This article examines the problems facing a comparative study of the reception of the idea of revolution in some selected writings of G.W.F. Hegel and Joachim Lelewel. Paying due attention to the specificity of the philosophical and historical approach, the article analyses the similarities and differences in Hegel's and Lelewel's appraisals of the revolutionary legacy. It also brings to light a misrepresentation of Lelewel's take on the subject in the German translation of his writings. That said, Hegel's thought remains of vital importance for both Lelewel, who is not convinced by it, and his translator H.J. Handschuch, who eagerly embraces it.