Froude himself felt entire confidence both in the greatness of Carlyle's qualities and in the permanence of his fame.

That was why he thought that the revelation of small defects would do more good than harm.

A faultless character, even if he himself could have reconciled it with his conscience to draw one, would not have been accepted as genuine, would not have been treated as credible.

The true character, in its strength and its weakness, would command belief, and admiration too.

If Froude were alive, he would say that the time had not yet come for a final judgment, and might not come for a hundred years.