t Kingsley might continue
Shakspeare's historical plays. I have for several years made no secret
of it, that Kingsley seems to me the genius of our century, called to
place by the side of that sublime dramatic series from _King John_ to
_Henry VIII_, another series of equal rank, from _Edward VI_ to the
_Landing of William of Orange_. This is the only historical development
of Europe which unites in itself all vital elements, and which we might
look upon without overpowering pain. The tragedy of _St. Elizabeth_
shows that Kingsley can grapple, not only with the novel, but with the
more severe rules of dramatic art. And _Hypatia_ proves, on the largest
scale, that he can discover in the picture of the historical past, the
truly human, the deep, the permanent, and that he knows how to represent
it. How, with all this, he can hit the fresh tone of popular life, and
draw humourous characters and complications with Shakspearian energy, is
proved by all his works. And why should he not undertake this great
task? There is a time when the true poet, the prophet of the present,
must bid farewell to the questions of the day, which seem so great
because they are so near, but are, in truth, but small and unpoetical. He
must say to himself, "Let the dead bury their dead"--and the time has
come that Kingsley should do so.'

A great deal has been written on mistakes which Kingsley was supposed to
have made in these Lectures, but I doubt whether these criticisms were
always perfectly judicial and fair. For instance, Kingsley's using the
name of Dietrich, instead of Theodoric, was represented as the very gem
of a blunder, and some critics went so far as to hint that he had taken
Theodoric for a Greek word, as an adjective of Theodorus. This, of
course, was only meant as a joke, for on page 120 Kingsley had said, in a
note, that the name of _Theodoric_, _Theuderic_, _Dietrich_, signifies
'king of nations.' He therefore knew perfectly well that _Theodoric_ was
simply a Greek adaptation of the Gothic name _Theode-reiks_, _theod_
meaning people, _reiks_, according to Grimm, _princeps_ {1}. But even if
he had called the king Theodorus, the mistake would not have been
unpardonable, for he might have appealed to the authority of Gregory of
Tours, who uses not only Theodoricus, but also Theodorus, as the same
name.

A more serious charge, however, was brought against him for having used
the High-German form _Dietrich_, instead of t