There is no doubt of the greatness of Cervantes or Shakespeare, for they have stood the test of time, and the voices of generations of men, from which there is no appeal, have declared them to be great.

The lyrics that all the world loves and repeats, the poetry which is often called hackneyed, is on the whole the best poetry.

The pictures and statues that have drawn crowds of admiring gazers for centuries are the best.

The things that are "caviare to the general" often undoubtedly have much merit, but they lack quite as often the warm, generous, and immortal vitality which appeals alike to rich and poor, to the ignorant and to the learned.
So it is with men.

When years after his death the world agrees to call a man great, the verdict must be accepted.