The Duke means _Dux_, Leader; King is _Kon-ning_, _Kan-ning_, Man that
_knows_ or _cans_. Society everywhere is some representation, not
insupportably inaccurate, of a graduated Worship of Heroes--reverence and
obedience done to men really great and wise. Not insupportably inaccurate,
I say! They are all as bank-notes, these social dignitaries, all
representing gold;--and several of them, alas, always are _forged_ notes.
We can do with some forged false notes; with a good many even; but not with
all, or the most of them forged! No: there have to come revolutions then;
cries of Democracy, Liberty and Equality, and I know not what:--the notes
being all false, and no gold to be had for _them_, people take to crying in
their despair that there is no gold, that there never was any! "Gold,"
Hero-worship, _is_ nevertheless, as it was always and everywhere, and
cannot cease till man himself ceases.

I am well aware that in these days Hero-worship, the thing I call
Hero-worship, professes to have gone out, and finally ceased. This, for
reasons which it will be worth while some time to inquire into, is an age
that as it were denies the existence of great men; denies the desirableness
of great men. Show our critics a great man, a Luther for example, they
begin to what they call "account" for him; not to worship him, but take the
dimensions of him,--and bring him out to be a little kind of man! He was
the "creature of the Time," they say; the Time called him forth, the Time
did everything, he nothing--but what we the little critic could have done
too! This seems to me but melancholy work. The Time call forth? Alas, we
have known Times _call_ loudly enough for their great man; but not find him
when they called! He was not there; Providence had not sent him; the Time,
_calling_ its loudest, had to go down to confusion and wreck because he
would not come when called.

For if we will think of it, no Time need have gone to ruin, could it have