I wouldn't take comparison to Hegel as a great compliment. That said, the magnitude of knowledge and knowledgeable people in the 21st century (and onwards) will

I wouldn't take comparison to Hegel as a great compliment. That said, the magnitude of knowledge and knowledgeable people in the 21st century (and onwards) will far outnumber the 19th century. So that what made one appear as a genius then would make them look ordinary now. I'm not asking us to see people of bygone eras differently than they're written about—I'm asking that we revere them, but with a healthy dose of skepticism which prevents us from seeing ourselves and times as failed in comparison.