-us-constantly-by/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [I never ever, ever say anything against my husband to anyone except my husband. 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Moreover I have tried it fairly and, strange as it may…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/as-for-doing-good-that-is-one-of-the-professions-which-is-full/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [A traveler who looks at things with an impartial eye may see what the oldest inhabitant has not observed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/a-traveler-who-looks-at-things-with-an-impartial-eye-may-see-what-the/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [In proportion as our inward life fails, we go more constantly and desperately to the post office. You may depend on it, that the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/in-proportion-as-our-inward-life-fails-we-go-more-constantly-and/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [I had three chairs in my house; one for solitude, two for friendship, three for society.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/i-had-three-chairs-in-my-house-one-for-solitude-two-for-friendship/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [The still youthful energies of the globe have only to be directed in their proper channel.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/the-still-youthful-energies-of-the-globe-have-only-to-be-directed-in/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [Concord's little arch does not span all our fate, nor is what transpires under it law for the universe.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/concord-s-little-arch-does-not-span-all-our-fate-nor-is-what/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [The lumberers rarely trouble themselves to put out their fires, such is the dampness of the primitive forest; and this is one cause, no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/the-lumberers-rarely-trouble-themselves-to-put-out-their-fires-such/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [“When he has obtained those things which are necessary to life, there is another alternative than to obtain the superfluities; and that is, to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/when-he-has-obtained-those-things-which-are-necessary-to-life-there/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [Wealth is measured by the level of experience in all aspects of life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/wealth-is-measured-by-the-level-of-experience-in-all-aspects-of-life/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) [Explore all 3,376 Henry David Thoreau quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) ## More Age quotes > [I need a bath." He chuckled. "You smell of smoke, as do I." The duke turned, leaning heavily on his cane. "Jameson, open the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-hawkins/i-need-a-bath-he-chuckled-you-smell-of-smoke-as-do-i-the-duke-turned/) [Karen Hawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-hawkins/) > [While we've youth in our hearts, we can never grow old.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-wendell-holmes-jr/while-we-ve-youth-in-our-hearts-we-can-never-grow-old/) [Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-wendell-holmes-jr/) > [It's easier to change a law than an age-old mentality. Deep down, many prejudices, many hostilities, many fears persist. 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That was a hard work.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-kaulitz/we-have-started-to-make-music-at-age-seven-that-was-a-hard-work/) [Bill Kaulitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-kaulitz/) [Browse all 18,948 Age quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/age/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "No doubt Carlyle has a propensity to exaggerate the heroic in history, that is, he creates you an ideal hero rather than another thing… Yet what were history if he did not exaggerate it? How comes it that history never has to wait for facts, but for a man to write it? The ages may go on forgetting the facts never so long, he can remember two for every one forgotten. 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