Abstract
Mankind has a penchant for adulation. This trait glows in the great man theory of history. Thomas Carlyle gave the classic rendition of this: "We come now to the last form of Heroism; that which we call Kingship. The Commander over Men; he to whose will our wills are to be subordinated, and loyally surrender ourselves, and find their welfare in doing so, may be reckoned the most important of Great Men." Carlyle, being a racist, raised only Europeans to that supreme hall of the earthly Valhalla. Various writers, historians and other sundry, perhaps lesser, breeds, have entered the fray in order to trumpet the virtues of African leaders. One monarch whose private and public qualities have been rapturously lilted to the four quarters of the earth has been Emperor Menelik II of Ethiopia. Indeed, the treatment of this King of Kings is reminiscent of Dante's words as applied to the sixth heaven of Paradise:
How well is loved in heaven the righteous king;
Which he betokens by his radiant seeming.
Recommended Citation
Beauregard, Erving E.
(1976)
"Menelik II: Another Look,"
University of Dayton Review: Vol. 12:
No.
3, Article 5.
Available at:
https://ecommons.udayton.edu/udr/vol12/iss3/5
