Skip to main content

Full text of "The Browning cyclopaedia; a guide to the study of the works of Robert Browning. With copious explanatory notes and references on all difficult passages"

See other formats 


frowning  GgclopazDia," 


SOME  OPINIONS  OF  THE  PRESS  ON  THE  FIRST  EDITION. 


"  Conscientious  and  painstaking." — The  Times. 

"Obviously  a  most  painstaking  work,  and  in  many  ways  it  is  very 
well  done."— Pall  Mall  Gazette. 

"In  many  ways  a  serviceable  book,  and  deserves  to  be  widely 
bought. " —  The  Speaker. 

"  A  book  of  far-reaching  research  and  careful  industry  .  .  .  will  make 
his  poet  clearer,  nearer,  and  dearer  to  every  reader  who  systematically 
uses  his  book." — Scotsman. 

"Dr.  Berdoe  is  a  safe  and  thoughtful  guide  ;  his  work  has  evidently 
been  a  labour  of  love,  and  bears  many  marks  of  patient  research." — 
Echo. 

"  Students  of  Browning  will  find  it  an  invaluable  aid." — Graphic. 
"  A  work  suggestive  of  immense  industry. " — Morning  Post, 
"  Erudite  and  comprehensive." — Glasgow  Herald. 

"  As  a  companion  to  Browning's  works  the  Cyclopaedia  will  be  most 
valuable  ;  it  is  a  laborious,  if  necessary,  piece  of  work,  conscientiously 
performed,  for  which  present  and  future  readers  and  students  of  Browning 
ought  to  be  really  grateful." — Nottingham  Daily  Guardian. 

"A  monumental  labour,  and  fitting  company  for  the  great  compo- 
sitions he  elucidates. " — Rock. 

"  It  is  very  well  that  so  patient  and  ubiquitous  a  reader  as  Dr.  Berdoe 
should  have  written  this  useful  cyclopaedia,  and  cleared  the  meaning  of 
many  a  dark  and  doubtful  passage  of  the  poet." — Black  and  White. 

"  It  is  not  too  much  to  say  that  Dr.  Berdoe  has  earned  the  gratitude 
of  every  reader  of  Browning,  and  has  materially  aided  the  study  of 
English  literature  in  one  of  its  ripest  developments." — British  Weekly. 

"Dr.  Berdoe's  Cyclopaedia  should  make  all  other  handbooks  un- 
necessary . ' ' — Star. 

"  We  are  happy  to  commend  the  volume  to  Browning  students  as  the 
most  ambitious  and  useful  in  its  class  yet  executed." — Notes  and  Queries. 

"A  most  learned  and  creditable  piece  of  work.  >:ot  a  difficulty  is 
shirked." — Vanity  Fair. 


OPINIONS  OF  THE  PRESS 
(Continued). 

11 A  monument  of  industry  and  devotion.  It  has  really  faced  difficul- 
ties, it  is  conveniently  arranged,  and  is  well  printed  and  bound."— 
Bookman. 

"A  wonderful  help." — Gentlewoman. 

"  Can  be  strongly  recommended  as  one  for  a  favourite  corner  in  one's 
library." — Whitehall  Review. 

"  Exceedingly  well  done ;  its  interest  and  usefulness,  we  think,  may 
pass  without  question." — Publisher?  Circular. 

"  In  a  singularly  industrious  and  exhaustive  manner  he  has  set  himself 
to  make  clear  the  obscure  and  to  accentuate  the  beautiful  in  Robert 
Browning's  poem  .  .  .  must  have  involved  infinite  labour  and  research. 
It  cannot  be  doubted  that  the  book  will  be  widely  sought  for  and 
warmly  appreciated." — Daily  Teleg,  aph. 

"Dr.  Berdoe  tackles  every  allusion,  every  proper  name,  every  phase 
of  thought,  besides  giving  a  most  elaborate  analysis  of  each  poem. 
He  has  produced  what  we  might  almost  call  a  monumental  work." — 
Literary  Opinion. 

"  This  cyclopaedia  may  certainly  claim  to  be  by  a  long  way  the  most 
efficient  aid  to  the  study  of  Browning  that  has  been  published,  or  is 
likely  to  be  published  .  .  .  Lovers  of  Browning  will  prize  it  highly,  and 
all  who  wish  to  understand  him  will  consult  it  with  advantage." — 
Baptist  Magazine. 

"  The  work  has  evidently  been  one  of  love,  and  we  doubt  whether 
any  one  could  have  been  found  better  qualified  to  undertake  it." — 
Cambridge  Review. 

"All  readers  of  Browning  will  feel  indebted  to  Dr.  Berdoe  for  his 
interesting  accounts  of  the  historical  facts  on  which  many  of  the  dramas 
are  based,  and  also  for  his  learned  dissertations  on  •  The  Ring  and  the 
Book  '  and  '  Sordello.'" — British  Medical  Journal. 

"The  work  is  so  well  done  that  no  one  is  likely  to  think  of  doing  it 
over  again."—  The  Critic  (New  York). 

"This  work  reflects  the  greatest  credit  on  Dr.  Berdoe  and  on  the 
Browning  Society,  of  which  he  is  so  distinguished  a  member, — it  is 
simply  invaluable." — The  Hawk. 

"  The  Cyclopaedia  has  at  any  rate  brought  his  (Browning's)  best  work 
well  within  the  compass  of  all  serious  readers  of  intelligence — Brown- 
ing made  easy." — The  Month. 


THE 

BROWNING     CYCLOPEDIA 


tbe  Same  Butbor. 


BROWNING'S  MESSAGE  TO  HIS  TIME.  His 
Religion,  Philosophy,  and  Science.  With 
Portrait  and  Facsimile  Letters.  Fifth 
edition,  price  2s.  6d. 

OPINIONS  OF  THE  PRESS. 

"Full  of  admiration  and  sympathy." — Saturday 
Review. 

"  Much  that  is  helpful  and  suggestive." — Scotsman. 

"  Should  have  a  wide  circulation,  it  is  interesting 
and  stimulative." — Literary  World. 

"  It  is  the  work  of  one  who,  having  gained  good 
himself,  has  made  it  his  endeavour  to  bring  the  same 
good  within  the  reach  of  others,  and,  as  such,  it  de- 
serves success." — Cambridge  Review. 

"We  have  no  hesitation  in  strongly  recommending 
this  little  volume  to  any  who  desire  to  understand  the 
moral  and  mental  attitude  of  Robert  Browning.  .  .  . 
We  are  much  obliged  to  Dr.  Berdoe  for  his  volume." — 
Oxford  University  Herald. 

"  Cannot  fail  to  be  of  assistance  to  new  readers." — 
Morning  Post. 

"The  work  cf  a  faithful  and  enthusiastic  student  is 
here." — Nation. 


THE 


BROWNING  CYCLOPEDIA 

A  GUIDE  TO  THE  STUDY  OF  THE  WORKS 
OF 

ROBERT     BROWNING 


WITH 

Copious  Explanatory  IFlotes  ant>  IReferences 
on  all  difficult 


BY 

EDWARD    BERDOE 
'</ 

LICENTIATE  OF  THE  ROYAL  COLLEGE  OF  PHYSICIANS,  EDINBURGH  ;  MEMBER   OF 
THE  ROYAL  COLLEGE  OF  SURGEONS,  ENGLAND,  ETC.,   ETC. 

Author  of  "  Browning's  Message  to  his  Time"  "Browning  as>  a  Scientific 
Poet,"  etc.,  etc. 


LONDON:    SWAN   SONNENSCHEIN   &   CO.. 

NEW  YORK:    THE  MACMILLAN  CO. 

1909 


FIRST  EDITION,  December,  1891 ;  SECOND  EDITION, 
September,  1897 ;  THIRD  EDITION,  /«/;>,  1898 ;  FOURTH 
EDITION,  March,  1902.  FIFTH  EDITION,  1906; 
SIXTH  EDITION,  1909. 


695399 


a  gratetullg  Be&tcate  tbese  pages 

TO 

DR.      F.      J.      FURN1VALL 

AMD 

MISS    E.    H.    HICKEY, 

THE    FOUNDERS    OF 

THE     BROWNING     SOCIETY. 


PREFACE    TO    THE    SECOND    EDITION. 


THE  demand  for  a  second  edition  of  this  work  within 
three  months  of  its  publication  is  a  sufficient  proof 
that  such  a  book  meets  a  want,  notwithstanding  the  many 
previous  attempts  of  a  more  or  less  partial  character  which 
have  been  made  to  explain  Browning  to  "  the  general." 
With  the  exception  of  certain  superfine  reviewers,  to  whom 
nothing  is  obscure — except  such  things  as  they  are  asked 
to  explain  without  previous  notice — every  one  admits  that 
Browning  requires  more  or  less  elucidation.  It  is  said 
by  some  that  I  have  explained  too  much,  but  this  might 
be  said  of  most  commentaries,  and  certainly  of  every 
dictionary.  It  is  difficult  to  know  precisely  where  to  draw 
the  line.  If  I  am  not  to  explain  (say  for  lady  readers) 
what  is  meant  by  the  phrase  "  De  te  fabula  narratur"  J 
know  not  why  any  of  the  classical  quotations  should  be 
translated.  If  Browning  is  hard  to  understand,  it  must 
be  on  account  of  the  obscurity  of  his  language,  of  his 
thought,  or  the  purport  of  his  verses;  very  often  the 
objection  is  made  that  the  difficulty  applies  to  all  these. 
I  have  not  written  for  the  "learned,"  but  for  the  people 
at  large.  The  Manchester  Guardian,  in  a  kindly  notice  of 
my  book,  says  "  the  error  and  marvel  of  his  book  is  the 
supposition  that  any  cripple  who  can  only  be  crutched  by 


VI  PREFACE   TO   THE   SECOND   EDITION. 

it  into  an  understanding  of  Browning  will  ever  understand 
Browning  at  all."  There  are  many  readers,  however,  who 
understand  Browning  a  little,  and  I  hope  that  this  book 
will  enable  them  to  understand  him  a  great  deal  more : 
though  all  cripples  cannot  be  turned  into  athletes,  some 
undeveloped  persons  may  be  helped  to  achieve  feats  of 
strength. 

A  word  concerning  my  critics.  No  one  can  do  me 
a  greater  service  than  by  pointing  out  mistakes  and 
omissions  in  this  work.  I  cannot  hope  to  please  every- 
body, but  I  will  do  my  best  to  make  future  editions  as 
perfect  as  possible. 

E.  B. 

March  1892. 


PREFACE. 


I  MAKE  no  apology  for  the  publication  of  this  work, 
because  some  such  book  has  long  been  a  necessity 
to  any  one  who  seriously  proposes  to  study  Browning. 
Up  to  its  appearance  there  was  no  single  book  to  which 
the  reader  could  turn,  which  gave  an  exposition  of  the 
leading  ideas  of  every  poem,  its  key-note,  the  sources — 
historical,  legendary,  or  fanciful — to  which  the  poem  was 
due,  and  a  glossary  of  every  difficult  word  or  allusion 
which  might  obscure  the  sense  to  such  readers  as  had 
short  memories  or  scanty  reading.  It  would  be  affectation 
to  pretend  to  believe  that  every  educated  person  ought 
to  know,  without  the  aid  of  such  a  work  as  this,  what 
Browning  means  by  phrases  and  allusions  which  may  be 
found  by  hundreds  in  his  works.  The  wisest  reader 
cannot  be  expected  to  remember,  even  if  he  has  ever 
learned,  a  host  of  remote  incidents  in  Italian  history,  for 
example,  to  say  nothing  of  classical  terms  which  "  every 
schoolboy "  ought  to  know,  but  rarely  does.  Browning  is 
obscure,  undoubtedly,  if  a  poem  is  read  for  the  first  time 
without  any  hint  as  to  its  main  purport :  the  meaning  in 
almost  every  case  lies  more  or  less  below  the  surface  ; 


VU  PREFACE. 

the  superficial  idea  which  a  careless  perusal  of  the 
poem  would  afford  is  pretty  sure  to  be  the  wrong  one. 
Browning's  poetry  is  intended  to  make  people  think,  and 
without  thought  the  fullest  commentary  will  not  help 
the  reader  much.  "  I  can  have  little  doubt,"  said  the  poet, 
in  his  preface  to  the  First  Series  of  Selections  from  his 
works,  "that  my  writing  has  been  in  the  main  too  hard 
for  many  I  should  have  been  pleased  to  communicate 
with;  but  I  never  designedly  tried  to  puzzle  people,  as 
some  of  my  critics  have  supposed.  On  the  other  hand,  I 
never  pretended  to  offer  such  literature  as  should  be  a 
substitute  for  a  cigar  or  a  game  at  dominoes  to  an  idle 
man.  So,  perhaps,  on  the  whole,  I  get  my  deserts,  and 
something  over — not  a  crowd,  but  a  few  I  value  more." 
As  for  my  own  qualifications  for  the  task  I  have  under- 
taken, I  can  only  say  that  I  have  attended  nearly  every 
meeting  of  the  Browning  Society  from  its  inauguration; 
I  have  read  every  book,  paper,  and  article  upon  Browning 
on  which  I  could  lay  my  hands,  have  gone  over  every 
line  of  the  poet's  works  again  and  again,  have  asked 
the  assistance  of  literary  friends  in  every  difficulty,  and 
have  pegged  away  at  the  obscurities  till  they  seemed  (at 
any  rate)  to  vanish.  It  is  possible  that  a  scientific  edu- 
cation in  some  considerable  degree  assists  a  man  who 
addresses  himself  to  a  task  of  this  sort :  a  medical  man 
does  not  like  to  be  beaten  by  any  difficulty  which  common 
perseverance  can  conquer ;  when  one  has  spent  days  in 
tracing  a  nerve  thread  through  the  body  to  its  origin, 
and  through  all  its  ramifications,  a  few  visits  to  the 
library  of  the  British  Museum,  or  a  few  hours'  puzzling 
over  the  meaning  of  a  difficult  passage  in  a  poem,  Jo 


PREFACE.          -  IX 

not  deter  him  from  solving  a  mystery, — and  this  is 
all  I  can  claim.  I  have  not  shirked  any  obscurities; 
unlike  some  commentators  of  the  old-fashioned  sort, 
who  in  dealing  with  the  Bible  carefully  told  us  that  a 
score  meant  twenty,  but  said  nothing  as  to  the  meaning 
of  the  verse  in  Ezekiel's  dream  about  the  women  who 
wept  for  Tammuz — but  have  honestly  tried  to  help  my 
readers  in  every  case  where  they  have  a  right  to  ask 
such  aid.  Probably  I  have  overlooked  many  things  which 
I  ought  to  have  explained.  It  is  not  less  certain  that 
some  will  say  I  have  explained  much  that  they  already 
knew.  I  can  only  ask  for  a  merciful  judgment  in  either 
case.  I  am  quite  anxious  to.be  set  right  in  every  par- 
ticular in  which  I  may  be  wrong,  and  shall  be  grateful 
for  hints  and  suggestions  concerning  anything  which  is 
not  clear.  I  have  to  thank  Professor  Sonnenschein  for 
permission  to  publish  his  valuable  Notes  to  Bordello,  with 
several  articles  on  the  history  of  the  Guelf  and  Ghibelline 
leaders :  these  are  all  indicated  by  the  initial  [S.]  at  the 
end  of  each  note  or  article.  I  am  grateful  also  to  Mr. 
A.  J.  Campbell  for  permission  to  use  his  notes  on 
Rabbi  Ben  Ezra.  I  have  also  to  thank  Dr.  Furnivall, 
Miss  Frances  Power  Cobbe,  and  the  Very  Rev.  Canon 
Akers,  M.A.,  for  their  kindness  in  helping  me  on  certain 
difficult  points  which  came  within  their  lines  of  study. 
It  would  be  impossible  to  read  the  works  of  commen 
tators  on  Browning  for  the  years  which  I  have  devoted 
to  the  task  without  imbibing  the  opinions  and  often 
insensibly  adopting  the  phraseology  of  the  authors :  if  in 
any  case  I  have  used  the  ideas  and  language  of  other 
writers  without  acknowledging  them,  I  hope  it  will 


*  PREFACE. 

be  credited  to  the  infirmity  of  human  nature,  and  not 
attributed  to  any  wilful  appropriation  of  other  men's  and 
women's  literary  valuables.  As  for  the  poet  himself,  I 
have  largely  used  his  actual  words  and  phrases  in 
putting  his  ideas  into  plain  prose;  it  has  not  always 
been  possible,  for  reasons  which  every  one  will  under- 
stand, to  put  quotation  marks  to  every  few  words  or 
portions  of  lines  where  this  has  occurred.  When,  there- 
fore, a  beautiful  thought  is  expressed  in  appropriate 
language,  it  is  most  certainly  not  mine,  but  Browning's. 
My  only  aim  has  been  to  bring  the  Author  of  the  vast 
body  of  literature  to  which  this  book  is  an  introduction 
a  little  nearer  to  the  English  and  American  reading  public ; 
my  own  opinions  and  criticisms  I  have  endeavoured  as 
much  as  possible  to  suppress.  In  the  words  of  Dr. 
Furnivall,  "This  is  a  business  book,"  and  simply  as  such 
I  offer  it  to  the  public. 

EDWARD  BERDOE. 
LONDON,  November  2&th,  1891. 


BOOKS,    ESSAYS,   ETC.,    WHICH  ARE  ESPECIALLY 
USEFUL   TO   THE  BROWNING  STUDENT. 


BIOGRAPHICAL  WORKS. 

Life  of  Robert  Browning.  By  MRS.  SUTHERLAND  ORR. 
London:  1891. 

Life  of  Robert  Browning.  By  WILLIAM  SHARP.  London: 
1890. 

On  the  whole,  Mr.  Sharp's  Biography  will  be  found  the  more 
useful  for  the  student.  It  contains  an  excellent  Bibliography 
by  Mr.  John  P.  Anderson  of  the  British  Museum,  and  a 
Chronological  List  of  the  Poet's  Works. 

Robert  Browning :  Chief  Poet  of  the  Age.  By  W.  G.  KINGS- 
LAND.  London:  1890.  Excellent  for  beginners. 

Robert  Browning :  Personalia.  By  EDMUND  GOSSE.  Boston : 
1890. 

WORKS  OF  CRITICISM   AND  EXPOSITION. 

Robert  Browning:   Essays  and  Thoughts.     By  JOHN  T. 

NETTLESHIP.     London:  1868.     Artistic  and  suggestive. 

Stories  from  Robert  Browning.  By  F.  M.  HOLLAND;  with 
Introduction  by  MRS.  SUTHERLAND  ORR.  London:  1882. 

A  Handbook  to  the  Works  of  Robert  Browning.  By  MRS. 
SUTHERLAND  ORR.  London:  1885. 

An  Introduction  to  the  Study  of  Browning.  By  ARTHUR 
SYMONS.  London:  1886.  Intensely  sympathetic  and 
appreciative. 

A  Bibliography  of  Robert  Browning,  from  1833  to  1881. 

By  DR.  F.  J.  FURNIVALL.     1881. 

An  Introduction  to  the  Study  of  Robert  Browning's  Poetry. 

By  HIRAM  CORSON.     Boston:  1888. 

Studies  in  the  Poetry  of  Robert  Browning.     By  JAMES 

FOTHERINGHAM.     London :  1887. 
Browning  Guide  Book.    By  GEORGE  WILLIS  COOKE.    Boston  • 

1891. 


XI 1  BOOKS,    ESSAYS,    ETC. 

Stratford:  a  Tragedy,  With  Notes  and  Preface,  by  E.  H. 
HICKEY,  and  Introduction  by  S.  R.  GARDINER.  London : 
1884. 

Browning  and  the  Christian  Faith.  The  Evidences  of  Chris- 
tianity from  Browning's  Point  of  View.  By  EDWARD  BERDOE. 
London :  1896. 

Browning  as  a  Philosophical  Religious  Teacher.  By  Prof. 
HENRY  JONES.  Glasgow:  1891. 

Browning's  Message  to  His  Time :  His  Religion,  Philosophy 
and  Science.  By  EDWARD  BERDOE.  London  :  1890. 

THE  BROWNING   SOCIETY'S    PUBLICATIONS. 

The  Browning  Society's  Papers,  Part  I.    VoL  I.,  1881-4, 
pp.  1-116  (presented  by  Dr.  Furnivall).  [1881-2. 

1.  A  Reprint  of  BROWNING'S  Introductory  Essay  to  the  25  spurious 

Letters  of  Percy  Bysshe  Shelley,  1852:  On  the  Objective  and 
Subjective  Poet,  on  the  Relation  of  the  Poet's  Life  to  his 
Work ;  on  Shelley,  his  Nature,  Art,  and  Character. 

2.  A  Bibliography  of  ROBERT  BROWNING,  1833-81 :   Alphabetical 

and  Chronological  Lists  of  his  Works,  with  Reprints  of 
discontinued  Prefaces,  of  Ben  Karshook's  Wisdom,  partial 
collations  of  Sordello  1840,  1863,  and  Paracelsus  1835,  1863, 
etc.,  and  with  Trial-Lists  of  the  Criticisms  on  BROWNING, 
Personal  Notices  of  him,  etc.,  by  F.  J.  FURNIVALL. 

The  Browning  Society's  Papers,  Part  II.    Vol.  I.,  1881-4, 
pp.  117-258.  [i  881-2. 

3.  Additions  to  the  Bibliography  of  R.  BROWNING,  by  F.  J.  FUR- 

NIVALL. I.  Browning's  Acted  Plays.  2.  Fresh  Entries  of 
Criticisms  on  Browning's  Works.  3.  Fresh  Personal  Notices 
of  Browning.  4.  Notes  on  Browning's  Poems  and  my 
Bibliography.  5.  Short  Index. 

4.  Mr.  KIRKMAN'S  Address  at  the  Inaugural  Meeting  of  the  Society, 

October  28th,  1881. 

5.  Mr.  SHARPE'S  Paper  on  " Pietro  of  Abano,"  and  "Dramatic 

Idyls,  Series  II." 

6.  Mr.  NETTLLSHIP'S  Analysis  and  Sketch  of  "  Fifine  at  the  Fair" 

7.  Mr.  NETTLESHIP'S  Classification  of  Browning's  Poems. 

8.  Mrs.  ORR'S  Classification  of  Browning's  Poems. 

9.  Mr.  JAMES  THOMSON'S  Notes  on  The  Genius  of  Robert  Browning. 
<o.  Mr.  ERNEST  RADFORD  on  The  Moorish  Front  to  the  Duomo  of 

Florence,  in  "  Luria"  I.,  pp.  122-132. 


BOOKS,    ESSAYS,    ETC.  xiii 

11.  Mr.  ERNEST  RADFORD  on  The  Original  of  "  Ned  Brat lfsn  Dramatic 

Lyrics,  L,  pp.  107-43. 

12.  Mr.  SHARPE'S  Analysis  and  Summary  of  Fifine  at  the  Fair. 

\  The  Browning  Society's  Papers,  Part  III.    Vol.  I.,  1881-4, 
pp.  259-380,  with  Abstract,  pp.  i*-48*.  [1882-3. 

13.  Mr.  BURY  on  Brownings  Philosophy. 

14.  Prof.  JOHNSON  on  Bishop  Blougram. 

:        15.  Prof.  CORSON   on   Personality,   and  Art  as   its    Vice-agent,  as 
treated  by  Browning. 

1 6.  Miss  BEALE  on  The  Religious  Teaching  of  Browning. 

17.  A  Short  Account  of  the  Abbe  Vogler  ("  Abt  Vogler  ").     By  Miss 

E.  MARX. 

18.  Prof.  JOHNSON  on  Science  and  Art  in  Browning. 

The  Monthly  Abstract  of  such  papers  as  have  not  been 
printed  in  full,  and  of  the  Discussions  on  all  that  have 
been  discussed.  Nos.  I. — X. 

Illustrations  to  Browning's  Poems.  Part  I. :  Photographs 
of  (a)  Andrea  del  Sarto's  Picture  of  Himself  and  his  Wife, 
in  the  Pitti  Palace,  Florence,  which  suggested  Browning's 
poem  Andrea  del  Sarto ;  (b]  Fra  Lippo  Lippi's  '  Corona- 
tion of  the  Virgin/  in  the  Accademia  delle  belle  Arti, 
Florence  (the  painting  described  at  the  end  of  Browning's 
Fra  Lippo) ;  and  (c)  Guercino's  '  Angel  and  Child,'  at 
Fano  (for  The  Guardian  Angel) ;  with  an  Introduction 
by  ERNEST  RADFORD.  [1882-3. 

Illustrations  to  Browning's  Poems.  Part  II.*  (d)  A  photo- 
engraving of  Mr.  C.  Fairfax  Murray's  drawing  of  Andrea 
del  Sarto's  Picture  named  above.  (<?)  A  Woodburytype 
copy  of  Fredelle's  Cabinet  Photograph  of  ROBERT 
BROWNING  in  three  sizes,  to  bind  with  the  Society's  Illus- 
trations, and  Papers,  and  Browning's  Poems  :  presented 
by  Mrs.  Sutherland  Orr.  (/)  Reductions  in  fcap.  8vo,  to 
bind  with  Browning's  Poems,  of  d,  b,  c,  above,  and  of  (g) 
the  engraving  of  Guercino's  First  Sketch  for  his  "  Angel 
and  Child."  [1882-3. 

The  Browning  Society's  Papers,  Part  IV.  Vol.  L,  1881-4, 
pp.  381-476,  with  Abstract,  pp.  49^84*  and  Reports, 
i-xvi.  [1883-4. 

*  Out  of  print  at  present. 


XIV  BOOKS,    ESSAYS,    ETC. 

19.  Mr.  NETTLESHIP  on  Browning's  Intuition,  specially  in  regard  to 

Music  and  the  Plastic  Arts. 

20.  Prof.  B.  F.  WESTCOTT  on  Some  Points  in  Browning's  View  of 

Life. 

21.  Miss  E.  D.  WEST  on  One  Aspect  of  Browning's  Villains. 

22.  Mr.  REVELL  on  Browning's  Poems  on  God  and  Immortality  as 

bearing  on  Life  here. 

23.  The  Rev.  H.  J.  BULKELEY  on  "James  Lee's  Wife." 

24.  Mrs.  TURNBULL  on  "Abt  Vogler." 

The  Monthly  Abstract  of  the  Proceedings  of  Meetings  Eleven  to 

Eighteen. 
First  and  Second  Reports  of  the  Committee  (1881-2  and  1882-3). 

The  Browning  Society's  Papers,  Part  V.  Vol.  I.,  1881-4, 
pp.  477-502,  f  with  Abstract  and  Notes  and  Queries, 
pp.  85*- 1 53*,  and  Report,  pp.  xvii-xxiii.  [1884-5, 

25.  Mr.  W.  A.  RALEIGH  on  Some  Prominent  Points  in  Browning's 

Teaching. 

26.  Mr.  J.  COTTER  MORISON   on  " Caliban   on  Setebos"  with  some 

Notes  on  Browning's  Subtlety  and  Humour. 

27.  Mrs.  TURNBULL  on  "In  a  Balcony." 

The  Monthly  Abstract  of  the  Proceedings  of  Meetings  Nineteen 
to  Twenty-six,  including  "Scraps"  contributed  by  Members. 
Third  Report  of  the  Committee,  1883-4. 

Illustration,  Part  III.  Presented  by  Sir  F.  Leighton,  P.R.A., 
etc.,  Vice-President  of  the  Browning  Society.  A  Wood- 
burytype  Engraving  of  Sir  Frederick  Leighton's  picture 
(in  the  possession  of  Sir  Bernhard  Samuelson,  Bart., 
M.P.)  of  "Hercules  contending  with  Death  for  the 
Body  of  Alkestis  "  (Balaustioris  Adventure). 
[Part  VI.  of  the  Browning  Society's  Papers,  a  Second  Supple- 
ment to  Parts  I.  and  II.,  with  illustrations,  is  in  the  press.] 

The  Browning  Society's  Papers,  Part  VII.  Vol.  II.,  1885-90, 
(being  Part  I.  of  Vol.  II.),  pp.  1-54,  with  Abstract  and 
Notes  and  Queries,  i*-88*,  i.-viii.,  and  Appendix,  1-16. 

[1885-6. 

28.  Mr.  ARTHUR  SYMONS'  Paper,  7s  Browntng  Dramatic? 

29.  Prof.  E.  JOHNSON  on  "  Mr.  Sludge  the  Medium.1* 

30.  Dr.  BERDOE  on  Browning  as  a  Scientific  Poet, 

•  Out  of  print  at  present. 


BOOKS,    ESSAYS,    ETC.  XV 

The  Monthly  Abstract  of  Proceedings  of  Meetings  Twenty-seven 
to  Thirty-three ;  Notes  and  Queries,  etc. ;  Fourth  Annual 
Report;  Programme  of  the  Annual  Entertainment  at  Prince's 
Hall,  etc. 

The  Browning  Society's  Papers,  Part  VIII.    Vol.  II.,  1885-90, 

pp.     55-146,    with     Abstract    and     Notes    and     Queries, 
8g*-i64*,  and  Report  i-vii.  [1886-7. 

31.  Mr.  J.  T.  NETTLESHIP  on  The  Development  of  Browning's  Genius 

in  his  Capacity  as  Poet  or  Maker. 

32.  Mr.  J.  B.  BURY  on  "Aristophanes'  Apology." 

33.  Mr.  OUTRAM  on  The  Avowal  of  Valence  (Colombe*s  Birthday). 

34.  Mr.  ALBERT  FLEMING  on  "Andrea  del  Sarto." 

35.  Mr.  HOWARD  S.  PEARSON  on  Browning  as  a  Landscape  Painter. 

36.  Rev.    H.  J.    BULKELEY  on    The  Reasonable  Rhythm  of  some  of 

Mr.  Browning's  Poems. 

37.  Prof.  C.  H.  HERFORD  on  "  Hohenstiel-Schwangau." 

Abstracts  of  all  Meetings  held,  Notes  and  Queries,  Fifth  Annual 
Report,  etc. 

Eeprint  of  the  First  Edition  of  Browning's  Pauline.    [1886-7. 
The  Browning  Society's  Papers,  Part  IX.  (being  Part  III.  of 

Vol.  II.).  [1887-8. 

38.  Dr.  TODHUNTER  on  The  Performance  of  "  Stafford" 

39.  Mrs.  GLAZEBROOK  on  "A  Death  in  the  Desert" 

40.  Dr.  FURNIVALL  on  A  Grammatical  Analysis  of"O  Lyric  Love" 

41.  Mr.  ARTHUR  SYMONS  on  "  Parleyings  with  Certain  People."    - 

42.  Miss  HELEN  ORMEROD  on  The  Musical  Poems  of  Browning. 
Abstracts  of  all  Meetings  held,  Notes  and  Queries,  Sixth  Annual 

Report,  etc. 

The  Browning  Society's  Papers,  Part  X.  (being  Part  IV.  of 
Vol.  II.).  [1888-9. 

43.  Mr.  REVELL  on  Browning's  Views  of  Life. 

44.  Dr.  BERDOE  on  Browning's  Estimate  of  Life. 

45.  Prof.  BARNETT  on  Browning's  Jews  and  Shakespeare's  Jew. 

46.  Miss  HELEN  ORMEROD  on  Abt  Vogler,  the  Man. 

47.  Miss  C.  M.  WHITEHEAD  on  Browning  as  a  Teacher  of  the  Nine- 

teenth Century. 

48.  Miss  STODDART  on  "  Saul.^/ 

Abstracts    of    all    Meetings    held,    Notes    and    Queries,    Seventh 
Annual  Report,  etc. 

*  Out  of  print  at  present. 


XVi  BOOKS,    ESSAYS,    ETC. 

The  Browning  Society's  Papers,  Part  XI.  (being  Part  V.  of 
Vol.  II.).  [1889-90. 

49.  Dr.  BERDOE  on  Paracelsus :  the  Reformer  of  Medicine. 

50.  Miss  HELEN  ORMEROD  on  Andrea  del  Sarto  and  Abt  Vogler. 

51.  Rev.  W.  ROBERTSON  on  "La  Saisiaz." 

52.  Mr.  J.  B.  OLDHAM  on  The  Difficulties  and  Obscurities  encountered 

in  a  Study  of  Browning's  Poems. 

53.  Mr.  J.  KING,  Jun.,  on  "Prince  Hohensticl-Schwangau.' 

54.  Mrs.  ALEXANDER  IRELAND  on  "A  Toccata  ofGaluppi's." 

55.  Mrs.  GLAZEBROOK  on  "  Numph^lcptos  and  Browning 's  Women." 

56.  Rev.    J.    J.    G.    GRAHAM  on    The    Wife-love  and  Friend-love  oj 

Robert  Browning. 

Abstracts    of    all    Meetings    held,    Notes    and    Queries,    Eighth 
Annual  Report,  etc. 

The  Browning  Society's  Papers,  Part  XIL  (being  Part  I. 
of  Vol.  III.).  [1890-91. 

57.  Prof.  ALEXANDER'S  Analysis  of  "  Sordello." 

58.  Dr.  FURNIVALL  on  Robert  Browning's  Ancestors. 

59.  Mrs.  IRELAND  on  Browning's  Treatment  of  Parenthood. 

60.  Mr.  SAGAR  on  The  Line-numbering,  etc.,  in  "  The  Ring  and  th 

Book." 
6x.  Mr.  REVELLon  The  Value  of  Browning" s  Work  (Pan  I.). 

62.  Mr.  W.  M.  ROSSETTI  on  "  Taurello  Salinguerra.n 

List   of  Some    of   the    Periodicals   in   which    Notices    of    Robert 

Browning  have  appeared  since  his  Death. 
Abstracts  of  all  Meetings  held,  Notes  and  Queries,  Ninth  Annual 

Report,  etc. 

The  Browning  Society's  Papers,  Part  XIIL  (being  Part  II. 
of  Vol.  III.,  1890-93).  [1891-92. 

63.  Mrs.  A.  IRELAND  on  "  Christina  and  Monaldeschi." 

64.  J6N   STEPXNSSON,   M.A.,   on   How  Browning  Strikes  a  Scandi- 

navian, 

65.  W.   F.   REVELL,  Esq.,  on  Browning's    Work  in  Relation  to  Life 

(Part  II.). 

66.  J.    B.    OLDHAM,    B.A.,    on    Browning's    Dramatic    Method    in 

Narrative. 

67.  R.  G.  MOULTON,  M.A.,  on  Browning's  " Balaustion"  a  beautiful 

Perversion  of  Euripides'  "  Alcestis." 

Abstracts  of  all  Meetings  held,  Notes  and  Queries,  Tenth  Annual 
Report,  etc. 


CHRONOLOGICAL  LIST  OF  WORKS,  ETC. 


c8ia.  Robert  Browning  born  at  Camberwell  on  May  yth.  He  "went 
to  the  Rev.  Thos.  Ready's  school  at  Peckham  till  he  was 
near  fourteen,  then  had  a  private  tutor  at  home,  and  attended 
some  lectures  at  the  London  University,  now  University 
College,  London"  (Dr.  Furnivall). 

1833.  Pauline  published. 

1834.  Browning  travelled  in  Russia. 

1835.  Paracelsus  published. 

1836.  Porphyria,  Johannes  Agricola,    The   King,   and  the  lines    "Still 

ailing  wind  "  in  James  Lee  published  by  Mr.  W.  J.  Fox  in  his 
magazine  The  Monthly  Repository. 

1837.  Str afford  published. 

1840.  Sordello  published. 

1841-6.  Bells  and  Pomegranates  appeared. 

1841.  Pippa  Passes  published. 

1842.  King  Victor  and  King  Charles  published. 
Dramatic  Lyrics  published. 

1843.  The  Return  of  the  Druses  published. 
A  Blot  in  the  'Scutcheon  published. 

1844.  Colombe 's  Birthday  published. 

1845.  The  Tomb  at  St.  Praxed's  published  in  Hood1!  Magazine.  March. 
The  Flight  of  the  Duchess  published. 

Dramatic  Romances  and  Lyrics  published. 

1846.  Lucia  published. 

A  Soul's  Tragedy  published. 

Robert  Browning  married  (34),   Sept.    isth,  at  St.    Mary-le-bone 

parish  church  our  greatest  poetess,  Elizabeth  Barrett,  aged  37 

(Dr.  Furnivall). 

1847.  The  Brownings  resident  in  Florence. 

1849.  March  gth,  Robert  Wiedemann  Barrett  Browning  bora. 
Browning's  Poems  published  in  two  vols. 


CHRONOLOGICAL   LIST   OF   WORKS,    ETC. 

1850.  Christmas-Eve  and  Easter-Day  published. 

1852.  Browning  writes  the  Introductory  Essay  to  the  Shelley  (spurious) 

Letters. 
1855.  Men  and  Women  published. 

The  Brownings  travel  to  Normandy. 
1861.  June  28th,  Mrs.  Browning  died  at  Casa  Guidi. 

1863.  The    Poetical    Works   of    Robert    Browning    published    in    three 

vols. 

1864.  Dramatis  Persona  published. 

1868.   The  Poetical  Works  published  in  six  vols. 
1868-9.   The  Ring  and  the  Book  published. 

1871.  Herv6  Kiel  published  in  the  Comhill  Magazine 
Balaustion's  Adventure  published. 

Prince  Hohenstiel-Schwangau  published. 

1872.  Fifine  at  the  Fair  published. 

1873.  Red  Cotton  Night-Cap  Country  published. 

1875.  Aristophanes'  Apology  published. 
Thi  Inn  Album  published. 

1876.  Pacchiarotto  published. 

1877.  The  Agamemnon  of  sEschylus  published. 

1878.  La  Saisiaz  published. 

The  Two  Poets  of  Croisic  published. 

1879.  Dramatic  Idyls  published. 

1880.  Dramatic  Idyls  (Second  Series)  published. 

1881.  The  Browning  Society  inaugurated,  Oct.  28th. 

1883.  Jocoseria  published. 

1884.  FerishtaKs  Fancies  published. 

1887.  Parleying^    with    Certain    People    of   Importance    in    their    Day 

published. 
1889.  Asolando :  Fancies  and  Facts  t  published. 

Robert    Browning   died    m    Venice,    December    i2th ;    buried    in 

Westminster  Abbey,  December  3151. 


BROWNING  CYCLOPAEDIA. 


Abano,  a  town  of  Northern  Italy,  6  miles  S.W.  of  Padua,  the 
birthplace  of  PIETRO  D'ABANO  (q.v.). 

Abate,  Paolo  (or  Paul),  brother  of  Count  Guido  Franceschini. 
He  was  a  priest  residing  in  Rome.  (Ring  and  the  Book.) 

Abbas  I.,  surnamed  THE  GREAT.    See  SHAH  ABBAS. 

Abd-el-Kader,  a  celebrated  Algerian  warrior,  born  in  1807, 
who  in  1831  led  the  combined  tribes  in  their  attempt  to  resist  the 
progress  of  the  French  in  Algeria.  He  surrendered  to  the  French 
in  1847,  and  was  set  at  liberty  by  Louis  Napoleon  in  1852. 
(Through  the  Metidja  to  Abd-el-Kader.) 

Abt  Vogler.  [THE  MAN.]  (Dramatis  Persona >  1864.)  George 
Joseph  Vogler,  usually  known  as  Abb6  Vogler,  or,  as  Mr.  Browning 
has  called  him,  Abt  Vogler,  was  an  organist  and  composer,  and 
was  born  at  Wiirzburg,  June  1 5th,  1749.  He  was  educated  for  the 
Church  from  his  very  early  years,  as  is  the  custom  with  Catholics  ; 
but  every  opportunity  was  taken  to  develop  his  musical  talents, 
which  were  so  marked  that  at  ten  years  old  he  could  play  the 
organ  and  the  violin  well.  In  1769  he  studied  at  Bamberg,  re- 
moving thence  in  1771  to  Mannheim.  In  1773  ne  was  ordained 
priest  in  Rome,  and  was  admitted  to  the  famous  Academy  of 
Arcadia,  was  made  a  Knight  of  the  Golden  Spur,  and  was  ap- 
pointed protonotary  and  chamberlain  to  the  Pope.  He  returned 
to  Mannheim  in  1775,  and  opened  a  School  of  Music.  He  pub- 
lished several  works  on  music,  composition,  and  the  art  of 
forming  the  voice.  He  was  made  chaplain  and  Kapellmeister 
at  Mannheim,  and  about  this  time  composed  a  Miserere.  In 
1779  Vogler  went  to  Munich.  In  1780  he  composed  an  opera, 
The  Merchant  of  Smyrna,  a  ballet,  and  a  melodrama.  In  1781 
his  opera  Albert  III.  was  produced  at  the  Court  Theatre  of 
Munich.  As  it  was  not  very  favourably  received,  he  resigned 
his  posts  of  chaplain  and  choirmaster.  He  was  severely  criticised 

i 


2  BROWNING   CYCLOPAEDIA.  [Abt 

by  German  musical  critics,  and  Mozart  spoke  of  him  with  much 
bitterness.  Having  thus  failed  in  his  own  country,  he  went  to 
Paris,  and  in  1 783  brought  out  his  comic  opera,  La  Kermcsse.  It 
was  so  great  a  failure  that  it  was  not  possible  to  conclude  the 
performance.  He  then  travelled  in  Spain,  Greece,  and  the  East. 
In  1786  he  returned  to  Europe,  and  went  to  Sweden,  and  was 
appointed  Kapellmeister  to  the  King.  At  Stockholm  he  founded 
his  second  School  of  Music,  and  became  famous  by  his  per- 
formances on  an  instrument  which  he  had  invented,  called  the 
"  Orchestrion."  This  is  described  by  Mr.  G.  Grove  as  a  very  com- 
pact organ,  in  which  four  keyboards  of  five  octaves  each,  and  a 
pedal  board  of  thirty-six  keys,  with  swell  complete,  were  packed 
into  a  cube  of  nine  feet.  In  1789  Vogler  performed  without 
success  at  Amsterdam.  He  then  went  with  his  organ  to  London 
and  gave  a  series  of  concerts  at  the  Pantheon  in  January  1790. 
These  proved  eminently  successful :  Vogler  realised  over^i2<x), 
and  made  a  name  as  an  organist.  He  seems  to  have  excelled 
in  pedal  playing,  but  it  is  not  true  that  pedals  were  unknown  in 
England  until  the  Abbe  introduced  them.  "  His  most  popular 
pieces,"  says  the  Encyclopedia  Britannica,  "were  a  fugue  on 
themes  from  the  '  Hallelujah  Chorus,'  composed  after  a  visit  to 
the  Handel  festival  at  Westminster  Abbey,  and  on  'A  Musical 
Picture  for  the  Organ,'  by  Knecht,  containing  the  imitation  of  a 
storm.  In  1790  Vogler  returned  to  Germany,  and  met  with  the 
most  brilliant  receptions  at  Coblentz  and  Frankfort,  and  at  Ess- 
lingen  was  presented  with  the  '  wine  of  honour  '  reserved  usually 
for  royal  personages.  At  Mannheim,  in  1791,  his  opera  Castor 
and  Pollux  was  performed,  and  became  very  popular.  We 
find  him  henceforward  travelling  all  over  Europe.  At  Berlin  he 
performed  in  1800,  at  Vienna  in  1804,  and  at  Munich  in  1806.  Next 
year  we  find  him  at  Darmstadt,  accepting  by  the  invitation  of 
the  Grand  Duke  Louis  I.  the  post  of  Kapellmeister.  He  opened 
his  third  school  of  music  at  Darmstadt,  one  of  his  pupils  being 
Weber,  another  Meyerbeer,  a  third  Gansbacher.  The  affection 
of  these  three  young  students  for  their  master  was  '  unbounded.' 
He  was  indefatigable  in  the  pursuit  of  his  art  to  the  last,  genial, 
kind  and  pleasant  to  all ;  he  lived  for  music,  and  died  in  harness, 
of  apoplexy,  at  Darmstadt,  May  6th,  1814." 

[THE  POEM.]    The  musician  has  been  extemporising  on  his 
organ,  and  as  the  performance  in   its  beauty  and  completeness 


Abt]  BROWNING   CYCLOPAEDIA.  3 

impresses  his  mind  with  wonderful  and  mysterious  imagery,  he 
wishes  it  could  be  permanent.  He  has  created  something,  but 
it  has  vanished.  He  compares  it  to  a  palace  built  of  sweet 
sounds,  such  a  structure  as  angels  or  demons  might  have  reared 
for  Solomon,  a  magic  building  wherein  to  lodge  some  loved 
princess,  a  palace  more  beautiful  than  anything  which  human 
architect  could  plan  or  power  of  man  construct.  His  music 
structure  has  been  real  to  him,  it  took  shape  in  his  brain,  it 
was  his  creation :  surely,  somewhere,  somehow,  it  might  be 
permanent.  It  was  too  beautiful,  too  perfect  to  be  lost.  Only 
the  evil  perishes,  only  good  is  permanent ;  and  this  music  was 
so  true,  so  good,  so  beautiful,  it  could  not  be  that  it  was  lost,  as 
false,  bad,  ugly  things  are  lost !  But  Vogler  was  but  an  extem- 
poriser,  and  such  musicians  cannot  give  permanence  to  their 
performances.  He  has  reached  a  state  almost  of  ecstasy,  and 
the  spiritual  has  asserted  its  power  over  the  material,  raising 
the  soul  to  heaven  and  bringing  down  heaven  to  earth.  In  the 
words  of  Milton,  he  had  become — 

"  All  ear, 

And  took  in  strains  that  might  create  a  soul 

Under  the  ribs  of  death," 

and  in  this  heavenly  rapture  he  saw  strange  presences,  the  forms 
of  the  better  to  come,  or  "  the  wonderful  Dead  who  have  passed 
through  the  body  and  gone."  The  other  arts  are  inferior  to  music, 
they  are  more  human,  more  material  than  music, — "  here  is  the 
finger  of  God."  And  this  was  all  to  go — "  Never  to  be  again!  " 
This  reflection  starts  the  poet  on  a  familiar  train  of  thought — 
the  permanence  of  good,  the  impermanence,  the  nullity  of  evil. 
The  Cabbalists  taught  that  evil  was  only  the  shadow  of  the  Light ; 
Maimonides,  Spinoza,  Hegel  and  Emerson  taught  the  doctrine 
which  Mr.  Browning  here  inculcates.  Leibnitz  speaks  of  "evil 
as  a  mere  set-off  to  the  good  in  the  world,  which  it  increases 
by  contrast,  and  at  other  times  reduces  moral  to  metaphysical 
evil  by  giving  it  a  merely  negative  existence."  "  God,"  argued 
Aquinas  (Sum.  Theol,,  i.,  §  49),  "created  everything  that  exists, 
but  Sin  was  nothing ;  so  God  was  not  the  Author  of  it."  So, 
Augustine  and  Peter  Lombard  maintained  likewise  the  negative 
nature  of  moral  evil : — 

"  Evil  is  more  frail  than  nonentity." 

(Proclus,  De  Prov.,  in  Cory's  Fragm.) 


4  BROWNING   CYCLOPAEDIA.  [Abt 

"  Let  no  one  therefore  say  that  there  are  precedaneous  productive 
principles  of  evil  in  the  nature  of  intellectual  paradigms  of  evil  in 
the  same  manner  as  there  are  of  good,  or  that  there  is  a  malefic 
soul  or  an  evil-producing  cause  in  the  gods,  nor  let  him  introduce 
sedition  or  eternal  war  against  the  First  God"  (Proclus,  Six 
BookS)  trans.  Thomas  Taylor,  B.  i.,  c.  27).  In  heaven,  then,  we 
are  to  find  "  the  perfect  round,"  "  the  broken  arcs  "  are  all  we  can 
discover  here.  Rising  in  the  tenth  stanza  to  the  highest  stature 
of  the  philosophical  truth,  the  poet  proclaims  his  faith  in  the 
existence  of  a  home  of  pure  ideals.  The  harmony  of  a  few  bars 
of  music  on  earth  suggests  the  eternal  harmonies  of  the  Author 
of  order ;  the  rays  of  goodness  which  brighten  our  path  here 
suggest  a  Sun  of  Righteousness  from  which  they  emanate.  The 
lover  and  the  bard  send  up  to  God  their  feeble  aspirations  after 
the  beautiful  and  the  true,  and  these  aspirations  are  stored  in 
His  treasury.  Failure?  It  is  but  the  pause  in  the  music,  the 
discords  that  set  off  the  harmony.  To  the  musician  this  is  not 
something  to  be  reasoned  about  mathematically ;  it  is  knowledge, 
it  is  a  revelation  which,  however  informing  and  consoling  while 
it  lasts,  must  not  too  long  divert  a  man  from  the  common  things 
of  life  ;  patient  to  bear  and  suffer  because  strengthened  by  the 
beautiful  vision  of  the  Mount  of  Transfiguration,  proud  that  he 
has  been  permitted  to  have  part  and  lot  with  such  high  matters, 
he  can  solemnly  acquiesce  in  the  common  round  and  daily  task. 
He  feels  for  the  common  chord,  descends  the  mount,  gliding  by 
semitones,  glancing  back  at  the  heights  he  is  leaving,  till  at  last, 
finding  his  true  resting-place  in  the  C  Major  of  this  life,  soothed 
and  sweetly  lulled  by  the  heavenly  harmonies,  he  falls  asleep. 
The  Esoteric  system  of  the  Cabbalah  was  largely  the  outcome 
of  Neo-Platonism  and  Gnosticism,  and  from  these  have  sprung 
the  theosophy  of  Meister  Eckhart  and  Jacob  Boehme.  It  is 
certain  that  Mr.  Browning  was  a  student  of  the  latter  "theo- 
sophist "  par  excellence.  In  his  poem  Transcendentalism  he 
refers  to  the  philosopher  by  name,  and  there  are  evidences  that 
the  poet's  mind  was  deeply  tinctured  with  his  ideas.  The 
influence  of  Paracelsus  on  Boehme's  mind  is  conspicuous  in  his 
works,  and  the  sympathy  with  that  great  medical  reformer  which 
the  poem  of  Paracelsus  betrays  on  every  page  was  no  doubt  largely 
due  to  Boehme's  teaching.  The  curious  blending  of  theosophy  and 


AbtJ  BROWNING   CYCLOP/EDIA.  5 

science  which  is  found  in  the  poem  of  Paracelsus  is  not  a  less 
faithful  picture  of  Mr.  Browning's  philosophical  system  than  of  that 
of  his  hero.  Professor  Andrew  Seth,  in  the  article  on  theosophy 
in  the  Encyclopedia  Brilannica,  thus  expounds  Boehme's 
speculation  on  evil :  it  turns  "  upon  the  necessity  of  reconciling 
the  existence  and  the  might  of  evil  with  the  existence  of  an 
all-embracing  and  all-powerful  God.  .  .  .  He  faces  the  difficulty 
boldly — he  insists  on  the  necessity  of  the  Nay  to  the  Yea,  of 
the  negative  to  the  positive."  Eckhart  seems  to  have  largely 
influenced  Boehme.  We  have  in  this  poem  what  has  been 
aptly  called  "  the  richest,  deepest,  fullest  poem  on  music  in  the 
language."  (Symons.)  Mr.  Browning  was  a  thorough  musician 
himself,  and  no  poet  ever  wrote  what  the  musician  felt  till  he 
penned  the  wonderful  music-poems  Abt  Vogler,  Master  Hugues 
of  Saxe  Gotha  and  A  Toccata  of  Galuppis.  The  comparison 
between  music  and  architecture  is  as  old  as  it  is  beautiful 
Amphion  built  the  walls  of  Thebes  to  the  sound  of  his  lyre 
— fitting  the  stones  together  by  the  power  of  his  music,  and 
"  Ilion's  towers,"  they  say,  "rose  with  life  to  Apollo's  song." 
The  "  Keeley  Motor "  was  an  attempt  in  this  direction. 
Coleridge,  too,  in  Kubla  Khan,  with  "  music  loud  and  long 
would  build  that  dome  in  air."  In  the  May  1891  numbei 
of  the  Century  Magazine  there  is  a  very  curious  and  a  verj 
interesting  account  by  Mrs.  Watts  Hughes  of  certain  "Voice- 
figures  "  which  have  lately  excited  so  much  interest  in  scientific 
and  musical  circles.  "  By  a  simple  method  figures  of  sounds 
are  produced  which  remain  permanent  On  a  thin  indiarubber 
membrane,  stretched  across  the  bottom  of  a  tube  of  sufficient 
diameter  for  the  purpose,  is  poured  a  small  quantity  of  water 
or  some  denser  liquid,  such  as  glycerine  ;  and  into  this  liquid  are 
sprinkled  a  few  grains  of  some  ordinary  solid  pigment.  A  note 
of  music  is  then  sung  down  the  tube  by  Mrs.  Watts  Hughes, 
and  immediately  the  atoms  of  suspended  pigment  arrange  them- 
selves in  a  definite  form,  many  of  the  forms  bearing  a  curious 
resemblance  to  some  of  the  most  beautiful  objects  in  Nature — 
flowers,  shells,  or  trees.  After  the  note  has  ceased  to  sound 
the  forms  remain,  and  the  pictorial  representations  given  in  the 
Century  show  how  wonderfully  accurate  is  the  lovely  mimicry 
of  the  image-making  music."  (Spectator,  May  i6th,  1891.)  The 
thought  of  some  soul  of  permanence  behind  the  transience  of 


6  BROWNING   CYCLOPAEDIA.  [Abt 

music,  provided  the  motive  of  Adelaide  Procter's  Lost  Chord. 
In  the  Idylls  of  the  King  Lord  Tennyson  says — 

"The  city  is  built 

To  music,  theiefore  never  built  at  all, 
And  therefore  built  for  ever." 

Cardinal  Newman,  too,  as  the  writer  in  the  Spectator  points  out, 
expresses  the  same  thought  in  his  Oxford  sermon,  "  The  Theory 
of  Development  in  Christian  Doctrine."  The  preacher  said  : 
"  Take  another  example  of  an  outward  and  earthly  form  of 
economy,  under  which  great  wonders  unknown  seem  to  be 
typified — I  mean  musical  sounds,  as  they  are  exhibited  most 
perfectly  in  instrumental  harmony.  There  are  seven  notes  in  the 
scale  :  make  them  fourteen ;  yet  what  a  slender  outfit  for  so  vast 
an  enterprise!  What  science  brings  so  much  out  of  so  little? 
Out  of  what  poor  elements  does  some  great  master  create  his 
new  world !  Shall  we  say  that  all  this  exuberant  inventiveness 
is  a  mere  ingenuity  or  trick  of  art,  like  some  fashion  of  the  day, 
without  reality,  without  meaning  ?  ...  Is  it  possible  that  inex- 
haustible evolution  and  disposition  of  notes,  so  rich  yet  so  simple, 
so  intricate  yet  so  regulated,  so  various  yet  so  majestic,  should 
be  a  mere  sound  which  is  gone  and  perishes  ?  Can  it  be  that 
those  mysterious  stirrings  of  heart,  and  keen  emotions,  and 
strange  yearnings  after  we  know  not  what,  and  awful  impressions 
from  we  know  not  whence,  should  be  wrought  in  us  by  what 
is  unsubstantial,  and  comes  and  goes,  and  begins  and  ends  in. 
itself?  It  is  not  so!  It  cannot  be." 

NOTES. — STANZA  I.  "Solomon  willed"  Jewish  legend  gave 
Solomon  sovereignty  over  the  demons  and  a  lordship  over  the 
powers  of  Nature.  In  the  Moslem  East  these  fables  have 
found  a  resting-place  in  much  of  its  literature,  from  the  Koran 
onwards.  Solomon  was  thought  to  have  owed  his  power 
over  the  spiritual  world  to  the  possession  of  a  seal  on  which 
the  "most  great  name  of  God  was  engraved"  (see  Lane, 
Arabian  Nights,  Introd.,  note  21,  and  chap,  i.,  note  15).  ID 
Eastern  philosophy,  the  "Upadana"  or  the  intense  desire  pro- 
duces WILL,  and  it  is  the  will  which  develops  force,  and  the  latter 
generates  matter,  or  an  object  having  form  "  (see  Isis  Unveiled^ 
Blavatsky,  vol.  ii.,  p.  320).  "  Pile  him  a  palace"  Goethe 
callt-d  architecture  "  petrified  music."  "  The  ineffable  Name  "  : 
the  unspeakable  name  of  God.  Jehovah  is  the  European 


Abt]  BROWNING   CYCLOPAEDIA.  7 

transcription  of  the  sacred  tetragrammaton  mn\  The  later 
Jews  substituted  the  word  Adonai  in  reading  the  ineffable  Name 
in  their  law  and  prayers.  Mysterious  names  of  the  Deity  are 
common  in  other  religions  than  the  Jewish.  In  the  Egyptian 
Funeral  Ritual,  and  in  a  hymn  of  the  Soul,  the  Word  and  the 
Name  are  referred  to  in  connection  with  hidden  secrets.  The 
Jewish  enemies  of  Christ  said  that  the  miracles  were  wrought  by 
the  power  of  the  ineffable  Name,  which  had  been  stolen  from 
the  Sanctuary.  (See/yw  Unveiled,  vol.  ii.,  p.  387.) — STANZA  III. 
Rampired:  an  old  form  of  ramparted.  "  The  Illumination  of 
Romes  Dome"  One  of  the  great  sights  of  Rome  used  to  be  the 
illumination  of  the  dome  of  St.  Peter's  on  great  festivals,  such 
as  that  of  Easter.  Since  the  occupation  of  Rome  by  the  Italian 
Government  such  spectacles,  if  not  wholly  discontinued,  have  been 
shorn  of  most  of  their  splendour. — STANZA  IV.  "  No  more  near 
nor  far"  Hegel  says  that  "  Music  frees  us  from  the  phenomena 
of  time  and  space,"  and  shows  that  they  are  not  essentials,  but 
accidents  of  our  condition  here. — STANZA  V.  "Protoplast."  The 
thing  first  formed,  as  a  copy  to  be  imitated. — STANZA  VII.  "  That 
out  of  three  sounds  he  frame,  not  a  fourth  sound,  but  a  star. ' 
"  A  star  is  perfect  and  beautiful,  and  rays  of  light  come  from  it." 
STANZA  XII.  "  Common  chord"  A  chord  consisting  of  the  funda- 
mental tone  with  its  third  and  fifth.  "  Blunt  it  into  a  ninth." 
A  ninth  is  (a)  An  interval  containing  an  octave  and  a  second ; 
(&)  a  chord  consisting  of  the  common  chord,  with  the  eighth 
advanced  one  note.  "  C  Major  of  this  life."  Miss  Helt-u 
Ormerod,  in  a  paper  read  to  the  Browning  Society  of  London, 
November  3oth,  1888,  has  explained  these  musical  terms  and 
expressions.  "  C  Major  is  what  may  be  called  the  natural  scale, 
having  no  sharps  or  flats  in  its  signature.  A  Minor,  with  A  (a 
third  below  C)  for  its  keynote,  has  the  same  signature,  but 
sharps  are  introduced  for  the  formation  of  correct  intervals. 
Pauer  says  that  minor  keys  are  chosen  for  expressing  '  intense 
seriousness,  soft  melancholy,  longing,  sadness,  and  passionate 
grief;  whilst  major  keys  with  sharps  and  flats  in  their  signatures 
are  said  to  have  distinctive  qualities ; — perhaps  Browning  chose 
C  major  for  the  key,  as  the  one  most  allied  to  matters  of  every- 
day life,  including  rest  and  sleep.  The  common  chord,  as  it  is 
called,  the  keynote  with  its  third  and  fifth,  contains  the  rudiments 
of  all  music  " 


8  BROWNING   CYCLOPEDIA.  [Ada 

Adam,  Lilith,  and  Eve  (Jocoseria,  1883).  The  Talmudists, 
in  their  fanciful  commentaries  on  the  Old  Testament,  say  that 
Adam  had  a  wife  before  he  married  Eve,  who  was  called  Lilith ; 
she  was  the  mother  of  demons,  and  flew  away  from  Adam,  and 
the  Lord  then  created  Eve  from  one  of  his  ribs.  Lilith  had  been 
formed  of  clay,  and  was  sensual  and  disobedient ;  the  more 
spiritual  Eve  became  his  saviour  from  the  snares  of  his  first 
wife.  Mr.  Browning  in  this  poem  merely  uses  the  names, 
and  makes  no  reference  to  the  Talmudic  or  Gnostic  legends 
connected  with  them.  Under  the  terror  inspired  by  a  thunder- 
storm, two  women  begin  a  confession  of  which  they  make 
light  when  the  danger  has  passed  away.  The  man  says  he  saw 
through  the  joke,  and  the  episode  was  over.  It  is  a  powerful 
and  suggestive  story  of  falsehood,  fear,  and  a  forgiveness  too 
readily  accorded  by  a  man  who  makes  a  joke  of  guilt  when  he 
has  lost  nothing  by  it. 

Adelaide,  The  Tuscan  (Sordello),  was  the  second  wife  of 
Eccelino  da  Romano,  of  the  party  of  the  Ghibellines. 

Admetns  (Balaustion's  Adventure).  King  of  Pherae,  in 
Thessaly.  Apollo  tended  his  flocks  for  one  year,  and  obtained 
the  favour  that  Admetus  should  never  die  if  another  person 
could  be  found  to  lay  down  his  life  for  him :  his  wife,  Alcestis, 
in  consequence  cheerfully  devoted  herself  to  death  for  him. 

TEschylus.  The  Greek  tragic  poet  who  wrote  the  Agamemnon 
translated  by  Mr.  Browning.  ^Eschylus  was  born  in  the  year 
525  before  Christ,  at  Eleusis,  a  town  of  Attica  opposite  the 
island  of  Salamis.  When  thirty-five  years  old  ^Eschylus  not 
only  fought  at  Marathon,  but  distinguished  himself  for  his 
valour.  He  was  fifty-three  years  old  when  he  gained  the  prize 
at  Athens,  B.C.  472,  for  his  trilogy  or  set  of  three  connected 
plays.  He  wrote  some  seventy  pieces,  but  only  seven  have  come 
down  to  our  times:  they  are  Prometheus  Chained,  The  Suppliants, 
The  Seven  Chiefs  against  Thebes,  Agamemnon,  The  Choe'phorce, 
The  Furies,  and  The  Persians.  The  Agamemnon,  which  Mr. 
Browning  has  translated,  is  one  of  the  plays  of  the  Oresteia,  the 
Choephora  and  the  Eumenides  or  Furies  completing  the  trilogy. 
The  poet  died  at  Gela,  in  Sicily,  B.C.  456.  ^Eschylus  both  in  order 
of  time  and  power  was  the  first  of  the  three  great  tragic  poets 
of  ancient  Greece.  Euripides  and  Sophocles  were  the  other  two. 

After.    See  BEFORE  and  AFTER. 


BROWNING   CYCLOPEDIA.  9 

Agamemnon  of  JEschylns,  The.  A  translation  published  in 
London,  1 877.  The  scene  of  the  play  is  laid  by  ^Eschylus  at  Argos, 
before  the  palace  of  Agamemnon,  Mycenae,  however,  really  being 
liis  seat.  Agamemnon  was  a  son  of  Atreus  according  to  Homer, 
and  was  the  brother  of  Menelaus.  In  a  later  account  he  is 
•described  as  the  son  of  Pleisthenes,  who  was  the  son  of  Atreus. 
He  was  king  over  Argolis,  Corinth,  Achaia,  and  many  islands. 
He  married  Clytemnestra,  daughter  of  Tyndarus,  king  of  Sparta, 
by  whom  he  had  three  daughters  Chrysothemis,  Iphigenia  and 
Electra,  and  one  son  Orestes.  When  Helen  was  carried  off  by 
Paris,  Agamemnon  was  chosen  to  be  commander-in-chief  of 
the  expedition  sent  against  Troy  by  the  Greeks,  as  he  was 
the  mightiest  prince  in  Greece.  He  contributed  one  hundred 
ships  manned  with  warriors,  besides  lending  sixty  more  to  the 
Arcadians.  The  fleet  being  detained  at  Aulis  by  a  storm,  it 
•was  declared  that  Agamemnon  had  offended  Diana  by  slaying 
a  deer  sacred  to  her,  and  by  boasting  that  he  was  a  better 
hunter  than  the  goddess ;  and  he  was  compelled  to  sacrifice 
his  daughter  Iphigenia  to  appease  her  anger.  Diana  is  said  by 
some  to  have  accepted  a  stag  in  her  place.  Homer  describes 
Agamemnon  as  one  of  the  bravest  warriors  before  Troy,  but 
having  received  Chryseis,  the  daughter  of  Chryses,  priest  of 
Apollo,  as  a  prize  of  war,  he  arrogantly  refused  to  allow  her 
father  to  ransom  her.  This  brought  a  plague  on  the  Grecian 
host,  and  their  ruin  was  almost  completed  by  his  carrying  off 
Briseis,  who  was  the  prize  of  Achilles — who  refused  in  conse- 
quence to  fight,  remaining  sulking  in  his  tent.  After  the  fall  of 
Troy  the  beautiful  princess  Cassandra  fell  to  Agamemnon  as  his 
•share  of  the  spoils.  She  was  endowed  with  the  gift  of  prophecy, 
and  warned  him  not  to  return  home.  The  warning,  however,  was 
•disregarded,  although  he  was  assured  that  his  wife  would  put 
•him  to  death.  During  the  absence  of  Agamemnon  Clytemnestra 
had  formed  an  adulterous  connection  with  uEgisthus,  the  son  of 
Thyestes  and  Pelopia;  and  when  he  returned,  the  watchman 
'having  announced  his  approach  to  his  palace,  Clytemnestra 
killed  Cassandra,  and  her  lover  murdered  Agamemnon  and  his 
•comrades.  The  tragic  poets,  however,  make  Clytemnestra  throw 
a  net  over  her  husband  while  he  was  in  his  bath,  and  kill  him 
with  the  assistance  of  ^Egisthus,  in  revenge  for  the  sacrifice  of 
faer  daughter  Iphigenia.  In  the  introduction  to  the  translation 


10  BROWNING   CYCLOPEDIA. 

of  the  Agamemnon  in  Morley's  Universal  Library  we  have 
an  excellent  description  of  the  great  play.  "  In  this  tragedy  the 
reader  will  find  the  strongest  traces  of  the  genius  of  ^Eschylus,. 
and  the  most  distinguishing  proofs  of  his  skill.  Great  in  his^ 
conceptions,  bold  and  daring  in  his  metaphors,  strong  in  his- 
passion,  he  here  touches  the  heart  with  uncommon  emotions. 
The  odes  are  particularly  sublime,  and  the  oracular  spirit  that 
breathes  through  them  adds  a  wonderful  elevation  and  dignity 
to  them.  Short  as  the  part  of  Agamemnon  is,  the  poet  has  the 
address  to  throw  such  an  amiable  dignity  around  him  that  we 
soon  become  interested  in  his  favour,  and  are  predisposed  to 
lament  his  fate.  The  character  of  Clytemnestra  is  finely  marked 
— a  high-spirited,  artful,  close,  determined,  dangerous  woman. 
But  the  poet  has  nowhere  exerted  such  efforts  of  his  genius  as- 
in  the  scene  where  Cassandra  appears:  as  a  prophetess,  she 
gives  every  mark  of  the  divine  inspiration,  from  the  dark  and' 
distant  hint,  through  all  the  noble  imagery  of  the  prophetic 
enthusiasm  ;  till,  as  the  catastrophe  advances,  she  more  and 
more  plainly  declares  it ;  as  a  suffering  princess,  her  grief  is* 
plaintive,  lively,  and  piercing ;  yet  she  goes  to  meet  her  death, 
which  she  clearly  foretells,  with  a  firmness  worthy  the  daughter 
of  Priam  and  the  sister  of  Hector ;  nothing  can  be  more  animated 
or  more  interesting  than  this  scene.  The  conduct  of  the  poet 
through  this  play  is  exquisitely  judicious  :  every  scene  gives  us- 
some  obscure  hint  or  ominous  presage,  enough  to  keep  our 
attention  always  raised,  and  to  prepare  us  for  the  event ;  even- 
the  studied  caution  of  Clytemnestra  is  finely  managed  to  pro- 
duce that  effect ;  whilst  the  secrecy  with  which  she  conducts- 
her  design  keeps  us  in  suspense,  and  prevents  a  discovery 
till  we  hear  the  dying  groans  of  her  murdered  husband."  As- 
Mr.  Browning  announces  in  his  preface  to  his  translation  of 
the  tragedy,  he  has  aimed  at  being  literal  at  every  cost,  and  has 
everywhere  reproduced  the  peculiarities  of  the  original.  He 
has  also  made  an  attempt  to  reproduce  the  Greek  spelling  in. 
English,  which  has  made  the  poem  more  difficult  than  some 
other  translations  to  the  non-classical  reader.  We  have  ample 
recompense  for  this  peculiarity  by  the  way  in  which  he  has- 
imbJbed  the  spirit  of  his  author,  and  so  faithfully  reproduced,, 
not  alone  his  phraseology,  but  his  mind.  It  required  a  rugged 
poet  to  interpret  for  us  correctly  the  ruggedness  of  an  ^Eschylus. 


BROWNING   CYCLOPEDIA.  11- 

Line  for  line  and  word  for  word  we  have  the  tragedy  in  English 
as  the  Greeks  had  it  in  their  own  tongue.  If  there  are  obscu- 
rities, we  must  not  in  the  present  instance  blame  Mr.  Browning  : 
a  reference  to  the  original,  so  authorities  tell  us,  will  prove  that 
Greek  poets  were  at  times  obscure.  The  Agamemnon  is  part  of" 
the  Oresteian  Trilogy  or  group  of  three  plays  ;  this  trilogy  of 
^Eschylus  is  our  only  example  extant,  and  it  is  necessary  to  say 
something  of  the  other  parts.  Atreus,  the  son  of  Pelops,  was 
king  of  Mycenae.  By  his  wife  ^Erope  were  born  to  him  Pleisthenesr. 
Menelaus,  and  Agamemnon.  Thyestes,  the  brother  of  Atreus, 
had  followed  him  to  Argos,  and  there  seduced  his  wife,  by  whom 
he  had  two,  or  according  to  some,  three  children.  Thyestes  was 
banished  from  court  on  account  of  this,  but  was  soon  afterwards 
recalled  by  his  brother  that  he  might  be  revenged  upon  him.  He- 
prepared  a  banquet  where  Thyestes  was  served  with  the  flesh 
of  the  children  who  were  the  offspring  of  his  incestuous  con- 
nection with  his  sister-in-law  the  queen.  When  the  feast  was- 
concluded,  the  heads  of  the  murdered  children  were  produced, 
that  Thyestes  might  see  of  what  he  had  been  partaking.  It  was 
fabled  that  the  sun  in  horror  shrank  back  in  his  course  at  the 
horrible  sight.  Thyestes  fled.  The  crime  brought  the  most 
terrible  evils  upon  the  family  of  which  Agamemnon  was  a- 
member.  When  this  hero  was  murdered  by  his  wife  and  her 
paramour,  young  Orestes  was  saved  from  his  mother's  dagger 
by  his  sister  Electra.  When  he  reached  the  years  of  manhood,, 
he  visited  his  ancestral  home,  and  assassinated  both  his  mother 
and  her  lover  ^Egisthus.  In  consequence  of  this  he  was  tormented 
by  the  Furies,  and  he  exiled  himself  to  Athens,  where  Apollo 
purified  him.  The  murder  of  Clytemnestra  by  her  son  is  de- 
scribed in  the  second  play  of  the  Trilogy,  called  the  Choephorce  or 
the  Libation  Pourers.  The  Furies  is  the  title  of  the  third  and  con- 
cluding play  of  the  Trilogy.  (For  an  account  of  ^Eschylus  see  p.  8.). 
NOTES. — [N.B.  The  references  here  are  to  the  pages  of  the 
poem  in  the  last  edition  of  the  complete  works  in  sixteen 
vols.] — P.  269,  Atreidai,  a  patronymic  given  by  Homer  to 
Agamemnon  and  Menelaus,  as  being  the  sons  of  Atreus ;  Trota, 
the  capital  of  Troas  =  Troy,  p,  270,  Ilion.  a  citadel  of  Troy;. 
Menelaos,  a  king  of  Sparta,  brother  of  Agamemnon.  p.  27  ir 
Argives,  the  inhabitants  of  Argos  and  surrounding  country  ; 
Alexandras,  the  name  of  Paris  in  the  Iliad :  Atreus,  son  of» 


13  BROWNING   CYCLOPAEDIA. 

Pelops,  was  king  of  Mycenae ;  Danaoi,  a  name  given  to  the 
people  of  Argos  and  to  all  the  Greeks ;  Trees  =  Trojans,  p.  272, 
Tundareus,  king  of  Lacedaemon,  who  married  Leda;  Klutaim- 
-nestra  =  Clytemnestra,  daughter  of  Tyndarus  by  Leda.  p.  273, 
Teukris  land,  the  land  of  the  Trojans  —  from  Teucer,  their 
.king;  " Achaians'  two-throned  empery":  the  brother  kings  Aga- 
memnon and  Menelaos.  p.  274,  Linos,  the  personification  of  a 
•dirge  or  lamentation ;  Priamos,  the  last  king  of  Troy,  made 
-prisoner  by  Hercules  when  he  took  the  city.  p.  275,  lews 
Paian,  an  epithet  of  Apollo ;  Kalchas,  a  soothsayer  who  accom- 
panied the  Greeks  to  Troy.  p.  277,  Kalchis,  the  chief  city 
of  Eubcea,  founded  by  an  Athenian  colony;  Aulis,  a  town  of 
Boeotia,  near  Kalchis ;  Strumon,  a  river  which  separates  Thrace 
from  Macedonia,  p.  282,  Hephaistos,  the  god  of  fire,  according 
•to  Homer  the  son  of  Zeus  and  Hera.  The  Romans  called 
•the  Greek  Hephaistos  Vulcan,  though  Vulcan  was  an  Italian 
•deity.  The  news  of  the  fall  of  Troy  was  brought  to  Mycenae 
by  means  of  beacon  fires,  so  fire  was  the  messenger.  Ide  = 
Mount  Ida ;  of  Lemnos  an  island  in  the  ^Egean  Sea.  p.  283, 
Athoan,  of  Mount  Athos  ;  Makistos  =  Macistos,  a  city  of 
Tryphylia;  Euripos,  a  narrow  strait  separating  Eubcea  from 
iBceotia;  Messapios,  a  name  of  Bceotia ;  Asopos,  a  river  of 
"Thessaly;  Mount  Kitharion,  sacred  to  the  Muses  and  Jupiter. 
Hercules  killed  the  great  lion  there :  Mount  Aigiplanktos  was 
in  Megaris  ;  Strait  Saronic  :  Saronicus  Sinus  was  a  bay  of 
the  jEgean  Sea;  Mount  Arachnaios,  in  Argolis.  p.  286,  Ate, 
«the  goddess  of  revenge;  Ares,  the  Greek  name  of  the  war-god 
.Mars.  p.  288V  Aphrodite,  a  name  of  Venus.  p.  290,  Erinues 
=  the  Furies,  p.  292,  Puthian  =  Delphic;  Skamandros,  a  river 
•of  Troas.  p.  293,  Priamidai,  the  patronymic  of  the  descen- 
dants of  Priam.  p.  300,  Threkian  breezes  —  Thracian  breezes; 
.Aigaian  Sea,  the  ^Egean  Sea ;  Achaian,  pertaining  to  Achaia, 
in  Greece.  p.  301,  Meneleos,  son  of,  Atreus,  brother  to  Aga- 
•memnon  and  husband  of  Helen ;  water-Haides,  the  engulfing 
sea.  p.  302,  Zephuros,  the  west  wind ;  Simois,  a  river  in  Troas 
which  rises  in  Mount  Ida  and  falls  into  the  Xanthus.  p.  304, 
Erinus,  an  avenging  deity,  p.  307,  the  Argeian  monster  —  the 
•company  of  Argives  concealed  in  the  wooden  horse;  Pleiads,  a 
.name  given  to  seven  of  the  daughters  of  Atlas  by  Pleione,  one 


Agr]  BROWNING   CYCLOPEDIA.  15; 

of  the  Oceanides.  They  became  a  constellation  in  the  heavens 
after  death,  p.  309,  "  triple-bodied  Geruon  the  Second"  Geryon, 
king  of  the  Balearic  Isles,  fabled  to  have  three  bodies  and! 
three  heads :  Hercules  slew  him ;  Strophios  the  Phokian,  at  whose 
house  Orestes  was  brought  up  with  Pylades  son  of  Strophios.. 
p.  316,  Kassandra,  daughter  of  Priam,  slain  by  Clytemnestra.. 
p.  317,  "  Alkmene's  child" — Hercules  was  the  son  of  Alkmene.. 
p.  319,  Ototoi  —  alas!  Loxias,  a  surname  of  Apollo.  p.  322,. 
papai,  papal  =  O  strange  I  wonderful !  p.  324,  Itus,  or  Itys,  son- 
of  Tereus,  killed  by  his  mother,  p.  325,  "  Orthian  style,"  in  a 
shrill  tone.  p.  332,  Lukeion  Apollon — Lyceus  was  a  surname  of 
Apollo.  p.  335,  Surian  =  Syrian.  p.  343,  Chruseids,  the- 
patronymic  of  the  descendants  of  Astynome,  the  daughter  oi 
Chryses.  p.  348,  Iphigeneia,  daughter  of  Agamemnon  and 
Clytemnestra ;  her  father  offered  to  sacrifice  her  to  appease  the 
wrath  of  Diana,  p.  350,  The  Daimon  of  the  Pleisthenidai,  the 
genius  of  Agamemnon's  family,  p.  351,  Thuestes,  son  of  Pelops, 
brother  of  Atreus  ;  Pelopidai,  descendants  of  Pelops,  son  of- 
Tantalus. 

Agricola,  Johannes,  (Johannes  Agricola  in  Meditation^)  was- 
one  of  the  foremost  of  the  German  Reformers.  He  was  born  at 
Eisleben,  April  2Oth,  1492.  He  met  Luther  whilst  a  student 
at  Wittenberg,  and  became  attached  to  him,  accompanying  him 
to  the  Leipsic  Assembly  of  Divines,  where  he  acted  as  recording; 
secretary.  He  established  the  reformed  religion  at  Frankfort. 
In  1 536  he  was  called  to  fill  a  professorial  chair  at  Wittenberg.. 
Here  he  first  taught  the  views  which  Luther  termed  Antinomian. 
He  held  that  Christians  were  entirely  free  from  the  Divine  law,, 
being  under  the  Gospel  alone.  He  denied  that  Christians  were 
under  any  obligations  to  keep  the  ten  commandments.  Mr.  Brown- 
ing has  quite  accurately,  though  unsparingly,  exposed  his  impious- 
teal  hing  in  his  poem  Johannes  Agricola  in  Meditation  (g.v). 

Agrippa,  Henry  Cornelius,  the  mediaeval  doctor  and 
magician,  was  born  at  Cologne  in  1486,  and  was  educated  at  the 
university  of  that  city.  He  was  denounced  in  1 509  by  the  monks, 
who  called  him  an  "impious  cabalist";  in  1531  he  published  his. 
treatise  De  Occulta  Philosophia,  written  by  the  advice  and  with 
the  assistance  of  the  Abbot  Trithemius  of  Wurzburg,  the  pre- 
ceptor of  Paracelsus.  In  1 5 10  he  came  to  London  on  a  diplomatic: 


'1 4  BROWNING   CYCLOPAEDIA.  [AM 

•mission,  and  was  the  guest  of  Dean  Colet  at  Stepney.  He 
.afterwards  fought  at  the  battle  of  Ravenna.  In  1511  he  attended 
*he  schismatic  council  of  Pisa  as  a  theologian.  In  1515  he 
.lectured  at  the  university  of  Pavia.  We  afterwards  find  him  at 
Metz,  Geneva,  and  Freiburg,  where  he  practised  as  a  physician. 
In  1529  he  was  appointed  historiographer  to  Charles  V.  He 
died  at  Grenoble  in  1535.  A  man  of  such  vast  and  varied  learning 
could  hardly  in  those  days  have  avoided  being  accused  of 
diabolical  practices  and  heretical  opinions ;  the  only  wonder 
,is  that  he  was  not  burned  alive  for  his  scientific  attainments, 
which  were  looked  upon  as  dangerous  in  the  highest  degree. 
•(Pauline  in  the  Latin  prefatory  note.) 

"  A  King  lived  long  ago."  Song  in  Pippa  Passes,  which  is 
sung  by  the  girl  as  she  passes  the  house  of  Luigi.  Mr.  Browning 
first  published  the  song  in  the  Monthly  Repository,  in  1835 
-{vol.  ix.,  N.S.,  pp.  707-8),  it  was  reprinted  with  added  lines, 
-and  was  revised  throughout,  in  Pippa  Passes  1841. 

ATberic  (Sordello).  Son  of  Eccelino  the  monk,  described  in 
'the  poem  as  "  many-muscled,  big-boned  Alberic." 

Alcestis  (Balaustiori s  Adventure),  the  daughter  of  Pelias, 
was  the  wife  of  Admetus,  son  of  Pheres,  who  was  king  of  Pherae 
.in  Thessaly.  Apollo,  when — for  an  offence  against  Jupiter — he 
was  banished  from  heaven,  had  been  kindly  received  by  Pheres, 
.and  had  obtained  from  the  Fates  a  promise  that  his  benefactor 
should  never  die  if  he  could  find  another  person  willing  to  lay 
•down  his  life  for  him.  The  story  how  this  promise  was  obtained 
is  set  forth  with  great  dramatic  force  in  Mr.  Browning's  Apollo 
•and  the  Fates  (g.v.).  Alcestis  volunteered  to  die  in  the  place  of 
her  husband  when  he  lay  sick  unto  death.  Her  sacrifice  was 
.accepted,  and  she  died.  But  Hercules,  who  had  been  hospitably 
entertained  by  Pheres,  hearing  of  the  tragic  circumstance,  brought 
Alcestis  from  Hades  out  of  gratitude  to  his  host,  and  presented 
her  to  her  grief-stricken  husband.  Euripides  has  used  these 
•circumstances  as  the  basis  of  his  tragedy  of  Alcestis. 

"  All  Service  ranks  the  same  with  God."  A  song  in  Pippa 
Passes. 

Amphibian.  The  Prologue  to  Fifine  at  the  Fair  is  headed 
"  Amphibian,"  under  which  title  it  is  included  in  the  Selections. 

Anael.  A  Druse  girl  who  loves  Djabal  and  believes  him  to  be 
divine  (The  Return  of  the  Druses). 


And]  BROWNING    CYCLOPEDIA.  15 

Andrea  del  Sarto  [the  MAN],  Men  and  Women,  1855,  called 
•"the  faultless  painter,"  also  Andrea  senza  Error!  (Andrew  the 
Unerring)  was  a  great  painter  of  the  Florentine  School.  His 
father  was  a  tailor  (sarto),  so  the  Italians,  with  their  passion 
for  nicknames,  dubbed  him  "  The  Tailor's  Andrew."  He  was 
born  in  Gualfonda,  Florence,  in  1487.  It  is  not  certain  what 
was  his  real  name  :  Vannuchi  has  been  constantly  given,  but 
without  authority.  He  was  at  first  put  to  work  with  a  goldsmith, 
but  he  disliked  the  business,  and  preferred  drawing  his  master's 
models.  He  was  next  placed  with  a  wood-carver  and  painter, 
one  Gian  Barill,  with  whom  he  remained  till  1498.  He  then 
went  to  the  draughtsman  and  colourist,  Piero  di  Cosimo, 
under  whom  he  studied  the  cartoons  of  Leonardo  da  Vinci 
.and  Michelangelo.  We  next  find  him  opening  a  shop  in 
partnership  with  his  friend  Francia  Bigio,  but  the  arrangement 
•did  not  last  long.  The  brotherhood  of  the  Servi  employed 
Andrea  from  1509  to  1514  in  adorning  their  church  of  the 
Annunziata  at  Florence.  Mrs.  Jameson,  in  her  Legends  of 
the  Monastic  Orders,  thus  describes  the  church  and  cloisters 
identified  with  the  work  of  this  painter  at  Florence  :  "  Every 
•one  who  has  been  at  Florence  must  remember  the  Church  of  the 
4  Annunziata';  every  one  who  remembers  that  glorious  church,  who 
'has  lingered  in  the  cloisters  and  the  cortile  where  Andrea  del 
-Sarto  put  forth  all  his  power — where  the  Madonna  del  Sacco  and 
the  Birth  of  the  Virgin  attest  what  he  could  afoand  be  as  a  painter 
— will  feel  interested  in  the  Order  of  the  SERVI.  Among  the 
•extraordinary  outbreaks  of  religious  enthusiasm  in  the  thirteenth 
•century,  this  was  in  its  origin  one  of  the  most  singular.  Seven 
Florentines,  rich,  noble,  and  in  the  prime  of  life,  whom  a  simi- 
larity of  taste  and  feeling  had  drawn  together,  used  to  meet  every 
•day  in  a  chapel  dedicated  to  the  Annunciation  of  the  Bless,  d 
Virgin  (then  outside  the  walls  of  Florence),  there  to  sing  the  Ave 
or  evening  service  in  honour  of  the  Madonna,  for  whom  they 
had  an  especial  love  and  veneration.  They  became  known  and 
•remarked  in  their  neighbourhood  for  those  acts  of  piety,  so 
that  the  women  and  children  used  to  point  at  them  as  they 
.passed  through  the  streets  and  exclaim,  Guardate  i  Servi  di  Maria 
{Behold  the  Setvants  of  the  Virgin  !)  Hence  the  title  afterwards 
assumed  by  the  Order."  These  seven  gentlemen  at  length  forsook 
the  world,  sold  all  their  possessions  and  distributed  their  money 


16  BROWNING   CYCLOPAEDIA.  [And 

to  the  poor,  and  retired  to  a  solitary  spot  in  the  mountains  about  six 
miles  out  of  Florence ;  here  they  built  themselves  huts  of  boughs 
and  stones,  and  devoted  themselves  to  the  service  of  the  Virgin 
It  was  for  the  cloisters  of  the  church  of  the  Servi  at  Florence 
that  Andrea  del  Sarto  painted  the  Riposo.  His  Nativity  of  the 
B.  V.  Mary  is  a  grand  fresco,  the  characters  are  noble  and  dignified,, 
and  "  draped  in  the  magnificent  taste  which  distinguished  Andrea." 
The  following  account  of  the  artist's  life  is  summarised  from  the 
article  on  Del  Sarto  by  Mr.  W.  M.  Rossetti  in  the  Encyc.  Bftt. 
He  was  an  easy-going  plebeian,  to  whom  a  modest  position  irk 
life  and  scanty  gains  were  no  grievances.  As  an  artist  he  must 
have  known  his  own  value ;  but  he  probably  rested  content  in 
the  sense  of  his  -superlative  powers  as  an  executant,  and  did  not 
aspire  to  the  rank  of  a  great  inventor  or  leader,  for  which,  indeed, 
he  had  no  vocation.  He  led  a  social  sort  of  life  among  his  com- 
peers of  the  art.  He  fell  in  love  with  Lucrezia  del  Fede,  wife  of 
a  hatter  named  Carlo  Recanati ;  the  latter  dying  opportunely,  the 
tailor's  son  married  her  on  December  26th,  1512.  She  was  a 
very  handsome  woman,  and  has  come  down  to  us  treated  with 
great  suavity  in  many  a  picture  of  her  lover-husband,  who  con- 
stantly painted  her  as  a  Madonna  or  otherwise ;  and  even  in. 
painting  other  women  he  made  them  resemble  Lucrezia  in» 
general  type.  Vasari,  who  was  at  one  time  a  pupil  of  Andrea, 
describes  her  as  faithless,  jealous,  overbearing,  and  vixenish  with 
the  apprentices.  She  lived  to  a  great  age,  surviving  her  second1 
husband  forty  years.  Before  the  end  of  1516,  a  Pieta  of  his 
composition,  and  afterwards  a  Madonna,  were  sent  to  the  French 
Court.  These  were  received  with  applause ;  and  the  art-loving 
monarch  Francis  I.  suggested  in  1518  that  Andrea  should  come 
to  Paris.  He  left  his  wife  in  Florence  and  went  accordingly,  and 
was  very  cordially  received,  and  moreover  for  the  first  time  in  his- 
life  handsomely  remunerated.  His  wife  urged  him  to  return  to- 
Italy.  The  king  assented,  on  the  understanding  that  his  absence 
was  to  be  short ;  and  he  entrusted  Andrea  with  a  sum  of  money 
to  be  expended  in  purchasing  works  of  art  for  the  king.  Andrea 
could  not  resist  temptation,  and  spent  the  king's  money  and  some 
of  his  own  in  building  a  house  for  himself  in  Florence.  He  fell 
into  disgrace  with  the  king,  but  no  serious  punishment  followed. 
In  1 520  he  resumed  work  in  Florence,  and  painted  many  pictures 
for  the  cloisters  of  Lo  Scalzo.  He  dwelt  in  Florence  throughout 


And]  BROWNING    CYCLOPAEDIA.  17 

the  memorable  siege,  which  was  followed  by  an  infectious  pesti- 
lence. He  caught  the  malady,  struggled  against  it  with  little  or  no 
tending  from  his  wife,  who  held  aloof,  and  died,  no  one  knowing 
much  about  it  at  the  moment,  on  January  22nd,  1531,  at  the 
early  age  of  forty-three.  He  was  buried  unceremoniously  in  the 
church  of  the  Servi.  Mr.  Rossetti  gives  the  following  criticisms 
on  his  work  as  an  artist.  "  Andrea  had  true  pictorial  style,  a  very 
high  standard  of  correctness,  and  an  enviable  balance  of  executive 
endowments.  The  point  of  technique  in  which  he  excelled 
least  was  perhaps  that  of  discriminating  the  varying  textures  of 
different  objects  and  surfaces.  \There  is  not  much  elevation  or 
ideality  in  his  works — much  more  of  reality."/  He  lacked  inven- 
tion notwithstanding  his  great  technical  skill.  He  had  no  inward 
impulse  toward  the  high  and  noble ;  he  was  a  man  without  fervour, 
and  had  no  enthusiasm  for  the  true  and  good.  It  is  said  that 
Michelangelo  once  remarked  that  if  he  had  attempted  greater 
things  he  might  have  rivalled  Rafael,  but  Andrea  was  not  a 
man  for  the  mountain-top — the  plains  sufficed  for  him. 

[THE  POEM.]  On  the  bare  historical  facts,  as  recorded  by 
Vasari  in  his  life  of  Andrea  del  Sarto,  Mr.  Browning  has 
framed  this  wonderful  art-poem.  He  has  taken  Vasari's 
"notes"  and  framed  "not  another  sound  but  a  star,"  as  he 
says  in  his  Abt  Vogler.  Given  the  Vasari  life,  he  has  mixed  it 
with  his  thought,  and  has  transfigured  it  so  that  the  sad,  in- 
finitely pathetic  soul,  in  its  stunted  growth  and  wasted  form, 
lives  before  us  in  Mr.  Browning's  lines.  As  Abt  Vogler  is  his 
greatest  music-poem,  so  this  is  his  greatest  art-poem,  and  both 
are  unique.  No  poet  has  ever  given  us  such  utterances  on 
music  and  painting  as  we  possess  in  these  works  :  if  all  the 
poet's  work  were  to  perish  save  these,  they  would  suffice  to  in- 
sure immortality  for  their  author.  It  is  said  that  the  poem  was 
suggested  by  a  picture  in  the  Pitti  Palace  at  Florence.  "  Fault- 
less but  soulless  "  is  the  verdict  of  art  critics  on  Andrea's  works 
Why  is  this  ?  Mr.  Browning's  poem  tells  us  in  no  hesitating 
phrase  that  the  secret  lay  in  the  fact  that  Andrea  was  an  immoral 
man,  an  infatuated  man,  passionately  demanding  love  from  a 
woman  who  had  neither  heart  nor  intellect,  a  wife  for  whom 
he  sacrificed  his  soul  and  the  highest  interests  of  his  art.  He 
knew  and  loved  Lucrezia  while  she  was  another  man's  wife  ;  he 
was  content  that  she  should  also  love  other  men  when  she  was 

2 


l8  BROWNING   CYCLOPEDIA.  [And 

his.  He  robbed  King  Francis,  his  generous  patron,  that  he  might 
give  the  money  to  his  unworthy  spouse.  He  neglected  his 
parents  in  their  poverty  and  old  age.  Is  there  not  in  these 
facts  the  secret  of  his  failure  ?  To  Mr.  Browning  there  is,  and 
his  poem  tells  us  why.  But,  it  will  be  objected,  many  great 
geniuses  have  been  immoral  men.  This  is  so,  but  we  cannot  argue 
the  point  here ;  the  poet's  purpose  is  to  show  how  in  this  particular 
case  the  evil  seed  bore  fruit  after  its  kind.  The  poem  opens 
with  the  artist's  attempts  to  bribe  his  wife  by  money  to  accord 
him  a  little  semblance  of  love :  he  promises  to  paint  that  he  may 
win  gold  for  her.  The  keynote  of  the  poem  is  struck  in  these 
opening  words.  It  is  evening,  and  Andrea  is  weary  with  his 
work,  but  never  weary  of  praising  Lucrezia's  beauty ;  sadly  he 
owns  that  he  is  at  best  only  a  shareholder  in  his  wife's  affections, 
that  even  her  pride  in  him  is  gone,  that  she  neither  understands 
nor  cares  to  understand  his  art.  He  tells  her  that  he  can  do 
easily  and  perfectly  what  at  the  bottom  of  his  heart  he  wishes 
for,  deep  as  that  might  be  ;  he  could  do  what  others  agonise  to 
do  all  their  lives  and  fail  in  doing,  yet  he  knows  for  all  that  there 
burns  a  truer  'light  of  God  in  them  than  in  him.  Their  works 
drop  ground  ward,  though  their  souls  have  glimpses  of  heaven 
that  are  denied  to  him.  He  could  have  beaten  Rafael  had  he 
possessed  Ratael's  soul ;  for  the  Urbinate's  technical  skill,  as  he 
half  hesitatingly  shows,  is  inferior  to  his  own;  and  had  his 
Lucrezia  urged  him,  inspired  him,  to  claim  a  seat  by  the  side  of 
Michelangelo  and  Rafael,  he  might  for  her  sake  have  done  it. 
He  sees  he  is  but  a  half-man  working  in  an  atmosphere  of  silver- 
grey.  He  had  his  chance  at  Fontainebleau  ;  there  he  sometimes 
seemed  to  leave  the  ground,  but  he  had  a  chain  which  dragged 
him  down.  Lucrezia  called  him.  Not  only  for  her  did  he 
forsake  the  higher  art  ambitions,  but  the  common  ground  of 
honesty ;  he  descended  to  cement  his  walls  with  the  gold  of 
King  Francis  which  he  had  stolen,  and  for  her.  From  dishonesty 
to  connivance  at  his  wife's  infidelity  is  an  easy  step ;  and  so, 
while  in  the  act  of  expressing  his  remorse  at  his  ingratitude  to 
the  king,  we  find  him  asking  Lucrezia  quite  naturally,  as  a  matter 
of  ordinary  occurrence — 

"Must  you  go? 

That  cousin  here  again  ?  he  waits  outside  ? 

Must  see  you — you,  and  not  with  me  ?  " 


And]  BROWNING    CYCLOPEDIA.  19 

Here  we  discover  the  secret  of  the  soullessness :  the  fellow  has 
the  tailor  in  his  blood,  even  though  the  artist  is  supreme  at  the 
fingers'  ends.  He  is  but  the  craftsman  after  all.  Think  of  Fra 
Angelico  painting  his  saints  and  angels  on  his  knees,  straining 
his  eyes  to  catch  the  faintest  glimpse  of  the  heavenly  radiance  of 
Our  Lady's  purity  and  holiness,  feeling  that  he  failed,  too  dazzled 
by  the  brightness  of  Divine  light,  to  catch  more  than  its  shadow, 
and  we  shall  know  why  there  is  soul  in  the  great  Dominican 
painter,  and  why  there  is  none  in  the  Sarto.  Lucrezia,  despicable 
as  she  was,  was  not  the  cause  of  her  husband's  failure.  His 
marriage,  his  treatment  of  Francis,  his  allowing  his  parents  to 
starve,  to  die  of  want,  while  he  paid  gaming  debts  for  his  wife's 
lover, — all  these  things  tell  us  what  the  man  was.  No  woman 
ruined  his  soul ;  he  had  no  soul  to  ruin ! 

NOTES. — Fiesole,  a  small  but  famous  episcopal  city  of  Italy,  on 
the  crown  of  a  hill  above  the  Arno,  about  three  miles  to  the  west 
of  Florence.  Morello,  a  mountain  of  the  Apennines.  The  Ur- 
binate  :  Rafael  was  born  at  Urbino.  George  Vasari,  painter  and 
author  of  the  "  Lives  of  the  Most  Excellent  Italian  Painters, 
Sculptors  and  Architects."  Rafael,  Raphael  Sanzio  of  Urbino. 
Agnolo :  Michel  Agnolo  is  the  more  correct  form  of  Michael 
Angelo.  Francis,  King  Francis  I.  of  France,  the  royal  patron 
of  Andrea.  Fontaineblcau,  a  town  of  France  37  miles  S.E.  of 
Paris  ;  its  palace  is  one  of  the  most  sumptuous  in  France.  "  The 
Roman's  is  the  better  when  you  pray"  Catholics,  however,  do 
not  use  the  works  of  the  great  masters  for  devotional  purposes 
nearly  so  much  as  might  be  supposed.  No  "  miraculous " 
picture  is  by  this  class.  Cue-owls;  The  Scops  Owl:  Scops  Giu 
(Scopoli).  Its  cry  is  a  ringing  "ki-ou" — whence  Italian  "  chiu  " 
or  "ciu."  "  Walls  in  the  New  Jerusalem.'1''  Revelation  xxi.  15-17 
Leonard,  Leonardo  da  Vinci. 

Andromeda.  In  Pauline,  Mr.  Browning  has  commemorated 
the  fascination  for  his  youthful  mind  which  was  exercised  by  an 
engraving  of  a  picture  by  Caravaggio  of  Andromeda  and  Perseus. 
This  picture  was  always  before  him  as  a  boy,  and  he  loved  the 
story  of  the  divine  deliverer  and  the  innocent  victim  which  it 
presented.  The  lines  begin 

"  Andromeda  ! 

And  she  is  with  me,— years  roll,  I  shall  change, 

But  change  can  touch  her  not." 


20  BROWNING   CYCLOPAEDIA.  [AnO 

Another  Way  of  Love.  See  One  Way  of  Love,  this  poem 
being  its  sequel. 

Any  Wife  to  Any  Husband.  A  dying  wife  finds  the  bitterest 
thing  in  death  to  be  the  certainty  that  her  husband's  love  for  her, 
which,  would  life  but  last,  she  could  retain,  will  fade  and  wither 
when  she  is  no  longer  present  to  tend  it : 

"  Man's  love  is  of  man's  life  a  thing  apart, 
'Tis  woman's  whole  existence." 

The  great  pure  love  of  a  wife  is  a  reign  of  love.  Woman's  love 
is  more  durable  and  purer  than  man's,  and  few  men  are  entirely 
worthy  of  being  the  objects  of  that  which  they  can  so  imperfectly 
understand.  Mr.  Nettleship,  commenting  on  this  poem,  very 
truly  says,  "  The  real  love  of  the  man  is  never  born  until  the  love 
of  the  woman  supplements  it."  The  wife  of  the  poem  feels  that 
there  would  be  no  difficulty  in  her  case  about  being  faithful  to  the 
memory  of  her  husband ;  but  she  foresees  that  his  love  will  not 
long  survive  the  loss  of  her  personal  presence.  This  will  be  to 
depreciate  the  value  of  his  life  to  him  ;  his  love  will  come  back  to 
her  again  at  last,  back  to  the  heart's  place  kept  for  him,  but  with 
a  stain  upon  it.  The  old  love  will  be  re-coined,  re-issued  from 
the  mint,  and  given  to  others  to  spend,  alas  !  with  some  alloy  as 
well  as  with  a  new  image  and  superscription.  She  foresees  that 
he  will  dissipate  his  soul  in  the  love  of  other  women,  he  will 
excuse  himself  by  the  assurance  that  the  light  loves  will  make 
no  impression  on  the  deep-set  memory  of  the  woman  who  is 
immortally  his  bride  ;  he  will  have  a  Titian's  Venus  to  desecrate 
his  wall  rather  than  leave  it  bare  and  cold, — but  the  flesh-loves 
will  not  impair  the  soul-love. 

Apollo  and  the  Fates.  (See  Prologue  to  Parleying*.) 
Apollo  (the  Sun  God),  having  offended  Jupiter  by  slaying  the 
Cyclopes,  who  forged  his  thunderbolts  by  which  he  had  killed 
^Esculapius  for  bringing  dead  men  to  life,  had  been  banished 
from  heaven.  He  became  servant  to  Admetus,  king  of  Thessaly, 
in  whose  employment  he  remained  nine  years  as  one  of 
his  shepherds.  He  was  treated  with  great  kindness  by  his 
master,  and  they  became  true  lovers  of  each  other.  When 
Apollo,  restored  to  the  favour  of  heaven,  had  left  the  service  of 
Admetus  and  resumed  his  god-like  offices,  he  heard  that  his  old 
master  and  friend  was  sick  unto  death,  and  he  determined  to 


ApOJ  BROWNING    CYCLOPAEDIA.  21 

save  his  life.  Accordingly  he  descended  on  Mount  Parnassus, 
and  penetrated  to  the  abode  of  the  Fates,  in  the  dark  regions 
below  the  roots  of  the  mountains,  and  there  he  found  the  three 
who  preside  over  the  destinies  of  mankind — Clotho  with  her 
distaff,  Lachesis  with  her  spindle,  and  Atropos  with  a  pair  of 
scissors  about  to  cut  the  thread  of  Admetus'  life — and  begins 
to  plead  for  the  life  of  his  friend  Admetus,  whom  Atropos  has 
just  doomed  to  death.  The  Fates  bid  Apollo  go  back  to  earth 
and  wake  it  from  dreams.  Apollo  demands  a  truce  to  their  dole- 
ful amusement,  and  requests  them  to  extend  the  years  of 
Admetus  to  threescore  and  ten.  The  Fates  ask  him  if  he 
thinks  it  would  add  to  his  friend's  joy  to  have  his  life 
lengthened,  seeing  that  life  is  only  illusion  ?  Infancy  is  but 
ignorance  and  mischief,  youth  becomes  foolishness,  and  age 
churlishness.  Apollo  should  ask  for  life  for  one  whom  he  hates, 
not  for  the  friend  he  loves.  The  Sun's  beams  produce  such 
semblance  of  good  as  exists  by  simply  gilding  the  evil.  Apollo 
objects  that  if  it  were  happier  to  die,  men's  greeting  would  not 
be  "  Long  life !  "  but  "  Death  to  you  !  "  Man  loves  his  life,  and 
he  ought  to  know  best.  The  Fates  say  this  is  all  the  glamour 
shed  by  Apollo's  rays.  Apollo  concedes  that  man  desponds 
when  debarred  of  illusion :  "  suppose  he  has  in  himself  some 
compensative  law  ?  "  and  the  God  then  produces  a  bowl  of  wine, 
man's  invention,  of  which  he  invites  them  to  taste.  The  Fates, 
after  some  objection,  drink  and  get  tipsy  and  merry,  Atropos 
even  declaring  she  could  live  at  a  pinch  !  Apollo  delivers  them 
a  lecture ;  he  tells  them  Bacchus  invented  the  wine ;  as  he  was  the 
youngest  of  the  gods,  he  had  to  discover  some  new  gift  whereby 
to  claim  the  homage  of  man.  He  tampered  with  nothing  already 
arranged,  yet  would  introduce  change  without  shock.  As  the 
sunbeams  and  Apollo  had  transformed  the  Fates'  cavern  without 
displacing  a  splinter,  so  has  the  gift  of  Bacchus  turned  the 
adverse  things  of  life  to  a  kindlier  aspect ;  man  accepts  the  good 
with  the  bad,  and  acquiesces  in  his  fate ;  this  is  the  work  of 
Zeus.  He  demands  of  the  Fates  if,  after  all,  Life  be  so  devoid  of 
good  ?  "  Quashed  be  our  quarrel !  "  they  exclaim,  and  they  dance 
till  an  explosion  from  the  earth's*  centre  brings  them  to  their  senses 
once  more,  and  the  pact  is  dissolved.  They  learn  that  the 
powers  &bove  them  are  not  to  be  cajoled  into  interfering  with 
the  laws  of  life  and  the  inevitable  decrees  of  which  the  Fates 


22  BROWNING   CYCLOPAEDIA. 

are  but  the  ministers.  At  last  they  agree  to  lengthen  the  life  of 
Admetus  if  any  mortal  can  be  found  to  forgo  the  fulfilment  of 
his  own  life  on  his  account.  Apollo  protests  that  the  king's 
subjects  will  strive  with  one  another  for  the  glory  of  dying  that 
their  king  may  survive.  First  in  all  Pherae  will  his  father  offer 
himself  as  his  son's  substitute.  "  Bah  !  "  says  Clotho.  "  Then  his 
mother,"  suggests  Apollo  ;  "  or,  spurning  the  exchange,  the  king 
may  choose  to  die."  With  the  jeers  of  the  three  the  scene  closes. 
Mr.  Browning's  lovely  poem  Balaustioris  Adventure  should  be 
read  next  after  this,  as  the  Prologue  to  the  Parleyings  has  little 
or  no  relation  to  the  rest  of  the  volume. 

NOTES. — Parnassus,  a  mountain  of  Greece,  sacred  to  the  Muses 
••nd  Apollo  and  Bacchus.  Dire  ones,  the  Fates,  Clotho,  Lachesis 
and  Atropos.  Admetus,  the  husband  of  Alcestis,  whose  wife 
died  to  save  his  life.  The  Fates,  the  Destinies,  the  goddesses 
supposed  to  preside  over  human  life:  Clotho,  who  spins  the 
thread  of  life ;  Lachesis,  who  determines  the  length  of  the 
thread ;  Atropos,  who  cuts  it  off.  Woe-purfled,  embroidered 
with  \voe.  Weal-prankt,  decked  out  with  prosperity.  Moirai, 
the  Parcae,  the  Fates.  Zeus,  Jupiter,  the  Supreme  Being.  Eld, 
old  age.  Sweet  Trine,  the  Three,  the  Trinity  of  Fates.  Bacchus, 
the  Wine-God.  Semetes  Son :  Semele  was  the  daughter  of 
Cadmus  and  Harmonia  ;  when  Zeus  appeared  to  her  in  his 
Divine  splendour  she  was  consumed  by  the  flames  and  gave 
birth  to  Bacchus,  whom  Zeus  saved  from  the  fire  and  hid  in  his 
thigh.  Bacchus,  when  made  a  god,  raised  her  to  heaven  under 
the  name  of  Thyone.  Sivound,  a  swoon.  Cummers,  gossips, 
female  acquaintances.  Collyrium,  eye-wash.  Pherce,  a  town 
in  Thessaly,  where  King  Pheres  reigned,  who  was  the  father  of 
Admetus. 

Apparent  Failure.  (Dramatis  Persona,  1864.)  Mr.  Ruskin 
has  laboured  hard  to  save  St.  Mark's,  Venice,  from  the  destroy- 
ing hand  of  the  restorer.  Mr.  Browning  wrote  this  poem  to 
save  from  complete  destruction  a  much  less  important,  though 
a  celebrated  building,  the  Paris  Morgue,  the  deadhouse 
wherein  are  exposed  the  bodies  of  persons  found  dead,  that 
they  may  be  claimed  by  their  friends.  The  Doric  little 
Morgue  is  close  to  Notre  Dame,  on  the  banks  of  the  Seine, 
and  is  one  of  the  sights  of  Paris — repulsive  as  it  is — which 
everybody  makes  a  point  of  seeing.  The  poet  entered  the 


Apr]  BROWNING    CYCLOPEDIA.  23 

building  and  saw  behind  the  great  screen  of  glass  three  bodies 
exposed  for  identification  on  the  copper  couch  fronting  him.  They 
were  three  men  who  had  killed  themselves,  and  the  poet  mentally 
questions  them  why  they  abhorred  their  lives  so  much.  You 
41  poor  boy"  wanted  to  be  an  emperor,  forsooth  ;  you  "old  one  " 
were  a  red  socialist,  and  this  next  one  fell  a  prey  to  misdirected 
love.  The  three  deadly  sins  of  Pride,  Covetousness,  and  Lust 
had  each  its  victim.  And  before  them  stands  the  poet  of 
optimism,  not  staggered  in  his  doctrine  even  by  this  sad  sight. 
Not  for  a  moment  does  his  faith  fail  that  "what  God  blessed  once 
can  never  prove  accurst."  His  optimism  in  this  poem  is  at  high- 
water  mark;  where  some  weak-kneed  believers  in  humanity 
would  have  found  a  breaking  link  in  the  chain,  Mr.  Browning 
sees  but  "apparent  failure,"  and  declines  to  believe  the  doom  of 
these  poor  wrecks  of  souls  to  be  final. 

Apparitions.  (Introduction  to  The  Two  Poets  of  Croisic, 
1878.)  This  exquisite  poem  is  a  tribute  to  the  charm  exercised 
by  a  human  face,  from  which  looks  out  God's  own  smile, 
gladdening  a  cold  and  scowling  prospect  as  a  burst  of  May  soon 
dispels  the  lingering  chills  of  winter. 

Appearances.  (Pacchiarotto,  with  other  Poems,  1876.)  Meta- 
physicians would  explain  this  poem  by  an  essay  on  the  asso- 
ciation of  ideas ;  strong  as  imagination  is,  it  can  never  exceed 
experience  which  has  come  to  us  through  sight.  Feelings  are 
associated  with  one  another  according  as  they  have  been 
operant  in  more  or  less  frequent  succession.  Reasoning 
may  associate  ideas,  but  for  force  and  permanence  our  actual 
sight,  and  contact  are  the  wonder-workers  in  this  department  of 
soul-life.  Nothing  can  beautify  the  place  where  we  have  in  the 
past  suffered  some  great  mental  distress  or  wrong ;  so  no  place 
can  ever  be  unbeautiful  where  the  true  lover  wins  his  life's 
prize.  When  the  upholsterer's  art  does  more  for  a  room  than 
the  memory  of  a  first  love,  that  love  is  not  of  the  eternal  sort 
our  poet  sings. 

Aprile.  The  Italian  poet  who  sought  to  love,  as  Paracelsus 
sought  to  know.  He  represents  the  Renaissance  spirit  in  its 
emotional  aspect,  as  Paracelsus  represents  the  spirit  of  the 
Reformation  in  its  passion  for  knowledge.  As  Mr.  Browning 
says,  they  were  the  "two  halves  of  a  dissevered  world."  (Para- 
celsus.) 


24  BROWNING   CYCLOPAEDIA.  [Arc 

Arcades  Ambo.  (Asolando,  1889.)  W  a  man  runs  away  in 
battle  when  the  balls  begin  to  fly,  we  call  him  a  coward.  He 
may  excuse  himself  by  the  argument  that  man  must  at  all  risks 
shun  death.  This  is  the  excuse  made  by  the  vivisector  :  he  is 
often  a  kind  and  amiable  man  in  every  other  relation  of  life  than 
in  that  aspect  of  his  profession  which  demands,  as  he  holds,  the 
torture  of  living  animals  for  the  advancement  of  the  healing  art 
Health  of  the  body  must  be  preserved  at  all  costs ;  the  moral 
health  is  of  little  or  no  consequence  in  comparison  with  that 
of  the  body ;  above  all  we  must  not  die,  death  is  the  one 
thing  to  be  avoided,  hide  therefore  from  the  darts  of  the  King 
of  Terrors  behind  the  whole  creation  of  lower  animals.  Mr. 
Browning  says  this  is  cowardice  exactly  parallel  with  that  of 
the  soldier  who  runs  away  in  battle  ;  the  principle  being  that 
at  all  costs  life  is  the  one  thing  to  be  preserved.  The  Anti- 
Vivisectionist  principles  of  Mr.  Browning  were  very  pronounced. 
He  was  for  many  years  associated  with  Miss  F.  P.  Cobbe  in 
her  efforts  to  suppress  the  practice  of  torturing  animals  for  scien- 
tific purposes,  and  was  a  Vice-President  of  the  Victoria  Street 
Society  for  the  Protection  of  Animals  from  Vivisection  at  the 
time  of  his  death.  See  my  Browning's  Message  to  his  Time 
(chapter  on  "  Browning  and  Vivisection  "). 

Aristophanes,  the  celebrated  comic  poet  of  Athens,  was 
born  probably  about  the  year  448  B.C.  His  first  comedy  was 
brought  out  in  427  B.C.  Plato  in  his  Symposium  gives  Aristo- 
phanes a  position  at  the  side  of  Socrates.  The  festivals  of 
Dionysus  greatly  promoted  the  production  of  tragedies,  comedies 
and  satiric  dramas.  The  greater  Dionysia  were  held  in  the  city 
of  Athens  in  the  month  of  March,  and  were  connected  with  the 
natural  feeling  of  joy  at  the  approach  of  summer.  These 
Bacchanalian  festivals  were  scenes  of  gross  licentiousness,  and 
the  coarseness  which  pervades  much  of  the  work  of  the  great 
Greek  comedian  was  due  to  the  fact  that  the  popular  taste 
demanded  grossness  of  allusion  on  occasions  like  these.  The 
Athenian  dramatist  of  the  old  school  was  entirely  unrestrained. 
He  could  satirise  even  the  Eleusinian  mysteries,  could  deal 
abundantly  in  personalities,  burlesque  the  most  sacred  subjects, 
and  ridicule  the  most  prominent  persons  in  the  republic.  Pro- 
fessor Jebb,  in  his  article  on  Aristophanes  in  the  Encyclopedia 
Bntannica,  savs :  "  It  is  neither  in  the  denunciation  nor  in  the 


All]  BROWNING   CYCLOPAEDIA.  25 

mockery  that  he  is  most  individual.  His  truest  and  highest 
faculty  is  revealed  by  those  wonderful  bits  of  lyric  writing  in  which 
he  soars  above  everything  that  can  move  to  laughter  or  tears, 
and  makes  the  clear  air  thrill  with  the  notes  of  a  song  as  free, 
as  musical  and  as  wild  as  that  of  the  nightingale  invoked  by  his 
own  chorus  in  the  Birds.  The  speech  of  Dikaios  Logos  in  the 
Clouds,  the  praises  of  country  life  in  the  Peace,  the  serenade  in 
the  Eccleziazusce,  the  songs  of  the  Spartan  and  Athenian  maidens 
in  the  Lysistrata ;  above  all,  perhaps,  the  chorus  in  the  Frogs, 
the  beautiful  chant  of  the  Initiated, — these  passages,  and  such 
as  these,  are  the  true  glories  of  Aristophanes.  They  are  the 
strains,  not  of  an  artist,  but  of  one  who  warbles  for  pure  gladness 
of  heart  in  some  place  made  bright  by  the  presence  of  a  god. 
Nothing  else  in  Greek  poetry  has  quite  this  wild  sweetness  of 
the  woods.  Of  modern  poets  Shakespeare  alone,  perhaps,  has 
it  in  combination  with  a  like  richness  and  fertility  of  fancy." 
Fifty-four  comedies  were  ascribed  to  Aristophanes.  We 
possess  only  eleven:  these  deal  with  Athenian  life  during  a 
period  of  thirty-six  years.  The  political  satires  of  the  poet, 
therefore,  cannot  be  understood  without  a  knowledge  of  Athenian 
history,  and  an  acquaintance  with  its  life  during  the  period  in 
which  the  poet  wrote.  "  Aristophanes  was  a  natural  conservative," 
says  Professor  Jebb ;  "  his  ideal  was  the  Athens  of  the  Persian 
wars.  He  detested  the  vulgarity  and  the  violence  of  mob-rule  ; 
he  clove  to  the  old  worship  of  the  gods ;  he  regarded  the 
new  ideas  of  education  as  a  tissue  of  imposture  and  impiety. 
As  a  mocker  he  is  incomparable  for  the  union  of  subtlety  with 
wit  of  the  comic  imagination.  As  a  poet  he  is  immortal."  The 
momentous  period  in  the  history  of  Greece  during  which 
Aristophanes  began  to  write,  forms  the  groundwork,  more  or 
less,  of  so  many  of  his  comedies,  that  it  is  impossible  to  under- 
stand them,  far  less  to  appreciate  their  point,  without  some 
acquaintance  with  its  leading  events.  All  men's  thoughts  were 
occupied  by  the  great  contest  for  supremacy  between  the  rival 
states  of  Athens  and  Sparta,  known  as  the  Peloponnesian  War. 
It  is  not  necessary  here  to  enter  into  details ;  but  the  position  of 
the  Athenians  during  the  earlier  years  of  the  struggle  must  be 
briefly  described.  Their  strength  lay  chiefly  in  their  fleet ;  in 
the  other  arms  of  war  they  were  confessedly  no  match  for  Sparta 
and  her  confederate  allies.  The  heavy-armed  Spartan  infantry, 


26  BROWNING   CYCLOPAEDIA.  [All 

like  the  black  Spanish  bands  of  the  fifteenth  century,  was  almost 
irresistible  in  the  field.  Year  after  year  the  invaders  marched 
through  the  Isthmus  into  Attica,  or  were  landed  in  strong  de- 
tachments on  different  points  of  the  coast,  while  the  powerful 
Boeotian  cavalry  swept  all  the  champaign,  burning  the  towns 
and  villages,  cutting  down  the  crops,  destroying  vines  and  olive- 
groves, — carrying  this  work  of  devastation  almost  up  to  the  very 
walls  of  Athens.  For  no  serious  attempt  was  made  to  resist 
these  periodical  invasions.  The  strategy  of  the  Athenians  was 
much  the  same  as  it  had  been  when  the  Persian  hosts  swept 
down  upon  them  fifty  years  before.  Again  they  withdrew 
themselves  and  all  their  movable  property  within  the  city  walls, 
and  allowed  the  invaders  to  overrun  the  country  with  impunity 
Their  flocks  and  herds  were  removed  into  the  islands  on  the 
coasts,  where,  so  long  as  Athens  was  mistress  of  the  sea,  they 
would  be  in  comparative  safety.  It  was  a  heavy  demand  upon 
their  patriotism;  but,  as  before,  they  submitted  to  it,  trusting 
that  the  trial  would  be  but  brief,  and  nerved  to  it  by  the  stirring 
words  of  their  great  leader  Pericles.  The  ruinous  sacrifice,  and 
even  the  personal  suffering,  involved  in  this  forced  migration  of 
a  rural  population  into  a  city  wholly  inadequate  to  accommodate 
them,  may  easily  be  imagined,  even  if  it  had  not  been  forcibly 
described  by  the  great  historian  of  those  times.  Some  carried 
with  them  the  timber  framework  of  their  homes,  and  set  it  up  in 
such  "vacant  spaces  as  they  could  find.  Others  built  for  them- 
selves little  "  chambers  on  the  wall,"  or  occupied  the  outer  courts 
of  the  temples,  or  were  content  with  booths  and  tents  set  up 
under  the  Long  Walls,  which  connected  the  city  with  the  harbour 
of  Piraeus.  Some — if  our  comic  satirist  is  to  be  trusted — were 
even  fain  to  sleep  in  tubs  and  hen-coops.  Provisions  grew  dear 
and  scarce.  Pestilence  broke  out  in  the  overcrowded  city ;  and 
in  the  second  and  third  years  of  the  war  the  great  plague  carried 
off,  out  of  their  comparatively  small  population,  about  10,000  of 
all  ranks.  But  it  needed  a  pressure  of  calamity  far  greater  than 
the  present  to  keep  a  good  citizen  of  Athens  away  from  the 
theatre.  If  the  times  were  gloomy,  so  much  the  more  need  of  a 
little  honest  diversion.  The  comic  drama  was  to  the  Athenians 
what  a  free  press  is  to  modern  commonwealths.  It  is  probable 
that  Aristophanes  was  himself  earnestly  opposed  to  the  con- 
tinuance of  the  war,  and  spoke  his  own  sentiments  on  this  point 


AriJ  BROWNING    CYCLOPAEDIA.  2J 

by  the  mouth  of  his  characters ;  but  the  prevalent  disgust  at  the 
hardships  of  this  long-continued  siege — for  such  it  practically 
was — would  in  any  case  be  a  tempting  subject  for  the  professed 
writer  of  burlesques ;  and  the  caricature  of  a  leading  politician, 
if  cleverly  drawn,  is  always  a  success  for  the  author.  The 
Thesmophoriazusce  is  a  comedy  about  the  fair  sex,  whose 
whole  point — like  that  also  of  the  comedy  of  the  Frogs — lies  in 
a  satire  upon  Euripides.  Aristophanes  never  wearied  of  holding 
this  poet  up  to  ridicule.  Why  this  was  so  is  not  to  be  discovered : 
it  may  have  been  that  the  conservative  principles  of  Aristophanes 
were  offended  by  some  new-fashioned  ideas  of  his  brother  poet. 
The  Thesmophoria  was  a  festival  of  women  only,  in  honour  of 
Ceres  and  Proserpine.  Euripides  was  reputed  to  be  a  woman- 
hater  :  in  one  of  his  tragedies  he  says, 

"  O  thou  most  vile  !  thou — woman  I — for  what  word 

That  lips  could  frame,  could  carry  more  reproach  ?  " 
He  can  hardly,  however,  have  been  a  woman-hater  who  created 
the  beautiful  characters  of  Iphigenia  and  Alcestis.  In  this 
comedy  the  Athenian  ladies  have  resolved  to  punish  Euripides, 
and  the  poet  is  in  dismay  in  consequence,  and  takes  measures  to- 
defend  himself.  He  offers  terms  of  peace  to  the  offended  fair 
sex,  and  promises  never  to  abuse  them  in  future. 

Aristophanes'  Apology ;  including  a  Transcript  from  Euri- 
pides, being  the  last  adventure  of  Balaustion.  London,  1875. — 
As  Aristophanes'  Apology  is  the  last  adventure  of  Balaustion,  it 
is  necessary  to  read  Balaustion 's  Adventure  (y.i'.)  before  com- 
mencing this  poem.  Balaustion  has  married  Euthukles,  the 
young  man  whom  she  met  at  Syracuse.  She  has  met  the  great 
poet  Euripides,  paid  her  homage  to  his  genius,  and  has  received 
from  his  own  hands  his  tragedy  of  Hercules.  The  poet  is  dead, 
and  Athens  fallen.  She  returns  to  the  city  after  its  capture  by 
the  Spartans,  but  she  can  no  longer  remain  therein.  Athens  will 
live  in  her  heart,  but  never  again  can  she  behold  the  place  where 
ghastly  mirth  mocked  its  overthrow  and  death  and  hell  celebrated 
their  triumph.  She  has  left  the  doomed  city,  now  that  it  is  no 
longer  the  free  Athens  of  happier  times,  and  has  set  sail  with 
her  husband  for  Rhodes.  The  glory  of  the  material  Athens  has 
departed.  But  Athens  will  live  as  a  glorious  spiritual  entity — 
"That  shall  be  better  and  more  beautiful, 
And  too  august  for  Sparte's  foot  to  spurn  !  " 


28  BROWNING   CYCLOPEDIA.  [All 

She  and  Euthukles  are  exiles  from  the  dead  Athens,  not  the  living : 
'  That's  in  the  cloud  there,  with  the  new-born  star !  "  As  they 
voyage,  for  her  consolation  she  will  record  her  recollections  of 
her  Euripides  in  Athens,  and  she  bids  her  husband  set  down  her 
words  as  she  speaks.  She  must  "speak  to  the  infinite  intelligence, 
sing  to  the  everlasting  sympathy."  There  are  dead  things  that 
are  triumphant  still ;  the  walls  of  intellectual  construction  can 
never  be  overthrown ;  there  re  air-castles  more  real  and  per- 
manent than  the  work  of  men's  hands.  She  will  tell  of  Euripides 
and  his  undying  work.  She  recalls  the  night  when  Athens  was 
still  herself,  when  they  heard  the  news  that  Euripides  was  dead — 
"gone  with  his  Attic  ivy  home  to  feast."  Dead  and  triumphant 
still!  She  reflected  how  the  Athenian  multitude  had  ever  re- 
proached him :  "  All  thine  aim  thine  art,  the  idle  poet  only."  It 
was  not  enough  in  those  times  that  thought  should  be  "  the  soul 
of  art."  The  Greek  world  demanded  activity  as  well  as  contem- 
plation. The  poet  must  leave  his  study  to  command  troops, 
forsake  the  world  of  ideas  for  that  of  action,  otherwise  he  was  a 
"  hater  of  his  kind."  The  world  is  content  with  you  if  you  do 
nothing  for  it ;  if  you  do  aught  you  must  do  all.  But  when  Euri- 
pides was  at  rest,  censorious  tongues  ceased  to  wag,  and  the  next 
thing  to  do  was  to  build  a  monument  for  him  !  But  for  the  hearts 
of  Balaustion  and  her  husband  no  statue  is  required :  he  stood 
within  their  hearts.  The  pure-souled  woman  says,  "  What  better 
monument  can  be  than  the  poem  he  gave  me  ?  Let  him  speak  to 
me  now  in  his  own  words  ;  have  out  the  Herakles  and  re-sing  the 
song ;  hear  him  tell  of  the  last  labour  of  the  god,  worst  of  all  the 
twelve."  And  lovingly  and  reverently  the  precious  gift  of  the  poet 
was  taken  from  its  shrine  and  opened  for  the  reading.  Suddenly 
torchlight,  knocking  at  the  door,  a  cry  "  Open,  open  !  Bacchos 
bids  ! "  and  a  sound  of  revelry  and  the  drunken  voices  of  girl 
dancers  and  players,  led  by  Aristophanes,  the  comic  poet  of 
Greece.  A  splendid  presence,  "  all  his  head  one  brow,"  drunk,  but 
in  him  sensuality  had  become  a  rite.  Mind  was  here,  passions, 
but  grasped  by  the  strong  hand  of  intellect.  Balaustion  rose  and 
greeted  him.  "  Hail  house,"  he  said,  "  friendly  to  Euripides  !  "  and 
he  spoke  flatteringly,  but  in  a  slightly  mocking  tone,  as  men  who 
are  sensual  defer  to  spiritual  women  whom  they  rather  affect  to 
pity  while  they  admire.  Balaustion  loves  genius ;  to  her  mind  it  is 
the  noblest  gift  of  heaven  :  she  can  bow  to  Aristophanes  though 


All]  BROWNING   CYCLOPAEDIA.  29 

he  is  drunk.  (Greek  intoxication  was  doubtless  a  very  different 
thing  from  Saxon  !)  The  comic  poet  had  just  achieved  a  great 
triumph:  his  comedy  had  been  crowned.  The  "Women's  Fes- 
tival "  (the  ThesmophoriazusGB  as  it  was  called  in  Greek)  was  a 
play  in  which  the  fair  sex  had  the  chief  part.  It  was  written 
against  Euripides'  dislike  of  women,  for  which  the  women  who 
are  celebrating  the  great  feast  of  Ceres  and  Proserpine  (the  Thes- 
mophoria)  drag  him  to  justice.  And  so,  with  all  his  chorus  troop, 
he  comes  to  the  home  of  Balaustion,  as  representing  the  Euripides 
whom  he  disliked  and  satirised,  to  celebrate  his  success.  The 
presence  of  Balaustion  has  stripped  the  proper  Aristophanes  ot 
his  "accidents,"  and  under  her  searching  gaze  he  stands  undis- 
guised to  be  questioned.  She  puts  him  on  his  defence,  and  hence 
the  "  Apology."  He  recognises  the  divine  in  her,  and  she  in  him. 
The  discussion,  therefore,  will  be  on  the  principles  underlying 
the  works  of  Euripides,  the  man  of  advance,  the  pioneer  of 
the  newer  and  better  age  to  come,  and  those  of  the  conserva- 
tive apologist  of  prescription,  Aristophanes  the  aristocrat.  He 
defends  his  first  Thesmophoriazusa,  which  failed ;  his  Grass- 
hopper, which  followed  and  failed  also.  There  was  reason  why 
he  wrote  both  :  he  painted  the  world  as  it  was,  mankind  as  they 
lived  and  walked,  not  human  nature  as  seen  though  the  medium 
of  the  student's  closet.  "  Old  wine's  the  wine ;  new  poetry 
drinks  raw."  The  friend  of  Socrates  might  weave  his  fancies,  but 
flesh  and  blood  like  that  of  Aristophanes  needs  stronger  meat. 
"  Curds  and  whey  "  might  suit  Euripides,  the  Apologist  must 
have  marrowy  wine.  The  author  of  the  Alkestis,  which  Balaus- 
tion raved  about,  was  but  a  prig :  he  wrote  of  wicked  kings. 
Aristophanes  came  nearer  home,  and  attacked  infamous  abuses 
of  the  time,  and  scourged  too  with  tougher  thong  than  leek-and- 
onion  plait.  He  wrote  The  Birds,  The  Clouds,  and  The  Wasps. 
The  poison-drama  of  Euripides  has  mortified  the  flesh  of  the 
men  of  Athens,  so  nothing  but  warfare  can  purge  it  The  play 
that  failed  last  year  he  has  rearranged  ;  he  added  men  to  match 
the  women  there  already,  and  had  a  hit  at  a  new-fangled  plan 
by  which  women  should  rule  affairs.  It  succeeded,  and  so  they 
all  flocked  merrily  to  feast,  and  merrily  they  supped  till  something 
happened, — he  will  confess  its  influence  upon  him.  Towards  the 
end  of  the  feast  there  was  a  sudden  knock :  in  came  an  old  pale- 
swathed  majesty,  who  addressed  the  priest,  "  Since  Euripides  is 


3O  BROWNING   CYCLOPAEDIA. 

dead  to-day,  my  choros,  at  the  Greater  Feast  next  month,  shall, 
clothed  in  black,  appear  ungarlanded  !  "  Sophocles  (for  it  was  he) 
mutely  passed  outwards  and  left  them  stupefied.  Soon  they  found 
their  tongues  and  began  to  make  satiric  comment,  but  Aristo- 
phanes swore  that  at  the  moment  death  to  him  seemed  life  and 
life  seemed  death.  The  play  of  which  he  had  made  a  laughing- 
stock had  meaning  he  had  never  seen  till  now.  The  question  who 
was  the  greater  poet,  once  so  large,  now  became  so  small.  He 
remembers  his  last  discussion  with  the  dead  poet,  two  years  since, 
when  he  said,  "  Aristophanes,  you  know  what  kind's  the  nobler — 
what  makes  grave  or  what  makes  grin  !  "  He  pointed  out  why 
his  Ploutos  failed :  he  had  tried,  alas !  but  with  force  which  had 
been  spent  on  base  things,  to  paint  the  life  of  Man.  The  strength 
demanded  for  the  race  had  been  wasted  ere  the  race  began.  Such 
thoughts  as  these,  long  to  relate,  but  floating  through  the  mind  as 
solemn  convictions  are  wont  to  do,  occupied  him  till  the  Archon, 
the  Feast-Master,  divining  what  was  passing  in  his  mind,  thought 
best  to  close  the  feast.  He  gave  "  To  the  good  genius,  then ! "  as  a 
parting  cup.  Young  Strattis  cried,  "  Ay,  the  Comic  Muse  "  ;  but 
Aristophanes,  stopping  the  applause,  said,  "  Stay !  the  Tragic 
Muse  "  (in  honour  of  the  dead  Tragic  Poet),  and  then  he  told  of 
all  the  work  of  the  man  who  had  gone  from  them.  But  he  had 
mocked  at  him  so  often  that  his  audience  would  not  believe  him 
to  be  serious  now,  and  burst  into  laughter,  exclaiming,  "  The 
unrivalled  one  !  He  turns  the  Tragic  on  its  Comic  side ! "  He 
felt  that  he  was  growing  ridiculous,  and  had  to  repair  matters  ;  so 
he  thanked  them  for  laughing  with  him,  and  also  those  who  wept 
rather  with  the  Lord  of  Tears,  and  bade  the  priest — president 
alike  over  the  Tragic  and  Comic  function  of  the  god, — 

"  Help  with  libation  to  the  blended  twain!  " 

praising  complex  poetry  operant  for  body  as  for  soul,  able 
to  move  to  laughter  and  to  tears,  supreme  in  heaven  and 
earth.  The  soul  should  not  be  unbodied ;  he  would  defend 
man's  double  nature.  But,  even  as  he  spoke,  he  turned  to 
the  memory  of  "  Cold  Euripides,"  and  declared  that  he  would 
not  abate  attack  if  he  were  to  encounter  him  again,  because  of 
his  principle—"  Raise  soul,  sink  sense,  Evirate  Hermes!  "  And 
so,  as  they  left  the  feast,  he  asked  his  friends  to  accompany  him  to 
Balaustion's  home,  to  the  lady  and  her  husband  who,  passionate 


Arl]  BROWNING   CYCLOPAEDIA.  3! 

admirers  of  Euripides,  had  not  been  present  on  his  triumph-day. 
When  they  heard  the  night's  news,  neither,  he  knew,  would  sleep, 
but  watch  ;  by  right  of  his  crown  of  triumph  he  would  pay  them 
a  visit.  Balaustion  said,  "  Commemorate,  as  we,  Euripides  !  " 
"What?"  cried  the  comic  poet,  "profane  the  temple  of  your 
deity  l — for  deity  he  was,  though  as  for  himself  he  only  figured  on 
men's  drinking  mugs.  And  then,  as  his  glance  fell  on  the  table, 
he  saw  the  Herakles  which  the  Tragic  Poet  had  given  to  Balaus- 
tion. "  Give  me  the  sheet,"  he  asks.  She  interrupted,  "  You 
enter  fresh  from  your  worst  infamy,  last  instance  of  a  long  out- 
rage— throw  off  hate's  celestiality,  show  me  a  mere  man's  hand 
ignobly  clenched  against  the  supreme  calmness  of  the  dead  poet." 
Scarcely  noticing  her,  he  said,  "  Dead  and  therefore  safe  ;  only 
after  death  begins  immunity  of  faultiness  from  punishment. 
Hear  Art's  defence.  Comedy  is  coeval  with  the  birth  of  freedom, 
its  growth  matches  the  greatness  of  the  Republic.  He  found 
the  Comic  Art  a  club,  a  means  of  inflicting  pnnishment  without 
downright  slaying:  was  he  to  thrash  only  the  crass  fool  and 
the  clownish  knave,  or  strike  at  malpractice  that  affects  the  State  ? 
His  was  not  the  game  to  change  the  customs  of  Athens,  lead  age 
or  youth  astray,  play  the  demagogue  at  the  Assembly  or  the 
sophist  at  the  Debating  Club,  or  (worst  and  widest  mischief) 
preach  innovation  from  the  theatre,  bring  contempt  on  oaths, 
and  adorn  licentiousness.  And  so  he  new-tipped  with  steel  his 
cudgel,  he  had  demagogues  in  coat-of-mail  and  cased  about 
with  impudence  to  chastise ;  he  was  spiteless,  for  his  attack  went 
through  the  mere  man  to  reach  the  principle  worth  purging  from 
Athens.  He  did  not  attack  Lamachos,  but  war's  representative ; 
not  Cleon,  but  flattery  of  the  populace  ;  not  Socrates,  but  the 
pernicious  seed  of  sophistry,  whereby  youth  was  perverted  to 
chop  logic  and  worship  whirligig.  His  first  feud  with  Euripides 
was  when  he  maintained  that  we  should  enjoy  life  as  we  find  it 
instead  of  magnifying  our  miseries.  Euripides  would  talk  about 
the  empty  name,  while  the  thing's  self  lay  neglected  beneath 
his  nose.  Aristophanes  represented  the  whole  Republic,— gods, 
heroes,  priests,  legislators,  poets — all  these  would  have  been  in 
the  dust,  pummelled  into  insignificance,  had  Euripides  had  his 
way.  To  him  heroes  were  no  more,  hardly  so  much,  as  men. 
Men  were  ragged,  sick,  lame,  halt,  and  blind,  their  speech  but 
street  terms ;  and  so,  having  drawn  sky  earthwards,  he  must  next 


32  BROWNING   CYCLOPAEDIA.  [Ari 

lift  earth  to  sky.  Women,  once  mere  puppets,  must  match  the 
male  in  thinking,  saying,  doing.  The  very  slave  he  recognised 
as  man's  mate.  There  are  no  gods.  Man  has  no  master,  owns 
neither  right  nor  wrong,  does  what  he  likes,  himself  his  sole  law. 
As  there  are  no  gods,  there  is  only  "Necessity"  above  us.  No 
longer  to  Euripides  is  there  one  plain  positive  enunciation,  in- 
contestable, of  what  is  good,  right,  decent  here  on  earth.  And 
so  Euripides  triumphed,  though  he  rarely  gained  a  prize.  And 
Aristophanes,  wielding  the  comic  weapon,  closed  with  the  enemy 
in  good  honest  hate,  called  Euripides  one  name  and  fifty  epithets. 
He  hates  "sneaks  whose  art  is  mere  desertion  of  a  trust."  And 
so  he  doses  each  culprit  with  comedy,  doctors  the  word-monger 
with  words.  Socrates  he  nicknames  chief  quack,  necromancer; 
Euripides — well,  he  acknowledges  every  word  is  false  if  you 
look  at  it  too  close,  but  at  a  distance  all  is  indubitable  truth 
behind  the  lies.  Aristophanes  declares  the  essence  of  his  teaching 
to  be,  Accept  the  old,  contest  the  strange,  misdoubt  every  man 
whose  work  is  yet  to  do,  acknowledge  the  work  already  done. 
Religion,  laws,  are  old — that  is,  so  much  achieved  and  victorious 
truth,  wrung  from  adverse  circumstance  by  heroic  men  who  beat 
the  world  and  left  their  work  in  evidence.  It  was  Euripides  who 
caused  the  fight,  and  Aristophanes  has  beaten  him ;  if,  however. 
Balaustion  can  adduce  anything  to  contravene  this,  let  her  say 
on."  Balaustion  replies  that  she  is  but  a  mere  mouse  confronting 
the  forest  monarch,  a  woman  with  no  quality,  but  the  love  of  all 
things  lovable.  How  should  she  dare  deny  the  results  he  says  his 
songs  are  pregnant  with  ?  She  is  a  foreigner  too.  Many  perhaps 
view  things  too  severely,  as  dwellers  in  some  distant  isles, — the 
Cassiterides,  for  example, — ignorant  and  lonely,  who  seeing  some 
statue  of  Phidias  or  picture  of  Teuxis,  might  feebly  judge  that  hair 
and  hands  and  fashion  of  garb,  not  being  like  their  own,  must 
needs  be  wrong.  So  her  criticism  of  art  may  be  equally  in  fault  as 
theirs,  nevertheless  she  will  proceed  if  she  may.  "  Comedy,  you 
say,  is  prescription  and  a  rite  ;  it  rose  with  Attic  liberty,  and  will 
fall  with  freedom  ;  but  your  games,  Olympian,  Pythian  and  the 
others,  the  gods  gave  you  these  ;  and  Comedy,  did  it  come  so 
late  that  your  grandsires  can  remember  its  beginning  ?  And  you 
were  first  to  change  buffoonery  for  wit,  and  filth  for  cleanly  sense. 
You  advocate  peace,  support  religion,  lash  irreverence,  yet  rebuke 
superstition  with  a  laugh.  Innovation  and  all  change  you  attack : 


All]  BROWNING   CYCLOPAEDIA.  33 

with  you  the  oldest  always  is  the  best ;  litigation,  mob  rule  and 
mob  favourites  you  attack ;  you  are  hard  on  sophists  and  poets  who 
assist  them  :  snobs,  scamps,  and  gluttons  you  do  riot  spare, — all 
these  noble  aims  originated  with  you !  Yet  Euripides  in  Cres- 
phontes  sang  Peace  before  you !  Play  after  play  of  his  troops 
tumultuously  to  confute  your  boast.  No  virtue  but  he  praised, 
no  vice  but  he  condemned  ere  you  were  boy !  As  for  your 
love  of  peace,  you  did  not  show  your  audience  that  war  was 
wrong,  but  Lamachos  absurd,  not  that  democracy  was  blind, 
but  Cleon  a  sham,  not  superstition  vile  but  Nicias  crazy.  You 
gave  the  concrete  for  the  abstract,  you  pretended  to  be  earnest 
while  you  were  only  indifferent.  You  tickled  the  mob  with  the 
idea  that  peace  meant  plenty  of  good  things  to  eat,  while  in  camp 
the  fare  is  hard  and  stinted.  Peace  gives  your  audience  flute  girls 
and  gaiety.  War  freezes  the  campaigners  in  the  snow.  And 
so,  with  all  the  rest  you  advocate ;  do  not  go  to  law :  beware 
of  the  Wasps  !  but  as  for  curing  love  of  lawsuits,  you  exhibit 
cheating,  brawling,  fighting,  cursing  as  capital  fun !  And  when 
the  writer  of  the  new  school  attacks  the  vile  abuses  of  the  day, 
straightway  to  conserve  the  good  old  way,  you  say  the  rascal 
cannot  read  or  write,  is  extravagant,  gets  somebody  to  help  his 
sluggish  mind,  and  lets  him  court  his  wife;  his  uncle  deals  in 
crockery,  and  himself — a  stranger!  And  so  the  poet-rival  is 
chased  out  of  court.  And  this  is  Comedy,  our  sacred  song, 
censor  of  vice  and  virtue's  safeguard !  You  are  indignant  with 
sophistry,  and  say  there  is  but  a  single  side  to  man  and  thing  ; 
but  the  sophists  at  least  wish  their  pupils  to  believe  what  they 
teach,  and  to  practise  what  they  believe  ;  can  you  wish  that  ? 
Assume  I  am  mistaken  :  have  you  made  them  end  the  war  ? 
Has  your  antagonist  Euripides  succeeded  better  ?  He  spoke  to 
a  dim  future,  and  I  trust  truth's  inherent  kingliness.  '  Arise  and 
go  :  both  have  done  honour  to  Euripides  ! '  "  But  Aristophanes 
demands  direct  defence,  and  not  oblique  by  admonishment  of 
himself.  Balaustion  tells  him  that  last  year  Sophocles  was 
declared  by  his  son  to  be  of  unsound  mind,  and  for  defence  his 
father  just  recited  a  chorus  chant  of  his  last  play.  The  one 
adventure  of  her  life  that  made  Euripides  her  friend  was  the 
story  of  Hercules  and  Alcestis.  When  she  met  the  author  last,  he 
said.  "  I  sang  another  Hercules ;  it  gained  no  prize,  but  take  it — 
your  love  the  prize !  And  so  the  papyrus,  with  the  pendent  style, 

3 


34  BROWNING   CYCLOPAEDIA.  [Aft 

and  the  psalterion  besides,  he  gave  her:  by  this  should  she 
remember  the  friend  who  loved  Balaustion  once.  May  I  read 
it  as  defence?  I  read."  [The  HERAKLES,  or  Raging  Hercules 
of  Euripides,  is  translated  literally  by  Mr.  Browning  on  the 
principles  which  he  laid  down  in  the  preface  to  the  Agamemnon. 
In  Potter's  Translation  of  the  Tragedies  of  Euripides  we  have 
the  following  from  the  introduction  to  the  play  :  "  The  first 
scenes  of  this  tragedy  are  very  affecting ;  Euripides  knew  the 
way  to  the  heart,  and  as  often  as  his  subject  leads  him  to  it,  he 
never  fails  to  excite  the  tenderest  pity.  We  are  relieved  from 
this  distress  by  the  unexpected  appearance  of  Hercules,  who  is 
here  drawn  in  his  private  character  as  the  most  amiable  of  men : 
the  pious  son,  the  affectionate  hnsband,  and  the  tender  father 
win  our  esteem  as  much  as  the  unconquered  hero  raises  our 
admiration.  Here  the  feeling  reader  will  perhaps  wish  that  the 
drama  had  ended,  for  the  next  scenes  are  dreadful  indeed,  and 
it  must  be  confessed  that  the  poet  has  done  his  subject  terrible 
justice,  but  without  any  of  that  absurd  extravagance  which,  in 
Seneca  becomes  un  tintamarre  horrible  qui  se  passe  dans  le  tete 
de  ce  Heros  devenu  fou.  From  the  violent  agitation  into  which 
we  are  thrown  by  these  deeds  of  honour,  we  are  suffered  by 
degrees  to  subside  into  the  tenderest  grief,  in  which  we  are 
urepared  before  to  sympathise  with  the  unhappy  Hercules  by 
that  esteem  which  his  amiable  disposition  had  raised  in  us ; 
and  this  perhaps  is  the  most  affecting  scene  of  sorrow  that  ever 
was  produced  in  any  theatre.  Upon  the  whole,  though  this 
tragedy  may  not  be  deemed  the  most  agreeable  by  the  generality 
of  readers,  on  account  of  the  too  dreadful  effects  of  the  madness 
of  Hercules,  yet  the  various  turns  of  fortune  are  finely  managed, 
the  scenes  of  distress  highly  wrought,  and  the  passions  of  pity, 
terror  and  grief  strongly  touched.  The  scene  is  at  Thebes  before 
the  palace  of  Hercules.  The  persons  of  the  Drama — Amphitryon, 
Megara,  Lycus,  Hercules,  Iris,  Lyssa  (the  goddess  of  madness), 
Theseus,  Messenger;  Chorus  of  aged  Thebans.]"  They  were 
silent  after  the  reading  for  a  long  time.  "  Our  best  friend — lost, 
our  best  friend  I"  mused  Aristophanes,  "and  who  is  our  best 
friend?"  He  then  instances  in  reply  a  famous  Greek  game, 
known  as  kottabos^  played  in  various  ways,  but  the  latest  with 
a  sphere  pierced  with  holes.  When  the  orb  is  set  rolling,  and 
wine  is  adroitly  thrown  a  figure  suspended  in  a  certain  position 


Ah]  BROWNING   CYCLOPEDIA.  35 

can  be  struck  by  the  fluid ;  but  its  only  chance  of  being  so  hit  is 
when  it  fronts  just  that  one  outlet.  So  with  Euripides  :  he  gets 
his  knowledge  merely  from  one  single  aperture — that  of  the  High 
and  Right ;  till  he  fronts  this  he  writes  no  play.  When  the  hole 
and  his  head  happen  to  correspond,  in  drops  the  knowledge  that 
Aristophanes  can  make  respond  to  every  opening — Low,  Wrong, 
Weak ;  all  the  apertures  bring  him  knowledge ;  he  gets  his  wine 
at  every  turn  ;  why  not?  Evil  and  Little  are  just  as  natural  as 
Good  and  Great,  and  he  demands  to  know  them,  and  not  one 
phase  of  life  alone.  So  that  he  is  the  "  best  friend  of  man.'' 
No  doubt,  if  in  one  man  the  High  and  Low  could  be  reconciled,  in 
tragi-comic  verse  he  would  be  superior  to  both  when  born  in  the 
Tin  Islands  (as  he  eventually  was  in  the  person  of  Shakespeare). 
He  will  sing  them  a  song  of  Thamyris,  the  Thracian  bard,  who 
boasted  that  he  could  rival  the  Muses,  and  was  punished  by 
them  by  being  deprived  of  sight  and  voice  and  the  power  ol 
playing  the  lute.  Before  he  had  finished  the  song,  however,  he 
laughed,  "  Tell  the  rest  who  may  1 "  He  had  not  tried  to  match 
the  muse  and  sing  for  gods ;  he  sang  for  men,  and  of  the  things 
of  common  life.  He  bids  this  couple  farewell  till  the  following 
year,  and  departs.  In  a  year  many  things  had  happened. 
Artstophanes  had  produced  his  play,  The  Frogs.  It  had  been 
rapturously  applauded,  and  the  author  had  been  crowned ;  he  is 
now  the  people's  "  best  friend."  He  had  satirised  Euripides 
more  vindictively  than  before ;  he  had  satirised  even  the  gods 
and  the  Eleusinian  Mysteries  ;  and,  in  the  midst  of  the  "  frog 
merriment,"  Lysander,  the  Spartan,'  had  captured  Athens,  and 
his  first  word  to  the  people  was,  "  Pull  down  your  long  walls  : 
the  place  needs  none  1 "  He  gave  them  three  days  to  wreck  their 
proud  bulwarks,  and  the  people  stood  stupefied,  stonier  than 
their  walls.  The  time  expired,  and  when  Lysander  saw  they  had 
done  nothing,  he  ordered  all  Athens  to  be  levelled  in  the  dust. 
Then  stood  forth  Euthukles,  Balaustion's  husband,  and  "  flung 
that  choice  flower,"  a  snatch  of  a  tragedy  of  Euripides,  the 
Electra\  then — 

11  Because  Greeks  are  Greeks,  though  Sparte's  brood, 
And  hearts  are  hearts,  though  in  Lusandros'  breast, 
And  poetry  is  power,  and  Euthukles 
Had  faith  therein  to,  full  face,  fling  the  same- 
Sudden,  the  ice  thaw  !  " 


36  BROWNING  CYCLOPAEDIA.  [An 

And  the  assembled  foe  cried,  "  Reverence  Elektra !  Let  stand 
Athenai !  "  and  so,  as  Euripides  had  saved  the  Athenian  exiles 
in  Syracuse  harbour,  now  he  saved  Athens  herself.  But  her 
brave  long  walls  were  destroyed,  destroyed  to  sound  of  flute 
and  lyre,  wrecked  to  the  kordax  step,  and  laid  in  the  dust  to 
the  mocking  laughter  of  a  Comedy-chorus.  And  so  no  longer 
would  Balaustion  remain  to  see  the  shame  of  the  beloved  city. 
"  Back  to  Rhodes  ! "  she  cried.  "  There  are  no  gods,  no  gods  f 
Glory  to  God — who  saves  Euripides  ! "  [The  long  walls  of 
Athens  consisted  of  the  wall  to  Phalerum  on  the  east,  about 
four  miles  long,  and  of  the  wall  to  the  harbour  of  Piraeus  on  the 
west,  about  four  and  a  half  miles  long ;  between  these  two,  at 
a  short  distance  from  the  latter  and  parallel  to  it,  another  wall 
was  erected,  thus  making  two  walls  leading  to  the  Piraeus,  with 
a  narrow  passage  between  them.  The  entire  circuit  of  the 
walls  was  nearly  twenty-two  miles,  of  which  about  five  and 
a  half  miles  belonged  to  the  city,  nine  and  a  half  to  the  long 
walls,  and  seven  miles  to  Piraeus,  Munychia,  and  Phalerum.] 
Plutarch,  in  his  life  of  Lysander,  tells  how  Euripides  saved 
Athens  from  destruction  and  the  Athenians  from  slavery : — 
"After  Lysander  had  taken  from  the  Athenians  all  their  ships 
except  twelve,  and  their  fortifications  were  delivered  up  to  him, 
he  entered  their  city  on  the  sixteenth  of  the  month  Munychon 
(April),  the  very  day  they  had  overthrown  the  barbarians  in  the 
naval  fight  at  Salamis.  He  presently  set  himself  to  change  their 
form  of  government ;  and  finding  that  the  people  resented  his 
proposal,  he  told  them  '  that  they  had  violated  the  terms  of  their 
capitulation,  for  their  walls  were  still  standing  after  the  time 
fixed  for  the  demolishing  of  them  was  passed ;  and  that,  since 
they  had  broken  the  first  articles,  they  must  expect  new  ones  from 
the  council.'  Some  say  he  really  did  propose,  in  the  council  of 
the  allies,  to  reduce  the  Athenians  to  slavery ;  and  that  Erianthis, 
a  Theban  officer,  gave  it  as  his  opinion  that  the  city  should  be 
levelled  with  the  ground,  and  the  spot  on  which  it  stood  turned 
to  pasturage.  Afterwards,  however,  when  the  general  officers 
met  at  an  entertainment,  a  musician  of  Phocis  happened  to  begin 
a  chorus  in  the  Ekctra  of  Euripides,  the  first  lines  of  which  are 
these— 

*  Unhappy  daughter  of  the  great  Atrides, 
Thy  straw-crowned  palace  I  approach.' 


All]  BROWNING   CYCLOPAEDIA.  37 

The  whole  company  were  greatly  moved  at  this  incident,  and 
could  not  help  reflecting  how  barbarous  a  thing  it  would  be  to 
raze  that  noble  city,  which  had  produced  so  many  great  and 
illustrious  men.  Lysander,  however,  finding  the  Athenians 
entirely  in  his  power,  collected  the  musicians  of  the  city,  and 
having  joined  to  them  the  band  belonging  to  the  camp,  pulled 
down  the  walls,  and  burned  the  ships,  to  the  sound  of  their 
instruments." 

NOTES.  [The  pages  are  those  of  the  complete  edition,  in 
1 6  vols.] — P.  3,  Euthukles,  the  husband  of  Balaustion,  whom 
she  met  first  at  Syracuse,  p.  4,  Kore,  the  daughter  of  Ceres, 
the  same  as  Proserpine,  p.  6,  Peiraios,  the  principal  harbour 
of  Athens,  with  which  it  was  connected  by  the  long  walls  ;  "  walls, 
long  double-range  Themisloklean " :  after  Themistocles,  the 
Athenian  general,  who  planned  the  fortifications  of  Athens ; 
Dikast  and  heliast :  the  Dikast  was  the  judge  (dike,  a  suit,  was 
the  term  for  a  civil  process) ;  the  hel lasts  were  jurors,  and  in  the 
flourishing  period  of  the  democracy  numbered  six  thousand, 
p.  7,  Kordax-step,  a  lascivious  comic  dance :  to  perform  it  off 
the  stage  was  regarded  as  a  sign  of  intoxication  or  profligacy ; 
Propulaia,  a  court  or  vestibule  of  the  Acropolis  at  Athens  ;  Pnux, 
a  place  at  Athens  set  apart  for  holding  assemblies  :  it  was  built 
on  a  rock ;  Bema,  the  elevated  position  occupied  by  those  who 
addressed  the  assembly.  p.  8,  Dionusia,  the  great  festivals 
of  Bacchus,  held  three  times  a  year,  when  alone  dramatic  repre- 
sentations at  Athens  took  place  ;  "  Hermippos  to  pelt  Perikles  "  : 
Hermippos  was  a  poet  who  accused  Aspasia,  the  mistress  of 
Pericles,  of  impiety ;  "  Kratinos  to  swear  Pheidias  robbed  a 
shrine" :  Kratinos  was  a  comic  poet  of  Athens,  a  contemporary 
of  Aristophanes;  Eruxis,  the  name  of  a  small  satirist.  (Com- 
pare "  The  Frogs"  11.  933-934.)  Momos,  the  god  of  pleasan- 
try: he  satirised  the  gods;  Makaria,  one  of  the  characters  in 
the  Heraclidce  of  Euripides:  she  devoted  herself  to  death  to 
enable  the  Athenians  to  win  a  victory,  p.  9,  "Furies  in  the 
Oresteian  song" — Alecto,  Tisiphone,  and  Megaera :  they  haunted 
Orestes  after  he  murdered  his  mother  Clytemnestra :  "  As  the 
Three,"  etc.,  the  three  tragic  poets,  vEschylus,  Sophocles  and 
Euripides.  Klutaimnestra,  wife  of  Agamemnon  and  mother  of 
Orestes,  Iphigenia,  and  Electra :  she  murdered  her  husband 
on  his  return  from  Troy ;  locaste,  locasta,  wife  of  Laius 


38  BROWNING   CYCLOPAEDIA.  [Art 

and  mother  of  CEdipus ;  Medeia,  daughter  of  Aetes :  when 
Jason  repudiated  her  she  killed  their  children;  Choros :  the 
function  of  the  chorus,  represented  by  its  leader,  was  to 
act  as  an  ideal  public  :  it  might  consist  of  old  men  and 
women  or  maidens  ;  dances  and  gestures  were  introduced,  to 
illustrate  the  drama,  p.  10,  peplosed  and  kothorned,  robed 
and  buskined.  Phrunicos,  a  tragic  poet  of  Athens :  he  was 
heavily  fined  by  the  government  for  exhibiting  the  sufferings  of 
a  kindred  people  in  a  drama.  (Herod.,  vi.,  21.)  "  Milesian 
smarf -place,"  the  Persian  conquest  of  Miletus,  p.  n,  Lenaia,  a 
festival  of  Bacchus,  with  poetical  contentions,  etc.  ;  Baccheion, 
a  temple  of  Bacchus ;  Andromede,  rescued  from  a  sea-monster 
by  Perseus  ;  Kresphontes,  one  of  the  tragedies  of  Euripides  ; 
Phokis,  a  country  of  northern  Greece,  whence  came  the  husband 
of  Balaustion,  who  saved  Athens  by  a  song  from  Euripides ; 
Bacchai)  a  play  by  Euripides,  not  acted  till  after  his  death,  p.  12, 
Amphitheos,  a  priest  of  Ceres  at  Athens,  ridiculed  by  Aristo- 
phanes to  annoy  Euripides,  p.  14,  stade,  a  single  course  for 
foot-races  at  Olympia — about  a  furlong ;  diaulos,  the  double 
track  of  the  racecourse  for  the  return,  p.  15,  Hupsipule,  queen 
of  Lemnos,  who  entertained  Jason  in  his  voyage  to  Colchis : 
"  Phoinissai"  (The  Phoenician  Women),  title  of  one  of  the 
plays  of  Euripides ;  "  Zethos  against  Amphion "  .*  Zethos 
was  a  son  of  Jupiter  by  Antiope,  and  brother  to  Amphion; 
Macedonian  Archelaos,  a  king  of  Macedonia  who  patronised 
Euripides,  p.  16,  Phorminx,  a  harp  or  guitar;  " Alkaton" 
a  play  of  Euripides;  Pentheus,  king  of  Thebes,  who  refused 
to  acknowledge  Bacchus  as  a  god;  "Iphigenia  in  Aulis" 
a  play  by  Euripides;  Mounuchia,  a  port  of  Attica  between 
the  Piraeus  and  the  promontory  of  Sunium  ;  "  City  of  Gapers" 
Athens — so  called  on  account  of  the  curiosity  of  the  people  ; 
Kopaic  eel:  the  eels  of  Lake  Copais,  in  Bceotia,  were  very 
celebrated,  and  to  this  day  maintain  their  reputation,  p.  17, 
Arginousai,  three  islands  near  the  shores  of  Asia  Minor ;  Lais, 
a  celebrated  courtesan,  the  mistress  of  Alcibiades;  Leogoras, 
an  Athenian  debauchee ;  Koppa-marked,  branded  as  high 
bred ;  choinix,  a  liquid  measure ;  Mendesian  wine :  Wine  from 
Mende,  a  city  of  Thrace,  famous  for  its  wines ;  Thesmophoria> 
a  women's  festival  in  honour  of  Ceres,  made  sport  of  by 
Aristophanes,  p.  18,  Krateros,  probably  an  imaginary  character. 


BROWNING   CYCLOPAEDIA.  39 

Arridaios  and  Krateues,  local  poets  in  royal  favour ;  Protagoras, 
a  Greek  atheistic  philosopher,  banished  from  Athens,  died  about 
400  B.C.  ;  "  Comic  Platon,"  a  Greek  poet,  called  "  the  prince 
of  the  middle  comedy,"  flourished  445  B.C.  ;  Archelaos,  king  of 
Macedonia.  p.  19,  "  Lusistrate,"  a  play  by  Aristophanes, 
in  which  the  women  demand  a  peace ;  Kleon :  Cleon  was  an 
Athenian  tanner  and  a  great  popular  demagogue,  411  B.C.,  dis- 
tinguished afterwards  as  a  general;  he  was  a  great  enemy  of 
Aristophanes.  p.  20,  Phuromachos,  a  military  leader ;  Phaidra, 
fell  in  love  with  Hippolytus,  her  son-in-law,  who  refused  her 
love,  which  proved  fatal  to  him,  p.  21,  Salabaccho,  a  performer 
in  Aristophanes'  play,  The  Lysistrata,  acting  the  part  of  "  Peace  " , 
Aristeides,  .an  Athenian  general,  surnamed  the  Just,  banished 
484  B.C.  ;  Miltiades,  the  Athenian  general  who  routed  the  armies 
of  Darius,  died  489  B.C.  ;  "  A  golden  tettix  in  his  hair "  (a 
grasshopper),  an  Athenian  badge  of  honour  worn  as  indicative 
that  the  bearer  had  "  sprung  from  the  soil " ;  Kleophon,  a  dema- 
gogue of  Athens.  p.  22,  Thesmephoriazousai,  a  play  by  Aris- 
tophanes satirising  women  and  Euripides,  B.C.  411.  p.  23, 
Peiraios,  the  seaport  of  Athens;  Alkamenes,  a  statuary  who 
lived  448  B.C.,  distinguished  for  his  beautifuJ  statues  of  Venus 
and  Vulcan;  Thoukudides  (Thucydides),  the  Greek  historian, 
died  at  Athens  391  B.C.  p.  24,  Herakles  (Hercules),  who  had 
brought  Alcestis  back  to  life :  the  subject  of  a  play  by  Euripides, 
p.  25,  Eurustheus,  king  of  Argos,  who  enjoined  Hercules  the 
most  hazardous  undertakings,  hoping  he  would  perish  in  one 
of  them ;  King  Lukos,  the  son  of  an  elder  Lukos  said  to  have 
been  the  husband  of  Dirke ;  Megara,  daughter  of  Creon,  king 
of  Thebes,  and  wife  of  Hercules ;  Thebai — i.e.,  of  Creon  of 
Thebes ;  Heracleian  House,  the  house  of  Hercules.  p.  26, 
Amphitruon,  a  Theban  prince,  foster-father  of  Herakles,  i.e.,  the 
husband  of  Alkmene  the  mother  of  Herakles  by  Zeus ;  Komos- 
cry,  a  "  Komos  "  was  a  revel ;  Dionusos,  Bacchos,  P hales,  lacchos 
(all  names  of  Bacchus) :  the  goat  was  sacrificed  to  Bacchus  on 
account  of  the  propensity  that  animal  has  to  destroy  the  vine, 
p.  27,  Mnesilochos,  the  father-in-law  of  Euripides,  a  character  in 
the  Thesmophoriazousai ;  Toxotes,  an  archer  in  the  same  play ; 
Elaphion,  leader  of  the  chorus  of  females  or  flute-players, 
p.  30,  Helios,  the  God  of  the  Sun ;  Pindaros,  the  greatest  lyric 


40  BROWNING    CYCLOPAEDIA. 

poet  of  Greece,  born  552  B.C.  ;  "  Idle  cheek  band "  refers  to  a 
support  for  the  cheeks  worn  by  trumpeters ;  Cuckoo -apple,  the 
highly  poisonous  tongue-burning  Cuckoo-pint  (Arum  maculatutn) ; 
Thasian,  Thasus,  an  island  in  the  jEgean  Sea  famous  for  its 
wine ;  threttanelo  and  neblaretai,  imitative  noises ;  Chrusomelo- 
lonthion-Phaps,  a  dancing  girl's  name.  p.  31,  Artamouxia,  a 
character  in  the  Thesmophoriazousai  of  Aristophanes ;  Hermes 
=  Mercury ;  Goats-breakfast,  improper  allusions,  connected  with 
Bacchus  ;  Archon,  a  chief  magistrate  of  Athens ;  "  Three  days' 
salt  fish  slice "  ;  each  soldier  was  required  to  take  with  him  on 
the  march  three  days'  rations,  p.  32,  Archinos,  a  rhetorician  of 
Athens  (Schol.  in  Aristoph.  Ran.) ;  Agurrhios,  an  Athenian  general 
in  B.C.  389:  he  was  a  demagogue;  "Bald-head  Bard":  this 
describes  Aristophanes,  and  the  two  following  words  indicate  his 
native  place ;  Kudathenaian,  native  of  the  Deme  Cydathene ; 
Pandionid,  of  the  tribe  of  Pandionis ;  "son  of  Philippos " : 
Aristophanes  here  gives  the  names  of  his  father  and  of  his  birth- 
place ;  anapeests,  feet  in  verse,  whereof  the  first  syllables  are 
short  and  the  last  long ;  Phrunichos  (see  on  p.  10) ;  Choirilos,  a 
tragic  poet  of  Athens,  who  wrote  a  hundred  and  fifty  tragedies. 
p.  33,  Kratinos,  a  severe  and  drunken  satirist  of  Athens,  431  B.C.; 
"  Willow -wicker -flask"  i.e.,  "  Flagon,"  the  name  of  a  comedy 
by  Kratinos  which  took  the  first  prize,  423  B.C.  ;  Mendesian,  from 
Mende  in  Thrace,  p.  36,  "  Lyric  shell  or  tragic  barbiton,"  instru- 
ments of  music :  the  barbiton  was  a  lyre ;  shells  were  used  as  the 
bodies  of  lyres ;  Tuphon,  a  famous  giant  chained  under  Mount 
Etna.  p.  38,  Sousarion,  a  Greek  poet  of  Megara,  said  to  have  been 
the  inventor  of  comedy ;  Chionides,  an  Athenian  poet,  by  some 
alleged  to  have  been  the  inventor  of  comedy.  p.  39,  "  Grass- 
hoppers," a  play  of  Aristophanes  ? ;  "  Little -in-the-Fields,"  suburban 
or  village  feasts  of  Bacchus,  p.  40,  Ameipsias,  a  comic  poet  ridiculed 
by  Aristophanes  for  his  insipidity ;  Salaminian,  of  Salamis,  an 
island  on  the  coast  of  Attica.  p.  41,  Archelaos,  king  of  Mace- 
donia, patron  of  Euripides,  p.  42,  lostephanos  (violet-crowned), 
a  title  applied  to  Athens ;  Dekeleia,  a  village  of  Attica  north 
of  Athens ;  Kleonumos,  an  Athenian  often  ridiculed  by  Aris- 
tophanes ;  Melanthios,  a  tragic  poet,  a  son  of  Philocles ;  Parabasis, 
an  address  in  the  old  comedy,  where  the  author  speaks  through 
the  mouth  of  the  chorus ;  "  The  Wasps"  one  of  the  famous 
plays  of  Aristophanes.  p.  43,  Telekleidest  an  Athenian  comic 


All]  BROWNING   CYCLOPAEDIA.  4  • 

poet  of  the  age  of  Pericles ;  Murtilos,  a  comic  poet ;  Hermippos, 
a  poet,  an  elder  contemporary  of  Aristophanes;  Eupolis :  is 
coupled  with  Aristophanes  as  a  chief  representative  of  the  old 
comedy  (born  446  B.C.)  ;  Kratinos,  a  contemporary  comic  poet, 
who  died  a  few  years  after  Aristophanes  began  to  write  for 
the  stage  ;  Mullos  and  Euetes,  comic  poets  of  Athens  ;  Megara, 
a  small  country  of  Greece,  p.  44,  Morucheides,  an  archon  of 
Athens,  in  whose  time  it  was  ordered  that  no  one  should  be 
ridiculed  on  the  stage  by  name;  Sourakosios,  an  Athenian 
lawyer  ridiculed  by  the  poets  for  his  garrulity  ;  Tragic  Trilogv, 
a  series  of  three  dramas,  which,  though  complete  each  in  itself, 
bear  a  certain  relation  to  each  other,  and  form  one  historical 
and  poetical  picture — e.g.,  the  three  plays  of  the  Oresteia,  the 
Agamemnon,  the  Choephorce,  and  the  Eumenides,  by  ^Eschylus. 
p.  45,  "  The  Birds"  the  title  of  one  of  Aristophanes'  plays,  p.  46, 
Ttiphales,  a  three-plumed  helmet-wearer;  Trilophos,  a  three- 
crested  helmet-wearer ;  Tettix  (the  grasshopper),  a  sign  of  honour 
worn  as  a  golden  ornament ;  "Autochthon-brood"  :  the  Athenians 
so  called  themselves,  boasting  t'hat  they  were  as  old  as  the  country 
they  inhabited  ;  Taugetan,  a  mountain  near  Sparta,  p.  47,  Rup- 
papai,  a  sailor's  cry ;  Mitulene,  the  capital  of  Lesbos,  a  famous 
seat  of  learning,  and  the  birthplace  of  many  great  men  ;  Oidipotis, 
son  of  Laius,  king  of  Thebes,  and  Jocasta :  he  murdered  his 
own  father ;  Phaidra,  who  fell  in  love  with  her  son  Hippo- 
lytus ;  Auge,  the  mother  of  Telephus  by  Hercules ;  Kanake,  a 
daughter  of  ^Eolus,  who  bore  a  child  to  her  brother  Macareus  ; 
antistrophe,  a  part  of  the  Greek  choral  ode.  p.  48,  Aigina, 
an  island  opposite  Athens.  p.  49,  Prutaneion,  the  large  hall 
at  Athens  where  the  magistrates  feasted  with  those  who  had 
rendered  great  services  to  the  country ;  Ariphrades,  a  person 
ridiculed  by  Aristophanes  for  his  lilthiness  ;  Karkinos  and  his 
sons  were  Athenian  dancers :  supposed  here  to  have  been  per- 
forming in  a  play  of  Ameipsias.  p.  50,  Parachoregema,  the  subor- 
dinate chorus;  Aristullos,  an  infamous  poet;  "Bald  Bard's  hetairai," 
Aristophanes'  female  companions.  p.  51,  Murrhine  and  Akalan 
this,  chorus  girls  representing  "  good-humour  "  and  "  indulgence  " ; 
Kalligenia,  a  name  of  Ceres :  here  it  means  her  festival  celebrated 
by  the  woman  chorus  of  the  Thesmophoriazottsai ;  Lusandros  = 
Lysander,  a  celebrated  Spartan  general  ;  Euboia,  a  large  island 
in  the  ^Egean  Sea ;  "  The  Great  King's  Eye,"  the  nickname  of  the 


43  BROWNING  CYCLOPEDIA.  [Art 

Persian   ambassador   in    the    play  of   The   Acharnians ;   Kompola- 
kuthes,  a  puffed-up  braggadocio,      p.  52,  Strattis,  a  comic  poet ; 
klepsudra,   a  water  clock ;   Sphettian  vinegar   =   vinegar  from  the 
village    of    Sphettus ;    silphion,    a    herb    by    some    called    master- 
wort,     by     some     benzoin,     by    others     pellitory ;     Kleonclapper, 
i.e.,    a    scourge    oi    Cleon ;    Agathon,    an    Athenian    poet,    very 
lady-like  in  appearance,  a  character  in  The  Women's  Festival 
of  Aristophanes ;  "Babaiax!"  interjection  of  admiration,     p.  54, 
"  Told   him    in    a    dream "    (see    Cicero,    Divinatione,    xxv) ; 
Euphorion,  a  son  of  ^Eschylus,  who  published  four  of  his  father's 
plays  after  his  death,  and  defeated  Euripides  with  one  of  them ; 
Trugaios,  a  character  in  the  comedy  of  Peace :  he  is  a  distressed 
Athenian  who  soars  to  the  sky  on  a  beetle's  back ;  Philonides,  a 
Greek  comic  poet  of  Athens;  Simonides,  a  celebrated  poet  of 
Cos,  529  B.C.  :   he  was  the   first  poet  who  wrote  for   money :   he 
bore  the  character  of  an  avaricious  man ;  Kallistratos,  a  comic  poet, 
rival  of  Aristophanes;  Asklepios  =  ^Esculapius;  lophon,  a  son  oi 
Sophocles,  who  tried  to  make  out  that  his  father  was  an  imbecile, 
p.  58,  Maketis,  capital  of  Macedonia ;  Pentelikos,  a  mountain  of 
Attica,  celebrated  for  its  marble,    p.  60,  Lamachos  :  the  "  Great 
Captain  "  of  the  day  was  the  brave  son  of  Xenophanes,  killed 
before  Syracuse   B.C.   414:   satirised    by   Aristophanes  in  The 
Acharnians ;  Pisthetairos^  a  character  in  Aristophanes'  Birds  \ 
Strepsiades,  a  character  in  The  Clouds  of  Aristophanes ;  Ariphrades 
(see  under  p.  49).     p.  63,  " Nikias,  ninny-like"  the  Athenian 
general  who  ruined  Athens  at  Syracuse — was  very  superstitious, 
p.  64,  Hermai,  statues  of  Mercury  in  the  streets  of  Athens :  we  have 
one  in  the  British  Museum,     p.  67,  Sophroniskos,  was  the  father 
of  Socrates,     p.  75,  Kephisophon,  a  friend  of  Euripides,  said  to 
have    afforded    him    literary    assistance.       p.    79,    Palaistra,    the 
boy's    school     for     physical    culture.       p.     82,     San,     the     letter 
S,  used  as  a  horse-brand,     p.  81,  Aias  =  Ajax.     p.  82,  Pisthe- 
tairos,  an  enterprising  Athenian  in  the  comedy  of  the  Birds. 
p.  83,  "  Rocky-ones  "  =  Athenians  ;  Pcparethian,  famous  wine  of 
Peparethus,  on   the  coast  of  Macedonia,     p.  85,  Promachos,  a 
defender  or  champion,  name  of  a  statue :  the  bronze  statue  of 
Athene  Promachos  is  here  referred  to,  which  was  erected  from 
the  spoils  taken  at  Marathon,  and  stood  between  the  Propylaea 
and   the  Erechtheum  :  the  proportions  of  this  statue  were  so 
gigantic  that  the  gleaming  point  of  the  lance  and  the  crest  oi 


All]  BROWNING   CYCLOPEDIA.  43- 

the  helmet  were  visible  to  seamen  on  approaching  the  Piraeus 
from  Sunium  (Seyffert,  Diet*  Class.  Ant.)  ;  Oresteia,  the  trilogy 
or  three  tragedies  of  ^Eschylus — the  Agamemnon,  the  Choephorce, 
and  the  Eumenides.  p.  86,  Kimon,  son  of  Miltiades  :  he  was  a 
famous  Athenian  general,  and  was  banished  by  the  BouU,  or 
council  of  state;  Prodikos,  a  Sophist  put  to  death  by  the 
Athenians  about  396  B.C.,  satirised  by  Aristophanes,  p.  87,. 
Kottabos,  a  kind  of  game  in  which  liquid  is  thrown  up  so  as 
to  make  a  loud  noise  in  falling:  it  was  variously  played  (see 
Seyffert's  Diet.  Class.  Ant.,  p.  165)  ;  Choes,  an  Athenian  festival ;. 
Theoros,  a  comic  poet  of  infamous  character,  p.  88,  Brilesian, 
Brilessus,  a  mountain  of  Attica,  p.  89,  " Plataian  help''  prompt 
assistance :  the  Platseans  furnished  a  thousand  soldiers  to  help 
the  Athenians  at  Marathon ;  Saperdion,  a  term  of  endearment ; 
Empousa,  a  hobgoblin  or  horrible  sceptre :  "  Apollonius  of  Tyana 
saw  in  a  desert  near  the  Indus  an  empousa  or  ghul  taking  many 
forms "  (Philostratus,  ii.,  4)  ;  Kimberic,  name  of  a  species  of 
vestment,  p.  93,  lt  Kuthereia's  self"  a  surname  of  Venus,  p.  9^,. 
plethron  square^  100  square  feet ;  chiton,  the  chief  and  indis- 
pensible  article  of  female  dress,  or  an  undergarment  worn  by 
both  sexes.  p.  95,  Ion,  a  tragic  poet  of  Chios ;  lophon,  son- 
of  Sophocles,  a  poor  poet ;  Aristullos,  an  infamous  poet.  p. 
98,  Cloudcuckooburg,  in  Aristophanes'  play  The  Birds  these 
animals  are  persuaded  to  build  a  city  in  the  air,  so  as  to  cut- 
off the  gods  from  men  ;  Tereus,  a  king  of  Thrace,  who  offered 
violence  to  his  sister-in-law  Philomela  ;  Hoopoe,  triple -crest  : 
Tereus  was  said  to  have  been  changed  into  a  hoopoe  (The 
Birds) ;  Palaistra  toolt  i.e,,  one  highly  developed ;  Amphiktuon, 
a  council  of  the  wisest  and  best  men  of  Greece ;  Phrixos.  son* 
of  Athamas,  king  of  Thebes,  persecuted  by  his  stepmother  was 
fabled  to  have  taken  flight  to  Colchis  on  a  ram.  p  99,  Priapos,. 
the  god  of  orchards,  gardens,  and  licentiousness ;  Phales  lacchos, 
indecent  figure  of  Bacchus,  p.  102,  Kallikratidas,  a  Spartan  who 
routed  the  Athenian  fleet  about  400  B.C.  ;  Theramenes,  an  Athenian 
philosopher  and  general  of  the  time  of  Alcibiades.  p.  103,  chauno* 
prockt,  a  catamite,  p.  113,  Aristonumos  a  comic  poet,  contem- 
porary with  Aristophanes ;  Ameipsias,  a  comic  poet  satirised  by 
Aristophanes  ;  Saunvrion,  a  comic  poet  of  Athens :  Neblaretai  ' 
Rattei !  exclamations  of  joy.  p.  117,  Sousarion:  a  Greek  poet  of 
Megara,  who  introduced  comedy  at  Athens  on  a  movable  stage,. 


44  BROWNING   CYCLOPEDIA.  [All 

562  B.C.:  he  was  unfriendly  to  the  ladies,     p.   118,  Lemnians,  The 
Hours,  Female  Playhouse,  etc.,  these   are   all   lost   plays   of  Aris- 
tophanes,      p.    ng,    Kassiterides,    "the    tin    islands":    the    Scilly 
Islands,  Land's  End,  and  Lizard  Point,    p.  121,  "  Your  games"  : 
'Olympian,  in  honour  of  Zeus  at  Olympia ;  Pythian,  held  near 
Delphi ;  Isthmian,  held  in  the  Isthmus  of  Corinth ;   Nemeian, 
-celebrated  in  the  valley  of  Nemea.     p.   126,  Phoibos,  name  of 
Apollo  or  the  sun  ;  Kunthia  =  Cynthia,  a  surname  of  Diana, 
from  Mount  Cynthus,  where  she  was  born.     p.   128,  skiadeion, 
the    umbel    or    umbrella-like    head  of    plants    like  fennel  or 
-anise — hence  a  parasol  or  umbrella;   Huperbolos,  an  Athenian 
demagogue,      p.    129,    Theoria,    festival    at    Athens   in   honour 
•of   Apollo  —  character    in    The    Peace ;    Opora,    a    character    in 
The     Peace.       p.      133,      "  Philokleon     turns     Bdelukleon,"     an 
-admirer    of    Cleon,    turned    detester    of    Cleon :   character  in 
Aristophanes'  comedy  The  Wasps,     p.  135,  Logeion,  the  stage 
where    the    actors    perform — properly    "the    speaking    place." 
p.  137,  Lamia-shape,  as  of  the  monsters  with  face  of  a  woman 
and  body  of  a  serpent ;    Kukloboros,   roaring — a  noise   as  of 
the  torrent  of  the  river  in  Attica  of  that  name ;  Platon  =  Plato. 
>p.  140,  Konnos,  the  play  of  Ameipsias  which  beat  the  Clouds  of 
Aristophanes  in  the  award  of  the  judges ;  Moruchides,  a  magis- 
trate of  Athens,  in  whose  time  it  was  decided  that  no  one  should 
be  ridiculed  on  the  stage  by  name ;  Euthumenes,  Argurrhios, 
Surakosios,    Kinesias,    Athenian    rulers    who    endeavoured    to 
restrain  the  gross  attacks  of  the  comic  poets,     p.  141,  Acharnes, 
Aristophanes'   play    The   Achamians:    it   is   the   most   ancient 
.specimen  of  comedy  which  has  reached  us.     p.    143,  Poseidon, 
the  Sea  =  Neptune,    p.    144,  Triballos,  a  vulgar  deity,    p.  145, 
Kolonos,  an  eminence  near  Athens ;  stulos,  a  style  or  pen  to  write 
with  on  wax  tablets ;  psallerion,  a  musical  instrument  like  a  harp, 
.a  psaltery,     p.   146,  Pentheus,  king  of  Thebes,  who  resisted  the 
worship  of  Bacchus,  and  was  driven  mad  by  the  god  and  torn  to 
pieces  by  his  own  mother  and  her  two  sisters  in  their  Bacchic 
frenzy,     p.  147,  Herakles=  Hercules  ;  Argive  Amphitruon,  son 
of  Alkaios  and  husband  of  Alcmene  ;  Alkaios,  father  of  Amphi- 
truon and  grandfather  of  Hercules ;  Perseus,  son  of  Jupiter  and 
Danae  ;  Thebai,  capital  of  Bceotia,  founded  by  Cadmus  ;  Sown- 
ones,  the  armed  men  who  rose  from  the  dragons'  teeth  sown  by 
'Cadmus ;  Ares,  Greek  name  of  Mars  ;  Kadmos,  founder  of  Boeotian 


BROWNING   CYCLOPAEDIA.  45. 

Thebes;  Kreon,  king  of  Thebes,  father  of  Megara  slain  by  Lukos; 
Menoikeus,  father  of  the  Kreon  above  referred  to.  p.  148,  Kuklopian- 
city  :  Argos,  according  to  Euripides,  was  built  by  the  seven  Cyclopes : 
•'  These  were  architects  who  attended  Prcetus  when  he  returned  out 
of  Asia ;  among  other  works  with  which  they  adorned  Greece  were 
the  walls  of  Mycenae  and  Tiryns,  which  were  built  of  unhewn- 
stones,  so  large  that  two  mules  yoked  could  not  move  the 
smallest  of  them "  (Potter) ;  Argos,  an  ancient  city,  capital  of 
Argolis  in  Peloponnesus ;  Elektruon,  a  son  of  Perseus ;  Here  = 
Juno ;  Tainaros,  a  promontory  of  Laconia,  where  was  the  cavern, 
whence  Hercules  dragged  Cerberus ;  Dirke,  wife  of  the  Theban- 
prince  Lukos;  Amphion:  "His  skill  in  music  was  so  great 
that  the  very  stones  were  said  to  have  been  wrought  upon 
by  his  lyre,  and  of  themselves  to  have  built  the  walls  of  Thebes  " 
— Carey  (see  ABT  VOGLER)  ;  Zethos,  brother  of  Amphion ;. 
Euboia,  the  largest  island  in  the  ^Egean  Sea,  now  Negroponte, 
p.  149,  Minuai,  the  Argonauts,  companions  of  Jason,  ^p.  1505. 
Taphian  town,  Taphiae,  islands  in  the  Ionian  Sea.  p.  153^ 
peplos,  a  robe.  p.  154,  Hellas  =  Greece ;  Nemeian  monster, 
the  lion  slain  by  Hercules,  p.  156,  Kentaur  race,  a  people 
of  Thessaly  represented  as  half  men  and  half  horses ;  Pholoe, 
a  mountain  in  Arcadia ;  Dirphus,  a  mountain  of  Eubcea 
which  Hercules  laid  waste;  Abantid:  Abantis  was  an  ancient 
name  of  Eubcea.  p.  158,  Parnasos,  a  mountain  of  Phocis.  p.  165, 
Peneios,  a  river  of  Thessaly ;  Mount  Pelion,  a  celebrated  moun- 
tain of  Thessaly;  Homole,  a  mountain  of  Thessaly;  Oinoe- 
=  CEne,  a  small  town  of  Argolis  ;  Diomede,  a  king  of  Thrace 
who  fed  his  horses  on  human  flesh,  and  was  himself  destroyed 
by  Hercules,  p.  166,  Hebros,  the  principal  river  of  Thrace ;. 
Mukenaian  tyrant,  Eurystheus,  king  of  Mycenae  ;  Amauros, 
Amaurus,  a  river  of  Thessaly  near  the  foot  of  Pelion ;  Kuknos,  a 
son  of  Mars  by  Pelopea,  killed  by  Hercules;  Amphanaia,  a 
Dorian  city ;  Hesperian,  west,  towards  Spain ;  Maiotis,  Lake 
Maeotis,  ».#.,  the  Sea  of  Azoi.  p.  167,  Lernaian  snake,  the  hydra 
slain  by  Hercules,  who  then  drained  the  marsh  of  Lerna ;  JEru- 
theia,  an  island  near  Cadiz,  where  Hercules  drove  the  oxen  of 
Geryon.  p.  169,  Pelasgia  =  Greece  ;  Daidalos,  mythical  person- 
age, father  of  Icarus ;  Oichalia,  a  town  of  Laconia,  destroyed  by 
Hercules,  p.  177,  Ismenos,  a  river  of  Bceotia  flowing  through 


46  BROWNING   CYCLOPEDIA.  [Ari 

Thebes,  p.  1 80,  Orgies,  festivals  of  Bacchus ;  Chthonia,  a  sur- 
name of  Ceres ;  Hermion,  a  town  of  Argolis  where  Ceres  had 
a  famous  temple ;  Theseus,  king  of  Athens,  conqueror  of  the 
Minotaur,  p.  182,  Aitna=  Etna.  p.  183,  Mnemosune,  the  mother 
of  the  Muses ;  Bromios,  a  surname  of  Bacchus  ;  Delian  girls, 
of  Delos,  one  of  the  Cyclades  islands  ;  Latona,  mother  of  Apollo 
•and  Diana,  p.  188,  Acherontian  harbour:  Acheron  was  one  of 
the  rivers  of  hell.  p.  189,  Asopiad  sisters,  daughters  of  the  god 
of  the  river  Asopus ;  Puthios,  surname  of  the  Delphian  Apollo. 
Helikonian  muses:  Mount  Helicon,  in  Boeotia,  was  sacred  to 
.Apollo  and  the  Muses,  p.  190,  Plouton  =  Pluto,  god  of  hell ; 
Paian,  name  of  Apollo,  the  healer ;  Iris,  the  swift-footed  mes- 
senger of  the  gods.  p.  193,  Keres,  the  daughters  of  Night  and 
personified  necessity  of  Death,  p.  194,  Otototoi,  woe  !  alas!  p.  195, 
Tartaros  =  Hades ;  Pallas,  i.e.,  Minerva,  p.  198,  Niso's  city, 
port  town  of  Megara ;  Isthmos,  the  isthmus  of  Corinth,  p.  201, 
Argolis,  a  country  of  Peloponnesus,  now  Romania ;  Danaos, 
son  of  Belus,  king  of  Egypt :  he  had  fifty  daughters,  who  murdered 
the  fifty  sons  of  Egyptus  ;  Prokne,  daughter  of  Pandion,  king  oJ 
Athens,  wife  of  Tereus,  king  of  Thrace,  p.  202,  Itus,  son  of  Prokne\ 
p.  206,  Taphioi,  the  Taphians,  who  made  war  against  Electryon, 
-and  killed  all  his  sons  ;  Erinues  =  the  Furies,  p.  213,  Erech- 
.theidais  town  =  Athens,  p.  215,  Hundredheaded  Hydra,  a 
•dreadful  monster  slain  by  Hercules,  p.  216,  Phkgruia,  a  place 
of  Macedonia,  where  Hercules  defeated  the  giants,  p.  234,  lo- 
.stephanos,  violet-crowned,  a  name  of  Athens,  p.  235,  Thamuris, 
an  ancient  Thracian  bard ;  Poikile,  a  celebrated  portico  of  Athens, 
adorned  with  pictures  of  gods  and  benefactors ;  Rhesus  was  king 
of  Thrace  and  ally  of  the  Trojans;  Blind  Bard  =  Thamuris. 
•p.  236,  Eurutos,  a  king  of  CEchalia,  who  offered  his  daughter  to 
.a  better  shot  than  himself :  Hercules  won,  but  was  denied  the 
prize ;  Dorian,  a  town  of  Messenia,  where  Thamyris  challenged 
the  Muses  to  a  trial  of  skill ;  Balura,  a  river  of  Peloponnesus, 
p.  241,  Dekeleia,  a  village  of  Attica  north  of  Athens,  celebrated  in 
the  Peloponnesian  war ;  spinks,  chaffinches,  p.  242,  Amphion^ 
son  of  Jupiter  and  inventor  of  Music:  he  built  the  walls  of 
Thebes  to  the  sound  of  his  lyre.  p.  245,  Castalian  dew,  the 
fountain  of  Castalia,  near  Phocis,  at  the  foot  of  Parnassus,  p.  247, 
Pheidippides,  the  celebrated  runner,  a  character  also  in  The 
Clouds,  p.  248,  Aigispotamoi,  ^Egospotamos  was  the  river  where 


Art]  BROWNING   CYCLOPEDIA.  47 

the  Athenians  were  defeated  by  Lysander.  B  a  405  ;  Elaphebolion 
month,  stag-hunting  time,  when  the  poetical  contests  took  place ; 
Liisandros,  the  celebrated  Spartan  general  Lysander ;  triremes. 
galleys  with  three  banks  of  oars  one  above  another.  p.  249, 
Bakis-prophecy.  Bacis  was  a  famous  soothsayer  of  Boeotia. 
<p.  253,  Elektra,  daughter  of  Agamemnon,  king  of  Argos ; 
Orestes  brother  of  Elektra,  who  saved  his  life  p  254,  Klutaim- 
nestra,  murdered  her  husband  Agamemnon.  p.  255,  Kommos, 
a  great  wailing ;  eleleleleu,  a  loud  crying ;  Lakonians,  the  Lace- 
demonians =  the  Spartans,  p.  258,  Young  Philemon,  a  Greek, 
comic  poet ;  there  was  an  old  Philemon,  contemporary  with 
Menander. — Mr.  Fotheringham,  in  his  "  Studies  in  the  Poetry  of 
Robert  Browning,"  says:  "  Browning's  preference  for  Euripides 
among  Greek  dramatists,  and  his  defence  of  that  poet  in  the 
person  of  Balaustion  against  Aristophanes,  shows  how  distinctly 
he  has  considered  the  principles  raised  by  the  later  drama  of 
Greece,  and  how  deliberately  he  prefers  Euripidean  art  and  aims 
to  Aristophanic  naturalism.  He  likes  the  human  and  ethical 
standpoint,  the  serious  and  truth-loving  spirit  of  the  tragic  rather 
than  the  pure  Hellenism  of  the  comic  poet ;  while  the  Apology 
suggests  a  broader  spirit  and  a  larger  view,  an  art  that  unites  the 
realism  of  the  one  with  the  higher  interests  of  the  other — delight 
in  and  free  study  of  the  world  with  ideal  aims  and  spiritual 
truth  "  (p.  356). 

Arezzo.  A  city  of  Tuscany,  the  residence  of  Count  Guido 
Franceschini,  the  husband  of  Pompilia  and  her  murderer.  It  is 
now  a  clean,  well-built,  well-paved,  and  flourishing  town  of  ten 
thousand  inhabitants.  It  is  celebrated  in  conne  ction  with  many 
remarkable  men,  as  Maecenas,  Guido  the  musician,  Guittone  the 
poet,  Cesalpini  the  botanist,  Vasari,  the  author  of  the  "  Lives  of 
the  Painters,"  and  many  others.  (The  Ring  and  the  Book.} 

Art  Poems.  The  great  poems  dealing  with  painting  are  "  Fra 
Lippo  Lippi,"  "  Andrea  del  Sarto,"  "  Old  Pictures  in  Florence," 
41  Pictor  Ignotus,"  and  "  The  Guardian  Angel." 

Artemis  Prologizes.  (Dramatic  Lyrics,  in  Bells  and  Pome- 
granates, No.  III.  1842.)  Theseus  became  enamoured  of 
Hippolyta  when  he  attended  Hercules  in  his  expedition  against 
the  Amazons.  Before  she  accepted  him  as  her  lover,  he  had  to 
vanquish  her  in  single  combat,  which  difficult  and  dangerous  task 
<ie  accomplished.  She  accompanied  him  to  Athens,  and  bore  him 


48  BROWNING   CYCLOPAEDIA.  [Art 

a  son,  Hippolytus.  The  young  prince  excelled  in  every  manly 
virtue,  but  he  was  averse  to  the  female  sex,  and  grievously 
offended  Venus  by  neglecting  her  and  devoting  himself  entirely 
to  the  worship  of  Diana,  called  by  the  Greeks  Artemis.  Venus 
was  enraged,  and  determined  to  ruin  him.  Hippolyta  in  process 
of  time  died,  and  Theseus  married  Phaedra,  the  daughter  of 
Minos,  the  king  of  Crete.  Unhappily,  as  soon  as  Phaedra  saw 
the  young  and  accomplished  Hippolytus,  she  conceived  for  him 
a  guilty  passion — which,  however,  she  did  her  utmost  to  conceal. 
It  was  Venus  who  inspired  her  with  this  insane  love,  out  of 
revenge  to  Hippolytus,  whom  she  intended  to  ruin  by  this  means. 
Phaedra's  nurse  discovered  the  secret,  and  told  it  to  the  youth, 
notwithstanding  the  commands  of  her  mistress  to  conceal  it.  The 
chaste  young  man  was  horrified  at  the  declaration,  and  indignantly 
resented  it  The  disgraced  and  betrayed  Phaedra  determined  to- 
take  her  own  life;  but  dying  with  a  letter  in  her  hand  which 
accused  Hippolytus  of  attempts  upon  her  virtue,  the  angry  father, 
without  asking  his  son  for  explanations,  banished  him  from  the 
kingdom,  having  first  claimed  the  performance  from  Neptune  of 
his  promise  to  grant  three  of  his  requests.  As  Hippolytus  fled 
from  Athens,  his  horses  were  terrified  by  a  sea  monster  sent  on 
shore  by  Neptune.  The  frightened  horses  upset  the  chariot,  and 
the  young  man  was  dragged  over  rocks  and  precipices  and 
mangled  by  the  wheels  of  his  chariot.  In  the  tragedy,  as  left  by 
Euripides,  Diana  appears  by  the  young  man's  dying  bed  and 
comforts  him,  telling  him  also  that  to  perish  thus  was  his  fate : — 

"  But  now 

Farewell :  to  see  the  dying  or  the  dead 
Is  not  permitted  me :  it  would  pollute 
Mine  eyes ;  and  thou  art  near  this  fatal  ill." 

The  tragedy  ends  with  the  dying  words  of  Hippolytus  : — 
"  No  longer  I  retain  my  strength :  I  die ; 
But  veil  my  face,  now  veil  it  with  my  vests." 

So  far  Euripides.  Mr.  Browning,  however,'  carries  the  idea 
further,  and  makes  Diana  try  to  save  the  life  of  her  worshipper, 
by  handing  him  over  to  the  care  of  ^Esculapius,  to  restore  to  life 
and  health  by  the  wisest  pharmacies  of  the  god  of  healing.  Mr. 
Browning's  poem  closes  with  the  chaste  goddess  watching  and 
waiting  for  the  result  of  the  attempt  to  save  his  life.  The  poet 
has  adopted  the  G«>ek  spelling  in  place  of  that  to  which  we  are 


ASO]  BROWNING   CYCLOPEDIA.  49 

more  accustomed.  The  Greek  names  require  their  Latin  equiva- 
lents for  non-classical  scholars.  Artemis  is  the  Greek  name  for 
Diana ;  Asclepios  is  Aesculapius ;  Aphrodite,  the  Greek  name 
of  Venus ;  Poseidon  is  Neptune ;  and  Phoibus  or  Phoebus  is 
Apollo,  the  Sun.  //m?  =  Hera  or  Juno,  Queen  of  Heaven. 
Athenai  =  Minerva.  Phaidra,  daughter  of  Minos  and  Pasiphae, 
who  married  Theseus.  Theseus,  king  of  Athens.  Hippolutos, 
son  of  Theseus  and  Hippolyte.  Henetian  horses,  or  Enetian,  of 
a  district  near  Paphlagonia. 

Artemisia  GentelescM  (Beatrice  Signorini,  Asolando),  "  the 
consummate  Artemisia"  of  the  poem,  was  a  celebrated  artist 
(1590 — 1642).  See  BEATRICE  SIGNORINI. 

"  Ask  not  the  least  word  of  praise,"  the  first  line  of  the 
lyric  at  the  end  of  "  A  Pillar  at  Sebzevah,"  No.  II  of  Ferishtah's 
Fancies. 

Asolando:  Fancies  and  Facts.  Published  in  London, 
December  I2th,  1889,  on  *ne  day  on  which  Mr.  Browning  died 
in  Venice.  Contents :  Prologue  ;  Rosny ;  Dubiety ;  Now ; 
Humility ;  Poetics  ;  Summum  Bonum  ;  A  Pearl,  A  Girl ;  Specu- 
lative; White  Witchcraft;  Bad  Dreams,  I.,  II.,  III.,  IV.;  In- 
apprehensiveness ;  Which  ?  The  Cardinal  and  the  Dog ;  The 
Pope  and  the  Net ;  The  Bean-Feast  ;  Muckle-mouth  Meg ; 
Arcades  Ambo ;  The  Lady  and  the  Painter ;  Ponte  dell'  Angelo, 
Venice;  Beatrice  Signorini;  Flute  Music,  with  an  Accompaniment ; 

"  Imperante  Augusto,  Natus  est "  ;  Development ;  Rephan  ; 

Reverie ;  Epilogue.  The  volume  is  dedicated  to  the  poet's 
friend,  Mrs.  Arthur  Bronson.  In  the  dedication  the  poet  explains 
the  title  Asolando :  it  was  a  "  title-name  popularly  ascribed  to  tht 
inventiveness  of  the  ancient  secretary  of  Queen  Cornaro,  ivhost 
palace-tower  still  overlooks  us"  Asolare — " to  disport  in  tht 
open  air,  amuse  oneself  at  random."  "  The  objection  that  sucl. 
a  word  nowhere  occurs  in  the  works  of  the  Cardinal  is  hardly 
important.  Bembo  was  too  thorough  a  purist  to  conserve  in  priat 
a  term  which  in  talk  he  might  possibly  toy  with  ;  but  the  word  is 
more  likely  derived  from  a  Spanish  source.  I  use  it  for  love  o/ 
the  place,  and  in  requital  of  your  pleasant  assurance  that  an  earl? 
poem  of  mine  first  attracted  you  thither ;  where  and  elsewhere, 
at  La  Mura  as  Ca  Alvisi,  may  all  happiness  attend  yo  j  ! — 
Gratefully  and  affectionately  yours,  R.  B." — Asolo,  Oct.  '^tht\  889. 

Asolo     (Pippa     Passes — Sordello — Asolando],     the     ancient 


5°  BROWNING  CYCLOPEDIA.  [ASO 

Acelum :  a  very  picturesque  mediaeval  fortified  town,  in  the 
province  of  Treviso,  in  Venetia,  Italy,  5500  inhabitants,  at  the 
foot  of  a  hill  surmounted  by  the  ruins  of  a  castle,  from  which 
one  of  the  most  extensive  panoramas  of  the  great  plain  of  the 
Brenta  and  the  Piave,  with  the  encircling  Alps,  and  the  distant 
insulated  group  of  the  Euganean  hills,  opens  before  the  traveller. 
On  a  fine  summer  evening  the  two  silver  lines  of  the  Piave  and 
the  Brenta  may  be  followed  from  their  Alpine  valleys  to  the  sea, 
in  the  midst  of  the  green  alluvial  plain  in  which  Treviso,  Vicenza 
and  Padua  are  easily  recognised.  Venice,  with  its  cupolas  and 
steeples,  is  seen  near  the  extreme  east  horizon,  which  is 
terminated  by  the  blue  line  of  the  Adriatic ;  whilst  behind,  to 
the  north,  the  snow-capped  peaks  of  the  Alps  rise  in  majestic 
grandeur.  The  village  of  Asolo  is  surrounded  by  a  wall  with 
mediaeval  turrets,  and  several  of  its  houses  present  curiously 
sculptured  fa9ades. — The  castle,  a  quadrangular  building  with 
a  high  tower,  is  an  interesting  monument  of  the  thirteenth 
century.  It  was  the  residence  of  the  beautiful  Caterina  Cornaro, 
the  last  queen  of  Cyprus,  after  the  forced  resignation  of  her 
kingdom  to  the  Venetians  in  1489.  Here  this  lady  of  elegant 
tastes  and  refined  education  closed  her  days  in  comparative 
obscurity,  in  the  enjoyment  of  an  empty  title  and  a  splendid 
income,  and  surrounded  by  a  small  court  and  several  literary 
characters.  Of  these,  one  of  the  most  celebrated  was  Pietro 
Bembo,  the  historian  of  Venice,  afterwards  Cardinal,  whose 
celebrated  philosophical  dialogues  on  the  nature  of  love,  the 
Asolani,  have  derived  their  name  from  this  locality.  Mr. 
Browning  visited  Asolo  first  when  a  young  man;  it  was 
here  that  he  gathered  ideas  for  Pippa  Passes  and  Sordello, 
and  in  the  last  year  of  his  life  his  loving  footsteps  found 
their  way  to  the  little  hill-town  of  that  Italy  whose  name  was 
graven  on  his  heart.  Here,  as  Mr.  Sharp  reminds  us  in  his  Life 
of  Browning,  the  poet  heard  again  the  echo  of  Pippa's  song— 

"God's  in  His  heaven,  All's  right  with  the  world  1" 

He  heard  it  as  a  young  man,  he  hears  it  as  he  nears  the  dark 
river,  the  conviction  had  never  left  his  soul  for  a  moment  in  all 
the  length  of  intervening  years.  Asolo  will  be  a  pilgrim  spot 
for  Browning  lovers.  The  Catherine  Cornaro  referred  to  was 
the  wife  of  King  James  II.,  of  Cyprus ;  his  marriage  with  this 


At]  BROWNING   CYCLOPEDIA.  5 1 

Venetian  lady  of  rank  was  designed  to  secure  the  support  of 
the  Republic  of  Venice.  After  his  death,  and  that  of  his  son 
James  III.,  Queen  Catherine  felt  she  was  unable  to  withstand 
the  attacks  of  the  Turks,  and  was  induced  to  abdicate  in  favour 
of  the  Republic  of  Venice,  which  in  1487  took  possession  of  the 
island.  Catherine  was  assigned  a  palace  and  court  at  Asolo,  as 
already  mentioned.  Her  palace  was  the  resort  of  the  learned 
and  accomplished  men  and  women  of  Venice,  famous  amongst 
whom  was  her  secretary,  Cardinal  Pietro  Bembo,  the  celebrated 
author  of  the  History  of  Venice,  from  1487  to  1513,  and  a  number 
of  essays,  dialogues,  and  poems.  His  dialogue  on  Platonic  love  is 
entitled  Gli  Asolani.  He  died  in  1 547.  When  Queen  Catherine 
settled  in  her  beautiful  castle  of  Asolo,  she  could  have  found 
little  cause  to  regret  the  circumstances  which  led  her  from  her 
troubled  kingdom  of  Cyprus  to  the  idyllic  sweetness  of  her  later 
life.  Surrounded  by  her  twelve  maids  of  honour  and  her  eighty 
serving-men,  her  favourite  negress,  her  parrots,  apes,  peacocks, 
and  hounds,  her  peaceful  life  passed  in  ideal  pleasantness.  But 
the  wealth  and  luxury  of  her  surroundings  did  not  make  her 
selfish,  or  unconcerned  for  the  welfare  of  her  little  kingdom. 
In  all  that  concerned  the  happiness  and  well-being  of  her  people 
she  was  as  deeply  interested  as  the  monarchs  of  more  important 
states.  She  opened  a  pawnbroking  bank  for  the  poor,  imported 
corn  from  Cyprus  and  distributed  it,  and  appointed  competent 
officials  to  settle  the  complaints  and  difficulties  of  her  subjects. 
She  lived  for  her  people's  welfare,  and  wo  their  affections  by 
her  goodness  and  grace.  For  twenty  years  she  lived  at  Asolo, 
leaving  it  on  only  three  occasions :  to  visit  her  brother  in  Brescia ; 
to  walk  to  Venice  across  the  frozen  lagoon;  and  once  when 
troops  occupied  her  little  town.  She  died  then,  at  Venice,  on  July 
roth,  1510,  and  was  buried  by  the  republic  of  the  city  in  the  sea, 
with  its  utmost  magnificence.  The  fate  could  scarcely  have  been 
called  cruel  which  gave  a  royal  residence  amid  scenery  such 
as  Asolo  can  boast,  under  such  conditions  as  blessed  the  later 
years  of  good  Queen  Catherine. 

At  the  Mermaid.  The  Mermaid  Tavern,  in  Cheapside,  was 
the  favourite  resort  of  the  great  Elizabethan  dramatists  and 
poets.  Raleigh's  Club  at  the  Mermaid  was  the  meeting-place  of 
Shakespeare's  contemporaries,  where  he  feasted  with  Raleigh, 
Ben  Jonson,  Beaumont  and  Fletcher,  Ford,  Massinger,  Donne, 


52  BROWNING   CYCLOPAEDIA.  [At 

Drayton,  Camden,  Selden,  and  the  rest.  "At  this  meeting- 
place  of  the  gods,"  says  Hey  wood,  in  his  Hierarchy  of 
Angels : — 

"  Mellifluous  Shakespeare,  whose  enchanting  quill 

Commanded  mirth  or  passion,  was  but  W »'//, 

And  famous  Jonson,  tho'  his  learned  pen 

Be  dipt  in  Castaly,  is  still  but  Ben" 

Mr.  Browning  introduces  us  to  Shakespeare  protesting  that  he 
makes  no  claim  and  has  no  desire  to  be  the  leader  of  a  new 
school  of  poetry.  In  the  person  of  Shakespeare  Mr.  Browning 
tells  the  world  that  if  they  want  to  know  anything  about  him 
they  must  take  his  ideas  as  they  are  expressed  in  his  works, 
not  seek  to  pry  into  his  life  and  opinions  behind  them.  His 
works  are  the  world's,  his  rest  is  his  own.  He  protests,  too, 
that  when  he  utters  opinions  and  expresses  ideas  dramatically 
they  are  not  to  be  snatched  at  by  leaders  of  sects  and  parties, 
and  bottled  as  specimens  for  their  museums,  or  used  to  give 
authority  to  their  own  pet  principles.  He  does  not  set  open  the 
door  of  his  bard's  breast :  on  the  contrary,  he  bars  his  portal, 
and  leaves  his  work  and  his  inquisitive  visitors  alike  "  outside." 
Notwithstanding  this  emphatic  declaration,  it  is  probable  thai 
few  great  poets  have  opened  their  hearts  to  the  world  more 
completely  than  Mr.  Browning:  it  is  as  easy  to  construct  his 
personality  from  his  works  as  it  is  to  reconstruct  an  old  Greek 
temple  from  the  sculptured  stones  which  are  scattered  on  its  site. 
All  Mr.  Browning's  characters  talk  the  Browning  tongue,  and  are 
as  little  given  to  barring  their  portals  as  he  to  closing  the  door  of 
his  breast.  This  fact  must  not,  of  course,  be  unduly  pressed. 
The  utterances  of  Caliban  are  not  to  be  put  on  the  same  level 
as  the  thoughts,  expressed  a  hundred  times,  which  justify  the 
ways  of  God  to  man.  Having  declared  himself  as  determined 
to  let  the  public  have  no  glimpse  inside  his  breast,  in  Stanza  10 
he  proceeds  to  admit  us  to  his  innermost  soul,  in  its  joy  of  life 
and  golden  optimism.  It  is  as  perfect  a  picture  of  the  poet's 
healthy  mind  as  he  could  possibly  have  given  us,  and  is  an 
earnest  deprecation  of  the  idea  that  a  poet  must  necessarily  be 
more  or  less  insane.  NOTES. — Oreichalch  (7),  a  mixed  metal 
resembling  brass — bronze.  "  Threw  Venus"  (15):  in  dice  the 
best  cast  (three  sixes)  was  called  "Venus."  Ben  Jonson  tells  us 
that  his  own  wife  was  "  a. shrew,  yet  honest." 


Bad]  BROWNING  CYCLOPAEDIA.  53 

Austin  Tresham.  Gwendolen  Tresham's  betrothed,  in  A 
Blot  in  the  'Scutcheon.  He  is  next  heir  to  the  earldom. 

Azoth  (Paracelsus}.  The  universal  remedy  of  Paracelsus,  in 
alchemy.  The  term  was  applied  to  mercury,  which  was  supposed 
to  exist  in  every  metallic  body,  and  constitute  its  basis.  The 
Azoth  of  Paracelsus,  according  to  Mr.  Browning,  was  simply 
the  laudanum  which  he  had  discovered.  The  alchemists  by 
Azoth  sometimes  meant  to  express  the  creative  principle  of 
nature.  As  "  he  was  commonly  believed  to  possess  the  double 
tincture,  the  power  of  curing  diseases  and  transmuting  metals," 
as  Mr.  Browning  explains  in  a  note  to  the  poem,  the  expression 
is  often  difficult  to  define  precisely,  as  indeed  are  many  of  the 
terms  used  by  alchemists. 

Azzo.  Lords  of  Este  (Sordelld) :  Guelf  leaders.  The  poem 
is  concerned  with  Azzo  VI.  (i  170 — 1212),  who  became  the  head  of 
the  Guelf  party.  During  the  whole  lifetime  of  Azzo  VI.  a  civil 
war  raged  almost  without  interruption  in  the  streets  of  Ferrara, 
each  party,  it  is  said,  being  ten  times  driven  from  the  city. 
Azzo  VII.  (1205-64)  was  constantly  at  war  with  Eccelino  III. 
•da  Romano,  who  leagued  himself  with  Salinguerra.  Azzo 
married  Adelaide,  niece  of  Eccelino,  and  died  1264.  (Encyc. 
Brit.} 

Bad  Dreams.  (Asolando.}  I.  In  the  first  dream  the  lover 
sees  that  the  face  of  the  loved  one  has  changed :  love  has 
died  out  of  the  eyes,  and  the  charm  of  the  look  has  gone. 
Love  is  estranged,  for  faith  has  gone.  With  a  breaking  heart 
the  lover  can  say  love  is  still  the  same  for  him.  II.  A 
weird  dream  of  a  strange  ball,  a  dance  of  death  and  hell, 
where,  notwithstanding  harmony  of  feet  and  hands,  "  man's 
sneer  met  woman's  curse."  The  dreamer  creeps  to  the  wall 
side,  avoiding  the  dance  of  haters,  and  steps  into  a  chapel 
where  is  performed  a  strange  worship  by  a  priest  unknown. 
The  dreamer  sees  a  worshipper — his  wife — enter,  to  palliate 
or  expurgate  her  soul  of  some  ugly  stain  How  contracted? 
"  A  mere  dream  "  is  an  insufficient  excuse.  The  soul  in  sleep, 
free  from  the  disguises  of  the  day,  wanders  at  will.  Perhaps 
it  may  indeed  be  that  our  suppressed  evil  thoughts — thoughts 
that,  kept  down  by  custom,  conventionality,  and  respect  for 
public  opinion,  never  become  incarnate  in  act — walk  at  night 


54  BROWNING   CYCLOPEDIA.  [Bad 

and  revel  in  unfettered  freedom,  as  foul  gases  rise  from  vaults 
and  basements  when  the  house  is  closed  at  night,  and  the 
purifying  influences  of  the  light  and  air  are  excluded.  III.  Is  a 
dream  of  a  primeval  forest:  giant  trees,  impenetrable  tangle 
of  enormous  undergrowths,  where  lurks  some  brute-type.  A 
lucid  city  of  bright  marbles,  domes  and  spires,  pure  streets  too 
fine  for  smirch  of  human  foot,  its  solitary  traverser  the  soul  of 
the  dreamer ;  and  all  at  once  appears  a  hideous  sight :  the  beauti- 
ful city  is  devoured  by  the  forest,  the  trees  by  the  pavements 
turned  to  teeth.  Nature  is  represented  by  the  forest,  Art  by  the 
city  and  its  palaces.  Each  in  its  place  is  seen  to  be  good  and 
worthy,  but  when  each  devours  the  other  both  are  accurst  The 
man  seems  to  think  that  his  wife  conceals  some  part  of  her  life 
from  him ;  her  nature  is  good  and  true,  but  he  fears  her  art  (or 
perhaps  arts,  we  should  say)  destroys  it.  IV.  A  dream  of  infinite 
pathos.  The  wife's  tomb,  its  slab  weather-stained,  its  inscription 
overgrown  with  herbage,  its  name  all  but  obliterated.  Her 
husband  comes  to  visit  the  grave.  Was  he  her  lover  ? — rather  the 
cold  critic  of  her  life.  She  had  felt  her  poverty  in  all  that  he 
demanded,  and  she  had  resigned  him  and  life  too ;  and  as  she 
moulders  under  the  herbage,  she  sees  in  spirit  her  husband's 
strength  and  sternness  gone,  and  he  broken  and  praying  that  she 
were  his  again,  with  all  her  foibles,  her  faults :  aye,  crowned 
as  queen  of  folly,  he  would  be  happy  if  her  foot  made  a 
stepping-stone  of  his  forehead.  What  had  worked  the  miracle  ? 
Was  the  date  on  the  stone  the  record  of  the  day  when  his 
chance  stab  of  scorn  had  killed  her  ?  There  are  cruel  deeds  and 
still  more  cruel  words  that  no  veiling  herbage  of  balm  and  mint 
shall  keep  from  haunting  us  in  the  time  when  repentance  has 
come  too  late. 

B adman,  Mr.  The  Life  and  Death  of  Mr.  Badman,  as  told 
by  John  Bunyan,  contains  the  story  of  "  Old  Tod,"  which 
suggested  to  Mr.  Browning  the  poem  of  Ned  Bratts  (q.v.). 

Balaustion.  The  name  of  the  Greek  girl  of  Rhodes,  who, 
when  the  Athenians  were  defeated  at  Syracuse  and  her  country- 
men had  determined  to  side  with  the  enemies  of  Athens,  refused 
to  forsake  Athens,  the  light  and  life  of  the  world.  She  saved 
Tier  companions  in  the  ship  by  which  she  fled  from  Rhodes  by 
reciting  to  the  people  of  Syracuse  the  Alcestis  of  Euripides. 
Her  story  is  told  in  Balaustion 's  Adventure,  and  Aristophanes* 


Bal]  BROWNING   CYCLOPAEDIA.  55 

Apology,  which  is  its  sequel.     Her  name  means  "  wild  pome- 
granate flower." 

Balaustion's  Adventure,  including  a  transcript  from  Euri- 
pides. London,  1871. — The  adventure  of  Balaustion  in  the 
harbour  of  Syracuse  came  about  as  follows.  Nicias  (or  Nikias 
as  he  is  called  in  the  poem),  the  Athenian  general,  was  appointed, 
much  against  his  inclination,  to  conduct  the  expedition  against 
Sicily.  After  a  long  series  of  ill-successes  he  was  completely 
surrounded  by  the  enemy  and  was  compelled  to  surrender  with 
all  his  army.  He  was  put  to  death,  and  all  his  troops  were  sent 
to  the  great  stone  quarries,  there  to  perish  of  disease,  hard  labour 
and  privation.  At  Syracuse  Athens  was  shamed,  and  lost  her 
ships  and  men,  gaining  a  "  death  without  a  grave."  After  the 
disgraceful  news  had  reached  Greece  the  people  of  Rhodes  rose 
in  tumult,  and,  casting  off  their  allegiance  to  Athens,  they  deter- 
mined to  side  with  Sparta.  Balaustion,  though  only  a  girl,  was 
so  patriotic  that  she  cried  to  all  who  would  hear,  begging  them 
not  to  throw  Athens  off  for  Sparta's  sake,  nor  be  disloyal  to  all 
that  was  worth  calling  the  world  at  all.  She  begged  that  all  who 
agreed  with  her  would  take  ship  for  Athens  at  once ;  a  few  heard 
and  accompanied  her.  They  were  by  adverse  winds  driven  out  of 
their  course,  and,  being  pursued  by  pirates,  made  for  the  island 
of  Crete.  Balaustion,  to  encourage  the  rowers,  sprang  upon  the 
altar  by  the  mast,  crying  to  the  sons  of  Greeks  to  free  their  wives, 
their  children,  and  the  temples  of  the  gods  ;  so  the  oars  "  churned 
the  black  waters  white,"  and  soon  they  saw  to  their  dismay  Sicily 
and  the  city  of  Syracuse, — they  had  run  upon  the  lion  from  the 
wolf.  A  galley  came  out,  demanding  "  if  they  were  friends  or 
foes  ?"  "Kaunians,"  replied  the  captain.  "We  heard  all  Athens 
in  one  ode  just  now.  Back  you  must  go,  though  ten  pirates 
blocked  the  bay."  It  was  explained  to  the  exiles  that  they 
wanted  no  Athenians  there  to  spirit  up  the  captives  in  the 
quarries.  The  captain  prayed  them  by  the  gods  they  should  not 
thrust  suppliants  back,  but  save  the  innocent  who  were  not  bent 
on  traffic.  In  vain  !  And  as  they,  were  about  to  turn  and  face  the 
foe,  one  cried,  "Wait !  that  was  a  song  of  ^Eschylus:  how  about 
Euripides?  Might  you  know  any  of  his  verses  too?"  The 
captain  shouted,  "  Praise  the  god.  Here  she  stands— Balaustion. 
Strangers,  greet  the  lyric  girl ! "  And  Balaustion  said,  "  Save  us, 
and  I  will  recite  '•hat  strangest,  saddest,  sweetest  song  of  his 


50  BROWNING   CYCLOPAEDIA.  [Bal 

— ALKESTIS.  Take  me  to  Herakles'  temple  you  have  here.  I 
come  a  suppliant  to  him  ;  put  me  upon  his  temple  steps,  to  tell 
you  his  achievement  as  I  may  ! "  And  so  they  rowed  them  in  to 
Syracuse,  crying,  "We  bring  more  of  Euripides!"  The  whole 
city  came  out  to  hear,  came  rushing  to  the  superb  temple,  on  the 
topmost  step  of  which  they  placed  the  girl ;  and  plainly  she  told 
the  play,  just  as  she  had  seen  it  acted  in  Rhodes.  A  wealthy 
'Syracusan  brought  a  whole  talent,  and  bade  her  take  it  for  herself; 
she  offered  it  to  the  god — 

"For  had  not  Herakles  a  second  time 
Wrestled  with  death  and  saved  devoted  ones?" 

The  poor  captives  in  the  quarries,  when  they  heard  the  tale, 
sent  her  a  crown  of  wild  pomegranate  flower — the  name 
(Balaustion  in  Greek)  she  always  henceforth  bore.  But  there 
was  a  young  man  who  every  day,  as  she  recited  on  the  temple 
steps,  stood  at  the  foot ;  and,  when  liberated,  they  set  sail  again 
for  Athens.  There  in  the  ship  was  he:  he  had  a  hunger  to 
see  Athens,  and  soon  they  were  to  marry.  She  visited  Euri- 
pides, kissed  his  sacred  hand,  and  paid  her  homage.  The 
Athenians  loved  him  not,  neither  did  they  love  his  friend 
Socrates  ;  but  they  were  fellows,  and  Socrates  often  went  to  hear 
him  read. — Such  was  her  adventure ;  and  the  beautiful  Alcestis' 
story  which  she  told  is  transcribed  from  the  well-known  play 
of  Euripides  in  the  succeeding  pages  of  Mr.  Browning's  book. 
Whether  the  story  has  undergone  transformation  in  the  process 
we  must  leave  to  the  decision  of  authorities  on  the  subject.  A 
comparison  between  the  Greek  original  and  Mr.  Browning's 
translation  or  "  transcript  "  certainly  shows  some  important  diver- 
gences from  the  classic  story.  We  have  only  to  compare  the 
excellent  translation  of  Potter  in  Morley's  "  Universal  Library," 
vol.  54  (Routledge,  is.),  to  discern  this  fact  at  once.  As  the 
question  is  one  of  considerable  literary  importance,  it  is  neces- 
sary to  call  attention  to  it  in  this  work.  For  those  of  my  readers 
who  may  have  forgotten  the  Alkestis  tragedy,  it  may  be  well 
to  recall  its  principal  points.  Potter,  in  his  translation  of  the 
Alkestis  of  Euripides,  gives  the  following  prefatory  note  of  the 
plot : — "  Admetus  and  Alcestis  were  nearly  related  before  their 
marriage.  ^Eolus,  the  third  in  descent  from  Prometheus,  was 
the  father  of  Cretheus  and  Salmoneus ;  ^Eson,  the  father  of 


Bal]  BROWNING  CYCLOPAEDIA.  57 

Jason,  and  Pheres,  the  father  of  Admetus,  were  sons  of  Cretheus ; 
Tyro,  the  daughter  of  Salmoneus,  was  by  Neptune  mother  to 
Pelias,  whose  eldest  daughter  Alcestis  was.  The  historian,  who 
relates  the  arts  by  which  Medea  induced  the  daughters  of  Pelias 
to  cut  their  father  in  pieces  in  expectation  of  seeing  him  restored 
to  youth,  tells  us  that  Alcestis  alone,  through  the  tenderness  of 
her  filial  piety,  concurred  not  with  her  sisters  in  that  fatal  deed 
(Diodor.  Sic.).  Pheres,  now  grown  old,  had  resigned  his  kingdom 
to  his  son,  and  retired  to  his  paternal  estate,  as  was  usual  in 
those  states  where  the  sceptre  was  a  spear.  Admetus,  on  his 
first  accession  to  the  regal  power,  had  kindly  received  Apollo, 
who  was  banished  from  heaven,  and  compelled  for  the  space  of 
a  year  to  be  a  slave  to  a  mortal;  and  the  god,  after  he  was 
restored  to  his  celestial  honours,  did  not  forget  that  friendly 
house,  but,  when  Admetus  lay  ill  of  a  disease  from  which  there 
was  no  recovery,  prevailed  upon  the  Fates  to  spare  his  life,  on 
condition  that  some  near  relation  should  consent  to  die  for  him. 
But  neither  his  father  nor  his  mother,  nor  any  of  his  friends,  was 
willing  to  pay  the  ransom.  Alcestis,  hearing  this,  generously 
devoted  her  own  life  to  save  her  husband's. — The  design  of  this 
tragedy  is  to  recommend  the  virtue  of  hospitality,  so  sacred 
among  the  Grecians,  and  encouraged  on  political  grounds,  as  well 
as  to  keep  alive  a  generous  and  social  benevolence.  The  scene 
is  in  the  vestibule  of  the  house  of  Admetus.  Palaephatus  has 
given  this  explanation  of  the  fable :  After  the  death  of  Pelias, 
Acastus  pursued  the  unhappy  daughters  to  punish  them  for 
destroying  their  father.  Alcestis  fled  to  Pherae ;  Acastus  de- 
manded her  of  Admetus,  who  refused  to  give  her  up  ;  he  there- 
fore advanced  towards  Pherse  with  a  great  army,  laying  the 
country  waste  with  fire  and  sword.  Admetus  marched  out  of 
the  city  to  check  these  devastations,  fell  into  an  ambush,  and 
was  taken  prisoner.  Acastus  threatened  to  put  him  to  death. 
When  Alcestis  understood  that  the  life  of  Admetus  was  in  this 
danger  on  her  account,  she  went  voluntarily  and  surrendered 
herself  to  Acastus,  who  discharged  Admetus  and  detained  her 
in  custody.  At  this  critical  time  Hercules,  on  his  expedition  to 
Thrace,  arrives  at  Pherae,  is  hospitably  entertained  by  Admetus, 
and  being  informed  of  the  distress  and  danger  of  Alcestis,  imme- 
diately attacks  Acastus,  defeats  his  army,  rescues  the  lady,  and 
restores  her  to  Admetus." — At  the  eighty-fourth  meeting  ot  tht 


58  BROWNING  CYCLOPEDIA.  [Bal 

London  Browning  Society  (June  26th,  1891),  Mr.  R.  G.  Moulton, 
M.A.  Camb.,  read  a  paper  on  Balaustioris  Adventure,  which  he 
described  as  "  a  beautiful  misrepresentation  of  the  original."  In- 
this  he  said :  "  To  those  who  are  willing  to  decide  literary  ques- 
tions upon  detailed  evidence,  I  submit  that  analysis  shows  the 
widest  divergence  between  the  Admetus  of  Euripides  and  the 
Admetus  sung  by  Balaustion.  And,  in  answer  to  those  who  are 
influenced  only  by  authority,  I  claim  that  I  have  on  my  side  of 
the  question  an  authority  who  on  this  matter  must  rank  higher 
than  even  Browning  himself;  and  the  name  of  my  authority  is 
Euripides."  The  following  extracts  from  Mr.  Moulton's  able  and 
scholarly  criticism  will  explain  his  chief  points.  (The  whole  paper 
is  published  in  the  Transactions  of  the  Browning  Society,  18901.) 
Mr.  Moulton  says:  "My  position  is  that  Browning,  in  common 
with  the  greater  part  of  modern  readers,  has  entirely  misread  and 
misrepresented  Euripides'  play  of  Alcestis.  If  any  one  wishes 
to  pronounce  "  Balaustion's  Ad  venture  "a  more  beautiful  poem 
than  the  Greek  original,  I  have  no  wish  to  gainsay  his  estimate  ; 
but  I  maintain,  nevertheless,  that  the  one  gives  a  distorted  view 
of  the  other.  The  English  poem  is  no  mere  translation  of  the 
Greek,  but  an  interpretation  with  comments  freely  interpolated. 
And  the  poet  having  caught  a  wrong  impression  as  to  one  of  the 
main  elements  of  the  Greek  story,  has  unconsciously  let  this 
impression  colour  his  interpretations  of  words  and  sentences, 
and  has  used  his  right  of  commenting  to  present  his  mistaken 
conception  with  all  the  poetic  force  of  a  great  master,  until  I 
fear  that  the  Euripidean  setting  of  the  story  is  for  English  readers 
almost  hopelessly  lost.  The  point  at  issue  is  the  character  of 
Admetus.  Taken  in  the  rough,  the  general  situation  has  been 
understood  by  modern  readers  thus  :  A  husband  having  obtained 
from  Fate  the  right  to  die  by  substitute,  when  no  other  substitute 
was  forthcoming  his  wife  Alcestis  came  forward,  and  by  dying 
saved  Admetus.  And  the  first  thought  of  every  honest  heart  has 
been,  "Oh,  the  selfishness  of  that  husband  to  accept  the  sacrifice ! " 
But  my  contention  is,  that  if  Euripides'  play  be  examined  with 
open  and  unbiassed  mind,  it  will  be  found  that  not  only  Admetus 
is  not  selfish,  but,  on  the  contrary,  he  is  as  eminent  for  unselfish- 
ness in  his  sphere  of  life  as  Alcestis  proves  in  her  own.  If  this 
be  so,  the  modern  readers,  with  Browning  at  their  head,  have 
been  introducing  into  the  play  a  disturbing  element  that  has  no 


Bal]  BROWNING   CYCLOPAEDIA.  59 

place  there.  And  they  have  further,  I  submit,  missed  another 
conception — to  my  thinking  a  much  more  worthy  conception — 
which  really  does  underlie  and  unify  the  whole  play.  If  Admetus 
is  in  fact  selfish,  how  comes  it  that  no  personage  in  the  whole 
play  catches  this  idea  ? — no  one,  that  is,  except  Pheres,  whose 
words  go  for  nothing,  since  he  never  discovers  this  selfishness  of 
Admetus  until  he  is  impelled  to  fasten  on  another  the  accusation 
which  has  been  hurled  at  himself.  Except  Pheres,  all  regard 
Admetus  as  the  sublime  type  of  generosity.  Apollo,  as  repre- 
senting the  gods,  uses  the  unexpected  word  "  holy"  to  describe 
the  demeanour  with  which  his  human  protector  cherished  him 
during  the  trouble  that  drove  him  to  earth  in  human  shape.  The 
Chorus,  who,  it  is  well  known,  represent  in  a  Greek  play  public 
opinion,  and  are  a  channel  by  which  the  author  insinuates  the 
lesson  of  the  story,  cannot  restrain  their  admiration  at  one  point 
of  the  action,  and  devote  an  ode  to  the  lofty  character  of  their 
king.  And  Hercules,  so  grandly  represented  by  Browning  him- 
self as  the  unselfish  toiler  for  others,  feels  at  one  moment  that  he 
has  been  outdone  in  generosity  by  Admetus.  There  can  be  no 
question,  then,  what  Euripides  thought  about  the  character  of 
Admetus.  And  will  the  objector  seriously  contend  that  Euripides 
has,  without  intending  it,  presented  a  character  which  must  in 
fact  be  pronounced  selfish  ?  The  suggestion  that,  the  poet  who 
created  Alcestis  did  not  know  selfishness  when  he  saw  it, 
seems  to  me  an  improbability  far  greater  than  the  improba- 
bility that  Browning  and  the  English  readers  should  go  wrong. 
Browning's  suggestion  of  Pheres  as  Admetus  "  push'd  to  com- 
pletion "  seems  to  me  grossly  unfair :  it  ignores  all  Admetus' 
connection  with  Apollo  and  Hercules,  and  all  his  world-wide 
fame  for  hospitality.  There  is  nothing  in  the  legend  or  in  the 
play  to  suggest  that  Pheres  is  anything  more  than  an  ordinary 
Greek:  certainly  the  gods  never  came  down  from  heaven  to 
wonder  at  Pheres,  nor  did  Hercules  ever  recognise  him  as  generous 
beyond  himself.  In  no  view  can  the  scene  be  other  than  a 
painful  one.  But  it  is  intelligible  only  when  we  see  in  it,  not 
the  son  rebuking  his  father,  but  the  head  of  the  State  pouring 
out  indignation  on  the  officer  whose  self-preserving  instinct  has 
shirked  at  once  a  duty  and  an  honourable  opportunity  to  sacrifice, 
and  thereby  lost  a  life  more  valuable  than  his  own.  In  this  light 
the  situation  before  us  wears  a  different  aspect.  It  is  no  case  of 


<DO  BROWNING   CYCLOPAEDIA.  [Bal 

a  wife  dying  for  a  husband,  but  it  is  a  subject  dying  to  save  the 
head  of  the  State.  And  nothing  can  be  clearer  than  that  such 
a  sacrifice  is  taken  for  granted  by  the  personages  who  appear 
before  us  in  Euripides'  play.  For  I  must  warn  the  reader  of 
Balaustion  that  there  is  not  the  shadow  of  a  shade  of  foundation 
in  the  original  for  the  scornful  words  of  the  English  poet  telling 
how  the  idea  of  a  substitute  for  their  king  nowhere  appears 
unnatural  to  the  personages  of  the  play ;  the  sole  surprise  they 
express  is  that  the  substitute  should  be  the  youthful  Alcestis  and 
not  the  aged  parents.  The  situation  may  fairly  be  paralleled  in 
this  respect  with  the  crisis  that  arises  in  Sir  Walter  Scott's  Fair 
Maid  of  Perth,  when  the  seven  sons  of  Torquil  go  successively 
to  certain  death  to  shield  their  chief;  and,  while  they  cover 
themselves  with  glory,  no  one  accuses  Hector  of  selfishness  for 
allowing  the  sacrifice :  the  sentiment  of  clan  institutions  makes 
it  a  matter  of  course.  The  hospitality  of  Admetus  is  the  founda- 
tion of  the  story  ;  for  it  is  this  which  has  led  Apollo  (as  he  tells 
us  in  the  prologue)  to  wring  out  of  Fate  the  sparing  to  earth  of 
the  generous  king  on  condition  of  a  substitute  being  found." 

The  stone  quarries  of  ancient  Syracuse  are  now  called  Latomia, 
the  largest  and  most  picturesque  of  which  is  named  Latomia 
•de'  Cappuccini.  It  is  a  vast  pit,  from  eighty  to  a  hundred  feet  in 
depth,  and  is  several  acres  in  extent.  Murray,  describing  these 
vast  quarries,  says  :  "  It  is  certain  that  they  existed  before  the 
celebrated  siege  by  the  Athenians,  41 5  B.C.  ;  and  that  some  one 
of  them  was  then  deep  enough  to  serve  for  a  prison,  and  extensive 
enough  to  hold  the  unhappy  seven  thousand,  the  relics  of  the  great 
Athenian  host  who  were  captured  at  the  Asinarus.  There  is 
«very  probability  that  that  of  the  Capuchins  is  the  one  described 
by  Thucydides,  who  gives  a  touching  picture  of  the  misery  the 
Athenians  were  made  to  endure  from  close  confinement,  hunger, 
thirst,  filth,  exposure  and  disease.  Certain  holes  in  the  angles  of 
the  rocks  are  still  pointed  out  by  tradition  as  the  spots  where 
some  of  the  Athenians  were  chained.  The  greater  part  of  them 
perished  here,  but  Plutarch  tells  us  that  some  among  them 
who  could  recite  the  verses  of  Euripides  were  liberated  from 
captivity."  Lord  Byron's  lines  in  Childe  Harold  may  be  quoted 
in  this  connection — 

"  When  Athens'  armies  fell  at  Syracuse, 
And  fettered  thousands  bore  the  yoke  of  war, 


Bal]  BROWNING   CYCLOPEDIA.  6* 

Redemption  rose  up  in  the  Attic  Muse — 

Her  voice  the  only  ransom  from  afar. 

See  1  as  they  chaunt  the  tragic  hymn,  the  car 

Of  the  o'ermastered  victor  stops ;  the  reins 

Fall  from  his  hands ;  his  idle  scimitar 

Starts  from  his  belt :  he  rends  his  captive's  chains, 

And  bids  him  thank  the  bard  for  freedom  and  his  strains." 

"Some  there  were  who  owed  their  preservation  to  Euripides. 
Of  all  the  Grecians,  his  was  the  muse  whom  the  Sicilians  were 
most  in  love  with.  From  every  stranger  that  landed  in  their 
island,  they  gleaned  every  small  specimen  or  portion  of  his  works, 
and  communicated  it  with  pleasure  to  each  other.  It  is  said  that 
on  this  occasion  a  number  of  Athenians,  upon  their  return  home, 
went  to  Euripides,  and  thanked  him  in  the  most  respectful 
manner  for  their  obligations  to  his  pen  ;  some  having  been  en- 
franchised for  teaching  their  masters  what  they  remembered  of 
his  poems,  and  others  having  got  refreshments,  when  they  were 
wandering  about  after  the  battle,  for  singing  a  few  of  his  verses. 
Nor  is  this  to  be  wondered  at,  since  they  tell  us  that  when  a 
ship  from  Caunus,  which  happened  to  be  pursued  by  pirates, 
was  going  to  take  shelter  in  one  of  their  ports,  the  Sicilians  at 
first  refused  to  admit  her  ;  but  upon  asking  the  crew  whether  they 
knew  any  of  the  verses  of  Euripides,  and  being  answered  in  the 
affirmative,  they  received  both  them  and  their  vessel."  (Plutarch's 
life  of  Nicias.) 

NOTES.  [The  numbers  refer  to  the  pages  in  the  complete 
edition  of  the  Works.] — P.  5,  Kameiros,  a  Dorian  town  on  the 
west  coast  of  Rhodes,  and  the  principal  town  before  the  founda- 
tion of  Rhodes  itself;  The  League,  the  Spartan  league  against 
the  domination  of  Athens,  p.  6,  Knidos,  city  famous  for  the 
statue  of  Venus  by  Praxiteles,  in  one  of  her  temples  there; 
Ilissian,  Trojan  ;  gate  of  Diomedes,  the  Diomaean  gate,  leading 
to  a  grove  and  gymnasium;  Hippadai,  the  gate  of  Hippadas, 
leading  to  the  suburb  of  Cerameicus ;  Lakonia  or  Laconica  or 
Lacedcemon  A  Sparta  was  the  only  town  of  importance — in  this 
connection  it  means  Sparta;  Choes  (the  Pitchers)  an  Athenian 
festival  of  Dionysus  or  Bacchus ;  Chutroi,  a  Bacchic  festival 
at  Athens — the  feast  of  pots ;  Agora,  the  Athenian  market 
and  chief  public  place ;  Dikasteria,  tribunals ;  Pnux  =  the 
Pnyx,  the  place  of  public  assembly  for  the  people  of  Athens  ; 


62  BROWNING   CYCLOPEDIA.  [Bal 

Keramikos,  two  suburban  places  at  Athens  were  thus  called  : 
the  one  a  market  and  public  walk,  the  other  a  cemetery; 
Salamis,  an  island  on  the  west  coast  of  Attica,  memorable  for 
the  battle  in  which  the  Greeks  defeated  the  fleet  of  Xerxes, 
480  B.C.  ;  Psnttalia,  a  small  island  near  Salamis  ;  Marathon  :  the 
plain  of  Marathon  was  twenty-two  miles  from  Athens,  and  the 
famous  battle  there  was  fought  490  B.C.  ;  Dionusiac  Theatre,  the 
great  theatre  of  Athens  on  the  Acropolis,  p.  7,  Kaunas,  one  of 
the  chief  cities  of  Caria,  which  was  founded  by  the  Cretans,  p.  8, 
Ortugta,  the  island  close  to  Syracuse,  and  practically  part  of  the 
city.  p.  9,  Aischulos  =  the  song  was  from  ^Eschylus,  the  great 
tragic  poet  of  Greece ;  pint  of  corn  :  the  wretched  captives  in 
the  quarries  were  kept  alive  by  half  the  allowance  of  food  given 
to  slaves.  Thucydides  says  (vii.  87):  "They  were  tormented 
with  hunger  and  thirst ;  for  during  eight  months  they  gave 
each  of  them  daily  only  a  cotyle  (the  cotyle  was  a  little  more 
than  half  an  English  pint)  of  water,  and  two  of  corn."  p.  10, 
salpinx,  a  trumpet.  p.  II,  rhesis,  a  proverb;  monostich,  a 
poem  of  a  single  verse;  region  of  the  steed:  horses  were 
supposed  by  the  Greeks  to  have  originated  in  their  land.  p.  12, 
JEuot,  Oop,  Babai,  exclamations  of  wonder,  p.  13,  Rosy  Isle, 
Rhodes,  the  Greek  word  meaning  rose.  p.  16,  Anlhesterion 
month  =  February-March ;  Peiraieus,  the  chief  harbour  of  Athens, 
about  five  miles  distant;  Agathon,  a  tragic  poet  of  Athens, 
born  448  B.C. — a  friend  of  Euripides  and  Plato ;  lophon,  son  ol 
Sophocles :  he  was  a  distinguished  tragic  poet ;  Kephisophon,  a 
contemporary  poet ;  Baccheion,tht  Dionysiac  temple,  p.  17,  The 
mask  of  the  actor:  it  should  be  remembered  that  the  Greek 
actors  were  all  masked,  p.  20,  Phoibos,  the  bright  or  pure — a 
name  of  Apollo  ;  Asklepios  =  ^Esculapius,  the  god  of  medicine  ; 
Moirai,  the  Fates— Clotho,  Lachesis,  and  Atropos,  the  divinities 
of  human  life.  p.  25,  Eurustheus,  king  of  Mycenae,  who  imposed 
the  "twelve  labours"  on  Hercules,  p.  26,  Pelias'  child:  Alcestis 
was  the  daughter  of  Pelias,  son  of  Poseidon  and  of  Tyro; 
Paian,  a  surname  of  Apollo,  derived  from  pecan,  a  hymn  which 
was  sung  in  his  honour,  p.  27,  Lukia  =  Lycia,  a  country  of  Asia 
Minor;  Ammon,  a  god  of  Libya  and  Upper  Egypt:  Jupiter 
Ammon  with  the  horns  of  a  ram.  p.  32,  pharos,  a  veil  or 
cloak  covering  the  eyes.  p.  35,  lolkos,  a  town  in  Thessaly. 
p.  41,  Kore,  the  Maiden,  a  name  by  which  Proserpine  is  often 


3Jal]  BROWNING  CYCLOPAEDIA.  63 

•called.  p.  47,  Acherontian  lake:  Acheron  was  one  oi  the 
rivers  of  hell ;  Karneian  month  =  August-September,  when  the 
Carnean  festival  was  celebrated  in  honour  of  Apollo  Carneus, 
protector  of  flocks,  p.  48,  Kokutos'  streat.t,  a  river  in  the  lower 
world :  the  river  Cocytus  is  in  Epirus.  p.  5 1,  Thrakian  Diomedes, 
a  king  of  Thrace  who  fed  his  horses  on  human  flesh :  it  was  one 
of  the  labours  of  Hercules  to  destroy  him  ;  Bistones  =  Thracians. 
p.  53,  Ares,  Greek  name  of  Mars ;  Lukaon,  a  mythical  king  of 
Arcadia ;  Kuknos,  son  of  Mars  and  Pelopia  =  Cycnus.  p  60, 
Lyric  Puthian :  musical  contentions  in  honour  of  Apollo  at 
Delphi  were  called  the  Pythian  modes :  so  Apollo,  worshipped 
with  music,  was  called  the  lyric  Pythian,  in  commemoration  of 
his  victory  over  the  Python,  the  great  serpent ;  Othrus*  dell,  in 
the  mountains  of  Othrys,  in  Thessaly,  the  residence  of  the 
Centaurs,  p.  61,  Boibian  lake,  in  Thessalj,  near  Mount  Ossa; 
Molossoi,  a  people  of  Epirus,  in  Greece.  p.  68,  Ludian  = 
Lydian;  Phrugian  =  Phrygian.  p.  73,  Akastos,  the  son  of 
Peleus,  king  of  lolchis ;  he  made  war  against  Admetus.  p.  74, 
Hermes  the  infernal :  he  was  the  son  of  Zeus  and  Maia,  and 
was  herald  of  the  gods  and  guide  of  the  d  ad  in  Hades — hence 
the  epithet  "  infernal."  p.  78,  Turranos,  Tyrant  or  King.  p.  79, 
At,  ai!  Pheu  /  pheu  !  e,  papai  =  woe  !  alas,  alas  !  oh,  strange ! 
p.  81,  The  Helper  =  Hercules,  p.  83,  Kupris,  Venus,  the 
goddess  of  Cyprus,  p.  87,  "  Daughter  of  Elektruon,  Tiruns' 
child" :  Electryon  was  the  father  of  Alcmene,  Tiryns  was  an 
ancient  town  in  Argolis.  p.  88,  Larissa,  a  city  in  Thessaly. 
p.  94,  Thrakian  tablets,  the  name  of  Orpheus  is  associated  with 
Thrace:  the  Orphic  literature  contained  treatises  on  medicine, 
plants,  etc.,  originally  written  on  tablets,  and  preserved  in 
the  temple;  Orphic  "voice,  of  Orpheus,  which  charmed  all 
Nature ;  Phoibos,  Apollo  was  the  god  of  medicine,  and  taught 
the  art  to  ^Esculapius ;  Asklepiadai,  who  received  from  Phoibos 
or  Apollo  the  medical  remedies,  p.  95,  Chaluboi,  a  people  of 
Asia  Minor,  near  Pontus.  p.  96,  Alkmene  was  the  daughter 
ot  Electryon :  she  was  the  mother  of  Hercules,  conceived  by 
Jupiter,  p.  99,  Pheraioi,  the  belongings  of  Admetus  as  a  native 
of  Pherae.  p.  no,  "  The  Human  with  his  droppings  of  warm 
tears,"  a  quotation  from  a  poem  by  Irs.  Browning,  entitled 
Wine  of  Cyprus,  p.  in,  Mainad,  a  name  ot  the  priestesses 
of  Bacchus,  p.  119,  "Straying  among  the  flowers  in  Sicily"  : 


64  BROWNING   CYCLOPAEDIA.  [Bal 

Proserpine,  daughter  of  Ceres,  one  day  gathering  flowers 
in  the  meadows  of  Enna,  was  carried  away  by  Pluto  into 
the  infernal  regions,  of  which  she  became  queen,  p.  121,  "a 
great  Kaunian  painter":  Protogenes,  a  native  of  Caunus  in 
Caria,  a  city  subject  to  the  Rhodians,  flourished  332-300  B.C., 
and  was  one  of  the  most  celebrated  of  Greek  painters.  "  The 
story  of  his  friendly  rivalry  with  Apelies,  who  was  the  first  to 
recognise  his  genius,  is  familiar  to  all." — Browning  Notes  and 
Queries  (Pt.  vii.  25) :  the  description  of  the  picture  refers  to  Sir 
Frederick  Leighton's  noble  work  on  this  subject,  p.  122,  Poikile^ 
the  celebrated  portico  at  Athens,  which  received  its  name  from 
the  variety  of  the  paintings  which  it  contained.  It  was  adorned 
with  pictures  of  the  gods  and  of  public  benefactors. 

Balkis  ("  Solomon  and  Balkis,"  Jocoseria  1883).  The  Queen 
of  Sheba  who  came  to  visit  Solomon.  See  SOLOMON  AND 
BALKIS. 

Bean  Feast,  The  (Asolando).  Pope  Sixtus  the  Fifth  (Felice 
Peretti)  was  pope  from  1585  to  1590.  He  was  born  in  1521,  and 
certainly  in  humble  circumstances,  but  there  seems  no  proof 
that  he  was  the  son  of  a  swineherd,  as  described  in  the  poem 
(see  Encyc.  Brit.,  vol.  xxii.,  p.  104).  He  was  a  great  preacher,  and 
one  of  the  most  vigorous  and  able  of  the  popes  that  ever  filled 
the  papal  chair.  Within  two  years  of  his  election  he  issued 
seventy-two  bulls  for  the  reform  of  the  religious  orders  alone. 
When  anything  required  to  be  done,  he  did  it  himself,  and  was 
evidently  of  the  same  opinion  as  Mr.  Spurgeon,  who  holds  that  a 
committee  should  never  consist  of  more  than  one  person.  He 
reformed  the  condition  of  the  papal  finances,  and  expended  large 
sums  in  public  works  ;  he  completed  the  dome  of  St.  Peter's,  and 
erected  four  Egyptian  obelisks  in  Rome.  Ever  anxious  to  reform 
abuses,  he  made  it  his  business  to  examine  into  the  condition  of 
the  people  and  see  with  his  own  eyes  their  mode  of  life.  Mr. 
Browning's  poem  relates  how,  going  about  the  city  in  disguise, 
he  one  day  turned  into  a  tumbledown  house  where  a  man  and 
wife  sat  at  supper  with  their  children.  He  inquired  if  they  knew 
of  any  wrongs  which  wanted  righting ;  bade  them  not  stop  eating, 
but  speak  freely  of  their  grievances,  if  any.  He  bade  them  have 
no  fear  when  he  threw  his  hood  back  and  let  them  see  it  was 
the  Pope.  The  poor  people  were  filled  with  a  joyful  wonder,  the 
more  so  as  the  Pope  begged  a  plate  of  their  tempting  beans.  He 


BROWNING    CYCLOPAEDIA.  65 

sat  down  on  the  doorstep,  and  having  eaten,  thanked  God  that  he 
had  r.ppetite  and  digestion. 

Bean-Stripe,  A :  also  Apple  Eating.  (FerishtaKs  Fancies, 
No.  12.)  One  of  Ferishtah's  scholars  demanded  to  know  if  on  the 
whole  Life  were  a  good  or  an  evil  thing.  He  is  asked  if  beans  are 
taken  from  a  bushelful,  what  colour  predominates  ?  Make  the 
beans  typical  of  our  days.  What  is  Life's  true  colour, — black  or 
white  ?  The  scholar  agrees  with  Sakya  Muni,  the  Indian  sage  who 
declared  that  Life,  past,  present  and  future,  was  black  only — exist- 
ence simply  a  curse.  Memory  is  a  plague,  evil's  shadow  is  cast 
over  present  pleasure.  Ferishtah  strews  beans,  blackish  and 
whitish,  figuring  man's  sum  of  moments  good  and  bad ;  in  com- 
panionship the  black  grow  less  black  and  the  white  less  white :  both 
are  modified — grey  prevails.  So  joys  are  embittered  by  sorrows 
gone  before  and  sobered  by  a  sense  of  sorrow  that  may  come ; 
thus  deepest  in  black  means  white  most  imminent.  Pain's  shade 
enhances  the  shine  of  pleasure,  the  blacks  and  whites  of  a  life- 
time whirl  into  a  white.  But  to  the  objector  the  world  is  so  black, 
no  speck  of  white  will  unblacken  it.  Ferishtah  bids  his  pupil  con- 
template the  insect  on  a  palm  frond :  what  knows  he  of  the  uses 
of  a  palm  tree  ?  It  has  other  uses  than  such  as  strike  the  aphis. 
It  may  be  so  with  us  :  our  place  in  the  world  may,  in  the  eye  of 
God,  be  no  greater  than  is  to  us  the  inch  of  green  which  is  cradle, 
pasture  and  grave  of  the  palm  insect.  The  aphis  feeds  quite 
unconcerned,  even  if  lightning  sear  the  moss  beneath  his  home. 
The  philosopher  sees  a  world  of  woe  all  round  him  ;  his  own  life 
is  white,  his  fellows'  black.  God's  care  be  God's :  for  his  own  part 
the  sorrows  of  his  kind  serve  to  sober  with  shade  his  own  shining 
life.  There  is  no  sort  of  black  which  white  has  not  power  to  dis- 
intensify.  His  philosophy,  he  admits,  may  be  wrecked  to-morrow, 
but  he  speaks  from  past  experience.  He  cannot  live  the  life  of 
his  fellow,  yet  he  knows  of  those  who  are  not  so  blessed  as  to 
live  in  Persia,  yet  it  would  not  be  wise  to  say  :  "  No  sun,  no 
grapes, — then  no  subsistence  !  "  There  are  lands  where  snow 
falls ;  he  will  not  trouble  about  cold  till  it  comes  to  Persia.  But  the 
Indian  sage,  the  Buddha,  concluded  that  the  best  thing  of  Life 
was  that  it  led  to  Death  !  The  dervish  replied  that  though  Sakya 
Muni  said  so  he  did  not  believe  it,  as  he  lived  out  his  seventy 
years  and  liked  his  dinner  to  the  last — he  lied,  in  fact.  The  pupil 
demands  truth  at  any  cost,  and  is  told  to  take  this :  God  is  all- 

5 


66  HROWNING  CYCLOPAEDIA  [Bea 

good,  all-wise,  all-powerful.  What  is  man  ?  Not  God,  yet  he  is 
a  creature,  with  a  creature's  qualities.  You  cannot  make  these 
two  conceptions  agree  :  God,  that  only  can,  does  not ;  man,  that 
would,  cannot.  A  carpet  web  may  illustrate  the  meaning:  the 
sage  has  asked  the  weaver  how  it  is  that  apart  the  fiery-coloured 
silk,  and  the  other  of  watery  dimness,  when  combined,  produce 
a  medium  profitable  to  the  sight.  The  artificer  replies  that  the 
medium  was  what  he  aimed  at.  So  the  quality  of  man  blended 
with  the  quality  of  God  assists  the  human  sight  to  understand 
Life's  mystery.  Man  can  only  know  of  and  think  about,  he 
cannot  understand,  earth's  least  atom.  He  cannot  know  fire  tho- 
roughly, still  less  the  mystery  of  gravitation.  But,  it  is  objected, 
force  has  not  mind;  man  does  not  thank  gravitation  when  an 
apple  drops,  nor  summer  for  the  apple  :  why  thank  God  for  teeth 
to  bite  it  ?  Forces  are  the  slaves  of  supreme  power.  The  sense 
that  we  owe  a  debt  to  somebody  behind  these  forces  assures  us 
there  is  somebody  to  take  it.  We  eat  an  apple  without  thanking 
it.  We  thank  Him  but  for  whose  work  orchards  might  grow 
gall-nuts. 

Ferishtah  in  the  Lyric  asks  no  praise  for  his  work  on  behali 
of  mankind.  He  who  works  for  the  world's  approval,  or  even 
for  its  love,  must  not  be  surprised  if  both  are  withheld.  He  has 
sought,  found  and  done  his  duty.  For  the  rest  he  looks  beyond. 

Beatrice  Signorini  (Asolando,  1889)  was  a  noble  Roman 
lady  who  married  Francesco  Romanelli,  a  painter,  a  native  of 
Viterbo,  in  the  time  of  Pope  Urban  VIII.  He  was  a  favourite 
of  the  Barberini  family.  Soon  after  his  marriage  he  became 
attached  to  Artemisia  Gentileschi,  a  celebrated  lady  painter. 
One  day  he  proposed  to  her  that  she  should  paint  him  a 
picture  filled  with  fruit,  except  a  space  in  the  centre  for  her 
own  portrait,  which  he  would  himself  insert.  He  kept  this 
work  amongst  his  treasures;  and  one  day,  wishing  to  make 
his  wife  jealous,  he  unveiled  it  in  her  presence,  dilating  on 
the  graces  and  beauty  of  the  original.  His  wife  was  a  very 
beautiful  woman  also,  and  was  not  inclined  to  tolerate  this 
rivalry  for  her  husband's  affections ;  she  therefore  destroyed 
the  face  of  the  fair  artist  in  the  picture,  so  that  it  could  not  be 
recognised.  Her  husband  was  not  angry  at  this,  but  admired 
and  loved  his  wife  all  the  more  for  this  outburst  of  natural  wrath, 
and  soon  ceased  to  think  further  of  his  quondam  love.  Artemisia 


Bef]  BROWNING    CYCLOPAEDIA.  O/ 

Gentileschi,  daughtei  of  Orazio  Gentileschi,  lived  1590 — 1642. 
She  was  a  pupil  of  Guido,  and  acquired  great  fame  as  a  portrait 
painter.  She  was  a  beautiful  woman  ;  her  portrait  painted  by 
herself  is  in  Hampton  Court.  Her  greatest  work  is  the  picture 
of  Judith  and  Holofernes,  in  the  Pitti  Palace,  Florence.  She 
came  to  England  with  her  father  in  the  reign  of  Charles  I.,  and 
painted  for  him  David  with  the  head  of  Goliath.  She  soon 
returned  to  Italy,  and  passed  the  remainder  of  her  life  at 
Naples.  Baldinucci  tells  the  story  of  Romanelli. 

Beer.    See  NATIONALITY  IN  DRINKS  (Dramatic  Lyrics}. 

"  Before  and  After."  (Men  and  Women,  1855  ;  Lyrics,  1863 ;, 
Dramatic  Lyrics,  1868.)  Two  men  have  quarrelled,  and  a  duel  is 
proposed.  It  is  urged  that  the  injured  man  should  forgive  his 
enemy,  but  a  philosophical  adviser  considers  that  Christianity  is- 
hardly  equal  to  this  particular  matter:  "Things  have  gone  too- 
far.'  Forgiveness  is  all  very  well  in  good  books,  but  these  men- 
are  sunk  in  a  slough  where  they  must  not  be  left  to  "  stick  and 
stink."  As  the  offender  never  pardons,  and  the  offended  in  this 
case  will  not,  there  is  nothing  for  it  but  to  fight.  Besides,  "while 
God's  champion  lives"  (the  just  man),  "wrong  shall  be  re- 
sisted "  and  the  wrong-doer  punished.  These  two  men  have 
quarrelled,  and  it  is  impossible  to  say  which  of  them  is.  the 
injured  and  which  the  injurer.  Wrong  has  been  done — this  much 
is  certain  ;  beyond  that  human  judgment  is  at  fault,  and  the 
Divine  must  be  invoked.  Let  them  fight  it  out,  then !  Of 
course  the  poet  is  speaking  dramatically,  and  not  laying  down 
the  principle  that  where  we  see  evil  done,  especially  in  our 
own  concerns,  we  are  bound  to  avenge  the  wrong.  This  senti- 
ment is  that  of  the  philosophical  observer  of  the  feud,  though 
there  are  phrases  here  and  there  quite  in  accord  with  Mr. 
Browning's  axioms:  "Better  sin  the  whole  sin";  "Go,  live  his 
life  out "  ;  "  Life  will  try  his  nerves."  [This  teaching  is  much  in 
the  way  of  that  in  the  concluding  verses  of  The  Statue  and  the 
Bust  (q.v.y]  For  the  culprit  there,  the  speaker  says,  it  is  better 
he  should  add  daring  courage  to  face  the  consequences  of  his  crime, 
than  by  running  away  from  them  be  coward  as  well  as  criminal, 
He  may  come  off  victor,  but  his  future  life,  his  garden  of  pleasure, 
will  have  a  warder,  a  leopard-dog  thing  (his  sin),  ever  at  his  side. 
This  leering  presence,  this  "sly,  mutething,"  crouching  under  every 
"  rose  wall "  and  "  grape-tree,"  will  exact  the  penalty  of  past  sin, 


6%  BROWNING   CYCLOPAEDIA.  [Bel 

and  mayhap  sting  the  sinner  to  repentance.  "  So  much  for  the 
culprit."  The  injured,  "  the  martyred  man,"  has  borne  so  much, 
he  can  at  least  bear  another  stroke — "give  his  blood  and  get  his 
heaven."  If  death  end  it,  well  for  him — "  he  forgives  "  ;  if  he 
be  victor  he  has  punished  sin  as  God's  minister  of  justice.  In 
"After,"  what  is  not  said  is  more  powerful  than  any  words  which 
could  have  filled  the  intervening  space  between  these  two  poems. 
The  imagination  here  is  all-sufficient.  The  chill  presence  of 
death  has  altered  the  aspect  of  everything.  The  rush  of 
thought,  the  casuistry,  the  intensity  of  the  preceding  poem,  is  all 
hushed  and  silent  here.  Death  makes  things  so  real  in  its  pre- 
sence, masks  drop  off  from  souls'  faces,  and  truth  can  make  her 
voice  heard  above  the  contentions  of  sophistry.  The  victor 
•speaks— he  has  no  desire  to  masquerade  here  as  God's  avenging 
-angel ;  he  recognises  that  even  his  foe  has  the  rights  of  a  man, 
•and  as  the  spirit  of  the  dead  man  wanders,  absorbed  in  his  new 
Me,  he  heeds  not  his  wrongs  nor  the  vengeance  of  his  slayer ; 
'the  great  realities  of  the  other  world  make  those  of  this  world 
trivial,  and  the  victor  estimates  at  its  true  value  the  worthless- 
ness  of  his  conquest.  If  they  could  be  as  they  were  of  old ! 
So  forgiveness  would  have  been  better  and  Christ's  command 
is  vindicated—"!  say  unto  you  that  ye  resist  not  evil."  There 
are  some  victories  which  are  always  the  worst  of  defeats. 

"Bells  and  Pomegranates."  Under  this  title  Mr.  Browning 
published  a  cheap  edition,  in  serial  form,  of  his  poems  in  1841. 
The  following  works  appeared  in  this  manner: — Pippa  Passes; 
King  Victor  and  King  Charles;  Dramatic  Lyrics;  The  Return 
of  the  Druses;  A  Blot  in  the  ' Scutcheon  ;  Colombe's  Birthday; 
Dramatic  Romances  and  Lyrics ;  Luria ;  and  A  Soul's  Tragedy. 
</'  A  golden  bell  and  a  pomegranate,  a  golden  bell  and  a  pome- 
granate, upon  the  hem  of  the  robe  round  about." — EXOD.  xxviii.  34, 
35.)  "  The  reason  supposed  in  the  Targum  for  the  directions  given 
to  the  priest  is  that  the  priest's  approach  should  be  cautious  to 
the  innermost  '  Holy  of  Holies,'  or  Sanctuary  of  the  Tabernacle. 
The  sound  of  the  small  bells  upon  his  robe  was  intended  to 
announce  his  approach  before  his  actual  appearance."  Philo 
says  the  bells  were  to  denote  the  harmony  of  the  universe. 
St.  Jerome  says  they  also  indicated  that  every  movement  of 
the  priest  should  be  for  edification.  Mr.  Browning,  however, 
intimated  that  he  had  no  such  symbolical  intention  in  the  choice 


Ben]  BROWNING   CYCLOPAEDIA.  69 

of  his  title.  In  the  preface  to  the  last  number  of  the  series,  he 
said :  "  Here  ends  my  first  series  of  '  Bells  and  Pomegranates,' 
and  I  take  the  opportunity  of  explaining,  in  reply  to  inquiries, 
that  I  only  meant  by  that  title  to  indicate  an  endeavour  towards 
something  like  an  alternation  or  mixture  of  music  with  dis- 
coursing, sound  with  sense,  poetry  with  thought ;  which  looks 
too  ambitious,  thus  expressed,  so  the  symbol  was  preferred. 
It  is  little  to  the  purpose  that  such  is  actually  one  of  the  most 
familiar  of  the  many  Rabbinical  (and  Patristic)  acceptations  of 
the  phrase ;  because  I  confess  that,  letting  authority  alone,  I 
supposed  the  bare  words,  in  such  juxtaposition,  would  sufficiently 
convey  the  desired  meaning.  '  Faith  and  good  works  '  is  another 
fancy,  for  instance,  and,  perhaps,  no  easier  to  arrive  at ;  yet  Giotto 
placed  a  pomegranate  fruit  in  the  hand  of  Dante,  and  Raffaelo 
crowned  his  theology  (in  the  Camera  della  Segnaturd)  with 
blossoms  of  the  same  ;  as  if  the  Bellari  and  Vasari  would  be  sure 
to  come  after,  and  explain  that  it  was  merely  '  simbolo  delle  buone 
opere — il  qual  Pomogranato,  fu  pero  usato  nelle  vesti  del 
Pontefice  appresso  gli  Ebrei.' — R.  B." 

"  Ben  Karshook's  Wisdom."  Mr.  Sharp  says,  in  his  Life  of 
Browning,  "In  the  late  spring  (April  27th,  1854),  also,  he  wrote 
the  short  dactylic  lyric,  "  Ben  Kars'iook's  Wisdom."  This  little 
poem  was  given  to  a  friend  for  appearance  in  one  of  the  then 
popular  keepsakes — literally  given,  for  Browning  never  contri- 
buted to  magazines.  As  "  Ben  Karshook's  Wisdom,"  though  it 
has  been  reprinted  in  several  quarters,  will  not  le  found  in  any 
volume  of  Browning's  works,  and  was  omitted  from  Men  and 
Women  by  accident,  and  from  further  collections  by  forgetful- 
ness,  it  may  be  fitly  quoted  here.  Karshook,  it  may  be  added, 
is  the  Hebraic  word  for  a  thistle. 

"  '  Would  a  man  'scape  the  rod  ?  — 

Rabbi  Ben  Karshook  saith, 
'  See  that  he  turns  to  God, 
The  day  before  his  death.' 

'Ay,  could  a  man  inquire, 

When  it  shall  come  ! '     I  say, 
The  Rabbi's  eye  shoots  fire— 

'  Then  let  him  turn  to-day ! ' 


70  BROWNING   CYCLOPAEDIA. 

Quoth  a  young  Sadducee, — 

'  Reader  of  many  rolls, 
Is  it  so  certain  we 

Have,  as  they  tell  us,  souls  ?  * — 

*  Son,  there  is  no  reply  ! ' 

The  Rabbi  bit  his  beard  ; 
'Certain,  a  soul  have  /, — 

We  may  have  none,'  he  sneered. 

Thus  Karshook,  the  Hiram's-Hammer, 
The  Right-hand  Temple  column, 

Taught  babes  in  grace  their  grammar,, 

And  struck  the  simple,  solemn." 
(ROME,  April  27 th,  1854.) 

The  reference  in  the  last  verse  is  to  i  Kings  vii.  13-22.  Hiram 
was  a  Phoenician  king,  and  a  skilful  builder  of  temples.  The 
Temple  columns  referred  to  were  called  Jachin  and  Boaz, 
and  were  made  of  brass  and  set  up  at  the  entrance;  Boaz 
(strength}  on  the  left  hand,  and  Jachin  (stability)  on  the  right. 
The  Freemasons  have  adopted  the  names  of  these  pillars  in 
their  ceremonial  and  symbolism. 

Bernard  de  Mandeville  [THE  MAN]  (1670—1733)  was  a 
native  of  Rotterdam,  and  the  son  of  a  physician  who  practised 
in  that  city.  He  studied  medicine  at  Leyden,  and  came  to 
England  "  to  learn  the  language."  He  did  this  with  such  effect 
that  it  was  doubted  if  he  were  a  foreigner.  He  practised 
medicine  in  London,  and  is  known  to  fame  by  his  celebrated 
book  The  Fable  of  the  Bees,  a  miscellaneous  work  which 
includes  "  The  Grumbling  Hive,  or  Knaves  Turned  Honest;  An 
Inquiry  into  the  Origin  of  Moral  Virtiie ;  An  Essay  on  Charity 
Schools ;  and  A  Search  into  the  Origin  of  Society"  When,  in 
1705,  the  country  was  agitated  by  the  question  as  to  the  con- 
tinuance of  Marlborough's  war  with  France,  Mandeville  published 
his  Grumbling  Hive.  All  sorts  of  charges  were  being  made 
against  public  officials ;  every  form  of  corruption  and  dishonesty 
was  freely  charged  on  these  persons,  and  it  was  in  the  midst  of 
this  agitation  that  Mandeville  humorously  maintained  that  "private 
vices  are  public  benefits,"— that  self-seeking,  luxury,  ambition, 
and  greed  are  all  necessary  to  the  greatness  and  prosperity  of 
a  nation.  "  Fools  only  strive  to  make  a  great  and  honest  hive." 


BROWNING    CYCLOPAEDIA.  J 1 

•"The  bees  of  his  fable,"  says  Professor  Minto,  "grumbled,  as 
many  Englishmen  were  disposed  to  do, — cursed  politicians, 
armies,  fleets,  whenever  there  came  a  reverse,  and  cried,  '  Had 
we  but  honesty ! '  "  Jove,  at  last,  in  a  passion,  swore  that  he 
would  "  rid  the  canting  hive  of  fraud,"  and  filled  the  hearts  of 
the  bees  with  honesty  and  all  the  virtues,  strict  justice,  frugal 
living,  contentment  with  little,  acquiescence  in  the  insults  of 
enemies.  Straightway  the  flourishing  hive  declined,  till  in  time 
only  a  small  remnant  was  left ;  this  took  refuge  in  a  hollow 
tree,  "  blest  with  content  and  honesty,"  but  "  destitute  of  arts 
and  manufactures."  "  He  gives  the  name  of  virtue  to  every 
performance  by  which  man,  contrary  to  the  impulse  of  nature, 
should  endeavour  the  benefit  of  others,  or  the  conquest  of  his 
own  passions,  out  of  a  rational  ambition  of  being  good  " ;  while 
everything  which,  without  regard  to  the  public,  man  should 
commit  to  gratify  any  of  his  appetites,  is  vice."  He  finds  self- 
love  (a  vice  by  the  definition)  masquerading  in  many  virtuous 
disguises,  lying  at  the  root  of  asceticism,  heroism,  public  spirit, 
decorous  conduct, — at  the  root,  in  short,  of  all  the  actions  that 
pass  current  as  virtuous."  He  taught  that  "  the  moral  virtues 
are  the  political  offspring  which  flattery  begot  upon  pride." 
Politicians  and  moralists  have  worked  upon  man  to  make  him 
believe  he  is  a  sublime  creature,  and  that  self-indulgence  makes 
him  more  akin  to  the  brutes.  In  1723  Mandeville  applied  his 
analysis  of  virtue  in  respect  to  the  then  fashionable  institution 
of  charity  schools,  and  a  great  outcry  was  raised  against  his 
doctrines.  His  book  was  presented  to  the  justices,  the  grand 
jury  of  Middlesex,  and  a  copy  was  ordered  to  be  burned  by  the 
common  hangman.  It  is  probable  that  Mandeville  was  not 
serious  in  all  he  wrote ;  much  of  his  writings  must  be  considered 
merely  as  a  political  jeu  d esprit.  His  was  an  age  of  speculation 
upon  ethical  questions,  and  a  humorous  foreigner  could  not  but 
be  moved  to  satirise  English  methods,  which  are  frequently 
peculiarly  open  to  this  kind  of  attack. 

[THE  POEM.]  (Parleyings  with  Certain  People  of  Importance 
in  their  Day:  London,  1887.)  The  sketch  of  Mandeville's 
opinion  given  above  will  afford  a  key  to  the  drift  of  Mr. 
Browning's  poem.  His  aim  is  to  point  out  the  great  truths 
•which,  on  a  careful  examination,  will  be  found  to  underlie  much 
of  the  oKl  philosopher's  paradoxical  teaching  ;  not  as  understood 


72  BROWNING   CYCLOPEDIA.  [Bar 

by  fools,  he  says,  but  by  those  who  let  down  their  sounding  line- 
below  the  turbid  surface  to  the  still  depths  where  evil  har- 
moniously combines  with  good,  Mandeville's  teaching  is  worthy 
of  examination.  We  must  take  life  as  we  find  it,  ever  remem- 
bering that  law  deals  the  same  with  soul  and  body ;  life's  rule  is 
short,  infancy's  probation  is  necessary  to  bodily  development ;. 
and  we  might  as  well  expect  a  new-born  infant  to  start  up  strong, 
as  the  soul  to  stand  in  its  full-statured  magnificence  without  the 
necessary  faculty  of  growth.  Law  deals  with  body  as  with  souL 
Both,  stung  to  strength  through  weakness,  strive  for  good  through 
evil.  And  all  the  while  the  process  lasts  men  complain  that  "  no- 
sign,  no  stirring  of  God's  finger,"  indicates  His  preference  for 
either.  Never  promptly  and  beyond  mistake  has  God  interposed 
between  oppression  and  its  victim.  But  suppose  the  Gardener 
of  mankind  has  a  definite  purpose  in  view  when  he  plants  evil 
side  by  side  with  good  ?  How  do  we  know  that  every  growth  of 
good  is  not  consequent  on  evil's  neighbourhood  ?  As-  it  is  certain 
that  the  garden  was  planted  by  intelligence,  would  not  the 
sudden  and  complete  eradication  of  evil  repeal  a  primal  law  of 
the  all-understanding  Gardener?  "But,"  retorts  the  objector,, 
"suppose  these  ill  weeds  were  interspersed  by  an  enemy?" 
Man's  faculty  avails  not  to  see  the  whole  sight.  When  we 
examine  the  plan  of  an  estate,  we  do  not  ask  where  is  the  roof 
of  the  house — where  the  door,  the  window.  We  do  not  seek  a 
thing's  solid  self  in  its  symbol:  looking  at  Orion  on  a  starry 
night,  who  asks  to  see  the  man's  flesh  in  the  star-points  ?  If  it 
be  objected  that  we  have  no  need  of  symbols,  and  that  we  should 
be  better  taught  by  facts,  it  is  answered  that  a  myth  may  teach. 
The  rising  sun  thrills  earth  to  the  very  heart  of  things ;  creation 
acknowledges  its  life-giving  impulse  and  murmurs  not,  but,  un- 
questioning, uses  the  invigorating  beams.  Is  man  alone  to  wait 
till  he  comprehends  the  sun's  self  to  realise  the  energy  that  floods 
the  universe  ?  Prometheus  drew  the  sun's  rays  into  a  focus,  and 
made  fire  do  man  service.  Thus  to  utilise  the  sun's  influence 
was  better  than  striving  to  follow  beam  and  beam  upon  their 
way,  till  we  faint  in  our  endeavour  to  guess  their  infinitude  of 
action.  The  teaching  of  the  poem  is,  that  to  make  the  best  use 
of  the  world  as  we  find  it,  is  wiser  than  torturing  our  brains 
to  comprehend  mysteries  which  by  their  nature  and  our  own 
weakness  are  insoluble. 


BlsJ  BROWNING   CYCLOPAEDIA.  73. 

Bifurcation.  (Pacchiarotto  and  other  Peems :  London,  1876.}- 
A  woman  loves  a  man,  but  "prefers  duty  to  love" — enters  a 
convent,  perhaps,  or  adopts  some  life  for  reasons  which  she  con- 
siders imperative,  and  so  cannot  marry.  Rejecting  love,  she 
thinks  she  rejects  the  tempter's  bribe  when  the  paths  before  her 
diverge.  It  is  a  sacrifice,  she  feels,  and  a  great  one;  but  her 
heart  tells  her,  probably  because  it  has  been  suggested  by  those 
whose  influence  over  her  was  very  great,  that  heaven  will  repair 
the  wrongs  of  earth.  She  chooses  the  darkling  half  of  life,  and. 
waits  her  reward  in  the  world  "  where  light  and  darkness  fuse." 
The  man  loved  the  woman.  Love  was  a  hard  path  for  him,  but. 
duty  was  a  pleasant  road.  When  the  ways  parted,  and  his  love 
forsook  him  to  abide  by  duty,  she  told  him  their  roads  would, 
converge  again  at  the  end,  and  bade  him  be  constant  to  his  path, 
as  she  would  be  to  hers,  that  they  might  meet  once  more.  But,, 
when  the  guiding  star  is  gone,  man's  footsteps  are  apt  to  stray, 
and  every  stumbling-block  brought  him  to  confusion.  And  after 
his  falls  and  flint-piercings  he  would  rise  and  cry  "  All's  well !  " 
and  struggle  on,  since  he  must  be  content  with  one  of  the  halves- 
that  make  the  whole.  He  would  have  the  story  of  each  inscribed 
on  their  tomb,  and  he  demands  to  know  which  tomb  holds 
sinner  and  which  holds  saint!  If  love  be  all — if  earth  and  its 
best  be  our  highest  aim — then  the  woman  was  the  sinner  for  not 
marrying  her  lover,  and  settling  down  in  a  suburban  villa,  and 
surrounding  herself  with  children  and  domestic  pleasures.  But 
if  the  ideal  life — if  a  love  infinitely  higher  and  purer  than  any 
earthly  affection — be  taken  into  account ;  if  in  her  soul  she  had/ 
heard  the  call,  "  Leave  all  and  follow  Me,"  and  she  obeyed  with 
breaking  heart,  in  a  perfect  spirit  of  self-sacrifice,  then  was  she  no- 
sinner,  but  saint  indeed.  Surely  there  are  higher  paths  in  life 
than  even  the  holy  one  of  wedded  love.  Mr.  Browning's  own. 
married  life  was  so  ideally  perfect  that  he  has  been  led  into- 
some  exaggeration  of  its  advantages  to  the  mass  of  mankind. 

Bishop  Blougram's  Apology.  (Men  and  Women,  vol.  i.f 
1855.)  Bishop  Blougram  is  a  bon  mvant,  a  man  of  letters,  of 
fastidious  taste  and  of  courtly  manners — a  typical  Renaissance 
prince  of  the  Church,  in  fact.  He  has  been  successful  in  life,  as 
he  understands  it,  and  there  seems  no  reason  why  he  should, 
make  any  apology  for  an  existence  so  in  every  way  congenial? 
to  his  nature.  Mr.  Gigadibs  is  a  young  literaiy  man,  smart  at 


74  BROWNING   CYCLOPAEDIA.  [Bis 

4<  articles"  for  the  magazines,  but  possessing  no  knowledge  out- 
side the  world  of  books,  and  incapable  of  deep  thought  on  the 
great  problems  of  life  and  mind.  He  can  settle  everything  off- 
hand in  his  flippant,  free-thinking  style,  and  he  has  arrived  at 
the  conclusion  that  a  man  of  Blougram's  ability  cannot  really 
•believe  in  the  doctrines  which  he  pretends  to  defend,  and  that 
he  is  only  acting  a  part;  as  such  a  life  cannot  be  "ideal,"  he 
•considers  his  host  more  or  less  of  an  impostor.  By  some  means 
he  finds  himself  dining  with  the  Bishop,  and  after  dinner  he  is 
treated  to  his  lordship's  "  Apology."  The  ecclesiastic  has  taken 
the  measure  of  his  man,  and  good-humouredly  puts  the  case  thus: 
"  You  say  the  thing  is  my  trade,  that  I  am  above  the  humbug  in 
my  heart,  and  sceptical  withal  at  times,  and  so  you  despise  me — 
to  be  plain.  For  your  own  part  you  must  be  free  and  speak 
your  mind.  You  would  not  choose  my  position  if  you  could 
you  would  be  great,  but  not  in  my  way.  The  problem  of  life  is 
not  to  fancy  what  were  fair  it  only  it  could  be,  but,  taking  life  as 
it  is,  to  make  it  fair  so  far  as  we  can.  For  a  simile,  we  mortals 
make  our  life-voyage  each  in  his  cabin.  Suppose  you  attempt  to 
furnish  it  after  a  landsman's  idea.  You  bring  an  Indian  screen, 
a  piano,  fifty  volumes  of  Balzac's  novels  and  a  library  of  the 
classics,  a  marble  bath,  and  an  "  old  master "  or  two  ;  but  the 
ship  folk  tell  you  you  have  only  six  feet  square  to  deal  with,  and 
because  they  refuse  to  take  on  board  your  piano,  your  marble 
bath,  and  your  old  masters,  you  set  sail  in  a  bare  cabin.  You 
peep  into  a  neighbouring  berth,  snug  and  well-appointed,  and 
you  envy  the  man  who  is  enjoying  his  suitable  sea  furniture  ; 
you  have  proved  your  artist  nature,  but  you  have  no  furniture. 
Imagine  we  are  two  college  friends  preparing  for  a  voyage ; 
my  outfit  is  a  bishop's,  why  won't  you  be  a  bishop  too  ?  In  the 
ifirst  place,  you  don't  and  can't  believe  in  a  Divine  revelation  ; 
you  object  to  dogmas,  so  overhaul  theology  ;  you  think  I  am  by 
mo  means  a  fool,  so  that  I  must  find  believing  every  whit  as  hard 
.as  you  do,  and  if  I  do  not  say  so,  possibly  I  am  an  impostor. 
Grant  that  I  do  not  believe  in  the  fixed  and  absolute  sense — to 
•meet  you  on  your  own  premise — overboard  go  my  dogmas,  and 
we  both  are  unbelievers.  Does  that  fix  us  unbelievers  for  ever  ? 
Not  so  :  all  we  have  gained  is,  that  as  unbelief  disturbed  us  by 
•'its  in  our  believing  days,  so  belief  will  ever  and  again  disturb 
.our  unbelief,  for  how  can  we  guard  our  unbelief  and  make  it 


Bis]  BROWNING   CYCLOPAEDIA.  75 

bear  fruit  to  us?  Just  when  we  think  we  are  safest  a  flower,  a 
friend's  death,  or  a  beautiful  snatch  of  song,  and  lo  !  there  st-nd? 
before  us  the  grand  Perhaps  !  The  old  misgivings  and  cro^keo 
questions  all  are  there — all  demanding  solution,  as  before.  Al 
we  have  gained  by  our  unbelief  is  a  life  of  doubt  diversified  by 
faith,  in  place  of  one  of  faith  diversified  by  doubt.  "  But,"  says 
•Gigadibs,  "if  I  drop  faith  and  you  drop  doubt,  I  am  as  right 
as  you  !  "  Blougram  will  not  allow  this :  "  the  points  are  noi 
indifferent ;  belief  or  unbelief  bears  upon  life,  and  determines  ite 
whole  course ;  positive  belief  brings  out  the  best  ot  me,  and  b  .ars 
fruit  in  pleasantness  and  peace.  Unbelief  would  do  nothing  of  the 
sort  for  me :  you  say  it  does  for  you  ?  We'll  try !  I  say  faith  is 
my  waking  life  ;  we  sleep  and  dream,  but,  after  all,  waking  is 
our  real  existence — all  day  I  study  and  make  friends  ;  at  night  I 
sleep.  What's  midnight  doubt  before  the  faith  of  day  ?  You  are 
.a  philosopher;  you  disbelieve,  you  give  to  dreams  at  night  the 
weight  I  give  to  the  work  of  active  day ;  to  be  consistent,  yon 
should  keep  your  bed,  for  you  live  to  sleep  as  I  to  wake — to 
unbelieve,  as  I  to  still  believe.  Common-sense  terms  you  bed- 
ridden :  common-sense  brings  its  good  things  to  me ;  so  it's  best 
believing  if  we  can,  is  it  not  ?  Again,  if  we  are  to  believe  at  all, 
\ve  cannot  be  too  decisive  in  our  faith  ;  we  must  be  consistent  in 
all  our  choice — succeed,  or  go  hang  in  worldly  matters.  In  love 
we  wed  the  woman  we  love  most  or  need  most,  and  as  a  m  n 
•cannot  wed  twice,  so  neither  can  he  twice  lose  his  soul.  1 
happened  to  be  born  in  one  great  form  of  Christianity,  the  most 
pronounced  and  absolute  form  of  faith  in  the  world,  and  so  one 
of  the  most  potent  forms  of  influencing  the  world.  External 
forces  have  been  allowed  to  act  upon  me  by  my  own  cons  nt, 
and  they  have  made  me  very  comfortable.  I  take  what  men 
offer  with  a  grace ;  folks  kneel  and  kiss  my  hand,  and  thus  is  life 
best  for  me;  my  choice,  you  will  admit,  is  a  success.  Had  1 
•nobler  instincts,  like  you,  I  should  hardly  count  this  success ;  grant 
I  am  a  beast,  beasts  must  lead  beasts'  lives ;  it  is  my  business 
to  make  the  absolute  best  of  what  God  has  made.  At  the  same 
time,  I  do  not  acknowledge  I  am  so  much  your  inferior,  though 
you  do  say  I  pine  among  my  million  fools  instead  of  living  foi 
the  dozen  men  of  sense  who  observe  me,  and  even  they  do  not 
know  whether  I  am  fool  or  knave.  Be  a  Napoleon,  and  if  you 
•disbelieve,  where's  the  good  of  it  ?  Then  concede  there  is  just  a 


76  BROWNING    CYCLOPEDIA.  [BlS1. 

chance:  doubt  may  be  wrong — just  a  chance  of  judgment  and  a> 
life  to  come.  Fit  up  your  cabin  another  way.  Shall  we  be 
Shakespeare  ?  What  did  Shakespeare  do  ?  Why,  left  his  towers- 
and  gorgeous  palaces  to  build  himself  a  trim  house  in  Stratford. 
He  owned  the  worth  of  things ;  he  enjoyed  the  show  and  respected 
the  puppets  too.  Shakespeare  and  myself  want  the  same  things, 
and  what  I  want  I  have.  He  aimed  at  a  house  in  Stratford — he 
got  it ;  I  aim  at  higher  things,  and  receive  heaven's  incense  in  my- 
nose.  Believe  and  get  enthusiasm,  that's  the  thing.  I  can  achieve 
nothing  on  the  denying  side — ice  makes  no  conflagration."  Giga- 
dibs  says,  "  But  as  you  really  lack  faith,  you  run  the  same  risk 
by  your  indifference  as  does  the  bold  unbeliever ;  an  imperfect 
faith  like  that  is  not  worth  having ;  give  me  whole  faith  or  none !  " 
Blougram  fixes  him  here.  "  Own  the  use  of  faith,  I  find  you* 
faith !  "  he  replies.  "  Christianity  may  be  false,  but  do  you  wish 
it  true  ?  If  you  desire  faith,  then  you've  faith  enough.  We  could: 
not  tolerate  pure  faith,  naked  belief  in  Omnipotence ;  it  would 
be  like  viewing  the  sun  with  a  lidless  eye.  The  use  of  evil  isr 
to  hide  God.  1  would  rather  die  than  deny  a  Church  miracle." 
Gigadibs  says,  "  Have  faith  if  you  will,  but  you  might  purify  it.'J 
Blougram  objects  that  "  if  you  first  cut  the  Church  miracle,  the 
next  thing  is  to  cut  God  Himself  and  be  an  atheist,  so  much  does 
•  humanity  find  the  cutting  process  to  its  taste."  If  Gigadib* 
says,  "All  this  is  a  narrow  and  gross  view  of  life,"  Blougram 
answers,  "  I  live  for  this  world  now ;  my  best  pledge  for  observing, 
the  new  laws  of  a  new  life  to  come  is  my  obedience  to  the 
present  world's  requirements.  This  life  may  be  intended  to* 
make  the  next  more  intense.  Man  ever  tries  to  be  beforehand 
in  his  evolution,  as  when  a  traveller  throws  off  his  furs  in  Russia 
because  he  will  not  want  them  in  France;  in  France  spurns 
flannel  because  in  Spain  it  will  not  be  required ;  in  Spain  drops 
cloth  too  cumbrous  for  Algiers;  linen  goes  next,  and  last  the 
skin  itself,  a  superfluity  in  Timbuctoo.  The  poor  fool  was 
never  at  ease  a  minute  in  his  whole  journey.  I  am  at  ease 
now,  friend,  worldly  in  this  world,  as  I  have  a  right  to  be. 
You  meet  me,"  continues  Blougram,  "  at  this  issue :  you  think, 
it  better,  if  we  doubt,  to  say  so ;  act  up  to  truth  perceived,, 
however  feebly.  Put  natural  religion  to  the  test  with  which  you 
have  just  demolished  the  revealed,  abolish  the  moral  law,  let 
people  lie,  kill,  and  thieve,  but  there  are  certain  instincts,. 


351s]  BROWNING    CYCLOPAEDIA.  77 

unreasoned  out  and  blind,  which  you  dare  not  set  aside;  you  can't 
tell  why,  but  there  they  are,  and  there  you  let  them  rule,  so  you  are 
just  as  much  a  slave,  liar,  hypocrite,  as  I — a  conscious  coward  to 
toot,  and  without  promise  of  reward.  I  but  follow  my  instincts, 
as  you  yours.  I  want  a  God — must  have  a  God — ere  I  can  be 
aught,  must  be  in  direct  relation  with  Him,  and  so  live  my  life ; 
yours,  you  dare  not  live.  Something  we  may  see,  all  we  cannot 
see.  I  say,  I  see  all :  I  am  obliged  to  be  emphatic,  or  men  would 
•doubt  there  is  anything  to  see  at  all."  Then  the  Bishop  turns 
upon  his  opponent  and  presses  him :  "  Confess,  don't  you  want 
my  bishopric,  my  influence  and  state?  Why,  you  will  brag  of 
•dining  with  me  to  the  last  day  of  your  life  !  There  are  men  who 
beat  me, — the  zealot  with  his  mad  ideal,  the  poet  with  all  his  life 
in  his  ode,  the  statesman  with  his  scheme,  the  artist  whose 
religion  is  his  art — such  men  carry  their  fire  within  them ;  but  you, 
you  Gigadibs,  poor  scribbler, — but  not  so  poor  but  we  almost 
thought  an  article  of  yours  might  have  been  written  by  Dickens, — 
here's  my  card,  its  mere  production,  in  proof  of  acquaintance  with 
me,  will  double  your  remuneration  in  the  reviews  at  sight.  Go, 
write, — detest,  defame  me,  but  at  least  you  cannot  despise  me ! " 
The  average  superficial  reasoner  is  in  the  constant  habit  of  setting 
down  as  insincere  such  learned  persons  as  make  a  profession  of 
faith  in  the  dogmas  of  Christianity.  The  ordinary  man  of  the 
world  considers  the  mass  of  Christian  people  as  bound  to  their 
faith  by  the  fetters  of  ignorance.  Such  men,  however,  as  it  is 
impossible  to  term  ignorant,  who  profess  to  hold  the  dogmas  of 
Christianity  in  their  integrity,  are  actuated,  they  say,  by  unworthy 
motives,  self-interest,  the  desire  to  make  the  best  of  both  worlds, 
unwillingness  to  cast  in  their  lot  with  those  who  put  themselves 
to  the  pain  and  discredit  of  thinking  for  themselves,  and  casting 
off  the  fetters  of  superstition.  So,  say  these  cynics,  the 
dignified  clergy  of  the  Established  Church  repeat  creeds 
which  they  no  longer  believe,  that  they  may  live  in  splendour 
and  enjoy  the  best  things  of  life,  while  the  poorer  clergy 
retain  their  positions  as  a  decent  means  of  gaining  a  liveli- 
hood. When  such  flippant  thinkers  and  impulsive  talkers 
contemplate  the  lives  of  such  men  as  Cardinal  Wiseman  or 
Cardinal  Newman,  who  were  acknowledged  to  be  learned  and 
highly  cultivated  men,  they  say  it  is  impossible  such  men 
can  be  sincere  when  they  profess  to  believe  the  teachings 


78  BROWNING   CYCLOPAEDIA.  [BU 

of  the  Catholic  Church,  which  they  hold  to  be  contemptible 
superstition  ;  they  must  be  actuated  by  unworthy  motives,  love  of 
power  over  men's  minds,  craving  for  worldly  dignities  and  the 
adulation  of  men  and  the  like.  That  a  man  like  Newman 
should  give  up  his  intellectual  life  at  Oxford  "  to  perform 
mummeries  at  a  Catholic  altar"  in  Birmingham,  was  plainly 
termed  insanity,  intellectual  suicide,  or  sheer  knavery.  The  late 
Cardinal  Wiseman  was  an  exceedingly  learned  man,  of  great 
scientific  ability,  and  such  admirable  bonhomie  that  this  class  of 
critic  had  no  difficulty  whatever  in  relegating  his  Eminence  to 
what  was  considered  his  precise  moral  position.  Mr.  Browning 
in  this  monologue  accurately  postulates  the  popular  conception 
of  the  Cardinal's  character  in  the  utterances  of  one  Gigadibs,  a 
young  man  of  thirty  who  has  rashly  expressed  his  opinions  of 
^e  g1^*  churchman's  religious  character.  The  poet,  though 
completely  failing  to  do  justice  to  the  Bishop's  side  of  the 
question,  has  presented  us  with  a  character  perfectly  natural,  but 
which  in  every  aspect  seems  more  the  picture  of  an  eighteenth- 
century  fox-hunting  ecclesiastic  than  that  of  a  bishop  of  the 
Roman  Church,  who  would  have  had  a  good  deal  more  to  say 
on  the  subject  of  faith  as  understood  by  his  Church  than  the  poet 
has  put  into  the  mouth  of  his  Bishop  Blougram.  As  it  is  impos- 
sible to  see  in  the  description  given  of  the  Bishop  anybody 
but  the  late  Cardinal  Wiseman,  it  is  necessary  to  say  that  the 
description  is  to  the  last  degree  untrue,  as  must  have  been 
obvious  to  any  one  personally  acquainted  with  him.  A  review 
of  the  poem  appeared  in  the  magazine  known  as  the  Rambler, 
for  January  1856,  which  is  credibly  supposed  to  have  been 
written  by  the  Cardinal  himself.  "The  picture  drawn  in  the 
poem,"  says  the  article  in  question,  "is  that  of  an  arch  hypocrite, 
and  the  frankest  of  fools."  The  writer  says  that  Mr.  Browning 
"  is  utterly  mistaken  in  the  very  groundwork  of  religion,  though 
starting  from  the  most  unworthy  notions  of  the  work  of  a 
Catholic  bishop,  and  defending  a  self-indulgence  which  every 
honest  man  must  feel  to  be  disgraceful,  is  yet  in  its  way  trium- 
phant." 

NOTES. — "  Brother  Pugin"  a  celebrated  Catholic  architect,  who 
built  many  Gothic  churches  for  Catholic  congregations  in  England. 
41  Corpus  Christi  Day''  the  Feast  of  the  Sacrament  of  the  Altar, 
literally  the  Body  of  Christ;  it  occurs  on  the  Thursday  after  Trinity 


[BiS  BROWNING   CYCLOPAEDIA.  79. 

Sunday.     Che,  che,  what,  what!     Count  D'Orsay  (1798 — 1852), 
a  French  savant,  and  an  intellectual  dandy.     "  Parma's  pride — 
the  Jerome"  the  St.  Jerome  by  Correggio,  one  of  the  most  im- 
portant paintings  in  the  Ducal  Academy  at  Parma.     There  is  a. 
curious  story  of  the  picture  in  Murray's  Guide  to  North  Italy. 
Marvellous  Modenese — the  celebrated  painter  Correggio  was  born> 
in  the  territory  of  Modena,  Italy.    "Peter's  Creed,  or  rather,  Hilde- 
brand's"  Pope  Hildebrand  (Gregory  VII.,  1073-85).     The  tem- 
poral power  of  the  popes,  and  the  authority  of  the  Papacy  over 
sovereigns,  were  claimed  by  this  pope.    Verdi  and  Rossini.   Verdi 
wrote  a  poor  opera,  which  pleased  the  audience  on  the  first  night, 
and  they  loudly  applauded.     Verdi  nervously  glanced  at  Rossini, 
sitting  quietly  in  his   box,  and  read  the  verdict  in  his  face. 
Schelling,  Frederick  William  Joseph  von,  a  distinguished  German 
philosopher  (1775-1854).  Strauss  ,  David  Friedrich  (1808-74),  who • 
wrote  the  Rationalistic  Life  of  Jesus,  one  of  the  Tubingen  philo- 
sophers.    King  Bomba,  a  soubriquet  given   to  Ferdinand  II. 
(1810-59),  late  king  of  the  Two  Sicilies;   it  means  King  Puff- 
cheek,  King  Liar,  King  Knave,     lazzaroni,  Naples  beggars — so- 
called  from   Lazarus.      Antonelli,  Cardinal,  secretary  of  Pope 
Pius  IX.,  a  most  astute  politician,  if  not  a  very  devout  churchman. 
11  Naples'  liquefaction"    The  supposed  miracle  of  the  liquefaction, 
of  the  blood  of  St.  Januarius  the  Martyr.     A  small  quantity  of 
the  saint's  blood  in  a  solid  state  is  preserved  in  a  crystal  reliquary ;. 
when  brought  into  the  presence  of  the  head  of  the  saint  it  melts, 
bubbles  up,  and,  when  moved,  flows  on  one  side.    It  is  preserved' 
in  the  great  church  at  Naples.     On  certain  occasions,  as  on  the 
feast  of  St.  Januarius,  September  I9th,  the  miracle  is  publicly 
performed.      See   Butler's  Lives  of  the  Saints  for  September 
1 9th.     The  matter  has  been  much  discussed,  but  no  reasonable 
theory  has  been  set  up  to  account  for  it.     Mr.  Browning  is  quite 
wrong  in  suggesting  that  belief  in  this,  or  any  other  of  this  class 
of  miracles,  is  obligatory  on  the  Catholic  conscience.     A  man 
may  be  a  good  Catholic  and  believe  none  of  them.     He  could' 
not,  of  course,  be  a  Catholic  and  deny  the  miracles  of  the  Bible, 
because  he  is  bound  to  believe  them  on  the  authority  of  the 
Church  as  well  as  that  of  the  Holy  Scriptures.    Modern  miracles 
stand  on  no  such  basis.     Fichte,  Johann  Gottlieb  (1762-1814). 
An  eminent  German  metaphysician.      He  defined  God   as  the 
moral  order  of  the  universe.     "  Pastor  est  tui  Dommus,"  the  Lord 


-'So  BROWNING  CYCLOPAEDIA. 

vis  thy  Shepherd.  In  partibus,  Episcopits.  A  bishop  in  partibus 
.injidelinm.  In  countries  where  the  Roman  Catholic  faith  is  not 
•ngularly  established,  as  it  was  not  in  England  before  the  time  of 
'Cardinal  Wiseman,  there  were  no  bishops  of  sees  in  the  kingdom 
.itself,  but  they  took  their  titles  from  heathen  lands ;  so  that  an 
English  bishop  would  perhaps  be  called  Bishop  of  Mesopotamia 
-when  he  was  actually  appointed  to  London.  This  is  now  altered, 
.so  far  as  this  country  is  concerned. 

"  Bishop  orders  his  Tomb  at  St.  Praxed's  Church,  The  " 
(Rome,  15 — .  Dramatic  Romances  and  Lyrics — Bells  and  Pome- 
granates No.  VII.,  1845). — First  published  in  Hood's  Magazine, 
1845,  and  the  same  year  in  Dramatic  Romances  and  Lyrics ;  in 
1863  it  appeared  under  Men  and  Women :  St.  Praxed  or  Praxedes. 
An  old  title  or  parish  church  in  Rome  bears  the  name  of  this 
saint.  It  was  mentioned  in  the  life  of  Pope  Symmachus  (A.D. 
498-514).  It  was  repaired  by  Adrian  I.  and  Paschal  I.,  and  lastly 
Jjy  St.  Charles  Borromeo,  who  took  from  it  his  title  of  cardinal. 
He  died  1584  ;  there  is  a  small  monument  to  his  memory  now  in 
-the  church.  St.  Praxedes,  Virgin,  was  the  daughter  of  Pudens, 
.a  Roman  senator,  and  sister  of  St.  Pudentiana.  She  lived  in  the 
reign  of  the  Emperor  Antoninus  Pius.  She  employed  all  her 
•xiches  in  relieving  the  poor  and  the  necessities  of  the  Church. 
The  poem  is  a  monologue  of  a  bishop  of  the  art-loving,  luxurious, 
.and  licentious  Renaissance,  who  lies  dying,  and,  instead  of  pre- 
paring his  soul  for  death,  is  engaged  in  giving  directions  about 
-a  grand  tomb  he  wishes  his  relatives  to  erect  in  his  church.  He 
has  secured  his  niche,  the  position  is  good,  and  he  desires  the 
-monument  shall  be  worthy  of  it.  Mr.  Ruskin,  in  Modern  Painters, 
vol.  iv.,  pp.  377-79,  says  of  this  poem:  "Robert  Browning  is 
'unerring  in  every  sentence  he  writes  of  the  Middle  Ages — always 
vital,  right,  and  profound ;  so  that  in  the  matter  of  art,  with  which 
we  are  specially  concerned,  there  is  hardly  a  principle  connected 
•with  the  mediaeval  temper  that  he  has  not  struck  upon  in  these 
seemingly  careless  and  too  rugged  lines  of  his  "  (here  the  writer 
-quotes  from  the  poem,  "As  here^  I  lie,  In  this  state  chamber  dying 
by  degrees,"  to  "  Ulpian  serves  his  need !").  "I  know  no  other 
piece  of  modern  English  prose  or  poetry  in  which  there  is  so 
much  told,  as  in  these  lines,  of  the  Renaissance  spirit — its  world- 
liness,  inconsistency,  pride,  hypocrisy,  ignorance  of  itself,  love  of 
.art,  of  luxury,  and  of  good  Latin.  It  is  nearly  all  that  I  have 


Bis]  BROWNING   CYCLOPAEDIA.  8  1 

said  of  the  central  Renaissance,  in  thirty  pages  of  the  Stones  oj 
Venice,  put  into  as  many  lines,  Browning's  also  being  the  ante- 
cedent work."  It  was  inevitable  that  the  great  period  of  the 
Renaissance  should  produce  men  of  the  type  of  the  Bishop  of 
St.  Praxed's  ;  it  would  be  grossly  unfair  to  set  him  down  as  the 
type  of  the  churchmen  of  his  time.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  the 
Catholic  church  was  undergoing  its  Renaissance  also.  The 
Council  of  Trent  is  better  known  by  some  historians  for  its 
condemnation  of  heresies  than  for  the  great  work  it  did  in 
reforming  the  morals  of  Catholic  nations.  The  regulations  which 
it  established  for  this  end  were  fruitful  in  raising  up  in  different 
countries  some  of  the  noblest  and  most  beautiful  characters  ID 
the  history  of  Christianity.  St.  Charles  Borromeo,  archbishop  of 
Milan,  whose  connection  with  St.  Praxed's  Church  is  noticed 
above,  was  the  founder  of  Sunday-schools,  the  great  restorer 
of  ecclesiastical  discipline  and  the  model  of  charity.  St.  Theresa 
rendered  the  splendour  of  the  monastic  life  conspicuous,  leading 
a  life  wholly  angelical,  and  reviving  the  fervour  of  a  great  number 
of  religious  communities.  The  congregation  of  the  Ursulines 
and  many  religious  orders  established  for  the  relief  of  corporeal 
miseries—  such  as  the  Brothers  Hospitallers,  devoted  to  nursing 
the  sick  ;  the  splendid  missionary  works  of  St.  Ignatius  Loyola, 
St.  Francis  Xavier  —  all  these,  and  many  other  evidences  of  the 
awakening  life  of  the  Catholic  Church,  were  the  products  of  an 
age  which  is  as  often  misrepresented  as  it  is  imperfectly  under- 
stood. There  were  bishops  of  St.  Praxed's  such  as  the  poet  has 
so  inimitably  sketched  for  us  ;  but  had  there  been  no  others  of 
a  more  Christian  type,  religion  in  southern  Europe  would  have 
died  out  instead  of  starting  up  as  a  giant  refreshed  to  win,  as  it 
did,  the  world  for  Christ.  The  worldly 


art  for  art's  sake  "  ecclesiastic,  who  is  not  at  all  anxious  to  leave      ^  _ 
a  life  which  he  has  found  very  satisfactory  for  a  future  state  about  \ 
which  he  has  neither  anxiety  nor  concern.    What  he  is  concernecLx 
»'or  is  his  tomb.     His  old  rival  Gandolf  has  deprived  him  of  the 
position  in  the  church  which  he  longed  for  as  a  resting-place,  but 
he  hopes  to  make  up  for  the  loss  by  a  more  tasteful  and  costly 
monument,  with  a  more  classical  inscription  than  his.     The  old 
fellow  is  as  much  _Pagan  as  Christian,  and  his  ornaments  have  as 
much  to  do  with  the  gods  and  goddesses  of  old  Rome  as  with 
the  Church  of  which  he  is  a  minister.     In  all  this  Mr.  Browning 

6 


82  BROWNING   CYCLOPAEDIA.  [BlO 

jnely  satirises  the  Renaissance  spiritf  which,  theughj^  did  good 
service  fo  humanity  in   a  thousand  wayi",  Wflq 


_ 
cerned  with  flggh  than  spirit. 

NOTES.  —  Basalt,  trap"T^rc^of  a  black,  bluish,  or  leaden-grey 
colour  ;  peach-blossom  marble,  an  Italian  marble  used  in  decora- 
tions ;  olive-frail=  a  rush  basket  of  olives  ;  lapis  lazuli,  a  mineral, 
usually  of  a  rich  blue  colour,  used  in  decorations  Frascati  is 
a  beautiful  spot  on  the  Alban  hills,  near  Rome  ;  antique-black 
=  Nero  antico,  a  beautiful  black  stone;  thyrsus,  a  Bacchanalian 
staff  wrapped  with  ivy,  or  a  spear  stuck  into  a  pine-cone  ;  traver- 
tine, a  cellular  calc-tufa,  abundant  near  Tivoli  ;  Tully's  Latin  = 
Cicero's,  the  purest  classic  style  ;  Ulpian,  a  Roman  writer  on  law, 
chiefly  engaged  in  literary  work  (A.D.  211-22).  "  Blessed  mutter  of 
the_mass_"  To  devout  Catholics  the  fow  iflonqtnne  of  tfrp  priest 
saying  a  low  mass,  in  which  there  is  no  music  and  only  simple 
ceremonies,  is  more  devotional  than  the  high  mass,  where,  there 
is  much  music  and  ritual  to  divert  the  attention  from  the  most 
soleHnr^cf  of  Christian  worship  ;  mortcloth,  a  funeral  pall  ; 
elucescebat,  he  was  distinguished  ;  vizor,  that  part  of  a  helmet 
which  defends  the  face  ;  term,  a  bust  terminating  in  a  square 
block  of  stone,  similar  to  those  of  the  god  Terminus  ;  onion- 
stone  =  cippolino,  cipoline,  an  Italian  marble,  white,  with  pale- 
green  shadings. 

Blot  in  the  'Scutcheon,  A.  (Part  V.  of  Bells  and  Pome- 
granates, 1843.)  A  Tragedy.  Time,  17—.  The  story  is  ex- 
ceedingly dramatic,  though  simple.  Thorold,  Earl  Tresham,  is  a 
monomaniac  to  family  pride  and  conventional  morality:  his 
ancestry  and  his  own  reputation  absorb  his  whole  attention,  and 
the  wreck  of  all  things  were  a  less  evil  to  him  than  a  stain  on 
the  family  honour.  He  is  the  only  protector  of  his  motherless 
sister,  Mildred  Tresham,  who  has  in  her  innocence  allowed 
herself  to  be  seduced  by  Henry,  Earl  Mertoun,  whose  estates  are 
contiguous  to  those  of  the  Treshams.  He,  too,  has  a  noble 
name,  and  he  could  have  lawfully  possessed  the  girl  he  loved  if 
he  had  not  been  deterred  by  a  mysterious  feeling  of  awe  for 
Lord  Tresham,  and  had  asked  her  in  marriage.  But  he  is 
anxious  to  repair  the  wrong  he  has  done,  and  the  play  opens 
with  his  visit  to  Thorold  to  formally  present  himself  as  the  girl's 
lover.  Naturally  the  Earl,  seeing  no  objection  to  the  match, 
makes  none.  The  difficulty  seems  at  an  end  ;  but,  unfortunately, 


Bio]  BROWNING   CYCLOPAEDIA.  83 

Gerard,  an  old  and  faithful  retainer,  has  seen  a  man,  night  after 
night,  climb  to  the  lady's  chamber,  and  has  watched  him  leave. 
He  has  no  idea  who  the  visitor  might  be,  and,  after  some 
struggles  with  contending  emotions,  decides  to  acquaint  his 
master  with  the  things  which  he  has  seen.  Thorold  is  in  the 
utmost  mental  distress  and  perturbation,  and  questions  his  sister 
in  a  manner  that  is  as  painful  to  him  as  to  her.  She  does  not 
deny  the  circumstances  alleged  against  her.  Her  brother  is 
overwhelmed  with  distress  at  the  sudden  disgrace  brought  upon 
his  noble  line,  and  confounded  at  the  idea  of  the  attempt  which 
has  been  made  to  involve  in  his  own  disgrace  the  nobleman  who 
has  sought  an  alliance  with  his  family.  Mildred  refuses  to  say 
who  her  lover  is,  and  weakly — as  it  appears  to  her  brother — 
determines  to  let  things  take  the  proposed  course.  Naturally 
Thorold  looks  upon  his  sister  as  a  degraded  being  who  is  dead 
to  shame  and  honour,  and  he  rushes  from  her  presence  to  wander 
in  the  grounds  in  the  neighbourhood  of  the  house,  till  at  midnight 
he  sees  the  lover  Mertoun  preparing  to  mount  to  his  sister's 
room.  They  fight,  and  the  Earl  falls  mortally  wounded.  In  the 
chamber  above  the  signal-light  in  the  window  has  been  placed  as 
usual  by  Mildred,  who  awaits  Thorold  in  her  room.  He  does 
not  appear,  and  her  heart  tells  her  that  her  happiness  is  at  an 
end.  Now  she  sees  all  her  guilt,  and  the  consequences  of  her 
degradation  to  her  family.  In  the  midst  of  these  agonising 
reflections  her  brother  bursts  into  her  room.  She  sees  at  once 
that  he  has  killed  Mertoun,  sees  also  that  he  himself  is  dying  of 
poison  which  he  has  swallowed.  Her  heart  is  broken,  and  she 
dies.  Mildred's  cousin  Gwendolen,  betrothed  to  the  next  hen 
to  the  earldom,  Austin  Tresham,  is  a  quick,  intelligent  woman, 
who  saw  how  matters  stood,  and  would  have  rectified  them  had 
it  not  been  rendered  impossible  by  the  adventure  in  the  grounds, 
when  the  unhappy  young  lover  allowed  Thorold  to  kill  him. 
Mr.  Forster,  in  his  Life  of  Charles  Dickens  (Book  iv.  i),  says : 
41  This  was  the  date  [1842],  too,  of  Mr.  Browning's  tragedy  of  the 
Blot  in  the  'Scutcheon,  which  I  took  upon  myself,  after  reading 
it  in  the  manuscript,  privately  to  impart  to  Dickens  ;  and  I  was 
not  mistaken  in  the  belief  that  it  would  profoundly  touch  him. 
'Browning's  play,'  he  wrote  (November  25th),  'has  thrown  me 
into  a  perfect  passion  of  sorrow.  To  say  that  there  is  anything 
in  its  subject  save  what  is  lovely,  true,  deeply  affecting,  full  of 


84  BROWNING   CYCLOPAEDIA.  [BlO 

the  best  emotion,  the  most  earnest  feeling,  and  the  most  true  and 
tender  source  of  interest,  is  to  say  that  there  is  no  light  in  the 
sun  and  no  heat  in  blood.  It  is  full  of  genius,  natural  and  great 
thoughts,  profound  and  yet  simple  and  beautiful  in  its  vigour. 
I  know  nothing  that  is  so  affecting — nothing  in  any  book  I  have 
ever  read — as  Mildred's  recurrence  to  that  "  I  was  so  young — I 
had  no  mother  !  "  I  know  no  love  like  it,  no  passion  like  it,  no 
moulding  of  a  splendid  thing  after  its  conception  like  it.  And  I 
swear  it  is  a  tragedy  that  MUST  be  played;  and  must  be  played, 
moreover,  by  Macready.  There  are  some  things  I  would  have 
changed  if  I  could  (they  are  very  slight,  mostly  broken  lines)  -t 
and  I  assuredly  would  have  the  old  servant  begin  his  tale  upon 
the  scene,  and  be  taken  by  the  throat,  or  drawn  upon,  by  his 
master  in  its  commencement.  But  the  tragedy  I  never  shall 
forget,  or  less  vividly  remember,  than  I  do  now.  And  if  you  tell 
Browning  that  I  have  seen  it,  tell  him  that  I  believe  from  my 
soul  there  is  no  man  living  (and  not  many  dead)  who  could  pro- 
duce such  a  work.' "  Mr.  Browning  wrote  the  play  in  five  days, 
at  the  suggestion  of  Macready,  who  read  it  with  delight.  The 
poet  had  been  led  to  expect  that  Macready  would  play  in  it 
himself,  but  was  annoyed  to  hear  that  he  had  given  the  part  he 
had  intended  to  take  to  Mr.  Phelps,  then  an  actor  quite  unknown. 
Evidently  Macready  expected  that  Mr.  Browning  would  with- 
draw the  play.  On  the  contrary,  he  accepted  Phelps,  who, 
however,  was  taken  seriously  ill  before  the  rehearsal  began. 
The  consequence  was  (though  there  was  clearly  some  shuffling 
on  Macready's  part)  that  the  great  tragedian  himself  consented 
to  take  the  part  at  the  last  moment.  It  is  evident  that 
Macready  had  changed  his  mind.  He  had,  however,  done  more : 
he  had  changed  the  title  to  The  Sisters,  and  had  changed  a  good 
deal  of  the  play,  even  to  the  extent  of  inserting  some  lines  of  his 
own.  Meanwhile,  Phelps  having  recovered,  and  being  anxious 
to  take  his  part,  Mr.  Browning  insisted  that  he  should  do  so; 
and,  to  Macready's  annoyance,  the  old  arrangement  had  to  stand. 
The  play  was  vociferously  applauded,  and  Mr.  Phelps  was  again 
and  again  called  before  the  curtain.  Mr.  Browning  was  much 
displeased  at  the  treatment  he  had  received,  but  his  play  con- 
tinued to  be  performed  to  crowded  houses.  It  was  a  great 
success  also  when  Phelps  revived  it  at  Sadlers  Wells.  Miss 
Helen  Faucit  (who  afterwards  became  Lady  Martin)  played  the? 


BOO]  BROWNING    CYCLOPAEDIA.  85 

part  of  Mildred  Tresham  on  the  first  appearance  of  The  Blot  in 
1843.  The  Browning  Society  brought  it  out  at  St.  George's  Hall 
on  May  2nd,  1885  ;  and  again  at  the  Olympic  Theatre  on  March 
1 5th,  1888,  when  Miss  Alma  Murray  played  Mildred  Tresham  in 
an  ideally  perfect  manner.  It  was,  as  the  Era  said,  "  a  thing  to 
be  remembered.  From  every  point  of  view  it  was  admirable. 
Its  passion  was  highly  pitched,  its  elocution  pure  and  finished, 
and  its  expression,  by  feature  and  gesture,  of  a  quality  akin  to 
genius.  The  agonising  emotions  which  in  turn  thrill  the  girl's 
sensitive  frame  were  depicted  with  intense  truth  and  keen  and 
delicate  art,  and  an  excellent  discretion  defeated  any  temptation 
to  extravagance."  It  cannot  be  seriously  held  by  any  unpre- 
judiced person  that  A  Blot  in  the  'Scutcheon  has  within  it  the 
elements  of  success  as  an  acting  play.  The  subject  is  unpleasant, 
the  conduct  of  Thorold  monomaniacal  and  improbable,  the  whole- 
sale dying  in  the  last  scene  "  transpontine."  The  characters 
philosophise  too  much,  and  dissect  themselves  even  as  they  die. 
They  come  to  life  again  under  the  stimulation  of  the  process,  only 
to  perish  still  more,  and  to  make  us  speculate  on  the  nature  of 
the  poison  which  permitted  such  self-analysis,  and  on  the  nature 
of  the  heart  disease  which  was  so  subservient  to  the  patient's 
necessities.  An  analytic  poet,  we  feel,  is  for  the  study,  not  for 
the  boards. 

Bluphocks.  (Pippa  Passes.)  The  vagabond  Englishman  of 
the  poem.  "The  name  means  Blue-Fox,  and  is  a  skit  on  the 
Edinburgh  Review,  which  is  bound  in  a  cover  of  blue  and  fox." 
(Dr.  Furnivall.) 

Bombast.  The  proper  name  of  Paracelsus\  "probably  ac- 
quired," says  Mr.  Browning  in  a  note  to  Paracelsus,  "from  the 
characteristic  phraseology  of  his  lectures,  that  unlucky  significa- 
tion which  it  has  ever  since  retained."  This  is  not  correct.  Bom- 
bast, in  German  bombast,  cognate  with  Latin  bombyx  in  the 
sense  of  cotton.  "Bombast,  the  cotton-plant  growing  in  Asia" 
(Phillips,  The  New  World  of  Words}.  It  was  applied  also  to  the 
cotton  wadding  with  which  garments  were  lined  and  stuffed  in 
Elizabeth's  time  ;  hence  inflated  speech,  fustian.  (See  Stubbes, 
The  Anatomy  of  Abuses,  p.  23 ;  Trench,  Encyc.  Diet,  etc.) 

Boot  and  Saddle.  No.  III.  of  the  "  Cavalier  Songs,"  published 
in  Bells  and  Pomegranates  in  1842,  under  the  title  "Cavalier 
Tunes." 


86  BROWNING  CYCLOPAEDIA.  [Bot 

Bottinius.  (  The  Ring  and  the  Book.}  Juris  Doctor  Johannes- 
Baptista  Bottinius  was  the  Fisc  or  Public  Prosecutor  and  Advo- 
cate of  the  Apostolic  Chamber  at  Rome.  The  ninth  book  of  the 
poem  contains  his  speech  as  prosecutor  of  Count  Guido. 

Boy  and  the  Angel,  The.  (Hood's  Magazine,  vol.  ii.,  1844, 
pp.  140-42.)  Reprinted,  revised,  and  with  five  fresh  couplets, 
in  "  Dramatic  Romances  and  Lyrics"  (1845),  No.  VII.  Bells  and 
Pomegranates.  Theocrite  was  a  poor  Italian  boy  who,  morning, 
evening,  noon  and  night,  ever  sang  "  Praise  God !  "  As  he  prayed 
well  and  loved  God,  so  he  worked  well  and  served  his  master  faith- 
fully and  cheerfully.  Blaise,  the  monk,  heard  him  sing  his  Lau- 
date,  and  said :  "  I  doubt  not  thou  art  heard,  my  son,  as  well  as  if 
thou  wert  the  Pope,  praising  God  from  Peter's  dome  this  Easter 
day";  but  Theocrite  said:  "Would  God  I  might  praise  Him  that 
great  way  and  die  !  "  That  night  there  was  no  more  Theocrite,  and 
God  missed  the  boy's  innocent  praise.  Gabriel  the  archangel 
came  to  the  earth,  took  Theocrite's  humble  place,  and  praised  God 
as  did  the  boy,  only  with  angelic  song, — playing  well,  moreover, 
*he  craftsman's  part,  content  at  his  poor  work,  doing  God's  will 
on  earth  as  he  had  done  it  in  heaven.  But  God  said  :  "  There  is 
neither  doubt  nor  fear  in  this  praise;  it  is  perfect  as  the  song 
of  my  new-born  worlds  ;  I  miss  my  little  human  praise."  Then 
the  flesh  disguise  fell  from  the  angel,  and  his  wings  sprang  forth 
again.  He  flew  to  Rome  :  it  was  Easter  Day,  and  the  new  pope 
Theocrite,  once  the  poor  work-lad,  stood  in  the  tiring  room  by 
the  great  gallery  from  which  the  popes  are  wont  to  bless  the 
people  on  Easter  morning,  and  he  saw  the  angel  before  him,  who 
told  him  he  had  made  a  mistake  in  bringing  him  from  his  trade 
to  set  him  in  that  high  place  ;  he  had  done  wrong,  too,  in  leaving 
his  angel-sphere :  the  stopping  of  that  infant  praise  marred 
creation's  chorus ;  he  must  go  back,  and  once  more  that  early 
way  praise  God — "  back  to  the  cell  and  poor  employ  " ;  and  so 
Theocrite  grew  to  old  age  at  his  former  home,  and  Rome  had 
a  new  pope,  and  the  angel's  error  was  rectified.  Legends  and 
stories  of  saints,  angels,  and  our  Lord  Himself,  are  common 
in  all  Catholic  countries,  where  these  heavenly  beings  are  far 
more  real  to  the  minds  of  the  people  than  they  are  to  the  colder 
intelligence  of  Protestant  and  more  logical  lands.  In  southern 
Europe,  hosts  of  such  stories  as  these  cluster  round  our  Lady 
and  the  Saints.  The  Holy  Virgin  does  not  disdain  to  take  her 


Boy]  BROWNING   CYCLOPAEDIA.  87 

needle  and  sew  buttons  on  the  clothing  of  her  worshippers,  and 
the  angels  and  saints  think  nothing  of  a  little  domestic  or  trade 
employment  if  it  will  assist  their  devout  clients. 

In  Notes  and  Queries,  3rd  Series,  xii.  6,  July  6,  1867,  there 
appeared  two  queries  on  this  poem  by  "John  Addis,  Jun.": 
"  i.  What  is  the  precise  inner  meaning?  2.  On  what  legend  is  it 
founded  ?  With  regard  to  my  first  question,  I  see  dimly  in  the 
poem  a  comparison  of  three  kinds  of  praise — viz.,  human,  ceremo- 
nial, and  angelic.  Further,  I  see  dimly  a  contrasting  of  Gabriel's 
humility  with  Theocrite's  ambition.  .  .  .  The  poem  .  .  .  has  been 
recalled  to  me  by  reading  '  Kyng  Roberd  of  Cysille '  (Hazlitt's 
Early  Popular  Poetry,  vol.  i.,  p.  264).  There  is  a  general  ana- 
logy (by  contrast  perhaps  rather  than  likeness)  between  the  two 
poems,  which  points,  I  think,  to  the  existence  of  a  legend  kindred 
to  '  Kyng  Roberd '  as  the  prototype  of  Browning's  poem,  rather 
than  to  '  Kyng  Roberd '  itself  as  that  prototype.  ...  To  'Sir 
Gowghter '  and  the  Jovinianus  story  of  Gesta  Romanorum,  I 
have  not  present  access ;  but  both  I  fancy  (while  akin  to  '  Kyng 
Roberd  of  Cysille" ')  have  nothing  in  common  with  '  The  Boy  and 
the  Angel.'"  At  page  55  another  correspondent  says  that  accor- 
ding to  Warton  (ii.  22),  "  '  Sir  Gowghter  '  is  only  another  version 
of  '  Robert  the  Devil,'  and  therefore  of  '  King  Roberd  of  Cysille.' 
He  goes  on  to  say  that  Longfellow  has  closely  followed  the  old 
poem  in  '  King  Robert  of  Sicily  '  printed  in  Tales  of  a  Wayside 
Inn ;  but  no  answer  is  given  to  Mr.  Addis'  queries  about  '  The 
Boy  and  the  Angel'  "  (Browning  Notes  and  Queries,  No.  13,  Pt.  I., 
vol.  ii.)  Leigh  Hunt,  in  his  Jar  of  Honey,  chap,  vi.,  gives  the 
story  of  King  Robert  of  Sicily.  We  can  only  include  the  following 
abbreviation  here  of  the  beautiful  legend  told  so  delightfully  by 
the  great  essayist. 

One  day,  when  King  Robert  of  Sicily  was  hearing  vespers  on 
St.  John's  Eve,  he  was  struck  by  the  words  of  the  Magnificat — 
"  Deposuit  potentes  de  sede,  et  exaltavit  humiles"("He  hath 
put  down  the  mighty  from  their  seat,  and  hath  exalted  the 
humble  ").  He  asked  a  chaplain  near  him  what  the  words  meant ; 
and  when  they  were  explained  to  him,  scoffingly  replied  that 
men  like  himself  were  not  so  easily  put  down,  much  less  sup- 
planted by  those  contemptible  poor  folk.  The  chaplain  was  horri- 
fied, and  made  no  reply,  and  the  king  relieved  his  annoyance 
by  going  to  sleep.  After  some  time  the  king  awoke  and  found 


88  BROWNING   CYCLOPAEDIA.  [Boy 

himself  in  the  church  with  no  creature  present  except  an  old  deaf 
woman  who  was  dusting  it.  When  the  old  lady  saw  the  man 
who  was  trying  to  make  her  hear,  she  cried  "  Thieves ! "  and 
scuttled  off  to  the  door,  closing  it  behind  her.  King  Robert  looked 
at  the  door,  then  at  the  empty  church,  then  at  himself.  His 
ermine  robe  was  gone,  his  coronet,  his  jewels,  all  the  insignia  of 
his  royalty  had  disappeared.  Raging  at  the  door,  he  demanded 
that  it  should  be  opened ;  but  they  only  mocked  him  through  the 
keyhole  and  threatened  him  with  the  constable  ;  but  as  the  sexton 
mocked  the  captive  king  the  great  door  was  burst  open  in  his 
face,  for  the  king  was  a  powerful  man  and  had  dashed  it  down 
with  his  foot.  He  strode  towards  his  palace,  but  they  would  not 
admit  him,  and  to  all  his  raving  replied  "  Madman  !  "  Then  the 
king  caught  sight  of  his  face  in  a  glass,  which  he  tore  from  the 
hands  of  one  of  his  captains  who  was  admiring  himself,  and  saw 
that  he  was  changed :  it  was  not  his  own  face.  Fear  came  upon 
him  :  he  knew  it  was  witchcraft,  and  his  violence  was  increased 
when  the  bystanders  laughed  to  hear  him  declare  he  was  his 
majesty  changed.  Next  the  attendants  came  from  the  palace  to 
say  the  king  wanted  to  see  the  madman  they  had  caught ;  and  so 
he  was  taken  to  the  presence  chamber,  where  he  found  himself  face 
to  face  with  another  King  Robert,  whom  the  changed  king  called 
"hideous  impostor,"  which  made  the  court  laugh  consumedly, 
because  the  king  on  the  throne  was  very  handsome,  and  the  man 
who  fell  asleep  in  the  church  was  very  coarse  and  vulgar.  And 
now  the  latter  could  see  that  it  was  an  angel  who  had  taken  his 
place,  and  hated  him  accordingly.  He  was  still  more  disgusted 
when  the  king  told  him  he  would  make  him  his  court  fool,  because 
he  was  so  amusing  in  his  violence  ;  and  he  had  to  submit  while 
they  cut  his  hair  and  crowned  the  king  of  fools  with  the  cap  and 
bells.  King  Robert  then  gave  way,  for  he  felt  he  was  in  the 
power  of  the  devil  and  it  was  no  use  to  resist ;  and  so  went  out  to 
sup  with  the  dogs,  as  he  was  ordered.  Matters  went  on  in  this 
way  for  two  years.  The  new  king  was  good  and  kind  to  every- 
body except  the  degraded  monarch,  whom  he  never  tired  of 
humiliating  in  every  possible  way.  At  the  end  of  two  years  the 
king  went  to  visit  his  brother  the  Pope  and  his  brother  the  Em- 
peror, and  he  dressed  all  his  court  magnificently,  except  the  fool, 
whom  he  arrayed  in  fox-tails  and  placed  beside  an  ape.  The 
crowds  of  people  who  came  out  to  see  the  grand  procession 


Boy]  BROWNING   CYCLOPAEDIA-  89 

laughed  heartily  at  the  sorry  figure  cut  by  the  poor  fool.  He, 
however,  was  glad  he  was  going  to  see  the  Pope,  as  he  trusted 
the  meeting  would  dispel  the  magic  by  which  he  was  enchained ; 
but  he  was  disappointed,  for  neither  Pope  nor  Emperor  took  the 
slightest  notice  of  him.  Now,  it  happened  that  day  it  was  again 
St.  John's  Eve,  and  again  they  were  all  at  vespers  singing :  "  He 
hath  put  down  the  mighty  from  their  seat,  and  exalted  the 
humble."  And  now  with  what  different  feelings  he  heard  those 
words !  The  crowded  church  was  astonished  to  see  the  poor  fool 
in  his  ridiculous  disguise  bathed  in  tears,  meekly  kneeling  in 
prayer,  his  head  bowed  in  penitence  and  sorrow.  Somehow 
every  one  felt  a  little  holier  that  day  :  Pope  and  Emperor  wished 
to  be  kinder  and  more  sympathetic  to  their  people,  and  the 
sermon  went  to  every  one's  heart,  for  it  was  all  about  charity  and 
humility.  After  service  they  told  the  angel-king  of  the  singular 
behaviour  of  the  fool.  Of  course  he  knew  all  about  it,  though  he 
did  not  say  so ;  but  he  sent  for  the  fool,  and,  when  he  had  him 
in  private  (except  that  the  ape  was  there,  to  whom  the  fool  had 
become  much  attached),  he  asked  him,  "  Art  thou  still  a  king  ?  " 
"I  am  a  fool,  and  no  king."  "What  wouldst  thou,  Robert?" 
asked  the  angel  gently.  "What  thou  wouldst,"  replied  poor 
King  Robert.  Then  the  angel  touched  him,  and  he  felt  an  in- 
expressible calm  diffuse  itself  through  his  whole  being.  He  knelt, 
and  began  to  thank  the  angel.  "  Not  to  me,"  the  heavenly  being 
said — "  not  to  me  !  Let  us  pray."  They  knelt  in  prayer ;  and 
when  the  King  rose  from  his  knees  the  angel  was  gone,  the 
ermine  was  once  more  on  the  King's  shoulder  and  the  crown 
upon  his  brow ;  his  humiliation  was  over,  but  his  pride  never 
returned.  He  lived  long  and  reigned  nobly,  and  died  in  the 
odour  of  sanctity.  Mr.  Browning  may  have  drawn  upon  some 
Italian  legend  for  his  story  of  Theocrite :  it  may  even  have  been 
suggested  by  the  legend  of  King  Robert ;  but  he  must  have  been 
so  familiar  with  the  Catholic  idea  of  the  interest  in  human  affairs 
taken  by  angels  and  saints,  that  he  might  readily  have  invented 
the  story.  Nothing  can  be  easier  to  understand  than  its  lesson. 
With  God  there  is  no  great  or  small,  no  lofty  or  mean,  nothing 
common  or  unclean.  To  do  the  will  of  God  in  the  work  lying 
nearest  us,  to  praise  God  in  our  daily  task  and  the  common 
things  of  life  as  they  arise,  this  is  better  for  us  and  more 
acceptable  service  to  Him  than  doing  some  great  thing,  as 


90  BROWNING   CYCLOP/EDIA.  [Boy 

we,  with  our  false  estimates  of  things,  may  be  led  to  apprise- 
it. 

By  the  Fireside.  (First  published  in  vol.  i.  of  Men  and' 
Women,  1855.)  A  man  of  middle  life  and  very  learned  is- 
addressing  his  wife.  He  looks  forward  to  his  old  age,  and 
prophesies  how  it  will  be  passed.  He  will  pursue  his  studies  ;. 
but,  deep  as  he  will  be  in  Greek,  his  soul  will  have  no  difficulty 
in  finding  its  way  back  to  youth  and  Italy,  and  he  will  delight  to- 
reconstruct  the  scene  in  his  imagination  where  he  first  made  all 
his  own  the  heart  of  the  woman  who  blessed  him  with  her  love 
and  became  his  wife.  Once  more  he  will  be  found  on  that 
mountain  path,  again  he  will  conjure  from  the  past  the  Alpine 
scene  by  the  ruined  chapel  in  the  gorge,  the  poor  little  building 
where  on  feast  days  the  priest  comes  to  minister  to  the  few  folk, 
who  live  on  the  mountain-side.  The  bit  of  fresco  over  the  porch, 
the  date  of  its  erection,  the  bird  which  sings  there,  and  the  stray 
sheep  which  drinks  at  the  pond,  the  very  midges  dancing  over 
the  water,  and  the  lichens  clinging  to  the  walls, — all  will  be 
present,  for  it  was  there  heart  was  fused  with  heart,  and  two  souls 
were  blent  in  one.  "  With  whom  else,"  he  asks  his  wife,  "  dare 
he  look  backward  or  dare  pursue  the  path  grey  heads  abhor  ? " 
Old  age  is  dreaded  by  the  young  and  middle-aged,  none  care  to- 
think  of  it ;  but  the  speaker  dreads  it  not,  he  has  a  soul-com- 
panion from  whom  not  even  death  can  separate  him,  and  with 
the  memory  of  this  moment  of  irrevocable  union  he  can  face  the 
bounds  of  life  undaunted.  "  The  moment  one  and  infinite,"  to- 
which  both  their  lives  had  tended,  had  wrought  this  happiness 
for  him  that  it  could  never  cease  to  bear  fruit,  never  cease  to- 
hallow  and  bless  his  spirit ;  the  mountain  stream  had  sought  the 
lake  below,  and  had  lost  itself  in  its  bosom  ;  two  lives  were 
joined  in  one  without  a  scar.  "  How  the  world  is  made  for 
each  of  us  ! "  everything  tending  to  a  moment's  product,  with  its- 
infinite  consequences — the  completion,  in  this  case,  of  his  own. 
small  life,  whereby  Nature  won  her  best  from  him  in  fitting  hire 
to  love  his  wife.  The 

"  great  brow 
And  the  spirit  small  hand  propping  it," 

refer  to  Mrs.  Browning,  and  the  whole  poem,  though  the 
incidents  are  imaginary,  is  without  doubt  a  confession  of  his> 
love  for  her,  and  its  influence  on  his  own  spiritual  development. 


CalJ  BROWNING   CYCLOPAEDIA.  9T 

Caliban  upon  Setebos;  or,  Natural  Theology  in  the 
Island.  (Dramatis  Persona,  1864.)  The  original  of  Caliban  is 
the  savage  and  deformed  slave  of  Shakespeare's  Tempest.  The 
island  may  be  identified  with  the  Utopia  (OUTOTTO?,  the  nowhere) 
of  Hythloday.  Setebos  was  the  Patagonian  god  (Settaboth  in 
Pigafetta),  which  was  by  1611  familiar  to  the  hearers  of  The 
Tempest.  Patagonia  was  discovered  by  Magellan  in  1520.  The 
new  worlds  which  Columbus,  Amerigo  Vespucci,  Gomara,  Lane, 
Harriott  and  Raleigh  described,  should,  according  to  the  popular 
fancy  of  the  time,  be  peopled  by  just  such  beings  of  bestial  type 
as  the  Caliban  of  The  Tempest.  The  ancients  thought  the 
inhabitants  of  strange  and  distant  lands  were  half  human,  half 
brutal,  and  monstrous  creatures,  ogres,  and  "anthropophagi, 
men  who  each  other  eat."  The  famous  traveller  Sir  John 
Mandeville,  in  the  fourteenth  century,  describes  "the  land  of 
Bacharie,  where  be  full  evil  folk  and  full  cruel.  In  that  country 
been  many  Ipotaynes,  that  dwell  sometimes  in  the  water  and 
sometimes  on  the  land ;  half-man  and  half-horse,  and  they  eat 
men  when  they  may  take  them."  Marco  Polo  (1254-1324); 
represents  the  Andaman  Islanders  as  a  most  brutish  savage 
race,  having  heads,  eyes  and  teeth  resembling  the  canine  species, 
who  ate  human  flesh  raw  and  devoured  every  one  on  whom  they 
could  lay  their  hands.  The  islander  as  monster  was  therefore 
familiar  enough  to  English  readers  in  Shakespeare's  time,  and 
the  date  of  the  old  book  of  travels  "  Purchas  his  Pilgrimage," 
very  nearly  corresponding  with  the  probable  date  of  the  produc- 
tion of  The  Tempest,  affords  reasonable  proof  that  the  poet  has 
embodied  the  story  given  in  that  work  of  the  pongo,  the  huge 
brute-man  seen  by  Andrew  Battle  in  the  kingdom  of  Congo, 
where  he  lived  some  nine  months.  This  pongo  slept  in  the 
trees,  building  a  roof  to  shelter  himself  from  the  rain,  and  living 
wholly  on  nuts  and  fruits.  Mr.  Browning  has  taken  the  Caliban 
of  Shakespeare,  "  the  strange  fish  legged  like  a  man,  and  his  fins 
like  arms,"  yet  "  no  fish,  but  an  islander  that  hath  lately  suffered 
by  a  thunderbolt,"  and  has  evolved  him  into  "a  savage  with  the 
introspective  powers  of  a  Hamlet  and  the  theology  of  an 
evangelical  churchman."  Shakespeare's  monster  did  not  specu- 
late at  all ;  he  liked  his  dinner,  liked  to  be  stroked  and  made 
much  of,  and  was  willing  to  be  taught  how  to  name  the  bigger 
light  and  how  the  less.  He  could  curse,  and  he  could  worship- 


•92  BROWNING   CYCLOPAEDIA.  [Cal 

the  man  in  the  moon ;  he  could  work  for  those  who  were  kind  to 
him,  and  had  a  doglike  attachment  to  Prospero.  Mr.  Browning's 
Caliban  has  become  a  metaphysician  ;  he  talks  Browningese,  and 
'reasons  high 

"  Of  providence,  foreknowledge,  will,  and  fate, 
Fixed  fate,  free  will,  foreknowledge  absolute." 

'He  has  studied  Calvin's  Institutes  of  Theology^  and  knows 
enough  of  St.  Augustine  to  caricature  his  teaching.  Considered 
trom  the  anthropologist's  point  of  view,  the  poem  is  not  a  scien- 
tific success ;  Caliban  is  a  degradation  from  a  higher  type,  not  a 
brute  becoming  slowly  developed  into  a  man.  Mr.  Browning's 
early  training  amongst  the  Nonconformists  of  the  Calvinistic 
type  had  familiarised  him  with  a  theology  which,  up  to  fifty 
years  ago,  was  that  of  a  very  large  proportion  of  the  Independents, 
the  Baptists,  and  a  considerable  part  of  the  Evangelical  school  in 
the  Church  of  England.  Without  some  acquaintance  with  this 
theological  system  it  is  impossible  to  understand  the  poem.  At 
the  head  is  a  quotation  from  Psalm  1.  21,  where  God  says  to  the 
wicked,  "  thou  thoughtest  that  I  was  altogether  such  an  one  as 
thyself,"  and  the  object  of  the  poem  is  to  rebuke  the  anthropo- 
morphic idea  of  God  as  it  exists  in  minds  of  a  narrow  and 
unloving  type.  It  is  not  a  satire  upon  Christianity,  as  has  been 
sometimes  declared,  but  is  an  attempt  to  trace  the  evolution  of 
the  concrete  idea  of  God  in  a  coarse  and  brutal  type  of  mind 
Man  from  his  advent  on  the  earth  has  everywhere  occupied 
himself  in  creating  God  in  his  own  image  and  likeness  : 

"  Make  us  a  god,  said  man : 
Power  first  the  voice  obeyed ; 
And  soon  a  monstrous  form 
Its  worshippers  dismayed." 

he  motto  of  the  poem  shows  us  how  much  nobler  was  the 
Hebrew  conception  of  God  than  that  of  the  nations  who  knew 
Him  not.  The  poem  opens  with  Caliban  talking  to  himself  in 
the  third  person,  while  he  sprawls  in  the  mire  and  is  cheating 
Prospero  and  Miranda,  who  think  he  is  at  work  for  them.  He 
begins  to  speculate  on  the  Supreme  Being — Setebos :  he  thinks 
His  dwelling-place  is  the  moon,  thinks  He  made  the  sun  and 
anoon,  but  not  the  stars — the  clouds  and  the  island  on  which  he 


F 

IH 


Cal]  BROWNING   CYCLOPAEDIA.  95 

dwells ;  he  has  no  idea  of  any  land  beyond  that  which  is  bounded 
by  the  sea.  He  thinks  creation  was  the  result  of  God  being  ill 
at  ease.  The  cold  which  He  hated  and  which  He  was  powerless 
to  change  impelled  Him.  So  He  made  the  trees,  the  birds  and 
beasts  and  creeping  things,  and  made  everything  in  spite.  He 
could  not  make  a  second  self  to  be  His  mate,  but  made  in  envy, 
Hstlessness  or  sport  all  the  things  which  filled  the  island  as 
playthings.  If  Caliban  could  make  a  live  bird  out  of  clay,  he 
would  laugh  if  the  creature  broke  his  brittle  clay  leg  ;  he  would 
play  with  him,  being  his  and  merely  clay.  So  he  (Setebos).  It 
would  neither  be  right  nor  wrong  in  him,  neither  kind  nor  cruel 
— merely  an  act  of  the  Divine  Sovereignty.  If  Caliban  saw  a 
procession  of  crabs  marching  to  the  sea,  in  mere  indifferent 
playfulness  he  might  feel  inclined  to  let  twenty  pass  and  then 
stone  the  twenty-first,  pull  off  a  claw  from  one  with  purple  spots, 
give  a  worm  to  a  third  fellow,  and  two  to  another  whose  nippers 
end  in  red,  all  the  while  "  Loving  not,  hating  not,  just  choosing 
so  ! "  [Apart  from  revelation,  mankind  has  not  reached  the  con- 
ception of  the  Fatherhood  of  God,  whose  tender  mercies  are  over 
all  His  works.  The  gods  of  the  heathen  are  gods  of  caprice,  of 
malice  and  purposeless  interference  with  creatures  who  are  not 
the  sheep  of  their  pastures,  but  the  playthings  of  unloving  Lords.] 
But  he  will  suppose  God  is  good  in  the  main ;  He  has  even  made 
things  which  are  better  than  Himself,  and  is  envious  that  they 
are  so,  but  consoles  Himself  that  they  can  do  nothing  without 
Him.  If  the  pipe  which,  blown  through,  makes  a  scream  like  a 
bird,  were  to  boast  that  it  caught  the  birds,  and  made  the  cry  the 
maker  could  not  make,  he  would  smash  it  with  his  foot.  That 
is  just  what  God  Setebos  does  ;  so  Caliban  must  be  humble,  or 
pretend  to  be.  But  why  is  Setebos  cold  and  ill  at  ease  ?  Well, 
Caliban  thinks  there  may  be  a  something  over  Setebos,  that  made 
Him,  something  quiet,  impassible — call  it  The  Quiet.  Beyond 
the  stars  he  imagines  The  Quiet  to  reside,  but  is  not  much  con- 
cerned about  It.  He  plays  at  being  simple  in  his  way — makes 
believe:  so  does  Setebos.  His  mother,  Sycorax,  thought  The 
Quiet  made  all  things,  and  Setebos  only  troubled  what  The  Quiet 
made.  Caliban  does  not  agree  with  that.  If  things  were  made 
weak  and  subject  to  pain  they  were  made  by  a  devil,  not  by  a 
good  or  indifferent  being.  No  I  weakness  and  pain  meant  sport 
to  Him  who  created  creatures  subject  to  them.  Setebos  makes 


94  BROWNING   CYCLOPAEDIA. 

things  to  amuse  himself,  just  as  Caliban  does;  makes  a  pile  of 
turfs  and  knocks  it  over  again.  So  Setebos.  But  He  is  a  terrible 
as  well  as  a  malicious  being ;  His  hurricanes,  His  high  waves,  His 
lightnings  are  destructive,  and  Caliban  cannot  contend  with  His 
force,  neither  can  he  tell  that  what  pleases  Him  to-day  will  do  so 
to-morrow.  We  must  all  live  in  fear  of  Him  therefore,  till  haply 
The  Quiet  may  conquer  Him.  All  at  once  a  storm  comes,  and 
Caliban  feels  that  he  was  a  fool  to  gibe  at  Setebos.  He  will  lie 
flat  and  love  Him,  will  do  penance,  will  eat  no  whelks  for  a 
-month  to  appease  Him. 

There  are,  few,  if  any,  systems  of  theology  which  escape 
one  or  other  of  the  arrows  of  this  satire.  Anthropomorphism  in 
:greater  or  less  degree  is  inseparable  from  our  conceptions  of  the 
Supreme.  The  abstract  idea  of  God  is  impossible  to  us,  the 
concrete  conception  is  certain  to  err  in  making  God  to  be  like 
ourselves.  That  the  Almighty  must  in  Himself  include  all  that 
is  highest  and  noblest  in  the  soul  of  man  is  a  right  conception, 
when  we  attribute  to  Him  our  weaknesses  and  failings  we  are 
but  as  Caliban.  The  doctrine  of  election,  and  the  hideous  doctrine 
of  reprobation,  are  most  certainly  aimed  at  in  the  line — 

"  Loving  not,  hating  not,  just  choosing  so." 

The  doctrine  of  reprobation  is  thus  stated  in  the  Westminster 
Confession  of  Faith,  iii.  7.  "  The  rest  of  mankind  [i.e.  all  but  the 
«lect]  God  was  pleased,  according  to  the  unsearchable  counsel 
of  His  own  will,  whereby  He  extendeth  or  withholdeth  mercy 
as  He  pleaseth,  for  the  glory  of  His  sovereign  power  over  His 
creatures  to  pass  by,  and  to  ordain  them  to  dishonour  and  wrath 
for  their  sin,  to  the  praise  of  His  glorious  grace."  Calvin,  in  his 
Institutes  of  the  Christian  Religion,  taught  that  "  God  has 
predestinated  some  to  eternal  life,  while  the  rest  of  mankind 
are  predestinated  to  condemnation  and  eternal  death "  (Encyc* 
Brit,  iv.,  art.  "Calvin,"  p.  720). 

Camel  Driver,  A.  (Punishment  by  Man  and  by  God  :  Ferish- 
tahs  Fancies,  7.)  A  murderer  had  been  executed,  the  criminal 
acknowledging  the  justice  of  his  punishment,  but  lamenting  that 
the  man  who  prompted  him  to  evil  had  escaped ;  the  murderer 
reflected  with  satisfaction  that  God  had  reserved  a  hell  for  him. 
But  punishment  is  only  man's  trick  to  teach  ;  if  he  could  see  true 
repentance  in  the  sinner's  soul,  the  fault  would  not  be  repeated. 


BROWNING   CYCLOPAEDIA.  95 

•God's  process  in  teaching  or  punishing  nowise  resembles  man's. 
Man  lumps  his  kind  in  the  mass,  God  deals  with  each  individual 
soul  as  though  they  two  were  alone  in  the  universe,  "  Ask  thy 
lone  soul  what  laws  are  plain  to  thee,"  said  Ferishtah,  "  then  stand 
or  fall  by  them ! "  Ignorance  that  sins  is  safe, — our  greatest 
punishment  is  knowledge.  No  other  hell  will  be  needed  for  any 
man  than  the  reflection  that  he  deliberately  spurned  the  steps 
which  would  have  raised  him  to  the  regard  of  the  Supreme.  In 
the  Lyric  it  is  complained  that  mankind  is  over-severe  with 
mere  imperfections,  which  it  magnifies  into  crimes ;  but  the 
greater  faults,  which  should  have  been  crushed  in  the  egg,  are 
either  not  suspected  at  all  or  actually  praised  as  virtues. 

Caponsacchi  (The  Ring  and  the  Book\  the  chivalrous  priest, 
Canon  of  Arezzo,  who  aided  Pompilia  in  her  flight  to  Rome  from 
the  tyranny  of  Count  Guido. 

Cardinal  and  the  Dog,  The.  (Asolando,  1889.)  The  Papal 
Legate,  at  the  later  sessions  of  the  Council  of  Trent  in  1551  and 
1552,  was  Marcel  Crescenzio,  who  came  of  a  noble  Roman  family. 
At  the  fifteenth  session  of  the  Council  (March  2oth,  1552)  he 
was  writing  to  the  Pope  nearly  the  whole  night,  although  he  was 
ill  at  the  time  ;  and  as  he  rose  from  his  seat  he  saw  a  black  dog 
of  great  size,  with  flaming  eyes  and  ears  hanging  down  to  the 
ground,  which  sprang  into  the  chamber,  making  straight  for  him, 
and  then  stretched  himself  under  the  table  where  Crescenzio 
wrote.  He  called  his  servants  and  ordered  them  to  turn  out  the 
beast,  but  they  found  none.  Then  the  Cardinal  fell  melancholy, 
took  to  his  bed  and  died.  As  he  lay  on  his  death-bed  at  Verona 
he  cried  aloud  to  every  one  to  drive  away  the  dog  that  leapt  on 
his  bed,  and  so  passed  away  in  horror.  The  poem  was  written 
at  the  request  of  William  Macready,  the  eldest  son  of  the  great 
actor.  He  asked  the  poet  to  write  something  which  he  might 
illustrate.  This  was  in  1840,  but  the  work  was  only  published 
in  the  Asolando  volume  in  1889.  Howling  dogs  have  from 
remote  times  been  connected  with  death.  In  Ossian  we  have : 
"  The  mother  of  Culmin  remains  in  the  hall — his  dogs  are  howl- 
ing in  their  place — 'Art  thou  fallen,  my  fair-haired  son,  in 
Erin's  dismal  war  ? ' "  There  is  no  doubt  that  the  howling  of  the 
wind  suggested  the  idea  of  a  great  dog  of  death.  The  wind  itself 
was  a  magnified  dog,  heard  but  not  seen.  Burton,  in  The  Anatomy 
of  Melancholy -,  says  (Part  I.,  sect,  ii.,  mem.  I,  subs.  2)  :  "  Spirits 


96  BROWNING   CYCLOPAEDIA.  [Car 

often  foretell  men's  death  by  several  signs,  as  knockings,  groanings, 
etc.,  though  Rich.  Argentine,  c.  18,  De  $r(zstigiis  dcemonum,  will 
ascribe  these  predictions  to  good  angels,  out  of  the  authority  of 
Ficinus  and  others  ;  prodigies  frequently  occur  at  the  deaths 
of  illustrious  men,  as  in  the  Lateran  Church  in  Rome  the 
popes'  deaths  are  foretold  by  Sylvester's  tomb.  Many  families 
in  Europe  are  so  put  in  mind  of  their  last  by  such  predictions ; 
and  many  men  are  forewarned  (if  we  may  believe  Paracelsus) 
by  familiar  spirits  in  divers  shapes — as  cocks,  crows,  owls — 
which  often  hover  about  sick  men's  chambers."  The  dog  is 
such  a  faithful  friend  of  man  that  we  are  unwilling  to  believe  him, 
even  in  spirit-form,  the  harbinger  of  evil  to  any  one.  Cardinal 
Crescenzio,  had  he  been  a  vivisector,  would  have  been  very 
appropriately  summoned  to  his  doom  in  the  manner  described 
in  the  poem.  If  the  men  who,  like  Professor  Rutherford  of 
Edinburgh  University,  boast  of  their  ruthless  torturing  of  dogs 
by  hundreds,  should  ever  find  themselves  in  Cardinal  Crescenzio's 
plight,  there  would  be  a  fitness  in  things  we  could  readily  appre- 
ciate. The  devil  in  the  form  of  a  great  black  dog  is  a  familiar 
subject  with  mediaeval  historians.  Not  all  black  dogs  were  evil, 
though — for  example,  the  black  dog  which  St.  Dominic's  mother 
saw  before  the  birth  of  the  saint.  Some  of  the  animals  called  dogs 
were  probably  wolves ;  but  even  these  appeared  not  entirely  past 
redemption,  such  as  the  one  of  which  we  read  in  the  Golden 
Legend,  who  was  converted  by  the  preaching  of  St.  Francis, 
and  shed  tears  of  repentance,  and  became  as  meek  as  a  lamty. 
following  the  saint  to  every  town  where  he  preached  !  Such  is 
the  power  of  love.  In  May  1551  the  eleventh  session  of  the 
Council  of  Trent  was  held,  under  the  presidency  of  Cardinal 
Crescenzio,  sole  legate  in  title,  but  with  two  nuncios — Pighini 
and  Lippomani.  It  was  merely  formal,  as  was  also  the  twelfth 
session,  in  September  1551.  It  was  Crescenzio  who  refused  all 
concession,  even  going  so  far  as  to  abstract  the  Conciliar  seal, 
lest  the  safe-conduct  to  the  Protestant  theologians  should  be 
granted.  He  was,  however,  forced  to  yield  to  pressure,  and  had 
to  receive  the  Protestant  envoys  in  a  private  session  at  his  own- 
house.  The  legate  in  April  1552  was  compelled  to  suspend  the 
Council  for  two  years,  in  consequence  of  the  perils  of  war. 
There  was  a  general  stampede  from  Trent  at  once,  and  the 
legate  Crescenzio,  then  very  ill,  had  just  strength  to  reach 


BROWNING   CYCLOPAEDIA.  97 

Verona,  where  he  died  three  days  after  his  arrival  (Encyc.  Brit., 
art.  "  Trent,"  vol.  xxiii.).  Moreri  (Diet.  Hist.}  tells  the  story  in 
almost  the  same  way  as  Mr.  Browning  has  given  it,  and  adds  : 
"  It  could  have  been  invented  only  by  ill-meaning  people,  who 
lacked  respect  for  the  Council." 

Carlisle,  Lady.  (Straff ord^]  Mr.  Browning  says :  "  The  cha- 
racter of  Lady  Carlisle  in  the  play  is  wholly  imaginary,"  but  history 
points  clearly  enough  to  the  truth  of  Mr.  Browning's  conception. 

Cavalier  Tunes.  (Published  first  in  Bells  and  Pomegranates 
in  1842.)  Their  titles  are  :  "  Marching  Along,"  "  Give  a  Rouse," 
and  "  Boot  and  Saddle."  Villiers  Stanford  set  them  to  music. 

Cenciaja.  (Pacchiarotto,  with  other  Poems,  London,  1876.) 
"  Ogni  cencio  vuol  entrare  in  bucato." 

The  explanation  of  the  title  of  this  poem,  as  also  of  the  Italian 
motto  which  stands  at  its  head,  is  given  in  the  following  letter 
written  by  the  poet  to  Mr.  Buxton  Forman  : — 

"  19,  WARWICK  CRESCENT,  W.,  July  vjth,  '76. 
"DEAR  MR.  BUXTON  FORMAN, — There  can  be  no  objection  to 
such  a  simple  statement  as  you  have  inserted,  if  it  seems  worth 
inserting.  '  Fact,'  it  is.  Next :  '  Aia  '  is  generally  an  accumu- 
lative yet  depreciative  termination.  '  Cenciaja,'  a  bundle  oi 
rags — a  trifle.  The  proverb  means  '  every  poor  creature  will  be 
pressing  into  the  company  of  his  betters,'  and  I  used  it  to 
deprecate  the  notion  that  I  intended  anything  of  the  kind  Is 
it  any  contribution  to  '  all  connected  with  Shelley,'  if  I  mention 
that  my  '  Book  '  (The  Ring  and  the  Book)  [rather  the  '  old  square 
yellow  book,'  from  which  the  details  were  taken]  has  a  reference 
to  the  reason  given  by  Farinacci,  the  advocate  of  the  Cenci,  of 
his  failure  in  the  defence  of  Beatrice?  '  Fuisse  punitam 
Beatricem '  (he  declares)  '  pcena  ultimi  supplicii,  non  quia  ex 
intervallo  occidi  mandavit  insidiantem  suo  honori,  sed  quia  ejus 
exceptionem  non  probavi  tibi.  Prout,  et  idem  firmiter  sperabatur 
de  sorore  Beatrice  si  propositam  excusationem  probasset,  prout 
non  probavit.'  That  is,  she  expected  to  avow  the  main  outrage, 
and  did  not ;  in  conformity  with  her  words,  '  That  which  I  ought 
to  confess,  that  will  I  confess ;  that  to  which  I  ought  to  assent, 
to  that  I  assent ;  and  that  which  I  ought  to  deny,  that  will  I 
deny.'  Here  is  another  Cenciaja  ! 

"  Yours  very  sincerely,  ROBERT  BROWNING." 

7 


98  BROWNING   CYCLOPAEDIA. 

The  opening  lines  of  the  poem  refer  to  Shelley's  terrible  tragedy, 
The  Cenci,  in  the  preface  to  which  the  story  on  which  the  work 
is  founded,  is  briefly  told  as  follows :  "  A  manuscript  was  com- 
municated to  me  during  my  travels  in  Italy,  which  was  copied 
from  the  archives  of  the  Cenci  Palace  at  Rome,  and  contains  a 
detailed  account  of  the  horrors  which  ended  in  the  extinction  of 
one  of  the  noblest  and  richest  families  of  that  city,  during  the 
pontificate  of  Clement  VIII.,  in  the  year  1599.  The  story  is, 
that  an  old  man,  having  spent  his  life  in  debauchery  and  wicked- 
ness, conceived  at  length  an  implacable  hatred  towards  his 
children  ;  which  showed  itself  towards  one  daughter  under  the 
form  of  an  incestuous  passion,  aggravated  by  every  circumstance 
of  cruelty  and  violence.  This  daughter,  after  long  and  vain 
attempts  to  escape  from  what  she  considered  a  perpetual  con- 
tamination both  of  body  and  mind,  at  length  plotted  with  her 
mother-in-law  and  brother  to  murder  their  common  tyrant.  The 
young  maiden,  who  was  urged  to  this  tremendous  deed  by  an 
impulse  which  overpowered  its  horror,  was  evidently  a  most 
gentle  and  amiable  being;  a  creature  formed  to  adorn  and  be 
admired,  and  thus  violently  thwarted  from  her  nature  by  the 
necessity  of  circumstances  and  opinion.  The  deed  was  quickly 
discovered ;  and,  in  spite  of  the  most  earnest  prayers  made  to 
the  Pope  by  the  highest  persons  in  Rome,  the  criminals  were 
put  to  death.  The  old  man  had,  during  his  life,  repeatedly 
bought  his  pardon  from  the  Pope  for  capital  crimes  of  the  most 
enormous  and  unspeakable  kind,  at  the  price  of  a  hundred 
thousand  crowns  ;  the  death,  therefore,  of  his  victims  can  scarcely 
be  accounted  for  by  the  love  of  justice.  The  Pope,  among  other 
motives  for  severity,  probably  felt  that  whosoever  killed  the 
Count  Cenci  deprived  his  treasury  of  a  certain  and  copious 
source  of  revenue."  This  explanation  is  exactly  what  might  be 
expected  from  a  priest-hater  and  religion-despiser  like  Shelley. 
The  Encyclopedia  Britannica,  in  the  article  on  Clement  VIII., 
says:  "Clement  was  an  able  ruler  and  a  sagacious  statesman. 
He  died  in  March  1605,  leaving  a  high  character  for  prudence, 
munificence,  and  capacity  for  business."  Mr.  Browning's  contri- 
bution to  the  Cenci  literature  affords  a  more  reasonable  motive 
for  refusing  to  spare  the  lives  of  the  Cenci.  Sir  John  Simeon 
lent  the  poet  a  copy  of  an  old  chronicle,  of  which  he  made  liberal 
use  in  the  poem  we  are  considering.  According  to  this  account, 


Cha]  BROWNING  CYCLOPAEDIA.  99 

the  Pope  would  probably  have  pardoned  Beatrice  had  not  a  case 
of  matricide  occurred  in  Rome  at  the  time,  which  determined  him 
to  make  an  example  of  the  Cenci  The  Marchesa  dell'  Oriolo,  a 
widow,  had  just  been  murdered  by  her  younger  son,  Paolo  Santa 
Croce.  He  had  quarrelled  with  his  mother  about  the  family 
rights  of  his  elder  brother,  and  killed  her  because  she  refused 
to  aid  him  in  an  act  of  injustice.  Having  made  his  escape,  he 
endeavoured  to  involve  his  brother  in  the  crime,  and  the  unfortu- 
nate young  man  was  beheaded,  although  he  was  perfectly  innocent. 
In  Cenciaja  Mr.  Browning  throws  light  on  the  tragic  events  of 
the  Cenci  story.  When  Clement  was  petitioned  on  behalf  of  the 
family,  he  said :  "  She  must  die.  Paolo  Santa  Croce  murdered 
his  mother,  and  he  is  fled  ;  she  shall  not  flee  at  least ! " 

Charles  Avison.  [THE  MAN.]  (Parleyings  with  Certain 
People  of  Importance  in  their  Day.  1887.  No.  VII.)  "Charles 
Avison,  a  musician,  was  born  in  Newcastle  about  1710,  and  died 
in  the  same  town  in  1770.  He  studied  in  Italy,  and  on  his  return 
to  England  became  a  pupil  of  Geminiani.  He  was  appointed 
organist  of  St.  Nicholas'  Church,  Newcastle,  in  1736.  In  1752 
appeared  his  celebrated  Essay  on  Musical  Expression,  which 
startled  the  world  by  the  boldness  with  which  it  put  the  French 
and  Italian  schools  of  music  above  the  German,  headed  by 
Handel  himself.  This  book  led  to  a  controversy  with  Dr.  Hayes, 
in  which,  according  to  the  Dictionary  of  National  Biography,  from 
which  we  take  the  facts,  '  Hayes  had  the  best  of  the  argument, 
though  Avison  was  superior  from  a  literary  point  of  view. 
Avison,  who  is  reported  to  have  been  a  man  of  great  culture  and 
polish,  published  several  sets  of  sonatas  and  concertos,  but  there 
are  probably  few  persons  at  the  present  day  who  have  ever  heard 
any  of  his  music."  (Pall  Mail  Gazette,  Jan.  i8th,  1887.) 

[THE  POEM.]  This  is  a  criticism  of  the  province  and  office 
of  music  in  its  influence  on  the  mind  of  man. 

"  There  is  no  truer  truth  obtainable 
By  man,  than  comes  of  music," 

says  Mr.  Browning.  Underneath  Mind  rolls  the  unsounded  sea 
— the  Soul.  Feeling  from  out  its  deeps  emerges  in  flower  and 
foam. 

"Who  tells  of,  tracks  to  source  the  founts  of  Soul?" 


IOO  BROWNING    CYCLOPEDIA.  a 

Music  essays  to  solve  how  we  feel,  to  match  feeling  with  know- 
ledge. Manifest  Soul's  work  on  Mind's  work,  how  and  whence 
come  the  hates,  loves,  joys,  hopes  and  fears  that  rise  and  sink 
ceaselessly  within  us  ?  Of  these  things  Music  seeks  to  tell.  Art 
may  arrest  some  of  the  transient  moods  of  Soul ;  Poetry  discerns, 
Painting  is  aware  of  the  seething  within  the  gulf,  but  Music 
outdoes  both  :  dredging  deeper  yet,  it  drags  into  day  the  abysmal 
bottom  growths  of  Soul's  deep  sea. 

NOTES. — ii.,  "  March  " :  Avison's  Grand  March  was  possessed 
in  MS.  by  Browning's  father.  The  music  of  the  march  is 
added  to  the  poem,  iv.,  "  Great  John  Relfe " :  Browning's 
music  master — a  celebrated  contrapuntist.  Buononcini,  Gio- 
vanni Battista,  Italian  musician.  He  was  a  gifted  composer, 
declared  by  his  clique  to  be  infinitely  superior  to  Handel, 
with  whom  he  wrote  at  one  time  in  conjunction.  Geminiani, 
Francesco,  Italian  violinist  (16801762).  He  came  to  London 
under  the  protection  of  the  Earl  of  Essex  in  1714.  His  musical 
opinions  are  said  to  have  had  no  foundation  in  truth  or  principle. 
Pepusch,  John  Christopher,  an  eminent  theoretical  musician,  born 
at  Berlin  about  1667.  He  performed  at  Drury  Lane  in  about 
1700.  He  took  the  degree  of  Mus.  Doc.  at  Oxford  at  the  same 
time  with  Croft,  1713.  He  was  organist  at  the  Charter-House, 
and  died  in  1752.  v.,  Hesperus.  The  song  to  the  Evening 
Star  in  Tannhauser,  "  O  Du  mein  holder  Abendstern,"  is  re- 
ferred to  here  (Mr.  A.  Symons).  viii.,  "  Radamista"  the  name 
of  an  opera  by  Handel,  first  performed  at  the  Haymarket  in 
1720.  " Rinaldo"  the  name  of  the  opera  composed  by 
Handel,  and  performed  under  his  direction  at  the  Haymarket 
for  the  first  time  on  Feb.  24th,  1711.  xv.,  "Little  Ease" 
an  uncomfortable  punishment  similar  to  the  stocks  or  the 
pillory. 

Charles  I.  (Strafford)  The  character  of  this  king,  who 
basely  sacrifices  his  best  friend  Strafford,  is  founded  in  fact,  but 
his  weakness  and  meanness  are  doubtless  exaggerated  by  the 
poet — to  show  his  meaning,  as  the  artists  say. 

Cherries.  (Ferishtahs  Fancies,  9.)  "On  Praise  and  Thanks- 
giving."  All  things  are  great  and  small  in  their  degree.  A  disciple 
objects  to  Ferishtah  that  man  is  too  weak  to  praise  worthily  the 
All-mighty  One  ;  he  is  too  mean  to  offer  fit  praise  to  Heaven, — let 
the  stars  do  that !  The  dervish  tells  a  little  story  of  a  subject  of 


CM]  BROWNING   CYCLOPAEDIA.  IOI 

the  Shah  who  came  from  a  distant  part  of  the  realm,  and  wandered 
about  the  palace  wonderingly,  till  all  at  once  he  was  surprised  to 
find  a  nest-like  little  chamber  with  his  own  name  on  the  entry, 
and  everything  arranged  exactly  to  his  own  peculiar  taste.  Yet 
to  him  it  was  as  nothing :  he  had  not  faith  enough  to  enter  into 
the  good  things  provided  for  him.  He  tells  another  story.  Two 
beggars  owed  a  great  sum  to  the  Shah.  This  one  brought  a  few 
berries  from  his  currant-bush,  some  heads  of  garlic,  and  five 
pippins  from  a  seedling  tree.  This  was  his  whole  wealth  ;  he 
offered  that  in  payment  of  his  debt.  It  was  graciously  received  ; 
teaching  us  that  if  we  offer  God  all  the  love  and  thanks  we  can, 
it  will  gratify  the  Giver  of  all  good  none  the  less  because  our 
offering  is  small,  and  lessened  by  admixture  with  lower  human 
motives.  For  the  grateful  flavour  of  the  cherry  let  us  lift  up  our 
thankful  hearts  to  Him  who  made  that,  the  stars,  and  us.  We 
know  why  He  made  the  cherry, — why  He  made  Jupiter  we  do 
not  know.  The  Lyric  compares  verse-making  with  love-making. 
Verse-making  is  praising  God  by  the  stars,  too  great  a  task  for 
man's  short  life ;  but  love-making  has  no  depths  to  explore,  no 
heights  to  ascend ;  love  now  will  be  love  evermore  :  let  us  give 
thanks  for  love,  if  we  cannot  offer  praise  the  poet's  own  great  way. 

ClliappillO.  (A  Soul's  Tragedy.}  The  bragging  friend  of 
Luitolfo,  who  was  compelled  to  be  noble  against  his  inclination, 
and  who  became  "  the  twenty-fourth  leader  of  a  revolt "  ridiculed 
by  the  legate. 

"Childe  Roland  to  the  Dark  Tower  came."  (Men  and 
Women,  1855  ;  Romances,  1863  ;  Dramatic  Romances,  1868.)  The 
story  of  a  knight  who  has  undertaken  a  pilgrimage  to  a  certain 
dark  tower,  the  way  to  which  was  full  of  difficulties  and  dangers, 
and  the  right  road  quite  unknown  to  the  seeker.  Those  who 
had  preceded  him  on  the  path  had  all  failed,  and  he  himself  is  no 
sooner  fairly  engaged  in  the  quest  than  he  is  filled  with  despair, 
but  is  impelled  to  go  on.  At  the  stage  of  his  journey  which  is 
described  in  the  poem  he  meets  a  hoary  cripple,  who  gives  him 
directions  which  he  consents  to  follow,  though  with  misgivings. 
The  day  was  drawing  to  a  close,  the  road  by  which  he  entered 
on  the  path  to  the  tower  was  gone ;  when  he  looked  back, 
nothing  remained  but  to  proceed.  Nature  all  around  was  starved 
and  ignoble  :  flowers  there  were  none  ;  some  weeds  that  seemed 
'to  thrive  in  the  wilderness  only  added  to  its  desolation;  dock 


1O2  BROWNING   CYCLOPAEDIA.  [Chi 

leaves  with  holes  and  rents,  grass  as  hair  in  leprosy;  and  wander- 
ing on  the  gloomy  plain,  one  stiff,  blind  horse,  all  starved  and 
stupefied,  looking  as  if  he  were  thrust  out  of  the  devil's  stud. 
The  pilgrim  tried  to  think  of  earlier,  happier  sights  :  of  his  friend 
Cuthbert — alas  !  one  night's  disgrace  left  him  without  that  friend; 
of  Giles,  the  soul  of  honour,  who  became  a  traitor,  spit  upon  and 
curst.  The  present  horror  was  better  than  these  reflections  on 
the  past.  And  now  he  approached  a  petty,  yet  spiteful  river, 
over  which  black  scrubby  alders  hung,  with  willows  that  seemed 
suicidal.  He  forded  the  stream,  fearing  to  set  his  foot  on  some 
dead  man's  cheek  ;  the  cry  of  the  water-rat  sounded  as  the  shriek 
of  a  baby.  And  as  he  toiled  on  he  saw  that  ugly  heights  (moun- 
tains seemed  too  good  a  name  to  give  such  hideous  heaps)  had 
given  place  to  the  plain,  and  two  hills  in  particular,  couched  like 
two  bulls  in  fight,  seemed  to  indicate  the  place  of  the  tower.  Yes  ! 
in  their  midst  was  the  round,  squat  turret,  without  a  counterpart 
in  the  whole  world.  The  sight  was  as  that  of  the  rock  which  the 
sailor  sees  too  late  to  avoid  the  crash  that  wrecks  his  ship.  The 
very  hills  seemed  watching  him  ;  he  seemed  to  hear  them  cry, 
"  Stab  and  end  the  creature  !  "  A  noise  was  everywhere,  tolling 
like  a  bell ;  he  could  hear  the  names  of  the  lost  adventurers  who 
had  preceded  him.  There  they  stood  to  see  the  last  of  him.  He 
saw  and  knew  them  all,  yet  dauntless  set  the  horn  to  his  lips  and 
blew,  "  Childe  Roland  to  the  Dark  Tower  came" 

NOTES. — At  the  head  of  the  poem  is  a  note :  "  See  Edgar's 
song  in  Lear"  In  Act  III.,  scene  iv.,  Edgar,  disguised  as  a 
madman,  says,  while  the  storm  rages:  "Who  gives  anything 
to  poor  Tom  ?  whom  the  foul  fiend  hath  led  through  fire  and 
through  flame,  through  ford  and  whirlpool,  over  bog  and 
quagmire  ;  that  hath  laid  knives  under  his  pillow  and  halters 
in  his  pew ;  set  ratsbane  by  his  porridge ;  made  him  proud  of 
heart  to  ride  on  a  bay  trotting-horse  over  four-inched  bridges, 
to  course  his  own  shadow  for  a  traitor. — Bless  thy  five  wits  \ 

Tom's  a-cold. — O   do  de,  do  de,   do,   de. Bless  thee   from 

whirlwinds,  star- blasting,  and  taking!  Do  poor  Tom  some 
charity,  whom  the  foul  fiend  vexes."  At  the  end  of  the  scene 
Edgar  sings : — 

"  Childe  Rowland  to  the  dark  tower  came, 
His  word  was  still, — Fie,  foh,  and  fum 
I  smell  the  blood  of  a  British  man." 


Chi]  BROWNING    CYCLOPAEDIA.  1 03 

44  Childe  Roland  was  the  youngest  brother  of  Helen.  Under  the 
guidance  of  Merlin  he  undertook  to  bring  back  his  sister  from 
elf-land,  whither  the  fairies  had  carried  her,  and  he  succeeded  in 
his  perilous  exploit." — Dr.  Brewer.  (See  the  ancient  Ballade  ot 
Burd  Helen.}  Childe  was  a  term  specially  applied  to  the 
scions  of  knightly  families  before  their  admission  to  the  degree 
of  knighthood,  as  "  Chyld  Waweyn,  Loty's  Sone  "  (Robert  of 
Gloucester). 

This  wonderful  poem,  one  of  the  grandest  pieces  of  word- 
painting  in  our  language,  has  exercised  the  ingenuity  of  Browning 
students  more  than  any  other  of  the  poet's  works.  Sordello 
is  difficult  to  understand,  but  it  was  intended  by  the  poet  to 
convey  a  definite  meaning  and  important  lessons,  but  Childe 
Roland,  we  have  been  warned  again  and  again,  was  written 
without  any  moral  purpose  whatever.  4*  We  may  see  in  it,"  says 
Mrs.  Orr,  4(  a  poetic  vision  of  life.  .  .  .  The  thing  we  may  not  do 
is  to  imagine  that  we  are  meant  to  recognise  it."  A  paper  was 
read  at  the  Browning  Society  on  this  poem  by  Mr.  Kirkman 
(Browning  Society  Papers,  Part  iii.,  p.  21)  suggesting  an  inter- 
pretation of  the  allegory.  In  the  discussion  which  followed,  Dr. 
Furnivall  said  4I  he  had  asked  Browning  if  it  was  an  allegory,  and 
in  answer  had,  on  three  separate  occasions,  received  an  emphatic 
4  no ' ;  that  it  was  simply  a  dramatic  creation  called  forth  by  a 
line  of  Shakespeare's.  Browning  had  written  it  one  day  in  Paris, 
as  a  vivid  picture  suggested  by  Edgar's  line ;  the  horse  was  sug- 
gested by  the  figure  of  a  red  horse  in  a  piece  of  tapestry  in 
Browning's  house.  .  .  .  Still,  Dr.  Furnivall  thought,  it  was  quite 
justifiable  that  any  one  should  use  the  poem  to  signify  whatever 
image  it  called  up  in  his  own  mind.  But  he  must  not  confuse 
the  poet's  mind  with  his.  The  poem  was  not  an  allegory,  and 
was  never  meant  to  be  one."  The  Hon.  Roden  Noel,  who  was 
in  the  chair  on  this  occasion,  said  "  he  himself  had  never  regarded 
Childe  Roland  as  having  any  hidden  meaning  ;  nor  had  cared  so 
to  regard  it.  But  words  are  mystic  symbols  :  they  mean  more, 
very  often,  than  the  utterer  of  them,  poet  or  puppet,  intended." 
When  some  one  asked  Mendelssohn  what  he  meant  by  his 
Lieder  ohne  Worte,  the  musician  replied  that  {( they  meant  what 
they  said."  A  poem  so  consistent  as  a  whole,  with  a  narrative 
-in  which  every  detail  follows  in  a  perfectly  regular  and  natural 
sequence,  must  inevitably  convey  to  the  thinking  mind  some 


IO4  BROWNING   CYCLOPAEDIA.  ^ 

great  and  powerful  idea,  suiting  itself  to  his  view  of  life  con- 
sidered as  a  journey  or  pilgrimage.  The  wanderings  of  the 
children  of  Israel  from  Egypt  to  the  Promised  Land  may  be 
considered  simply  as  a  historical  event,  like  the  migrations  oi 
the  Tartars  or  the  Northmen;  or  they  may  be  viewed  as  an 
allegory  of  the  Christian  life,  like  Bunyan's  immortal  dream. 
The  historian  of  the  Exodus  could  never  have  had  in  his  mind 
all  the  interpretations  put  upon  the  incidents  which  he  recorded ; 
yet  we  have  the  warrant  of  St.  Paul  for  allegorising  the  story. 
Any  narrative  of  a  journey  through  a  desert  to  a  definite  end  held 
in  view  throughout  the  way,  is  certain  to  be  pounced  upon  as  an 
allegory ;  and  it  is  impossible  but  that  Mr.  Browning  must  have 
had  some  notion  of  a  "  central  purpose  "  in  his  poem.  Indeed, 
when  the  Rev.  John  W.  Chadwick  visited  the  poet,  and  asked  him 
if  constancy  to  an  ideal — "  He  that  endureth  to  the  end  shall  be 
saved  " — was  not  a  sufficient  understanding  of  the  central  purpose 
of  the  poem,  he  said,  "  Yes,  just  about  that."  Mr.  Kirkman,  in  the 
paper  already  referred  to,  says,  "  There  are  overwhelming  reasons 
for  concluding  that  this  poem  describes,  after  the  manner  of  an 
allegory,  the  sensations  of  a  sick- man  very  near  to  death — Rabbi 
Ben  Ezra  and  Prospice — are  the  two  angels  that  lead  on  to  Childe 
Roland."  Mr.  Nettleship,  in  his  well-known  essay  on  the  poem, 
says  the  central  idea  is  this:  "Take  some  great  end  which  men 
have  proposed  to  themselves  in  life,  which  seemed  to  have  truth 
in  it,  and  power  to  spread  freedom  and  happiness  on  others  ;  but 
as  it  comes  in  sight,  it  falls  strangely  short  of  preconceived  ideas, 
and  stands  up  in  hideous  prosaicness."  Mrs.  James  L.  Bagg,  in 
the  Interpretation  of  Childe  Roland,  read  to  the  Syracuse  (U.S.) 
Browning  Club,  gives  the  following  on  the  lesson  of  the  poem  : — 
"The  secrets  of  the  universe  are  not  to  be  discovered  by  exercise 
of  reason,  nor  are  they  to  be  reached  by  flights  of  fancy,  nor  are 
duties  loyally  done  to  be  recompensed  by  revealment.  A  life  of 
becoming,  being,  and  doing,  is  not  loss,  nor  failure,  nor  dis- 
comfiture, though  the  dark  tower  for  ever  tantalise  and  for  ever 
withhold."  Some  have  seen  in  the  poem  an  allegory  of  Love, 
others  of  the  Search  after  Truth.  Others,  again,  understand  the 
Dark  Tower  to  represent  Unfaith,  and  the  obscure  land  that  of 
Doubt — Doubting  Castle  and  the  By-Path  Meadow  of  John 
Bunyan,  in  short.  For  my  own  part,  I  see  in  the  allegory — for  I 
can  consider  it  no  other — a  picture  of  the  Age  of  Materialistic 


Chi]  BROWNING   CYCLOPAEDIA.  105 

Science,  a  "science  falsely  so  called,"  which  aims  at  the  de- 
struction of  all  our  noblest  ideals  of  religion  and  faith  in  the 
unseen.  The  pilgrim  is  a  truth-seeker,  misdirected  by  the  lying 
spirit— the  hoary  cripple,  unable  to  be  or  do  anything  good  or 
noble  himself;  in  him  I  see  the  cynical,  destructive  critic,  who  sits 
at  our  universities  and  colleges,  our  medical  schools  and  our  fire- 
sides, to  point  our  youth  to  the  desolate  path  of  Atheistic  Science, 
a  science  which  strews  the  ghastly  landscape  with  wreck  and 
ruthless  ruin,  with  the  blanching  bones  of  animals  tortured  to 
death  by  its  "  engines  and  wheels,  with  rusty  teeth  of  steel " — a 
science  which  has  invaded  the  healing  art,  and  is  sending  students 
of  medicine  daily  down  the  road  where  surgeons  become  cancer- 
grafters  (as  the  Paris  and  Berlin  medical  scandals  have  revealed), 
and  where  physicians  gloat  over  their  animal  victims — 

"  Toads  in  a  poisoned  tank, 
Or  wild  cats  in  a  red-hot  iron  cage," 

in  their  passion  to  reach  the  dark  tower  of  Knowledge,  whicli 
to  them  has  neither  door  nor  window.  The  lost  adventurers 
are  the  men  who,  having  followed  this  false  path,  have  failed, 
and  who  look  eagerly  for  the  next  fool  who  comes  to  join  the 
band  of  the  lost  ones.  "  In  the  Paris  School  of  Medicine,"  says 
Mr.  Lilly  in  his  Right  and  Wrong,  "  it  has  lately  been  prophesied 
that,  'when  the  rest  of  the  world  has  risen  to  the  intellectual 
level  of  France,  the  present  crude  and  vulgar  notions  regarding 
morality,  religion,  Divine  providence,  and  so  forth,  will  be  swept 
entirely  away,  and  the  dicta  01  science  will  remain  the  sole  guide 
of  sane  and  educated  men.' "  Had  Mr.  Browning  intended  to 
write  for  us  an  allegory  in  aid  of  our  crusade,  a  sort  of  medical 
Pilgrim's  Progress,  he  could  scarcely  have  given  the  world  a  more 
faithful  picture  of  the  spiritual  ruin  and  desolation  which  await 
the  student  of  medicine  who  sets  forth  on  the  fatal  course  of  an 
experimental  torturer.  I  have  good  authority  for  saying  that,  had 
Mr.  Browning  seen  this  interpretation  of  his  poem,  he  would  have 
cordially  accepted  it  as  at  least  one  legitimate  explanation.  Most 
of  the  commentators  agree  that  when  Childe  Roland  "  dauntless 
set  the  slug  horn  to  his  lips  and  blew  '  Childe  Roland  to  the 
Dark  Tower  came,' "  he  did  so  as  a  warning  to  others  that  he 
had  failed  in  his  quest,  and  that  the  way  of  the  Dark  Tower  was 
the  way  of  destruction  and  death. 


J06  BROWNING    CYCLOPEDIA.  [Chi 

Christmas  Eve.     (Christmas  Eve  and  Easter  Day  :  London, 
1850.)     Two  poems  on  the  same  subject  from  different  points  of 
view.     The  scene  is  a  country  chapel,  a  barnlike  structure,  from 
which  ornament  has  been  rigorously  excluded,  not  so  much  on 
account  of  want  of  funds  as  horror  of  anything  which  should 
detract  from    "  Gospel  simplicity."     The  night   is   stormy,    and 
Christmas  Day  must  have  fallen  on  a  Monday   that  year,   or 
surely   no   worshippers   in   that   building  would  have  troubled 
themselves  about  keeping  the  vigil  of  such  a  "  Popish  feast "  as 
Christmas.     It  must  have  been  Sunday  night  as  well  as  Christmas 
Eve,  that  year  of  '49.     The  congregation  eyed  the  stranger  "  much 
as    some   wild   beast,"  for   "  not   many   wise "   were  called   to 
worship  in  their  particular  way,  and  the  stranger  was  evidently 
not  of  their  faith  or  class.     In  came  the  flock  :  the  fat  woman 
with  a  wreck  of  an  umbrella ;  the  little  old-faced,  battered  woman 
with  the  baby,   wringing  the  ends  of  her  poor  shawl  soaking 
with  the  rain  ;  then  a  "female  something  "  in  dingy  satins  ;  next 
a  tall,  yellow  man,  like  the  Penitent  Thief;  and  from  him,   as 
from  all,  the  interloper  got  the  same  surprised  glance.    "  What, 
you,  Gallic,  here!"  it  expressed*    And  so,  after  a  shoemaker's 
lad,  with  a  wet  apron  round  his  body  and  a  bad  cough  inside  it, 
had  passed  in,  the  interloper  followed  and  took  his  place,  waiting 
for  his  portion  of  New  Testament  meat,  like  the  rest  of  them. 
What  with  the  hot  smell  of  greasy  coats  and  frowsy  gowns,  com- 
bined with  the  preacher's  stupidity,  the  visitor  soon  had  enough 
of  it,  and  he  "  flung  out  of  the  little  chapel  "  in  disgust.     As  he 
passed  out  he  found  there  was  a  lull  in  the  rain  and  wind.     The 
moon  was  up,  and  he  walked  on,  glad  to  be  in  the  open  air,  his 
mind  full  of  the  scene  he  had  left.     After  all,  why  should  he  be 
hard  on  this  case  ?     In  many  modes  the  same  thing  was  going 
on  everywhere — the  endeavour  to  make  you  believe— and  with 
much  about  the  same  effect.     He  had  his  own  church  ;  Nature 
had  early  led  him  to  its  door ;  he  had  found  God  visibly  present 
in  the  immensities,  and  with  the  power  had  recognised  his  love 
too  as  the  nobler  dower.      Quite  true  was  it  that  God  stood 
apart  from  man — apart,  that  he  might  have  room  to  act  and  use 
his  gifts  of  brain  and  heart.     Man  was  not  perfect,  not  a  machine, 
not  unaware  of  his  fitness  to  pray  and  praise.     He  looked  up  to 
God,  recognised  how  infinitely  He  surpassed  man  in  power  and 
\\  isdom,  and  was  convinced  He  would  never  in  His  love  bestow 


BROWNING    CYCLOPAEDIA.  IOJ 

less  than  man  requires.  In  this  great  way  he  would  seek  to 
press  towards  God  ;  let  men  seek  Him  in  a  narrow  shrine  if  they 
would.  And  as  he  mused  thus,  suddenly  the  rain  ceased  and 
the  moon  shone  out,  the  black  clouds  falling  beneath  her  feet ;  a 
moon  rainbow,  vast  and  perfect,  rose  in  its  chorded  colours.  Then 
from  out  the  world  of  men  the  worshipper  of  God  in  Nature  was 
called,  and  at  once  and  with  terror  he  saw  Him  with  His  human 
air,  the  back  of  Him — no  more.  He  had  been  present  in  the  poor 
chapel — He,  with  His  sweeping  garment,  vast  and  white,  whose 
hem  could  just  be  recognised  by  the  awed  beholder,  He  who- 
had  promised  to  be  where  two  or  three  should  meet  to  pray — and 
He  had  been  present  as  the  friend  of  these  poor  folk !  He  was 
leaving  him  who  had  despised  the  friends  of  the  Human-Divine. 
Then  he  clung  to  the  salvation  of  His  vesture,  and  told  Him  how 
he  had  thought  it  best  He  should  be  worshipped  in  spirit  and 
becoming  beauty;  the  uncouth  worship  he  had  just  left  was 
scarcely  fitted  for  Him.  Then  the  Lord  turned  His  whole  face 
upon  him,  and  he  was  caught  up  in  the  whirl  of  the  vestment, 
and  was  up-borne  through  the  darkness  and  the  cold,  and  held 
awful  converse  with  his  God; 'and  then  he  came  to  know  who- 
registers  the  cup  of  cold  water  given  for  His  sake,  and  wha 
disdains  not  to  slake  His  Divine  thirst  for  love  at  the  poorest  love 
ever  offered — came  to  know  it  was  for  this  he  was  permitted  to 
cling  to  the  vesture  himself.  And  so  they  crossed  the  world  till 
they  stopped  at  the  miraculous  dome  of  God,  St.  Peter's  Church 
at  Rome,  with  its  colonnade  like  outstretched  arms,  as  if  desiring 
to  embrace  all  mankind.  The  whole  interior  of  the  vast  basilica 
is  alive  with  worshippers  this  Christmas  Eve.  It  is  the  midnight 
mass  of  the  Feast  of  the  Nativity  under  Rome's  great  dome.  The 
incense  rises  in  clouds ;  the  organ  holds  its  breath  and  grovels 
latent,  as  if  hushed  by  the  touch  of  God's  finger.  The  silence  is 
broken  only  by  the  shrill  tinkling  of  a  silver  bell.  Very  man  and 
Very  God  upon  the  altar  lies,  and  Christ  has  entered,  and  the 
man  whom  He  brought  clinging  to  His  garment's  fold  is  left 
outside  the  door,  for  He  must  be  within,  where  so  much  of  love 
remains,  though  the  man  without  is  to  wait  till  He  return: 

"  He  will  not  bid  me  enter  too, 
But  rather  sit  as  I  now  do." 

He  muses  as  he  remains  in  the  night  air,  shut  out  from  the  glory 


108  BROWNING   CYCLOPEDIA. 

and  the  worship  within,  and  he  desires  to  enter.  He  thinks  he 
can  see  the  error  of  the  worshippers ;  but  he  is  sure  also  that  he 
can  see  the  love,  the  power  of  the  Crucified  One,  which  swept 
away  the  poetry,  rhetoric  and  art  of  old  Rome  and  Greece,  "  till 
filthy  saints  rebuked  the  gust "  which  gave  them  the  glimpse  of 
a  naked  Aphrodite.  Love  shufthe  world's  eyes,  and  love  sufficed. 
Again  he  is  caught  up  in  the  vesture's  fold,  and  transferred 
this  time  to  a  lecture-hall  in  a  university  town  in  Germany,  where 
a  hawk-nosed,  high-cheek-boned  professor,  with  a  hacking  cough, 
is  giving  a  Christmas  Eve  discourse  on  the  Christ  myth.  He 
was  just  discussing  the  point  whether  there  ever  was  a  Christ  or 
not,  and  the  Saviour  had  entered  here  also ;  but  He  would  not 
bid  His  companion  enter  "  the  exhausted  air-bell  of  the  critic." 
Where  Papist  with  Dissenter  struggles  the  air  may  become 
mephitic ;  but  the  German  left  no  air  to  poison  at  all.  He 
rejects  Christ  as  known  to  Christians  ;  yet  he  retains  somewhat. 
Is  it  His  intellect  that  we  must  reverence  ?  But  Christ  taught 
nothing  which  other  sages  had  not  taught  before,  and  who  did 
not  damage  their  claim  by  assuming  to  be  one  with  the  Creator. 
Are  we  to  worship  Christ,  then,  for  His  goodness  ?  But  good- 
ness is  due  from  man  to  man,  still  more  to  God,  and  does  not 
confer  on  its  possessor  the  right  to  rule  the  race.  Besides,  the 
goodness  of  Christ  was  either  self-gained  or  inspired  by  God. 
On  neither  ground  could  it  substantiate  His  claim  to  put  Himself 
above  us.  We  praise  Nature,  not  Harvey,  for  the  circulation  of 
the  blood ;  so  we  look  from  the  gift  to  the  Giver — from  man's 
dust  to  God's  divinity.  What  is  the  point  of  stress  in  Christ's 
teaching  ?  "  Believe  in  goodness  and  truth,  now  understood  for 
the  first  time  "?  or  "  Believe  in  Me,  who  lived  and  died,  yet  am 
Lord  of  Life  "  ?  And  all  the  time  Christ  remains  inside  this  lecture- 
room.  Could  it  be  that  there  was  anything  which  a  Christian  could 
be  in  accoid  with  there?  The  professor  has  pounded  the  pearl 
of  price  to  dust  and  ashes,  yet  he  does  not  bid  his  hearers  sweep 
the  dust  away.  No ;  he  actually  gives  it  back  to  his  hearers,  and 
bids  them  carefully  treasure  the  precious  remains,  venerate  the 
myth,  adore  the  man  as  before  !  And  so  the  listener  resolved  to 
value  religion  for  itself,  be  very  careless  as  to  its  sects,  and  thus 
cultivate  a  mild  indifferentism  ;  when,  lo  !  the  storm  began  afresh, 
and  the  black  night  caught  him  and  whirled  him  up  and  flung 
hina  prone  on  the  college-step.  Christ  was  gone,  and  the  vesture 


Chr]  BROWNING   CYCLOPAEDIA.  109 

fast  receding.  It  is  borne  in  upon  him  then  that  there  must  be 
one  best  way  of  worship.  This  he  will  strive  to  find  and  make 
other  men  share,  for  man  is  linked  with  man,  and  no  gain  of  his 
must  remain  unshared  by  the  race.  He  caught  at  the  vanishing 
robe,  and,  once  more  lapped  in  its  fold,  was  seated  in  the  little 
chapel  again,  as  if  he  had  never  left  it,  never  seen  St.  Peter's 
successor  nor  the  professor's  laboratory.  The  poor  folk  were  all 
there  as  before — a  disagreeable  company,  and  the  sermon  had 
just  reached  its  "  tenthly  and  lastly."  The  English  was  ungram- 
matical ;  in  a  word,  the  water  of  life  was  being  dispensed  with  a 
strong  taint  of  the  soil  in  a  poor  earthen  vessel.  This,  he  thinks, 
is  his  place ;  here,  to  his  mind,  is  "  Gospel  simplicity  " ;  he  will 
criticise  no  more. 

NOTES. — Sect,  ii.,  "a  carer  for  none  of it ',  a  Gallio"  :  "And 
Gallic  cared  for  none  of  these  things  "  (Acts  xviii.  17).  "A  Saint 
John's  candlestick  "  (see  Rev.  i.  20).  "  Christmas  Eve  of  ^ Forty- 
nine  ":  Dissenters  do  not  keep  Christmas  Eve,  nor  Christmas 
Day  itself ;  they  would  not,  therefore,  have  been  found  at  chapel 
unless  Christmas  happened  to  fall  on  a  Sunday.  In  1849 
Christmas  Eve  fell  on  a  Monday.  Sect,  x.,  the  baldachin  :  the 
canopy  over  the  high  altar  of  St.  Peter's  at  Rome  is  supported  by 
magnificent  twisted  brazen  columns,  from  designs  by  Bernini. 
It  is  95  feet  in  height,  and  weighs  about  93  tons.  The  high 
altar  stands  immediately  over  the  tomb  of  St.  Peter.  Sect,  xiv., 
"  Gottingen,  most  likely  "  :  a  celebrated  university  of  Germany, 
which  has  produced  many  eminent  Biblical  critics.  Neander 
and  Ewald  were  natives  of  GQttingen.  Sect,  xvi., — 

"  When  A  got  leave  an  Ox  to  be, 
No  Camel  (quoth  the  Jews)  like  G." 

The  letter  Aleph,  in  Hebrew,  was  suggested  by  an  ox's  head  and 
horns.  Gimel,  the  Hebrew  letter  G,  means  camel.  Sect,  xviii., 
"  anapcBsts  in  comic-trimeter "  :  in  prosody  an  anap&st  is  a  foot 
consisting  of  three  syllables ;  the  first  two  short,  and  the  third 
long.  A  trimeter  is  a  division  of  verse  consisting  of  three 
measures  of  two  feet  each.  "  The  halt  and  maimed  '  Iketides ' ": 
The  Suppliants^  an  incomplete  play  of  ^Eschylus,  called 
"  maimed  "  because  we  have  only  a  portion  of  it  extant.  Sect, 
xxii.,  breccia,  a  kind  of  marble. 

Christopher    Smart.     (Parleyings  with    Certain  People  of 


HO  BROWNING   CYCLOPAEDIA.  [Chi 

Importance  in  their  Day.  1887.)  [THE  MAN.]  (1722-1771.) 
It  has  only  recently  been  discovered  that  Smart  was  anything 
more  than  a  writer  of  second-rate  eighteenth-century  poetry. 
He  was  born  at  Shipbourne,  in  Kent,  in  1722.  He  was  a  clever 
youth,  and  the  Duchess  of  Cleveland  sent  him  to  Cambridge, 
and  allowed  him  ^40  a  year  till  her  death  in  1742.  He  did  well 
at  college,  and  became  a  fellow  of  Pembroke,  gaining  the  Seaton 
prize  five  times.  When  he  came  to  London  he  mixed  in  the 
literary  society  adorned  by  Dr.  Johnson,  Garrick,  Dr.  James,  and 
Dr.  Burney — all  of  whom  helped  him  in  his  constant  difficulties. 
He  married  a  daughter  of  Mr.  Newbery,  the  publisher.  He 
became  a  Bohemian  man  of  letters,  but  the  only  work  by  which 
he  will  be  remembered  is  the  Song  to  David,  the  history  of 
which  is  sufficiently  remarkable.  It  was  written  while  he  was 
in  confinement  as  a  person  of  unsound  mind,  and  was — it  is 
said,  though  we  know  not  if  the  fact  be  precisely  as  usually 
stated — written  with  a  nail  on  the  wall  of  the  cell  in  which  he 
was  detained.  The  poem  bears  no  evidence  of  the  melancholy 
circumstances  under  which  it  was  composed  :  it  is  powerful  and 
healthy  in  every  line,  and  is  evidently  the  work  of  a  sincerely 
religious  mind.  He  was  unfortunately  a  man  of  dissipated 
habits,  and  his  insanity  was  probably  largely  due  to  intemper- 
ance. He  died  in  1771  from  the  effects  of  poverty  and  disease. 
His  Song  to  David  was  published  in  1763,  and  is  quite  unlike 
any  other  production  of  the  century.  The  poem  in  full  consists 
of  eighty-six  verses,  of  which  Mr.  Palgrave,  in  the  Golden 
Treasury,  gives  the  following  : — 

"He  sang  of  God— the  mighty  Source 
Of  all  things,  the  stupendous  force 

On  which  all  strength  depends; 
From  Whose  right  arm,  beneath  Whose  eyes, 
All  period,  power,  and  enterprise 

Commences,  reigns,  and  ends. 

"The  world, — the  clustering  spheres,  He  made, 
The  glorious  light,  the  soothing  shade, 

Dale,  champaign,  grove,  and  hill : 
The  multitudinous  abyss. 
Where  Secrecy  remains  in  bliss, 

And  Wisdom  hides  her  skill. 


BROWNING    CYCLOPAEDIA.  Ill 

"  Tell  them,  I  AM,  Jehovah  said 
To  Moses,  while  earth  heard  in  dread, 

And,  smitten  to  the  hearf, 
At  once  above,  beneath,  around, 
All  Nature,  without  voice  or  sound, 

Replied,  O  LORD,  THOU  ART." 

[THE  POEM.]  "How  did  this  happen?"  asks  Mr.  Browning. 
He  imagined  that  he  was  exploring  a  large  house,  had  gone 
through  the  decently-furnished  rooms,  which  exhibited  in  their 
arrangement  good  taste  without  extravagance,  till,  on  pushing 
open  a  door,  he  found  himself  in  a  chapel  which  was 

"  From  floor  to  roof  one  evidence 

Of  how  far  earth  may  rival  heaven." 

Prisoned  glory  in  every  niche,  it  glowed  with  colour  and  gleamed 
with  carving:  it  was  "Art's  response  to  earth's  despair."  He 
leaves  the  chapel  big  with  expectation  of  what  might  be  in  store 
for  him  in  other  rooms  in  the  mansion,  but  there  was  nothing  but 
the  same  dead  level  of  indifferent  work  everywhere,  just  as  in 
the  rooms  which  he  had  passed  through  on  his  way  to  the 
exquisite  chapel :  nothing  anywhere  but  calm  Common-Place. 
Browning  says  this  is  a  diagnosis  of  Smart's  case :  he  was 
sound  and  sure  at  starting,  then  caught  up  in  a  fireball.  Heaven 
let  earth  understand  how  heaven  at  need  can  operate  ;  then 
the  flame  fell,  and  the  untransfigured  man  resumed  his  wonted 
sobriety.  But  what  Browning  wants  to  know  is,  How  was  it 
this  happened  but  once  ?  Here  was  a  poet  who  always  could 
but  never  did  but  once  !  Once  he  saw  Nature  naked  ;  once  only 
Truth  found  vent  in  words  from  him.  Once  the  veil  was  pulled 
back,  then  the  world  darkened  into  the  repository  of  show  and 
hide. 

Clara  de  Millefleurs,  (Red  Cotton  Night-Cap  Country.) 
The  mistress  of  Miranda,  the  jeweller  of  Paris. 

Claret.     See  "  Nationality  in  Drinks  "  (Dramatic  Lyrics). 

Classification.  Mr.  Nettleship's  classification  of  Browning  is 
the  best  I  know.  It  is  no  easy  matter  to  table  the  poet's  works : 
they  do  not  readily  accommodate  themselves  to  classification. 
Such  poems  as  the  great  Art  and  Music  works,  the  Dramas 
Love,  and  Religious  poems  are  to  be  found  in  this  book  under 
the  respective  subjects. 


112  BROWNING   CYCLOPAEDIA.  [Cle 

Cleon.  (Men  and  Women,  1855.)  The  speculation  of  this 
poem  may  be  compared  with  a  picture  in  a  magic  lantern 
slowly  dissolving  into  another  view,  and  losing  itself  in  that 
which  is  succeeding  it.  We  have  the  latest  utterances  of 
the  beautiful  Greek  thought,  saddened  as  they  were  by  the 
despairing  note  of  the  sense  of  hopelessness  which  marred 
the  highest  effort  of  man,  and  which  was  never  so  acutely 
felt  as  at  the  period  when  the  Sun  of  Christianity  was  rising 
and  about  to  fill  the  world  with  the  Spirit  of  Eternal  Hope. 
The  old  heathenism  is  dissolving  away,  the  first  faint  outlines 
of  the  gospel  glory  are  detected  by  the  philosopher  who  has 
heard  of  the  fame  of  Paul,  and  is  not  sure  he  is  not  the  same 
as  the  Christ  preached  by  some  slaves  whose  doctrine  "  could  be 
held  by  no  sane  man."  The  quotation  with  which  the  poem  is 
headed  is  from  Acts  of  the  Apostles,  chap.  xvii.  28 :  "  As  certain 
also  of  your  own  poets  have  said, '  For  we  are  also  his  offspring.' " 
The  quotation  is  from  the  Phenomena  of  Aratus,  a  poet  of  Tarsus, 
in  Cilicia,  St.  Paul's  own  city.  There  is  also  a  very  similar 
passage  in  a  hymn  of  the  Stoic  Cleanthes :  "  Zeus,  thou  crown 
of  creation,  Hail ! — We  are  thy  offspring."  The  persons  of  the 
poem  are  not  historical,  though  the  thought  expressed  is  highly 
characteristic  of  that  of  the  Greek  philosophers  of  the  time.  As 
the  old  national  creeds  disappeared  under  the  advancing  tide  of 
Roman  conquest,  and  as  philosophers  calmly  discussed  the  truth 
or  falsity  of  their  dying  religions,  an  easy  tolerance  arose,  all 
religions  were  permitted  because  "  indiffererence  had  eaten  the 
heart  out  of  them."  Four  hundred  years  before  our  era  Eastern 
philosophy,  through  the  Greek  conquests  in  Asia,  had  begun  to 
influence  European  thinkers  by  its  strange  and  subtle  attempts 
to  solve  the  mystery  of  existence.  A  spirit  of  inquiry,  and  a 
restless  craving  for  some  undefined  faith  which  should  take  the 
place  of  that  which  was  everywhere  dying  out,  prepared  the  way 
for  the  progress  of  the  simple,  love-compelling  religion  of  Christ, 
and  made  every  one's  heart  more  or  less  suitable  soil  for  the  good 
seed.  Cleon  is  a  poet  from  the  isles  of  Greece  who  has  received 
a  letter  from  his  royal  patron  and  many  costly  gifts,  which  crowd 
his  court  and  portico.  He  writes  to  thank  his  king  for  his 
munificence,  and  in  his  reply  says  it  is  true  that  he  has  written 
that  epic  on  the  hundred  plates  of  gold;  true  that  he  composed 
the  chant  which  the  mariners  will  learn  to  sing  as  they  haul 


CleJ  BROWNING   CYCLOPEDIA.  1 13 

their  nets ;  true  that  the  image  of  the  sun-god  on  the  lighthouse 
is  his  also  ;  that  the  Poecile— the  portico  at  Athens  painted  with 
battle  pictures  by  Polygnotus  the  Thasian,  has  been  adorned, 
too,  with  his  own  works.  He  knows  the  plastic  anatomy  of  mar 
and  woman  and  their  proportions,  not  observed  before ;.  he  has 
moreover 

"  Written  three  books  on  the  soul, 
Proving  absurd  all  written  hitherto, 
And  putting  us  to  ignorance  again." 

He  has  combined  the  moods  for  music,  and  invented  one  • — 
"  In  brief,  all  arts  are  mine." 

All  this  is  known  ;  it  is  not  so  marvellous  either,  because  men's- 
minds  in  these  latter  days  are  greater  than  those  of  olden  time 
because  more  composite.  Life,  he  finds  reason  to  believe,  is 
intended  to  be  viewed  eventually  as  a  great  whole,  not  analysed 
to  parts,  but  each  having  reference  to  all :  the  true  judge  of  man's 
life  must  see  the  whole,  not  merely  one  way  of  it  at  once ;  the 
artist  who  designed  the  chequered  pavement  did  not  superimpose 
the  figures,  putting  the  last  design  over  the  old  and  blotting  it 
out, — he  made  a  picture  and  used  every  stone,  whatever  its  figure* 
in  the  composition  of  his  work.  So  he  conceives  that  perfect, 
separate  forms  which  make  the  portions  of  mankind  were  created 
at  first,  afterwards  these  were  combined,  and  so  came  progress. 
Mankind  is  a  synthesis — a  putting  together  of  all  the  single  men. 
Zeus  had  a  plan  in  all,  and  our  souls  know  this,  and  cry  to  him — 

"  To  vindicate  his  purpose  in  our  life." 

As  for  himself,  he  is  not  a  poet  like  Homer,  such  a  musician  as 
Terpander,  nor  a  sculptor  like  Phidias ;  point  by  point  he  fails 
to  reach  their  height,  but  in  sympathy  he  is  the  equal  of  them  all. 
So  much  for  the  first  part  of  the  king's  letter :  it  is  all  true  which 
has  been  reported  of  him.  Next  he  addresses  himself  to  the 
questions  asked  by  the  king:  "has  he  not  attained  the  very 
crown  and  proper  end  of  life  ? "  and  having  so  abundantly 
succeeded,  does  he  fear  death  as  do  lower  men?  Cleon 
replies  that  if  his  questioner  could  have  been  present  on  the 
earth  before  the  advent  of  man,  and  seen  all  its  tenantry,  from 
worm  to  bird,  he  would  have  seen  them  perfect.  Had  Zeus 
asked  him  if  he  should  do  more  for  creatures  than  he  had  done, 

8 


114  BROWNING   CYCLOPAEDIA.  [Cle 

he  would  have   replied,    "Yes,  make  each  grow  conscious   in 
himself"  ;  he  chooses  then  for  man,  his  last  premeditated  work, 
that  a  quality  may  arise  within  his  soul  which  may  view  itself 
and  so  be  happy.    "  Let  him  learn  how  he  lives."    Cleon  would, 
however,  tell  the  king  it  would  have  been  better  had  man  made 
no  step  beyond  the  better  beast.     Man  is  the  only  creature  in 
whom  there  is  failure;    it  is  called  advance  that  man   should 
climb  to  a  height  which  overlooks  lower  forms  of  creation  simply 
that  he  may  perish  there.     Our  vast  capabilities  for  joy,  our 
•Graving  souls,  our  struggles,  only  serve  to  show  us  that  man  is 
inadequate  to  joy,  as  the  soul  sees  joy.     "  Man  can  use  but 
.a  man's  joy  while  he  sees  God's."     He  agrees  with  the  king  in 
ihis  profound  discouragement :  most  progress  is  most  failure.    As 
to  the  next  question  which  the  letter  asks:  "Does  he,  the  poet, 
.artist,  musician,  fear  death  as  common  men  ?   Will  it  not  comfort 
ihim  to  know  that  his  works  will  live,  though  he  may  perish  ?  " 
Not  at  all,  he  protests — he,  sleeping  in  his  urn  while  men  sing  his 
•songs  and  tell  his  praise  !    "  It  is  so  horrible."    And  so  he  some- 
times imagines  Zeus  may  intend  for  us  some  future  state  where 
the  capability  for  joy  is  as  unlimited  as  is  our  present  desire  for 
joy.     But  no:  "Zeus  has  not  yet  revealed  it.     He  would  have 
•done  so  were  it  possible  ! "    Nothing  can  more  faithfully  portray 
tthe  'desolation  of  the  soul "  without  God,"  the  sense  of  loss  in  man, 
vvlhose  soul,  emanating  from  the  Divine,  refuses  to  be  satisfied 
with  anything  short  of  God   Himself.     Art,   wealth,   learning, 
honours,  serve  not  to  dissipate  for  a  moment  the  infinite  sadness 
of  this  soul "  without  God  and  without  hope  in  the  world."    And, 
as  he  wrote,  Paul,  the  Apostle  of  the  Gentiles,  had  turned  to  the 
Pagan  world  with  the  Gospel  which  the  Jews  had  rejected.     To 
the  very  island  in  the  Grecian  sea  whence  arose  this  sad  wail  of 
despair  the  echo  of  the  angel-song  of  Bethlehem  had  been  borne, 
"  Peace  on  earth,  good-will  towards  men."     Round  the  coasts  of 
the  ^Egean  Sea,  through  Philippi,  Troas,  Mitylene,  Chios,  and 
Miletus,  "  the  mere  barbarian  Jew  Paulus  "  had  sown  the  seeds 
of  a  faith  which  should  grow  up  and  shelter  under  its  branches 
the  weary  truth-seekers  who  knew  too  well  what  was  the  utter 
hopelessness  of  "art  for  art's  sake"  for  satisfying  the  infinite 
yearning  of  the  human  heart.     In  the  crypt  of  the  church  of 
San  Marziano  at  Syracuse  is  the  primitive  church  of  Sicily, 
constructed  on  the  spot  where  St.  Paul  is  said  to  have  preached 


Cll)  BROWNING   CYCLOPAEDIA.  115 

during  his  three  days'  sojourn  on  the  island.  Here  is  shown  the 
rude  stone  altar  where  St.  Paul  broke  the  bread  of  life ;  and  as 
we  stand  on  this  sacred  spot  and  recall  the  past  in  this  strange 
city  of  a  hundred  memorials  of  antiquity — the  temples  of  the 
gods,  the  amphitheatre,  the  vast  altar,  the  Greek  theatre,  the 
walls  of  Epipolae,  the  aqueducts,  the  forts,  the  harbour,  the 
quarries,  the  Ear  of  Dionysius,  the  tombs,  the  streams  and 
fountains  famed  in  classic  story  and  sung  by  poets — all  fade 
into  insignificance  before  the  hallowed  spot  whence  issued 
the  fertilising  influences  of  the  Gospel  preached  by  this  same 
Paulus  to  a  few  poor  slaves.  The  time  would  come,  and  not 
so  far  distant  either,  when  the  doctrines  of  Christ  and  Paul 
would  be  rejected  "by  no  sane  man." 

Clive.  (Dramatic  Idylls,  Series  II.,  1880.)  The  poem  deals 
with  a  well-known  incident  in  the  life  of  Lord  Clive,  who  founded 
the  empire  of  British  India  and  created  for  it  a  pure  and  strong 
administration.  Robert  Clive  was  born  in  1725  at  Styche,  near 
Market  Drayton,  Shropshire.  The  Clives  formed  one  of  the 
oldest  families  in  the  county.  Young  Clive  was  negligent  of 
his  books,  and  devoted  to  boyish  adventures  of  the  wildest  sort. 
However,  he  managed  to  acquire  a  good  education,  though  pro- 
bably by  means  which  schoolmasters  considered  irregular.  He 
was  a  bora  leader,  and  held  death  as  nothing  in  comparison  with 
loss  of  honour.  He  often  suffered,  even  in  youth,  from  fits  of 
depression,  and  twice  attempted  his  own  life.  He  went  out  to 
Madras  as  a  "writer"  in  the  East  India  Company's  civil  service. 
Always  in  some  trouble  or  other  with  his  companions,  he  one 
day  fought  the  duel  which  forms  the  subject  of  Mr.  Browning's 
poem.  In  1746  he  became  disgusted  with  a  civilian's  life,  and 
obtained  an  ensign's  commission.  At  this  time  a  crisis  in  Indian 
affairs  opened  up  to  a  man  of  high  courage,  daring  and  admini- 
strative ability,  like  Clive,  a  brilliant  path  to  fortune.  Clive 
seized  his  opportunity,  and  won  India  for  us.  His  bold  attack 
upon  the  city  of  Arcot  terminated  in  a  complete  victory  for  our 
arms ;  and  in  I753»  when  he  sailed  to  England  for  the  recovery  of 
his  health,  his  services  were  suitably  rewarded  by  the  East  India 
Company.  He  won  the  battle  of  Plassey  in  1757.  Notwith- 
standing his  great  services  to  his  country,  his  conduct  in  India 
was  severely  criticised,  and  he  was  impeached  in  consequence, 
but  was  acquitted  in  1773.  He  committed  suicide  in  1774,  his 


Il6  BROWNING   CYCLOPAEDIA.  [Col 

mind  having  been  unhinged  by  the  charges  brought  against  him 
after  the  great  things  he  had  done  for  an  ungrateful  country.  He 
was  addicted  to  the  use  of  opium;  this  is  referred  to  in  the 
poem  in  the  line  "noticed  how  the  furtive  ringers  went  where  a 
drug-box  skulked  behind  the  honest  liquor."  Lord  Macaulay  in 
his  Essay  on  Clive,  says  he  had  a  "  restless  and  intrepid  spirit. 
His  personal  courage,  of  which  he  had,  while  still  a  writer,  given 
signal  proof  by  a  desperate  duel  with  a  military  bully  who  was 
the  terror  of  Fort  St.  David,  speedily  made  him  conspicuous  even 
among  hundreds  of  brave  men."  The  duel  took  place  under  the 
following  circumstances.  He  lost  money  at  cards  to  an  officer 
who  was  proved  to  have  cheated.  Other  losers  were  so  in  terror 
of  this  cheating  bully  that  they  paid.  Clive  refused  to  pay,  and 
was  challenged.  They  went  out  with  pistols ;  no  seconds  were 
employed,  and  Clive  missed  his  opponent,  who,  coming  close  up 
to  him,  held  his  pistol  to  his  head  and  told  him  he  would  spare 
his  life  if  he  were  asked  to  do  so.  Clive  complied.  He  was  next 
required  to  retract  his  charge  of  cheating.  This  demand  being 
refused,  his  antagonist  threatened  to  fire.  "  Fire,  and  be 
damned  !  "  replied  Clive.  "  I  said  you  cheated ;  I  say  so  still,  and 
will  never  pay  you  ! "  The  officer  was  so  amazed  at  his  bravery 
that  he  threw  away  his  pistol.  Chatting,  with  a  friend,  a  week 
before  he  committed  suicide,  he  tells  the  story  of  this  duel  as 
the  one  occasion  when  he  felt  fear,  and  that  not  of  death,  but 
lest  his  adversary  should  contemptuously  permit  him  to  keep  his 
life.  Under  such  circumstances  he  could  have  done  nothing  but 
use  his  weapon  on  himself.  This  part  of  the  story  is,  of  course, 
imaginary. 

Colombo  of  Ravenstein.  (Colombe's  Birthday.}  Duchess  ol 
Juliers  and  Cleves.  When  in  danger  of  losing  her  sovereignty  by 
the  operation  of  the  Salic  Law,  she  has  an  offer  of  marriage  from 
Prince  Berthold,  who  could  have  dispossessed  her.  Colombe  loves 
Valence,  an  advocate,  and  he  loves  her.  The  prince  does  not 
even  pretend  that  love  has  prompted  his  offer,  and  so  Colombe 
sacrifices  power  at  the  shrine  of  love. 

Comparini,  The.  (The  Ring  and  the  Book.}  Violatne  and 
Pietro  Comparini  were^he  foster-parents  of  Pompilia,  who,  with 
her,  were  murdered  by  Count  Guido  Franceschini. 

Confessional,  The.  (Dramatic  Romances  in  Bells  and  Pome- 
granates, 1845.)  The  scene  is  in  Spain,  in  the  time  of  the  Inqui- 


COU]  BROWNING    CYCLOPEDIA.  1 17 

sition.  A  girl  has  confessed  to  an  aged  priest  some  sinful  conduct 
with  her  lover  Bertram ;  as  a  penance,  she  has  been  desired  to 
extract  from  him  some  secrets  relating  to  matters  of  which  he 
has  been  suspected.  As  a  proof  of  his  love,  he  tells  the  girl 
things  which,  if  known,  would  imperil  his  life.  The  confidant, 
as  requested,  carries  the  story  to  the  priest.  She  sees  her  lover 
no  more  till  she  beholds  him  under  the  executioner's  hands  on 
the  scaffold.  Passionately  denouncing  Church  and  priests,  she  is 
herself  at  the  mercy  of  the  Inquisition,  and  the  poem  opens  with 
her  exclamations  against  the  system  which  has  killed  her  lover 
and  ruined  her  life. 

Confessions.  (Dramatis  Persona,  1864.)  A  man  lies  dying. 
A  clergyman  asks  him  if  he  has  not  found  the  world  "  a  vale  of 
tears  "  ? — a  suggestion  which  is  indignantly  repudiated.  As  the 
man  looks  at  the  row  of  medicine  bottles  ranged  before  him,  he 
sees  in  his  fancy  the  lane  where  lived  the  girl  he  loved,  and 
where,  in  the  June  weather,  she  stood  watching  for  him  at  that 
farther  bottle  labelled  "  Ether  " — 

41  How  sad  and  bad  and  mad  it  was  I — 
But  then,  how  it  was  sweet ! " 

Constance  (In  a  Balcony),  a  relative  of  the  Queen  in  this 
dramatic  fragment.  She  is  loved  by  Norbert,  and  returns  his 
love.  The  queen,  however,  loves  the  handsome  young  cour- 
tier herself,  and  her  jealousy  is  the  ruin  of  the  young  couple's 
happiness. 

Corregidor,  The.  (How  it  strikes  a  Contemporary.)  In  Spain 
the  corregidor  is  the  chief  magistrate  of  a  town ;  the  name  is 
derived  from  corregir,  to  correct — one  who  corrects.  He  is 
represented  as  going  about  the  city,  observing  everything  that 
takes  place,  and  is  consequently  suspected  as  a  spy  in  the 
employment  of  the  Government.  He  is,  in  fact,  but  a  harmless 
poet  of  very  observant  habits,  and  is  exceedingly  poor. 

Count  Gismond.  Aix  IN  PROVENCE.  Published  in  Dramatic 
Lyrics  under  the  title  "France"  in  1842.  An  orphan  maiden  is 
to  be  queen  of  the  tourney  to-day.  She  lives  at  her  uncle's  home 
with  her  two  girl  cousins,  each  a  queen  by  her  beauty,  not  need- 
ing to  be  crowned.  The  maiden  thought  they  loved  her.  They 
brought  her  to  the  canopy  and  complimented  her  as  she  took 
her  place.  The  time  came  when  she  was  to  present  the  victor's 


Il8  BROWNING   CYCLOPAEDIA. 

crown.  All  eyes  were  bent  upon  her,  when  at  that  proud  moment 
Count  Gauthier  thundered  "  Stay !  Bring  no  crown  !  bring 
torches  and  a  penance  sheet ;  let  her  shun  the  chaste ! "  He 
accuses  her  of  licentious  behaviour  with  himself;  and  as  the 
girl  hears  the  horrible  lie,  paralysed  at  the  baseness  of  the  accu- 
sation, she  never  dreams  that  answer  is  possible  to  make.  Then 
out  strode  Count  Gismond.  Never  had  she  met  him  before,  but 
in  his  face  she  saw  God  preparing  to  do  battle  with  Satan.  He 
strode  to  Gauthier,  gave  him  the  lie,  and  struck  his  mouth  with  his 
mailed  hand :  the  lie  was  damned,  truth  upstanding  in  its  place. 
They  fought.  Gismond  flew  at  him,  clove  out  the  truth  from  his 
breast  with  his  sword,  then  dragging  him  dying  to  the  maiden's 
feet,  said  "  Here  die,  but  first  say  that  thou  hast  lied."  And  the 
liar  said,  "  To  God  and  her  I  have  lied,"  and  gave  up  the  ghost. 
Gismond  knelt  to  the  maiden  and  whispered  in  her  ear ;  then 
rose,  flung  his  arm  over  her  head,  and  led  her  from  the  crowd. 
Soon  they  were  married,  and  the  happy  bride  cried  : 

"  Christ  God  who  savest  man,  save  most 
Of  men  Count  Gismond  who  saved  me  !  " 

Count  Ghiido  Franceschini.  (The  Ring  and  the  Book.}  The 
wicked  nobleman  of  Arezzo  who  marries  Pompilia  for  her  dowry, 
and  treats  her  so  cruelly  that  she  flies  from  his  home  to  Rome, 
in  company  with  Caponsacchi,  who  chivalrously  and  innocently 
devotes  himself  to  her  assistance.  While  they  rest  on  the  way 
they  are  overtaken  by  the  Count,  who  eventually  kills  Pompilia 
and  her  foster-parents. 

Courts  of  Love  (Sordello)  "  were  judicial  courts  for  deciding 
affairs  of  the  heart,  established  in  Provence  during  the  palmy 
days  of  the  Troubadours.  The  following  is  a  case  submitted  to 
their  judgment :  A  lady  listened  to  one  admirer,  squeezed  the 
hand  of  another,  and  touched  with  her  toe  the  foot  of  a  third. 
Query,  Which  of  these  three  was  the  favoured  suitor?"  (Dr. 
Brewers  Dictionary  of  Phrase  and  Fable.)  It  was  at  a  Court  of 
Love  at  which  Palma  presided,  that  Sordello  outdid  Eglamour  in 
song,  and  received  the  prize  from  the  lady's  hand.  At  these  courts, 
Sismondi  tells  us,  tensons  or  jeux  partis  were  sung,  which  were 
dialogues  between  the  speakers  in  which  each  interlocutor  recited 
successively  a  stanza  with  the  same  rhymes.  Sismondi  intro- 
duces a  translation  of  a  tenson  between  Sordello  and  Bertrand, 


COU]  BROWNING   CYCLOPEDIA.  Iig 

adding  that  this  "  may,  perhaps,  give  an  idea  of  those  poetical 
contests  which  were  the  great  ornament  of  all  festivals.  When 
the  haughty  baron  invited  to  his  court  the  neighbouring  lords  and 
the  knights  his  vassals,  three  days  were  devoted  to  jousts  and 
tourneys,  the  mimicry  of  war.  The  youthful  gentlemen,  who, 
under  the  name  of  pages,  exercised  themselves  in  the  profession 
of  arms,  combated  the  first  day ;  the  second  was  set  apart  for 
the  newly-dubbed  knights ;  and  the  third,  for  the  old  warriors. 
The  lady  of  the  castle,  surrounded  by  youthful  beauties,  dis- 
tributed crowns  to  those  who  were  declared  by  the  judges  of  the 
combat  to  be  the  conquerors.  She  then,  in  her  turn,  opened  her 
court,  constituted  in  imitation  of  the  seignorial  tribunals,  and  as 
her  baron  collected  his  peers  around  him  when  he  dispensed 
justice,  so  did  she  form  her  Court  of  Love,  consisting  of  young, 
beautiful,  and  lively  women.  A  new  career  was  opened  to  those 
who  dared  the  combat — not  of  arms,  but  of  verse ;  and  the  name 
of  tenson,  which  was  given  to  these  dramatic  skirmishes,  in  fact 
signified  a  contest,  [t  frequently  happened  that  the  knights  who 
had  gained  the  prize  of  valour  became  candidates  for  the  poetical 
honours.  One  of  the  two,  with  his  harp  upon  his  arm,  after  a 
prelude,  proposed  the  subject  of  the  dispute.  The  other  then 
advancing,  and  singing  to  the  same  air,  answered  him  in  a 
stanza  of  the  same  measure,  and  very  frequently  having  the 
same  rhymes.  This  extempore  composition  was  usually  com- 
prised in  five  stanzas.  The  Court  of  Love  then  entered  upon  a 
grave  deliberation,  and  discussed  not  only  the  claims  of  the  two 
poets,  but  the  merits  of  the  question  ;  and  a  judgment  or  arret 
cT amour  was  given,  frequently  in  verse,  by  which  the  dispute  was 
supposed  to  be  decided.  At  the  present  day  we  feel  inclined  to 
believe  that  these  dialogues,  though  little  resembling  those  of 
Tityrus  and  Melibaeus,  were  yet,  like  those,  the  production  of 
the  poet  sitting  at  ease  in  his  closet.  But,  besides  the  historical 
evidence  which  we  possess  of  the  troubadours  having  been 
gifted  with  those  improvisatorial  talents  which  the  Italians  have 
preserved  to  the  present  time,  many  of  the  tensons  extant  bear 
evident  traces  of  the  rivalry  and  animosity  of  the  two  inter- 
locutors. The  mutual  respect  with  which  the  refinements  of 
civilisation  have  taught  us  to  regard  one  another,  was  at  this  time 
little  known.  There  existed  not  the  same  delicacy  upon  ques- 
tions of  honour,  and  injury  returned  for  injury  was  supposed  tc» 


120  BROWNING   CYCLOPAEDIA.  [Crf 

cancel  all  insults.  We  have  a  tenson  extant  between  the  Marquis 
Albert  Malespina  and  Rambaud  de  Vaqueiras,  two  of  the  most 
powerful  lords  and  valiant  captains  at  the  commencement  of  the 
thirteenth  century,  in  which  they  mutually  accuse  one  another  of 
having  robbed  on  the  highway  and  deceived  their  allies  by  false 
oaths.  We  must  charitably  suppose  that  the  perplexities  of 
versification  and  the  heat  of  their  poetical  inspiration  compelled 
them  to  overlook  sarcasms  which  they  could  never  have  suffered 
to  pass  in  plain  prose.  Many  of  the  ladies  who  sat  in  the 
Courts  of  Love  were  able  to  reply  to  the  verses  which  they 
inspired.  A  few  of  their  compositions  only  remain,  but  they 
have  always  the  advantage  over  those  of  the  Troubadours. 
Poetry,  at  that  time,  aspired  neither  to  creative  energy  nor  to 
sublimity  of  thought,  nor  to  variety.  Those  powerful  concep- 
tions of  genius  which,  at  a  later  period,  have  given  birth  to  the 
drama  and  the  epic,  were  yet  unknown  ;  and,  in  the  expression 
of  sentiment,  a  tenderer  and  more  delicate  inspiration  naturally 
endowed  the  productions  of  these  poetesses  with  a  more  lyrical 
character."  (Sismondi,  Lit.  Mod.  Europe,  vol.  i.,  pp.  106-7.) 

Cristina  (or  Christina).  Dramatic  Lyrics  (Bells  and  Pome- 
granates No.  III.),  1842. — Maria  Christina  of  Naples  is  the 
lady  of  the  poem.  She  was  born  in  1806,  and  in  1829  became 
the  fourth  wife  of  Ferdinand  VII.,  King  of  Spain.  She  became 
Regent  of  Spain  on  the  death  of  her  husband,  in  1833.  Her 
•daughter  was  Queen  Isabella  II.  She  was  the  dissolute  mother 
of  a  still  more  dissolute  daughter.  Lord  Malmesbury's  Memoirs 
of  an  Ex-Minister,  1884,  vol.  i.,  p.  30,  have  the  following  refer- 
ence to  the  Christina  of  the  poem  :  "  Mr.  Hill  presented  me  at 
Court  before  I  left  Naples  [in  1829].  .  .  .  The  Queen  [Maria 
Isabella,  second  wife  of  Francis  I.,  King  of  the  Two  Sicilies]  and 
the  young  and  handsome  Princess  Christina,  afterwards  Queen 
of  Spain,  were  present.  The  latter  was  said  at  the  time  to  be 
the  cause  of  more  than  one  inflammable  victim  languishing  in 
prison  for  having  too  openly  admired  this  royal  coquette,  whose 
manners  with  men  foretold  her  future  life  after  her  marriage  to 
old  Ferdinand  [VII.,  King  of  Spain].  When  she  came  up  to  me 
in  the  circle,  walking  behind  her  mother,  she  stopped,  and  took 
hold  of  one  of  the  buttons  of  my  uniform — to  see,  as  she  said,  the 
inscription  upon  it,  the  Queen  indignantly  calling  to  her  to  come 
on."  The  passion  of  love,  throughout  Mr.  Browning's  works,  is 


Cri]  BROWNING   CYCLOPEDIA.  121' 

treated  as  the  most  sacred  thing  in  the  human  soul.  We  are 
here  for  the  chance  of  loving  and  of  being  loved ;  nothing  on 
•earth  is  dearer  than  this  ;  to  trifle  with  love  is,  in  Browning's 
«yes,  the  sin  against  that  Divine  Emanation  which  sanctifies  the 
heart  of  man.  The  man  or  woman  who  dissipates  the  capacity 
for  love  is  the  destroyer  of  his  or  her  own  soul ;  the  flirt  and  the 
•coquette  are  the  losers, — the  forsaken  one  has  saved  his  own 
soul  and  gained  the  other's  as  well. 

Cristina  and  Monaldeschi.  (Jocoseria,  1 883.)— I  am  indebted 
to  the  valuable  paper  which  Mrs.  Alexander  Ireland  contributed 
to  the  Browning  Society  on  Feb.  27th,  1891,  for  the  facts  relating 
to  the  subject  of  this  poem.  Queen  Cristina  of  Sweden  was 
the  daughter  of  Gustavus  Adolphus.  She  was  born  in  1626,  and 
•came  to  the  throne  on  the  death  of  her  father,  in  1632.  She  was 
highly  educated  and  brilliantly  accomplished.  She  was  perfectly 
acquainted  with  Greek,  Latin,  French,  German,  English,  Italian, 
and  Spanish.  In  due  time  she  had  batches  of  royal  suitors,  but 
she  refused  to  bind  herself  by  the  marriage  tie;  rather  than 
marry,  she  decided  to  abdicate,  choosing  as  her  successor  her 
cousin  Charles  Gustavus.  The  formal  and  unusual  ceremony  of 
abdication  took  place  in  the  cathedral  of  Upsala,  in  June  1654. 
Proceeding  to  Rome,  she  renounced  the  Protestant  religion,  and 
publicly  embraced  that  of  the  Catholic  Church.  The  officers  of 
her  household  were  exclusively  Italian.  Among  these  was  the 
Marquis  Monaldeschi,  nominated  "  Master  of  the  Horse,"  de- 
scribed by  Cristina  in  her  own  memoirs  as  "  a  gentleman  of  most 
handsome  person  and  fine  manners,  who  from  the  first  moment 
teigned  exclusively  over  my  heart."  Cristina  abandoned  herself 
to  this  man,  who  proved  a  traitor  and  a  scoundrel.  He  took 
every  advantage  of  his  position  as  favourite,  and  having  reaped 
honour  and  riches,  Monaldeschi  wearied  of  his  royal  mistress  and 
sought  new  attractions.  The  closing  scene  of  Queen  Cristina's 
liaison  with  the  Grand  Equerry  inspired  Mr.  Browning's  poem. 
He  has  chosen  the  moment  when  all  the  treachery  of  Monal- 
deschi has  revealed  itself  to  the  Queen.  The  scene  is  at 
Fontainebleau,  whither  Cristina  has  removed  from  Rome ;  here 
the  letters  came  into  her  hands  which  broke  her  life.  A  Cardinal 
Azzolino  had  obtained  possession  of  a  wretched  and  dangerous 
•correspondence.  The  packet  included  the  Queen's  own  letters  to 
tier  lover — letters  written  in  the  fulness  of  perfect  trust,  telling 


122  BROWNING    CYCLOPAEDIA.  [Cri 

much  that  the  unhappy  lady  could  have  told  to  no  other  living, 
being.  Monaldeschi's  letters  to  his  young  Roman  beauty  made- 
a  jest,  a  mockery  of  the  Queen's  exceeding  fondness  for  him. 
They  were  letters  of  unsparing  and  wounding  ridicule  ;  and, 
while  acting  thus,  Monaldeschi  had  steadily  adhered  to  the  show 
of  unaltered  attachment  to  the  Queen  and  deep  respect  for  his 
royal  mistress.  Cristina's  emotions  on  seeing  the  whole  hateful, 
cowardly  treachery  laid  bare  were  doubtless  maddening.  She 
arranged  an  interview  with  the  Marquis  in  the  picture  gallery 
in  the  Palace  of  Fontainebleau.  She  was  accompanied  by  an 
official  of  her  Court,  and  had  at  hand  a  priest  from  the  neighbour- 
ing convent  of  the  Maturins,  armed  with  copies  of  the  letters 
which  were  to  serve  as  the  death-warrant  of  the  Marquis.  They 
had  been  placed  by  Cardinal  Azzolino  in  Cristina's  hands  through 
the  medium  of  her  "  Major-Domo,"  with  the  knowledge  that  the 
Cardinal  had  already  seen  their  infamous  contents.  The  originals 
she  had  on  her  own  person.  Added  to  this,  she  had  in  the  back- 
ground her  Captain  of  the  Guard,  Sentinelli,  with  two  other 
officers.  In  the  Galerie  des  Cerfs  hung  a  picture  of  Frai^ois  I. 
and  Diane  de  Poictiers.  To  this  picture  the  Queen  now  led  the 
Marquis,  pointing  out  the  motto  on  the  frame — "  Quis  separabit  ?" 
The  Queen  reminds  her  lover  how  they  were  vowed  to  each  other. 
The  Marquis  had  vowed,  at  a  tomb  in  the  park  of  Fontainebleau, 
that,  as  the  grave  kept  a  silence  over  the  corpse  beneath,  so  would 
his  love  and  trust  hold  fast  the  secret  of  Cristina's  love  to  all1 
eternity.  Now  the  woman's  spirit  was  wounded  to  death.  She 
was  scorned,  her  pride  outraged;  but  she  was  a  queen,  and  the 
man  a  subject,  and  she  felt  she  must  assert  her  dignity  at  least 
once  more.  The  Marquis  doubtless  tottered  as  he  stood.  "  Kneel," 
she  says.  This  was  the  final  scene  of  the  tragedy.  Cristina  now 
calls  forth  the  priest  and  the  assassins,  having  granted  herself  the 
bitter  pleasure  of  such  personal  revenge  as  was  possible  for  her,, 
poor  woman  ! 

"  Friends,  my  four  !    You,  Priest,  confess  him  1 
I  have  judged  the  culprit  there  : 
Execute  my  sentence  !    Care 
For  no  mail  such  cowards  wear ! 
Done,  Priest  ?    Then,  absolve  and  bless  him  1 
Now — you  three,  stab  thick  and  fast, 
Deep  and  deeper  !     Dead  at  last  ?  " 


ClLtt]  BROWNING   CYCLOPEDIA.  12$ 

In  October  1657  Cristina  already  felt  suspicious  of  Monaldeschi. 
Keenly  watching  his  actions,  she  had  found  him  guilty  of  a  double 
perfidy,  and  had  led  him  on  to  a  conversation  touching  a  similar 
unfaithfulness.  "What,"  the  Queen  had  said,  "does  the  man 
deserve  who  should  so  have  betrayed  a  woman?"  "Instant 
death,"  said  Monaldeschi ;  "  'twould  be  an  act  of  justice."  "  It  is 
well,"  said  she  ;  "  I  will  remember  your  words."  As  to  the  right 
of  the  Queen  to  execute  Monaldeschi,  it  must  be  remembered 
that,  by  a  special  clause  in  the  Act  of  Abdication,  she  retained 
absolute  and  sovereign  jurisdiction  over  her  servants  of  all  kinds. 
The  only  objection  made  by  the  French  Court  was,  that  she  ought 
not  to  have  permitted  the  murder  to  take  place  at  Fontainebleau. 
After  this  crime  Cristina  was  compelled  to  leave  France,  and 
finally  retired  to  Rome,  giving  herself  up  to  her  artistic  tastes, 
science,  chemistry  and  idleness.  She  died  on  April  igth,  1689 ; 
her  epitaph  on  her  tomb  in  St.  Peter's  at  Rome  was  chosen  by 
herself — "  Cristina  lived  sixty-three  years." 

NOTES.— "  Quis  separabit?"  who  shall  separate?  King 
Francis — Fran£ois  I.  The  gallery  of  this  king  is  the  most 
striking  one  in  the  palace.  Diane,  the  gallery  of  Diana,  the 
goddess.  Primatice  =  Primaticcio,  who  designed  some  of  the 
decorations  of  the  Galerie  de  Francois  I.  Salamander  sign: 
the  emblem  of  Francis  I.,  often  repeated  in  the  decorations. 
Florentine  Le  Roux  =  Rossi,  the  Florentine  artist.  Fontaine- 
bleau :  its  Chateau  Royal  is  very  famous.  '  'Juno  strikes  Ixion"  who 
attempted  to  seduce  her.  Avon,  a  village  near  Fontainebleau. 

Croisic.  The  scene  of  the  Two  Poets  of  Croisic.  Le  Croisic 
is  a  seaport  on  the  southern  coast  of  Brittany,  with  about  2500 
inhabitants,  and  is  a  fashionable  watering-place.  It  has  a  con- 
siderable industry  in  sardine  fishing. 

Cunizza,  called  Palma  in  Sordello,  till,  at  the  close  of  the 
poem  the  heroine's  historical  name  is  given.  She  was  the  sister 
of  Ezzelino  III.  Dante  places  her  in  Paradise  (ix.  32).  Long- 
fellow, in  his  translation  of  the  Divine  Comedy,  has  the  following 
note  concerning  her :  "  Cunizza  was  the  sister  of  Azzolino  di 
Romano.  Her  story  is  told  by  Rolandino,  Liber  Chronicorum, 
in  Muratori  (Rer.  Ital.  Script,,  viii.  173).  He  says  that  she  was 
first  married  to  Richard  of  St.  Boniface;  and  soon  after  had 
an  intrigue  with  Sordello — as  already  mentioned  (Purg.  vi., 
Note  74).  Afterwards  she  wandered  about  the  world  with  a 


124  BROWNING   CYCLOPEDIA.  [Dan 

soldier  of  Treviso,  named  Bonius,  '  taking  much  solace,'  says 
the  old  chronicler,  'and  spending  much  money \(multa  habendo 
solatia,  etmaximas  faciendo  expensas).  After  the  death  of  Bonius, 
she  was  married  to  a  nobleman  of  Braganza ;  and  finally,  and 
for  a  third  time,  to  a  gentleman  of  Verona.  The  Ottimo  alone 
among  the  commentators  takes  up  the  defence  of  Cunizza,  and 
says :  '  This  lady  lived  lovingly  in  dress,  song,  and  sport ;  but 
consented  not  to  any  impropriety  or  unlawful  act ;  and  she  passed 
her  life  in  enjoyment,  as  Solomon  says  in  Ecclesiastes,"  alluding 
probably  to  the  first  verse  of  the  second  chapter — "  I  said  in 
my  heart,  Go  to  now,  I  will  prove  thee  with  mirth  ;  therefore 
enjoy  pleasure ;  and  behold,  this  is  also  vanity." 

"  Dance,  Yellows  and  Whites  and  Reds."  A  beautiful  lyric 
at  the  end  of  "Gerard  de  Lairesse,"  in  Parleyings  with  Certain 
People  of  Importance  in  their  Day,  begins  with  this  line.  It 
originally  appeared  in  a  little  book  published  for  the  Edinburgh 
University  Union  Fancy  Fair,  in  1886. 

Daniel  Bartoli.  Parleyings  with  Certain  People  of  Importance 
in  their  Day.  1887.  [THE  MAN.]  "  Bom  at  Ferrara  in  1608,  died 
at  Rome  in  1685.  He  was  a  learned  Jesuit,  and  his  great  work 
was  a  history  of  his  Order,  in  six  volumes,  published  at  various 
times.  It  is  enriched  with  facts  drawn  from  the  Vatican  records, 
from  English  colleges,  and  from  memoirs  sent  him  by  friends 
in  England ;  and  is  crowded  with  stories  of  miracles  which  are 
difficult  of  digestion  by  ordinary  readers.  His  style  is  highly 
esteemed  by  Italians  for  its  purity  and  precision,  and  his  life 
was  perfectly  correct  and  virtuous  "  (Pall  Mall  Gazette,  Jan. 
1 8th,  1887).  "  His  eloquence  was  wonderful,  and  his  renown  as 
a  sacred  orator  became  universal.  He  wrote  many  essays  on 
scientific  subjects ;  and  although  some  of  his  theories  have  been 
refuted  by  Galileo,  they  are  still  cited  as  models  of  the  didactic 
style,  in  which  he  excelled.  His  works  on  moral  science  and 
philology  are  numerous.  Died  1684."  (Imp.  Diet.  Biog.} 

[THE  POEM.]  The  poet  tells  the  narrator  of  saintly  legends 
that  he  has  a  saint  worth  worshipping  whose  history  is  not 
legendary  at  all,  but  very  plain  fact.  It  is  her  story  which  is  told 
in  the  poem,  and  not  that  of  Bartoli.  The  minister  of  a  certain 
king  had  managed  to  induce  a  certain  duke  to  yield  two  of  his 
dukedoms  to  the  king  at  his  death.  The  promise  was  a  verbal 


Dan]  BROWNING   CYCLOPEDIA.  1 35 

one,  but  the  duke  was  to  sign  the  deed  of  gift  which  deprived  him 
of  his  rights  when  it  was  duly  prepared  by  the  lawyers.  While 
this  was  in  progress  the  duke  met  at  his  sister's  house  a  good 
and  beautiful  girl,  the  daughter  of  an  apothecary.  He  proposed 
to  marry  her,  and  was  accepted,  notwithstanding  the  opposition 
oi  his  family.  The  banns  were  duly  published,  and  the  marriage 
ceremony  was  soon  to  follow.  Meanwhile  this  turn  in  the  duke's 
affairs  came  to  the  ear  of  the  crafty  minister  of  the  king,  who 
promptly  informed  his  royal  master  that  the  assignment  of  the 
dukedoms  might  not  proceed  so  smoothly  under  the  altered 
circumstances.  "I  bar  the  abomination — nuptial  me  no  such 
nuptials  !  "  exclaimed  the  king.  The  minister  hinted  that  caution 
must  be  used,  lest  by  offending  the  duke  the  dukedoms  might  be 
lost.  The  next  day  the  preliminary  banquet,  at  which  all  the 
lady's  friends  were  present,  took  place  ;  when  lo — a  thunderclap  t 
— the  king's  minister  was  announced,  and  the  lady  was  requested 
to  meet  him  at  a  private  interview.  She  was  informed  that  the 
duke  must  at  once  sign  the  paper  which  the  minister  held  in  his 
hand,  ceding  to  the  king  the  promised  estates,  or  the  king  would 
withhold  his  consent  to  the  marriage  and  the  lady  would  be 
placed  in  strict  seclusion.  Should  he,  however,  sign  the  deed 
of  gift  without  delay,  the  king  would  give  his  consent  to  the 
marriage,  and  accord  the  bride  a  high  place  at  court ;  and  the 
druggist's  daughter  would  become  not  only  the  duke's  wife  but 
the  king's  favourite.  They  returned  to  the  dining-room,  and  the 
lady,  addressing  the  duke,  who  sat  in  mute  bewilderment  at  the 
head  of  the  table,  made  known  the  king's  commands.  She  told 
him  that  she  knew  he  loved  her  for  herself  alone,  and  was  con- 
scious that  her  own  love  was  equal  to  his.  She  bade  him  read 
the  shameful  document  which  the  king  had  sent,  and  begged 
him  to  bid  her  destroy  it.  She  implored  him  not  to  part  with  his 
dukedoms,  which  had  been  given  him  by  God,  though  by  doing  so 
he  might  make  her  his  wife :  if,  however,  he  could  so  far  forget 
his  duty  as  to  yield  to  these  demands,  he  would,  in  doing  so, 
forfeit  her  love.  The  duke  was  furious,  but  c"ould  not  be  brought 
to  yield  to  the  lady's  request,  and  she  left  the  place  never  to 
meet  again.  Next  day  she  sent  him  back  the  jewellery  he  had 
given  her.  This  story  was  told  to  a  fervid,  noble-hearted  lord, 
who  forthwith  in  a  boyish  way  loved  the  lady.  When  he  grew 
to  be  a  man  he  married  her,  dropped  from  camp  and  court  into 


120  BROWNING   CYCLOPAEDIA.  [Dan 

obscurity,  but  was  happy,  till  ere  long  his  lady  died.  He  would 
gladly  have  followed,  but  had  to  be  content  with  turning  saint, 
like  those  of  whom  Bartoli  wrote.  The  poet  next  philosophises 
on  the  life  which  the  duke  might  have  led  after  this  crisis  in  his 
history.  He  would  sooner  or  later  reflect  sadly  on  the  beautiful 
luminary  which  had  once  illumined  his  path :  he  could  fancy  her 
mocking  him  as  false  to  Love ;  he  would  reflect  how,  with  all 
his  lineage  and  his  bravery,  he  had  failed  at  the  test,  but  would 
recognise  that  it  was  not  the  true  man  who  failed,  not  the  ducal 
self  which  quailed  before  the  monarch's  frown  while  the  more 
royal  Love  stood  near  him  to  inspire  him  ; — some  day  that  true 
self  would,  by  the  strength  of  that  good  woman's  love,  be  raised 
from  the  grave  of  shame  which  covered  it,  and  he  would  be  hers 
once  more. 

NOTES. — vi.,  Part  passu:  with  equal  pace,  together,  xv., 
41  Saint  Scholastica  .  .  .  in  Paynimrie  "  :  she  lived  about  the  year 
543.  She  was  sister  to  St.  Benedict,  and  consecrated  herself 
to  God  from  her  earliest  youth.  The  legend  referred  to  is  not 
given,  either  in  Butler's  Lives  of  the  Saints,  or  Mrs.  Jameson's 
Legends  of  the  Monastic  Orders.  Paynimrie  means  the  land  of 
the  infidel,  xvi.,  Trogalia  :  sweetmeats  and  candies. 

Dante  is  magnificently  described  in  Sordello  (Book  I.,  lines 
374-8o)  :— 

"  Dante,  pacer  of  the  shore 
Where  glutted  hell  disgorgeth  filthiest  gloom, 
Unbitten  by  its  whirring  sulphur-spume — 
Or  whence  the  grieved  and  obscure  waters  slope 
Into  a  darkness  quieted  by  hope ; 
Plucker  of  amaranths  grown  beneath  God's  eye 
In  gracious  twilights  where  His  chosen  lie." 

Date  et  Dabitnr.  "Give,  and  it  shall  be  given  unto  you." 
(See  The  Twins.) 

David.  (See  Saul,  and  Epilogue  to  Dramatis  Persona  :  First 
Speaker). 

Deaf  and  Dumb.  A  group  by  Woolner  (1862).  How  a 
glory  may  arise  from  a  defect  is  the  keynote  of  this  poem.  A 
prism  interposed  in  the  course  of  a  ray  of  sunlight  breaks  it 
into  the  glory  of  the  seven  colours  of  the  spectrum ;  the  prism 
is  an  obstruction  to  the  white  light,  but  the  rainbow  tints  which 


BROWNING   CYCLOPAEDIA.  127 

are  seen  in  consequence  of  the  obstacle  reveal  to  us  the  secret  of 
the  sunbeam.  So  the  obstruction  of  deafness  or  dumbness  often 
greatly  enhances  the  beauty  of  the  features,  as  in  the  group  of 
statuary  which  forms  the  subject  of  the  poem,  and  which  was 
exhibited  at  the  International  Exhibition  of  1862.  The  children 
were  Constance  and  Arthur,  the  son  and  daughter  of  Sir  Thomas 
Fairbairn. 

Death  in  the  Desert,  A.  (Dramatis  Persona,  1864.)  John, 
the  disciple  whom  Jesus  loved,  who  lay  on  His  breast  at  the  last 
sad  paschal  supper,  who  stood  by  the  cross,  and  received  from 
the  lips  of  his  Lord  His  only  earthly  possession — His  mother ; 
John,  the  writer  of  the  Gospel  which  bears  his  name,  and  of  the 
letters  which  breathe  the  spirit  of  the  incarnated  love  which  was  to 
transform  a  world  lying  in  wickedness;  the  seer  of  the  awful  visions 
of  Patmos — the  tremendous  Apocalypse  which  closes  the  Christian 
revelation — lay  dying  in  the  desert ;  recalled  from  exile  after  the 
death  of  Domitian  from  the  isle  of  the  Sporades,  the  volcanic 
formation  of  which,  with  its  daily  scenes  of  smoke,  brimstone, 
fire,  and  streams  of  molten  lava,  had  aided  the  apostle  to  imagine 
the  day  of  doom,  when  the  angel  should  cry,  "  Time  shall  be  no 
longer."  The  beloved  disciple,  who  had  borne  the  message  of  Divine 
love  through  the  cities  of  Asia  Minor,  had  founded  churches, 
established  bishoprics,  and  had  laboured  by  spoken  and  written 
word,  and  even  more  effectually  by  his  beautiful  and  gentle  life, 
to  extend  the  kingdom  of  God  and  of  His  Christ,  now  worn  out 
with  incessant  labours,  and  bent  with  the  weight  of  well-nigh  a 
hundred  years,  the  last  of  the  men  who  had  seen  the  Lord,  the 
final  link  which  bound  the  youthful  Church  to  its  apostolic  days, 
lies  dying  in  a  cave,  hiding  from  the  bloody  hands  of  those  who 
breathed  out  threatenings  and  slaughter  against  the  followers  of 
Christ.  Companioned  by  five  converts  who  tenderly  nursed  the 
dying  saint,  he  had  been  brought  from  the  secret  recess  in  the 
rock  where  they  had  hidden  him  from  the  pursuers  into  the 
midmost  grotto,  where  the  light  of  noon  just  reached  a  little,  and 
enabled  them  to  watch 

"  The  last  of  what  might  happen  on  his  face." 

And  at  the  entrance  oi  the  cave  there  kept  faithful  watch 
the  Bactrian  convert,  pretending  to  graze  a  goat,  so  that  if 
thief  or  soldier  passed  they  might  have  booty  without  prying 


128  BROWNING   CYCLOPAEDIA. 

into  the  cave.  The  dying  man  lies  unconscious,  but  his  attend- 
ants think  it  possible  to  rouse  him  that  he  may  speak  to  them 
before  he  departs :  they  wet  his  lips  with  wine,  cool  his  forehead 
with  water,  chafe  his  hands,  diffuse  the  aromatic  odour  of  the 
spikenard  through  the  cave,  and  pray ;  but  still  he  sleeps.  Then 
the  boy,  inspired  by  a  happy  thought,  brings  the  plate  of  graven 
lead  oil  which  are  the  words  of  John's  gospel,  "I  am  the 
Resurrection  and  the  Life,"  and  having  found  the  place,  he 
presses  the  aged  man's  finger  on  the  line,  and  repeats  it  in  his 
ear.  Then  he  opened  his  eyes,  sat  up,  and  looked  at  them  ;  and 
no  one  spoke,  save  the  watcher  without,  signalling  from  time  to 
time  that  they  were  safe.  And  first,  the  beloved  one  said,  "  If 
one  told  me  there  were  James  and  Peter,  I  could  believe!  So 
is  my  soul  withdrawn  into  its  depths." — "  Let  be  awhile  1 " — And 
then— 

"  It  is  long 

Since  James  and  Peter  had  release  by  death, 
And  I  am  only  he,  yonr  brother  John, 
Who  saw  and  heard,  and  could  remember  all." 

He  reminds  them  how  in  Patmos  isle  he  had  seen  the  Lord  in 
His  awful  splendour ;  how  in  his  early  life  he  saw  and  handled 
with  his  hands  the  Word  of  Life.  Soon  it  will  be  that  none  will 
say  "  I  saw."  And  already — for  the  years  were  long — men  had 
disputed,  murmured  and  misbelieved,  or  had  set  up  antichrists ; 
and  remembering  what  had  happened  to  the  faith  in  his  own 
days,  he  could  well  foresee  that  unborn  people  in  strange  lands 
would  one  day  ask — 

"  Was  John  at  all,  and  did  he  say  he  saw  ?  " 

"What  can  I  say  to  assure  them?"  he  asks;  the  story  of 
Christ's  life  and  death  was  not  mere  history  to  him  :  " // is"  he 
cries, — "  is,  here  and  now"  Not  only  are  the  events  of  the 
gospel  history  present  before  his  eyes,  so  that  he  apprehends 
nought  else ;  but  not  less  plainly,  not  less  firmly  printed  on  his 
soul,  are  the  more  mysterious  truths  of  God's  eternal  presence  in 
the  world  visibly  contending  with  wrong  and  sin  ;  and,  as  the 
wrong  and  sin  are  manifest  to  his  soul-sight,  so  equally  does  he 
see  the  need,  yet  transiency  of  both.  But  matters,  which  to  his 
spiritualised  vision  were  clear,  must  be  placed  before  his  followers 
through  some  medium  which  shall,  like  an  optic  glass,  segregate 


BROWNING   CYCLOPAEDIA.  I2Q 

them,  diminish  them  into  clearness  ;  and  so  he  bids  them  stand 
before  that  fact,  that  Life  and  Death  of  Jesus  Christ,  till  it 
spreads  apart  like  a  star,  growing  and  opening  out  on  all  sides 
till  it  becomes  their  only  world,  as  it  is  his.  "  For  all  of  life,"  he 
says,  "is  summed  up  in  the  prize  of  learning  love,  and  having 
learnt  it,  to  hold  it  and  truth,  despite  the  world  in  arms  against  the 
holder.  We  can  need  no  second  proof  of  God's  love  for  man.  Man 
having  once  learned  the  use  of  fire,  would  not  part  with  the  gift 
for  purple  or  for  gold.  Were  the  worth  of  Christ  as  plain,  he 
could  not  give  up  Christ.  To  test  man,  the  proofs  of  Christianity 
shift ;  he  cannot  grasp  that  fact  as  he  grasps  the  fact  of  fire  and 
its  worth."  He  asks  his  disciples  "  why  they  say  it  was  easier 
to  believe  in  Christ  once  than  now — easier  when  He  walked  the 
earth  with  those  He  loved  ?  "  But,"  says  John,  who  had  seen  all, 
— the  transfiguration,  the  walking  on  the  sea,  the  raising  of  the 
dead  to  life, — "  could  it  be  possible  the  man  who  had  seen  these 
things  should  ever  part  from  them  ?  Yes,  it  was  !  The  torchlight, 
the  noise,  the  sudden  inrush  of  the  Roman  soldiers,  on  the  night 
of  the  betrayal,  caused  even  him,  John,  the  beloved  disciple,  to 
forsake  Him  and  fly.  Yet  he  had  gained  the  truth,  and  the  truth 
grew  in  his  soul,  so  that  he  was  enabled  to  impress  it  so 
indelibly  on  others,  that  children  and  women  who  had  never 
seen  the  least  of  the  sights  he  had  seen  would  clasp  their  cross 
with  a  light  laugh,  and  wrap  the  burning  robe  of  martyrdom 
round  them,  giving  thanks  to  God  the  while.  But  in  the  mind  of 
man  the  laws  of  development  are  ever  at  work,  and  questioners 
of  the  truth  arose,  and  it  was  necessary  that  he  should  re-state  the 
Lord's  life  and  work  in  various  ways,  to  rectify  mistakes.  God 
has  operated  in  the  way  of  Power,  later  in  the  way  of  Love,  and 
last  of  all  in  Influence  on  Soul :  men  do  not  ask  now,  "Where  is 
the  promise  of  His  coming  ?  "  but — 

"  Was  He  revealed  in  any  of  His  lives, 
As  Power,  as  Love,  as  Influencing  Soul  ?  " 

"Miracles,  to  prove  doctrine,"  John  says,  "go  for  nought,  but 
love  remains."  Then  men  ask,  "  Did  not  we  ourselves  imagine 
and  make  this  love  ?  "  (That  is  to  say,  love  having  been  dis- 
covered by  mankind  to  be  the  noblest  thing  on  earth,  have  not 
men  created  a  God  of  Infinite  Love,  out  of  their  own  passionate 
imagining  of,  what  man's  love  would  be  if  perfectly  developed  ?) 

9 


130  BROWNING  CYCLOPAEDIA. 

"  The  mind  of  man  can  only  receive  what  it  holds — no  more.' 
Man  projects  his  own  love  heavenward,  it  falls  back  upon  him 
in  another  shape — with  another  name  and  story  added ;  this,  he 
straightway  says,  is  a  gift  from  heaven.  Man  of  old  peopled 
heaven  with  gods,  all  of  whom  possessed  man's  attributes  ;  horses 
drew  the  sun  from  east  to  west.  Now,  we  say  the  sun  rises  and 
sets  as  if  impelled  by  a  hand  and  will,  and  it  is  only  thought  of 
is  so  impelled  because  we  ourselves  have  hands  and  wills.  But 
the  sun  must  be  driven  by  some  force  which  we  do  not  under- 
stand ;  will  and  love  we  do  understand.  As  man  grows  wiser 
the  passions  and  faculties  with  which  he  adorned  his  deities 
are  taken  away:  Jove  ot  old  had  a  brow,  Juno  had  eyes; 
gradually  there  remained  only  Jove's  wrath  and  Juno's  pride ;  in 
process  of  time  these  went  also,  till  now  we  recognise  will  and 
power  and  love  alone.  All  these  are  at  bottom  the  same — mere 
.projections  from  the  mind  of  the  man  himself.  Having  then 
stated  the  objections  brought  against  the  faith  of  Christ,  St.  John 
proceeds  to  meet  them.  "  Man,"  he  says,  "  was  made  to  grow, 
not  stop ;  the  help  he  needed  in  the  earlier  stages,  being  no 
longer  required,  is  withdrawn ;  his  new  needs  require  new  helps. 
When  we  plant  seed  in  the  ground  we  place  twigs  to  show 
•the  spots  whree  the  germs  lie  hidden,  so  that  they  may  not  be 
trodden  upon  by  careless  steps.  When  the  plants  spring  up  we 
^ake  the  twigs  away ;  they  no  longer  have  any  use.  It  was  thus 
•vith  the  growth  of  the  gospel  seed :  miracles  were  required  at 
Srst,  but,  when  the  plant  had  sprung  up  and  borne  fruit,  had 
produced  martyrs  and  heroes  of  the  faith,  what  was  the  use 
of  miracles  any  more  ?  The  fruit  itself  was  surely  sufficient 
testimony  to  the  vitality  of  the  seed.  Minds  at  first  must  be 
spoon-fed  with  truth,  as  babes  with  milk ;  a  boy  we  bid  feed 
himself,'' or  starve.  So,  at  first,  I  wrought  miracles  that  men 
might  believe  in  Christ,  because  no  faith  were  otherwise  possible ; 
miracles  now  would  compel,  not  help.  I  say  the  way  to  solve 
ill  questions  is  to  accept  by  the  reason  the  Christ  of  God ;  the 
sole  death  is  when  a  man's  loss  comes  to  him  from  his  gain, 
when — from  the  light  given  to  him — he  extracts  darkness  ;  from 
the  knowledge  poured  upon  him  he  produces  ignorance  ;  and 
from  the  manifestation  of  love  elaborates  the  lack  of  love.  Too 
much  oil  is  the  lamp's  death ;  it  chokes  with  what  would  other- 
wise feed  the  flame.  An  overcharged  stomach  starves.  The 


BROWNING   CYCLOPAEDIA.  13 1 

man  who  rejects  Christ  because  he  thinks  the  love  of  Christ  is 
only  a  projection  of  his  own  is  like  a  lamp  that  overswims  with 
oil,  a  stomach  overloaded  with  nurture;  that  man's  soul  dies. 
"But,"  the  objector  may  say,  "You  told  your  Christ-story  in- 
correctly :  what  is  the  good  of  giving  knowledge  at  all  if  you  give 
it  in  a  manner  which  will  not  stop  the  after-doubt  ?  Why  breed 
in  us  perplexity  ?  why  not  tell  the  whole  truth  in  proper  words  ?  " 
To  this  St.  John  replies,  "Man  of  necessity  must  pass  from 
mistake  to  fact ;  he  is  not  perfect  as  God  is,  nor  as  is  the  beast ; 
lower  than  God,  he  is  higher  than  the  beast,  and  higher  because 
he  progresses, — he  yearns  to  gain  truth,  catching  at  mistake.  The 
statuary  has  the  idea  in  his  mind,  aspires  to  produce  it,  and  so 
calls  his  shape  from  out  the  clay  : 

"  Cries  ever,  '  Now  I  have  the  thing  I  see  ' : 
Yet  all  the  while  goes  changing  what  was  wrought, 
From  falsehood  like  the  truth,  to  truth  itself." 

Suppose  he  had  complained,  '  I  see  no  face,  no  breast,  no  feet '  ? 
It  is  only  God  who  makes  the  live  shape  at  a  jet.  Striving  to 
reach  his  ideals,  man  grows ;  ceasing  to  strive,  he  forfeits  his 
highest  privileges,  and  entails  the  certainty  of  destruction.  Pro- 
gress is  the  essential  law  of  man's  being,  and  progress  by  mistake, 
by  failure,  by  unceasing  effort,  will  lead  him, 

"  Where  law,  life,  joy,  impulse  are  one  thing  I  " 

Such  is  the  difficulty  of  the  latest  time ;  so  does  the  aged  saint 
answer  it.  He  would  remain  on  earth  another  hundred  years, 
he  says,  to  lend  his  struggling  brothers  his  help  to  save  them 
from  the  abyss.  But  even  as  he  utters  the  loving  desire,  he  is 
dead, 

"  Breast  to  breast  with  God,  as  once  he  lay." 

They  buried  him  that  night,  and  the  teller  of  the  story  returned, 
disguised,  to  Ephesus.  St.  John  is  said  to  have  been  banished 
into  the  Isle  of  Patmos,  A.D.  97,  by  the  order  of  Domitian.  After 
this  emperor  had  reigned  fifteen  years  Nerva  succeeded  him 
(A.D.  99),  and  historians  of  the  period  wrote  that  "  the  Roman 
senate  decreed  that  the  honours  paid  to  Domitian  should  cease, 
and  such  as  were  injuriously  exiled  should  return  to  their  native 
land  and  receive  their  substance  again.  It  is  also  among  the 
ancient  traditions,  that  then  John  the  Apostle  returned  from 


132  BROWNING   CYCLOPAEDIA. 

banishment  and  dwelt  again  at  Ephesus."    Eusebius,  quoting 

from  Irenaeus,  says  that  John  after    his   return  from   Patmos 

Dverned  the  churches  in  Asia,  and  remained  with  them  in  the 

me  of  Trajan.     Irenaeus  also  says  that  the  Apostle  carried  on 

Ephesus  the  work  begun  by  Paul;  Clement  of  Alexandria 

cords  the  same  thing.     It  is  said  that  St.  John  died  in  peace 

t  Ephesus  in  the  third  year  of  Trajan — that  is,  the  hundredth  ot 

he  Christian  era,  or  the  sixty-sixth  from  our  Lord's  crucifixion, 

the  saint  being  then  about  ninety-four  years  old ;  he  was  buried 

on   a  mountain   without  the  town.      A  stately    church    stood 

formerly  over  this  tomb,  which  is  at  present  a  Turkish  mosque. 

The  sojourn  of  the  Apostle  in  Asia,  a  country  governed  by  Magi 

and  imbued  with  Zoroastrian  ideas,  and  in  those  days  full  of 

Buddhist  missionaries,  may  account  for  many  things  found  in 

the  Book  of  Revelation.     Mr.  Browning  refers   to  this  in  the 

bracketed  portion  of  the  poem,  commencing : — 

"  This  is  the  doctrine  he  was  wont  to  teach, 
How  divers  persons  witness  in  each  man, 
Three  souls  which  make  up  one  soul." 

They  are  described  by  Theosophists  as  (i)  The  fluidic  perisoul 
or  astral  body ;  (2)  The  soul  or  individual ;  and  (3)  The  spirit, 
or  Divine  Father  and  life  of  his  system."  (See  The  Perfect  Way, 
Lecture  I.,  9.)  These  three  souls  make  up,  with  the  material 
-body,  the  fourfold  nature  of  man. 

NOTES. — Pamphylax  the  Anliochene^  an  imaginary  person. 
Epsilon,  Mu,  Xi,  letters  of  the  Greek  alphabet — e,  m,  and  ch 
respectively.  Xanthus  and  Valens,  disciples  of  St.  John. 
Bactrian,  of  Bactria,  a  province  in  Persia.  "  A  ball  of  nard"  an 
unguent  of  spikenard,  odorous  and  highly  aromatic  and  restora- 
tive. Glossa,  a  commentary.  Theotypas,  a  fictitious  character. 
Prometheus,  son  of  the  Titan  lapetus  and  the  Ocean-nymph 
Clymene,  brother  of  Atlas,  Mencetius,  and  Epimetheus,  and  father 
of  Deucalion.  When  Zeus  refused  to  mortals  the  use  of  fire, 
Prometheus  stole  it  from  Olympus,  and  brought  it  to  men  in  a 
hollow  reed.  Zeus  bound  him  to  a  pillar,  with  an  eagle  to 
consume  in  the  daytime  his  liver,  which  grew  again  in  the  night. 
jEschylus,  the  earliest  of  the  three  great  tragic  poets  of  Greece, 
born  at  Eleusis,  near  Athens,  B.C.  525.  He  wrote  the  Prometheus 
Bound.  Ebion,  the  founder  of  the  early  sect  of  heretics  called 


Dev]  BROWNING   CYCLOPAEDIA.  133 

Ebionites.  They  held  that  the  Mosaic  law  was  binding  on 
Christians,  and  believed  Jesus  to  have  been  a  mere  man,  though 
an  ambassador  from  God  and  possessed  of  Divine  power  (Encyc. 
Diet,}.  Cerinthus  raised  great  disturbances  in  obstinately  defend- 
ing an  obligation  of  circumcision,  and  of  abstaining  from  unclean 
meats  in  the  New  Law,  and  in  extolling  the  angels  as  the  authors 
of  nature :  this  was  before  St.  Paul  wrote  his  Epistle  to  the 
Colossians,  etc.  He  pretended  that  the  God  of  the  Jews  was 
only  an  angel;  that  Jesus  was  born  of  Joseph  and  Mary,  like 
other  men.  He  taught  that  Christ  flew  away  at  the  time  of  the 
crucifixion,  and  that  Jesus  in  the  human  part  of  His  nature 
alone  suffered  and  rose  again,  Christ  continuing  always  immortal 
and  impassible.  St.  Irenseus  relates  that  on  one  occasion,  when 
St.  John  went  to  the  public  baths,  he  found  that  this  heretic  was 
within,  and  he  refused  to  remain  lest  the  bath  which  contained 
Cerinthus  should  fall  upon  his  head. 

"  De  Ghistibus "  \De  Gustibus  non  disputandum — "  there 

is  no  accounting  for  tastes."]  (Men  and  Women,  1855  ;  Lyrics, 
1863  ;  Dramatic  Lyrics,  1868.)  Every  lover  of  Nature  finds  some 
particular  kind  of  scenery  which  most  appeals  to  his  heart,  and 
to  which  his  thoughts  revert  in  moments  of  reflection  and  medi- 
tation. The  poet  tells  the  lover  of  trees  that  after  death  (if  loves 
persist)  his  ghost  will  be  found  wandering  in  an  English  lane  by 
a  hazel  coppice  in  beanflower  and  blackbird  time.  For  his  own 
part,  he  loves  best  in  all  the  world  the  scenery  of  his  beloved 
Italy — a  castle  on  a  precipice  in  "  the  wind-grieved  Apennine  " ; 
and  if  ever  he  gets  his  head  out  of  the  grave  and  his  spirit  soars 
free,  he  will  be  away  to  the  sunny  South,  by  the  cypress  guarding 
the  seaside  home,  where  scorpions  sprawl  on  frescoed  walls  ;  in 
41  Italy,  my  Italy," — which  beloved  name  he  declares  will  be  found 
graven  on  his  heart. 

De  Lorge.  (The  Glove.)  Sir  de  Lorge  was  the  knight  who 
recovered  his  lady's  glove  from  the  lions,  amongst  which  she 
had  cast  it  to  test  his  courage,  and  then  threw  it  in  her  face. 

Development.  (Asolando,  i%&).)  Mr.  Sharp,  in  his  admirable 
Life  of  Browning,  says  that  the  poet's  father  was  a  man  of 
exceptional  powers.  He  was  a  poet  both  in  sentiment  and  ex- 
pression ;  and  he  understood,  as  well  as  enjoyed,  the  excellent 
in  art.  He  was  a  scholar,  too,  in  a  reputable  fashion  ;  not  indif- 
ferent to  what  he  had  learnt  in  his  youth,  nor  heedless  of  the 


134  BROWNING   CYCLOPAEDIA.  s 

high  opinion  generally  entertained  for  the  greatest  writers  of 
antiquity,  but  with  a  particular  care  himself  for  Horace  and 
Anacreon.  As  his  son  once  told  a  friend,  "  The  old  gentleman's 
brain  was  a  storehouse  of  literary  and  philosophical  antiquities. 
He  was  completely  versed  in  mediaeval  legend,  and  seemed  to 
have  known  Paracelsus,  Faustus,  and  even  Talmudic  personages, 
personally."  Development,  indeed !  That  the  embryonic  mediaeval 
lore  of  the  banker's  clerk  should  have  potentially  contained  the 
treasures  of  Paracelsus,  Sordello,  and  Rabbi  Ben  Hakkadosh,  is 
as  wonderful  as  that  the  primary  cell  should  contain  the  force 
which  gathers  to  itself  the  man. 

NOTES. — Philip  Karl  Buttmann  was  a  distinguished  German 
philologist,  born  at  Frankfort-on-the-Main,  1764,  and  died  at 
Berlin,  1829.  He  studied  at  Gottingen,  and  in  1796  was  ap- 
pointed secretary  of  the  Royal  Library  at  Berlin.  His  fame  rests 
on  his  Griechische  Grammatik,  the  Atisfuhrliche  Griechische 
Sprachlehre,  and  the  Lexilogus  oder  Beitrdge  zur  Griechischen 
Worterklarung.  These  works  are  ranked  highly  for  their  exact 
criticism.  He  brought  out  valuable  editions  of  Plato's  Dialogues 
and  the  Meidias  of  Demosthenes.  Fried-rich  August  Wolf, 
the  great  critic,  was  born  atHaynrode,  near  Nordhausen,  in  1759; 
he  died  in  1824.  He  studied  philology  at  Gottingen,  and  pub- 
lished an  edition  of  Shakespeare's  Macbeth,  with  notes,  in  1778. 
He  filled  the  chair  of  philology  and  pedagogial  science  at  Halle 
for  twenty-three  years.  In  1806  he  repaired  to  Berlin.  His  fame 
chiefly  rests  on  his  Prolegomena  in  Homerum,  which  was 
devoted  to  the  argument  that  the  Iliad  and  the  Odyssey 
are  not  the  work  of  one  single  and  individual  Homer,  but  a  much 
later  compilation  of  hymns  sung  and  handed  down  by  oral  tradi- 
tion. Its  effect  was  overwhelming.  Stagitite  =  Aristotle.  "  The 
Ethics "  =  the  Nicomachean  Ethics,  the  great  work  of  Aristotle. 
"Battle  of  the  Frogs  and  Mice"  a  mock  epic  attributed  to 
Homer.  "  Jhe  Margites"  a  humorous  poem,  which  kept  its 
ground  down  to  the  time  of  Aristotle  as  the  work  of  Homer ;  it 
began  with  the  words,  "  There  came  to  Colophon  an  old  man,  a 
divine  singer,  servant  of  the  Muses  and  Apollo." 

Dis  Aliter  Visnm;  or,  Le  Byron  de  Nos  Jonrs.  "Dis 
aliter  visum  "  is  from  Virgil,  AZn.  ii.  428,  and  means  "  Heaven 
thought  not  so."  (Dramatis  Persona,  1864.)  The  poem  de* 
scribes  a  meeting  of  two  friends  after  a  parting  of  ten  years. 


Pis]  BROWNING    CYCLOPAEDIA.  135 

They  should  have  been  more  than  friends  :  they  were  made 
for  each  other's  love ;  but  love  came  in  a  guise  which  was 
not  acceptable,  and  the  heart  which  the  man  might  have  won, 
and  the  love  which  would  have  blessed  him  and  ennobled  his 
life,  was  for  reasons  of  prudence  disregarded,  and  both  lovers 
went  their  way,  having  missed  their  life's  chance.  It  is  the 
woman  who  speaks — the  "poor,  pretty,  thoughtful  thing"  of 
other  days ;  a  woman  who  tried  to  love  and  understand  ar 
and  literature — to  love  all,  at  any  rate,  that  was  great  and 
good  and  beautiful.  She  wonders  if  he — the  man  who  migln 
have  completed  his  partial  life  with  a  great  love — ever  for  c. 
moment  valued  her  rightly,  and  determined  that  "  love  foun  i! 
gained  and  kept,"  was  for  him  beyond  art  and  sense  and  fame  '- 
She  was  young  and  inexperienced  in  the  world's  ways ;  he  was 
old  and  full  of  wisdom  :  too  wise,  perhaps,  to  see  where  his  best 
interests  lay.  It  would  never  do,  he  thought — a  match  "  'twixt 

one  bent,  wigged  and  lamed and  this  young  beauty,  round 

and  sound  as  a  mountain  apple."  And  so  they  parted.  He 
chose  a  lower  ideal,  st?  married  where  she  could  not  love;  so 
the  devil  laughed  in  his  sleeve,  for  not  two  only,  but  four  souls 
were  in  jeopardy. 

The  poem  is  a  good  example  of  the  poet's  way  of  drawing 
from  a  half-serious,  half-bantering  and  indifferent  confession 
of  thoughts  and  feelings  one  of  his  great  moral  lessons.  It  has 
been  compared  to  what  is  termed  vers  de  societe,  and  as  such, 
up  to  stanza  xxiii.,  it  may  be  fitly  described ;  then  comes 
Mr.  Browning's  sudden  uprising  to  his  highest  power.  It  is  as 
though  he  had  lightly  touched  on  the  ways  of  men,  and  discussed 
them  half-play  fully  with  some  light-hearted,  not  to  say  frivolous, 
audience  in  a  drawing-room.  The  listeners  stand  smiling,  and 
speculating  as  to  his  real  meaning,  when  all  at  once  he  rises  from 
his  chair  and  brings  in  a  moment  before  the  thoughtless  group  of 
listeners  the  great  and  awful  import  of  life,  and  the  real  meaning 
of  the  things  which  men  call  trifles,  but  which  in  God's  sight  are 
big  with  the  interests  of  Eternity.  So,  in  this  poem  he  leads  us 
from  pretty  talk  of  "  Heine  for  songs  and  kisses,"  "  gout,  glory, 
and  love  freaks,  love's  dues,  and  consols,"  to  one  of  his  grandest 
life-lessons — the  necessary  incompleteness  of  all  human  exist- 
ence here,  because  heaven  must  finish  what  earth  can  never 
complete, — the  supreme  evolution  of  the  soul  of  man.  Earth 


136  BROWNING   CYCLOPAEDIA.  [Dja 

completes  her  star-fishes;  Heaven  itself  could  make  no  more 
perfect  or  more  beautiful  star-fish : 

"  He,  whole  in  body  and  soul,  outstrips 
Man,  found  with  either  in  default.'^ 

The  star-fish  is  whole.  What  is  whole  can  increase  no  more. 
It  has  nothing  to  do  but  waste  and  die,  and  there  is  an  end  of  it, 

"  Leave  Now  for  dogs  and  apes ! 
Man  has  Forever." 

On  the  side  of  the  man  in  the  poem  it  could  be  fairly  argued  that 
a  more  unreasonable  match  could  hardly  be  imagined  than  one 
between  a  "  bent,  wigged  and  lame  "  old  gentleman  and  a  "poor, 
pretty,  thoughtful "  young  beauty,  notwithstanding  her  offer  of 
body  and  soul. 

NOTES. — viii.,  Robert  Schumann,  musical  critic  and  com- 
poser: was  born  1810,  died  1856.  Jean  August  Dominique 
Ingres  (born  1780,  died  1867).  "The  modern  man  that  paints," 
a  celebrated  historical  painter,  a  pupil  of  David.  He  was  op- 
posed to  the  Romantic  School,  and  depended  for  success  on 
form  and  line.  "  His  paintings,  with  all  their  cleverness,  appear 
to  English  eyes  deficient  in  originality  of  conception,  coarse,  hard 
and  artificial  in  manner,  and  untrue  in  colour  "  (Imp.  Diet.  Biog.\ 
xii.,  "  The  Fortieth  spare  Arm-chair'"  This  refers  to  the 
French  Academy,  founded  by  Richelieu  in  1635.  When  one  of 
the  forty  members  dies  a  new  one  is  elected  to  fill  his  place. 

Djabal.  (Return  of  the  Druses.}  The  son  of  the  Emir,  who 
seeks  revenge  for  the  murder  of  his  family,  and  declares  himself 
to  be  the  Hakim — who  is  to  set  the  Druse  people  free.  He 
loves  the  maiden  Anael,  and  when  she  dies  stabs  himself  on 
her  dead  body. 

Doctor .  (Dramatic  Idyls,  Second  Series,  1880.)  A  Rab- 
binical story.  Satan,  as  in  the  opening  scene  of  Job,  stands  with 
the  angels  before  God  to  make  his  complaints.  Asked  "  What 
is  the  fault  now  ? "  he  declares  that  he  has  found  something  on 
earth  which  interferes  with  his  prerogatives  : — 

"  Death  is  the  strongest-born  of  Hell,  and  yet 
Stronger  than  Death  is  a  Bad  Wife,  we  know." 

Satan  protests  that  this  robs  him  of  his  rights,  as  he  claims 
to  be  Strongest.  He  is  commanded  to  descend  to  earth  in 


DOC]  BROWNING   CYCLOPAEDIA.  137 

mortal  shape  and  get  married,  and  so  try  for  himself  the  bitter 
-draught.  It  was  Solomon  who  said  that  "a  woman  whose 
heart  is  snares  and  nets  is  more  bitter  than  death  "  (Ecclesiastes 
vii.  27),  and  some  commentators  on  the  poem  have  thought  the 
Rabbinical  legend  was  suggested  by  this  verse.  Satan,  married^ 
in  due  time  has  a  son  who  arrives  at  maturity,  and  then  the 
question  arises  of  a  profession  for  him :  "  I  needs  must  teach 
my  son  a  trade."  Shall  he  be  a  soldier  ?  That  is  too  cowardly. 
A  lawyer  would  be  better,  but  there  is  too  much  hard  work  for 
the  sluggard.  There's  divinity,  but  that  is  Satan's  own  special 
lint^  and  that  be  far  from  his  poor  offspring !  At  last  he  thinks 
of  the  profession  of  medicine.  Physic  is  the  very  thing !  So 
Medicus  he  is  appointed ;  and  it  is  arranged  that  a  special  power 
shall  be  given  to  the  young  doctor's  eyes,  so  that  when  on  his 
•rounds  he  shall  behold  the  spirit-person  of  his  father  at  his  side. 
Doctor  once  dubbed,  ignorance  shall  be  no  barrier  to  his 
success ;  cash  shall  follow,  whatever  the  treatment,  and  fees 
shall  pour  in.  Satan  tells  his  son  that  the  reason  he  has 
•endowed  him  with  power  to  recognise  his  spirit-form  is  that  he 
'may  judge  by  Death's  position  in  the  sick  room  what  are  the 
iprospects  of  the  patient's  recovery.  If  he  perceive  his  father 
lingering  by  the  door,  whatever  the  nature  of  the  illness  recovery 
will  be  speedy ;  if  higher  up  the  room,  death  will  not  be  the 
sufferer's  doom ;  but  if  he  is  discovered  standing  by  the  head  of 
the  bed's  the  patient's  doom  is  sealed.  It  happened  that  of  a 
sudden  the  emperor  himself  was  smitten  with  sore  disease.  Of 

course  Dr. was  called  in  and  promised  large  rewards  if  he 

saved  the  imperial  life.  As  he  entered  the  room  he  saw  at  once 
that  all  was  lost:  there  stood  his  father  Death  as  sentry  at 
the  bed's  head.  Gold  was  offered  in  abundance ;  the  doctor 
begged  his  father  to  go  away  and  let  him  win  his  fee.  "  No  inch 
I  budge ! "  is  the  response.  Then  honours  are  offered  him 
whom  apparently  wealth  failed  to  tempt.  The  result  is  the  same. 
Then  Love:  "Take  my  daughter  as  thy  bride — save  me  for  this 
reward!"  The  Doctor  again  implores  a  respite  from  his  father, 
who  is  obdurate  as  ever.  A  thought  strikes  the  physician  : 
"Reverse  the  bed,  so  that  Death  no  longer  stands  at  the  head  ;" 
tout  "  the  Antic  passed  from  couch-foot  back  to  pillow,"  and  ie& 
master  of  the  situation  again.  The  son  now  curses  his  father,  and 
declares  that  he  will  go  over  to  the  other  side.  He  sends  to  his 


138  BROWNING   CYCLOPAEDIA.  [Dom 

home  fof  tne  mystic  Jacob's-staff — a  knobstick  of  proved  efficacy 
in  such  cases.  "Go,  bid  my  mother  (Satan's  wife,  be  it  re- 
membered) bring  the  stick  herself."  The  servant  rushes  off  to  do 
his  errand,  and  all  the  anxious  while  the  emperor  sink's  lower  and 
lower,  as  the  icy  breath  of  Death  freezes  him  to  the  marrow.  All 
at  once  the  door  of  the  sick  room  opens,  and  there  enters  to 
Satan  "Who  but  his  Wife  the  Bad?"  The  devil  goes  off 
through?the  ceiling,  leaving  a  sulphury  smell  behind ;  and,  "  Hail 
to  the  Doctor ! "  the  imperial  patient  straightway  recovers.  In 
gratitude  he  offers  him  the  promised  daughter  and  her  dowry ; 
but  the  Doctor  refuses  the  fee — ' '  No  dowry,  no  bad  wife !  "  If 
this  Talmudic  legend  has  any  relation  to  Solomon,  it  is  well  to 
bear  in  mind  that  his  bitter  experience,  as  St.  Jerome  says,  was 
due  to  the  fact  that  no  one  ever  fell  a  victim  to  impurer  loves 
than  he.  He  married  strange  women,  was  deluded  by  them, 
and  erected  temples  to  their  respective  idols.  His  opinion, 
therefore,  on  marriage  as  we  understand  it  is  of  little  im- 
portance to  us. 

Dominus  Hyacinthus  De  Archangelis.  (The  Ring  and  the 
Book?)  The  procurator  or  counsel  for  the  poor,  who  defends 
Count  Guido  in  the  eighth  book  of  the  poem. 

Domizia  (Lurid),  a  noble  lady  of  Florence.  She  is  loved  by 
the  Moorish  captain  Luria,  who  commanded  the  army  of  the 
Florentines.  Domizia  was  greatly  embittered  against  the  re- 
public for  its  ingratitude  to  her  two  brothers — Porzio  and  Berto 
— and  hoped  to  be  revenged  for  their  deaths. 

Don  Juan.  (Fifine  at  the  Fair.}  The  husband  of  the  poem  is 
a  philosophical  study  of  the  Don  Juan  of  Moliere.  He  is  full 
of  sophistries,  and  an  adept  in  the  art  of  making  the  worse 
appear  the  better  reason.  In  Moliere's  play  Juan's  valet  thus 
describes  his  master:  "You  see  in  Don  Juan  the  greatest 
scoundrel  the  earth  has  ever  borne — &  madman,  a  dog,  a  demon, 
a  Turk,  a  heretic — who  believes  neither  in  heaven,  hell,  nor 
devil,  who  passes  his  life  simply  as  a  brute  beast,  a  pig  of 
an  epicure,  a  true  Sardanapalus ;  who  closes  his  ear  to  every 
remonstrance  which  can  be  made  to  him,  and  treats  as  idle  talk 
all  that  we  hold- sacred." 

Donald.  (Jocose)  ia,  1883.)  The  story  of  the  poem  is  a  true 
one,  and  is  told  by  Sir  Walter  Scott,  in  The  Keepsake  for  1832, 
pp.  283-6.  The  following  abridgement  of  the  account  is  from 


Don]  BROWNING    CYCLOPEDIA.  139 

the  Browning  Society's  Notes  and  Queries,  No.  209,  p.  328 : 
"...  The  story  is  an  old  but  not  an  ancient  one :  the  actor  and 
sufferer  was  not  a  very  aged  man,  when  I  heard  the  anecdote 
in  my  early  youth.  Duncan  (for  so  I  shall  call  him)  had  been 
engaged  in  the  affair  of  1746,  with  others  of  his  clan;  ...  on 
the  one  side  of  his  body  he  retained  the  proportions  and  firmness 
of  an  active  mountaineer ;  on  the  other  he  was  a  disabled  cripple, 
scarce  able  to  limp  along  the  streets.  The  cause  which  reduced 
him  to  this  state  of  infirmity  was  singular.  Twenty  years  or 
more  before  I  knew  Duncan  he  assisted  his  brothers  in  farming 
a  large  grazing  in  the  Highlands.  ...  It  chanced  that  a  sheep 
or  goat  was  missed  from  the  flock,  and  Duncan  .  .  .  went  him- 
self in  quest  of  the  fugitive.  In  the  course  of  his  researches  he 
was  induced  to  ascend  a  small  and  narrow  path,  leading  to  the 
top  of  a  high  precipice.  ...  It  was  not  much  more  than  two 
feet  broad,  so  rugged  and  difficult,  and  at  the  same  time  so 
-terrible,  that  it  would  have  been  impracticable  to  any  but  the 
light  step  and  steady  brain  of  the  Highlander.  The  precipice 
on  the  right  rose  like  a  wall,  and  on  the  left  sank  to  a  depth  which 
it  was  giddy  to  look  down  upon.  .  .  .  He  had  more  than  half 
ascended  the  precipice,  when  in  midway  ...  he  encountered  a 
buck  of  the  red-deer  species  coming  down  the  cliff  by  the  same 
path  in  an  opposite  direction.  .  .  .  Neither  party  had  the  power 
of  retreating,  for  the  stag  had  not  room  to  turn  himself  in  the 
narrow  path,  and  if  Duncan  had  turned  his  back  to  go  down,  he 
knew  enough  of  the  creature's  habits  to  be  certain  that  he  would 
rush  upon  him  while  engaged  in  the  difficulties  of  the  retreat 
They  stood  therefore  perfectly  still,  and  looked  at  each  other  in 
mutual  embarrassment  for  some  space.  At  length  the  deer,  which 
was  of  the  largest  size,  began  to  lower  his  formidable  antlers,  as 
they  do  when  they  are  brought  to  bay.  .  .  .  Duncan  saw  the 
danger  .  .  .  and,  as  a  last  resource,  stretched  himself  on  the  little 
ledge  of  rock  . .  .  not  making  the  least  motion,  for  fear  of  alarming 
the  animal.  They  remained  in  this  posture  for  three  or  four 
hours.  ...  At  length  the  buck  .  .  .  approached  towards  Duncan 
very  slowly  ...  he  came  close  to  the  Highlander  .  .  .  when 
the  devil,  or  the  untameable  love  of  sport,  .  .  .  began  to  over- 
come Duncan's  fears.  Seeing  the  animal  proceed  so  gently,  he 
totally  forgot  not  only  the  dangers  of  his  position,  but  the  implicit 
compact  which  certainly  might  have  been  inferred  from  the  cir- 


140  BROWNING   CYCLOPAEDIA.  [D'OF 

cumstances  of  the  situation.  With  one  hand  Duncan  seized  the 
deer's  horn,  whilst  with  the  other  he  drew  his  dirk.  But  in 
the  same  instant  the  buck  bounded  over  the  precipice,  carrying 
the  Highlander  along  with  him.  .  .  .  Fortune  . .  .  ordered  that  the 
deer  should  fall  undermost,  rand  be  killed  on  the  spot,  while 
Duncan  escaped  with  life,  but  with  the  fracture  of  a  leg,  an  arm, 
and  three  ribs.  ...  I  never  could  approve  of  Duncan's  conduct 
towards  the  deer  in  a  moral  point  of  view,  .  .  .  but  the  tempta- 
tion of  a  hart  of  grease  offering,  as  it  were,  his  throat  to  the  knife, 
would  have  subdued  the  virtue  of  almost  any  deer  stalker.  .  .  . 
I  have  given  you  the  story  exactly  as  I  recollect  it."  As  the 
practice  of  medicine  does  not  necessarily  make  a  man  merciful, 
so  neither  does  sport  necessarily  imply  manliness  and  nobility  of 
soul.  In  both  cases  there  is  a  strong  tendency  for  the  professional 
to  be  considered  the  right  view.  In  the  story  we  have  the  stag, 
after  four  hours'  consideration,  offering  terms  of  agreement  which 
Donald  accepted  and  then  treacherously  broke.  The  animal 
broke  Donald's  fall,  yet  he  has  no  gratitude  for  its  having  thus 
saved  his  life.  As  one  of  the  poems  covered  by  the  question 

in  the  prologue,  "  Wanting  is  What?"  we  should  reply, 

Honour  and  humanity. 

D'Ormea.  {King  Victor  and  King  Charles?)  He  was  the  un- 
scrupulous minister  of  King  Victor.  He  became  necessary  to 
King  Charles  when  he  received  the  crown  on  his  father's  abdica- 
tion, and  was  active  in  defeating  the  attempt  of  the  latter  to 
recover  his  crown. 

Dramas.  For  the  Stage  :  A  Blot  in  the  'Scutcheon,  Colombe's 
Birthday,  Strafford,  Luria,  In  a  Balcony,  The  Return  of  the 
Druses.  For  the  Study  :  Pippa  Passes,  King  Victor  and  King 
Charles,  A  Soul's  Tragedy,  and  Paracelsus.  A  Blot  in  the 
'Scutcheon,  Straff ord,  Colombe's  Birthday,  and  In  a  Balcony,  have 
all  been  recently  performed  in  London,  under  the  direction  of 
the  Browning  Society,  greatly  to  the  gratification  of  the  spectators 
who  were  privileged  to  attend  these  special  performances. 
Whether  such  dramas  would  be  likely  to  attract  audiences  from 
the  general  public  for  any  length  of  time  is,  however,  extremely 
problematical.  Mr.  Browning's  poetry  is  of  too  subjective  and 
psychological  a  character  to  be  popular  on  the  stage. 

Dramatic  Idyls  (1879-80).  Series  L:  Martin  Relph,  Phei- 
dippides,  Halbert  and  Hob,  Ivan  Ivanovitch,  Tray,  Ned  Bratts ; 


BROWNING   CYCLOPEDIA.  14! 

Series  II.  :  Proem,  Echetlos,  Clive,  Muleykeh,  Pietro  of  Abano, 
Doctor ,  Pan  and  Luna,  Epilogue. 

Dramatic  Lyrics.  (Bells  and  Pomegranates,  No.  III.,  1842.) 
Cavalier  Tunes  :  i.,  Marching  Along  ;  ii.,  Give  a  Rouse ;  in.,  My 
Wife  Gertrude.  Italy  and  France:  i.,  Italy;  ii.,  France.  Camp 
and  Cloister :  i.,  Camp  (French) ;  ii.,  Cloister  (Spanish) ;  In  a 
Gondola,  Artemis  Prologizes,  Waring.  Queen  Worship  :  i., 
Rudel  and  the  Lady  of  Tripoli ;  ii.,  Cristina.  Madhouse  Cells : 
i.,  Johannes  Agricola  ;  ii.,  Porphyria.  Through  the  Metidja,  The 
Pied  Piper  of  Hamelin. 

Dramatic  Monologue.  Mr.  Browning  has  so  excelled  in  this 
particular  kind  of  poetry  that  it  may  be  fitly  called  a  novelty  of 
his  invention.  The  dramatic  monologue  is  quite  different  from 
the  soliloquy.  In  the  latter  case  the  speaker  delivers  his  own 
thoughts,  uninterrupted  by  objections  or  the  propositions  of  other 
persons.  "  In  the  dramatic  monologue  the  presence  of  a  silent 
second  person  is  supposed,  to  whom  the  arguments  of  the 
speaker  are  addressed.  It  is  obvious  that  the  dramatic  mono- 
logue gains  over  the  soliloquy,  in  that  it  allows  the  artist  greater 
room  in  which  to  work  out  his  conceptions  of  character.  The 
thoughts  of  a  man  in  self-communion  are  apt  to  run  in  a  certain 
circle,  and  to  assume  a  monotony  "  (Professor  Johnson,  M.A.). 
This  supposed  second  person  serves  to  "  draw  out >?  the  speaker 
and  to  stimulate  the  imagination  of  the  reader.  Bishop  Blou- 
gram's  Apology  is  an  admirable  example  of  this  form  of 
literature,  where  Mr.  Gigadibs,  the  critic  of  Bishop  Blougram, 
is  the  silent  second  person  above  referred  to. 

Dramatic  Romances  and  Lyrics.  (Bells  and  Pomegranates, 
No.  VII. :  1845.)  How  they  Brought  the  Good  News,  Pictor 
Ignotus,  Italy  in  England,  England  in  Italy,  The  Lost  Leader, 
The  Lost  Mistress,  Home  Thoughts  from  Abroad,  The  Tomb 
at  St.  Praxed's ;  Garden  Fancies :  i.  The  Flower's  Name ; 
ii.  Sibrandus  Schafnaburgensis.  France  and  Spain:  i.  The 
Laboratory ;  ii.  The  Confessional.  The  Flight  of  the  Duchess, 
Earth's  Immortalities,  Song,  The  Boy  and  the  Angel,  Night 
and  Morning,  Claret  and  Tokay,  Saul,  Time's  Revenges,  The 
Glove. 

Dramatis  Personae  (1864).  James  Lee,  Gold  Hair,  The 
Worst  of  it,  Dis  Aliter  Visum,  Too  Late,  Abt  Vogler,  Rabbi  Ben 
Ezra,  A  Death  in  the  Desert,  Caliban  upon  Setebos,  Confessions, 


I42  BROWNING   CYCLOPAEDIA.  [Dub 

May  and  Death,  Prospice,  Youth  and  Art,  A  Face,  A  Likeness, 
Mr.  Sludge,  Apparent  Failure,  Epilogue. 

Dubiety.  (Asolando,  1889.)  Richardson  said  that  "a  state 
of  dubiety  and  suspense  is  ever  accompanied  with  uneasiness. ' 
Sleep,  if  sound,  is  restful ;  but  the  poet  asks  for  comfort,  and  to 
be  comfortable  implies  a  certain  amount  of  consciousness — 
a  dreamy,  hazy  sense  of  being  in  "  luxury's  sofa-lap."  An 
English  lady  once  asked  a  British  tar  in  the  Bay  of  Malaga,  one 
lovely  November  day,  if  he  were  not  happy  to  think  he  was  out 
of  foggy  England — at  least  in  autumn  ?  The  sailor  protested 
there  was  nothing  he  disliked  so  much  as  "  the  everlasting  blue 
sky  "  of  the  Mediterranean,  and  there  was  nothing  he  longed  fof 
so  much  as  "a  good  Thames  fog."  So  the  poet  here  demands, 

"Just  a  cloud, 
Suffusing  day  too  clear  and  bright." 

He  does  not  wish  to  be  shrouded,  as  the  sailor  did,  but  his  idea 
of  comfort  is  that  the  world's  busy  thrust  should  be  shaded  by 
a  "gauziness"  at  least.  Vivid  impressions  are  always  more  or 
less  painful :  they  strike  the  senses  too  acutely,  as  "  the  eternal 
blue  sky  "  of  the  south  is  too  trying  for  English  eyes.  As  such 
a  light  is  sometimes  too  stimulating,  so  even  too  much  intellec- 
tual light  may  be  painful ;  a  "  gauziness,"  a  "  dreaming's  vapour 
wreath  "  is  to  the  overwrought  brain  of  the  thinker  happiness 
"just  for  once.''  In  the  dim  musings,  neither  dream  nor  vision, 
but  just  a  memory,  comes  the  face  of  the  woman  he  had  loved 
and  lost,  the  memory  of  her  kiss,  the  impress  of  the  lips  of 
Truth,  "  for  love  is  Truth." 

Eagle,  The.  (Ferishtah's  Fancies  :  I.  "  On  Divine  Providence.") 
The  story  is  taken  from  the  fable  of  Pilpai  (or  Bidpai,  as  is  the 
more  correct  form),  called  The  Dervish,  the  Falcon  and  the  Raven. 
A  father  told  a  young  man  that  all  effects  have  their  causes,  and 
he  who  relies  upon  Providence  without  considering  these  had 
need  to  be  instructed  by  the  following  fable  : — 

"  A  certain  dervish  used  to  relate  that,  in  his  youth,  once 
passing  through  a  wood  and  admiring  the  works  of  the  great 
Author  of  Nature,  he  spied  a  falcon  that  held  a  piece  of  flesh  in 
his  beak ;  and  hovering  about  a  tree,  tore  the  flesh  into  bits,  and 
gave  it  to  a  young  raven  that  lay  bald  and  featherless  in  its  nest 


BROWNING   CYCLOPAEDIA.  143 

The  dervish,  admiring  the  bounty  of  Providence,  in  a  rapture  of 
admiration  cried  out,  '  Behold,  this  poor  bird,  that  is  not  able  to 
seek  out  sustenance  for  himself,  is  not,  however,  forsaken  of  its 
Creator,  who  spreads  the  whole  world  like  a  table,  where  all 
creatures  have  their  food  ready  provided  for  them  1  He  extends 
His  liberality  so  far,  that  the  serpent  finds  wherewith  to  live  upon 
the  mountain  of  Gahen.  Why,  then,  am  I  so  greedy  ?  wherefore 
do  I  run  to  the  ends  of  the  earth,  and  plough  up  the  ocean  for 
bread?  Is  it  not  better  that  I  should  henceforward  confine 
myself  in  repose  to  some  little  corner,  and  abandon  myself  to 
fortune  ? '  Upon  this  he  retired  to  his  cell,  where,  without  putting 
himself  to  any  further  trouble  for  anything  in  the  world,  he 
remained  three  days  and  three  nights  without  victuals.  At  last, 
'  Servant  of  mine/  said  the  Creator  to  him  in  a  dream,  '  know 
thou  that  all  things  in  this  world  have  their  causes  ;  and  though 
my  providence  can  never  be  limited,  my  wisdom  requires  that 
men  shall  make  use  of  the  means  that  I  have  ordained  them.  If 
thou  wouldst  imitate  any  one  of  the  birds  thou  hast  seen  to  my 
glory,  use  the  talents  I  have  given  thee,  and  imitate  the  falcon 
that  feeds  the  raven,  and  not  the  raven  that  lies  a  sluggard  in 
his  nest,  and  expects  his  food  from  another.'  This  example 
shows  us  that  we  are  not  to  lead  idle  and  lazy  lives  upon  the 
pretence  of  depending  upon  Providence." — Fables  of  Pilpay 
{Chandos  Classics),  p.  53. 

Ferishtah  is  in  training  for  a  dervish,  and  is  anxious  to  feed 
hungry  souls.  Mr.  Browning  makes  his  charitable  bird  an  eagle, 
and  the  moral  is  that  man  is  not  to  play  the  helpless  weakling, 
but  to  save  the  perishing  by  his  helpful  strength.  The  dervish, 
duly  admonished,  asks  which  lacks  in  him  food  the  more — body 
or  soul  ?  He  reflects  that,  as  he  starves  in  soul,  so  may  mankind, 
wherefore  he  will  go  forth  to  help  them ;  and  this  Mr.  Browning 
proposes  to  do  by  the  series  of  moral  and  philosophical  lessons 
to  be  drawn  from  Ferishtah's  Fancies.  The  lyric  teaches 
that,  though  a  life  with  nature  is  good  for  meditation  and  for 
lovers  of  solitude,  we  are  human  souls  and  our  proper  place  is 
"  up  and  down  amid  men,"  for  God  is  soul,  and  it  is  the  poet's 
business  to  speak  to  the  divine  principle  existing  under  every 
squalid  exterior  and  harsh  and  hateful  personality. 

Earth's  Immortalities.  (First  published  in  Dramatic  Ro- 
mances and  Lyrics — Bells  and  Pomegranates  No.  VII.)  The  poet 


144  BROWNING   CYCLOPEDIA. 

was  famous,  and  not  so  very  long  since;  but  the  gravestones 
above  him  are  sinking,  and  the  lichens  are  softening  out  his  very 
name  and  date.  So  fades  away  his  fame.  And  the  iover  who 
could  be  satisfied  with  nothing  less  than  "  for  ever  "  has  the  fever 
of  passion  quenched  in  the  snows  that  cover  the  tomb  beside  the 
poet's.  One  demanded  to  be  remembered,  the  other  to  be  loved, 
forever.  Thus  do  "Earth's  immortalities"  perish  either  under 
lichens  or  snows. 

Easter-Day.  (Christmas  Eve  and  Easter  Day:  Florence, 
1850.)  The  poem  is  a  dialogue.  The  first  speaker  exclaims, 
11  How  very  hard  it  is  to  be  a  Christian  ! "  and  says  the  difficulty 
does  not  so  much  consist  in  living  up  to  the  Christ-ideal, — hard 
enough,  by  the  very  terms,  but  hard  to  realise  it  with  the 
moderate  success  with  which  we  realise  the  ordinary  aims  of  life. 
Of  course  the  aim  is  greater,  consequently  the  required  effort 
harder :  may  it  not  be  God's  intention  that  the  difficulty  of  being 
a  Christian  should  seem  unduly  great?  "Of  course  the  chief 
difficulty  is  belief,"  says  the  second  speaker :  "  once  thorouglily 
believe,  the  rest  is  simple.  Prove  to  me  that  the  least  command 
of  God  is  really  and  truly  God's  command,  and  martyrdom  itself 
is  easy."  Joint  the  finite  into  the  infinite  life,  and  fix  yourself 
safely  inside,  no  doubt  all  external  things  you  would  safely 
despise.  The  second  speaker  says,  "  But  faith  may  be  God's 
touchstone :  God  does  not  reward  us  with  heaven  because  we 
see  the  sun  shining,  nor  crown  a  man  victor  because  he  draws  his 
breath  duly.  If  you  would  have  faith  exist  at  all,  there  must 
perforce  be  some  uncertainty  with  it  We  love  or  hate  people 
because  either  they  do  or  do  not  believe  in  us.  But  the  Creator's 
reign,  we  are  apt  to  think,  should  be  based  on  exacter  laws :  we 
desire  God  should  geometrise."  The  first  speaker  says,  "You 
would  grow  as  a  tree,  stand  as  a  rock,  soar  up  like  fire,  be  above 
faith.  But  creation  groans,  and  out  of  its  pains  we  have  to  make 
our  music."  The  second  speaker  replies,  "  I  confess  a  scientific 
faith  is  absurd ;  the  end  which  it  was  meant  to  serve  would  be 
lost  if  faith  were  certainty.  We  may  grant  that,  but  may  we  not 
require  at  least  probability?  We  do  not  hang  a  curtain  flat  along 
a  wall ;  we  prefer  it  to  hang  in  folds  from  point  to  point  We 
would  not  mind  the  gaps  and  intervals,  if  at  point  and  point  we 
could  pin  our  life  upon  God  It  would  be  no  hardship  then  to 
renounce  the  world.  There  are  men  who  live  merely  to  collect 


EaSJ  BROWNING   CYCLOPAEDIA.  145 

beetles,  giving  up  all  the  pleasures  of  life  to  make  a  completer 
collection  than  has  been  hitherto  formed.  Another  set  lives  to 
collect  snuff-boxes,  or  in  learning  to  play  chess  blindfold.  It 
would  not  be  hard  to  renounce  the  world  if  we  had  as  much  cer- 
tainty as  these  hermits  obtain  in  their  pleasures  to  inspire  them 
in  renouncing  the  vanities  of  life.  Of  course,  as  some  will  say, 
there  is  evidence  enough  of  a  sort  :  as  is  your  turn  of  mind,  so  is 
your  search — you  will  find  just  what  you  look  for,  and  so  you 
get  your  Christian  evidences  in  a  sense  ;  you  may  comfort  your- 
self in  having  found  a  scrap  of  papyrus  in  a  mummy-case  which 
declares  there  really  was  a  living  Moses,  and  you  may  even  get 
over  the  difficulty  of  Jonah  and  the  whale  by  turning  the  whale 
into  an  island  or  a  rock  and  set  your  faith  to  clap  her  wings  and 
crow  accordingly.  You  may  do  better :  you  may  make  the  human 
heart  the  minister  of  truth,  and  prove  by  its  wants  and  needs  and 
hopes  and  fears  how  aptly  the  creeds  meet  these : 

"  You  wanted  to  believe  ;  your  pains 
Are  crowned — you  do  I  " 

If  once  in  the  believing  mood,  the  renunciation  of  pleasures  adds 
a  spice  to  life.  Do  you  say  that  the  Eternal  became  incarnate — 

"  Only  to  give  our  joys  a  zest, 
And  prove  our  sorrows  for  the  best  ?  " 

The  believing  man  is  convinced  that  to  be  a  Christian  the  world's 
gain  is  to  be  accounted  loss,  and  he  asks  the  sceptic  what  he 
counsels  in  that  case  ?  The  answer  is,  he  would  take  the  safe 
side— deny  himself.  The  believer  does  not  relish  the  idea  of 
renouncing  life  for  the  sake  of  death.  The  collectors  of  curiosities 
at  least  had  something  for  their  pains,  and  the  believer  gets — 
well,  hope!  The  sceptic  claims  that  he  lives  in  trusting  ease, 
14  Yes,"  says  the  believer,  "  blind  hopes  wherewith  to  flavour  life — 
that  is  all ;  and  he  proceeds  to  relate  an  incident  which  happened 
in  his  life  one  Easter  night,  three  years  ago.  He  was  crossing  the 
common  near  the  chapel  (spoken  of  in  Christmas  Eve\  when  he 
fell  to  musing  on  what  was  his  personal  relationship  to  Christi- 
anity, how  it  would  be  with  him  were  he  to  fall  dead  that  moment 
— would  he  lie  faithful  or  faithless  ?  It  was  always  so  with  him 
from  childhood ;  he  always  desired  to  know  the  worst  of  even-- 
thing. "  Common-sense  "  told  him  he  had  nothing  to  fear :  if  he 
\\ere  not  a  Christian,  who  was ?  All  at  once  he  had  this  vision. 

10 


146  BROWNING   CYCLOPAEDIA.  [EaS 

"  Burn  it ! "  was  written  in  lines  of  fire  across  the  sky  ;  the  dome 
of  heaven  was  one  vast  rack  of  ripples,  infinite  and  black ;  the 
whole  earth  was  lit  with  the  flames  of  the  Judgment  Day.  In  a 
moment  he  realised  that  he  stood  before  the  seat  of  Judgment, 
choosing  the  world — his  naked  choice,  with  all  the  disguises  of 
old  and  all  his  trifling  with  conscience  stripped  away.  A  Voice 
beside  him  spoke : — 

"  Life  is  done, 

Time  ends,  Eternity's  begun, 
And  thou  art  judged  for  evermore." 

The  Christ  stood  before  him,  told  him  that,  as  he  had  deliberately 
chosen  the  world,  the  finite  life  in  opposition  to  God,  it  should  be 
his:— 

"'T  is  thine 
For  ever— take  itl" 

For  the  world  he  had  lived,  for  the  things  of  time  and  sense  he 
had  fought  and  sighed ;  the  ideal  life,  the  truth  of  God,  the  best 
and  noblest  things,  had  interested  him  noway.  His  sentence,  his 
awful  doom — which  at  first  he  was  so  far  from  realising  that  he 
was  thrilled  with  pleasure  at  the  words— was  that  he  should  take 
and  for  ever  keep  the  partial  beauty  for  which  he  had  struggled. 
Wedded  for  ever  to  the  gross  material  life,  in  that  he  imagined 
he  saw  his  highest  happiness  !  "  Mine — the  World  ?  "  he  cried, 
in  transport.  "Yes,"  said  the  awful  Judge:  "if you  are  satisfied 
with  one  rose,  thrown  to  you  over  the  Eden-barrier  which  ex- 
cludes you  from  its  glory — take  it!"  Our  greatest  punishment 
would  be  the  gratification  of  our  lowest  aims.  "  All  the  world  ! " 
and  the  sense  of  infinite  possession  of  all  the  beauty  of  earth, 
from  fern  leaf  to  Alpine  heights,  brought  the  warmth  to  the  man's 
heart  and  extinguished  the  terror  inspired  by  the  Judgment-seat 
of  God.  And  the  great  Judge  saw  the  thought,  told  him  he  was 
welcome  so  to  rate  the  mere  hangings  of  the  vestibule  of  the 
Palace  of  the  Supreme ;  and  in  the  scorn  of  the  awful  gift  the 
man  read  his  error,  and  asked  for  Art  in  place  of  Nature.  And 
that,  too,  was  conceded:  he  should  obtain  the  one  form  the 
sculptors  laboured  to  abstract,  the  one  face  the  painters  tried  to 
draw,  the  perfection  in  their  soul  which  these  only  hinted  at. 
But  "  very  good  "  as  God  pronounced  earth  to  be,  earth  can  only 


BROWNING   CYCLOPAEDIA.  147 

serve  earth's  ends;  its  completeness  transferred  to  a  future  state 
would  be  the  dreariest  deficiency.  The  good,  tried  once,  were 
bad  retried.  Then  the  judged  man,  seeing  the  World  and 
the  World  of  Art  insufficient  to  satisfy  his  new  condition, 
cried  in  anguish,  "  Mind  is  best — I  will  seize  mind — forego  the 
rest !  "  And  again  it  was  answered  to  him  that  all  the  best  of 
mind  on  earth — the  intuition,  the  grasps  of  guess,  the  efforts  of 
the  finite  to  comprehend  the  infinite,  the  gleams  of  heaven  which 
come  to  sting  with  hunger  for  the  full  light  of  God,  the  inspiration 
of  poetry,  the  truth  hidden  in  fable, — all  these  were  God's  part, 
and  in  no  wise  to  be  considered  as  inherent  to  the  mind  of  man. 
Losing  God,  he  loses  His  inspirations;  bereft  of  them  in  the 
world  he  had  chosen,  mind  would  not  avail  to  light  the  cloud  he 
had  entered.  And  the  bleeding  spirit  of  the  humbled  man  prays 
for  love  alone.  And  God  said,  "  Is  this  thy  final  choice :  Love  is 
best  ?  Tis  somewhat  late  !  Love  was  all  about  thee,  curled  in 
its  mightiness  around  all  thou  hadst  to  do  with.  Take  the  show 
of  love  for  the  name's  sake ;  but  remember  Who  created  thee  to 
love,  died  for  love  of  thee,  and  thou  didst  refuse  to  believe  the 
story,  on  the  ground  that  the  love  was  too  much."  Cowering 
deprecatingly,  the  man,  who  now  saw  the  whole  truth  of  God, 
cried,  "  Thou  Love  of  God !  Let  me  hot  know  that  all  is  lost ! 
Let  me  go  on  hoping  to  reach  one  eve  the  Better  Land !  "  And 
the  man  awoke,  and  rejoiced  that  he  was  not  left  apart  in  God's 
contempt;  thanking  God  that  it  is  hard  to  be  a  Christian,  and 
that  he  is  not  condemned  to  earth  and  ease  for  ever. 

NOTES. — Stanza  iv.,  "In  all  Gods  acts  (as  Plato  cries  He  doth) 
He  should geomeinse"  :  see  Plutarch,  Symposiacs^  viii.  2.  "Dio- 
genianas  began  and  said,  '  Let  us  admit  Plato  to  the  conference, 
and  inquire  upon  what  account  he  says — supposing  it  to  be  his 
sentence — that  God  always  plays  the  geometer'  I  said  :  '  This 
sentence  was  not  plainly  set  down  in  any  of  his  books  ;  yet  there 
are  good  arguments  that  it  is  his,  and  it  is  very  much  like  his 
expression.'  Tyndares  presently  subjoined :  '  He  praises  geo- 
metry as  a  science  that  takes  off  men  from  sensible  objects,  and 
makes  them  apply  themselves  to  the  intelligible  and  Eternal 
Nature,  the  contemplation  of  which  is  the  end  of  philosophy,  as 
a  view  of  the  mysteries  of  initiation  into  holy  rites.' "  j^,  "  My 
list  of  coleoptera  "  .•  in  entomology,  an  order  of  insects  having  four 
wings— the  beetle  tribe.  "A  Gngnon  with  the  Re^ems  crest"  : 


148  BROWNING   CYCLOPEDIA.  [EaS 

Grignon  was  a  famous  snuff-box  maker,  and  his  name  was  used 
for  the  fashionable  boxes,  vii.,  "Jonah's  whale" :  The  latest 
theory  is  that  the  great  deity  of  Nineveh  was  a  "  fish-god."  Mr. 
Tylor  considers  the  story  to  be  a  solar  myth.  Madame  Blavatsky 
says  (Tsis  Unveiled,  vol.  ii.,  p.  258),  "  '  Big  Fish '  is  Cetus,  the 
latinised  form  of  Keto — /e?/ra),  and  Keto  is  Dagon,  Poseidon."  She 
suggests  that  Jonah  simply  went  into  the  cell  within  the  body  of 
Dagon,  the  fish-god.  Orpheus,  the  mythical  poet,  whose  mother 
was  the  Muse  Calliope.  His  song  could  move  the  rocks  and  tame 
tvild  beasts  (see  EURYDICE  TO  ORPHEUS).  Dionysius  Zagrias. 
Zagreus  was  a  name  given  to  Dionysus  by  the  Orphic  poets. 
The  conception  of  the  Winter-Dionysus  originated  in  Crete: 
sacrifice  was  offered  to  him  at  Delphi  on  the  shortest  day.  This 
is  quite  evidently  one  of  the  myths  of  winter.  ,xii,.  jEschylus  : 
11  the  giving  men  blind  hopes"  In  the  Prometheus  Chained  of 
^Eschylus  the  chorus  of  ocean  nymphs  ask  Prometheus — 

"  Chor.  But  had  th'  offence  no  further  aggravation  ? 
Pro.     I  hid  from  men  the  foresight  of  their  fate. 
Chor.  What  couldst  thou  find  to  remedy  that  ill  ? 
Pro.     I  sent  blind  Hope  t'  inhabit  in  their  hearts. 
Chor.  A  blessing  hast  thou  given  to  mortal  man." 

Morley's  Plays  of  '^Eschylus,  p.  1 8. 

^xiv.,  "  The  kingcraft  of  the  Lucomons "  :  Heads  of  ancient 
Etruscan  families,  and  combining  both  priest  and  patriarch.  The 
kings  were  drawn  from  them.  (Dr.  Furnivall.)  Fourier's  scheme  : 
Fourierism  was  the  system  of  Charles  Fourier,  a  Frenchman,  who 
recommended  the  reorganisation  of  society  into  small  commu- 
nities living  in  common.  _xx^  "Flesh  refine  to  nerve":  this  is 
a  remarkable  instance  of  the  poet's  scientific  apprehension  of  the 
process  of  nerve  formation  five  years  before  Herbert  Spencer 
speculated  on  the  evolution  of  the  nervous  system.  (See  my 
Browning's  Message  to  his  Time:  "Browning  as  a  Scientific 
Poet.")  xxvi.,  Buonarrotti  =  Michael  Angelo. 

Eccelino  da  Romano  III.  (Sordello.}  Known  as  Eccelin 
the  Monk,  or  Ezzelin  III.  He  was  the  Emperor  Frederick's  chief 
in  North  Italy,  and  was  a  powerful  noble.  He  was  termed  "  the 
Monk "  because  of  his  religious  austerity.  He  is  described  by 
Mr.  Browning  in  the  poem  as  "the  thin,  grey,  wizened,  dwarfish 
devil  Ecelin."  He  was  the  most  prominent  of  Ghibelline  leaders, 


Ech]  BROWNING    CYCLOPAEDIA.  149 

was  tyrant  of  Padua,  and  nicknamed  "  the  Son  of  the  Devil,1 
Ariosto,  Orlando  Furioso,  iii.  33,  describes  him  as 

*  Fierce  Ezelin,  that  most  inhuman  lord, 
Who  shall  be  deemed  by  men  a  child  of  hell." 

41  His  story,"  says  Longfellow,  in  his  notes  to  Dante's  Inferno^ 
may  be  found  in  Sismondi's  Hisloire  des  Republiques  Italiennes, 
chap.  xix.  He  so  outraged  the  religious  sense  of  the  people  by 
his  cruelties  that  a  crusade  was  preached  against  him,  and  he 
died  a  prisoner  in  1259,  tearing  the  bandages  from  his  wounds, 
and  fierce  and  defiant  to  the  last.  '  Ezzelino  was  small  of 
stature,'  says  Sismondi,  '  but  the  whole  aspect  of  his  person,  all 
his  movements,  indicated  the  soldier.  His  language  was  bitter, 
his  countenance  proud,  and  by  a  single  look  he  made  the  boldest 
tremble.  His  soul,  so  greedy  of  all  crimes,  felt  no  attraction  for 
sensual  pleasures.  Never  had  Ezzelino  loved  women  ;  and  this, 
perhaps,  is  the  reason  why  in  his  punishments  he  was  as  pitiless 
against  them  as  men.  He  was  in  his  sixty-sixth  year  when  he 
died ;  and  his  reign  of  blood  had  lasted  thirty-four  years.' " 

Eccelino  IV.  was  the  elder  of  the  two  sons  of  Eccelino  III., 
surnamed  the  Monk,  who  divided  his  little  principality  between 
them  in  1223,  and  died  in  1235.  In  1226,  at  the  head  of  the 
Ghibellines,  he  got  possession  of  Verona,  and  was  appointed 
Podesta.  He  became  one  of  the  most  faithful  servants  of  the 
Emperor  Frederick  II.  In  1236  he  invited  Frederick  to  enter 
Italy  to  his  assistance,  and  in  August  met  him  at  Trent.  Eccelino 
was  soon  after  besieged  in  Verona  by  the  Guelfs,  and  the  siege 
was  raised  by  the  Emperor.  Vicenza  was  next  stormed  and  the 
government  given  to  Eccelino.  In  1237  he  marched  against 
Padua,  which  capitulated,  when  he  behaved  towards  the  people 
with  great  cruelty.  He  then  besieged  Mantua,  and  mastered 
the  Trevisa.  In  1239  he  was  excommunicated  by  the  Pope  and 
deprived  of  his  estates.  He  behaved  with  such  terrible,  cruelty 
that  the  Emperor  would  have  gladly  been  rid  of  him.  Dante,  in 
the  Divina  Commedia,  Inferno  xii.,  places  Eccelino  in  the  lake 
of  blood  in  the  seventh  circle  of  hell. 

Echetlos.  (Dramatic  Idyls,  Second  Series  :  1880.)  A  Greek 
legend  (of  which  there  are  many)  about  the  battle  of  Marathon, 
in  which  the  Athenians  and  Platseans,  under  Miltiades,  defeated 
the  Persians,  490  B.C.  Wherever  the  Greeks  were  hardest 


150  BROWNING   CYCLOPAEDIA.  [Elc 

pressed  in  the  fight  a  figure  driving  a  ploughshare  was  seen 
mowing  down  the  enemy's  ranks.  After  the  battle  was  over  the 
Greeks  were  anxious  to  learn  who  was  the  man  in  the  clown's 
dress  who  had  done  them  this  great  service.  They  demanded 
of  the  oracles  his  name.  But  the  oracles  declined  to  tell :  "  Call 
him  Echetlos,  the  Ploughshare-wielder,"  they  said.  "Let  his 
deed  be  his  name : 

"  The  great  deed  ne'er  grows  small." 

NOTES. — "  Not  so  the  great  name —  Woe  for  Miltiades,  woe  for 
Themistokles  !  "  After  the  victory  of  Marathon,  Miltiades  sullied 
his  honour  by  employing  the  fleet  in  an  attempt  to  wreak  a 
private  grudge  on  the  island  of  Paros.  He  was  sentenced  to  a 
heavy  fine,  which  he  was  unable  to  pay,  and  died  in  debt  and 
dishonour.  Themistocles  was  accused  of  having  entered  into  a 
traitorous  communication  with  the  Persians  in  his  own  interest. 
He  was  banished  from  Greece,  and  died  at  Magnesia. 

Elcorte  (Sordello,  Book  ii.)  was  a  poor  archer  who  perished  in 
saving  a  child  of  Eccelin's.  He  was  supposed  to  be  Bordello's 
father,  but  the  poet  discovered  that  he  was  not. 

Eglamour.  (Sordello.}  The  minstrel  defeated  by  Sordello 
at  the  contest  of  song  in  the  Court  of  Love.  He  was  the  chief 
troubadour  of  Count  Richard  of  St.  Bonifacio.  He  died  of  grief 
at  his  discomfiture  in  the  art  of  song  by  Sordello.  "He  was  a 
typical  troubadour,  who  loved  art  for  its  own  sake ;  thought  more 
of  his  songs  than  of  the  things  about  which  he  sang,  or  of  the  soul 
whose  passion  song  should  express  "  (Fotheringham,  Studies  in 
Browning,  p.  116).  Mrs.  James  L.  Bagg,  in  a  comparative  study 
of  Eglamour  and  Sordello,  gives  the  following  as  the  chief  charac- 
teristics of  this  poet : — "  He  was  a  poet  not  without  effort  and 
often  faltering ;  he  exhibits  the  beautiful  as  the  natural  outburst 
of  a  heart  full  of  a  sense  of  beauty  that  possesses  it.  He  loses 
himself  in  his  song, — it  absorbs  his  life ;  his  art  ends  with  his  art, 
and  is  its  own  reward.  He  understands  and  loves  nature  ;  they 
are  bound  up  together.  He  loves  all  beauty  for  its  own  sake, 
asking  no  reward.  He  craves  nothing,  takes  no  thought  for  the 
morrow.  He  lacks  character,  and  is  dreamy,  inactive ;  and, 
attempting  little,  fails  in  little.  His  life  is  barren  of  results  as 
men  reckon  ;  he  lives  and  loves,  and  sings  and  dies.  His  life  is 
almost  one  unbroken  strain  of  harmony — he  is  pleased  to  please 


Eng]  BROWNING   CYCLOPAEDIA.  151 

and  to  serve.  His  nature  is  simple  and  easily  understood ; 
Eglamour  is  born  and  dies  a  creature  of  perceptions,  never  con- 
scious that  beyond  these  there  lies  a  world  of  thought.  His  life 
goes  out  in  tragic  giving  up  of  love,  hope  and  heart." 

Elvire.  (Fifine  at  the  Fair.)  The  wife  of  Don  Juan,  who  dis- 
cusses with  her  husband  the  nature  of  conjugal  love,  after  he 
has  been  fascinated  by  the  gipsy  girl  at  Pornic  fair.  She  is 
the  Donna  Elvira  of  Moliere's  Don  Juan,  and  the  part  she  plays 
in  this  poem  of  Fifine  is  suggested  by  her  speech  in  Act  i., 
Scene  3 : — 

"  Why  don't  you  arm  your  brow 

With  noble  impudence? 
Why  don't  you  swear  and  vow 
No  sort  of  change  is  come  to  any  sentimenf 

You  ever  had  for  me  ?" 

Englishman  in  Italy,  The :  Piano  di  Sorrento  (the  Plain  of 
Sorrento).  (Dramatic  Romances,  published  in  Bells  and  Pome- 
granates,  VII.  1845.) — Sorrento,  in  the  province  of  Naples,  is 
situated  on  the  north  side  of  the  peninsula  that  separates  the 
Bay  of  Naples  from  the  Bay  of  Salerno.  In  the  time  of  Augustus 
it  was  a  finer  city  than  Naples  itself.  The  neighbourhood  of  this 
delightful  summer  resort  is  the  realm  of  the  olive  tree,  and  its 
plain  is  clothed  with  orange  and  lemon  groves.  A  deep  blue 
sky  above  and  a  deep  blue  sea  below,  coast  scenery  unequalled 
for  loveliness  even  in  Italy,  and  an  atmosphere  breathing  perfume 
and  intoxicating  the  senses  with  the  soft  delights  of  a  land  of 
romance  and  gaiety,  combine  to  make  a  residence  in  this  earthly 
paradise  almost  too  luxurious  for  a  phlegmatic  Englishman.  It 
has  a  drawback  in  the  form  of  the  Scirocco — a  hot,  oppressive  and 
most  relaxing  wind,  crossing  from  North  Africa  over  the  Mediter- 
ranean, and  the  "  long,  hot,  dry  autumn  "  referred  to  in  the  poem. 
The  Englishman  is  seated  by  the  side  of  a  dark-complexioned 
tarantella-dancing  girl,  whom  he  is  sheltering  from  the  approach- 
ing storm,  and  who  is  timidly  saying  her  rosary,  and  to  whom 
he  is  describing  the  incidents  of  Italian  life  which  have  most 
interested  him — the  ripening  grapes,  the  quails  and  the  curious 
nets  arranged  to  catch  them,  the  pomegranates  splitting  with  ripe- 
ness on  the  trees,  the  yellow  rock-flower  on  the  road  side,  all  the 
landscape  parched  with  the  fierce  Southern  heat,  which  the  sudden 


152  BROWNING    CYCLOPEDIA.  [Ellg 

rain-storm  was  about  to  cool  and  moisten.  The  quail  nets  are 
rapidly  taken  down,  for  protection ;  on  the  flat  roofs,  where  the  split 
figs  lie  in  sieves  drying  in  the  sun,  the  girls  are  busy  putting  them 
under  cover ;  the  blue  sea  has  changed  to  black  with  the  coming 
storm;  the  fishing  boat  from  Amalfi — loveliest  spot  in  all  the 
lovely  landscape — sends  ashore  its  harvest  of  the  sea,  to  the 
delight  of  the  naked  brown  children  awaiting  it.  The  grape 
harvest  has  begun,  and  in  the  great  vats  they  are  treading  the 
grapes,  dancing  madly  to  keep  the  bunches  under,  while  the  rich 
juice  runs  from  beneath ;  and  still  the  laden  girls  pour  basket 
after  basket  of  fresh  vine  plunder  into  the  vat,  and  still  the  red 
stream  flows  on.  And  under  the  hedges  of  aloe,  where  the 
tomatoes  lie,  the  children  are  picking  up  the  snails  tempted  out 
by  the  rain,  which  will  be  cooked  and  eaten  for  supper,  when  the 
grape  gleaners  will  feast  on  great  ropes  of  macaroni  and  slices 
of  purple  gourds.  And  as  he  dwells  on  all  the  Southern  wealth 
of  the  land,  he  tempts  the  timid  little  maid  with  grape  bunches, 
whose  heavy  blue  bloom  entices  the  wasps,  which  follow  the 
spoil  to  the  very  lips  of  the  eater ;  with  cheese-balls,  white  wine, 
and  the  red  flesh  of  the  prickly  pear.  Now  the  Scirocco  is  loose — 
down  come  the  olives  like  hail ;  fig  trees  snap  under  the  power  of 
the  storm  ;  they  must  keep  under  shelter  till  the  tempest  is  over : 
and  now  he  amuses  the  girl  by  telling  her  how  in  a  few  days 
they  will  have  stripped  all  the  vines  of  their  leaves  to  feed 
the  cattle,  and  the  vineyards  will  look  so  bare.  He  rode  over 
the  mountains  the  previous  night  with  her  brother  the  guide, 
who  feasted  on  the  fruit-balls  of  the  myrtles  and  sorbs,  and 
while  he  ate  the  mule  plodded  on,  now  and  then  neighing  as  he 
recognised  his  mates,  laden  with  faggots  and  with  barrels,  on  the 
paths  below.  Higher  they  ascended  till  the  woods  ceased ;  as 
they  mounted  the  path  grew  wilder,  the  chasms  and  piles  of  loose 
stones  showed  but  the  growth  of  grey  fume  reed,  the  ever-dying 
rosemary,  and  the  lentisks,  till  they  reached  the  summit  of 
Calvano ;  then  he  says — 

"  God's  own  profound 
Was  above  me,  and  round  me  the  mountains,  and  under,  the  sea." 

The  crystal  of  heaven  and  its  blue  solitudes ;  the  "  infinite  move- 
ment "  of  the  mountains,  which  seem,  as  they  overlook  the  sensual 
landscape,  to  enslave  it — filled  him  with  a  grave  and  solemn  fear. 


Epl]  BROWNING    CYCLOPAEDIA.  153 

And  now  he  turns  to  the  sea,  wherein  slumber  the  three  isles  of 
the  siren,  looking  as  they  did  in  the  days  of  Ulysses ;  he  will 
sail  among  them,  and  visit  with  his  companion  their  strangely 
coloured  caves,  and  hear  the  secret  sung  to  Ulysses  ages  ago. 
The  sun  breaks  out  over  Calvano,  the  storm  has  passed ;  the  gipsy 
tinker  ventures  out  with  his  bellows  and  forge,  and  is  hammering 
away  there  under  the  wall ;  the  children  watch  him  mischievously. 
He  rouses  his  sleepy  maiden,  and  bids  her  come  with  him  to  see 
the  preparations  at  the  church  for  the  Feast  of  the  Rosary ;  for  the 
morrow  is  Rosary  Sunday,  and  it  was  on  that  day  the  Catholic 
powers  of  Europe  destroyed  the  Turkish  fleet  at  the  battle  of 
Lepanto,  and  in  every  Catholic  church  the  victory  is  annually 
commemorated  by  devotions  to  Our  Lady  of  the  Rosary,  whose 
prayers,  they  say,  won  the  contest  for  the  Christian  arms.  The 
Dominican  brother  is  to  preach  the  sermon,  and  all  the  gay 
banners  and  decorations  are  being  put  up  in  the  church.  The 
altar  will  be  ablaze  with  lights,  the  music  is  to  be  supplemented 
by  a  band,  and  the  statue  of  the  Virgin  is  to  be  borne  in  solemn 
procession  through  the  plain.  Bonfires,  fireworks,  and  much 
trumpet-blowing  will  wind  up  the  day ;  and  the  Englishman 
anticipates  as  great  pleasure  from  the  festival  as  any  child, 
and  more — for,  "Such  trifles!"  says  the  girl.  "Trifles!"  he 
replies  ;  "  why,  in  England  they  are  gravely  debating  if  it  be 
righteous  to  abolish  the  Corn  Laws  ! " 

Epilogue  to  u  Asolando"  (1889).  The  words  of  this  poem  have 
a  peculiar  significance:  they  are  the  last  which  the  poet  addressed 
to  the  world,  and  the  volume  in  which  they  appeared  was  published 
in  London  on  the  very  day  on  which  he  died  in  Venice.  Had  he 
known  when  he  wrote  them  that  these  were  the  last  lines  of 
his  message  to  the  world — that  he  who  had  for  so  many  years 
urged  men  to  "  strive  and  thrive — fight  on  ! "  would  pass  away  as 
they  were  given  to  the  world,  would  he  have  wished  to  close  his 
life's  work  with  braver,  better,  nobler  words  than  these  ?  All 
Browning  is  here.  From  Pauline  to  this  epilogue  the  message 
was  ever  the  same,  and  the  confidence  in  the  ultimate  and 
eternal  triumph  of  right  uniform  throughout.  In  the  Pall  Mall 
Gazette  of  February  ist,  1890,  there  appeared  the  following 
reference  to  this  poem :  "  One  evening,  just  before  his  death 
illness,  the  poet  was  reading  this  (the  third  verse)  from  a  proof 
to  his  daughter-in-law  and  sister.  He  said.  'It  almost  looks 


154  BROWNING    CYCLOPAEDIA.  [Epi 

like  bragging  to  say  this,  and  as  if  I  ought  to  cancel  it ;  but  it's 
the  simple  truth  ;  and  as  it's  true,  it  shall  stand.'  His  faith  knew 
no  doubting.  In  all  trouble,  against  all  evil,  he  stood  firm." 

Epilogue  to  "Dramatic  Idyls"  (Second  Series).  This  poem 
combats  the  notion  that  a  quick-receptive  soil,  on  which  no 
feather  seed  can  fall  without  awakening  vitalising  virtue,  is  the 
hot-bed  for  a  poet ;  rather  must  we  hold  that  the  real  song-soil 
is  the  rock,  hard  and  bare,  exposed  to  sun  and  wind-storm,  there 
in  the  clefts  where  few  flowers  awaken  grows  the  pine  tree — a 
nation's  heritage.  (Compare  on  this  Emerson's  Woodnotes  u.) 

Epilogue  to  "Dramatis  Personae."— FIRST  SPEAKER,  as 
David.  At  the  Feast  of  the  Dedication  of  Solomon's  Temple, 
when  Priests  and  Levites  in  sacrificial  robes  attended  with  the 
multitude  praising  the  Lord  as  a  single  man  ;  when  singers  and 
trumpets  sound  and  say,  "  Rejoice  in  God,  whose  mercy  endureth 
for  ever,"  then  the  presence  of  the  Lord  filled  the  house  with  the 
glory  of  His  cloud.  This  is  the  highest  point  reached  by  the 
purest  Theism  of  the  Hebrew  people. 

SECOND  SPEAKER,  as  Renan.  A  star  had  beamed  from  heaven's 
vault  upon  our  world,  then  sharpened  to  a  point  in  the  dark,  and 
died.  We  had  loved  and  worshipped,  and  slowly  we  discovered 
it  was  vanishing  from  us.  A  face  had  looked  from  out  the 
centuries  upon  our  souls,  had  seemed  to  look  upon  and  love 
us.  We  vainly  searched  the  darkling  sky  for  the  dwindling 
star,  faded  from  us  now  and  gone  from  keenest  sight.  And  so 
the  face — the  Christ-face — we  had  seen  in  the  old  records,  the 
Gospels  which  had  seemed  to  dower  us  with  the  Divine-human 
Friend,  and  which  warmed  our  souls  with  love,  has  faded  out, 
and  we  search  the  records  and  sadly  fail  to  find  the  face  at  all, 
and  our  hope  is  vanished  and  the  Friend  is  gone.  The  record 
searchers  tell  us  we  shall  never  more  know  ourselves  are  seen, 
never  more  speak  and  know  that  we  are  heard,  never  more  hear 
response  to  our  aspirations  and  our  love.  The  searcher  finds 
no  god  but  himself,  none  higher  than  his  own  nature,  no  love 
but  the  reflection  of  his  own,  and  realises  that  he  is  an  orphan, 
and  turning  to  his  brethren  cries,  with  Jean  Paul,  "  There  is  no 
God  !  We  are  all  orphans !  " 

THIRD  SPEAKER  is  Mr.  Browning  himself,  who  offers  us 
consolation  in  our  bereavement ;  he  asks  us  to  see  through  his 
*yes.  In  head  and  heart  every  man  differs  utterly  from  his 


Epi]  BROWNING   CYCLOPAEDIA.  155 

fellows ;  he  asks  how  and  why  this  difference  arises ;  he  bids 
us  watch  how  even  the  heart  of  mankind  may  have  some 
mysterious  power  of  attracting  Nature's  influences  round  himself 
as  a  centre.  In  Arctic  seas  the  water  gathers  round  some 
rock-point  as  though  the  waste  of  waves  sought  this  centre 
alone;  for  a  minute  this  rock-point  is  king  of  this  whirlpool 
current,  then  the  waves  oversweep  and  destroy  it,  hastening 
off  to  choose  another  peak  to  find,  and  flatter,  and  finish  in 
the  same  way.  Thus  does  Nature  dance  about  each  man  of 
us,  acting  as  if  she  meant  to  enhance  his  worth ;  then,  when  her 
display  of  simulated  homage  is  done  with,  rolls  elsewhere  for  the 
same  performance.  Nature  leaves  him  when  she  has  gained 
from  him  his  product,  his  contribution  to  the  active  life  of  the 
time.  The  time  forces  have  utilised  the  man  as  their  pivot,  he 
has  served  for  the  axis  round  which  have  whirled  the  energies 
which  Nature  employed  at  the  moment.  His  quota  has  been 
contributed ;  he  has  not  been  a  force,  but  the  central  point  of 
the  forces'  revolution  ;  as  the  play  of  waves  demanded  for  their 
activity  the  rock-centre,  so  the  mind  forces  required  for  their 
gyrations  the  passive  man-centre  ;  the  rock  stood  still  in  the 
dance  of  the  waves,  but  their  dance  could  not  have  existed 
without  its  mysterious  influence  on  their  motion.  The  man  was 
necessary  to  the  mind-waves;  the  play  of  forces  could  not 
have  been  secured  without  just  that  soul-point  standing  idly 
as  the  centre  of  the  dance  of  influences.  The  waves,  having 
obtained  the  whirl  they  demanded,  submerge  the  rock — the  mind 
forces  having  gained  such  direction,  such  quality  of  rotation, 
dispense  with  the  man;  the  force  lives,  however,  and  his 
contribution  to  its  direction  is  not  lost,  but  husbanded.  Now, 
there  is  no  longer  any  use  for  the  old  Temple  service  of  David, 
neither  is  the  particular  aspect  of  the  Christ-face  required  as 
at  first  beheld.  The  face  itself  does  not  vanish,  or  but  decom- 
poses to  recompose.  The  face  grows;  the  Christ  of  to-day  is 
a  greater  conception  than  that  which  Renan  thinks  he  has 
decomposed.  It  is  not  the  Christ  of  an  idea  that  sufficed  for 
old-world  conception,  but  one  which  expands  with  the  age  and 
grows  with  the  sentient  universe. 

Epilogue  to  "  Ferishtah's  Fancies  "  (VENICE,  December  ist, 
1884).  This  poem  brings  into  a  focus  the  rays  of  the  fancies 
which  compose  the  volume :  the  famous  ones  of  old,  the  heroes 


156  BROWNING    CYCLOPAEDIA.  [Epl 

whose  deeds  are  celebrated  in  the  different  poems,  were  not 
actors  merely,  but  soldiers,  and  fought  God's  battle ;  they  were 
not  cowards,  because  they  had  confidence  in  the  supremacy 
of  good,  and  fighting  for  the  right  knew  they  could  leave  results 
to  the  Leader.  But  a  chill  at  the  heart  even  in  its  supremest 
joy  induces  the  question:  What  if  all  be  error? — if  love  itself 
were  responsible  for  a  fallacy  of  vision  ? 

Epilogue  to  "  Pacchiaratto  and  other  Poems  "  (1876).  In 
this  poem  the  author  deals  with  his  critics.  "  The  poets  pour 
us  wine,"  and  as  they  pour  we  demand  the  impracticable  feat 
of  producing  for  us  wine  that  shall  be  sweet,  yet  strong  and  pure. 
One  poet  gives  the  world  his  potent  man's  draught ;  it  is  admitted 
to  be  strong  and  invigorating,  yet  is  swallowed  at  a  gulp,  as 
evidently  unpleasant  to  the  taste.  Another  dispenses  luscious 
sweetness,  fragrant  as  a  flower  distillation ;  and  men  say  con- 
temptuously it  is  only  fit  for  boys — is  useless  for  nerving  men 
to  work.  Now,  it  is  easy  to  label  a  bottle  as  possessing  body 
and  bouquet  both,  but  labels  are  not  always  absolute  guarantees 
of  that  which  they  cover.  Still  there  is  wine  to  be  had,  by 
judicious  blending,  which  combines  these  qualities  of  body  and 
bouquet.  How  do  we  value  such  vintage  when  we  do  possess  it  ? 
Go  down  to  the  vaults  where  stand  the  vats  of  Shakespeare  and 
Milton  wine :  there  in  the  cellar  are  forty  barrels  with  Shake- 
speare's brand — some  five  or  six  of  his  works  are  duly  appreciated, 
the  rest  neglected ;  there  are  four  big  butts  of  Milton's  brew, 
and  out  of  them  we  take  a  few  drops,  pretending  that  we  highly 
esteem  him  the  while !  The  fact  is  we  hate  our  bard,  or  we 
should  not  leave  him  in  the  cellar.  The  critics  say  Browning 
brews  stiff  drink  without  any  flavour  of  grape :  would  the  public 
take  more  kindly  to  his  wine  if  he  gave  it  all  the  cowslip 
fragrance  and  bouquet  of  his  meadow  and  hill  side  ?  The 
treatment  received  by  Shakespeare  and  Milton  proves  that  the 
public  taste  is  vitiated,  notwithstanding  all  the  pretence  of 
admiration  of  them.  It  is  our  furred  tongue  that  is  at  fault ; 
it  is  nettle-broth  the  world  requires.  Browning  has  some  Thirty- 
four  Port  for  those  who  can  appreciate  it ;  as  for  the  multitude, 
let  them  stick  to  their  nettle-broth  till  their  taste  improves. 

NOTES. — Verse  i.,  "  The  Poets  pour  in  wine"  :  the  quotation  is 
from  Mrs.  Browning's  "Wine  of  Cyprus."  V.  20,  "Let  them  '  lay, 
,  bray ' " :  this  in  ridicule  of  Byron's  grammar  in  verse  clxxx. 


Epl]  BROWNING   CYCLOP/EDI  A.  1 57 

of  Canto  IV.  of  Childe  Harolds  Pilgrimage  \ — "  And  dashest 
him  again  to  earth  ; — there  let  him  lay." 

Epilogue  to  the  "Two  Poets  of  Croisic  "  (1878).  (Published 
in  the  Selections,  vol.  ii.,  as  A  TALE).  A  bard  had  to  sing  for  a  prize 
before  the  judges,  and  to  accompany  his  song  on  the  lute.  His 
listeners  were  so  pleased  with  his  melody  that  it  seemed  as  though 
they  would  hasten  to  bestow  the  award  even  before  the  end  of 
the  song ;  when,  just  as  the  poet  was  at  the  climax  of  his  trial, 
a  string  broke,  and  all  would  have  been  lost,  had  not  a  cricket 
"  with  its  little  heart  on  fire  "  alighted  on  the  instrument,  and 
flung  its  heart  forth,  sounding  the  missing  note ;  and  there  the 
insect  rested,  ever  at  the  right  instant  shrilling  forth  its  F-sharp 
even  more  perfectly  than  the  string  could  have  done.  The 
judges  with  one  consent  said,  "  Take  the  prize — we  took  your 
lyre  for  harp!"  Did  the  conqueror  despise  the  little  creature 
who  had  helped  him  with  all  he  had  to  offer  ?  No :  he  had  a 
statue  of  himself  made  in  marble,  life-size ;  on  the  lyre  was 
"perched  his  partner  in  the  prize."  The  author  of  the  volume  of 
poems  of  which  this  story  forms  the  epilogue,  says  that  he  tells 
it  to  acknowledge  the  love  which  played  the  cricket's  part,  and 
gave  the  missing  music ;  a  girl's  love  coming  aptly  in  when  his 
singing  became  gruff.  Love  is  ever  waiting  to  supply  the  missing 
notes  in  the  arrested  harmony  of  our  lives. 

NOTES.— " Musics  Son":  Goethe.  " Lotte"  of  the  Sorrows 
of  Werther,  was  Charlotte  Buff,  who  married  Kestner,  Goethe's 
friend,  the  Albert  of  the  novel.  Goethe  was  in  love  with  Charlotte 
Buff,  and  her  marriage  with  Kestner  roused  the  temper  of  his 
over-sensitive  mind."  (See  Dr.  Brewer's  Reader's  Handbook.} 

Epistle,  An,  Containing  the  Strange  Medical  Experience 
of  Karshish,  the  Arab  Physician.  (Men  and  Women,  vol.  i.t 
1855.)  [The  subject  of  the  poem  is  the  raising  of  Lazarus  from 
the  dead.]  Karshish,  a  wandering  scholar-physician,  writing  to 
the  sage  Abib,  from  whom  he  has  learned  his  art,  gives  him  an 
account  of  certain  matters  of  medical  interest  which  he  has 
discovered  in  the  course  of  his  travels,  and  which,  like  a  good 
student,  he  communicates  to  his  venerable  teacher.  After  inform- 
ing him  that  he  has  sent  him  some  samples  of  rare  pharmaceutical 
substances,  he  says  that  his  journeyings  brought  him  to  Jericho, 
on  the  dangerous  road  from  which  city  to  Jerusalem  he  had  met 
with  sundry  misadventures,  and  noted  several  cases  of  clinical 


158  BROWNING    CYCLOPAEDIA.  [Epl 

interest,  all  of  which  he  reports  in  the  matter-of-fact  way  which 
betokens  the  scientific  practitioner  of  the  period.  Amongst  his 
plague,  ague,  epileptic,  scalp-disease,  and  leprosy  cures,  he 
particularly  describes  "  a  case  of  mania  subinduced  by  epilepsy," 
which  especially  interested  him.  The  disorder  seemed  to  him 
of  quite  easy  diagnosis  :  "  'Tis  but  a  case  of  mania,"  complicated 
by  trance  and  epilepsy,  but  well  within  his  powers  as  a  phy- 
sician to  account  for,  except  in  the  after  circumstances  and  the 
means  of  cure.  "  Some  spell,  exorcisation  or  trick  of  art "  had 
evidently  been  employed  by  a  Nazarene  physician  of  his  tribe, 
who  bade  him,  when  he  seemed  dead,  "  Rise !  "  and  he  did  rise. 
He  was  "  one  Lazarus,  a  Jew" — of  good  habit  of  body,  and  indeed 
quite  beyond  ordinary  men  in  point  of  health;  and  his  three 
days'  sleep  had  so  brightened  his  body  and  soul  that  it  would  be 
a  great  thing  if  the  medical  art  could  always  ensure  such  a 
result  from  the  use  of  any  drug.  He  has  undergone  such  change 
of  mental  vision  that  he  eyes  the  world  now  like  a  child,  and 
puts  all  his  old  joys  in  the  dust.  He  has  lost  his  sense  of  the 
proportion  of  things :  a  great  armament  or  a  mule  load  of  gourds 
are  all  the  same  to  him,  while  some  trifle  will  appear  of  infinite 
import;  yet  he  is  stupefied  because  his  fellow-men  do  not 
view  things  with  his  opened  eyes.  He  is  so  perplexed  with 
impulses  that  his  heart  and  brain  seem  occupied  with  another 
world  while  his  feet  stay  here.  He  desires  only  perfectly  to 
please  God  ;  he  is  entirely  apathetic  when  told  that  Rome  is  on 
the  march  to  destroy  his  town  and  tribe,  yet  he  loves  all  things 
old  and  young,  strong  and  weak,  the  flowers  and  birds,  and  is 
harmless  as  a  lamb :  only  at  ignorance  and  sin  he  is  impatient, 
but  promptly  curbs  himself.  The  physician  would  have  sought 
out  the  Nazarene  who  worked  the  cure,  and  would  have  held  a 
consultation  with  him  on  the  case,  but  discovered  that  he 
perished  in  a  tumult  many  years  ago,  accused  of  wizardry, 
rebellion,  and  of  holding  a  prodigious  creed.  Lazarus — it  is  well, 
says  the  physician,  to  keep  nothing  back  in  writing  to  a  brother 
in  the  craft — regards  the  curer  as  God  the  Creator  and  sustainer 
of  the  world,  that  dwelt  in  flesh  amongst  us  for  a  while ;  but  why 
write  of  trivial  matters  ?  He  has  more  important  things  to  tell. 

"  I  noticed  on  the  margin  of  a  pool, 
Blue-flowering  borage,  the  Aleppo  sort 
Aboundeth,  very  nitrous.     It  is  strange  ! " 


Epl]  BROWNING   CYCLOPAEDIA.  159 

He  begs  the  sage's  pardon  for  troubling  him  with  this  man's 
tedious  case,  but  it  has  touched  him  with  awe,  it  may  be  partly  the 
effect  of  his  weariness.  But  he  cannot  close  his  letter  without 
returning  to  the  tremendous  suggestion  once  more.  "Think, 
Abib  !  The  very  God  !  "- 

"  So  the  All-Great,  were  the  All-Loving  too, — 
It  is  strange." 

Professor  Corson  says  this  poem  "  is  one  of  Browning's  most 
remarkable  psychological  studies.  It  may  be  said  to  polarise 
the  idea,  so  often  presented  in  his  poetry,  that  doubt  is  a  condi- 
tion of  the  vitality  of  faith.  It  is  a  subtle  representation  of  a 
soul  conceived  with  absolute  spiritual  standards,  while  obliged 
to  live  in  a  world  where  all  standards  are  relative  and  determined 
by  the  circumstances  and  limitations  of  its  situation."  Lazarus 
has  seen  things  as  they  are.  "  This  show  of  things,"  so  far  as  he 
is  concerned,  is  done  with.  He  now  leads  the  actual  life ;  his 
wonder  and  his  sorrow  are  drawn  from  the  reflection  that  his 
fellow-men  remain  in  the  region  of  phantasm.  He  lives  really  in 
the  world  to  come.  How  infinitely  little  he  found  the  things  of 
time  and  sense  in  the  presence  of  the  eternal  verities  is  grandly 
shown  in  the  poem.  The  attitude  of  Lazarus  under  his  altered 
conditions  affords  an  answer  to  those  who  demand  that  an  All- 
Wise  Being  should  not  leave  men  to  struggle  in  a  region  of 
phenomena  but  exhibit  the  actual  to  us  in  the  present  life. 
Under  such  conditions  our  probation  would  be  impossible.  As 
Browning  shows  in  La  Saisiast,  a  condition  of  certainty  would 
destroy  the  school-time  value  of  life  ;  the  highest  truths  are 
insusceptible  of  scientific  demonstration.  Lazarus  is  the  hero  oi 
the  poem,  not  Karshish.  As  the  Bishop  of  Durham  says  in  his 
paper  "  On  Browning's  View  of  Life,"  Lazarus  "  is  not  a  man, 
but  a  sign :  he  stands  among  men  as  a  patient  witness  of  the 
overwhelming  reality  of  the  divine — a  witness  whose  authority  is 
confessed,  even  against  his  inclination,  by  the  student  of  nature, 
who  turns  again  and  again  to  the  phenomena  which  he  affects  to 
disparage.  In  this  crucial  example  Browning  shows  how  the 
exclusive  dominance  of  the  spirit  destroys  the  fulness  of  human 
life,  its  uses  and  powers,  while  it  leaves  a  passive  life,  crowned 
with  an  unearthly  beauty."  The  professional  attitude  of  Karshish 
is  drawn  with  marvellous  fidelity.  A  paper  in  the  Lancet  on 


l6o  BROWNING   CYCLOPAEDIA.  [Est 

such  a  "case"  would  be  precisely  on  the  same  lines  to-day, 
though  the  wandering  off  into  side  details  would  not  be  quite  so 
obvious,  and  there  would  be  an  entire  absence  of  any  trifling 
with  the  idea  that "  the  All-Great  were  the  All-Loving  too."  This 
is  "emotional,"  and  modern  science  has  nothing  but  contempt 
for  that. 

NOTES. — Snake-stone,  a  name  applied  to  any  substance  used 
as  a  remedy  for  snake-bites.  Professor  Faraday  once  analysed 
several  which  had  been  used  for  this  purpose  in  Ceylon.  One 
turned  out  to  be  a  piece  of  animal  charcoal,  another  was  chalk, 
and  a  third  a  vegetable  substance  like  a  bezoar.  The  animal 
charcoal  might  possibly  have  been  useful  if  applied  immediately. 
The  others  were  valueless  for  the  purpose.  (Tennant,  Ceylon, 
third  ed.,  i.,  200.)  "  A  spider  that  weaves  no  web"  Dr.  H. 
McCook,  a  specialist  in  spider  lore,  has  explained  this  passage 
in  Poet-Lore,  vol.  i.,  p.  518.  He  says  the  spider  referred  to 
belongs  to  the  Wandering  group :  they  stalk  their  prey  in  the 
open  field,  or  in  divers  lurking  places,  and  are  quite  different  in 
their  habits  from  the  web-spinners.  The  spider  sprinkled  with 
mottles  he  thinks  is  the  Zebra  spider  (Epibletmcm  scenicum). 
It  belongs  to  the  Saltigrade  tribe.  The  use  of  spiders  in 
medicine  is  very  ancient.  Pliny  describes  many  diseases  for 
which  they  were  used.  Spiders  were  boiled  in  water  and  dis- 
tilled for  wounds  by  Sir  Walter  Raleigh.  Greek-fire  was  the 
precursor  of  gunpowder ;  it  was  the  oleum  incendiarum  of  the 
Romans.  Probably  petroleum,  tar,  sulphur,  and  nitre  were  its 
chief  ingredients.  Blue  flowering  borage  (Borago  officinalis). 
The  ancients  deemed  this  plant  one  of  the  four  "  cordial  flowers  " 
for  cheering  the  spirits,  the  others  being  the  rose,  violet,  and 
alkanet.  Pliny  says  it  produces  very  exhilarating  effects.  The 
stem  contains  nitre,  and  the  whole  plant  readily  gives  its  flavour 
even  to  cold  water.  (See  Anne  Pratt's  Flowering  Plants, 
rol.  iv.,  p.  75.) 

Este.  (Sordello)  A  town  of  Lombardy,  in  the  delegation  of 
Padua,  situated  at  the  southern  extremity  of  the  Euganean 
hills.  The  Rocca  or  castle  is  a  donjon  tower  occupying  the  site 
of  the  original  fortress  of  Este. 

Este,  The  House  of.  (Sordello.}  One  of  the  oldest  princely 
houses  of  Italy,  called  Este  after  the  name  of  the  town  above 
mentioned.  Albert  Azzo  II.  first  bore  the  title  of  Marquis  of 


Eur]  BROWNING   CYCLOPEDIA.  l6l 

Este;  he  married  a  sister  of  Guelph  III.,  who  was  duke  of 
Carinthia.  The  Italian  title  and  estates  were  inherited  by 
Fulco  I.  (1060-1135),  son  of  Albert  Azzo  II.  In  the  twelfth, 
thirteenth,  and  fourteenth  centuries  the  history  of  the  house  of 
Este  is  mixed  up  with  that  of  the  other  noble  houses  of  Italy 
in  the  struggles  of  the  Guelphs  and  Ghibellines.  The  Estena 
were  the  head  of  the  Guelph  party,  and  at  different  times  were 
princes  of  Ferrara,  Modena  and  Reggio.  "  Obizzo  I.,  son  of 
Folco  I.,  entered  into  a  league  against  Frederick  Barbarossa,  and 
was  comprehended  in  the  Venetian  treaty  of  1177,  by  which 
municipal  podestas  (chief  magistrates  of  great  cities)  were  insti- 
tuted" (Encyc.  Brit.}.  Strife  existed  between  this  house  and 
that  of  the  Torelli,  which  raged  for  two  centuries,  in  conse- 
quence of  Obizzo  I.  carrying  off  Marchesella,  heiress  of  the 
Adelardi  family,  of  Ferrara,  and  marrying  her  to  his  som 
Azzo  V. 

Eulalia.  (A  Soul's  Tragedy?)  The  shrewd  woman  who  was 
betrothed  to  Luitolfo. 

Euripides.  The  Greek  trag;"  poet,  who  was  born  of  Athenian- 
parents  in  480  B.C.  He  brought  out  his  first  play — The  Peliades 
—at  the  age  of  twenty-five.  At  thirty-nine  he  gained  the  first: 
prize,  which  honour  he  received  only  five  times  in  his  long  career 
of  fifty  years.  He  was  the  mediator  between  the  ancient  and', 
modern  drama,  and  was  regarded  at  Athens  as  an  innovator, 
Aristophanes  was  an  exceedingly  hostile  and  witty  critic  of 
Euripides,  and  from  his  point  of  view  his  conduct  was  justified, 
taking  as  he  did  the  standard  of  ^Eschylus  and  Sophocles  as  the 
only  right  model  of  tragedy.  He  is  variously  said  to  have  written 
seventy-five,  seventy-eight  and  ninety-two  tragedies.  Eighteen 
only  have  come  down  to  us  :  The  Alcestis,  Andromache,  Bacchce, 
Hecuba,  Helena,  Electra,  Heraclidce,  Heracles  in  Madness,  The 
Suppliants,  Hippolytus,  Iphigenia  at  Aulis,  Iphigenia  among  tha 
Tauri,  Ion,  Medea,  Orestes,  Rhesus,  the  Troades,  the  Phcentssce,, 
and  a  satiric  play,  the  Cyclops.  "  Aristophanes  calls  Euripides 
'  meteoric,'  because  he  was  always  rising  into  the  air ;  he  was 
famous  for  allusions  to  the  stars,  the  sea  and  the  elements* 
Aristophanes  uses  the  epithet  sneeringly :  Browning,  praisingly  " 
(Br.  P.  iii  43> 

Eurydice  to  Orpheus.  A  Picture  by  Leighton.  (Published 
for  the  first  time  in  the  Royal  Academy  Catalogue,  1864.  It  was 

II 


T62  BROWNING    CYCLOPAEDIA.  [Eut 

reprinted  in  the  first  volume  of  the  Selections  in  1865.)  Orpheus 
was  a  famous  mythical  poet,  who  was  so  powerful  in  song  that 
he  could  move  trees  and  rocks  and  tame  wild  beasts  by  the 
charms  of  his  voice.  His  wife  (the  nymph  Eurydice)  died  from 
the  bite  of  a  serpent,  and  Orpheus  descended  to  the  lower 
regions  in  search  of  her.  He  so  influenced  Persephone  by  his 
music  that  she  gave  him  permission  to  take  back  his  wife  on  the 
condition  that  he  should  not  look  round  during  his  passage 
from  the  nether  world  to  the  regions  above.  In  his  impatience 
he  disregarded  the  condition,  and  having  turned  his  head  to 
gaze  back,  Eurydice  had  to  return  for  ever  to  Hades  (Vergil, 
Geor.  iv.,  v.  457,  etc.).  The  poet  has  represented  Eurydice  speak- 
ing to  Orpheus  the  passionate  words  of  love  which  made  him 
forget  the  commands  of  Pluto  and  Persephone  not  to  look 
back  on  pain  of  losing  his  wife  again. 

Euthukles.  (Balaustion's  Adventure;  Aristophanes'  Apology^} 
He  was  the  man  of  Phokis  who  heard  Balaustion  recite  Alcestis 
at  Syracuse,  and  who  followed  her  when  she  returned  to  Athens, 
and  married  her.  On  their  voyage  to  Rhodes,  after  the  fall  ot 
Athens,  Balaustion  dictated  to  him  the  Apology  of  Aristophanes, 
which  he  wrote  down  on  board  the  vessel.  It  was  Euthukles, 
according  to  Browning,  who  saved  Athens  from  destruction  by 
reciting  at  a  critical  moment  the  lines  from  Euripides'  Electra 
and  Agamemnon. 

Evelyn  Hope.  (Men  and  Women,  1855;  Lyrics,  1863;  Dra- 
matic Lyrics ',  1868.)  The  lament  of  a  man  who  loved  a  young 
girl  who  died  before  she  was  old  enough  to  appreciate  his  love. 
The  maiden  was  sixteen,  the  man  "thrice  as  old."  He  con- 
templates her  as  she  lies  in  the  beauty  of  death,  and  asks :  "  Is 
it  too  late  then  ?  Because  you  were  so  young  and  I  so  old, 
were  we  fellow-mortals  and  nought  beside?  Not  so:  God 
creates  the  love  to  reward  the  love,"  and  he  will  claim  her  not 
in  the  next  life  alone,  but,  if  need  be,  through  lives  and  worlds 
many  yet  to  come.  His  love  will  not  be  lost,  for  his  gains  of 
the  ages  and  the  climes  will  not  satisfy  him  without  his  Evelyn 
Hope.  He  can  wait.  He  will  be  more  worthy  of  her  in  the 
worlds  to  come.  Modern  science  has  taught  us  that  no  atom  ot 
matter  can  ever  be  lost  to  the  world,  no  infinitesimal  measure  of 
energy  but  is  conserved,  and  the  poet  holds  that  there  shall 
never  be  one  lost  good.  The  eternal  atoms,  the  vibrations  that 


Pea]  BROWNING    CYCLOPAEDIA.  163 

cease  not  through  the   eternal  years,   shall  not  mock  at  the 
evanescence  of  human  love. 

Face,  A.  (Dramatis  Persona,  1864.)  A  portrait  of  a  beautiful 
girl  painted  in  words  by  a  poet  who  had  all  the  sympathies  of  an 
artist. 

Family, The.  (Ferishtah's  Fanciest  4 :  "On  the  Lawfulness 
of  Prayer.")  Ferishtah  has  prayed  for  a  dying  man  that  he 
might  recover.  An  objector  asks  why  he  does  this :  if  God  is 
all-wise  and  good,  what  He  does  must  be  right :  "  Two  best 
wills  cannot  be."  Man  has  only  to  acquiesce  and  be  thankful. 
The  dervish  tells  a  tale.  A  man  had  three  sons,  and  a  wife 
who  was  bitten  by  a  serpent.  The  husband  called  in  a  doctor, 
who  said  he  must  amputate  the  injured  part.  The  husband 
assented.  The  eldest  son  said,  "  Pause,  take  a  gentler  way." 
The  next  in  age  said,  "  The  doctor  must  and  should  save  the 
limb."  The  youngest  said,  "  The  doctor  knows  best :  let  him 
operate ! "  He  agreed  with  the  doctor.  Let  God  be  the  doctor ; 
let  us  call  the  husband's  acquiescence  wise  understanding,  call 
the  first  son's  opinion  a  wise  humanity.  In  the  second  son  we 
see  rash  but  kind  humanity ;  in  the  youngest  one  who  apes 
wisdom  above  his  years.  "  Let  us  be  man  and  nothing  more," 
says  Ferishtah. — man  hoping,  fearing,  loving  and  bidding  God 
help  him  till  he  dies.  The  lyric  bids  us  while  on  earth  be 
content  to  be  men.  The  wider  sense  of  the  angel  cannot  be 
expected  while  we  remain  under  human  conditions. 

Fancy  and  Reason,  in  La  Saisiaz,  discuss  the  pros  and  cons 
of  the  probabilities  of  the  existence  of  God,  the  soul,  and  future 
life,  etc. 

Fears  and  Scruples.  (Pacchiarotto  and  Other  Poems,  1876: 
44  The  Spiritual  Uses  of  Uncertainty.")  "  Why  does  God  never 
speak  ?  "  asks  the  doubter.  The  analogy  of  the  poem  compares 
this  silence  of  the  Divine  Being  with  that  of  a  man's  friend,  who 
wrote  him  many  valued  letters,  but  otherwise  kept  aloof  from  him 
It  is  suggested  by  experts  that  the  letters  are  forgeries.  The  man 
loves  on.  It  is  then  suggested  that  his  friend  is  acting  as  a 
spy  upon  him,  sees  him  readily  enough  and  knows  all  he  does, 
and  some  day  will  show  himself  to  punish  him.  But  this  is 
to  make  the  friend  a  monster  !  Hush ! — "  What  if  this  friend 
happen  to  be — God?"  In  explanation  of  this  poem,  Mr. 


1 64  BROWNING   CYCLOPAEDIA.  [Fer 

Kingsland  received  from  the  poet  the  following  letter : — "  I  think 
that  the  point  I  wanted  to  illustrate  in  the  poem  you  mention  was 
this  :  Where  there  is  a  genuine  love  of  the  '  letters  '  and  '  actions  *" 
of  the  invisible  '  friend,'  however  these  may  be  disadvantaged  by 
an  inability  to  meet  the  objections  to  their  authenticity  or  his- 
torical value  urged  by  'experts'  who  assume  the  privilege  of 
learning  over  ignorance,  it  would  indeed  be  a  wrong  to  the 
wisdom  and  goodness  of  the  '  friend '  if  he  were  supposed 
capable  of  overlooking  the  actual  'love'  and  only  considering 
the  '  ignorance"  which,  failing  to  in  any  degree  affect  '  love,'  is 
really  the  highest  evidence  that  'love'  exists.  So  I  meant* 
whether  the  result  be  clear  or  no." 

Ferishtah's  Fancies.  A  criticism  of  Life :  Browning's  mellow 
wisdom.  Published  in  1884,  with  the  following  quotations  as 
mottoes  on  the  page  facing  the  title: — 

"  His  genius  was  jocular,  but,  when  disposed,  he  could  be  very 
serious." — Article  Shakespeare,  Jeremy  Collier's  Historical,  etc.,  Dic- 
tionary, 2nd  edition,  1701.  "You,  sir,  I  entertain  you  for  one  of  my 
Hundred ;  only,  I  do  not  like  the  fashion  of  your  garments :  you 
will  say,  they  are  Persian ;  but  let  them  be  changed." — King 


The  work  embraces  the  following  collection  of  poems : — Pro 
logue.  I.  "The  Eagle."  2.  "The  Melon-seller."  3.  "Shah 
Abbas."  4.  "The  Family."  5.  "The  Sun."  6.  "  Mihrab  Shah." 
7.  "A  Camel-driver."  8.  "Two  Camels."  9.  "  Cherries." 
10.  "Plot  Culture."  II.  "A  Pillar  at  Sebzevah."  12.  "A 
Bean  Stripe :  also  Apple  Eating."  Epilogue.  There  was  a 
real  personage  named  Ferishtah,  a  celebrated  Persian  historian,, 
bora  about  1570.  He  is  one  of  the  most  trustworthy  of  the 
Oriental  historians.  Several  portions  of  his  work  have  been 
translated  into  English.  He  has,  however,  no  connection  with 
the  subject-matter  of  Mr.  Browning's  book,  but  it  is  probable 
that  his  name  suggested  itself  to  the  poet  as  a  good  one  for 
his  work.  We  have  here  Mr.  Browning  in  a  dervish's  robe, 
philosophising  in  a  Persian  atmosphere,  yet  talking  the  most 
perfect  Browningese,  just  as  do  the  Pope  in  the  Ring  and 
the  Book  and  the  rabbis  in  the  Jewish  poems.  Age,  experi- 
ence, and  the  calm  philosophy  of  a  religious  mind,  are  required 
for  the  poet's  highest  teaching.  It  matters  little,  these  being 


Fes]  BROWNING   CYCLOPAEDIA.  165 

given,  whether  the  philosophers  wear  the  tiara  of  the  pope, 
the  robe  of  the  dervish,  or  the  gaberdine  of  the  Jew:  the 
philosophy  is  the  same.  The  aim  is  "  to  justify  the  ways 
of  God  to  men,"  and  to  make  reasonable  an  exalted  Christian 
Theism.  Three  great  Eastern  classics — The  Fables  of  Bidpai, 
Firdausi's  Shdh-Ndmeh}  and  the  Book  of  Job — are  the  sources 
of  the  inspiration  of  the  pages  of  Feiishtalis  Fancies.  Both 
the  Shdh-Ndhmeh  and  the  Fables  of  Bidpai,  or  Pilpay  as  they 
are  commonly  termed,  are  published  in  the  Chandos  Classics. 
Bidpai  is  supposed  to  be  the  author  of  a  famous  collection  of 
Hindu  fables.  The  name  Bidpai  occurs  in  their  Arabic  version. 
Their  origin  was  doubtless  the Pantcha  Tantra,  or  "Five  Sections," 
a  great  collection  of  fables.  The  Hitopadesa  is  another  such 
collection.  The  fables  were  translated  into  Pehlvi  in  the  sixth 
century.  Then  the  Persian  fables  were  translated  into  Arabic, 
and  were  transmitted  to  Europe.  They  were  translated  into 
Greek  in  the  eleventh  century,  then  into  Hebrew  and  Latin, 
afterwards  into  nearly  every  European  tongue.  We  must  go 
to  Firdausi,  the  Persian  author  of  that  "standing  wonder  in 
poetic  literature,"  the  Shdh  Ndmeh,  for  ar  explanation  of  several 
allusions  in  the  poem.  This  great  chronicle,  the  Persian  Book  of 
Kings,  is  a  history  of  Persia  in  sixty  thousand  verses.  The  poem 
is  as  familiar  to  every  Persian  as  our  own  great  epics  to  us,  and 
the  use  Mr.  Browning  makes  of  it  in  this  work  is  managed  in  the 
most  natural  manner.  This  we  shall  notice  more  particularly  in 
dealing  with  the  separate  poems  which  compose  the  volume.  In 
a  letter  to  a  friend,  Browning  wrote : — "  I  hope  and  believe  that 
one  or  two  careful  readings  of  the  poem  will  make  its  sense  clear 
enough.  Above  all,  pray  allow  for  the  poet's  inventiveness  in 
any  case,  and  do  not  suppose  there  is  more  than  a  thin  disguise 
of  a  few  Persian  names  and  allusions.  There  was  no  such  poet 
as  Ferishtah — the  stories  are  all  inventions.  .  .  .  The  Hebrew 
quotations  are  put  in  for  a  purpose,  as  a  direct  acknowledgment 
that  certain  doctrines  may  be  found  in  the  Old  Book,  which  the 
concocters  of  novel  schools  of  morality  put  forth  as  discoveries 
of  their  own." 

Festus.  (Paracelsus.}  The  old  and  faithful  friend  of  Paracelsus, 
who  believes  in  him  from  the  first.  He  is  the  husband  oi 
Michal,  and  both  influence  the  mind  of  the  hero  of  medicine  for 
good  at  various  stages  of  his  career. 


1 66  BROWNING   CYCLOPAEDIA.  [Fif 

Fifine  at  the  Fair,  (i  872.)  The  key-note  of  the  work  is  given 
in  the  quotation  before  the  Prologue,  which  is  the  motto  of  the 
poem,  from  Moliere's  Don  Juan,  Act  I.,  Sc.  3.  There  is  a  certain 
historic  basis  for  the  character  of  the  Don  Juan  of  European 
legend.  In  Seville,  in  the  time  of  Peter  the  Cruel,  lived 
Don  Juan  Tenorio,  the  prince  of  libertines.  He  attempted  to 
abduct  Giralda,  daughter  of  the  governor  of  Seville :  the  con- 
sequence was  a  duel,  in  which  the  lady's  father  was  killed.  The 
sensual  excesses  of  Don  Juan  had  destroyed  his  faith,  and  he 
defied  the  spirit-world  so  far  as  to  visit  the  tomb  of  the  murdered 
man  and  challenge  his  statue  to  follow  him  to  supper.  The 
statue  accepted  the  invitation,  and  appeared  amongst  the  guests 
at  the  meal,  and  carried  the  blaspheming  sceptic  to  heli,  "As 
a  dramatic  type,"  says  the  author  of  the  article  "  Don  Juan,"  in  the 
Encyclopedia  Britannica,  "  Don  Juan  is  essentially  the  im- 
personation of  the  scepticism  that  results  from  sensuality,  and 
is  thus  the  complement  of  Faust,  whose  scepticism  is  the  result 
of  speculation."  The  Prologue  describes  a  swimmer  far  out  at 
sea,  disporting  himself  under  the  noon-sun ;  as  he  floats,  a 
beautiful  butterfly  hovers  above  him,  a  creature  of  the  sky,  as  he 
for  the  time  a  creature  of  the  water  ;  neither  can  unite  with  the 
other,  for  neither  can  exchange  elements ;  still,  if  we  cannot  fly, 
the  next  best  thing  is  to  swim, — a  half-way  house,  as  it  were, 
between  the  world  of  spirit  and  that  of  grosser  earth.  Poetry  is 
in  this  sense,  a  substitute  for  heaven:  whatever  the  heaven- 
dwellers  are,  the  poets  seem  ;  what  deeds  they  do,  the  poets 
dream.  Does  the  soul  of  his  departed  wife  hover  over  him  in 
this  way,  and  look  with  pity  on  the  mimicry  of  her  airy  flight  ?  he 
wonders.  (Mrs.  Browning  died  eleven  years  before  Fifine  was 
published.) — The  scenery  of  the  poem  is  that  of  the  neighbour- 
hood of  Pornic,  a  seaside  town  in  the  department  of  the  Loire,  in 
Brittany,  the  little  town  being  twenty-seven  miles  distant  from 
Nantes.  It  is  noted  for  its  sea  bathing  and  mineral  waters,  and, 
like  many  other  places  in  Brittany,  possesses  some  curious 
Druidical  and  other  architectural  remains.  Mr.  Browning,  while 
staying  at  Pornic  with  his  family,  saw  the  gipsy  woman  who 
suggested  to  him  the  idea  of  Fifine.  He  selected  her  as  a  type 
of  the  sensual  woman,  in  contrast  to  the  spiritual  type  of  woman- 
hood. The  poem  deals  with  incidents  connected  with  Pornic 
fair.  Don  Juan,  addressing  his  wife  Elvire,  says:  "Let  us 


Flf]  BROWNING    CYCLOPAEDIA.  167 

see  the  strolling  players  and  the  fun  of  the  fair !  Who  would 
have  supposed  that  the  night  could  effect  such  a  change? 
Yesterday  all  was  rough  and  raw — mere  tubs,  poles  and  hoard- 
ing ;  now  this  morning  all  is  gay  as  a  butterfly,  the  scaffolding 
has  burst  out  in  colour  like  a  flower-bed  in  full  bloom.  Nobody 
saw  them  enter  the  village,  but  that  is  the  way  of  these  tumblers, 
they  like  to  steal  a  march  and  exhibit  their  spectacle  only  when 
the  show  is  ready.  Had  any  one  wandered  about  the  place  at 
night  he  would  have  seen  the  sober  caravan  which  was  the  bud 
that  blossomed  to-day  into  all  this  gaiety.  An  airy  structure 
pitched  beneath  the  tower  appeared  in  the  morning  surmounted 
by  a  red  pennon  fluttering  in  the  air,  and  frantic  to  be  free.  To 
be  free ! — the  fever  of  the  flag  finds  a  response  in  my  soul,  my 
heart  fires  up  for  liberty  from  the  restraints  of  law,  I  would  lead 
the  bohemian  life  these  players  lead.  Why  is  it  that  disgraced 
people,  those  who  have  burst  the  bonds  of  conventional  life, 
always  seem  to  enjoy  their  existence  more  than  others  ?  They 
seem  conscious  of  possessing  a  secret  which  sets  them  out  of 
reach  of  our  praise  or  blame ;  now  and  again  they  return  to  us 
because  they  must  have  our  money,  just  as  a  bird  must  bear  off  a 
bit  of  rag  filched  from  mankind  to  work  up  into  his  nest.  But 
why  need  they  do  that  ?  We  think  much  of  our  reputation  and 
family  honour,  but  these  people  for  a  penny  or  two  will  display 
themselves  undraped  to  any  visitor.  You  may  tell  the  show- 
man that  his  six-legged  sheep  is  an  imposition, — he  does  not  care, 
he  values  his  good  name  at  nothing.  But  offer  to  make  these 
mountebanks  respectable,  promise  them  any  reward  you.  like  to 
forsake  their  ways,  to  work  and  live  as  the  rest  of  the  world,  and 
your  offer  will  not  tempt  them.  What  is  the  compensatory 
unknown  joy  which  turns  dross  to  gold  in  their  case?  You 
sigh,"  says  the  speaker  to  his  wife,  "you  shake  your  head :  what 
have  I  said  to  distress  you?  Fifine,  the  gipsy  beauty  of  the 
show,  will  illustrate  my  meaning :  this  woman  is  to  me  a  queen, 
a  sexless,  bloodless  sprite  ;  yet  she  has  conquered  me.  I  want  to 
understand  how.  There  is  a  honeyed  intoxication  in  the  Eastern 
lily,  which  lures  insects  to  their  death  for  its  own  nourishment :  is 
that  a  flaw  in  the  flower  ?  Wiser  are  we  not  to  be  tempted  by 
such  dangerous  delights ;  we  may  admire  and  keep  clear  of  them  • 
not  poison  lilies,  but  the  rose,  the  daisy,  or  the  violet,  for  me,— 
it  is  Elvire,  not  Fifine,  I  love.  You  ask  how  does  this  woman 


1 68  BROWNING   CYCLOPAEDIA.  [Flf 

explain  my  thought  ?  When  Louis  the  Eleventh  lay  dying  he 
had  a  procession  of  the  famous  women  of  all  time  made  to  pass 
before  him :  Helen  of  Troy,  who  magically  brought  men  to 
acquiesce  in  their  own  destruction ;  next  was  Cleopatra,  all  the 
wonder  of  her  body  dominated  by  her  high  and  naughty  soul, 
and  trampling  on  her  lovers  ;  then  the  saint  of  Pornic  church 
who  saves  the  shipwrecked  sailors,  and  who  thinks  in  her 
innocence  that  Cleopatra  has  given  away  her  clothes  to  the  poor ; 
then  comes  my  gipsy  beauty  Fifine,  with  her  tambourine. 
Suppose  you,  Elvire,  in  spirit  join  this  procession  ;  then  you 
confront  yourself,  and  I  will  show  you  how  you  beat  each 
personage  there — even  this  Fifine,  whom  I  will  reward  with  a 
franc  that  you  may  study  her.  You  draw  back  your  skirts  from 
such  filth  as  you  consider  her  to  be ;  though,  born  perhaps  as 
pure  and  sensitive  as  any  other  woman,  she  can  afford  to  bear 
your  scorn  possibly, — we  know  such  people  often  thus  minister 
to  age  and  the  wants  of  sick  parents.  Her  ogre  husband,  with 
his  brute-beast  face,  takes  the  money  she  has  earned  by  her 
exhibiting  herself  to  us  as  she  passes  into  the  tent  I  want  to 
make  you  see  the  beauty  of  the  mind  underlying  the  form  in  all 
these  women.  No  creature  is  made  so  mean  but  boasts  an  inward 
worth :  this  Fifine,  a  mere  sand-grain  on  the  shore,  reflects  some 
ray  of  sunshine.  Say  that  there  was  no  worst  of  degradation 
spared  this  woman,  yet  she  makes  no  pretence — she  is  absolutely 
truthful,  she  assumes  not  to  be  Helen  or  the  Pornic  Saint,  she 
only  offers  to  exhibit  herself  to  you  for  money."  The  wife  is 
not  deceived  by  all  this  sophistry ;  Fifine's  attraction  for  the  man 
lies  in  the  fact,  not  that  she  possesses  some  hidden  beauty  of 
soul,  but  some  unconcealed  physical  charms  which  awaken  desire 
in  him  because  they  are  not  his  own.  What  is  one's  own  is 
safe,  and  so  despised ;  any  waif  which  is  a  neighbour's  is  lor  the 
time  more  desirable, — "  Give  you  the  sun  to  keep,  you  would 
want  to  steal  a  boor's  rushlight  or  a  child's  squib."  He  explains 
that  this  is  always  women's  way  about  such  matters — they  cannot 
be  made  to  comprehend  mental  analysis.  He  reminds  her  how  at 
great  cost  and  a  year's  anxiety  he  had  purchased  a  Rafael ;  he 
gloated  over  his  prize  for  a  week,  and  then  had  more  relish  in 
turning  over  leaf  by  leaf  Dore"s  last  picture-book.  Suppose  the 
picture  reproached  him  with  inconstancy,  he  would  reply  that 
he  knew  the  picture  was  his  own :  anxiety  had  given  place  to 


Flf]  BROWNING   CYCLOPAEDIA.  169 

•confidence,  and  were  the  house  on  fire,  he  would  risk  his  life 
to  save  it,  though  he  were  knee  deep  in  Dor6's  engravings.  He 
tells  his  wife  she  is  to  him  as  the  Rafael,  the  Fifines  are  as  Bore's 
wood  engravings.  Elvire  is  the  precious  wife,  her  face  fits  into 
the  cleft  in  the  heart  of  him,  to  him  she  is  perfection ;  but  is 
she  perfect  to  her  mirror  ?  He  thinks  not.  Where,  then,  is  her 
beauty  ?  In  his  soul.  He  cannot  explain  the  reason,  any  more 
than  naming  the  notes  will  explain  a  symphony  or  describing 
lines  will  call  up  the  idea  of  a  picture.  Still  there  is  reason  in 
our  choice  of  each  other.  It  is  principally  the  effort  of  one  soul 
to  seeks  its  own  completion — that  which  shall  aid  its  develop- 
ment—in another's.  As  the  artist's  soul  sees  the  form  he  is 
about  to  create  in  the  marble  block,  so  does  the  lover  see  in  his 
choice  that  which  will  draw  out  his  soul-picture  into  concrete 
perfection.  The  world  of  sense  has  no  real  value  for  any 
of  us,  save  in  so  far  as  our  souls  can  detect  and  appropriate  it 
It  is  the  idea  which  gives  worth  to  that  on  which  it  is  exercised. 
The  value  of  all  externals  to  the  soul  is  just  in  proportion  to 
its  own  power  of  transmuting  them  into  food  for  its  own  growth. 
The  soul  flame  is  maintained  not  only  by  gums  and  spices,  but 
straw  and  rottenness  may  feed  it ;  if  the  soul  has  power  to  extract 
from  evil  things  that  which  supports  its  life,  what  matters  the 
straw  so  long  as  the  ash  is  left  behind  ?  and  so  of  the  conquests 
of  the  soul,  its  power  to  evoke  the  good  from  the  ungainly  and  the 
partial,  gives  us  courage  to  ignore  the  failures  and  the  slips  of  our 
lives.  The  pupil  does  not  all  at  once  evoke  the  masterpiece  from 
the  marble — he  puts  his  idea  in  plaster  by  the  side  of  the  Master's 
statue.  If  the  scholar  at  last  evoke  Eidothee",  the  Master  is  to 
thank.  "  To  love  "  in  its  intensest  form  means  to  yearn  to  invest 
another  soul  with  the  accumulated  treasures  of  our  own.  The 
chemic  force  exerted  by  one  soul  in  transmuting  coarse  things 
to  beautiful  is  aided  by  another's  flame.  Each  may  continue  to 
supplement  the  other,  till  the  red,  green,  blue  and  yellow  imper- 
fections may  be  fused  into  achromatic  white,  the  perfect  light- 
ray.  Soul  is  discernible  by  soul,  and  soul  is  evoked  by  soul — 
Elvire  by  Don  Juan.  The  wife  objects  that  he  abdicates  soul's 
empire  and  accepts  the  rule  of  sense :  man  has  left  the  monarch's 
throne,  and  lies  in  the  kennel  a  brute.  Searching  for  soul  through 
all  womankind,  you  find  no  face  so  vile  but  sense  may  extract 
from  it  some  good  for  soul.  This  fine-spun  theory,  this  elaborate 


1 70  BROWNING  CYCLOPAEDIA.  [Fif 

sophistry,  she  declares,  is  merely  an  ingenious'excuse  for  sensu- 
ality :— 

"  Be  frank — who  is  it  you  deceive — 
Yourself,  or  me,  or  God  ?  " 

Don  Juan  would  reply  by  an  illustration  from  music,  which 
can  penetrate  more  subtly  than  words :  he  would  show  how 
we  may  rise  out  of  the  false  into  the  true,  out  of  the  dark 
into  the  brightness  above  the  dense  and  dim  regions  where 
doubt  is  bred.  Bathing  in  the  sea  that  morning,  out  in  mid- 
channel,  he  was  standing  in  the  water  with  head  back,  chin  up, 
body  and  limbs  below — he  kept  himself  alive  by  breath  in  the 
nostrils,  high  and  dry ;  ever  and  again  a  wavelet  or  a  ripple  would 
threaten  life,  then  back  went  the  head,  and  all  was  safe.  But 
did  he  try  to  ascend  breast  high,  wave  arms  free  of  tether,  to  be 
in  the  air  and  leave  the  water,  under  he  went  again ;  before  he 
had  mastered  his  lesson  he  had  plenty  of  water  in  mouth  and 
eyes.  "  I  compare  this,"  he  says,  "  to  the  spirit's  efforts  to  rise  out 
of  the  medium  which  sustains  it."  He  was  upborne  by  that  which 
he  beat  against,  too  gross  an  element  to  live  in,  were  it  not  for 
the  dose  of  life-breath  in  the  soul.  Our  business  is  with  the 
sea,  not  with  the  air,  so  we  must  endure  the  false  below  while  we 
bathe  in  this  life.  It  is  by  practice  with  the  false  that  we  reach 
the  true.  We  gain  confidence,  and  learn  the  trick  of  doing  what 
we  will — sink  or  rise.  His  senses  do  not  reel  when  a  billow 
breaks  over  him ;  he  grasps  at  a  wave  that  will  not  be  grasped  at 
all,  but  glides  through  the  fingers — still  the  failure  to  grasp  the 
water  sends  the  head  above,  far  beyond  the  wave  he  tried  to- 
hold:— 

"  So  with  this  work  o'  the  world," 

we  try  to  grasp  a  soul,  catch  at  it,  think  we  have  a  prize ;  it  eludes 
us,  yet  the  soul  helped  ours  to  mount.  He  seizes  Elvire  by 
grasping  at  Fifine.  Not  even  this  specious  reasoning  deceives 
the  wife.  It  is  an  ugly  fact  that  the  wave  grasped  at  is  a  woman. 
He  replies  that  a  woman  can  be  absorbed  into  the  man :  women 
grow  you,  men  at  best  depend 'upon  you.  A  rill  that  empties  itself 
into  the  sea  can  never  be  separated  from  it.  That  is  woman.  Man 
takes  all  and  gives  nought.  To  raise  men  you  must  stoop  to  teach 
them,  learn  their  ignorance,  stifle  your  soul  in  their  mediocrities  \ 
but  to  govern  women  you  must  abandon  stratagem,  cast  away 


Flf]  BROWNING   CYCLOPAEDIA.  1J  P 

disguise,  and  reveal  your  best  self  at  your  uttermost.  When  the 
music  of  Arion  attracted  the  dolphins  to  the  doomed  man,  one 
of  them  bore  him  on  its  back  to  the  coast,  and  so  saved  his  life ; 
revealing  his  best  to  this  "true  woman-creature,"  he  was  saved 
from  the  men  who  would  have  killed  him  for  gain.  A  man  never 
puts  out  his  whole  self  in  love — this  is  reserved  for  hate.  You 
do  not  get  the  best  out  of  a  man  by  nourishing  his  root,  but  by 
pruning  his  branch ;  as  wine  came  through  goats,  which,  browsing 
on  the  tendrils  of  the  grape,  "stung  the  stock  to  fertility,"  and' 
so  gained  "  the  indignant  wine — wrath  of  the  red  press."  Mites 
of  men  are  sore  that  God  made  mites  at  all ;  love  avails  not  from 
such  men-animalculae  to  coax  a  virile  thought,  but  touch  the  eli 
with  hate,  and  the  insect  swells  to  thrice  its  bulk  "and  cuckoo- 
spits  some  rose ! "  Nothing  is  to  be  gained  from  ruling  men ;  women 
take  nothing,  and  give  all.  Elvire  and  Fifine,  in  their  degree,  are 
alike  in  this  respect.  "  To  have  secured  a  woman's  faith  in  me  fr 
to  have  centred  my  soul  on  a  fact.  Falseness  and  change  I  see  all? 
around  me ;  I  expect  truth  because  Fifine  knows  me  much  more 
than  Elvire  does."  To  this  his  wife  replies,  "  Why  not  only  she  ? 
There  can  be  for  each  but  one  Best,  which  abolishes  the  simply 
Good  and  Better.  Why  not  be  content  with  the'  Elvire,  who 
substitutes  belief  in  truth,  in  your  own  soul,  for  the  falseness 
which  you  fear?  By  toil  and  effort  the  boatman  may  do  with 
pole  and  oars  what  by  waiting  a  few  hours  the  rising  water 
would  do  for  him  without  his  labour;  but  men  affect  unusual 
ways, — Elvire  could  do  far  better  for  you  all  that  you  expect 
from  Fifine."  To  this  he  replies  that  "  a  voyage  may  be  too  safe ; 
there  is  no  excitement,  no  experiment  when  wind  and  tide  do  all 
the  needful  work.  Then  may  not  our  hate  of  falsehood  be  that 
which  charms  us  in  these  actors  who  confess  '  A  lie  is  all  we  do  • 
or  say '  ?  Everything  has  a  false  outside,  stage-play  is  honest 
cheating.  The  poet  never  dreams  ;  prose-folk  always  do."  Then 
he  tells  how  his  thought  had  recently  sought  expression  in  music 
rather  than  in  words — as  he  played  Schumann's  Carnival,  and 
reflected  that  in  the  masque  of  life  and  banquet  of  the  world  we 
have  ever  the  same  things  in  a  new  guise,  the  difficulty  was  ever 
to  conquer  commonplace  and  spice  the  same  old  viands  and 
games.  His  fancies  bore  him  to  a  pinnacle  above  St.  Mark's  at 
Venice,  in  Carnival  time ;  he  gazed  down  on  a  prodigious  Fair, . 
the  men  and  women  were  disguised  as  beasts,  birds,  and  fishes. 


372  BROWNING   CYCLOPAEDIA.  [Fif 

Descending  into  the  crowd,  disgust  gave  way  to  pity ;  the  people 
•were  not  so  beast-like,  but  much  more  human,  than  when  he 
•viewed  them  from  the  height,  and  he  began  to  contemplate  them 
-with  a  delight  akin  to  that  which  animates  the  chemist  when  he 
untwines  the  composite  substance,  traces  effect  back  to  cause, 
and  then  constructs  from  its  elements  the  complex  and  complete. 
So  did  he  get  to  know  the  thing  he  was,  while  contemplating  in 
that  Carnival  the  thing  he  was  not  Thus  Venice  Square  became 
the  world,  the  masquerade  was  life,  the  disgust  at  the  pageant 
was  due  to  the  distance  from  which  it  was  contemplated,  when 
he  learned  that  the  proper  goal  for  wisdom  is  the  ground  and 
•not  the  sky,  he  discovered  how  wisely  balanced  are  our  hates 
and  loves,  and  how  peace  and  good  come  from  strife  and  evil. 
It  is  no  business  of  ours  to  fret  about  what  should  be,  but  we 
should  accept  and  welcome  what  is — is,  that  is  to  say,  for  the  hour, 
'for  change  is  the  law  even  of  the  religions  by  which  man 
approaches  God.  His  temples  fade  to  recompose  into  other 
fanes.  And  not  only  temples,  but  the  domes  of  learning  and  the 
seats  of  science  are  subject  to  the  same  law.  Yet  Religion  has 
always  her  true  temple-type ;  Truth,  though  founded  in  a  rock, 
builds  on  sands;  churches  and  colleges  that  grow  to  nothing 
always  reappear  as  something ;  some  building,  round  or  square 
-or  polygonal,  we  shall  always  have.  But  leave  the  buildings,  and 
let  us  look  at  the  booths  in  the  Fair.  History  keeps  a  stall, 
^Morality  and  Art  set  up  their  shops.  They  acquiesce  in  law, 
and  adapt  themselves  to  the  times ;  and  so,  as  from  a  distance 
the  scene  is  contemplated  as  a  whole,  the  multiform  subsides  in 
haze,  the  buildings,  distinct  in  the  broad  light  of  day,  merge  and 
lose  their  individuality  in  a  common  shape.  See  this  Druid 
monument :  how  does  its  construction  strike  you  ?  How  came 
this  cross  here  ?  Learning  cannot  enlighten  us.  It  meant  some- 
thing when  it  was  erected  which  is  lost  now,  yet  the  people  of  the 
place  respect  it  and  are  persuaded  that  what  a  thing  meant  once 
it  must  still  mean.  They  thought  it  had  some  reference  to  the 
•Creator  of  the  world,  and  was  there  to  remind  them  that  the 
world  came  not  of  itself.  And  so,  with  all  the  change  in  religions, 
there  is  an  imperial  chord  which  subsists  and  underlies  the  mists 
of  music.  In  all  the  change  there  is  permanence  as  a  substratum. 
Truth  inside  and  truth  outside,  but  falsehood  is  between  each  ;  it 
is  the  falsehood  which  is  change,  the  truth  is  the  permanence. 


Fif]  BROWNING   CYCLOPEDIA.  17$ 

There  is  an  unchanging  truth  to  which  man  in  all  his  waverings- 
is  constant.  This  Druid  monument  said  what  it  had  to  say  to  its 
own  age ;  it  never  promised  to  help  our  dream.  Don  Juan  and* 
his  wife  having  now  completed  their  walk,  he  proposes  to  return 
home  to  end  where  they  began  ;  as  we  were  nursed  into  life,, 
death's  bosom  receives  us  at  last,  and  that  is  final,  for  death  is- 
defeat.  Our  limbs  came  with  our  need  of  them,  our  souls  grew 
by  mastering  the  lessons  of  life  ;  but  when  death  comes,  the  soul,, 
which  ruled  by  right  while  the  bodily  powers  remained,  loses  its 
right  to  rule.  And  so  the  soul  has  run  its  round.  Love  ends  too 
where  love  began,  and  goes  back  to  permanence ;  each  step  aside 
(from  Elvire  to  Fifine,  for  example)  proves  divergency  in  vain  : 

"  Inconstancy  means  raw,  'tis  faith  alone  means  ripe." 

And  as  they  reach  their  villa,  he  resolves  to  live  and  die  a  quiet 
married  man,  earning  the  approbation  of  the  mayor,  and  unoccu- 
pied with  soul  problems,  especially  those  of  women.  At  that 
moment  a  letter  is  put  into  his  hand :  there  has  been  some  mis- 
take, Fifine  thinks — he  has  given  her  gold  instead  of  silver ;  he  wilb 
go  and  see  about  it,  and  is  off.  Five  minutes  was  all  the  time  he 
asked.  He  is  absent  much  longer,  and  on  his  return  Elvire  has- 
vanished. 

The  Epilogue  describes  the  householder  sitting  desolate  in\ 
his  melancholy  home,  weary  and  stupid ;  he  is  suddenly  surprised 
by  the  appearance  of  his  lost  wife,  whose  spirit  has  returned  to 
claim  him ;  he  tells  her  how  the  time  has  dragged  without  her, 
"And  was  I  so  much  better  off  up  there?"  quoth  she.  Fot 
decency,  arrangements  are  made  that  the  reunion  may  be  in 
order ;  and  so,  the  powers  above  and  those  below  having  been, 
duly  conciliated,  husband  and  wife  are  once  more  united:  "Love 
is  all,  and  death  is  nought " — the  final  lesson  of  life. 

The  means  whereby  we  may  rise  from  the  false  to  the  true 
are  never  wanting  to  the  earnest  and  faithful  striver,  this  is  the 
esoteric  truth  of  Fifine  at  the  Fair.  The  exoteric  meaning  may 
be  "  an  apologia  for  the  revolt  of  passion  against  social  rules  and; 
fetters."  "Frenetic  to  be  free,"  like  the  pennon,  is  in  this 
sense  the  concentration  of  its  meaning.  What  was  Browning's 
object  in  this  difficult  and  remarkable  work  ?  The  question  is 
not  so  difficult  to  answer  as  it  appears  at  first  sight.  The  poet- 
is  a  soul  analyst  first,  and  a  teacher  next  He  teaches  admirably 


BROWNING   CYCLOPAEDIA.  [Flf 

-in  scores  of  passages  in  Fifine,  but  his  main  idea  has  been 
to  interpret  the  mental  processes  which  he  supposed  might 
underlie  the  actions  of  such  a  selfish  and  heartless  voluptuary 
as  Don  Juan.  Not,  of  course,  was  there  any  idea  of  rehabilitating 
the  character  of  the  historic  personage ;  but,  as  Browning  held  that 
every  soul  has  something  to  say  for  itself,  every  man  some  ideal 
soul-advance  at  which  he  aims,  however  mistaken  may  be  his 
methods,  so  he  imagined  that  even  this  selfish  libertine  had  his 
golden  ideal,  however  deeply  bedded  in  mire.  He  has  not — 
like  the  great  dramatists — sunk  himself  in  his  character,  and 
striven  thus  to  present  the  real  man  on  his  stage,  but  he  has 
lent  Don  Juan  his  Browning  soul  for  a  while,  that  he  may  make 
his  Apologia  to  the  wife,  whom  he  finds  it  very  hard  to  deceive. 
Dr.  Furnivall  once  asked  the  poet  what  his  idea  really  was  in 
the  poem.  The  poet  replied  that  his  "  fancy  was  to  show  morally 
how  a  Don  Juan  might  justify  himself  partly  by  truth,  somewhat 
by  sophistry."  (Browning  Society  Papers,  vol.  ii.,  p.  242*.)  See 
also  vol.  i.,  pp.  377,  379,  pp.  18*,  61*,  vol.  ii.,  p.  240*.  Mr.  Nettle- 
ship's  exhaustive  analysis  leaves  nothing  to  be  desired.  (Essays, 
p.  221.)  .. 

NOTES. — Verse  ii.,  "bateleurs  and  baladines"  conjurors  and 
mountebanks.  Verse  iv.,  "  Gawain  to  gaze  upon  the  Grail " : 
•Gawain  was  the  son  of  King  Lot  and  Margause,  in  the  Arthurian 
legend  of  the  Holy  Grail.  Verse  xv.,  almandines,  a  variety  of 
garnet.  Verse  xix.,  sick  Louis:  King  Louis  XI.  of  France. 
Verse  xxv.,  tricot:  a  knitted  vest.  Verse  xxvii.,  Helen  :  she  was 
•declared  by  some  of  the  Greeks  never  to  have  been  really  present 
-at  Troy,  and  that  Paris  only  carried  off  a  phantom  created  by 
Hera:  the  real  Helen,  they  said,  was  wafted  by  Hermes  to 
Proteus  in  Egypt,  whence  she  was  taken  home  by  Menelaus. 
Verse  xxxvi.,  pochade,  a  rough  sketch.  Verse  xlii.,  Razzi,  a 
•corruption  of  Bazzi,  or  properly  II  Sodona,  the  Italian  painter 
(1479-1549).  Verse  xlvii.,  Gerome,  a  French  painter  (born 
1824):  he  exhibited  a  great  picture  at  the  Exposition  ol  1859, 
called  "The  Gladiators."  Verse  lii.,  Eidothee:  a  sea-goddess, 
daughter  of  Proteus,  the  old  man  of  the  sea.  Verse  \\x..,Glumdal- 
clich,  in  Gulliver's  Travels,  was  a  girl  nine  years  old,  and 
41  only  forty  feet  high."  "  Theosutos  e  broteios  eper  kekramene" 
Greek  for  "  God,  man,  or  both  together  mixed,"  from  the  Pro- 
metheus Bound  of  ^Eschylus.  Verse  lx.,  Chrysopras  :  a  precious 


Fil]  BROWNING   CYCLOPAEDIA  175 

stone,  a  variety  of  chalcedony,  or  perhaps  beryl.  Verse  Ixvii. 
cannot  be  understood  without  reference  to  the  fourth  canto  of 
Byron's  Childe  Harold-,  the  lines  and  words  between  inverted 
commas  are  taken  from  verse  clxxx.,  and  the  argument  is  directed 
against  Byron's  teaching  as  therein  expressed :  this  verse  was 
particularly  obnoxious  to  Mr.  Browning,  both  on  account  of  its 
sentiments  and  grammar  (see  under  LA  SAISIAZ,  p.  247).  Verse 
Ixix.,  Thalassia :  sea-nymph,  from  the  Greek  word  for  the  sea : 
Triton,  a  sea  deity,  a  son  of  Neptune.  Verse  Ixxviii.,  Arion:  a 
Greek  poet  and  musician  :  he  was  rescued  from  drowning  on  the 
back  of  a  dolphin  ;  his  song  to  his  lyre  drew  the  creatures  round 
the  vessel,  and  one  of  them  bore  him  to  the  shore.  Periander, 
the  tyrant  of  Corinth.  "  Methymn&an  hand"  :  Arion  was  born  at 
Methymna,  in  Lesbos.  Orthian,  of  Orthia :  this  was  a  surname 
•of  Diana.  Tanarus,  the  point  of  land  to  which  the  dolphin 
carried  Arion,  whence  he  travelled  to  the  court  of  Periander. 
Verse  Ixxxii.,  "See  Horace  to  the  boat" :  the  ode  is  the  third  of 
the  First  Book  of  Horace's  Odes.  Verse  Ixxxiii.,  "  The  long 
walls  of  Athens"  (see  under  ARISTOPHANES'  APOLOGY,  p.  36). 
Jostephanos,  violet  crowned — a  name  of  Athens.  Vers«*xcviii., 
Simulacra,  images  or  likenesses.  Verse  cxxiv.,  protoplast,  the 
•original,  the  thing  first  formed.  Verse  cxxv.,  Moirai  Trimorphoi, 
the  Tri-form  Fates. 

Filippo  Baldinucci  on  the  Privilege  of  Burial :  A  Reminis- 
cence of  A.D.  1676.  (Pacchiarotto  and  other  Poems,  1876.) 
Filippo  Baldinucci  was  a  distinguished  Italian  writer  on  the 
history  of  the  arts.  He  was  born  at  Florence  in  1624,  and  died 
in  1696.  His  chief  work  is  entitled  Notizie  de  Professori  del 
Disegno  da  Cimabue  in  qua"  (dal  1260  sino  al  1670),  and  was 
•first  published,  in  six  vols.  4to,  1681-1728.  The  Encyclopedia 
Britannica  says  :  "  The  capital  defect  of  this  work  is  the  attempt 
to  derive  all  Italian  art  from  the  schools  of  Florence."  The  inci 
dents  of  the  poem  are  historical,  and  are  related  in  the  account 
which  Baldinucci  gives  of  the  painter  Buti.  Its  subject  is  that  ot 
the  persecution  to  which  the  Jews  were  subjected  in  Italy,  as  in 
other  countries  of  Europe,  and  unhappily  down  to  the  present 
time  in  Russia.  We  have  the  story  as  told  by  a  frank  persecutor, 
who  regrets  that  the  altered  state  of  the  law  no  longer  permits 
the  actual  pelting  of  the  Jews.  The  good  old  times  had  departed, 
but  in  his  youth  they  could  play  some  capital  tricks  with  "the 


1 76  BROWNING   CYCLOPAEDIA. 

crew,"  as  he  will  narrate.  There  was  a  Jews'  burying-place 
hard  by  San  Frediano,  in  Florence.  Just  below  the  Blessed 
Olivet,  and  adjoining  this  cemetery,  was  "a  good  farmer's 
Christian  field."  The  Jews  hedged  their  ground  round  with 
bushes,  to  conceal  their  rites  from  Christian  gaze,  for  the  public 
road  ran  by  one  corner  of  it.  The  farmer,  partly  from  devotion, 
partly  to  annoy  the  Jews,  built  a  shrine  in  his  vineyard,  and* 
employed  the  painter  Buti  to  depict  thereon  the  Virgin  Mary, 
fixing  the  picture  just  where  it  would  be  most  annoying  to  the 
Jews.  They  tried  to  bribe  the  owner  of  the  shrine  to  turn  the 
picture  the  other  way,  to  remove  its  disturbing  presence  from, 
spectators  to  whom  it  could  do  no  good,  and  let  it  face  the 
public  road,  frequented  by  a  class  of  Christians  evidently  much, 
in  need  of  religious  supervision  and  restraint  The  farmer 
agreed  to  remove  the  offending  fresco  in  consideration  of  the  bag; 
of  golden  ducats  offered ;  and  he  at  once  called  the  painter  to 
cause  Our  Lady  to  face  the  other  way.  Buti  covers  up  the 
shrine  with  a  hoarding,  and  sets  to  work.  Meanwhile  the  Chief 
Rabbi's  wife  died,  and  was  taken  for  burial  to  the  cemetery.  ID 
passing  the  shrine  in  the  farmer's  field  the  mourners  became 
aware  of  a  scurvy  trick  played  upon  them  by  the  Christians  ;  for 
the  Virgin  was  removed  according  to  the  bargain,  but  a  Crucifixion 
had  been  substituted,  and  now  confronted  them.  The  cheated 
Jews  protested,  but  in  vain :  there  was  nothing  for  them  but  to- 
suffer.  Next  day,  as  the  farmer  and  his  artist  friend  sat  laughing 
over  the  trick,  the  athletic  young  son  of  the  Rabbi  entered  the 
studio,  desiring  to  purchase  the  original  oil  painting  of  the 
Madonna  from  which  the  fresco  of  the  shrine  was  painted.  The 
artist  was  so  frightened  at  his  stalwart  form,  and  so  amazed  at 
the  request,  that,  taken  unaware,  he  asked  no  more  than  the 
proper  price !  and  Mary  was  borne  in  triumph  to  deck  a  Hebrew 
household.  They  thought  a  miracle  had  happened,  and  that  the 
Jew  had  been  converted ;  but  the  Israelite  explained  that  the  only 
miracle  wrought  was  that  which  had  restrained  him  from  throttling 
the  painter.  The  truth  was,  he  had  changed  his  views  about  art,, 
and  had  reflected  that,  since  cardinals  hung  up  heathen  gods  and 
goddesses  in  their  palaces,  there  was  no  reason  why  his  picture 
of  Mary  should  not  be  hung  with  Ledas  and  what  not,  and  be 
judged  on  its  merits,  or,  more  probably,  on  its  flaws  1  And  he 
walked  off  with  his  picture.. 


Fir]  BROWNING   CYCLOPEDIA.  177 

Fire  is  in  the  Flint.     (Ferishtatts  Fancies — opening  words 
of  the  fifth  lyric.) 

Flight  of  the  Duchess,  The.  (Dramatic  Romances  and 
Lyiics,  1845 — m  Bells  and  Pomegranates,  VII.).  When  Mr 
Browning  was  little  more  than  a  child,  he  heard  a  woman  one 
Guy  Fawkes'  Day  sing  in  the  street  a  strange  song,  whose  burden 
was,  "  Following  the  Queen  of  the  Gipsies,  O  !  "  The  singular 
refrain  haunted  his  memory  for  many  years,  and  out  of  it  was 
ultimately  born  this  poem.  There  is  a  strange  fascination  in  the 
mysterious  story,  which  is  told  by  an  old  huntsman,  who  has 
spent  his  life  in  the  service  of  a  Duke  and  his  mother  at  their 
castle  in  a  land  of  the  North  which  is  an  appanage  of  the  German 
Kaiser.  The  young  Duke's  father  died  when  he  was  a  child,  and 
his  mother  took  him  in  early  life  to  Paris,  where  they  remained 
till  the  youth  grew  to  manhood.  Returning  to  the  old  castle  with 
his  head  full  of  mediaeval  fancies,  the  Duke  upset  everybody  by 
his  revivals  of  outlandish  customs  and  feudal  fashions,  and  this 
in  a  manner  which  irritated  every  one  concerned.  In  course  of 
time  the  Duchess  found  a  wife  for  her  sou — a  young,  warm- 
hearted girl  from  a  convent,  who  won  the  affection  of  the  servants 
of  the  castle,  but  was  treated  with  coldness  and  severity  by  its 
lord  and  his  "  hell-cat "  of  a  mother.  Chilled  by  the  want  of 
affection,  and  neglected  by  those  whose  care  it  should  have 
been  to  make  her  happy,  the  girl  sickened,  and  was  visibly  pining 
away.  It  occurred  to  the  Duke  to  revive,  amongst  other  old 
customs,  those  connected  with  the  hunting  of  the  stag,  and  a 
great  hunting  party  on  mediaeval  lines  was  arranged.  In  the 
course  of  his  researches  into  the  customs  of  mediaeval  hunting,  he 
discovered  that  the  lady  of  the  castle  had  a  special  office  to  per- 
form when  the  stag  was  killed.  The  authorities  said  the  dame 
must  prick  forth  on  her  jennet  and  preside  at  the  disembowelling. 
But  the  poor,  mewed-up  little  duchess,  secluded  from  all  the 
pleasures  of  life,  did  not  care  to  be  brought  out  just  to  play  a 
part  in  a  ceremony  for  which  she  had  no  heart,  and  thanking  the 
Duke  for  the  intended  honour,  begged  to  be  excused  on  account 
of  her  ill-health ;  and  so  the  Duke  had  to  give  way,  but  he  sent 
his  mother  to  scold  her.  When  the  hunt  began  the  Duke  was 
sulky  and  disheartened ;  as  he  rode  down  the  valley  he  met  a 
troop  of  gipsies  on  their  march,  and  from  the  company  an  old 
witch  came  forth  to  greet  the  huntsmen.  Sidling  up  to  the  Duke. 

12 


178  BROWNING   CYCLOPAEDIA.  [FU 

she  began  to  whine  and  make  her  appeal  for  tne  usual  gifts. 
She  said  she  desired  to  pay  her  duty  to  the  beautiful  new 
Duchess,  at  which  the  Duke  was  struck  by  the  idea  that  he 
might  use  the  old  crone  as  a  means  to  frighten  his  wife  and 
make  her  more  submissive,  so  he  bade  the  huntsman  who  tells 
the  story  conduct  the  gipsy  to  the  young  Duchess.  The  old  hag 
promised  to  engage  in  the  project  with  hearty  goodwill,  and, 
quickened  by  the  sight  of  a  purse  as  the  sign  of  a  forthcoming 
reward,  she  hobbled  off  to  the  castle,  and  the  Duke  rejoined  his 
party.  The  huntsman  had  a  sweetheart  at  the  castle  named 
Jacynth,  who  conducted  the  crone  to  the  lady's  chamber  while 
he  waited  without.  And  now  began  the  mysteries  of  that  eventful 
day.  The  maid  protested  she  never  could  tell  what  it  was  that 
made  her  fall  asleep  of  a  sudden  as  soon  as  the  gipsy  was  intro- 
duced to  her  mistress.  The  huntsman  had  waited  on  the  balcony 
for  some  considerable  time,  when  his  attention  was  arrested  by 
a  low  musical  sound  in  the  chamber  of  his  lady ;  then  he  pushed 
aside  the  lattice,  pulled  the  curtain,  and  saw  Jacynth  asleep  along 
the  floor.  In  the  midst  of  the  room,  on  a  chair  of  state,  was  the 
gipsy,  transformed  to  a  queen,  with  her  face  bent  over  the  lady's 
head,  who  was  seated  at  her  knees,  her  face  intent  on  that  of 
the  crone.  Wondering  whether  the  old  woman  was  banning  or 
blessing  the  Duchess,  he  was  about  to  spring  in  to  the  rescue, 
when  he  was  stopped  by  the  strange  expression  on  her  face. 
She  was  drinking  in  "  Life's  pure  fire  "  from  the  old  woman,  was 
becoming  transformed  by  some  powerful  influence  that  seemed  to 
stream  from  the  elder  to  the  younger  woman ;  her  very  tresses 
shared  in  the  pleasure,  her  cheeks  burned  and  her  eyes  glistened. 
The  influence  reached  the  soul  of  the  retainer,  and  he  fell  under 
the  potent  spell  as  he  listened  to  the  gipsy's  words  as  she  told 
the  Duchess  she  had  discovered  she  was  of  th^ir  race  by  infallible 
signs.  At  last  he  came  to  know  that  his  mistress  was  being 
bewitched,  and  he  ran  to  the  portal,  where  he  met  her,  so  altered 
and  so  beautiful  that  he  felt  that  whatever  had  happened  was  for 
the  best  and  he  had  nothing  to  do  but  take  her  commands.  He 
was  hers  to  live  or  to  die,  and  he  preceded  his  mistress,  followed 
bj  the  gipsy,  who  had  shrunk  again  to  her  proper  stature.  They 
went  to  the  courtyard,  where,  as  he  was  desired,  he  saddled  the 
Duchess's  palfrey,  which  his  mistress  mounted  with  the  crone 
behind  her ;  then,  putting  a  little  plait  of  hair  into  the  servant's 


Fll]  BROWNING    CYCLOPAEDIA.  179 

hand,  the  Duchess  rode  off,  and  they  lost  her.  As  the  old  retainer 
tells  the  tale,  thirty  years  have  passed  since  the  flight  took  place. 
No  search  was  made  for  the  lady  ;  the  Duke's  pride  was  wounded, 
and  he  would  not  seek  her,  and  made  small  inquiry  about  her. 
The  man  says  he  must  see  his  master  through  this  life,  and 
then  he  will  scrape  together  his  earnings  and  travel  to  the  land 
of  the  gipsies,  to  find  his  lady  or  hear  the  last  of  her.  Has 
all  this  an  allegorical  meaning  ?  Many  have  tried  to  find  such 
in  this  remarkable  poem.  But  Browning  does  not  teach  by 
allegory :  he  rather  prefers  to  let  events  as  they  actually  happen 
tell  their  own  lessons  to  minds  awakened  to  receive  them.  It  is 
not  at  all  difficult,  without  resorting  to  allegorical  interpretation, 
to  discover  what  the  poem  teaches.  And  in  the  first  place  we 
are  taught  that  a  human  soul  cannot  thrive  without  the  living 
sympathy  of  its  kind.  The  Duchess  was  withering  under  the  chill 
neglect  of  the  hateful  mother-in-law  and  her  contemptible  son. 
The  bewitchment  of  the  gipsy  was  the  charm  of  love — the  strong, 
passionate  love  of  a  great  human  heart,  enshrined  though  it  was 
in  a  witch-like  and  decrepit  frame.  The  outpouring  of  the  old 
woman's  sympathy  on  this  friendless  girl  sufficed  to  transfigure 
the  crone  till  she  became  to  the  huntsman  a  young  and  a  beautiful 
queen  herself.  In  the  supreme  act  of  perfectly  loving,  the  woman 
herself  became  lovely;  for  there  is  no  rejuvenescence  like  that 
which  comes  from  loving  others  and  helping  the  weak.  Then  we 
learn  that,  as  the  Duchess  seemed  to  be  imbibing  new  life  from 
the  gipsy  queen,  virtue  goes  forth  from  every  true  lover  of  his  kind, 
and  degrees  of  rank,  education,  and  station,  are  no  barriers  to 
the  magnetism  which  streams  forth  from  a  human  heart,  however 
humble,  towards  another  human  heart,  however  highly  placed. 
Life  without  love  is  a  living  death,  and  the  Duchess  no  more  did 
wrong  when  she  rode  off  with  the  gipsy  who  saw  the  signs  of 
her  people  in  the  marks  on  her  forehead  than  the  flowers  do 
wrong  when  they  bloom  at  the  invitation  of  the  Spring.  The  sign 
which  the  gipsy  saw  was  that  of  a  soul  capable  of  responding  to 
a  heart  yearning  to  help  it.  The  girl  had  a  right  to  human  love  ; 
she  had  a  right  to  seek  it  in  a  gipsy  heart  when  she  could  find  it 
nowhere  else.  In  the  sermon  by  Canon  Wilberforce  preached 
before  the  British  Medical  Association,  at  their  meeting  at  Bourne- 
mouth in  1891,  speaking  of  the  power  of  Jesus  over  human 
diseases,  the  preacher  said,  "The  secret  of  this  power  was  His 


l8o  BROWNING   CYCLOPAEDIA.  [FU 

perfect  sympathy.  He  violated  or  suspended  no  natural  laws.  .  .  . 
His  healings  were  an  influential  outpouring  of  that  inherent  divine 
life  which  is  latent  and  in  some  degree  operative  in  every  man, 
but  which  existed  in  fulness  and  perfection  of  operation  only  in 
Him.  Is  not  this  the  force  of  the  word  "  compassion  "  used  of 
Him  ?  The  verb  o-TrXa-y^i/i^o/zat  is  not  found  in  any  former  Greek 
author.  It  indicates,  so  far  as  language  can  express  it,  a  forceful 
movement  of  the  whole  inward  nature  towards  its  object,  and 
personal  identification  with  it  It  indicates  that  compassion  and 
lo\e  are  not  superficial  emotions,  but  dynamic  forces."  Mrs. 
Owen,  of  Cheltenham,  read  a  paper  at  the  meeting  of  the 
Browning  Society,  Nov.  24th,  1882,  entitled  "  What  is  '  The  Flight 
of  the  Duchess ? '"  in  which  it  was  suggested  that  the  Duke 
represents  our  gross  self;  the  huntsman  represents  the  simple 
human  nature  that  may  either  rise  with  the  Duchess  or  sink  with 
the  Duke, — the  better  man.  The  Duchess  represents  the  soul,  [ 
the  highest  part  of  our  complex  nature.  The  huntsman  aids  the 
Duchess  (the  soul)  to  free  herself  from  the  coarse,  low,  earth- 
nature,  the  Duke.  So  that  the  '  Flight  of  the  Duchess  '  is  "  the 
supreme  moment  when  the  soul  shakes  off  the  bondage  of  self 
and  finds  its  true  freedom  in  others."  The  paper  is  published  in 
the  Browning  Society 's  Transactions  (Part  iv.,  p.  49*),  and  is  well 
worthy  of  study  by  those  who  seek  a  deeper  spiritual  meaning 
in  "  this  mystic  study  of  redeemed  womanhood  "  than  its  primary 
sense  conveys. 

NOTES. — Stanza  iii.,  merlin,  a  species  of  hawk  anciently  much 
used  in  falconry ;  falcon-tanner,  a  species  of  long-tailed  hawk, 
vi.,  urochs,  wild  bulls ;  buffle,  buffalo,  x.,  St.  Hubert,  before 
his  conversion,  was  passionately  devoted  to  hunting :  he  is  the 
patron  saint  of  hunters;  venerers,  prickers,  and  verderers, 
huntsmen,  light  horsemen,  and  preservers  of  the  venison,  xi., 
wind  a  mort,  to  sound  a  horn  at  the  death  of  the  stag ;  a  fifty- 
part  canon  :  Mr.  Browning  explained  that  "  a  canon,  in  music,  is 
a  piece  wherein  the  subject  is  repeated  in  various  keys,  and,  being 
strictly  obeyed  in  the  repetition,  becomes  the  "canon" — the  im- 
perative law  to  what  follows.  Fifty  of  such  parts  would  be  indeed 
a  notable  peal ;  to  manage  three  is  enough  of  an  achievement  for 
a  good  musician."  xiii.,  hernshaw,  a  heron ;  femshaw,  a  fern- 
thicket;  helicat,  a  hag;  "imps  the  wing  of  the  hawk" :  to- 
"  imp  "  means  to  insert  a  feather  in  the  broken  wing  of  a  birdt 


Flu]  BROWNING   CYCLOPAEDIA.  l8l 

xiv.,  tomans,  Persian  gold  coins,  xv.,  gor-crow,  the  carrion  crow, 
xvii.,  morion,  a  kind  of  open  helmet.  Orson  the  wood-knight : 
twin-brother  of  Valentine ;  born  in  a  wood  near  Orleans,  and 
carried  off  by  a  bear,  which  suckled  him  with  its  cubs.  He 
became  the  terror  of  France,  and  was  called  "  the  wild  man  of 
the  forest." 

Flower's  Name,  The.  (Garden  Fancies,  I. — Dramatic Lyrics?) 
[Published  in  Hood's  Magazine,  July  1844.]  With  very  few 
exceptions,  Browning  did  not  contribute  to  magazines.  At  the 
request  of  Mr.  Monckton  Milnes  (afterwards  Lord  Houghton),  he 
sent  The  Flower's  Name,  Tokay  and  Sibrandus  Schafnaburgensis 
to  "  help  in  making  up  some  magazine  numbers  for  poor  Hood, 
then  at  the  point  of  death  from  haemorrhage  of  the  lungs,  occa- 
sioned by  the  enlargement  of  the  heart,  which  had  been  brought 
on  by  the  wearing  excitement  of  ceaseless  and  excessive  literary 
toil."  A  lover  visits  a  garden,  and  recalls  a  previous  walk  therein 
with  the  woman  he  loved  ;  he  remembers  the  flowers  which  she 
noticed,  especially  one  whose  name — "  a  soft,  meandering  Spanish 
name  " — she  gave  him  ;  he  must  learn  Spanish  "  only  for  that 
slow,  sweet  name's  sake."  The  very  roses  are  only  beautiful 
so  far  as  they  tell  her  footsteps. 

Flower  Songs,  Italian.  (Fra  Lippo  Lippi^  The  flower  songs 
in  this  poem  are  of  the  description  known  as  the  stornello.  This 
is  not  to  be  confounded  with  the  rispetto,  which  consists  of  a 
stanza  of  inter-rhyming  lines,  ranging  from  six  to  ten  in  number. 
"  The  Luccan  and  Umbrian  stornello  is  much  shorter,  consisting 
indeed  of  a  hemistich  having  some  natural  object  which  suggests 
the  motive  of  the  little  poem.  The  nearest  approach  to  the 
Italian  stornello  appears  to  be,  not  the  rispetto,  but  the  Welsh 
triban  "  (Encyc.  Brit,  xix.  272).  See  also  notes  to  Fra  Lippo  Lippi. 

Flute-music  with  an  Accompaniment.  (Asolando,  1889.) 
"Is  not  outside  seeming  real  as  substance  inside?"  A  man 
hears  a  bird-like  fluting ;  he  wonders  what  sweet  thoughts  find 
expression  in  such  sweet  notes.  Passion  must  give  birth  to  such 
expression.  Love,  no  doubt !  Assurance,  contentment,  sorrow 
and  hope — he  detects  all  these  moods  in  the  music,  softened  and 
mellowed  by  the  interposing  trees.  His  lady  companion  brushes 
away  all  his  fancy-spun  notions  by  telling  the  prosy  fact  that  the 
music  proceeds  from  a  desk-drudge,  who  spends  the  hour  of  his 
luncheon  with  the  Youths  Complete  Instructor  how  to  Plav  the 


1 82  BROWNING   CYCLOPAEDIA.  [For 

Flute,  the  plain  truth  being  that  his  hoarse  and  husky  tootlings 
have  not  the  remotest  relation  to  the  romantic  ideas  with  which 
her  male  companion  has  associated  them.  Distance  has  altered 
the  sharps  to  flats;  the  missing  bar  was  not  due  to  "kissing 
interruption,"  but  to  a  blunder  in  the  playing.  The  man  philo- 
sophises on  this  to  the  effect  that,  if  fancy  does  everything  for 
us,  it  matters  little  what  may  be  the  facts.  If  appearance  pro- 
duces the  effect  of  reality,  seeming  is  as  good  as  being. 

Forgiveness,  A.  (Pacchiarotto,  and  other  Poems,  1876.)  A 
man  kneels  in  confession  before  a  monk  in  a  church.  He 
tells  the  story  of  a  life  destroyed  by  an  insane  jealousy  of  his 
wife,  who  was  innocent  of  any  fault  in  the  matter  but  some 
slight  deception  The  penitent  was  a  statesman,  happy  in  the 
love  of  wife  and  home,  but  neglectful  of  his  duties  to  both  in 
his  absorption  in  the  affairs  of  his  sovereign.  Returning  home 
one  night,  he  enters  by  the  private  garden  way,  and  sees  the 
veiled  figure  of  a  man  flying  from  the  house.  Before  him,  as  he 
turns  to  enter  his  door,  he  sees  his  wife,  "stone-still,  stone- 
white."  "  Kill  me !  "  she  cried.  "  The  man  is  innocent ;  the  fault 
is  mine  alone.  I  love  him  as  I  hate  you.  Strike ! "  But  he 
refrains  from  this  speedy  vengeance :  henceforth  they  act  a  part 
before  strangers — all  goes  on  as  though  nothing  had  happened; 
alone,  they  never  meet,  never  speak.  Three  years  of  this  life 
pass,  when  one  night  the  wife  demands  that  the  acting  shall 
end;  she  will  explain.  "Follow  me  to  my  study,"  he  replies. 
The  wife  begins,  "  Since  I  could  die  now  .  .  ."  and  then  tells 
him  she  had  loved  him  and  had  lost  him  through  a  lie.  She  had 
thought  he  gave  away  his  soul  in  statecraft ;  she  strung  herself 
therefore,  to  teach  him  that  the  first  fool  she  threw  a  fond  look 
upon  would  prize  beyond  life  the  treasure  which  he  neglected. 
It  was  contempt  for  the  woman  which  filled  his  mind  now. 
At  this  avowal  his  feeling  rose  to  hate.  He  made  her  write 
her  confession  in  words  which  he  dictated,  and  with  her  own 
blood,  drawn  by  the  point  of  a  poisoned  poniard.  The  monk  was 
the  woman's  lover;  the  husband  killed  him  also. 

Founder  of  the  Feast,  The.  This  was  the  title  of  some 
inedited  lines  by  Browning,  written  in  the  album  presented  to 
Mr.  Arthur  Chappell  (of  the  St.  James's  Hall  Saturday  and 
Monday  Popular  Concerts),  April  $th,  1884.  They  are  printed 
in  the  Browning  Society's  Notes  and  Queries,  vol.  ii.,  p.  18*. 


BROWNING   CYCLOP/EDIA.  183 

Pra  Lippo  Lippi.  (Men  and  Women,  1855  ;  Rome,  1853-54.) 
[THE  MAN.]  Fra  Filippo  Lippi  (1412-69),  the  painter,  was 
the  son  of  a  butcher  in  Florence.  His  mother  died  while  he 
was  a  baby,  and  his  father  two  years  later  than  his  mother. 
His  aunt,  Monna  Lapaccia,  took  him  to  her  home,  but  in  1420, 
when  the  boy  was  but  eight  years  old,  placed  him  in  the  com- 
munity of  the  Carmelites  of  the  Carmine  in  Florence.  He  staye.l 
at  the  monastery  till  1432,  and  there  became  a  painter.  Ht 
seems  to  have  ultimately  received  a  more  or  less  complete 
dispensation  from  his  religious  vows.  In  1452  he  was  appointed 
chaplain  to  the  convent  of  S.  Giovannino  in  Florence,  and  in 
1457  he  was  made  rector  of  S.  Quirico  at  Legnaia.  At  this  time 
he  made  a  large  income ;  but  ever  and  again  fell  into  poverty, 
probably  on  account  of  the  numerous  love  affairs  in  which  he 
was  constantly  indulging.  Lippi  died  at  Spoleto  on  or  about 
Oct.  8th,  1469.  Vasari,  in  his  Lives  of  the  Painters,  tells  the 
whole  romantic  story  of  his  life. 

[THE  POEM.]  Brother  Lippo  the  painter,  working  for  the  muni- 
ficent House  of  the  Medici,  has  been  mewed  up  in  the  Palace, 
painting  saints  for  Cosimo  dei  Medici.  Unable  longer  to  tolerate 
the  restraint  (for  he  was  a  dissolute  friar,  with  no  vocation  for  the 
religious  life),  he  has  tied  his  sheets  and  counterpane  together  and 
let  himself  out  of  the  window  for  a  night's  frolic  with  the  girls  whom 
he  heard  singing  and  skipping  in  the  street  below.  He  has  been 
arrested  by  the  watchmen  of  the  city,  who  noticed  his  monastic 
garb,  and  did  not  consider  it  in  accord  with  his  present  occupa- 
tion. He  is  making  his  defence  and  bribing  them  to  let  him  go. 
He  tells  them  his  history :  how  he  was  a  baby  when  his  mother 
arid  father  died,  and  he  was  left  starving  in  the  street,  picking  up 
fig  skins  and  melon  parings,  refuse  and  rubbish  as  his  only  food. 
One  day  he  was  taken  to  the  monastery,  and  while  munching  his 
first  bread  that  month  was  induced  to  "  renounce  the  pomps  and 
vanities  of  this  wicked  world,"  and  so  became  a  monk  at  eight 
years  old.  They  tried  him  with  books,  and  taught  him  some 
Latin ;  as  his  hard  life  had  given  him  abundant  opportunity  for 
reading  peoples'  faces,  he  found  he  could  draw  them  in  his  copy- 
books, and  so  began  to  make  pictures  everywhere.  The  Prior 
noticed  this,  and  thought  he  detected  genius,  and  would  not  hear 
of  turning  the  boy  out :  he  might  become  a  great  painter  and  "  do 
our  church  up  fine,"  he  said.  So  the  lad  prospered ;  he  began  to 


184  BROWNING  CYCLOPEDIA.  [Fra 

draw  the  monks — the  fat,  the  lean,  the  black,  the  white ;  then  the 
folks  at  church.  But  he  was  too  realistic  in  his  work :  his  faces, 
arms  and  legs  were  too  true  to  nature,  and  the  Prior  shook  his 
head — 

"And  stopped  all  that  in  no  time." 

He  told  him  his  business  was  to  paint  men's  souls  and  forget 
there  was  such  a  thing  as  flesh  : 

"  Paint  the  soul,  never  mind  the  legs  and  arms  !" 

And  so  they  made  him  rub  all  out.  The  painter  asks  if  this  was 
sense : 

"  A  fine  way  to  paint  soul,  by  painting  body 
So  ill,  the  eye  can't  stop  there,  must  go  further 
And  can't  fare  worse  ! " 

He  maintained  that  if  we  get  beauty  we  get  the  best  thing  God 
invents.  But  he  rubs  out  his  picture  and  paints  what  they  like, 
clenching  his  teeth  with  rage  the  while ;  but  sometimes,  when 
a  warm  evening  finds  him  painting  saints,  the  revolt  is  com- 
plete, and  he  plays  the  fooleries  they  have  caught  him  at.  He 
knows  he  is  a  beast,  but  he  can  appreciate  the  beauty,  the 
wonder  and  the  power  in  the  shapes  of  things  which  God  has 
made  to  make  us  thankful  for  them.  They  are  not  to  be  passed 
over  and  despised,  but  dwelt  upon  and  wondered  at,  and  painted 
too,  for  we  must  count  it  crime  to  let  a  truth  slip.  We  are  so 
made  that  we  love  things  first  when  we  see  them  painted,  though 
we  have  passed  them  over  unnoticed  a  hundred  times  before — 

"  And  so  they  are  better,  painted — better  to  us. 
Art  was  given  for  that." 

"  The  world  is  no  blot  for  us,  nor  blank ;  it  means  intensely, 
and  means  good."  "Ah,  but,"  says  the  Prior,  "your  work 
does  not  make  people  pray  ! "  "  But  a  skull  and  cross-bones  are 
sufficient  for  that ;  you  don't  need  art  at  all."  ....  And  then 
the  poor  monk  begs  the  guard  not  to  report  him :  he  will  make 
amends  for  the  offence  done  to  the  Church  ;  give  him  six  months' 
time,  he  will  paint  such  a  picture  for  a  convent !  It  will  please 
the  nuns.  "  So  six  months  hence.  Good-bye !  No  lights :  I 
know  my  way  back  !  " 

NOTES.  — "  The  Carmine's  my  cloister"  the  monastery  of  the 
friars  Del  Carmine,  where  Fra  Liooo  was  brought  up.     "  Cosimo 


BROWNING   CYCLOPAEDIA.  185 

of  the  Medici"  (1389-1464),  the  great  Florentine  statesman, 
who  was  called  the  "Father  of  his  country."  Saint  Laitrence  = 
San  Lorenzo  at  Florence,  the  church  which  contains  the  Medici 
tombs  and  several  of  Michael  Angelo's  pictures.  "  Droppings  of 
the  wax  to  sell  again  "  :  in  Catholic  countries,  where  many  wax 
torches  are  used,  the  wax  drippings  are  carefully  gathered  by 
the  poor  boys  to  sell  ;  in  Spain  they  pick  up  even  the  ends  of 
the  wax  vestas  used  by  smokers  at  the  bull  fights  for  the  same 
purpose.  The  Eight,  the  magistrates  who  governed  Florence. 
Antiphonary,  the  Roman  Service-Book,  containing  all  that  is  sung 
in  the  choir  —  the  antiphons,  responses,  etc.  ;  it  was  compiled  by 
Gregory  the  Great.  Carmelites,  monks  of  the  Order  of  Mount 
Carmel  in  Syria  ;  established  in  the  twelfth  century.  Camaldolese, 
an  order  of  monks  founded  by  St.  Romualdo  in  1027;  the 
name  is  derived  from  the  family  who  owned  the  land  on  which 
the  first  monastery  was  built  —  the  Campo  Maldoli.  "  Preach- 
ing Friars  "  .*  the  Dominicans,  established  by  St.  Dominic  ; 
the  name  of  the  "Brothers  Preachers"  or  "  Friars  Preachers" 
was  given  them  by  Pope  Innocent  III.  in  1215.  Giotto,  a  great 
architect  and  painter  (1266-1337);  he  was  a  friend  of  Dante. 
Brother  Angelica  =  Fra  Angelico;  his  real  name  was  Giovanni 
da  Fiesole  ;  he  was  the  famous  religious  painter,  painting  the 
soul  and  disregarding  the  flesh  ;  he  was  said  to  paint  some 
of  his  devotional  pictures  on  his  knees.  Brother  Lorenzo, 
Don  Lorenzo  Monaco  =  the  monk  ;  he  was  a  great  painter,  of 
the  Order  of  the  Camaldolese.  Guidi  =  Tnmmnnn  finirli  nr 
Masar 


laboured,"  says  the  chroniclerf  in  "nakeds."  "A  St. 
\L,aurence  at  rraio,  near  Florence,  where  are  frescoes  by  Lippi  : 
St.  Laurence  suffered  martyrdom  by  being  burned  upon  a  gridiron  ; 
he  bore  it  with  such  fortitude,  says  the  legend,  that  he  cried  to 
his  tormentors  to  turn  him  over,  as  he  "  was  done  on  one  side." 
Chianti  wine,  a  famous  wine  of  Tuscany.  Sanf  Ambrogio's  = 
Saint  Ambrose's  at  Florence.  "  I  shall  paint  God  in  the  midst, 
Madonna  and  her  babe  "  :  the  beautiful  picture  of  the  Coronation 
•of  the  Virgin  in  the  Accademia  delle  Belle  Arti  at  Florence  is  the 
one  referred  to  in  these  lines.  The  Browning  Society  in  1882 
published  a  very  fine  photograph  of  this  great  work,  by  Alinari 
Brothers  of  Florence.  The  flower  songs  in  the  poem  are  of  the 
variety  known  as  the  stornelli\  the  peasants  of  Tuscany  sing 


1 86  BROWNING   CYCLOPEDIA.  [Fr& 

these  songs  at  their  work,  "  and  as  one  ends  a  song  another 
caps  it  with  a  fresh  one,  and  so  they  go  on  vying  with  each 
other.  These  stornelli  consist  of  three  lines.  The  first  usually 
contains  the  name  of  a  flower,  which  sets  the  rhyme,  and  is  five 
syllables  long.  Then  the  love  theme  is  told  in  two  lines  of  eleven> 
syllables  each,  agreeing  by  rhyme,  assonance,  or  repetition  with, 
the  first."  [See  Poet  Lore,  vol.  ii.,  p.  262.  Miss  R.  H.  Busk's 
"  Folk  Songs  of  Italy,"  and  Miss  Strettel's  "  Spanish  and  Italian 
Folk  Songs."] 

Francesco  Romanelli  (Beatrice  Signorini\  the  artist  who 
paints  Artemisia's  portrait,  which  his  wife  destroys  in  a  fit  of 
jealousy. 

Francis  Fnrini,  Parleying^  with.  (Parleyings  with  Certain 
People  of  Importance  in  their  Day :  1887.)  [THE  MAN.]  "  Francis 
Furini  was  born  in  1600  at  Florence,  and  has  been  styled  the 
'Albani'  and  the  'Guido'  of  the  Florentine  school.  At  the 
age  of  forty  he  took  orders,  and  until  his  death  in  1649  remained 
an  exemplary  parish  priest.  In  his  earlier  days  he  was  especially 
famous  for  his  painting  of  the  nude  figure ;  his  drawing  is 
remarkably  graceful,  but  the  colour  is  defective.  One  of  his 
French  biographers  complains  that  he  paints  the  nude  too  well 
to  be  quite  proper,  and  points  to  the  '  Adam  and  Eve,'  in  the 
Pitti  Palace  as  a  proof  of  this  statement.  Perhaps  the  painter 
thought  so  too,  for  there  is  a  tradition  that  on  his  death-bed  he 
desired  all  his  undraped  pictures  to  be  collected  and  destroyed. 
His  wishes  were  not  carried  out,  and  few  private  galleries  at 
Florence  are  without  pictures  by  him."  (Pall  Mall  Gazette, 
January  i8th,  1887.) 

[THE  POEM.]  In  the  opening  lines  we  are  introduced  to  the 
good  pastor,  the  painter-priest  who  lived  two  hundred  and  fifty 
years  ago  at  Florence,  and  fed  his  flock  with  spiritual  food 
while  he  helped  their  bodily  necessities.  The  picture  is  a 
pleasant  one,  but  the  poet  deals  not  with  the  pastor  but  the 
artist ;  and  this  painter  of  the  nude  has  been  selected  by 
Browning  as  a  text  on  which  to  express  the  sentiments  of  artists 
on  the  subject  of, — 

"The  dear 
Fleshly  perfection  of  the  human  shape," 

as  a  gospel  for  mankind.      When  Mr.  Browning  writes  on  art 


Fra]  BROWNING   CYCLOPAEDIA.  187 

we  have,  as  Mr.  Symons  expresses  it,  "painting  refined  into- 
song."  The  lines  in  the  seventh  canto  beginning — 

"  Bounteous  God, 
Deviser  and  dispenser  of  all  gifts 
To  soul  through  sense, — in  art  the  soul  uplifts 
Man's  best  of  thanks  ! " 

aptly  define  the  poet's  position  in  the  passionate  defence  of  the 
nude  as  his  art-gospel.  As  we  are  intended  to  admire  God's- 
handiwork  in  the  "naked  star,"  so  is  "the  naked  female  form.' 
declared  to  be — 

"  God's  best  of  bounteous  and  magnificent, 
Revealed  to  earth." 

Should  any  object  that  "the  naked  female  form,"  however 
beautiful,  is  not  perhaps  the  best  thing  to  display  in  the  shop- 
windows  of  the  Rue  de  Rivoli  or  Regent  Street,  he  is  set  down 
as  "  a  grubber  for  pig-nuts,"  like  Filippo  Baldinucci,  who  praises- 
the  painter-priest  for  ordering  his  pictures  of  the  nude  to  be 
destroyed.  Mr.  Browning  deals  very  severely  with  those  who- 
think  that  pictures  of  the  nude  have  a  deleterious  influence  on- 
the  public  character,  and  who  endeavour  to  prevent  their  ex- 
hibition. It  is  instructive,  however,  to  notice  the  fact  that  the 
Paris  police  are  adopting  even  severer  measures  than  our  own- 
against  shopkeepers  and  others  who  exhibit  pictures  of  the  nude. 
Where  the  governing  bodies  of  the  two  greatest  cities  of  the 
world  take  the  same  view  of  this  serious  moral  question,  we 
must  take  leave  to  hold  that  if  "  the  gospel  of  art "  has  no  better 
means  whereby  to  elevate  the  race  than  those  of  familiarising; 
our  youth  of  both  sexes  with — 

"The  dear 
Fleshly  perfection  of  the  human  shape, * 

we  can  very  well  afford  to  dispense  with  it.  "Omnia  non< 
omnibus,"  concludes  the  poet.  What  is  perfectly  innocent  for 
the  artist  is  not  expedient  for  the  general  public,  just  as  the 
dissecting  room,  though  an  excellent  school  for  doctors,  is  not 
a  suitable  place  for  the  people  in  the  street  below. 

NOTES.— Baldinucci,  author  of  the  Italian  History  of  Art, — he 
was  a  friend  of  Furini,  and  it  is  from  his  biography  that  Browning 
has  derived  the  facts  recorded  in  his  poem.  Quicherat,  /., 
edited  the  Proces  de  condamnation  et  de  rehabilitation  de  Jeanne? 


•I 88  BROWNING   CYCLOPEDIA.  [FUS 

d'Arc,  in  five  vols.,  1841-9.  D'Alenfon — Percival  de  Cagny,  a 
retainer  of  the  Duke  D'Alencon,  who  wrote  an  account  of  Joan 
of  Arc,  which  is  to  be  found  in  the  fourth  volume  of  Quicherat. 

Fuseli.    See  MARY  WOLLSTONECRAFT  AND  FUSELI. 

Fast  and  Ms  Friends  (The  Epilogue  to  Parley  ings.}  The 
scene  is  laid  "  Inside  the  home  of  Fust,  Mayence,  1457."  Johann 
Fust  is  often  considered  the  inventor,  or  at  least  one  of  the 
•inventors  of  printing.  He  was  born  at  Mayence,  in  Germany, 
in  the  early  part  of  the  fifteenth  century  (date  uncertain).  The 
name  ultimately  became  Faust.  It  has  been  said  that  Fust  was 
a  goldsmith,  but  there  is  no  evidence  of  this.  He  was  a  money- 
lender or  speculator,  and  was  connected  with  Gutenberg,  who  is 
now  considered  to  have  been  the  real  inventor  of  printing.  Some 
however,  say  that  Fust  invented  typography,  and  was  the  partner 
of  Gutenberg,  to  whom  he  advanced  the  means  to  carry  out  his 
invention.  On  Fust  first  showing  his  printed  books  he  was 
suspected  of  magic,  as  he  appears  to  have  concealed  the  method 
by  which  he  turned  them  out  There  is  no  proof  that  the 
monks  were  hostile  to  printing,  or  that  they  resented  the  new 
process  of  multiplying  books  on  the  ground  of  interference  with 
their  business  as  copyists.  Fust  and  Gutenberg  were  on  good 
.terms  with  several  monasteries,  and  the  early  printers  often 
set  up  their  presses  in  religious  houses  of  various  orders.  It  is 
-exceedingly  probable  that  the  whole  magic  story  arose  from  the 
similarity  between  the  names  Fust  and  Faust,  the  pupil  of  the 
devil.  Browning  in  this  poem  accepts  the  Fust  story  of  the 
.invention  of  printing.  Fust  is  visited  by  some  monks,  who, 
having  heard  confused  accounts  of  his  work,  have  come  to  the 
•conclusion  that  he  has  made  a  compact  with  Satan,  and  is  in 
danger  of  losing  his  soul;  they  prepare  to  exorcise  the  demon, 
;but  cannot  remember  the  proper  formula,  and  make  amusing 
mistakes  in  their  repeated  attempts  to  capture  the  appropriate 
Latin  terms  of  the  exorcism.  They  find  the  inventor  melancholy 
and  depressed  :  he  has  not  succeeded  in  perfecting  his  machinery  ; 
'but  while  they  argue  with  him  the  right  process  suddenly  dawns 
upon  him,  and  invoking  the  aid  of  Archimedes  (thought  by  the 
monks  to  be  a  devil  of  some  sort),  he  runs  to  his  printing  room, 
and  in  five  minutes  returns  with  the  psalm  which  they  could  not 
^remember  accurately  printed  on  slips  of  paper,  one  of  which  he 
•hands  to  each  of  the  friars.  Fust  then  shows  them  the  printing 


Gat]  BROWNING   CYCLOPAEDIA.  189. 

press,  and  explains  the  use  of  the  types  and  blocks,  bursting  out 
into  a  noble  hymn  of  praise  to  God  for  having  enabled  him  to- 
bless  mankind  with  his  invention.  The  monks  find  it  exceed- 
ingly simple,  and  perceive  there  is  no  miracle  at  all.  They  doubt 
whether  the  invention  will  prove  an  unmixed  blessing  for  the 
Church,  and  dread  the  trash  which  will  come  flying  from  Jew, 
Moor  and  Turk.  Huss  declared  in  dying  that  a  swan  would' 
succeed  the  goose  they  were  burning.  Fust  says  he  foresees 
such  a  man.  (Huss  means  goose  in  the  dialect  he  spoke.  The 
swan  of  whom  he  prophesied  was  Luther.) 

NOTES. — Faust  and  Fust:  these  names  were  often  confounded, 
when  people  thought  printing  a  diabolical  art  Palinodes^  songs 
repeated  a  second  time.  "  Barnabites  and  Dominican  experts  "  :• 
The  Barnabites  as  a  religious  order  were  inferior  in  learning  andi 
theological  attainments  to  the  Dominicans,  who  were  experts 
in  matters  of  heresy.  Famulus,  a  servant,  an  attendant.  "  Ne 
pulvis  et  ignis "  :  Latin  words  misquoted  from  some  monastic 
exorcism  which  the  monks  have  half  forgotten.  "Asmodeus- 
inside  of  a  Hussite"  the  devil  animating  the  heretic  Hussite  or 
follower  of  Huss.  "  Pou  sfo,"  point  d'appui :  Archimedes  said, 
"Give  me  pou  sto  ('a  place  to  stand  on1),  and  I  could  move  the; 
world." 

Future  State,  A.  Mr.  Browning's  belief  in  the  doctrine  of  a. 
future  state  of  reward  and  punishment  is  expressed  at  great 
length  and  with  much  force  in  La  Saisiaz. 

Garden  Fancies.  (Published  in  Hootfs  Magazine,  July 
1844.)  I.  The  Flower's  Name.  The  poem  describes  a  garden* 
wherein  to  a  lover's  fancy  every  shrub  and  flower  is  hallowed  by 
the  looks  and  touch  of  the  woman  he  loves.  One  flower  in* 
particular  she  named  by  its  "  soft  meandering  Spanish  name." 
He  bids  the  buds  she  touched  to  stay  as  they  are,  never  to  open,, 
but  to  be  loved  for  ever.  Even  the  roses  are  not  so  fair  after 
all,  compared  with  the  "shut  pink  mouth"  her  fingers  have 
touched.  In  II.,  Sibrandus  Schafnaburgensis,  we  have  a  garden 
without  romance.  A  student  takes  amongst  the  flowers  a. 
pedantic  old  volume,  a  treatise  as  dry  and  crabbed  as  its 
title.  He  read  it ;  then,  for  his  revenge,  threw  the  book  into 
the  crevice  of  a  plum  tree,  amongst  the  fungi,  the  moss,  and 
creeping  things.  Solacing  himself  with  bread  and  cheese  and 


*9°  BROWNING    CYCLOPEDIA.  [Gal 

wine,  he  read  the  jolly  Rabelais  to  rid  his  brain  of  cobwebs.  In 
process  of  time  the  student  came  to  think  he  had  been  too 
severe  with  the  old  author,  so  he  fished  him  up  with  a  rake  and 
.put  him  in  an  appropriate  place  on  the  library  shelves,  there  to 
dry-rot  at  ease. 

Galuppi,  Baldassarre.    A  musical  composer  (1706-85).    See 
TOCCATA  OF  GALUPPI'S,  A. 

George  Bubb  Dodington,  Parleyings  with.  (Parleyings  with 
Certain  People  of  Importance  in  their  Day,  1887.)  THE  MAN.] 
•"  George  Bubb  Dodington  (born  1691,  died  1762)  was  the  son  of 
a  gentleman  of  good  fortune  named  Bubb.  He  was  educated 
-at  Oxford,  elected  member  of  Parliament  for  Winchelsea  in 
1715,  and  soon  after  sent  as  envoy  to  Madrid.  In  1720  he 
inherited  the  estate  of  Eastbury,  in  Dorsetshire,  and  took  the 
•name  of  Dodington.  On  his  entrance  into  public  life  he  connected 
himself  with  Sir  Robert  Walpole,  to  whom  he  addressed  a  poetic 
•epistle,  which  later  on  he  made,  by  changing  the  name,  to  serve 
for  Lord  Bute.  His  career  was  full  of  political  vicissitudes  of 
•the  most  discreditable  kind,  by  which  he  managed  to  obtain 
a  considerable  share  of  the  prizes  of  politics.  He  held  various 
•offices,  chiefly  in  connection  with  the  navy,  to  which  he  was 
more  than  once  treasurer.  It  was  from  Lord  Bute,  with  whom 
'he  was  a  great  favourite,  that  he  received  the  title  of  Lord 
Melcombe.  He  loved  to  surround  himself  with  the  distinguished 
men  of  the  day,  whom  he  entertained  at  his  country  seat ;  and  his 
interesting  diary  is  a  storehouse  of  information  about  the  political 
-intrigues  and  cabals  of  the  time.  Pope  and  Churchill  both  wrote 
in  abuse  of  him,  and  Hogarth  immortalised  his  wig  in  his  Orders 
•of  Periwigs."  (Pall  Mall  Gazette,  Jan.  i8th,  1887.) 

[THE  POEM.]  Mr.  Symons  describes  this  as  "  a  piece  of  sar- 
-donic  irony  long  drawn  out,"  and  as  a  "  Superior  Rogues'  Guide 
or  Instructions  for  Knaves."  Browning  satirically  tells  Dodington 
uhat  he  went  the  wrong  way  to  work  in  his  attempts  to  impose 
upon  the  world.  Admitting  the  right  of  the  statesman  to  "feather 
his  own  nest  "  while  pretending  to  care  only  for  the  public  weal, 
because  even  the  birds  build  the  kind  of  nests  that  suit  their 
•own  convenience,  without  regard  to  other  species,  he  yet  declares 
there  is  a  right  and  a  wrong  way  even  in  deceiving  people. 
"You  say,  my  Lord,  that  the  rabble  will  not  believe  and  follow 
.you  unless  you  lie  boldly,  and  pretend  to  be  animated  only  by 


BROWNING   CYCLOPAEDIA.  IQF 

the  desire  to  serve  them ;  but  the  rabble  tell  lies  for  their  own 
purposes  daily,  and  understand  the  art  as  well  as  you  do,  and  as 
•no  man  obeys  his  equal,  you  must  produce  something  which 
outdoes  in  this  respect  anything  with  which  they  are  familiar." 
Browning  offers  him  a  hint :  wit  has  replaced  force,  now  intelli- 
gence in  its  turn  must  go.  "  You  must  have  a  touch  of  the 
supernatural,  you  must  awe  men — not  by  miracles,  they  will  not 
'be  accepted — but  still,  you  must  pretend  to  some  secret  and 
mysterious  power,  pretend  that,  though  you  know  you  have  fools 
to  deal  with,  there  are  some  wise  men  amongst  them  who  are 
not  to  be  deceived,  and  each  man  will  flatter  himself  that  he  is 
one  of  these.  .  .  .  Persuade  the  people  that  your  real  character 
was  merely  an  assumed  one.  Pretend  to  despise,  not  them,  but 
yourself.  That  will  make  men  think  you  obey  some  law,  '  quite 
above  man's — nay,  God's ! '  Missing  this  secret,  your  name  is 
greeted  with  scorn." 

NOTE. — The  Bower-bird:  the  name  given  to  certain  birds  of 
the  genera  Ptilorhynchus  and  Chlamydera,  which  are  ranked 
under  the  starling  family.  They  are  found  in  Australia.  They 
are  called  bower-birds  because  they  build  bowers  as  well  as 
nests. 

Gerard.  (A  Blot  in  the  'Scutcheon.}  Lord  Tresham's  faithful 
and  trusted  man-servant. 

Gerard  de  Lairesse,  Parleyings  with.  (Parleyings  with 
Certain  People  of  Importance  in  their  Day:  1877,  No.  VI.) 
£THE  MAN.]  "  Gerard  de  Lairesse,  a  Flemish  painter,  was 
born  at  Liege  in  1640.  He  early  began  his  career,  and  pro- 
duced portraits  and  historical  pictures  at  the  age  of  fifteen. 
He  was  of  dissipated  life,  extravagant,  and  fond  of  dress, 
notwithstanding  that  he  was  of  deformed  figure.  The  Dutch 
•admired  him  very  much,  and  modestly  called  him  their 
'second  Raphael,'  Heemskirk  being  the  first.  He  painted  for 
many  years  at  Amsterdam,  and  towards  the  close  of  his  life 
was  much  troubled  by  his  eyesight,  which  several  times  left 
him.  He  died  in  1711.  Very  fond  of  teaching,  he  was 
always  ready  to  communicate  his  method  to  students,  and  his 
name  is  associated  with  a  Treatise  on  the  Art  of  Painting, 
which  it  is  not,  however,  thought  that  he  wrote.  His  execu- 
tion was  very  rapid,  and  there  is  a  story  told  that  he  made  a 
wager  that  he  would  paint,  in  one  day,  a  large  picture  of  Apollo 


192  BROWNING   CYCLOPAEDIA.  [Ger 

and  the  Muses,  and  that  he  not  only  gained  the  wager,  but 
painted  into  the  picture  a  capital  portrait  of  a  curious  bystander. 
His  method  of  work  was  eccentric :  he  would  prepare  his  canvas,, 
and,  sitting  down  before  it,  take  up  his  violin  and  play  for  some 
time ;  then,  putting  down  the  instrument,  he  would  rapidly  sketch 
in  the  picture,  and  again  resuming  the  fiddle,  would  derive  fresh 
inspiration  from  the  music."  (Pall  Mall  Gazette,  Jan.  i8th, 
1887.) 

[THE  POEM.]  Browning  rejoices  that,  though  Gerard  had  lost 
his  sight,  his  mouth  was  unsealed  and  "talked  all  brain's  yearning: 
into  birth."  He  prizes  his  saying  that  the  artist  should  discern 
abundant  worth  in  commonplace,  and  not  despise  the  vulgar  things 
of  town  and  country  as  unworthy  of  his  art.  Beyond  the  actual,. 
he  taught  there  was  ever  "  Imagination's  limitless  domain  " :  even 
dull  Holland  to  him  became  Dreamland.  And  so  in  that  great 
"  Walk"  of  his,  written  after  his  blindness,  he  could  evolve  greater 
things  than  we  with  all  our  sight.  Perhaps  his  sealed  sight-sense 
left  his  mind  free  from  obstruction  to  indulge  fancies  "  worth  all 
facts  denied  by  fate."  But  though  we  cannot  see  what  the  poets 
of  old  saw  in  nature  when  they  invested  trees  with  human  attri- 
butes, and  yet  lost  no  gain  of  the  tree,  "  we  see  deeper."  "  You," 
says  Browning,  "  saw  the  body, — 'tis  the  soul  we  see."  We  car* 
fancy,  too,  though  fact  unseen  has  taken  the  place  of  fancy  some- 
how. Poets  never  go  back  at  all :  if  the  past  become  more  pre- 
cious than  the  present,  then  blame  the  Creator !  But  it  can  never 
be  so.  He  invites  Gerard  to  '  walk  with  him  and  see  what  a 
poet  of  the  present  time  discerns  in  the  face  of  Nature,  in  her 
varying  moods  from  daybreak  till  the  shades  of  night.  Then 
follows  a  series  of  magnificent  descriptions  of  a  thunderstorm 
in  the  mountains,  the  defiant  pine  tree  daring  all  the  outrage  of 
the  lightning.  Then  the  laugh  of  morning,  the  baffled  tempest, 
the  trees  shaking  off  the  night  stupor  from  their  strangled 
branches.  Diana,  with  her  bow  and  unerring  shaft ;  for  gentle 
creatures,  even  on  a  mom  so  blithe,  must  writhe  in  pain — so- 
pitiless  is  Nature  still !  And  then  the  conquering  noon :  the  mist 
ascends  to  heaven,  and  the  filmy  haze  soothes  the  sun's  sharp 
glare  till  tyrannous  noon  reigns  supreme.  And  when  at  last  the 
long  day  dies,  clouds  like  hosts  confronting  each  other  for  battle 
come  trooping  silent  Two  shapes  from  out  the  mass  show  pro- 
minent, as  if  the  Macedonian  flung  his  purple  mantle  on  the  dead 


GIO]  BROWNING   CYCLOPAEDIA.  193 

Darius.  And  now  the  darkness  gathers,  the  human  heroes  tread 
the  world  of  cloud  no  longer.  'Tis  a  ghost  appears  on  earth  : 

"  There  he  stands, 
Voiceless,  scarce  strives  with  deprecating  hands." 

But,  says  Browning,  though  we  to-day  could  paint  Nature  in  thi 
manner  in  the  colours  of  the  Past,  we  rather  prefer  "the  all 
including,  the  all-reconciling  Future : 

'  Let  things  be — not  seem, 
Do,  and  nowise  dream.' 

Sad  school  was  Hades  !  Let  it  be  granted  that  death  is  the  last 
and  worst  of  man's  calamities  :  come  what  come  will — what  once 
lives  never  dies." 

NOTES. — 2.  "The  Walk  "  :  this  was  the  title  of  a  part  of  Gerard's 
work  entitled  The  Art  of  Painting,  by  Gerard  de  Lairesse,  trans- 
lated by  J.  S.  Fritsch,  1778.  5.  Dryope :  the  fable  of  Dryope 
turned  into  a  tree  is  told  in  Ovid's  Metamorphoses,  book  ix.  9. 
Artemis,  Diana,  the  huntress  goddess.  10.  Lyda,  a  nymph  beloved 
by  Pan,  but  who  disdained  his  uncouth  pathos.  1 1.  Macedonian  : 
Alexander,  king  of  Macedonia,  invaded  Persia,  and  was  met  by 
Darius  with  an  army  of  600,000  men.  Alexander  defeated  them, 
and  Darius  was  slain  by  the  traitor  Bessus.  Alexander  covered 
the  dead  body  with  his  own  royal  mantle,  and  honoured  it  with  a 
magnificent  funeral. 

Gigadibs,  Mr.  (Bishop  Blougrairis  Apology?)  He  is  a 
young  man  of  thirty — immature,  desultory,  and  impulsive — who 
criticises  Bishop  Blougram's  life,  and  serves  to  draw  out  his  ideas 
on  his  religion  and  the  honesty  of  his  religious  conduct. 

Give  a  Rouse.    (Cavalier  Tunes,  No.  II.) 

"Give  her  but  the  least  excuse  to  love  me."  (Pippa 
Passes.)  The  song  which  Pippa  sings  as  she  passes  the  house 
of  Jules. 

Glove,  The.  [  PETER  RONSARD  loquitur^  (Dramatic  Romances 
and  Lyrics  in  Bells  and  Pomegranates,  VII.,  1845.)  This  is  an  old 
French  story  of  the  time  of  Francis  I.  It  is  familiar  in  various 
forms  to  students  of  literature,  and  may  be  found  in  Schiller, 
Leigh  Hunt,  and  St.  Foix.  Mr.  Browning,  as  is  his  wont,  does 
not  tell  the  story  for  the  sake  of  telling  it,  but  that  he  may  give 
a  new  turn  to  it  and  point  out  something  which  has  been  over- 

13 


194  BROWNING   CYCLOPAEDIA.  [God 

looked,  but  which,  on  reflection,  will  always  prove  to  be  the 
precise  truth  to  be  conveyed  by  the  narration.  The  Peter 
Ronsard  who  tells  the  tale  was  born  in  1524,  and  was  called  the 
1  prince  of  poets  "  by  his  own  generation.  He  was  educated  at 
the  College  de  Navarre  at  Paris,  and  was  page  to  the  Duke  of 
Orleans.  He  was  afterwards  attached  to  the  suite  of  Cardinal 
du  Bellay-Langey.  He  became  deaf,  and  in  consequence  gave 
up  diplomacy  for  literature.  He  published  his  Amotirs  and 
some  odes  in  1552.  Charles  IX.  gave  him  rooms  in  his  palace. 
He  died  in  1585.  The  story  of  the  poem  is  as  follows.  King 
Francis  I.  was  one  day  amusing  himself  by  viewing  the  lions 
in  his  courtyard,  in  company  with  the  lords  and  ladies  of  the 
palace.  The  king  bade  his  keeper  make  sport  with  an  old 
lion,  which  was  let  out  of  his  den  to  fight  in  the  pit,  the 
spectators  being  secured  by  a  barrier.  The  king  said,  "Faith, 
gentlemen,  we  are  better  here  than  there."  De  Lorge's  lady-love 
overheard  this,  and  she  thought  it  a  good  opportunity  to  test  the 
courage  of  her  lover,  so  she  dropped  her  glove  over  the  barrier 
amongst  the  lions,  at  the  same  time  smiling  to  De  Lorge  the 
command  to  jump  down  and  recover  it.  This  was  speedily  done, 
but  the  lover  threw  the  glove  in  the  lady's  face.  The  king  ap- 
proved this  course,  and  said,  "  So  should  I :  'twas  mere  vanity, 
not  love,  which  set  that  task  to  humanity  !  "  Mr.  Browning  brings 
his  analysis  to  bear  on  this  exploit,  and  shows  that  the  test  was 
not  the  outcome  of  mere  idle  trifling  with  a  man's  life  to  flatter 
a  woman's  vanity.  She  desired  to  try  as  in  a  crucible  the  real 
meaning  of  the  protestations  made  by  De  Lorge ;  it  was  necessary 
for  her  to  know  if  her  lover  was  going  to  serve  her  alone  or 
many.  He  had  offered  to  brave  endless  descriptions  of  death 
for  her  sake.  When  she  saw  the  lions,  for  whose  capture  many 
poor  men  had  dared  death  with  no  spectators  to  applaud,  she 
felt  justified  in  asking  this  of  her  lover  before  she  trusted  herself 
in  his  hands  for  life.  A  youth  led  her  away  from  the  scene.  She 
carried  her  shame  from  the  court,  and  married  the  man  who 
protected  her  from  further  mockery.  Of  course  De  Lorge  was 
at  once  the  favourite  both  of  women  and  men.  He  married  a 
beauty.  The  Clement  Marot  referred  to  in  the  poem  was  a 
famous  poet  of  France  (1496-1544),  and  greatly  distinguished  in 
her  literary  history. 

God.    Browning's  noblest  utterances  on  God  are  to  be  found  ir 


Gol]  BROWNING    CYCLOPAEDIA.  1Q5 

Christmas  Eve,  Eastet  Day,  "  The  Pope  "  in  The  Ring  and  the 
Book,  and  Paracelsus. 

Goito  Castle  (Sordello),  near  Mantua,  where  Sordello  was 
brought  up  by  Adelaide,  wife  of  Ecelin,  with  Palma,  daughter  pi 
Ecelin  by  a  former  wife.  Sordello  lived  at  Goito  in  seclusion 
and  boyish  pleasures  till  he  was  nearly  twenty  years  old. 

Gold  Hair  :  A  Legend  of  Pornic.  (Dramatis  Persona,  1 864.) 
The  poem  is  said  by  Mr.  Orr  to  be  founded  on  facts  well  known 
at  Pornic,  a  seaside  town  in  Brittany.  A  young  girl  well  con- 
nected died  with  a  great  reputation  for  holiness.  She  had 
beautiful  golden  hair,  of  which  she  was  very  proud.  She  begged 
that  it  might  not  be  disturbed  after  her  death,  and  she  was  buried 
with  it  intact  near  the  high  altar  of  the  church  of  St.  Gilles. 
Some  years  after  it  became  necessary  to  repair  the  floor  of  the 
church  in  the  proximity  of  the  maiden's  tomb.  It  was  found  that 
the  coffin  had  fallen  to  pieces,  and  a  gold  coin  was  noticed,  which 
led  to  a  more  careful  examination  of  the  spot.  Thirty  double 
louis-d'or  were  discovered,  which  had  been  hidden  by  the  girl  in 
her  hair,  thus  proving  that  the  supposed  saint  was  at  heart  a 
miser.  "  Gold  goes  through  all  doors  except  heaven's  doors  " ; 
and  for  this  the  girl  had  lost  her  heaven.  In  Stanza  xxviii.  Mr. 
Browning  teaches  a  lesson  of  which  he  is  never  weary  : — 
"  Evil  or  good  may  be  better  or  worse 
In  the  human  heart,  but  the  mixture  of  each 
Is  a  marvel  and  a  curse." 

Original  sin,  the  innate  corruption  of  man's  heart,  is  illustrated 
says  the  poet,  by  this  girl's  avarice.  The  priest  built  a  new  altar 
with  the  discovered  money. 

Goldoni.  (Published  first  in  the  Pall  Mall  Gazette,  Dec.  8th, 
1883;  then  in  the  Browning  Society's  Papers.}  Carlo  Goldoni 
(1707-93)  was  the  most  illustrious  of  the  Italian  comedy- 
writers,  and  the  real  founder  of  modern  Italian  comedy.  He  had 
a  pension  from  the  French  King  Louis  XVI.,  which  he  lost  at  the 
Revolution,  and  he  was  reduced  to  the  extremest  misery.  A 
monument  was  erected  to  him  at  Venice  in  1883,  and  Browning 
wrote  for  the  album  of  the  Goldoni  monument  the  following 
lines  :— 

"Goldoni, — good,  gay,  sunniest  of  souls, — 

Glassing  half  Venice  in  that  verse  of  thine,^- 
What  though  it  just  reflect  the  shade  and  shine 


196  BROWNING    CYCLOPAEDIA.  [GOO 

Of  common  life,  nor  render,  as  it  rolls, 
Grandeur  and  gloom  ?     Sufficient  for  thy  shoals 

Was  Carnival :  Parini's  depths  enshrine 

Secrets  unsuited  to  that  opaline 
Surface  of  things  which  laughs  along  thy  scrolls. 

There  throng  the  People :  how  they  come  and  go, 
Lisp  the  soft  language,  flaunt  the  bright  garb, — see, — 
On  Piazza,  Calle,  under  Portico 

And  over  Bridge  1     Dear  king  of  Comedy, 
Be  honoured  !     Thou  that  didst  love  Venice  so — 

Venice,  and  we  who  love  her,  all  love  thee  I 
(VENICE,  Nov.  2;th,  1883.) 

u  Good  to  Forgive."  (La  Saisiaz.)  The  epilogue  to  La  Saisiaz 
begins  with  these  words.  In  Vol.  II.  of  the  Selections  the  poem 
forms  No.  3  of  Pisgah  Sights. 

Gottingen.  The  university  town  in  Germany  to  a  lecture  hall 
in  which  Christ  went  in  the  vision  on  Christmas  Eve.  Here  a 
consumptive  lecturer  was  "  demolishing  the  Christ-myth,"  but 
advising  the  audience  to  lose  nothing  of  the  Christ  idea. 

Grammarian's  Funeral,  A,  shortly  after  the  Eevival  of 
Learning  in  Europe.  (Men  and  Women,  1855  ;  Romances,  1863; 
Dramatic  Romances,  1868.)  Mr.  Browning  often  describes  a 
man  as  a  typical  product  of  his  age  and  environment,  and  invests 
him  with  its  characteristics,  making  him  figure  as  an  historical 
personage.  He  has  done  so  in  this  case,  and  we  seem  to  know 
the  grammarian  in  all  his  pedantry  and  exclusive  devotion  to  a 
minute  branch  of  human  knowledge.  The  revival  of  learning,  after 
the  apparent  death-blow  which  it  received  when  the  hordes  of 
Northern  barbarism  overran  Southern  Europe  and  destroyed  the 
civilisation  of  the  Roman  empire,  began  in  the  tenth  century — 
that  century  which,  as  Hallam  says  (Lit.  Europe,  i.  10),  "  used 
to  be  reckoned  by  mediaeval  historians  the  darkest  part  of  this 
intellectual  night."  In  the  twelfth  century  much  greater  improve- 
ment was  made.  The  attention  of  Europe  was  drawn  to  litera- 
ture in  this  century,  says  Hallam,  by,  "  1st,  the  institution  of 
universities ;  2nd,  the  cultivation  of  the  modern  languages, 
followed  by  the  multiplication  of  books  and  the  extension  of 
the  art  of  writing;  3rd,  the  investigation  of  the  Roman  law; 
and  lastly,  the  return  to  the  study  of  the  Latin  language  in  its 
undent  models  of  purity."  All  these  factors  were  at  work  and 


BROWNING    CYCLOPAEDIA.  IQ7 

progressing  gradually  down  to  the  fifteenth  century.  A  company 
of  the  grammarian's  disciples  are  bearing  his  coffin  for  burial  on 
a  tall  mountain,  the  appropriate  lofty  place  of  sepulture  for  an 
elevated  man.  As  they  carry  the  body,  one  of  them  tells  his 
story,  and  dilates  on  the  praises  of  the  departed  scholar.  They 
cannot  fitly  bury  their  master  in  the  plain  with  the  common  herd. 
Nor  will  a  lower  peak  suffice  :  he  shall  rest  on  a  peak  whose 
soaring  excels  the  rest.  This  high- seeking  man  is  for  the 
morning  land,  and  as  they  bear  him  up  the  rocky  heights  they 
step  together  to  a  tune  with  heads  erect,  proud  of  their  noble 
burden.  He  was  endowed  with  graces  of  face  and  form  ;  but 
youth  had  been  given  to  learning  till  he  had  become  cramped 
and  withered.  This  man  would  eat  up  the  feast  of  learning  even 
to  its  crumbs.  He  would  live  a  great  life  when  he  had  learned 
all  that  books  had  to  teach  ;  meanwhile  he  despised  what  other 
men  termed  life.  Before  living  he  would  learn  how  to  live  : — 

"  Leave  Now  for  dogs  and  apes ! 
Man  has  Forever." 

Deeper  he  bent  over  his  books,  racked  by  the  stone  (calculus}  : 
bronchitis  (tussis)  attacked  him  ;  but  still  he  refused  to  rest.  He 
had  a  sacred  thirst.  He  magnified  the  mind,  and  let  the  body 
decay  uncared  for.  That  he  long  lived  nameless,  that  he  even 
failed,  was  nothing  to  him.  He  wanted  no  payment  by  instal- 
ment ;  he  could  afford  to  wait,  and  thus  even  in  the  death-struggle 
he  "  ground  at  grammar."  And  so  where  the 

"  Lightnings  are  loosened, 
Stars  come  and  go  !  " 

this  lofty  man  was  left  "  loftily  lying." 

NOTES. — Hotis"  business,  Properly  based  Oun,  Enclitic  De . 
these  are  points  in  Greek  grammar  concerning  which  gram- 
marians have  written  learned  treatises. 

Greek  Poems.  Mr.  Browning  had  a  peculiar  power  in 
rendering  the  ideas  of  the  great  Greek  poets  into  strong  resonant 
English  verse.  His  lovely  Balauslioris  Adventure,  the  fascinating 
and  picturesque  Aristophanes'  Apology,  with  the  Herakles  of 
Euripides,  and  the  rough,  robust,  and  perhaps  over-literal 
Agamemnon  of  ^Eschylus,  at  once  proclaim  the  Greek  scholar 
and  the  English  master-poet.  Some  extracts  from  Professor 
Mahaffy's  criticism  of  Mr.  Browning's  Greek  translations  are  given 


198  BROWNING   CYCLOPAEDIA.  [Ore 

below  from  his  History  of  Classical  Greek  Literature,  vol.  i. 
On  the  transcription  of  the  Agamemnon  (p.  258):  "Mr.  Robert 
Browning  has  given  us  an  over-faithful  version  from  his  matchless 
hand, — matchless,  I  conceive,  in  conveying  the  deeper  spirit  of 
the  Greek  poets.  But,  in  this  instance,  he  has  outdone  his 
original  in  ruggedness,  owing  to  his  excess  of  conscience  as  a 
translator"  (p.  277).  Mr.  Browning  has  turned  his  genius  for 
reproducing  Greek  plays  upon  this  masterpiece,  and  has  given 
a  version  which  will  probably  not  permit  the  rest  [Miss  Anna 
Swanwick's,  Mr.  Morshead's,  etc.]  to  maintain  their  well- 
earned  fame,  though  it  is  in  itself  so  difficult  that  the  Greek 
original  is  often  required  for  translating  his  English.  I  confess 
that,  even  with  this  aid,  which  shows  the  extraordinary  faithful- 
ness of  the  work,  I  had  preferred  a  more  Anglicised  version  from 
his  master-hand."  On  the  transcription  of  Alcestis  (p.  329) :  "  By 
far  the  best  translation  is  Mr.  Browning's,  in  his  Balaustioris 
Adventure;  but  it  is  much  to  be  regretted  that  he  did  not  render 
the  choral  odes  into  lyric  verse.  No  one  has  more  thoroughly 
appreciated  the  mean  features  of  Admetus  and  Pheres,  and  their 
dramatic  propriety "  (note,  p.  335).  On  the  transcription  of 
The  Raging  Hercules  (p.  348) :  "  We  can  now  recommend  the 
admirable  translation  in  Mr.  Browning's  Aristophanes'  Apology, 
as  giving  English  readers  a  thoroughly  faithful  idea  of  this  splendid 
play.  The  choral  odes  are,  moreover,  done  justice  to,  and 
translated  into  adequate  metre — in  this,  an  improvement  on  the 
Alcestis,  to  which  I  have  already  referred."  Speaking  afterwards, 
of  the  Helena  of  Euripides,  Mr.  Mahaffy  remarks  (p.  353): 
"  The  choral  odes  are  quite  in  the  poet's  later  style,  full  of  those 
repetitions  of  words  which  Aristophanes  derides," — and  he  adds 
in  a  note :  "  Mr.  Browning  has  not  failed  to  reproduce  this 
Euripidean  feature  with  great  art  and  admirable  effect  in  his 
version  of  the  Herakks"  ...  p.  466:  "Nothing  is  more  cleverly 
ridiculed  [in  Aristophanes'}  than  those  repetitions  of  the  same 
word  which  occur  in  the  pathetic  lyrical  passages  of  Euripides. 
The  modern  poet,  who  best  understands  Euripides,  has  followed 
his  example  in  this  point : — 

*  Dances,  dances,  and  banqueting, 
To  Thebes,  the  sacred  city,  through 
Are  a  care  !  for  change  and  change 


BROWNING   CYCLOPEDIA.  199 

Of  tears  and  laughter,  old  to  new, 

Our  lays,  glad  birth,  they  bring,  they  bring.' 

Aristophanes'  Apology,  p.  266. 

There  are  many  more  instances  in  this  version  of  the  Hercules 
Furens.  This  allusion  to  Mr.  Browning  suggests  the  remark 
that  he  has  treated  the  controversy  between  Euripides  and 
Aristophanes  with  more  learning  and  ability  than  all  other  critics, 
in  his  'Aristophanes' Apology,'  which  is,  by  the  way,  an '  Euripides  ^ 
Apology  '  also,  if  such  be  required  in  the  present  day." 

Guardian  Angel,  The:  A  Picture  at  Fano.  (Men  and 
Women,  1855  ;  Lyrics,  1863.)  Fano  is  a  city  of  Italy  in  the 
province  of  Urbino-e-Pasaro.  It  is  situated  on  the  shores  of 
the  Adriatic,  in  a  fertile  plain  at  the  mouth  of  the  Metauro. 
Its  population  in  1871  was  6439.  The  splendid  tombs  of  the 
Malatestas  are  contained  in  the  church  of  St.  Francesco.  The 
cathedral  and  other  churches  possess  valuable  pictures  by 
Domenichino,  Guido,  etc.  The  picture  referred  to  in  the  poem 
is  in  the  church  of  St.  Augustine.  It  was  painted  by  Guercino  (so 
called  from  his  squinting),  properly  called  Giovanni  Francesco 
Barbieri,  who  was  born  at  Cento,  near  Bologna,  in  1590.  His 
first  style  was  formed  after  that  of  the  Carracci ;  he  fell  later 
under  the  influence  of  Caravaggio,  whose  strong  colouring  and 
shadows  greatly  impressed  his  mind.  The  nobles  and  princes 
of  Italy,  and  his  brother  artists,  very  highly  esteemed  Guercino's 
work,  and  they  classed  him  in  the  first  rank  of  painters.  He 
worked  very  rapidly,  completing  106  large  altar-pieces  for 
churches,  besides  144  other  pictures.  His  greatest  work  is  said 
to  be  his  Sta.  Petronilla,  which  is  now  in  the  Capitol  at  Rome. 
Guercino  died  in  1666,  having  amassed  a  large  fortune  by  his 
labours.  There  is  a  good  photograph  of  L'Angelo  Custode,  in 
the  Illustrations  to  Browning's  Poems,  part  i.,  published  by  the 
Browning  Society.  An  angel  with  wings  outspread  is  standing 
in  a  protecting  attitude  by  a  little  child,  and  the  angel's  left  arm 
embraces  the  infant,  while  the  right  hand  encloses  the  hands  oi 
the  child  clasped  in  prayer.  Cherubs  look  down  from  the  clouds. 
In  Guercino's  first  sketch  of  his  Angel  and  Child,  the  angel  points 
to  heaven  with  his  left  hand,  while  he  enfolds  the  child's  hands 
with  his  right.  Mr.  Browning  was  staying  at  Ancona.  He  was 
greatlv  impressed  by  the  picture,  and  forgetting  that  we  all  have 


2OO  BROWNING    CYCLOPAEDIA. 

a  guardian  angel,  overlooked  his  own,  and  prayed,  good  Pro- 
testant as  he  was,  to  Guercino's  angel  to  protect  and  direct  him 
when  he  had  done  with  the  child.  He,  however,  recognised  Mrs. 
Browning  as  his  own  guardian  angel,  and  with  her  went  three 
times  to  see  the  painting.  The  Alfred  referred  to  in  Stanza  vi. 
was  Mr.  Alfred  Dommett,  the  Waring  of  the  poem  of  that 
name.  Mr.  Dommett  was  then  in  New  Zealand,  by  the  Wairoa 
river  of  Stanza  viii.  Not  only  the  consolatory  doctrine  of  Holy 
Scripture  and  the  Church  as  to  the  ministry  of  angels,  but  the 
soothing  and  elevating  influence  of  religious  art  in  conveying 
what  words  would  fail  to  teach  half  so  impressively,  are  well 
emphasised  by  Mr.  Browning's  poem.  The  beautiful  figure 
"  Bird  of  God "  is  from  Dante  (Purgatorio,  Canto  iv.). 

Ghielfs  and  Ghibellines.  (Sordello.)  The  poem  of  Sordello 
is  so  full  of  references  to  the  wars  between  the  Guelfs  and 
Ghibellines,  that  a  knowledge  of  the  origin  of  this  celebrated  feud 
will  help  to  throw  light  on  some  paragraphs  in  the  poem.  Long- 
fellow, in  his  notes  to  Dante's  Inferno,  gives  the  story: — "The 
following  account  of  the  Guelfs  and  Ghibellines  is  from  the 
Pecorone  of  Giovanni  Fiorentino,  a  writer  of  the  fourteenth 
century.  It  forms  the  first  Novella  of  the  Eighth  Day,  and  will 
be  found  in  Roscoe's  Italian  Novelists,  i.  322.  '  There  formerly 
resided  in  Germany  two  wealthy  and  well-born  individuals, 
whose  names  were  Guelfo  and  Ghibellino,  very  near  neighbours, 
and  greatly  attached  to  each  other.  But  returning  together  one 
day  from  the  chase,  there  unfortunately  arose  some  difference  of 
opinion  as  to  the  merits  of  one  of  their  hounds,  which  was 
maintained  ion  both  sides  so  very  warmly  that,  from  being 
almost  inseparable  friends  and  companions,  they  became  each 
other's  deadliest  enemies.  This  unlucky  division  between  them 
still  increasing,  they  on  either  side  collected  parties  of  their 
followers,  in  order  more  effectually  to  annoy  each  other.  Soon 
extending  its  malignant  influence  among  the  neighbouring  lords 
and  barons  of  Germany,  who  divided,  according  to  their 
motives,  either  with  the  Guelf  or  the  Ghibelline,  it  not  only 
produced  many  serious  affrays,  but  several  persons  fell  victims 
to  its  rage.  Ghibellino,  finding  himself  hard  pressed  by  his 
enemy,  and  unable  longer  to  keep  the  field  against  him,  resolved 
to  apply  for  assistance  to  Frederick  I.,  the  reigning  emperor. 
Upon  this,  Guelfo,  perceiving  that  his  adversary  sought  the  alii- 


Sue]  BROWNING   CYCLOPAEDIA.  2OI 

ince  of  this  monarch,  applied  on  his  side  to  Pope  Honorius  II., 
who  being  at  variance  with  the  former,  and  hearing  how  the 
affair  stood,  immediately  joined  the  cause  of  the  Guelfs,  the 
emperor  having  already  embraced  that  of  the  Ghibellines.  It 
is  thus  that  the  apostolic  see  became  connected  with  the  former, 
and  the  empire  with  the  latter  faction ;  and  it  was  thus  that  a 
vile  hound  became  the  origin  of  a  deadly  hatred  between  the  two 
noble  families.  Now,  it  happened  that  in  the  year  of  our  dear 
Lord  and  Redeemer  1215,  the  same  pestiferous  spirit  spread 
itself  into  parts  of  Italy,  in  the  following  manner.  Messer  Guido 
Orlando  being  at  that  time  chief  magistrate  of  Florence,  there 
likewise  resided  in  that  city  a  noble  and  valiant  cavalier  of  the 
family  of  Buondelmonti,  one  of  the  most  distinguished  houses  in 
the  state.  Our  young  Buondelmonte  having  already  plighted  his 
troth  to  a  lady  of  the  Amidei  family,  the  lovers  were  considered 
as  betrothed,  with  all  the  solemnity  usually  observed  on  such 
occasions.  But  this  unfortunate  young  man,  chancing  one  day 
to  pass  by  the  house  of  the  Donati,  was  stopped  and  accosted 
by  a  lady  of  the  name  of  Lapaccia,  who  moved  to  him  from  her 
door  as  he  went  along,  saying :  "  I  am  surprised  that  a  gentleman 
of  yuor  appearance,  Signor,  should  think  of  taking  for  his  wife 
a  woman  scarcely  worthy  of  handing  him  his  boots.  There  is 
a  child  of  my  own,  whom,  to  speak  sincerely,  I  have  long  in- 
tended for  you,  and  whom  I  wish  you  would  just  venture  to 
see."  And  on  this  she  called  out  for  her  daughter,  whose  name 
was  Ciulla,  one  of  the  prettiest  and  most  enchanting  girls  in  all 
Florence.  Introducing  her  to  Messer  Buondelmonte,  she 
whispered,  "  This  is  she  whom  I  have  reserved  for  you  " ;  and 
the  young  Florentine,  suddenly  becoming  enamoured  of  her, 
thus  replied  to  her  mother,  "  I  am  quite  ready,  Madonna,  to  meet 
your  wishes "  ;  and  before  stirring  from  the  spot  he  placed  a 
ring  upon  her  ringer,  and,  wedding  her,  received  her  there  as  his 
wife.  The  Amidei,  hearing  that  young  Buondelmonte  had  thus 
espoused  another,  immediately  met  together,  and  took  counsel 
with  other  friends  and  relations,  how  they  might  best  avenge 
themselves  for  such  an  insult  offered  to  their  house.  There  were 
present  among  the  rest  Lambertuccio  Amidei,  Schiatta  Ruberti, 
and  Mosca  Lamberti,  one  of  whom  proposed  to  give  him  a 
box  on  the  ear,  another  to  strike  him  in  the  face  ;  yet  they  were 
none  of  them  able  to  agree  about  it  among  themselves.  On 


2O2  BROWNING    CYCLOPAEDIA. 

observing  this,  Mosca  hastily  arose,  in  a  great  passion,  saying, 
"  Cosa  fatta  capo  ha,"  wishing  it  to  be  understood  that  a  dead 
man  will  never  strike  again.  It  was  therefore  decided  that  he 
should  be  put  to  death,  a  sentence  which  they  proceeded  to 
execute  in  the  following  manner :  M.  Buondelmonte  returning 
one  Easter  morning  from  a  visit  to  the  Casa  Bardi,  beyond  the 
Arno,  mounted  upon  a  snow-white  steed,  and  dressed  in  a 
mantle  of  the  same  colour,  had  just  reached  the  foot  of  the 
Ponte  Vecchio,  or  old  bridge,  where  formerly  stood  a  statue  of 
Mars,  whom  the  Florentines  in  their  pagan  state  were  accus- 
tomed to  worship,  when  the  whole  party  issued  out  upon  him, 
and,  dragging  him  in  the  scuffle  from  his  horse,  in  'spite  of  the 
gallant  resistance  he  made,  despatched  him  with  a  thousand 
wounds.  The  tidings  of  this  affair  seemed  to  throw  all  Florence 
into  confusion  ;  the  chief  personages  and  noblest  families  in  the 
place  everywhere  meeting,  and  dividing  themselves  into  parties 
in  consequence ;  the  one  party  embracing  the  cause  of  the 
Buondelmonti,  who  placed  themselves  at  the  head  of  the  Guelfs ; 
and  the  other  taking  part  with  the  Amidei,  who  supported  the 
Ghibellines.  In  the  same  fatal  manner,  nearly  all  the  seigniories 
and  cities  of  Italy  were  involved  in  the  original  quarrel  between 
these  two  German  families :  the  Guelfs  still  supporting  the 
interests  of  the  Holy  Church,  and  the  Ghibellines  those  of 
the  Emperor.  And  thus  I  have  made  you  acquainted  with  the 
history  of  the  Germanic  faction,  between  two  noble  houses,  for 
the  sake  of  a  vile  cur,  and  have  shown  how  it  afterwards 
disturbed  the  peace  of  Italy  for  the  sake  of  a  beautiful  woman.' "" 

Gwendolen  Tresham.  (A  Blot  in  tJie  'Scutcheon.}  The 
cousin  of  Mildred  Tresham. 

Gypsy.  (The  Flight  of  the  Duchess^  The  old  crone  who  is 
sent  by  the  Duke  to  frighten  the  Duchess,  and  who  rescues  her 
from  her  unhappy  life. 

Hakeem  or  Hakem.  (Return  of  the  Druses.)  He  was  the 
chief  of  the  Druses.  The  first  hakeem  was  the  Fatimite  Caliph 
B'amr-ellah.  He  professed  to  be  the  incarnate  deity.  He  was 
slain  near  Cairo,  in  Egypt,  on  Mount  Makattam. 

Halbert  and  Hob.  (Dramatic  Idyls,  First  Series,  1879.) 
Two  men,  father  and  son,  of  brutal  type,  and  the  last  of  their 
line,  are  sitting  quarrelling  one  Christmas  night  in  their  home- 


Hal]  BROWNING   CYCLOPAEDIA.  203 

stead.  High  words,  followed  by  taunts  and  curses,  led  to  an 
attack  on  the  father  by  his  furious  son,  who  flew  at  his  throat 
with  the  intention  of  casting  him  out  in  the  snow.  The  father 
was  strong  and  could  have  held  his  own  in  the  scuffle,  but  sud- 
denly all  power  left  him  :  he  was  struck  mute.  This  still  more 
enraged  the  son,  who  pulled  him  from  the  room  till  they  reached 
the  house-door-sill.  Slowly  the  father  found  utterance  and  told 
his  son  that  on  just  such  a  Christmas  night  long  ago  he  had 
attacked  his  father  in  a  similar  manner  and  had  dragged  him  to 
the  same  spot,  when  he  was  arrested  by  a  voice  in  his  heart.  '  I 
stopped  here  ;  and,  Hob,  do  you  the  same  1 "  The  son  relaxed 
his  hold  of  his  father's  throat,  and  both  returned  upstairs,  where 
they  remained  in  silence.  At  dawn  the  father  was  dead,  the  son 
insane.  "  Is  there  a  reason  in  nature  for  these  hard  hearts  ? " 
Certainly  there  is,  says  the  mental  pathologist.  Persons  born 
with  such  and  such  cranial  and  cerebral  characteristics  cannov 
help  being  brutal  and  criminal.  They  are  handicapped  heavily 
by  nature  from  the  hour  of  their  birth,  and  they  only  follow  out 
a  law  of  their  development,  for  which  they  are  not  responsible 
when  they  become  criminal.  The  mental  pathologist  would  have 
no  difficulty  in  drawing  the  portraits  of  Halbert  and  Hob.  There 
is  a  monotony  and  family  likeness  in  the  criminal  physiognomy 
which  does  not  require  an  expert  to  detect.  When  a  specialist 
such  as  Dr.  Down  goes  over  a  great  prison  like  Broadmoor,  he  has 
no  difficulty  in  indicating  for  us  the  precise  aberrations  from 
the  normal  type  which  distinguish  between  the  honest  man  and 
the  criminal.  This  would  be  a  terrible  reflection  on  the  Divine 
providence,  if  we  omitted  to  take  into  account  the  pregnant  last 
line  of  Mr.  Browning's  poem: 

"  That  a  reason  out  of  nature  must  turn  them  soft,  seems  clear." 

As  Nature  is  never  without  her  compensations,  so  there  is  a 
reason  above  all  our  materialism,  our  facial  angles,  our  oxy- 
cephalic  and  our  microcephalic  heads  which  justifies  the  ways  of 
God  to  men.  Doctors  are  slow  to  recognise  this,  but  judges 
always  act  upon  the  principle.  Experts  in  criminal  pathology 
find  responsibility  with  great  difficulty  in  the  men  they  are 
endeavouring  to  save  from  the  gallows.  The  judge,  however, 
keeps  to  the  common-sense  rule  that  if  the  criminal  knew  that  he 
was  doing  what  he  ought  not  to  do,  he  is  responsible  before  the 


204  BROWNING   CYCLOPAEDIA. 

law  for  his  crime.  Halbert  heard  the  voice  in  his  heart — Hob 
relaxed  his  hold  of  the  father's  throat.  Conscience  rules  supreme 
even  over  heredity  and  cerebral  aberration.  The  basis  of  this 
story  is  found  in  Aristotle's  Ethics,  I.,  vii.,  c.  6. 

"  Heap  Cassia,  Sandal-buds,  and  Stripes."  The  first  line  of 
the  song  in  Paracelsus  iv. 

Helen's  Tower.  Lines  written  at  the  request  of  the  Earl  ol 
Dufferin  and  Clandeboye,  on  the  tower  which  the  Earl  erected  to 
the  memory  of  his  mother,  Helen,  Countess  of  Giifard.  (Printed 
in  the  Pall  Mall  Gazette,  Dec.  28th,  1883.) 

Henry,  Earl  Mertoun.  (A  Blot  in  the  'Scutcheon^  He  was 
Mildred  Tresham's  lover,  and  was  killed  by  her  brother,  Earl 
Tresham. 

Herakles  =  Hercules,  who  wrestles  with  death,  conquers 
him,  and  restores  Alkestis  to  her  husband,  in  Balaustioris 
Adventure.  The  Raging  Hercules  of  Euripides,  which  Balaustion 
read  to  Aristophanes,  is  translated  by  Mr.  Browning  in  the  volume 
Aristophanes'  Apology. 

Heretic's  Tragedy,  The ;  A  Middle-Age  Interlude.  (Men 
and  Women,  1855  ;  Romances,  1863  ;  Dramatic  Romances,  1868.) 
"  It  would  seem  to  be  a  glimpse  from  the  burning  of  Jacques  du 
Bourg  Molay,  at  Paris,  A.D.  1314;  as  distorted  by  the  refraction 
from  Flemish  brain  to  brain  during  the  course  of  a  couple  of 
centuries."  [THE  HISTORY.]  Molay  was  Grand  Master  of  the 
order  of  the  Knights  Templars,  suppressed  by  a  decree  of  Pope 
Clement  V.  and  the  general  council  of  Vienne,  in  1312.  The 
Knights  Templars  were  instituted  by  seven  gentlemen  at 
Jerusalem,  in  1118,  to  defend  the  holy  places  and  pilgrims  from 
the  insults  of  the  Saracens,  and  to  keep  the  passes  free  for  such 
as  undertook  the  voyage  to  the  Holy  Land.  They  took  their 
name  from  the  first  house,  which  was  given  them  by  King 
Baldwin  II.,  situated  near  the  place  where  anciently  the  temple 
of  Solomon  stood.  By  the  liberality  of  princes,  immense  riches 
suddenly  flowed  to  this  Order,  by  which  the  knights  were  puffed 
up  to  a  degree  of  insolence  which  rendered  them  insupportable 
even  to  the  kings  who  had  been  their  protectors  ;  and  Philip  the 
Fair,  king  of  France,  resolved  to  compass  their  ruin.  They  were 
accused  of  treasons  and  conspiracies  with  the  infidels,  and  of 
other  enormous  crimes,  which  occasioned  the  suppression  of 


Her]  BROWNING    CYCLOPAEDIA.  205 

the  Order.  The  year  following,  the  Grand  Master,  who  was  a 
Frenchman,  was  burnt  at  Paris,  and  several  others  suffered 
death,  though  they  all  with  their  last  breath  protested  their 
innocence  as  to  the  crimes  that  were  laid  to  their  charge.  These 
were  certainly  much  exaggerated  by  their  enemies,  and  doubtless 
many  innocent  men  were  involved  with  the  guilty.  A  great  part 
of  their  estates  was  given  to  the  Knights  of  Rhodes  or  Malta. 
(Butlers  Lives  of  the  Saints — sub  May  5.)  For  half  a  century 
before  the  suppression  of  the  Order,  horrible  stories  about  various 
unholy  rites  practised  at  its  midnight  assemblies  had  been  in 
circulation.  It  was  said  that  every  member  on  his  initiation 
was  compelled  to  deny  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  to  spit  upon  and 
trample  under  foot  a  crucifix,  and  submit  to  certain  indecent 
ceremonies.  It  was  charged  against  them  that  hideous  four- 
footed  idols  were  worshipped,  and  other  things  too  terrible  to 
narrate  were  said  to  be  done  at  these  assemblies.  Whether 
these  things  were  true  or  not,  has  been  hotly  disputed  ever 
since  the  accusations  were  made.  The  spitting  on  the  cross 
seems,  at  any  rate  in  France,  to  have  been  admitted  by  the 
accused ;  many  of  the  worst  things  confessed  were  admitted 
under  the  most  cruel  tortures,  and  are  consequently  more  likely 
to  have  been  false  than  true.  In  Carlyle's  essay  on  the  "  Life 
and  Writings  of  Werner"  (Critical  and  Miscellaneous  Essays, 
vol.  i.,  p.  66  :  1888),  the  whole  story  of  these  mysterious  rites 
is  discussed.  After  several  pages  of  quotations  from  Werner's 
drama  The  Templars  in  Cyprus,  Carlyle  says,  "One  might  take 
this  trampling  on  the  Cross,  which  is  said  to  have  been  actually 
enjoined  on  every  Templar  at  his  initiation,  to  be  a  type  of  his 
secret  behest  to  undermine  that  institution  (the  Catholic  Church) 
and  redeem  the  spirit  of  religion  from  the  state  of  thraldom  and 
distortion  under  which  it  was  there  held.  It  is  known  at  least, 
and  was  well  known  to  Werner,  that  the  heads  of  the  Templars 
entertained  views,  both  on  religion  and  politics,  which  they  did 
not  think  meet  for  communicating  to  their  age,  and  only  im- 
parted by  degrees,  and  under  mysterious  adumbrations,  to  the 
wiser  of  their  own  order.  They  had  even  publicly  resisted,  and 
succeeded  in  thwarting,  some  iniquitous  measure  of  Philippe 
Auguste,  the  French  king,  in  regard  to  his  coinage  ;  and  this, 
while  it  secured  them  the  love  of  the  people,  was  one  great 
cause,  perhaps  second  only  to  their  wealth,  of  the  hatred  which 


206  BROWNING   CYCLOPAEDIA.  [Her 

that  sovereign  bore  them,  and  of  the  savage  doom  which  he  at 
last  executed  on  the  whole  body." 

[THE  POEM.]  The  Abbot  Deodaet  and  his  monks  are  sing- 
ing in  the  choir  of  their  church  about  the  burning  alive  of 
the  Master  of  the  Temple  two  hundred  years  before.  He 
has  sinned  the  unknown  sin,  and  sold  the  influence  of  the 
Order  to  the  Mohammedan.  In  a  graphic  and  lurid  manner 
they  picture  the  details  of  the  execution.  They  have  no 
'pity  for  the  victim,  and  seem  to  be  gloating  over  his  suffer- 
ings. They  imagine  that  the  victim  calls  in  his  agony  on  the 
Saviour  whom  he  forsook  and  traitorously  sold ;  he  cries  now 
41  Saviour,  save  Thou  me  1 "  The  Face  upon  which  he  had  spat, 
the  Face  on  the  crucifix  which  he  trampled  upon,  is  revealed 
to  the  burning  man  feature  by  feature ;  he  now  sees  his  awful 
Judge,  his  voice  dies,  and  John's  soul  flares  into  the  dark.  Said 
the  Abbot,  "God  help  all  poor  souls  lost  in  the  dark  !  " 

NOTES. — i.,  Organ:  plagal  cadence.  The  cadence  formed 
when  a  subdominant  chord  immediately  precedes  the  final  tonic 
chord,  ii.,  Emperor  Aldabrod,  probably  the  family  name  of  one 
of  the  Greek  emperors,  but  I  can  find  nothing  about  him.  Sultan 
Saladin,  of  Egypt  and  Syria,  whose  portrait  is  so  faithfully  drawn 
by  Sir  Walter  Scott,  in  The  Talisman.  Pope  Ckment  V.  (1305- 
14).  Platina,  in  his  life  of  this  Pope,  says  only  a  few  words 
on  the  Templars  :  "  He  took  off  the  Templars,  who  were  fallen 
into  very  great  errors  (as  denying  Christ,  etc.),  and  gave 
their  goods  to  the  Knights  of  Jerusalem " ;  clavicithern :  an 
upright  musical  instrument  like  a  harpsichord.  iv.,  Laudes : 
a  Catholic  service  associated  with  Matins.  It  consists,  amongst 
other  devotions,  of  five  Psalms,  vi.,  Salvdreverentid:  "saving 
reverence,"  like  the  "  saving  your  presence  "  of  the  Irishman, 
vii.,  Sharon's  Rose:  Solomon's  Song,  ii.  I.  The  rose  was  the 
symbol  of  secrecy,  viii.,  leman:  a  sweetheart  of  either  sex. 

Herve  Biel.  (Published  in  the  Cornhill  Magazine,  March 
1871.  Browning  received  ^100  for  it,  which  sum  he  gave  to  the 
Paris  Relief  Fund,  to  provide  food  for  the  starving  people  after 
the  siege  of  Paris.  Published  in  the  Pacchiarotto  volume  in  1876.) 
The  story  told  in  the  poem  is  strictly  historical.  Herv6  Kiel  was 
a  Breton  sailor  of  Le  Croisic,  who,  after  the  great  naval  battle 
of  La  Hogue  in  1692,  saved  the  remains  of  thej  French  fleet  by 
skilfully  piloting  the  ships  through  the  shallows  of  the  Ranee, 


Hoi]  BROWNING   CYCLOPAEDIA.  2OJ 

and  thereby  preventing  their  capture  by  the  English.  For  this 
splendid  service  he  was  permitted  to  ask  whatever  reward  he 
chose  to  name.  The  brave  Breton  asked  merely  for  a  whole 
day's  holiday,  that  he  might  visit  his  wife,  the  Belle  Aurore.  Dr. 
Furnivall  says  :  "  The  facts  of  the  story  had  been  forgotten,  and 
•were  denied  at  St.  Malo,  but  the  reports  of  the  French  Admiralty 
were  looked  up,  and  the  facts  established.  The  war  between 
Louis  XIV.  and  William  III.  was  undertaken  by  the  former  with 
the  object  of  restoring  James  II.  to  the  English  throne.  Admiral 
Turnville  engaged  the  English  fleet  off  Cape  La  Hogue,  and 
thereby  wrecked  the  French  fleet  and  the  cause  of  James. 
Apropos  of  Herve  Kiel,  Mr.  Kenneth  Grahame  says  (Browning 
Society's  Papers,  March  3Oth,  1883,  p.  68*):  'In  Rabelais' 
Pantagruel,  lib.  IV.,  cap.  xxi.,  Panurge  says,  ' .  .  .  quelque  fille 
de  roy  .  .  .  me  fera  exiger  quelque  magnificque  cenotaphe, 
comme  feit  Dido  a  son  mary  Sychee ;  .  .  .  Germain  de  Brie  a 
Herve,  le  nauctrier  Breton/ etc.  Then  a  note  says,  'En  1515, 
dans  un  combat  naval,  le  Breton  Herve"  Primoguet,  qui  comman- 
doit  la  Cordeliere,  attacha  son  navire  en  feu  an  vaisseau  amiral 
«nnemi  la  Regente  d' Angleterre,  et  se  fit  sauter  avec  lui.  Ger- 
main de  Brie  ou  Brice  (Brixius)  qui  celebra  ce  trait  heroique 
dans  un  poeme  latin,  etoit  un  des  amis  de  Rabelais.'  This  was 
a  forerunner  of  Browning's  hero.  The  coincidence  of  names, 
etc.,  is  curious." 

Hippolytos.  (See  ARTEMIS  PROLOGIZES.)  The  Hippolytus  of 
Euripides  is  the  chaste  worshipper  of  Diana  (Artemis),  who  will 
give  no  heed  to  Venus.  His  step-mother  Phaedra  loves  him,  and 
kills  herself  when  she  discovers  he  will  not  succumb  to  her 
attentions. 

Hohenstiel-Schwangau.  See  PRINCE  HOHENSTIEL-SCHWAN- 
GAU. 

Holy-Cross  Day  [On  which  the  Jews  were  forced  to  attend 
an  annual  Christian  Sermon  in  Rome].  (Men  and  Women,  1855  ; 
Romances,  1863;  Dramatic  Romances,  1868.) — [THE  HISTORY.] 
Holy  Cross  Day,  or  the  Festival  of  the  Exaltation  of  the  Holy 
Cross,  falls  on  September  I4th  annually.  It  is  kept  in  com- 
memoration of  the  alleged  miraculous  appearance  of  the  Cross  to 
Constantine  in  the  sky  at  midday.  The  discovery  of  the  True 
Cross  by  St.  Helen  gave  the  first  occasion  of  the  festival,  which 
was  celebrated  under  the  title  of  the  Exaltation  of  the  Cross  OH 


X 


208  BROWNING   CYCLOPAEDIA.  [Hoi 

September  14111,  both  by  the  Latins  and  Greeks,  as  early  as  in 
the  fifth  or  sixth  centuries  at  Jerusalem,  from  the  year  335.  (See 
for  the  history  of  the  festival  Butler's  Lives  of  the  Saints,  under 
September  I4th.)  The  particular  details  of  this  poem  are  not 
historical,  but  it  is  quite  true  that  such  a  sermon  was  preached 
to  Jews  from  time  to  time,  and  that  they  were  driven  to  church 
to  listen  to  it.  A  papal  bull,  issued  in  1584,  formerly  compelled 
the  Jews  to  hear  sermons  at  the  church  of  St.  Angela  in  Pescheria, 
close  to  the  Jewish  quarter.  The  Pescheria  or  fish  market 
adjoins  the  Ghetto,  the  quarter  allotted  to  the  Jews  by  Paul  IV. 
This  pope  compelled  the  Jews  to  wear  yellow  head-gear ;  and, 
among  other  oppressive  exactions,  they  had  to  provide  the  prizes 
for  the  horse-races  at  the  Carnival.  In  a  note  at  the  end  of  the 
poem  Mr.  Browning  says,  "The  late  Pope  abolished  this  bad 
business  of  the  Sermon."  The  conduct  of  the  popes  towards 
the  Jews  varied  according  to  the  policy  or  humanity  in  the 
character  of  the  pontiff.  "  In  1442  Eugenius  IV.  deprived  them 
of  one  of  their  most  valuable  privileges,  and  endeavoured  to 
interrupt  their  amicable  relations  with  the  Christians :  they 
were  prohibited  from  eating  and  drinking  together.  Jews  were 
excluded  from  almost  every  profession,  were  forced  to  wear  a 
badge,  to  pay  tithes ;  and  Christians  were  forbidden  to  bequeath 
legacies  to  Jews.  The  succeeding  popes  were  more  wise  or 
more  humane.  In  Naples  the  celebrated  Abarbanel  became  the 
confidential  adviser  of  Ferdinand  the  Bastard  and  Alphonso  II. ; 
they  experienced  a  reverse,  and  were  expelled  from  that  city  by 
Charles  V.  The  stern  and  haughty  Pope  Paul  IV.  renewed  the 
hostile  edicts;  he  endeavoured  to  embarrass  their  traffic  by 
regulations  which  prohibited  them  from  disposing  of  their 
pledges  under  eighteen  months  ;  deprived  them  of  the  trade  in 
corn  and  in  every  other  necessary  of  life,  but  left  them  the 
privilege  of  dealing  in  old  clothes.  Paul  first  shut  them  up  in 
their  Ghetto,  a  confined  quarter  of  the  city,  out  of  which  they 
were  prohibited  from  appearing  after  sunset.  Pius  IV.  re- 
laxed the  severity  of  his  predecessor;  He  enlarged  the  Ghetto, 
and  removed  the  restriction  on  their  commerce.  Pius  V.  expelled 
them  from  every  city  in  the  papal  territory  except  Rome  and 
Ancona ;  he  endured  them  in  those  cities  with  the  avowed 
design  of  preserving  their  commerce  with  the  East.  Gregory  XIII. 
pursued  the  same  course  :  a  bull,  was  published,  and  suspended 


Hoi]  BROWNING   CYCLOPAEDIA. 

at  the  gate  of  the  Jews'  quarter,  prohibiting  the  reading  of  the- 
Talmud,  blasphemies  against  Christ,  or  ridicule  against  the- 
ceremonies  of  the  Church.  All  Jews  above  twelve  years  oldj 
were  bound  to  appear  at  the  regular  sermons  delivered  for  theirr 
conversion;  where  it  does  not  seem,  notwithstanding1'  trie? 
authority  of  the  pope  and  the  eloquence  of  the  cardinals,  that 
their  behaviour  was  very  edifying.  At  length  the  bold  and! 
statesmanlike  Sextus  V.  annulled  at  once  all  the  persecuting', 
or  vexatious  regulations  of  his  predecessors,  opened  the  gates  off 
every  city  in  the  ecclesiastical  dominions  to  these  enterprising; 
traders,  secured  and  enlarged  their  privileges,  proclaimed  tolera- 
tion of  their  religion,  subjected  them  to  the  ordinary  tribunals^ 
and  enforced  a  general  and  equal  taxation."  (Milman's  History 
of  the  Jews,  book  xxvii.) 

[THE  POEM.]  Part  of  the  satire  ot  the  poem  is  in  the  fictitious 
extract  from  the  Diary  by  the  Bishop's  Secretary;  1600,  prefixed 
to  it.  The  Bishop  looks  upon  the  matter  as  though  he  were, 
compelling  the  Jews  to  come  in  and  partake  of  the  gospel  feast  p 
he  flatters  himself  that  many  conversions  have  taken  place  i» 
consequence  of  the  enforcement  of  this  law,  and  that  the  Church 
was  conferring  a  great  blessing  on  the  Jews  by  permitting  them, 
to  partake  of  the  heavenly  grace.  What  the  Jews  themselves, 
thought  of  the  business  is  told  in  the  poem.  The  speaker 
describes  the  crowding  of  the  church  by  the  Israelites,  packed 
like  rats  in  a  hamper  or  pigs  in  a  stye  ;  to  the  life  the  poet  hits 
off  the  behaviour  of  the  wretched  audience,  compelled  to  listen  to 
that  which  they  abhorred,  and  to  pretend  to  be  converted,  and 
to  affect  compunction  and  interest  in  doctrines  which  they 
detested.  Then  the  most  serious  part  of  the  poem  begins  :  the 
speaker  complains  that  the  hand  which  gutted  his  purse  would 
throttle  his  creed,  and  for  reward  the  men  whom  he  has  helped 
to  their  sins  would  help  him  to  their  God ;  then  the  pathos- 
deepens,  and  while  the  pretended  converts  are  going  through, 
the  farce  of  acknowledging  their  conversion  in  the  sacristy,  the 
speaker  meditates  on  Rabbi  Ben  Ezra's  Song  of  Death.  The 
night  the  Jewish  saint  died  he  called  his  family  round  him  and 
said  their  nation  in  one  point  only  had  sinned,  and  he  invokes 
Christ  if  indeed  He  really  were  the  Messiah,  and  they  had  given 
Him  the  cross  when  they  should  have  bestowed  the  crown,  to  have 
pity  on  them  and  protect  them  from  the  followers  of  His  teaching, 

14 


2  TO  BROWNING    CYCLOPAEDIA.  [Hom 

whose  life  laughs  through  and  spits  at  their  creed.  Perhaps, 
indeed,  they  withstood  Christ  then  :  it  is  at  least  Barabbas  they 
withstand  now  !  Let  Rome  make  amends  for  Calvary.  Let  Him 
remember  their  age-long  torture,  the  infamy,  the  Ghetto,  the 
garb,  the  badge,  the  branding  tool  and  scourge,  and  this 
summons  to  conversion  ;  by  withstanding  this  they  are  but  trying 
to  wrest  Christ's  name  from  the  devil's  crew. 

Home,  D.  D,  :  the  Spiritualist  medium.  See  MR.  SLUDGE  THE 
MEDIUM. 

Home  Thoughts  from  Abroad.  (Published  in  Dramatic 
Romances  and  Lyrics,  in  Bells  and  Pomegranates,  VII.,  1845.) 
In  praise  of  all  the  mighty  ravishment  of  our  English  spring,  and 
the  lovely  sister  months  April  and  May,  — 

"  May  flowers  bloom  before  May  comes, 
>  ^°  cheer>  a  little»  April's  sadness." 


And  nowhere,  surely,  are  these  months  so  delightful  as  in 
England  !  Melon-flowers  do  not  make  up  "  for  the  buttercups, 
the  little  children's  dower."  In  many  parts  of  Southern  Europe 
the  trees  have  all  been  ruthlessly  cut  down,  lest  they  should 
•harbour  birds.  The  absence  of  our  hedgerows  does  much  to 
*nar  the  beauty  of  a  Continental  landscape  in  spring. 

Home  Thoughts  from  the  Sea.  (Dramatic  Romances  vnd 
iyrics,  in  Bells  and  Pomegranates,  VII.,  1845.)  Patriotic  re- 
flections on  passing  the  Bay  of  Trafalgar  by  one  who, 
remembering  how  here  England  helped  the  Englishmen,  asks 
himself  "  How  can  I  help  England?" 

House.  (Pacchiarotto,  with  other  Poems  :  1876.)  If  we  accept 
Shakespeare's  Sonnets  in  their  natural  sense,  as  the  best  authori- 
ties say  we  must,  they  open  up  to  the  public  gaze  passages  in 
the  life  of  the  great  poet  which  those  who  love  an  ideal  Shake- 
speare would  rather  have  not  known.  If,  says  Mr.  Browning  in 
the  poem,  Shakespeare  unlocked  his  heart  with  a  sonnet-key,  the 
less  Shakespeare  he  !  For  his  own  part,  he  will  do  nothing  of 
the  sort  ;  and,  though  probably  few  men  led  purer  and  holier 
lives  from  youth  to  manhood  than  Mr.  Browning,  he  declines  to 
admit  the  vulgar  gaze  of  the  public  into  the  secret  chambers  of 
his  soul.  In  earthquakes,  indeed,  the  fronts  of  houses  often  fall, 
and  expose  the  private  arrangements  of  the  home  to  the  imper- 
tinent observation  of  the  passer-by.  In  earthquakes  this  cannot 


HOW]  BROWNING   CYCLOPAEDIA.  211 

be  helped ;  but  a  writer  may  keep  his  secrets  to  himself  till  an 
imprudent  biographer  gets  hold  of  them  to  make  "  copy  "  of. 
As  a  fact,  all  that  the  world  is  really  concerned  with  in  Mr. 
Browning's  life  and  opinions  can  be  gathered  "  by  the  spirit- 
sense  "  from  his  works.  The  main  idea  of  the  poem  is  very 
similar  to  that  of  At  the  Mermaid. 

Householder,  The.  (Fifine  at  the  Fair.)  The  Epilogue  to 
the  poem,  telling  how  Don  Juan  is  at  last  united  to  his  wife  Elvire 
by  death. 

How  it  strikes  a  Contemporary.  (Men  and  Women  :  1855.) 
The  faculty  of  observation  is  essential  both  to  the  poet  and  the 
spy.  Lavater  said  that  "  he  alone  is  an  acute  observer  who 
can  observe  minutely  without  being  observed."  The  poet  of 
Valladolid  was  mistaken  by  the  vulgar  mob  for  an  agent  of  the 
Government,  because  they  were  always  catching  him  taking 
"  such  cognisance  of  men  and  things."  His  picture  is  sketched 
in  a  very  few  lines  ;  but  these  are  sufficient  to  show  us  the  very 
man,  in  his  scrutinising  hat,  crossing  the  Plaza  Mayor  of  the 
dull  and  deserted  city,  in  which  there  was — one  would  think  — as 
little  life  to  interest  a  poet  as  to  employ  a  spy.  We  soon  get  to 
feel  that  the  poet-evidences  in  the  man's  behaviour  should  have 
been  sufficiently  strong  to  save  him  from  the  reproaches  of  his 
neighbours.  The  dog  at  his  heels,  the  note  he  took  of  any  cruelty 
towards  animals  or  cursing  of  a  woman,  the  interest  in  men's 
simple  trades,  the  poring  over  bookstalls,  reveal  to  us  the  image  of 
his  soul.  However,  his  fellow-citizens  in  all  these  things  thought 
they  had  evidence  of  a  chief  inquisitor ;  and  in  the  land  of  Spain, 
which  for  many  centuries  cowered  under  the  shadow  of  the  most 
terrible  weapon  ever  forged  against  the  liberties  of  man,  inquisi- 
tion and  espionage  were  in  the  air.  Men  were  better  judges  of 
spies  than  of  poets  ;  they  were  more  familiar  with  them.  So  it 
was  set  down  in  their  minds  that  all  their  doings  were  sent  by 
this  recording  prowler  to  the  king.  All  the  mysteries  of  the 
town  were  traced  to  his  influence :  A's  surprising  fate,  B's  dis- 
appearing, C's  mistress,  all  were  traced  to  this  "  man  about  the 
streets."  But  it  was  not  true,  says  the  contemporary,  that  if  you 
tracked  the  inquisitor  home  you  would  find  him  revelling  in 
luxury.  On  the  contrary,  his  habits  were  simple  and  abstemious  ; 
at  ten  he  went  to  bed,  after  a  modest  repast  and  a  quiet  game 
of  cribbage  with  his  maid.  And  when  the  poor,  mysterious  man 


212  BROWNING   CYCLOPEDIA.  [HOW 

came  to  die  in  the  clean  garret,  whose  sides  were  lined  by  an 
invisible  guard  who  came  to  relieve  him,  there  was  no  more  need 
for  that  old  coat  which  had  seen  so  much  service.  How  suddenly 
the  angels  change  the  fashion  of  our  dress — and  how  much  better 
they  understand  us  than  do  our  neighbours ! 

How  they  brought  the  Good  News  from  Ghent  to  Aix. 
(Dramatic  Romances  and  Lyrics,  in  Bells  and Pomegranates,  1845.) 
There  is  no  actual  basis  in  history  for  the  incidents  of  this  poem, 
though  there  is  no  doubt  that  in  the  war  in  the  Netherlands  such 
an  adventure  was  likely  enough.  Three  men  go  off  on  horse- 
back at  their  hardest,  at  moonset,  from  the  city  of  Ghent,  to  save 
their  town — through  Boom,  and  Duffeld,  Mecheln,  Aerschot, 
Hasselt,  Looz,  Tongres,  and  Dalhem,  to  the  ancient  city  of  Aix. 
The  hero  of  the  work  was  the  good  horse  Roland,  who  was  voted 
the  last  measure  of  wine  the  city  had  left  Two  of  the  horses 
dropped  dead  on  the  road,  and  the  noble  Roland,  bearing  "  the 
whole  weight  of  the  news,"  with  blind,  distended  eyes  and 
nostrils,  fell  just  as  he  reached  the  market-place  of  Aix,  resting 
his  head  between  the  knees  of  his  master. 

Humility.  (Asolando,  1889.)  A  flower-laden  girl  drops  a 
careless  bud  without  troubling  to  pick  it  up.  She  has  "enough 
for  home."  "  So  give  your  lover,"  says  the  poet,  "  heaps  of  love," 
he  thinking  himself  happy  in  picking  up  a  stray  bud,  "  and  not 
the  worst,"  which  she  has  gladdened  him  by  letting  fall. 

"I  am  a  Painter  who  cannot  Paint."  (Pippa  Passes.} 
Lutwyche's  speech  begins  with  these  words. 

"  I  go  to  prove  my  Soul."  (Paracelsus^)  The  words  of  the 
hero  of  the  poem  when  he  starts  on  his  career. 

Ibn-Ezra  =  the  historical  person  who  forms  the  subject  of  the 
poem  RABBI  BEN  EZRA  (q.v.) 

Imperante  Angnsto  Natns  Est.  (Asolando,  1889.)  In  the 
reign  of  Augustus  Octavianus  Caesar,  second  emperor  of  Rome, 
two  Romans  are  entering  the  public  bath  together,  and  while  the 
bath  is  being  heated  they  converse  in  the  vestibule  about  the 
great  services  which  Octavianus  has  rendered  to  the  city  and  the 
empire,  and  one  of  them  refers  to  the  panegyric  on  the  Emperor 
read  out  in  public  on  the  previous  day  by  Lucius  Varius  Rufus. 
He  had  praised  the  Emperor  as  a  god,  and  the  speaker  goes  on 
to  say  how  he  once  met  Octavianus  as  he  was  going  about  the 


Imp]  BROWNING   CYCLOPAEDIA.  213 

city  disguised  as  a  beggar.  At  the  end  of  the  poem  is  the  story 
told  by  Suidas,  the  author  of  a  Greek  lexicon,  who  lived  before 
the  twelfth  century,  and  who  was  probably  a  Christian,  as  his 
work  deals  with  Scriptural  as  well  as  pagan  subjects.  This 
myth  narrates  the  visit  of  Augustus  Caesar  to  the  oracle  at 
Delphos.  "When  Augustus  had  sacrificed,"  said  Suidas,  "he 
demanded  of  the  Pythia  who  should  succeed  him,  and  the  oracle 
replied : — 

" '  A  Hebrew  slave,  holding  control  over  the  blessed  gods, 
Orders  me  to  leave  this  home  and  return  to  the  underworld. 
Depart  in  silence,  therefore,  from  our  altars.' " 

Nicephorus  relates  that  when  Augustus  returned  to  Rome  after 
receiving  this  reply,  he  erected  an  altar  in  the  Capitol  with  the 
inscription  "  Ara  Primogeniti  Dei."  On  this  spot  now  stands 
the  Church  of  S.  Maria  in  Aracoeli,  a  very  ancient  building, 
mentioned  in  the  ninth  century  as  S.  Maria  de  Capitolio.  The 
present  altar  also  incloses  an  ancient  altar  bearing  the  inscrip- 
tion Ara  Primogeniti  Dei,  which  is  said  to  have  been  the  one 
erected  here  by  Augustus.  According  to  the  legend  of  the 
twelfth  century,  this  was  the  spot  where  the  Sibyl  of  Tibur  ap- 
peared to  the  Emperor,  whom  the  Senate  proposed  to  elevate  to 
the  rank  of  a  god,  and  revealed  to  him  a  vision  of  the  Virgin  and 
her  Son.  This  was  the  origin  of  the  name  "Church  of  the 
Altar  of  Heaven."  It  is  historical  that  Augustus  used  to  go 
about  Rome  disguised  as  a  beggar.  Jeremy  Taylor's  account  of 
events  in  the  Roman  world,  as  recorded  in  his  Life  of  Chiist, 
sec.  iv.,  will  serve  as  a  good  introduction  to  the  historical  matters 
referred  to  in  the  poem :— "  For  when  all  the  world  did  expect 
that  in  Judaea  should  be  born  their  prince,  and  that  the  incredu- 
lous world  had  in  their  observation  slipped  by  their  true  prince, 
because  He  came  not  in  pompous  and  secular  illustrations  ;  upon 
that  very  stock  Vespasian  (Sueton.  In  Vitd  Vesp.  4 ;  Vide  etiam 
Cic.,  De  Diving  was  nursed  up  in  hope  of  the  Roman  empire,  and 
that  hope  made  him  great  in  designs  ;  and  they  being  prosperous, 
made  his  fortunes  correspond  to  his  hopes,  and  he  was  endeared 
and  engaged  upon  that  future  by  the  prophecy  which  was  never 
intended  him  by  the  prophet.  But  the  future  of  the  Roman 
monarchy  was  not  great  enough  for  this  prince  designed  by  the 
old  prophets.  And  therefore  it  was  not  without  the  influence  of  a 


214  BROWNING   CYCLOPAEDIA.  [Imp 

Divinity  that  his  predecessor  Augustus,  about  the  time  of  Christ's 
nativity,  refused  to  be  called  "  lord  "  (Oros.  vi.  22).  Possibly  it 
was  to  entertain  the  people  with  some  hopes  of  restitution  of 
their  liberties,  till  he  had  griped  the  monarchy  with  a  stricter  and 
faster  hold ;  but  the  Christians  were  apt  to  believe  that  it  was 
upon  the  prophecy  of  a  sibyl  foretelling  the  birth  of  a  greater 
prince,  to  whom  all  the  world  should  pay  adoration  ;  and  that 
prince  was  about  that  time  born  in  Judaea.  (Suidas  In  histor. 
verb.  "  Augustus"}  The  oracle,  which  was  dumb  to  Augustus' 
question,  told  him  unasked,  the  devil  having  no  tongue  permitted 
him  but  one  to  proclaim  that  '  an  Hebrew  child  was  his  lord  and 
enemy.'"  Octavianus  chose  the  title  of  Augustus  on  religious 
grounds,  having  assumed  the  exalted  position  of  Chief  Pontiff. 
The  epithet  Augustus  was  one  which  no  man  had  borne  before — 
a  name  only 'applied  to  sacred  things.  The  rites  of  the  gods 
were  termed  august,  their  temples  were  august,  and  the  word 
itself  was  derived  from  the  auguries.  The  cult  of  the  Caesar 
began  to  assume  a  ritual  and  a  priesthood  at  the  very  time  when 
the  approaching  birth  of  Christ  was  to  destroy  the  empire  and  its 
religious  belief.  Mrs.  Jameson,  in  her  Legends  of  the  Madonna, 
p.  197,  says:  "According  to  an  ancient  legend,  the  Emperor 
Augustus  Caesar  repaired  to  the  sibyl  Tiburtina,  to  inquire 
whether  he  should  consent  to  allow  himself  to  be  worshipped 
with  divine  honours,  which  the  Senate  had  decreed  to  him.  The 
Sibyl,  after  some  days  of  meditation,  took  the  Emperor  apart  and 
showed  him  an  altar ;  and  above  the  altar,  in  the  opening  heavens, 
and  in  a  glory  of  light,  he  beheld  a  beautiful  Virgin  holding  an 
infant  in  her  arms,  and  at  the  same  time  a  voice  was  heard 
saying,  '  This  is  the  altar  of  the  Son  of  the  living  God ! '  where- 
upon Augustus  caused  an  altar  to  be  erected  on  the  Capitoline 
Hill  with  this  inscription,  Ara  Primogeniti  Dei\  and  on  the 
same  spot,  in  later  times,  was  built  the  church  called  the  Ara 
Cceli — well  known,  with  its  flight  of  one  hundred  and  twenty-four 
marble  steps,  to  all  who  have  visited  Rome.  This  particular 
prophecy  of  the  Tiburtine  sybil  to  Augustus  rests  on  some  very 
antique  traditions,  pagan  as  well  as  Christian.  It  is  supposed 
to  have  suggested  the  '  Pollio '  of  Virgil,  which  suggested  the 
1  Messiah '  of  Pope.  It  is  mentioned  by  writers  of  the  third  and 
fourth  centuries.  A  very  rude  but  curious  bas-relief,  preserved  in 
the  Church  of  the  Ara  Cceli,  is  perhaps  the  oldest  representatioo 


Imp]  BROWNING   CYCLOPEDIA.  215 

extant.  The  Church  legend  assigns  to  it  a  fabulous  antiquity ; 
and  it  must  be  older  than  the  twelfth  century,  as  it  is  alluded  to  by 
writers  of  that  period.  Here  the  Emperor  Augustus  kneels  before 
the  Madonna  and  Child,  and  at  his  side  is  the  sibyl  Tiburtina 
pointing  upwards."  Of  course,  such  a  subject  became  a  favourite 
one  with  artists.  There  is  a  famous  fresco  on  the  subject  by 
Baldassare  Peruzzi  at  Siena,  Fonte  Giusta.  There  is  also  a 
picture  dealing  with  it  at  Hampton  Court,  by  Pietro  da  Cortona. 
St.  Augustine  (De  Civitate  Dei,  lib.  xviii.,  cap.  23)  describes 
the  prophecy  of  Sibylla  Erythrea  concerning  Christ : — "  Flacci- 
anus,  a  learned  and  eloquent  man  (one  that  had  been  Consul's 
deputy),  being  in  a  conference  with  us  concerning  Christ,  showed 
us  a  Greek  book,  saying  they  were  this  sibyl's  verses  ;  wherein, 
in  one  place,  he  showed  us  a  sort  of  verses  so  composed  that, 
the  first  letter  of  every  verse  being  taken,  they  all  made  these 
words  :  'Irja-ovs  Xptoros,  0eoO  vios  o-oor^p  (Jesus  Christ,  Son  of 
God,  the  Saviour)."  Some  think  this  was  the  Cumean  Sibyl. 
Lactantius  also  has  prophecies  of  Christ  out  of  some  sybilline 
books,  but  he  does  not  give  the  reference.  The  Latin  hymn 
sung  in  the  Masses  for  the  Dead,  and  well  known  as  the  Dies 
Ira,  has  this  verse  : 

"  Dies  irse,  dies  ilia, 

Solvet  sseclum  in  favilla, 

Teste  David  cum  Sibylla." 

NOTES. — Publius  :  not  historical.  Lucius  Varius  Rufus  was  a 
tragic  poet,  the  friend  of  Virgil  and  Horace.  He  wrote  a  pane- 
gyric on  the  Emperor  Augustus,  to  which  Mr.  Browning  refers  in 
the  opening  lines  of  the  poem.  Little  Flaccus  was  Horace, 
who  declared  that  Varius  was  the  only  poet  capable  of  singing 
the  praises  of  M.  Agrippa.  His  tragedy  Thyestes  is  warmly 
praised  by  Quintillian.  Epos :  heroic  poem.  Etruscan  kings. 
The  Rasena  or  Etrusci  inhabited  Etruria,  in  that  part  of  Italy 
north  of  Rome.  The  kings  were  elected  for  life.  Roman  families 
were  proud  to  trace  back  their  ancestry  to  the  Etruscan  kings. 
McBcenas :  patron  of  letters  and  learned  men,  the  adviser  of 
Augustus.  He  was  descended  from  the  ancient  kings  of  Etruria. 
Quadrans:  a  Roman  coin,  worth  about  half  a  farthing  of  our  money. 
The  price  of  a  bath,  paid  to  the  keeper  of  the  public  bagnio. 
Thermce,  the  baths-  Suburra:  a  street  in  Rome,  where  tha 


2l6  BROWNING   CYCLOPAEDIA.  [Ina 

•dissolute  Romans  resorted.  Qucestor^  the  office  of  Quaestor, 
under  the  empire,  was  the  first  step  to  higher  positions.  jEdiles, 
magistrates.  The  baths  were  under  their  superintendence.  Cen- 
-sores,  officials  whose  duty  it  was  to  take  the  place  of  the  consuls 
in  superintending  the  five-yearly  census.  Pol!  an  oath.  By 
Pollux  !  Quarter-as :  in  Cicero's  time,  the  as  was  equal  to  rather 
less  than  a  halfpenny.  Stoigil>  a  flesh  brush.  Oil-drippers,  used 
after  bathing. 

In  a  Balcony.  (Published  in  Men  and  Women  \  1855.)  A 
•drama  which  is  incomplete.  Concentrated  into  an  hour,  we  have 
•the  crises  of  three  lives,  which,  passing  through  the  fire,  reveal 
•a  tragedy  which  has  for  its  scene  the  balcony  of  a  palace.  A 
•Queen  has  arrived  at  the  age  of  fifty  with  her  strong  craving  for 
love  still  unsatisfied.  Constance,  a  cousin  of  the  Queen  and  a 
lady  of  her  court,  is  loved  by  Norbert,  who  is  in  the  Queen's 
service.  He  has  served  the  State  well  and  successfully,  and  the 
Queen  has  set  her  heart  upon  him.  Norbert  is  advised  by 
Constance  to  act  diplomatically,  and  pretend  that  he  has  served 
the  Queen  only  for  her  sake.  He  must  not  permit  her  to  see  the 
love  which  he  has  for  the  woman  to  whom  he  has  pledged  him- 
selt.  The  Queen,  who  is  already  married  in  form,  though  not  in 
heart,  offers  to  dissolve  the  union,  in  an  interview  which  she  has 
•with  Constance,  and  shows  how  eagerly  she  grasps  at  the  prospect 
•of  a  new  life  which  opens  up  before  her.  Constance  is  prepared" 
-to  sacrifice  herself  for  Norbert  and  the  Queen.  She  seeks  Norbert, 
and  reveals  to  him  the  real  state  of  affairs.  The  Queen  discovers 
the  lovers,  and  hears  Norbert  declare  his  love  for  Constance, 
which  she  tries  to  divert  to  the  Queen.  At  once  the  Queen  sees 
.all  her  hopes  dashed  to  the  ground.  She  says  nothing ;  but  having 
left  the  balcony,  the  music  of  the  ball,  which  is  proceeding  within, 
suddenly  ceases,  the  footsteps  of  the  guard  approach,  the  lovers 
feel  their  impending  doom ;  but  one  passionate  moment  unites 
them  in  heart  for  ever,  and  they  are  led  away  to  death. 

In  a  Gondola.  (Dramatic  Lyrics,  in  Bells  and  Pomegranates, 
No.  III. :  1842.)  In  the  fourth  book  of  Forster's  Life  of  Dickens 
is  a  letter  which  Dickens  wrote  to  Maclise,  from  which  we  learn 
that  Browning  wrote  the  first  verse  of  this  poem,  beginning,  "  I 
send  my  heart  up  to  thee,"  to  express  Maclise's  subject  in  the 
Academy  catalogue.  Dickens  says,  in  a  letter  to  the  artist :  "  In 
a  certain  picture  called  the  '  Serenade/  for  which  Browning  wrote 


BROWNING   CYCLOPEDIA.  2I/ 

that  verse  in  Lincoln's  Inn  Fields,  you,  O  Mac,  painted  a  sky.  It 
you  ever  have  occasion  to  paint  the  Mediterranean,  let  it  be 
exactly  of  that  colour."  In  the  poem  a  lover  and  his  mistress 
are  singing  in  a  gondola — conscious  of  their  danger,  for  the 
interview  is  a  stolen  one,  and  the  three  who  are  referred  to  are 
perhaps  husband,  father,  and  brother,  or  assassins  hired  by  one 
of  them.  The  chills  of  approaching  death  avail  not  to  cool  the 
ardour  of  their  passion  in  this  precious  hour  in  the  gondola. 
They  feel  they  have  lived,  let  death  come  when  it  will ;  and  as 
they  glide  past  church  and  palace,  reality  is  concentrated  in  their 
boat,  the  shams  and  illusions  of  life  are  on  the  banks.  The  lover 
is  stabbed  as  he  hands  the  lady  ashore.  He  craves  one  more 
kiss,  and  dies.  He  scorns  not  his  murderers,  for  they  have  never 

lived  : 

"But  I 
Have  lived  indeed,  and  so — can  die ! " 

NOTES. — Castelfranco  (born  1478)  is  Giorgione,  one  of  the 
greatest  Italian  painters.  His  father  belonged  to  the  family  of 
the  Barbarella,  of  Castelfranco  in  the  Trevisan.  For  his  Life  see 
VASARI.  Schidone  was  an  Italian  painter  of  the  sixteenth  century. 
Hasle-thee-Luke  is  the  English  of  Luca-fd-presto  ("  Luke  work- 
fast"),  nickname  of  Luca  Giordano  (1632 — 1705),  a  Neapolitan 
painter.  His  nickname  was  given  to  him,  not  on  account  of  his 
rapid  method  of  working,  but  in  consequence  of  his  poor  and 
greedy  father  urging  him  to  increased  exertions  by  constantly 
exclaiming  "  Luca,  fa  presto."  The  youth  obeyed  his  father,  and 
would  actually  not  leave  off  work  for  his  meals,  but  was  fed  by 
his  father's  hand  while  he  laboured  on  with  the  brush.  Giudecca : 
a  great  canal  of  Venice.  " Lido's  wet,  accursed  graves"  Byron 
desired  to  be  buried  at  Lido.  Ancient  Jewish  tombs  are  there, 
moss-grown  and  half  covered  with  sand.  The  place  is  desolate 
and  very  gloomy.  Lory:  a  species  of  parrot. 

Inapprehensiveness.  (Asolando.)  The  ruin  referred  to  in 
the  fourth  line  is  that  of  the  old  palace  of  Queen  Cornaro,  who, 
having  been  driven  out  of  her  kingdom  of  Cyprus,  kept  up  a 
shadow  of  royalty  here,  with  Cardinal  Bembo  as  her  secretary. 
It  was  he  who  told  the  story,  in  his  Asolani.  Mr.  Browning 
thought  that  there  was  no  view  in  all  Italy  to  compare  with  that 
from  the  tower  of  the  old  palace.  Two  friends  stand  side  by 
side  contemplating  the  scene  The  lady's  attention  is  attracted  to 


2l8  BROWNING   CYCLOPAEDIA.  [Infr 

a  chance-rooted  wind-sown  tree  on  a  turret,  and  to  certain  weed- 
growths  on  a  wall.  She  is  inapprehensive  that  by  her  side  stands 
an  incarnation  of  dormant  passion,  needing  nothing  but  a  look 
from  her  to  burst  into  immense  life.  So  little  does  one  soul 
know  of  another.  The  Vernon  Lee  in  the  last  line  is  a  well-known, 
authoress,  Violet  Paget,  best  known  perhaps  by  her  work  entitled 
Euphorion, 

In  a  Year.  (Men  and  Women,  1855  ;  Dramatic  Lyrics,  i868.> 
finely  contrasts  the  constancy  of  a  woman's  love  with  the  incon- 
stancy of  man's.  Love  is  not  love  unless  it  be  "  an  ever  fixed 
mark."  In  exchange  for  the  man's  love,  the  woman  gave  health^ 
ease,  beauty,  and  youth,  and  was  content  to  give  "  more  life  and 
more  "  till  all  were  gone,  and  think  the  sacrifice  too  little.  That 
was  the  woman's  "ever  fixed  mark."  The  man  asks  calmly: 
"  Can't  we  touch  these  bubbles,  then,  but  they  break  ?  " 

Incident  of  the  French  Camp.  (Dramatic  Lyrics,  in  Bells  and 
Pomegranates,  III.:  1842.)  Ratisbon  (German  Regensburg)  is 
an  ancient  and  famous  city  of  Bavaria,  on  the  right  bank  of  the 
Danube.  It  has  endured  no  less  than  seventeen  sieges  since 
the  tenth  century,  accompanied  by  bombardments,  the  last  of 
which  took  place  in  1809,  when  Napoleon  stormed  the  town, 
which  was  obstinately  defended  by  the  Austrians.  Some  two- 
hundred  houses  and  much  of  the  suburbs  were  destroyed.  As- 
the  Emperor  was  watching  the  storming,  a  rider  flew  from  the 
city  full  gallop,  saluting  the  Emperor.  He  told  him  they  had 
taken  the  city.  The  chief's  eye  flashed,  but  presently  saddened 
as  he  looked  on  the  brave  youth  who  had  brought  the  news. 
"  You  are  wounded  !  "  "  Nay,  I'm  killed,  sire  ! "  and  the  lad 
fell  dead. 

Inn  Album,  The.  (1875.)  The  chief  features  of  this  tragedy, 
"  where  every  character  is  either  mean,  or  weak,  or  vile,"  are 
taken  from  real  life.  It  is  "  the  story  of  the  wrecked  life  of  a 
girl  who  loved  her  base  seducer  as  a  god."  This  curious  study 
in  mental  pathology  opens  with  a  description  of  the  visitors' 
book  of  a  country  inn,  filled  with  the  usual  idiotic  entries  which 
are  found  in  such  books.  The  shabby-genteel  parlour  of  the  inn 
is  occupied  by  two  men  playing  at  cards — a  young  and  a  middle- 
aged  man.  The  elder,  a  cultivated  and  accomplished  roue,  has 
just  lost  to  the  younger  man  ten  thousand  pounds  at  play.  The 
loser  has  hitherto  been  .pretty  uniformly  the  winner;  but  his 


Inn]  BROWNING   CYCLOPEDIA,  2 19 

companion,  who  has  succeeded  in  plucking  the  pigeon,  has 
not  deceived  him.  He  has  seen  through  his  pretences,  and 
is  fully  aware  that  he  is  accompanied  on  this  trip  to  the 
village  where  the  inn  in  which  they  are  staying  is  situated, 
purely  for  the  chance  it  offered  of  winning  money  from  him  for 
the  last  time  before  his  approaching  marriage.  The  polished 
snob  who  has  won  is  inclined  to  be  satirical  at  his  companion's- 
expense,  and  loftily  desires  him  to  consider  the  debt  as  cancelled  : 
he  is  a  millionaire,  and  can  afford  to  do  without  it.  This  the 
elder  man,  with  perfect  politeness,  declines,  and  assures  him 
that  it  shall  be  paid.  They  leave  the  inn.  The  young  man  is  to 
visit  his  intended  bride;  but  he  dare  not  introduce  his  com- 
panion, as  his  reputation  has  made  it  impossible  to  do  so.  A& 
they  walk  towards  the  station  the  young  man  inquires  how  it  is 
that  his  friend,  with  all  his  advantages  in  life,  is  in  every  way  a 
failure.  He  then  learns  that  his  chances  were  missed  four  years 
ago,  when  he  should  have  married  a  woman  with  whom  he  had 
certain  relations,  and  who  could  have  saved  him  from  his  aimless 
and  wayward  life.  He  had  won  the  heart  of  a  lofty-minded  girl,, 
had  seduced  her,  and,  though  he  had  not  intended  marriage  at 
first,  had  offered  it.  When  she  discovered  that  he  had  betrayed 
her  without  thinking  of  marrying  her,  she  rejected  his  proposal^ 
which  had  come  too  late  to  appease  her  wounded  pride,  and  had 
settled  down  as  the  wife  of  an  obscure  country  parson,  old  and 
poor.  Weakly,  she  had  neglected  to  secure  her  safety  by  telling 
her  husband  the  story  of  her  past,  and  in  consequence  was 
liable  at  any  moment  to  be  the  victim  of  her  seducer  for  the 
second  time.  The  scoundrel  had  led  the  life  of  a  woman- 
wrecker,  and  his  love  for  his  victim  had  turned  to  hate,  as  he 
told  his  companion,  because  she  had  disdained  to  save  him  from 
himself.  When  the  elder  man  has  unburdened  himself,  then  the 
younger  tells  his  story  too.  He  has  loved  a  peerless  woman, 
who  refused  him,  as  she  was  vowed  to  another.  There  are 
points  in  his  story  which  suggest  to  him  that  they  have  both 
loved  the  same  woman,  though  he  says  that  could  not  be,  as  he 
has  heard  that  she  married  the  man  of  whom  she  spoke.  The 
young  man  now  parts  from  his  companion,  and  bids  him  return 
to  the  inn,  there  to  await  him  for  an  hour,  while  he  tries  to 
induce  his  aunt  to  receive  him  as  her  guest.  In  the  third  part 
•of  the  poem  we  are  introduced  to  two  women — an  elder  and  a 


220  BROWNING   CYCLOPAEDIA.  [Inn 

younger — who  are  talking  in  the  parlour  of  the  inn,  just  left 
vacant  by  the  departure  of  the  two  card-players.  The  younger 
is  the  girl  whom  the  young  man  of  the  story  is  to  marry ;  and  she 
has  begged  her  old  friend,  the  elder  woman,  to  meet  her,  that 
she  may  see  the  man  whom  she  is  to  marry.  She  has  come  by 
the  train,  has  been  met  at  the  station  by  her  young  friend,  and 
they  adjourn  to  the  little  inn  to  talk  matters  over  quietly.  While 
the  younger  woman  is  absent  from  the  parlour,  and  the  elder  is 
engaged  in  turning  over  the  leaves  of  the  visitors'  book,  she  is 
terror-stricken  at  seeing  her  old  lover  enter  the  room.  The  lady 
is  the  clergyman's  wife,  and  the  man  is  the  old  roue  who  is 
waiting  for  his  friend  who  has  won  his  ten  thousand  pounds. 
She  believes  the  whole  affair  is  a  scheme  to  entrap  her,  and 
bitterly  reproaches  the  man  who  has  ruined  her  life,  and  even 
now  must  drag  her  from  her  retirement  for  further  persecution. 
He  indulges  in  recriminations,  pretending  that  it  is  his  life 
•which  she  has  wrecked,  and  that  she  is  inspired  with  hatred  for 
him  though  he  has  not  ceased  to  love  her.  She  thanks  God  that 
she  had  grace  to  hurl  contempt  at  the  contemptible : 

"  Rent  away 

By  treason  from  my  rightful  pride  of  place, 
I  was  not  destined  to  the  shame  below. 
A  cleft  had  caught  me." 

"Revealing  to  him  the  bitterness  of  her  position,  hanging,  as  it 
were,  over  the  brink  of  a  yawning  precipice,  his  old  love  for  her 
is  reawakened,  and  he  kneels  to  the  injured  woman.  He  entreats 
her  to  fly  with  him  to 

"  A  certain  refuge,  solitary  home 
To  hide  in. 

Come  with  me,  love,  loved  once,  loved  only,  come, 
Blend  loves  there ! " 

But  the  woman  sees  through  him,  and  says : 

"  Your  smiles,  your  tears,  prayers,  curses  move  alike 
My  crowned  contempt." 

And  while  he  is  kneeling  there,  in  bursts  the  young  man,  who 
has  returned  to  say  that  his  aunt  declines  to  meet  him.  He  is 
startled  to  see  the  lady  to  whom  he  had  vainly  offered  his  heart 


Inn]  BROWNING   CYCLOPAEDIA.  221 

four  years  ago,  and  rushes  to  the  conclusion  that  he  too  has 
been  entrapped  for  some  purpose.  The  fifth  section  of  the 
poem  opens  with  a  scornful  denunciation  of  the  trick  which  he 
considers  stands  confessed  in  the  scene  which  he  beholds.  "  O 
you  two  base  ones,  male  and  female !  Sir  1 "  he  exclaims ;  "  halt 
an  hour  ago  I  held  your  master  for  my  best  of  friends,  and  four 
years  since  you  seemed  my  heart's  one  love ! "  The  woman 
explains  to  him  that  she  has  been  sent  for  simply  to  counsel  his 
cousin  on  the  question  of  her  proposed  marriage.  She  finds 
him  innocent  save  in  folly,  and  will  so  report.  The  elder  man 
she  bids  to  leave  the  youth,  and  leave  unsullied  the  heart  she 
rescues  and  would  lay  beside  another's.  While  she  speaks 
the  devil  is  tempting  him  to  one  more  crime.  He  will  turn 
affairs  to  his  own  advantage.  He  writes  some  lines  in  the  album 
before  him,  closes  the  book,  hands  it  to  the  indignant  woman,  and 
begs  her  to  leave  him  alone  with  his  friend  while  he  discusses 
the  situation.  In  the  book  which  she  receives  he  has  written  a 
note  to  her  telling  her  that  her  young  lover  is  still  faithful  to  her, 
and  threatening  her  that  if  she  does  not  receive  him  on  familiar 
terms  the  story  of  her  past  shame  shall  be  exposed  to  her 
husband.  Left  alone  with  the  young  man,  he  opens  out  a 
scheme  of  infernal  ingenuity,  whereby  at  once  he  will  pay  his 
gambling  debt  and  avenge  himself  for  the  contempt  and  scorn 
with  which  his  unhappy  victim  has  once  more  received  the  offer 
of  his  affection.  He  proposes  to  barter  the  woman  who  has 
unwittingly  put  herself  into  his  power— to  compel  her  to  yield 
herself  up  to  the  man  in  exchange  for  the  ten  thousand  pounds 
he  cannot  otherwise  pay.  He  explains  to  him  that  she  has 
deluded  her  parson  husband — would  have  yielded  to  himself  had 
he  not  determined  to  substitute  his  friend.  "Make  love  to  her; 
pick  no  phrase ;  prevent  all  misconception  :  there's  the  fruit  to- 
pluck  or  let  alone  at  pleasure !  "  He  leaves  the  room,  and  in 
superb  composure  the  intended  victim  enters.  Captive  of 
wickedness,  she  warns  him:  "Back,  in  God's  name!"  "Sin  no- 
more  !"  she  cries:  "  I  am  past  sin  now."  She  implores  him  to 
break  the  fetters  which  have  bound  him  to  the  evil  influence 
which  has  destroyed  her  life.  Her  noble  bearing  under  the 
terrible  circumstances  assures  him  of  her  innocence  of  any  com- 
plicity in  a  trick.  He  tells  her  the  man  has  told  heaps  of  lies 
about  her,  which  he  had  not  believed.  Blushing  and  stumbling 


222  BROWNING   CYCLOPAEDIA.  [Inn 

in  his  speech,  he  contrives  to  let  her  know  the  use  that  was  to 
be  made  of  her.  Not  knowing  if  there  were  truth  in  what  was 
told  him  of  her  marriage,  he  offers  her  his  hand  if  she  is  free  to 
accept  it, — any  way,  to  take  him  as  her  friend.  She  gives  him 
her  hand.  At  that  moment  the  adversary  returns.  "  You  accept 
him?"  he  asks.  "Till  death  us  do  part!''  she  answers.  "  But 
before  death  parts,  read  here  the  marriage  licence  which  makes 
us  one."  He  then  displays  the  awful  words  addressed  to  her  in 
the  fatal  page  she  holds  in  her  hand.  She  reads,  and  when  she 
comes  to  the  last  line — 

"Consent — you  stop  my  mouth,  the  only  way" — 

turning  to  the  young  man,  she  pitifully  asks,  "  How  could  mortal 
1  stop  it '  ?  "  "  So  ! "  he  cries.  "  A  tiger-flash,  and  death's  out  and 
on  him  ! "  In  the  closing  scene  the  wretched,  hunted  woman 
dies.  She  has  secured  her  vindicator's  acquittal  on  the  charge 
of  murder  by  writing  in  the  album  that  he  has  saved  her  from 
the  villain,  righteously  slain,  who  would  have  outraged  her.  As 
she  dies  the  young  girl  who  was  to  have  married  the  defender  of 
the  dead  woman  appears  on  the  scene,  and  the  tragedy  closes. 
In  Notes  and  Queries  for  March  25th,  1876,  Dr.  F.  J.  Furnivall 
thus  mentions  the  incidents  on  which  the  poem  is  based :  "  The 
story  told  by  Mi.  Browning  in  this  poem  is,  in  its  main  outlines, 
a  real  one — that  of  Lord  De  Ros,  once  a  friend  of  the  great 
Duke  of  Wellington,  and  about  whom  there  is  much  in  the 
Greville  Memoirs.  The  original  story  was,  of  course,  too 
repulsive  to  be  adhered  to  in  all  its  details — of,  first,  the  gambling 
lord  producing  the  portrait  of  the  lady  he  had  seduced  and 
abandoned,  and  offering  his  expected  dupe,  but  real  beater,  ar 
introduction  to  the  lady  as  a  bribe  to  induce  him  to  wait  for  pay- 
ment of  the  money  he  had  won  ;  secondly,  the  eager  acceptance 
of  the  bribe  by  the  younger  gambler,  and  the  suicide  of  the  lady 
from  horror  at  the  base  proposal  of  her  old  seducer.  The  story 
made  a  great  sensation  in  London  over  thirty  years  ago.  Readers 
of  The  Inn  Album  know  how  grandly  Mr.  Browning  has  lifted 
the  base  young  gambler,  through  the  renewal  of  that  old  love, 
which  the  poet  has  invented,  into  one  of  the  most  pathetic 
creations  of  modern  time,  and  has  spared  the  base  old  roue  the 
degradation  of  the  attempt  to  sell  the  love  which  was  once  his 
delight,  and  which,  in  the  poem,  he  seeks  to  regain,  with  feelings 


Inn]  BROWNING    CYCLOPEDIA.  22-? 

one  must  hope  are  real,  as  the  most  prized  possession  of  his  life. 
As  to  the  lady,  the  poet  has  covered  her  with  no  false  glory  or 
claim  on  our  sympathy.  From  the  first  she  was  a  law  unto 
herself;  she  gratified  her  own  impulses,  and  she  reaped  the 
fruit  of  this.  Her  seducer  has  made  his  confession  of  his  punish- 
ment, and  has  attributed,  instead  of  misery,  comfort  and  ease  to 
her.  She  has  to  tell  him,  and  the  young  man  who  has  given  her 
his  whole  heart,  that  the  supposed  comfort  and  ease  have  been 
to  her  simply  hell ;  and  tell,  too,  why  she  cannot  accept  the  true 
love  that,  under  other  conditions,  would  have  been  her  way  back 
*o  heaven  and  life.  What,  then,  can  be  her  end  ?  No  higher 
power  has  she  ever  sought.  Self-contained,  she  has  sinned  and 
suffered.  She  can  do  no  more.  By  her  own  hand  she  ends  her 
life ;  and  the  curtain  falls  on  the  most  profoundly  touching  and 
most  powerful  poem  of  modern  times."  The  young  girl  of  the 
poem  is  the  invention  of  the  poet ;  the  other  characters  took  part 
in  the  actual  tragedy.  In  his  Memoirs,  first  series,  Greville 
mentions  Lord  De  Ros  from  time  to  time,  and  they  travelled 
together  in  Italy.  Under  date  of  "  Newmarket,  March  29th,  1839," 
Greville  makes  the  following  entry  in  the  first  volume  of  the 
second  series  ot  his  Memoirs,  concerning  the  death  of  his 
friend  :  "  Poor  De  Ros  expired  last  night  soon  after  twelve,  after 
a  confinement  of  two  or  three  months  from  the  time  he  returned 
to  England.  His  end  was  enviably  tranquil,  and  he  bore  his 
protracted  sufferings  with  astonishing  fortitude  and  composure. 
Nothing  ruffled  his  temper  or  disturbed  his  serenity.  His  facul- 
ties were  unclouded,  his  memory  retentive,  his  perceptions  clear 
to  the  last;  no  murmur  of  impatience  ever  escaped  him,  no 
querulous  word,  no  ebullition  of  anger  or  peevishness  ;  he  was 
uniformly  patient,  mild,  indulgent,  deeply  sensible  of  kindness 
and  attention,  exacting  nothing,  considerate  of  others  and  appa- 
rently regardless  of  self,  overflowing  with  affection  and  kindness 
of  manner  and  language  to  all  around  him,  and  exerting  all  his 
moral  and  intellectual  energies  with  a  spirit  and  resolution  that 
never  flagged  till  within  a  few  hours  of  his  dissolution,  when 
nature  gave  way,  and  he  sank  into  a  tranquil  unconsciousness, 
in  which  life  gently  ebbed  away.  Whatever  may  have  been  the 
error  of  his  life,  he  closed  the  scene  with  a  philosophical  dignity 
not  unworthy  ol  a  sage,  and  with  a  serenity  and  sweetness  of 
disposition  of  which  Christianity  itself  could  afford  no  more 


224  BROWNING   CYCLOPEDIA.  [Ins 

shining  or  delightful  example.  In  him  I  have  lost,  '  half  lost 
before,'  the  last  and  greatest  of  the  friends  of  my  youth  ;  and  I 
am  left  a  more  solitary  and  a  sadder  man." 

Instans  Tyrannus  =  The  Threatening  Tyrant.  (Men  and 
Women,  1855  ;  Dramatic  Romances,  1868.)  The  title  of  this 
poem  was  suggested  by  Horace's  Ode  on  the  Just  Man  (Od.  iiu 
3-1):- 

"  Justum  et  tenacem  propositi  virum, 
Non  civium  ardor  prava  jubentium, 

Non  vultus  instantis  tyranni,"  etc. 

('  The  just  man,  firm  to  his  purpose,  is  not  to  be  shaken  from  his 
fixed  resolve  by  the  fury  of  a  mob  laying  upon  him  their  impious 
behests,  nor  by  the  frown  of  a  threatening  tyrant,  etc.')  These 
lines  are  said  to  have  been  repeated  by  the  celebrated  De  Witte 
while  he  was  subject  to  torture.  When  men  or  causes  are  sup- 
pressed by  tyranny,  the  tyrant  knows  well  in  his  heart  that  force 
alone,  and  not  justice,  enables  him  to  crush  opposition  to  his 
will ;  and  he  is  the  first  to  see,  even  if  he  do  not  acknowledge, 
the  Divine  Arm  thrust  forth  from  the  heavens  to  protect  his 
victims  and  avenge  their  wrongs.  From  some  undefined  cause  a 
poor,  contemptible  man  was  the  object  of  a  tyrant's  hate:  he 
struck  him,  tried  to  bribe  him,  tempted  his  blood  and  his  flesh. 
Having  tried  every  way  to  extinguish  the  man,  he  contrived 
thunder  above  and  mine  below  him  to  destroy,  as  a  rat  in  a  hole, 
this  friendless  wretch,  when  suddenly  the  man  saw  God's  arm 
across  the  sky.  The  man 

— "  caught  at  God's  skirts,  and  prayed  ! 
So,  7  was  afraid ! " 

[Archdeacon  Farrar  refers  the  incidents  of  this  poem  to  the 
persecution  of  the  early  Christians. — Browning  Society  Papers, 
Pt.  VII.,  p.  22*.] 

In  Three  Days.  (Men  and  Women,  1855;  Dramatic  Lyrics f 
1868.)  A  lover  anticipates  that  in  three  days  he  shall  see  his 
lady.  He  is  aware  that  three  days  may  change  his  future,  as 
has  often  been  changed  the  history  of  the  world  in  the  time.  He 
knows,  too,  that  though  three  days  may  cast  no  shadow  in  his 
way,  still  the  years  to  follow  may  bring  changes  and  chances  of 
um'magined  end.  He  reiterates  that  in  three  days  he  shall  see 


Ita]  BROWNING    CYCLOPEDIA.  22$ 

her,  and  fear  of  all  that  the  future  may  have  in  store  is  absorbed 
in  the  blissful  anticipation. 

Italian  in  England,  The.  (Dramatic  Romances  and  Lyrics? 
in:  Bells  and  Pomegranates,  No.  VII.,  1845.)  The  incrdent  is  not 
historical,  though  something  of  the  kind  might  well  have  happened 
to  any  of  the  Italian  patriots  in  their  revolt  against  the  Austrian 
dcmination.  A  prominent  Italian  patriot  is  hiding  from  thai 
A  istrian  oppressors  of  his  country  after  an  unsuccessful  rising:, 
he  has  taken  refuge  in  England,  and  the  poem  tells  how  the: 
Austrians  pursued  him  everywhere,  and  how  he  would  have  beeru 
taken  if  a  peasant  girl,  to  whom  he  confessed  his  identity,  had? 
not  preferred  humanity  and  the  love  of  her  country  to  the  gold' 
she  might  have  earned  by  delivering  him  to  his  pursuers;. 
[Mazzini  must  have  gone  through  many  such  experiences,  and 
the  poem  was  one  which  he  very  highly  appreciated.]  Hunted 
by  the  Austrian  bloodhounds,  hiding  in  an  old  aqueduct,  up 
to  the  neck  in  ferns  for  three  days,  the  pangs  of  hunger  induced 
him  to  attract  the  attention  of  a  peasant  girl  going  to  her  work 
with  her  companions:  he  threw  his  glove,  to  strike  her  as= 
she  passed.  Without  giving  any  sign  that  could  acquaint  her 
friends  with  her  object,  she  glanced  round  and  saw  him  beckon  ; 
breaking  a  branch  from  a  tree,  so  as  to  recognise  the  spot,  she 
picked  up  the  glove  and  rejoined  her  party.  In  an  hour  she 
returned  alone.  He  had  not  intended  to  confide  in  the  woman,, 
but  her  noble  face  led  him  to  confess  he  was  the  man  on  whose 
head  a  great  price  was  set.  He  felt  sure  he  would  not  be 
betrayed.  He  bade  her  bring  paper,  pen  and  ink,  and  carry  his- 
letter  to  Padua,  to  the  cathedral ;  then  proceed  to  a  certain- 
confessional  which  he  mentions,  and  whisper  his  password. 
If  it  was  answered  in  the  terms  he  named,  then  she  was  to  give- 
the  letter  to  the  priest.  She  promised  to  do  as  he  desired. 
In  three  days  more  she  appeared  again  at  his  hiding-place. 
She  told  him  she  had  a  lover  who  could  do  much  to  aid 
.him.  She  brought  him  drink  and  food.  In  four  days  the 
scouts  gave  up  the  search,  and  went  in  another  direction. 
At  last  help  arrived  from  his  friends  at  Padua.  He  kissed 
the  maiden's  hand,  and  laid  his  own  in  blessing  on  her 
head.  When  he  took  the  boat  from  the  seashore,  on  the  night  oi 
his  escape,  she  followed  him  to  the  vessel.  He  left,  and  never 
saw  her  more.  And  now  that  he  is  safe  in  England,  he  reflects 


226  BROWNING   CYCLOPAEDIA.  [IV3 

that  it  is  long  since  he  had  a  thought  for  aught  but  Italy.  Those 
whom  he  had  trusted,  those  to  whom  he  had  looked  for  help, 
had  made  terms  with  the  oppressors  of  his  country ;  his  presence, 
in  his  own  land  would  be  awkward  for  his  brethren.  But  ther.f 
is  one  "  in  that  dear,  lost  land  "  whose  calm  smile  he  would  like 
to  see  ;  he  would  like  to  know  of  her  future,  her  children's  ag(>s 
and  their  names,  to  kiss  once  more  the  hand  that  saved  him,  ar  cl 
once  again  to  lay  his  own  in  blessing  on  her  head,  and  go  his 
way.  "  But  to  business  ! " 

NOTES.  —  Metternich :  the  great  Austrian  diplomatist,  and 
enemy  of  Italian  independence.  Charles  :  Carlo  Alberto,  King  of 
Sardinia.  He  resorted  to  severe  measures  against  the  party  known 
as  "  Young  Italy,"  founded  by  Mazzini.  He  died  in  1849.  Duomo, 
the  cathedral.  TenebrcB  =  darkness  :  the  office  of  matins  and 
lauds,  for  the  three  last  days  in  Holy  Week.  Fifteen  lighted 
candles  are  placed  on  a  triangular  stand,  and  at  the  conclusion  of 
each  psalm  one  is  put  out,  till  a  single  candle  is  left  at  the  top 
•of  the  triangle.  The  extinction  of  the  other  candles  is  said 
to  figure  the  growing  darkness  of  the  world  at  the  time  of  the 
•Crucifixion.  The  last  candle  (which  is  not  extinguished,  but 
hidden  behind  the  altar  for  a  few  moments)  represents  Christ] 
over  whom  Death  could  not  prevail. 

*  Ivan  Ivanovitch.  (Dramatic  Idyls,  First  Series,  1879.)  Ivan 
Ivanovitch,  or  John  Jackson,  as  his  name  would  be  in  English, 
was  skilled  in  the  use  of  the  axe,  as  the  Russian  workman  is. 
Employed  one  day  in  his  yard,  in  the  village  where  he  lived, 
suddenly  over  the  snow-covered  landscape  came  a  burst  of 
sledge  bells,  the  sound  of  horse's  hoofs  galloping ;  then  a  sledge 
appeared  drawn  by  a  horse,  which  fell  down  as  it  reached  the 
place.  What  seemed  a  frozen  corpse  lay  in  the  vehicle :  it  was 
Dmitri's  wife,  without  Dmitri  and  the  children,  who  left  the 
village  a  month  ago.  They  restore  the  woman,  who  utters  a  loud 
and  long  scream,  followed  by  sobs  and  gasps,  as,  with  returning 
life,  she  takes  in  the  fact  that  she  is  safe.  "  But  yesterday ! "  she 
cries,  "  Oh,  God  the  Father,  Son  and  Holy  Ghost,  cannot  You 
bring  again  my  blessed  yesterday  ?  I  had  a  child  on  either  knee, 
and,  dearer  than  the  two,  a  babe  close  to  my  heart.  Intercede, 
sweet  Mother,  with  thy  Son  Almighty— undo  all  done  last  night ! " 
Then  she  reminds  them  how,  a  month  ago,  she  and  her  children 
had  accompanied  her  husband,  who  had  gone  to  work  at  a  church 


BROWNING   CYCLOPEDIA.  227 

many  a  league  away:  five  of  them  in  that  sledge- -Ivan,  herself, 
and  three  children.  The  work  finished,  they  were  about  to  return, 
when  the  village  caught  fire.  Then  Ivan  hurried  his  family  into  the 
sledge,  and  bade  them  hasten  home  while  he  remained  to  combat 
the  flames.  He  bade  them  wrap  round  them  every  rug,  and  leave 
Droug,  the  old  horse,  to  find  his  way  home.  They  start ;  soon 
the  night  comes  on  ;  the  moon  rises.  They  pass  a  pine  forest  : 
a  noise  startles  the  horse — his  ears  go  back,  he  snuffs,  snorts, 
then  plunges  madly.  Pad,  pad,  behind  them  are  the  wolves  in 
pursuit — an  army  of  them ;  every  pine  tree  they  pass  adds  a 
fiend  to  the  pack ;  the  eldest  lead  the  way,  their  eyes  green- 
glowing  brass.  The  horse  does  his  best ;  but  the  first  of  the 
band — that  Satan-face — draws  so  near,  his  white  teeth  gleam, 
he  is  on  the  sledge— "  perhaps  her  hands  relaxed  her  grasp 
of  her  boy,"  she  says ;  "  for  he  was  gone."  The  cursed  crew 
fight  for  their  share ;  they  are  too  busy  to  pursue.  She  urges 
the  horse  to  increased  exertion.  Alas !  the  pack  is  after  them 
again ;  "  Satan-face "  is  first,  as  before,  and  ravening  for  more. 
The  mother  fights  with  the  monster,  but  the  next  boy  is  gone — 
plucked  from  the  arms  she  clasped  round  him  for  protection. 
Another  respite,  while  the  fiends  dispute  for  their  share ;  but, 
as  they  fly  over  the  snow,  the  leader  of  the  pack  tells  his  com- 
panions that  their  food  is  escaping  ;  he  leaves  them  to  pick 
the  bones,  and — pad,  pad  ! — is  after  the  sledge  again.  All  fight's 
in  vain :  the  green  brass  points,  the  dread  fiend's  eyes,  pierce  to 
the  woman's  brain — she  falls  on  her  back  in  the  sledge ;  but, 
wedging  in  and  in,  past  her  neck,  her  breasts,  her  heart,  Satan-face 
is  away  with  her  last,  her  baby  boy.  She  remembered  no  more. 
And  now  she  is  at  home — childless,  but  with  her  life.  And  Ivan 
the  woodsman  sternly  looks ;  the  woman  kneels.  Solemnly  he 
raises  his  axe,  and  one  blow  falls — headless  she  kneels  on  still — 

"It  had  to  be. 
I  could  no  other :  God  it  was  bade  '  Act  for  Me ! '  * 

He  wipes  his  axe  on  a  strip  of  bark,  and  returns  silently  to 
his  work.  The  Jews,  the  gipsies,  the  whole  crew,  seethe  and 
simmer,  but  say  no  word.  Then  comes  the  village  priest,  and 
with  him  the  commune's  head,  Starosta,  wielder  of  life  and  death ; 
they  survey  the  corpse,  they  hear  the  story.  The  priest  proclaimed 
"  Ivan  Ivanovitch  God's  servant ! " 


228  BROWNING    CYCLOPEDIA.  [Ivft 

"  Amen ! "  murmured  the  crowd,  and  "  left  acquittal  plain  ad- 
judged." They  told  Ivan  he  was  free.  "  How  otherwise  ?"  he 
asked. 

NOTES. — Putin  Ivdnovitch  is  "an  imaginary  personage,  who- 
is  the  embodiment  of  the  peculiarities  of  the  Russian  people,  in 
the  same  way  as  John  Bull  represents  the  English  and  Johnny 
Crapaud  the  French  character.  He  is  described  as  a  lazy,  good- 
natured  person."  (Webster's  Diet.)  A  verst  is  equal  to  about 
two-thirds  of  an  English  mile.  Droug ;  the  horse's  name  means 
friend,  and  is  pronounced  "  drook."  Pope  should  not  be  spelled 
with  a  capital ;  it  is  merely  the  Russian  term  for  priest— papa, 
father.  Pomeschik  means  a  landed  proprietor.  Stdrosta,  the 
old  man  of  the  village,  the  overseer. 

This  is  a  variant  of  a  Russian  wolf-story  which,  in  one  form  or 
another,  we  all  heard  in  our  childhood.  The  poet  visited  Russia 
in  the  course  of  his  great  tour  in  Europe  in  1833,  and  he  has 
told  the  familiar  tale  of  the  unhappy  mother  who  saved  her  own 
life  by  throwing  one  after  another  of  her  children  to  the  pursuing 
wolves,  with  all  the  local  colouring  and  fidelity  to  the  facts  to 
which  we  are  accustomed  in  the  poet's  work  Not  merely  as 
a  tale  dramatically  told  are  we  to  consider  the  poem ;  but — 
as  might  be  expected — we  must  look  upon  it  as  a  problem  in 
mental  pathology.  The  superficial  observer,  looking  upon  the 
mere  facts,  and  not  troubling  very  much  about  the  psychology  of 
the  case,  will  at  once  condemn  the  unhappy  mother,  and  execute 
her  as  promptly  in  his  own  mind  as  did  Ivan  Ivanovitch  with  his 
axe.  But  rough  and  ready  judgments,  however  necessary  in  the 
conduct  of  our  daily  life,  are  frequently  unsound  ;  and  the  voice 
of  the  people  is  about  the  last  voice  that  should  be  listened  to  in 
such  a  case  as  this.  If  a  man  who  is  usually  considered  a  sane 
and  decent  member  of  society  suddenly  does  some  abnormal  and 
outrageous  thing,  we  at  once  ask  ourselves,  "  Is  he  mad  ?  "  If  a 
mother,  any  mother,  suddenly  violates  the  maternal  instinct  in  a 
flagrant  manner,  we  immediately  suspect  her  of  mental  derange- 
ment. The  maternal  instinct  is  the  strongest  thing  in  nature;  the 
ties  which  bind  a  woman  to  her  offspring  are  stronger,  in  the 
ordinary  healthy  mother,  than  the  ties  which  bind  a  man  to 
decent  and  ordinary  observance  of  the  laws  of  society.  Old 
Bailey  judgments  are  not  to  be  employed  in  such  a  case  as  this; 
it  is  one  for  a  specialist.  And  we  apprehend  there  is  not  a 


BROWNING   CYCLOPAEDIA.  229 

competent   authority  in    brain   troubles   living   who  would   not 
acquit  Louscha  on  the  ground  of  insanity. 

Ixion.  (Jocoseria,  1883.)  Ixion,  in  Greek  mythology,  was  the 
son  of  Phlegyas  and  king  of  the  Lapithae.  He  married  Dia, 
daughter  of  Deioneus,  and  promised  to  make  his  father-in-law 
certain  bridal  presents.  To  avoid  the  fulfilment  of  his  promise, 
he  invited  him  to  a  banquet,  and  when  Deioneus  came  to  the 
feast  he  cruelly  murdered  him.  No  one  would  purify  him  for 
the  murder,  and  he  was  consequently  shunned  by  all  mankind. 
Zeus,  however,  took  pity  on  him,  and  took  him  up  to  heaven  and 
there  purified  him.  At  the  table  of  the  gods  he  fell  in  love  with 
Hera  (Juno),  and  afterwards  attempted  to  seduce  her.  Ixion 
was  banished  from  heaven,  and  by  the  command  of  Zeus  was 
tied  by  Mercury  to  a  wheel  which  perpetually  revolved  in  the 
air.  Ixion,  condemned  to  eternal  punishment,  is  in  the  poem 
described  as  defying  Zeus  after  the  manner  of  Prometheus.  It 
is  impossible  to  doubt  that  Mr.  Browning  intends  to  represent 
the  popular  idea  of  God  and  his  own  attitude  towards  the 
doctrine  of  eternal  punishment.  It  is,  however,  only  the  cari- 
cature of  God  created  by  popular  misconception  at  which  the 
poet  aims,  whatever  may  have  to  be  said  of  his  opinions  con- 
cerning eschatology.  As  Caliban  thought  there  was  a  Quiet 
above  Setebos,  so  Ixion  appeals  to  the  Potency  over  Zeus.  The 
truth  is  intended  that  both  unsophisticated  man  in  the  savage 
state  and  the  highest  type  of  cultured  man  agree  in  their 
theological  beliefs  so  far  as  to  acknowledge  a  Supreme  Being 
of  a  higher  character  than  the  anthropomorphic  God  of  popular 
worship.  Of  course  both  Caliban  and  Ixion  talk  Browningese. 
Ixion  is  represented  as  comparing  himself  with  his  torturer  :— 

"Behold  us  I 
Here  the  revenge  of  a  God,  there  the  amends  of  a  Man  " — 

a  man  with  bodily  powers  constantly  renewed,  to  enable  him  to 
suffer.  Above  the  torment  is  a  rainbow  of  hope,  built  of  the 
vapour,  pain-wrung,  which  the  light  of  heaven,  in  passing 
tinges  with  the  colour  of  hope.  Endowed  with  bodily  powers 
intended  to  be  God's  ministers,  Ixion  has  been  betrayed  by 
them.  But  he  was  but  man  foiled  by  sense ;  he  has  endured 
enough  suffering  to  teach  him  his  error  and  his  folly.  Why 
make  the  agony  perpetual?"  "To  punish  thee."  Zeus  may 


230  BROWNING   CYCLOPEDIA.  [Ixi 

reply.  Ixion  says  he  once  was  king  of  Thessaly :  he  had  to 
punish  crime.  Had  he  been  able  to  read  the  hearts  of  the 
Criminals  whom  he  sent  to  their  doom,  and  had  plainly  seen 
repentance  there,  would  he  not  have  given  them 

"  Life  to  retraverse  the  past,  light  to  retrieve  the  misdeed  ?  " 

Zeus  made  man,  with  flaw  or  faultless :  it  was  his  work.  Ixion 
had  been  admitted,  all  human  as  he  was,  to  the  company  of  the 
gods  as  their  equal.  He  had  faith  in  the  good  faith  and  the 
love  of  Zeus,  and  for  acting  upon  it  was  cast  from  Olympus 
to  Erebus.  Man  conceived  Zeus  as  possessing  his  own  virtues : 
he  trusted,  loved  him  because  Zeus  aspired  to  be  equal  in 
goodness  to  man.  Ixion  defies  him,  tells  him  he  apes  the  man 
who  made  him  ;  it  is  Zeus  who  is  hollowness.  The  iris,  born  of 
Ixion's  tears,  sweat  and  blood,  bursting  to  vapour  above,  arching 
his  torment,  glorifies  his  pain  ;  and  man,  even  from  hell's  triumph, 
may  look  up  and  rejoice.  He  rises  from  the  wreck,  past  Zeus 
to  the  Potency  above  him — 

"  Thither  I  rise,  whilst  thou — Zeus,  keep  the  godship  and  sink  I " 

The  Zeus  of  the  poem  bears  no  relation  whatever  to  the  Chris- 
tian's God.  The  Potency  over  all  is  the  All-Father,  the  God  of 
Love,  who  yet,  in  Infinite  Love,  may  punish  rebellious  man,  who 
conceivably  may  reject  His  love,  may  never  feel  a  touch  of  the 
repentance  which  Ixion  declared  he  felt,  who  suffering  and  still 
sinning,  hating  and  still  rebelling,  may  conceivably  be  left  to  the 
consequences  of  the  rebellion  which  knows  no  cessation,  as  the 
suffering  no  respite. 

NOTES. — Sisuphos,  "  the  crafty  " :  son  of  ^Eolus,  punished  in  the 
other  world  by  being  forced  for  ever  to  keep  on  rolling  a  block  of 
stone  to  the  top  of  a  steep  hill,  only  to  see  it  roll  again  to  the 
valley,  and  to  start  the  toilsome  task  again.  Tantalos,  a 
wealthy  king  of  Sipylus  in  Phrygia.  He  was  a  favourite  of  the 
gods,  and  allowed  to  share  their  meals ;  but  he  insulted  them,  and 
was  thrown  into  Tartarus.  He  suffered  from  hunger  and  thirst, 
immersed  in  water  up  to  the  chin  ;  when  he  opened  his  mouth  the 
water  dried  up  and  the  fruits  suspended  before  him  vanished 
into  the  air.  Here,  in  Greek  mythology  the  same  as  Juno,  queen 
of  heaven  and  wife  of  Zeus  or  Jupiter.  Thessaly,  a  country  of 
Greece,  bounded  on  the  south  by  the  southern  parts  of  Greece, 


JamJ  BROWNING   CYCLOPAEDIA.  231 

on  the  east  by  the  ^Egean,  on  the  north  by  Macedonia  and 
Mygdonia,  and  on  the  west  by  Illyricum  and  Epirus.  Olumpos^ 
a  mountain  in  Thessaly.  On  the  highest  peak  is  the  throne  of 
Zeus,  and  it  is  there  that  he  summons  the  assemblies  of  the  gods. 
Eredos,  in  Greek  mythology  "the  primeval  darkness."  The 
word  is  usually  applied  to  the  lower  regions,  filled  with  im- 
penetrable darkness.  Tartaros-doomed  =.  hell-doomed. 

JacopO  (Lurid)  was  the  faithful  secretary  of  the  Moorish 
mercenary  who  led  the  army  of  Florence. 

Jacynth.  (Flight  of  the  Duchess.}  The  maid  of  the  Duchess, 
who  went  to  sleep  while  the  gipsy  woman  held  the  interview 
with  her  mistress,  and  induced  her  to  leave  her  husband's  home. 

James  Lee's  Wife.  (Dramatis  Persons,  1864;  originally  en- 
titled James  Lee)  This  is  a  story  of  an  unfortunate  marriage, 
told  in  a  series  of  meditations  by  the  wife.  Mr.  Symons  de- 
scribes the  psychological  processes  detailed  in  the  poem  as 
"  the  development  of  disillusion,  change,  alienation,  severance 
and  parting."  The  key-notes  of  the  nine  divisions  of  the  work 
are :  I.  Anxiety ;  II.  Apprehension ;  III.  Expostulation  j 
IV.  Despair;  V.  Reflection ;  VI.  Change;  VII.  Self-denial; 
VIII.  Resignation  ;  IX.  Self-Sacrifice. 

I.  AT  THE  WINDOW. — The  wife    reflects   that  summer    has 
departed.     The  chill,  which  settles  upon  the  earth  as  the  sun's 
warm  rays  are  withheld,  falls  heavily  on  her  heart.    Her  husband 
has  been  absent  but  a  day,  and  as  she  thinks  of  the  changing 
year,  she  asks,  with  apprehension,  "Will  he  change  too?" 

II.  BY  THE  FIRESIDE. — He  has  returned,  but  not  the  sun  to  her 
heart.     As  they  sit  by  the  fire  in  their  seaside  home,  she  reflects 
that  the  fire  is  built  of  "  shipwreck  wood."    Are  her  hopes  to  be 
shipwrecked  too  ?     Sailors  on  the  stormy  waters  may  envy  their 
security  as  they  behold  the  ruddy  light  from  their  fire  over  the 
sea,  and  "gnash  their  teeth  for  hate"  as  they  reflect  on  their 
warm  safe  home ;   but  ships  rot  and  rust  and  get  worm-eaten 
in  port,  as  well  as  break  up  on  rocks.     She  wonders  who  lived 
in   that   home  before  them.      Did  a  woman    watch    the    man 
with  whom  she  began  a  happy  voyage — see  the  planks  start,  and 
hell  yawn  beneath  her  ? 

III.  IN  THE  DOORWAY. — The  steps  of  coming  winter  hasten  ; 
the  trees  are  bare ;  soon  the  swallows  will  forsake  them.    The 


232  BROWNING   CYCLOPAEDIA.  [Jam 

avind,  with  its  infinite  wail,  sings  the  dirge  of  the  departed 
summer.  Her  heart  shrivels,  her  spirit  shrinks;  yet,  as  she 
stands  in  the  doorway,  she  reflects  that  they  have  every  material 
comfort.  They  have  neither  cold  nor  want  to  fear  in  any  shape, 
only  the  heart-chill,  only  the  soul-hunger  for  the  love  that  is 
.gone.  God  meant  that  love  should  warm  the  human  heart  when 
material  things  without  were  cold  and  drear.  She  will 
"  live  and  love  worthily,  bear  and  be  bold." 

IV.  ALONG  THE  BEACH. — The  storm  has  burst ;  it  is  no  longer 
anisgiving,  fear,  apprehension  :  it  is  certainty.     She  meditates,  as 
.she   watches  him,  that  he  wanted  her  love  ;   she  gave  him  all 
:her  heart.     He  has  it  still :  she  had  taken  him  "  for  a  world  and 
snore."     For  love  turns  dull  earth  to  the  glow  of  God.     She  had 
taken  the  weak  earth  with  many  weeds,  but  with  "  a  little  good 
.grain  too."     She  had  watch**!  for  flowers  and  longed  for  harvest, 
but  all  was  dead  earth  still,  and  the  glow  of  God  had  never 
transfigured  his  soul  to  her.     But  she  did  love,  did  watch,  did 
wait  and  weary  and  wear,  was  fault  in  his  eyes.     Her  love  had 
become  irksome  to  him. 

V.  ON  THE  CLIFF. — It  is  summer,  and  she  is  leaning  on  the 
•dead  burnt  turf,  looking  at  a  rock  left  dry  by  the  retiring  waters. 
The  deadness  of  the  one  and  the  barrenness  of  the  other  suit 
Tier  melancholy ;  they  are  symbols  of  her  position,  and  as  she 
muses,  a  gay,    blithe  grasshopper  springs  on   the  turf,  and  a 
wonderful  blue-and-red  butterfly  settles  on  the  rock.     So  love 
settles  on  minds  dead  and  bare ;  so  love  brightens  all  I     So 
could  her  love  brighten  even  his  dead  soul. 

VI.  READING  A  BOOK,  UNDER  THE  CLIFF.— She  is  reading  the 
tpoetry  of    "  some  young   man "   (Mr.   Browning  himself,    who 
published   these   "  Lines    to    the  Wind "   when    twenty-three    years 
old).      The   poet  asks  if  the  ailing  wind  is  a  dumb  winged  thing, 
entrusting  its  cause  to  him ;    and  as  she  reads  on  she  grows ' 
angry  at  the  young  man's  inexperience  of  the  mystery  of  life. 
He  knows  nothing  of  the  meaning  of  the  moaning  wind  :  it  is 
not  suffering,  not  distress ;  it  is  change.     That  is  what  the  wind 
is  trying  to  say,  and  trying  above  all  to  teach  :  we  are  to 

"  Rejoice  that  man  is  hurled 
From  change  to  change  unceasingly, 
His  soul's  wings  never  furled  ! " 


JamJ  BROWNING   CYCLOPEDIA.  233 

"  Nothing  endures,"  says  the  wind.  "  There's  life's  pact — 
perhaps,  too,  its  probation ;  but  man  might  at  least,  as  he 
grasps  '  one  fair,  good,  wise  thing/ — the  love  of  a  loving  woman 
— grave  it  on  his  soul's  hands'  palms  to  be  his  for  ever." 

VII.  AMONG  THE  ROCKS. — Earth  sets  his  bones  to  bask  in  the 
sun,  and  smiles  in  the  beauty  with  which  the  rippling  water 
adorns  him ;  and  so  she  comforts  herself  by  reflecting  that  we 
may  make  the  low  earth-nature  better  by  suffusing  it  with  our 
love-tides.     Love  is  gain  if  we  love  only  what  is  worth  our  love. 
How  much  more  to  make  the  low  nature  better  by  our  throes  ! 

VIII.  BESIDE  THE  DRAWING-BOARD. — She  has  been  drawing 
a  hand.     A  clay  cast  of  a  perfect  thing  is  before  her.     She  has 
learned  something  of  the  infinite  beauty  of  the  human  hand — 
has  studied  it,  has  praised  God,  its  Maker,  for  it ;  and  as  she 
contemplates  the  world  of  wonders  to  be  discovered  therein,  she 
is  fain  to  efface  her  work  and  begin  anew,  for  somehow  grace 
slips  from  soulless  finger-tips.     The  cast  is  that  of  a  hand  by 
Leonardo  da  Vinci.     She  has  passionately  longed  to  copy  its 
perfection,  but  as  the  great  master  could  not  copy  the  perfection 
of  the  dead  hand,  so  she  has  failed  to  draw  the  cast.     And  so  she 
turns  to  the  peasant  girl  model  who  is  by  her  side  that  day,  "  a 
little  girl  with  the  poor  coarse  hand,"  and  as  she  contemplates  it 
she  begins  to  understand  the  worth  of  flesh  and  blood,  and  that 
there  is  a  great  deal  more  than  beauty  in  a  hand.     She  has  read 
Bell  on  the  human  hand,  and  she  knows  something  of  the  infinite 
uses  of  the  mechanism  which  is  hidden  beneath  the  flesh.     She 
knows  what  use  survives  the  beauty  in  the  peasant  hand  that  spins 
and  bakes.     The  living  woman  is  better  than  the  dead  cast.    She 
has  learned  the  lesson  that  all  this  craving  for  what  can  never  be 
hers — for  the  love  she  cannot  gain,  any  more  than  the  perfection 
she  cannot  draw — is  wasting  her  life.     She  will  be  up  and  doing, 
no  longer  dreaming  and  sighing. 

IX.  ON  DECK. — It  was  better  to  leave  him !     She  will  set  him 
free.     She  had  no  beauty,  no  grace ;  nothing  in  her  deserved  any 
place  in  his  mind.     She  was  harsh  and  ill-favoured  (and  perhaps 
this  was  the  secret  of  the  trouble).     Still,  had  he  loved  her,  love 
could  and  would  have  made  her  beautiful.     Some  day  it  may  be 
even  so ;  and  in  the  years  to  come  a  face,  a  form — her  own — may 
rise  before  his  mental  vision,  his  eyes  be  opened,  his  liberated 
soul  leap  forth  in  a  passionate  "'Tis  she  1 " 


234  BROWNING   CYCLOPAEDIA.  [Je& 

Jesus  Christ.  That  Mr.  Browning  was  something  more  than 
a  Theist,  a  Unitarian,  or  a  Broad  Churchman,  may  be  gathered 
from  several  passages  in  his  works,  as  well  as  from  direct  state- 
ments to  individuals.  Three  lines  in  the  Death  in  the  Desert 
(though  often  said  to  be  used  only  dramatically),  when  taken  in 
connection  with  the  whole  drift  and  purpose  of  the  poem,  seem 
to  indicate  a  faith  which  is  more  than  mere  Theism : 

"The  acknowledgment  of  God  in  Christ,  accepted  by  thy  reason, 
Solves  for  thee  all  questions  in  the  earth  and  out  of  it, 
And  has  so  far  advanced  thee  to  be  wise." 

In  the  Epistle  of  Karshish,  the  Arab  physician  says  concerning 
Jesus,  who  had  raised  Lazarus  from  the  dead  : — 

"  The  very  God  !  think,  Abib,  dost  thou  think  ? 
So,  the  All-Great,  were  the  All-Loving  too — 
So,  through  the  thunder  comes  a  loving  voice 
Saying,  '  O  heart  I  made,  a  heart  beats  here  I 
Face,  my  hands  fashioned,  see  it  in  myself! 
Thou  hast  no  power  nor  may'st  conceive  of  mine. 
But  love  I  gave  thee,  with  myself  to  love, 
And  thou  must  love  me  who  have  died  for  thee ! ' 
The  madman  saith  He  said  so :  it  is  strange." 

Christmas  Eve  and  Easter  Day  seem  to  be  meaningless  if  they 
do  not  express  the  author's  faith  in  the  divinity  of  our  Lord. 
Just  as  every  believer  in  Him  can  detect  the  true  ring  of  the 
Christian  believer  and  lover  of  his  Lord  in  the  lines  quoted  from 
the  Epistle  of  Karshish,  so  will  his  touchstone  detect  the  Christian 
in  many  other  passages  of  the  poet's  work. 
In  Saul,  canto  xviii.,  David  says  : — 

"  My  flesh,  that  I  seek 

In  the  Godhead  1     I  seek  and  I  find  it.     O  Saul,  it  shall  be 
A  Face  like  my  face  that  receives  thee ;  a  Man  like  to  me, 
Thou  shalt  love  and  be  loved  by,  for  ever :  a  Hand  like  this  hand 
Shall  throw  open  the  gates  of  new  lite  to  thee  !  See  the  Christ  stand  !  '* 

David — to  whom  Christendom  attributes  the  Psalms,  even 
were  he  only  the  editor  of  that  wonderful  body  of  prayer  and 
praise — as  the  utterer  of  sentiments  like  these,  is  permitted  to 
express  the  orthodox  opinion  that  he  prophesied  of  the  Christ 
who  was  to  come.  Mr.  Browning  would  have  hardly  done  this 
"  dramatically."  (What  are  termed  "  the  Messianic  Psalms  "  aie 


JOC]  BROWNING   CYCLOPAEDIA.  235 

IS.,  xxi.,  xxii.,  xlv.,  Ixxil,  ex.)  Pompilia,  in  The  Ring  and  the 
Book,  a  character  which  is  built  up  of  the  purest  and  warmest 
faith  of  the  poet's  heart,  says  : — 

"  I  never  realised  God's  truth  before — 
How  He  grew  likest  God  in  being  born.** 

The  poem  entitled  "The  Sun,"  in  FetishtaKs  Fancies,  No.  5,. 
may  be  studied  in  this  connection. 

Jews.  Browning  had  great  sympathy  with  the  Jewish  spirit. 
See  RABBI  BEN  EZRA,  JOCHANAN  HAKKADOSH,  BEN  KARSHOOK, 
HOLY  CROSS  DAY,  and  FILIPPO  BALDINUCCI. 

Jochanan  Hakkadosh.  (Jocoseria:  1883.)  The  Hebrew 
which  Mr.  Browning  quotes  in  the  tale  as  the  title  of  the  work 
from  which  his  incidents  are  derived,  may  be  translated  as 
"Collection  of  many  Fables";  and  the  second  Hebrew  phrase 
means  "from  Moses  to  Moses  [Moses  Maimonides]  there  was 
never  one  like  Moses."  Although  the  story  of  this  poem  is  not 
historical,  it  is  founded  on  characters  and  events  which  are 
familiar  to  students  of  Jewish  literature  and  history.  Hakkadosh 
means  "  The  Holy."  Rabbi  Yehudah  Hannasi  (the  Prince)  was 
the  reputed  author  of  the  Mishnah,  and  was  born  before  the  year 
140  of  the  Christian  era.  On  account  of  his  holy  living  he  was 
surnamed  Rabbenu  Hakkadosh.  Jochanan  means  John.  In  the 
Jewish  Messenger  for  March  4th,  1887,  the  poem  is  reviewed 
from  a  Jewish  point  of  view  by  "  Mary  M.  Cohen,"  from  which 
interesting  study  we  extract  the  following  particulars :— The 
scene  of  the  poem  is  laid  at  Schiphaz,  which  is  probably  intended 
for  Sheeraz,  in  Persia.  "I  think,"  says  the  authoress,  "that, 
with  artistic  licence,  Mr.  Browning  does  not  here  portray  any 
individual  man,  but  takes  the  names  and  characteristics  of  several 
rabbis,  fusing  all  into  a  whole.  Jochanan  finds  old  age  a  con- 
tinued disappointment.  He  is  represented  as  almost  overtaken 
by  death ;  his  loving  scholars,  as  was  usual  in  the  days  of  rabbin- 
ism,  cluster  about  him  for  some  worthy  word  of  parting  advice. 
One  of  the  pupils  asks :  '  Say,  does  age  acquiesce  in  vanished 
youtJb  ? '  The  rabbi,  groaning,  answers  grimly : 

"  Last  as  first 

The  truth  speak  I — in  boyhood  who  began 
Striving  to  live  an  angel,  and,  amerced 


236  BROWNING   CYCLOPAEDIA.  [JOC 

For  such  presumption,  die  now  hardly,  man. 
What  have  I  proved  of  life  ?    To  live,  indeed, 
That  much  I  learned." 

It  was  suggested  to  the  dying  rabbi  that  if  compassionating  folk 
would  render  him  up  a  portion  of  their  lives,  Hakkadosh  might 
attain  his  fourscore  years.  Tsaddik,  the  scholar,  well  versed 
in  the  Targums,  was  foremost  in  urging  the  adoption  of  this 
expedient.  By  yielding  up  part  of  their  lives,  the  pupils  of 
Jochanan  hope  to  combine  the  lessons  of  perfect  wisdom  and 
varied  experience  of  life.  But  experience  proves  fatal  to  all  the 
hopes,  the  aspirations,  the  high  ideals  of  youth.  Experience 
paralyses  action.  Experience  chills  the  aspirations  which  animate 
the  generous  mind  of  the  lover,  the  soldier,  the  poet,  the  states- 
man. When  the  men  of  experience  contributed  their  quota, 
'certain  gamesome  boys'  must  needs  throw  some  of  theirs 
also.  This  accounts  for  the  rabbi  being  found  alive  unexpect- 
edly after  a  long  interval : 

"  Trailing  clouds  of  glory  do  we  come  from  God,  who  is  our  home." 

The  rabbi  utters  heaven-sent  intuitions,  the  gift  of  these  lads. 
Under  the  influence  of  the  Ruach,  or  spirit,  Jochanan  declares 
that  happiness,  here  and  hereafter,  is  found  in  acting  on  the 
generous  impulses,  the  noble  ideals  which  are  sent  into  the  mind, 
in  spite  of  the  testimony  of  experience  that  we  shall  fail  to 
realise  our  aspirations.  '  There  is  no  sin,'  says  the  rabbi,  '  ex- 
cept in  doubting  that  the  light  which  lured  the  unwary  into 
darkness  did  no  wrong,  had  I  but  marched  on  boldly.'  What  we 
see  here  as  antitheses,  or  as  complementary  truths,  are  reconciled 
hereafter.  This  reconciliation  cannot  be  grasped  by  our  present 
faculties.  The  rabbi  seems  to  '  babble  '  when  he  tries  to  express 
in  words  the  truth  he  sees.  The  pure  white  light  of  truth,  seen 
through  the  medium  of  the  flesh,  is  composed  of  many  coloured 
rays.  Evil  is  like  the  dark  lines  in  the  spectrum.  The  whole 
duty  of  man  is  to  learn  to  love.  If  he  fails,  it  matters  not ;  he 
has  learned  the  art :  '  so  much  for  the  attempt — anon  perform- 
ance.' Love  is  the  sum  of  our  spiritual  intuitions,  the  law  of  our 
practical  conduct." 

NOTES. — Mishna,  the  second  or  oral  Jewish  law ;  the  great 
collection  of  legal  decisions  by  the  ancient  rabbis  ;  and  so  the 
fundamental  document  of  Jewish  oral  law.  Schiphaz,  an  imaginary 


JOC]  BROWNING   CYCLOPEDIA.  237 

place;  or  perhaps  Sheeraz,  on  the  Bundemeer,  referred  to  at  end 
of  poem.  Jochanan  Ben  Sabbathai,  not  historical.  Khubbezleh,  a 
fanciful  name  of  the  poet's  invention.  Targum,  a  Chaldee  version 
or  paraphrase  of  the  Old  Testament.  Nine  Points  of  Perfection  : 
Nine  is  a  trinity  of  trinities,  and  is  a  mystical  number  of  perfec- 
tion ;  the  slang  expression  "  dressed  to  the  nines  "  means  dressed 
to  perfection.  Tsaddik  =  just,  not  historical.  Dob  —  Bear  (the 
constellation).  The  Hear,  the  constellation.  Aish,  the  Great 
Bear.  The  Bier  :  the  Jews  called  the  constellation  of  the  Great 
Bear  "The  Bier."  Three  Daughters,  the  tail  stars  of  the  Bear. 
Banoth  =  daughters.  The  Ten :  Jewish  martyrs  under  the  Roman 
empire.  Akiba,  Rabbi,  lived  A.C.  117,  and  laid  the  groundwork  of 
the  Mishna.  He  was  one  of  the  greatest  Jewish  teachers,  and 
was  at  the  height  of  his  popularity  when  the  revolt  of  the  Jews 
under  Barcochab  took  place.  (See  for  a  history  of  the  revolt,  and 
of  Akiba's  influence,  Milmaris  History  of  the  Jews,  Book  xviii.) 
He  was  scraped  to  death  with  an  iron  comb.  Perida :  a  Jewish 
teacher  of  such  infinite  patience  that  the  Talmud  records  that  he 
repeated  his  lesson  to  a  dull  pupil  four  hundred  times,  and  as 
even  then  he  could  not  understand,  four  hundred  times  more,  on 
which  the  spirit  declared  that  four  hundred  years  should  be 
added  to  his  life.  Uzzean :  Job,  the  most  patient  man,  was  of 
the  land  of  Uz.  Djinn,  a  supernatural  being.  Edom :  Rome 
and  Christianity  went  by  this  name  in  the  Talmud.  "  Stc  Jesus 
vult"  so  Jesus  wills.  The  Statist  =  t\\z  statesman.  Mizraim 
=  Egypt.  Shushan  =  lily.  Tohu-bohu,  void  and  waste.  Hal- 
aphta,  Talmudic  teachers.  Ruach,  spirit.  Bendimir :  no  doubt 
the  Bundemeer,  one  of  the  chief  rivers  of  Farzistan,  a  province 
in  Persia.  Og's  thigh  bone  :  "  Og  was  king  of  Bashan.  The 
rabbis  say  that  the  height  of  his  stature  was  23,033  cubits  (nearly 
six  miles).  He  used  to  drink  water  from  the  clouds,  and  toast 
fish  by  holding  them  before  the  orb  of  the  sun.  He  asked  Noah 
to  take  him  into  the  ark,  but  Noah  would  not.  When  the  flood 
was  at  its  deepest,  it  did  not  reach  to  the  knees  of  this  giant. 
Og  lived  3000  years,  and  then  he  was  slain  by  the  hand  of 
Moses.  Moses  was  himself  ten  cubits  in  stature  (15  feet),  and 
he  took  a  spear  ten  cubits  long,  and  threw  it  ten  cubits  high,  and 
yet  it  only  reached  the  heel  of  Og.  .  .  .  When  dead,  his  body 
reached  as  far  as  the  river  Nile.  Og's  mother  was  Enach,  a 
daughter  of  Adam.  Her  fingers  were  two  cubits  long  (one  yard), 


BROWNING   CYCLOPEDIA.  [JOC 

and  on  each  finger  she  had  two  sharp  nails.  She  was  devoured 
•by  wild  beasts. — Maracd." 

Jocoseria.  The  volume  of  poems  under  this  title  was  pub- 
lished in  1883.  It  contains  the  following  works:  "Wanting 
is— What?"  "Donald,"  "Solomon  and  Balkis,"  "Cristina  and 
Monaldeschi,"  "  Mary  Wollstonecraft  and  Fuseli,"  "  Adam, 
Lilith  and  Eve,"  "Ixion,"  "  Jochanan  Hakkadosh,"  "Never  the 
Time  and  the  Place,"  "  Pambo."  In  a  letter  to  a  friend,  along 
with  an  early  copy  of  this  work,  the  poet  stated  that  "  the  title 
is  taken  from  the  work  of  Melander  (Schwartzmann) — reviewed, 
by  a  curious  coincidence,  in  the  Blackwood  of  this  month.  1 
referred  to  it  in  a  note  to  'Paracelsus.'  The  two  Hebrew 
quotations  (put  in  to  give  a  grave  look  to  what  is  mere  fun  and 
invention),  being  translated,  amount  to:  (i)  "A  Collection  of 
Many  Lies " ;  and  (2)  an  old  saying,  '  From  Moses  to  Moses 
arose  none  like  to  Moses '  (i.e.  Moses  Maimonides).  .  .  ."  One 
of  the  notes  to  Paracelsus  refers  to  Melander's  "  Jocoseria  *  as 
"  rubbish."  Melander,  whose  proper  name  was  Otho  Schwartz- 
mann, was  born  in  1571.  He  published  a  work  called  "Joco- 
Seria,"  because  it  was  a  collection  of  stories  both  grave  and  gay. 

Johannes  Agricola  in  Meditation.  (First  published  in  The 
Monthly  Repository,  and  signed  "Z.,"  in  1836.  Reprinted  in 
Dramatic  Lyrics,  in  Bells  and  Pomegranates,  1842.)  Johannes 
Agricola  meditates  on  the  thought  of  his  election  or  choice  by 
the  Supreme  Being,  who  in  His  eternal  counsels  has  before 
all  worlds  predestined  him  as  an  object  of  mercy  and  salvation. 
God  thought  of  him  before  He  thought  of  suns  or  moons, 
ordained  every  incident  of  his  life  for  him,  and  mapped  out  its 
every  circumstance.  Totally  irrespective  of  his  conduct,  God 
having  chosen  of  His  own  sovereign  grace,  uninfluenced  in  the 
slightest  degree  by  anything  which  Johannes  has  done  or  left 
undone,  to  consider  him  as  a  guiltless  being,  is  pledged  to  save 
him  of  free  mercy.  It  would  make  no  difference  to  his  ultimate 
salvation  were  he  to  mix  all  hideous  sins  in  one  draught,  and  drink 
it  to  the  dregs.  Predestined  to  be  saved,  nothing  that  he  can  do 
can  unsave  him  ;  foreordained  to  heaven,  nothing  he  could  do 
could  lead  him  hell-wards.  As  a  corollary,  those  souls  who  are 
not  so  predestined  in  the  counsels  of  God  to  eternal  salvation 
may  be  as  holy,  as  perfect,  in  the  sight  of  men  as  he  (Agricola) 
might  be  vile  in  their  sight ;  yet  they  shall  be  tormented  for 


Joh]  BROWNING   CYCLOPAEDIA.  239 

ever  in  hell,  simply  because  God  has  mysteriously  left  them  out 
of  His  choice.  They  are  reprobate,  non-elect,  and  nothing  that 
they  could  possibly  do  could  avail  to  save  them.  When  Adam 
sinned,  he  sinned  not  only  for  himself,  but  for  the  whole  human 
race,  and  the  whole  species  was  forthwith  condemned  in  him, 
excepting  only  those  whom  God  in  His  Sovereign  mercy  had 
from  all  eternity  elected  to  save,  and  that  without  regard  to  their 
merit  or  demerit.  These  reprobate  persons  might  try  to  win 
God's  favour,  might  labour  with  all  their  might  to  please  Him, 
and  would  only  thereby  add  to  their  sin.  Priest,  doctor,  hermit, 
monk,  martyr,  nun,  or  chorister, — all  these,  leading  holy  and 
before  men  beautiful  lives,  were  eternally  foreordained  to  be 
lost  before  God  fashioned  star  or  sun.  For  all  this  Johannes 
Agricola  praises  God,  praises  Him  all  the  more  that  he  cannot 
understand  Him  or  His  ways,  praises  Him  especially  that  he 
has  not  to  bargain  for  His  love  or  pay  a  price  for  his  salvation. 
Such  is  the  terrible  portrait  which  Mr.  Browning  has  drawn  of 
the  teaching  of  a  man  who,  as  one  of  the  Reformers,  and  as  a 
friend  of  Luther,  was  the  founder  of  what  is  known  in  religious 
history  as  Antinomianism.  Hideous  as  is  the  perversion  of 
gospel  teaching  which  Agricola  set  forth,  the  doctrines  of 
Antinomianism  still  linger  on  amongst  certain  sects  of  Calvinists 
in  England  and  Scotland.  The  doctrine  of  reprobation  is  thus 
stated  in  the  Westminster  Confession  of  Faith,  iii.  7  :  "  The  rest 
of  mankind  (i.e.  all  but  the  elect),  God  was  pleased  ...  to  pass 
by,  and  to  ordain  them  to  dishonour  and  wrath,  etc."  Mosheim, 
in  his  Ecclesiastical  History  (century  xvii.,  Sect.  II,  Part  II., 
chap,  ii.,  23),  thus  describes  the  Presbyterian  Antinomians: 
"  The  Antinomians  are  over-rigid  Calvinists,  who  are  thought  by 
the  other  Presbyterians  to  abuse  Calvin's  doctrine  of  the  abso- 
lute decrees  of  God,  to  the  injury  of  the  cause  of  piety.  Some 
ot  them  .  .  .  deny  that  it  is  necessary  for  ministers  to  exhort 
Christians  to  holiness  and  obedience  of  the  law,  because  those 
whom  God  from  all  eternity  elected  to  salvation  will  themselves, 
and  without  being  admonished  and  exhorted  by  any  one,  by  a 
Divine  influence,  or  the  impulse  of  Almighty  grace,  perform  holy 
and  good  deeds ;  while  those  who  are  destined  by  the  Divine 
decrees  to  eternal  punishment,  though  admonished  and  en- 
treated ever  so  much,  will  not  obey  the  Divine  law,  since  Divine 
grace  is  denied  them ;  and  it  is  therefore  sufficient,  in  preaching 


240  BROWNING   CYCLOPAEDIA.  [Job 

to  the  people,  to  hold  up  only  the  gospel  and  faith  in  Jesus 
Christ.  But  others  merely  hold  that  the  elect,  because  they 
cannot  lose  the  Divine  favour,  do  not  truly  commit  sin  and  break 
the  Divine  law,  although  they  should  go  contrary  to  its  precepts 
and  do  wicked  actions,  and  therefore  it  is  not  necessary  that 
they  should  confess  their  sins  or  grieve  for  them :  that  adultery 
for  instance,  in  one  of  the  elect  appears  to  us  indeed  to  be  a  sin 
or  a  violation  of  the  law,  yet  it  is  no  sin  in  the  sight  of  God, 
because  one  who  is  elected  to  salvation  can  do  nothing  dis- 
pleasing to  God  and  forbidden  by  the  law."  Very  similar 
teaching  may  be  discovered  at  the  present  day  in  the  body  of 
religionists  known  as  Hyper-Calvinists  or  Strict  Baptists.  The 
professors  are  for  the  most  part  much  better  than  their  creed, 
and  they  are  exceedingly  reticent  concerning  their  doctrines  so 
far  as  they  are  represented  by  the  term  Antinomian ;  but  the 
organs  of  their  phase  of  religious  belief,  The  Gospel  Standard 
and  The  Earthen  Vessel^  frequently  contain  proofs  of  the  vitality 
of  Agricola's  doctrines  in  their  pages.  For  example,  in  the 
Gospel  Standard  for  July  1891,  p.  288,  we  find  the  following : 
"  No  hope,  nor  salvation,  can  possibly  arise  out  of  the  law  or 
covenant  of  works.  Every  man's  works  are  sin, — his  best  works 
are  polluted.  Every  page  of  the  law  unfolds  his  defects  and 
shortcomings,  nor  will  allow  of  a  few  shillings  to  the  pound, — 
Pay  the  whole  or  die  the  death."  The  tendency  of  Antinomianism 
is  to  become  an  esoteric  doctrine,  and  it  is  seldom  preached  in 
any  grosser  form  than  this,  however  sweet  it  may  be  to  the 
hearts  of  the  initiated. 

John  of  Halberstadt.  The  ecclesiastic  in  Transcendentalism 
who  was  also  a  magician  and  performed  the  "  prestigious  feat ' 
of  conjuring  roses  up  in  winter. 

Joris.  One  of  the  riders  in  the  poem  "  How  they  brought  the 
Good  News  from  Ghent  to  Aix." 

Jules.  (Pippa  Passes).  The  young  French  artist  who  married 
Phene  under  a  misunderstanding,  the  result  of  a  practical  joke 
played  upon  him  by  his  companions. 

Karshish.  (An  Epistle.')  The  Arab  physician  who  wrote  of 
the  interesting  cases  which  he  had  seen  in  his  travels  to  his 
brother  leech,  and  who  described  Lazarus,  who  was  raised  from 
the  dead,  as  having  been  in  a  trance. 


Kin]  BROWNING   CYCLOPEDIA.  241 

King,  A.  The  song  in  Pippa  Passes,  beginning  "  A  king  lived 
long  ago,"  was  originally  published  in  The  Monthly  Repository 
(edited  by  W.  J.  Fox)  in  1835. 

King  Charles  I.  of  England.    See  STRAFFORD. 

King  Charles  Einanuel,  of  Savoy  (King  Victor  and  King 
Charles),  was  the  son  of  Victor  Amadeus  II.,  Duke  of  Savoy. 
He  became  king  when  his  father  suddenly  abdicated,  in  1730. 

King  Victor  and  King  Charles:  A  Tragedy.  (Bells  and 
Pomegranates,  II.,  1842.)  Victor  Amadeus  II.,  born  in  1666,  was 
Duke  of  Savoy.  He  obtained  the  kingdom  of  Sicily  by  treaty  from 
Spain,  which  he  afterwards  exchanged  with  the  Emperor  for  the 
island  of  Sardinia,  with  the  title  of  King  (1720).  He  was  fierce, 
audacious,  unscrupulous,  and  selfish,  profound  in  dissimulation, 
prolific  in  resources,  and  a  "breaker  of  vows  both  to  God  and 
man."  He  was,  however,  an  able  and  warlike  monarch,  and  had 
the  interests  of  his  kingdom  at  heart.  He  was,  moreover,  beloved 
by  the  people  over  whom  he  ruled,  and  under  his  reign  the 
country  made  great  progress  in  finances,  education,  and  the 
development  of  its  natural  resouces.  His  whole  reign  was  one 
of  unexampled  prosperity,  and  his  life  was  a  continued  career 
of  happiness  until,  in  1715,  his  beloved  son  Victor  died.  His 
daughter,  the  Queen  of  Spain,  died  shortly  after.  Charles 
Emanuel,  his  second  son,  had  never  been  a  favourite  with  the 
King.  He  was  ill-favoured  in  appearance,  and  weak  and  vacil- 
lating in  his  conduct.  When  the  Queen  died,  in  1728,  Victor 
married  Anna  Teresa  Canali,  a  widowed  countess,  whom  he 
created  Marchioness  of  Spigno.  For  some  reasons  or  other, 
which  have  never  been  satisfactorily  explained,  the  King  now 
decided  to  abdicate  in  favour  of  his  son  Charles  Emanuel.  He 
gave  out  that  he  was  weary  of  the  world  and  disgusted  with 
affairs  of  State,  and  desired  to  live  in  retirement  for  the  re- 
mainder of  his  days.  It  is  more  probable  that  his  fiery  and 
audacious  temper,  and  his  deceitfulness,  dissimulation,  and 
persistent  endeavours  to  overreach  the  other  powers  with  which 
he  had  intercourse,  had  involved  him  in  difficulties  of  State 
policy  from  which  he  could  only  extricate  himself  by  this  grave 
step.  Mr.  Browning  implies,  in  the  preface  to  his  tragedy,  that 
his  investigations  of  the  memoirs  and  correspondence  of  the 
period  had  enabled  him  to  offer  a  more  reasonable  solution  of 
the  difficulties  connected  with  this  strange  episode  in  Italian 

16 


242  BROWNING  CYCLOPAEDIA.  [Kin 

history  than  any  previous  account  has  offered.  When  the  King 
announced  his  intention  to  resign  his  crown,  he  was  entreated  by 
his  people,  his  ministers  and  his  son,  to  forego  a  project  which 
every  one  thought  would  be  prejudicial  to  the  interests  of  the 
kingdom ;  but  nothing  would  induce  him  to  reconsider  his 
decision,  which  he  carried  out  with  the  conipletest  ceremonial. 
After  taking  this  step  he  retired  with  his  wife  to  his  castle  at 
Chambe"ry ;  and,  as  might  have  been  expected,  he  speedily  grew 
weary  of  his  seclusion.  He  had  an  attack  of  apoplexy,  and 
when  he  recovered  it  was  with  faculties  impaired  and  a  temper 
readily  irritated  to  outbursts  of  violent  behaviour.  The  mar- 
chioness now  began  to  suggest  to  him  that  he  had  done  unwisely 
by  resigning  his  crown ;  and,  day  by  day,  urged  him  to  recover  it 
This  was  probably  due  to  the  desire  she  felt  of  being  queen. 
He  still  remained  on  good  terms  with  his  son,  who  visited  him 
at  Chamb6ry ;  but  he  gave  him  to  understand  that  he  was  not 
satisfied  with  his  management  of  affairs,  and  constantly  inter- 
vened in  their  direction.  In  the  summer  of  1731  Charles,  ac- 
companied by  his  queen  (Polyxena)  visited  his  father  at  the 
baths  of  Eviano,  and  before  his  return  home  he  received  private 
intimation  that  his  father  was  about  to  proceed  to  Turin  to 
resume  the  crown  he  had  resigned.  He  lost  no  time  in  returning 
home,  which  he  reached  just  before  his  father  and  the  marchioness. 
He  visited  the  ex-king  on  the  following  day,  when  he  was  informed 
that  his  reason  for  returning  to  Turin  was  the  necessity  for 
seeking  a  climate  more  suitable  to  his  present  state  of  health. 
Charles  was  satisfied  with  the  explanation,  and  placed  the  castle 
of  Moncalieri  at  his  father's  service  :  here  the  ex-king  received 
his  son's  ministers,  and  hints  were  dropped  and  threatening 
expressions  used  by  Victor,  which  left  little  doubt  as  to  his 
intentions  on  the  minds  of  his  audience.  It  now  became  neces- 
sary for  King  Charles  to  seriously  consider  the  best  means  to 
secure  himself  and  his  queen  from  the  effects  of  his  father's 
change  of  mind.  Victor  lost  little  time  in  declaring  himself:  on 
September  25th,  1731,  he  sent  for  the  Marquis  del  Borgo,  and 
ordered  him  to  deliver  up  the  deed  by  which  he  had  resigned  his 
crown.  The  minister  evaded  in  his  reply,  and  of  course  informed 
the  King  of  the  demand.  Now  it  was  that  Charles  was  inclined 
to  waver  between  his  duty  to  his  realm  and  his  duty  to  his 
father.  He  was  a  good,  obedient  son,  and  of  upright  and 


Lab]  BROWNING    CYCLOPAEDIA.  243 

generous  disposition,  and  was  inclined  to  yield  to  his  father's 
wishes.  He  called  the  chief  officers  of  state  around  him,  and 
laid  the  matter  before  them.  They  were  not  forgetful  of  the 
threats  which  the  old  king  had  recently  used  towards  them,  and 
the  Archbishop  of  Turin  had  little  difficulty  in  convincing  them 
and  the  king  that  it  was  impossible  to  comply  with  his  father's 
demands.  If  anything  were  wanting  to  confirm  them  in  their 
decision,  it  was  forthcoming  in  the  shape  of  news  that  the  old 
king  had  demanded  at  midnight  admittance  into  the  fortress  of 
Turin,  but  had  been  refused  by  the  commander.  The  council 
of  Charles  Emanuel  readily  concurred  in  the  opinion  that 
Victor  should  be  arrested.  The  Marquis  d'Ormea,  who  had 
been  the  old  king's  prime  minister,  was  charged  with  the  execu- 
tion of  the  warrant  of  arrest.  He  proceeded,  with  assistance 
and  appropriate  military  precautions,  to  carry  out  the  order, 
entering  the  king's  apartments  at  Moncalieri.  They  captured 
the  marchioness,  who  was  hurried  away  screaming  to  a  state 
prison  at  Ceva,  with  many  of  her  relatives  and  supporters ;  and 
then  secured  the  person  of  the  old  king.  He  was  asleep,  and 
when  aroused  and  made  acquainted  with  the  mission  of  the 
intruders,  he  became  violently  excited,  and  had  to  be  wrapped 
in  the  bedclothes  and  forced  into  one  of  the  court  carriages, 
which  conveyed  him  to  the  castle  of  Rivoli,  situated  in  a  small 
town  of  five  thousand  inhabitants,  near  Turin.  His  attendants 
and  guards  were  strictly  ordered  to  say  nothing  to  him :  if  he 
addressed  them,  they  maintained  an  inflexible  silence,  merely  by 
way  of  reply  making  a  very  low  and  submissive  bow.  He  was 
afterwards  permitted  to  have  the  company  of  his  wife  and  to 
remove  to  another  prison,  but  on  October  3ist,  1732,  he  died. 

Laboratory,  The:  ANCIEN  REGIME.  First  appeared  in 
Hooa's  Magazine,  June  1844,  to  which  it  was  contributed  to 
help  Hood  in  his  illness;  afterwards  published  in  Dramatic 
Romances  and  Lyrics  (Bells  and  Pomegranates,  VII.)  This 
poem  and  The  Confessional  were  printed  together,  and  entitled 
France  and  Spain.  Mr.  Arthur  Symons  reminds  us  that 
Rossetti's  first  water-colour  was  an  illustration  of  this  poem, 
and  has  for  subject  and  title  the  line  "  Which  is  the  poison  to 
poison  her,  prithee  ?  "  The  keynote  of  the  poem  is  jealousy,  a 
distorted  lox'e-frenzy  that  impels  to  the  rival's  extinction.  The 


244  BROWNING   CYCLOPAEDIA,  [Lab 

story  is  told  in  the  most  powerful  and  concentrated  manner. 
The  jealous  woman's  whole  soul  is  compressed  into  her  words 
and  actions ;  her  emotion  is  visible ;  her  voice,  subdued  yet 
lull  of  energy,  is  audible  in  every  line.  The  woman  is  a 
Brinvilliers,  who  has  secured  an  interview  with  an  alchemist 
in  his  laboratory,  that  she  may  purchase  a  deadly  poison  for  her 
rival.  We  gather  from  the  first  verse  that  the  poison  consisted 
principally  of  arsenic.  The  "faint  smokes  curling  whitely,"  to 
protect  the  chemist  from  which  it  was  necessary  to  wear  a  glass 
mask,  sufficiently  supplement  our  knowledge  of  the  old  poisoner's 
art  to  enable  us  to  indicate  its  nature.  The  patience  of  the 
woman,  who  in  her  eagerness  for  her  rival's  death  has  no  desire 
to  hurry  the  manufacture  of  the  means  of  it,  is  powerfully 
described.  She  is  content  to  watch  the  chemist  at  his  deadly 
work,  asking  questions  in  a  dainty  manner  about  the  secrets  of 
his  art  She  has  all  the  ideas  of  "a  big  dose"  which  the 
uninitiated  think  requisite  for  big  patients.  "  She's  not  little — 
no  minion  like  me !  "  "  What,  only  a  drop  ?  "  she  asks.  She  is 
anxious  to  know  if  it  hurts  the  victim.  Is  it  likely  to  injure 
herself  too  ?  Reassured  on  that  point,  the  glass  mask  is  re- 
moved, and  for  reward  the  old  man  has  all  her  jewels  and  gold 
to  his  fill.  He  may  kiss  her  besides,  and  on  the  mouth  if  he  will. 
There  is  a  very  remarkable  instance  in  the  second  verse  of  the 
use  made  of  antithesis  by  the  poet.  The  proper  emphasis  can 
only  be  given  when  -we  rightly  apprehend  the  ideas  which  oppose 
rach  other  in  the  lines — 

"  He  is  with  her,  and  they  know  that  7  know 
Where  they  are,  what  they  do :  they  believe  my  tears  flow 
While  they  laugh,  laugh  at  me,  at  me  fled  to  the  drear 
Empty  church,  to  pray  God  in,  for  them  I — I  am  here." 

The  antithesis  of  the  several  sets  of  ideas  is  the  only  safe  guide 
to  the  emphasis — he  as  opposed  to  her,  tears  to  laughter,  me  to 
them,  the  church  to  the  laboratory*  Although  the  effects  of  some 

*  One  of  the  most  remarkable  instances  of  the  use  made  of 
antithesis  I  ever  heard  was  at  Friern  Barnet  Church,  into  the  porch 
of  which  I  strolled  when  walking  one  summer  day  some  twenty-five 
years  ago.  I  was  just  in  time  to  hear  the  preacher  use  words  which 
I  have  never  forgotten.  The  antithesis  of  the  sentence  was  perfect : 

If  thou  wouldst  hereafter  be  where  Christ  is,  see  thou  be  not  found 


Lab]  BROWNING   CYCLOPAEDIA.  245 

of  the  deadliest  poisons  were  well  known  to  the  ancients,  their 
detection  and  recovery  from  the  body  by  chemical  means  is  a 
branch  of  science  of  only  modern  discovery.  The  Greeks  and 
Romans  were  well  acquainted  with  mercury,  arsenic,  henbane, 
aconite  and  hemlock.  The  art  of  poisoning  was  brought  to  great 
perfection  in  India  ;  but,  though  dissection  of  the  living  and  the 
dead  was  practised  by  the  Alexandrian  School  in  the  third 
century  B.C.,  the  Greek  and  Roman  physicians  were  quite  in- 
capable of  such  a  knowledge  of  pathology  as  would  enable  them 
to  detect  any  but  the  coarsest  signs  of  poisoning  in  a  dead  body. 
Much  less  were  they  able  to  detect  or  recover  by  analysis  the 
particular  poison  used  by  the  criminal.  It  is  not  surprising  that, 
under  such  circumstances,  professional  poisoners  usually  escaped 
punishment.  In  the  fourteenth  century  arsenic  was  generally 
employed.  Of  the  great  schools  of  poisoners  which  flourished  in 
Italy  in  the  sixteenth  and  seventeenth  centuries,  Venice  was  the 
earliest.  Troublesome  people  were  removed  by  the  Council  oi 
Ten  by  means  of  convenient  poisons.  Toffana  and  others  com- 
bined poisoning  with  the  art  of  cookery ;  and  T.  Baptist  Porta, 
in  his  book  on  "  Natural  Magic,"  under  the  section  of  cooking, 
shows  that  the  trades  of  poisoner  and  cook  were  often  combined. 
Toffana  was  the  greatest  of  all  the  seventeenth-century  poisoners. 
She  made  solutions  of  arsenic  of  various  strengths,  and  sold 
them  in  phials  under  the  name  of  "  Naples  Water  "  or  "  Acquetta 
di  Napol."  It  is  said  that  she  poisoned  six  hundred  persons, 
including  Popes  Pius  III.  and  Clement  XIV.  There  was  practi- 
cally no  fear  of  detection,  and  the  liquid  was  sold  openly  to  any 
one  willing  to  pay  the  price  for  a  deadly  compound ;  the  purpose 
for  which  it  could  alone  be  employed  being  perfectly  well  under- 
stood. Mr.  Browning's  poem  introduces  us  to  a  laboratory, 
where  an  arsenical  preparation  is  being  prepared.  The  glass 

now  where  He  is  not,  lest  when  He  come  he  say  to  you,  what  now  by 
your  conduct  you  sa5  to  Hitn '  Depart  from  Me — where  /  am  you  can 
not  come ! '"  If  any  one  would  investigate  this  principle  of  antithetic 
reading  further,  let  him  take  Macaalays  "Essay  on  Von  Ranke's 
Popes,"  vol.  ii.,  p.  128,  and  beginning  at  the  words,  "There  is  not, 
and  there  never  was,"  see  how  to  place  the  correct  emphasis  by 
observation  of  the  opposed  ideas.  This  is  the  one  great  secret  of 
good  reading.  Printers'  punctuation  is  horribly  misleading,  and  should 
usually  be  disregarded 


246  BROWNING   CYCLOPAEDIA.  [Lad 

mask  refered  to  in  the  first  line  was  used  to  protect  the  pur- 
chaser from  the  white,  deadly  smoke  which  the  mineral  gave  off. 
The  poison  for  which  the  lady  paid  so  lavishly  could  be  prepared 
nowadays  by  any  chemist's  apprentice  for  a  few  pence;  but, 
plentiful  as  it  is,  it  is  comparatively  rarely  used  by  criminals, 
as  the  same  apprentice  could  infallibly  detect  it  in  the  body  after 
death,  and  reproduce  in  a  test  tube  the  very  same  poison  used 
by  the  criminal. 

Lady  and  the  Painter,  The.  (Asolando :  1889.)  A  lady 
visiting  an  artist  who  has  a  picture  on  his  easel  of  a  nude  female 
figure,  protests  against  the  irreverence  to  womanhood  involved 
in  his  inducing  a  young  woman  to  strip  and  stand  stark-naked 
as  his  model.  Before  replying,  he  asks  the  lady  what  it  is  that 
clings  half-savage-like  around  her  hat.  She,  thinking  he  is 
admiring  her  headgear,  tells  him  they  are  "  wild-bird  wings,  and 
that  the  Paris  fashion-books  say  that  next  year  the  skirts  of 
women's  dresses  are  to  be  feathered  too.  Owls,  hawks,  jays 
and  swallows  aie  most  in  vogue."  Asking  if  he  may  speak 
plainly,  and  having  been  answered  that  he  may,  he  tells  Lady 
Blanche  that  it  would  be  more  to  her  credit  to  strip  off  all  her 
bird-spoils  and  stand  naked  to  help  art,  like  his  poor  model,  as  a 
type  of  purest  womanhood.  "  You,  clothed  with  murder  of  His 
best  of  harmless  beings,  what  have  you  to  teach  ?  "  The  poem  is 
directed  against  the  savage  and  wicked  custom  of  wearing  the 
plumage  of  birds,  by  which  millions  of  God's  beautiful  creatures 
are  doomed  annually  to  slaughter ;  by  wearing  gloves  made  of 
skins  stripped  from  the  living  bodies  of  animals  (if  report  be 
true) ;  and  by  the  use  of  sealskin  and  other  animal  coverings, 
which  necessitates  the  wholesale  slaughter  of  countless  thousands 
of  happy  creatures  in  Arctic  seas.  I  recently  asked  Miss  Frances 
Power  Cobbe — the  noble  lady  who  was  a  friend  of  Mr.  Browning, 
and  who  has  devoted  her  life  and  splendid  literary  talents  to 
befriending  dumb  animals  and  protesting  against  cruelty  in  high 
places — to  furnish  me  with  some  account  of  the  agitation  against 
the  foolish  habit  of  wearing  bird-plumage  in  women's  bonnets. 
I  have  received  from  Miss  Cobbe  the  following  particulars :  "  The 
Plumage  League  began  December  1885.  It  started  with  a  letter 
in  the  Times,  December  i8th,  1885  (quoted  in  extenso  in  the 
Zoophilist,  January  1886,  p.  164),  by  the  Rev.  F.  O.  Morris, 
embodying  one  from  Lady  Mount  Temple.  Before  May  1886  a  long 


Las]  BROWNING   CYCLOPAEDIA.  247 

list  of  names  (given  in  the  Zoophilisf)  were  given  as  patrons  of 
the  League,  including  Lady  Mount  Temple,  Duchess  of  Suther- 
land, Lady  Londesborough,  Lady  Sudeley,  Hon.  Mrs.  R.  C.  Boyle, 
Louisa  Marchioness  of  Waterford,  Princess  Christian,  Lady 
Burdett  Coutts,  Lady  Eastlake,  Lady  John  Manners,  Lady 
Tennyson,  Lady  Herbert  of  Lea,  and  about  forty  other  ladies  of 
rank.  I  should  say  that  the  League  was  originated  by  Lady 
Mount  Temple  and  the  Rev.  F.  O.  Morris.  There  is  another 
society  in  existence  for  the  same  purpose,  working  in  London — 
the  Birds'  Protection  Society — one  of  whose  local  secretaries 
lately  applied  to  me  for  a  subscription." 

Lady  Carlisle,  Lucy  Percy.  (Straff ord.}  She  was  the 
daughter  of  the  ninth  Earl  of  Northumberland,  and  did  her 
utmost  to  save  Strafford's  life. 

Lapaccia.  Mona  Lapaccia  was  Fra  Lippo  Lippi's  aunt,  the 
sister  of  his  father,  who  brought  him  up  till  he  was  eight  years 
old,  when,  being  no  longer  able  to  maintain  him,  she  took  him  to 
the  Carmelite  Convent. 

La  Saisiaz  (A.  E.  S.,  Sept.  i4th,  1877).— Mr.  Browning  was 
staying  during  the  autumn  of  1877,  with  his  sister,  amongst  the 
mountains  near  Geneva,  at  a  villa  called  "La  Saisiaz,"  which  in 
the  Savoyard  dialect  means  "  The  Sun."  They  were  accom- 
panied on  this  occasion  by  Miss  Ann  Egerton  Smith.  The 
happiness  of  the  visit  to  this  beautiful  spot  was  marred  by  the 
sudden  death  of  Miss  Smith,  from  heart  disease,  on  the  night  of 
September  I4th.  The  poem  is  the  result  of  the  poet's  musings 
on  death,  God,  the  soul,  and  the  future  state.  It  is  one  of  Mr. 
Browning's  noblest  and  most  beautiful  utterances  on  the  great 
questions  of  the  Supreme  Being  and  the  ultimate  destiny  of  the 
soul  of  man.  It  is  Theism  of  the  loftiest  kind,  and  the  grounds 
on  which  it  is  based  are  as  philosophical  as  they  are  poetically 
expressed.  The  work  has  often  been  compared  with  the  In 
Memoriam  of  Tennyson.  The  powerful  optimism,  the  robust 
confidence  and  devout  faith  in  the  infinite  love  and  wisdom  of 
the  Supreme  Being,  are  in  each  poem  emphasized  again  and 
again.  After  several  pages  of  description  of  the  scenery  of  the 
locality,  Mr.  Browning  imagines  that  a  spirit  of  the  place  bade 
him  question,  and  promised  answer,  of  the  problems  of  existence — 

"  Does  the  soul  survive  the  body  ?     Is  there  God's  self — no 
or  yes  ?  " 


248  BROWNING   CYCLOPEDIA.  [LaS 

He  is  weak,  but  "  weakness  never  needs  be  falseness."  He  will 
go  to  the  foundations  of  his  faith ;  he  will  take  stock — see 
how  he  stands  in  the  matter  of  belief  and  doubt ;  will  fight 
the  question  out  without  fence  or  self-deception.  It  shall  not 
satisfy  him  to  say  that  a  second  life  is  necessary  to  give  value 
to  the  present,  or  that  pleasure,  if  not  permanent,  turns  to 
pain ;  in  the  presence  of  that  recent  death  there  must  be  rigid 
honesty,  and  it  does  not  satisfy  him  to  know  there's  ever  some 
one  lives  though  we  be  dead.  Such  a  thought  is  repugnant  to 
him, — not  that  repugnance  matters  if  it  be  all  the  truth.  He 
must,  however,  ask  if  there  be  any  prospect  of  supplemental 
happiness  ?  In  the  face  of  the  strong  bodies  yoked  to  stunted 
soi  Is,  and  the  spirits  that  would  soar  were  they  not  tethered  by 
a  fleshly  chain ;  of  the  hindering  helps,  and  the  hindrances  which 
are  really  helps  in  disguise, — the  fact  remains  that  hindered  we 
are.  However  the  fact  be  explained,  life  is  a  burthen  ;  at  best, 
more  or  less,  in  its  whole  amount  is  it  curse  or  blessing  ?  He 
thinks  he  has  courage  enough  to  fairly  ask  this  question,  and 
accept  the  answer  of  reason.  He  has  questioned,  and  has  been 
answered.  Now,  a  question  presupposes  two  things :  that  which 
questions  and  answers  must  exist.  "  I  think,  therefore  I  am " 
(Cogtto,  ergo  sum),  said  Descartes.  (And  this  is  about  the 
only  thing  in  life  of  which  we  can  be  certain.  Matter  may 
be  all  illusion ;  as  Bishop  Berkeley  said,  we  may  be  living  in 
one  long  dream.  But  at  least  it  takes  a  mind  to  do  that. 
We  therefore  are ;  soul  is,  whatever  else  is  not.)  The  second 
thing  presupposed  is,  that  the  fact  of  being  answered  is  proof 
that  there  must  be  a  force  outside  itself : 

"  Actual  ere  its  own  beginning,  operative  through  its  course, 
Unaffected  by  its  end, — that  this  thing  likewise  needs  must  be." 

Here,  then,  are  two  facts :  the  last  we  may  call  God ;  the  first, 
Soul.  If  an  objector  demands  that  he  shall  prove  these  facts 
his  answer  is  that,  recognising  they  surpass  his  power  of  proring 
these  facts,  proves  them  such  to  him : 

11  Ask  the  rush  if  it  suspects 
Whence  and  how  the  stream  which  floats  it  had  a  rise, 

and  where  and  how 
Falls  or  flows  on  still !  " 

If  the  rush  could  think  and  speak,  it  would  say  it  only  knows  that 


Las]  BROWNING   CYCLOPAEDIA.  249 

it  floats  and  is,  and  that  an  external  stream  bears  it  onward. 
What  may  happen  to  it  the  rush  knows  not :  it  may  be  wrecked, 
or  it  may  land  on  shore  and  take  root  again ;  but  this  is  mere 
surmise,  not  knowledge.  Can  we  have  better  foundation  for 
believing  that,  because  we  doubtless  are,  we  shall  as  doubtless 
be  ?  Men  say  we  have,  "  because  God  seems  good  and  wise." 
But  there  reigns  wrong  in  life.  "  God  seems  powerful,"  they 
say ;  "  why,  then,  are  right  and  wrong  at  strife  ? "  "  Anyhow, 
we  want  a  future  life,"  say  men  ;  "  without  it  life  would  be 
brutish."  But  wanting  a  thing,  and  hoping  for  it,  are  not  proofs 
that  our  aspirations  will  be  gratified  ;  out  of  all  our  hopes,  how 
many  have  had  complete  fulfilment?  None.  But  "  we  believe," 
men  sigh.  So  far  as  others  are  concerned  the  poet  will  not  speak 
— he  knows  not.  But  he  knows  not  what  he  is  himself,  which 
nevertheless  is  an  ignorance  which  is  no  barrier  to  his  knowing 
that  he  exists  and  can  recognise  what  gives  him  pain  or  pleasure. 
What  others  are  or  are  not  is  surmise ;  his  own  experience  is 
knowledge.  To  his  own  experience,  then,  he  appeals.  He  has 
lived,  done,  suffered,  loved,  hated,  learned  and  taught  this :  there 
is  no  reconciling  wisdom  with  a  distracted  world,  no  reconciling 
goodness  with  evil  if  it  is  to  finally  triumph,  no  reconciling  power 
if  the  aim  is  to  fail ;  if — and  he  only  speaks  for  himself,  his 
own  convictions,  and  not  for  any  other  man's — if  you  hinder  him 
from  assuming  that  earth  is  a  school-time  and  life  a  place  of 
probation,  all  is  chaos  to  him ;  he  cannot  say  how  these  arguments 
and  reasons  may  affect  other  men ;  he  reiterates  that  he  speaks 
for  himself  alone,  because  to  colour-blind  men  the  gras  which 
is  green  to  him  may  be  red, — who  is  to  decide  which  uses  the 
proper  term,  supposing  only  two  men  existed,  and  one  called 
grass  green,  the  other  red  ?  So  God  must  be  the  referee  in  His 
own  case.  The  earth,  as  a  school,  is  perhaps  different  for  each 
individual  ;  our  pains  and  pleasures  no  more  tally  than  our 
•colour-sense.  The  poet,  therefore,  recognises  that  for  him  the 
world  is  his  world,  and  no  other  man's  ;  he  is  to  judge  what 
it  means  for  himself.  He  will  therefore  proceed  to  estimate 
the  world  as  it  seems  to  him,  exactly  as  he  would  judge  of  an 
artisan's  work — is  it  a  success  or  a  failure?  Was  God's  will 
or  His  power  in  fault  when  the  vapours  shrouded  the  blue  heaven, 
and  the  flowers  fell  at  the  breath  of  the  dragon  ?  Death  waits 
on  every  rose-bloom,  pain  upon  every  pleasure,  shadow  on 


250  BROWNING   CYCLOPAEDIA.  [Las 

every  brightness.  We  cannot  love,  but  death  lurks  hard  by ;. 
cannot  learn  sympathy  unless  men  suffer  pain.  If  he  is  told  that 
all  this  is  necessity,  he  will  bear  it  as  best  he  can  ;  if,  on  the 
other  hand,  you  say  it  has  been  ordained  by  a  Cause  all-good, 
all-wise,  all-potent,  he  protests  as  a  man  he  will  not  acquiesce 
if,  at  the  same  time,  you  tell  him  that  this  life  is  all : 

"  No,  as  I  am  man,  I  mourn  the  poverty  I  must  impute  : 
Goodness,  wisdom,  power,  all  bounded,  each  a  human  attribute! " 

Speaking  for  himself,  he  counts  this  show  of  things  a  failure  if 
after  this  life  there  be  no  other ;  if  the  school  is  not  to  educate 
for  another  sphere,  all  its  lessons  are  fruitless  pain  and  toil.  But, 
grant  a  second  life,  he  heartily  acquiesces ;  he  sees  triumph  in 
misfortune's  worst  assaults,  and  gain  in  all  the  loss.  When  was 
he  so  near  to  knowledge  as  when  hampered  by  his  recognised 
ignorance?  Was  not  beauty  made  more  precious  by  the  de- 
formities surrounding  him  ?  Did  he  not  learn  to  love  truth  better 
when  be  contemplated  the  reign  of  falsehood  ?  And  for  love, 
who  knows  what  its  value  is  till  he  has  suffered  by  the  death- 
pang  ?  The  poet  here  breaks  off  the  argument  to  address  the 
spirit  of  the  lost  friend,  and  express  his  hope  that  one  day  they 
may  meet  again : — 

"  Can  it  be,  and  must,  and  will  it  ?  " 

Then  he  recalls  his  thoughts  from  the  region  of  surmise,  to  which 
they  have  wandered,  home  to  stern  and  sober  fact.  He  needs 
not  the  old  plausibilities  of  the  "misery  done  to  man"  and  the 
"  injustice  of  God,"  if  another  life  compensate  not  for  the  ills  of 
the  present ;  he  is  prepared  to  take  his  stand  as  umpire  to  the 
champions  Fancy  and  Reason,  as  they  dispute  the  case  between 
them.  FANCY  begins  the  amicable  war  by  conceding  that  the 
surmise  of  life  after  death  is  as  plain  as  a  certainty,  and  acknow- 
ledges that  there  are  now  three  facts — God,  the  soul,  and  the 
future  life.  REASON  assents,  sees  there  is  definite  advantage 
in  the  acknowledgment,  admits  the  good  of  evil  in  the  present 
life,  detects  the  progress  of  everything  towards  good,  and,  as  the 
next  life  must  be  an  advance  upon  this  one,  suggests  that,  at 
the  first  cloud  athwart  man's  sky,  he  should  not  hesitate,  but  die. 
FANCY  then  increases  its  concession,  and  sees  the  necessity  of  a 
hell  for  the  punishment  of  those  who  would  act  the  butterfly 
before  they  have  played  out  the  worm.  Thus  we  have  five  facts 


Las]  BROWNING   CYCLOPAEDIA.  251 

now — God,  soul,  earth,  heaven  and  hell.  REASON  declares  that 
more  is  required :  are  we  to  shut  our  eyes,  stop  our  ears,  and 
live  here  in  a  state  of  nescience,  simply  waiting  for  the  life  to 
come,  which  is  to  do  everything  for  the  soul  ?  FANCY  protests 
that  this  present  stage  of  our  existence  has  worth  incalculable — 
that  every  moment  spent  here  means  so  much  loss  or  gain  for 
that  next  life  which  on  this  life  depends.  We  have  now  six 
plain  facts  established.  REASON  points  out  that  FANCY  has 
proved  too  much  by  appending  a  definite  reward  to  every  good 
action  and  a  fixed  punishment  to  every  bad  one.  We  lay  down 
laws  as  stringent  in  the  moral  as  the  material  world.  If  we  say, 
11  Would  you  live  again,  be  just,"  it  is  to  put  a  necessity  upon  man 
as  determined  as  the  law  of  respiration — "  Would  you  live  now, 
regularly  draw  your  breath. '  If  immortality  were  anything  more 
than  surmise,  if  heaven  and  hell  were  as  plainly  the  con- 
sequences of  our  course  of  life  here  as  a  fall  of  a  breach  of  the 
laws  of  gravity,  then  men  would  be  compelled  to  do  right  and 
avoid  evil.  Probation  would  be  gone,  our  freedom  would  be- 
destroyed,  neither  merit  nor  discipline  would  remain— 
"  Thus  have  we  come  back  full  circle." 

The  poet  says  he  hopes, — he  has  no  more  than  hope,  but  hope-  — 
no  less  than  hope.  Standing  on  the  mountain,  looking  down  upon 
the  Lake  of  Geneva,  his  eye  falls  on  the  places  where  dwelt  four 
great  men  •  Rousseau,  who  lived  at  Geneva ;  Bvron,  lived  at 
the  villa  called  "  Diodati,"  at  Geneva ;  and  wrote  the  Prisoner 
of  Chilian  at  Ouchy,  on  the  Lake  ;  Voltaire,  who  built  himself  a 
chateau  at  Fernex ;  Gibbon,  who  wrote  the  concluding  portion  of 
his  great  work  at  Lausanne.  The  somewhat  obscure  reference 
to  the  "pine  tree  of  Makistos,"  near  the  close  of  the  poem, 
has  caused  considerable  puzzling  of  brains  amongst  Browning 
students,  none  of  whom  have  been  able  to  assist  me  in  solving 
the  problem.  So  far  as  I  am  able  to  understand  it,  the  solution 
seems  to  be  this :  The  reference  to  Makistos  is  from  the  Aga- 
memnon of  ^Eschylus.  The  town  of  Makistos  had  a  watch-tower 
on  a  neighbouring  eminence,  from  which  the  beacon  lights  flashed 
the  news  of  the  fall  of  Troy  to  Greece.  Clytemnestra  says : 

"  sending  a  bright  blaze  from  Ide, 
Beacon  did  beacon  send, 
Pass  on — the  pine-tree — to  Makistos'  watch-place," 


.252  BROWNING   CYCLOPEDIA.  [Las 

So  the  famous  writers  named  as  connected  with  that  part  of  the 
Lake  of  Geneva  contemplated  by  Mr.  Browning,  who  were  all 
Theists,  passed  on  the  pine-tree  torch  of  Theism  from  age  to 
.age — Diodati,  Rousseau,  Gibbon,  Byron,  Voltaire,  who — 

"at  least  believed  in  Soul,  was  very  sure  of  God." 

-(Voltaire  built  a  church  at  Ferney,  over  the  portal  of  which  he 
.affixed  the  ostentatious  inscription,  "  Deo  erexit  Voltaire?} 
Many  writers  (Canon  Cheyne  for  one,  in  the  Origin  of  the 
Psalter,  p.  410)  have  thought  that  by  the  lines  beginning,  "  He 
•there  with  the  brand  flamboyant,"  etc.,  the  poet  referred  to  him- 
:self.  Of  course,  any  such  idea  is  preposterous ;  the  reference 
was  to  Voltaire.  Mr.  Browning,  apart  from  the  question  of  the 
egotism  involved,  could  not  say  of  himself,  "  he  at  least  believed 
in  soul."  There  was  no  minimising  of  religious  faith  in  the  poet. 
Still  less  could  he  speak  of  himself  as  "  crowned  by  prose  and 
jverse." 

NOTES. — Python,  the  Rock-snake,  the  typical  genus  of 
Pythonidae ;  "  Athanasius  contra  mundum  "  =  Athanasius  against 
the  world.  St.  Athanasius,  Bishop  of  Alexandria,  and  one  of  the 
most  illustrious  defenders  of  the  Christian  faith,  was  born  about 
the  year  297.  In  defending  the  Nicene  Creed  he  had  so  much 
opposition  to  contend  with  from  the  Arian  heretics  that,  in  the 
•words  of  Hooker,  it  was  "  the  whole  world  against  Athanasius, 
and  Athanasius  against  it." 

Last  Ride  Together,  The.  (Men  and  Women,  1855; 
Romances,  1863 ;  Dramatic  Romances,  1868.)  This  poem  is 
considered  by  many  critics  to  be  the  noblest  of  all  Browning's 
love  poems ;  for  dramatic  intensity,  for  power,  for  its  exhibition 
of  what  Mr.  Raleigh  has  aptly  termed  Browning's  "  tremendous 
concentration  of  his  power  in  excluding  the  object  world  and 
^ts  relations,"  the  poem  is  certainly  unequalled.  It  is  a  poem  ol 
unrequited  love,  in  which  there  is  nothing  but  the  roblest  resig- 
nation; a  compliance  with  the  decrees  of  fate,  but  with  neither 
a  shadow  of  disloyalty  to  the  ideal,  nor  despair  of  the  result  of 
the  dismissal  to  the  lover's  own  soul  development.  The  woman 
may  reject  him, — there  is  no  wounded  pride ;  she  does  not  love 
him, — he  is  not  angry  with  her,  nor  annoyed  that  she  fails  to 
estimate  him  as  highly  as  he  estimates  himsel£  He  has  the 
ideal  in  his  heart ;  it  shall  be  cherished  as  the  occupant  of  his 


Leo]  BROWNING  CYCLOPEDIA.  253; 

heart's  throne  for  ever — of  the  ideal  he,  at  least,  can  never  be 
deprived.  This  ideal  shall  be  used  to  elevate  and  sublimate  his 
desires,  to  expand  his  soul  to  the  truition  of  his  boundless 
aspiration  for  human  love,  used  till  it  transfigures  the  human  in 
the  man  till  it  almost  becomes  Divine.  And  so — as  he  knows  his- 
fate — since  all  his  life  seemed  meant  for,  fails — his  whole  heart 
rises  up  to  bless  the  woman,  to  whom  he  gives  back  the  hope  she- 
gave  ;  he  asks  only  its  memory  and  her  leave  for  one  more  last 
ride  with  him.  It  is  granted  : 

"  Who  knows  but  the  world  may  end  to-night  ?  " 

(a  line  which  no  poet  but  Browning  ever  could  have  written. 
The  force  of  the  hour,  the  value  of  the  quintessential  moment  as 
factors  in  the  development  of  the  soul,  have  never  been  set  forth, 
even  by  Browning,  with  such  startling  power.)  She  lay  for  a 
moment  on  his  breast,  and  then  the  ride  began.  He  will  not 
question  how  he  might  have  succeeded  better  had  he  said  this  or 
that,  done  this  or  the  other.  She  might  not  only  not  have  loved 
him,  she  might  have  hated.  He  reflects  that  all  men  strive,  but 
few  succeed.  He  contrasts  the  petty  done  with  the  vast  undone,. 

"What  hand  and  brain  went  ever  paired  ? 
What  heart  alike  conceived  and  dared  ? 
What  act  proved  all  its  thought  had  been  ? 
What  will  but  felt  the  fleshly  screen  ?  " 

And  the  meaning  of  it  all,  the  reason  of  the  struggle,  the  outcome 
of  the  effort  ?  The  poet  alone  can  tell :  he  says  what  we  feel. 
"But,  poet,"  he  asks,  "are  you  nearer  your  own  sublime  than 
we  rhymeless  ones  ?  You  sculptor,  you  man  of  music,  have  you 
attained  your  aims  ?  "  Then  he  consoles  himself  that  if  here  we 
had  perfect  bliss,  still  there  is  the  life  beyond,  and  it  is  better  to 
have  a  bliss  to  die  with  dim-descried — 

"  Earth  being  so  good,  would  heaven  seem  best  ?  " 

What  if  for  ever  he  rode  on  with  her  as  now,  "  The  instant  made 
eternity  "  ? 

Lazarus,  who  was  raised  from  the  dead,  is  the  real  hero  of  the 
poem  An  Epistle. 

Leonce  Miranda.  (Red  Cotton  Night-Cap  Country:)  The 
principal  actor  in  the  drama  was  the  son  and  heir  of  a  wealthy 


-2.54     .  BROWNING    CYCLOPAEDIA. 

Paris  jeweller.  He  formed  an  illicit  connection  with  Clara  de 
Millefleurs,  and  lived  with  her  at  St.  Rambert,  finally  committing 
suicide  from  the  tower  on  his  estate.  It  is  said  that  the  real 
name  of  the  firm  of  jewellers  was  "  Meller  Brothers,"  and  that 
Clara  de  Millefleurs  was  Anna  de  Beaupre. 

Levi  Lincoln  Thaxter.     Poet  Lore,  vol.  i.,  p.  598  (1889), 

states  that  Mr.  Browning  wrote  an  inscription  for  the  grave  of 
Levi  Lincoln  Thaxter,  a  well  known  American  Browning  reader, 
•on  the  Maine  sea-coast.  The  inscription  runs  thus  : — "  Levi 
Lincoln  Thaxter.  Born  in  Watertown,  Massachusetts,  Feb.  ist, 
.1824.  Died  May  3ist,  1884. 

"  Thou,  whom  these  eyes  saw  never !     Say  friends  true 
Who  say  my  soul,  helped  onward  by  my  song, 
Though  all  unwittingly,  has  helped  thee  too  ? 
I  gave  of  but  the  little  that  I  knew ; 
How  were  the  gift  requited,  while  along 
Life's  path  I  pace,  couldst  thou  make  weakness  strong ! 

Help  me  with  knowledge — for  Life's  Old Death's  New ! n 

R.  B.  to  L.  L.  T.,  April  1885. 

Life  in  a  Love.  (Men  and  Women,  1855  ,  Lyrics,  1863  ; 
Dramatic  Lyrics,  1868.)  A  man  is  content  to  spend  his  whole 
life  on  the  chance  that  the  woman  whose  heart  he  pursues  will 
one  day  cease  to  elude  him.  When  the  old  hope  is  dashed  to 
the  ground,  a  new  one  springs  up  and  flies  straight  to  the  same 
mark.  And  what  if  he  fail  of  his  purpose  here  ?  How  can  life 
be  better  expended  than  in  devotion  to  one  worthy  ideal  ? 

Light  Woman,  A.  (Men  and  Women,  1855  ;  Romances,  1863 
Dramatic  Romances,  1868.)  A  wanton-eyed  woman  ensnares  a 
man  in  her  toils  just  to  add  him  to  the  hundred  others  she  has 
captured.  The  victim  has  a  friend  who  feels  equal  to  conquering 
the  victor.  It  is  a  question  which  is  the  stronger  soul ;  the 
•woman  of  a  hundred  conquests  lies  in  the  strong  man's  hand  as 
tame  as  a  pear  from  the  wall.  But  the  game  turns  out  to  be  a 
•serious  one :  the  light  woman  recognises  her  conqueror  as  the 
higher  soul,  and  loves  him  accordingly.  What  is  he  to  do  ?  He 
does  not  wish  to  eat  the  pear ;  is  he  to  cast  it  away  ?  It  is  an 
awkward  thing  to  play  with  souls.  Light  as  she  was,  she  had  a 
heart,  though  the  hundred  others  could  not  discover  a  way  to  it ; 
£his  man  did,  and  broke  it.  The  question  for  the  breaker  is 


BROWNING   CYCLOPEDIA.  255 

What  does  he  seem  to  himself?      The  last  lines  of  the  poem  are 
interesting.     The  author  says  of  himself :  — 

"  And  Robert  Browning,  you  writer  of  plays, 
Here's  a  subject  made  to  your  hand." 

Likeness,  A.  (Dramatis  Persona,  1864.)  As  no  two  faces 
are  exactly  alike  in  every  particular,  so  no  two  souls  are  ever 
cast  in  one  mould  The  very  markings  of  our  finger  tips  differ 
in  every  hand,  and  so  each  soul  has  its  own  language,  which 
must  be  learned  by  whomsoever  would  discover  its  secret.  And 
here  science  avails  not ;  soul  grammars  and  lexicons  are  not 
written  for  its  tongue.  A  face,  a  glance,  a  word  will  do ;  but  it 
must  be  the  right  glance,  and  the  true  open-sesame.  The  face 
which  has  spoken  to  us,  the  soul  visitant  who  has  penetrated  to 
our  solitude,  the  book,  the  deed  which  has  formed  the  bond 
between  us,  speaks  not  to  others  as  it  spoke  to  us  ;  and  the  face 
•which  is  enshrined  in  our  heart  of  hearts,  to  them  is  "  the  daub 
John  bought  at  a  sale."  "  Is  not  she  Jane  ?  Then  who  is  she  ?  " 
asks  the  stranger  who  intermeddleth  not  with  our  joys.  But 
-when  that  face  is  confessed  to  be  one  to  lose  youth  for,  to  occupy 
age  with  the  dream  of,  to  meet  death  with ;  then,  half  in  rapture, 
half  in  rage,  we  say,  "  Take  it,  I  pray ;  it  is  only  a  duplicate !  " 

Lilith.  (Adam,  Lilith,  and  Eve^)  "  According  to  the  Gnostic 
and  Rosicrucian  mediaeval  doctrine,  the  creation  of  woman  was 
not  originally  intended.  She  is  the  offspring  of  man's  own  impure 
fancy,  and,  as  the  Hermetists  say,  'an  obtrusion.'  .  .  .  First 
4  Virgo,'  the  celestial  virgin  of  the  Zodiac,  she  became  '  Virgo- 
Scorpio.'  But  in  evolving  his  second  companion,  man  had  un- 
wittingly endowed  her  with  his  own  share  of  spirituality ;  and 
the  new  being  whom  his  '  imagination '  had  called  into  life 
•became  his  '  saviour '  from  the  snares  of  Eve-Lilith,  the  first  Eve, 
who  had  a  greater  share  of  matter  in  her  composition  than  the 
primitive  '  spiritual  man.' " — Madame  Blavatsky's  Isis  Unveiled, 
vol.  ii.,  p.  445- 

Lost  Leader,  The.  (Dramatic  Romances  and  Lyrics,  in  Bells 
•and  Pomegranates,  No.  VII.,  1845;  Poems,  1849;  Dramatic 
Lyrics,  1868.)  A  great  leader  of  a  party  has  deserted  the  cause, 
fallen  away  from  his  early  ideals  and  forsaken  the  teaching  which 
lias  inspired  disciples  who  loved  and  honoured  him.  They  are 
sorrowful  not  so  much  for  their  own  loss  as  for  the  moral 


256  BROWNING   CYCLOPEDIA.  [LOS 

deterioration  he  has  himself  suffered.  The  poem  is  a  very 
popular  one,  and  is  generally  considered  to  refer  to  Wordsworth, 
who  in  his  youth  had  strong  Liberal  sympathies,  but  lost  them, 
as  Mr.  John  Morley  says  in  his  introduction  to  Wordsworth's 
poems: — "As  years  began  to  dull  the  old  penetration  of  a 
mind  which  had  once  approached,  like  other  youths,  the  shield 
of  human  nature  from  the  golden  side,  and  had  been  eager  to- 
'clear  a  passage  for  just  government,'  Wordsworth  lost  his- 
interest  in  progress.  Waterloo  may  be  taken  for  the  date  at 
which  his  social  grasp  began  to  fail,  and  with  it  his  poetic  glow 
He  opposed  Catholic  emancipation  as  stubbornly  as  Eldon,  and 
the  Reform  Bill  as  bitterly  as  Croker.  For  the  practical  reform, 
of  his  day,  even  in  education,  for  which  he  had  always  spoken 
up,  Wordsworth  was  not  a  force."  Browning  used  to  see  a 
good  deal  of  Wordsworth  when  he  was  a  young  man,  but  there 
was  no  friendship  between  them.  Wordsworth  treated  with  con- 
tempt Browning's  republican  sympathies — a  contempt  heightened,. 
as  is  usually  the  case  with  those  who  have  lapsed  from  their 
former  ideals,  by  the  remembrance  that  he  had  once  professed  to- 
follow  them.  But,  though  the  poem  has  undoubted  reference  to- 
Wordsworth,  it  has  a  certain  application  also  to  Southey,  Charles 
Kingsley,  and  others,  who  in  youth  were  Radicals  and  in  old  age 
became  rigidly  Conservative  Browning  told  Walter  Thornbury 
that  Wordsworth  was  "the  lost  leader,"  though  he  said  "the 
portrait  was  purposely  disguised  a  little ;  used,  in  short,  as  an. 
artist  uses  a  model,  retaining  certain  characteristic  traits  and  dis- 
carding the  rest"  (Notes  and  Queries,  5th  series,  vol.  i.,  p.  213.) 
There  is  a  letter  published  in  Mr.  Grosart's  edition  of  Words- 
worth's Prose  Works,  which  is  conclusive  on  this  point : — 

"  19,  WARWICK  CRESCENT,  W.,  February  24^,  1875. 

"DEAR  MR.  GROSART, — I  have  been  asked  the  question  you- 
now  address  me  with,  and  as  duly  answered,  I  can't  remember 
how  many  times.  There  is  no  sort  of  objection  to  one  more 
assurance,  or  rather  confession,  on  my  part,  that  I  did  in  my 
hasty  youth  presume  to  use  the  great  and  venerable  personality 
of  Wordsworth  as  a  sort  of  painter's  model ;  one  from  which  this 
or  the  other  particular  feature  may  be  selected  and  turned  to- 
account.  Had  I  intended  more — above  all,  such  a  boldness  as 
portraying  the  entire  man— I  should  not  have  talked  about 


BROWNING   CYCLOPEDIA.  257 

1  handfuls  of  silver  and  bits  of  ribbon.'  These  never  influenced 
the  change  of  politics  in  the  great  poet — whose  defection,  never- 
theless, accompanied  as  it  was  by  a  regular  face-about  of  his 
special  party,  was,  to  my  private  apprehension,  and  even  mature 
consideration,  an  event  to  deplore.  But,  just  as  in  the  tapestry- 
on  my  wall  I  can  recognise  figures  which  have  struck  out  a  fancy,, 
on  occasion,  that  though  truly  enough  thus  derived,  yet  would  be 
preposterous  as  a  copy ;  so,  though  I  dare  not  deny  the  original 
of  my  little  poem,  I  altogether  refuse  to  have  it  considered,  as.  the 
1  very  effigies  '  of  such  a  moral  and  intellectual  superiority. 
"  Faithfully  yours, 

"  ROBERT  BROWNING."" 

"Lost,  lost!  yet  come."  The  first  line  of  the  "Song  of 
April  "  in  Paracelsus,  Part  II. 

Lost  Mistress,  The.  (Dramatic  Romances  and  Lyrics,  in 
Bells  and  Pomegranates,  VII.,  1845;  Lyrics,  1863;  Dramatic 
Lyrics,  1868.)  A  calm  suppression  of  intensest  feeling,  the  quiet 
resignation  of  a  great  love  in  a  spirit  of  humility  and  sacrifice,  by 
"a  man  who  has  complete  control  over  himself.  The  pretence  of 
not  feeling  the  blow  is  exquisitely  represented,  and  the  spirit 
which  underlies  it  is  that  of  the  strong-souled  contender  with  the 
trials  of  life  who  wrote  the  poem.  The  life's  current  frozen,  the 
sun  sunk  in  the  heart  to  rise  no  more,  the  joy  gone  out  of  life, 
are  summed  up  in  "  All's  over,  then  !  "  He  remarks  the  sparrow's^ 
twitter  and  the  leaf  buds  on  the  vine  ;  the  snowdrops  appear,  but 
there  is  no  spring  in  his  heart ;  her  voice  will  stay  in  his  soul  for 
ever,  yet  he  may  hold  her  hand  "  so  very  little  longer  "  than  may 
a  mere  friend. 

Love  among  the  Ruins.  (Men  and  Women,  1855 ;  Lyrics r 
1863  ;  Dramatic  Lyrics,  1868.)  While  Mrs.  Browning  was  stay- 
ing with  Mr.  Browning  in  Rome,  in  the  winter  of  1853-54,  she 
was  writing  Aurora  Leigh,  and  he  was  busy  with  Men  and 
Women,  including  this  exquisite  poem.  It  is  a  landscape  by 
Poussin  in  words,  and  is  melodious  and  soothing,  as  befits  the 
subject.  It  is  evening  in  the  Roman  Campagna,  amid  the  ruins 
of  cities  once  great  and  famous.  The  landscape  cannot  fail  to 
touch  the  soul  with  deepest  melancholy,  as  we  reflect  on  the 
evanescence  of  all  human  things.  A  vast  city,  whose  memorials 
have  dwindled  to  a  "so  they  say";  "the  domed  and  daring 


258  BROWNING  CYCLOPAEDIA.  [L<jV 

palaces  "  represented  by  a  few  blocks  of  half-buried  marble  and 
the  shaft  of  a  column,  overrun  by  a  vegetation  which  is  the 
symbol  of  eternal  beauty,  lovingly  covering  the  decaying  handi- 
work of  a  long  vanished  people.  And  amid  the  colonnades  and 
temples,  the  turrets  and  the  bridges,  the  spirit  of  the  observer 
dwells  with  the  mournful  reflection  that  the  hand  of  death  and 
the  devouring  tooth  of  time  reduce  all  earthly  things  to  ruin,  and 
the  shadows  of  oblivion  fall  on  the  world  of  spirit  and  cover  the 
deeds  alike  of  glory  and  of  shame.  But  from  the  wreck  of  the 
ages,  and  the  scattered  memorials  of  a  forgotten  metropolis,  there 
came  a  golden-haired  girl  with  eager  eyes  of  love,  and  the  sad- 
reflecting  contemplator  of  the  past  learns,  by  the  glance  of  her 
eye  and  the  embrace  which  extinguishes  sight  and  speech,  that 
whole  centuries  of  folly,  noise,  and  sin,  are  not  to  be  weighed 
against  that  moment  when  we  recognise  that  Love  is  best. 

Love  in  a  Life.  (Men  and  Women,  1855;  Lyrics,  1863; 
Dramatic  Lyrics,  1 868.)  A  lover  inhabiting  the  same  house  as 
'his  love,  is  constantly  eluded  by  the  charmed  object  of  his  pursuit. 
The  perfume  of  her  presence  is  in  every  room,  and  he  is  always 
jpromising  his  heart  that  she  shall  soon  be  found,  yet  the  day 
"wanes  with  the  fruitless  quest,  for  as  he  enters  she  goes  out,  and 
twilight  comes  with — 

\  '"Such  closets  to  search,  such  alcoves  to  importune !  " 

Thus  do  our  ideals  ever  evade  us. 

Love  Poems. — "One  Word  More,"  "  Evelyn  Hope,"  "A  Sere- 
nade at  the  Villa,"  "  In  Three  Days,"  "  The  Last  Ride  Together," 
"  Numpholeptos,"  "Cristina,"  "  Love  among  the  Ruins,"  "  By  the 
Fire  Side,"  "Any  Wife  to  any  Husband,"  "A  Lovers'  Quarrel," 
41  Two  in  the  Campagna,"  "Love  in  a  Life,"  "  Life  in  a  Love,"  "  The 
Lost  Mistress,"  "  A  Woman's  Last  Word,"  "  In  a  Gondola,"  "  James 
Lee's  Wife,"  "  Rudel  to  the  Lady  of  Tripoli,"  "  O  Lyric  Love  !  "  (in 
the  first  volume  of  the  Ring  and  the  Book),  "  Count  Gismond," 
41  Confessions,"  "The  Flower's  Name,"  "  Women  and  Roses,"  "My 
Star,"  "Mesmerism."  (These  are  by  no  means  all,  but  are,  per- 
haps, some  of  the  best.) 

Lover's  Quarrel,  A.  (Men  and  Women,  1855  ;  Lyrics,  1863; 
Dramatic  Lyrics,  1868.)  "A  shaft  from  the  devil's  bow,"  in  the 
shape  of  a  bitter  word,  has  divided  two  lovers  who  before  were 
all  the  world  to  each  other.  It  seems  to  him  so  amazing  that 


LurJ  BROWNING   CYCLOPAEDIA.  259 

the  tongue  can  have  power  to  sever  such  fond  hearts  as  theirs. 
He  comforts  himself  with  the  assurance  that  though  in  summer- 
tide's  warmth  heart  can  dispense  with  heart,  the  first  chills  of 
winter  and  the  first  approach  of  the  storms  of  life  will  drive  the 
loved  one  to  his  arms. 

Lucrezia.  (Andrea  del  Sarto.)  She  was  the  wife  of  the 
artist — cold,  unsympathetic,  but  beautiful — and  was  the  model  for 
much  of  his  work.  In  the  poem  Andrea  is  conversing  with  her,  and 
indicating  the  causes  which  have  arrested  his  power  as  an  artist. 

Luigi.  (Pippa  Passes.)  The  conspiring  young  patriot  who 
meets  his  mother  at  evening  in  the  turret  on  the  hillside 
near  Asolo.  He  believes  he  has  a  mission  to  kill  the  Emperor 
of  Austria.  His  mother  is  trying  to  dissuade  him,  and  he  is 
about  to  yield,  when  Pippa's  song  as  she  passes  re-inspires 
him,  and  he  leaves  the  tower,  and  so  escapes  from  the  police 
who  are  on  his  track. 

Luitolfo.  (A  Soul's  Tragedy.}  Chiappino's  false  friend,  and 
Eulalia's  lover. 

Lnria,  A  Tragedy.  (Bells  and  Pomegranates,  VIII.,  1846.) 
Time  14 — .  The  historical  incidents  which  are  to  some  extent 
the  basis  of  this  play  had  their  rise  in  the  constant  struggles 
between  the  Guelf  and  Ghibelline  factions  in  Italy,  which  in- 
volved the  various  republics  which  arose  in  consequence  of  those 
wars  in  the  most  bitter  internecine  struggles  for  supremacy. 
One  of  the  most  important  of  these  was  the  war  between  the 
Florentine  and  the  Pisan  republics.  Wars  between  different 
Italian  cities  were  frequent  in  the  middle  ages ;  according  to 
Muratori,  the  first  conflict  was  waged  in  1003,  when  Pisa  and  Lucca 
contended  for  the  mastery.  In  the  eleventh  century  the  military 
and  real  importance  of  Pisa  was  greatly  developed,  and  was 
doubtless  due  to  the  necessity  of  constantly  contending  against 
Saracenic  invasions.  The  chroniclers  assert  that  the  first  war  with 
Florence,  which  broke  out  in  1222,  arose  from  a  quarrel  between 
the  ambassadors  of  the  rival  states  at  Rome  over  a  lapdog. 
When  so  trifling  an  occasion  led  to  such  a  result,  it  is  evident 
there  were  deeper  grounds  for  hatred  and  mistrust  at  work.  It 
is  not  within  the  scope  of  this  work  to  trace  the  causes  which 
led  to  the  war  between  the  two  great  Italian  republics  in  the 
beginning  of  the  fifteenth  century.  In  the  early  part  of  the 
fourteenth  century  Castruccio  became  lord  of  Lucca  and  Pisa, 


260  BROWNING   CYCLOP/EDIA.  [LtlT 

and  was  victorious  over  the  Florentines.  In  1341  the  Pisans 
besieged  Lucca,  in  order  to  prevent  the  entry  of  the  Florentines, 
to  whom  the  city  had  been  sold  by  Martino  della  Scala.  The 
Florentines  obtained  Porto  Talamone  from  Siena,  and  estab- 
lished a  navy  of  their  own.  They  attacked  the  harbour  of  Pisa, 
and  carried  away  its  chains,  which  they  triumphantly  bore  to 
Florence,  and  suspended  in  front  of  the  Baptistery,  where  they 
remained  till  1848.  As  the  war  continued  the  Pisans  suffered 
more  and  more.  In  1369  they  lost  Lucca;  in  1399  Visconti 
captured  Pisa,  and  in  1406  the  Florentines  made  another  attack 
upon  the  city,  besieging  it  both  by  sea  and  land.  As  the 
defenders  were  starving,  they  succeeded  in  entering  the  city  on 
October  9th.  The  orders  of  the  Ten  of  War  at  Florence  were 
to  crush  every  germ  of  rebellion  and  drive  out  its  citizens  by 
measures  of  the  utmost  harshness  and  cruelty.  Mr.  Browning's 
play  has  for  its  object  to  show  how  Pisa  fell  under  the  dominion 
of  its  powerful  rival.  The  characters  are  Luria,  a  Moorish 
commander  of  the  Florentine  forces ;  Husain,  a  Moor,  his  friend ; 
Puccio,  the  old  Florentine  commander,  now  Luria's  chief  officer ; 
Braccio,  commissary  of  the  republic  of  Florence;  Jacopo,  his 
secretary ;  Tiburzio,  commander  of  the  Pisans ;  and  Domizia, 
a  noble  Florentine  lady.  The  scene  is  Luria's  camp,  between 
Florence  and  Pisa.  The  time  extends  only  over  one  day,  and  the 
five  Acts  are  named  "  Morning,"  "Noon,"  "Afternoon,"  "Evening," 
and  "Night."  A  battle  is  about  to  take  place  which  will  decide 
the  issue  of  the  war.  Luria  is  Browning's  Othello,  and  one  of 
the  noblest  of  his  characters.  He  is  a  simple,  honest,  whole- 
souled  creature,  incapable  of  guile,  and  devoted  to  the  welfare  of 
Florence.  Puccio  was  formerly  at  the  head  of  the  Florentine 
army;  he  has  been  deposed  for  some  state  reason,  and  the 
Moorish  mercenary  substituted,  he  remaining  as  the  subordinate 
of  that  general.  The  reasons  which  have  induced  the  Seigniory 
to  abstain  from  entrusting  the  command  of  its  army  to  a 
Florentine  are  the  most  despicable  that  could  influence  any 
public  body.  They  were  understood  to  be  afraid  that  they 
would  have  to  reward  the  victorious  general,  or  that  he  might 
use  his  power  and  influence  with  the  people  to  make  himself 
master  of  their  city.  So  they  choose  a  man  whom  they  merely 
pay  to  fight  for  them — a  Moor,  who  can  have  no  friends  amongst 
the  citizens,  and  a  stranger  who  can  have  no  other  claim  upon 


BROWNING   CYCLOPAEDIA  261 

them  than  his  wages.  They  go  further  :  they  proceed  to  try  him 
secretly  for  treason  before  he  has  committed  it ;  they  set  spies 
to  watch  his  every  movement  and  to  record  his  every  word ; 
they  employ  for  this  purpose  unscrupulous  men,  well  versed  in 
the  art  of  manufacturing  evidence ;  they  weave  their  toils  so 
skilfully  that  by  the  time  Luria  has  won  their  battle  for  them, 
they  will  have  accumulated  all  the  evidence  which  is  required, 
and  the  death  sentence  will  be  pronounced  as  the  victory  is  won. 
The  appointment  of  the  displaced  Puccio  to  a  secondary  position 
in  command  was  one  of  the  steps  taken  for  this  end :  he  would 
naturally  be  discontented,  and  become  a  ready  tool  in  the  hands 
of  the  cold,  skilful  Braccio,  all  intellect,  and  practised  in  the  most 
devious  ways  of  statecraft.  Professor  Pancoast,  in  his  valuable 
papers  on  Luria  in  Poet  Lore,  vol.  i.,  p.  555,  and  vol.  ii.,  p.  19, 
says:  "It  is  possible  that  Mr.  Browning  may  have  found  the 
suggestion  for  this  situation  in  a  passage  in  Sapio  Amminato's 
Istoria  Florentine,  relating  to  this  expedition  against  Pisa. 
41  And  when  all  was  ready,  the  expedition  marched  to  the  gates 
of  Pisa,  under  the  command  of  Conte  Bartoldo  Orsini,  a  Ventusian 
captain  in  the  Florentine  service,  accompanied  by  Filippo  di 
Megalotti,  Rinaldo  di  Gian  Figliazzi,  and  Maso  degli  Albizzi,  in 
the  character  of  commissaries  of  the  commonwealth.  For, 
although  we  have  every  confidence  in  the  honour  and  fidelity  of 
our  general,  you  see  it  is  always  well  to  be  on  the  safe  side.  And 
in  the  matter  of  receiving  possession  of  a  city,  .  .  .  these  nobles 
with  the  old  feudal  names  1  We  know  the  ways  of  them  !  An 
Orsini  mig^t  be  as  bad  in  Pisa  as  a  Visconti,  so  we  might  as 
well  send  so,aie  of  our  own  people  to  be  on  the  spot.  The  three 
commissaries  therefore  accompanied  the  Florentine  general  to 
Pisa."  (Am.  xvii.,  Lib.  Goup.  675.)  These  words  throw  an 
instructive  light  on  Mr.  Browning's  drama,  and  seem  to  justify 
its  motive.  From  this  background  of  treachery  and  deceit  the 
grand  figure  of  Luria,  honest,  transparently  ingenuous,  generous, 
and  true  to  the  core,  boldly  stands  forth  to  claim  our  admiration 
and  our  esteem.  He  knows  nothing  of  their  devious  ways,  can 
only  go  straightforward  to  his  aim,  and  on  this  eve  of  the  great 
battle  he  receives  from  Tiburzio,  the  commander  of  the  Pisan 
forces,  a  letter  which  has  been  intercepted  from  Braccio  to  the 
Florentine  Seigniory ;  he  is  desired  to  read  it,  as  it  exposes  the 
plots  which  the  Florentines  are  hatching  against  him.  Luria 


262  BROWNING   CYCLOPAEDIA.  [Mad 

declines  to  read  the  letter,  tears  it  to  pieces,  and  gives  battle  to 
the  enemy.  The  victory  is  a  great  one  :  Pisa  is  in  his  hands  ; 
then  he  sends  for  Braccio,  charges  him  with  the  treachery,  and 
learns  what  the  letter  would  have  told  him  if  he  had  read  it. 
Braccio  does  not  deny  what  Luria  divines ;  charges  have  been 
prepared  against  him, — he  will  be  tried  that  night.  He  maintains 
the  absolute  right  of  Florence  to  do  as  she  has  done.  Domizia, 
whose  brothers  suffered  shame  and  death  in  such  manner  at  the 
hands  of  Florence,  protests  that  Florence  needs  must  mistrust  a 
stranger's  faith.  At  this  moment  Tiburzio,  the  Pisan  general, 
enters,  testifies  to  the  faith  of  the  man  who  has  defeated  him, 
and  offers  to  resign  to  him  his  charge,  the  highest  office,  sword 
and  shield,  with  the  help  which  has  just  arrived  from  Lucca. 
He  begs  him  to  adopt  their  cause,  and  let  Florence  perish  in 
her  perfidy.  Here  was  temptation  indeed  to  Luria :  his  own 
victorious  troops  would  not  have  turned  their  arms  against  him, 
and  Pisa  would  have  eagerly  accepted  him.  But  Luria  dis- 
misses Tiburzio,  thanks  him,  bids  him  go :  he  is  free, — "join 
Lucca ! "  And  then,  he  reflects,  he  has  still  time  before  his 
sentence  comes ;  he  has  it  in  his  power  to  ruin  Florence.  Would 
it  console  him  that  his  Florentines  walked  with  a  sadder  step  ? 
He  has  one  way  of  escape  left  him  :  he  has  brought  poison  from 
his  own  land  for  use  in  an  emergency  such  as  this ;  he  drinks,— 

li  Florence  is  saved  :  I  drink  this,  and  ere  night, — die  ! " 

Madhouse  Cells.  The  two  poems  Johannes  Agricola  in 
Meditation  and  Porphyrids  Lover  were  published  in  Dramatic 
Lyrics,  Bells  and  Pomegranates ',  No.  III.,  under  the  general  title 
MADHOUSE  CELLS.  In  the  Poetical  Works  of  1863  the  general 
title  was  given  up. 

Magical  Nature.  (Pacchiarotto,  with  other  Poems:  1876.)  The 
beauty  of  a  flower  is  at  the  mercy  of  the  destroying  hand  of  time ; 
the  beauty  of  a  jewel  is  independent  of  it.  The  petals  drop  off 
one  by  one,  the  flower  perishes ;  every  facet  of  the  jewel  may 
laugh  at  time.  Mere  fleshly  graces  are  those  of  the  flower  ;  the 
soul's  beauty  is  best  symbolised  by  the  gem. 

Malcrais.  (Two  Poets  of  Croisic.)  Paul  Desforges  Maillard 
assumed  the  name  of  Malcrais  when  he  sent  his  poems  to  the 
Paris  Mercure,  pretending  they  were  the  work  of  a  lady. 


Mar]  BROWNING  CYCLOP/EDIA.  263 

"  Man  I  am  and  man  would  be,  Love."  The  fourth  lyric  in 
Ferishtatis  Fancies  begins  with  this  line. 

Marching  Along.  (No.  I.  of  Cavalier  Tunes?)  Originally 
appeared  in  Bells  and  Pomegranates,  1842. 

Martin  Relph.  (Dramatic  Idyls,  First  Series:  1879.)  Tnis 
poem  deals  with  a  profound  psychological  problem.  How  far  do 
we  understand  the  mystery  of  our  own  heart  ?  How  far  can  we 
analyse  our  own  motives  ?  Out  of  two  powerful  motives,  either 
of  which  may  equally  move  us  to  do  or  leave  undone  a  certain 
thing,  can  we  infallibly  tell  which  one  has  ultimately  prompted 
our  action  ?  Are  we  less  an  enigma  to  ourselves  than  to  others  ? 
The  Scripture  warns  us  that  we  may  not  trust  our  imaginations, 
by  reason  of  the  deceit  which  is  within  our  breast.  All  his  life 
the  old  man  Martin  Relph  had  been  trying  to  solve  a  mystery 
of  this  kind.  He  wants  to  know  whether  he  is  a  murderer  or 
only  a  coward  ;  and  every  year,  till  his  beard  is  as  white  as  snow, 
has  he  gone  to  a  hill  outside  the  town  where  he  lived  to  ask  this 
question,  and  to  protest  with  all  his  power  of  speech — despite 
the  misgiving  at  his  heart — that  he  was  a  coward.  And  this  was 
his  story.  When  a  youth  he,  with  the  rest  of  the  villagers,  had 
been  crowded  up  in  this  spot  by  the  soldiers  who  held  the  place, 
that  they  might  see,  for  a  terrible  warning,  the  execution  of  a 
young  woman  for  playing  the  spy,  and  so  interfering  in  the 
King's  military  concerns.  It  was  in  the  reign  of  King  George, 
and  there  had  been  a  rebellion,  and  the  rebels  had  learned  the 
strength  of  the  troops  sent  against  them  by  means  of  some  spy. 
A  letter  had  been  intercepted  written  by  a  girl  to  her  lover,  and 
the  poor  creature  had  told  him  such  news  of  the  movements  oi 
the  troops  as  she  thought  would  interest  him,  not  knowing  she 
was  doing  any  harm.  In  all  this  the  authorities  smelt  treason. 
Her  lover  was  Vincent  Parkes,  one  of  the  clerks  of  the  King, 
"  a  sort  of  lawyer,"  and  therefore  dangerous.  To  give  the  girl  a 
chance  of  clearing  herself  from  suspicion,  the  commander  of  the 
troops  sent  for  this  Parkes,  who  was  in  a  distant  part  of  the  coun- 
try, bidding  him  come  and  dispel  the  cloud  hanging  over  the  giri 
if  he  could,  and  giving  him  a  week  for  the  journey.  The  week  is 
up.  Parkes  has  taken  no  notice  of  the  letter  ;  and  the  girl,  tried 
by  court-martial,  is  to  be  shot  that  day.  And  now  poor  Rosamund 
Page,  with  pinioned  arms  and  bandaged  face,  is  left  to  die.  Her 
faithless  lover,  who  could  have  saved  her,  has  not  appeared,  and 


264  BROWNING   CYCLOPAEDIA  [Mar 

there  is  no  help  for  her  but  in  God.  The  villagers  are  assembled 
to  see  the  sight ;  and  Martin  Relph,  who  also  loved  the  girl,  is 
there  also.  The  word  is  given :  up  go  the  guns  in  a  line,  and 
the  paralysed  spectators  close  their  eyes  and  kneel  in  prayer, — all 
•except  Martin,  who  stands  in  the  highest  part  of  the  hill  and  sees 
•a  man  running  madly,  falling,  rising,  struggling  on,  waving  some- 
thing white  above  his  head ;  and  no  one  in  all  the  crowd  sees  the 
messenger  but  Martin  Relph.  And  he  is  speechless,  makes  no 
sign,  for  hell-fire  boils  in  his  brain ;  and  the  volley  is  fired  and  the 
-woman  dead,  while  stretched  on  the  field,  half  a  mile  off,  is 
"Vincent  Parkes,  dead  also,  with  the  King's  letter  in  his  hand  that 
proclaims  his  sweetheart's  innocence.  He  had  been  hampered 
and  hindered  at  every  turn  by  formalities  and  frivolous  delays 
on  the  part  of  the  authorities,  and  so  was  too  late.  Martin 
IRelph,  had  he  called  out,  could  have  stayed  the  execution.  Why 
did  he  remain  silent?  The  thought  had  flashed  through  his 
mind,  as  he  recognised  the  position,  "  She  were  better  dead  than 
his  ! "  and  so  he  had  not  spoken  ;  but  he  has  told  his  heart  a 
thousand  times  that  fear  kept  him  silent,  and  he  has  passed  his 
life  in  trying  to  convince  himself  it  was  so  indeed.  But,  deceitful 
as  the  human  heart  may  be,  deep  down  in  its  recesses  he  knew 
he  was  a  murderer. 

Mary  Wollstonecr aft  and  Fnseli.  (Jocoseria,  1883.)  MarY 
Wollstonecraft  was  the  foundress  of  the  Women's  Rights 
movement.  She  was  born  in  1759,  and  early  gave  evidence  of 
the  possession  of  superior  mental  powers  and  of  bold  ideas  of 
her  own.  Her  first  attempt  in  literature  was  a  pamphlet  entitled 
Thoughts  on  the  Edtication  of  Daughters.  She  was  of  a  very 
energetic  spirit,  with  considerable  confidence  in  her  own  powers. 
"  I  am  going  to  be  the  first  of  a  new  genus,"  she  wrote  to  her 
sister  Everina  in  1788.  "  I  tremble  at  the  attempt ;  yet.  if  I  fail, 
I  only  suffer.  Freedom,  even  uncertain  freedom,  is  dear.  This 
project  has  long  floated  in  my  mind.  You  know  I  am  not  born 
to  tread  in  the  beaten  track ;  the  peculiar  bent  of  my  nature 
pushes  me  on."  At  this  time  she  had  secured  employment  as 
literary  adviser  to  Mr.  Johnson,  the  publisher  of  her  pamphlet. 
At  this  gentleman's  house  she  met  many  interesting  people  ; 
amongst  others  the  author,  William  Godwin,  and  the  artist, 
Henry  Fuseli.  She  now  began  to  attack  the  established  order 
of  society  in  the  most  violent  manner.  She  heartily  sympathised 


3KTar]  BROWNING   CYCLOPEDIA.  265 

with  the  French  Revolution,  and  denounced  Lords  and  Commonsf 
•the  clergy  and  the  game  laws,  with  great  violence.  She  will  be 
foest  remembered  by  her  book  A  Vindication  of  the  Rights  of 
Woman.  Her  idea  was  that  the  women  of  her  time  were  fools, 
and  that  men  kept  women  in  ignorance  that  they  might  retain 
.their  authority  over  them.  "  Strengthen  the  female  mind  by 
•enlarging  it,"  she  pleads  :  her  idea  being  that  men  kept  women 
-either  as  slaves  or  playthings.  She  now  became  greatly  in- 
terested in  Fuseli,  who  did  not  in  the  least  reciprocate  her 
affection,  but  was  annoyed  by  it.  He  was  a  married  man,  and 
though,  no  doubt,  he  could  see  that  at  first  her  love  for  him  was 
.platonic,  it  was  rapidly  assuming  a  more  ardent  character.  She 
wrote  him  many  letters  full  of  affection,  and  actually  ventured  to 
ask  Mrs.  Fuseli  to  accept  her  as  an  inmate  in  her  family.  Finding 
that  Fuseli  remained  impervious  to  her  attacks  upon  his  heart, 
she  went  to  Paris,  sending  him  a  letter  asking  his  pardon  "  for 
having  disturbed  the  quiet  tenor  of  his  life."  In  Paris  she  soon 
-consoled  herself  with  a  gentleman  named  Gilbert  Imlay,  with 
whom  she  lived  without  taking  what  she  termed  the  "  vulgar  pre- 
caution "  of  marriage.  Shortly  after  forming  this  connection  Imlay 
•cruelly  deserted  her.  She  left  Paris,  hurried  to  London,  found 
her  worst  fears  confirmed,  and  attempted  to  commit  suicide  by 
throwing  herself  from  Putney  Bridge  She  was  picked  up,  living 
to  regret  the  "  inhumanity  "  which  had  rescued  her  from  death. 
She  heard  no  more  of  Imlay ;  but  five  years  after  meeting  William 
Godwin  for  the  first  time  at  Mr.  Johnson's  she  met  him  again  by 
chance  at  the  house  of  a  mutual  friend.  As  Mary's  opinion  about 
the  "  vulgar  formality  "  of  marriage  remained  unchanged,  and  as 
Godwin  held  with  her  on  the  subject,  the  formality  was  once 
more  dispensed  with  ;  but  ultimately  it  was  considered  advisable 
so  far  to  conciliate  the  prejudices  of  society  as  to  go  through 
the  ceremony,  which  was  performed  at  Old  St.  Pancras  Church, 
and  Mary  Wollstonecraft  became  Mrs.  Godwin  in  due  form.  In 
September  1797  her  troubled  life  came  to  a  premature  close. 
She  died  before  completing  her  thirty-ninth  year.  Mary  left  two 
children  ;  the  younger  of  these,  her  daughter  by  Godwin,  became 
the  wife  of  the  poet  Shelley,  The  elder,  Imlay's  daughter, 
poisoned  herself,  leaving  a  slip  of  paper  stating  that  she  had 
•done  so  "to  put  an  end  to  the  existence  of  a  being  whose  birth 
<was  unfortunate."  The  authoress  of  the  Rights  of  Woman  had 


266  BROWNING  CYCLOPEDIA.  [Mas 

neglected  to  consider  the  rights  of  Mrs.  Fuseli  and  of  the  fruit  of 
her  illicit  connection  with  Imlay  when  she  devoted  herself  to  the 
emancipation  of  her  sex.  In  the  poem  Mary  prates  vainly  of- 
what  she  would  do  if  only  she  were  loved ;  and  as  the  Rev.  John 
Sharpe,  M.A.,  says  in  his  paper  on  Jocoseria  with  reference  to- 

the  question,  "  Wanting  is what  ?  "  (a  question  which  seems 

to  preside  over  all  the  poems  in  the  volume  to  which  it  is  a 
prologue) :  "  Deeds,  not  words,  are  wanted.  Perfect  love  awakens 
love  in  the  indifferent  by  perfect  deeds  of  loving  self-sacrifice." 

Master  Hugues  of  Saxe-Gotha.  (Men  and  Women,  1855 ; 
Lyrics,  1863;  Dramatic  Lyrics,  1868.)  An  organist  in  a  church 
where  they  have  just  concluded  the  evening  service  determines  to 
have  a  colloquy  with  the  old  dead  composer  Master  Hugues  as 
to  the  meaning  of  the  compositions  known  as  fugues  for  which 
he  was  celebrated.  They  were  mountainous  in  their  structure — 
the  ideas  were  piled  one  upon  another  till  their  meaning  was  lost 
in  cloudland.  So,  while  the  church  is  emptying  and  the  altar 
ministrants  are  putting  things  to  rights,  he  will  look  into  the 
matter  of  the  old  quaint  arithmetical  music  in  fashion  before 
Palestrina  brought  back  music  to  the  service  of  melody.  There 
is  but  one  inch  of  candle  left  in  the  socket,  so  the  composer 
must  tell  him  what  he  has  to  say  quickly.  First  he  delivers  his 
phrase  ;  he  gives  but  a  clause.  He  asserts  nothing,  puts  forward 
no  proposition ;  nevertheless  there  is  an  answer,  though  a  need- 
less one,  and  the  two  start  off  together.  (It  will  be  seen  that 
the  poet  suggests  five  impersonations  of  characters  taking  part 
in  the  discussion  or  mangle  of  the  composition.)  A  third  inter- 
poses, and  volunteers  his  help  ;  a  fourth  must  have  his  say,  and  a 
fifth  must  needs  interfere.  So  the  disputation  is  like  that  of  a 
knot  of  angry  politicians,  who  all  want  to  speak  at  once,  and  will 
scarcely  allow  each  other  to  utter  a  complete  sentence.  This  is 
a  perfect  description  of  a  fugue,  which  even  to  the  uninstructed 
listener  is  a  musical  wrangle  plainly  enough.  In  the  fugue  the 
organist  sees  a  moral  of  life,  with  its  zigzags,  dodges,  and  ins 
and  outs.  Truth  and  Nature  are  over  our  heads.  God's  gold 
here  and  there  shines  out  in  our  soul-manifestations,  if  we  would 
but  let  truth  and  Nature  have  their  way  with  us,  the  gold 
would  be  all  the  plainer  to  see ;  but  with  our  evasions,  our  pre- 
tences, shams  and  subterfuges  we  have  all  but  obliterated  itr 
just  as  the  inventor  of  the  fugue  has  buried  his  melody  under  a 


Mas]  BROWNING   CYCLOP/EDIA.  267 

mountain  of  musical  tricks  and  pedantic  finger  puzzles.  The 
organist  pauses ;  he  will  have  no  more  of  it  as  a  moral  of  life. 
The  Jesuit's  casuistry,  which  went  to  prove  that  all  sorts  of  evil 
things  might  under  certain  circumstances  and  under  such  and 
such  restrictions  become  actual  virtues,  was  swept  away  by 
Pascal's  clear-sighted  common  sense.  So  Master  Hugues  and 
his  fugues  shall  vanish  before  the  full  organ  blaring  out  the 
mode  Palestrina — the  grave,  pure,  truthful  music  of  the  Church. 
As  Pascal  to  Escobar,  so  is  Palestrina  to  Master  Hugues ; 
quibbles,  shams,  fencings  with  truth,  overlay  God's  gold  with  the 
cobwebs  of  tradition,  and  must  be  brushed  away.  "  Rochell  has 
quite  correctly  perceived  that  the  approximate  best  symbol  of  the 
uncreated  heaven  is  music.  In  the  evolution  of  harmonies  in  the 
upper  and  lower  notes,  and  their  mutual  conflict ;  in  the  solution 
of  strife  and  tension  into  blessed  calm  ;  in  the  transmutation  of  the 
ever-recurring  theme  into  new  phrases  ;  in  the  constant  reappear- 
ance of  the  motif,  of  the  question  whi  :h  seeks  a  reply  through 
every  evolution  of  the  notes,  and  which  leads  the  reply  into  a  new 
process — in  this  we  see  the  temporal  symbol  of  the  eternal  rhythm, 
the  eternal  circular  movement  in  God's  heaven,  where  melodious 
colours  and  radiant  notes  are  interwoven  with  each  other ;  where 
nothing  lies  in  stagnant  repose,  but  all  is  in  motion ;  where  unity 
and  harmony  are  eternally  effected  by  means  of  the  contrasted, 
movements  and  action."  (Martensen's  Jacob  Boehme,  page  167.) 

NOTES. — Hugues  is  a  purely  imaginary  composer.  Verse  i, 
"  mountainous  fugues "  :  "A  fugue  is  a  short,  complete  melody, 
which  flies  (hence  the  name)  from  one  part  to  another,  while 
the  original  part  is  continued  in  counterpoint  against  it.  The 
beginning  of  this  art-form  dates  from  very  primitive  times  "  (Sir 
G.  Macfarren).  Probably  Bach's  fugues  are  meant  in  the  poem. 
vi.,  A  toys  andjurien  and  Just,  sacristan's  assistants;  "  darn  the 
sacrament  lace  "  :  the  lace  on  the  altar  linen.  The  actual  sacra- 
ment linen  is  washed  by  the  clergy  in  the  Roman  Catholic 
Church.  The  church  plate  (i.e.,  chalice,  paten,  etc.)  is  cleaned 
by  the  clergy  also,  viii.,  claviers \  the  keyboard  of  the  organ 
ix.,  "great  breves  as  they  wrote  them  of  yore"  :  a  breve  is  the 
longest  note  in  music,  and  was  formerly  square  in  shape.  In 
the  old  Spanish  cathedrals  I  have  seen  the  music-books  used  in 
the  services  of  such  a  size  that  it  required  two  men  to  carry 
them.  The  notes  in  such  books  are  very  large.  xvi.f  "  O 


268  BROWNING   CYCLOPAEDIA.  [May 

Danaides,  O  Sieve!"  the  Danaides  were  the  daughters  01 
Danaus,  who  were  condemned  for  their  crimes  to  pour  water  for 
ever  in  the  regions  below  into  a  vessel  with  holes  in  the  bottom, 
xvii.,  Escobar,  y  Mendoza,  was  a  Spanish  casuist,  the  general 
tendency  of  whose  writings  was  to  find  excuses  for  human 
frailties.  Pascal  severely  criticised  him  in  his  Provincial  Letters. 
His  doctrines  were  disapproved  at  Rome.  Escobar  himself  was  a 
most  excellent  man.  He  died  in  1669.  xviii.,  "  Estfuga,  volvitur 
rota  "  =  it  is  a  flight,  the  wheel  rolls  itself  round,  xix.,  risposting 
=  riposting,  a  term  in  fencing ;  in  this  case  equal  to  making  a 
repartee,  xx.,  ticken  =  ticking,  a  twill  fabric  very  closely  woven. 
xxviii.,  med  paend  =  at  my  risk  of  punishment ;  Gorgon,  a 
monster  with  a  terrible  head,  with  hair  and  girdle  of  snakes ; 
"mode  Palestrina " :  Giovanni  P.  da  Palestrina  (1524-1594), 
now  universally  distinguished  as  the  Prince  of  Music,  emancipated 
his  art  from  the  trammels  of  pedantry,  which,  ignoring  beauty  as 
the  most  necessary  element  of  music,  was  tending  to  reduce  it  to 
mere  arithmetical  problems. 

May  and  Death.  (Published  first  in  The  Keepsake,  1857  ;  in 
1864  published  in  Dramatis  Persona?)  Mrs.  Orr,  in  her  Life 
and  Letters  of  Robert  Browning,  says  that  the  poet  wrote  this 
poem  in  remembrance  of  one  of  his  boy  companions,  the  eldest 
of  "  the  three  Silverthornes,  his  neighbours  at  Camberwell,  and 
cousins  on  the  maternal  side."  The  name  of  Charles  in  the 
poem  stands  for  the  old  familiar  Jim.  Mrs.  Silverthorne  was 
the  aunt  who  paid  for  the  printing  of  Pauline.  The  verses 
express  the  wish  that  all  the  delights  of  spring  had  died  with 
his  friend;  yet  he  would  except  one  plant  of  the  woods  in  May 
which  has  in  its  leaves  a  streak  of  spring's  blood.  Where'er 
the  leaf  grows  in  a  wood  they  know  the  red  drop  comes  from 
the  poet's  heart.  The  question  has  often  been  asked  "  What  is 
the  plant  referred  to  in  the  fourth  stanza  ?  "  The  following  reply 
was  given  in  the  Browning  Society's  Papers : — "  Surely  the 
Polygonum  Persicaria  or  Spotted  Persicaria  is  the  plant  referred 
to.  It  is  a  common  weed,  with  purple  stains  upon  its  rather 
large  leaves ;  these  spots  varying  in  size  and  vividness  of  colour 
according  to  the  nature  of  the  soil  where  it  grows."  The 
Rev.  H.  Friend,  in  Flowers  and  Flower  Lore  (p.  5),  says: — 
"  Respecting  the  Virgin,  I  have  recently  found  the  country  folk  in 
one  part  of  Oxfordshire  retaining  an  interesting  legend  which 


BROWNING   CYCLOPAEDIA.  269 

connects  the  name  of  her  ladyship  with  the  Spotted  Persicaria. 
It  will  be  remembered  that,  in  consequence  of  the  dark  spot 
which  marks  the  centre  of  every  leaf  belonging  to  this  plant, 
popular  tradition  asserts  that  it  grew  beneath  the  Cross,  and 
received  this  distinction  through  the  drops  of  blood  which  fell 
from  the  Saviour's  wounds  touching  its  leaves.  The  Oxonian 
however,  says  that  the  Virgin  was  wont  of  old  to  use  its  leaves 
for  the  manufacture  of  a  valuable  ointment,  but  that  on  one  occa- 
sion she  sought  it  in  vain.  Finding  it  afterwards,  when  the  need 
had  passed  away,  she  condemned  it,  and  gave  it  the  rank  of  an 
ordinary  weed.  This  is  expressed  in  the  local  rhyme : — - 

'  She  could  not  find  in  time  of  need, 
And  so  she  pinched  it  for  a  weed.' 

The  mark  on  the  leaf  is  the  impression  of  the  Virgin's  finger,  and 
the  persicaria  is  now  the  only  weed  that  is  not  useful  for  some- 
thing." Again  (p.  191)  he  says,  "We  are  told  that  in  some  parts 
of  England  the  arum,  commonly  called  lords  and  ladies,  cows 
and  calves,  parson  in  the  pulpit,  or  parson  and  clerk,  is  known 
as  Gethsemane,  because  it  is  said  to  have  been  growing  at  the 
toot  of  the  cross,  and  to  have  received  on  its  leaves  some  of  the 
blood  :— 

*  Those  deep  unwrought  marks, 

The  villager  will  tell  you, 
Are  the  flower's  portion  from  the  atoning  blood 

On  Calvary  shed.     Beneath  the  Cross  it  grew.' 

The  same  tradition  clings  to  the  purple  orchis  and  the  spotted 
persicaria.  We  have  already  seen  how  many  plants  are  sup- 
posed to  have  gained  their  purple  hue  or  ruddy  colour  from 
blood  of  hero,  god,  or  martyr.  A  similar  legend  seems  to  have 
been  at  one  time  attached  to  the  purple-stained  flowers  of  the 
wood-sorrel,  which  is  by  Italian  painters,  including  Fra  Angelico, 
occasionally  placed  in  the  foreground  of  their  pictures  repre- 
senting the  Crucifixion.  This  plant  is  called  Alleluia  in  Italian, 
which  may  have  had  something  to  do,  however,  with  its  associa- 
tion with  the  Cross  of  Christ,  '  as  if  the  very  flowers  round  the 
Cross  were  giving  glory  to  God.'  The  wallflower,  that  '  scents 
the  dewy  air,'  is  in  Palestine  called  '  the  blood-drops  of  Christ ' ; 
and  its  deep  hue  has  led  to  its  being  called  by  a  similar  name  in 
the  West  of  England.  The  rose-coloured  lotus,  or  melilot,  was 


27°  BROWNING   CYCLOPEDIA.  [Mee 

said  to  have  sprung  in  like  manner  from  the  blood  of  the  lion 
slain  by  the  Emperor  Adrian.  It  is  probable  that  the  story  was 
the  modification  of  some  earlier  myth.  Mr.  Conway  tells  us  he 
has  somewhere  met  with  a  legend  telling  that  the  thorn-crown  of 
Christ  was  made  from  rose-briar,  and  that  the  drops  of  blood  that 
started  under  it  and  fell  to  the  ground  blossomed  to  roses.  Mrs. 
Howe,  the  American  poetess,  beautifully  alludes  to  this  in  the 
lines — 

'  Men  saw  the  thorns  on  Jesus'  brow, 
But  angels  saw  the  Roses.' " 

Meeting  at  Night  and  Parting  at  Morning.  (Originally 
published  as  NIGHT  AND  MORNING  in  Dramatic  Romances  and 
Lyrics,  Bells  and  Pomegranates,  VII. :  1845.)  The  speaker  is 
a  man  who  joyfully  seeks  his  happy  seaside  home  at  night, 
where  he  rejoins  the  wife  from  whom  the  demands  of  his  daily 
work  have  separated  him.  In  the  sequel  (Parting  at  Morning) 
the  rising  sun  calls  men  to  work  :  the  man  of  the  poem  to  work 
of  a  lucrative  character;  and  excites  in  the  woman  (if  we 
interpret  the  slightly  obscure  line  correctly)  a  desire  for  more 
society  than  the  seaside  home  affords.  Commentators  on  these 
poems  have  evidently  "jumped  the  difficulty." 

Melander.  The  author  whose  work  "  Joco-Seria  "  suggested 
the  title  of  Mr.  Browning's  volume  of  poems  Jocoseria  (q.v.). 

Melon-Seller,  The.  (FerishtaKs  Fancies,  II.)  The  second 
of  the  lessons  learned  by  Ferishtah  on  his  way  to  dervishhood. 
He  sees  a  well-remembered  face  in  a  melon-seller  near  a  bridge. 
He  was  once  the  Shah's  Prime  Minister:  he  peculated,  and  was 
disgraced.  Shocked  at  the  contrast  between  what  the  man  was 
and  has  now  become,  Ferishtah  asks  him  if  he  did  not  curse  God 
for  the  twelve  years'  bliss  he  enjoyed  only  to  end  in  misery  like 
that?  The  beggar  contemptuously  asked  his  questioner  if  he 
were  unwise  enough  to  think  him  such  a  fool  as  to  repine  at  God's 
just  punishment  on  sin,  and  to  reproach  Him  with  the  happiness 
he  had  tasted  in  the  past  ?  Job  said :  "  Shall  we  receive  good 
at  the  hand  of  God,  and  evil  not  receive  ?"  This  was  just  what 
the  melon-seller  said.  "  But  great  wits  jump  "  ;  and  Ferishtah, 
having  learned  the  great  lesson,  went  his  way  to  dervishhood. 
The  Lyric  asks  for  a  little  severity  from  Love:  so  much  un- 
deserved bliss  has  been  imparted,  that  a  little  injustice  seems 
requisite  to  balance  things. 


BROWNING   CYCLOPAEDIA.  2/1 

Memorabilia,  (Men  and  Women,  1855 — when  the  title 
Memorabilia  (on  Seeing  Shelley) ;  Lyrics,  1 863 ;  Dramatic 
Lyrics,  1868.)  A  man  with  a  soul  crosses  a  vast  moor,  a  blank- 
ness  of  miles,  but  on  one  hand-breadth  spot  he  spies  an  eagle's 
feather,  which  he  cherishes.  An  eagle's  feather  meant  something 
to  the  man  with  the  soul,  the  miles  of  blank  moor  had  nothing 
to  say  to  him ;  and  so  once  he  saw  Shelley  plain,  and  even 
«poke  to  him.  The  man  had  lived  long  before  and  had  lived 
long  after,  but  the  sight  of  Shelley  and  the  words  he  spoke 
made  just  that  hand-breadth  of  his  life  something  different 
from  all  the  colourless  remainder.  [Some  there  are  who  love 
to  say  the  same  of  Robert  Browning !]  Mr.  Browning  early 
in  his  youth  (1825)  fell  under  the  influence  of  Shelley.  Mr. 
Sharp,  in  his  Life  of  Browning,  says  that,  as  he  was  one  day 
-passing  a  bookstall,  "he  saw,  in  a  box  of  second-hand 
volumes,  a  little  book  advertised  as  '  Mr.  Shelley's  Atheistical 
Poem, — very  scarce.'  He  had  never  heard  of  Shelley,  nor 
did  he  learn  for  a  long  time  that  the  Daemon  of  the  World 
and  the  miscellaneous  poems  appended  thereto  constituted  a 
literary  piracy."  He  discovered  that  there  was  such  a  poet  as 
Shelley;  that  he  had  written  several  volumes,  and  was  dead. 
He  begged  his  mother  to  procure  him  Shelley's  works,  which 
she  had  some  difficulty  in  doing,  as  several  booksellers  to  whom 
she  applied  knew  nothing  of  them.  The  books  were  ultimately 
purchased  at  Ollier's  shop,  in  Vere  Street.  Shelley,  as  Mr. 
Sharp  says,  "  enthralled  "  Browning.  His  first  work,  Pauline, 
was  written  under  the  dominance  of  the  Shelley  passion.  He 
refers  to  Shelley  in  Sordello.  Memorabilia  was  composed  in 
the  Roman  Campagna  in  the  winter  of  1853-54. 

Men  and  Women.  (Published  in  1855,  in  two  vols. ;  now 
•dispersed  in  vols.  iii.,  iv.  and  v.  of  Poetical  Works,  1868.)  The 
poems  included  under  this  general  title  were  fifty-one  in  number. 

Vol.  I.  contained  the  following  : — "  Love  among  the  Ruins,"  "  A 
Lovers'  Quarrel,"  "  Evelyn  Hope,"  "  Up  at  a  Villa — Down  in  the 
City,"  "A  Woman's  Last  Word,"  "Fra  Lippo  Lippi,"  ''A  Tocca- 
ta of  Galuppi's,"  "  By  the  Fireside,"  "  Any  Wife  to  any  Husband," 
"An  Epistle  of  Karshish,"  "Mesmerism,"  "A  Serenade  at  the 
Villa,"  "My  Star,"  "  Instans  Tyrannus,"  "A  Pretty  Woman," 
41  Childe  Roland  to  the  Dark  Tower  Came,"  "  Respectability," 
•'A  Light  Woman,"  "The  Statue  and  the  Bust,"  "Love  in  a 


272  BROWNING   CYCLOPAEDIA. 

Life,"  "  Life  in  a  Love,'  "  How  it  Strikes  a  Contemporary,"  "The 
Last  Ride  Together,"  "  The  Patriot,"  "  Master  Hugues  of  Saxe- 
Gotha,"  "Bishop  Blougram's  Apology,"  "  Memorabilia." 

Vol.  II.:  "Andrea  del  Sarto,"  "Before,"  "After,"  "In  Three 
Days,"  "  In  a  Year,"  "  Old  Pictures  in  Florence,"  "In  a  Balcony," 

"Saul,"  "De  Gustibus ,"  "Women  and  Roses,"  "Protus,' 

"Holy-Cross  Day,"  "The  Guardian  Angel,"  "  Cleon,"  "The 
Twins,"  "Popularity,"  "The  Heretic's  Tragedy,"  " Two  in  the 
Campagna,"  "A  Grammarian's  Funeral,"  "One  Way  of  Love/' 
"Another  Way  of  Love,"  "Transcendentalism,"  "Misconcep- 
tions," "  One  Word  More." 

In  the  six-volume  edition  of  Poetical  Works  the  poems  com- 
prised under  the  title  of  Men  and  Women  are  the  following,  and 
it  is  these  which  are  generally  understood  now  by  the  Men  and 
Women  poems : — "  Transcendentalism,"  "  How  it  Strikes  a  Con- 
temporary," "Artemis  Prologuises,"  "An  Epistle  containing  the 
Strange  Medical  Experience  of  Karshish  the  Arab  Physician," 
"Pictoi  Ignotus,"  "Fra  Lippo  Lippi,"  "Andrea  del  Sarto,"  "The 
Bishop  orders  his  Tomb  at  St.  Praxed's  Church,"  "Bishop 
Blougram's  Apology,"  "Cleon,"  "Rudel  to  the  Lady  of  Tripoli," 
"  One  Word  More." 

Unquestionably  in  these  works  we  have  the  very  flower  of 
Mr.  Browning's  genius.  There  is  not  one  of  them  which  the 
world  will  willingly  let  die.  As  Mr.  Symons  says,  their  dis- 
tinguishing feature  is  "  the  monologue  brought  to  perfection. 
Such  monologues  as  Andrea  del  Sarto,  or  The  Epistle  of 
Karshish,  never  have  been,  and  probably  never  will  be,  sur- 
passed, on  their  own  ground,  after  their  own  order." 

Mesmerism.  (Dramatic  Romances :  1855.)  A  description  of 
an  influence  of  one  mind  upon  another,  which  would  in  modern 
medical  parlance  be  termed  hypnotism.  When  an  operator  has 
this  power,  and  has  frequently  exercised  it  upon  his  subject,  it  is 
undoubtedly  true  that  what  is  here  described  in  so  lifelike  a 
manner  may  actually  take  place.  The  subject  may  have  been 
led  to  expect  that  she  would  be  required  to  undertake  the 
journey  in  question,  and  the  mind  in  that  case  would  contribute 
to  the  success  of  the  operation.  Hypnosis  and  somnambulism 
are  not  produced  by  any  fluid  which  escapes  from  the  mesmer- 
iser's  body,  but  by  the  fact  that  the  subject  has  been  induced  to 
form  a  fixed  idea  that  he,  is  being  hypnotised.  Braid  asserts  that 


Mil]  BROWNING   CYCLOPAEDIA.  273 

the  imagination  of  the  subject  is  an  indispensable  element  in  the 
success  of  the  experiment ;  he  declares  that  the  most  expert 
hypnotiser  will  exert  himself  in  vain  unless  the  subject  is  aware 
of  what  is  passing  and  surrenders  himself  body  and  soul.  Binet 
and  Frere,  in  their  valuable  work  on  Animal  Magnetism,  p.  $6r 
say  that  "  a  whole  series  of  purely  physical  agents  exist,  which 
prove  that  sleep  can  be  induced  without  the  aid  of  the  subject's 
imagination,  against  his  will,  and  without  his  knowledge."  The 
\incidents  of  the  poem  may  all  be  accounted  for  by  the  doctrine 
>f  expectant  attention.  The  use  of  hypnotic  suggestion  for 
/criminal  purposes  is  referred  to  in  stanzas  xxvi.  and  xxvii. — 
a  very  real  danger  from  a  medico-legal  point  of  view,  as  some 
think.  At  night,  when  all  is  quiet  but  the  noises  peculiar  to  the 
hours  of  darkness,  the  mesmeriser  of  the  poem  desires  that  the 
woman  under  the  influence  of  his  will-power  shall  forthwith1 
make  her  way  to  him  through  the  rain  and  mud  straight  to  his 
house.  In  due  time  she  enters  without  a  word.  Recognising 
the  wonderful  influence  which  one  mind  may  exercise  upon 
another,  the  operator  prays  that  he  may  never  abuse  it,  and  he 
reflects  that  one  day  God  will  call  him  to  account  for  its  exercise. 

Mihrab  Shah.  (Ferishtah's  Fancies,  6.)  THE  MYSTERY  OF 
EVIL  AND  PAIN.  An  inquirer,  while  culling  herbs,  has  had  his 
thumb  nipped  by  a  scorpion.  He  wishes  to  know  "  Why  needs 
a  scorpion  be  ?  Why,  in  fact,  needs  any  evil  or  pain  happen  to- 
man if  God  be  wholly  good  and  omnipotent  ?  "  Ferishtah  replies- 
that  when  he  awoke  in  the  morning  he  was  thankful  that  his  head 
did  not  tumble  off  his  neck.  "  But,"  says  the  inquirer,  '•  heads 
do  not  fall  unchopped."  Says  the  dervish,  "  They  might  do  so 
by  natural  law  ;  why  might  not  a  staff  loosed  from  the  hand 
spring  skyward  as  naturally  as  it  falls  to  the  ground  ?  "  What 
would  be  the  bond  'tvvixt  man  and  man  if  pain  were  abolished  ? 
Take  away  from  man  thanks  to  God  and  love  to  man,  what  is  he 
u  orth  ?  The  lyric  explains  the  compensations  of  existence. 
The  ardent  soul  is  enshrined  in  feeble  flesh,  the  sluggish  soul 
in  a  robust  frame.  What  one  person  lacks  is  found  in  another, 
and  this  creates  a  bond  of  sympathy  between  our  spirits.  No  one 
has  everything.  What  we  lack  we  admire  when  present  in  another, 
and  so  our  own  defects  are  pardoned  for  what  in  us  is  excellent. 

Mildred  Tresham.  (A  Blot  in  the ' Scutcheon?)  The  lady  who 
is  loved  by  Lord  Henry  Mertoun,  and  visited  by  him  in  secret 

18 


274  BROWNING   CYCLOPAEDIA.  [Mis 

at  night.  She  dies  when  she  learns  that  her  brother  has  killed 
her  lover. 

Misconceptions.  (Men  and  Women,  1855.)  A  beautiful  fancy 
of  a  branch  on  which  a  bird  has  rested  a  moment  bursting  into 
bloom  for  pride  and  joy  that  it  has  been  so  honoured.  The  poet 
treats  it  as  symbolical  of  a  heart  which  has  thrilled  for  a  moment 
under  the  smiles  of  a  queen  ere  she  went  on  to  her  true-love  throne. 

Mr.  Sludge,  "  The  Medium."  (Dramatis  Persona :  1864.) 
Mr.  Sludge  is  a  "  medium  "  who  has  been  detected  by  his  dupe  in 
the  act  of  cheating.  He  has  worked  upon  his  patron's  love  for  his 
dead  mother,  has  pretended  that  he  has  had  communications  with 
the  spirit  world,  and  has  found  it  a  profitable  business.  How- 
ever, he  is  found  out,  the  game  is  up,  he  is  half  throttled  by 
the  man  whom  he  has  swindled,  and  is  about  to  be  kicked  out 
of  his  house.  He  admits  the  cheating,  but  tries  to  make  out 
that  it  was  prompted  by  a  low  species  of  spirit  (elementals  as 
they  are  called).  He  offers,  if  liberally  paid,  to  explain  how  the 
fraud  has  been  carried  out.  He  pretends  one  moment  that  he 
is  repentant,  the  next  he  proposes  to  increase  his  guilt  by  falsely 
accusing  his  too  confiding  benefactor.  He  is  prepared  to  swear 
that  he  picked  a  quarrel  with  him  to  get  back  the  presents  he  had 
given.  The  bargain  is  made ;  and  the  medium,  seated  again  at 
the  "  dear  old  table  "  which  has  so  often  been  the  partner  of  his 
performances,  proceeds  to  explain  that  it  is  much  more  the  fault 
of  the  public  that  they  are  cheated,  than  that  of  the  artful  folk 
who  are  always  ready  to  meet  demand  by  supply.  In  many 
things,  but  especially  in  affairs  relating  to  the  unseen  world, 
people  are  willing  to  be  deceived;  and,  as  Demosthenes  said, 
"  Nothing  is  more  easy  than  to  deceive  ourselves,  as  our  affec- 
tions are  subtle  persuaders." 

"  It's  all  your  fault,  you  curious  gentlefolk ! " 

said  Sludge.  "  Everybody  is  interested  in  ghosts,  and  everybody 
will  listen  to  the  ghost-seer.  A  poor  lad,  the  son  of  a  servant 
in  your  house,  talks  to  you  about  money,  and  you  immediately 
suspect  him  of  having  stolen  some;  if  he  talk  to  you  about 
seeing  spirits,  you  encourage  him  to  tell  his  story,  and  you  listen 
with  open  ears.  You  make  allowances  for  the  unexplained 
( phenomena'  and  you  are  not  disconcerted  by  his  blunders. 
So  the  boy  is  encouraged  to  try  again,  to  see  more,  hear  more 
and  stranger  things.  You  have  patience  with  the  primary 


Mr.]  BROWNING   CYCLOPEDIA.  275 

manifestations,'  always  weak  at  first ;  you  discourage  doubts 
as  always  fatal  to  them,  and  thus  educate  the  boy  in  his  cheating. 
He  is  compelled  to  invent ;  you  prompt  him,  your  readiness  to 
be  deceived  confirms  him  in  his  readiness  to  deceive.  It  is  not 
that  the  boy  starts  as  a  liar ;  he  will  soon  enough  develop  into 
that ;  at  first  however, 

" '  It's  fancying,  fable-making,  nonsense-work — 
What  never  meant  to  be  so  very  bad.' 

He  brightens  up  his  dull  facts  till  they  shine,  and  you  no  longer 
recognise  them  as  dull,  but  brilliant.  He  hears  what  other  mediums 
have  done,  he  estimates  your  demands  of  him  ;  you  push  him  to 
the  brink,  he  is  compelled  to  dive.  Let  him  confess  his  decep- 
tion, and  he  has  to  go  back  to  the  gutter  from  which  you  have 
taken  him.  Let  him  keep  on,  and  he  lives  in  clover.  And  so  he 
manufactures  for  you  all  you  demand.  He  has  heard  raps  and 
seen  a  light.  '  Shaped  somewhat  like  a  star  ? '  you  eagerly 
inquire.  'Well,  like  some  sort  of  stars,  ma'am.'  'So  we 
thought ! '  you  say.  '  And  any  voice  ? '  Not  yet.'  '  Try  hard 
next  time ! '  Next  time  you  have  the  voice.  The  medium  is 
launched  in  the  rapids.  The  falls  are  hard  by:  nothing  can 
hinder  but  he  must  go  over.  He  becomes  the  medium  which 
has  been  required  of  him.  The  spirits  forthwith  speak  up  and 
become  familiar  and  confidential.  If  any  complain  that  the 
spirits  do  not  fulfil  our  expectation  of  what  the  ghosts  of  Bacon, 
Cromwell,  or  Beethoven  should  be  and  do,  the  answer  is  ready 
and  assumes  two  forms.  If  Bacon  is  deficient  in  spelling,  does 
not  know  where  he  was  born  or  in  what  year  he  died,  this  is 
no  argument  against  spiritualism.  The  spirits  are  of  all  orders  ; 
and  many,  perhaps  most,  are  tricksy,  undeveloped,  and  delight 
to  deceive.  Or,  again,  the  explanation  is  put  in  this  way: — 
What  is  a  medium  ?  He  is  the  means,  and  the  only  means,  by 
which  the  spirits  can  hold  converse  with  mortals.  They  have  no 
organs;  they  must  use  ours.  The  medium  holding  converse 
with  the  spirit  of  Beethoven,  not  being  much  of  a  musician,  is,  of 
course,  only  able  very  imperfectly  to  express  the  composer's 
musical  soul.  He  pours  in — to  Sludge's  soul — a  sonata.  If  it 
comes  out  the  Shakers'  Hymn  in  G,  that  is  the  defect  of  the 
means  or  medium  by  which  the  master  has  been  driven  to  ex- 
press himself."  Sludge  tells  his  dupe  that  it  was  thus  he  helped 


276  BROWNING   CYCLOPAEDIA.  [Mr. 

him  out  of  every  scrape  ;  and  the  fools  who  attended  eveiy 
seance  did  not  criticise.  Why  should  they?  They  did  not 
criticise  his  wine  or  his  furniture — why  should  they  criticise  his 
medium  ?  Of  course  they  sometimes  doubted.  "  Ah ! "  says  the 
host,  "  it  was  just  this  spirit  of  doubt  pervading  the  circle  which 
confused  the  medium  and  accounted  for  his  errors  !  "  Sludge 
often  got  out  of  his  difficulties  that  way.  Sometimes,  however 
the  awful  aspect  of  truth  would  present  itself  so  sternly  before 
him  as  to  spoil  all  the  cockering  and  cosseting  he  received,  and 
he  would  gnash  his  teeth  at  the  thought  of  the  ruin  of  his  soul 
by  the  humbug  forced  upon  him.  The  cheating  was  nursed  out 
of  the  lying.  He  would  have  stopped,  but  his  dupes  were  for 
progress  ;  they  always  demanded  fresh  and  more  striking  "  phe- 
nomena " — from  talking  to  writing,  from  writing  to  flowers  from 
the  spirit  world.  If  he  actually  were  detected  in  jogging  the 
table,  or  making  squeaks  with  his  toes,  he  would  be  accused  of 
joking ;  if  he  pretended  he  was  not,  then  he  was  at  once  in  the 
dupe's  power.  Then  the  cheating  is  so  easy !  A  master  of  an 
ordinary  trade  can  perform  miracles  to  the  untaught.  The  glass- 
blower,  pipe  maker,  even  the  baker,  by  long  practice,  can  puzzle 
the  uninitiated ;  practise  table-tilting,  joint-cracking,  playing  tricks 
in  the  dark,  and  the  phenomena  of  the  medium's  business  become 
easy  as  an  old  shoe.  But,  apart  from  this  actual  trickery,  can  the 
hardest  head  detect  where  the  cheating  begins,  even  if  he  is  on  his 
guard  ?  There  is  a  real  love  of  a  lie,  and  liars  have  no  difficulty 
in  attracting  those  who  are  only  waiting  to  be  deceived,  and  the 
most  sceptical  are  just  the  most  likely  to  be  caught.  Then  the 
Solomon  of  saloons,  the  philosophic  diner-out, — these  were  his 
patrons.  They  "wanted  a  doctrine  for  a  chopping-block."  They 
had  to  be  singular,  and  hack  and  hew  common  sense  to  show 
their  skill  in  dialectics.  These  had  Sludge  injured.  Then  he 
reminds  his  patrons  that  the  Bible  teaches  spiritualism.  We  all 
start  with  a  stock  of  it ;  and  stars  even,  we  are  taught,  are  not  only 
worlds  and  suns,  but  stand  for  signs  when  we  should  set  about 
our  proper  business.  Sludge  declares  he  has  taught  himself  to 
live  by  signs  :  he  is  broken  to  the  way  of  nods  and  winks.  He 
has  not  waited  for  the  tingle  of  the  bell,  but  has  obeyed  the  tap 
of  knuckles  on  the  wall.  Suppose  he  blunders  nine  times  out  of 
ten  as  to  the  meaning  of  the  knuckle  summons,  is  he  not  a  gainer 
if  the  tenth  time  he  guesses  right  ?  Everybody  blunders  even  as 


Mr.]  BROWNING   CYCLOPAEDIA.  2/J 

he.  The  thing  is  to  imitate  the  ant-eater,  and  keep  his  tongue 
out  to  catch  all  nature's  motes  for  food.  It  is  wisdom  to  respect 
the  infinitely  little,  for  God  comes  close  behind  the  animalcule, 
life  simplified  to  a  mere  cell.  All  was  not  cheating  either  :  he 
has  told  his  lie  and  seen  truth  follow.  He  knows  not  why  he 
did  what  he  never  tried  to  do,  described  what  he  never  saw, 
spoke  more  than  he  ever  intended  ;  and  though  he  believes  every- 
body can  and  does  cheat,  he  is  not  less  sure  that  every  cheat's 
every  inspired  lie  contains  a  germ  of  truth.  Pervade  this  world 
by  an  influx  from  the  next,  and  all  the  dead,  dry,  dull  facts  of 
existence  spring  into  life  and  freshness,  as  at  the  touch  of 
harlequin's  wand;  and  harlequin's  wand  is  Sludge's  lie,  for 
which  the  inanimate  world  was  waiting.  You  see  the  real 
world  through  the  false,  and  so  you  have  the  golden  age  all  by 
the  help  of  a  little  lying.  At  most,  Sludge  is  only  a  poet  who 
acts  the  books  which  poets  write.  The  more  to  his  honour! 
But  all  his  specious  reasoning  fails  to  reassure  his  awakened 
dupe,  who  gives  him  the  notes  he  promised  and  dismisses 
him.  No  sooner  is  the  medium  out  of  the  presence  of  the  man 
ivhom  he  has  deceived  than  he  pours  out  a  volley  of  abuse,  and 
wishes  he  dare  burn  down  the  house ;  he  will  declare  that  he 
throttled  his  "  sainted  mother  " — the  old  hag — in  such  a  fit  of 
passion  as  his  throat  had  just  felt  the  effects  of;  he  reproaches 
himself  for  not  having  prophesied  he  would  die  within  a  year  ; 
but  he  consoles  himself  with  counting  his  money,  and  reflecting 
that  his  awakened  dupe  is  not  the  only  fool  in  the  world. 
41  Sludge  "  is  D.  D.  Home,  the  American  medium.  Mrs.  Brown- 
ing was  an  ardent  spiritualist,  and  Mr.  Browning,  in  consequence, 
had  considerable  experience  of  the  ways  of  mediums  and  the 
talk  and  arguments  of  their  followers.  Although  no  medium 
•ever  reasoned  with  such  skill  and  subtlety  as  Sludge,  the  main 
arguments  used  by  this  impostor  are  precisely  those  put  forward 
by  spiritualists.  The  mediums  are  a  wretchedly  weak,  inverte- 
brate order  of  beings,  quite  incapable  of  any  such  virile  processes 
of  thought  as  those  expressed  in  the  poem.  There  could  be  no 
greater  mistake  than  to  suppose  that  Mr.  Browning  intended  to 
make  any  defence  for  any  phase  of  spiritualism  whatever:  he 
has  simply  gathered  into  a  poem  the  best  which  could  be  put 
forward  for  spiritualism,  and  directed  it  upon  the  personality  of 
Sludge.  Intimate  friends  of  the  Brownings  assure  me  that  Mr. 


2?  BROWNING   CYCLOPAEDIA. 

Browning  with  great  difficulty  restrained  his  disgust  at  the 
practices  of  spiritualists,  and  his  annoyance  at  the  fact  that  his 
wife  devoted  so  much  time  and  attention  to  this  aspect  of  human 
folly.  Perhaps  the  feature  which  angered  him  most  was  the 
habit  of  trading  upon  and  outraging  the  most  sacred  feelings  ol 
the  human  heart,  in  the  endeavour  to  gain  clients  for  a  money- 
making  occupation. 

NOTES. — Catawba  wine  :  a  white  wine  of  American  make,  from 
grapes  first  discovered  about  1801  near  the  banks  of  the  Catawba 
river.  Its  praises  have  been  sung  by  Longfellow.  Greeley : 
Horace  Greeley,  the  eminent  American  editor.  His  history  was 
identified  with  the  fortunes  of  his  paper  the  Tribune.  "Nothing 
lasts,  as  Bacon  came  and  said"  \  Bacon's  Essay  LVIII.  is  Of  the 
Vicissitude  of  Things.  Phenomena  :  the  spiritualists'  term  for 
the  antics  of  tables,  pats,  twitchings,  ghostly  lights,  tinkling  of 
bells,  etc.,  at  their  seances.  The  Horseshoe :  the  great  waterfall  of 
that  name  at  Niagara.  Pasiphae  :  the  daughter  of  the  Sun  and  of 
Perseis,  who  married  Minos,  King  of  Crete.  She  was  enamoured 
of  a  bull,  or  more  probably  of  an  officer  named  Taurus  (a  bull). 
Odic  Lights  :  Od,  the  name  given  by  Reichenbach  to  an  infltience 
he  believed  he  had  discovered  ;  it  was  held  to  explain  the  pheno- 
mena of  mesmerism,  and  to  account  for  the  luminous  appearances 
at  spirit-rapping  circles.  "  Canthus  of  my  eye"  =  the  corner  of  the 
eye.  Stomach  cyst,  an  animalcule  which  is  nothing  more  than  a 
bag,  without  limbs  or  organs ;  one  of  the  infusoria,  the  simplest 
of  creatures  endowed  with  animal  life.  "  The  Bridgewater 
book" :  The  Earl  of  Bridgewater  (1758-1829)  devised  by  his  will 
,£8,000  at  the  disposal  of  the  President  of  the  Royal  Society,  to 
be  paid  to  the  authors  of  treatises  "  On  the  Power,  Wisdom  and 
Goodness  of  God  as  manifested  in  the  Creation."  Several  of  the 
treatises  are  now  famous  books,  as  Bell  on  The  Hand,  Kirby 
on  Habits  and  Instincts  of  Animals,  and  Whewell's  Astronomy* 
Eutopia  =  Utopia.  « 

Molinos.    See  MOLINISTS. 

Molinists,  The  (Ring  and  the  Book},  were  followers  of  Miohael 
Molinos,  a  Spanish  priest  and  spiritual  director  of  great  repute 
in  Rome,  who  was  a  cadet  of  a  noble  Spanish  family  of  Sarra- 
gossa.  He  was  born  on  December  2ist,  1627.  In  1675  he 
published,  during  his  residence  in  Rome,  his  famous  work 
entitled  The  Spiritual  Guide,  a  book  which  taught  the  doctrine 


BROWNING    CYCLOPEDIA.  279 

known  as  that  ot  Quietism.  This  species  of  mysticism  had 
previously  been  taught  by  John  Tauler  and  Henry  Suso,  as  also 
by  St.  Theresa  and  St.  Catherine  of  Siena,  but  in  a  different 
and  more  orthodox  form  than  that  in  which  it  was  presented  by 
Molinos.  Butler,  in  his  Life  of  St.  John  of  the  Cross,  says  that 
the  system  of  perfect  contemplation  called  Quietism  chiefly  turned 
upon  the  following  general  principles: — I.  In  perfect  contempla- 
tion the  man  does  not  reason,  but  passively  receives  heavenly 
light,  the  mind  being  in  a  state  of  perfect  inattention  and  in- 
action. 2.  A  soul  in  that  state  desires  nothing,  not  even  its  own 
salvation ;  and  fears  nothing,  not  even  hell  itself.  3.  That  when 
the  soul  has  arrived  at  this  state,  the  use  of  the  sacraments  and 
of  good  works  becomes  indifferent.  Pope  Innocent  XL,  in  1687, 
condemned  sixty-eight  propositions  extracted  from  this  author 
as  heretical,  scandalous  and  blasphemous.  Molinos  was  con- 
demned by  the  Inquisition  at  Rome,  recanted  his  errors,  and 
ended  his  life  in  imprisonment  in  1696. 

Monaldesclii.  (Cristina  and  Monaldeschi^)  The  Marquis 
Monaldeschi,  the  grand  equerry  of  Queen  Cristina  of  Sweden. 
He  was  put  to  death  at  Fontainebleau  by  order  of  Cristina, 
because  he  had  betrayed  her. 

Monsignore  the  Bishop.  (Pippa  Passes.}  He  comes  to 
Asolo  to  confer  with  his  "Intendant"  in  the  palace  by  the 
Duomo;  he  is  contriving  how  to  remove  Pippa  from  his 
path,  when  her  song  as  she  passes  stings  his  conscience,  and  he 
punishes  his  evil  counsellor  who  suggested  mischief  concerning 
her. 

Morgue,  The,  at  Paris.  (Apparent  Failure.)  The  place  by 
the  Seine  where  the  dead  are  exposed  for  identification. 

Muckle-Mouth  Meg  ("Big-Mouth  Meg").  (Asolando,  1889.) 
Sir  Walter  Scott  was  a  descendant  of  the  house  of  Harden,  and 
of  the  famous  chieftain  Auld  Watt  of  that  line.  Auld  Watt  was 
once  reduced  in  the  matter  of  live  stock  to  a  single  cow,  and 
recovered  his  dignity  by  stealing  the  cows  of  his  English  neigh- 
bours. Professor  Veitch  says  "the  Scots'  Border  ancestry 
were  sheep  farmers,  who  varied  their  occupation  by  '  lifting ' 
sheep  and  cattle,  and  whatever  else  was  4  neither  too  heavy  nor 
too  hot.'"  The  lairds  of  the  Border  were,  in  fact,  a  race  of 
robbers.  Sir  Walter  Scott  was  proud  of  this  descent,  and  his 
fame  as  a  writer  was  due  to  his  Border  history  and  poetry.  The 


280  BROWNING   CYCLOPAEDIA.  [Mul 

poem  describes  the  capture  red-handed  of  the  handsome  young 
William  Scott,  Lord  of  Harden,  who  was  defeated  in  one  of 
these  forays,  and  taken  prisoner  by  Sir  Gideon  Murray  of 
Elibank,  who  ordered  him  to  the  gallows.  But  the  Laird's 
dame  interposed,  asking  grace  for  the  callant  if  he  married  "  our 
Muckle-mouth  Meg."  The  young  fellow  said  he  preferred  the 
gallows  to  the  wide-mouthed  monster.  He  was  sent  to  the 
dungeon  for  a  week ;  after  seven  days  of  cold  and  darkness  he 
was  asked  to  reconsider  his  decision.  He  found  life  sweet,  and 
embraced  the  ill-favoured  maiden. 

Muleykeh,  (Dramatic  Idyls,  Second  Series,  1880.)  A  tale  of 
an  Arab's  love  for  his  horse.  The  story  is  a  common  one,  and 
seems  adapted  from  a  Bedouin's  anecdote  told  in  Rollo  Spring- 
field's The  Horse  and  his  Rider.  Hoseyn  was  despised  by 
strangers  for  his  apparent  poverty.  He  had  neither  flocks  nor 
herds,  but  he  possessed  Mul6ykeh,  his  peerless  mare,  his  Pearl : 
he  could  afford  to  laugh  at  men's  land  and  gold.  In  the  race 
Muleykeh  was  always  first,  and  H6seyn  was  a  proud  man.  Now, 
Duhl,  the  son  of  Sheyban,  withered  for  envy  of  H6seyn's  luck, 
and  nothing  but  the  possession  of  the  Pearl  would  satisfy  him  : 
so  he  rode  to  Hoseyn's  tent,  told  him  he  knew  that  he  was  poor, 
and  offered  him  a  thousand  camels  for  the  mare.  H6seyn  would 
not  consider  the  proposal  for  a  moment.  "7  love  Muleykeh 's 
face"  he  said,  and  dismissed  her  would-be  purchaser.  In  a 
year's  time  Duhl  is  back  again  at  H6seyn's  tent.  This  time  he 
would  not  offer  to  buy  the  Pearl.  He  tells  him  his  soul  pines  to 
death  for  her  beauty,  and  his  wife  has  urged  him  to  go  and  beg 
for  the  mare.  H6seyn  said,  "It  is  life  against  life.  What  good 
avails  to  the  life  bereft  ?  "  Another  year  passes,  and  the  crafty 
Duhl  is  back  again — this  time  to  steal  what  he  can  neither  buy 
nor  beg.  It  is  night.  H6seyn  lies  asleep  beside  the  Pearl,  with 
her  headstall  thrice  wound  about  his  wrist.  By  Muteykeh's  side 
stands  her  sister  BuhSyseh,  a  famous  mare  for  fleetness  too : 
she  stands  ready  saddled  and  bridled,  in  case  some  thief  should 
enter  and  fly  with  the  Pearl.  Now  Duhl  enters  as  stealthily  as 
a  serpent,  cuts  the  headstall,  mounts  her,  and  is  "  launched  on 
the  desert  like  bolt  from  bow."  H6seyn  starts  up,  and  in  a 
minute  more  is  in  pursuit  on  Buh6yseh.  They  gain  on  the 
fugitive,  for  Mul6ykeh  misses  the  tap  of  the  heel,  the  touch  of 
the  bit — the  secret  signs  by  which  her  master  was  wont  to  urge 


My]  BROWNING   CYCLOPAEDIA.  281 

her  to  her  utmost  speed.  Now  they  are  neck  by  croup,  what 
•does  H6seyn  but  shout — 

"  Dog  Duhl.     Damned  son  of  the  Dust, 
Touch  the  right  ear,  and  press  with  your  foot  my  Pearl's  left  flank  ! " 

Duhl  did  so:  Muteykeh  redoubled  her  pace  and  vanished  for 
ever.  When  the  neighbours  saw  H6seyn  at  sunrise  weeping 
upon  the  ground,  he  told  them  the  whole  story,  and  when  they 
laughed  at  him  for  a  fool,  and  told  him  if  he  had  held  his  tongue, 
as  a  boy  or  a  girl  could  have  done,  Mul6ykeh  would  be  with  him 
then  :— 

41 '  A  nd  the  beaten  in  speed  1 '  wept  Hoseyn  :  '  You  never  have  loved 
my  Pearl.'" 

Music  Poems.  The  great  poems  dealing  with  music  are  "  Abt 
Vogler,"  "Master  Hugues  of  Saxe-Gotha,"  "A  Toccata  of 
Galuppi's,"  and  "Charles  Avison."  Other  poems  which  are 
musical  in  a  lesser  degree  are  "  Saul,"  "  A  Grammarian's 
Funeral,"  "The  Serenade,"  "Up  at  a  Villa,"  "The  Heretic's 
Tragedy."  "  Balaustion's  Adventure  "  and  "  Fifine  "  also  have 
incidental  music  references. 

My  Last  Duchess — Ferrara.  (Published  first  in  Bells  and 
Pomegranates,  III.,  under  Dramatic  Lyrics,  with  the  title  "  Italy,"  in 
1842  ;  Dramatic  Romances,  1868.)  A  stern,  severe,  Italian  noble- 
man, with  a  nine-hundred-years'  name,  is  showing  his  picture 
gallery,  to  the  envy  of  a  Count  whose  daughter  he  is  about  to 
marry.  \  He  is  standing  before  the  portrait  of  his  last  duchess, 
for  he  is  a  widower,  and  is  telling  his  companion  that  "the 
depth  and  passion  of  her  earnest  glance  "  was  not  reserved  for 
her  husband  alone,  but  the  slightest  courtesy  or  attention  was 
sufficient  to  call  up  "  that  spot  of  joy "  into  her  face.  "  Her 
heart,"  said  the  duke,  "  was  too  soon  made  glad,  too  easily  im- 
pressed." She  smiled  on  her  husband  (she  was  his  property,  and 
that  was  right)  ;  she  smiled  on  others  (on  every  one,  in  fact),  and 
that  was  an  infringement  of  the  rights  of  property  which  this 
dealer  in  human  souls  could  not  brook,  so  he  "  gave  commands," 
— "  then  all  smiles  stopped  together."  The  concentrated  tragedy 
of  this  line  is  a  good  example  of  the  poet's  power  of  compressing 
a  whole  life  story  in  two  or  three  words.  The  heartless  duke 
instantly  dismisses  the  memory  of  his  duchess  and  her  fount  of 
human  love  sealed  up  "by  command."  j "  We'll  go  together 


282  BROWNING   CYCLOPAEDIA.  [My 

down,  sir," — and  as  they  descend  he  draws  his  guest's  attention 
to  a  fine  bronze  group,  and  discusses  the  question  of  the  dowry- 
he  is  to  receive  with  the  woman  who  is  to  succeed  his  last 
duchess. 

NOTE. — Fra  Pandolf  and  Claus  of  Innsbruck  are  imaginary 
artists.  Without  very  careful  attention  several  delicate  points  in 
this  poem  will  be  lost.  When  the  duke  said  "  Fra  Pandolf"  by 
design,  he  desired  to  impress  on  the  envoy,  and  his  master  the 
Count,  the  sort  of  behaviour  he  expected  from  the  woman  he  was 
about  to  marry.  He  intimated  that  he  would  tolerate  no  rivals 
for  his  next  wife's  smiles.  When  he  begs  his  guest  to  "  Notice 

Neptune taming  a  sea  horse,"  he  further  intimated  how  he 

had  tamed  and  killed  his  last  duchess.  All  this  was  to  convey  to 
the  envoy,  and  through  him  to  the  lady,  that  he  demanded  in  his 
new  wife  the  concentration  of  her  whole  being  on  himself,  and1 
the  utmost  devotion  to  his  will. 

My  Star.  (Men  and  Women,  1855  ;  Lyrics,  1863  ;  Dramatic 
Lyrics,  1868.)  To  one  observer  a  beautiful  star  may  appear  in 
iridiscent  colours  unobserved  by  others ;  just  as,  by  looking  at  a 
prism  from  a  certain  angle,  we  catch  a  play  of  rainbow  tints  which 
they  might  miss  by  adopting  a  different  point  of  view.  Where 
strangers  see  a  world,  the  singer  obtains  access  to  a  soul  which 
opens  to  him  all  its  glory,  as  the  prism  reveals  the  constituent 
colours  which  combine  to  make  the  cold  white  ray  of  light.  The 
poem  has  been  considered  to  be  a  tribute  to  Mrs.  Browning. 

My  Wife  Gertrude.    See  BOOT  AND  SADDLE. 

Naddo  (Sordello)  was  a  troubadour,  and  the  Philistine  friend 
and  counsellor  of  Sordello.  He  told  Sordello  not  to  try  to  intro- 
duce his  own  ideas  to  the  world  :  poetry  should  be  founded  in 
common-sense  and  deal  with  the  common  ideas  of  mankind. 
The  poet  should,  above  all  things,  try  to  please  his  audience. 
People  like  calm  and  repose.  He  must  not  attempt  to  rise  to  an 
intellectual  level  his  readers  have  not  reached.  Sordello,  he 
said,  should  be  satisfied  with  being  a  poet,  and  not  aim  at  being 
a  leader  of  men  as  well.  Mr.  Browning  is  in  all  this  defending 
himself  and  satirising  the  popular  view  of  the  poet's  province. 

Names,  The.  A  poem  written  for  the  "  Show-Book  "  of  the 
Shakespearean  Show  at  the  Albert  Hall,  May  1884,  held  on 
behalf  of  the  Hospital  for  Women  in  the  Fulham  Road,  London : — 


Nat]  BROWNING    CYCLOPEDIA.  285. 

"  Shakespeare ! — to  such  name's  sounding,  what  succeeds 

Fitly  as  silence  ?     Falter  forth  the  spell, — 

Act  follows  word,  the  speaker  knows  full  well, 
Nor  tampers  with  its  magic  more  than  needs. 
Two  names  there  are :  That  which  the  Hebrew  reads 

With  his  soul  only :  if  from  lips  it  fell, 

Echo,  back  thundered  by  earth,  heaven,  and  hell, 
Would  own,  '  Thou  didst  create  us  ! '     Nought  impedes 
We  voice  the  other  name,  man's  most  of  might, 

Awesomely,  lovingly  :  let  awe  and  love 
Mutely  await  their  working,  leave  to  sight 

All  of  the  issue  as — below — above — 

Shakespeare's  creation  rises  :  one  remove, 
Though  dread — this  finite  from  that  infinite." 

ROBERT  BROWNING,  March  I2th,  1884. 

Reprinted  in  the  Pall  Mall  Gazette  of  May  2Qth. 

The  Hebrews  will  not  pronounce  the  sacred  tetragrammaton  nil"!*1 
They  substitute  Adonai  in  reading  the  ineffable  name.  Jahw6  (with 
the  J  pronounced  as  Y)  is  the  correct  pronunciation  of  the  unspeak- 
able name.  Yet  the  learned  hold  that  the  true  mirific  name  is  lost,, 
the  word  "Jehovah  "  dating  only  from  the  Masoretic  innovation.  See 
a  discussion  of  the  whole  matter  in  Isis  Unveiled  (Blavatsky),  vol.  ii. 
P-  398, — a  work  which  contains  a  good  deal  of  real  learning  mixed 
with  infinite  rubbish. 

Napoleon  III.    See  PRINCE  HOHENSTIEL-SCHWANGAU. 

Nationality  in  Drinks.  Under  this  title  we  have  three  poems, 
originally  published  separately — namely,  Claret,  Tokay,  and  Beer. 
The  first  and  second  were  published  in  Hood's  Magazine,  in  June 
1844.  In  1863  the  poems  were  brought  under  their  present  title 
in  the  Poetical  Works.  In  Claret  the  fancy  of  the  poet  sees  in- 
his  claret-flask,  as  it  drops  into  a  black-faced  pond,  a  resemblance 
to  a  gay  French  lady,  with  her  arms  held  beside  her  and  her  feet 
stretched  out,  dropping  from  life  into  death's  silent  ocean.  In 
Tokay  the  bottle  suggests  a  pygmy  castle-warder,  dwarfish,  but 
able  and  determined,  strutting  about  with  his  huge  brass  spurs 
and  daring  anybody  to  interfere  with  him.  Beer  is  in  memory  of 
the  beverage  drunk  to  Nelson's  memory  off  Cape  Trafalgar :  it 
includes  an  authentic  anecdote  given  to  the  poet  by  the  captain* 
of  the  vessel.  He  said  they  show  a  coat  of  Nelson's  at  Green- 


284  BROWNING   CYCLOPEDIA.  [Nat 

Avich  with  tar  still  on  the  shoulder,  due  to  the  habit  he  had  of 
leaning  one  shoulder  up  against  the  mizzen-rigging. 

Natural  Magic.  (Pacchiarotto  and  other  Poems,  1876.)  Hindu 
conjurors  are  exceedingly  clever,  and  will  produce  a  tree  from 
apparently  nothing  at  all,  in  all  stages  of  growth.  In  the  case 
described  the  narrator  locks  a  nautch  girl  in  an  empty  room  and 
takes  his  stand  at  the  door ;  in  a  short  time  the  conjuror  is 
embowered  in  a  mass  of  verdure,  fruit  and  flowers.  In  the  same 
way,  by  the  magic  of  a  charming  personality,  the  singer's  life  has 
been  transformed  from  coldness  and  gloom  to  warmth  and  beauty. 
The  poem  illustrates  the  supreme  power  which  spirit  exerts 
over  matter.  The  power  of  the  ideal  world,  the  all-absorbing 
influence  of  faith  in  the  unseen  to  the  Christian,  is  always  being 
exerted  to  produce  such  effects  in  the  souls  of  men  and  women 
whose  lives  are  spent  in  the  most  squalid  and  unlovely  sur- 
roundings. 

"  Nay,  but  you  who  do  not  love  her."  (Dramatic  Romances 
•  and  Lyrics,  in  Bells  and  Pomegranates,  1845;  Lyrics,  1863; 
Dramatic  Lyrics,  1868.)  The  first  line  of  a  song  in  praise  of 
some  tresses  of  a  lady%*hair.  Even  those  who  do  not  love  her 
'must  admit  she  is  pure  gold.  As  for  him,  he  cannot  praise  her, 
he  loves  her  so  much  :  he  will  leave  the  praise  for  those  who  do 
*not. 

Ned  Bratts.  (Published  in  Dramatic  Idyls,  first  series,  1879  ; 
written  at  Splugen.)  The  story  is  taken  from  The  Life  and 
Death  of  Mr.  Badman,  by  John  Bunyan,  the  author  of  the 
Pilgrim's  Progress,  and  published  in  London  1680.  "At  a 
Summer  Assizes  holden  at  Hartfort,  while  the  Judge  was  sitting 
apon  the  Bench,  comes  this  old  Tod  into  the  Court,  cloathed  in 
a  green  suit,  with  a  Leathern  Girdle  in  his  hand,  his  bosom  open 
and  all  in  a  dung  sweat,  as  if  he  had  run  for  his  Life  ;  and  being 
come  in,  he  spake  aloud  as  follows :  '  My  Lord,'  said  he,  'Here 
is  the  veriest  rogue  that  breathes  upon  the  face  of  the  earth.  I 
have  been  a  thief  from  a  child  ;  when  I  was  but  a  little  one  I 
gave  myself  to  rob  orchards,  and  to  do  other  such-like  wicked 
things,  and  I  have  continued  a  thief  ever  since.  My  Lord,  there 
has  not  been  a  robbery  committed  these  many  years,  so  many 
miles  of  this  place,  but  I  have  either  been  at  it,  or  privy  to  it.' 
The  Judge  thought  the  fellow  was  mad,  but  after  some  conference 
•with  some  of  the  Justices,  they  agreed  to  indict  him  ;  and  so  they 


NOW]  BROWNING   CYCLOP/EDIA.  285 

did,  of  several  felonious  actions,  to  all  which  he  heartily  con- 
fessed Guilty,  and  so  was  hanged  with  his  wife  at  the  same 
time."  In  the  poem,  Ned  Bratts,  the  scene  is  laid  at  Bedford. 
The  assizes  are  held  on  a  broiling  day  in  June  ;  the  court-house 
is  crammed ;  horse  stealers,  rogues,  puritans  and  preachers  are 
being  tried  and  sentenced,  when  through  the  barriers  there  burst 
Publican  Ned  Bratts  and  Tabitha  his  wife,  loudly  confessing 
they  were  the  "worst  couple,  rogue  and  quean,  unhanged,"  and 
detailing  the  various  high  crimes  and  misdemeanours  of  which 
they  had  long  been  guilty.  He  tells  of  the  laces  they  had  bought 
of  the  Tinker  in  the  Bedford  cage,  and  of 

"  His  girl, — the  blind  young  chit  who  hawks  about  his  wares  "  ; 

tells  of  the  Book  which  the  girl  gave  him,  the  Book  her  father 
wrote  in  prison,  which  told  of  "  Christmas "  [he  meant 
"Christian"].  "Christmas  was  meant  for  me,"  he  says, — he 
must  get  rid  of  his  burden  and  hurry  from  "  Destruction,"  which 
to  him  is  Bedford  town.  So  fearful  are  the  converted  couple 
that  they  will  fall  again  into  their  old  sins,  and  so  miss  Heaven's 
gate,  they  beg  the  judges  to 

"  Sentence  our  guilty  selves  ;  so,  hang  us  out  of  hand  ! " 

Ned  sank  upon  his  knees  in  the  old  court-house,  while  his  wife 
Tab  wheezed  a  hoarse  "  Do  hang  us,  please  !  "  The  Lord  Chief 
Justice  wondered  what  judge  ever  had  such  a  case  before  him, 
since  the  world  began,  and  having  thought  the  matter  over,  said — 

"  Hanging  you  both  deserve,  hanged  both  shall  be  this  day  1 " 

And  so  they  were. 

Never  the  Time  and  the  Place.  (Jocoseria,  1883.)  It  is 
impossible  to  doubt  that  in  this  exquisite  poem  is  enshrined  the 
memory  of  Mrs.  Browning.  Joy  and  beauty  are  all  around,  time 
and  place  are  all  that  heart  could  wish,  but  the  loved  one  is 
absent,  and  nothing  can  fill  her  place.  Yet  beyond  the  reach  of 
storms  and  stranger  they  will  meet !  The  eternal  value  of 
human  love  is  again  asserted  in  this  poem. 

Norbert.  (In  a  Balcony.)  The  young  man  with  whom  the 
Queen  has  fallen  in  love,  but  whose  heart  is  given  to  Constance. 

"  Not  with  my  Soul  Love."  The  tenth  lyric  in  FerishtaKs 
Fancies  begins  with  these  words. 

Now.    (Asolando,    1889.)     The  value  of  "  the  quintessential 


•286  BROWNING    CYCLOPAEDIA. 

•moment,"  a  theme  on  which  Mr.  Browning  frequently  dilates,  is 
emphasized  in  this  poem — 

"  The  moment  eternal — just  that  and  nothing  more," 
-when  the  assurance  comes  that  love  has  been   definitely  won 
despite  of  time  future  and  time  past. 

Nude  in  Art,  The,  is  defended  by  the  poet  in  Francis  Funni 
-and  The  Lady  and  the  Painter. 

Numpholeptos.  (Pacchiarotto,  with  other  Poems,  1876.)  The 
word  means  "  caught  or  entranced  by  a  nymph."  Primitive  man 
•always  has  invested  natural  objects  with  some  form  of  life  more 
or  less  resembling  our  own.  The  Greeks  and  Romans  believed 
the  hills,  the  woods  and  the  streams  to  be  the  peculiar  dwelling- 
places  of  nymphs,  the  spirits  of  external  Nature.  They  were  the 
•maidens  of  heaven,  daughters  of  Zeus.  The  nymphs  of  the 
rivers  and  fountains  were  called  Naiads  ;  those  of  the  forests 
.and  mountains  were  Dryads,  Hamadryads,  and  Oreades. 
Plutarch,  in  his  Life  of  Aristides,  says  that  "when  the  hero  sent 
to  Delphi  to  inquire  of  the  oracle,  he  was  told  that  the  Athenians 
would  be  victorious  if  they  addressed  prayers  to  Jupiter,  Juno, 
Pan,  and  the  nymphs  Sphragitides.  The  cave  of  these  nymphs  was 
"in  one  of  the  summits  of  Mount  Cithaeron,  opposite  the  quarter 
where  the  sun  sets  in  the  summer ;  and  it  is  said  in  that  cave 
there  was  formerly  an  oracle,  by  which  many  who  dwelt  in  those 
parts  were  inspired,  and  therefore  called  Nympholepti."  There 
was  an  unnatural  idea  about  a  human  being  enchained  by  a 
•nymph,  just  as  in  the  Rhine  legends  the  connection  of  sailors  with 
the  water  maidens  always  brought  mischief  to  the  human  being 
so  fascinated.  It  was  thought  by  the  Greeks  that  the  Nympho- 
lepti lost  their  reason,  though  they  gained  superior  wisdom  of  the 
4nferior  gods.  See  De  Quincey  on  the  Nympholeptoi.  (Works, 
Masson's  Ed.,  vol.  viii.,  pp.  438,  442.)  In  Mr.  Browning's  poem 
the  nymph  is  a  pure,  superhuman  woman  creature,  who  has  en- 
tranced a  young  man  enamoured  of  her  heavenly  perfections  She 
has  set  him  an  impossible  task  ;  from  the  centre  of  pure  white  light 
she  bids  him  trace  ray  after  ray  of  light,  which  is  broken  into  rainbow 
tints ;  and  she  bids  him  return  to  her  untinctured  by  the  coloured 
beams  he  has  been  compelled  to  traverse.  The  poem  is  one  of 
the  most  difficult,  if  not  the  most  difficult,  of  Mr.  Browning's 
works.  It  is  his  largest  use  of  his  favourite  light  metaphor — the 
breaking  up  of  pure  white  light  into  the  coloured  rays  of  the 


BROWNING  CYCLOPAEDIA.  287 

solar  spectrum.  A  ray  oi  white  light  (it  is  unnecessary,  perhaps, 
to  "explain)  is  composed  of  the  seven  primary  colours — violet, 
indigo,  blue,  green,  yellow,  orange  and  red.  A  solar  ray  of  light 
can  be  separated  by  a  prism  into  these  seven  colours.  These 
again,  when  painted  side  by  side  upon  a  disc  which  is  rapidly 
revolved,  are,  as  the  poet  says,  "whirled  into  a  white."  The 
nymph  dwells  in  a  realm  of  this  white  light.  Before  the  light 
reaches  the  young  man  the  imperfection  of  the  medium  which 
conveys  it,  or  of  his  soul  which  receives  it,  breaks  up  the  white 
light  into  its  constituent  coloured  rays.  He  is  bidden  by  her  to 
travel  down  each  red  and  yellow  ray  line,  and  work  in  its  tint, 
but  return  to  her  without  a  stain,  as  pure  as  the  original  beams 
which  rayed  forth  from  her  dwelling-place.  This  he  is  unable 
to  do.  He  returns  again  and  again,  exciting  her  disgust  at  his 
appearance ;  and  he  starts  off  on  another  path,  only  to  return 
coloured  by  the  medium  in  which  he  has  lived,  as  before.  I 
have  discussed  this  poem  at  length  in  my  chapter  on  "  Browning's 
Science,  as  shown  in  Numpholeptos"  in  my  Browning's  Message 
to  his  Time,  second  edition,  1891.  The  poem  was  debated  at  the 
Browning  Society  on  May  3ist,  1891  ;  and  so  many  different 
explanations  were  suggested,  none  of  them  in  the  least  satis- 
factory, that  the  meeting  requested  Dr.  Furnivall  to  ask  Mr. 
Browning's  assistance  in  the  matter.  He  did  so,  and  received 
the  following  reply : — "  Is  not  the  key  to  the  meaning  of  the 
poem  in  its  title,  wpffroXrjirTos  [caught  or  entranst  by  a  nymph], 
not  yvvaiKfpavTrjs  [a  woman  lover]  ?  An  allegory,  that  is,  of  an 
impossible  ideal  object  of  love,  accepted  conventionally  as  such 
by  a  man  who,  all  the  while,  cannot  quite  blind  himself  to  the 
demonstrable  fact  that  the  possessor  of  knowledge  and  purity 
obtained  without  the  natural  consequences  of  obtaining  them  by 
achievement — not  inheritance, — such  a  being  is  imaginary,  not 
real,  a  nymph  and  no  woman ;  and  only  such  an  one  would  be 
ignorant  of  and  surprised  at  the  results  of  a  lover's  endeavour  to 
emulate  the  qualities  which  the  beloved  is  entitled  to  con- 
sider as  pre-existent  to  earthly  experience,  and  independent  of 
its  inevitable  results.  I  had  nc  particular  woman  in  my  mind ; 
certainly  never  intended  to  personify  wisdom,  philosophy,  or  any 
other  abstraction  ;  and  the  orb,  raying  colour  out  of  whiteness, 
\vas  altogether  a  fancy  of  my  own.  The 4  seven  spirits  '  are  in  the 
Apocalypse,  also  in  Coleridge  and  Byron, — a  common  image." 


288  BROWNING   CYCLOPAEDIA.  [Oh 

"  Oh  Love  !  Love !  "  The  lyric  of  Euripides  in  his  Hippolytus 
(B.C.  428),  Translated  in  J.  P.  Mahaffy's  "  Euripides,"  in  Mac- 
millan's  Classical  Writers.  After  quoting  Euripides' two  stanzas, 
Mr.  Mahaffy  says  (p.  115): — "Mr.  Browning  has  honoured  me 
(Dec.  i8th,  1878),  with  the  following  translation  of  these  stanzas,, 
so  that  the  general  reader  may  not  miss  the  meaning  or  the  spirit 
of  the  ode.  The  English  metre,  though  not  a  strict  reproduction,, 
gives  an  excellent  idea  of  the  original  one  " : — 

i. 

"  Oh  Love  !  Love,  thou  that  from  the  eyes  diffusest 
Yearning,  and  on  the  soul  sweet  grace  inducest — 
Souls  against  whom  thy  hostile  march  is  made — 
Never  to  me  be  manifest  in  ire, 
Nor,  out  of  time  and  tune,  my  peace  invade  1 
Since  neither  from  the  fire — 

No,  nor  the  stars — is  launched  a  bolt  more  mighty 

Than  that  of  Aphrodite 
Hurled  from  the  hands  of  Love,  the  boy  with  Zeus  for  sire^ 

ii. 

"  Idly,  how  idly,  by  the  Alpherian  river, 
And  in  the  Pythian  shrines  of  Phoebus,  quiver 
Blood-offering  from  the  bull,  which  Hellas  heaps : 
While  Love  we  worship  not — the  Lord  of  men  1 
Worship  not  him,  the  very  key  who  keeps 
Of  Aphrodite  when 

She  closes  up  her  dearest  chamber-portals : 

Love,  when  he  comes  to  mortals, 
Wide-wasting,  through  those  deeps  of  woes  beyond  the  deep  !"" 

Og.  See  note  to  Jochanan  Hakkadosh  in  the  Sonnets  on  the 
Talmudic  legend  of  the  giant  Og's  bones  and  bedstead.  Jewish 
scholars  say  the  Hebrew  work  quoted  has  no  existence,  and  that 
Mr.  Browning's  stock  of  Hebrew  was  very  small.* 

Ogniben.  (A  Soul's  Tragedy)  He  was  the  astute  Pope's 
legate  who  went  to  Faenza  to  suppress  the  insurrection.  He 
smoothed  matters  by  getting  Chiappino  to  leave  the  city,  and  he 
then  complacently  went  away,  saying  he  had  known  "four-and- 
tvventy  leaders  of  revolt." 

Old  Gandolf.    (The  Bishop  orders  his  Tomb  at  St.  Proved'* 

*  See  Browning  Society's  Papers,  Pt.  XII.,  p.  8i. 


Old]  BROWNING   CYCLOPAEDIA.  289 

Church?)  The  Bishop's  predecessor  in  his  see,  and  the  man 
whose  tomb  he  desires  to  outdo. 

Old  Pictures  in  Florence.  (Men  and  Women,  1855  ;  Lyric*, 
1863;  Dramatic  Lyrics,  1868.)  On  a  warm  March  morning  the 
poet  from  a  height  looks  down  upon  Florence,  gleaming  in  the 
translucent  air,  with  all  the  glory  of  the  beautiful  city  lying  on 
the  mountain  side ;  and  of  all  he  saw  the  startling  bell-tower  off 
Giotto  was  the  best  to  see.  But  he  reproaches  Giotto  because: 
he  has  played  him  false.  This  was  unkind,  as  he  loved  him  sou 
And  this  reflection,  in  its  turn,  leads  him  to  think  upon  Giotto's 
brother  artists.  He  recalls  the  ancient  masters,  and  sees  therm 
haunting  the  churches  and  cloisters  where  their  work  was  done,. 
and  lamenting  the  decay  and  neglect  of  their  frescoes.  In  par- 
ticular, he  reflects  on  the  wronged  great  soul  of  a  painter  whose 
work  is  peeling  from  the  walls, — "  a  lion  who  dies  of  an  ass's 
kick."  The  world  wrongs  its  forgotten  great  souls,  and  hums 
round  its  famous  Michael  Angelos  and  its  Raphaels  ;  but  perhaps 
they  do  not  regard  it,  safe  in  heaven  seeing  God  face  to  face,  and 
all,  as  Browning  hopes,  attained  to  be  poets.  He  thinks  they  can 
hardly  be  "  quit  of  a  world  where  their  work  is  all  to  do,"  where 
the  little  wits  have  no  ability  to  understand  the  relationship  of 
artist  to  artist,  and  how  one  whom  the  world  is  pleased  to  honour 
derives  in  direct  line  from  another  who  is  forgotten.  Not  a  word 
is  heard  now  of  men  who  in  their  day  were  as  famous  as  the  rest — 
Stefano,  for  example,— 

"  Called  Nature's  Ape  and  the  world's  despair 
For  his  peerless  painting." 

He  then  reflects  on  the  development  of  the  artist.  Greek  art 
reuttered  the  truth  of  man,  and  Soul  and  Limbs,  each  betokened 
by  the  other,  were  made  new  in  marble.  Our  weakness  is  tested 
by  the  strength,  our  meagre  charms  by  the  beauty  of  the  matchless 
forms  of  Greek  sculpture.  This  taught  us  the  perfection  of  the 
body,  but  the  artists  one  day  awoke  to  the  beauty  and  perfection 
of  Soul,  and  then  they  worked  for  eternity,  as  the  Greeks  for 
time.  This  Greek  art  was  perfect;  these  bodies  could  be  no 
more  beautiful.  Consequently,  so  far  there  was  arrest  of  de- 
velopment ;  they  could  never  change,  being  whole  and  complete. 
Having  learned  all  they  have  to  teach,  we  shall  see  their  work 
abolished.  But  in  painting  Souls,  the  artificer's  hand  can  never  be 

'9 


290  BROWNING   CYCLOPAEDIA.  [Old 

arrested,  for  soul  develops  eternally,  and  things  learned  on  earth 
are  practised  in  heaven.  This  is  illustrated  by  the  case  of  Giotto. 
At  a  stroke  he  drew  a  perfect  Q-  This  could  be  done  no  better  : 
at  was  perfect,  complete,  not  to  be  surpassed.  But  Giotto 
(planned  a  bell-tower,  wonderful  for  beauty,  but  not  even  yet  com- 
pleted. The  conception  outran  the  power  to  bring  to  perfection. 
JRound  O's  can  be  completed ;  campaniles  are  still  to  finish. 
And  so  the  Greeks  finished  their  bodies.  The  early  masters 
who  began  by  depicting  souls  have  their  work  still  to  finish, 
irheir  work  is  not  completed — can,  in  fact,  never  be  finished— 
because  the  soul  is  infinite.  No  doubt,  he  says,  the  early 
painters  had  to  meet  the  objection,  "What  more  can  you  want 
•than  Greek  art  ? "  They  answered,  "  To  paint  man — to  make 
Shis  new  hopes  shine  through  his  flesh."  New  fears  glorify  hia 
Tags.  To  bring  the  invisible  full  into  daylight,  what  matters  it 
the  visible  go  to  the  dogs  ?  How  much  they  dared,  these  early 
masters !  The  first  of  this  new  development,  however  imperfect, 
Jbeats  the  best  of  the  old.  Then  he  reflects  that  there  is  a  fancy 
which  some  lean  to  (it  is  an  Eastern  fancy,  now  popularised  by 
'the  Theosophists),  that  when  this  life  is  over  we  shall  begin  a 
tf/esfa  succession  of  lives — lives  wherein  we  shall  repeat  in  large 
4\/hat  /here  we  practise  in  little ;  and  so  through  an  infinite  series 
•of  live*  on  a  scale  that  is  to  be  changed.  But  this  is  not  at  all 
tto'Jhe  poet's  mind.  He  thinks  he  has  learned  his  lesson  here. 
TS  e  has  seen 
<  "  By  the  means  of  evil  that  good  is  best," 

*ud  considers  that  the  uses  of  labour  may  consequently  be 
garnered.  He  hopes  thero  is  rest ;  he  has  had  troubles  enough, 
and  now  'he  turns  away  irom  abstract  conceptions  on  this  deep 
problem  to  concrete  matters— to  the  actual  men  who  have  carved 
*nd  painted  the  forms  he  loves  ;  and  he  brings  up  the  memories 
of  NicoJo  the  Pisan  sculptor,  and  of  the  painter  Cimabue,  and 
£,oes  on  to  speak  of  Ghiberti  and  Ghirlandajo.  Alas!  their 
ghosts  are  watching  their  peeling  frescoes,  their  blistered  or 
whitewashed  works.  He  recalls  the  names  of  many  a  draughts- 
man and  craftsman  whose  works  are  left  to  stealers  and  dealers. 
Suddenly  the  poet  remembers  the  grudge  he  has  against  Giotto. 
There  was  a  precious  little  picture,  which  Michael  Angelo  eyed 
like  a  lover,  which  was  lost,  but  which  has  just  turned  up ;  and 


Old]  BROWNING   CYCLOPAEDIA.  29! 

Browning  wanted  it,  he  thinks  that  he  ought  to  have  been 
prompted  by  the  spirit  of  Giotto  to  go  to  the  right  quarter  for  it, 
and  now  it  is  sold — to  whom  ? — he  cannot  discover.  But  he 
shall  have  it  yet,  his  jewel!  Then  he  expresses  his  hope  that 
Italy  may  soon  see  the  last  of  the  hated  Austrian  ;  and  then  wha 
will  not  the  new  Italian  republic  accomplish  for  man  and  art 
The  Bell-tower  of  Giotto  shall  soar  up  to  its  proper  stature, 

"  Completing  Florence,  as  Florence  Italy." 

He  wonders  if  he  will  be  alive  the  morning  the  scaffold  is 
taken  down,  and  the  golden  hope  of  the  world  springs  from  its 
sleep. 

NOTES. — Verse  8,  Da  Vinci :  Leonardo  Da  Vinci,  born  1452, 
died  1519,  artist,  sculptor,  architect,  musician,  and  man  of 
letters ;  in  addition  to  these  he  was  a  scientist  and  explorer. 
9,  Dello,  the  Florentine  painter,  born  towards  the  end  of  the 
fourteenth  century,  registered  under  the  name  of  Dello  di 
Niccolo  Delli.  He  was  a  sculptor  as  well  as  a  painter,  and  was 
employed  by  the  king  of  Spain :  Stefano :  a  celebrated  Italian 
painter  of  Florence  (1301  ? — 1350  ?)  ;  his  naturalism  earned  him 
the  title  of  "  Scimia  della  Natura  "  (Ape  of  Nature).  Vasari 
says,  "  He  not  only  surpassed  all  those  who  preceded  him  in  the 
art,  but  left  even  his  master,  Giotto  himself,  far  behind.  Thus 
he  was  considered,  and  with  justice,  to  be  the  best  of  all  the 
painters  who  had  appeared  down  to  that  time."  He  excelled 
in  perspective  and  foreshortening ;  Nature's  Ape :  Christofano 
Landino,  in  the  Apology  preceding  his  commentary  on  Dante, 
says,  "  Stefano  is  called  '  The  Ape  of  Nature '  by  every  one,  so 
accurately  does  he  express  whatever  he  designs  to  represent "  ; 
Vasari,  Georgia,  the  author  of  the  Lives  of  the  Painters ;  Theseus, 
one  of  the  statues  of  the  Parthenon  of  Athens,  now  in  the  British 
Museum.  13,  Son  of  Priam  =  Paris  ;  Apollo,  the  snake-slayer, 
the  Belvedere  as  described  in  the  Iliad ;  Niobe,  chief  figure  of  the 
celebrated  group  of  statues  "  Niobe  all  tears  for  her  children,"  in 
the  Uffizi  gallery  at  Florence  ;  the  Racer's  frieze  of  the  Parthenon ; 
dying  Alexander,  a  fine  piece  of  ancient  Greek  sculpture  at 
Florence.  17,  Giotto  and  the  "  O  "  :  Pope  Benedict  XL  sent  a 
messenger  to  Giotto  to  bring  him  a  proof  of  the  painter's  power. 
Giotto  refused  to  give  him  any  further  example  of  his  talents 
than  a  O,  drawn  with  a  free  sweep  of  the  brush  from  the  elbow. 


2Q2  BROWNING   CYCLOPAEDIA.  [Old 

The  Pope  was  satisfied,  and  engaged  Giotto  at  a  great  salary  to 
adorn  the  palace  at  Avignon  (Professor  Colvin)  ;  Campanile,  the 
bell-tower  by  the  side  of  the  Duomo  at  Florence.  This  is  greatly 
praised  by  Ruskin,  who  says :  "  The  characteristics  of  power  and 
beauty  occur  more  or  less  in  different  buildings,  some  in  one 
and  some  in  another.  But  altogether,  and  all  in  their  highest 
possible  relative  degrees,  they  exist,  as  far  as  I  know,  only  in 
one  building  of  the  world — the  Campanile  of  Giotto."  23,  Nicola 
the  Pisan  :  born  between  1205  and  1207,  died  1278;  a  sculptor 
and  architect;  Cimabue,  Giotto's  teacher  (1240-1302),  the  great 
art  reformer;  Ghiberti,  Lorenzo  (1381-1455):  he  executed  the 
wonderful  bronze  gates  of  the  Baptistery  at  Florence,  which 
were  said  by  Michael  Angelo  to  be  worthy  to  have  been  the 
gates  of  Paradise ;  Ghirlandajo,  Domenico,  Florentine  painter 
(1449-98),  was  the  son  of  Tommaso  del  Ghirlandajo.  26, 
Bigordi :  this  is  stated  by  some  to  have  been  the  family  name 
of  Ghirlandajo,  but  it  is  disputed;  Sandro  Botticelli,  born  at 
Florence  in  1457,  died  1515;  a  celebrated  Florentine  painter; 
"  the  wronged  Lippino?  or  Filippo  Lippi,  known  as  Filippino  or 
Lippino(i46o-i5o5),  a  Florentine  painter,  son  of  Fra  Lippo  Lippir 
Some  of  his  pictures  were  attributed  to  other  artists,  hence  the 
expression  "wronged";  Frd  Angelica  (1387-1455) — II  Beato 
Fra  Giovanni  Angelico  da  Fiesole — was  the  great  Dominican 
Friar-Painter  of  Florence,  the  greatest  of  all  painters  of  sacred 
subjects.  He  was  a  most  holy  man,  shunning  all  advancement, 
and  devoted  to  the  poor.  He  never  painted  without  fervent 
prayer;  Taddeo  Gaddi:  an  Italian  painter  and  architect  of  the 
Florentine  school  (1300-1366),  son  of  Gaddo  Gaddi;  he  was 
one  of  Giotto's  assistants  for  twenty-four  years ;  when  Giotto 
died  he  carried  on  the  work  of  the  Campanile ;  intonaco,  rough 
cast,  plaster,  paint ;  Jerome,  St.  Jerome,  the  translator  of  the 
Scriptures  into  Latin  ;  Lorenzo  Monaco,  Don  Lorenzo,  painter 
and  monk,  of  the  Angeli  of  Florence.  First  noticed  as  a  painter,. 
1410.  He  executed  many  works  in  the  Camaldoline  monastery  of 
his  order.  He  was  highly  esteemed  for  his  goodness.  Verse  27,. 
Pollajolo,  Antonio  (1433-98),  a  great  painter  and  sculptor  of 
Florence.  He  began  life,  as  many  of  the  great  Italian  artists  did, 
as  a  goldsmith;  tempera,  a  mixture  of  water  and  the  yoke  ot 
eggs — used  to  give  body  to  colours  :  the  same  as  distemper; 
Alesso  Baldovinetti,  a  Florentine  painter  (1422-99)  :  he  worked 


0]  BROWNING   CYCLOPAEDIA.  293 

in  fresco  and  mosaic.  28,  Margheritone  of  Arezzo,  painter, 
sculptor,  and  architect  (1236-1313);  held  in  high  estimation 
by  painters  who  worked  in  the  Greek  manner.  He  was  the 
first  in  painting  on  wood  to  cover  the  surface  with  canvas ; 
&arret,  a  cloak.  29,  Zeno,  the  founder  of  the  sect  of  the  Stoics  ; 
Carlino,  a  painter.  30,  " a  certain  precious  little  tablet"  a  lost 
picture  which  turned  up  while  Mr.  Browning  was  in  Florence ; 
Buonarroti  =  Michael  Angelo.  31,  San  Spirito  =  "Holy 
Spirit,"  a  church  in  Florence,  so  named;  Ognissanti  —  "  All 
Saints'/'  name  of  a  church  of  Florence ;  "Detur  amanti"  let  it  be 
given  to  the  lover  ;  "Jewel  of  Giamschid"  :  Byron  calls  it  "  the 
jewel  of  Giamschid,"  Beckford  "the  carbuncle  of  Giamschid" 
^see  Brewer's  Reader's  Handbook) ;  Persian  Soft,  the  name  of 
a  dynasty  (1499-1736).  32,  "  worst  side  of  Mont  St.  Gothard," 
the  Swiss  side;  Radetxky,  Count,  field-marshal  Austria  (1766- 
1858),  and  famous  in  the  wars  against  the  insurrections  against 
Austria  by  the  Lombardians ;  Morello,  a  mountain  near  Florence ; 

33,  Witanagemot,  the  great  national  council,  the  assent  of  which 
was    necessary    for    all    the    laws    of    the    Anglo  -  Saxon    kings ; 
so    in    Mrs.    Browning's   poem    she   refers    to    "  a   parliament    of 
lovers  of  Italy "  ;    Ex  :    "  Casa   Guidi  "  :    Mrs.    Browning's   noble 
poem    on    Italian    liberty ;    "  quod   videas    ante"    the   which    see 
above ;    Loraine's,    i.e.,    the    Guises    of    unrivalled    eminence    in 
the  sixteenth  century;   Orgagna  (1315-76),  a  painter  of  Florence. 

34,  prologuize,  to  introduce  with  a  formal   preface ;    Chimcera, 
a  fabulous  animal.     35,  "curt  Tuscan":  Tuscan  is  the  literary 
language   of  Italy,   therefore    more    dignified   and    freer   from 
colloquialisms  and  vulgarisms  than  more  modern  forms  ;  -issimo, 
termination  of  the  superlative  degree ;  Cambuscan,  king  of  Sarra, 
in  Tartary,  the  model  of  all  royal  virtues  (see  Brewer's  Hand- 
book) ;  "alt  to  altissimo?  high  to  the  highest ;  beccaccia,  a  wood- 
cock;  "Duomo's  fit  ally"-.   Giotto's  lovely  Bell-tower  is  a  fit 
companion  to  the  cathedral ;  braccia,  a  cubit. 

" 0  Lyric  Love,  half-angel  and  half-bird."  The  first  line 
of  the  invocation  to  the  spirit  of  Mrs.  Browning  in  Book  I.  of 
The  Ring  and  the  Book.  Some  stupid  readers  have  thought  this 
poem  an  invocation  to  our  Lord,  catching  at  the  words  "  to  drop 
down,  to  toil  for  man,  to  suffer,  or  to  die."  They  thought  they 
detected  some  familiar  words  heard  in  church ;  and  one  incom- 
petent critic  went  so  far  as  to  write,  "  Though  Lyric  Love  is  here 


294  BROWNING   CYCLOPAEDIA.  [OnC 

a  quality  personified,  it  seems  to  be  so  interchangeably  with 
Christ .  .  .  This  is  the  interpretation  we  attach  to  the  lines, 
though  we  have  heard  that  some  interpreters  have  actually 
considered  them  to  be  addressed  to  his  wife  !  "  (The  Religion 
of  our  Literature,  by  George  McCrie,  p.  87.)  There  is  really 
no  difficulty  about  the  lines  until  we  come  to  parse  them.  Dr. 
Furaivall  has  done  this  in  his  grammatical  analysis  of  the 
poem  (Browning  Society's  Papers,  No.  IX.,  p.  165).  An  old 
lady  who  had  read  and  profited  by  Bunyan's  Pilgrim's  Progress 
was  advised  to  read  Dr.  Cheever's  Lectures  in  explanation  of 
the  allegory;  asked  how  she  liked  the  latter  work,  she  said 
she  understood  the  Pilgrim's  Progress,  and  hoped,  before  she 
died,  to  understand  Dr.  Cheever's  interpretation.  I  think  I 
understand  'O  Lyric  Love':  I  can  never  hope  to  understand 
Dr.  Furnivall's  analysis.  It  was  called,  at  the  time  he  wrote  it, 
"  Furnivall's  Jubilee  Puzzle." 

"  Once  I  saw  a  Chemist  take  a  Pinch  of  Powder  "  (Perish- 
taWs  Fancies).  The  first  line  of  the  eighth  lyric. 

One  Way  of  Love.  (Men  and  Women,  1855  ;  Lyrics,  1863  ; 
Dramatic  Lyrics,  1868.)  A  song  of  unrequited  love.  The  lover 
has  strewn  the  month's  wealth  of  June  roses  on  his  lady's  path: 
she  passes  them  without  notice.  For  months  he  has  striven  to 
learn  the  lute :  she  will  not  listen  to  his  music.  His  whole  life 
long  he  has  learned  to  love,  and  he  has  lost.  Let  roses  lie,  let 
music's  wing  be  folded :  he  will  but  say  how  blest  are  they  who 
win  her.  A  noble,  dignified  way  of  accepting  defeat  in  love ! 
Another  Way  of  Love  is  a  sequel  to  this  poem.  In  this  case 
the  roses  of  June  are  actually  tiresome  to  the  man  to  whom  they 
are  offered.  The  woman  in  the  first  poem  did  not  notice  her 
roses,  the  man  in  the  sequel  confesses  himself  weary  of  their 
charms.  His  lady  is  satirical  at  his  expense,  and  severely  says  he 
may  go,  and  she  will  be  recompensed  if  June  mend  the  bower 
which  his  hand  has  rifled.  June  may  also  bestow  her  favours  on 
a  more  appreciative  recipient.  She  may  also  revenge  herself  by 
the  lightning  she  uses  to  clear  away  insects  and  other  rose- 
bower  spoilers. 

NOTE. — Verse  2,  Eadem  semper,  always  the  same. 

One  Word  More.  (To  E.  B.  B.  [Elizabeth  Barrett  Browning f 
1855.)  This  poem  was  originally  appended  to  the  collection  of 
poems  called  Men  and  Women  (q.v.}  Browning's  Men  and 


One]  BROWNING   CYCLOPEDIA  295 

Women,  containing  amongst  other  noble  poems  his  Epistle  to 
Karshish,  Cleon,  Fra  Lippo  Lippi,  and  Andrea  del  Sarto,  were 
fifty  in  number,  and  the  concluding  poem,  One  Word  More. 
formed  the  dedication  to  his  wife.  The  volume  was  in  one  sense 
a  return  for  her  Sonnets  from  the  Portuguese,  in  which  she  poured 
out  her  love  to  Mr.  Browning.  In  this  poem  he  not  less  warmly 
declares  his  love  for  his  wife,  his  "  moon  of  poets."  The 
dedication  is  happy,  because  his  interest  in  men  and  women 
had  been  quickened  and  deepened  by  his  marriage.  They  had 
studied  human  nature  together,  and  each  poetic  soul  had  re- 
acted upon  the  other.  He  explains  why  he  has  desired  to  give 
something  of  his  best,  some  gift  which  is  not  a  gift  to  the  world 
but  to  the  woman  he  loves;  and  as  the  meanest  of  God's 
creatures — 

"  Boasts  two  soul-sides  :  one  to  face  the  world  with 
One  to  show  a  woman  when  he  loves  her  I " 

The  poor  workman,  the  most  unskilful  artisan,  will  strive  to  do 
something  which  shall  express  his  utmost  effort,  to  present  to 
his  love,  and  the  greatest  geniuses  of  the  world  have  been 
actuated  by  a  similar  motive.  Raphael,  not  content  with  paint- 
ing, must  pour  out  his  soul  in  poetry  for  the  woman  of  his  heart 
(did  she  love  the  volume  of  a  hundred  sonnets  all  her  life  ?),  and 
Mr.  Browning  says  he  and  his  poet-wife  would  rather  read  that 
volume  than  wonder  at  the  Madonnas  by  which  his  name  will  be 
ever  known.  But  that  volume  will  never  be  read.  Guido  Reni 
treasured  it,  but,  as  treasures  do  disappear,  it  vanished.  Dante 
once  proposed  to  paint  for  Beatrice  an  angel — traced  it  per- 
chance with  the  corroded  pen  with  which  he  pricked  the  stigma  in, 
the  brow  of  the  wicked — "  Dante,  who  loved  well  because  he 
hated":  hating  only  wickedness,  and  that  because  it  hinders 
loving.  Mr.  Browning  would  rather  study  that  angel  than  read 
a  fresh  Infeino,  but  that  picture  we  shall  never  see.  No  artist 
lives  and  loves  who  desires  not  for  once  and  for  one  to  express 
himself  in  a  language  natural  to  him  and  the  occasion,  but  whichi 
to  others  is  but  an  art ;  and  so  the  painter  will  forgo  his  painting: 
and  write  a  poem,  the  writer  will  try  to  paint  a  picture  "  once 
and  for  one  only  " — 

"  So  to  be  the  man  and  leave  the  artist." 
Why  is  this  ?    When  a  man  comes  before  the  world  as  leader^ 


296  BROWNING   CYCLOPAEDIA.  [One 

teacher,  prophet,  artist  or  poet,  in  any  capacity  which  is  his 
proper  business,  he  is  open  to  the  unsympathetic  criticism  of  a 
•world  which  is  ever  exacting  and  always  ungrateful  in  exact  pro- 
portion to  the  magnitude  of  the  work  done  for  it.  Under  these 
•circumstances  the  real  self  in  the  man  seldom  appears ;  when, 
however,  he  presents  himself  before  the  sympathetic  soul  of 
the  woman  who  loves  him,  he  no  longer  works  for  the  critic,  no 
longer  acts  a  part,  no  longer  appears  in  a  character  distasteful  to 
himself.  When  Moses  smote  the  rock  and  saved  the  Israelites, 
he  had  mocking  and  sneering  for  his  reward  :  the  ungrateful  and 
unbelieving  multitude  behaved  after  their  manner.  Could  Moses 
forget  the  ancient  wrong  he  bore  about  him?  Dare  the  man 
ever  put  off  the  prophet  ?  But  were  there  in  all  that  crowd  a 
woman's  face — a  woman  he  could  love — he  would  for  her  sake 
lay  down  the  wonder-working  rod,  for  he  would  be  as  the  camel 
giving  up  its  store  of  water  with  its  life.  But  the  poet  says  he 
shall  never  paint  pictures,  carve  statues,  nor  express  himself  in 
•music :  for  his  wife  he  stands  on  his  power  of  verse  alone,  and 
so  he  bids  her  take  the  lines  of  this  love  poem,  which  he  has 
written  for  her,  as  the  artist  in  fresco  will  steal  a  hair-pencil  and 
cramp  his  spirit  into  missal  painting  for  his  lady,  and  the 
musician  who  sounds  the  martial  strain  will  breathe  his  love 
through  silver  to  serenade  his  princess;  so  he — the  Browning 
men  knew  for  other  work — may  this  once  whisper  a  love  song 
to  the  ear  of  his  wife.  He  will  speak  to  her  not  dramatically,  as 
he  spoke  in  the  poems  in  his  book,  but  in  his  own  true  person. 
She  knows  him  under  both  aspects,  as  the  moon  of  Florence  is 
the  same  which  shines  in  London,  though  she  has  put  off  her 
Italian  glory,  and  hurries  dispiritedly  through  the  gloomy  skies 
of  England.  Could  the  moon  really  love  a  mortal,  she  has  a 
side  she  could  turn  towards  him,  unseen  as  yet  by  herdsman  or 
astronomer  on  his  turret.  Dumb  to  Homer,  to  Keats  even,  she 
would  speak  to  him.  And  so  the  poet  has  for  his  love 

"A  side  the  world  has  never  seen," 
the  novel 

11  Silent  silver  lights  and  darks  undreamed  of." 
NOTES. — Verse  2,  Century  of  Sonnets.    I  can  find  no  evidence 
that  Raphael  wrote  a  hundred  sonnets.     Some  three,  or  at  most 
four,  are  all  abqut  which  I  can  find  anything.     Michael  Angelo 


One]  BROWNING   CYCLOPAEDIA.  297 

wrote  many  impassioned  sonnets,  and  was  undoubtedly  a  fine 
poet;  but  if  Raphael  wrote  many  sonnets,  they  are,  as  Mr. 
Browning  says,  lost.  Probably  the  whole  story  is  an  example  of 
poetical  licence.  There  is  a  very  mediocre  sonnet  (as  Mr.  Samuel 
Waddington  describes  it  in  the  notes  to  his  Sonnets  of  Europe) 
by  Raphael,  which  he  has  inscribed  on  one  of  his  drawings  now 
exhibited  at  the  British  Museum  : — 

SONNET. 
BY  RAPHAEL. 
"  Un  pensier  dolce  erimembrare  e  godo 

Di  quello  assalto,  ma  piu  gravo  el  danno 
Del  partir,  ch'io  restai  como  quei  c'  anno 
In  mar  perso  la  Stella,  s'  el  ver  odo. 
Or  lingua  di  parlar  disogli  el  node 
A  dir  di  questo  inusitato  inganno 
Ch'  amor  mi  fece  per  mio  grave  afann(\ 
Ma  lui  pid  ne  ringratio,  e  lei  ne  lodo. 
L'ora  sesta  era,  che  1'  ocaso  un  sole 

Aveva  fatto,  e  1'  altro  sur  se  in  locho 
Ati  piu  da  far  fati,  che  parole. 
Ma  io  restai  pur  vinto  al  mio  gran  focho 
Che  mi  tormenta,  che  dove  Ion  sole 
Desiar  di  parlar,  piu  riman  fiocho." 

•"There  are  also  two  other  sonnets,"  says  Mr.  Waddington, 
41  attributed  to  Raphael,  but  they  can  hardly  be  considered 
worthy  of  his  illustrious  name."  Raphael's  "lady  of  the  sonnets" 
was  Margherita  (La  Fornarina),  the  baker's  daughter,  of  whom 
Raphael  was  devotedly  fond,  and  whose  likeness  appears  in 
several  of  his  most  celebrated  pictures.  "Else  he  only  used 
to  draw  Madonnas'."  Mrs.  Jameson,  in  her  Legends  of  the 
Madonna,  gives  the  following  list  of  Raphael's  famous  Ma- 
donnas :  del  Baldacchino,  delle  Candelabre,  del  Cardellino,  della 
Famiglia  Alva,  di  Foligno,  de  Giglio,  del  Passeggio,  dell'  Pesce, 
della  Seggiola,  di  San  Sisto.  Verse  3,  "  Her  San  Sisto  names": 
the  Madonna  di  S.  Sisto  is  the  glory  of  the  Dresden  gallery. 
Little  is  known  of  its  history ;  no  studies  or  sketches  of  it  exist. 
It  much  resembles  the  Madonna  di  Foligno,  but  is  less  injured 
by  restoration.  "  Her,  Foligno  "  :  the  Madonna  di  Foligno  was 
dedicated  by  Sigismund  Corti,  of  Foligno,  private  secretary  to 
Pope  Julius  II.,  and  a  distinguished  patron  of  learning.  Sigis- 


298  BROWNING   CYCLOPEDIA.  [One- 

mund,  having  been  in  r>  iger,  vowed  an  offering  to  Our  Lady,  lo- 
wborn he  attributed  his  escape.  The  picture  is  in  the  Vatican. 
It  was  painted  in  1 5 1 1.  "  Her  that  visits  Florence  in  a  Vision  " : 
Mr.  Browning,  in  a  letter  to  Mr.  W.  J.  Rolfe,  said:  "The 
Madonna  at  Florence  is  that  called  del  Granduca^  which  repre- 
sents her  '  as  appearing  to  a  votary  in  a  vision ' — so  say  the 
describers ;  it  is  in  the  earlier  manner,  and  very  beautiful."  It 
is  in  the  Pitti  Palace,  Florence.  Painted  about  1506.  "  Her 
thafs  left  with  lilies  in  the  Louvre "  (Paris) :  on  this  Mr. 
Browning  explained  that,  "  I  think  I  meant  La  Belle  Jardiniere — 
but  am  not  sure — from  the  picture  in  the  Louvre."  This  is  a. 
group  of  three  figures :  the  Mother  and  Child  and  St.  John, 
Painted  in  1508.  Verse  4,  "That  volume  Guido  Rent  .  .  . 
guarded" :  this  does  not  appear  to  have  been  a  book  of  Sonnets, 
as  Browning  says,  but  a  'volume  with  a  hundred  designs  drawn, 
by  Raphael.  Reni  left  this  book  to  his  heir  Signorini.  Verse  5, 
"Dante  once  prepared  to  paint  an  angel"  \  Dante  was  master  of 
all  the  science  of  his  time.  He  was  a  skilful  draughtsman,  and 
tells  us  that  on  the  anniversary  of  the  death  of  Beatrice  he  drew 
an  angel  on  a  tablet.  He  was  an  intimate  friend  of  Giotto,  who 
has  recorded  that  it  was  from  him  he  drew  the  inspiration  of  the 
allegories  of  Virtue  and  Vice  for  the  frescoes  of  the  Scrovegni 
Palace  at  Padua.  He  was  also  a  musician.  Verse  7,  Bice  is- 
Beatrice,  Dante's  "gentle  love."  Verse  9,  "  Egypt's  flesh-pots" 
(Exod.  xvi.  3).  Verse  10,  "Sinai-forehead's  cloven  brilliance" 
(Exod.  xxxiv.  29,  30).  Verse  n,  Jethro,  the  father-in-law  of 
Moses  (Exod.  iii.  i) ;  "^Ethiopian  bond-slave"  (Numb.  xii.  i). 
Verse  14,  "  Karshish,  Clean,  Norbert,  and  the  Fifty  ":  there  i& 
a  distinct  caution  here  to  those  who  seek  for  Browning's  real 
opinions  on  religion  and  the  various  subjects  with  which  he  deals^ 
that  he  is  speaking  dramatically  in  these  poems,  and  not  "  in 
his  true  person."  Verse  15,  Samminiato  =  San  Miniato,  a  well- 
known  church  in  Florence.  Verse  16,  "Zoroaster  on  his  terrace  ": 
the  celebrated  founder  of  the  doctrine  of  the  Persian  Magi. 
Very  little  is  known  about  him  personally,  but  his  religion  is  well 
understood.  Ancient  historians  say  he  lived  five  thousand  years 
before  the  Trojan  War.  His  scriptures  are  the  Zend  Avesta. 
He  studied  at  night  the  aspect  of  the  heavens.  "  Galileo  on  his- 
turret"'.  Galileo,  as  an  astronomer,  required  an  observatory.. 
Keats  :  Browning  was  much  influenced  by  "  the  human  rhythm  "" 


One]  BROWNING   CYCLOPEDIA.  299 

of  Keats.  There  is  abundant  trace  ol  this  in  Pauline,  and  in  the 
second  ot  the  Paracelsus  songs,  "  Heap  cassia,  sandal-buds, 
etc."  "  Moonstruck  mortal"  :  see  Keats'  poem  Endymion,  the 
fable  of  Endymion's  amours  with  Diana,  or  the  Moon.  The 
fable  probably  originated  from  Endymion's  study  of  astronomy 
requiring  him  to  pass  the  night  on  a  high  mountain,  to  observe 
the  heavenly  bodies.  "Paved  work  of  a  sapphire"  (Exod. 
xxiv.  10).  Mr.  W.  M.  Rossetti  explains  some  of  the  allusions 
in  this  poem  in  the  Academy  for  January  loth,  1891: — "I 
understand  the  allusions,  but  Browning  is  far  from  accurate 
in  them.  I.  Towards  the  end  of  the  Vita  Nuova,  Dante  says 
that,  on  the  first  anniversary  of  the  death  of  Beatrice,  he  began 
drawing  an  angel,  but  was  interrupted  by  certain  people  of 
distinction,  who  entered  on  a  visit.  Browning  is  therefore  wrong 
in  intimating  that  the  angel  was  painted  '  to  please  Beatrice/ 
2.  Then  Browning  says  that  the  pen  with  which  Dante  drew 
the  angel  was  perhaps  corroded  by  the  hot  ink  in  which  it 
had  previously  been  dipped  for  the  purpose  of  denouncing  a 
certain  wretch — i.e.,  one  of  the  persons  named  in  his  Inferno. 
This  about  the  ink,  as  such,  is  Browning's  own  figure  of  speech 
not  got  out  of  Dante.  3.  Then  Browning  speaks  of  Dante's 
having  '  his  left  hand  i'  the  hair  o'  the  wicked,'  etc.  This  refers 
to  Inferno,  Canto  32,  where  Dante  meets  (among  the  traitors  to 
their  country)  a  certain  Bocca  degli  Abati,  a  notorious  Florentine 
traitor,  dead  some  years  back,  and  Dante  clutches  and  tears  at 
Bocca's  hair  to  compel  him  to  name  himself,  which  Bocca  would 
much  rather  not  do.  4.  Next  Browning  speaks  of  this  Bocca 
as  being  a  '  live  man.'  Here  Browning  confounds  two  separate 
incidents.  Bocca  is  not  only  damned,  but  also  dead ;  but  further 
on  (Canto  33)  Dante  meets  another  man,  a  traitor  against  his 
familiar  friend.  This  traitor  is  Frate  Alberigo,  one  of  the 
Manfredi  family  of  Faenza.  This  Frate  Alberigo  was,  though 
damned,  not,  in  fact,  dead  ;  he  was  still  alive,  and  Dante  makes 
it  out  that  traitors  of  this  sort  are  liable  to  have  their  souls  sent 
to  hell  before  the  death  of  their  bodies.  A  certain  Bianca 
d'Oria,  Genoese,  is  in  like  case — damned  but  not  dead.  5. 
Browning  proceeds  to  speak  of  'the  wretch  going  festering 
through  Florence.'  This  is  a  relapse  into  his  mistake— the 
confounding  of  the  dead  Florentine  Bocca  degli  Abati  with  the 
living  (though  damned)  Faentine  and  Genoese  traitors,  Frate 


300  BROWNING   CYCLOPAEDIA.  [Ott 

Alberigo    and    Bianca    d'Oria,   who    had    nothing  to  do    with 
Florence." 

On  the  Poet,  Objective  and  Subjective ;  on  the  latter 's 
Aim;  on  Shelley  as  Man  and  Poet.  By  Robert  Browning. 
{The  introductory  essay  to  Letters  of  Percy  Bysshe  Shelley. 
Moxon:  1852.)  Dr.  Furnivall  says:  "The  cause  of  Browning's 
writing  this  essay  was  (I  believe)  as  follows  : — In  or  before  1851,  a 
forger  clever  enough  to  take  in  the  publishers  wrote  some  '  letters 
of  Shelley  and  Byron.'  Moxon  bought  the  forged  Shelley  letters, 
and  John  Murray  the  Byron  ones.  Before  they  were  proved 
spurious,  Moxon  printed  the  Shelley  letters,  and  got  Browning 
to  write  an  introductory  essay  to  them.  Murray  was  slower, 
and,  by  the  discovery  of  the  forgery,  was  saved  the  exposure  and 
annoyance  that  Moxon  incurred  in  publishing,  and  then  having  to 
suppress,  his  book.  The  spurious  Shelley  letters  were,  as  might 
have  been  expected,  nugatory,  barren  of  any  new  revelations  of 
Shelley's  character.  Browning  could  actually  make  nothing  of 
them,  and  therefore  wrote  his  Essay,  not  on  the  Letters,  but  on 
the  two  classes  of  poets,  objective  and  subjective,  and  on  Shelley. 
He  wanted  a  chance  of  writing  on  the  poet  he  admired ;  the 
Letters  gave  him  the  chance ;  and,  being  told  that  they  were 
.genuine,  he  accepted  them  as  such  without  inquiry.  Moreover, 
facing  in  Paris  at  the  time,  he  had  no  opportunity  of  consulting 
English  experts,  had  even  any  suspicion  of  forgery  crossed  his 
mind.  The  worth  of  his  Essay  is  no  way  weakened  by  its 
•having  been  set  before  spurious  letters."  A  brief  extract  from 
Mr.  Browning's  Essay  will  indicate  his  estimate  of  the  poetic 
method  which  he  selected  as  his  own.  Speaking  of  the  subjec- 
tive poet,  he  says  :  "  He,  gifted  like  the  objective  poet  with  the 
fuller  perception  of  nature  and  man,  is  impelled  to  embody  the 
thing  he  perceives,  not  so  much  with  reference  to  the  many 
below,  as  to  the  One  above  him,  the  supreme  Intelligence  which 
apprehends  all  things  in  their  absolute  truth — an  ultimate  view 
ever  aspired  to,  if  but  partially  attained  by  the  poet's  own  soul. 
Not  what  man  sees,  but  what  God  sees — the  Ideas  of  Plato,  seeds 
of  creation  lying  burningly  in  the  Divine  Hand — it  is  toward 
these  that  he  struggles.  Not  with  the  combination  of  humanity 
in  action,  but  with  the  primal  elements  of  humanity  he  has  to 
do  ;  and  he  digs  where  he  stands — preferring  to  seek  them  in  his 
own  soul  as  the  nearest  reflex  of  that  absolute  Mind,  according 


Opt]  BROWNING   CYCLOPEDIA.  301 

to  the  intuitions  of  which  he  desires  to  perceive  and  speak. 
Such  a  poet  does  not  deal  habitually  with  the  picturesque 
groupings  and  tempestuous  tossings  of  the  forest-trees,  but  with 
their  roots  and  fibres  naked  to  the  chalk  and  stone.  He  does 
not  paint  pictures  and  hang  them  on  the  walls,  but  rather  carries 
them  on  the  retina  of  his  own  eyes :  we  must  look  deep  into  his 
human  eyes  to  see  those  pictures  on  them.  He  is  rather  a  seer, 
accordingly,  than  a  fashioner ;  and  what  he  produces  will  be  less 
a  work  than  an  effluence.  That  effluence  cannot  be  easily  con- 
sidered in  abstraction  from  his  personality, — being  indeed  the 
very  radiance  and  aroma  of  his  personality,  projected  from  it  but 
not  separated."  In  these  words  we  have  not  only  Mr.  Browning's 
defence  of  his  work  (if  any  could  be  needed),  but  an  explanation 
of  the  reason  why  he  seems  as  much  interested  in  dissecting  the 
soul  of  a  villain  or  a  scamp  as  of  a  saint  and  hero.  Count 
Guido  in  his  complex  wickedness,  brooding  in  his  prison  cell, 
is  more  interesting  to  such  an  analyst  than  Pompilia  fluttering 
her  wings  on  the  borders  of  heaven.  The  old  roue  in  the  Inn 
Album,  has  root  fibres  worth  tracing  till  they  grip  the  stones. 
Simple  old  Rabbi  Ben  Ezra  has  nothing  to  dissect ;  his  innocent 
soul  lies  basking  in  the  smile  of  God.  He  has  nothing  to  do  with 
him  but  sit  at  his  feet  and  listen.  This  "  Essay  on  Shelley  "  has 
been  reprinted  and  published  in  Part  I.  of  the  Browning  Society's 
Papers. 

Optimism.  Browning's  optimism  is  that  which  perhaps  more 
than  anything  else  distinguishes  his  whole  work  from  first  to  last. 
Most  eloquently  has  this  been  acknowledged  by  James  Thomson, 
a  pessimist  of  the  pessimists.  Unhappily  he  could  not  himself 
feel  this  confidence  in  "  everything  being  for  the  best  in  the  best 
of  all  possible  worlds,"  but  he  could  admire  it  in  another. 
41  Browning,"  he  said,  "  has  conquered  life,  instead  of  being  con- 
quered by  it :  a  victory  so  rare  as  to  be  almost  unique,  especially 
among  poets  in  these  latter  days."  It  would  be  easy  to  give 
examples  of  Browning's  optimism,  which  would  fill  many  pages 
of  this  work.  The  following  will  suffice : — 

"  God's  in  His  heaven— all's  right  with  the  world !  " 

Song  in  "  Pippa  Passes." 

"  There  shall  never  be  one  lost  good  !    What  was,  shall  live  as  before; 
The  evil  is  null,  is  nought,  is  silence  implying  sound ; 


302  BROWNING   CYCLOPEDIA.  [Ol« 

What  was  good,  shall  be  good,  with,  for  evil,  so  much  good  more; 
On  the  earth  the  broken  arcs;  in  the  heaven,  a  perfect  round." 

Abt  Vogler. 

"  Let  us  cry  '  All  good  things 
Are  ours,  nor  soul  helps  flesh  more,  now,  than  flesh  helps  soul ! '  * 

Rabbi  Ben  Ezra. 
11  My  own  hope  is,  a  sun  will  pierce 

The  thickest  cloud  earth  ever  stretched  ; 
That,  after  Last,  returns  the  First, 

Though  a  wide  compass  round  be  fetched 
That  what  began  best,  can't  end  worst, 

Nor  what  God  blessed  once,  prove  accurst.' 

Apparent  Failure. 

Orchestrion.  The  musical  instrument  invented  by  Abt 
Vogler  (q.v.). 

Ottima.  (Pippa  Passes.)  The  woman  who,  with  her  paramour 
Sebald,  murdered  her  husband  Luca. 

"  Overhead  the  Tree-Tops  meet."  (Pippa  Passes.)  Pippa 
sings  these  words  as  she  passes  the  Bishop's  house. 

"  Over  the  Sea  our  Galleys  went."  (Paracelsus.}  The  hero 
sings  the  song  of  which  these  are  the  opening  words  in  Part  IV., 
Paracelsus  Aspires. 

Pacchiarotto,  and  how  he  worked  in  Distemper.  (Pub- 
lished July  1876,  in  a  volume  with  Other  Poems.)  They  were: 
"  At  the  Mermaid,"  "  Home,"  "  Ship,"  "  Pisgah-Sights,"  "  Fears 
and  Scruples,"  "Natural  Magic,"  "Magical  Nature,"  "Bifurca- 
tion," "Numpholeptos,"  "Appearances,"  "St.  Martin's  Summer," 
"  Herve  Kiel,"  "  A  Forgiveness,"  "  Cenciaja,"  "  Filippo  Baldi- 
nucci  on  the  Privilege  of  Burial,"  "  Epilogue." 

Pacchiarotto  (or  Pacchiarotti)  Jacopo,  has  been  confused 
in  history  with  Girolaino  del  Pacchia,  and  this  fact  is  referred 
to  in  the  beginning  of  the  poem.  The  following  account  of  these 
painters,  who  lived  about  the  same  time,  from  the  Encyclopedia 
Britannica,  will  help  to  clear  the  way  for  the  comprehension  of 
this  rather  difficult  poem, — difficult  not  on  account  of  the  story, 
which  is  told  clearly  enough,  but  for  the  extraneous  matter  with 
which  it  is  intermingled. 

[THE  MAN.]  "  Pacchia,  Girolamo  Del,  and  Pacchiarotto  (or  Pac- 
chiarotti) Jacopo.  These  are  two  painters  of  the  Sienese  school, 


BROWNING    CYCLOPAEDIA.  303 

whose  career  and  art-work  have  been  much  mis-stated  till  late 
years.  One  or  other  of  them  produced  some  good  pictures,  which 
used  to  pass  as  the  performance  of  Perugino;  reclaimed  from 
Perugino,  they  were  assigned  to  Pacchiarotto  ;  now  it  is  suffi- 
ciently settl~'l  that  the  good  works  are  by  G.  del  Pacchia,  while 
nothing  of  Pacchiarotto's  own  doing  transcends  mediocrity.  The 
.mythical  Pacchiarotto,  who  worked  actively  at  Fontainebleau, 
has  no  authenticity.  Girolamo  del  Pacchia,  son  of  a  Hungarian 
•cannon-founder,  was  born  probably  in  Siena,  in  1477.  Having 
joined  a  turbulent  club  named  the  Bardotti,  he  disappeared  from 
Siena  in  1535,  when  the  club  was  dispersed,  and  nothing  of  a 
later  date  is  known  of  him.  His  most  celebrated  work  is  a  fresco 
of  the  Nativity  of  the  Virgin,  in  the  chapel  of  St.  Bernardino, 
Siena  :  graceful  and  tender,  with  a  certain  artificiality.  Another 
renowned  fresco,  in  the  church  of  St.  Catherine,  represents  that 
saint  on  her  visit  to  St.  Agnes  of  Montepulciano,  who,  having 
just  expired,  raises  her  foot  by  miracle.  In  the  National  Gallery 
of  London  there  is  a  Virgin  and  Child.  The  forms  of  G.  del 
Pacchia  are  fuller  than  those  of  Perugino  (his  principal  model  of 
style  appears  to  have  been  in  reality  Francialigio) ;  the  drawing 
is  not  always  unexceptionable.  The  female  heads  have  sweet- 
ness and  beauty  of  feature,  and  some  of  the  colouring  has 
noticeable  force.  Pacchiarotto  was  born  in  Siena  in  1474.  In 
1 530  he  took  part  in  the  conspiracy  of  the  Libertini  and  Popolani, 
and  in  1533  he  joined  the  Bardotti.  He  had  to  hide  for  his  life 
in  1535,  and  was  concealed  by  the  Observantine  fathers  in  a 
tomb  in  the  church  of  St.  John.  He  was  stuffed  in  close  to  a 
new-buried  corpse,  and  got  covered  with  vermin  and  dreadfully 
exhausted  by  the  close  of  the  second  day.  After  a  while  he 
resumed  work.  He  was  exiled  in  1539,  but  recalled  in  the 
following  year;  and  in  that  year,  or  soon  afterwards,  he  died. 
Among  the  few  extant  works  with  which  he  is  still  credited  is  an 
Assumption  of  the  Virgin,  in  the  Carmine  of  Siena." 

[THE  POEM.]  Pacchiarotto  must  needs  take  up  "Reform."  He 
thought  it  was  his  vocation  to  set  things  in  general  to  rights.  The 
world  he  considered  needed  reforming,  and  he  was  quite  ready  to 
undertake  the  task.  He  found  mankind  stubborn,  however,  and 
not  much  inclined  to  listen  to  him.  So  he  constructed  himself  a 
workshop,  and  painted  its  walls  in  fresco  with  all  sorts  and  con- 
ditions of  men,  from  beggar  to  noble.  He  drew  kings,  clowns, 


304  BROWNING   CYCLOPEDIA.  [Pat 

popes,  emperors,  priests,  and  ladies ;  then  washed  his  brushes,, 
cleaned  his  pallet,  took  off  his  working  dress,  and  began  to  lecture 
his  figures  which  he  had  painted.  He  put  arguments  into  their 
mouths,  and  of  course  readily  refuted  them.  He  found  his 
figures  very  meek  and  complaisant,  and  he  had  no  trouble  at  all) 
in  disposing  of  their  replies  to  his  own  satisfaction.  He  stripped 
them  one  by  one  of  their  "cant-clothed  abuses,"  exposed  the 
sophistry  of  their  excuses,  and  left  their  vices  without  a  leg  to- 
stand  upon.  Paint-bred  men  being  so  easily  upset,  he  was  now- 
prepared  to  deal  with  those  of  flesh  and  blood,  so  he  wished 
mortar  and  paint  good-bye  and  descended  to  the  streets.  It 
happened  just  at  this  time  that  there  fell  upon  Siena  a  famine. 
This  public  distress  afforded  our  artist  his  opportunity :  he 
blamed  the  authorities  for  the  famine,  and  set  himself  to  the 
task  of  teaching  them  to  manage  things  better.  Now,  there  was 
at  that  time  a  club  of  disaffected  citizens,  who  called  themselves 
Bardotti,  or  "  spare-horses  " — those  which  walk  by  the  side  of 
the  waggon  drawn  by  the  working  team — horses  doing  nothing 
to  draw  the  load,  but  ready  in  case  of  emergency.  Such  were 
these  gentry ;  they  did  not  work,  but  they  were  ready  for  such 
an  emergency  as  the  present.  And  their  advice  to  the  authorities 
was  simply  to  turn  things  upside  down,  make  servant  master, 
poverty  wealth,  and  wealth  poverty ;  then  things  would  be 
righted.  Pacchiarotto  placed  himself  in  the  midst  of  these  folk, 
and  suggested  that  what  they  wanted  was  the  right  man  in  the 
right  place,  and  he  was  the  right  man.  The  words  were  not  out 
of  his  mouth  ere  the  Spare-Horses  flew  at  him,  and  he  had  to- 
run  for  his  life.  Looking  everywhere  for  some  place  of  shelter, 
he  found  himself  at  the  cemetery  of  a  Franciscan  monastery ;  and 
the  only  place  where  he  could  hide  himself  with  safety  from  the 
pursuers  was  in  a  vault  with  a  recently-buried  corpse,  so  he  was 
obliged  to  creep  through  a  hole  in  the  brickwork  and  habituate 
himself  to  the  strange  bedfellow.  In  this  stinking  atmosphere, 
and  covered  with  vermin  from  the  corpse,  he  lay  in  misery  for 
two  days,  praying  the  saints  to  set  him  free,  and  promising  for 
ever  to  abandon  the  attempt  to  preach  change  to  his  fellow- 
citizens.  When  he  was  starved  into  sanity,  he  scrambled  out  of 
this  loathsome  hiding-place,  looking  like  a  spectre,  only  much 
more  "  alive."  He  then  found  his  way  to  the  superior  of  the 
brotherhood,  who  had  him  well  cleansed  and  rubbed  with 


BROWNING   CYCLOPEDIA.  305 

odoriferous  unguents.  They  fed  him,  clothed  him,  and  then  he 
told  his  story  all  unvarnished.  Be  sure  the  good  monk  gave  him 
sound  advice.  He  told  him  how  he  had  had  hopes  of  converting 
men  by  his  own  preaching,  and  how  hard  he  had  found  the  task. 
He  had  come  to  the  conclusion  that  work  for  work's  sake  was  the 
real  need  of  men  :  let  men  work,  but  not  dream,  and  they  would 
succeed  ;  if  present  success  merely  were  intended,  heaven  would 
begin  too  soon.  He  advised  him  not  to  be  a  spare-horse,  but  a 
working-horse— to  stick  to  his  paint  brush  and  work  fof  his  living;. 
Pacchiarotto  was  mute ;  he  had  no  need  of  conversion.  He  was; 
reformed  already,  not  by  a  live  man's  arguments,  but  by  the  dead 
thing—  the  clay-cold  grinning  corpse,  that  had  asked  him  why  he  was 
in  such  a  hurry  to  leave  the  warm  light  and  join  him  in  the  grave.. 
The  corpse  had  told  him  how  earth  was  a  place  of  rehearsal,  at 
which  things  seldom  go  smoothly.  The  Author,  no  doubt,  had 
His  reasons,  which  would  come  out  when  he  play  was  produced. 
Meanwhile  he  advised  him  not  to  interfere  with  its  production ; 
he  was  suffering  from  a  swelling  called  Vanity,  which  he  would 
prick  and  relieve  him  of.  And  so  Pacchiarotto,  having  partaken 
of  the  monks'  good  cheer,  was  restored  to  sanity  and  said  good- 
bye. Mr.  Browning  now  addresses  his  critics.  He  has  told  them 
a  plain  story,  and  tried  therewith  to  content  them.  He  considers 
them  as  an  assembly  of  May-day  sweeps,  with  tongs  and  bellows, 
calling  at  his  house  and  announcing  themselves  as 

"We  critics  as  sweeps  out  your  chimbly  ! ' 

They  relieve  his  flue  of  the  soot,  suggest  that  he  burns  a  deal  of 
coal  in  his  kitchen,  and  the  neighbours  do  say  he  ought  to  con- 
sume his  own  smoke  !  Browning  tells  them  that  his  housemaid 
says  they  bring  more  dirt  into  the  house  than  they  remove.  But 
he  will  not  be  hard  upon  them  :  "  'twas  God  made  you  dingy," 
he  says.  He  will  give  them  soap,  however,  and  let  them  dance 
away  and  make  a  rattle  with  their  brushes,  which  is  a  large  share 
of  their  whole  business,  he  thinks.  He  bids  them  not  trample 
his  grass,  and  flings  out  a  liberal  largess  and  bids  them  be  off, 
or  his  housemaid  will  serve  them  as  Xantippe  served  Socrates 
once  ;  she  will  take  the  first  thing  that  comes  to  her  hand. 

NOTES.— Verse  2,  "my  Kirkup"  :  this  was  Baron  Kirkup,  an 
admirer  of  art  and  letters,  who  was  on  friendly  terms  with 
Browning  at  Florence.  He  received  a  title  of  nobility  from  the 

20 


3o16  BROWNING   CYCLOPAEDIA.  [PaC 

King  of  Italy  for  his  services  to  literature.  It  was  he  who 
discovered  Dante's  portrait  in  the  Bargello  at  Florence.  San 
Bernardino :  St.  Bernardino  of  Siena  became,  at  the  age  of 
twenty-three,  one  of  the  most  celebrated  and  eloquent  preachers 
among  the  Franciscans,  but  he  refused  all  ecclesiastical  honours. 
He  founded  the  Order  of  the  "  Observants"  (see  note  to  v.  17). 
He  was  born  1380.  Bazzi:  the  Italian  painter  Giannantonio 
Bazzi  (who,  until  recent  years,  was  erroneously  named  Razzi) 
bore  the  name  " Sodona"  or  " // Sodoma"  as  a  family  name,  and 
signed  it  upon  some  of  his  pictures.  Bazzi  was  corrupted  into 
Kazzi,  and  "  Sodona  "  into  "Sodoma."  He  lived  c.  1479 — 1549- 
Beccafumi:  a  distinguished  painter  of  the  Siena  school,  who 
Hived  at  the  beginning  of  the  sixteenth  century,  v.  3,  Sopra  sotto, 
ttopsy-turvy.  v.  5,  Quiesco,  I  rest ;  "priest  armed  with  bell, 
•'book,  and  candle" :  in  the  major  excommunication  the  bell  is 
.irunjj,  die  sentence  read  from  the  book,  and  the  lighted  candle 
••extinguished,  v.  6,frescantt,  painters  in  fresco,  v.  8,  Boanerges  : 
sons  of  Thunder — an  appellation  given  by  Jesus  Christ  to  His 
-disciples  James  and  John.  v.  9,  Juvenal:  the  celebrated 
:Roman  satirist;  flourished  at  Rome  in  the  latter  half  of  the 
'.first  century.  He  severely  chastised  the  follies  and  vices  of 
ftiis  times.  He  was  particularly  outspoken  concerning  the  licen- 
itiousness  <of  the  Roman  ladies.  "  Qua  nemo  dixisset  in  toto,  nisi 
^Rtiefrdl)  -ore  illoto " :  which  things  no  one  would  have  spoken 
about  Fully,  unless  (by  Gad)  he  had  a  dirty  mouth.  (Juvenal's 
satires  about  the  Roman  ladies  are  inconceivably  filthy,  and  if 
tlieifh/ings  were  true  it  was  ill  to  speak  of  them  in  this  manner. 
St.  Paul  was  equally  severe,  but  adopted  another  method.) 
Apage  :  away ;!  begone  1  v.  1 1,  "  non  verbis  sed  factis  "  :  not  by 
words  but  by  deeds,  v.  12,  "fetch  grain  out  of  Sicily"  :  Sicily 
lias  always  been  famous  for  its  wheat.  Even  at  the  present  day 
the  best  wheat  for  making  Naples  macaroni  comes  from  this 
beautiful  island,  and  the  people  take  in  return  the  inferior  wheat 
of  Italy.  Sicily  was  in  ancient  times  sacred  to  Ceres,  the  goddess 
of  the  corn-lands,  v.  13,  "Freed  Ones"  "  Bar  dot ti  "  :  a  revolu- 
tionary club  so  called,  which  was  broken  up  by  the  authorities 
in  1535.  Pacchia  and  Pacchiarotto  both  seem  to  have  had  some 
•connection  with  it ;  bailiwick :  the  precincts  in  which  a  bailiff 
has  jurisdiction,  v.  15,  "  kai  td  loipa"  Kcu  ra  Xftnofjieva  =  and 
so  forth ;  kappas,  tans,  lambdas  (K.T.\.)  :  the  initial  letters  of  the 


Pam]  BROWNING   CYCLOP/EDIA.  307 

above  Greek  words,  commonly  used  in  learned  books,  v.  16, 
"per  ignes  incedis "  :  thou  art  treading  upon  fires.  Not  quite 
correctly  quoted,  as  to  the  order  of  the  words,  from  Horace 
{Od.  II.  i.  6),  "  Et  incedis  per  ignes,  suppositos  cineri  doloso." 
v.  17,  St.  John's  Observance:  "The  Italians  call  the  Franciscans 
Osservanti,  in  France  Peres  ou  Freres  de  V Observance,  because 
they  observed  the  original  rule  as  laid  down  by  St.  Francis,  went 
barefoot,  and  professed  absolute  poverty.  This  order  became 
very  popular"  (Mrs.  Jameson's  Monastic  Orders),  v.  18,  " haud 
in  posse  sed  esse  mens"  :  mind  as  it  is,  not  as  it  might  be.  v.  21, 
thill-horse  a  thiller  horse,  a  horse  which  goes  between  the 
shafts,  or  thills,  v.  22,  imposthume,  an  abscess  or  boil.  v.  23, 
"sceculorum  insacula!"  for  ever  and  ever;  Benedicite :  Bless 
ye!  May  you  be  blessed,  v.  27,  aubade  [Fr.],  open-air  music 
performed  at  daybreak  before  the  window  of  the  person  whom  it 
is  intended  to  honour,  v.  27,  skoramis,  a  vessel  of  dishonour. 
v.  28,  karterotaton  belos,  the  strongest  dart  (see  Pindar's  ist 
Olympic  Ode).  "  which  Pindar  declares  the  true  melos  "  =  mode. 
ad  hoc,  hitherto,  os  frontis,  the  forehead.  "  hebdome,  hieron 
emar"\hz  seventh,  the  holy  day.  "  tei  gar  Apollona  chrusaora, 
egeinato  Leto  "  :  on  which  the  golden-sworded  Apollo  was  born 
of  Latona. 

Painting  Poems.  The  great  poems  of  this  class  are  Andrea 
del  Sarto,  Pictor  Ignotus,  and  Fra  Lippo  Lippi.  (Vasari's  Lives 
of  the  Painters  should  be  read  in  connection  with  the  poems 
which  deal  with  the  Italian  artists.) 

Palma.  The  heroine  of  Sordello.  She  was  the  daughter  of 
Eccelino,  the  Ghibelline,  by  Agnes  Este.  The  historical  person- 
age represented  by  Browning's  Palma  was  Cunizza. 

Pambo.  (Jocoseria,  1883.)  The  poem  is  based  upon  a  passage 
in  the  Ecclesiastical  History  of  Socrates  Scholasticus,  Lib.  iv.,  cap. 
xviii.,  "concerning  Ammon  the  Monk,  and  divers  religious  men 
inhabiting  the  Desert."  In  the  time  of  St.  Antony,  in  the  Nitrian 
desert,  A.D.  373,  there  was  a  monk  named  "  Pambo,  a  simple  and 
an  unlearned  man,  who  came  unto  his  friend  to  learn  a  Psalm ; 
and  hearing  the  first  verse  of  the  thirty-ninth  Psalm,  which  is 
there  read :  '  I  said,  I  will  take  heed  unto  my  ways,  that  I  offend 
not  with  my  tongue  ' — would  not  hear  the  second,  but  went  away 
saying,  'This  one  verse  is  enough  for  me,  if  I  learn  it  as  I  ought 
to  do.'  And  when  his  teacher  blamed  him  for  absenting  himseli 


308  BROWNING  CYCLOPEDIA.  [Pam 

a  whole  six  months,  he  answered  for  himself  that  he  had  not  well 
learned  the  first  verse.  Many  years  after  that,  when  one  of  his 
acquaintances  demanded  of  him  whether  he  had  learned  the 
verse,  he  said  again,  that  in  nineteen  years  he  had  scarce  learned 
in  life  to  fulfil  that  one  line."  His  life  is  taken  from  Palladius, 
in  Lausiac  and  Rufin.  Hist.  Pair.  Sozomen.  Alban  Butler,  in 
his  Lives  of  the  Saints,  under  the  date  September  6th,  gives  the 
following  interesting  account  of  the  character,  whose  history  was 
apparently  only  partially  known  by  Mr.  Browning,  as  in  the 
second  verse  of  the  poem  he  says  he  does  not  know  who  he 
was : — "  St.  Pambo  betook  himself  in  his  youth  to  the  great 
St.  Antony  in  the  desert,  and,  desiring  to  be  admitted  among 
his  disciples,  begged  he  would  give  him  some  lessons  for  his 
conduct.  The  great  patriarch  of  the  ancient  monks  told  him  he 
must  take  care  always  to  live  in  a  state  of  penance  and  com- 
punction for  his  sins,  must  perfectly  divest  himself  of  all 
self-conceit,  and  never  place  the  least  confidence  in  himself  or 
in  his  own  righteousness ;  must  watch  continually  over  himself, 
and  study  to  act  in  everything  in  such  a  manner  as  to  have  no 
occasion  afterward  to  repent  of  what  he  had  done ;  and  that  he 
must  labour  to  put  a  restraint  upon  his  tongue  and  his  appetite. 
The  disciple  set  himself  earnestly  to  learn  the  practice  of  all 
these  lessons.  The  mortification  of  gluttony  was  usually  laid 
down  by  the  fathers  as  one  of  the  first  steps  towards  bringing 
the  senses  and  the  passions  into  subjection :  this,  consisting  in 
something  exterior  and  sensible,  its  practice  is  more  obvious, 
yet  of  great  importance  towards  the  reduction  of  all  the  sensual 
appetites  of  the  mind,  whose  revolt  was  begun  by  the  intemper- 
ance and  disobedience  of  our  first  parents.  Fasting  is  also, 
by  the  Divine  appointment,  a  duty  of  the  exterior  part  of  our 
penance.  What  a  reproach  are  the  austere  lives  which  so  many 
saints  have  led  to  those  slothful  and  sensual  Christians  whose 
god  is  the  belly,  and  who  walk  enemies  to  the  Cross  of  Christ, 
or  who  have  not  courage,  at  least  by  frequent  self-denials,  to 
curb  this  appetite  !  No  man  can  govern  himself  who  is  a  slave 
to  this  base  gratification  of  sense.  St.  Pambo  excelled  most 
other  ancient  monks  in  the  austerity  of  his  continual  fasts.  The 
government  of  his  tongue  was  no  less  an  object  of  his  watchful- 
ness than  that  of  his  appetite.  A  certain  religious  brother  to- 
whom  he  had  applied  for  advice  began  to  recite  to  him  the 


BROWNING   CYCLOPAEDIA.  309 

thirty-ninth  psalm :  '  I  said,  I  will  take  heed  to  my  ways,  that 
I  sin  not  with  my  tongue.'  Which  words  Pambo  had  no  sooner 
heard,  but,  without  waiting  for  the  second  verse,  he  returned  to 
his  cell,  saying  that  was  enough  for  one  lesson,  and  that  he 
would  go  and  study  to  put  it  in  practice.  This  he  did  by  keep- 
ing almost  perpetual  silence,  and  by  weighing  well,  when  it  was 
necessary  to  speak,  every  word  before  he  gave  any  answer.  He 
often  took  several  days  to  recommend  consultations  to  God,  and 
to  consider  what  answer  he  should  give  to  those  who  addressed 
themselves  to  him.  By  his  perpetual  attention  not  to  offend  in 
his  words,  he  arrived  at  so  great  a  perfection  in  this  particular 
that  he  was  thought  to  have  equalled,  if  not  to  have  excelled, 
St.  Antony  himself;  and  his  answers  were  seasoned  with  so 
much  wisdom  and  spiritual  prudence  that  they  were  received 
by  all  as  if  they  had  been  oracles  dictated  by  heaven.  Abbot 
Poemen  said  of  our  saint :  '  Three  exterior  practices  are  re- 
markable in  Abbot  Pambo :  his  fasting  every  day  till  evening,  his 
silence,  and  his  great  diligence  in  manual  labour.'  St.  Antony 
inculcated  to  all  his  disciples  the  obligation  of  assiduity  in 
constant  manual  labour  in  a  solitary  life,  both  as  a  part  ot 
penance  and  a  necessary  means  to  expel  sloth  and  entertain  the 
vigour  of  the  mind  in  spiritual  exercises.  This  lesson  was  con- 
firmed to  him  by  his  own  experience,  and  by  a  heavenly  vision 
related  in  the  Lives  of  the  Fathers  as  follows :  '  Abbot  Antony, 
as  he  was  sitting  in  the  wilderness,  fell  into  a  grievous  tempta- 
tion of  spiritual  darkness  ;  and  he  said  to  God  :  "  Lord,  I  desire 
to  be  saved;  but  my  thoughts  are  a  hindrance  to  me.  What 
shall  I  do  in  my  present  affliction?  How  shall  I  be  saved?" 
Soon  after  he  rose  up,  and,  going  out  of  his  cell,  saw  a  man 
sitting  and  working,  then  rising  from  his  work  to  pray ;  afterward 
sitting  down  again  and  twisting  his  cord,  after  this  rising  to 
pray.  He  understood  this  to  be  an  angel  sent  by  God  to  teach 
him  what  he  was  to  do,  and  he  heard  the  angel  say  to  him :  "Do 
so,  and  thou  shalt  be  saved."  Hereat  the  Abbot  was  filled  with 
joy  and  confidence,  and  by  this  means  he  cheerfully  persevered 
to  the  end."  St.  Pambo  most  rigorously  observed  this  rule,  and 
feared  to  lose  one  moment  of  his  precious  time.  Out  of  love  of 
humiliations,  and  a  fear  of  the  danger  of  vain-glory  and  pride, 
he  made  it  his  earnest  prayer  for  three  years  that  God  would  not 
give  him  glory  before  men,  but  rather  contempt.  Nevertheless 


310  BROWNING   CYCLOPEDIA.  am 

God  glorified  him  in  this  life,  but  made  him  by  His  grace  to  learn 
more  perfectly  to  humble  himself  amidst  applause.  The  eminent 
grace  which  replenished  his  soul  showed  itself  in  his  exterior  by 
a  certain  air  of  majesty,  and  a  kind  of  light  which  shone  on  his 
countenance,  like  what  we  read  of  Moses,  so  that  a  person  could 
not  look  steadfastly  on  his  face.  St.  Antony,  who  admired  the 
purity  of  his  soul  and  his  mastery  over  his  passions,  used  to  say 
that  his  fear  of  God  had  moved  the  Divine  Spirit  to  take  up  His 
resting-place  in  him.  St.  Pambo,  after  he  left  St.  Antony,  settled 
in  the  desert  of  Nitria,  on  a  mountain,  where  he  had  a  monastery. 
But  he  lived  some  time  in  the  wilderness  of  the  Cells,  where 
Rufinus  says  he  went  to  receive  his  blessing  in  the  year  374. 
St.  Melania  the  Elder,  in  the  visit  she  made  to  the  holy  solitaries 
who  inhabited  the  deserts  of  Egypt,  coming  to  St.  Pambo's 
monastery  on  Mount  Nitria,  found  the  holy  abbot  sitting  at  his 
work,  making  mats.  She  gave  him  three  hundred  pounds  weight 
of  silver,  desiring  him  to  accept  that  part  of  her  store  for  the 
necessities  of  the  poor  among  the  brethren.  St.  Pambo,  without 
interrupting  his  work,  or  looking  at  her  or  her  present,  said  to 
her  that  God  would  reward  her  charity.  Then,  turning  to  his 
disciple,  he  bade  him  take  the  silver  and  distribute  it  among  all 
the  brethren  in  Lybia  and  the  isles  who  were  most  needy,  but 
charged  him  to  give  nothing  to  those  of  Egypt,  that  country  being 
rich  and  plentiful.  Melania  continued  some  time  standing,  and 
at  length  said :  '  Father,  do  you  know  that  here  is  three  hundred 
pounds  weight  of  silver  ? '  The  Abbot,  without  casting  his  eye 
upon  the  chest  of  silver,  replied :  '  Daughter,  He  to  whom  you 
made  this  offering  very  well  knows  how  much  it  weighs  without 
being  told.  If  you  give  it  to  God,  who  did  not  despise  the 
widow's  two  mites,  and  even  preferred  them  to  the  great  presents 
of  the  rich,  say  no  more  about  it.'  This  Melania  herself  related 
to  Palladius.  St.  Athanasius  once  desired  St.  Pambo  to  come 
out  of  the  desert  to  Alexandria,  to  confound  the  Arians  by  giving 
testimony  to  the  divinity  of  Jesus  Christ.  Our  saint,  seeing  in 
that  city  an  actress  dressed  up  for  the  stage,  wept  bitterly ;  and 
being  asked  the  reason  of  his  tears,  said  he  wept  for  the  sinful 
condition  of  that  unhappy  woman,  also  for  his  own  sloth  in  the 
Divine  service,  because  he  did  not  take  so  much  pains  to  please 
God  as  she  did  to  ensnare  men.  When  Abbot  Theodore  begged 
of  St.  Pambo  some  words  of  instruction :  '  Go,'  said  he,  '  and 


PamJ  BROWNING   CYCLOPAEDIA.  31* 

exercise  mercy  and  charity  toward  all  men.  Mercy  finds  con- 
fidence before  God.'  To  the  priest  of  Nitria  who  asked  him  how 
the  brethren  ought  to  live,  he  said  :  '  They  must  live  in  constant 
labour  and  the  exercise  of  all  virtues,  watching  to  preserve  their 
conscience  free  from  stain,  especially  from  giving  scandal  or 
offence  to  any  neighbour.'  St.  Pambo  said,  a  little  before  his 
death  :  '  From  the  time  that  I  came  into  this  desert,  and  built 
myself  a  cell  in  it,  I  do  not  remember  that  I  have  ever  ate  any 
bread  but  what  I  had  earned  by  my  own  labour,  nor  that  I  ever 
spoke  any  word  of  which  I  afterward  repented.  Nevertheless, 
I  go  to  God  as  one  who  has  not  yet  begun  to  serve  Him.'  He 
died  seventy  years  old,  without  any  sickness,  pain,  or  agony,  as 
he  was  making  a  basket,  which  he  bequeathed  to  Palladius,  who 
was  at  that  time  his  disciple,  the  holy  man  having  nothing  else 
to  give  him.  Melania  took  care  of  his  burial,  and  having  obtained 
this  basket,  kept  it  to  her  dying  day.  St.  Pambo  is  commemo- 
rated by  the  Greeks  on  several  days.  It  was  a  usual  saying  of 
this  great  director  of  souls  in  the  rules  of  Christian  perfection , 
'  If  you  have  a  heart,  you  may  be  saved,'  The  extraordinary 
austerities  and  solitude  of  a  St.  Antony  or  a  St.  Pambo  are  not 
suitable  to  persons  engaged  in  the  world,— they  are  even  incon- 
sistent with  their  obligations ;  but  all  are  capable  of  disengaging 
their  affections  from  inordinate  passions  and  attachment  to 
creatures,  and  of  attaining  to  a  pure  and  holy  love  of  God, 
which  may  be  made  the  principle  of  their  thoughts  and  ordinary 
actions,  and  sanctify  the  whole  circle  of  their  lives.  Of  this  all 
who  have  a  heart  are,  through  the  Divine  grace,  capable.  In 
whatever  circumstances  we  are  placed,  we  have  opportunities 
of  subduing  our  passions  and  subjecting  our  senses  by  frequent 
denials,  of  watching  over  our  hearts  by  self-examination,  off 
purifying  our  affections  by  assiduous  recollection  and  prayer, 
and  of  uniting  our  souls  to  God  by  continual  exterior  and  interior 
acts  of  holy  love.  Thus  may  the  gentleman,  the  husbandman,  or 
the  shopkeeper,  become  an  eminent  saint,  and  make  the  employ- 
ments of  his  state  an  exercise  of  all  heroic  virtues,  and  so  many 
steps  to  perfection  and  to  eternal  glory." — Mr.  Browning,  in  the 
last  verse,  addresses  his  critics  in  a  jocular  manner.  He  owns- 
he  is  very  much  like  Pambo, — he  has  spent  much  time  in  looking 
to  his  ways  ;  yet,  as  he  is  so  often  reminded  by  his  reviewers  and 
critics,  he  still  feels,  he  says,  that  he  offends  with  his  tongue  I 


312  BROWNING   CYCLOPAEDIA.  [Pan 

NOTE. — "Arcades  sumiis  ambo" :  "  we  are  both  alike  eccen- 
tric." From  Vergil's  Eclogties  (vii.),  where  Corydon  and  Thyrsis 
are  described  as  both  Arcadians. 

Pan  and  Luna.  (Dramatic  Idyls,  Second  Series,  1880.)  Pan 
•was  the  god  of  shepherds,  of  huntsmen,  and  of  all  the  inhabitants 
of  the  country.  He  was  a  monster  in  appearance,  had  two  small 
horns  on  his  head,  his  complexion  was  ruddy,  his  nose  flat,  and 
his  legs,  thighs,  and  feet  and  tail,  were  those  of  a  goat  The 
god  of  shepherds  lived  chiefly  in  Arcadia,  and  he  is  described  by 
the  poets  as  frequently  occupied  in  deceiving  and  entrapping  the 
nymphs  of  the  neighbourhood.  Luna  was  the  same  as  Diana 
or  Cynthia— names  given  to  the  moon.  Mr.  Browning  quotes 
from  Vergil,  Georgics,  iii.,  390,  at  the  head  of  the  poem  the 
words,  "Si  credere  dignum  est "  (if  we  may  trust  report),  the 
context  giving  the  account  according  to  Vergil — 

"  'Twas  thou,  with  fleeces  milky-white,  (if  we 

May  trust  report)  Pan,  god  of  Arcady, 

Did  bribe  thee,  Cynthia  ;  nor  didst  thou  disdain, 

When  called  in  woody  shades,  to  cure  a  lover's  pain." 

The  legend  was  the  poetical  way  of  accounting  for  an  eclipse 
of  the  moon.  The  naked  maid-moon  flying  through  the  night 
sought  shelter  in  a  fleecy  cloud  mass  caught  on  some  pine-tree 
top.  "  Shamed  she  plunged  into  its  shroud,"  when  she  was 
grasped  by  rough  red  Pan,  the  god  of  all  that  tract,  who  had 
made  a  billowy  wrappage  of  wool  tufts  to  simulate  a  cloud. 
Vergil  says  that  Luna  was  a  not  unwilling  conquest ;  Mr. 
Browning  doss  more  justice  to  the  supposed  austerity  of  the 
goddess  of  night.  It  is  evident,  however,  that  the  moral  of  the 
poem  is  that  she  yielded  herself  to  the  love  of  Pan  out  of  com- 
passion. Pan  exalted  himself  in  aspiring  to  her  austere  purity ; 
Luna  voluntarily  subjected  herself  to  the  lower  nature  out  of 
sympathy,  thus  preserving  her  modesty  by  sanctifying  it  with 
sacrifice. 

Paracelsus.  [THE  MAN.]  Paracelsus  was  the  son  of  a 
physician,  William  Bombast  von  Hohenheim,  who  taught  him 
the  rudiments  of  alchemy,  surgery,  and  medicine  ;  he  studied 
philosophy  under  several  learned  masters,  chief  of  whom  was 
Trithemius,  of  Spanheim,  Abbot  of  Wurzburg,  a  great  adept  in 
magic,  alchemy,  and  astrology.  Under  this  teacher  he  acquired 


Par]  BROWNING    CYCLOPAEDIA.  313 

a  taste  for  occult  studies,  and  formed  a  determination  to  use 
them  for  the  welfare  of  mankind.  He  could  hardly  have  studied 
under  a  better  man  in  those  dark  days.  Tritheim  himself  was 
well  in  advance  of  most  of  the  teachers  of  his  time ;  he  was  ol 
the  Theosophists  or  Mystics,  for  they  are  of  the  same  class,  and 
probably,  in  their  German  form,  derived  their  origin  from  the 
labours  of  Tauler  of  Strasburg,  who  afterwards,  with  "  the 
Friends  of  God,"  made  their  headquarters  at  Basle.  The  mysti- 
cism which  is  so  dear  to  Mr.  Browning,  and  which  perhaps  finds 
its  highest  expression  in  the  poem  which  we  are  considering, 
is  not  therefore  out  of  place.  When  he  left  his  home  he  went 
to  study  in  the  mines  of  the  Tyrol.  There,  we  are  told,  he 
learned  mining  and  geology,  and  the  use  of  metals  in  the  prac- 
tice of  medicine.  "  I  see,"  he  says,  "  the  true  use  of  chemistry 
i<?  not  to  make  gold,  but  to  prepare  medicines."  Paracelsus  is 
rightly  termed  "  the  father  of  modern  chemistry."  He  discovered 
the  metals  zinc  and  bismuth,  hydrogen  gas,  and  the  medical 
uses  of  many  minerals,  the  most  important  of  which  were  mer- 
cury and  antimony.  He  gave  to  medicine  the  greatest  weapon 
in  her  armoury — the  tincture  of  opium.  His  celebrated  azoth 
some  say  was  magnetised  electricity,  and  others  that  his  magmtm 
opus  was  the  science  of  fire.  He  acted  as  army  surgeon  to 
several  princes  in  Italy,  Belgium,  and  Denmark.  He  travelled 
in  Portugal  and  Sweden,  and  came  to  England  ;  going  thence  to 
Transylvania,  he  was  carried  prisoner  to  Tartary,  visiting  the 
famous  colleges  of  Samarcand,  and  went  thence  with  the  son 
of  the  Khan  on  an  embassy  to  Constantinople.  All  this  time  he 
had  no  books.  His  only  book  was  Nature  ;  he  interrogated  her 
at  first-hand.  He  mixed  with  the  common  people,  and  drank 
with  boors,  shepherds,  Jews,  gipsies,  and  tramps,  so  gaining 
scraps  of  knowledge  wherever  he  could,  and  giving  colourable 
cause  to  his  enemies  to  say  he  was  nothing  but  a  drunken  vaga- 
bond fond  of  low  company.  He  would  rather  learn  medicine 
and  surgery  from  an  old  country  nurse  than  from  a  university 
lecturer,  and  was  denounced  accordingly  and — naturally.  If 
there  was  one  thing  he  detested  more  than  another,  it  was 
the  principle  of  authority.  He  bent  his  head  to  no  man. 
Paracelsus,  as  we  find  him  in  his  works,  was  full  of  love  for 
humanity,  and  it  is  much  more  probable  that  he  learned  his 
lessons  while  travelling,  and  mixing  amongst  the  poor  and 


314  BROWNING   CYCLOPEDIA.  [Par 

wretched,  and  while  a  prisoner  in  Tartary,  where  he  doubtless 
imbibed  much  Buddhist  and  occult  lore  from  the  philosophers 
of  Samarcand,  than  that  anything  like  the  Constantinople 
drama  was  enacted.  Be  this  as  it  may,  we  have  abundant 
evidence  in  the  many  extant  works  of  Paracelsus  that  he 
was  thoroughly  imbued  with  the  spirit  and  doctrines  of  the 
Eastern  occultism,  and  was  full  of  love  for  humanity.  A  quota- 
tion from  his  De  Fundamento  Sapientia  must  suffice:  "He  who 
foolishly  believes  is  foolish  ;  without  knowledge  there  can  be  no 
faith.  God  does  not  desire  that  we  should  remain  in  darkness 
and  ignorance.  We  should  be  all  recipients  of  the  Divine 
wisdom.  We  can  learn  to  know  God  only  by  becoming  wise. 
To  become  like  God  we  must  become  attracted  to  God,  and  the 
power  that  attracts  us  is  love.  Love  to  God  will  be  kindled 
in  our  hearts  by  an  ardent  love  for  humanity,  and  a  love  for 
humanity  will  be  caused  by  a  love  to  God."  In  the  year 
1525  Paracelsus  went  to  Basle,  where  he  was  fortunate  in 
curing  Froben,  the  great  printer,  by  his  laudanum,  when  he 
had  the  gout.  Froben  was  the  friend  of  Erasmus,  who  was 
associated  with  OEcolampadius ;  and  soon  after,  upon  the  re- 
commendation of  (Ecolampadius,  he  was  appointed  by  the 
city  magnates  a  professor  of  physics,  medicine  and  surgery,  with 
a  considerable  salary ;  at  the  same  time  they  made  him  city 
physician,  to  the  duties  of  which  office  he  requested  might  be- 
added  inspector  of  drug  shops.  This  examination  made  the 
druggists  his  bitterest  enemies,  as  he  detected  their  fraudulent 
practices :  they  combined  to  set  the  other  doctors  of  the  city 
against  him,  and  as  these  were  exceedingly  jealous  of  his  skill 
and  success,  poor  Paracelsus  found  himself  in  a  hornet's  nest. 
We  find  him  then  at  Basle  University  in  1526,  the  earliest 
teacher  of  science  on  record.  He  has  become  famous  as  a 
physician,  the  medicines  which  he  has  discovered  he  has  success- 
fully used  in  his  practice  ;  he  was  now  in  the  eyes  of  his  patients- 
at  least, 

'•  The  wondrous  Paracelsus,  life's  dispenser, 
Fate's  commissary,  idol  of  the  schools  and  courts." 

In  1528  we  find  him  at  Colmar,  in  Alsatia.  He  has  been  driven 
by  the  priests  and  doctors  from  Basle.  He  had  been  called  to- 
the  bedside  of  some  rich  cleric  who  was  ill ;  he  cured  him,  but  so- 


Par]  BROWNING   CYCLOPEDIA.  315 

speedily  that  his  fee  was  refused.  Though  not  at  all  a  mercenary 
man  (for  he  always  gave  the  poor  his  services  gratuitously)  he 
sued  the  priest,  but  the  judge  refused  to  interfere,  and  Paracelsus 
used  strong  language  to  him,  and  had  to  fly  to  escape  punishment. 
The  closing  scene  of  the  drama  is  laid  in  a  cell  in  the  hospital 
of  Salzburg.  It  is  the  year  1541,  his  age  but  forty-eight,  and 
the  divine  martyr  of  science  lies  dying.  Recent  investigations  in 
contemporary  records  have  proved  that  he  had  been  attacked  by 
the  servants  of  certain  physicians  who  were  his  jealous  enemies, 
and  that  in  consequence  of  a  fall  he  sustained  a  fracture  of  the 
skull,  which  proved  fatal  in  a  few  days.  He  was  buried  in  the 
churchyard  of  St.  Sebastian  at  Salzburg,  but  in  1752  his  bones 
were  removed  to  the  porch  of  the  church,  and  a  monument  was 
erected  to  his  memory  by  the  archbishop.  When  his  body  was  ex- 
humed it  was  discovered  that  his  skull  had  been  fractured  during 
life.  Writers  on  magic,  of  whom  Dr.  Hartmann  is  one,  describe 
azoth  as  being  "  the  creative  principle  in  Nature  ;  the  universal 
panacea  or  spiritual  life-giving  air — in  its  lowest  aspects,  ozone, 
oxygen,  etc."  Much  ridicule  has  been  cast  upon  Paracelsus  for 
his  belief  in  the  possibility  of  generating  homunculi ;  but  after  all 
he  may  only  mean  that  chemistry  will  succeed  in  bridging  the 
gulf  between  the  living  and  the  not-living  by  the  production  of 
organic  bodies  from  inorganic  substances.  Paracelsus  held  that 
the  constitution  of  man  consists  of  seven  principles:  (i)  The 
elementary  body;  (2)  The  archseus  (vital  force);  (3)  The 
sidereal  body ;  (4)  The  animal  soul ;  (5)  The  rational  soul ;. 
(6)  The  spiritual  soul ;  (7)  The  man  of  the  new  Olympus  (the 
personal  God).  Those  who  are  familiar  with  Indian  philosophy 
will  recognise  this  anthropology  as  identical  with  its  own. 
Paracelsus,  in  his  De  Natura  Rerum,  says,  "  The  external  man 
is  not  the  real  man,  but  the  real  man  is  the  soul  in  connection 
with  the  Divine  Spirit."  We  understand  now  what  Mr. 
Browning  means  when  he  says  that  "  knowing  is  opening  the 
way  to  let  the  imprisoned  splendour  escape."  His  idea  that  all 
Nature  was  living,  and  that  there  is  nothing  which  has  not  a  soul 
hidden  within  it — a  hidden  principle  of  life — led  him  to  the  con- 
clusion that,  in  place  of  the  filthy  concoctions  and  hideous  messes 
that  were  in  vogue  with  the  doctors  of  his  time,  it  was  possible 
to  give  tinctures  and  quintessences  of  drugs,  such  as  we  now- 
call  active  principles, — in  a  word,  that  it  is  more  reasonable  and 


316  BROWNING   CYCLOPAEDIA.  [Par 

pleasant  to  take  a  grain  or  two  of  quinine  than  a  tablespoonful 
of  timber.  He  set  himself  to  study  the  causes  and  the  symptoms 
of  disease,  and  sought  a  remedy  in  common-sense  methods.  Mr. 
Browning  is  right  when  he  makes  him  say  he  had  a  "wolfish 
hunger  after  knowledge  " ;  and  surely  there  never  lived  a  man 
whose  aim  was  to  devote  its  fruits  to  the  service  of  humanity 
more  than  his.  There  are  many  hints  in  his  works  that  he  knew 
a  great  deal  more  than  he  cared  to  make  known.  Take  this 
example.  He  said  :  "  Every  peasant  has  seen  a  magnet  will 
attract  iron.  I  have  discovered  that  the  magnet,  besides  this 
visible  power,  has  another  and  a  concealed  power."  Again :  "  A 
magnet  may  be  prepared  out  of  some  vital  substance  that  will 
attract  vitality."  Mesmer,  who  lived  nearly  three  hundred  years 
after  him,  reaped  the  glory  of  a  discovery  made,  as  Lessing  says, 
by  the  martyred  fire-philosopher  who  died  in  Salzburg  hospital. 
"  Matter  is  the  visible  body  of  the  invisible  God,"  says 
Paracelsus.  Matter  to  him  was  not  dead.  "  Matter  is,  so  to 
say,  coagulated  vapour,  and  is  connected  with  spirit  by  an 
intermediate  principle  which  it  receives  from  the  spirit."  We 
cannot  understand  Paracelsus  and  the  science  of  his  time 
without  a  little  inquiry  as  to  what  was  meant  by  the  search  for 
the  philosopher's  stone,  the  elixir  of  life,  and  the  universal 
medicine.  It  is  very  difficult  to  discern  what  was  really  intended 
'by  these  phrases.  Dr.  Anna  Kingsford,  who  paid  considerable 
attention  to  the  hermetic  philosophy,  says:  "These  are  but 
terms  to  denote  pure  spirit  and  its  essential  correlative,  a  will 
absolutely  firm,  and  inaccessible  alike  to  weakness  from  within 
and  assault  from  without."  Another  writer  ingeniously  tries  to 
explain  the  universal  solvent  as  really  nothing  but  pure  water, 
which  has  the  property  of  more  or  less  dissolving  all  the  ele- 
ments. His  alcahest—2&  he  termed  it — as  far  as  I  can  make 
out  was  nothing  more  than  a  preparation  of  lime ;  but  writers  of 
this  school  only  desired  to  be  understood  by  the  initiated,  and 
.probably  the  words  actually  used  meant  something  quite  different. 
There  was  a  reason  for  using  an  incomprehensible  style  for  fear 
of  the  persecutions  of  the  Church,  and  these  books,  like  the 
rolls  in  Ezekiel,  were  "  written  within  and  without."  Many  great 
truths,  we  know,  were  enshrouded  in  symbolic  names  and  fanciful 
metaphors.  It  is  certain  that  Paracelsus,  like  his  predecessors, 
.-sought  to  possess  the  elixir  of  life.  It  does  not  appear  from  his 


Par]  BROWNING   CYCLOPEDIA.  317 

writings  that  he  thought  it  possible  to  render  the  physical  body 
immortal ;  but  he  held  it  to  be  the  duty — as  the  medical  profession' 
holds  it  still — of  the  physician  to  preserve  life  as  long  as  possible. 
A  great  deal  of  matter  attributed  to  Paracelsus  on  this  subject 
is  spurious,  but  there  are  some  of  his  authentic  writings  which 
are  very  curious  and  entertaining.  He  describes  the  process  of 
making  the  Primum  Ens  Melissa,  which  after  all  turns  out  to  be 
nothing  but  an  alkaline  tincture  of  the  leaves  of  the  common 
British  plant  known  as  the  Balm  or  Melissa  officinalis.  Some 
very  amusing  stories  are  told  of  the  virtues  of  this  concoction  by 
Lesebure,  a  physician  to  Louis  XIV.,  and  which  speak  volumes 
for  the  credulity  of  the  doctors  of  those  times.  Another  of  his 
great  secrets  was  his  Primum  Ens  Sanguinis.  This  is  ex- 
tremely simple,  being  nothing  more  than  the  venous  injection  of 
blood  from  the  arm  of  "  a  healthy  young  person."  In  this  we 
see  that  he  anticipated  our  modern  operation  of  transfusion. 
His  doctrine  of  signatures  was  very  curious  and  most  absurd. 
He  thought  that  "each  plant  was  in  a  sympathetic  relation  with 
the  Macrocosm  and  consequently  with  the  Microcosm."  "  This 
signature,"  he  says,  "is  often  expressed  even  in  the  exterior 
forms  of  things."  So  he  prescribed  the  plant  we  call  euphrasy 
or  "eye  bright"  for  complaints  of  the  eyes,  because  of  the 
likeness  to  an  eye  in  the  flower ;  small-pox  was  treated  with 
mulberries  because  their  colour  showed  that  they  were  proper 
for  diseases  of  the  blood.  This  sort  of  thing  still  lingers  in 
country  domestic  medicine.  Pulmonaria  officinalis  or  Lungwort, 
•  so  called  from  its  spotted  leaves  looking  like  diseased  lungs,  has 
long  been  used  for  chest  complaints.  (See  my  "  Paracelsus  the 
Reformer  of  Medicine  "  in  Browning's  Message  to  his  Time.} 

Paracelsus.  [THE  POEM,  1835.]  PARACELSUS  ASPIRES: 
BOOK  I.  (Wurzburg,  1512.)  Paracelsus  the  student  is  talking 
with  his  friends  Festus  and  Michal  on  the  eve  of  his  departure 
to  seek  knowledge  of  the  deeper  sort,  that  cannot  be  learned 
from  books, — in  the  great  world  of  men.  It  is  a  time  to 
arouse  young  men.  The  dark  night  of  ignorance  yields  to 
the  rising  sun  of  learning,  for  the  art  of  printing  and  the 
glories  of  the  Revival  of  Learning  have  liberated  the  minds 
of  men.  Authority  no  longer  suffices:  the  men  of  Germany 
will  see  for  themselves.  So  Paracelsus,  pupil  of  the  learned 
Abbot  Trithemius,  resolves  to  forsake  the  monastery  cell  and  the 


318  BROWNING   CYCLOPAEDIA.  [Par 

ancient  books,  and  go  out  to  seek  for  himself  knowledge  in  the 
byways  of  the  world.  His  friends  are  timid.  They  mistrust 
his  method ;  they  call  him  proud  and  too  self-confident,  advise 
him  to  stick  to  the  beaten  ways  of  learning,  nor  venture  into  the 
tangled  forests  and  pathless  deserts  which  God  has  evidently 
closed  against  man's  rash  intrusion.  Paracelsus,  on  the  con- 
trary, feels  that  he  has  a  great  commission  from  God :  he  dare 
not  subdue  the  vast  longings  which  fill  his  soul.  God's  command 
is  laid  upon  him,  and  he  must  answer  to  His  will.  Festus  objects 
that  a  man  must  not  presume  to  serve  God  save  in  the  appointed 
channels.  God  looks  to  means  as  well  as  ends,  and  Paracelsus 
•ought  not  to  scorn  the  ordinary  means  of  learning.  The  im- 
patient student  suggests  that  his  fierce  energy,  his  striving 
instinct,  the  irresistible  force  which  works  within  him,  are  proofs 
that  he  possesses  a  God-given  strength  never  imparted  in  vain. 
He  will  abjure  the  idle  arts  of  magic.  New  hopes  animate  him, 
new  light  dawns  upon  him  :  he  is  set  apart  for  a  great  work. 
"Then,"  replies  his  friend,  "pursue  it  in  an  approved  retreat ; 
turn  not  aside  from  the  famed  spots  where  Learning  dwells. 
Rome  and  Athens  shall  teach  you ;  leave  seas  and  deserts  to 
their  desolation."  Paracelsus  declares  his  aspiration  to  be  no 
less  than  a  passionate  yearning  to  comprehend  the  works  of  God, 
God  Himself,  all  God's  intercourse  with  the  human  mind.  He 
goes  to  prove  his  soul.  God,  who  guides  the  bird  in  his  track- 
less way,  will  guide  him  :  he  will  arrive  in  God's  good  time.  His 
friends  think  that  all  this  may  be  but  self-delusion  ;  at  least,  he 
is  selfish  to  attempt  this  work  alone.  Festus  declares  that  were 
he  elect  for  such  a  task  he  would  encircle  himself  with  the  love 
•of  his  fellows,  and  not  cut  himself  off  from  human  weal ;  for 
there  is  nothing  so  monstrous  in  the  world  as  a  being  not 
knowing  what  love  is.  Michal,  the  tender  woman  friend,  urges 
him  to  cast  his  hopes  away — warns  him  that  he  is  too  proud. 
He  will  find  what  he  seeks,  but  will  perish  so !  Paracelsus 
protests  that  he  does  not  lightly  give  up  either  the  pleasures  of 
life  or  the  love  they  praise.  Truth,  he  says,  is  within  ourselves  ; 
knowing  consists  in  opening  a  way  where  the  splendour  impri- 
soned within  the  soul  may  escape.  It  comes  not  from  outward 
things.  He  offers,  therefore,  no  defiance  to  God  in  desiring  to 
know.  Humanity  may  beat  the  angels  ;  yet,  if  once  man  rises 
to  his  true  stature,  Festus  believes,  and  so  does  Michal,  that 


Par]  BROWNING   CYCLOPEDIA.  319 

Paracelsus  will  succeed.  He  plunges  for  the  pearl ;  they  wait 
his  rise. 

PARACELSUS  ATTAINS  :  BOOK  II.  The  scene  is  laid  in  a  Greek 
conjuror's  house  at  Constantinople,  1521.  Paracelsus  is  mentally 
taking  stock  of  his  attainments — what  gained,  what  lost.  He  has 
made  discoveries,  but  the  produce  of  his  toil  is  fragmentary — a 
confused  mass  of  fact  and  fancy.  He  can  keep  on  the  stretch  no 
longer :  he  will  learn  by  magic  what  he  has  failed  to  learn  by 
labour.  His  overwrought  brain  demands  rest ;  even  in  failure  he 
will  have  rest.  True,  he  had  hoped  for  attainment  once,  but  that 
is  past.  His  heart  was  human  once.  He  had  loving  friends  in 
Wiirzburg  ;  but  love  has  gone,  and  his  life's  one  idea  has  absorbed 
him,  to  obtain  at  all  costs  his  reward  in  the  lump.  God  may  take 
pleasure  in  confounding  such  pride.  He  may  have  been  fighting 
sleep  off  for  death's  sake.  Is  his  mind  stricken?  He  believes 
that  God  would  warn  him  before  He  struck.  And  now  from  within 
he  hears  a  voice.  It  is  that  of  Aprile,  the  spirit  of  a  departed 
poet,  who  has  aspired  to  love  beauty  only.  As  Paracelsus  has 
sought  knowledge  alone,  Aprile  would  love  infinitely  all  forms  of 
art  and  all  the  delights  of  Nature.  Paracelsus  demands  he  should 
do  obeisance  to  him,  the  Knower.  Aprile  refuses  to  acknowledge 
the  kingship  of  one  who  knows  nothing  of  the  loveliness  of  life. 
Paracelsus  now  sees  the  error  into  which  both  have  fallen.  He 
has  excluded  love,  as  Aprile  has  excluded  knowledge.  They  are 
two  halves  of  one  dissevered  world.  Paracelsus,  learning  now 
wherein  lies  his  defect,  feels  that  he  has  attained. 

PARACELSUS:  BOOK  III.  At  Basle,  1526.  Paracelsus  meets 
his  friend  Festus,  who  has  come  to  the  famous  university  town 
to  see  the  wondrous  physician,  whom  they  call  "life's  dispenser, 
idol  of  the  courts  and  schools."  He  has  heard  him  lecture  from 
his  Professor's  chair  ;  has  seen  the  benches  thronged  with  eager 
students  ;  has  gathered  from  their  approving  murmurs  full  cor- 
roboration  of  his  hopes:  his  pupils  worship  him.  Paracelsus 
admits  his  outward  success,  but  confides  to  his  friend  that  he  is 
indeed  most  miserable  at  heart.  The  hopes  which  fed  his  youth 
have  not  been  realised.  He  aspired  to  know  God  :  he  has  attained 
— a  professorship  at  Basle  1  He  has  wrought  certain  cures  by 
means  of  drugs  whose  uses  he  has  discovered  ;  he  has  a  pile  of 
diplomas  and  licences  ;  he  has  received  (what  he  values  most)  a 
generous  acknowledgment  of  his  merit  from  Erasmus ;  and  he 


320  BROWNING   CYCLOPAEDIA.  [Par 

has  a  crowded  class-room,  and,  in  place  of  his  high  aims,  there 
have  sprung  up  in  his  soul  like  fungi  at  the  roots  of  a  noble  tree, 
a  host  of  petty,  vile  delights.  As  for  his  eager  following,  mere 
novelty  and  ignorant  amazement,  coupled  with  innate  dulness 
and  the  opposition  to  the  regular  system  of  the  schools,  will 
account  for  it.  Seeing  all  this,  and  feeling  that  the  work  to- 
which  he  has  addressed  himself  is  too  hard  for  him,  he  has  sunk 
in  his  own  esteem,  fallen  from  his  ambition,  and  has  become 
brutal,  half-stupid  and  half-mad.  He  feels  that  he  precedes  his 
age  in  his  contempt  and  scorn  for  all  who  worked  before  him  on 
the  same  path.  He  has  in  public  burned  the  books  of  Aetius,. 
Oribasius,  Galen,  Rhasis,  Serapion,  Avicenna,  and  Averroes. 

PARACELSUS  ASPIRES.  BOOK  IV.  The  scene  is  at  Colmar,  ID 
Alsatia,  at  an  inn,  1528.  Yet  once  more  Paracelsus  aspires. 
He  has  sent  for  his  friend  Festus  to  tell  him  that  he  is  exposed 
to  the  world  as  a  quack,  that  he  is  cast  off  by  those  who  erstwhile 
worshipped  him,  and  denounced  by  those  whom  he  has  served. 
He  has  saved  the  life  of  a  church  dignitary,  who  not  only  refused 
afterwards  to  pay  his  fee,  but  made  Basle  impossible  for  him. 
His  pupils  grew  tired  of  him  when  he  attempted  to  teach  them 
and  gave  up  amusing  them.  The  faculty  drew  off  from  him: 
when  their  old  methods  were  interfered  with ;  and  so  he  turned 
his  back  on  the  university.  And  once  more  the  philosopher  has 
started  on  his  travels,  seeking  to  know  with  all  the  enthusiasm* 
of  his  youth — with  the  old  aims,  but  not  by  the  same  means. 
No  longer  the  lean  ascetic,  debarring  his  soul  of  her  rightful 
pleasures ;  but  embracing  all  the  joys  of  life,  and  combining 
pleasure  with  knowledge.  This  is  to  be  his  new  method.  His 
appetites,  he  must  own,  are  degraded — his  joys  impure.  Festus 
warns  him  that  the  base  pleasures  which  have  superseded  his 
nobler  aims  will  never  content  him.  Paracelsus  declares  he 
lives  to  enjoy  all  he  can  and  to  know  all  he  can.  He  has  cast 
off  his  remorseless  care,  is  hardened  in  his  fault ;  and  as  he  sings 
the  song  of — 

"  The  men  who  proudly  clung 
To  their  first  fault,  and  perished  in  their  pride," 

his  friend  Festus,  alarmed  at  this  impiety,  urges  him  to  renounce 
the  past,  to  wait  death's  summons  amid  holy  sights,  and  return 
with  him  to  Einsiedeln.  Paracelsus  declares  this  to  be  impos- 


POT]  BROWNING    CYCLOPEDIA.  321 

sible :  his  baser  life  forbids ;  a  sneering  devil  is  within  him ; 
he  is  weary  ;  the  wine-cup,  in  which  he  has  long  tried  to  drown 
his  disappointment,  fails  him  now ;  he  can  hardly  sink  deeper. 
Festus  attempts  to  comfort  and  advise :  he  too  has  felt  sorrow : 
sweet  Michal  is  dead.  This  rouses  Paracelsus  to  endeavour  on 
his  part  to  comfort  Festus  by  declaring  his  faith  in  the  soul's 
immortality. 

PARACELSUS  ATTAINS.  BOOK  V.  In  a  cell  in  the  hospital  of 
Salzburg,  in  1541,  Paracelsus  lies  dying.  His  faithful  friend  is 
by  his  side,  watching  through  the  weary  night ;  and  as  he  watches 
the  patient,  he  prays  for  the  tortured  champion  of  man.  He  has 
sinned,  but  surely  he  has  sought  God's  praise.  Had  God  granted 
him  success,  it  must  have  been  to  His  honour.  .  Say  he  erred, 
God  fashioned  him  and  knew  how  he  was  made.  Festus  could 
have  sat  quietly  at  the  feet  of  God.  He  could  never  have  erred 
in  this  great  way.  God  is  not  made  like  us.  It  will  be  like  Him 
to  save  him !  Now  Paracelsus  awakes ;  his  failing  strength 
struggles  like  the  flame  of  an  expiring  taper.  At  first,  in  half- 
delirious  phrases,  he  tells  of  the  hissing  and  contempt  which 
struck  at  his  heart  at  Basle — the  measureless  scorn  heaped  on 
him,  as  they  called  him  quack  and  cheat  and  liar.  And  now  he 
cries  that  human  love  is  gone ;  he  dreams  of  Aprile ;  he  calls 
on  God  for  one  hour  of  strength  to  set  his  heart  on  Him  and  love. 
And  then,  with  a  clearer  consciousness,  he  recognises  Festus, 
who  tells  him  that  God  will  take  him  to  His  breast,  and  on  earth 
splendour  shall  rest  upon  his  name  for  ever, — the  name  of  the 
master-mind,  the  thinker,  the  explorer.  He  sings  of  the  gliding 
Mayne  they  knew  so  well ;  and  the  simple  words  loose  the  dying 
man's  heart,  for  he  knows  he  is  dying,  and  his  varied  life  drifts 
by  him.  There  is  time  yet  to  speak  ;  but  he  will  rise  and  speak 
standing,  as  becomes  a  teacher  of  men.  He  has  sinned,  he  feels 
his  need  for  mercy,  and  he  can  trust  God.  It  was  meant  to  be 
with  him  as  had  fallen  out.  His  fevered  thirst  for  knowledge 
was  born  in  him.  He  has  learned  so  much  of  God  :  His  joy  in 
creation ;  His  intentions  with  regard  to  man  His  final  work  the 
product  of  the  world's  remotest  ages  ;  its  aeons  of  preparation  ; 
the  love  mingling  with  everything  that  tended  towards  the 
highest  work  of  creation ;  the  progress  which  is  the  law  of  life. 
The  tendency  to  God  he  can  descry  even  in  man's  present  im- 
perfection. He  sees  now  where  his  error  lay:  how  he  over- 

21 


322  BROWNING   CYCLOPAEDIA.  [Par 

looked  the  good  in  man ;  how  he  had  failed  to  note  the  good  in 
evil,  and  to  detect  the  love  beneath  the  mask  of  hate  ;  how  he 
had  denied  the  half-reasons,  the  faint  aspirings,  the  struggles  for 
truth ;  the  littleness  in  man,  despite  his  errors ;  the  upward 
tendency  in  all  his  weakness.  All  this  he  knew  not,  and  he 
failed.  Yet  if  he 

"  Stoop 

Into  a  dark,  tremendous  sea  of  cloud, 

It  is  but  for  a  time." 

He  "  shall  emerge  one  day."  And  so  he  sinks  to  rest.  And  this 
is  Browning's  Paracelsus. 

It   is   in  Paracelsus  (the  work  that  posterity  will  probably 
estimate  as   Browning's  greatest)   that  we  must  look   for  the 
strongest   proof  of  his   sympathy  with  man's  desire  to   know 
and  bend  the  forces  of  Nature  to  his  service.     To  some  students 
this   magnificent   work   will   appear   only   the  string   of  pearls 
^nd  precious  stones  that   some  of  us  consider  Sordello  to  be. 
To  others  it  is  a  drama  illustrating  the  contending  forces  of 
love  and  knowledge  ;  others,  again,  find  in  it  only  an  elaborate 
discussion  on  the  Aristotelian  and   Platonic  systems  of  philo- 
sophy.    It  is  none  of  these  alone :  rather,  if  a  single  sentence 
could  describe  it,  it  is  the  Epic  of  the  Healer,  not  of  the  hero 
who  stole  from  heaven  a  jealously-guarded  fire,  but  of  him  who 
won  from  heaven  what  was  waiting  for  a  worthy  recipient  to 
take  and  help  us  to.     In  so  far  as  Paracelsus  came  short,  it  was 
deficiency  of  love  that  hindered  him  ;  of  his  striving  after  know- 
ledge, and  what  he  won  for  man,  the  epic  tells  in  words  and 
music  that,  to  me  at  least,  have  no  equal  in  the  whole  range  of 
literature.     It  is  most  remarkable  that  long  before  the  scientific 
men  of  our  time  had  given  Paracelsus  credit  for  the  noble  work 
he  did  for  mankind,  and  the  lasting  boon  many  of  his  discoveries 
conferred  upon  the  race,  Mr.  Browning,  in  this  wonderful  poem, 
recognised  both  his  labours  and  their  results  at  their  true  value, 
and  raising  his  reputation  at  this  late  hour  from  the  infamy  with 
which  his  enemies  and  biographers  had  covered  it,  set  him  in  his 
proper  place  amongst  the  heroes  and  martyrs  of  science.     We 
owe  the  poet  a  debt  of  gratitude  for  this  rehabilitation.    No  man 
could  have  written  this  transcendent  poem  who  had  less  than 
Browning's  power  of  thrusting  aside  the  accidents  and  accretions 
of  a  *JTya*rt?rt  and  g"tti"g  ^t  thf*  "«l*»-H  parm-from  which  springs 


Par]  BROWNING   CYCLOPEDIA.  323 

the  life  of  the  real  man.  That  no  follower  of  medicine,  no  chemist, 
~no  disciple  of  science,  did  this  for  Paracelsus  is,  in  the  splendid 
light  of  Mr.  Browning's  research  and  penetration,  a  remarkable 
instance  of  the  fact  that  the  unjust  verdicts  of  a  time  and  a  class 
need  to  be  reversed  in  a  clearer  atmosphere,  and  in  freedom  from 
class  prejudices  not  often  accorded  to  contemporary  biographers. 
A  poet  alone  could  never  have  done  us  this  service ;  and  a  single 
attentive  perusal  of  this  work  is  enough  to  show  that  the  intimate 
blending  of  the  scientific  with  the  poetic  faculty  could  alone  have 
effected  the  restoration.  How  lovingly  the  poet  has  taken  this 
world-benefactor's  remains  from  the  ditch  into  which  his  pro- 
fession  had  cast  them,  and  laid  them  in  his  own  beautiful 
sepulchre,  gemmed,  chiselled,  and  arabesqued  by  all  the  lovely 
imagery  of  his  fancy,  no  reader  of  Browning's  Paracelsus  needs 
to  be  told. 

[For  a  complete  study  of  the  life  and  work  of  Paracelsus,  and 
Mr.  Browning's  poem  thereon,  see  the  chapter  "  Paracelsus,  the 
Reformer  of  Medicine,"  in  my  Browning's  Message  to  his  Time 
(Sonnenschein).] 

NOTES  TO  BOOK  I. — Wtirzburg  is  one  of  the  most  ancient  and 
historically  important  towns  of  Germany.  Its  bishops  were  made 
dukes  of  Franconia  in  1120.  Its  university  was  founded  in  1582. 
Trithemius  of  Spanheim  was  abbot  of  Wurzburg,  and  was  a 
great  astrologer  and  alchemist.  Einsiedeln,  in  Canton  Schwyz, 
Switzerland,  is  a  noted  place  of  pilgrimage  on  the  Alpbach, 
thirty  miles  from  Zurich,  under  the  Herrenberg,  with  an  abbey 
founded  in  86 1,  containing  a  black  statue  of  the  Virgin.  Im- 
mense quantities  of  missals,  rosaries,  etc.,  are  produced  there. 
Zwingle  was  a  priest  here  1515-19;  and  not  far  from  the  town 
is  the  house  where  Paracelsus  was  born.  Population  now  about 
7650.  Gier-e agle  :  supposed  to  be  a  small  vulture  (Lev.  xi.  18). 
Black  arts :  Black  magic  =  sorcery,  as  opposed  to  white  magic 
=  science.  The  Stagirite :  Aristotle,  who  was  born  at  Stagira, 
in  Macedon. 

NOTES  TO  BOOK  II. — Constantinople,  the  city  of  the  East 
where  many  astrologers  practised  their  art.  "  A  Turk  verse  along 
a  scimitar"  :  the  Arabs  use  verses  of  the  Koran  in  the  decoration 
of  their  walls,  pottery,  arms,  etc.  The  Alhambra  at  Granada 
is  profusely  decorated  in  this  way.  The  Arabic,  Persian,  and 
Turkish  letters  lend  themselves  admirably  to  ornamental  pur- 


324  BROWNING   CYCLOPAEDIA.  [Pat 

poses.  Arch-genethliac  :  a  genethliac  is  a  calculator  of  nativities 
— an  astrologer. 

NOTES  TO  BOOK  III. — Pansies:  if  these  flowers  were,  as  is 
said,  favourites  with  Paracelsus,  the  choice  was  appropriate. 
Pensees  for  "  the  thinker,  the  explorer,"  and  "  heartsease  "  for  the 
anxious  and  overworked  man.  Rhasis,  or  Rhazes,  was  a  dis- 
tinguished physician  of  Bagdad  (925-6).  Basil  =  Basel,  Basle. 
GLcolampadius,  a  Reformer  of  Basle,  friend  of  Erasmus. 
Castellanus  was  Pierre  Duchatel,  a  French  prelate.  When  at 
Basle,  Erasmus  procured  him  employment  as  a  corrector  of  the 
press  with  Frobenius.  He  was  bishop  of  Tulle  in  1539,  of 
Macon  in  1544,  and  in  1551  of  Orleans.  He  was  a  tolerant  man 
in  an  intolerant  age.  Munsterus,  a  Christian  Socialist,  connected 
with  the  Peasants' War  ;  executed  1525.  Frobenius,  the  friend 
of  Erasmus,  cured  by  Paracelsus.  He  was  a  famous  printer  at 
Basle.  Rear  mice :  probably  a  device  in  the  arms  on  the  gate. 
Lachen,  a  village  of  1200  inhabitants,  on  the  margin  of  the  lake 
of  Zurich.  The  holy  hermit  Meinrad,  the  founder  of  Einsiedeln, 
originally  lived  on  the  top  of  the  Etzel,  near  here.  "  Cross- 
grained  devil  in  my  sword"  :  the  long  sword  of  Paracelsus  is 
famous : — 

M  Bumbastus  kept  a  devil's  bird 
Shut  in  the  pummel  of  his  sword, 
That  taught  him  all  the  cunning  pranks 
Of  past  and  future  mountebanks." 

(HUDIBRAS,  Part  II.,  Cant.  3.) 

Naudaeus  (in  his  "  History  of  Magic  ")  observes  of  this  familiar 
spirit,  "  that  though  the  alchymists  maintain  that  it  was  the  secret 
of  the  philosopher's  stone,  yet  it  were  more  rational  to  believe 
that,  if  there  was  anything  in  it,  it  was  certainly  two  or  three 
doses  of  his  laudanum,  which  he  never  went  without,  because 
he  did  strange  things  with  it,  and  used  it  as  a  medicine  to  cure 
almost  all  diseases."  "  Sudary  of  the  Virgin"  :  a  handkerchief, 
a  relic  of  the  Blessed  Virgin  Mary.  Suffumigation,  a  medical 
fumigation,  such  as  was  used  by  Hippocrates.  Erasmus  was 
born  at  Rotterdam  in  1466.  The  home  of  his  old  age  was  Basel, 
to  which  place  he  was  attracted  by  the  fame  of  the  printing  press 
of  Frobenius.  Here  he  made  the  acquaintance  of  Zwingle  and 
Holbein,  and  other  men  full  of  the  desire  for  learning.  "  Ape  at 
the  bed's  foe*"  ••  patkn&e  wb*  suffer  from  delirium  frequently  see 


Par]  BROWNING  CYCLOPAEDIA.  325 

apes,  rats,  cats,  and  other  animals  and  figures,  mocking  them  at 
the  foot  of  the  bed.  "  Spain's  cork-groves"  :  cork  is  the  bark 
of  the  cork-oak  (Quercus  suber).  It  grows  in  Spain,  and  is  most 
abundant  in  Catalonia  and  Valencia.  "  Pr&clare  !  Optime  !  "  = 
Bravo !  well  done !  "  I  precede  my  age  "  :  it  has  only  recently  been 
discovered  how  much  our  modern  science  owes  to  the  labours 
and  researches  of  Paracelsus.  Aetius  was  an  Arian  doctor, 
who  was  very  skilful  in  medical  disputation.  He  died  at  Con- 
stantinople in  367.  Oribasius  was  the  court  physician  of  Julian 
the  Apostate  (326 — 403).  Galen  was  a  great  anatomist  and  a 
physiological  physician.  Rhasis  (see  note,  p.  324).  Serapion,  an 
Alexandrian  physician,  "  a  great  name  in  antiquity."  Avicenna, 
an  Arabian  philosopher  and  physician,  born  about  A.D.  980,  who 
presented  to  his  countrymen  the  doctrines  of  Galen  blended  with 
those  of  Aristotle.  Averroes,  an  Arabian  philosopher  and  phy- 
sician, born  at  Cordova  in  1126,  the  interpreter  of  the  Aristotelian 
philosophy  to  the  Mohammedans.  Zuinglius  =  Zwingle  the 
Reformer,  of  Zurich.  Carolstadius,  or  Carlstadt,  one  of  the  first 
Reformers.  He  was  professor  of  divinity  at  Wittemberg,  ana 
early  joined  Luther  in  the  new  religion.  He  became  the  leader 
of  the  fanatical  sect  of  iconoclasts  at  Wittemberg,  and  excited 
them  to  excesses.  He  was  banished,  and  died  at  Basle  in  1541. 
Suabia,  the  name  of  an  ancient  duchy  in  the  south-west  part 
of  Germany.  Oporinus  :  lived  two  years  in  close  intimacy  with 
Paracelsus  as  his  secretary,  and  has  been  suspected  of  defaming 
his  memory.  "Sic  itur  ad  astra"  :  such  is  the  way  to  immor- 
tality. Liechtenfeh,  a  canon  who  was  cured  by  Paracelsus  when 
he  was  in  danger  of  death,  and  refused  afterwards  to  pay  the 
stipulated  fee. 

NOTES  TO  BOOK  IV. — "  Quid  multa  ?  "  why  say  more  ?  Cassia, 
an  inferior  kind  of  cinnamon.  "  Sandal-buds  "  :  the  sandal  is 
a  low  tree,  like  a  privet,  and  has  a  great  fragrance.  "  Stripes 
of  labdanum  "  or  ladanum  :  a  fragrant,  resinous  exudation  from 
the  plants  Cystus  creticus  and  Cystus  ladaniferus.  Aloes  : 
the  fragrant  resin  of  the  agalloch  or  lign-aloe  of  Scripture. 
Nard  =  spikenard  ;  very  fragrant.  "  Sweetness  from  Egyptian 
shroud '' :  the  faint  odour  from  the  spices  used  to  embalm  the 
mummy.  " Fiat  experientia  corpore  vili"  or  Jiat  experimentum 
in  corpore  vili :  Let  the  experiment  be  made  on  a  body  of  no 
value  (a  hospital  patient,  e.g.  /) 


326  BROWNING  CYCLOPAEDIA. 

NOTES  TO  BOOK  V.— Salzburg:  the  beautifully  situated  old 
city  of  Austria,  eighty-seven  miles  S.E.  of  Munich.  "Jove  and 
the  Titans  "  :  the  Titans  were  the  sons  of  Saturn,  who  made  war 
against  Jupiter  ;  and  though  they  were  of  gigantic  size,  they  were 
subdued.  Ph&ton,  the  son  of  Phoebus  and  Clymene,  who  re- 
quested his  father  to  give  him  leave  to  drive  his  chariot.  The 
rash  youth  was  unable  to  bear  the  light  and  heat,  and  dropped 
the  reins.  To  prevent  a  general  conflagration  Jupiter  struck  him 
with  thunder,  and  he  dropped  into  the  river  Eridanus.  Galen  of 
Pergamos  :  an  eminent  physician  of  the  time  of  Trajan.  Persic 
Zoroaster  "  was  one  of  the  greatest  teachers  of  the  East,  the 
founder  of  what  was  the  national  religion  of  the  Perso-Iranian 
people  from  the  time  of  the  Achaemenidae  to  the  close  of  the 
Sassanian  period."  He  founded  the  wisdom  of  the  Magi.  The 
Zend-Avesta  is  the  great  Zoroastrian  bible.  "  Thus  he  dwells  in 
all"  etc.,  down  to  " Man  begins  anew  a  tendency  to  God"  is  a 
faithful  representation  of  the  teaching  of  the  Kabbalah  (see  Encyc. 
£rit.t  vol.  xiii.,  p.  812,  last  ed.):  "The  whole  universe,  however, 
was  incomplete,  and  did  not  receive  its  finishing  stroke  till  man 
was  formed,  who  is  the  acme  of  the  creation  and  the  microcosm. 
4  Man  is  both  the  import  and  the  highest  degree  of  creation,  for 
which  reason  he  was  formed  on  the  sixth  day.  As  soon  as  man 
was  created  everything  was  complete,  including  the  upper  and 
nether  worlds,  for  everything  is  comprised  hi  man.  He  unites 
in  himself  all  forms '  "  (Zohar,  iii.,  48). 

Parleyings  with  Certain  People  of  Importance  in  their 
Day.  To  wit:  Bernard  de  Mandeville,  Daniel  Bartoli,  Christo- 
pher Smart,  George  Bubb  Dodington,  Francis  Furini,  Gerard 
de  Lairesse,  and  Charles  Avison.  Introduced  by  A  Dialogue 
between  Apollo  and  the  Fates ;  concluded  by  Another  between 
John  Fust  and  his  Friends.  The  title-page  stands  thus,  and  the 
following  dedication  is  on  the  next  page:  "In  Memoriam  J. 
Milsand.  Obiit  iv.  Sept.  MDCCCLXXXVI.  Absens  absentem  audit- 
que  videtque"  Published  1887.  M.  Milsand  was  a  well-known 
French  critic,  and  was  an  early  admirer  of  Mr.  Browning's 
works.  Sordello  was  dedicated  to  M.  Milsand  in  its  revised 
edition.  The  Parleyings  volume  is  dealt  with  in  a  lucid  and 
sympathetic  manner  in  Mr.  Nettleship's  Essays  and  Thoughts. 

Parting  at  Morning.  See  MEETING  AT  NIGHT,  to  which 
this  poem  is  the  sequel. 


Pan]  BROWNING   CYCLOPAEDIA.  327 

Patriot,  The.  AN  OLD  STORY.  (Men  and  Women,  1855  ; 
Romances,  1863  ;  Dramatic  Romances,  1868.)  A  patriot  who  has 
been  the  people's  idol,  and  now,  having  fallen  from  his  pedestal, 
is  on  his  way  to  execution.  A  year  ago  that  very  day  they 
would  have  given  him  the  sun  from  their  skies  had  he  asked  it 
in  that  city  whose  air  was  a  mist  of  joy  bells.  He  strove  his 
hardest  to  pluck  down  that  sun  to  give  them,  and  to-day  the 
year  is  run  out,  and  he  goes  bound,  with  bleeding  forehead  from 
the  pelting  stones,  to  the  shambles.  But  God  will  repay,  and  he 
feels  safe  with  that  It  has  been  thought  that  this  poem  refers 
to  Arnold  of  Brescia.  Mr.  Browning  contradicted  this. 

Paul  Desforges  Halliard.  (Two  Poets  of  Croisic.}  He  is 
the  second  of  the  Poets,  Ren6  Gentilhomme  being  the  first.  He 
competed  for  a  prize  at  the  French  Academy,  and  was  un- 
successful. The  poem  tells  how  he  made  his  name  known 
through  his  sister's  influence. 

Pauline:  A  Fragment  of  a  Confession  (1832).  The  first 
work  of  the  poet,  and  his  embryonic  work,  because  it  contains 
in  their  rudiments  all  the  peculiarities  and  powers  of  his 
genius.  He  wrote  nothing  which  was  not  the  legitimate  de- 
velopment of  the  forces  which  we  see  in  this  inchoate  work.  It 
is  nebulous,  but  it  is  a  nebula  which  has  within  itself  the 
potentiality  of  worlds  of  thought.  Misty  and  vague  as  it  every- 
where seems,  it  is  influenced  by  laws  which  will  concentrate  its 
thought  into  stars  and  planets,  such  as  Paracelsus,  and  the  Ring 
and  the  Book.  It  is  autobiographical,  and  admits  us  into  the 
laboratory  of  the  writer's  thought ;  it  is  marvellously  consistent 
with  the  latest  utterances  of  the  poet  on  the  subjects  nearest  to 
his  heart.  High  thoughts,  which  through  the  years  of  a  long  life 
will  live  in  royal  splendour  in  his  brain,  are  born  here  in  travail, 
as  regal  things  are  wont  to  be.  It  was  a  boy's  work, — the  poet 
was  only  twenty  years  old  when  he  wrote  it, — but  a  competent 
critic  could  have  detected  evidence  that  in  the  anonymous 
author  of  Pauline  a  psychological  poet  had  arisen,  one  who 
determined  to  probe  to  their  depths  the  mysteries  of  the  human 
soul.  From  Mr.  Gosse's  article  in  The  Century  Magazine  we 
learn  that  the  young  poet  had  produced  a  quantity  of  verses 
while  a  mere  child,  and  had  planned  a  number  of  soul-studies 
of  a  similar  character  to  Pauline.  He  published  the  poem 
anonymously  in  1833,  when  he  was  twenty  years  old.  It  was 


328  BROWNING  CYCLOPAEDIA.  [PaU 

reprinted  in  1867,  with  the  following  note:  "The  first  piece  in 
the  series  (Pauline)  I  acknowledge  and  retain  with  extreme 
repugnance,  indeed  purely  01  necessity;  for  not  long  ago  1 
inspected  one,  and  am  certified  of  the  existence  of  other  trans- 
cripts, intended  sooner  or  later  to  be  published  abroad:  by  fore- 
stalling these  I  can  at  least  correct  some  misprints  (no  syllable 
is  changed),  and  introduce  a  boyish  work  by  an  exculpatory 
word.  The  thing  was  my  earliest  attempt  at  'poetry,  always 
dramatic  in  principle,  and  so  many  utterances  of  so  many 
imaginary  persons,  not  mine,'  which  I  have  written  since  accord- 
ing to  a  scheme  less  extravagant  and  scale  less  impracticable 
than  were  ventured  upon  in  this  crude  preliminary  sketch — a 
sketch  that,  on  reviewal,  appears  not  altogether  wide  of  some 
hint  of  the  characteristic  features  of  that  particular  dramatis 
persona  it  would  fain  have  reproduced ;  good  draughtsmanship, 
however,  and  right  handling  were  far  beyond  the  artist  at  that 
time."  With  the  "  good  draughtsmanship  "  and  "  right  handling  " 
of  the  work  we  need  not  concern  ourselves ;  what  is  of  para- 
mount importance  is  the  fact  that  in  Pauline  we  have  "  the  god, 
though  in  the  germ."  If  the  mature  artist  was  ashamed  of  his 
puerile  performance,  his  disciples  have  always  loved  and  admired 
it,  and  his  deeper  students  have  delighted  to  trace  in  its  pages 
the  nuclei  of  principles  which  have  in  his  maturer  works  dowered 
the  world  with  a  priceless  treasure.  The  poem  is  a  fragment  of  a 
confession  from  a  young  man  to  a  young  woman  whom  he  loves. 
It  concerns  Pauline  very  little,  but  is  the  revelation  of  the  man 
as  a  study  of  the  poet's  own  naked  soul.  It  is  not  a  confession 
of  deeds,  but  of  moods  and  mental  attitudes.  He  who  could  un- 
pack his  own  heart  so  completely  would  be  likely  to  reveal  the 
innermost  recesses  of  the  characters  with  which  he  should  deal 
in  the  future.  It  is  the  revelation  of  a  soul  all  self-centred. 
A  soul's  awakening,  a  soul  in  terror  at  its  own  capabilities, 
desires  and  forces  too  hard  to  be  controlled — "  made  up  of  an 
intensest  life  " — imbued  with  "  a  principle  of  restlessness  which 
would  be  all,  have,  see,  know,  taste,  feel  all " — a  soul  terrified 
at  its  own  vast  shadow,  fearing  to  face  its  own  spectres,  and 
instinctively  "building  up  a  screen  "  of  woman's  love  to  be  shut 
in  with  from  a  brood  of  fancies  with  which  he  dare  not  wrestle. 
Had  he  never  left  her  side  he  had  been  spared  this  shame.  He 
is  sure  of  her  love,  though  ghosts  of  the  past  haunt  them.  He 


BROWNING   CYCLOPAEDIA.  329 

•has  not  the  love  to  offer  which  befits  her ;  but  he  has  faith, 
and  he  trusts  her  as  we  trust  the  east  for  morning  light.  He 
•has  communed  with  her,  but  she  knew  not  the  shame  which 
lurked  behind  his  words  and  smiles,  and  she  drove  away 
despair  from  him.  He  has  fallen,  is  ruined;  he  has  felt  in 
dreams  he  was  a  fiend  chained  in  darkness,  till,  after  ages  had 
passed  came  a  white  swan  to  remain  with  him,  and  it  contented 
him.  And  again,  he  had  seemed  to  be  a  young  witch  who  drew 
•down  a  god  to  sing  of  heaven,  and  as  he  sang  he  perished 
.grinning,  but  murmuring  "  I  am  still  a  god  to  thee."  He  has 
thought  that  his  early  life,  his  songs  and  wild  imaginings,  were 
the  only  worthy  things  standing  out  distinct  amid  the  fever  of 
the  after  years.  And  this  was  his  (Shelley's)  award.  He,  the 
Sun-treader,  had  drawn  out  from  his  worshipper  the  one  spark  of 
love  remaining  in  his  soul,  and  in  his  tears  he  praises  him.  He 
loved  Shelley  in  his  shame,  and  now  he  is  renowned  he  watches 
him  as  a  star,  as  one  altered  and  worn  and  full  of  tears  looks 
to  heaven.  He  strips  his  mind  bare,  has  a  most  clear  con- 
sciousness of  self,  and  recognises  that  of  all  his  powers  an 
imagination  which  has  been  an  angel  to  him  is  the  one  which 
saves  his  soul  from  utter  death.  He  feels  a  need,  a  trust,  a 
yearning  after  Go;i,  which  somehow  is  reconciled  with  a  neglect 
•of  all  he  deemed  His  laws.  He  sees  God  everywhere,  yet  can 
love  nothing ;  has  had  high  dreams  and  low  aims,  and  so  lost 
himself.  Then  he  turned  to  song,  he  gazed  without  fear  on 
the  works  of  mighty  bards,  for  in  them  he  recognised  thoughts 
his  own  heart  had  also  borne ;  then  came  the  outburst  of  the 
soul's  power,  a  key  to  a  new  world,  a  sound  as  of  angelic 
mutterings.  He  vowed  himself  to  liberty.  Men  should  be  gods, 
earth, — heaven.  His  soul  rose  to  meet  the  new  life.  As  one 
watches  for  a  fair  girl  that  comes  forth  a  withered  hag,  so  all 
these  high-born  fancies  dwindled  into  nothing;  faith  in  man, 
freedom,  virtue,  motives,  power,  human  loves,  all  vanished 
They  were  not  missed,  for  wit  and  mockery  and  pleasure  came 
in  their  stead.  His  powers  grew,  his  soul  became  as  a  temple  ; 
-only  God  was  gone,  and  a  dark  spirit  sat  in  His  seat,  and 
•mocking  shadows  cried  "  Hail ! "  to  him.  He  resolved  to  wear 
himself  out  with  joy,  then  to  win  men's  praise  by  undying  song, 
and  the  mockery  laughed  out  again.  Then  he  met  Pauline  and 
knew  she  loved  him  ;  he  looked  in  his  heart  for  a  love  to  return, 


33°  BROWNING   CYCLOP/EDIA.  [Pattl 

and  love  and  faith  were  gone,  and  selfishness  wears  him  as  a. 
flame,  and  hunger  for  pleasure  has  become  pain.  Then  came  a. 
craving  after  knowledge,  as  a  sleepless  harpy.  He  begins  now 
to  know  what  hate  is.  Yet  with  it  all  he  has  learned  the  great 
truth  that  his  restless  longings,  his  all  encompassing  selfishness,, 
only  prove  that  earth  is  not  his  sphere,  because  he  cannot  so- 
narrow  himself  but  he  exceeds  it.  Hateful  as  his  selfishness- 
has  grown  to  be,  he  can  pass  from  such  thoughts.  Andromeda^, 
rock-chained,  awaiting  the  snake,  causes  you  no  fear  for  her 
safety :  God  will  come  in  thunder  from  the  stars  to  save  her,  so 
he  will  triumph  over  his  decay ;  when  the  calm  comes  again  after 
the  fever  has  subsided,  he  will  do  something  equal  to  his  con- 
jecture. He  can  project  himself  into  all  forms  of  Nature,  live 
the  life  of  plants,  mount  bird-like,  breathe  in  a  fish  the  morning: 
air  in  the  sun-warm  water.  He  will  build  a  thought-world ;  he  is- 
inspired.  Pauline  shall  come  with  him  to  the  world  of  fancy 
through  the  ghostly  night  and  sun-warmed  morning ;  he  is  con- 
centrated, he  drinks  in  the  life  of  all,  yet  cannot  be  immortal  for 
all  these  struggling  aims.  What  is  this  passionate  hunger  for  the. 
All — this  insatiable  thirst  for  utmost  pleasure?  It  is  man's  cry 
for  the  satisfying  presence  of  God  in  his  soul.  The  alone  to  the 
Alone ;  nothing  intervening  can  give  peace  and  rest  to  the  spirit 
of  man ;  flame-like  it  tends  upwards  to  its  source.  The  only 
ONE,  the  Crucified,  the  Risen  Christ — "  Christus  Consolator"  is- 
recognised  as  the  remedy  for  his  sense  of  infinite  loss;  and  as  he 
recognises  the  Divine  love  he  is  united  with  the  purest  earthly 
soul  he  knows : — "  Pauline,  I  am  thine  for  ever."  "  Love  me, 
Pauline — leave  me  not."  And  so  the  hideous  past  shall  be  the- 
past,  and  he  will  go  forward  with  her — 

41  Feeling  God  loves  us,  and  that  all  that  errs, 
Is  a  strange  dream  which  death  will  dissipate." 

Again  he  will  go  o'er  the  tracts  of  thought,  again  will  beauteous? 
shapes  come  to  him  and  unknown  secrets  be  divulged, — priest 
and  lover  as  of  old — "  Shelley,  Sun-treader,"  he  cries,  "  I  believe 
in  God,  and  truth,  love — I  would  lean  on  thee."  Professor 
Johnson,  in  his  paper  on  4I  Conscience  and  Art  in  Browning," 
gives  the  following  as  the  theme  of  the  poem: — l4The  Divine 
call  and  anointing  of  the  poet,  so  to  speak ;  his  sin,  which  con- 
sists in  a  self-divorce ;  his  decline  and  degradation  as  he  sinks 


BROWNING   CYCLOPEDIA.  33  V 

into  the  '  dim  orb  of  self ' ;  finally,  his  redemption  and  restora- 
tion by  Divine  love,  mediated  to  him  by  human  love." 

NOTES. — "  His  award"  "Him  whom  all  honour"  "  Thou  didsl- 
smile, poet"  " Sun-treader"  (lines  142,  144,  151,  1020):  all  these 
refer  to  Shelley.  "  A  god  wandering  after  beauty  "  (line  321)  : 
Apollo  seeking  Daphne.  Apollo  pursued  Daphne,  who  fled  from 
him,  seeking  the  aid  of  the  gods,  who  changed  her  into  a  laurel.. 
"  A  giant  standing  vast  in  the  sunset"  (line  322) :  Atlas,  one  of 
the  Titans,  is  referred  to  here. 

"  A  high-crested  chief 
Sailing  with  troops  of  friends  to  Tenedos  "  (line  324) : 

"After  the  fall  of  Troy,  many  of  the  Greek  chiefs,  among 
them  Nestor,  set  sail  for  home,  while  others,  at  the  desire  of 
Agamemnon,  remained  behind  to  sacrifice  to  Pallas.  Those  who- 
set  sail  went  to  the  island  of  Tenedos,  where  they  made  offerings 
to  the  gods "  (Poet  Lore,  vol.  i.,  p.  244 ;  Homer,  Odyssey,  iii.). 
"  The  dim  clustered  isles  in  the  blue  sea"  (line  321) :  the  islands 
of  the  jEgean  Sea,  east  of  Greece. 

"  Who  stood  beside  the  naked  swift-footed, 
Who  bound  my  forehead  with  Proserpine 's  hair"  (line  334) 

the  swift-footed  was  Hermes,  the  name  of  Mercury  among  the 
Greeks.  He  was  the  messenger  of  the  gods.  He  was  pre- 
sented by  the  King  of  Heaven  with  a  winged  cap,  called 
petasus,  and  with  wings  for  his  feet,  called  talaria.  Proserpine 
was  the  daughter  of  Ceres  by  Jupiter.  "As  Arab  birds  float' 
sleeping  in  the  wind"  (line  479):  this  is  considered  by  some 
to  refer  to  the  pelican,  by  others  to  the  Birds  of  Paradise. 

"  The  king 
Treading  the  purple  calmly  to  his  death  "  (line  568)  : 

Agamemnon,  to  whom  his  loved  Cassandra  foretells  his  doom« 
in  vain : — 

"Well,  sire,  I  yield  me  vanquished  by  thy  voice ; 
I  go,  treading  on  purple,  to  my  house." 

(Potter's  "Agamemnon"  of  sEschylus,  1017.) 

The  boy  with  his  white  breast"  etc.  (line  574) :  see  Potter's 
11  Choephorae "  ot  dLschylus,  1073 :  Orestes  avenged  his  father's- 
death  by  assassinating  his  mother  Clytemnestra  and  the  adulterer* 


332  BROWNING  CYCLOPAEDIA.  [Pea 

^Egisthus.  Andromeda  (line  656) :  Andromeda  was  ordered  to 
be  exposed  to  a  sea-monster,  and  was  tied  naked  to  a  rock  ;  but 
Perseus  delivered  her,  changed  the  monster  into  a  rock,  and 
married  her.  "  The  fair  pale  sister  went  to  her  chill  grave" 
'(line  963) :  Antigone  interred  by  night  the  remains  of  her  brother 
Polynices  against  the  orders  of  Creon,  who  commanded  her  to 
'be  buried  alive.  She,  however,  killed  herself  before  the  sentence 
•could  be  executed  (see  "  Antigone  "  of  Sophocles).  The  long 
Latin  preface  to  Pauline  from  the  Occult  Philosophy  of  Cornelius 
Agrippa  is  thus  englished  in  Mr.  Cooke's  Browning  Guide- 
Book  : — "  I  doubt  not  but  the  title  of  our  book,  by  its  rarity,  may 
entice  very  many  to  the  perusal  of  it.  Among  whom  many  of 
hostile  opinions,  with  weak  minds,  many  even  malignant  and 
ungrateful,  will  assail  our  genius,  who  in  their  rash  ignorance, 
'hardly  before  the  title  is  before  their  eyes,  will  make  a  clamour. 
We  are  forbidden  to  teach,  to  scatter  abroad  the  seeds  of  philo- 
sophy, pious  ears  being  offended,  clear-seeing  minds  having 
•arisen.  I,  as  a  counsellor,  assail  their  consciences  ;  but  neither 
Apollo  nor  all  the  Muses,  nor  an  angel  from  heaven,  would  be 
.able  to  save  me  from  their  execrations,  whom  now  I  counsel 
that  they  may  not  read  our  books,  that  they  may  not  understand 
them,  that  they  may  not  remember  them,  for  they  are  noxious — 
they  are  poisonous.  The  mouth  of  Acheron  is  in  this  book  :  it 
speaks  often  of  stones  :  beware,  lest  by  these  it  shape  the  under- 
standing. You,  also,  who  with  fair  wind  shall  come  to  the 
reading,  if  you  will  apply  so  much  of  the  discernment  of  pru- 
dence as  bees  in  gathering  honey,  then  read  with  security.  For, 
indeed,  I  believe  you  about  to  receive  many  things  not  a  little 
both  for  instruction  and  enjoyment  ^>But  if  you  find  anything 
that  pleases  you  not,  let  it  go  that  you  may  not  use  it,  for  I  do 
not  declare  these  things  good  for  you,  but  merely  relate  them. 
Therefore,  if  any  freer  word  may  be,  forgive  our  youth  ;  I,  who 
am  less  than  a  youth,  have  composed  this  work."  The  preface 
sis  dated  London,  January  1833.  V.A.  XX.  is  the  Latin  abbrevia- 
tion of  Vixi  annos  viginti,  I  was  twenty  years  old. 

Pearl,  A,  a  Girl.  (Asolando,  1889.)  According  to  Eastern 
•fable  there  is  a  great  power  in  a  pearl :  if  you  could  speak  the 
right  word,  you  could  call  a  spirit  from  the  simple-looking  stone 
•which  would  make  you  lord  of  heaven  and  earth.  Be  this  as  it 
may,  the  poet  says  if  you  utter  the  right  word,  that  evokes  for 


BROWNING   CYCLOPAEDIA.  ^33; 

you  the  love  of  a  girl — held,  perhaps,  in  little  esteem  by  the 
world — her  soul  escapes  to  you,  and  you  are  creation's  lord ! 

"  Periods  "  of  Browning.  It  is  usual  with  students  to  divide 
the  poet's  work  into  some  four  or  five  periods.  Mr.  Fothering- 
ham's  classification  is  as  good  as  any:  he  makes  the  periods- 
five. — Period  I.,  "a  time  of  youth  and  prelude  "  (1832 — 1840), 
the  time  of  Pauline,  Paracelsus^  and  Sordello.  During  this  time 
the  poet  was  trying  the  nature  and  compass  of  his  theme  and) 
forming  his  style. — Period  II.,  "the  time  of  early  manhood" 
(1841 — 1846),  the  time  of  the  dramas  and  early  dramatic  lyrics. 
All  the  dramas  except  Strafford  belong  to  this  time.  In  this 
period  he  was  studying  how  best  to  use  his  poetical  powers. — 
Period  III.  is  "the  time  of  maturity"  his  manhood  and  married, 
life  (1846 — 1869),  Now  he  has  found  his  standpoint ;  he  is 
firm,  vigorous,  and  confident  During  this  time  he  gave  us 
Christmas  Eve,  Men  and  Women,  Dramatis  Persona,  and 
The  Ring  and  the  Book.— Period  IV.  is  "the  time  of  his  later 
maturity"  (1870 — 1878).  Now  the  casuistic  and  argumentative 
element  becomes  more  prominent ;  the  dramatic  aspect  retires 
into  the  background,  the  philosophical  teacher  advances.  "  His 
hardest  and  least  poetic  work,"  it  has  been  said,  was  put  forth 
in  this  period:  Hohenstiel-Schwangau,  Red  Cotton  Night-Cap 
Country,  etc.— Period  V.  (1879—1889),  "the  time  of  the  latest 
works"  A  period  of  criticism  of  life,  as  in  Ferishtah  and  the 
Parleyings. 

Peter  Ronsard.  (The  Glove.)  He  tells  the  story  of  Sir  De 
Lorge,  and  how  he  leaped  amongst  the  lions  to  recover  his  lady's- 
glove. 

Pheidippides.  (Dramatic  Idyls,  First  Senes,  1879.)  Phei- 
dippides,  an  athlete,  has  been  commissioned  by  the  Athenian 
government  to  run  a  race, — to  reach  Sparta  for  military  assistance 
in  a  great  crisis  in  Greek  history.  Persia  has  invaded  Greece :  in 
her  extremity  she  implores  help  from  the  neighbouring  Spartans ;. 
for  two  days  and  two  nights  Pheidippides  the  fleet-footed  youth 
ran  over  hills. and  along  the  dales,  as  fire  runs  through  stubble, 
and  so  he  bounded  on  his  way  with  his  message.  He  broke 
into  the  midst  of  the  ^Spartan  assembly,  told  his  story,  and 
prayed  the  prayer  of  Athens;  but  Sparta,  ever  jealous  and  mis- 
trustful of  her  great  neighbour,  heard  it  coldly,  and  cast  about 
for  excuses.  Then  the  passionate  runner  cried  to  the.  gods  of  his. 


334  BROWNING   CYCLOPAEDIA.  [Phe 

country — to  Pallas  Athene,  protector  of  the  city,  to  Apollo,  to 
Diana — to  influence  the  deliberations  of  the  council  gathered  to 
hear  his  message,  and  to  say  to  them  "  Ye  must ! "  And  no  bolt 
fell  from  heaven,  as  they  still  delayed.  At  last  they  gave  their 
•answer, — their  religion  forbade  them  to  go  to  war  while  the 
moon  was  half-orbed  in  the  sky ;  her  circle  must  be  full  ere  they 
could  assist ;  Athens  must  wait  in  patience !  The  youth  wasted 
: neither  word  nor  look  on  the  false  and  vile  Spartans,  but  turned 
his  face  homewards,  crying  to  the  gods  of  his  land ;  rushing  past 
;the  woods  and  streams  where  they  had  often  manifested  them- 
selves to  mortals  he  reproached  them  with  faithlessness  and 
ingratitude, — his  countrymen  had  honoured  them  with  sacrifice 
.and  libation,  and  in  their  extremity  they  disregarded  their  cry  for 
help.  All  at  once,  as  he  ran  by  the  ridge  of  Parnassus,  there  in 
the  cool  of  a  cleft  was  seated  the  majestical  god  Pan  !  Grave, 
•kindly  were  his  eyes,  his  face  amused  at  the  mortal's  awe  of 
iiim.  "  Halt,  Pheidippides ! "  he  cried ;  and  with  his  brain  in  a 
•whirl  the  youth  stood  still.  4<  Hither  to  ine  !  Why  pale  in  my 
presence  ? "  he  graciously  began.  "  How  is  it  Athens  only  in 
Hellas  holds  me  aloof  ? "  Then  the  god  told  the  young  man 
'how  they  might  trust  him ;  that  he  was  to  bid  Athens  take  heart, 
—that  when  the  Persians  were  not  only  lying  dead  on  their  soil, 
tout  cast  into  the  sea,  then  they  were  to  praise  great  Pan,  who 
had  fought  in  their  ranks  and  made  one  cause  with  the  free  and 
the  bold  Athenians.  And  for  a  pledge  he  gave  him  the  fennel  he 
grasped  in  his  hand.  He  went  on  to  speak  of  reward  for  himself, 
but  of  that  Pheidippides  would  not  speak ;  if  he  ran  before,  now 
he  flew  indeed ;  he  touched  not  the  earth  with  his  foot,  the  air 
•was  his  road.  "  Praise  Pan ! "  he  cried,  as  he  reached  Athens, 
"we  stand  no  more  in  danger  1"  Then  Miltiades  asked  him 
what  his  own  reward  should  be  ?  What  had  the  god  promised 
for  him  ?  "  Release  from  the  racer's  toil,"  he  said.  "  But  he  would 
fight  and  be  foremost  in  the  field  of  fennel,  pounding  Persia  to 
the  dust ;  then  many  a  certain  maid  when  Athens  was  free,  and 
in  the  coming  days  tell  his  children  how  the  god  was  awful,  yet 
«o  kind."  The  brave  youth  fought  at  Marathon ;  and  when  Persia 
was  dust.  "Once  more  run,"  they  cried,  "Pheidippides,  to 
Akropolis,  say  Athens  is  saved,  thank  Pan, — go  shout  1 "  Then 
the  youth  flung  down  his  shield  and  ran  as  before.  "  Rejoice ! 
we  conquer  ! "  he  cried  ;  and  with  joy  bursting  his  heart  he  died. 


BROWNING   CYCLOPEDIA.  335 

JHe  had  gained  the  reward  promised  by  Pan,— release  from  tlv 

facer's  toil,  no  vulgar  reward  in  praise  or  in  pelf, — he  could  desirr 

no  greater  bliss.     Herodotus  tells  the  whole  story  (Book  VI.. 

-94 — 1 06).     Darius  was  desirous  of  subduing  those  people  ol 

Greece  who  had  refused  to  give  him  earth  and  water.     He  sent 

against  Eretria  and  Athens  Datis,  who  was  a  Mede  by  birth. 

.and  Artaphernes,  son  of  Artaphernes,  his  own  nephew ;  and  he 

-despatched  them  with  strict  orders,  having  enslaved  Athens  ami 

Eretria,  to  bring  the  bondsmen  into  his  presence.     102.  "  Having 

subdued  Eretria,  and  rested  a  few  days,  they  sailed  to  Attica, 

ipressing  them  very  close,  and  expecting  to  treat  the  Athenians 

vin  the  same  way  as  they  had  the  Eretrians.     Now,  as  Marathon 

-was  the  spot  in  Attica  best  adapted  for  cavalry,  and  nearest  to 

'Eretria,  Hippias,  son  of  Pisistratus,  conducted  them  there.     103. 

But  the  Athenians,  when  they  heard  of  this,  also  sent  their  forces 

•to  Marathon  ;  and  ten  generals  led  them,  of  whom  the  tenth  was 

Miltiades.  .  .  .  105.  And  first,  while  the  generals  were  yet  in  the 

•city,  they  despatched  a  herald  to  Sparta,  one  Pheidippides,  an 

Athenian,  who  was  a  courier  by  profession,  one  who  attended  to 

'this  very  business.     This  man,   then,   as   Pheidippides  himself 

said,   and  reported   to  the  Athenians,    Pan   met    near   Mount 

Parthenion,  above  Tegea ;  and  Pan,   calling  out  the  name  of 

Pheidippides,  bade  him  ask  the  Athenians  why  they  paid  no 

.attention  to  him,  who  was  well  inclined  to  the  Athenians,  and 

lhad  often  been  useful  to  them,  and  would  be  so  hereafter.     The 

Athenians,  therefore,  as  their  affairs  were  then  in  a  prosperous 

•condition,  believed  that  this  was  true,  and  erected  (after  Marathon 

'presumably),  a   temple  to  Pan  beneath  the  Akropolis,  and  in 

consequence  of  that  message  they  propitiate  Pan  with  yearly 

sacrifices  and  the  torch  race.      106.  This  Pheidippides,  being 

isent  by  the  generals  at  that  time  when  he  said  Pan  appeared  to 

him,  arrived  in  Sparta  on  the  following  day    fter  his  departure 

from  the  city  of  the  Athenians,  and  on  coming  in  presence  of  the 

magistrates,  he  said,  '  Lacedaemonians,  the  Athenians  entreat  you 

to  assist  them,  and  not  to  suffer  the  most  ancient  city  among  the 

•Greeks  to  fall  into  bondage  to  barbarians ;  for  Eretria  is  already 

reduced  to  slavery,  and  Greece  has  become  weaker  by  the  loss 

of  a  renowned  city.'     He  accordingly  delivered  the  message 

according  to  his  instructions,  and  they  resolved  indeed  to  assist 

the  Athenians  ;  but  it  was  out  of  their  power  to  do  so  immediately, 


33$  BROWNING   CYCLOPEDIA. 

as  they  were  unwilling  to  violate  the  law ;  for  it  was  the  ninth 
day  of  the  current  month,  and  they  said  they  could  not  march 
out  on  the  ninth  day,  the  moon's  circle  not  being  full.  They 
therefore  waited  for  the  full  moon."  How  the  Athenians  won. 
the  famous  battle  of  Marathon,  "following  the  Persians  in  their 
flight,  cutting  them  to  pieces,  till,  reaching  the  shore,  they  called 
for  fire  and  attacked  the  ships,"  should  be  read  also.  Herodotus 
says  the  Persians  lost  about  six  thousand  four  hundred  men  ;  the 
Athenians  only  one  hundred  and  ninety-two.  Mr.  Browning 
seems  unduly  severe  on  the  Spartans,  for  Herodotus  tells  us 
(120)  that  "  two  thousand  of  the  Lacedaemonians  came  to  Athens- 
after  the  full  moon,  making  haste  to  be  in  time;  that  they 
arrived  in  Attica  on  the  third  day  after  leaving  Sparta.  But 
having  come  too  late  for  the  battle,  they  nevertheless  desired  to- 
see  the  Medes ;  and  having  proceeded  to  Marathon,  they  saw 
the  slain;  and  afterwards,  having  commended  the  Athenians- 
and  their  achievement,  they  returned  home." 

NOTES. — Xcupere ,  viKa>p.fv :  Rejoice !  we  conquer !  Zeus,  the 
Defender:  Jupiter  was  worshipped  under  many  aspects,  such  as 
11  the  Lightning  Flasher,"  "the  Thunderer,"  "the  Flight  Stayer," 
41  the  Best  and  Greatest,"  etc.  "  Her  of  the  aegis  and  spear"  = 
Minerva,  who  was  represented  with  a  shield  and  spear.  "Ye  of  the 
bow  and  the  buskin  "  =  Diana,  who  was  represented  with  a  bow 
and  buskined  legs  of  a  huntress.  Pan,  the  goat-god.  "  Archons 
of  Athens,  topped  by  the  tettix"  (tettix,  a  grasshopper) :  the 
Athenians  sometimes  wore  golden  grasshoppers  in  their  hair  as- 
badges  of  honour,  because  these  insects  are  supposed  to  spring 
from  the  ground,  and  thus  they  showed  they  were  sprung  from 
the  original  inhabitants  of  the  country.  Sparta,  the  capital  oil 
Laconia,  also  called  Lacedaemon.  The  distance  from  Athens 
to  Sparta  is  from  135  to  140  miles.  The  trained  couriers  had 
great  physical  strength  and  powers  of  endurance,  being  regularly 
employed  for  such  occasions  as  this.  "Persia  bids  Athens  proffer 
slaves' -tribute  "  :  "  Darius  (B.C.  493)  sent  heralds  into  all  parts 
of  Greece  to  require  earth  and  water  in  his  name.  This  was  the 
form  used  by  the  Persians  when  they  exacted  submission  from 
those  they  were  desirous  of  bringing  under  subjection."  (Rollins' 
Ancient  History,  vol.  ii.,  p.  267.)  Eretria,  one  of  the  principal 
cities  of  Euboea,  which  is  the  largest  Island  in  the  ^Bgean  Sea,. 
now  called  Negropontc.  Hellas  —  Greece,  Athene,  Minerva* 


Pic]  BROWNING  CYCLOPAEDIA.  337 

Phoibos,  an  epithet  of  Apollo ;  Artemis,  the  Greek  name  of 
Diana.  Olumpos  =  Olympus,  the  mountain  in  Greece  believed 
to  be  the  seat  of  the  gods.  Filleted  victim :  sacrificial  victims  vvere- 
generally  decked  out  with  ribbons  and  wreaths,  and  sometimes 
the  cattle  had  their  horns  gilded.  Fulsome  libation — fulsome  in 
the  sense  of  rich,  liberal.  Libations  were  offerings  of  oil  or 
wine  poured  on  the  ground  in  honour  of  the  deity.  Parnes  - 
the  mountain  is  called  Parthenion  above  Tegea,  by  Herodotusu 
Ivy:  the  Greeks  highly  esteemed  the  ivy.  It  was  consecrated! 
to  Apollo,  and  Bacchus  had  his  brows  and  spear  decked  with  it  r. 
Miltiades,  the  Greek  general  who  commanded  the  Athenians- 
at  the  battle  of  Marathon ;  Marathon  day :  "  The  victory  of 
Marathon  preserved  the  liberties  of  Greece,  and  perhaps  of 
Europe,  from  the  dominion  of  Persia ;  was  fought  in  the 
month  of  September,  B.C.  490  "  (Wordsworth's  Greece,  p.  109).. 
Akropolis,  the  citadel  or  stronghold  of  Athens.  Fennel-field^- 
Marathon  in  Greek  meant  this ;  when  Pan  gave  the  handful  ofi 
fennel  to  the  courier  he  gave  him  Mapadpov — that  is  to  say,  the 
fennel  field  where  the  battle  was  to  be.  "Rejoice!"  xa'LP€Tf  - 
the  first  of  the  two  Greek  words  which  are  at  the  head  of  the 
poem.  Pan  (lit.  "  the  pasturer" — from  the  same  root  as  the  Lat. 
pastor,  shepherd,  and  flam's,  bread).  He  was  the  protecting  deity 
of  flocks  and  herds  and  hunters.  He  was  represented  by  the 
ancients  with  a  pug  nose,  very  hairy,  and  with  horns  and  feet  of 
a  goat.  He  was  described  as  wandering  about  in  the  woods  and 
dales  and  hills,  playing  with  the  nymphs  and  looking  after  the 
flocks.  He  was  sleepy  in  the  noonday  sun,  and  did  not  like  to  be 
disturbed ;  at  such  times,  therefore,  shepherds  did  not  play  their 
pipes.  His  voice  and  appearance  used  to  frighten  those  who  saw- 
him — so  much  so,  that  our  word  "  panic  "  is  derived  from  his 
name.  It  is  said  that  he  won  the  fight  at  Marathon  for  the 
Athenians  by  causing  a  "panic"  amongst  the  Persians.  He  was- 
the  god  of  prophecy,  and  there  were  oracles  of  Pan.  Pan  as  the 
Universe,  the  All,  is  a  misinterpretation  of  his  name.  The 
Romans  identified  Pan  with  their  Faunus.  [Mrs.  Browning's  fine 
poem  The  Dead  Pan  should  be  read  in  this  connection.] 

Pictor  Ignotus.  FLORENCE,  15—.  (Dramatic  Romances 
and  Lyrics  in  Bells  and  Pomegranates,  VII.,  1845.)  The  subject 
is  not  historical,  but  is  conceived  in  the  true  spirit  which 
animated  the  work  of  the  great  religious  (chiefly  monastic) 

22 


BROWNING    CYCLOPAEDIA.  [PlC 

painters  of  the  middle  ages.  The  speaker  says  he  could  have 
painted  pictures  like  those  of  a  certain  youth  whose  praise  is  in 
every  one's  mouth.  He  could  have  executed  all  his  soul  con- 
ceived :  hand  and  brain  were  pair,  and  all  he  saw  he  could  have 
committed  to  his  canvas.  Each  passion  written  on  the  counte- 
nance, whether  Hope  a-tiptoe  for  embrace,  or  Rapture  with 
drooping  eyes,  or  Confidence  lighting  up  the  forehead,  all  that 
human  faces  gave  him,  has  he  saved.  He  has  dreamed  of 
going  forth  in  his  pictures  to  pope  or  kaiser,  to  the  whole  world, 
with  flowers  cast  upon  the  car  which  bore  the  freight,  through 
streets  re-named  from  the  triumphal  passing  of  his  picture,  to 
the  house  where  learning  and  genius  should  greet  his  coming; 
and  the  thought  has  frightened  him,  and  he  has  shrunk  from  the 
popularity  as  a  nun  shrinks  from  the  gaze  of  rough  soldiery; 
it  terrified  him  to  think  of  his  works  dragged  forth  to  be  bought 
and  sold  as  household  stuff,  to  have  to  live  with  people  sunk 
in  their  daily  pettiness,  to  see  their  faces,  listen  to  their  prate, 
and  hear  his  work  discussed.  If  at  times  he  feels  his  work 
monotonous,  as  he  goes  on  filling  the  cloisters  and  eternal  aisles 
ovith  the  same  Virgins,  Babes,  and  Saints,  with  the  same  cold, 
calm,  beautiful  regard,  at  least  no  merchant  traffics  in  his 
neart.  The  sacredness  of  the  place  where  his  pictures  moulder 
and  grow  black  will  protect  him  from  vain  tongues  which  would 
criticise  and  discuss  his  work.  This  poem  has  been  much 
misunderstood.  Some  have  seen  in  it  the  bitter  complaint  and 
the  wail  of  half-suppressed  longing  of  one  whom  fame  has  passed 
unnoticed ;  he  has  failed  to  please  the  world,  and  will  now 
retire  to  pursue  his  art  in  the  cloister.  Nothing  could  be  further 
from  the  poet's  purpose  in  this  work.  Others,  and  those  the 
majority  of  critics,  have  found  in  the  poem  a  revelation  of  the 
true  art -spirit,  as  though  Mr.  Browning  had  made  a  great  dis- 
covery in  this  connection.  The  plain  fact  is  that  this  spirit  of 
retirement,  this  abhorrence  of  working  for  the  praise  of  men,  this 
hatred  of  applause-seeking  and  of  self-advertisement,  was  that 
which  animated  the  men  of  old  Catholic  times  who  built  our 
cathedrals  and  our  abbeys,  and  who  painted  our  great  pictures 
and  glorified  all  Europe  with  works  of  art.  The  poem  might 
fairly  be  considered  as  uttered  by  a  Fra  Angelico  with  reference 
to  Raffaele.  The  great  monastic  painters,  like  Angelico,  painted 
under  the  eye  of  God,  looking  upon  their  work  as  immediately 


Pie]  BROWNING   CYCLOPEDIA.  339 

inspired  by  His  Spirit :  for  God  and  through  God,  not  through  men 
and  for  men,  was  their  work  done.  It  has  been  the  life-work 
of  Mr.  Ruskin  to  point  this  out.  These  men  were  not  actuated 
by  the  vain  advertising  spirit  which  animates  so  much  of  our 
modern  work  of  all  kinds.  Humility  is  a  virtue  now  little  appre- 
ciated :  it  was  the  life  of  these  old  artists'  souls.  Pictor  Ignotus 
was  not  jealous  of  the  popular  youth  whose  pictures  were 
decked  with  flowers  by  the  people  as  they  were  borne  through 
the  streets  which  were  re-named  in  their  honour.  He  did  not 
want  the  mob's  applause ;  he  shrank  from  the  appreciations  of 
the  thoughtless  street  folk  as  a  nun  would  shrink  from  the 
compliments  of  a  band  of  rough  soldiery.  All  this  beautiful 
spirit  is  fast  dying  out.  When  a  writer  like  Browning  reminds  us 
that  there  were  once,  in  "  15 — ,"  in  a  place  like  Florence,  men 
animated  by  it,  critics  cry  out,  "  What  a  discovery !  How 
wonderful ! "  It  is  a  discovery  like  ours  of  gold  in  South  Africa, 
where  the  men  of  old  time  went  to  Ophir  to  find  the  precious 
metal. 

NOTE. — Vasari  says  that  the  Borgo  Allegri  at  Florence  took  its 
name  from  the  joy  of  the  inhabitants  when  a  Madonna  by  Cimabue 
was  carried  through  it  in  procession. 

Pied  Piper  of  Hamelin,  The.  (Dramatic  Lyrics,  1842.)  Written 
to  amuse  little  Willie  Macready.  The  story  told  in  the  poem  is 
one  of  a  class  of  legends  dealing  with  the  subject  of  cheating  magi- 
cians of  a  promised  reward  for  services  rendered.  Verstegan,  in 
his  Restitution  of  Decayed  Intelligence  (1634),  has  the  story  on 
which  apparently  Mr.  Browning's  poem  is  written.  "A  piper 
named  Bunting  undertook  for  a  certain  sum  of  money  to  free  the 
town  of  Hamelin,  in  Brunswick,  of  the  rats  which  infested  it ;  but 
when  he  had  drowned  all  the  rats  in  the  river  Weser,  the  towns- 
men refused  to  pay  the  sum  agreed  upon.  The  piper,  in  revenge, 
collected  together  all  the  children  of  Hamelin,  and  enticed  them 
by  his  piping  into  a  cavern  in  the  side  of  the  mountain  Koppen- 
berg,  which  instantly  closed  upon  them,  and  a  hundred  and  thirty 
went  down  alive  into  the  pit  (June  26th,  1284).  The  street 
through  which  Bunting  conducted  his  victims  was  Bungen,  and 
from  that  day  to  this  no  music  is  ever  allowed  to  be  played  in 
this  particular  street"  The  same  tale  is  told  of  the  fiddler  of 
Brandenberg:  the  children  were  led  to  the  Marienberg,  which 
opened  upon  them  and  swallowed  them  up.  When  Lorch  was 


34°  BROWNING  CYCLOPEDIA.  [Pie 

infested  with  ants,  a  hermit  led  the  multitudinous  insects  by  his 
pipe  into  a  lake,  where  they  perished.  As  the  inhabitants 
refused  to  pay  the  stipulated  price,  he  led  their  pigs  the  same 
dance,  and  they,  too,  perished  in  the  lake.  Next  year  a  charcoal 
burner  cleared  the  same  place  of  crickets ;  and  when  the  price 
agreed^  upon  was  refused,  he  led  the  sheep  of  the  inhabitants 
into  the  lake.  The  third  year  came  a  plague  of  rats,  which  an 
old  man  of  the  mountain  piped  away  and  destroyed.  Being 
refused  his  reward,  he  piped  the  children  of  Lorch  into  the 
Tannenberg.  There  are  similar  Persian  and  Chinese  tales.  (See 
Dr.  Brewer's  Reader's  Handbook.  Hamlin  or  Hamelin  is  a 
town  in  the  province  of  Hanover,  Prussia.  "  Some  trace  the 
origin  of  the  legend  to  the  '  Child  Crusade,'  or  to  an  abduction 
of  children.  For  a  considerable  time  the  town  dated  its  public 
documents  from  the  event "  (Encyc.  Brit.).  Julius  Wolff  wrote 
a  poem  on  the  subject  (Berlin,  1876).  See  S.  Baring  Gould's 
Curious  Myths  of  the  Middle  Ages,  2nd  ser.,  1868;  Grimm's 
Deutsche  Sagen,  Berlin,  1866 ;  and  Reitzenstein's  edition  of 
Springer's  Geschichte  der  Stadt  Hameln,  Hameln,  1861.  Some 
authorities  consider  the  story  a  myth  of  the  wind. 

Pietro  Comparini  (The  Ring  and  the  Book)  was  the  reputed 
father  of  Pompilia,  and  was  murdered  with  his  wife  by  Count 
Guido. 

Pietro  Of  Abano.  (Dramatic  Idyls,  second  series,  1880.) 
[THE  MAN.]  Dr.  Furnivall,  in  a  note  to  Mr.  Sharpe's  excellent 
paper  on  Pietro  of  Abano  in  the  Browning  Society's  Reports,  No.V., 
gives  the  following  particulars  of  the  character  from  the  Nouvelle 
Biographie  Universelle,  Paris,  1855,  i.  29 — 31.  "  Pietro  of  A'bano, 
Petrus  de  A'pano  or  Aponensis,  or  Petrus  de  Padua,  was  an 
Italian  physician  and  alchemist ;  born  at  Abano,  near  Padua,  in 
1246,  died  about  1320.  He  is  said  to  have  studied  Greek  at 
Constantinople,  mathematics  at  Padua,  and  to  have  been  made 
Doctor  of  Medicine  and  Philosophy  at  Paris.  He  then  returned 
to  Padua,  where  he  was  Professor  of  Medicine,  and  followed  the 
Arabian  physicians,  especially  Averroes.  He  got  a  great  reputa- 
tion, and  charged  enormous  fees.  He  hated  milk  and  cheese, 
and  swooned  at  the  sight  of  them.  His  enemies,  jealous  of  his 
renown  and  wealth,  denounced  him  to  the  Inquisition  as  a 
magician.  They  accused  him  of  possessing  the  philosopher's 
stone,  and  of  making,  With  the  devil's  help,  all  money  spent  by 


Pie]  BROWNING  CYCLOPAEDIA.  34! 

him  come  back  to  his  purse,  etc.  His  trial  was  begun ;  and  had 
he  not  died  naturally  in  time,  he  would  have  been  burnt.  The 
Inquisitors  ordered  his  corpse  to  be  burnt ;  and  as  a  friend  had 
taken  that  away,  they  had  his  portrait  publicly  burnt  by  the 
executioner.  In  1560  a  Latin  epitaph  in  his  memory  was  put  up 
in  the  church  of  St.  Augustine.  The  Duke  of  Urbino  set  his 
statue  among  those  of  illustrious  men  ;  and  the  Senate  of  Padua 
put  one  on  the  gate  of  its  palace,  beside  those  of  Livy,  etc.  His 
best-known  work  is  his  Conciliator  Differentiarum  qua:  inter 
Philosophos  et  Medicos  versantur  (Mantua,  1472,  and  Venice, 
1476,  fol.) ;  often  reprinted.  Other  works  are :  I.  De  Venenis, 
eorumque  Remediis,  translated  into  French  by  L.  Boet  (Lyons, 
1593,  I2mo);  2.  Geomantia  (Venice,  1505,  1556,  8vo);  3.  Ex- 
positio  Problematum  Aristotelis  (Mantua,  1475,  4to)  J  4-  Hippo- 
crates de  Medicorum  Astrologia  Libellus,  in  Greek  and  Latin 
(Venice,  1485,  4to)  ;  5.  Astrolabium  planum  in  tabulis  ascendens, 
continens  qualibet  hora  atque  minuta  aquationes  Domorum  Ccelt, 
etc.  (Venice,  1 502,  4to)  ;  6.  Dioscorides  digestus  alphabetico  ordine 
(Lyons,  1512,  4to) ;  7.  Heptameron  (Paris,  1474,  4to) ;  8.  Textus 
Mesues  noviter  emendatus,  etc.  (Venice,  1505,  8vo);  9.  Decisiones 
physionomicB^fo,  8vo) ;  10.  Questiones  de  Febribus  (Padua,  1482) ; 
ii.  Galeni  tractatus  varii  a  Petro  Paduano,  latinitate  donati, 
MS.  in  St.  Mark's  Library,  Venice;  12.  Les  Elements  pour  operer 
dans  les  Sciences  magiques,  MS.  in  the  Arsenal  Library,  Paris." 
Murray's  Guide  to  Northern  Italy  says  that  "Abano  may  be 
visited  either  from  Padua  or  from  Monselice.  Its  baths  have 
retained  their  celebrity  from  the  time  of  the  Romans.  The  place 
is  also  remarkable  as  being  the  birthplace  of  Livy,  and  also  of 
the  physician  and  reputed  necromancer,  Pietro  d'Abano,  in 
whom  the  Paduans  take  almost  equal  pride.  This  village  is  about 
three  miles  from  the  Euganean  hills."  The  medicinal  springs 
procured  this  place  its  ancient  name  of  Aponon,  derived  from  a, 
privative,  and  TTOVOS,  pain.  At  Padua  is  the  Palazzo  della  Ragi- 
one,  built  by  Pietro  Cozzo  between  1172  and  1219,  a  vast  building 
standing  entirely  upon  open  arches,  surrounded  by  a  loggia. 
Murray  says  :  "  The  history  of  this  hall  is  as  remarkable  as  its 
aspect.  It  was  built  in  1306  by  an  Austin  friar,  Frate  Giovanni, 
a  great  traveller ;  and  he  asked  no  other  pay  for  his  work  than 
the  wood  and  tiles  of  the  old  roof  which  he  was  to  take  down. 
The  interior  of  the  hall  is  covered  by  strange,  mystical  paintings 


342  BROWNING   CYCLOPAEDIA.  [Pie 

designed  by  Giotto  according  to  the  instructions  of  Pietro 
d'Abano"  Pietro  d'Abano  was  the  first  reviver  of  the  art  of 
medicine  in  Europe ;  and  he  travelled  to  Greece  for  the  purpose 
of  learning  the  language  of  Hippocrates  and  Galen,  and  of 
profiting  by  the  stores  which  the  Byzantine  libraries  yet 
contained.  He  practised  with  the  greatest  success;  and  his 
medical  works  were  considered  as  amongst  the  most  valuable 
volumes  of  the  therapeutic  library  of  the  middle  ages.  His  bust 
is  over  one  of  the  doors  of  the  hall ;  the  inscription  placed  be- 
neath  it  indignantly  repudiates  the  magic  and  sorcery  ascribed 
to  him ;  but  the  votaries  of  the  occult  sciences  smiled  inwardly 
at  this  disclaimer.  His  treatises  upon  necromancy,  geomancy, 
amulets  and  conjuration,  were  circulated  from  hand  to  hand. 
When  at  Padua,  some  years  since,  the  Rev.  John  Sharpe  found  a 
stone  set  in  the  wall  of  the  vestibule  of  the  Sacristy  of  the  Church 
of  the  Eremitani,  to  Pietro  of  Abano.  It  bore  the  following 
inscription : — 

PETRI    APON. 

CINERES 
OB.    AN.    1315 

AET.  66. 

[THE  POEM.]  Peter  was  a  magician.  He  had  been  of  al) 
trades,  architect,  astronomer,  astrologer,  beside  physician.  Even 
worse  than  astrologer,  for  men  scrupled  not  to  accuse  him  oi 
having  dealings  with  the  devil.  This  was  the  Middle  Age  way 
with  men  of  science,  and  it  must  be  confessed  that  the  mystical 
manner  of  their  writings  and  the  uncanny  nature  of  some  of  their 
doings  give  colour  to  the  accusation.  It  was  convenient,  also,  to 
accuse  Peter  of  diabolic  arts.  When  he  had  built  a  tower  or 
cured  a  prince,  it  was  an  economical  way  of  discharging  the 
debt  to  accuse  the  old  man  of  wizardry.  So  they  cursed  him 
roundly  and  then  rid  themselves  of  their  liability.  But  Peter 
grinned  and  bore  it  all.  He  seems  to  have  invented  a  steamboat 
which  would  have  whirled  through  the  water  had  not  the  priests 
broken  up  his  evil-looking  machine,  and  bastinadoed  him  beside. 
One  night,  as  he  reached  his  lodgings,  some  one  plucked  his  sleeve 
and  asked  an  interview  with  him.  It  was  a  young  Greek,  who 
professed  great  admiration  for  the  mage.  He  tells  him  that  he 
has  heard  that  the  price  he  pays  for  his  potent  arts  is  that  he  may 
not  drink  a  drop  of  milk ;  but  he  has  discovered  this  is  not  to  be 


Pie]  BROWNING   CYCLOPEDIA.  343 

taken  literally, — it  is  to  be  considered  figuratively,  as  he  will 
explain.  He  asks  the  master  leave  to  become  the  friend  of 
mankind,  and  that  by  being  himself  their  model.  He  begs, 
therefore,  to  be  taught  the  true  magic,  to  learn  the  art  of  making 
fools  subserve  the  man  of  mind.  A  prince  is  inspired  with  the 
idea  of  building  a  palace  by  an  architect.  The  architect  uses  the 
prince  as  the  means  of  furthering  his  own  interests — his  ambition 
to  be  honoured  as  a  great  architect.  The  workmen  who  build 
the  mansion  are  animated  by  their  desire  for  wages,  and  so  the 
architect  uses  both  prince  and  artisan  as  his  tools.  The  young 
Greek  wants  to  use  men  of  high  and  low  degree  for  similar  ends. 
The  magician  says  if  he  were  to  comply  with  his  desire  he 
would  only  make  one  ingrate  more ;  he  has  been  so  often  de- 
ceived this  way.  The  Greek  replies  that  what  he  wants  is  the 
milk  of  human  kindness.  He  has  not  been  animated  by  love  of 
his  species  in  what  he  has  done  for  mankind.  He  has  wrought 
wonders,  but  not  for  love.  This  is  the  meaning  of  his  enforced 
abstinence  from  milk  ;  but  let  him  confer  upon  his  supplicant  this 
favour  he  asks,  and  he  will  earn  his  love  and  gratitude,  which 
will  remove  from  him  his  curse.  Every  step  he  lifts  him  up,  by 
so  much  greater  will  the  reward  of  the  benefactor  be.  The 
magician  determines  to  comply :  he  will  test  this  man's  heart. 
"Shuffle  the  cards  once  more,"  he  says.  Suddenly  the  young 
man  becomes  aware  that  he  has  undergone  a  great  change.  He 
was  talking  Plato  to  the  master  but  a  while  ago  ;  now  he  is  sur- 
rounded by  wealth,  and  has  many  friends.  A  year  has  passed 
when  one  day,  lounging  at  his  ease  in  his  villa,  his  servant 
announces  an  old  friend  who  desires  to  speak  with  him.  It  is 
old  Peter,  who  is  sore  beset  by  his  enemies,  who  want  to  burn 
him.  He  has  come  to  the  young  man  who  owes  him  everything, 
to  beg  a  hiding-place  and  a  crust.  The  ingrate  will  not  for  a 
moment  listen  to  his  plea ;  he  cannot  think  of  harbouring  him, 
as  if  it  were  to  be  discovered  it  would  compromise  him.  He 
takes  the  opportunity,  however,  to  ask  for  a  greater  favour, — he 
wishes  to  learn  how  to  rule  men  and  subject  them  to  his  pleasure. 
Then,  if  he  will  wait  awhile,  he  may  be  able  to  show  his  grati- 
tude. The  old  man  turns  his  back  and  leaves  the  house.  He  is 
no  sooner  away  than  the  spell  begins  to  work.  Politics  were 
the  prize  now.  He  became  a  statesman  and  a  friend  of  the 
Emperor.  One  day,  after  a  council,  he  was  pacing  his  closet, 


344  BROWNING   CYCLOPAEDIA.  [Pie 

•when  there  was  a  knock  at  the  door,  and  Peter  entered.  He 
reminds  him  that  ten  years  have  passed  since  he  refused  him  the 
favour  he  demanded.  He  had  given  him  a  mansion,  out  of 
•which  he  only  begged  the  use  of  a  single  chamber,  that  will  no 
longer  suffice.  He  now  comes  to  beg  a  stronghold  where  he  may 
be  safe  from  his  enemies  :  grant  him  this,  and  he  will  trouble 
the  young  man  no  more.  But  the  latter  is  concerned  only  with 
thoughts  of  more  power  for  himself :  he  wants  now  to  rule  the 
souls  of  men ;  from  the  temporal  power  he  would  rise  to  the 
spiritual ;  he  would  be  no  less  than  Pope.  Having  then  reached 
the  highest  rung  of  the  ladder,  he  promises  to  pay  the  debt  he 
owes  to  the  full.  Once  more  old  Peter  turns  to  go,  and  already 
the  influence  is  felt.  He  is  at  Rome,  has  been  elected  Pope,  and 
has  reached  the  summit  of  his  desires.  Seated  in  the  palace  of 
the  Lateran,  one  day  an  intruder  pushes  aside  the  arras.  It  is  old 
Peter  pgain ;  he  is  ninety  now,  and  does  not  care  if  they  burn 
liim ;  he  has  lived  his  day.  He  has,  however,  a  favour  to  ask  : 
he  has  written  a  great  book,  and  he  wants  it  preserved  for  the 
<use  of  posterity.  Will  the  Pope  see  to  this  ?  The  Pontiff  eyes 
the  frowsy  parchment  with  disgust,  and  when  the  old  man  kneels 
to  kiss  his  foot,  he  spurns  him.  "We're  Pope, — once  Pope, 
you  can't  unpope  us !  "  In  a  moment  the  vision  was  over.  The 
three  trial  scenes  of  the  Greek's  life  were  played  out :  he  was 
himself  again.  The  magic  was  dissolved ;  he  had  been  tested, 
had  been  shown  the  corruption  of  his  own  heart  in  a  moment, 
though  it  seemed  a  lifetime  in  the  passing  of  the  vision.  Peter 
lived  out  his  life,  but  he  had  never  yet  learned  love.  Perhaps  in 
another  life  that  lesson  was  to  come.  As  for  the  Greek,  nothing 
is  recorded  of  him.  The  poet  says  he  may  go  his  way — he  is  too 
selfish  not  to  thrive  !  The  moral  of  the  story  is  that  to  win  men's 
iove  we  must  not  merely  help  them,  not  merely  fling  favours  at 
them,  but  must  consecrate  ourselves  to  their  service.  In  the 
loving  service  of,  and  the  self-sacrificing  endeavour  to  benefit 
our  fellow-men,  lies  the  secret  of  winning  happiness  for  ourselves. 
It  is  more  blessed  to  give  than  to  receive  only  when  the  giving  is 
to  man  for  God's  sake — for  the  love  of  God  manifested  by  efforts 
on  behalf  of  our  fellow-men. 

NOTES. — Verse  2,  Petrus  ipse,  Peter  the  very  same.  v.  9,  True 
moly :  "  A  fabulous  herb  of  secret  power,  having  a  black  root 
and  white  blossoms,  skid  by  Homer  to  have  been  given  by 


Pie]  BROWNING   CYCLOPEDIA.  345 

Mercury  to  Ulysses,  as  a  counter-charm  against  the  spells  of 
Circe"  (Webster's  Diet.),  v.  10,  "Mark  within  my  eye  its  iris 
mystic-lettered " :  Letters  of  the  alphabet  have  been  seen  marked 
on  the  human  eye  as  figures  on  a  dial.  Mr.  Browning  said,  "  that 
there  was  an  old  superstition  that,  if  you  look  into  the  iris  of 
a  man's  eye,  you  see  the  letters  of  his  name  or  the  word  telling 
tiis  fate."  (See  Echo,  23rd  March,  1896.)  v.  14,  "  Petri  en 
pitlmones"  Behold,  the  lungs  of  Peter!  v.  15,  "  Ipse  dixi?  I 
have  said.  v.  16,  Hans  of  Halberstadt :  a  canon  of  Halberstadt, 
in  Germany,  who  was  a  magician  who  rode  upon  a  devil  in  the 
shape  of  a  black  horse,  and  who  performed  the  most  incredible 
feats.  (See  Browning's  poem  Transcendentalism.}  v.  19,  "De 
corde  natus  hand  de  mente"  born  of  heart,  not  of  mind.  Bene  : 
the  first  syllables  of  Benedicite ;  here  the  charm  begins  to  work, 
v.  23,  Plato  on  "  the  Fair  and  Good"  :  Emerson,  in  his  essay  on 
Plato,  says :  Plato  taught  this  as  "  the  cause  which  led  the  Su- 
preme Ordainer  to  produce  and  compose  the  universe.  He  was 
good ;  and  he  who  is  good  has  no  kind  of  envy.  Exempt  from 
envy,  He  wished  that  all  things  should  be  as  much  as  possible 
like  Himself.  Whosoever,  taught  by  wise  men,  shall  admit  this 
as  the  prime  cause  of  the  origin  and  foundation  of  the  world, 
will  be  in  the  truth.  All  things  are  for  the  sake  of  the  good, 
and  it  is  the  cause  of  everything  beautiful."  v.  26,  Sylla  :  the 
debauched  Roman  dictator,  who  gave  up  his  command  and  re- 
tired to  a  solitary  retreat  at  Puteoli.  v.  27,  "  Hag  Jezebel  and 
her  paint  and  powder" :  Jezebel,  the  wife  of  Ahab,  who  "painted 
her  face  and  tired  her  head,  and  looked  out  at  a  window 
(2  Kings  ix.  30).  Jam  satis,  already,  enough!  v.  33,  "Tanta- 
lus's treasure " :  Tantalus  was  tortured  in  hell  by  having  food 
and  drink  apparently  always  within  his  reach,  but  always  eluding 
his  grasp,  v.  37,  "  Per  Bacco"  :  by  Bacchus,— an  Italian  oath. 
v.  38,  " Salomo  si  nosset"  if  Solomon  had  but  known  this  ! 
<(  Teneor  vix"  I  can  hardly  contain  myself !  v.  39,  hactenus, 
up  to  this  time.  "  Nee  ultra  plus  !  "  nothing  further.  Spelter, 
zinc.  Peason,  peas.  v.  43,  "  Pou  sto"  where  I  may  stand. 
Archimedes  said  he  could  move  the  world  if  he  had  a  place  to 
stand  on.  v.  46,  Lateran :  the  church  of  St.  John  Lateran,  in 
Rome;  "the  mother  and  head  of  all  the  city  and  the  world," 
as  it  is  called,  was  the  principal  church  of  Rome  after  the  time 
of  Constantine.  Five  important  councils  have  been  held  here. 


346  BROWNING  CYCLOPAEDIA.  [Fife: 

Adjoining  it  is  the  Lateran  Palace.  "  Gained  the  purple  "  .•  i.e., 
the  cardinalate,  from  the  scarlet  hat,  stockings,  and  cassock  worn 
by  cardinals.  "Bribed  the  Conclave  "  :  the  meeting  of  the  mem- 
bers of  the  Sacred  College  of  Cardinals  for  the  election  of  a 
pope  is  called  a  conclave.  "  Saw  my  coop  ope  "  /  the  cardinals 
go  into  conclave  on  the  tenth  day  after  the  death  of  the  Pope,, 
attended  usually  by  only  one  person.  No  access  to  the  conclave 
is  permitted.  An  opening  is  left  for  food  to  be  passed  in.  The 
voting  must  all  be  done  in  this  assembly.  Each  cardinal  has  a 
boarded  cell  in  the  Vatican  assigned  him  by  lot.  Voting  is  carried 
on  till  some  cardinal  is  found  who  has  the  requisite  majority  of 
two-thirds  of  those  who  are  present,  v.  47,  Tithon :  a  son  of 
Laomedon,  king  of  Troy.  He  was  so  beautiful  that  Aurora  fell 
in  love  with  him  and  carried  him  away.  He  begged  her  to- 
make  him  immortal,  and  the  goddess  granted  the  favour.  As 
he  forgot  to  ask  her  also  to  preserve  his  youth,  he  became  old 
and  decrepid,  and  begged  to  be  removed  from  the  world.  As 
he  could  not  die,  she  changed  him  into  a  grasshopper,  v.  48, 
"Conciliator  Differentiarum"  conciliator  of  differences.  " De 
Speciebus  Ceremonialis  Magice "  :  concerning  the  kinds  of  the 
ceremonial  of  magic.  "  The  Fisher's  ring,  or  foot  that  boasts 
the  Cross " :  one  of  the  titles  of  the  Pope  is  "  the  Fisherman," 
after  St.  Peter.  His  signet  is  the  ring  of  the  Fisherman  ;  the 
cross  is  worked  on  his  slipper,  v.  49,  " Apage,  Sathanas!" 
begone  Satan!  "  Dicam  verbum  Salomonis,"  I  command  it 
in  the  name  of  Solomon.  Peculiar  significance  is  attached  by 
mystical  writers  to  this  word  Sol-Om-On  (the  name  of  the  sun 
in  three  languages).  Dicite :  the  closing  syllables  of  "  bene- 
dicite,"  so  that  the  visions  had  all  taken  place  between  bene — 
and — dicite.  v.  50,  Benedicite  !  a  word  of  good  omen,  a  blessing. 
" Idmen,  idmen!"  we  know,  we  know!  v.  51,  Srientirv  Com- 
pendium, compendium  of  science.  "  Admirationem  incutit "  : 
it  inspires  admiration.  Antipope  :  an  opposition  pope,  of  which 
there  have  been  several  examples  in  history  ;  they  were  usurpers 
of  the  popedom.  v.  53,  Tiberius  Ccesar  (born  42  B.C.,  died  37 
A.D.)  :  Emperor  of  Rome.  When  at  Padua  he  consulted  the 
oracle  of  Geryon,  he  drew  a  lot  by  which  he  was  required  to^ 
throw  golden  tali  into  the  fountain  of  Aponus  for  an  answer  to* 
his  questions;  he  did  so,  and  the  highest  numbers  came  up.. 
The  fountain  is  situated  in  the  Euganean  hills,  near  Padua~ 


PU]  BROWNING   CYCLOPAEDIA.  347 

Oracle  of  Geryon :  Geryon  was  a  mythical  king  in  Spain  who 
had  three  bodies,  or  three  heads.  Suetonius  Tranquilius :  author 
of  the  biographies  of  the  first  twelve  Roman  emperors,  v.  54,. 
Venus :  the  highest  throw  with  the  four  tali,  or  three  tessera. 
The  best  cast  of  the  tali  (or  foursided  dice)  was  four  different 
numbers ;  but  the  best  cast  of  the  tessercR  (or  ordinary  dice)  was 
three  sixes.  The  worst  throw  was  called  cants — three  aces  in 
lesserce,  and  four  aces  in  tali.  (Brewer's  Handbook!) 

Pillar  at  Sebzevah,  A.  (FerishtaWs  Fancies,  1 1.  Key-note : 
"  Love  is  better  than  knowledge.")  Sage  and  pupil  argue  as  to 
which  is  the  better,  knowledge  or  love.  The  sage  says  that  love 
far  outweighs  knowledge  ;  it  is  objected  that  an  ass  loves  food, 
and  perhaps  the  hand  that  feeds  it — why  depose  knowledge  in 
favour  of  love?  Ferishtah  says  that  all  his  knowledge  only 
suffices  to  enable  him  to  say  that  he  loves  boundlessly,  endlessly. 
He  had  knowledge  when  a  youth,  but  better  knowledge  came  as 
he  grew  older,  and  pushed  it  aside  ;  it  has  been  so  ever  since — 
the  gain  of  to-day  is  the  loss  of  to-morrow.  It  is,  in  fact,  no  gain 
at  all :  knowledge  is  not  golden,  it  is  but  lacquered  ignorance.  It 
has  a  prize :  the  process  of  acquiring  knowledge  is  the  only 
reward.  But  love  is  victory.  In  love  we  are  sure  to  succeed, — 
there  is  no  delusion  there.  A  child  grasps  an  orange,  though 
he  fails  to  grasp  the  sun  he  strives  to  reach ;  he  may  find  his 
orange  not  worth  holding,  but  the  joy  was  in  the  shape  and 
colour,  and  these  were  better  for  him  than  the  sun,  which  would 
have  only  burned  his  fingers.  If  we  can  say  we  are  loved  in 
return  for  the  love  we  bestow,  this  is  to  hold  a  good  juicy  orange, 
which  is  better  than  seeking  to  know  the  mystery  of  all  created 
things :  if  we  succeeded,  it  would  only  be  to  our  own  hurt,  as 
the  sun  would  have  scorched  the  child  who  cried  for  it.  There 
was  a  pillar  in  Sebzevah  with  a  sun-dial  fixed  upon  it.  Suppose 
the  townsmen  had  refused  to  make  use  of  the  dial  till  they  knew 
the  history  of  the  man  and  his  object  in  erecting  the  pillar? 
Better  far  to  go  to  dinner  when  the  dial  says  "  Noon,"  and  ask 
no  questions.  If  we  love,  we  know  enough.  Suppose  in  cross- 
ing the  desert  we  are  thirsty,  we  stoop  down  and  scoop  up  the 
sand,  and  water  rises :  what  need  have  we  to  dig  down  fifty 
fathoms  to  find  the  spring?  The  best  thing  we  can  do  is  to- 
quench  our  thirst  with  the  water  which  is  before  us  :  we  do  not, 
under  the  circumstances,  require  a  cisternfuL  There  is  one 


BROWNING   CYCLOPEDIA.  [Pip 

unlovable  thing,  and  that  is  hate.  If  out  of  the  sand  we  get 
nothing  but  sand,  let  us  not  pretend  to  be  finding  water ;  let  us 
not  nickname  pain  as  pleasure.  If  knowledge  were  all  our 
faculty,  God  must  be  ignored ;  but  love  gains  God  at  first  leap. 
The  lyric  bids  us  not  ask  recognition  for  our  love :  the  deepest 
affection  is  the  most  silent.  Words  are  a  poor  substitute  for  the 
silence  of  a  long  gaze  and  the  touch  which  reveals  the  soul. 

NOTES. — Mushtari,  the  planet  Jupiter  (Persian).  Hudhud ' : 
fabulous  bird  of  Solomon,  according  to  Eastern  legend :  the  lap- 
wing, a  well-known  bird  in  Asia.  Sitara  :  Persian  for  a  star. 

Pippa  Passes :  A  Drama,  (Bells  and  Pomegranates,  No.  I., 
1841.)  Pippa  is  the  name  of  a  girl  employed  at  the  silk  mills  at 
Asolo,  in  the  Trevisan,  in  Northern  Italy.  In  the  whole  year  she 
has  but  one  holiday :  it  is  New  Year's  day,  and  she  determines 
to  make  the  most  ot  it.  She  springs  out  of  bed  as  day  is  break- 
ing, mapping  out  as  she  dresses  herself  what  she  will  do  with 
Morning,  Noon,  Evening,  and  Night.  She  thinks  of  the  four 
persons  whose  lot  is  most  to  be  envied  in  the  little  town,  and 
will  imagine  herself  each  of  these  in  turn.  But  she  claims  that 
the  day  will  be  fine  and  not  ill-use  her.  There  is  the  great, 
haughty  Ottima,  whose  husband,  old  Luca,  sleeps  in  his  mansion 
while  his  wife  makes  love  ;  her  lover  Sebald  will  be  just  as 
devoted,  however  the  rain  may  beat  on  the  home.  Jules,  the 
sculptor,  will  wed  his  Phene  to-day :  nothing  can  disturb  their 
happiness,  their  sunbeams  are  in  their  own  breasts.  Evening 
may  be  misty,  but  Luigi  and  his  lady  mother  will  not  heed  it. 
Monsignor  will  be  here  from  Rome  to  visit  his  brother's  house : 
no  storm  will  disturb  his  holy  peace.  But  for  Pippa,  the  silk- 
winder,  a  wet  day  would  darken  her  whole  next  year.  So  her 
morning  fancy  starts  her  as  Ottima^:  all  the  gardens  and  the  great 
storehouse  are  hers.  But  this  is  not  the  kind  of  love  she  envies; 
there's  better  love,  she  knows.  Her  next  choice  shall  give  no 
cause  for  the  scoffer — wedded  love,  like  that  of  Jules  and  Phene, 
for  example.  But  still  improvement  can  be  made  even  upon 
that :  it  is,  after  all,  but  new  love ;  hers  should  have  lapped  her 
round  from  the  beginning :  "  only  parents'  love  can  last  our 
lives."  She  will  be  Luigi,  communing  with  his  mother  in  the 
turret.  But  if  we  come  to  that,  God's  love  is  better  even  than 
that  of  Monsignor  the  holy  and  beloved  priest,  for  to-night  Pippa 
in  fancy  have  her  dwelling  in  the  palace  by  the  Dome. — 


Pip]  BROWNING   CYCLOPAEDIA.  349 

I.  MORNING.  Ottima  is  with  her  paramour,  the  German  Sebald, 
in  the  shrub-house.  They  have  murdered  Luca,  and  are  talking 
calmly  of  their  sin,  and  contrasting  their  present  freedom  with  the 
restraint  of  last  New  Year's  day.  Ottima's  husband  can  no  longer 
fondle  her  before  her  lover's  face.  But  there  is  the  corpse  to 
remove,  and  as  Sebald  reflects,  he  begins  to  regret  nis  treachery 
to  the  man  who  fed  and  sheltered  him.  Ottima  tells  him  she  loves 
him  better  for  the  crime.  They  caress  each  other,  and  as  Sebald 
fondles  Ottima  the  voice  of  Pippa  singing  as  she  passes  is  heard 
from  without :  "  God's  in  His  heaven."  Sebald  starts,  conscience- 
stricken;  Ottima  says  it  is  only  "that  ragged  little  girlT"  At 
once  Sebald  is  disenchanted;  he  sees  the  woman  in  all  the 
naked  horror  of  her  crimes  ;  all  her  grace  and  beauty  are  gone  ; 
he  hates  and  curses  her.  The  woman  takes  the  guilt  all  upon 
her  own  head,  and  prays  for  him,  not  for  herself :  forgetting  self, 
she  thinks  only  of  Sebald.  "Not  me— to  him,  O  God,  be 
merciful ! "  To  her  guilty  soul  also  comes  the  reflection,  "  God's 
in  His  heaven."  In  self-sacrifice  begins  her  redemption.  Pippa 
has  converted  both.  While  Pippa  is  passing  to  Orcana,  some 
sludents  from  Venice  are  discussing  a  jest  they  have  played  off 
on  Jules.  They  have,  by  means  of  sham  letters  which  they  have 
concocted  between  them  and  sent  him  as  coming  from  the  girl 
he  loves,  induced  him  to  believe  she  was  a  cultivated  woman, 
and  he  has  been  deceived  into  marrying  her. — II.  NOON.  When 
the  ceremony  is  over  the  truth  is  told  him.  He  gives  his  bride 
gold,  and  is  preparing  to  separate  from  her,  when  Pippa  passes, 
singing  "  Give  her  but  a  least  excuse  to  love  me !  "  Jules  reasons, 
Here  is  a  woman  with  utter  need  of  him.  She  has  an  awakening 
moral  sense,  a  soul  like  his  own  sculptured  Psyche,  waiting  his 
word  to  make  it  bright  with  life — he  will  evoke  this  woman's  soul 
in  some  isle  in  far-off  seas !  He  forgives  her.  Pippa's  song  has 
worked  the  reconciliation. — III.  EVENING.  Luigi  and  his  mother 
are  conversing  in  the  turret  on  the  hill  above  Asolo.  Luigi  is 
what  has  been  termed  a  "  patriot " ;  he  is  suspected  of  belonging 
to  the  secret  society  of  the  Carbonari,  and  is  at  the  moment 
actually  discussing  with  his  mother  a  plot  to  kill  the  Emperor 
of  Austria.  His  mother  tells  him  that  half  the  ills  of  Italy  are 
feigned,  that  patriotism  seems  the  easiest  virtue  for  a  selfish  man 
to  acquire.  She  urges  him  to  delay  his  journey  to  Vienna  till 
the  morning.  Endeavouring  to  dissuade  him  thus,  he  is  on  the 


35°  BROWNING   CYCLOPEDIA.  [Pip 

point  of  yielding,  when  Pippa  passes,  singing  "  No  need  the  king 
should  ever  die !  "  "  Not  that  sort  of  king,"  says  Luigi.  "  Such 
grace  had  kings  when  the  world  began  !  "  continues  the  passing 
Pippa.  Luigi  says,  "  It  is  God's  voice  calls,"  and  he  goes  away. , 
He  thereby  escapes  the  police,  who  had  just  arranged  that  if  he 
remained  at  the  turret  over  the  night,  he  was  to  be  arrested  at 
once.  Pippa  goes  on  from  the  turret  to  the  Bishop's  brother's 
home,  near  the  Cathedral. — IV.  NIGHT.  And  here  we  are  shown 
how  little  we  poor  puppets  know  of  the  strings  which  prompt  our 
(movements.  Pippa  would  be  Ottima,  the  murderess ;  and  as  she, 
the  poor  but  good  and  happy  silkwinder,  trudges  on  her  way 
to  make  the  holiday  of  the  year,  the  voluptuous  murderess  is 
purifying  her  wicked  soul  in  agony.  She  sings  in  the  lightness 
of  her  heart,  and  a  line  of  her  morning  hymn  is  the  arrow  of  God 
to  two  sinful  souls.  She  would  be  the  bride  of  Jules — the  bride 
who  has  just  been  detected  in  fraud,  on  the  point  of  rejection, 
and  who  has  been  redeemed  by  the  snatch  of  Pippa's  innocent 
monition.  She  would  be  the  happy  Luigi,  who  would  have 
failed  in  a  purpose  he  deemed  to  be  a  noble  one,  and  would 
have  been  a  prisoner  in  the  hands  of  the  Austrian  police  if  he 
had  not  been  nerved  by  her  careless  eulogy  of  good  kings.  And 
now,  as  she  approaches  her  ideally  perfect  persons,  the  holy  Mon- 
signor  is  actually  engaged  in  taking  steps  for  her  ruin.  His 
superintendent  is  explaining  a  plan  he  has  elaborated  for  getting 
rid  of  Pippa,  who  is  the  child  of  his  brother,  and  to  whom  the 
property  he  is  holding  rightfully  belongs.  The  superintendent 
has  found  an  English  scoundrel  named  Bluphocks,  residing  in  the 
locality,  who  will  entrap  the  girl  and  take  her  to  Rome  to  lead 
a  vicious  life,  which  will  kill  her  in  a  few  years.  The  bishop  is 
listening  to  the  tempter,  when  Pippa  passes,  singing  one  of  her 
innocent  little  songs,  ending  with  the  line — 

"  Suddenly  God  took  me." 

This  awakens  the  conscience  of  the  ecclesiastic,  who  calls  his 
servants  to  arrest  the  villain.  All  unconscious,  as  night  falls 
Pippa  re-enters  her  chamber.  She  has  been  in  fancy  the  holy 
Monsignor,  Luigi's  gentle  mother,  Luigi  himself,  Jules  the  sculp- 
tor's bride,  and  Ottima  as  well  Tired  of  fooling,  she  notices  that 
the  sun  has  dropped  into  a  black  cloud,  and  as  night  comes  on 
she  wonders  how  nearly  she  has  approached  these  people  of  her 


,'Pip]  BROWNING   CYCLOPAEDIA.  351 

fancy,  to  do  them  good  or  evil  in  some  slight  way ;  and  as  she 
;falls  asleep  she  murmurs — 

"  All  service  ranks  the  same  with  God — 
With  God,  whose  puppets,  best  and  worst, 
Are  we :  there  is  no  last  nor  first." 

The  drama  shows  us  how  near  God  is  to  us  in  conscience.  "  God 
stands  apart,"  as  the  poet  says,  "  to  give  man  room  to  work" ;  but 
in  every  great  crisis  of  our  life,  if  we  listen  we  may  hear  Him 
warning,  threatening,  guiding,  revealing.  Not  near  to  answer 
problems  of  existence,  or  to  solve  the  mystery  of  life :  this  would 
interfere  with  our  development  of  soul ;  but  near  to  save  us  from 
the  dangers  that  await  us  at  every  step.  The  drama  shows  us, 
too,  our  mutual  interdependence.  Pippa,  the  silk-girl,  had  a 
mission  to  convert  Ottima,  Sebald,  Jules,  and  the  Bishop.  We 
look  for  great  things  to  work  for  us :  it  is  ever  the  unseen,  unfelt 
influences  which  are  the  most  potent.  We  are  taught,  also,  that 
there  is  nothing  we  do  or  say  but  may  be  big  with  good  or  evil 
consequences  to  many  of  our  fellows  of  whom  we  know  nothing 
People  whom  we  have  never  seen,  of  whose  very  existence  we 
are  ignorant,  are  affected  for  good  or  evil  eternally  by  our  lightest 
words  and  our  most  thoughtless  actions. 

NOTES. — For  an  account  of  Asolo  see  p.  49  of  this  work.  Silk 
in  large  quantities  is  manufactured  in  this  part  of  Italy.  There 
is  no  historical  foundation  for  any  of  the  incidents  of  the  poem. 
The  song  in  Part  II.,  which  Jules  and  Phene  hear,  relates,  how- 
•ever,  to  Caterina  Carnaro,  the  exiled  Queen  of  Cyprus.  Pos- 
sagno :  an  obscure  village  situated  amongst  the  hills  of  Asolo, 
famous  as  the  birthplace  of  Canova,  the  sculptor.  Cicala :  a 
grasshopper. — I.  MORNING.  "  The  Capuchin  with  his  brown 
hood" :  the  Capuchin  monks  are  familiar  to  all  travellers  in 
Italy.  They  are  a  branch  of  the  great  Franciscan  Order.  The 
habit  is  brown.  The  Order  was  established  by  St.  Francis  in 
the  thirteenth  century.  "Cappuccino"  means  playfully  "little 
hooded  fellow."  "  Campanula  chalice' ':  the  bell  of  a  flower,  as 
of  a  Canterbury-bell.  " Bluphocks"  :  the  name  means  "Blue 
Fox,"  and  is  a  skit  on  the  Edinburgh  Review,  which  is  bound 
in  a  cover  of  blue  and  fox.  "  Et  canibus  nosttis"  even  to  our 
dogs.  Canova,  Antonio  (1757 — 1822),  one  of  the  greatest 
sculptors  of  modern  times.  He  was  born  at  Passagno,  near 


352  BROWNING   CYCLOPAEDIA.  [Pip 

Asolo,  the  scene  of  Pippa's  drama.  "  Psiche-fanciulla  "  :  Psyche 
as  a  young  girl  with  a  butterfly,  the  personification  of  man's 
immaterial  part.  This  sculpture  is  considered  as  the  most 
faultless  and  classical  of  Canova's  works.  Pietd:  sculpture  re- 
presenting the  Virgin  Maiy  holding  the  dead  body  of  Christ  on 
her  knees.  Malamocco  :  "  The  Lagoon,  immediately  opposite  to 
Venice,  is  closed  by  a  long  shoaly  island,  Malamocco  "  (Murray). 
Aldphron  :  lived  in  the  age  of  Alexander  the  Great.  He  was  a 
philosopher  of  Magnesia.  Lire :  the  lira  is  an  Italian  coin  of 
the  value  of  a  franc  (say,  tenpence).  Tydeus,  a  son  of  (Eneus, 
king  of  Colydon.  He  was  one  of  the  great  heroes  of  the  Theban 
war. — II.  NOON.  Coluthus,  a  native  of  Lycopolis,  in  Egypt,  who- 
wrote  a  poem  on  the  rape  of  Helen  of  Troy.  He  lived  probably 
about  the  beginning  of  the  sixth  century.  Bessarion :  Cardi- 
nal Bessarion  discovered  the  poem  of  Coluthus  in  Lycopolis  in 
the  fifteenth  century.  Odyssey :  Homer's  poem  which  narrates 
the  adventures  of  Ulysses.  Antinous :  One  of  the  suitors  of  Pene- 
lope during  the  absence  of  Odysseus.  He  attempted  to  seize  the 
kingdom  and  was  killed  by  Odysseus  on  his  return.  Almaign  Kaiser: 
the  German  Emperor.  Hippolyta :  a  queen  of  the  Amazons,  who 
was  conquered  by  Hercules,  and  by  him  given  in  marriage 
to  Theseus.  Numidia  :  a  country  of  North  Africa,  now  called 
Algiers.  Hipparchus :  a  son  of  Pisistratus,  and  tyrant  of  Athens. 
He  was  a  great  patron  of  literature.  His  crimes  led  to  his 
assassination  by  a  band  of  conspirators,  the  leaders  of  which 
were  Harmodius  and  Aristogiton.  Archetype:  the  pattern  or 
model  of  a  work.  Dryad:  a  wood-nymph.  Primordial,  original. 
Cornaro :  Queen  of  Cyprus.  Venice  took  her  kingdom  from  herr 
and  compelled  her  to  resign,  assigning  her  a  palace  at  Asolo. 
Ancona :  a  city  of  central  Italy,  on  the  shores  of  the  Adriatic, 
Intendant,  a  superintendent.  "  Celarent,  Darii,  Ferio"  :  coined 
words  used  in  logic.  "  Bishop  Beveridge  "  :  there  was  a  bishop 
of  that  name;  but  this  is  a  pun,  and  means  beverage  (drink). 
Zivanziger :  a  twenty-kreuzer  piece  of  money.  "Charon's 
wherry  "  '  Charon  was  a  god  of  hell,  who  conducted  souls  across 
the  river  Styx.  Lupine-seed^  in  plant-lore  "  lupine  "  means  wolfish, 
and  is  suggestive  of  the  Evil  One.  (Flower-lore,  by  Friend,  p.  59.) 
Hecate^  a  goddess  of  Hell,  to  whom  offerings  were  made  of  eggs,, 
fish,  and  onions.  Obolus}  a  silver  coin  of  the  Greeks,  worth  Sd. 


Pis]  BROWNING   CYCLOP/EDI  A.  353 

They  used  to  put  it  into  the  mouth  of  the  corpse  as  Charon  s 
fee.  "  To  pay  the  Stygian  ferry  "  :  the  river  Styx,  in  the  infernal 
regions,  across  which  Charon  conducted  the  souls,  and  received 
an  obolus  for  his  fee.  Prince  Metternich  (1773-1859):  a  cele- 
brated Austrian  statesman.  Panurge  :  a  character  of  Rabelais'. 
He  was  a  companion  of  Pantagruel's.  He  was  an  impecunious 
rake  and  dodger,  a  boon  companion  and  licentious  coward. 
Hertrippa :  one  of  Rabelais'  characters  in  his  Gargantua  and 
PantagrueL  Carbonari :  the  name  of  an  Italian  secret  society 
which  arose  in  1820.  Spielberg  :  the  name  of  a  hill  near  Briinn, 
in  Moravia,  on  which  stands  the  castle  wherein  Silvio  Pellico 
the  patriot  was  confined.  III.  EVENING.  Lucius  Juwis  Brutus, 
whose  example  animated  the  Romans  to  rise  against  the  tyranny 
of  the  infamous  Tarquin.  Pellicos  :  Silvio  Pellico  was  an  Italian 
dramatist  and  patriot  (1788-1854).  He  was  arrested  as  a 
member  of  a  secret  society  by  the  Austrian  Government,  and  im- 
prisoned for  fifteen  years  in  Spielberg  Castle,  near  Briinn.  "  The 
Titian  at  Treviso  "  :  Treviso  is  a  town  in  Italy,  seventeen  miles 
from  Venice.  In  the  cathedral  of  San  Pietro  there  is  a  fine 
Annunciation  by  Titian  (1519).  Python:  the  monster  serpent 
slain  by  Apollo  near  Delphi.  Breganze  wine ;  of  Breganza,  a 
village  north  of  Vicenza. — IV.  NIGHT.  Benedicto  benedicatur : 
a  form  of  blessing.  Assumption  Day  :  the  festival  of  the  Assump- 
tion of  the  Virgin  into  Heaven.  It  is  kept  on  August  I5th. 
Correggio :  one  of  the  great  Italian  painters  (1494-1534). 
Podere,  a  manor.  Cesena :  an  episcopal  city  lying  between 
Bologna  and  Ancona.  Soldo,  a  penny.  "  Miserere  meiy  Do- 
mine"  "  Have  mercy  on  me,  O  God  ! "  Brenta,  a  river  of  North 
Italy.  Polenta,  a  pudding  of  chestnut  flour,  etc. 

Pisgah-Sights.  (Pacchiarotto  volume,  1876.)  i.  From  a  high 
mountain  the  roughness  and  smoothness  of  the  distant  landscape 
seem  to  blend  into  a  harmonious  picture,  the  uncouthness  is 
hidden  by  the  grace,  the  angles  are  blunted  into  roundness,  its 
harshness  is  reconciled  into  a  beautiful  whole.  If  we  could  be 
taken  by  angelic  hands  and  be  borne  a  few  miles  beyond  the 
surface  of  the  earth,  all  her  mountains  would  dwindle  down 
till  the  rough,  scarred  and  furrowed  earth  would  become  a  perfect 
orb.  A  little  nearer  heaven,  and  a  little  farther  away  from  the 
scene  of  our  pilgrimage  here,  and  evil  and  sorrow  and  pain  and 
want  will  all  soften  down  and  be  lost  in  good  and  joy  and  blessed- 

23 


354  BROWNING   CYCLOPAEDIA.  [Plo 

ness.  We  are  too  close  to  things  here  to  get  the  right  view  of 
their  proportions ;  a  handbreadth  off,  and  things  which  are  mys- 
teries to  us  now  will  be  clear  as  the  daylight.  All  will  be  seen 
as  lend  and  borrow,  good  will  be  recognised  as  the  brother  of 
evil,  and  joy  will  be  seen  to  demand  sorrow  for  its  completion. 
Why  man's  existence  must  so  be  mixed  we  cannot  say;  the 
majority  only  begin  to  see  the  round  orb  of  things  as  they  near 
the  end  o  their  journey.  2.  If  we  could  live  our  life  over  again, 
would  we  strive  any  longer?  Would  we  exercise  greed  and 
ambition,  burrow  for  earth's  treasures,  soar  for  the  sun's  rights,  or 
not  rather  be  content  with  turf  and  foliage — just  plain  learners  of 
life's  lessons,  with  no  attempt  to  teach,  with  no  desire  to  rearrange 
anything  at  all  ?  Should  we  not  be  stationary  while  the  march 
of  hurrying  men  defiling  past  us,  made  us  complacent  at  our 
post,  reflecting  that  the  only  possibility  of  fearing,  wondering  at, 
or  loving  anything  at  all,  lay  in  our  keeping,  at  a  respectful  distance 
from  everything  which  men  were  hurrying  to  seek?  3.  If  it 
be  better  to  forget  than  to  forgive,  so  is  it  better  than  living  to 
die,  to  let  body  slumber  while  soul,  as  Indian  sages  tell,  wanders  at 
large,  fretless  and  free,  encumbered  nevermore  by  body's  gross- 
ness,  soul  in  sunshine  and  love,  body  under  mosses  and  ferns. 

NOTE. — V.  2,  Deniers,  small  copper  French  coins  of  insignifi- 
cant value. 

Plot-Culture.  (FerishtaKs  Fancies,  10:  "God's  All-Seeing 
Eye.")  "If  all  we  do  or  think  or  say  be  marked  minute  by 
minute  by  the  Supreme,  may  not  our  very  making  prove  offence 
to  the  Maker's  eye  and  ear  ? "  Thus  argued  a  disciple.  The 
Dervish  answers,  "  There  is  a  limit-line  rounding  us,  severing  us 
from  the  immensity,  cutting  us  from  the  illimitable.  All  of  us 
is  for  the  Maker;  all  the  produce  we  can  within  the  circle  pro- 
duce for  the  Master's  use  is  His  in  autumn.  He  wants  to  know 
nothing  of  the  manure  which  fertilises  the  soil — of  this  we  are 
masters  absolute ;  but  we  must  remember  doomsday.  In  the 
lyric  the  singer  indicates  the  uses  of  Sense  as  distinguished  from 
Soul.  "Soul,  travel-worn,  toil-weary,"  is  not  for  love-making; 
for  that  let  Sense  quench  Soul ! 

Poetics.  (Asolando,  1889.)  The  singer  says  the  foolish  call 
their  Love  "  My  rose,"  "  My  swan,"  or  they  compare  her  to  the 
maid-moon  blessing  the  earth  below.  He  will  have  none  of 
this  :  he  tells  the  rose  there  is  no  balm  like  breath  ;  bids  the  swan 


BROWNING   CYCLOPEDIA.  355 

bend  its  neck  its  best, — his  love's  is  the  whiter  curve.  Let  the 
moon  be  the  moon, — he  is  not  afraid  to  place  his  Love  beside  it. 
She  is  her  human  self,  and  no  lower  words  will  describe  her. 

Polyxena.  (King  Victor  and  King  Charles.)  The  wife  of 
King  Charles :  full  of  resolution,  and  instinctively  sees  the  right 
thing,  and  does  it  at  the  appropriate  moment.  Her  "  noble  and 
right  woman's  manliness,"  as  Mr.  Browning  calls  it,  enables  her 
to  counteract  her  husband's  weakness  and  to  clear  his  mental 
vision.  Magnanimous  and  loyal  to  all,  especially  to  herself  and 
truth,  she  is  one  of  the  poet's  finest  female  characters. 

Pomp  ilia.  (The  Ring  and  the  Book.)  She  was  the  wife  of 
Count  Guido  Franceschini,  and  he  killed  her,  with  her  foster- 
parents,  when  she  escaped  from  his  cruel  treatment  and  fled  to 
Rome  with  the  good  priest  Caponsacchi.  She  is  Browning's 
noblest  and  most  beautiful  female  character.  There  is  an  excel- 
lent study  of  Pompilia  in  Poet  Lore,  voL  i.,  p.  263.  The  keynote 
of  her  character  is  found  in  the  line  of  the  poem — 

"  I  knew  the  right  place  by  foot's  feel ; 
I  took  it,  and  tread  firm  there.** 

Ponte  dell'  Angelo  (Venice)  =  The  Angel's  Bridge.  (Aso- 
lando,  1889.)  Boverio,  in  his  Annals,  1552,  n.  69,  relates  this 
legend  of  Our  Lady.  It  is  recorded  at  length  in  The  Glories  of 
Mary,  by  St.  Alphonsus  Liguori  (p.  192),  a  curious  work  which 
contains  a  great  number  of  such  stories,  which  have  for  their  moral 
the  efficacy  of  prayers  to  Our  Lady  as  a  protection  from  the  devil. 
On  one  of  the  large  canals  at  Venice  is  a  house  with  the  figure  of 
an  angel  guarding  it  from  harm.  Once  upon  a  time  (says  Father 
Boverio  in  his  Annals)  this  house  belonged  to  a  lawyer,  who  was 
a  cruel  oppressor  of  all  who  sought  his  advice ;  never  was  such 
an  extortionate  rascal,  though  a  devout  one.  On  one  occasion, 
after  a  particularly  lucrative  week,  he  determined  to  ask  some 
holy  man  to  dinner,  as  he  could  not  get  the  memory  of  a  widow 
whom  he  had  wronged  out  of  his  mind ;  so  he  invited  the  chief 
of  the  Capucins  to  disinfect  his  house  by  his  holy  presence. 
The  monk  duly  presented  himself,  and  was  informed  that  a 
most  admirable  helpmate  in  the  house  was  an  ape,  who  worked 
for  him  indefatigably.  The  host  leaves  his  guest  for  awhile,  that 
he  may  go  below  to  see  how  the  dinner  progresses.  No  sooner 
had  the  lawyer  left  the  room  than  the  monk,  by  the  instinct 


BROWNING   CYCLOPAEDIA.  [Pop 

which  saints  possess  for  detecting  the  devil  under  every  disguise, 
adjures  the  ape  to  come  out  of  his  hiding-place  and  show  him- 
self in  proprid  persona,  Satan  stands  forth,  and  explains  that 
he  is  there  to  convey  to  hell  the  lawyer  who  plagued  the  widows 
and  orphans  by  his  exactions.  The  monk  asks  how  it  came  to 
pass  that  he  had  so  long  delayed  God's  commission  by  acting  as 
servant  where  he  should  have  been  a  minister  of  justice.  The 
devil  explains  that  the  lawyer  had  placed  himself  under  the 
Virgin's  protection  by  the  prayers  which  he  never  intermitted; 
ihus  the  man  is  armed  in  mail,  and  cannot  be  lugged  off  to  hell 
while  saying,  "  Save  me,  Madonna  !  "  If  he  should  discontinue 
that  prayer,  Satan  would  pounce  on  him  at  once.  He  waits, 
therefore,  hoping  to  catch  him  napping.  The  holy  man  adjures 
him  to  vanish.  The  fiend  says  he  cannot  leave  the  house  without 
doing  some  damage  to  prove  that  his  errand  had  been  fulfilled. 
The  saint  bade  him  make  his  exit  through  the  wall,  and  leave 
a  gap  in  the  stone  for  every  one  to  see,  which,  having  duly  been 
done,  the  monk  goes  downstairs  to  dinner  with  a  good  appetite. 
The  host  asks  what  has  become  of  the  ape,  whose  assistance 
he  requires,  and  is  terrified  to  see  his  guest  wringing  blood  from 
the  table  napkin.  It  is  explained  that  the  miracle  is  performed  to 
show  him  how  he  has  wrung  blood  from  his  clients,  and  the  host 
is  bidden  to  go  down  on  his  knees  and  swear  to  make  restitution. 
The  man  consents,  and  absolution  following,  he  is  forthwith  taken 
upstairs  to  see  the  hole  in  the  wall  left  by  the  devil  exorcised  by 
his  saintship.  The  lawyer  fears  that  Satan  may  use  the  aperture  of 
exit  for  an  entry  to  his  dwelling  at  a  future  time,  when  the  Capucin 
bids  him  erect  the  figure  of  an  angel  and  place  it  by  the  aperture, 
which  holy  sign  will  frighten  the  fiend  away.  And  this  is  why  the 
house  by  the  bridge  has  the  angel  on  the  escutcheon,  and  why  the 
bridge  itself  is  called  the  Angel's  Bridge,  though  Mr.  Browning 
thinks  the  Devil's  Bridge  would  have  been  as  good  a  name  for  it. 
Pope,  The.  (The  Ring  and  the  Book.}  The  final  appeal  in 
the  Franceschini  murder  case  being  to  the  Pope,  he  has  to  decide 
the  fate  of  the  Count.  He  reviews  the  whole  case  in  the  tenth 
book,  and  gives  his  decision  for  the  execution  of  the  murderers. 
Browning's  old  men  are  some  of  his  greatest  creations,  and  The 
Pope  is  perhaps  the  finest  of  such  conceptions.  There  is  an  ex- 
cellent essay  on  The  Pope  in  Poet  Lore,  vol.  i.,  p.  309,  by  Professor 
Shackford. 


BROWNING   CYCLOPEDIA.  357 

Pope,  The,  and  the  Net.  (Asolando,  1889.)  Il  is  generally 
supposed  that  this  poem  refers  to  Pope  Sixtus  V.  Mr.  Browning 
possibly  obtained  the  idea  from  Leti's  well-known  biography  of 
the  Pope,  which  is  full  of  fables.  Dr.  Furnivall,  however,  thinks 
that  Mr.  Browning  invented  the  story.  It  is  said  that  the 
character  of  Sixtus  V.  suits  the  poem  better  than  any  other. 
The  pope  in  question — Felice  Peretti — was  born  in  1521,  of 
poor  parents,  but  the  story  of  his  having  been  a  swineherd  in 
his  youth  seems  to  be  mere  legend.  The  Encyclopedia  Britan- 
nica  (Qth  edition)  says  he  was  created  cardinal  in  1570,  when 
he  lived  in  strict  retirement ;  affecting,  it  is  said,  to  be  in  a 
precarious  state  of  health.  According  to  the  usual  story,  which 
is  probably  at  least  exaggerated,  this  dissimulation  greatly  con- 
tributed to  his  unexpected  elevation  to  the  papacy  on  the  next 
vacancy  (April  24th,  1585).  "  Sixtus  V.  left  the  reputation  of  a 
zealous  and  austere  pope — with  the  pernicious  qualities  in- 
separable from  such  a  character  in  his  age — of  a  stern  and 
terrible,  but  just  and  magnanimous  temporal  magistrate,  of  a 
great  sovereign  in  an  age  of  great  sovereigns,  of  a  man  always 
aiming  at  the  highest  things,  and  whose  great  faults  were  but  the 
exaggerations  of  great  virtues."  The  best  view  of  his  character 
is  that  given  by  Ranke.  Mr.  Browning  makes  his  Pope  to  be 
the  son  of  a  fisherman,  who,  on  his  elevation  to  the  cardinalate, 
kept  his  fisher-father's  net  in  his  palace-hall  on  a  coat-of-arms, 
as  token  of  his  humility.  When,  however,  he  became  Pope, 
the  net  was  removed  because  it  had  caught  the  fish. 

Popularity.  {Men  and  Women,  vol.  ii.,  1855.)  This  poem 
is  a  tribute  to  Keats.  Shelley  and  Keats  soon  displaced  Pope 
and  Byron  from  the  mind  of  the  youthful  poet  who  gave  us 
Pauline :  it  is  not  difficult  to  trace  in  that  first  work  of  Browning's 
the  influence  of  both.  When,  as  a  boy,  he  made  acquaintance 
with  the  then  little -known  works  of  Keats,  we  can  guess,  even 
if  biographers  had  not  told  us,  how  the  author  of  Endymion 
and  The  Eve  of  St.  Agnes  would  charm  the  young  poet's  soul. 
"  Remember,"  he  says  here,  "  one  man  saw  you,  knew  you,  and 
named  a  star  !  "  Then  he  fancies  him  as  a  fisherman  on  Tyrian 
seas,  plundering  the  ocean  of  her  purple  dye :  kings'  houses  shall 
be  made  glorious  and  their  persons  beautiful  with  the  product 
of  the  coloured  conchs.  Then  he  sees  merchants  bottling  the 
extract  and  selling  it  to  the  world.  They  eat  turtle  and  drink 


358  BROWNING   CYCLOPAEDIA.  [For 

claret,  but  who  fished  up  the  murex  ?  How  does  he  live  ? 
What  mean  food  had  John  Keats  all  his  struggling  life?  He 
taught  men  to  paint  their  ideas  in  glowing  word-tints  and  images 
luxuriant.  These  men  gorge,  while  the  man  who  ransacked  the 
ocean  of  thought  and  the  world  of  fancy  is  left  to  starve. 

NOTES. — Verse  6,  Tyrian  shells:  the  genera  Murex  andPurpura 
have  a  gland  called  the  "  adrectal  gland,  which  secretes  a  colour- 
less liquid,  which  turns  purple  upon  exposure  to  the  atmosphere, 
and  was  used  by  the  ancients  as  a  dye  "  (Encyc.  Brit.}.  It  was 
a  discovery  of  the  Phoenicians,  and  was  known  to  the  Greeks 
in  the  Homeric  age.  The  juice  collected  from  the  shells  was 
placed  in  salt,  and  heated  in  metal  vessels ;  then  the  wool  or 
silk  was  dyed  in  it.  Tyrian  purple  wool  in  Caesar's  time  cost 
^43  icxy.  a  pound.  Purple  robes  were  used  from  very  early  times 
as  a  mark  of  dignity.  Tyre  was  a  very  ancient  city  of  Phoenicia, 
with  great  harbours  and  very  splendid  buildings.  Astarte :  the 
Venus  of  the  Greeks  and  Romans,  a  powerful  Syrian  divinity. 
She  had  a  great  temple  at  Hieropolis,  in  Syria,  with  three 
hundred  priests,  v.  12,  Hobbs,  Nobbs,  Stokes,  and  Nokes :  fancy 
names,  of  course — meaning  the  men  who  profit  by  other  men's 
labours.  They  bottle  and  sell  the  precious  things  for  which  the 
brave  fisherman  risks  his  life  and  spends  his  days  and  nights, 
after  all  receiving  but  a  miserable  fraction  of  the  gain.  v.  13, 
Murex :  the  genus  of  molluscs  from  which  the  Tyrian  purple 
dye  was  obtained.  It  was  of  the  class  GASTROPODA,  order 
AZYGOBRANCHIA,  sub-order  Siphonochlamyda,  *  Rachiglossa, 
family  Miiricidce.  Purpura  also  was  used  (heiice  purpti),  of  the 
same  sub-order — family  Biiccinidce.  "  What  porridge  had  John 
Keats?"  John  Keats,  the  poet,  was  born  Oct.  29th,  1795,  and  died 
of  consumption  in  Rome,  Feb.  23rd,  1821,  when  only  twenty-six 
years  old.  His  Ode  to  a  Nightingale  will  serve  to  immortalise  him, 
even  if  he  had  written  nothing  else.  After  this  his  best  poems 
are  his  Endymion,  Hyperion,  and  the  Eve  of  St.  Agnes.  His 
straitened  circumstances  and  his  ill-health  made  him  hysterical 
and  fretful;  but  though  he  was  certainly  cruelly  used  by  his 
reviewers,  it  is  only  a  ridiculous  legend  that  he  was  killed  by  an 
article  against  him  in  the  Quarterly  Review.  Bitter  reviews  of  our 

books  do  not  introduce  to  our  lungs  the  microbes  of  tuberculosis. 
Porphyria's  Lover.    (Published  first  in  Mr.  Fox's  Monthly 

Repository  in  1836,  over  the  signature  "Z."    Reprinted  as  II. 


Pri]  BROWNING   CYCLOPAEDIA/'  359 

11  Madhouse  Cells,"  in  Dramatic  Lyrics,  Bells  and  Pomegranates, 
1842.)  In  the  midst  of  a  storm  at  night,  to  a  man  sitting  alone  by 
a  burnt-out  fire  in  his  room,  enters /the  woman  whom  he  loves, 
but  of  whose  love  he  has  never  be/n  sure  in  return.  She  glides 
in,  shuts  out  the  storm,  kneels/by  the  dull  grate  and  makes  a 
cheerful  blaze,  takes  off  her  dripping  cloak,  lets  down  her  damp 
hair,  sits  by  his  side,  speaks  to  him,  puts  her  arm  around  him, 
rests  his  cheek  on  her  Ivsustfmy  and  murmuring  that  she  loves  him, 
gives  hersei*  to  him  for  ever.  At  last,  then,  he  knows  it ;  his  heart 
swells  with  joyful  surprise,  he  realises  the  tremendous  wealth 
of  which  he  is  thus  suddenly  possessed  ;  and  lest  change  should 
ever  come,  lest  the  wealth  should  ever  be  squandered,  the 
possession  ever  be  lost,  he  will  kill  her  that  moment :  and  so,  as 
she  reposes  there,  he  winds  her  beautiful  long  hair  in  a  cord 
thrice  round  her  little  throat,  and  she  is  strangled — painlessly, 
he  knows,  but  his  unalterably,  because  dead.  And  God,  he  says, 
has  watched  them  as  they  sat  the  night  through,  and  He  has 
not  said  a  word !  This  poem  was  Browning's  first  monologue. 

Potter's  Wheel,  The.  The  figure  of  the  potter's  wheel  in 
Rabbi  Ben  Ezra  is  taken  from  Isaiah  Ixiv.  8,  Jeremiah  xviii. 
2 — 6,  and  Romans  ix.  20,  21.  See  a  similar  use  of  the  figure  in 
Quarles'  Emblems  (Book  III.,  Emblem  5). 

Pretty  Woman,  A.  (Men  and  Women,  1855  ;  Dramatic 
Lyrics,  1868.)  Here  is  a  beautiful  woman — simply  a  beauty, 
nothing  more.  What,  then,  is  not  that  enough  ?  "Why  cannot  we 
let  her  just  adorn  the  world  like  a  beautiful  flower  ?  Why  do 
we  demand  more  of  her  than  to  gladden  us  with  her  charms  ?  So 
the  craftsman  makes  a  rose  of  gold  petals  with  rubies  in  its  cup, 
all  his  fine  things  merely  effacing  the  rose  which  grew  in  the 
garden.  The  best  way  to  grace  a  rose  is  to  leave  it ;  not  gather  it, 
smell  it,  kiss  it,  wear  it,  and  then  throw  it  away.  Leave  the 
pretty  woman  just  to  beautify  the  world, — it  needs  it ! 

Prince  Berthold.  (Colombe's  Birthday?)  He  claims,  by  right, 
the  duchy  which  is  held  by  Colombe. 

Prince    Hohenstiel-Schwangau,    Saviour     of     Society 

(1871).  Prince  Hohenstiel-Schvvangau  represents  the  Emperor 
Napoleon  III.  Hohenstiel-Schvvangau  represents  France.  The 
name  is  formed  from  that  of  one  of  the  Bavarian  royal  castles 
called  Hohen-Schwangau.  Visitors  to  the  Ober-Ammergau 
Passion  Play  will  remember  the  beautiful  and  luxurious  castles 


360  BROWNING   CYCLOPEDIA. 

which  the  mad  king  built  and  furnished  in  so  costly  a  manner  in 
the  midst  of  the  picturesque  scenery  of  the  Bavarian  Alps.  The 
poem  deals  with  the  subjective  processes  which  Browning 
supposed  animated  Napoleon  III.  in  his  character  as  Saviour  of 
Society.  Prince  Hohenstiel-Schivangau  is  not  precisely  a  soul- 
portrait  of  the  Emperor  Napoleon  III.  Mr.  Browning  does  not 
draw  portraits — he  analyses  characters.  He  has  therefore  used 
the  Emperor  as  a  model  is  used  by  an  artist.  The  artist  does  not 
simply  paint  the  model's  portrait,  he  uses  him  for  a  higher 
purpose  of  art.  Mrs.  Browning  was  greatly  interested  in  Louis 
Napoleon,  enthusiastically  entered  into  the  spirit  of  his  ambitions, 
and  considered  him  as  "the  Saviour  of  Society."  She  loved 
Italy  so  passionately  that  the  destroyer  of  the  power  of  Austria 
over  the  land  which  she  loved  could  not  fail  to  win  her  admira- 
tion ;  and  this,  probably,  was  the  chief  reason  of  her  esteem 
for  him.  Her  poem  Napoleon  III.  in  Italy  should  be  read  in 
this  connection  ;  each  verse  ends  "  Emperor  Evermore."  She 
says : — 

"  We  meet  thee,  O  Napoleon,  at  this  height 
At  last,  and  find  thee  great  enough  to  praise. 
Receive  the  poet's  chrism,  which  smells  beyond 
The  priest's,  and  pass  thy  ways ! 
An  English  poet  warns  thee  to  maintain 
God's  word,  not  England's ; — let  His  truth  be  true, 
And  all  men  liars !  with  His  truth  respond 
To  all  men's  lie." 

She  goes  on  to  call  him  "  Sublime  Deliverer,"  and  praises  him 
for  that  "  he  came  to  deliver  Italy." 

[THE  MAN.]  For  some  ol  my  younger  readers,  who  may  not  be 
familiar  with  the  career  of  the  late  Emperor  of  France,  it  may  be 
necessary  to  remind  them  of  the  following  facts  in  his  history. 
He  was  born  at  Paris  on  April  2oth,  1808.  The  revolution  of 
1830,  which  dethroned  the  Bourbons,  first  launched  Louis 
Napoleon  on  his  eventful  career.  With  his  elder  brother  he 
joined  the  Italian  bands  who  were  in  revolt  against  the  pope. 
This  revolt  was  suppressed  by  Austrian  soldiers.  The  law 
banishing  the  Bonapartes  exiled  him  on  his  return  to  Paris,  and 
he  came  to  England  at  the  age  of  twenty-three.  In  a  few  weeks 
he  went  to  Switzerland,  and  wrote  an  essay  on  that  country.  Re- 


CROWNING    CYCLOPAEDIA.  361 

turning  to  France,  he  was  arrested  and  sent  to  America  by  Louis 
Philippe  in  1836.  He  returned  to  Switzerland  next  year,  but 
shortly  after  left  for  England  again,  living  this  time  in  Carlton 
Terrace.  In  1840  he  made  his  descent  upon  France  ;  his  party 
were  shot  or  imprisoned,  Louis  being  condemned  to  perpetual 
imprisonment  in  the  castle  of  Ham,  on  the  Somme.  He  escaped 
after  six  years,  and  once  more  went  to  London,  living  at  10, 
King  Street,  St.  James's.  When  Louis  Philippe  died,  in  1848, 
Louis  went  to  France  and  offered  himself  to  the  provisional 
government.  He  was  ordered  to  withdraw  from  France,  which 
he  did.  In  April  1848  he  acted  as  a  special  constable  in  London 
at  the  time  of  the  Chartist  disturbances.  Soon  after,  he  was 
elected  in  France  to  the  Assembly,  in  three  departments.  In 
December  1848  he  was  elected  president  of  the  Republic  by  above 
five  million  votes.  On  the  2nd  December,  1851,  he  executed  the 
coup  d'etat,  and  soon  after  was  made  Emperor  by  the  votes  of 
nearly  eight  million  persons.  For  eighteen  years  Louis  Napoleon 
was  sovereign  of  France.  He  married  Eugenie  de  Montigo, 
Countess  of  Teba,  Jan.  3oth,  1853.  On  the  4th  June  was 
fought  the  battle  of  Magenta,  for  the  liberation  of  Italy ;  and  he 
entered  Milan  the  next  morning  in  company  with  Victor 
Emmanuel.  He  met  the  Emperor  of  Austria  at  Villafranca  on 
July  nth,  and  the  preliminaries  of  peace  were  arranged.  He 
was  hurried  into  the  war  with  Germany  by  the  clerical  party  at 
court  in  1870,  his  advisers  seeing  no  hope  for  the  permanence 
of  his  dynasty  but  in  a  successful  war.  At  the  defeat  of  Sedan 
he  was  made  prisoner,  with  ninety  thousand  men.  He  was  in- 
carcerated at  Wilhelmshohe,  near  Cassel,  from  which  he  subse- 
quently retired  to  England.  He  lived  with  the  Empress  at 
Chislehurst,  dying  there  on  Jan.  gth,  1873. 

[THE  POEM.]  The  Prince  is  talking  with  Lais,  an  adventuress, 
in  a  room  near  Leicester  Square.  He  is  explaining  that  he  has  not 
been  actuated  in  his  past  life  by  any  desire  to  make  anything 
new,  but  merely  to  conserve  things,  and  cany  on  what  he  found 
ready  for  him  :  thus  he  has  been  a  conserver,  a  saviour  of  society. 
He  has  lived  to  please  himself,  though  he  recognises  God  and 
considers  himself  as  His  instrument.  God  is  not  to  every  one 
the  same  ;  to  the  woman  of  the  town  with  whom  he  is  conversing, 
He  is  the  Providence  that  helps  her  to  pay  her  way.  God  is  to  all 
men  just  what  they  conceive  him  to  be  :  a  shopkeeper's  God  and  a 


362  BROWNING    CYCLOPAEDIA.  [Pri 

king's  God  differ,— it  is  just  as  they  conceive  Him.     For  his  own 
part  he  has  tried  on  a  large  scale  to  please  himself ;  but  he  has 
an  eye  to  another  world  also,  so  he  must  cany  out  God's  wishes 
so  far  as  he  understands  them, — he  must  preserve  what  he  found 
established.     He  thinks  himself  a  great  man  because  a   great 
conservator  of  order.     There  have  been  changes  by  God's  acts, 
but  he  has  held  it  his  object  in  life  to  find  out  the  good  already 
existing,  and  preserve  it.     It  is  only  the  inspired  man  who  can 
change  society  from  round  to  square ;  he  is  himself  only  the  man 
of  the  moment ;  if  he  succeeds,  the  inspired  man  will  be  the  first 
to  recognise  the  value  of  his  work.     He  will  touch  nothing  unless 
reverently ;  he  has  no  higher  hope  than  to  reconcile  good  with 
hardly-quite-as-good ;  he  will  not  risk  a  whiff  of  his  cigar  for 
Fourier  and  Comte,  and  all  that  ends  in  smoke.     He  thinks  it 
best  to  be  contented  with  what  is  bad  but  might  be  worse.      For 
twenty  years  he  has  held  the  balance  straight,  and  so  has  done 
good  service  to  humanity ;  he  has  not  trodden  the  world  into  a 
paste,  that  he  might  roll  it  out  flat  and  smooth ;  it  has  been  no 
part  of  his  task  to  mend  God's  mistakes.     All  else  but  what  a 
man  feels  is  nothing,  and  the  thing  on  which  he  congratulates 
himself  as  a  ruler  of  men  is  that  everything  he  knows,  feels,  or 
can  conceive,  he  can  make  his  own.     He  thinks  that  God  made 
all  things  for  him,  and  himself  for  Him.     To  learn  how  to  set  foot 
decidedly  on  some  one  path  to  heaven  makes  it  worth  while  to 
handle  things  tenderly  ;  we  might  mend  them,  but  also  we  might 
mar  them  ;  meanwhile  they  help  on  so  far,  and  therefore  his  end 
is  to  save  society.     He  has  no  novelties  to  offer,   he  creates 
nothing,   has   no  desire  to  renew  the  age, — his  task   is   to   co- 
operate, not  to  chop  and  change.     All  the  good  we  know  comes 
from   order ;   he  will   not   interfere   with  evil,  because   good  is 
brought  about  by  its  means.     When  a  chemist  wants  a  white 
substance,  and  knows  that  the  dye  can  be  obtained  from  black 
ingredients,  what  a  fool  he  would  be  if  he  were  to  insist  that 
these  also  should  be  white  !    The  Prince  does  not  disapprove 
this  bad  world,  and  has  no  faith  in  a  perfectly  good  one  here. 
Is  there  any  question  as  to  the  wisdom  of  saving  society  ?     Did 
he  work   aright  with  the  powers  appointed  him  for  this  end  ? 
On  reviewing  his  work  he  finds  more  hope  than  discouragement : 
what  he  found  he  left,  what  was  tottering  he  kept  stable.     It  is 
God's  part  to  work  great  changes.     He  discovered  that  a  solitary 


Pit]  BROWNING   CYCLOPAEDIA.  363 

great  man  was  worth  the  world.  It  was  his  work  to  tend  the 
cornfield,  to  feed  the  myriads  of  hungry  men  who  sought  for 
daily  bread  and  nothing  more.  Was  he  to  turn  aside  from  that 
to  play  at  horticulture,  look  after  the  cornflowers  and  rear  the 
poppies?  "lam  Liberty,  Philanthropy,  Enlightenment,  Patriot- 
ism," cried  each  :  "  flaunt  my  flag  alone  ! "  He  objected,  "  What 
about  the  myriads  who  have  no  flag  at  all  ?  "  If  he  had  to  choose 
between  faith  and  freedom,  aristocracy  and  democracy,  or  effecting 
the  freedom  of  an  oppressed  nation,  he  would  ask,  "  How  many 
years  on  an  average  do  men  live  in  the  world  ?  "  "  Some  score," 
he  is  told.  To  this  he  replies,  if  he  had  a  hundred  years  to  live 
he  might  concentrate  his  energies  on  some  great  cause.  But  he 
has  a  cause,  a  flag  and  a  faith  :  it  is  Italy.  There  was  a  time  when 
he  was  voice  and  nothing  more,  but  only  like  his  censors ;  then 
he  was  full  of  great  aims.  Has  he  failed  in  promise  or  perform- 
ance ?  He  thinks  in  neither ;  he  found  that  men  wanted  merely 
to  be  allowed  to  live,  and  so  he  consulted  for  his  kind  that  have 
the  eyes  to  see,  the  mouths  to  eat,  the  hands  to  work.  Nature 
told  him  to  care  for  himself  alone  in  the  conduct  of  his  mind  ; 
he  was  to  think  as  if  man  had  never  thought  before,  and  act  as  if 
all  creation  watched  him.  Nature  has  evolved  her  man  from  the 
jelly-fish  through  various  stages,  till  he  has  reached  the  headship 
of  creation.  He,  too,  the  Prince,  has  been  evolved,  and  can 
sympathise  with  all  classes  of  men.  Men  in  the  main  have  little 
wants,  not  large  ;  it  was  his  duty  to  help  the  least  wants  first :  if 
only  he  could  live  a  hundred  years  instead  of  the  average  twenty, 
he  could  experiment  at  ease.  Men  want  meat ;  they  can't  chew 
Kant's  Critique  of  Pure  Reason  in  exchange.  Obstacles,  he 
has  discovered,  are  good  for  mankind ;  medicines  are  impeded 
in  their  action,  and  so  are  state  remedies  ;  it  is  not  possible 
always  to  effect  precisely  what  is  intended,  neither  would  it  be 
always  best  in  the  long  run.  He  illustrates  this  by  a  story  of 
an  artist's  trick  he  saw  in  Rome  once.  An  artist  had  covered 
up  the  sons  and  serpents  of  a  Laocoon  group,  leaving  only  the 
central  figure,  with  nothing  to  show  the  purpose  of  his  gesture  • 
then  a  crowd  was  called  to  give  their  opinion  of  the  gesture  of 
the  figure.  Every  one  thought  it  showed  a  man  yawning,  except 
one  man,  who  said  "  I  think  the  gesture  strives  against  some 
obstacle  we  cannot  see."  Prince  Hohenstiel-Schwangau  would 
like  this  far-sighted  individual  to  write  his  history :  he  would  be 


BROWNING   CYCLOPEDIA.  [Pri 

able  to  tell  the  world  how  he  who  was  so  misunderstood  has 
tried  to  be  a  man.  And  here,  he  says,  ends  his  autobiography. 
He  will  now  give  some  idea  to  his  companion  (Lais,  a  not 
unsuitable  auditor  for  his  apologia)  of  what  he  might  have  been 
if  his  visions  had  become  realities.  Had  his  story  been  told  by 
an  historian  of  the  Thiers-Hugo  sort,  he  might  have  appeared 
thus.  The  nation  chose  the  Assembly  first  to  serve  her,  chose 
the  President  afterward  chiefly  to  see  that  her  servants  did  good 
service ;  when  the  time  came  that  the  head  servant  must  vacate 
his  place,  and  it  was  patent  that  his  fellow-servants  were  all 
knaves  or  fools,  seeing  that  everybody  was  working  to  serve 
his  own  purposes,  that  they  were  only  waiting  for  the  president's 
term  of  office  to  expire,  to  see  their  own  longings  crowned,  he 
appealed  to  the  Assembly,  showed  how  his  fellow-servants  had 
been  plotting  and  scheming  while  he  alone  had  been  faithful  to 
the  nation  which  had  trusted  him,  and  suggested  that  he  should 
be  made  "master  for  the  moment."  Let  him  be  entrusted  with 
the  utmost  power  they  could  confer  upon  him,  he  would  use  it 
faithfully.  And  the  nation  answered,  with  a  shout, — 

"The  trusty  one  !  no  tricksters  any  more!" 

Up  to  the  time  when  his  term  of  office  as  president  must  expire 
he  had  let  things  go  their  own  way,  knowing  all,  seeing  everything, 
but  letting  things  develop.  Not  that  this  was  unsuspected  by  his 
enemies :  they  guessed  that  he  was  meditating  some  stroke  of 
state  ;  they  saw  through  him,  as  he  through  them,  and  were  on 
their  guard.  He  was  re-elected,  and  there  was  uprising.  "The 
knaves  and  fools,  each  trickster  with  his  dupe,"  dropped  their 
masks,  unfurled  their  flags,  and  brandished  their  weapons. 
Then  fell  his  fist  on  the  head  of  craft  and  greed  and  impudence ; 
the  fancy  patriot,  and  the  night  hawk  prowling  for  his  prey,  all 
alike  were  reduced  to  order  and  obedience.  Of  course  it  was 
demurred  that  he  was  too  prodigal  of  life  and  liberty,  too  swift, 
too  thorough ;  and  Sagacity  complained  that  he  had  let  things  go 
on  unnoticed  till  severe  measures  had  been  required :  he  should 
have  frustrated  villainy  in  the  egg ;  so  for  want  of  the  by-blow 
had  to  come  the  butcher's  work.  To  all  this  he  replies  that  his 
oath  had  restrained  him ;  he  had  rather  appealed  to  the  people 
for  the  commission  to  act  as  he  had  done.  And  then  began  his 
sway ;  and  his  motto  had  been,  Govern  for  the  many  first,  think  of 


Prl]  BROWNING   CYCLOPAEDIA.  365 

the  poor  mean  multitude,  all  mouths  and  eyes  primarily,  and 
then  proceed  to  help  the  few,  the  better  favoured.  His  aim  had 
been  to  try  to  equalise  things  a  little,  and  this  by  way  of  rever- 
ence. He  did  his  work  with  might  and  main,  and  not  a  touch  of 
fear,  but  with  confidence  in  God  who  comes  before  and  after ; 
irresolute  as  he  was  at  first,  now  that  the  cankers  of  society 
were  laid  bare  before  him,  he  wrenched  them  out  without  a 
touch  of  indecision.  And  so,  when  the  Republic,  violating  its  own 
highest  principle,  bade  Hohenstiel-Schwangau  (really  France) 
fasten  in  the  throat  of  a  neighbour  (Italy),  and  deprive  her  of  liberty, 
in  this  he  saw  an  infamy  triumphant ;  and  when  he  came  into 
power,  he  saw,  too,  that  it  demanded  his  interference.  Sagacity 
said,  "  Let  the  wrong  stand  over, — he  was  not  to  blame  for  the 
wrong,  it  was  there  before  his  time."  But  he  was  prompt  to  act. 
Out  came  the  canker,  root  and  branch,  with  much  abuse  for  him 
from  friend  and  foe.  Sagacity  said  he  had  been  precipitate, 
rash,  and  rude,  though  in  the  right:  he  should  have  blown  a 
trumpet-blast  to  let  the  wrong-doers  know  they  must  set  their 
house  in  order.  He  replies  that  he  would  have  broken  another 
generation's  heart  by  the  respite  to  the  iniquity.  And  so  the 
war  came.  "  But  France,"  said  Sagacity,  "  had  ever  been  a 
fighter,  and  would  continue  to  be  so  till  the  weary  world  inter- 
fered." Prince  Hohenstiel-Schwangau  recognises  this,  and  says 
war  for  war's  sake  is  damnable.  He  will  prevent  the  growth  of 
this  madness.  This,  however,  does  not  imply  that  there  shall 
be  no  war  at  all,  when  the  wickedness  he  denounces  comes  from 
the  neighbour.  He  will  deliver  Italy  from  the  rule  of  Austria, 
smite  her  oppressor  hip  and  thigh  till  he  leaves  her  free  from 
the  Adriatic  to  the  Alps.  Sagacity  suggests  that  this  should  not 
be  all  for  nought :  "  there  ought  to  be  some  honorarium  paid — 
Savoy  and  Nice,  for  example."  But  the  Prince  says  "  No ;  let 
there  be  war  for  the  hate  of  war."  So  Italy  was  free.  But 
there  were  other  points  noteworthy  and  commendable  in  the 
man's  career:  he  was  resolute,  fearless,  and  true,  and  by  his 
rule  the  world  had  proof  a  point  was  gained.  He  had  shown 
he  was  the  fittest  man  to  rule  ;  chance  of  birth  and  dice-throw  had 
been  outdone  here.  Sagacity  often  advised  him  to  confirm  the 
advance,  and  bade  him  wed  the  pick  of  the  world ;  if  he  married 
a  queen,  he  might  tell  the  world  that  the  old  enthroned  decrepi- 
tudes acknowledged  that  their  knell  had  sounded,  and  that  they 


366  BROWNING   CYCLOPAEDIA.  [Pri 

were  making  peace  with  the  new  order.  Or  let  him  have  a  free 
wife  for  his  free  state.  Sagacity  desires  to  prop  up  the  lie  that 
the  son  derives  his  genius  from  the  sire,  but  God  does  not  work 
like  this.  He  drops  His  seed  of  heavenly  flame  where  He  wills 
on  earth ;  the  rock  all  naked  and  unprepared  is  as  likely  to 
receive  it  as  the  accumulated  store  of  faculties : 

"  The  great  Gardener  grafts  the  excellence 
On  wildings  where  He  will." 

He  tells  the  story  of  the  manner  in  which  the  succession  of 
priests  was  maintained  at  an  old  Roman  temple.  Each  priest 
obtained  his  predecessor's  office  by  springing  from  ambush  and 
slaying  him, — his  initiative  rite  was  simply  murder  under  a 
religious  sanction  ;  so  he  says  it  is,  and  ever  shall  be  with  genius 
and  its  priesthood  in  the  world,  the  new  power  slays  the  old. 
Thus  did  the  Prince  refute  Sagacity,  always  whispering  in  his  ear 
that  Fortune  alternates  with  Providence,  and  he  must  not  reckon 
on  a  happy  hit  occurring  twice.  But  he  will  trust  nothing  to 
right  divine  and  luck  of  the  pillow  ;  rulers  should  be  selected  by 
supremacy  of  brains ;  a  blunder  may  ensue  ;  it  cannot  be  worse 
than  the  rule  of  the  legitimate  blockhead.  By  this  time  poor 
Lais  has  gone  to  sleep  (little  wonder !).  The  Prince  leaves  off 
imagining  what  the  historian  of  the  Thiers-Hugo  school  might 
have  written,  of  the  life  he  might  have  led,  and  the  things  he 
might  have  done.  All  this  was  in  cloud-land.  In  the  inner 
chamber  of  the  soul  the  silent  truth  fights  the  battle  out  with  the 
lie,  truth  which  unarmed  pits  herself  against  the  armoury  of  the 
tongue.  We  must  use  words  though  ;  and  somehow — as  even  do 
the  best  rifled  cannon — words  will  deflect  the  shot. 

NOTES. — QLdipus,  son  of  Laius,  king  of  Thebes,  and  Jocasta. 
He  was  exposed  to  the  persecutions  of  Juno  from  his  birth.  He 
murdered  his  father  and  committed  incest  with  his  mother. 
Riddle  of  the  Sphinx :  (Edipus  solved  the  riddle  of  the  Sphinx, 
a  terrible  monster  which  devoured  all  those  who  attempted  its 
solution  and  failed.  The  enigma  was  this :  "  What  animal  in 
the  morning  walks  upon  four  feet,  at  noon  upon  two,  and  in  the 
evening  upon  three?"  CEdipus  said:  "  Man,  in  the  morning  of 
his  life,  goes  on  all  fours  ;  when  grown  to  manhood,  he  walks 
erect ;  and  in  old  age,  the  evening  of  life,  supports  himself  with 
a  stick."  "Home's  stilte"  :  the  spirit-rapper,  D.  D.  Home,  is  here 


Prl]  BROWNING   CYCLOPAEDIA.  367 

referred  to.  (See,  for  Mr.  Browning's  opinion  of  Spiritualism,  his 
poem  Mr.  Sludge  the  Medium.  Sludge  is  really  Home.)  Corinth, 
an  ancient  city  of  Greece,  celebrated  for  its  wealth  and  the  luxury 
of  its  inhabitants.  Thebes:  the  Sphinx  resorted  to  the.  neighbour- 
hood of  this  city.  It  was  the  capital  of  Bceotia,  and  one  of  the 
most  ancient  cities  of  Greece.  Lais,  a  celebrated  courtesan  who 
lived  at  Corinth,  and  ridiculed  the  philosophers.  Thrace,  an 
extensive  country  between  the  ^Egean,  Euxine  and  Danube. 
Residenz  (Ger.)  .-  the  residence  of  a  prince  and  count.  Pradier 
Magdalen  :  the  statue  of  St.  Mary  Magdalen  by  James  Pradier, 
in  the  Louvre.  Pradier  was  born  at  Geneva  in  1790,  and  died  in 
Paris  1852.  He  was  a  brilliant  and  popular  sculptor.  His  chief 
works  are  the  Son  of  Niobe,  Atalanta,  Psyche,  Sappho  (all  in  the 
Louvre),  a  bas-relief  on  the  triumphal  arch  of  the  Carousel,  the 
figures  of  Fame  on  the  Arc  de  1'Etoile,  and  Rousseau's  statue  at 
Geneva.  Fourier :  Charles  Fourier  was  a  Frenchman  who  re- 
commended the  reorganisation  of  society  into  small  communities, 
living  in  common.  Comte,  Auguste  :  the  author  of  the  Positive 
Philosophy,  the  key  to  which  is  "  the  Law  of  the  Three  States ' 
— that  is  to  say,  there  are  three  different  ways  in  which  the 
human  mind  explains  phenomena,  each  way  succeeding  the 
other.  These  three  stages  are  the  Theological,  the  Metaphysical, 
and  the  Positive.  The  Positive  stage  is  that  in  which  the  rela- 
tion is  established  between  the  given  fact  and  some  more  general 
fact.  "But,  God,  what  a  Geometer  art  Thou!"  This  is  Plato's. 
Browning  uses  the  same  idea  in  Easter  Day  (see  the  notes  to 
that  poem).  Hercules,  substituting  his  shoulder  for  that  of  Atlas: 
Atlas  was  one  of  the  Titans,  and  was  fabled  to  support  the  world 
on  his  shoulders.  Hercules  was  said  to  have  eased  for  some  time 
the  labours  of  Atlas  by  taking  upon  his  shoulders  the  weight  of 
the  heavens.  GLta,  a  mountain  range  in  the  south  of  Thessaly. 
Proudhon  was  a  revolutionary  writer  (1809-65).  His  answer 
to  the  question,  "Qu'est  ce-que  la  Propri6te?"  is  famous:  "La 
Propriety,  c'est  le  vol,"  he  replied.  His  greatest  work  was  the 
"  Systems  des  Contradictions  economiques,  ou  Philosophic  de  la 
Misere."  His  violent  utterances  led  to  his  imprisonment  for 
three  years.  Great  Nation :  to  the  French  their  country  is 
14  La  Grande  Nation."  Leicester  Square :  all  the  foreign  refugees 
in  England  gravitate  towards  Leicester  Square.  Cayenne :  the 
capital  of  French  Guiana,  and  a  penal  settlement  for  political 


368  BROWNING   CYCLOPAEDIA.  [fll 

offenders.  It  is  anything  but  "  cool,"  the  temperature  throughout 
the  year  being  from  76°  to  88°  Fahr.  It  is  fever-stricken,  and 
very  unhealthy  generally.  Xerxes  and  the  Plane-tree:  Xerxes 
going  from  Phrygia  into  Lydia,  observed  a  plane-tree,  which  on 
account  of  its  beauty,  he  presented  with  golden  ornaments. 
(Herodotus  vii.  31.)  Kant:  Emmanuel  Kant,  author  of  the 
Critique  of  Pure  Reason  (1724-1804).  He  was  the  greatest 
philosopher  of  the  eighteenth  century.  This  celebrated  work  of 
Kant's  penetrated  to  all  the  leading  universities,  and  its  author 
was  hailed  by  some  as  a  second  Messiah.  The  falls  of  Terni,  on 
the  route  from  Perugia  to  Orte,  in  Central  Italy,  have  few  rivals 
in  Europe  in  point  of  beauty  and  volume  of  water.  They  are  the 
celebrated  falls  of  the  Velino  (which  here  empties  itself  into  the 
Nera)  called  the  Cascate  delle  Marmore,  and  are  about  650  feet 
in  height.  Laocoon,  a  Trojan,  priest  of  Apollo,  who  was  killed  at 
the  altar  by  two  serpents.  The  famous  group  of  sculpture  called 
by  this  name  is  in  the  Vatican  Museum,  in  the  Cortile  del  Belvedere. 
According  to  Pliny,  it  was  executed  by  three  Rhodians,  and  was 
placed  in  the  palace  of  Titus.  It  was  discovered  in  1506,  and 
was  termed  by  Michael  Angelo  a  marvel  of  art.  Thiers,  Louis 
Adolphe  (1797-1877),  "liberator  of  the  territory,"  as  France  calls 
him.  He  wrote  the  History  of  the  French  Revolution.  Victor 
Hugo,  born  1802,  a  famous  politician  and  novelist  of  France,  was 
exiled  by  Louis  Napoleon  after  the  coup  d'etat.  He  fulminated 
against  the  Emperor  from  Jersey  his  book  Napoleon  the  Little. 
He  was  detested  almost  fanatically  by  Napoleon  III.  "  Brennus 
in  the  Capitol"  :  Brennus  was  a  leader  of  the  Gauls,  and  conqueror 
at  the  Allia,  a  small  river  eleven  miles  north  of  Rome,  on  the 
banks  of  which  the  Gauls  inflicted  a  terrible  defeat  on  the 
Romans  on  July  i6th,  B.C.  390.  After  this  defeat  the  Romans, 
terrified  by  this  sudden  invasion,  fled  into  the  Capitol  and  left 
the  whole  city  in  the  possession  of  the  enemy.  The  Gauls 
climbed  the  Tarpeian  rock  in  the  night,  and  the  Capitol  would 
have  been  taken  if  the  Romans  had  not  been  alarmed  by  the 
cackling  of  some  geese  near  the  doors,  when  they  attacked  and 
defeated  the  Gauls.  Salvatore,  =  Salvator  Rosa,  a  renowned 
painter  of  the  Neapolitan  school.  Clitumnus,  a  river  of  Italy, 
the  waters  of  which,  when  drunk,  were  said  to  render  oxen 
white.  Nemi ' :  the  lake  of  Nemi,  in  the  Alban  mountains,  near 
Rome,  was  anciently  called  the  Locus  Nemorensis,  and  sometimes 


Pri] 


BROWNING   CYCLOPAEDIA. 


369 


the  M  jrror  of  Diana,  from  its  extreme  beauty.  Remains  have  been 
discovered  of  a  temple  to  that  goddess  in  the  neighbourhood,  and 
from  her  sacred  grove,  or  nemus,  the  present  name  is  derived. 

"  Prize  Poems."  Dining  one  day  last  year  at  Trinity  College, 
Cambridge,  with  that  enthusiastic  young  Browning  scholar,  Mr. 
E.  H.  Blakeney  (himself  a  poet  of  great  promise),  we  discussed 
the  question  of  the  comparative  popularity  of  Browning's  shorter 
poems,  and  it  was  decided  that  he  should  ask  the  editor  of  the 
Pall  Mall  Gazette  to  put  it  to  the  vote  in  his  columns.  A  prize 
was  offered  for  the  list  of  fifty  poems  which  came  nearest  to  the 
standard  list  obtained  by  collating  the  lists  of  all  the  competitors.. 
The  fifty  "  prize  poems"  selected  by  \he  plebiscite  as  Browning's- 
best,  arranged  in  the  order  of  the  votes  they  severally  received,, 
were  the  following : — 


5. 

6. 

7. 

8. 

9. 
»O. 
1  1. 
12. 
13. 
14. 
15. 


18. 
19. 
20. 
21. 
22. 
23. 
24. 


How  they  brought  the  Good 
News  from  Ghent  to  Aix. 
Evelyn  Hope. 

Abt  Vogler. 

Saul. 

Rabbi  Ben  Ezra. 
The  Lost  Leader. 
The  Pied  Piper  of  Hamelin. 
Prospice. 
Herv<5  Riel. 
Andrea  del  Sarto. 
The  Last  Ride  Together. 
A  Grammarian's  Funeral. 
Home  Thoughts  from  Abroad. 
The  Boy  and  the  Angel. 
Epilogue  to  Asolando. 

By  the  Fireside. 

Fra  Lippo  Lippi. 
Caliban  upon  Setebos. 
One  Word  More. 
Any  Wife  to  Any  Husband. 
An  Epistle. of  Karshish. 
Incident  of  the  French  Camp. 
The  Guardian  Angel. 
Love  among  the  Ruins. 

Apparent  Failure. 

A  Forgiveness. 


(  A  Death  in  the  Desert. 
7>\  A  Woman's  Last  Word'. 

29.  Count  Gismond. 

30.  In  a  Gondola. 

31.  The  Patriot. 

32.  A  Toccata  of  Galuppi's. 
33%  My  Last  Duchess. 

(  The  Worst  of  It. 
34'1  Truth  and  Art. 

36.  The  Statue  and  the  Bust. 

37.  The  Bishop  orders  his  Tomb 

at  St.  Praxed's  Church. 

38.  Cristina. 

39.  Cliye. 

40.  Confessions. 

41.  Two  in  the  Campagna* 

42.  Summum  Bonum. 

43.  After. 

f  Holy  Cross  Day. 
4' \  The  Italian  in  England. 

46.  Up  at  a  Villa. 

47.  Before. 

(  James  Lee's  Wife. 

48.  i  Soliloquy    of   the    Spanish 

I      Cloister. 
50.  Old  Pictures  in  Florence. 

24 


37°  BROWNING  CYCLOPEDIA.  [Pro 

Prologue  to  Dramatic  Idyls.  (Second Series.)  When  we  are 
suffering  from  bodily  illness,  doctors  often  disagree  as  to  the 
diagnosis  of  our  complaint.  We  go  from  specialist  to  specialist, 
and  each  physician  declares  that  we  are  suffering  from  that 
disorder  which  he  makes  his  special  study :  the  brain  doctor  says 
it  is  all  brain  trouble ;  the  heart  man,  the  liver  and  lung  specialists, 
are  all  pretty  certain  to  diagnose  their  own  favourite  malady. 
And  so  even  the  wisest  are  ignorant  of  man's  body.  But  when  we 
come  to  soul,  there  is  no  difficulty  at  all :  they  pounce  on  our  malady 
iffi  a  trice.  They  can  see  the  body,  and  cannot  tell  what  is  the 
matter  with  it;  the  soul,  which  they  cannot  see,  presents  no 
difficulties  whatever  to  their  wise  heads !  Mr.  Sharp,  in  his  paper 
on  Dramatic  Idyls  II.,  says  this  Epilogue  is  the  key  to  the  leading 
*dea  of  each  poem  in  the  volume.  Echetlos  deals  with  patriotic 
action.  We  think  Miltiades  and  Themistocles  true  patriots,  but 
'history  shows  that  they  only  served  their  own  turn.  Clvue  dreaded 
death  less  than  a  lie,  yet  committed  suicide  :  was  this  due  to 
.courage  or  fear  ?  Mulyekeh  loved  his  mare,  but  sacrificed  her  to 
'his  pride.  Pietro  ofAbano  did  benevolent  actions,  yet  had  no  love 

iin  his  heart.  Doctor did  good  actions  from  a  motive  of  hate. 

Pan  and  Luna  :  this  poem  deals  with  an  act  of  love  from  opposite 
•extremes — Pan  gross  and  brutal,  Luna  pure  and  modest ;  yet  she 
does  not  spurn  Pan.  This  was  not  due  to  want  of  modesty,  but 
to  the  power  of  love,  and  Pan  was  not  actuated  by  brute  passion. 
The  Epilogue  is  to  oppose  the  idea  that  poets  sing  spontaneously 
about  anything.  Browning  says  his  rocks  are  hard  and  forbid- 
ding, yet  they  hold,  like  Alpine  crags,  pine  seeds  of  truth. 

Prologue  to  Ferishtah's  Fancies.  This  is  intended  to  describe 
the  peculiar  construction  of  the  volume  of  poems.  The  poet  tells 
his  readers  how  ortolans  are  eaten  in  Italy:  the  birds  are  stuck  on 
a  skewer,  some  dozen  or  more,  each  having  interposed  between 
himself  and  his  neighbour  on  the  spit  a  bit  of  toast  and  a  strong 
sage  leaf;  and  the  eater  is  intended  to  bite  through  crust, 
seasoning,  and  bird  altogether,  so  the  lusciousness  is  curbed  and 
the  full  flavour  of  the  delicacy  is  obtained.  The  poem,  we  are 
told,  is  dished  up  on  the  same  principle.  We  have  sense,  sight 
and  song  here,  and  all  is  arranged  to  suit  our  digestion.  We 
have  the  fancy  or  fable,  then  a  dialogue,  and  a  melodious  lyric  to 
conclude ;  so,  in  the  twelve  poems,  we  may  see  twelve  ortolans, 
with  their  accompanying  toast  and  sage  leaf. 


Pro]  BROWNING   CYCLOPEDIA.  371 

NOTES. — Ortolans  (Emberiza  hortulana)  :  the  garden  bunting, 
a  native  of  Continental  Europe  and  Western  Asia.  It  is  very 
much  like  the  yellowhammer.  They  are  netted,  and  fed  in  a 
darkened  room  with  oats  and  other  grain.  They  soon  become 
very  fat,  and  are  then  killed  for  the  table ;  the  birds  are  much 
prized  by  gourmands.  Gressoney,  a  village  in  the  valley  of  the 
Aosta.  Val  d' Aosta,  valley  of  the  Aosta,  in  northern  Piedmont. 

Prologue  to  PaccMarOtto.  The  poet  is  imprisoned  on  a 
long  summer  day  with  his  feet  on  a  grass  plot  and  his  eyes  on  a 
red  brick  wall.  True,  the  wall  is  clothed  with  a  luxuriant  creeper 
through  which  the  bricks  laugh,  and  the  robe  of  green  pulsates 
with  life,  beautifying  the  barrier.  He  reflects  that  wall  upon  wall 
divide  us  from  the  subtle  thing  that  is  spirit :  though  cloistered 
here  in  the  body-barrier,  he  will  hope  hard,  and  send  his  soul 
forth  to  the  congenial  spirit  beyond  the  ring  of  neighbours  which, 
like  a  fence  of  brick  and  stone,  divides  him  from  his  love. 

Prospice  =  "Look  forward"  (Dramatis  Persona,  1864)  was 
written  in  the  autumn  following  Mrs.  Browning's  death.  St. 
Paul  speaks  of  those  "  who  through  fear  of  death  were  all  their 
lifetime  subject  to  bondage":  the  author  of  Prospice  and  the 
Epilogue  to  Asolando  was  not  of  this  class.  Few  men  have 
written  as  nobly  as  he  on  the  awful  "  minute  of  night,"  and 
its  fight  with  the  "Arch  Fear."  Estimating  it  at  its  fullest 
import,  as  only  a  great  imaginative  mind  can  do,  he  is  in  face 
of  "the  black  minute"  and  "the  power  of  the  night" — the  Mr. 
Greatheart  of  the  pilgrims  to  the  dark  river.  Nothing  grander 
has  been  written  on  the  subject  than  the  poems  we  have  named. 
In  the  short  poem  Prospice  is  concentrated  the  strength  of  a 
great  soul  and  the  courage  of  one  who  is  prepared  for  the 
worst,  with  eyes  unbandaged.  As  an  example  of  the  poet's 
power  nothing  can  be  finer.  The  dramatic  intensity  of  the 
opening  lines — the  fog,  the  mist,  the  snow,  and  the  blasts  which 
indicate  the  journey's  end,  "  the  post  of  the  foe  " — is  unsurpassed 
even  by  Shakespeare  himself.  It  is  a  defiance  of  death,  a 
challenge  to  battle. 

Protns.  (Men  and  Women,  1855  ;  Romances,  1863  ;  Dramatic 
Romances,  1868.)  There  is  no  historical  foundation  for  the 
poem.  In  the  declining  years  of  the  Roman  Empire  such  rapid 
transitions  of  power  were  not  uncommon.  A  baby  Emperor 
Protus  is  described  in  some  ancient  work  as  absorbing  the 


372  BROWNING   CYCLOPAEDIA.  [PllC 

interest  of  the  whole  empire :  queens  ministered  at  his  cradle. 
The  world  rose  in  war  till  he  was  presented  at  a  balcony  to- 
pacify  it.  Greek  sculptors  and  great  artists  strove  to  impress 
his  graces  on  their  work,  his  subjects  learned  to  love  the  letters 
of  his  name  ;  and  on  the  same  page  of  the  history  it  was  recorded 
how  the  same  year  a  blacksmith's  bastard,  by  name  John  the 
Pannonian,  arose  and  took  the  crown  and  wore  it  for  six  years, 
till  his  sons  poisoned  him.  What  became  of  the  young  Emperor 
Protus  was  then  but  mere  hearsay :  perhaps  he  was  permitted 
to  escape ;  he  may  have  become  a  tutor  at  some  foreign  court, 
or,  as  others  say,  he  may  have  died  in  Thrace  a  monk.  "  Take 
what  I  say,"  wrote  the  annotator,  "  at  its  worth." 

Pnccio.  (Luna.)  The  officer  in  the  Florentine  army  who- 
was  superseded  by  the  Moorish  leader  Luria. 

Queen,  The.  (In  a  Balcony?)  The  middle-aged  woman  who,, 
though  married,  falls  in  love  with  Norbert,  the  lover  of  Constance. 
She  prepares  to  divorce  her  husband  and  marry  her  officer. 
When,  however,  she  discovers  the  truth  about  the  young  lovers, 
she  is  the  prey  of  jealousy  and  offended  dignity,  and  the  drama 
closes  with  ominous  prospects  for  the  unfortunate  couple. 

Queen  Worship.  Under  this  title  were  originally  published 
two  poems  :  i.,  Rudel  and  the  Lady  of  Tripoli;  and  ii.,  Cristina. 

Quietism.    See  MOLINISTS. 

Rabbi  Ben  Ezra.  (Dramatis  Persona,  1864.)  The  character 
is  historical.  The  Encyclopedia  Britannica  gives  the  name  as 
Abenezra,  or  Ibn  Ezra,  the  full  name  being  Abraham  Ben  Meir 
Ben  Ezra  ;  he  was  also  called  Abenare  or  Evenare.  "  He  was 
one  of  the  most  eminent  of  the  Jewish  literati  of  the  Middle 
Ages.  He  was  born  at  Toledo  about  1090,  left  Spain  for  Rome 
about  1140,  resided  afterwards  at  Mantua  in  1145,  at  Rhodes 
in  1155  and  1166,  in  England  in  1159,  and  died  probably  in  1168. 
He  was  distinguished  as  a  philosopher,  astronomer,  physician,, 
and  poet ;  but  especially  as  a  grammarian  and  commentator. 
The  works  by  which  he  is  best  known  form  a  series  of  Comment- 
aries on  the  books  of  the  Old  Testament,  which  have  nearly  all 
been  printed  in  the  great  Rabbinic  Bibles  of  Bomberg  (1525-26) 
Buxtorf  (1618-19),  and  Frankfurter  (1724-27).  Abenezra's  com- 
mentaries are  acknowledged  to  be  of  very  great  value.  He  was 
the  first  who  raised  biblical  exegesis  to  the  rank  of  a  science,. 


BROWNING   CYCLOPAEDIA.  373 

interpreting  the  text  according  to  its  literal  sense,  and  illustrating 
it  from  cognate  languages.  His  style  is  elegant,  but  is  so  concise 
as  to  be  sometimes  obscure;  and  he  occasionally  indulges  ia 
epigram.  In  addition  to  the  commentaries,  he  wrote  several 
treatises  on  astronomy  or  astrology,  and  a  number  of  grammatical 
works."  He  appears  to  have  possessed  extraordinary  natural 
talents  ;  to  these  he  added  "indefatigable  ardour  and  industry  in 
the  pursuit  of  knowledge,  and  he  enjoyed  besides,  in  his  youth, 
the  advantage  of  the  best  teachers,  among  whom  was  the  Karaite, 
Japhet  Halle vi  or  Levita,  to  whom  he  is  believed  to  have  owed 
his  taste  for  etymological  and  grammatical  investigation,  and  his 
preference  for  the  literal  to  the  allegorical  and  cabalistic  inter- 
pretation of  Scripture.  He  was  afterwards  married  to  Le vita's 
daughter."  He  did  not  consider  his  life  a  fortunate  one  as  men 
look  upon  life.  "  I  strive  to  grow  rich,"  he  said;  "  but  the  stars 
are  against  me.  If  I  sold  shrouds,  none  would  die.  If  candles 
were  my  wares  the  sun  would  not  set  till  the  day  of  my  death." 
The  cause  of  his  leaving  Spain  was  an  outbreak  against  the  Jews. 
Hitherto,  he  said  of  himself,  he  had  been  "as  a  withered  leaf;  I 
roved  far  away  from  my  native  land,  from  Spain,  and  went  to 
Rome  with  a  troubled  soul."  He  seems  to  have  written  no  books 
until  after  his  exile,  and  then  he  actively  engaged  in  literary 
work.  The  most  complete  catalogue  of  his  works  is  contained 
in  Furst's  Bibliotheca  Judaica  (Leipzig,  1849).  "  Maimonides, 
his  great  contemporary,  esteemed  his  writings  so  highly  for 
learning,  judgment,  and  elegance,  that  he  recommended  his  son 
to  make  them  for  some  time  the  exclusive  object  of  his  study. 
By  Jewish  scholars  he  is  preferred,  as  a  commentator,  even  to 
Raschi  in  point  of  judiciousness  and  good  sense ;  and  in  the 
judgment  of  Richard  Simon,  confirmed  by  De  Rossi,  he  is  the 
most  successful  of  all  the  rabbinical  commentators  in  the  gram- 
matical and  literal  interpretation  of  the  Scriptures  "  (Imp.  Diet. 
Biog.}.  According  to  Rabbi  Ben  Ezra,  man's  life  is  to  be  viewed 
as  a  whole.  God's  plan  in  our  creation  has  arranged  for  youth 
and  age,  and  no  view  of  life  is  consistent  with  it  which  ignores 
the  work  of  either.  Man  is  not  a  bird  or  a  beast,  to  find  joy 
solely  in  feasting ;  care  and  doubt  are  the  life  stimuli  of  his  soul : 
the  Divine  spark  within  us  is  nearer  to  God  than  are  the  recipients 
of  His  inferior  gifts.  So  our  rebuffs,  our  stings  to  urge  us  on,  our 
strivings,  are  the  measure  of  our  ultimate  success  :  aspiration,  not 


374  BROWNING  CYCLOPAEDIA. 

achievement,  divides  us  from  the  brute.  The  body  is  intended  to 
subserve  the  highest  aims  of  the  soul :  it  will  do  so  if  we  live  and 
learn.  The  flesh  is  pleasant,  and  can  help  soul  as  that  helps  the 
body.  Youth  must  seek  its  heritage  in  age ;  in  the  repose  of  age 
he  is  to  take  measures  for  his  last  adventure.  This  he  can  do 
with  prospect  of  success  proportionate  to  his  use  of  the  past. 
Wait  death  without  fear,  as  you  awaited  age.  Sentence  will  not 
be  passed  on  mere  "  work  "  done :  our  purposes,  thoughts,  fancies, 
all  that  the  coarse  methods  of  human  estimates  failed  to  appre- 
ciate, these  will  be  put  in  the  diamond  scales  of  God  and  credited 
to  us.  God  is  the  Potter ;  we  are  clay,  receiving  our  shape  and 
form  and  ornament  by  every  turn  of  the  wheel  and  faintest  touch 
of  the  Master's  hand.  The  uses  of  a  cup  are  not  estimated  by  its 
foot  or  by  its  stem;  but  by  the  bowl  which  presses  the  Master's  lips 
to  slake  the  Divine  thirst.  We  cannot  see  the  meaning  of  the 
wheel  and  the  touches  of  the  potter's  hand  and  instrument ;  we 
know  this,  and  this  only, — our  times  are  in  His  hand  who  has 
planned  a  perfect  cup. — I  am  indebted  to  Mr.  A.  J.  Campbell  for 
the  following  notes,  the  result  of  his  researches  in  endeavouring 
to  trace  the  real  Rabbi  Ibn  Ezra  in  the  poem  Rabbi  Ben  Ezra. 
His  fellow-religionists  say  of  the  Rabbi  that  he  was  "  a  man  of 
strongly  marked  individuality  and  independence  of  thought,  keen 
in  controversy,  yet  genial  withal ;  and  it  is  in  words  such  as  these 
that  the  final  estimate  of  his  own  people  is  given.  '  He  was  the 
wonder  of  his  contemporaries  and  of  those  who  came  after  him 
.  .  .  profoundly  versed  in  every  branch  of  knowledge,  with 
unfailing  judgment,  a  man  of  sharp  tongue  and  keen  wit'  (Dr. 
J.  M.  Jost,  Geschichte  des  Judenthums,  2nd  Abth.,  p.  419).  And 
again :  '  This  man  possessed  an  immense  erudition ;  but  his 
masterly  spirit  is  far  more  to  be  wondered  at  than  the  mass  oi 
knowledge  he  acquired  '  (Id.,  Geschichte  des  Israeliten,  6te  Theil, 
p.  162)."  Mr.  Campbell  thinks  that  the  distinctive  features  of  the 
Rabbi  of  the  poem  were  drawn  by  Mr.  Browning  from  the  writings 
of  the  real  Rabbi,  and  that  the  philosophy  which  he  puts  into  the 
mouth  of  Rabbi  Ben  Ezra  was  actually  that  of  Rabbi  Ibn  Ezra. 
"  It  was  no  worldly  success  that  gave  peace  to  his  age ;  but  he 
had  won  a  spiritual  calm,  no  longer  troubled  by  the  doubts  that 
at  one  time  or  another  must  come  to  all  who  think.  '  While  this 
remarkable  man  was  roving  about  from  east  to  west  and  from 
north  to  south,  his  mind  remained  firm  in  the  principles  he  had 


BROWNING   CYCLOPEDIA.  375 

once  for  all  accepted  as  true.  .  .  .  His  advocacy  of  freedom  of 
thought  and  research,  his  views  concerning  angels,  concerning 
the  immortality  of  the  soul,  are  the  same  in  the  earlier  com- 
mentaries ...  as  with  [those]  which  were  written  later;  the 
same  in  his  grammatical  works  as  in  his  theological  discourses ' '' 
(Dr.  M.  Friedlander,  Essays  on  Ibn  Ezra,  Preface  and  p.  139). 
"  Our  times  are  in  His  hand,"  says  Browning's  Rabbi ;  so,  too, 
Ibn  Ezra,  in  a  poem  quoted  by  Dr.  Michael  Sachs  (Die  Religiose 
Poesie  derjuden  in  Spanien,  p.  1 17) — "  In  deiner  Hand  liegt  mem 
Geschichte."  Says  Dr.  Friedlander,  "  He  had  very  little  money, 
and  very  much  wit,  and  was  a  born  foe  to  all  superficiality.  So 
he  had  spent  his  youth  in  preparing  himself  for  his  future  career 
by  collecting  and  storing  up  materials,  in  cultivating  the  garden 
of  his  mind  so  that  it  might  at  a  later  period  produce  the  choicest 
and  most  precious  fruits "  (Ibn  Ezra's  Comment.,  Isaiah,  Intro- 
duction by  Dr.  Friedlander).  Mr.  Campbell  says  that  the  keynote 
of  Ibn  Ezra's  teaching  is  that  the  essential  life  of  man  is  the  life 
of  the  soul.  "  Man  has  the  sole  privilege  of  becoming  superior 
to  the  beast  and  the  fowl,  according  to  the  words  '  He  teacheth 
him  to  raise  himself  above  the  cattle  of  the  earth ' "  (Ibn  Ezra, 
Comment.,  Job  xxxv.  u).  "He  ascribes  to  man's  soul  a  triple 
nature,  or  three  faculties  roughly  corresponding  to  the  division  of 
St.  Paul  of  man  into  body,  soul  and  spirit.  The  soul  of  man,  he 
holds,  can  exist  with  or  without  the  body,  and  did,  in  fact,  pre- 
exist" (Friedlander,  Essays  on  Ibn  Ezra,  pp.  27-8).  This  is 
Browning's  theory  in  verse  27.  In  Browning's  poem  the  Rabbi 
describes  man's  life  as  the  lone  way  of  the  soul  (verse  8).  Ibn 
Ezra,  in  his  Commentary,  Psalm  xxii.  22,  says,  "  The  soul  oi 
man  is  called  lonely  because  it  is  separated  during  its  union  with 
the  body  from  the  universal  soul,  into  which  it  is  again  received 
when  it  departs  from  its  earthly  companion."  When  Rabbi  Ben 
Ezra,  in  Mr.  Browning's  poem,  speaks  of  the  body  at  its  best  pro- 
jecting the  soul  on  its  way  (verse  8),  he  is  uttering  the  thought  ot 
Ibn  Ezra,  who  says,  "  It  is  well  known  that,  as  long  as  the  bodily 
desires  are  strong,  the  soul  is  weak  and  powerless  against  them, 
because  they  are  supported  by  the  body  and  all  its  powers: 
hence  those  who  only  think  of  eating  and  drinking  will  never 
be  wise.  By  the  alliance  of  the  intellect  with  the  animal  soul 
[sensibility,  the  higher  quality  of  the  body]  the  desires  [the  lower 
quality  or  appetite  of  the  body]  are  subordinated,  and  the  eyes 


BROWNING  CYCLOPAEDIA.  [Raw 

of  the  soul  are  opened  a  little,  so  as  to  comprehend  the  know- 
ledge of  material  bodies ;  but  the  soul  is  not  yet  prepared  for 
pure  knowledge,  on  account  pf  the  animal  soul  which  seeks 
dominion  and  produces  all  kinds  of  passion ;  therefore,  after  the 
victory  gained  with  the  support  of  the  animal  soul  over  the 
desires,  it  is  necessary  that  the  soul  should  devote  itself  to 
wisdom,  and  seek  its  support  for  the  subjection  of  the  passions, 
in  order  to  remain  under  the  sole  control  of  knowledge  "  (Ibn 
Ezra,  Comment.,  Eccl.  vii.  3).  Mr.  Campbell  has  shown  how 
much  Mr.  Browning  has  assimilated  Ibn  Ezra's  philosophy  in 
many  other  points  in  the  poem.  (For  an  extended  explanation  of 
the  poem  see  my  Browning's  Message  to  his  Time,  pp.  157-72.) 

Rawdon  Brown.  "Mr.  Rawdon  Brown,  an  Englishman  of 
culture,  well  known  to  visitors  in  Venice,  died  in  that  city  in  the 
summer  of  1883.  He  went  to  Venice  for  a  short  visit,  with  a 
definite  object  in  view,  and  ended  by  staying  forty  years.  During 
one  of  his  rare  runs  to  England,  I  met  him  at  Ruskin's  at 
Denmark  Hill,  somewhere  about  1860.  He  englished,  abstracted, 
and  calendared  for  our  Record  Office,  a  large  number  of  the 
reports  of  the  Venetian  Ambassadors  in  England  in  the  days 
of  Elizabeth,  etc.  His  love  for  Venice  was  so  great,  that  some 
one  invented  about  him  the  story  which  Browning  told  in  the 
following  sonnet,  which  was  printed  by  Browning's  permission, 
and  that  of  Mrs.  Bronson— rat  whose  request  it  was  written — in 
the  Century  Magazine  '  Bric-a-Brac '  for  February  1884"  (Dr. 
Furnivall  in  Browning  Society's  Papers,  vol.  i.,  p.  132*). 

"Tutti  ga  i  so  gusti,  e  mi  go  i  mii." — Venetian  Saying. 
(TV.  Everybody  follows  his  taste,  and  I  follow  mine.) 
Sighed  Rawdon  Brown  :  "Yes,  I'm  departing,  Tonil 
I  needs  must,  just  this  once  before  I  die, 
Revisit  England  :  Anglus  Brown  am  I, 
Although  my  heart's  Venetian,     Yes,  old  crony — 
Venice  and  London — London's  '  Death  the  bony ' 
Compared  with  Life — that's  Venice  I     What  a  sky, 
A  sea,  this  morning  1     One  last  look  !     Good-bye. 
Ca  Pesaro!     No,  lion — I'm  a  coney 

To  weep — I'm  dazzled  ;  'tis  that  sun  I  view 
Rippling  the—  the—  Cospetto,  Toni !     Down 

With  carpet-bag,  and  off  with  valise-straps  1 
Bella  Venezia,  non  ti  lascio  piu  I  " 
Nor  did  Brown  ever  leave  her  :  well,  perhaps 
Browning,  next  week,  may  find  himself  quite  Brown ! 
Nov.  2$th,  1883.  ROBERT  BROWNING. 


lied]  BROWNING  CYCLOPAEDIA.  377 

Reason  and  Fancy.  The  discussion  between  Reason  and 
Fancy  is  in  La  Saisiaz. 

Red  Cotton  Night-cap  Country,  or  Turf  and  Towers  (1873). 
This  may  be  termed  a  pathological  poem,  a  study  of  suicidal 
mania  and  religious  insanity  in  a  young  man  of  dissipated  habits 
•whose  "  mind "  was  scarcely  worthy  of  the  poet's  analysis.  The 
title  given  to  the  work  was  so  bestowed  in  consequence  of  Mr. 
Browning  having  met  Miss  Thackeray  in  a  part  of  Normandy 
which  she  jokingly  christened  "  White  Cotton  Night-cap  Country," 
•on  account  of  its  sleepiness.  Mr.  Browning  having  heard  the 
tragedy  which  his  story  tells,  said  "  Red  Cotton  Night-cap 
Country  "  would  be  the  more  appropriate  term.  The  alternative 
•title,  "  Turf  and  Towers,"  is  much  more  likely  to  have  been 
suggested  by  the  scenery  of  the  place  than  by  the  more  fanciful 
reasons  which  have  sometimes  been  imagined  for  it.  The  scene 
•of  the  story  is  in  the  department  of  Calvados,  close  to  the  city  of 
Caen.  The  whole  country  is  very  interesting,  from  its  historical 
associations  and  architectural  remains,  and  the  scenery  is  exceed- 
ingly beautiful.  M.  de  Caumont,  the  distinguished  archaeologist 
of  Caen,  enumerates  nearly  seventy  specimens  of  the  Norman 
architecture  of  the  eleventh  and  twelfth  centuries  existing  in  it. 
Battlemented  walls  furnished  with  towers,  picturesque  chateaux, 
old  churches  and  tall  spires  in  a  landscape  of  luxuriant  pastures 
and  grey  and  purple  hills,  justified  the  title  "  Turf  and  Towers, ' 
•even  apart  from  the  particular  circumstances  connected  with  the 
story.  Mr.  Browning  visited  St.  Aubin's  in  1872,  and  was  interested 
in  the  singular  history  of  the  family  which  owned  Clairvaux,  a 
restored  priory  in  the  locality.  L6once  Miranda,  the  son  and  heir 
•of  a  wealthy  Paris  jeweller,  led  a  dissipated  life  in  his  times  of 
leisure,  but  industriously  pursued  his  calling  in  strictly  business 
hours.  After  devoting  his  attentions  to  a  number  of  light-o'-loves, 
he  one  day  fell  in  love  with  an  adventuress,  one  Clara  Mulhausen, 
who  succeeded  in  securing  him  in  her  toils.  As  she  was  already 
married,  the  connection  was  of  a  nature  to  be  carried  on  in 
seclusion,  and  the  jeweller  accordingly  left  a  manager  in  charge 
of  his  business,  retiring  with  the  woman  to  Clairvaux,  where  his 
father  had  already  purchased  property.  For  five  years  the  couple 
lived  together  in  what  was  considered  to  be  happiness.  Then 
Miranda  was  suddenly  called  to  Paris  to  account  to  his  mother 
for  his  extravagance :  he  had  spent  large  sums  in  building  opera- 


BROWNING   CYCLOPAEDIA.  [Red: 

lions,  having  amongst  other  things  erected  a  Belvedere  (a  sort  oF 
tower  above  the  roof  built  for  viewing  the  scenery).  He  so  felt 
the  reproaches  of  his  mother  that  he  attempted  to  commit  suicide 
by  throwing  himself  into  the  Seine.  He  was  saved,  however,  and 
having  been  restored  by  Clara's  nursing,  was  convalescent  when 
he  was  again  urgently  summoned  to  his  mother,  only  to  find  her 
dead.  He  was  told  that  his  conduct  was  responsible  for  his 
mother's  death ;  and  his  relatives,  careless  of  the  consequences 
\o  a  mind  so  unhinged  as  Miranda's,  spared  him  none  of  their 
upbraidings.  All  this  had  the  anticipated  effect :  he  gave  up  the 
bulk  of  his  property  to  his  relatives,  reserving  only  enough  for 
his  decent  support  and  that  of  Clara.  When  the  day  arrived 
for  the  legal  arrangements  to  be  completed,  he  was  found  in  a 
room  reading  and  burning  in  the  fire  a  number  of  letters.  He 
had  afterwards,  so  it  was  discovered,  placed  a  number  of  the 
papers  in  a  bag  and  held  it  in  the  fire  till  his  hands  were 
destroyed,  at  the  same  time  crying,  "Burn,  burn  and  purify  my 
past."  If  anything  more  than  what  had  already  happened  were 
necessary  to  prove  the  man's  insanity,  the  fact  that  he  inflicted 
this  terrible  injury  upon  himself  was  sufficient  evidence  on  the 
point.  He  declared  that  he  was  working  out  his  salvation,  and  had 
to  be  dragged  from  the  room  protesting  that  the  sacrifice  was 
incomplete  :  "  I  must  have  more  hands  to  burn  ! "  He  lay  in  a 
fevered  condition  for  three  months,  raving  against  the  temptress. 
When  he  was  sufficiently  restored  to  health  he  took  her  back  to 
his  heart,  saying,  however,  "Her  sex  is  changed:  this  is  my 
brother — he  will  tend  me  now."  He  disposed  of  the  jeweller's 
shop  to  his  relatives,  and  went  back  to  Clairvaux  with  the 
woman.  At  this  point  Mr.  Browning  brings  the  would-be  suicide 
under  the  influence  of  religion  ;  the  man  devoted  his  substance 
liberally  to  the  poor,  and  made  many  gifts  to  the  Church :  it  was- 
11  ask  and  have"  with  this  kind  Miranda,  who  was  striving  to  save 
his  soul  by  acts  of  charity.  It  happened  that  there  was  a, 
pilgrimage  chapel  of  La  Deliverande  near  Clairvaux,  called  in- 
the  poem,  rather  oddly,  "The  Ravissante."  The  Norman  sailors - 
and  peasants  have  resorted  to  this  place  of  devotion  for  the  last, 
eight  hundred  years.  Murray  says :  "  It  is  a  small  Norman  edifice. 
The  statue  of  the  Virgin,  which  now  commands  the  veneration  of? 
the  faithful,  was  resuscitated  in  the  reign  of  Henry  I.  from  the- 
ruins  of  a  previous  chapel  destroyed  by  the  Northmen,  through' 


Red]  BROWNING   CYCLOPAEDIA. 

the  agency  of  a  lamb  constantly  grubbing  up  the  earth  over  the 
spot  where  it  lay.  Such  is  the  tenor  of  the  legend.  The  repu- 
tation of  the  image  for  performing  miracles,  especially  in  behalf 
of  sailors,  has  been  maintained  from  that  time  to  the  present." 
Of  course  Miranda  paid  many  visits  to  Our  Lady's  shrine ;  many 
prayers  had  been  heard  and  answered  there, — why  should  not  La 
Deliverande  help  him  ?  One  splendid  day  in  spring  he  mounts 
the  stairs  of  his  view-tower,  and,  as  the  poet  imagines,  addresses 
the  Virgin  in  exalted  phrase.  He  declares  that  he  burned  his  hands 
off  because  she  had  prompted,  "  Purchase  now  by  pain  pleasure 
hereafter  in  the  world  to  come."  He  had  lightened  his  purse 
even  if  his  soul  still  retained  forbidden  treasure,  and  "  Where  is 
the  reward  ?"  He  reproaches  Our  Lady  that  she  has  done  nothing, 
to  help  him.  She  is  Queen  of  Angels  :  will  she  suspend  for  him 
the  law  of  gravity  if  he  casts  himself  from  the  tower  ?  He  tells  her 
it  will  restore  religion  to  France,  to  the  world,  if  this  miracle  is 
worked.  He  sees  Our  Lady  smile  assent :  he  will  trust  himself. 
He  springs  from  the  balustrade,  and  lies  stone  dead  on  the  turf  the 
next  moment.  "  Mad  !  "  exclaimed  a  gardener  who  saw  him  fall. 
"  No  !  Sane,"  says  Mr.  Browning.  "  He  put  faith  to  the  proof. 
He  believed  in  Christianity  for  its  miracles,  not  for  its  moral 
influence  on  the  heart  of  man  ;  better  test  such  faith  at  once — '  kill 
or  cure.' "  By  a  later  will  Miranda  had  bequeathed  all  his  pro- 
perty to  the  Church,  reserving  sufficient  for  the  support  of  Clara. 
Of  course  the  relatives  interfered,  with  the  idea  of  securing  the 
property  for  themselves.  This  led  to  a  trial,  which  was  decided 
in  the  lady's  favour,  and  she  was  chatelaine  of  Clairvaux  where 
Browning  saw  her  in  1872.  The  real  names  of  the  persons  and 
places  are  not  given  in  the  poem,  and  there  is  no  good  purpose 
to  be  served  by  giving  a  key  to  them. 

NOTES. — [The  pages  are  those  of  the  first  edition  of  the  Poem.] 
Page  2,  "  Un-Murrayed" :  unfrequented  by  tourists  who  carry 
Murray's  or  Baedeker's  guide-books,  p.  4,  Saint-Rambert=St. 
Aubin,  a  pretty  bathing-place  in  Calvados,  Normandy ;  Joyous- 
Gard :  the  estate  given  by  King  Arthur  to  Sir  Launcelot  of  the 
Lake  for  defending  Guinevere,  p.  6,  Rome's  Corso  :  the  principal 
modern  thoroughfare  of  Rome  is  the  Corso.  p.  18,  Guarnerius^ 
Andreas,  and  his  son  Giuseppe,  early  Italian  violin  makers;. 
Slraduarius,  Antonio:  a  famous  violin  maker  of  Cremona. 
(1649-1737).  p.  19,  Corelli  (1653-1713):  a  celebrated  violin 


380  BROWNING   CYCLOPAEDIA.  [Red 

player  and  composer ;  cushat-dove  =  the  ring-dove  or  wood- 
pigeon  ;  giga  =gigg :  a  jig,  a  dance ;  Saraband:  a  grave  Spanish 
dance  in  triple  time.  p.  23,  "Quod  semel,  semper,  et  ubique"  : 
what  was  once,  and  is  always  and  everywhere,  This  would 
seem  to  be  intended  for  the  celebrated  rule  of  St.  Vincent  of 
Lerins  as  to  the  Catholic  Faith — "  Quod  ubique,  quod  semper, 
quod  ad  omnibus  creditum  est.  Hoc  est  etenim  vere  proprieque 
catholicum  "  (Comm.,  c.  3) — that  is  to  say,  the  Catholic  doctrine 
is  that  which  has  been  believed  in  all  places,  at  all  times,  and  by 
all  the  faithful,  p.  24,  Rahab-thread :  see  Joshua  ii.  18.  p.  25, 
Octroi:  a  tax  levied  at  the  gate  of  Continental  cities  on  food,  etc., 
brought  within  the  walls,  p.  29,  The  Conqueror's  country :  Nor- 
mandy, the  native  country  of  William  the  Conqueror,  p.  30, 
Lourdes  and  La  Salette :  celebrated  places  of  pilgrimage  in 
France,  p.  37,  Abaris :  a  priest  of  Apollo ;  he  rode  through  the 
air,  invisible,  on  a  golden  arrow,  curing  diseases  and  giving 
oracles,  p.  42,  Madrilene,  of  Madrid,  p.  73,  Father  Secchi :  the 
great  Jesuit  astronomer  of  Rome.  p.  83,  Acromia :  in  anatomy, 
the  outer  extremities  of  the  shoulder-blades,  p.  84,  Sganarelle : 
the  hero  of  Moliere's  comedy  Le  Mariage  Force.  A  man  aged 
about  fifty-four  proposes  to  marry  a  fashionable  young  woman> 
but  he  has  certain  scruples  which,  however,  are  allayed  by  the 
cudgel  of  the  lady's  brother,  p.  87,  Caen  :  an  ancient  and  cele- 
brated city  of  Normandy,  p.  88,  "Invent  ovem  \meam\  qua. 
ferierat"  :  "I  have  found  my  sheep  which  was  lost"  (St  Luke 
xv.  6).  p.  1 08,  Favonian  breeze :  the  west  wind,  favourable  to 
vegetation ;  Auster :  an  unhealthy  wind,  the  same  as  the  Sirocco, 
p.  140,  L'Ingegno,  Andrea  Luigi.  p.  141,  Boileau :  the  great 
French  poet,  born  at  Paris  1636 ;  Louis  Quatorze :  Louis  XIV., 
king  of  France;  Pierre  Corneille :  the  great  dramatic  poet 
(1606-84),  born  at  Rouen,  p.  177,  "  Religio  Medici"  :  a  doctor's 
religion ;  the  title  of  the  celebrated  book  of  Sir  Thomas  Browne, 
a  devout  Christian  writer ;  the  new  religion  of  the  hyper-scien- 
tific school  ol  doctors  is  mere  materialism,  p.  193,  Rouhert 
Eugene:  French  politician  (1814-84);  (Ecumenical  Assemblage 
jit  Rome :  a  general  or  universal  council  of  the  bishops  of  the 
Roman  Catholic  Church,  p.  2O2,fons  et  origo :  the  fount  and 
origin,  p.  203,  "  On  Christmas  morn — three  Masses  "  :  the  first 
is  the  midnight  mass,  the  second  at  break  of  day,  the  third 
is  the  Christmas  morning  mass.  p.  204,  Cistercian  monk :  of 


BROWNING  CYCLOPAEDIA.  381 

an  Order  established  at  Citeaux,  in  France,  by  Robert,  abbot 
of  Moleme.  The  Order  is  very  severe ;  but  its  rule  is  similar 
to  that  of  the  Benedictines;  Capucin:  a  monk  of  the  Order 
of  St.  Francis;  Benedict:  St.  Benedict,  "the  most  illustrious 
name  in  the  history  of  Western  monasticism  " :  he  was  born 
at  Nursia,  in  Umbria,  about  the  year  480;  Scholastica:  St. 
Scholastica  was  the  sister  of  St.  Benedict:  she  established  a 
•onvent  near  Monte  Cassino.  p.  210,  Star  of  Sea  :  Stella  Maris, 
one  of  the  titles  of  Our  Lady,  because  mare  means  "  the  sea " 
in  Latin,  p.  229,  Commines  (more  correctly  Comines)  :  Philippe 
de  Comines  (1445-1509),  called  "the  father  of  modern  his- 
tory." Hallam  says  that  his  Memoirs  "  almost  make  an  epoch 
in  modern  history."  p.  234,  "Queen  of  Angels" :  one  of  the 
titles  of  the  Blessed  Virgin  Mary.  p.  235,  "Legations  to  the 
Pope" :  ambassadors  or  envoys  to  the  Pope  of  Rome.  p.  238, 
Alacoque :  the  Ven.  Margaret  Mary  Alacoque,  who  founded  the 
devotion  to  the  Sacred  Heart  of  Jesus  in  France ;  "  Renan  burns 
his  book" :  Ernest  Renan,  born  1823,  the  famous  French  philo- 
logist and  historian,  author  of  the  Rationalistic  Life  of  Jesus, 
which  of  course  he  did  not  burn  !  "Veuillot burns  Renan  "  :  Louis 
Veuillot  (1813-83),  a  celebrated  French  writer  of  the  Ultramontane 
school,  who  would  gladly  have  suppressed  Renan  if  he  had  had 
the  opportunity;  "The  Universe"  :  the  famous  Catholic  journal 
edited  by  Veuillot.  p.  245,  Lignum  vita:  Guaiacum  wood, 
used  in  rheumatism,  etc. ;  grains  of  Paradise :  an  aromatic 
drug  with  carminative  properties,  like  ginger,  p.  268,  "  Painted 
Peacock "  /  the  butterfly  whose  scientific  name  is  the  Vanessa 
io ;  Brimstone-wing  :  the  species  of  butterfly  so  called  from 
its  bright  yellow  colour.  Its  scientific  name  is  the  Rhodocera 
Rhamna. 

Religions  Belief  of  Browning.  There  was  little  or  no  dog- 
matism in  Browning's  religious  faith.  He  was  at  least  a  Theist. 
"  He  believed  in  Soul,  and  was  very  sure  of  God."  Whether  the 
orthodox  would  consider  him  a  Christian  in  the  sense  of  the  old 
churches  is  a  matter  we  cannot  discuss  here ;  in  the  widest  sense, 
however,  he  has  given  abundant  evidence  that  he  was  a  Christian. 
Those  who  maintain  him  to  be  a  believer  in  the  Divinity  of  Christ 
ground  their  opinion  on  such  poems  as  A  Death  in  the  Desert 
and  The  Epistle  of  Karshish — which,  nevertheless,  it  is  objected, 
are  merely  dramatic  utterances,  and  cannot  fairly  be  held  to 


382  BROWNING   CYCLOPAEDIA.  [Eel 

«et  forth  the  poet's  own  convictions ;  to  such  an  opponent  I 
should  be  content  to  point  to  the  following  letter,  published  just 
after  the  poet's  death  in  The  Nonconformist,  and  reprinted  in  the 
Transactions  of  the  Browning  Society.  It  was  written  by  Brown- 
ing in  1876  to  a  lady,  who,  believing  herself  to  be  dying,  wrote  to 
thank  him  for  the  help  she  had  derived  from  his  poems,  men- 
tioning particularly  Rabbi  Ben  Ezra  and  Abt  Vogler,  and  giving 
expression  to  the  deep  satisfaction  of  her  mind  that  one  so  highly 
gifted  with  genius  should  hold,  as  Browning  held,  to  the  great 
truths  of  our  religion,  and  to  a  belief  in  the  glorious  unfolding  and 
crowning  of  life  in  the  world  beyond  the  grave  : — "  19,  Warwick 
Crescent,  W.,  May  nth,  1876.  Dear  Friend,— It  would  ill 
become  me  to  waste  a  word  on  my  own  feelings,  except  inasmuch 
as  they  can  be  common  to  us  both  in  such  a  situation  as  you 
described  yours  to  be — and  which,  by  sympathy,  I  can  make 
mine  by  the  anticipation  of  a  few  years  at  most.  It  is  a  great 
thing — the  greatest — that  a  human  being  should  have  passed  the 
probation  of  life,  and  sum  up  its  experience  in  a  witness  to  the 
power  and  love  of  God.  I  dare  congratulate  you.  All  the  help 
I  can  offer,  in  my  poor  degree,  is  the  assurance  that  I  see  ever 
more  reason  to  hold  by  the  same  hope — and  that,  by  no  means 
in  ignorance  of  what  has  been  advanced  to  the  contrary  ;  and  for 
your  sake  I  would  wish  it  to  be  true  that  I  had  so  much  of 
'  genius '  as  to  permit  the  testimony  of  an  especially  privileged 
insight  to  come  in  aid  of  the  ordinary  argument.  For  I  know 
I  myself  have  been  aware  of  the  communication  of  something 
more  subtle  than  a  ratiocinative  process,  when  the  convictions 
of  '  genius '  have  thrilled  my  soul  to  its  depth,  as  when  Napoleon, 
shutting  up  the  New  Testament,  said  of  Christ — '  Do  you  know 
that  I  am  an  understander  of  men  ?  Well,  He  was  no  man  J 
('Savez-vous  que  je  me  connais  en  hommes?  Eh  bien,  celui-la 
ne  fut  pas  un  homme.')  Or  as  when  Charles  Lamb,  in  a  gay 
fancy  with  some  friends  as  to  how  he  and  they  would  feel  if  the 
greatest  of  the  dead  were  to  appear  suddenly  in  flesh  and  blood 
once  more — on  the  final  suggestion,  '  And  if  Christ  entered  this 
room  ? '  changed  his  manner  at  once,  and  stuttered  out — as  his 
manner  was  when  moved,  '  You  see — if  Shakespeare  entered,  we 
should  all  rise;  if  He  appeared,  we  must  kneel'  Or,  not  to 
multiply  instances,  as  when  Dante  wrote  what  I  will  transcribe 
from  my  wife's  Testament— wherein  I  recorded  it  fourteen  years 


'Rep]  BROWNING  CYCLOPAEDIA.  383 

.ago — '  Thus  I  believe,  thus  I  affirm,  thus  I  am  certain  it  is,  that 
from  this  life  I  shall  pass  to  another  better,  there,  where  that 
lady  lives,  of  whom  my  soul  was  enamoured.'  Dear  Friend,  I 
may  have  wearied  you  in  spite  of  your  good  will.  God  bless 
you,  sustain,  and  receive  you !  Reciprocate  this  blessing  with 
yours  affectionately,  ROBERT  BROWNING."  The  Agnostic  school 
is  indefatigable  in  endeavouring  to  secure  Browning  as  a  great 
representative  of  their  "  know-nothingism,"  whatever  that  may 
be.  They  might  as  reasonably  claim  Robert  Browning  on  the 
side  of  Agnosticism  as  John  Henry  Newman  on  the  side  of 
Atheism,  which  also  certain  wiseacres  in  their  crass  hebetude 
or  vain  affectation  have  pretended  to  do. 

Religious  Poems,  (i)  More  or  less  expressions  of  the  poet's 
own  faith  are  "La  Saisiaz,"  "Christmas  Eve  and  Easter  Day," 
"The  Epistle  of  Karshish,"  "  Rabbi  Ben  Ezra,"  "The  Pope"  (in 
The  Ring  and  the  Book),  and  "  Prospice."  (2)  Dramatic  utter- 
ances concerning  religion  may  be  found  in  "Caliban  upon 
Setebos,"  "A  Death  in  the  Desert,"  "Saul,"  and  "Johannes 
Agricola,"  amongst  many  others. 

Renan  (Epilogue  to  Dramatis  Persona:}.  The  "second 
speaker"  in  the  Epilogue  is  described  as  Renan.  Joseph  Ernest 
Renan,  philologist,  member  of  the  Institute  of  France,  was  born 
Feb.  27th,  1823.  He  is  best  known  by  his  Life  of  Jesus. 

Rephan  (Asolando,  1889).  "  Suggested,"  as  the  poet  says 
in  a  note  prefixed  to  the  poem,  "by  a  very  early  recollection  of 
a  pure  story  by  the  noble  woman  and  imaginative  writer,  Jane 
Taylor,  of  Norwich."*  It  will  assist  the  reader  to  understand 
the  poem  if  I  give  an  outline  of  the  story  which  lived  so  long  in 
Browning's  memory  and  suggested  these  verses.  "Rephan  "is 
the  star  mentioned  in  Jane  Taylor's  beautiful  story  "  How  it 
Strikes  a  Stranger,"  contained  in  the  first  volume  of  her  work 
entitled  The  Contributions  of  Q.  Q.  Mrs.  Oliphant,  in  her 
Literary  History  of  the  Nineteenth  Century,  vol.  ii.,  p.  351, 
thus  describes  "  How  it  Strikes  a  Stranger."  "A little  epilogue  in 
which  the  supposed  impression  made  upon  the  mind  of  an  angel 
whose  curiosity  has  tempted  him,  even  at  the  cost  of  sharing  their 
mortality,  to  descend  among  men,  is  the  theme,  recurs  to  our  mind 
from  the  recollections  of  youth  with  considerable  force."  In  one 
of  the  most  ancient  and  magnificent  cities  of  the  East  there  ap- 

*  This  is  a  mistake  :  it  should  be  Ongar,  not  Norwich. 


384  BROWNING  CYCLOPEDIA.  [Rep 

peared,  in  a  remote  period  of  antiquity,  a  stranger  of  extraordinary 
aspect.  He  had  no  knowledge  of  the  language  of  the  country, 
and  was  ignorant  of  its  customs.  One  day,  when  residing  with1 
one  of  the  nobles  of  the  city,  after  having  been  taught  the  lan- 
guage of  the  people  and  having  learned  something  of  their 
modes  of  thought,  he  was  seen  to  be  gazing  with  fixed  attention 
upon  a  certain  star  in  the  heavens.  He  explained  that  this  was 
his  home  :  he  was  lately  an  inhabitant  of  that  tranquil  planet, 
from  whence  a  vain  curiosity  had  tempted  him  to  wander.  When 
the  first  idea  of  death  was  explained  to  him,  he  was  but  slightly 
moved  ;  but  when  he  was  informed  that  the  happiness  or  misery 
of  the  immortal  life  depended  upon  a  man's  conduct  in  the 
present  stage  of  existence,  he  was  deeply  moved,  and  demanded 
that  he  should  be  at  once  minutely  instructed  in  all  that  was 
necessary  to  prepare  himself  for  death.  He  lost  all  interest  in- 
wealth  and  pleasures,  and  astonished  his  friends  by  his  absorp- 
tion in  the  thoughts  which  concerned  another  life.  Soon,  people 
treated  him  with  contempt,  and  even  enmity;  but  this  did  not 
annoy  him, — he  was  always  kind  and  compassionate  to  those 
about  him.  To  every  invitation  to  do  anything  inconsistent  with 
his  real  interests,  his  one  answer  was,  "I  am  to  die !  I  am  to- 
die ! "  As  we  might  expect,  Mr.  Browning  takes  this  simple 
and  beautiful  story,  and  imbues  it  with  his  own  philosophy  till  he 
has  made  it  his  own.  In  the  poem  the  wanderer  from  the  star 
(Rephan),  in  compliance  with  the  request  of  his  friends,  gives 
some  account  of  the  manner  of  his  life  before  his  human  exist- 
ence began  upon  our  planet.  In  the  land  he  has  left— his  native 
realm — all  is  at  most,  nowhere  deficiency  or  excess;  on  this 
planet  we  but  guess  at  a  mean.  In  "Rephan "  there  is  no  want;, 
whatever  should  be,  is.  There  is  no  growth,  for  that  is  change ; 
nothing  begins  and"  nothing  ends  ;  it  fell  short  in  nothing  at  first, 
no  change  was  required  to  mend  anything.  The  stranger  ex- 
plains that,  to  convey  his  thoughts,  he  has  to  use  our  language  : 
his  own  no  one  who  heard  him  could  understand.  In  "  Rephan  "" 
better  and  worse  could  not  be  contrasted;  all  was  perfection. 
Blessing  and  cursing  were  alike  impossible.  There  are  neither 
springs  nor  winters.  Time  brings  no  hope  and  no  fear:  as  is 
to-day  so  shall  to-morrow  be.  All  were  happy,  all  serene.  None 
were  better  than  he :  that  would  have  proved  that  he  lacked 
somewhat ;  none  worse,  for  he  was  faultless.  How  came  it  that 


Res]  BROWNING   CYCLOPAEDIA.  385 

his  perfection  grew  irksome  ?  How  was  it  his  desire  arose  to 
become  a  mortal  on  our  earth  ?  How  did  soul's  quietude  burst 
into  discontent  ?  How  long  had  he  stagnated  there,  where  weak 
and  strong,  wise  and  foolish,  right  and  wrong  are  merged  in  a 
neutral  Best  ?  He  could  not  say,  neither  could  he  tell  how  the 
passion  arose  in  his  breast.  He  knew  not  how  he  came  to  learn 
love  by  hate,  to  aspire  yet  never  reach,  to  suffer  that  one  whom 
he  loved  might  be  happy,  to  wing  knowledge  for  ignorance.  He 
tells  his  hearers  that  they  fear,  they  agonise  and  die,  and  he  asks 
them  have  they  no  assurance  that  after  this  earth-life  wrong  will 
prove  right  ?  Do  they  not  expect  that  making  shall  be  mending 
in  the  sphere  to  which  their  yearnings  tend  ?  And  so  when  in 
his  pregnant  breast  the  yearnings  grew,  a  voice  said  to  him  : 
"Wouldst  thou  strive,  not  rest?  burn  and  not  smoulder?  win 
by  contest ;  no  longer  be  content  with  wealth,  which  is  but  death? 
Then  you  have  outlived  "  Rephan,"  you  are  beyond  this  sphere. 
There  is  a  higher  plane  for  you.  Thy  place  now  is  Earth  ! " 
It  is  the  old  Browning  story,  the  true  mark  of  his  highest 
teaching:  the  necessity  of  evil  to  evoke  the  highest  good,  the 
need  of  struggle  for  development,  of  contest  for  strength  and 
victory.  Simple,  good  Jane  Taylor  would  not  recognise  her 
pretty  fable  as  it  comes  from  Browning's  alembic  in  the  form  of 
Rephan. 

Respectability.  (Men  and  Women,  1855;  Lyrics ,  1863; 
Dramatic  Lyrics,  1868.)  The  xvorld  will  let  us  do  just  what  we 
like,  provided  only  we  take  out  its  licence  ;  import  what  we  like, 
only  we  must  pay  the  customs  duty ;  bring  into  the  place  what  we 
please,  only  we  must  not  omit  the  octroi.  Defy  or  evade  these, 
and  the  stamp  of  respectability  being  withheld,  we  lose  caste. 
Everything  depends  on  the  Government  stamp  which  the  officers 
chalk-mark  on  our  baggage.  By  conforming  we  gain  the  guinea 
stamp,  but  run  a  risk  of  losing  the  gold  itself.  The  world  pro- 
scribes not  love,  allows  the  caress,  provided  only  we  buy  of  it 
our  gloves.  What  the  world  fears  is  our  contempt  for  its  licence. 
It  is,  however,  exceedingly  placable,  and  is  quite  ready  to  license 
anything  if  we  pay  it  the  fee  and  do  it  the  homage.  At  the 
Institute,  for  example,  Guizot,  hating  Montalembert  (as  Libersl- 
ism  hates  Ultramontanism  in  theory),  will  receive  him  with 
courtesy,  not  to  say  affection.  "  We  are  passing  the  lamps :  put 
your  best  foot  foremost !  " 

2.S 


386  BROWNING   CYCLOPEDIA.  [Ret 

Return  of  the  Druses,  The.  A  TRAGEDY.  (Bells  and 
Pomegranates,  IV.,  1843.)  [THE  HISTORICAL  FACTS.]  The  Syrian 
Druses  occupy  the  mountainous  region  of  the  Lebanon  and  Anti- 
Lebanon.  They  are  found  also  in  the  Auranitis  and  in  Palestine 
proper,  to  the  north-west  of  the  Sea  of  Tiberias.  Crypto-Druses 
— Druses  not  by  race,  but  by  religion — are  believed  to  dwell  in 
Egypt,  near  Cairo.  It  is  said  that  the  Syrian  Druses  number  over 
eighty  thousand  warriors.  They  covet  no  proselytes,  and  are  an 
exceedingly  mysterious,  uncommunicative  people,  though  they 
keep  on  good  terms,  as  far  as  possible,  with  their  Christian  and 
Mahometan  neighbours.  They  respect  the  religion  of  others,  but 
never  disclose  the  secrets  of  their  own.  Of  their  origin  very  little 
has  with  certainty  been  ascertained.  They  do  not  accept  the 
name  of  Druses,  and  regard  the  term  as  insulting.  They  call  them- 
selves "disciples  of  Hamsa,"  who  was  their  Messiah,  who  came 
to  them  in  the  tenth  century  from  the  Land  of  the  word  of  God. 
Next  in  rank  to  Hamsa  are  the  four  throne-angels.  One  of 
these  was  the  missionary  Bohaeddin.  Mr.  Browning  probably 
refers  to  him  under  the  name  of  Bahumid  the  Renovator. 
Moktana  Bohaeddin  committed  the  Word  to  writing,  and 
intrusted  it  to  a  few  initiates.  They  speak  Arabic ;  but  the 
Druses  are  not  considered  by  ethnologists  to  belong  to  the 
Semitic  family.  They  have  a  tradition  that  they  belonged 
originally  to  China.  Whatever  may  have  been  the  origin  of  this 
people,  it  is  evident  that  they  are  now  a  very  mixed  race,  as  their 
religion  also  is  compounded  of  Judaism,  Christianity,  and  Maho- 
metanism.  Mackenzie  says :  "  They  have  a  regular  order  of 
priesthood,  and  a  kind  of  hierarchy.  There  is  a  regular  system 
of  passwords  and  signs."  It  is  certain  that  there  are  to  be  found 
in  their  religion  traces  of  Gnosticism  and  Magianism.  One 
theory  of  their  origin,  to  which  the  poet  refers  in  the  drama,  is  to 
the  effect  that  the  Druses  are  the  descendants  of  a  crusader, 
Count  Dreux,  who  left  Godfrey  de  Bouillon's  army  to  settle  in 
the  Lebanon.  "  The  rise  and  progress  of  the  religion  which 
gives  unity  to  the  race,"  according  to  the  Encyclopedia  Britannica> 
9th  edition,  vol.  vii.,  p.  484,  "  can  be  stated  with  considerable  pre- 
cision. As  a  system  of  thought  it  may  be  traced  back  in  some  of 
its  leading  principles  to  the  Shiite  sect  of  the  Batenians,  or 
Batiniya,  whose  main  doctrine  was  that  every  outer  has  its 
inner,  and  every  passage  in  the  Koran  an  allegorical  sense  ;  and 


Ret  BROWNING    CYCLOP/EDIA.  387 

to  the  Karamatians,  or  Karamita,  who  pushed  this  method  to  its 
furthest  limits ;  as  a  creed  it  is  somewhat  more  recent.  In  the 
year  386  A.H.  (996  A.D.)  Hakim  Biamrillahi  (i.e.,  he  who  judges 
by  the  command  of  God),  the  sixth  of  the  Fatimite  caliphs, 
began  to  reign  ;  and  during  the  next  twenty-five  years  he  indulged 
in  a  tyranny  at  once  so  terrible  and  so  fantastic,  that  little  doubt 
can  be  entertained  of  his  insanity.  As  madmen  sometimes  do, 
he  believed  that  he  held  direct  intercourse  with  the  Deity,  or 
even  that  he  was  an  incarnation  of  the  Divine  intelligence ;  and 
in  407  A.H.,  or  1016  A.D.,  his  claims  were  made  known  in  the 
mosque  at  Cairo,  and  supported  by  the  testimony  of  Ismael 
Darazi.*  The  people  showed  such  bitter  hostility  to  the  new 
gospel  that  Darazi  was  compelled  to  seek  safety  in  flight ;  but 
even  in  absence  he  was  faithful  to  his  god,  and  succeeded  in 
winning  over  the  ignorant  inhabitants  of  Lebanon.  According 
to  Druse  authority  this  great  conversion  took  place  in  the  year 
410  A.H.  Meanwhile,  the  endeavours  of  the  caliph  to  get  his 
divinity  acknowledged  by  the  people  of  Cairo  continued.  The 
advocacy  of  Hasan  ben  Haidara  Fergani  was  without  avail; 
but  in  408  A.H.  the  new  religion  found  a  more  successful  apostle 
in  the  person  of  Hamze  ben  AH  ben  Ahmed,  a  Persian  mystic, 
feltmaker  by  trade,  who  became  Hakim's  vizier,  gave  form  and 
substance  to  his  creed,  and  by  his  ingenious  adaptation  of  its 
various  dogmas  to  the  prejudices  of  existing  sects,  finally  enlisted 
an  extensive  body  of  adherents.  In  41 1  the  caliph  was  assassi- 
nated by  contrivance  of  his  sister  Sitt  Almulk  ;  but  it  was  given 
out  by  Hamze  that  he  had  only  withdrawn  for  a  season,  and  his 
followers  were  encouraged  to  look  forward  with  confidence  to  his 
triumphant  return.  Darazi,  who  had  acted  independently  in 
his  apostolate,  was  branded  by  Hamze  as  a  heretic  ;  and  thus,  by 
a  curious  anomaly,  he  is  actually  held  in  detestation  by  the  very 
sect  which  probably  bears  his  name.  The  propagation  of  the 
faith,  in  accordance  with  Hamze's  initiation,  was  undertaken  by 
Ismael  ben  Muhammed  Temimt,  Muhammed  ben  Wahab, 
Abulkhair  Selama,  ben  Abdalwahab  ben  Samurri,  and  Moktana 
Bohaeddin,  the  last  of  whom  was  known  by  his  writings  from 
Constantinople  to  the  borders  of  India.  In  two  letters  addressed 
to  the  Emperor  Constantine  VIII.  and  Michael  the  Paphlagonian, 

*  The  name  Druses  is  generally,  but  not  universally,  believed  to  be 
derived  from  this  Darazi. — E.  B 


388  BROWNING    CYCLOP/EDIA.  [Ret 

he  endeavours  to  prove  that  the  Christian  Messiah  reappeared 
in  the  person  of  Haraze  (or  Hasam)."  The  Druses  call  them- 
selves Unitarians  or  Muahhidin,  and  believe  in  the  absolute  unity 
of  God.  He  is  the  essence  of  life,  and  although  incomprehen- 
sible and  invisible,  is  to  be  known  through  occasional  manifesta- 
tions in  human  form.  Like  the  Hindus,  they  hold  that  he  was 
:ncarnated  more  than  once  on  earth.  Hamsa  was  the  precursor 
of  the  last  manifestation  to  be  (the  tenth  avatar],  not  the  inheritor 
of  Hakem,  who  is  yet  to  come.  Hamsa  was  the  personification 
of  the  "  universal  wisdom."  Bohaeddin,  in  his  writings,  calls 
him  the  Messiah.  They  hold  ideas  on  transmigration  which  are 
Pythagorean  and  cabalistic.  They  have  seven  great  command- 
ments, which  are  imparted  equally  to  all  the  initiated.  These 
would  seem  to  be  incorrectly  given  by  most  of  the  encyclopaedias. 
Professor  A.  L.  Rawson,  of  New  York,  who  is  an  initiate  into  the 
mysteries  of  the  religion  of  the  Druses,  gives  the  following  as 
the  actual  tenets  of  the  faith.  (They  are  termed  the  seven 
"  tablets  "). — i.  The  unity  of  God,  or  the  infinite  oneness  of  Deity ; 
2.  The  essential  excellence  of  truth  ;  3.  The  law  of  toleration  as 
to  all  men  and  women  in  opinion ;  4.  Respect  for  all  men  and 
women  as  to  character  and  conduct ;  5.  Entire  submission  to 
God's  decrees  as  to  fate ;  6.  Chastity  of  body  and  mind  and 
soul ;  7.  Mutual  help  under  all  conditions.  The  Druses  believe 
that  all  other  religions  were  merely  intended  to  prepare  the  way 
for  their  own,  and  that  allegorically  it  may  be  discovered  in  the 
Jewish  and  Christian  Scriptures.  They  treat  with  the  utmost 
reverence  what  are  called  the  Four  Books  on  Mount  Lebanon. 
These  are  the  Pentateuch,  the  Psalms,  the  Gospels,  and  the  Koran. 
All  are  bound  to  keep  the  seven  commandments  of  Hamsa  above 
mentioned.  [THE  DRAMA.]  Mr.  Browning's  drama  does  not  ap- 
pear to  be  founded  upon  any  historical  facts.  The  time  occupied 
by  the  tragedy  is  one  day.  Djabal  is  an  initiated  Druse,  a  son 
of  the  last  Emir,  who,  when  his  family  was  massacred  in  the 
island  which  is  the  scene  of  the  drama,  had  made  his  escape  to 
Europe.  He  has  resolved  to  return  to  this  islet  of  the  southern 
Sporades,  colonised  by  the  Lebanon  Druses  and  garrisoned  by 
the  Knights  Hospitallers  of  Rhodes.  He  has  felt  within  him  a 
Divine  call  to  liberate  his  countrymen  and  restore  them  to  the  land 
from  which  they  are  exiled.  He  dwells  upon  the  wrongs  which 
the  people  have  suffered  at  the  hands  of  their  oppressors,  and  in 


BROWNING   CYCLOPAEDIA.  389 

his  passionate  love  for  his  country,  and  a  desire  to  gratify  his 
revenge  for  the  slaughter  of  his  kindred,  has  determined  to 
become  their  liberator.  The  tragedy  opens  with  the  delibera- 
tions of  the  Druse  initiates,  who  are  expecting  the  manifestation 
of  the  Hakeem,  the  incarnation  of  the  vanished  Khalif  who  is  to 
free  their  people,  and  who  is  believed  by  them  to  have  appeared 
in  the  person  of  Djabal,  now  returned  to  the  oppressed  tribe. 
The  island  is  governed  by  a  prefect  appointed  by  the  Knights  of 
Rhodes  in  Europe.  This  prefect  has  used  his  authority  in  a  cruel 
and  oppressive  manner.  Djabal  has  taken  upon  himself  the 
redemption  of  his  people,  and  during  his  stay  in  Europe  has 
made  a  firm  friend  of  a  young  nobleman,  Lois  de  Dreux,  who  is 
about  to  join  the  Order  of  the  Knights  of  Rhodes.  His  period  of 
probation  is  to  be  passed  in  the  island,  and  for  this  purpose  he 
has  accompanied  Djabal  on  his  return.  Djabal  has  secretly 
resolved  that  upon  his  return  to  his  people  the  cruel  prefect,  who 
has  almost  extirpated  the  sheikhs,  shall  be  slain.  He  has  secured 
also  the  alliance  of  the  Venetians,  who  have  promised  that  a  fleet 
of  their  ships  shall  be  prepared  to  transport  the  Druses  to  their 
home  in  the  Lebanon,  and  shall  be  in  readiness  to  receive  them 
when  the  murder  of  the  prefect  shall  have  liberated  his  country- 
men. The  complicated  part  of  the  story  now  begins.  Anael  is  a 
Druse  maiden  whose  devotion  to  her  nation  is  the  strongest  pas- 
sion of  her  soul,  and  who  has  vowed  to  wed  no  one  but  the  man 
who  has  delivered  her  people  from  the  tyranny  which  oppresses 
them.  That  he  may  win  her  heart  Djabal  has  declared  himself 
to  be  the  Hakeem,  who  has  become  incarnate  for  the  salvation  of 
the  Druse  nation.  He  has  declared  himself  to  be  the  long  hoped 
and  prayed  for  divinity,  and  offered  himself  to  the  people  in  that 
character.  His  plan  has  perfectly  succeeded.  Anael  and  her 
tribe  believe  that  Djabal  is  the  real  Hakeem,  and  that  he  will 
liberate  the  people,  show  himself  as  Divine,  and  exalt  her  with 
himself  when  the  work  is  perfected.  He  has  decreed  the  death 
of  the  tyrant,  and  Anael  knows  this.  To  Anael,  Djabal  is  her 
God  as  well  as  her  lover ;  yet  she  cannot  worship  him  as  Divine. 
41 '  Oh,  why  is  it,'  she  asks, 

'  I  cannot  kneel  to  you? 
Never  seem  you— shall  I  speak  the  truth  ? — 
Never  a  God  to  me  1 
Tis  the  man's  hand, 
Eye,  voice  1 ' " 


39°  BROWNING  CYCLOPAEDIA.  [Ret 

Djabal  has  deceived  himself  into  a  half  belief  in  the  sanctity  of 
his  mission ;  but  as  the  day  approaches  when  he  is  to  fulfil  his 
promises  his  heart  fails  him,  and  he  loses  faith  in  himself.  He 
struggles  with  his  own  heart,  and  endeavours  to  be  true  to  himself 
and  people  ;  but  he  has  gone  too  far,  the  circumstances  in  which 
he  is  placed  are  too  strong  for  him,  and  he  is  driven  forward  on 
the  course  on  which  he  has  entered.  He  now  resolves  to  solve 
the  difficulty  by  flight.  He  will  make  his  escape,  but  before  he 
does  so  will  kill  the  prefect  with  his  own  hands.  He  is  on  his 
way  to  the  tyrant's  chamber  when  he  meets  Anael,  and  learns 
from  her  that  she  has  slain  the  prefect.  He  now  tells  her  every- 
thing. At  first  she  declines  to  believe  in  his  falseness ;  but  when 
a  conviction  of  the  truth  is  forced  upon  her  she  refuses  to  drive 
him  from  her  heart.  The  Divine  nature  of  Djabal  has  been  in 
a  sense  an  obstacle  to  her  love  in  his  character  as  Hakeem.  He 
has  seemed  too  remote  for  her  merely  human  affection,  and  she 
has  never  deemed  herself  worthy  to  be  associated  with  him  in 
his  exaltation.  In  her  determination  to  kill  the  tyrant,  and  in  the 
accomplishment  of  that  act  ot  patriotism,  she  has  been  actuated 
principally  by  her  desire  to  elevate  herself  to  his  level,  so  that 
she  might  have  a  principal  share  in  the  liberation  of  her  nation. 
They  now  discover  that  the  murder  need  not  have  been  com- 
mitted. Lois  de  Dreux,  the  young  nobleman  who  has  accom- 
panied Djabal  from  Europe,  has  fallen  in  love  with  Anael  also ; 
and  though  prohibited  by  the  rules  of  the  Order  of  knighthood  of 
which  he  is  a  postulant,  to  entangle  himself  with  women,  he  has 
aspired  to  win  her  love.  Lois  has  represented  to  the  chapter  of 
the  Order  the  cruelties  inflicted  by  their  prefect  on  the  people, 
and  has  succeeded  in  obtaining  an  order  for  his  removal.  The 
young  Frankish  knight  has  been  elevated  by  the  Order  to  the 
position  occupied  by  the  deposed  governor,  so  that  the  liberation 
of  the  Druses  is  now  close  at  hand.  Anael  urges  Djabal  to  con- 
fess his  deception  and  own  his  imposition  to  his  people.  This 
he  refuses  to  do.  She  cannot  forgive  him.  When  she  finds  him 
false  and  cowardly  she  takes  upon  herself  to  denounce  him  to 
the  European  rulers  of  the  island.  Djabal  is  brought  to  trial 
His  accuser  is  Anael,  who  is  closely  veiled  till  the  appropriate 
moment,  when  the  veil  drops,  and  he  is  confronted  by  his  lover. 
His  life  hangs  upon  her  words.  He  urges  her  to  speak  them ; 
but  this  she  cannot  do.  Djabal  is  now  man,  and  man  only :  he 


Ret]  BROWNING   CYCLOPAEDIA.  39 1 

is  not  separated  from  her  by  his  Divine  nature.  She  could 
hardly  hope  to  be  one  with  him  in  his  glory :  she  can  at  least  be 
united  with  him  in  his  degradation  and  disgrace.  All  her  love 
for  him  rises  within  her,  and  she  hails  him  "  Hakeem  ! "  and  falls 
dead  at  his  feet.  The  human  heart  has  proved  victorious,  and 
the  man  has  conquered  the  god.  Djabal,  committing  the  care  of 
the  Druses  to  his  friend  Lois,  and  bidding  him  guard  his  people 
home  again  and  win  their  blessing  for  the  deed,  stabs  himself  as 
he  bends  over  the  body  of  the  faithful  Anael.  As  he  dies  the 
Venetians  enter  the  place  and  plant  the  Lion  of  St.  Mark. 
Djabal's  last  cry  mingles  with  their  shouts,  "  On  to  the  mountain  ! 
At  the  mountain,  Druses  !  " 

NOTES— Act  i.,  Rhodian  cross:  that  of  the  Knights  of  St. 
John  (see  below).  Osman,  who  founded  the  Ottoman  empire 
in  Asia.  White-cross  knights :  the  Knights  Hospitallers.  They 
wore  a  white  cross  of  eight  points  on  a  black  ground.  From 
1278  till  1289,  when  engaged  on  military  duties,  they  wore  a  plain 
straight  white  cross  on  a  red  ground.  Patriarch  :  in  Eastern 
churches  a  dignitary  superior  to  an  archbishop,  as  the  Patriarch 
of  Constantinople,  Alexandria,  etc.  Nuncio:  an  ambassador 
from  the  Pope  to  an  emperor  or  king.  Hospitallers:  an  order 
of  knights  who  built  a  hospital  at  Jerusalem,  in  A.D.  1042,  foi 
pilgrims.  They  were  called  Knights  of  St.  John}  and  after  the 
removal  of  the  order  to  Malta  Knights  of  Malta.  Candia:  the 
ancient  Crete.  It  was  sold  to  the  Venetians  in  1194.  Rhodes: 
an  island  of  the  Mediterranean.  " pro  fide"  :  for  the  faith. 
"Bouillon's  war" :  the  crusade  of  Godfrey  de  Bouillon. — Act  ii., 
"  sweet  cane  "  :  Acorus  calamus.  It  grows  in  the  Levant  and  in 
this  country  ;  is  very  aromatic,  having  a  smell  when  trodden  on 
like  incense.  Miss  Pratt  says  it  has  been  used  from  time 
immemorial  for  strewing  the  floors  of  Norwich  Cathedral. 
Lilith  :  Adam's  first  wife  (see  note  to  ADAM,  LILITH  and  EVE, 
and  art.  LILITH).  "  incense  from  a  mage-king's  tomb  "  .•  students 
of  occult  science  say  that  sweet  odours  have  been  known  to  issue 
from  the  tombs  of  magicians,  and  lamps  have  been  found  burning 
therein  when  broken  open,  khandjar :  an  Eastern  weapon. — 
Act.  Hi.,  The  venerable  chapter :  the  meeting  of  an  order  or 
community.  Bezants:  gold  coins  of  Byzantium.  "Red-cross 
rivals  of  the  Temple" :  the  order  of  the  "Knights  Templars" 
(see  notes  to  The  Heretics'  Tragedy).  They  wore  a  red  cross 


3^2  BROWNING    CYCLOPAEDIA.  [Rev 

of  eight  points. — Act  iv.,  Tzar:  a  tiara. — Act  v.,  Biamrallah . 
Hakem  Biamr  Allah,  sixth  Fatimite  Caliph  of  Egypt.  Fatemite, 
or  Fatimite :  named  from  Fatima,  the  daughter  of  Mohammed 
and  wife  of  Ali,  from  whom  the  founder  of  the  dynasty  of 
Fatimites  professed  to  have  sprung.  "  Romaioi^  loudaioite  kai 
proselutoi"  (Gr.,  Acts  ii.  10,  n):  "Strangers  of  Rome,  Jews  and 
proselytes." 

Reverie.  (Asolando,  1889.)  In  Mr.  Browning's  last  volume, 
published  in  London  as  he  lay  dying  in  Venice,  the  two  closing 
poems  seem  strangely  and  nobly  intended  to  gather  into  a  focus 
his  whole  philosophy  of  life,  and  give  to  the  world,  in  two  of  his 
most  exquisite  poems,  his  fullest  and  clearest  expressions 
of  the  faith  of  his  heart  and  the  quintessence  of  his  teaching. 
Had  the  poet  known  they  were  the  last  lines  he  should  write, 
had  he  foreseen  that  these  were  the  last  accents  of  his  message, 
it  is  impossible  to  imagine  that  he  could  have  risen  higher 
than  he  has  done  in  Reverie  and  the  "  Epilogue."  The  purport 
of  Reverie  is  to  reconcile  the  ideas  of  Power  and  Love — 
to  reconcile  by  proving  them  indeed  to  be  one.  "  Power  is 
Love."  When  power  is  no  longer  limited,  then  is  the  reign  of 
love.  As  Mr.  Browning  says  in  Paracelsus,  "  with  much  power 
always  much  more  love."  That  "The  All-Great"  is  "The  All- 
Loving  too,"  is  the  teaching  of  Christianity.  That  power,  in  its 
perfection,  must  necessarily  be  love,  is  a  point  in  Mr.  Browning's 
philosophical  system  arrived  at  independently  of  dogma.  It  is 
the  monistic  conception  of  the  forces  that  mould  life,  as  opposed 
to  the  dualistic  conception.  The  Power  everywhere  visible  in 
the  universe,  pervading  everything,  in  all  things  from  the  atom  to 
the  sun,  making  man  feel  his  utter  helplessness  and  insignifi- 
cance, requires  no  further  demonstration.  We  are  assured  that 
Power  is  dominant.  Our  only  difficulty  is  about  Love.  In  face  of 
the  evil  in  the  world,  the  inequalities  in  life,  the  dominance  of  evil, 
can  we  say  with  truth  that  the  All-Powerful  is  the  All-Loving  too  ? 
Browning  in  Reverie  says  that  truth  comes  before  us  here  "  fitful 
and  half  guessed,  half  seen,  grasped  at,  not  gained,  held  fast." 
Notwithstanding  this  defect,  a  single  page  of  the  world's  wide 
book,  properly  deciphered,  explains  the  whole.  We  must  try  the 
clod  ere  we  test  the  star;  know  all  our  earth  elements  ere  we 
apply  the  spectroscope  to  Mars.  It  is  true  that  good  struggles  but 
evil  reigns  ;  yet  earth's  good  is  proved  good  and  incontrovertibly 


Rin]  BROWNING   CYCLOPAEDIA.  393 

worth  loving,  and  evil  can  be  nothing  but  a  cloud  stretched 
across  good's  orb — no  orb  itself.  There  is  no  doubt  whatever 
about  the  infinity  of  the  power.  There  is  equally  no  doubt  about 
the  value  of  the  good  so  far  as  it  goes.  Let  power  "but  enlarge 
good's  strait  confine,"  and  perfection  stands  revealed.  "  Let  on 
Power  devolve  Good's  right  to  co-equal  reign  !  "  What  is  wanted 
is  some  law  which  abolishes  everywhere  that  which  thwarts 
good.  And  the  poet  avows  his  confidence  that  somewhen  Good 
will  praise  God  unisonous  with  Power. 

Richard,  Count  of  St.  Bonifacio  (father  and  son).  (Sor- 
dello^  Guelfs.  In  a  secret  chamber  in  his  palace  Palma  and 
Sordello  hold  earnest  conference  with  each  other  in  the  first 
book  of  the  poem. 

Ring  and  the  Book,  The.  In  twelve  books.  Published  in 
four  volumes,  each  consisting  of  three  books,  from  1868  to  1869. 
BOOK  I. — When  a  Roman  jeweller  makes  a  ring,  he  mingles 
his  pure  gold  with  a  certain  amount  of  alloy,  so  as  to  enable  it  to 
bear  file  and  hammer ;  but,  the  ring  having  been  fashioned,  the 
alloy  is  dissolved  out  with  acid,  and  the  ring  in  all  its  purity  and 
beauty  of  pure  gold  remains  perfect.  So  much  for  the  Ring. 
For  the  Book  it  happened  thus : — Mr.  Browning  was  one  day 
wandering  about  the  Square  of  St.  Lorenzo,  in  Florence,  which  on 
that  occasion  was  crammed  with  booths  where  odd  things  of  all 
sorts  were  for  sale ;  and  in  one  of  them  he  purchased  for  eight- 
pence  an  old  square  yellow  book,  part  print,  part  manuscript, 
with  this  summary  of  its  contents  : — 

"  A  Roman  murder  case ; 

Position  of  the  entire  criminal  cause 

Of  Guido  Franceschini,  nobleman, 

With  certain  Four  the  cut-throats  in  his  pay, 

Tried,  all  live,  and  found  guilty  and  put  to  death 

By  heading  or  hanging  as  befitted  ranks, 

At  Rome,  on  February  Twenty-Two, 
Since  our  Salvation  Sixteen  Ninety-Eight ; 

Wherein  it  is  disputed  if,  and  when, 

Husbands  may  kill  adulterous  wives,  yet  'scape 

The  customary  forfeit." 

As  before  the  ring  was  fashioned  the  pure  gold  lay  in  the  ingot,  j 
so  the  pure  virgin  truth  of  the  murder  case  lay  in  this  book  ;  but~^ 
it  was  not  in  a  presentable  form  and  such  as  a  poet  could  use. 


394  BROWNING    CYCLOPAEDIA.  [Bin 

As  the  jeweller  adds  a  little  alloy  to  permit  the  artistic  working  of 
the  Ring,  so  the  poet  must  mix  his  poetic  fancy  with  the  simple 
legal  evidence  contained  in  the  Book,  and  in  this  manner  work 
up  the  history  for  popular  edification.  And  thus  we  have  The 
Ring  and  the  Book.  The  simple,  hard,  legal  documents  opened 
the  story  thus.  The  accuser  and  the  accused  said,  in  the 
persons  of  their  advocates,  as  follows : — The  Public  Prosecutor 
demands  the  punishment  of  Count  Guido  Franceschini  and 
his  accomplices,  for  the  murder  of  his  wife.  Then  the  Patron 
of  the  Poor — the  counsel  acting  on  behalf  of  the  accused — pro- 
tests that  Count  Guido  ought  rather  to  be  rewarded,  with  his 
four  conscientious  friends,  as  sustainers  of  law  and  society.  It 
is  true,  he  says,  that  he  killed  his  wife,  but  he  did  it  laudably. 
Then  the  case  was  postponed.  It  was  argued  that  the  woman 
slaughtered  was  a  saint  and  martyr.  More  postponement.  Then 
it  was  argued  that  she  was  a  miracle  of  lust  and  impudence. 
More  witnesses,  precedents,  and  authorities  called  and  quoted 
on  both  sides : 

"  Thus  wrangled,  brangled,  jangled  they  a  month," — 

only  on  paper — all  the  pleadings  were  in  print.  The  Court 
pronounced  Count  Guido  guilty,  his  murdered  wife  Pompilia 
pure  in  thought,  word  and  deed ;  and  signed  sentence  of  death 
against  the  whole  five  accused.  But  Guido's  counsel  had  a 
reserve  shot.  The  Count,  as  was  the  frequent  custom  in  those 
days,  was  in  one  of  the  minor  orders  of  the  priesthood,  and 
claimed  clerical  privilege.  Appeal  was  therefore  made  to  the 
Pope.  Roman  society  began  to  talk,  the  quality  took  the  hus- 
band's part,  the  Pope  was  benevolent  and  unwilling  to  take  life  : 
Guido  stood  a  chance  of  getting  off.  But  the  Pope  was  shrewd 
and  conscientious ;  and  having  mastered  the  whole  matter,  said, 
"Cut  off  Guido's  head  to-morrow,  and  hang  up  his  mates."  And 
it  was  so  done.  Thus  much  was  untempered  gold,  as  discovered 
in  the  little  old  book.  But  we  want  to  know  more  of  the  matter, 
and  in  four  volumes  (of  the  original  edition)  Mr.  Browning  satis- 
fies us.  Who  was  the  handsome  young  priest,  Canon  Capon- 
sacchi,  who  carried  off  the  wife  ?  Who  were  the  old  couple,  the 
Comparini,  Pietro  and  his  spouse,  who,  on  a  Christmas  night  in 
a  .onely  villa,  were  murdered  with  Pompilia  ?  Mr.  Browning  has 
ferreted  it  out  for  us  and  mixed  his  fancy  with  the  facts  to  bring 


Kin]  BROWNING   CYCLOPAEDIA.  395 

them  home  to  us  the  better.  He  has  been  to  Arezzo,  the  Count's 
city — the  wife's  "  trap  and  cage  and  torture  place."  He  stopped 
at  Castelnuovo,  where  husband  and  wife  and  priest  for  first  and 
last  time  met  face  to  face.  He  passed  on  to  Rome  the  goal,  to 
the  home  of  Pompilia's  foster-parents.  He  conjures  up  the  vision 
of  the  dreadful  night  when  Guido  and  his  wolves  cried  to  the 
escaped  wife,  "  Open  to  Caponsacchi !  "  and  the  door  was  opened, 
showing  the  mother  of  the  two-weeks'-old  babe  and  her  parents 
the  Comparini.  He  ponders  all  the  story  in  his  soul  in  Italy, 
and  in  London  when  he  returns  home>  till  the  ideas  take  clear 
shape  in  his  mind,  and  the  whole  story  lives  again  in  his  brain, 
and  he  can  reproduce  for  us  the  facts  as  they  must  have  occurred. 
Count  Guido  Franceschini  was  descended  of  an  ancient  though 
poor  family.  He  was 

"  A  beak-nosed,  bushy-bearded,  black-haired  lord, 
Lean,  pallid,  low  of  stature,  yet  robust, 
Fifty  years  old." 

He  married  Pompilia  Comparini — young,  good,  beautiful — at 
Rome,  where  she  was  born;  and  brought  her  to  his  home  at 
Arezzo,  where  they  lived  miserable  lives.  That  she  might  find 
peace,  the  wife  had  run  away,  in  company  of  the  priest  Giuseppe 
Caponsacchi,  to  her  parents  at  Rome ;  and  the  husband  had 
followed  with  four  accomplices,  and  catching  her  in  a  villa  on  a 
Christmas  night  with  her  parents  (putative  parents  really),  had 
killed  the  three ;  the  wife  being  seventeen  years  old,  and  the 
Comparini,  husband  and  wife,  seventy.  There  was  Pompilia's 
infant,  Guide's  firstborn  son,  but  he  had  previously  put  it  in  a 
place  of  safety. 

NOTES. — Line  7,  Castellani:  a  celebrated  Roman  jeweller 
(Piazza  di  Trevi  86),  who  executes  admirable  imitations  from 
Greek,  Etruscan,  and  Byzantine  models.  Chiusi:  a  very  ancient 
Etruscan  city,  full  of  antiquities  and  famous  for  its  tombs.  1.  27, 
rondure,  a  round.  1.  45,  Baccio  Bandinelli,  a  sculptor  of  Florence 
(1497-1559).  1.  47,  "Jok*  of  the  Black  Bands" :  Father  of 
Cosimo  I.,  Giovanni  delle  BandeNeri.  1.  48,  Riccardi:  the  palace 
of  one  of  the  great  families  of  Florence.  1.  49,  San  Lorenzo, 
the  great  church  so  named  in  Florence.  1.  77,  SpiMegiiim,  a 
collection  made  from  the  best  writers.  1.  114,  "  Casa  Guidi,  by 
Felice  Church " :  this  was  the  residence  of  the  Brownings 
at  Florence  when  he  bought  the  little  book  1.  223,  Justinian, 


396  BROWNING   CYCLOPAEDIA.  [Kin 

Emperor  of  the  East  A.D.  527.  His  name  is  immortalised  by  his 
code  of  laws ;  Baldo,  an  eminent  professor  of  the  civil  law,  and 
also  of  canon  law,  born  in  1327 ;  Bartolo  of  Perugia,  a  professor 
of  civil  law,  under  whom  Baldo  studied  ;  Dolabella,  the  name  of 
a  Roman  family  ;  Theodoric,  king  of  the  Ostrogoths  (c.  A.D.  454- 
526) ;  sEltan,  a  writer  on  natural  history  in  the  time  of  Adrian. 
1.  263,  Presbyter,  Primce  tonsurce,  Subdiaconus,  Sacerdos:  these  are 
some  of  the  different  steps  to  the  priesthood  in  the  Roman  Church 
— that  is  to  say,  First  tonsure,  subdeacon,  deacon,  priest.  1.  284, 
Ghetto^  the  Jewish  quarter  in  Rome.  1.  300,  Pope  Innocent  XII. 
was  Antonio  Pignatelli.  He  reigned  from  1691  to  1700.  He 
introduced  many  reforms  into  the  Church,  and,  after  a  holy  and 
self-abnegating  life,  died  on  September  27th,  1700;  Jansenists, 
followers  of  Jansen,  who  taught  Calvinism  in  the  Catholic 
Church  ;  Molinists,  followers  of  Molinos,  who  taught  Arminianism 
in  the  Catholic  Church ;  Nepotism,  favouritism  to  relations. 
I.  435,  temporality  :  the  material  interests  of  the  Catholic  Church. 
1.  490,  "gold  snow  Jove  rained  on  Rhodes" :  as  the  Rhodians 
were  the  first  who  offered  sacrifices  to  Minerva,  Jupiter  rewarded 
them  by  covering  the  island  with  a  golden  cloud,  from  which  he 
sent  showers  of  treasures  on  the  people.  1.  495,  Datura :  the  thorn 
apple — stramonium.  1.  496,  lamp-fly  —  a.  fire-fly.  1.  868,  ^Eacus, 
son  of  Jupiter;  on  account  of  his  just  government  made  judge  in  the 
lower  regions  with  Minos  and  Rhadamanthus.  1.  898,  "  Bernini's 
Triton  fountain  : "  in  the  great  square  of  the  Barberini  Palace,  the 
Tritons  blowing  the  water  from  a  conch-shell.  1.  1028,  "  chrism 
and  consecrathre  work  "  :  Chrism  is  the  oil  used  in  ordination,  etc., 
in  the  Roman  and  Greek  Catholic  Churches.  1.  1030,  lutanist, 
one  who  plays  on  the  lute.  1.  1128,  "  Procurator  of  the  Poor"  : 
a  proctor,  an  attorney  who  acts  on  behalf  of  the  poor.  1.  1161, 
Fisc,  a  king's  solicitor,  an  attorney-general.  1.  1209,  clavicinist, 
one  who  plays  on  the  clavichord.  1.  1212,  rondo  =  rondeau,  a 
species  of  lively  melody  with  a  recurring  refrain  ;  suite,  a  connected 
series  of  musical  compositions.  1.  1214,  Corelli,  Arcangelo,  Italian 
musical  composer;  Haendel,  Handel  the  musician.  1.  1311, 
4  Brotherhood  of  Death  " :  the  Confraternity  of  the  Misericordia, 
or  Brothers  of  Mercy,  who  prepare  criminals  for  death  and  attend 
funerals  as  an  act  of  charity.  1.  1328,  Mannai,  a  sort  of  guillo- 
tine.—This  seems  a  fitting  place  in  which  to  insert  the  following 
note,  which  serves  to  explain  the  origin  of  the  great  poem  : — 


BROWNING   CYCLOPAEDIA.  397 

In  The  Christian  Register  of  Boston  for  Jan.  lyth,  1888,  there 
is  an  article  entitled  "  An  Eagle  Feather,"  by  the  Rev.  John  W. 
Chadwick,  of  Brooklyn.  This  clergyman  visited  Mr.  Browning 
and  asked  him,  "And  how  about  the  book  of  The  Ring  and  the 
Bookl  Had  he  made  up  that,  too,  or  was  there  really  such 
a  book  ?  There  was  indeed ;  and  would  we  like  to  see  it  ? 
There  was  little  doubt  of  that ;  and  it  was  produced,  and  the 
story  of  his  buying  it  for  '  eightpence  English  just '  was  told,  but 
need  not  be  retold  here,  for  in  The  Ring  and  the  Book  it  is  set 
down  with  literal  truth.  The  appearance  and  character  of  the 
book,  moreover,  are  exactly  what  the  poem  represents.  It  is 
part  print,  part  manuscript,  ending  with  two  epistolary  accounts, 
if  I  remember  rightly,  of  Guide's  execution,  written  by  the 
lawyers  in  the  case.  It  was  an  astonishing  'find,'  and  it  is  pass- 
ing strange  that  a  book  compiled  so  carefully  should  have  been 
brought  to  such  a  low  estate.  Mr.  Browning  did  not  seem  at  all 
inclined  to  toss  it  in  the  air  and  catch  it,  as  he  does  in  verse. 
He  handled  it  very  carefully,  and  with  evident  affection.  I  asked 
him  if  it  did  not  make  him  very  happy  to  have  created  such  a 
woman  as  Pompilia ;  and  he  said,  '  I  assure  you  that  I  found 
her  just  as  she  speaks  and  acts  in  my  poem,  in  that  old  book/ 
There  was  that  in  his  tone  that  made  it  evident  Caponsacchi  had 
a  rival  lover  without  blame.  Of  the  old  pope  of  the  poem,  too, 
he  spoke  with  real  affection.  He  told  us  how  he  had  found  a 
medal  of  him  in  a  London  antiquary's  shop,  had  left  it  meaning 
to  come  back  for  it ;  came  back,  and  found  that  it  had  gone.  But 
the  shopman  told  him  Lady  Houghton  (Mrs.  Richard  Monckton 
Milnes)  had  taken  it.  '  You  will  lend  it  to  me,'  said  Mr.  Browning 
to  her,  '  in  case  I  want  it  some  time  to  be  copied  for  an  illustra- 
tion ? '  She  preferred  giving  it  to  him ;  had  most  likely  intended 
doing  so  when  she  bought  it.  It  was  in  a  pretty  little  box,  and 
had  a  benignant  expression,  exactly  suited  to  the  character  of  the 
good  pope  in  the  poem.  As  a  further  proof  that  all  is  grist  that 
comes  to  some  folks'  mills,  there  was  a  picture  of  the  miserable 
Count  Guido  Franceschini  on  his  execution  day,  which  some 
one  had  come  upon  in  a  London  printshop  and  sent  to  Mr. 
Browning." 

Mr.  Browning  having  told  the  incidents  of  the  story  in  all  their 
principal  details,  might,  in  the  ordinary  way,  have  considered  this 
sufficient.  He  has  reserved  nothing  till  the  last,  and  in  the  usual 


398  BROWNING   CYCLOPEDIA.  [Bin 

way  would  have  destroyed  the  interest  of  his  remaining  volumes 
had  he  been  a  mere  story-teller.  His  purpose,  however,  was 
different.  He  will  now  take  the  principal  actors  in  the  tragedy, 
and  separately  and  at  length  let  them  give  their  account  of  it  in 
their  own  language  and  according  to  their  own  view  of  the  case. 
He  will,  moreover,  give  his  readers  the  opposing  views  of  the 
two  halves  into  which  the  Roman  populace  have  been  divided  on 
the  murders.  He  will  introduce  us  to  the  Pope  considering  the 
course  of  action  he  is  called  upon  to  pursue  as  supreme  judge  of 
the  matter ;  and  the  very  lawyers,  who  are  preparing  their  briefs 
and  getting  up  their  speeches,  will  also  have  their  say.  We  shall 
thus  have  this  many-sided  subject  put  before  us  in  every  possible 
way;  and  we  shall  be  enabled  to  follow  the  windings  of  the 
human  mind  on  such  a  subject  as  though  we  were  centred  in 
the  breast,  in  turn,  of  each  of  the  actors  in  the  dreadful  drama 
We  have,  therefore,  in 

Book  I.,  The  dry  facts  of  the  case  in  brief ; 

Book  II.,  HALF  ROME  (the  view  of  those  antagonistic  to  the 

wife) ; 
Book  III.,  THE  OTHER  HALF  ROME  (representing  the  opinion 

of  those  who  take  her  part)  ; 
Book  IV.,  TERTIUM  QUID  (a  third  party,  neither  wholly  on 

one  side  nor  the  other) ; 

Book  V.,  COUNT  GUIDO  FRANCESCHINI  (his  own  defence)  ; 
Book  VI.,  GIUSEPPE  CAPONSACCHI  (the  Canon's  explana- 
tion) ; 

Book  VII.,  POMPILIA  (her  story,  as  she  told  it  on  her  death- 
bed to  the  nuns) ; 
Book  VIII.,  DOMINUS  HYACINTHUS  DE  ARCHANGELIS  (Count 

Guide's  counsel  and  his  speech  for  the  defence) ; 
Book  IX.,  JURIS  DOCTOR  JOHANNES-BAPTISTA  BOTTINIUS 

(the  Public  Prosecutor's  speech) ; 
Book  X.,  THE  POPE  (who  in  this  book  reviews  the  whole 

case,  and  gives  his  decision  in  Guido's  appeal  to  him) ; 
Book  XL,   GUIDO   (his  last   interview  in   prison  with   his 

spiritual  advisers) ; 
Book  XII.,  THE  BOOK  AND  THE  RING  (the  conclusion  of  the 

whole  matter). 

BOOK  II.,  HALF  ROME. — A  great  crowd  had  assembled  at  the 
church    of  St.    Lorenzo-in-Lucina,    hard  by  the  Corso,  to  view 


Hill]  BROWNING   CYCLOPAEDIA.  399 

the  bodies  of  the  murdered  Comparini  exposed  to  view  before 
the  altar.  It  was  at  this  very  church  where  Pompilia  was  bap- 
tised, brought  by  her  pretended  mother,  who  had  purchased  her 
to  palm  off  on  her  husband  in  his  dotage,  and  so  cheat  the  heirs. 
To  this  very  altar-step  whereon  the  bodies  lie  did  Violante,  twelve 
years  after,  bring  Pompilia  to  marry  the  Count  clandestinely.  It 
is  four  years  since  the  marriage,  and  from  dawn  till  dusk  the 
multitude  has  crowded  into  the  church,  coming  and  going,  push- 
ing their  way,  and  taking  their  turn  to  see  the  victims  and  talk 
over  the  tragedy.  We  have  the  story  told  by  a  partisan  of  the 
husband,  who  does  not  think  he  was  so  prodigiously  to  blame, 
he  says.  The  Comparini  (the  wife's  reputed  parents)  were  of 
the  modest  middle  class,  born  in  that  quarter  of  Rome,  and 
citizens  of  good  repute,  childless  and  wealthy ;  possessed  of 
house  and  land  in  Rome,  and  a  suburban  villa.  But  Pietro 
craved  an  heir,  and  seventeen  years  ago  Violante  announced  that, 
spite  of  her  age,  an  heir  would  soon  be  forthcoming.  By  a  trick, 
Pompilia,  the  infant,  was  produced  at  the  appropriate  time — 
whereat  Pietro  rejoiced,  poor  fool !  As  Violante  had  caught  one 
fish,  she  must  try  again,  and  find  a  husband  for  the  girl.  Count 
Guido  was  head  of  an  old  noble  house,  but  not  over-rich.  He 
had  come  up  to  Rome  to  better  his  fortune,  was  friend  and 
follower  of  a  certain  cardinal,  and  had  a  brother  a  priest,  Paolo. 
Looking  out  for  some  petty  post  or  other,  he  waited  thirty  years, 
till,  as  he  was  growing  grey,  he  thought  it  time  to  go  and  be  wise 
at  home.  At  this  moment  Violante  threw  her  bait,  Pompilia. 
She  thought  it  a  great  catch  to  find  a  noble  husband  for  the  child 
and  the  shelter  of  a  palace  for  herself  in  her  old  age ;  and  so 
old  Pietro's  daughter  became  Guido  Franceschini's  lady-wife. 
Pietro  was  not  consulted  till  all  was  over,  when  he  pretended  to 
be  very  indignant.  All  went  to  Arezzo  to  enjoy  the  luxury  of 
lord-and-lady-ship.  They  were  soon  undeceived.  They  dis- 
covered that  they  had  exchanged  their  comfortable  bourgeois 
home  for  a  sepulchral  old  mansion,  the  street's  disgrace,  to  pick 
garbage  from  a  pewter  plate  and  drink  vinegar  from  a  common 
mug.  They  sighed  for  their  old  home,  their  daily  feast  of  good 
food  and  their  festivals  of  better.  Robbed,  starved  and  frozen, 
they  declared  they  would  have  justice.  Guido's  old  lady-mother, 
Beatrice,  was  a  dragon ;  Guido's  brother,  Girolamo,  a  bad  licen- 
tious man.  Four  months  of  this  purgatory  was  sufficient.  Pietro 


400  BROWNING   CYCLOP/EDIA.  [Rln 

made  his  complaints  all  over  the  town  ;  Violante  exposed  the 
penurious  housekeeping  to  every  willing  ear.  Bidding  Arezzo  rot, 
they  departed  for  home.  Once  more  at  Rome,  Violante  thought 
of  availing  herself  of  the  Jubilee  and  making  a  full  confession 
and  restitution.  She  told  the  truth  about  Pompilia :  how  she 
had  been  purchased  by  her  several  months  before  birth  from  a 
disreputable  laundry-woman,  partly  to  please  her  husband,  partly 
to  defraud  the  rightful  heirs.  Was  this  due  to  contrition  or 
revenge  ?  Prove  Pompilia  not  their  child,  there  was  no  dowry 
to  pay  according  to  agreement.  Guido  would  then  be  the  biter  bit. 
Guido  took  the  view  that  all  this  was  done  to  cheat  him.  He 
protested,  and  being  left  alone  with  his  wife,  revenged  his  wrongs 
on  her.  The  case  came  before  the  Roman  courts.  Guido  being 
absent,  the  Abate,  his  clerical  brother,  had  to  take  his  part.  The 
courts  refused  to  intervene.  Appeals  and  counter-appeals  fol- 
lowed. Pompilia's  shame  and  her  parents'  disgrace  were  pub- 
lished to  the  world ;  and  so  it  went  on.  Pompilia,  left  alone 
with  her  old  husband,  looked  outside  for  life  ;  andlo!  Caponsacchi 
appeared — a  priest,  Apollos  turned  Apollo.  He  threw  comfits  to 
her  at  the  theatre,  at  carnival  time — no  great  harm — but  he  was, 
moreover,  always  hanging  about  the  street  where  Guide's  palace 
was.  Pompilia  observed  him  from  her  window.  People  began 
to  talk,  the  husband  to  open  his  eyes.  Things  went  on,  till  one 
April  morning  Guido  awoke  to  find  his  wife  flown.  He  had  been 
drugged,  he  said.  Caponsacchi,  the  handsome  young  priest,  had 
brought  a  carriage  for  her :  they  had  gone  by  the  Roman  road 
eight  hours  since.  Guido  started  in  pursuit,  coming  up  with  the 
fugitives  just  as  they  were  in  sight  of  Rome.  Caponsacchi  met 
the  husband  unabashed:  "I  interposed  to  save  your  wife  from 
death,  yourself  from  shame."  Fingering  his  sword,  he  offered 
fight,  or  to  stand  on  his  defence  at  Rome.  The  police  came  up 
and  secured  the  priest,  and  they  went  upstairs  to  arouse  the  wife. 
She  overwhelmed  her  husband  with  invective,  turning  to  her  side 
even  the  very  sbirri.  "  Take  us  to  Rome,"  both  prisoners  de- 
manded. Love  letters  and  verses  were  produced,  and  husband 
and  wife  fought  out  their  case  before  the  lawyers.  The  accused 
declared  that  the  letters  were  not  written  by  them.  The  court 
found  much  to  blame,  but  little  to  punish.  The  priest  was  sen- 
tenced to  three  years'  exile  at  Civita  Vecchia  ;  the  wife  must  go 
into  a  convent  for  a  while.  .  Guido  was  not  satisfied  :  he  claimed 


Rill]  BROWNING    CYCLOPAEDIA.  40? 

a  divorce.  Pompilia  did  the  same.  On  account  of  her  health  a 
little  liberty  was  allowed  her,  and  she  left  the  convent  to  reside 
with  her  pretended  parents  at  their  villa.  Here  she  gave  birth 
to  a  child.  Guido  was  furious  when  he  heard  all  this,  and  went 
to  Rome  to  the  villa  with  four  confederates,  pretending  to  be 
Caponsacchi.  The  door  was  opened,  when  he  rushed  in  with 
his  braves  and  killed  them  all ;  and  so  the  two  Comparini  are 
lying  in  the  church,  and  Pompilia  is  in  the  hospital  dying  of  her 
wounds. 

NOTES. — Line  84,  Guido  Rent,  a  painter  of  the  Bolognese 
school,  1574-1642.  The  Crucifixion  referred  to  is  above  the  high 
altar.  1.  126,  "  Molinds  doctrine  "  :  a  form  of  Quietism.  1.  300,. 
"tacked to  the  Church's  tail"  :  it  was  the  custom  in  this  age  for 
gentlemen  who  desired  the  protection  of  the  Church  for  their  own 
purposes  to  take  one  of  the  minor  orders,  without  any  intention  of 
going  into  the  diaconate  or  priesthood.  Count  Guido  was  thus,, 
in  a  sense,  under  the  Church's  protection.  1.  490,  "novercal" 
type  "  :  pertaining  to  a  step-mother  ;  cater-cousin,  or  quater-cousin  : 
a  cousin  within  the  first  four  degrees  of  kindred ;  sib  :  a  blood 
relation  (A.-S.,  sibb,  alliance).  1.  537,  Papal  Jubilee :  this  is 
observed  every  twenty-fifth  year.  11.  892-3,  "  ears  plugged"  etc. : 
a  good  description  of  the  effects  of  a  strong  dose  of  opium. 
1.  907,  osteria :  Italian  name  of  an  inn.  1.  1044,  Sbirri :  Papal 
police.  1.  1159,  "  Apage" :  away!  begone!  1.  1198,  "  Con- 
vertites' :  nuns  who  devote  themselves  to  the  rescue  of  falleu 
women.  1.  1221,  "  as  Ovid  a  like  sufferer"  :  Ovid  was  banished 
by  Augustus  to  Tomus,  on  the  Euxine  Sea,  either  for  some  amour 
or  imprudence ;  Pontus  :  a  kingdom  of  Asia  Minor,  bounded  on 
the  north  by  the  Euxine  Sea.  1.  1244,  "  Pontifex  Maximus 
whipped  vestals  once "  :  the  high  priest  severely  scourged  the 
vestal  virgins  if  they  let  the  sacred  fire  go  out.  1.  1250,  "  Capon- 
sacchi" :  in  English  "  Head  i'  the  Sack" :  this  family  is  mentioned 
in  Dante's  Paradise,  xvi. ;  in  his  time  they  lived  at  Florence,  ii\ 
the  Mercato  Vecchio,  having  removed  from  Fiesole ;  Fiesole,  an 
ancient  town  near  Florence.  1.  1270,  "  Canidian  hate" :  Canidia 
was  a  Neapolitan,  beloved  by  Horace.  When  she  deserted  him 
he  held  her  up  to  contempt  as  an  old  sorceress  (Horace,  Epodes^ 
v.  and  xvii.).  See  Notes  to  "  White  Witchcraft."  1.  1 342,  "  domus 
pro  carcere  "  :  a  house  for  a  prison.  1.  1375,  "  hoard  t  the  heart  o* 
the  toad" :  Fenton  says,  "There  is  to  be  found  in  the  heads  ot 

26 


402  BROWNING   CYCLOPAEDIA.  [Bin 

old  and  great  toads  a  stone  they  call  borax  or  stelon,  which,  being 
used  as  rings,  give  forewarning  against  venom."  See  also  Brewer's 
Phrase  and  Fable,  art.  "Toads."  1.  1487,  "  male-Grisser : 
Griselda  was  the  patient  lady  in  Chaucer's  Clerk  of  Oxenford's 
Tale.  She  came  forth  victoriously  from  the  repeated  trials  of  her 
maternal  and  conjugal  affections.  1.  1495,  "  Rolando-stroke "  : 
Roland,  the  hero  of  Roncesvalles.  His  trusty  sword  was  called 
Durandal : — 

"Nor  plated  shield,  nor  tempered  casque  defends, 
When  Durindana's  trenchant  edge  descends." 

(ORLANDO  FURIOSO,  bk.  x.) 
1.  1496,  clavicle:  the  collar-bone. 

BOOK  III.,  THE  OTHER  HALF  ROME.— Little  Pompilia  lies 
'dying  in  the  hospital,  stabbed  through  and  through  again.  She 
had  prayed  that  she  might  live  long  enough  for  confession  and 
absolution.  "  Never  before  successful  in  a  prayer,"  this  had  been 
answered.  She  has  overplus  of  life  to  speak  and  right  herself 
from  first  to  last,  to  pardon  her  husband  and  make  arrangements 
for  the  welfare  of  her  child.  The  lawyers  came  and  took  her 
depositions  ;  the  priests,  also,  to  shrive  her  soul.  The  other 
half  Rome  make  excuses  for  Pietro  and  Violante.  Their  lives 
wanted  completion  in  a  child:  Violante's  fault  was  not  an 
unnatural  one.  Her  husband  was  acquiescent — natural  too. 
Violante's  confession  was  but  right  and  proper;  and  if  she 
wronged  an  heir,  who  was  he?  As  for  the  wooing,  it  was  all 
done  by  the  Count :  a  wife  was  necessary  alike  for  himself,  his 
mother,  and  his  palace ;  and  so  he  dazzled  the  child  Pompilia 
with  a  vision  of  greatness.  The  crowd  said  she  might  become 
a  lady,  but  the  bargain  was  but  a  poor  one  at  best.  Pompilia, 
aged  thirteen  years  and  five  months,  was  secretly  married  to  the 
Count  one  dim  December  day.  Pietro  was  told  when  it  was  too 
late,  and  had  to  surrender  all  his  property  in  favour  of  Guido, 
who  was  to  support  his  wife's  belongings.  Four  months'  inso- 
lence and  penury  they  had  to  endure  at  Arezzo,  and  then  Pietro 
went  back  to  beg  help  from  his  Roman  friends,  who  laughed  and 
said  things  had  turned  out  just  as  they  expected.  Violante  went 
to  God,  told  her  sin,  and  reaped  the  Jubilee's  benefit.  Restitu- 
tion, however,  said  the  Church,  must  be  made :  the  sin  must  be 
published  and  amends  forthcoming.  Pompilia's  husband  must  be 
told  that  his  contract  was  null  and  void.  Pietro's  heart  leaped 


BROWNING    CYCLOPAEDIA.  403 

for  joy  at  the  prospect  of  recovering  all  his  surrendered  estate. 
Guido  naturally  pronounced  the  whole  tale  "  one  long  lie  " — lying 
for  robbery  and  revenge  — and  threw  himself  on  the  courts.  The 
courts  held  the  child  to  be  a  changeling.  Pietro's  renunciation 
they  made  null :  he  was  no  party  to  the  cheat ;  but  Guido  is  to 
retain  the  dowry !  More  proceedings  naturally  followed  this 
strange  decision.  Then  the  Count  forms  the  diabolical  plan  to 
drive  his  girl-wife,  by  his  cruelty,  into  the  sin  which  will  enable 
him  to  be  rid  of  her  without  parting  with  her  money.  Guido 
concocts  a  pencilled  letter  to  his  brother  the  Abate,  which  he 
makes  his  wife  trace  over  with  ink,  he  guiding  her  hand  because 
she  could  not  write,  wherein  she  states — not  knowing  a  word 
she  pens — that  the  Comparini  advised  her,  before  they  left  Arezzo, 
to  find  a  paramour,  carry  off  what  spoil  she  could,  and  then  burn 
the  house  down.  The  Abate  took  care  to  scatter  this  information 
all  over  Rome.  At  Arezzo  Guido  set  himself  to  make  his  wife's 
life  there  intolerable,  at  the  same  time  setting  a  trap  into  which 
she  could  not  avoid  falling.  The  Other  Half  Rome  thinks  it 
probable  that  the  priest  Caponsacchi  pitied  and  loved  Pompilia, 
who  wept  and  looked  out  of  window  all  day  long ;  for  there 
were  passionate  letters  (prayers,  rather),  addressed  to  him  by 
the  suffering  wife ;  though  it  is  true  she  avers  she  never  wrote  a 
letter  in  her  life,  still  she  abjured  him,  in  the  name  of  God,  to 
help  her  to  escape  to  Rome.  If  not  love,  this  was  love's  simula- 
tion, and  calculated  to  deceive  the  Canon.  Pompilia,  however, 
protested  that  she  had  never  even  learned  to  write  or  read  ;  nor  had 
she  ever  spoken  to  the  priest  till  the  evening  when  she  implored 
him  to  assist  her  to  escape.  On  the  other  hand,  the  priest  admitted 
having  received  the  letters  purporting  to  come  from  Pompilia. 
He  did  write  to  her:  as  she  could  not  read  she  burned  the 
letters — never  bade  him  come  to  her,  yet  accepted  him  when 
Heaven  seemed  to  «end  him.  When  Guido's  cruelty  first  sprang 
on  Pompilia,  she  had  appealed  to  the  secular  Governor  and  the 
Archbishop  ;  but  both  were  friends  of  Guido,  and  both  refused  to 
interfere  between  husband  and  wife,  so  she  went  to  confess  to  a 
simple  friar,  told  him  how  suicide  had  tempted  her,  begged  him 
to  write  to  her  pretended  parents  to  come  and  save  her.  He 
promised ;  but  by  nightfall  was  more  discreet,  and  withdrew  from 
the  dangerous  business.  So  the  woman,  thus  hard-beset,  looked 
out  to  see  if  God  would  help,  and  saw  Caponsacchi ;  called  him 


404  BROWNING    CYCLOPAEDIA.  [Bin 

to  her — she  at  her  window,  he  in  the  street  below — and  at  night- 
fall fled  with  him  for  Rome.  The  world  sees  nothing  but  the 
simple  fact  of  the  flight.  The  implicated  persons  protest  that 
the  course  they  took,  though  strange,  was  justified  for  life  and 
honour's  sake.  Absorbed  in  the  sense  of  the  blessedness  of  the 
flight,  she  had  said  little  to  her  preserver  through  the  long  night. 
As  daybreak  came  they  reached  an  inn :  he  whispered,  "  Next 
stage,  Rome  !  "  Prostrate  with  fatigue,  she  could  go  uo  farther  ; 
stayed  to  rest  at  the  osteria,  fell  asleep,  and  awoke  with  Count 
Guido  once  more  standing  betwixt  heaven  and  her  soul — awoke 
to  find  her  room  full  of  roaring  men,  her  preserver  a  prisoner. 
Then  she  sprang  up,  seized  the  sword  which  hung  at  the  Count's 
side,  and  would  have  slain  him,  but  men  interposed.  The  priest 
avers  that  the  flight  had  no  pretext  but  to  get  Pompilia  free: 
how  should  it  be  otherwise?  If  they  were  guilty,  as  Guido 
would  have  the  world  believe,  what  need  to  fly  ?  or,  if  they  must, 
why  halt  with  Rome  in  sight  ?  He  vindicates  Pompilia's  fame. 
Guido's  tale  was  to  the  effect  that  he  and  his  whole  household 
had  been  drugged  by  the  wife,  which  gave  the  fugitives  time  to 
get  thus  far  on  their  way.  He  expected  easy  execution  probably ; 
thought  he  would  find  his  wife  cowering  under  her  shame. 
When  she  turned  upon  him,  and  would  have  slain  him  he  had 
to  invent  another  story  ;  produce  love  letters  from  a  woman  who 
could  not  write,  replies  from  the  priest,  who  could  happily 
defend  his  character  and  prove  the  forgery.  Then  the  story  of 
the  investigation  before  the  courts  was  told :  how  Pompilia 
owned  she  caught  at  the  sole  hand  stretched  out  to  snatch  her 
from  hell ;  how  Caponsacchi  proudly  declared  that  as  man,  and 
much  more  as  priest,  he  was  bound  to  help  weak  innocence ; 
how  he  exposed  the  trap  set  by  Guido  for  them  both  ;  how  he 
had  never  touched  her  lip,  nor  she  his  hand,  from  first  to  last,  nor 
spoken  a  word  the  Virgin  might  not  hear.  Then  they  discussed 
the  decision  of  the  court — the  sentence,  the  relegation  of  the 
priest,  the  seclusion  of  the  wife  in  the  convent  at  Guido's  expense. 
They  discussed  the  five  months'  peace  which  Pompilia  passed 
with  the  nuns,  the  application  made  by  the  sisters  on  behalf  of 
Pompilia's  waning  health,  and  her  residence  with  Pietro  and  his 
wife  at  their  villa.  They  tell  of  the  determination  of  Guido,  after 
the  birth  of  his  child,  to  avail  himself  of  the  propitious  minute 
ami  rid  himself  of  his  wife  and  her  putative  parents,  that  the 


BROWNING   CYCLOPAEDIA.  405 

child  remaining  might  inherit  all  and  repair  his  losses.  The  sym- 
pathisers with  Pompilia  dwelt  on  the  fact  that,  while  the  bells 
were  chiming  good-will  on  earth  and  peace  to  man,  the  dreadful 
five  stole  by  back  slums  and  blind  cuts  to  the  villa,  asking  admis- 
sion in  Caponsacchi's  name.  Then  follow  the  murders.  Violante 
was  stabbed  first,  Pietro  next ;  and  then  came  Pompilia's  turn, 
It  was  told  how  the  murderers  escaped,  till  at  Baccano  they  were 
overtaken  and  cast  red-handed  into  prison. 

NOTES. — Line  59,  Maratta :  Carlo  Maratti  was  the  most  cele- 
brated of  the  later  Roman  painters  of  the  seventeenth  century.  He 
was  born  1625.  The  great  number  of  his  pictures  of  the  Virgin 
procured  him  the  name  of  "  Carlo  delle  Madonne."  1.  95,  "  That 
doctrine  of  the  Philosophic  Sin  " :  "  Philosophical  Sin,"  is  a  breach 
of  the  dignity  of  man's  rational  nature.  Theological  Sin  offends 
against  the  Supreme  Reason.  (See  Rickaby's  Moral  Philosophy,  p. 
1 19.)  1.  385,  "Hesperian  ball,  ordained  for  Hercules  to  taste  and 
pluck  " :  the  golden  apples  of  the  Hesperides  plucked  by  Hercules, 
were  probably  oranges.  1.  439,  Danae,  the  daughter  of  Acrisius,  and 
mother  of  Perseus  by  Jupiter.  1.  555,  "  The  Holy  Year" :  the 
Jubilee  at  Rome,  first  instituted  by  Boniface  VIII.,  elected  Pope 
1294.  The  Jubilee  occurs  every  twenty-five  years,  and  is  a  time 
of  special  indulgences.  1.  556,  "Bound  to  rid  sinners  of  sin" :  no 
indulgence  forgives  sin,  nor  gives  permission  to  commit  sin ;  but  it 
is  "  the  remission,  through  the  merits  of  Jesus  Christ,  of  the  whole 
or  part  of  the  debt  of  temporal  punishment  due  to  a  sin,  the 
guilt  and  everlasting  punishment  of  which  sin  has,  through  the 
merits  of  Jesus  Christ,  been  already  forgiven  in  the  Sacrament 
of  penance"  (Catholic  Belief ,  by  J.  Bruno,  D.D.,  p.  183).  1.  567. 
"  The  great  door,  new-broken  for  the  nonce  "  :  according  to  the 
special  ritual,  the  Pope,  at  the  commencement  of  the  Jubilee  year 
goes  in  solemn  procession  to  a  particular  walled-up  door  (the 
Porta  Aurea,  or  golden  door  of  St.  Peter's),  and  knocks  three 
times,  using  the  words  of  Psalm  cxviii.  19,  "Open  to  me  the  gates 
of  righteousness."  The  doors  are  then  opened  and  sprinkled 
with  holy  water,  and  the  Pope  passes  through.  When  the 
Jubilee  closes,  the  special  doorway  is  again  built  up,  with  appro- 
priate solemnities"  (Encyc.  Brit?).  1.  572,  "Poor  repugnant  Peni- 
tentiary " :  a  penitentiary  is  an  "  officer  in  some  cathedrals,  vested 
with  power  from  the  bishop  to  absolve  in  cases  reserved  to  him. 
The  Pope  has  a  grand  penitentiary^  who  is  a  Cardinal,  and  is 


406  BROWNING   CYCLOPEDIA.  [Km 

chief  of  the  other  penitentiaries"'  (Webster's  Diet).  That  this 
particular  ecclesiastic  was  "  repugnant  "  is  a  gratuitous  assump- 
tion of  the  poet:  he  probably  took  as  much  interest  in  his 
business  as  any  other  clergyman  takes  in  his.  1413,  Civita, 
Civita  Vecchia,  a  seaport  near  Rome.  1445,  "  Hundred  Merry 
Tales" :  the  tales  or  novels  of  Franco  Sacchetti.  1450,  Vulcan, 
the  god  of  fire  and  furnaces,  son  of  Jupiter  and  Juno. 

BOOK  IV.,  TERTIUM  QUID. — "A  third  something,"  siding  neither 
wholly  with  Guido  nor  with  his  victim,  attempts  to  arrive  at  a 
judicial  conclusion  apportioning  in  a  superior  manner  blame  now 
on  one  side  now  on  the  other,  and,  by  granting  on  each  side 
something,  endeavours  to  reconcile  opposing  views,  and  from  the 
contending  forces  produce  something  like  order.  The  speaker  is 
addressing  personages  of  importance,  and  his  phrase  is  courtly 
and  polite.  He  refers  with  a  sort  of  contempt  to  this  "episode 
in  burgess-life."  His  account  of  the  business  is  as  follows : — 
This  Pietro  and  Violante,  living  in  Rome  in  a  style  good  enough 
for  their  betters,  indulge  themselves  with  luxury  till  they  get  into 
debt  and  creditors  begin  to  press.  Driven  to  seek  the  papal 
charity  reserved  for  respectable  paupers,  they  become  pensioners 
of  the  Vatican,  arid  Violante  casts  about  for  means  to  restore  the 
fortunes  of  her  household.  Certain  funds  only  want  an  heir  to 
take,  which  heir  Violante  takes  measures  to  supply  by  the  aid  of  a 
needy  washerwoman  who  ekes  out  her  honest  trade  by  a  vile  one, 
and  who  for  a  price  will  sell,  in  six  months'  time,  the  child  of  her 
shame,  meantime  pocketing  the  earnest  money  and  promising 
secrecy.  Violante  returns  flushed  with  success,  and  reaches  ves- 
pers in  time  to  sing  Magnificat.  Then  home  to  Pietro,  to  whom 
is  delicately  confided  the  enrapturing  but  puzzling  news  that  at 
last  an  heir  will  be  born  to  him.  In  due  time  the  infant  is  put  in 
evidence,  and  Francesca  Vittoria  Pompilia  is  baptised ;  and  so 
"  1'es  to  God,  lies  to  man,"  lies  every  way.  The  heirs  are  robbed, 
foiled  of  the  due  succession.  When  twelve  years  have  passed, 
the  scheming  Violante  has  next  to  arrange  a  good  match  for  her 
daughter,  with  her  savings  and  her  heritage.  This,  with  all  Rome 
to  choose  from,  may  be  proudly  done,  and  then  Nunc  Dimittis 
may  be  sung.  Miserably  poor  as  Count  Guido  was,  the  family 
was  old  enough  to  afford  the  drawback.  The  Church  helped  the 
second  son,  Paolo,  and  made  a  canon  of  him — ^ven  took  Guido 
under  its  protection  so  far  as  one  of  the  minor  orders  went.  A 


Bin]  BROWNING    CYCLOPAEDIA.  407 

cardinal  gave  him  some  inferior  post,  but  afterwards  dispensed 
with  his  services.  What  was  to  be  done  ?  Youth  had  gone,  age 
was  coming  on.  His  brother  advised  him  to  look  out  for  a  rich 
wife,  told  him  of  Pompilia,  and  offered  his  assistance  in  the  suit. 
The  burgess  family's  one  want  being  an  aristocratic  husband  for 
their  girl  Violante,  eagerly  accepted  the  Count,  and  they  got  the 
marriage  done.  Pietro  had  to  make  the  best  of  things.  Who 
was  fool,  who  knave,  it  was  difficult  to  decide :  perchance  neither 
or  both.  Guido  gives  the  wealth  he  had  not  got,  and  the  Com- 
parini  the  child  not  honestly  theirs — each  cheated  the  other.  It 
turned  out  that  one  party  saw  the  cheat  of  the  other  first,  and 
kept  its  own  concealed.  Which  sinned  more  was  a  nice  point. 
The  finer  vengeance  which  became  old  blood  was  Guido's,  the 
victim  was  the  hard-beset  Pompilia,  the  hero  of  the  piece  Capon- 
sacchi.  "Out  by  me!"  he  cried.  "Here  my  hand  holds  you 
life  out ! "  Whereupon  Pompilia  clasped  the  saving  hand.  Then 
as  to  the  love  letters,  Guido  protests  his  wife  can  write.  How 
could  he,  granting  him  skill  to  drive  the  wife  into  the  gallant's 
arms,  bring  the  gallant  to  play  his  part  so  well — a  man  to  whom 
he  had  never  spoken  in  his  life  ? 

NOTES. — Line  31,  "  Trecentos  inserts :  ohe^jam  satis  est !  Hue 
apelle  !  "  (Horace,  Sat.  i.  5) :  "  Here,  bring  to,  ye  dogs,  you  are 
stowing  in  hundreds  ;  hold,  now  sure  there  is  enough."  (Smart's 
trans.).  1.  54,  "  basset-table :  basset  was  a  game  at  cards  in- 
vented by  a  Venetian  noble  ;  it  was  introduced  into  France  in 
1674.  1.  147,  "posts  off  to  vespers,  missal  beneath  arm  " :  a  rather 
absurd  line ;  a  missal  is  a  mass-book,  and  does  not  contain  the 
vesper  services ;  mass  is  always  said  in  the  morning.  1.  437, 
"  notum  tonsoribus"  the  common  gossip — (Pr.) '»  tonsor,  a  barber  ; 
zecchines :  sequins,  Venetian  coins  worth  from  gs.  2d.  to  qs.  6d. 
\.  731,  devil's-dung :  assafcetida,  an  evil-smelling  drug.  1.  761, 
" cross buttock" ':  a  blow  across  the  back  ;  quarter  staff :  a  long  stout 
staff  used  as  a  weapon  of  offence  or  defence.  1.  834,  ''  Hoplini  and 
the  ark" :  "And  the  ark  of  God  was  taken;  and  the  two  sons 
of  Eli,  Hophni  and  Phinehas,  were  slain"  (i  Sam.  iv.,  11  etc.). 
"  Correggio  and  Ledas" :  Correggio's  picture  of  "  Leda  and  the 
Swan,"  in  the  Berlin  Museum.  1.  1054,  "  cui  profuerint!" 
Whom  they  might  profit!  1.  1069,  "  acquetta  =  Aqua  Tofana, 
a  poisonous  liquid  much  used  in  Italy  in  the  seventeenth  century 
by  women  who  wished  to  get  rid  of  their  husbands  or  thrir 


408  BROWNING    CYCLOPAEDIA.  |Bi 

rivals.  1.  1131,  Rota:  a  superior  Papal  court.  1.  1144,  Paphos : 
a  city  of  Cyprus  where  Venus  was  worshipped.  1.  1322, 
Vicegerent :  an  officer  deputed  by  a  superior  to  take  his  place. 
1.  1408,  Patrizj :  the  captain  of  the  police  who  arrested  the 
criminals.  1.  1577,  "fons.  et  origo  malorum" :  fount  and  origin 
of  the  evils. 

BOOK  V.,  COUNT  GUIDO  FRANCESCHINI. — We  are  now  intro- 
duced to  the  persons  of  the  drama  themselves ;  and  first  to  the 
Count,  who  is  on  his  defence  before  the  court  for  the  murder. 
He  has  just  been  put  to  the  torture,  and  with  bones  all  loosened 
by  the  rack  is  cringing  and  trembling  before  the  arbiters  of 
life  and  death.  He  confesses  that  he  killed  his  wife  and  the 
Comparini,  who  called  themselves  her  father  and  mother  to  ruin 
him.  What  he  has  now  to  do  is  to  put  the  right  interpretation  on 
his  deed.  He  reminds  the  court  that  he  conies  of  an  ancient  family, 
descended  from  a  Guido  who  was  Homager  to  the  Empire.  His 
family  had  become  poor  as  St.  Francis  or  our  Lord.  He  had  cast 
about  for  some  means  to  restore  the  fallen  fortunes  of  his  house, 
and  sought  advice  of  his  fellows  how  this  might  be  done.  He  had 
thoughts  of  a  soldier's  life  ;  but  they  said  that,  as  eldest  son  and 
heir,  his  post  was  hard  by  the  hearth  and  altar.  He  should  "try 
the  Church,  and  contend  against  the  heretic  Molinists,  and  so  gain 
promotion,"  said  one  ;  but  others  said  this  would  not  do — "he  must 
marry,  that  his  line  might  continue ;  let  him  make  his  brothers 
priests,  and  seek  his  own  fortune  in  the  great  world  of  Rome." 
And  so  to  Rome  he  came.  Humbly,  he  pleads,  he  has  helped  the 
Church  :  he  has  disposed  of  his  property  that  he  might  have 
means  to  bribe  his  way  to  favour  at  Rome  ;  for  the  better  protection 
of  his  person  and  the  advancement  of  his  fortunes,  he  has  taken 
three  or  four  of  the  minor  orders  of  the  Church,  which  commit  to 
nothing,  yet  help  to  flavour  the  layman's  meat.  Thus  for  the 
Church.  On  the  world's  side  he  danced,  and  gamed,  and  quitted 
himself  like  a  courtier.  At  this  time  he  was  only  sixteen,  and  was 
willing  to  wait  for  fortune.  He  waited  thirty  years,  hung  about 
the  haunts  of  cardinals  and  the  Pope,  and  made  friends  wherever 
he  could.  One  day  he  grew  tired  of  waiting  any  longer ;  he  was 
hard  upon  middle  life ;  he  must,  he  saw,  be  content  to  live  and 
die  only  a  nobleman ;  and  so,  as  his  mother  was  growing  old, 
his  sisters  well  wedded  away,  and  both  his  brothers  in  the 
Church,  he  resolved  to  leave  Rome,  return  to  Arezzo,  and  be 


BROWNING   CYCLOPAEDIA.  409 

content  He  was  like  a  gamester  who  has  played  and  lost  all. 
The  owners  of  the  tables  do  not  like  a  man  to  leave  the  place 
penniless.  "  Let  him  leave  the  door  handsomely,"  they  say  ;  and 
so  his  brother  Paul  whispered  in  his  ear,  told  him  to  take  courage 
and  a  wife — at  least,  go  back  home  with  a  dowry.  Paul's  advice 
was  weighty,  and  he  listened  to  him ;  and  before  the  week  was 
out  the  clever  priest  found  Pietro  and  Violante,  who  had  just  the 
daughter,  and  just  the  dowry  with  her,  for  his  brother.  "  She  is 
young,  pretty,  and  rich,"  he  said  ;  "  you  are  noble,  classic,  choice." 
"Done  I"  said  Guido.  All  the  priest  proposed  he  accepted,  and 
the  girl  was  bought  and  sold — a  chattel.  "  Where  was  the  wrong 
step  ?"  he  asks  the  court:  "if  all  his  honour  of  birth,  his  style 
•and  state,  went  for  nothing,  then  society  and  the  law  had  no 
reward  nor  punishment  to  give.  The  social  fabric  falls  like  a 
card-house.  He  thought  he  had  dealt  fairly ;  the  others  found 
fault,  and  wanted  their  money  back,  just  as  the  judge,  disappointed 
with  a  picture  for  which  he  had  given  a  great  price,  wanted  his 
•cash  returned.  Perhaps,  also,  the  judge  grew  tired  of  the  cupids. 
When  he  had  purchased  his  wife  he  expected  wifeliness ;  just  as 
when,  having  bought  twig  and  timber,  he  had  bought  the  song  of 
the  nightingale  too.  Pompilia  broke  her  pact ;  refused  from  the 
first  to  unite  with  him  in  body  or  in  soul.  More  than  this,  she 
published  the  fact  to  all  the  world :  said  she  had  discovered  he 
was  devil  and  no  man,  and  set  all  the  town  laughing  at  his 
meanness  and  his  misery ;  said  he  had  plundered  and  cast  out 
her  parents ;  and  that  she  was  fain  to  call  on  the  stones  of  the 
street  to  save  her,  not  only  from  himself,  but  the  satyr-love  of 
his  own  brother,  the  young  priest.  Was  it  any  marvel  that  his 
resentment  grew  apace  ?  Yet  he  was  not  a  man  of  ice :  women 
might  have  reached  the  odd  corners  of  his  heart,  and  found  some 
remnants  of  love  there.  Pompilia  was  no  dove  of  Venus  either, 
but  a  hawk  he  had  purchased  at  a  hawk's  price.  He  does  not 
presume  to  teach  the  court  what  marriage  means :  it  was  composed 
of  priests  who  had  eschewed  the  marriage  state  with  Paul ;  but 
the  court  knew  how  monks  were  dealt  with  who  became  refractory. 
If  he  were  over-harsh  in  bringing  his  wife  to  due  obedience  it  was 
her  own  fault ;  she  should  have  cured  him  by  patience  and  the 
lore  of  love.  When  the  Comparini  had  returned  to  Rome,  they 
boasted  how  they  had  cheated  him  who  cheated  them  ;  boasted 
that  Pompilia,  his  wife,  was  a  bye-blow  bastard  of  a  nameless 


410  BROWNING   CYCLOPAEDIA.  [Rltti 

strumpet,  palmed  off  upon  him  as  the  daughter  with  the  dowry .- 
Dowry?  It  was  the  dust  of  the  street.  Under  these  circum- 
stances Pompilia's  duty  was  no  doubtful  one:  she  ought  to  have 
recoiled  from  them  with  horror.  She  had  been  their  spoil  and 
prey  from  first  to  last,  and  had  aided  him  in  maintaining  her 
cause  and  making  it  his  own.  He  admits  the  trick  of  the  false 
letter:  it  was  his,  and  not  hers;  yet  he  protests  that  Pompilia, 
from  window,  at  church  and  theatre,  launched  looks  forth  and  let 
looks  reply  to  Caponsacchi.  And  so,  in  his  struggles  to  extricate 
his  name  and  fame,  this  gad-fly  must  be  stinging  him  in  the  face. 
Pricked  with  shame,  plagued  with  his  wife  and  her  parents,  what 
was  he  to  do  ?  Ever  was  Caponsacchi  gazing  at  his  windows. 
Was  he  to  play  at  desperate  doings  with  a  wooden  sword,  or 
shorten  his  wife's  finger  by  a  third,  for  listening  to  a  serenade  ? 
He  did  nothing  of  that  sort :  he  only  called  her  a  terrible  name  J- 
and  the  effect  was,  when  he  awoke  next  morning  he  found  a 
crowd  in  his  room,  fire  in  his  throat,  wife  gone,  and  his  coffers 
ransacked.  The  servants  had  been  drugged  too.  His  wife  had 
eloped  with  Caponsacchi.  He  discovered  that  all  the  town  was 
laughing  at  the  comedy.  They  told  him  how  the  priest  had  come 
at  daybreak,  while  all  the  household  slept ;  how  the  wife  had  led 
the  way  out  of  doors  on  to  the  gate  where,  at  the  inn,  a  carriage 
waited,  and  took  the  two  to  the  gate  San  Spirito,  on  the  Roman 
road.  He  told  the  court  how  he  had  set  out  alone  on  horseback, 
floundered  through  two  days  and  nights,  and  so  at  last  came  up- 
with  the  fugitives  at  an  inn,  saw  his  wife  and  her  gallant  together 
waiting  to  start  again  for  Rome.  "Does  the  court  suggest,"  he 
asks,  "that  that  was,  if  ever,  the  time  for  vengeance?"  But  he 
was  content  with  calling  in  the  law  to  help.  He  pleads  guilty  to- 
cowardice :  he  might  have  killed  them  then  ;  but  cowardice  was- 
no  crime.  He  urges  that  he  had  been  brought  up  at  the  feet  of 
law,  and  so  had  slain  them  not.  He  had  searched  the  chamber 
where  they  passed  the  night,  and  found  love-laden  letters  with 
such  words  on :  "  Come  here,  go  there,  wait,  we  are  saved,  we 
are  lost  "  ;  even  to  details  of  the  sleeping  potion  which  was  to- 
drug  his  wine.  The  fugitives  declared  they  had  not  written 
these;  they  were  forged,  they  said.  Then  he  tells  how  he 
had  appealed  in  vain  to  the  courts.  The  most  he  gained  was 
that  the  priest  was  relegated  to  Civita  for  three  years,  and 
Pompilia  was  sent  to  a  sisterhood.  He  reminds  the  court  of  its 


Bin]  BROWNING    CYCLOPEDIA.  41 1, 

severity  in  cases  of  heresy  and  the  like,  and  of  its  mildness  in 
a  case  like  his.  Advice  was  given  to  him  how  to  proceed  with 
fresh  trials  from  time  to  time,  and  he  tried  to  play  the  man  and 
bear  his  trouble  as  best  he  might ;  and  then  one  day  he  learned 
that  Pompilia's  durance  was  at  an  end, — she  was  transferred 
to  her  parents'  house.  He  reflected  then  how  the  Comparini  had 
beaten  him  at  every  point :  they  gained  all ;  he  lost  all,  even  to  • 
the  wife,  the  lure ;  had  caught  the  fish  and  found  the  bait 
entire.  And  now  another  letter  from  Rome,  with  the  news  that 
he  is  a  father ;  his  wife  has  borne  a  son  and  heir, — the  reason  plain 
why  she  left  the  convent.  Then  he  rose  up  like  fire ;  his  troubles 
were  but  just  beginning  :  the  child  he  had  longed  for  was  stolen 
too,  and  scorn  and  contempt  would  be  heaped  on  him  full 
measure.  He  told  the  story  to  his  servants,  who  all  declared 
they  would  avenge  their  master's  wrongs.  He  picked  out  four 
resolute  youngsters,  and  off  they  went  to  Rome.  They  reached 
the  city  on  Christmas-eve,  as  the  festive  bells  rang  for  the  "  Feast 
of  the  Babe."  This  arrested  him ;  he  dropped  the  dagger. 
"Where  is  His  promised  peace?"  he  asked.  Nine  days  he 
waited  thus,  praying  against  temptation,  while  the  vision  of  the 
Holy  Infant  was  before  him.  Soon  this  faded  in  a  mist,  and  the 
Cross  stood  plain,  and  he  cried,  "Some  end  must  be!"  He 
reached  the  house  where  Pompilia  lived ;  he  knocked,  asked 
admittance  for  "  Caponsacchi,"  and  the  door  was  opened.  Had 
Pompilia  even  then  fronted  him  in  the  doorway  in  her  weakness, 
had  even  Pietro  opened,  he  had  paused  ;  but  it  was  the  hag,  the 
mother  who  had  wrought  the  mischief,  who  appeared.  Then  he 
told  the  court  how  the  impulse  to  kill  her  had  seized  him,  and 
how,  having  begun,  he  had  made  an  end.  He  was  mad,  blind, 
and  stamped  on  all.  He  told  the  court  how  the  officers  of  justice 
had  come  upon  him  twenty  miles  off,  when  he  was  sleeping 
soundly  as  a  child ;  and  wherefore  not  ?  He  was  his  own  self 
again.  His  soul  safe  from  serpents,  he  could  sleep.  He  protests 
he  has  but  done  God's  bidding,  and  health  has  returned  and 
sanity  of  soul.  He  declares  that  he  stands  acquitted  in  the  sight 
of  God.  If  his  wife  and  her  lover  were  innocent,  why  did  the 
court  punish  them  ?  Their  punishment  was  inadequate,  and  as 
soon  as  their  backs  were  turned  the  evil  began  to  grow  again.  He 
demands  the  court  should  right  him  now ;  thank  and  praise  him 
for  having  done  what  they  should  have  done  themselves.  He  has* 


•412  BROWNING   CYCLOPAEDIA.  in 

•doubled  the  blow  they  had  essayed  to  strike.  He  urges  them  to 
protect  their  own  defender.  He  was  law's  mere  executant,  and 
he  demands  his  life,  his  liberty,  good  name,  and  civic  rights  again. 
He  is  for  God ;  the  game  must  not  be  lost  to  the  devil.  He  has 
-work  to  do  :  his  wife  may  live  and  need  his  care ;  his  brother  to 
bring  back  to  the  old  routine ;  his  infant  son  to  rear — and  when 
to  him  he  tells  his  story,  he  will  say  how  for  God's  law  he  had 
dared  and  done. 

NOTES. — "  Vigil  torment" :  this  torment  is  referred  to  in  the 
speech  of  Dominus  Hyacinthus,  line  329  et seq.,  as  "the  Vigili- 
arum."  Line  149,  Francis  :  St.  Francis  of  Assisi,  founder  of  the 
Order  of  Franciscans;  Dominic:  St.  Dominic,  founder  of  the 
Order  of  Dominicans  .-  "  Guido,  oncehomager  to  the  Empire  "  : 
.i.e.,  he  held  lands  of  the  Emperor  by  "homage."  L  207,  " suum 
cuique "  :  let  each  have  his  own  ;  omoplat  :  shoulder-blade, 
il.  285,  "  utrique  sic  paratus " ;  so  prepared  either  way.  1.  401, 
44  sors,  a  right  Vergilian  dip " :  scholars  used  to  open  their 
Vergil  at  random  for  guidance,  as  people  nowadays  open  their 
Bible  to  see  what  text  will  turn  up.  L  542,  baioc  =  bajocco: 
.-a  Roman  copper  coin  worth  three  farthings.  1.  559,  Plautus :  a 
famous  comic  poet  of  Rome,  who  died  184  B.C.  ;  Terence  .  a 
celebrated  writer  of  comedies,  a  native  of  Carthage ;  he  died  159 
B.C.  1.  560,  "  Ser  Franco's  Merry  Tales  " :  Sacchetti's  novels 
and  tales,  somewhat  in  the  manner  of  Boccaccio  (1335-1400). 
1.  627,  Caligula  :  Emperor  of  Rome,  who  delighted  in  the  miseries 
•of  mankind,  and  amused  himself  by  putting  innocent  persons 
to  death.  He  was  murdered  A.D.  41.  1.672,  Thy r sis :  a  young 
Arcadian  shepherd  (Vergil,  Eel.  vii.  2)  ;  Necera  :  a  country  maid, 
in  Vergil.  1.  811,  Locusta :  a  vile  woman,  skilled  in  preparing 
poisons ;  who  helped  Nero  to  poison  Britannicus.  1.  850,  Bilboa: 
a  flexible-bladed  rapier  from  Bilboa.  1.  922,  "  stans  pede  in 
uno,"  standing  on  one  foot.  1.  1137,  spirit  and  succubus :  evil 
spirit,  demon,  or  phantom.  1.  1209,  Catullus:  a  learned  but 
wanton  poet.  L  1264,  Helen  and  Paris  :  Paris,  the  son  of  Priam, 
king  of  Troy,  who  eloped  with  Helen,  the  wife  of  Menelaus, 
carried  her  to  Troy,  and  so  occasioned  the  war  between  the 
-Greeks  and  Trojans.  1.  1356,  Ovid's  art:  (of  love).  1.  1358, 
"  more  than  his  Summa"  :  the  " Summa  Theologies"  the  famous 
work  of  St.  Thomas  Aquinas,  from  which  every  priest  of  the 
vRoman  Church  has  to  study  his  theology.  1.  1359,  Corinna:  a 


Rill]  BROWNING    CYCLOPEDIA.  413; 

celebrated  woman  of  Tanagra,  who  seven  times  obtained  a; 
poetical  prize  when  Pindar  was  her  rival.  1.  1365,  mernm  salt 
pure  salt.  1.  1549,  "  Quis  est pro  Domino?"  "Who  is  on  the 
Lord's  side?"  1.  1737,  acquelta:  euphemism  for  the  acqua- 
tofana,  a  deadly  liquid,  colourless  poison.  1.  1760,  "  ad  judices- 
meos"  to  my  judges.  1.  1780,  Justinian's  Pandects :  the  digest  of. 
Roman  jurists,  made  by  order  of  Justinian  in  the  sixth  century.. 
1.  2009,  soldier  bee :  a  bee  which  fights  for  the  protection  of  the 
hive,  and  sacrifices  his  life  in  the  act  of  using  his  sting.  1.  2010, 
txenterate:  to  disembowel.  1.  2333,  Tozzi :  physician  to  the 
Pope.  He  succeeded  Malpighi  L  2339,  Albano  :  Guido  was 
right;  Albano  succeeded  Innocent  XII.  as  Pope  in  1700. 

BOOK  VI.,  GIUSEPPE  CAPONSACCHI. — The  court  now  hears  the 
story  of  Caponsacchi :  he  has  been  sent  for  to  repeat  the  evidence 
which  he  gave  on  a  former  occasion,  and  to  counsel  the  court  in 
this  extremity.  It  was  six  months  ago,  he  says,  that  in  the  very- 
place  where  he  now  stands,  he  told  the  facts,  at  which  they 
decorously  laughed,  the  stifled  titter  that  so  plainly  meant  "  We 
have  been  young  too, — come,  there's  greater  guilt !  "  Now  they 
are  grave  enough, — they  stare  aghast ;  as  for  himself,  in  this  sudden 
smoke  from  hell  he  hardly  knows  if  he  understands  anything, 
aright.  He  asks  why  are  they  surprised  at  the  ending  of  a  deed, 
whose  beginning  they  had  seen  ?  He  had  his  grasp  on  Guide's 
throat ;  they  had  interfered,  they  saw  no  peril,  wanted  no  priest's 
intrusion ;  he  had  given  place  to  law,  left  Pompilia  to  them, — and. 
there  and  thus  she  lies  !  What  do  they  want  with  him  ?  he- 
asks  :  is  it  that  they  understand  at  last  it  was  consistent  with  his- 
priesthood  to  endeavour  to  save  Pompilia  ?  It  was  well  they  had 
even  thus  late  seen  their  error.  He  owns  he  talks  to  the  court 
impertinently,  yet  they  listen  because  they  are  Christians ;  and 
even  a  rag  from  the  body  of  the  Lord  makes  a  man  look  greater, 
and  be  the  better.  He  will  be  calm  and  tell  the  simple  facts.  He- 
is  a  priest,  one  of  their  own  body,  and  of  a  famous  Florentine  de- 
scent ;  he  had  been  brought  up  for  the  priesthood  from  his  youth,, 
but  had  trembled  when  he  came  to  take  the  vows,  and  would 
have  shrunk  from  doing  so  had  not  the  bishop  quieted  his  qualms 
of  conscience,  and  satisfied  him  there  was  an  easier  sense  in 
which  the  vows  could  be  taken  than  had  appeared  in  his  first 
rough  reading.  Nobody  expected  him  in  these  days  to  break  his- 
back  in  propping  up  the  Church :  the  martyrs  built  it ;  all  that 


-414  BROWNING   CYCLOPAEDIA.  [Bin 

priests  had  to  do  now  was  to  adorn  its  walls.  He  must  therefore 
cultivate  his  gift  of  making  madrigals,  that  he  may  please  the 
.great  ladies,  and  make  the  bishop  boast  that  he  was  theirs. 
And  so  he  became  a  priest,  a  fribble,  and  a  coxcomb,  but  a  man 
of  truth.  He  said  his  breviary  and  wrote  the  rhymes,  was 
regular  at  service,  and  as  regular  at  his  post  where  beauty  and 
fashion  ruled.  One  night,  after  three  or  four  years  of  this  life,  he 
found  himself  at  the  theatre  with  a  brother  Canon  ;  he  saw  enter 
and  seat  herself, — 

"A  lady,  young,  tall,  beautiful,  strange,  and  sad," 

like  a  Rafael  over  an  altar.  As  he  stared,  his  companion  the 
Canon  said  he  would  make  her  give  him  back  his  gaze  ;  and 
straightway  tossed  a  packet  of  comfits  to  her  lap,  and  dodged 
behind  him,  nodding  from  over  Caponsacchi's  shoulder.  The 
lady  turned,  looked  their  way,  and  smiled — a  strange,  sad  smile. 
' '  Is  she  not  fair,  my  new  cousin  ?  "  said  Canon  Conti.  The  fellow  at 
the  back  of  the  box  is  Guido  ;  she's  his  wife,  married  three  years 
since.  He  cautioned  him  to  do  nothing  to  make  her  husband 
treat  her  more  cruelly  than  he  already  did ;  but  this  was  not  re- 
quired,— the  sight  of  Pompilia's  '  wonderful  white  soul '  shining 
through  the  sadness  of  her  face  had  filled  him  with  disgust  for 
the  frivolity  and  the  vanity  of  his  former  life.  Lent  was  near  ;  he 
would  live  as  became  a  priest.  His  patron,  when  he  found  him 
absent  from  the  assemblies  of  fashion  and  reproved  him,  re- 
proached him  with  playing  truant,  Caponsacchi  said  he  had 
resolved  to  go  to  Rome,  and  look  into  his  heart  a  little.  One 
evening,  as  he  sat  musing  over  a  volume  of  St.  Thomas,  con- 
trasting his  past  life  with  that  required  of  him  by  his  office,  his 
thoughts  recurred  to  the  sad,  strange  lady.  There  was  a  tap  at 
the  door,  and  a  masked,  muffled  mystery  entered  with  a  letter ; 
it  purported  to  come  from  her  to  whom  the  comfits  had  been 
thrown,  and  assured  him  the  recipient  had  a  heart  to  offer  him 
in  return.  Inquiring  who  the  messenger  might  be,  she  said  she 
was  Guide's  "  kind  of  maid "  ;  all  the  servants  hated  him,  she 
added,  and  she  had  offered  her  aid  to  bring  comfort  to  the 
sweet  Pompilia.  Caponsacchi  said  he  then  took  pen  and  wrote, 
"  No  more  of  this !  "  explaining  that  once  on  a  time  he  should  not 
have  proved  so  insensible  to  her  beauty,  but  now  he  had  other 
^thoughts.  Caponsacchi  said  that  he  saw  Guide's  mean  soul  grin- 


"Bin]  BROWNING   CYCLOPEDIA.  415 

tiing  through  this  transparent  trick.  Next  morning  a  second  letter 
was  brought  by  the  same  messenger ;  it  urged  him  to  visit  the 
lovesick  lady,  and  no  longer  cruelly  delay;  it  declared  she 
-was  wretched,  that  she  had  heard  he  was  going  to  Rome,  and  im- 
plored him  to  take  her  with  him.  He  asked  the  maid  "  what  risk 
they  ran  of  the  husband?"  "  None  at  all,"  she  answered  ;  "he 
is  more  stupid  than  jealous."  He  took  a  pen  and  wrote  that  she 
solicited  him  in  vain  ;  he  was  a  priest  and  had  scruples.  After 
that  in  many  ways  he  was  still  pursued,  and  ever  his  reply  was 
"  Go  your  ways,  temptress ! "  Urged  to  pass  her  window,  and 
.glance  up  thereat,  if  only  once,  he  resolved  to  expose  the  trick 
and  punish  the  Cor.nt.  He  went  There  at  the  window,  with  a  lamp 
in  hand,  stood  Pompilia,  grave  and  grief-full ;  like  Our  Lady  of  all 
-the  Sorrows,  she  was  there  but  a  moment,  and  then  vanished.  He 
knew  she  had  been  induced  by  some  pretence  to  watch  a  moment 
•on  the  balcony.  He  was  about  to  cry,  "  Out  with  thee,  Guido  !  " 
when  all  at  once  she  reappeared,  just  on  the  terrace  overhead  ;  so 
close  was  she  that  if  she  bent  down  she  could  almost  touch  his 
faead  ;  and  she  did  bend,  and  spoke,  while  he  stood  still,  all  eye,  all 
-ear.  She  told  him  that  he  had  sent  her  many  letters  ;  that  she 
had  read  none,  for  she  could  neither  read  nor  write ;  that  she  was 
in  the  power  of  the  woman  who  had  brought  them ;  that  she  had 
-explained  their  purport,  that  she  had  made  her  listen  while  she 
told  her  that  he,  a  priest,  had  dared  to  love  her,  a  wife,  because 
he  had  seen  her  face  a  single  time.  This  wickedness  she  thinks 
•cannot  be  true, — it  were  deadly  to  them  both ;  but  if  indeed  he 
had  true  love  to  offer,  did  he  indeed  mean  good  and  true,  she 
might  accept  his  help.  It  was  so  strange,  she  said,  that  her  husband, 
whom  she  had  not  wronged,  should  hate  her  so,  should  wish  to 
harm  her:  for  his  own  soul's  sake  would  the  priest  hinder  the  harm? 
Then  she  told  him  how  happily  she  had  dwelt  at  Rome,  with 
those  dear  Comparini  whom  she  had  been  wont  to  call  father  and 
mother  ;  she  could  not  understand  what  it  was  that  had  prompted 
his  soul  to  offer  her  his  help,  but,  as  he  had  done  so,  would  he 
render  her  just  aid  enough  to  save  her  life  with  ?  To  leave  the  man 
who  hated  her  so  were  no  sin.  "  Take  me  to  Rome  ! "  she  cried. 
"You  go  to  Rome:  take  me  as  you  would  take  a  dog!"  She 
told  him  how  she  had  turned  hither  and  thither  for  aid, — to  great 
good  men,  Archbishop  and  Governor,  she  had  opened  her  heart. 
They  only  smiled  :  "Get  you  gone,  fair  one!"  they  said.  In  her 


416  BROWNING    CYCLOPEDIA.  [Rltt 

despair  she  went  to  an  old  priest,  a  friar  who  confessed  her ;  to- 
him  she  told  how,  worse  than  husband's  hate,  she  had  to  bear  the 
solicitations  of  his  young  idle  brother.  "Write  to  your  parents,"" 
said  the  friar.  She  said  she  could  neither  read  nor  write.  "  I 
will  write,"  he  promised  ;  but  no  answer  came.  She  ended  with 
repeating  her  entreaty  that  he  should  take  her  to  the  Comparinis'' 
home  at  Rome.  Caponsacchi  promised  at  once  to  do  this  thing 
for  her ;  it  was  settled  he  should  find  a  carriage,  and  the  money 
for  the  puipose,  and  return  when  he  had  made  arrangements  for 
the  flight.  [The  messenger  who  had  brought  him  the  Count's 
letters  was  shown  to  be  his  mistress  ;  the  Count  had  forged  the 
notes  from  Pompilia,  and  the  replies  thereto.]  Then  the  priest 
went  home  to  meditate  on  this  strange  matter,  and  the  more 
he  thought  of  what  he  had  agreed  to  do,  the  more  incongruous 
with  his  sacred  office  did  it  seem.  Was  he  not  wedded  to  the 
mystic  bride — the  Church  ?  Did  it  not  say  to  him,  "Leave  that  live 
passion  ;  come,  be  dead  with  me  "  ?  Then  came  the  voice  of 
God,  His  first  authoritative  word  :  "  I  had  been  lifted  to  the  level- 
of  her !  "  he  exclaimed.  Now  did  he  perceive  the  function  of  the 
priest :  to  leave  her  he  had  thought  self-sacrifice  ;  to  save  her,, 
was  the  price  demanded,  and  he  paid  it.  "  Duty  to  God  is  duty 
to  her."  Yet,  when  the  morning  broke,  his  heart  whispered,. 
"  Duty  is  still  wisdom,"  and  the  day  wore  on.  When  evening 
came  he  determined  to  see  her  again,  to  advise  her,  to  bid  her 
not  despair.  He  went.  There  she  stood  as  before,  and  now- 
reproached  him  for  not  returning  earlier  ;  and  when  he  saw  her 
sadness,  and  heard  her  piteous  pleading,  he  said 

"Leave  this  home  in  the  dark  to-morrow  night." 

He  told  her  the  place  of  meeting  and  the  way  thereto,  promising 
to  be  ready  at  the  appointed  time.  Then  he  secured  a  carriage,, 
made  all  arrangements,  and,  at  the  time  agreed,  Pompilia 
draped  in  black,  but  with  the  soul's  whiteness  shining  through 
her  veil,  was  there.  She  sprang  into  the  carriage,  he  beside  her 
— she  and  he  alone,  and  so  began  the  flight  through  dark  to- 
ugh t,  through  day  and  night,  again  to  night,  once  more  on  to  the 
last  dreadful  dawn.  He  told  the  court  the  incidents  of  the 
weary  journey, — all  her  weakness  and  her  craving  for  rest  at 
Rome,— how  she  urged  him  to  continue,  till  they  were  at  last 
within  twelve  hours  of  the  city,  and  there  seemed  no  fear  ofi 


BROWNING   CYCLOPAEDIA.  417 

pursuit.  Then  he  entreated  her  to  descend  and  take  some  rest. 
For  a  while  she  waited  at  a  roadside  inn,  nursed  a  woman's 
child,  sat  by  the  garden  wall  and  talked,  then  off  again  refreshed. 
On  they  went  till  they  reached  Castelnuovo.  "  As  good  as 
Rome ! "  he  cried.  She  was  sleeping  as  he  spoke,  and  woke 
with  a  start  and  scream — 

"  Take  me  no  further';  I  should  die :  stay  here  ! 
I  have  more  life  to  save  than  mine  ! " 

then  swooned.  The  people  at  the  inn  urged  him  to  let  her  rest 
the  night  with  them.  He  could  not  but  choose.  All  the  night 
through  he  paced  the  passage,  keeping  guard.  "  Not  a  sound,  nor 
movement,"  they  said.  At  first  pretence  of  gray  in  the  sky  he 
.bade  them  have  out  the  carriage,  while  he  called  to  break  her 
sleep ;  and  as  he  turned  to  go  there  faced  him  Count  Guido,  as 
master  of  the  field  encamped,  his  rights  challenging  the  vvorldr 
leering  in  triumph,  scowling  with  malice.  He  was  not  alone. 
With  him  were  the  commissary  and  his  men.  At  once  he  was 
arrested.  Then  "  Catch  her  !  "  the  husband  bade.  That  sobered 
Caponsacchi.  "  Let  me  lead  the  way  !  "  he  cried,  explaining  he 
was  privileged,  being  a  priest,  and  claiming  his  rights.  Then 
they  went  to  Pompilia's  chamber.  There  she  lay  sleeping, 
11  wax-white,  seraphic."  "  Seize  and  bind  ! "  hissed  Guido.  Pom- 
pilia  started  up,  stood  erect,  face  to  face  with  her  tormentor. 
14  Away  from  between  me  and  hell !  "  she  cried.  "  I  am  God's, 
whose  knees  I  clasp, — hence ! "  Caponsacchi  tried  to  reach 
her  side,  but  his  arms  were  pinioned  fast;  the  rabble  poured 
in  and  took  the  husband's  part,  heaping  themselves  upon 
the  priest.  Springing  at  the  sword  which  hung  at  Guide's  side, 
she  drew  and  brandished  it.  "  Die,  devil,  in  God's  name ! " 
she  cried  ;  but  they  closed  round  her,  twelve  to  one.  Then 
Guido  began  his  search  for  the  gold,  the  jewels,  and  the  plate  of 
which  he  declared  he  had  been  robbed,  and  for  the  amorous 
letters  he  had  reason  to  expect  to  find.  They  could  not  refuse 
the  priest's  appeal  to  be  judged  by  the  Church,  and  so  he  was 
sent  to  Rome  with  Pompilia ;  and  to  separate  cells  in  the  same 
prison  they  were  borne.  He  told  his  judges  then  that  he  had 
never  touched  Pompilia  with  his  finger-tip,  except  to  carry  her 
that  evening  to  her  couch,  and  that  as  sacredly  as  priests  carry  the 
vessels  of  the  altar.  He  tells  the  court  he  might  have  locked 

27 


418  BROWNING   CYCLOPEDIA.  [Ein 

his  lips  and  laughed  at  its  jurisdiction,  for  when  this  murder 
happened  he  was  a  prisoner  at  Civita.  She  had  only  the  court 
to  trust  to  when  Guido  hacked  her  to  pieces.  He  had  come 
from  his  retreat  as  friend  of  the  court,  had  told  his  tale  for  pure 
friendship's  sake.  He  reminds  them  how  in  the  first  trial  he  had 
disproved  the  accusation  of  the  letters,  and  the  verses  they  con- 
tained :  if  any  were  found,  it  was  because  those  who  found  had 
hidden  first.  Then  he  tells  how,  as  in  relegation  he  was  studying 
verse,  suddenly  a  thunderclap  came  into  his  solitude.  The  whirl- 
wind caught  him  up  and  brought  him  to  the  room  where  so 
recently  the  judges  had  dealt  out  law  adroitly,  and  he  learned 
how  Guido  had  upset  it  all.  In  a  frank  and  dignified  appeal  to 
the  court,  he  explains  how  it  was  that  God  had  struck  the  spark 
of  truth  from  contact  between  his  and  Pompilia's  soul,  daring  him 
to  try  to  be  good  and  show  himself  above  the  power  of  show.  Had 
they  not  acted  as  babes  in  their  flight  ?  Had  they  been  crimi- 
nals, was  there  not  opportunity  for  sin  without  a  flight  at  all  ?  or, 
if  it  were  necessary  to  fly,  where  had  they  stayed  for  sin  ?  Had 
he  saved  Pompilia  against  the  law  ? — against  the  law  Guido  slays 
her.  Deal  with  him !  If  they  say  he  was  in  love,  unpriest  him 
then ;  degrade,  disgrace  him  :  for  himself  no  matter  ;  for  Pompilia 
let  them  "  build  churches,  go  pray !  "  They  will  find  him  there. 
He  knows  they  too  will  come.  He  sees  a  judge  weeping:  he  is 
glad — they  see  the  truth.  Pompilia  helped  him  just  so.  As  for 
the  Count,  he  had  him  on  the  fatal  morning  in  arms'  reach  ;  he 
could  have  killed  him  It  was  through  him  (Caponsacchi)  he 
had  survived  to  do  this  deed.  He  asks  them  not  to  condemn  the 
Count  to  death.  Leave  him  to  glide  as  a  snake  from  off  the  face 
of  things,  and  be  lost  in  the  loneliness.  He  stops  the  rapid  flow 
of  words,  owns  he  has  been  rash  in  what  he  has  said,  fears  he 
has  been  but  a  poor  advocate  of  the  woman,  protests  they  had 
no  thought  of  love,  and  begs  them  to  be  just.  Even  while  he 
pleads  for  Pompilia  they  tell  him  she  is  dead.  Why  did  they 
let  him  ramble  on  ? — his  friends  should  have  stopped  him.  Then 
he  grows  almost  incoherent  in  his  mental  distress  ;  asks  them  if 
they  will  one  day  make  Pope  of  the  friar  who  heard  Pompilia's 
dying  confession,  and  declares  he  had  never  shriven  a  soul 

"  so  sweet  and  true,  and  pure  and  beautiful." 
Then  he  grows  calm  again,  speaks  of  being  as  good  as  out  of  the 


BROWNING    CYCLOPAEDIA.  419 

world  now  he  is  a  relegated  priest,  and  concludes  with  a  despair- 
ing cry  to  the  God  whom  he  is  no  longer  permitted  to  serve. 

NOTES. — Arezzo,  the  ancient  Arretium,  is  the  seat  of  a  bishop 
and  a  prefect.  The  present  population  of  the  town  is  about 
eleven  thousand,  or,  if  the  neighbouring  villages  are  included, 
about  thirty-nine  thousand  inhabitants.  In  the  middle  ages  the 
town  suffered  severely  in  the  wars  of  the  Guelfs  and  Ghibel- 
lines ;  in  this  struggle  it  usually  took  the  side  of  the  Ghibellines. 
Caponsacchi's  church  is  that  of  S.  Maria  della  Pieve,  said  to  be 
as  old  as  the  beginning  of  the  ninth  century,  with  a  tower  and 
facade  dating  from  1216.  The  fa9ade  has  four  series  of  columns, 
arranged  rather  incongruously.  Many  ancient  sculptures  are 
over  the  doors.  The  interior  of  the  church  consists  of  a  nave, 
with  aisles  and  a  dome.  Petrarch  was  born  at  No.  22  in  the 
Via  dell'  Orto ;  the  house  bears  an  inscription  to  the  effect  that 
4<  Francesco  Petrarca  was  born  here,  July  2Oth,  1304."  The 
cathedral  is  a  fine  Italian  Gothic  building,  dating  from  1177 ;  the 
fa£ade  is  still  unfinished.  The  interior  has  no  transept,  but  is 
of  fine  and  spacious  proportions,  with  some  good  stained-glass 
windows  of  the  early  part  of  the  sixteenth  century.  Pope 
Gregory  X.  died  at  Arezzo,  and  his  tomb  is  in  the  right  aisle. 
There  is  a  marble  statue  of  Ferdinand  de'  Medici  in  front  of  the 
cathedral,  which  was  erected  in  1595  by  John  of  Douay.  Arezzo 
is  about  a  hundred  miles  north  of  Rome.  In  the  story  of  the 
flight  from  Arezzo  towards  Rome,  Caponsacchi  indicates  the 
chief  places  which  they  passed  on  the  road.  The  first  halt  was 
at  Perugia,  the  capital  of  the  province  of  Umbria,  with  a  popula- 
tion of  some  fifty  thousand.  It  is  the  residence  of  a  prefect, 
a  military  commandant,  the  seat  of  a  bishop  and  a  university. 
The  city  is  built  partly  on  the  top  of  a  hill  and  partly  on  the 
slope.  Assist  may  well  be  called  "holy  ground"  (Caponsacchi, 
line  1205).  Here  was  born  St.  Francis  in  1182.  "He  was  the 
son  of  the  merchant  Pietro  Bernardine,  and  spent  his  youth 
in  frivolity.  At  length,  whilst  engaged  in  a  campaign  against 
Perugia,  he  was  taken  prisoner,  and  attacked  by  a  dangerous 
illness.  Sobered  by  adversity,  he  soon  afterwards  (1208) 
founded  the  Franciscan  order."  St.  Francis  was  one  of  the 
most  beautiful  characters  in  religious  history.  His  whole  life 
was  devoted  to  the  poor  and  sick,  and  his  order,  to  the  present 
day,  is  the  most  charitable  monastic  order  in  the  world.  The 


420  BROWNING   CYCLOPAEDIA.  [Ritt 

monastery  of  St.  Francis  at  Assisi  has  existed  for  six  centuries. 
Foligno  is  an  industrial  town  of  twenty-one  thousand  inhabitants, 
and  is  the  seat  of  a  bishop.  The  cathedral  was  erected  in  the 
twelfth  century.  The  church  of  S.  Anna,  or  Delle  Contesse,  once 
contained  Rafael's  famous  Madonna  di  Foligno,  now  in  the 
Vatican.  Castelnuovo  :  at  this  place  Guido  overtook  the  travellers. 
It  is  situated  about  fifteen  miles  from  Rome,  and  is  only  a  village,, 
with  an  inn.  Line  230,  "  Capo-in-Sacco,  our  progenitor" :  see  note 
to  Book  II.,  "  HALF  ROME,"  1.  1250.  1.  234,  Old  Mercato :  the  old 
market-place  in  Florence,  where  the  Caponsacchi  formerly  re- 
sided. 1.  249,  Grand-duke  Ferdinand:  the  marble  statue  of 
Ferdinand  in  front  of  the  cathedral  was  erected  by  Giovanni 
da  Bologna  in  1595.  1.  251,  Aretines :  the  men  of  Arezzo.  1.  280, 
"  The  Jews  and  the  name  of  God" :  the  Jews  do  not  pronounce  the 
name  of  Jehovah,  or  Jahveh,  out  of  reverence ;  they  substitute  the 
word  Adonai,  Lord.  1.  333,  Marinesque  Adoniad  :  a  celebrated 
poem  called  Adonis  was  written  by  Giovanni  Marini,  who  lived 
at  the  beginning  of  the  seventeenth  century.  1.  346,  Pieve :  the 
parish  church  of  S.  Maria  della  Pieve,  said  to  have  been  built 
in  the  ninth  century  on  the  site  of  a  temple  of  Bacchus.  1.  389, 
Priscian  was  a  great  grammarian  of  the  fifth  century,  whose 
name  was  almost  synonymous  with  grammar.  "To  break 
Priscian's  head "  was  to  violate  the  rules  of  grammar.  1.  402, 
facchini:  porters,  or  scoundrels.  1.  449,  in  scecula  sceculorum^ 
"  world  without  end  " :  the  concluding  words  of  the  "  Glory  be 
to  the  Father,"  etc.,  chanted  at  the  end  of  each  psalm.  1.  467, 
canzonet:  a  short  song  in  one,  two,  or  three  parts.  1.  559, 
Tkyrsts,  a  shepherd  of  Arcadia ;  Myrtilla,  a  country  maid 
in  love  with  Thyrsis.  1.  574,  "At  the  Ave" :  at  the  hour  of 
evening  prayer,  when  the  "Hail  Mary"  and  hymns  to  the  Virgin 
are  sung.  1.  707,  "  Our  Lady  of  all  the  Sorrows  " :  the  Blessed 
Virgin  is  called  "  Our  Lady  of  Sorrows,"  and  is  painted  with  a 
sword  piercing  her  heart,  from  the  words  of  the  Gospel,  "A 
sword  shall  pierce  through  thine  own  soul  also"  (St.  Luke  xi.  35). 
1.  828,  The  Augustinian  :  the  friar  of  the  order  of  St  Augustine. 
1.  960,  St.  Thomas  with  his  sober  grey  goose-quill:  St.  Thomas 
Aquinas  is  referred  to  here.  He  was  a  famous  Dominican  theo- 
logian. His  Stint  of  Theology  is  the  standard  text-book  of  the 
divine  science  in  all  Catholic  countries.  Aquinas  was  called 
"the  angelic  doctor."  1  961,  "Plato  by  Cephisian  reed" :  the 


Bin]  BROWNING    CYCLOPEDIA.  421 

Cephisus  was  a  river  on  the  west  side  of  Athens,  falling  into 
the  Saronic  Gulf;  the  largest  river  in  Attica.  1.  988,  "Intent 
on  his  corona  "  :  the  rosary  or  chaplet  of  beads  is  in  Italy  and 
Spain  called  the  "  corona."  The  monk  was  intent  on  his  rosary. 
1.  1 102,  Our  Lady's  girdle :  legend  says  that  the  Blessed  Virgin, 
as  she  was  being  assumed  into  heaven,  loosened  her  girdle, 
which  was  received  by  St.  Thomas.  (See  Mrs.  Jameson's 
Legends  of  the  Madonna^  L  1170,  Parian  :  a  pure  and  beauti- 
ful marble  of  Pares  ;  coprolite :  the  petrified  dung  of  carnivorous 
reptiles.  1.  1203,  Perugia  :  a  city  about  thirty-five  miles  from 
Arezzo,  on  the  road  to  Rome.  1.  1205,  "  Assist — this  is  hofy 
ground" :  because  there  was  the  monastery  founded  by  St. 
Francis  of  Assisi.  1.  1266,  The  Angelus :  a  prayer  consisting 
of  the  angelical  salutation  to  Mary,  with  versicle  and  response 
and  collect,  said  three  times  a  day,  at  morning,  noon  and  night ; 
in  Catholic  countries  and  religious  houses  a  bell  is  rung  in  a 
peculiar  manner  to  announce  the  hour  of  this  prayer.  1.  1275, 
Foligno  :  a  small  town  near  Perugia.  1.  1666,  "  Bembo's  verse  "  : 
Cardinal  Bembo.  (See  notes  to  Asolo,  p.  51.)  1.  1667,  "De 
Tribus":  the  title  of  a  scandalous  pamphlet,  called  "The 
Three  Impostors,'1  which  was  well  known  in  the  seventeenth 
century:  Moses,  Christ,  and  Mahomet  were  thus  designated.  (This 
explanation  was  sent  me  by  the  late  Mr.  J.  A.  Symonds.)  1. 
1747,  "  De  Raptu  Helena " :  concerning  the  rape  of  Helen  of 
Troy. 

BOOK  VII.,  POMPILIA. — From  her  deathbed  Pompilia  tells  the 
story  of  her  life :  says  how  she  is  just  seventeen  years  and  five 
months  old :  'tis  writ  so  in  the  church's  register,  where  she  has 
five  names — so  laughable,  she  thinks.  There  will  be  more  to  write 
in  that  register  now ;  and  when  they  enter  the  fact  of  her  death 
she  trusts  they  will  say  nothing  of  the  manner  of  it,  recording 
only  that  she  "  had  been  the  mother  of  a  son  exactly  two  weeks." 
She  has  learned  that  she  has  twenty-two  dagger  wounds,  five 
deadly;  but  she  suffers  not  too  much  pain,  and  is  to  die  to- 
night ;  thanks  God  her  babe  was  born,  and  better,  baptised  and 
hid  away  before  this  happened,  and  so  was  safe ;  he  was  too 
young  to  smile  and  save  himself.  Now  she  will  never  see  her 
boy,  and  when  he  grows  up  and  asks  "What  was  my  mother 
like  ? "  they  will  tell  him  "  Like  girls  of  seventeen " ;  but  she 
thinks  she  looked  nearer  twenty.  She  wishes  she  could  write 


422  BROWNING   CYCLOPEDIA.  [RlH 

that  she  might  leave  something  he  should  read  in  time.  Her 
name  was  not  a  common  one :  that  may  serve  to  keep  her  a 
little  in  memory.  He  had  no  father  that  he  ever  knew  at  all, 
and  now — to-night — will  have  no  mother  and  no  name,  not  even 
poor  old  Pietro's.  This  is  why  she  called  the  boy  Gaetano.  A 
new  saint  should  name  her  child.  Those  old  saints  must  be 
tired  out  with  helping  folk  by  this  time.  She  had  five,  and  they 
were  !  How  happy  she  had  been  in  Violante's  love,  till  one  day 
she  declared  she  had  never  been  their  child,  was  but  a  castaway 
and  unknown  !  People  said  husbands  love  their  wives :  hers 
had  killed  her!  They  said  Caponsacchi,  though  a  priest, 
did  love  her,  and  "no  wonder  you  love  him,"  shaking  their 
heads,  pitying  and  blaming  not  very  much.  Then  she  tells  the 
tale  of  six  days  ago,  when  the  New  Year  broke :  how  she  was 
talking  by  the  fire  about  her  boy,  and  what  he  should  do  when 
he  was  grown  and  great.  Pietro  and  Violante  had  assisted  her 
to  creep  to  the  fireside  from  her  couch,  and  they  sat  wishing 
each  other  more  New  Years.  Pietro  was  telling,  too,  of  the 
cause  he  expected  to  gain  against  the  wicked  Count,  and  Violante 
scolded  him  for  tiring  Pompilia  with  his  chatter:  she  was  so 
happy  that  friendly  eve.  Then,  next  morning,  old  Pietro  went 
out  to  see  the  churches.  It  was  snowing  when  he  returned,  and 
Violante  brought  out  a  flask  of  wine  and  made  up  a  great  fire ; 
and  he  told  them  of  the  seven  great  churches  he  had  visited,  and 
how  none  had  pleased  him  like  San  Giovanni.  He  was  just  saying 
how  there  was  the  fold  and  all  the  sheep  as  big  as  cats,  and  shep- 
herds  half  as  large  as  life  listening  to  the  angel, — when  there  was 
a  tap  at  the  door.  The  rest,  she  said,  they  knew.  .  .  .  Pietro  at 
least  had  done  no  harm,  and  Violante,  after  all,  how  little  !  She 
did  wrong,  she  knows ;  she  did  not  think  lies  were  real  lies  when 
they  had  good  at  heart :  it  was  good  for  till  she  meant.  She  sees 
this  now  she  is  dying :  she  meant  the  pain  for  herself,  the  happi- 
ness all  for  Pompilia.  And  now  the  misery  and  the  danger  are 
over ;  as  she  sinks  away  from  life,  she  finds  that  sorrows  change 
into  something  which  is  not  altogether  sorrow-like.  Her  child  is 
safe,  her  pain  not  very  great.  She  is  so  happy  that  she  is  just 
absolved,  washed  fair.  "  We  cannot  both  have  and  not  have." 
Being  right  now,  she  is  happy,  and  that  colours  things.  She  will 
tell  the  nuns,  who  watch  by  her  and  nurse  her,  how  all  this  trouble 
came  about.  Up  to  her  marriage  at  thirteen  years,  the  days  were 


Bin]  BROWNING   CYCLOPAEDIA.  423 

as  happy  as  they  were  long.  Then,  one  day,  Violante  told  her 
she  meant  next  day  to  bring  a  cavalier  whom  she  must  allow  to 
kiss  her  hand.  He  would  be  the  same  evening  at  San  Lorenzo 
to  marry  her :  but  all  would  be  as  before,  and  she  would  still  live 
at  home.  Till  her  mother  spoke  she  must  hold  her  tongue :  that 
was  the  way  with  girl-brides.  So,  like  a  lamb,  she  had  only  to 
lie  down  and  let  herself  be  clipped.  Next  day  came  Guido 
Franceschini — old,  not  so  tall  as  herself,  hook-nosed,  and  with  a 
yellow  bush  of  beard,  much  like  an  owl  in  face ;  and  his  smile 
and  the  touch  of  his  hand  made  her  uncomfortable,  though  she 
did  not  suppose  it  mattered  anything.  Once,  when  she  was  ill, 
an  ugly  doctor  attended  her :  he  cured  her,  so  his  appearance 
did  not  affect  his  skill.  Then,  on  the  deadest  of  December 
days,  she  was  hurried  away  at  night  to  San  Lorenzo.  The 
church  door  was  locked  behind  the  little  party,  and  the  priest 
hurried  her  to  the  altar,  where  was  hid  Guido  and  his  ugliness. 
They  were  married ;  and  she,  silent  and  scared,  joined  her 
mother,  who  was  weeping ;  and  they  went  home,  saying  no  word 
to  Pietro.  "  Girl-brides,"  said  Violante,  "  never  breathe  a  word !  " 
For  three  weeks  she  saw  nothing  of  Guido.  Nothing  was 
changed.  She  was  married,  and  expected  all  was  over.  The 
scarecrow  doctor  did  not  return :  she  supposed  that  Guido 
would  keep  away  likewise.  Then,  one  morning,  as  she  sat  at 
her  broidery  frame  alone,  she  heard  voices,  and  running  to  see, 
found  Guido  and  the  priest  who  had  married  her.  Pietro  was 
remonstrating,  and  Guido  was  claiming  his  wife,  and  had  come 
to  take  her.  Then  she  began  to  see  that  something  mean  and 
underhand  had  happened.  Her  mother  was  to  blame,  herself  to 
pity.  She  was  the  chattel,  and  was  mute.  She  retired  to  pray 
to  God.  Violante  came  to  her,  told  her  that  she  would  have  a 
palace,  a  noble  name,  and  riches ;  that  young  men  were  volatile  ; 
that  Guido  was  the  sort  ol  man  for  housekeeping ;  arid  it  had 
been  arranged  they  were  not  to  separate,  but  should  all  live 
together  in  the  great  palace  at  Arezzo,  where  Pompilia  would  be 
queen.  And  so  she  went  with  Guido  to  his  home.  Since  then 
it  was  all  a  blank,  a  terrific  dream  to  her.  The  Count  had 
married  for  money,  and  the  money  was  not  forthcoming ;  and 
lie  became  unkind  to  his  wife  to  punish  the  Comparini  who  had 
cheated  him.  So  he  accused  her  of  being  a  coquette,  of  licen- 
tious looks  at  theatre  and  church.  She  knew  this  was  a  false 


424  BROWNING   CYCLOPAEDIA.  n 

charge,  but  could  not  divine  his  purpose  in  making  it,  so  made 
matters  worse  by  never  going  out  at  all.  When  the  maid  began 
to  speak  of  the  priest  and  of  the  letters  they  said  he  had  written, 
she  begged  her  to  ask  him  to  cease  writing,  even  from  passing 
through  the  street  wherein  she  lived.  The  Count's  object  she 
did  not  know  was  that  they  might  be  compromised.  In  her 
trouble  she  went  to  the  Archbishop,  begging  him  to  place  her  in 
a  convent.  It  was  all  so  repugnant  to  her,  barely  twelve  years 
old  at  marriage.  But  the  Church  could  give  no  help:  to  live 
with  her  husband,  she  was  told,  was  in  her  covenant.  Then  she 
told  the  frightful  thing — of  the  advances  of  her  husband's  brother, 
who  solicited,  and  said  he  loved  her ;  told  him  that  her  husband 
knew  it  all,  and  let  it  go  on.  The  Archbishop  bade  her  be  more 
affectionate  to  her  husband,  and  to  let  his  brother  see  it.  So 
home  she  went  again,  and  her  husband's  hate  increased.  Hence- 
forth her  prayers  were  not  to  man,  but  to  God  alone.  She  had 
been,  she  told  them,  three  dreary  years  in  that  gloomy  palace  at 
Arezzo,  when  one  day  she  learned  that  there  could  be  a  man 
who  could  be  a  saviour  to  the  weak,  and  to  the  vile  a  foe.  It 
was  at  the  play  where  she  first  saw  Caponsacchi.  She  saw  him 
silent,  grave,  and  almost  solemn ;  and  she  thought  had  there 
been  a  man  like  that  to  lift  her  with  his  strength  into  the  calm, 
how  she  could  have  rested.  At  supper  that  night  her  husband 
let  her  know  what  he  had  seen  :  the  throwing  of  the  comfits  in 
her  lap,  her  smile  and  interest  in  the  priest ;  told  her  she  was  a 
wanton,  drew  his  sword  and  threatened  her.  This  was  not  new 
to  her.  He  told  her  that  this  amour  was  the  town's  talk,  and  he 
menaced  the  person  of  Caponsacchi.  A  week  later,  Margherita, 
her  maid,  who  it  was  said  was  more  than  servant  to  her  lord, 
began  to  tell  her  of  the  priest  who  loved  her,  and  urged  her  to 
send  him  some  token  in  return.  Pompilia  bade  her  say  no  more ; 
but  ever  and  again  the  woman  reverted  to  the  subject,  and  she 
at  last  produced  letters  said  to  have  been  sent  by  him.  And 
when  the  importunity  continued,  she  declared  she  knew  all  this 
of  Caponsacchi  to  be  false.  The  face  which  she  had  seen  that 
night  at  the  play  was  his  own  face,  and  the  portrait  drawn  of 
him  she  was  sure  was  false.  And  then,  when  April  was  half 
through,  and  it  was  said  every  one  was  leaving  for  Rome,  and 
Caponsacchi  too,  a  light  sprang  up  within  her :  was  it  possible 
she  also  could  reach  Rome  ?  How  she  had  tried  to  leave  the 


BROWNING   CYCLOPAEDIA.  42$ 

hateful  home !  She  had  appealed  to  the  Governor  of  the  city, 
to  the  Archbishop,  to  the  poor  friar,  to  Conti  her  husband's 
relative,  and  he  alone  suggested  a  way  of  escape.  "  Ask  Capon- 
sacchi,"  he  said :  "  he's  your  true  St.  George,  to  slay  the  monster." 
Then  to  Margherita  she  said,  "  Tell  Caponsacchi  he  may  come  ! " 
And  so  again  she  saw  the  silent  and  solemn  face,  and  told 
him  all  her  trouble :  how  she  was  in  course  of  being  done  to 
•death.  She  trusted  in  God  and  him  to  save  her — to  take  her 
to  Rome  and  put  her  back  with  her  own  people.  He  said  "  he 
was  hers."  The  second  night,  when  he  came  as  arranged,  he 
said  the  plan  was  impracticable, — he  dare  not  risk  the  venture 
for  her  sake.  But  she  urged  him,  and  he  yielded.  "  To-morrow, 
-at  the  day's  dawn,"  he  would  take  her  away.  That  night  her 
husband,  telling  her  how  he  loathed  her,  bade  her  not  disturb 
4iim  as  he  slept.  And  then  she  spoke  of  the  flight,  her  prayers, 
her  yearning  to  be  at  rest  in  Rome.  Then  all  the  horrors  of  the 
fatal  night.  She  pardoned  her  husband :  she  knew  that  hei 
presence  had  been  hateful  to  him;  she  could  not  help  that. 
She  could  not  love  him,  but  his  mother  did.  Her  body,  but  never 
her  soul,  had  lain  beside  him.  She  hopes  he  will  be  saved.  So, 
as  by  fire,  she  had  been  saved  by  him.  As  for  her  child,  it  should 
not  be  the  Count's  at  all — "  only  his  mother's,  bora  of  love,  not 
'hate  !  "  Then,  with  her  fast-failing  mind-sight,  she  turns  to  the 
image  of  "  the  lover  of  her  life,  the  soldier-saint."  Death  shall 
not  part  her  from  him :  her  weak  hand  in  his  strong  grasp  shall 
rest  in  the  new  path  she  is  about  to  tread.  She  bids  them  tell 
•him  she  is  arrayed  for  death  in  all  the  flowers  of  all  he  had  said 
•and  done.  He  is  a  priest,  and  could  not  marry ;  nor  would  he  it 
he  could,  she  thinks :  the  true  marriage  is  for  heaven. 

"  So,  let  him  wait  God's  instant  men  call  years  ; 
Meantime  hold  hard  by  truth  and  his  great  soul, 
Do  out  the  duty !     Through  such  souls  alone 
God  stooping  shows  sufficient  of  His  light 
For  us  i'  the  dark  to  rise  by.     And  I  rise  ! " 

NOTES. — Line  423,  Master  Malpichi:  probably  Marcello  Mal- 
pighi  (1628-1694),  a  great  physician  of  Bologna.  He  was  the 
founder  of  microscopic  anatomy.  In  1691  he  removed  to  Rome 
to  become  physician  to  Pope  Innocent  XII.  1.  427,  "  The  lion's 
mouth:  Via  di  Bocca  di  Leone — the  name  of  a  street  near 


426  BROWNING   CYCLOPEDIA. 

the  Corso.  1.  607,  The  square  o'  the  Spaniards :  Piazza  di  Spagna< 
is  the  centre  of  the  strangers'  quarter  in  Rome.  It  derives  its  name 
from  the  palace  of  the  Spanish  Ambassador.  1.  1153,  Mirtillo,. 
probably  a  minor  poet  of  the  period.  1.  1303,  The  Augustinian : 
an  order  of  monks  following  the  rule  of  St.  Augustine.  1.  1377* 
TheAve  Maria  :  the  "  Hail  Mary  " — an  evening  devotion,  wherein, 
the  prayer  occurs  of  which  these  are  the  first  words. 

BOOK  VIII.,  DOMINUS  HYACINTHUS  DE  ARCHANGELIS,  PAU- 
PERUM  PROCURATOR.— In  this  book  we  have  the  counsel  on. 
behalf  of  Count  Guido  at  work  in  his  study,  preparing  the  de- 
fence which  he  is  to  make  on  behalf  of  his  client.  He  is  a  family 
man,  and  his  life  is  bound  up  in  that  of  his  son,  whose  birthday 
it  is,  the  lad  being  eight  years  old.  He  will  devote  himself  to  his 
case,  and  when  his  work  is  done  will  enjoy  the  yearly  lovesome 
frolic  feast  with  little  Cinuolo.  "  Commend  me,"  says  the  man 
of  law,  "  to  home  joy,  the  family  board,  altar  and  hearth ! "  He 
is  very  anxious  to  make  a  good  figure  in  the  courts  over  this  case, 
his  opponent,  old  bachelor  Bottinius,  shall  be  made  to  bite  his- 
thumb ;  and  he  expresses  his  gratitude  to  God  that  he  has  Guido- 
to  defend  just  when  his  boy  is  eight  years  old,  and  needs  a 
stimulus  to  study  from  his  sire.  He  chuckles  at  his  good  fortune :  ai 
noble  to  defend,  a  man  who  has  almost  with  parade  killed  three 
persons  ;  it  is  really  too  much  luck  to  befall  him,  and  on  his  son's- 
birthday  too !  he  prays  God  to  keep  him  humble,  and  mutters 
"Non  nobis  Domine  !  "  as  he  turns  over  his  papers.  He  determines 
to  beat  the  other  side,  if  only  for  love,  as  a  tribute  to  little 
Cinotto's  natal  day  (the  boy  was  called  by  half  a  dozen  pet 
names).  He  will  astonish  the  Pope  himself  with  his  eloquence 
and  skill ;  and  the  day  shall  be  remembered  when  his  son. 
becomes  of  age.  Then  he  bethinks  himself  of  the  night's  feast :: 
the  wine,  the  minced  herbs  with  the  liver,  goose-foot,  and  cock's- 
comb,  cemented  with  cheese;  he  rubs  his  hands  again,  as  he- 
thinks  of  all  the  good  things  getting  ready.  But  now  to  work :: 
he  must  puzzle  out  this  case.  He  is  particular  about  the  Latin< 
he  will  use  ;  he  would  like  to  bring  in  Vergil,  but  that  will  not  do* 
well  in  prose.  His  son  shall  attack  him  with  Terence  on  the 
morrow.  Then  he  curbs  his  ardour,  and  sets  himself  to  deal 
in  earnest  with  the  case.  Bottinius  will  deny  that  Pompilia 
wrote  any  letter  at  all.  Anticipating  what  his  opponent  will  say, 
he  says  he  had  rather  lose  his  case  than  miss  the  chance  of 


Rln]  BROWNING   CYCLOPEDIA.  427 

ridiculing  his  Latin  and  making  the  judge  laugh,  who  will  so- 
enjoy  the  joke.  If  it  comes  to  law,  why,  he  is  afraid  he  cannot 
"level  the  fellow":  he  sees  him  even  now  in  his  study,  working 
up  thrusts  that  will  be  hard  to  parry,  he  is  sure  to  deliver  a  bowl 
from  some  unguessed  standpoint.  And  now  he  stops  to  rub 
some  life  into  his  frozen  fingers,  hopes  his  boy  will  take  care  oi 
his  throat  this  cold  day,  and  reflects  how  chilly  Guido  must  be 
in  his  dungeon,  despite  his  straw.  Carnival  time  too :  what  a 
providence,  with  the  city  full  of  strangers  !  He  will  do  his  best  to  • 
edify  and  amuse  them  :  they  may  remember  Cintino  some  day ! 
But  to  the  case.  "  Where  are  we  weak  ?  "  he  asks.  The  killing 
is  confessed  :  they  tortured  Guido,  and  so  got  it  out  of  him, — he 
shall  object  to  that ;  nobles  are  exempt  from  torture.  A  certain 
kind  of  torture  like  that  called  Vigiliarum,  is  excellent  for  ex- 
tracting confession;  he  has  never  known  any  prisoner  stand  it 
for  ten  hours  ;  they  "  touched  their  ten,"  'tis  true,  "  but,  bah  !  they 
died  !  "  If  the  Count  had  not  confessed,  he  should  have  set  up 
the  defence  that  Caponsacchi  really  murdered  the  three,  and  fled 
just  as  Guido,  touched  by  grace, — consequent  upon  having  been 
a  good  deal  at  church  at  the  holy  season — hastened  to  the  house 
to  pardon  his  wife,  and  so  arrived  just  in  time — to  be  charged  with 
the  murders.  Yes,  he  could  have  done  very  well  on  this  line,  he 
thinks ;  but  the  confession  has  spoiled  all  that.  Wonderful  that 
a  nobleman  could  not  stand  torture  better!  Why,  he  has  known 
several  brave  young  fellows  keep  a  rack  in  their  back  garden, 
and  take  a  turn  at  it  for  an  hour  or  two  at  a  time,  just  to  see  how 
much  pain  they  could  stand  without  flinching:  he  thinks  men 
are  degenerating.  And  so  he  meanders  on,  pulling  himself  up- 
in  the  midst  of  a  nice  point  to  wonder  whether  his  cook  has 
remembered  how  excellently  well  some  chopped  fennel-root  goes 
with  fried  liver.  "  But  no ;  she  cannot  have  been  so  obtuse  as  to 
forget!"  He  shall  begin  his  speech  with  a  pretty  compliment 
to  His  Holiness,  then  he  shall  quote  St.  Jerome,  St.  Gregory, 
Solomon,  and  St.  Bernard,  who  all  say  that  a  man  must  not  be 
touched  in  his  honour.  Our  Lord  Himself  said,  "  My  honour  I 
to  nobody  will  give  !  "  (He  stops  to  reflect  that  a  melon  would 
have  improved  the  soup,  but  that  the  boy  wanted  the  rind  to 
make  a  boat  with.)  He  shall  continue,  that  a  husband  who  has 
a  faithless  wife  must  raise  hue  and  cry, — the  law  is  not  for  such 
cases, — these  are  for  gentlemen  to  deal  with  themselves.  Of» 


-428  BROWNING   CYCLOPAEDIA.  [Bin 

course  the  other  side  will  object  that  Guido  allowed  too  long  an  in- 
terval to  elapse  between  the  capture  of  the  fugitives  and  the  killing ; 
tout  he  shaii  show  that  there  really  was  no  interval  between  the 
-inn  and  the  Comparinis'  villa  at  Rome :  Pompilia  was  inaccessible 
*between  these  places.     If  they  object  that  Guido,  when  he  arrived 
at  Rome  on  Christmas  Eve,  should  have  sought  his  vengeance  at 
once,  he  shall  ask,  " Is  no  religion  left?"    A  man  with  all  those 
Feasts  of  the  Nativity  to  occupy  his  mind  could  not  be  expected 
to  go  about  his  private  business.     (He  pauses  to  reflect  that  a 
little  lamb's  fry  will  be  very  toothsome  in  an  hour's  time.)    The 
charge  is  that  "  we  killed  three  innocents  "  ;  as  to  the  manner  of 
•the  killing,  that  matters  nothing,  granted  we  had  the  right  to  kill. 
Eight  months  since  they  would  have  been  held  to  blame  if  they 
'had  let  this  bad  pair  escape:  true,  that  was  the  time  to  have 
killed  them,  but  the  Count  had  not  the  proper  weapons  handy. 
He  shall  say,  too,  that  he  did  not  instruct  his  confederates  to  kill 
-any  one  of  the  three,  but  merely  to  disfigure  them  ;  they  had 
been  too  zealous.     He  next  proceeds  to  dispose  of  a  number  oi 
points  in  which  it  is  charged  the  offence  was  aggravated, — such  as 
slaying  the  family  in  their  own  house,  and  lastly  that  the  majesty 
•of  the  sovereign  has  received  a  wound.    (Here  he  fervently  hopes 
the  devil  will  not  instigate  his  cook  to  stew  the  rabbit  instead  of 
<roasting  him :  he  will  have  to  go  and  see  after  things  himself — 
he  really  must.)    But,  if  the  end  be  lawful,  the  means  are  allowed. 
>(The  Cardinal  has  promised  to  go  and  read  the  speech  to  the 
Pope,  and  point  its  beauties  out,  so  he  must  be  adroit  in  his 
•words.)     As  he  stands  forth  as  the  advocate  of  the  poor,  he  must 
put  in  a  word  or  two  for  the  four  assassins  who  did  the  deed.    On 
-their  behalf  he  pleads  that,  as  the  husband  was  in  the  right  in 
what  he  did,  those  who  helped  him  could  not  be  in  the  wrong. 
'(On  which  more  Latin  and  neat  phrases.)     He  will  be  reminded 
that  Guido  went  off  without  paying  the  men  the  stipulated  fee  for 
the  murders.     "  What  fact,"  he  shall  ask,  "  could  better  illustrate 
>the  perfect  rectitude  of  the  Count  ?  "  The  men  were  not  actuated  by 
malice,  but  by  a  simple  desire  to  earn  their  bread  by  the  sweat 
•of  their  brow.    As  for  the  Count,  so  absorbed  was  he  in  vindicating 
his  honour,  that  paltry,  vulgar  questions  of  money  wholly  escaped 
him  ;  "  he  spared  them  the  pollution  of  the  pay."     In  conclusion, 
he  shall  urge  that  Guido  killed  bis  wife  in  defence  of  the  marriage 
,  that  he  might  creditably  live.     "There's  my  speech,"  he 


Kin]  BROWNING   CYCLOPAEDIA.  429. 

cries,  as  he  dashes  down  the  pen  ;  "  where's  my  fry,  and  family, 
and  friends  ?  What  an  evening  have  I  earned  to-day  !  "  Andi 
off  he  goes  to  supper,  singing  "Tra-la-la,  lambkins,  we  must 
live ! " 

NOTES. — Line  8,   "And  chews  Corderitts  with  his  morning 
crust" :  the  Colloquies  of  Corderius  were  used  in  every  school 
of  any  consequence  in  the  time  of  Shakespeare's  boyhood.     It 
was  the  most  popular  Latin  book  for  boys  of  the  time.     1.  14,. 
Papinianian  pulp  :  Papinian  was  the  most  celebrated  of  Roman 
jurists,  and  an  intimate  friend  of  the  Emperor  Septimius  Severus. 
1.  58,  Flaccus :  Horace,  whose  full  name  was  Quintus  Horatins- 
Flaccus.     1.  94,  " Non  nobis,  Domine,  sed  Tibi  laus"  :  "  Not  unto 
us,  Lord,  but  to  Thee  be  the  praise  !"    1.  101,  Pro  Milone :  the- 
celebrated  oration  of  Cicero  on  behalf  of  Milo,  a  friend  of  his. 
1.    115,    Hortensius    Redivivus  :    Hortensius,    the    Roman    orator.. 
1.    117,    "  The   Est-est"  :    a   wine   so    called   because   a  nobleman* 
once  sent  his  servant  in  advance  to  write  "  Est,"  it  is  I  on  any 
inn  where  the  wine  was  particulary  good  ;   at  one  place  the  man, 
wrote    "  Est-est,"    It   is  /    it   is !   in    token    of  its    superlative    ex- 
cellence, and  the  vintage  has  ever  since  gone  by  this  designation.. 
1.    329,    "  Questions,"    tortures;    Vigiliarum :    torture    by    incessant- 
jerking    of    the    body    and    limbs.       1.    482,    Theodoric :    king    of 
the   Ostrogoths    (c.  A.D.  454-526);    he   caused  the  celebrated 
Boethius  to  be  put  to  death.      1.  483,  Cassiodorus :  a  Roman* 
historian,  statesman,  and  monk,  who  lived  about  468  A.D.  ;  he 
was  raised  by  Theodoric  to  the  highest  offices.     He  was  one  of 
the  first  of  literary  monks,  and  his  books  were  much  used  in  the 
middle  ages.     1.  498,  Scaliger :    Julius  Caesar  Scaliger  (1484- 
1558),  a  man  of  the  greatest  eminence  in  the  world  of  letters, 
and  as  a  man  of  science,  and  a  philosopher.     He  had   a  son, 
Joseph  Justus  Scaliger^  not  less  eminent,  who  wrote  the  work: 
referred  to.     1.  503,  The  Idyllist  is  Theocritus,  the  Sicilian  poet 
1.    513,  ^Elian  :  a  Roman,  in  the  reign  of  Adrian,  surnamed* 
the  honey-tongued,  from  the  sweetness  of  his  style ;  he  wrote 
seventeen  treatises  on  animals.     1.  948,    Valerius  Maximus^  a 
Latin  writer,  who  made  a  collection  of  historical  anecdotes,  andi 
published  his  work   in  the  reign  of  Tiberius.     It  was  called 
Books  of  Memorable  Deeds  and  Utterances.     Most  of  the  tales 
are  from  Roman  history.     Cyriacus :  patriarch  of  the  Jacobites,, 
monk  of  the  convent  of  Bizona,  in  Syria ;  died  at  Mosul  in  817  A.D*. 


BROWNING   CYCLOPAEDIA.  n 

He  wrote  homilies,  canons,  and  epistles.  1.  1542,  Castrensis  : 
,a  distinguished  professor  of  civil  and  canon  law;  he  died  in 
1441.  He  was  a  professor  at  Vienna,  Avignon,  Padua,  Florence, 
.Bologna,  and  Perugia.  His  most  complete  work  is  his  readings 
on  the  Digest.  Butringarius :  a  jurisconsult  (1274-1348).  [I  have 
not  considered  it  necessary  to  translate  the  many  Latin  lines  in 
•this  and  the  following  section  of  the  work,  because  in  nearly 
every  case  their  sense  is  given  in  the  context,  and  therefore  those 
who  do  not  read  Latin  will  lose  nothing,  as  practically  they  have 
:it  all  englished  in  the  text.] 

BOOK  IX.,  JURIS  DOCTOR  JOHANNES-BAPTISTA  BOTTINIUS 
.(Fisci  ET  REV.  CAM.  APOSTOL.  ADVOCATUS).— Bottinius  is  the 
Public  Prosecutor,  and  has  to  present  the  case  against  the  Count 
.and  his  confederates.  He  is  not  a  family  man,  and  seems  to 
have  but  a  low  ideal  of  feminine  virtue.  He  admires  the  sex, 
but  from  a  superior  masculine  standpoint ;  their  weaknesses  are 
.amiable.  Of  girls  he  says — 

"  Know  one,  you  know  all 
Manners  of  maidenhood  :  mere  maiden  she. 
And  since  all  lambs  are  like  in  more  than  fleece, 
Prepare  to  find  that,  lamb-like,  she  too  frisks        * 

He  mixes  up  references  to  the  Holy  Family,  Joseph,  Mary,  her 
Babe,  Saint  Anne  and  Herod ;  with  whom  he  compares  Pompilia, 
the  Comparini  family,  and  the  Count ;  and  all  this  with  illustra- 
tions from  the  classics  not  greatly  to  the  honour  of  women.  The 
•view  of  Bottinius,  in  short,  is  that  of  the  bachelor  man  of  the 
world,  with  no  very  lofty  ideals  about  anything.  His  philosophy 
;is  summed  up  in  his  last  words,  "Still,  it  pays."  He  says  he  feels 
his  strength  inadequate  to  paint  Pompilia ;  but  we  know  this  is  a 
professional  way  of  speaking,  for  he  soon  relapses  into  "  melting 
wiles,  deliciousest  deceits  " — very  incongruous  with  our  ideas  of 
what  Pompilia  really  was.  No  doubt,  he  thinks,  there  were  some 
•friskings,  for  which  Guido  naturally  threatened  the  whip,  and 
•considers  Guido  to  have  been  impatient.  He  supposes  that 
Pompilia  smiled  upon  everybody,  till,  when  three  years  of  married 
•life  had  run  their  course,  she  smiled  on  Caponsacchi ;  and  as 
he  was  a  priest,  and  the  court  was  more  or  less  ecclesiastical, 
Bottinius  makes  light  of  the  affair.  He  will  grant  that  the  lady 
.somewhat  plied  "arts  that  allure,"  "the  witchery  of  gesture,"  and 


BROWNING   CYCLOPAEDIA.  431 

-the  like.  This  was  within  the  right  of  beauty,  for  the  purpose 
-of  securing  a  champion.  He  will  grant,  for  argument's  sake,  that 
she  did  write  to  Caponsacchi.  What  of  it  ? — it  was  but  to  say 
her  life  was  not  worth  an  hour's  purchase.  It  was  not  likely 
that  Caponsacchi  fell  in  love — he  who  might  be  Pope  some  day 
— yet  the  lady,  being  in  such  a  case,  was  bound  to  offer  him 
nothing  short  of  love,  as  his  great  service  was  to  save  her.  What 
•was  she  to  offer  him — money?  To  escape  death  she  might  well 
have  feigned  love,  and  offered  such  a  reward  as  the  Idyl  of  Moschus 
makes  Venus  promise  to  any  who  -should  bring  back  lost  Cupid. 
As  it  was  wiser  to  choose  a  priest  for  the  rescue  of  her  life,  if  the 
cleric  were  young,  handsome,  and  strong,  so  much  the  better,  surely. 
Suppose  it  were  true  that  Pompilia  administered  an  opiate  to  her 
husband  the  night  before  she  left  him  ?  Well,  that  was  to  pro- 
tect him  from  rough  usage  if  he  aroused  and  interfered.  This, 
;says  Bottinius,  is  how  he  would  argue  if  the  things  which  are 
but  fables  had  been  true :  of  course  Guido  never  slept  a  wink, 
•and  Pompilia,  equally  of  course,  knew  nothing  about  opiates. 
Then,  when  she  started  with  her  rescuer  on  the  road  to  Rome, 
•even  granting  what  the  suborned  coachman  said  about  the  kiss- 
ing which  he  saw — the  one  long  embrace  which  constituted  the 
journey — a  sage  and  sisterly  kiss  were  surely  allowable,  and  this 
is  probably  what  was  exaggerated  by  the  drowsy,  tired  driver. 
Then,  when  the  pale  creature,  exhausted  with  the  long  journey, 
fainted  at  the  inn,  and  Caponsacchi  carried  her  to  the  chamber, 
what  if  he  "  stole  a  balmy  breath,  perhaps  '  ?  "  why  curb  ardour 
here  ? ''  He  could  but  pity  her,  and  "  pity  is  so  near  to  love  !  " 
As  Pompilia  was  asleep,  she  could  neither  know  nor  care.  Were 
he  to  concede  that  Pompilia  did  write  the  incriminating  letters, 
she,  for  self-protection,  might  deny  she  did  so.  "Would  that  I 
had  never  learned  to  write!"  said  one;  Pompilia,  splendidly 
mendacious,  merely  out-distanced  him  with,  "  To  read  or  write  I 
never  learned  at  all ! "  Bottinius  cannot  resist  a  thrust  or  two  at 
his  "  fat  opponent's"  love  of  good  living;  calls  him  "thou  arch- 
angelic  swine,"  and  reminds  him  that  he  had  not  invited  him  to 
last  night's  birthday  feast,  when  all  sorts  of  good  things  uere 
going.  Turning  to  the  action  of  Caponsacchi,  he  reminds  the 
•court  that  Archbishop  and  Governor,  gentle  and  simple,  did 
nothing  to  extiicate  Pompilia  from  her  troubles;  they  all  went 
their  ways  and  left  her  to  her  fate ;  Caponsacchi  alone,  bursting 


43 2  BROWNING   CYCLOPAEDIA.  [Bilk 

through  the  impotent  sympathy  of  Arezzo,  caught  Virtue  up,  and 
carried  her  off.  He  had  not  soiled  her  with  the  pitch  alleged  r 
the  marks  she  bore  were  the  evanescent  black  and  blue  of  the 
necessary  grasp.  Then  he  must  tell  a  tale  how  Peter,  John,  and 
Judas,  being  on  a  journey,  were  footsore  and  hungry;  how  they 
reached  at  night  an  inn  for  rest  where  there  was  but  one  room ; 
for  food  but  a  solitary  fowl,  a  wretched  sparrow  of  a  thing.  Peter 
suggested  they  should  all  go  to  sleep  till  the  fowl  was  ready,  then- 
he  who  had  had  the  happiest  dream  should  eat  the  entire  fowl, 
as  there  was  not  enough  for  three ;  so  each  rested  in  his  straw- 
When  they  awoke,  John  said  he  had  dreamed  he  was  the  Lord's 
favourite  disciple,  and  claimed  the  meal.  Peter  had  dreamed 
he  had  the  keys  of  heaven  and  hell,  and  thought  the  fowl  must 
clearly  be  his.  But  Judas  dreamed  that  he  had  descended  from 
the  chamber  where  they  slept  and  had  eaten  the  fowl.  And  so- 
the  traitor  really  had :  he  had  left  nothing  but  the  drumstick  and1 
the  merry-thought ;  and  that  is  how  the  bone  called  merry- 
thought earned  its  name,  to  put  us  in  mind  that  the  best  dream> 
is  to  keep  awake  sometimes.  So,  said  Bottinius,  the  great 
people  of  Arezzo  never  meant  Innocence  to  starve  while  Authority 
sat  at  meat.  They  meant  Pompilia  to  have  something — in  their 
dreams  ;  they  were  willing  to  help  her — in  their  sleep.  Capon- 
sacchi  did  wiser  than  dream  or  sleep  :  he  brought  a  carriage,  while 
the  Archbishop  and  the  Governor  wondered  what  they  could  do. 
Then  the  Advocate  bursts  into  a  fit  of  admiration  for  the  majesty 
and  sanctity  of  the  law,  and  what  it  would  have  done  for  Guido» 
if  only  he  had  been  content  to  wait.  He  comments  on  the 
penance  which  Pompilia  had  undergone ;  and  though  he  cannot 
believe  that  Caponsacchi  ever  went  near  her  when  she  left  the 
convent,  is  inclined  to  ask,  Suppose  he  did  ?  Is  it  a  matter  for 
surprise  that  he  would  feel  lonely  at  Civita,  and  pine  a  little  for 
the  feminine  society  to  which  he  had  been  accustomed  ?  And 
so  he  goes  on  denying  all  the  accusations,  but  always  adding,. 
"And  suppose  it  were  otherwise?"  He  says,  if  he  must  speak 
his  mind,  it  had  been  better  that  Pompilia  had  died  upon  the 
spot  than  lived  to  shame  the  law.  Does  he  credit  her  story  ? — 
no !  Did  she  lie  ? — still  no  !  He  explains  it  this  way  :  She  had 
made  her  confession  at  the  point  of  death,  and  was  absolved ;  it 
was  only  charity  in  her  to  spend  her  last  breath  by  pretending 
utter  innocence,  and  thus  rehabilitate  the  character  of  Capon- 


BROWNING   CYCLOPAEDIA.  433 

sacchi.  Had  she  told  the  naked  truth  about  him,  it  would  have 
doubtless  injured  him,  and  she  was  not  bound  to  do  that;  and! 
as  the  Sacrament  had  obliterated  the  sin,  she  was  justified  in  the 
course  he  believes  she  took. 

NOTES. — Line  115,  The  Urbinate:  Rafael.  1.  1 16,  The  Cortonese? 
Luca  da  Cortona,  Italian  painter.  1.  117,  Ciro  Ferri,  Italian  painter 
(1634-1689).  1. 170,  Phryne,  a  celebrated  beauty  of  Athens.  She 
was  the  mistress  of  Praxiteles,  who  made  a  statue  of  her,  which* 
was  one  of  his  greatest  works,  and  was  placed  in  the  temple  o£ 
Apollo  at  Delphi.  1.  226,  The  Teian  :  the  Greek  poet  Anacreoiu 
was  born  at  Teos,  in  Ionia.  1. 284,  The  Mantuan  —  Vergil.  1.  394^, 
Commachian  eels  were  anciently,  and  are  still,  very  celebrated- 
L  400,  Lerncean  snake,  the  famous  hydra  which  Hercules  slew.. 
1.  530,  Idyllium  Moschi,  the  first  Idyl  of  the  Greek  poet  Moschus,. 
entitled  "  Love  a  Runaway."  1.  541,  Myrtilus,  the  son  of  Mercury 
and  Phaethusa :  for  his  perfidy  he  was  thrown  into  the  sea,  where 
he  perished ;  Amaryllis,  the  name  of  a  countryman  mentioned 
by  Theocritus  and  Vergil.  1.  873,  Demodocus,  a  musician  at  the 
court  of  Alcinous :  the  gods  gave  him  the  power  of  song,  but 
denied  him  the  blessing  of  sight.  1.  875,  "foisted  into  that  Eighth 
Odyssey" :  see  Pope's  Homer's  Odyssey,  Book  VIII,  with  the 
first  note  thereto.  1.  887,  Cornelius  Tacitus,  a  celebrated  Roman 
historian,  born  in  the  reign  of  Nero.  1.  893,  "  Thalassian-pure  "  : 
Thalassius  was  a  beautiful  young  Roman  in  the  reign  of  Romulus, 
At  the  rape  of  the  Sabines,  a  virgin  captured  by  one  of  the 
ravishers  was  declared  to  be  reserved  for  Thalassius,  and  alii 
were  eager  to  reserve  her  pure  for  him.  1.  968,  Hesione,  a  daughter 
of  Laomedon,  king  of  Troy.  It  fell  to  her  lot  to  be  exposed  to- 
a  sea  monster.  Hercules  killed  the  monster  and  delivered  her^ 
but  Laomedon  refused  to  give  him  the  promised  reward.  L  989^. 
Hercules  and  Omphak  ;  Omphale  was  queen  of  Lydia>  and* 
Hercules  loved  her  so  much  that  he  used  to  spin  by  her  side; 
amongst  her  women,  while  she  wore  the  lion's  skin  and  bore  the* 
club  of  the  hero.  1.  998,  Anti-Fabius,  i.e.,  opposed  to  the  policy  oft' 
Quintus  Fabius  Maximus,  the  Roman  general  who  opposed  tiro 
progress  of  Hannibal,  not  by  fighting,  but  by  harassing  counter- 
marches and  ambuscades;  for  which  he  received  the  name  of  the 
delayer.  A  Fabian  policy,  therefore,  is  a  waiting  policy.  Caporo- 
sacchi  acted  promptly.  1.  1030,  "  Sepher  Toldoth  Yeschu  "  .•  the 
Italians  have  an  endless  store  of  tales  and  legends  of  this 

28 


434  BROWNING   CYCLOPEDIA. 

character.  See,  for  many  such,  Mr.  Crane's  Italian  Popular 
Stories  (Macmillan).  1.  1109,  "  Thucydides  and  his  sole  joke" : 
Thucydides  was  a  celebrated  Greek  historian,  born  at  Athens. 
He  wrote  the  history  of  the  Peloponnesian  war,  in  which  he  tells 
rthe  story  of  Cylon  (I.  126).  1.  1345,  Maro  =  Vergil ;  Aristaus, 
•a  son  of  Apollo,  said  to  have  learnt  from  nymphs  the  art  of  the 
•cultivation  of  olives  and  management  of  bees,  which  he  com- 
municated to  mankind.  1.  1494,  Triarii,  old  soldiers  that  were 
ikept  in  reserve  to  assist  in  case  of  hazard.  1.  1573,  "famed 
panegyric  of  fsocrates" :  Isocrates  was  one  of  the  ten  Attic 
.orators,  and  one  of  the  most  remarkable  men  in  the  literary 
Ihistory  of  Greece.  He  was  born  B.C.  436.  His  splendid  pane- 
igyric  was  delivered  B.C.  380,  for  the  purpose  of  stimulating  the 
ipeopQe  of  Greece  to  unite  against  the  power  of  Asia. 

BOOK  X.  [THE  POPE.]  As  to  a  court  of  final  appeal,  the 
case  has  now  come  before  the  Pope,  Guido  having  claimed 
"benefit  of  clergy."  The  Supreme  Pontiff  has  made  a  pro- 
Uonged  study  of  the  evidence  adduced  on  the  trials,  and  of  the 
'whole  circumstances  surrounding  the  case ;  now  he  has  to 
•decide  the  fate  of  the  Count  and  his  accomplices  in  the  murder. 
•And  that  he  may  give  judgment  without  bias,  in  the  sight  of  God 
iand  -t>f  the  world,  he  nerves  himself  for  the  task  by  recalling  the 
Ihistory  of  his  predecessors  in  the  Chair  of  Peter  who  have,  from 
tvhe  Apostle  up  to  Alexander,  the  last  Pope,  dared  and  suffered. 
How  judged  this  one,  how  decided  that  ?  did  he  well  or  ill  ?  He 
remembers  that  no  infallibility  attaches  to  such  a  decision  as  he 
must  give  in  the  case  in  which  he  is  called  upon  to  act :  judgment 
must  be  given  in  his  own  behoof;  so  worked  his  predecessors. 
And  now  appeal  is  made  from  man's  assize  to  him  acting,  speak- 
ing in  the  place  of  God.  He  must  be  just,  and  dare  not  let  the 
felon  go  soot  free.  It  is  not  possible  to  reprieve  both  criminal 
and  Pope.  Guido  was  furnished  for  his  life  with  all  the  help 
a  Christian  civilisation  could  bestow:  he  had  intellect,  wit,  "a 
healthy  frame,  and  all  the  advantages  of  family  and  position. 
He  accepted  the  law  that  man  is  not  here  to  please  himself,  but 
•God ;  placed  himself  under  obedience  to  the  Church,  which  is 
the  embodiment  of  that  principle,  and  then  deliberately  clothed 
himself  with  the.  protection  of  the  Church  that  he  might  violate 
the  law  with  impunity.  Three-parts  consecrate,  he  sought  to  do 
his  murder  in  the  Church's  pale.  Such  a  man — religious  parasite 


BROWNING  CYCLOPAEDIA.  435 

—proves  "  irreligiousest  of  all  mankind."  His  low  instincts 
make  him  believe  only  in  "the  vile  of  life."  He  is  clothed  in 
falsehood,  scale  on  scale.  The  typical  actuating  principle  of  his 
life  was  plainly  exhibited  in  his  marriage.  He  was  prompted  to 
that  by  no  single  motive  which  should  have  suggested  matrimony. 
In  this  he  had  sunk  far  below  the  level  of  the  brute,  "whose 
appetite,  if  brutish,  is  a  truth."  This  lust  of  money  led  him  to 
lie,  rob  and  murder  ;  to  pursue  with  insatiate  malice  the  parents 
of  his  wife  by  punishing  their  child,  putting  day  by  day  and  houi 
by  hour, 

"  The  untried  torture  to  the  untouched  place," 

goading  her  to  death  and  bringing  damnation  by  rebound  to 
those  who  loved  her.  Ruining  the  three,  he  enjoyed  luck  and 
liberty,  person,  rights,  fame,  worth,  all  intact ;  while  these  poor 
souls  must  waste  away,  be  blown  about  as  dust.  Such  cruelty 
needed  only  as  its  complement,  as  a  masterpiece  of  hell,  the  craft 
of  this  simulated  love  intrigue, — these  false  letters,  false  to 
body  and  soul  they  figure  forth — as  though  the  man  had  cut  out 
some  filthy  shapes  to  fasten  below  the  cherubs  on  a  missal-page. 
But  Pompilia's  ermine-like  soul  takes  no  pollution  from  all  this 
craft.  It  arose  that  in  the  providence  of  God  were  born  new 
attributes  to  two  souls.  Priest  and  wife — both  champions  of 
truth — developed  new  safeguards  of  their  noble  natures.  Then 
does  the  law  step  in,  secludes  the  wife  and  gives  the  oppressor 
a  new  probation.  It  only  induces  Guido  to  furbish  up  his  tools 
for  a  fresh  assault.  He  has  a  son.  To  other  men  the  gift  brings 
thankfulness ;  Guido  saw  in  the  babe  but  a  money-bag.  Even 
in  the  deepest  degradation  of  his  sinful  career  he  has  another 
grace  vouchsafed  from  God.  When  he  fled  from  the  scene  of  the 
murders,  he  took  with  him  the  money  which  he  had  agreed  to  pay 
his  confederates.  They  came  near  to  his  hiding-place,  intending 
to  kill  him  for  the  gold,  but  were  too  late :  the  agents  of  the  law 
were  too  quick  for  them.  He  had  another  chance  of  repentance. 
So  stands  Guido  ;  and  this  master  of  wickedness  has  for  pupils 
his  "  fox-faced,  horrible  brother-brute  the  Abate,"  and  his  younger 
brother,  neither  wolf  nor  fox,  but  the  hybrid  Girolamo,  and 

"  The  hag  that  gave  these  three  abortions  birth, 
Unmotherly  mother  and  unwomanly 
Woman," 


436  BROWNING   CYCLOP/EDIA.     .  [Bin 

and  lastly  the  four  companions  in  the  murder,  who  acceded  at 
once  to  the  crime,  as  though  they  were  set  to  dig  a  vineyard. 
Then  the  Pope  recalls  the  only  answer  of  the  Governor  to 
whom  Pompilia  appealed — a  threat  and  a  shrug  of  the  shoulder. 
He  has  a  severe  word  for  the  Archbishop,  as  a  hireling  who 
turned  and  fled  when  the  wolf  pressed  on  the  panting  lamb 
within  his  reach.  It  comforts  him  to  turn  to  Pompilia,  "  perfect 
in  whiteness,"  as  he  pronounces.  It  makes  him  proud  in  the 
evening  of  his  life  as  "  gardener  of  the  untoward  ground,"  that 
he  is  privileged  to  gather  this  "  rose  for  the  breast  of  God." 

"  Go  past  me 

And  get  thy  praise, — and  be  not  far  to  seek 
Presently  when  I  follow  if  I  may ! " 

Nor  very  much  apart  from  her  can  be  placed  Caponsacchi,  his 
11  warrior-priest."  He  finds  much  amiss  in  this  freak  of  his.  He 
disapproves  the  masquerade,  the  change  of  garb ;  but  it  was 
grandly  done — that  athlete's  leap  amongst  the  uncaged  beasts 
set  upon  the  martyr-maid  in  the  mid-cirque.  Impulsively  had 
he  cast  every  rag  to  the  winds  ;  but  he  championed  God  at  first 
blush,  and  answered  ringingly,  with  his  glove  on  ground,  the 
challenge  of  the  false  knight.  Where,  then,  were  the  Church's 
men-at-arms,  while  this  man  in  mask  and  motley  has  to  do 
their  work?  When  temptation  came  he  had  taken  it  by  the 
head  and  hair,  had  done  his  battle,  and  has  praise.  Yet  he  must 
ruminate.  "  Work,  be  unhappy,  but  bear  life,  my  son  1 "  He 
turns  to  God,  "reaches  into  the  dark,"  "feels  what  he  cannot 
see  " ;  renews  his  confidence  in  the  Divine  order  of  the  universe, 
but  not  without  a  pause,  a  shudder,  a  breathing  space  while  he 
collects  his  thoughts  and  reviews  his  grounds  of  faith.  The 
mind  of  man  is  a  convex  glass,  gathering  to  itself 

"  The  scattered  points 
Picked  out  of  the  immensity  of  sky." 

He  understands  how  this  earth  may  have  been  chosen  as  the- 
theatre  of  the  plan  of  redemption  ;  as  he  in  turn  represents  God 
here,  he  can  believe  that  man's  life  on  earth  has  been  devised 
that  he  may  wring  from  all  his  pain  the  pleasures  of  eternity. 
"  This  life  is  training  and  a  passage,"  and  even  Guide,  in  the 
world  to  come,  may  run  the  race  and  win  the  prize.  It  does  not 
stagger  him,  receiving  and  trusting  the  plan  of  God  as  he  does,  that 


Bin]  BROWNING   CYCLOPAEDIA.  437 

he  sees  other  men  rejecting  and  disbelieving  it,  any  more  than  it 
surprises  him  to  find  fishers  who  might  dive  for  pearls  dredging 
for  whelks  and  mud-worms.  But,  alas  for  the  Christians  I — how 
ill  they  figure  in  all  this !  The  Archbishop  of  Arezzo — how  he 
failed  when  the  test  came  1  The  friar,  who  had  forsaken  the 
world,  how  he  shrank  from  doing  his  duty,  for  fear  of  rebuke ! 
Women  of  the  convent  to  whom  Pompilia  was  consigned, — their 
kiss  turned  bite,  and  they  claimed  the  wealth  of  which  she  died 
possessed  because  the  trial  seemed  to  prove  her  of  dishonest  life  : 
so  issue  writ,  and  the  convent  takes  possession  by  the  Fisc's  advice. 
Their  fine  speeches  were  all  unsaid — their  "sai  it  was  whore" 
when  money  was  the  prize.  All  this  terrifies  the  aged  Pope — 
not  the  wrangling  of  the  Roman  soldiers  for  the  garments  of  the 
Lord,  but  the  greed  in  His  apostles.  But  are  not  mankind  real  ? 
Is  the  petty  circle  in  which  he  moves,  after  all,  the  world  ?  The 
instincts  of  humanity  have  helped  mankind  in  every  age  ;  they 
will  do  so  still.  If,  because  Christianity  is  old,  and  familiarity 
with  its  teachings  has  bred  a  confidence  which  is  ill  grounded, 
the  Christian  heroism  of  past  times  can  no  longer  be  looked  for, 
yet  the  heroism  of  mankind  springs  up  eternally,  and  will  suffice 
for  all  its  needs.  And  now  he  hears  the  whispers  of  the  times 
to  come.  The  approaching  age  (the  eighteenth  century)  will 
shake  this  torpor  of  assurance  ;  discarded  doubts  will  be  re- 
introduced  ;  the  earthquakes  will  try  the  towers  of  faith  ;  the  old 
reports  will  be  discredited.  Then  what  multitudes  will  sink 
from  the  plane  of  Christianity  down  to  the  next  discoverable 
base,  resting  on  the  lust  and  pride  of  life !  Some  will  stand 
firm.  Pompilias  will  "  know  the  right  place  by  the  foot's  feel  "  ; 
Caponsacchis  by  their  mere  impulses  will  be  guided  aright ;  the 
vast  majority  will  fall.  But  the  Vicar  of  Christ  has  a  duty  to 
perform,  whatever  may  be  in  store  in  the  womb  of  the  coming 
age.  With  Peter's  key  he  holds  Peter's  sword : 

"  I  smite 
With  my  whole  strength  once  more  ere  end  my  part," 

he  says.  Men  pluck  his  sleeve,  urge  him  to  spare  this  barren 
tree  awhile ;  others  point  out  the  privileges  of  the  clergy,  the 
right  of  the  husband  over  the  wife,  the  offence  to  the  nobility 
involved  in  condemning  one  of  their  order,  the  danger  to  his  own 
reputation  for  mercy.  He  brushes  away  with  a  sweep  of  his 


438  BROWNING   CYCLOPEDIA.  [Kin 

hand  all  these  busy  oppositions  to  his  sense  of  duty,  and  signs 
the  order  for  the  execution  of  Guido  and  his  companions.  On 
the  morrow  the  men  shall  die — not  in  the  customary  place,  where 
die  the  common  sort ;  but  Guido,  as  a  noble,  shall  be  beheaded 
where  the  quality  may  see,  and  fear,  and  learn.  He  has  no  hope 
for  Guido — 

"  Except  in  such  a  suddenness  of  fate. 
I  stood  at  Naples  once,  a  night  so  dark 
I  could  have  scarce  conjectured  there  was  earth 
Anywhere,  sky  or  sea,  or  world  at  all : 
But  the  night's  black  was  burst  through  by  a  blaze — 
Thunder  struck  blow  on  blow,  earth  groaned  and  bore, 
Through  her  whole  length  of  mountain  visible  : 
There  lay  the  city,  thick  and  plain,  with  spires, 
And,  like  a  ghost  disshrouded,  white  the  sea. 
So  may  the  truth  be  flashed  out  by  one  blow, 
And  Guido  see,  one  instant,  and  be  saved. 
*  *  *  * 

"  Carry  this  forthwith  to  the  Governor  ! " 

NOTES. — Line  I,  Ahasuerus :  Esther  vi.  i.  1.  n,  "  Peter  first 
to  Alexander  last" :  St.  Peter  to  Pope  Alexander  VIII.,  who  died 
1691.  1.  25,  Formosus  Pope  (891-6) :  he  was  bishop  of  Porto,  and 
succeeded  Stephen.  He  had  formerly,  from  fear  of  Pope  John, 
left  his  bishopric  and  fled  to  France.  As  he  did  not  return  when 
he  was  recalled,  he  was  anathematised,  and  deprived  of  his  pre- 
ferments. He  returned  to  the  world,  and  put  on  the  secular  habit. 
Pope  Martin  (882-4)  absolved  him,  and  restored  him  to  his  former 
dignity ;  he  then  came  to  the  popedom  by  bribery.  (See  Platina.} 
1.  32,  Stephen  VII.  (The  Pope,  896-7):  "he  persecuted  the 
memory  of  Formosus  with  so  much  spite,  that  he  abrogated  his 
decrees  and  rescinded  all  he  had  done ;  though  it  was  said  that  it 
was  Formosus  that  conferred  the  bishopric  of  Anagni  upon  him. 
Stephen,  because  Formosus  had  hindered  him  before  of  this 
desired  dignity,  exercised  his  rage  even  upon  his  dead  body  \ 
for  Martin  the  historian  says  he  hated  him  to  that  degree  that, 
in  a  council  which  he  held,  he  ordered  the  body  of  Formosus  to 
be  dragged  out  of  the  grave,  to  be  stripped  of  his  pontifical  habit 
and  put  into  that  of  a  layman,  and  then  to  be  buried  among 
secular  persons,  having  first  cut  off  those  two  fingers  of  his  right 
hand  which  are  principally  used  by  priests  in  consecration,  and 


Kin]  BROWNING   CYCLOPAEDIA.  439 

thrown  into  the  Tiber,  because,  contrary  to  his  oath,  as  he  said, 
he  had  returned  to  Rome  and  exercised  his  sacerdotal  function, 
from  which  Pope  John  had  legally  degraded  him.  This  proved 
a  great  controversy,  and  of  very  ill  example ;  for  the  succeeding 
popes  made  it  almost  a  constant  custom  either  to  break  or 
abrogate  the  acts  of  their  predecessors,  which  was  certainly  far 
different  from  the  practice  of  any  of  the  good  popes  whose  lives 
we  have  written."  (Platina's  Lives  of  the  Popes,  Dr.  Benham's- 
edition,  vol.  i.,  p.  237.)  1.  89,  "  IX0Y2,  which  means  Fish":  the 
letters  of  this  word,  the  Greek  for  fish,  make  the  initials  of  the 
words  Jesus,  Christ,  of  God,  Son,  Saviour.  The  fish  emblem  for 
our  Lord  is  common  in  the  Roman  catacornbs,  and  is  still  used 
in  ecclesiastical  art.  1.  91,  "  The  Pope  is  Fisherman" :  because 
he  is  the  successor  of  St.  Peter  the  fisherman,  and  Christ  said 
He  would  make  Peter  a  fisher  of  men  (Mark  i.  17).  1.  108, 
Theodore  II.  (Pope  898)  restored  the  decrees  of  Formosus,  and 
preferred  his  friends.  1.  122,  Luitprand:  a  chronicler  of  Papal 
history.  1.  128,  Romanus  (Pope  897-8) :  as  soon  as  he  received 
the  pontificate  he  disavowed  and  rescinded  all  the  acts  and 
decrees  of  Stephen.  Platina  calls  such  men  "  popelings,"  Ponti- 
ficuli (ed.  1551).  1.  132,  Ravenna:  Pope  John  IX.  removed  to 
Ravenna  in  consequence  of  the  disturbances  in  Rome.  He 
called  a  synod  of  seventy-four  bishops,  and  condemned  all  that 
Stephen  had  done  ;  he  restored  the  decrees  of  Formosus,  de- 
claring it  irregularly  done  of  Stephen  to  re-ordain  those  on  whom 
Formosus  had  conferred  holy  orders.  (See  Platina.)  1.  138,  De 
Ordinationibus  =  concerning  Ordinations.  1.  142,  John  IX. 
(Pope  898-900)  reasserted  the  cause  of  Formosus,  in  conse- 
quence of  which  great  disturbances  arose  in  Rome.  Sergins  III, 
(Pope  904-11)  "totally  abolished  all  that  Formosus  had  done 
before ;  so  that  priests,  who  had  been  by  him  admitted  to  holy 
orders,  were  forced  to  take  new  ordination.  Nor  was  he  content 
with  thus  dishonouring  the  dead  pope  ;  but  he  dragged  his  carcase 
again  out  of  the  grave,  beheaded  it  as  if  it  had  been  alive,  andi 
then  threw  it  into  the  Tiber,  as  unworthy  the  honour  of  human 
burial.  It  is  said  that  some  fishermen,  finding  his  body  as  they 
were  fishing,  brought  it  to  St.  Peter's  church  ;  and  while  the 
funeral  rites  were  performing,  the  images  of  the  saints  which 
stood  in  the  church  bowed  in  veneration  of  his  body,  which  gave 
them  occasion  to  believe  that  Formosus  was  not  justly  persecuted 


44°  BROWNING   CYCLOPAEDIA. 

\vith  so  great  ignominy.  But  whether  the  fishermen  did  thus,  or 
no,  is  a  great  question ;  especially  it  is  not  likely  to  have  been 
done  in  Sergius'  lifetime,  who  was  a  fierce  persecutor  of  the 
favourers  of  Formosus,  because  he  had  hindered  him  before  of 
obtaining  the  pontificate."  (Platina,  Lives  of  the  Popes.)  1.  293, 
41  The  sagacious  Swede" :  this  was  Swedenborg,  born  at  Stock- 
holm 1688,  died  1772  :  the  mathematical  theory  of  Probability  is 
referred  to  here.  (See  Encyc.  Brit.,  vol.  xix.,  p.  768.)  1.  297,  "  dip 
in  Vergil  here  and  there,  and  prick  for  such  a  verse" :  just  as  people 
open  the  Bible  at  random  to  find  a  verse  to  foretell  certain 
events,  so  scholars  used  Vergil  for  this  purpose ;  sortes  Vergiliana ; 
Vergilian  lots.  1.  466^ paravent :  Fr.  a  screen  ;  ombrifuge  :  a  place 
where  one  flies  for  shade.  •  1.  5 10,  soldier-crab :  the  same  as  hermit- 
crab.  Named  from  their  combativeness,  or  from  their  possessing 
themselves  of  the  shells  of  other  animals.  1.  836,  Rota :  a  tribunal 
within  the  Curia,  formerly  the  supreme  court  of  justice  and  the 
universal  court  of  appeal.  It  consists  of  twelve  members  called 
auditors,  presided  over  by  a  dean.  The  decisions  of  the  Rota, 
which  form  precedents,  have  been  frequently  published  (Encyc. 
Diet.}.  1.  917,  she-pard:  a  female  leopard.  1.  1097,  "  The  other 
rose,  the  gold"  :  this  is  "an  ornament  made  of  wrought  gold  and 
set  with  gems,  which  is  blessed  by  the  Pope  on  the  fourth  Sunday 
of  Lent,  and  usually  afterwards  sent  as  a  mark  of  special  favour 
to  some  distinguished  individual,  church,  or  civil  community" 
{Encyc.  Brit.,  x.  758).  1.  1 188,  "Lead  ^ts  into  no  such  temptations^ 
Lord"  :  "  It  is  lawful  to  pray  God  that  we  be  not  led  into  tempta- 
tion, but  not  lawful  to  skulk  from  those  that  come  to  us.  The 
noblest  passage  in  one  of  the  noblest  books  of  this  century  is  where 
the  old  Pope  glories  in  the  trial — nay,  in  the  partial  fall  and  but 
imperfect  triumph — of  the  younger  hero."  (R.  L.  Stevenson's 
Virginibus  Puerisque,  p.  43.)  1.  1596 :  Missionaries  to  China 
have  always  had  great  difficulty  in  expressing  the  word  God  with 
our  idea  of  the  Supreme  Being  in  the  Chinese  language.  1.  1619, 
Rosy  cross :  Dr.  Brewer  says  this  is  "  not  rosa-crnx  =  rose-cross  ; 
but  ros  crux,  dew  cross.  Dew  was  considered  by  the  ancient 
chemists  as  the  most  powerful  solvent  of  gold  ;  and  cross  in 
alchemy  is  the  synonym  of  light,  because  any  figure  of  a  cross 
contains  the  three  letters  L  V  X  (light).  '  Lux '  is  the  menstruum 
of  the  red  dragon  (i.e.  corporeal  light),  and  this  sunlight  properly 
digested  produces  gold,  and  dew  is  the  digester.  Hence  the 


BROWNING   CYCLOPAEDIA.  441 

'Kosicrucians  are  those  who  use  dew  for  digesting  lux  or  light 
for  the  purpose  of  coming  at  the  philosopher's  stone."  (Brewer's 
Did.  of  Phrase  and  Fable,  p.  765.)  1.  1620,  The  great  work  = 
the  magnum  opus  :  "  to  find  the  absolute  in  the  infinite,  the  inde- 
•finite,  and  the  finite.  Such  is  the  magnum  opus  of  the  sages ; 
such  is  the  whole  secret  of  Hermes ;  such  is  the  stone  of  the 
-philosophers.  It  is  the  great  Arcanum."  (Mysteries  of  Magic, 
A.  E.  Waite,  p.  196.)  This  is  the  "  Azoth  "  of  Paracelsus  and 
the  sages.  Magnetised  electricity  is  the  first  matter  of  the 
magnum  opus.  1.  1698,  "  Know-thyself" :  e  ccelo  descendit  Tv&Oi 
-veavTov  —  "  Know  thyself  came  down  from  heaven  "  (Juvenal, 
Sal.  xi.  24)  ;  "  Take  the  golden  mean, "  "  Est  modus  in  rebus  " : 
*' There, '[is  a  mean  in  all  things."  (Horace,  Sat.  i.  106.)  1.  1707, 
41  When  the  Third  Poefs  tread  surprised  the  two" :  "the  talents 
•of  Sophocles  were  looked  upon  by  Euripides  with  jealousy,  and 
the  great  enmity  which  unhappily  prevailed  between  the  two  poets 
.gave  an  opportunity  to  the  comic  muse  of  Aristophanes  to  ridicule 
-them  both  on  the  stage  with  humour  and  success "  (Lempriere, 
Eur).  \.  1760,  schene  or  sheen  =  brightness  or  glitter.  1.  1762, 
denebrific :  causing  or  producing  darkness.  1.  1792,  "Paul, — 
'tis  a  legend,'— answered  Seneca"  :  Butler,  Lives  of  the  Saints, 
under  date  June  3oth,  says  :  "  That  Seneca,  the  philosopher,  was 
•converted  to  the  faith  and  held  a  correspondence  with  St.  Paul, 
is  a  groundless  fiction."  1.  1904,  antimasque  or  anti-mask:  a 
ridiculous  interlude ;  kibe :  a  crack  or  chap  in  the  flesh  occa- 
sioned by  cold.  1.  1942,  Loyola  :  St.  Ignatius  Loyola,  founder  of 
the  Order  of  the  Jesuits.  1.  1986-7,  "  Nemini  honorem  trado"  : 
Isaiah  xlii.  8,  xlviii.  1 1  —  "I  will  not  give  mine  honour  to 
another,"  or  "my  glory"  (as  A.V.).  1.2004,  Farinacci:  Fari- 
naccius  was  procurator-general  to  Pope  Paul  V.,  and  his  work  on 
-torture  in  evidence,  "  Praxis  et  Theorica  Criminalis  (Frankfort, 
1622),"  is  a  standard  authority.  1.  2060,  "the  three  little  taps  d 
ihe  silver  mallet"  :  when  the  Pope  dies  it  is  the  duty  of  the  earner- 
lingo  or  chamberlain  to  give  three  taps  with  a  silver  mallet  on 
the  Pope's  forehead  while  he  calls  him ;  it  is  a  similar  ceremony 
to  that  used  at  the  death  of  the  kings  of  Spain ;  where  the  royal 
chamberlain  calls  the  dead  sovereign  three  times,  "  Sefior !  Seflor  ! 
Seflor ! "  1.  2088,  Priam :  the  last  king  of  Troy ;  Hecuba :  the 
wife  of  Priam,  by  whom  he  had  nineteen  children  according  to 
Homer ;  "  Non  tali  anxilio  "  -  this  is  from  Vergil's  sEneid,  ii.t  519 


442  BROWNING   CYCLOPEDIA.  [Kin. 

— "  Non  tali  auxilio,  nee  defensoribus  istis  tempus  eget,"  "The 
crisis  requires  not  such  aid  nor  such  defenders  as  thou  art." 
1.  2iu,  The  People's  Square:  Piazza  del  Popolo,  at  the  north 
entrance  to  Rome.  It  is  reached  from  the  Corso. 

BOOK  XL,  GUIDO — is  now  in  the  prison  cell  awaiting  execution. 
He  is  visited  by  Cardinal  Acciaiuoli  and  Abate  Panciatichi,  who 
are  to  remain  with  him  till  the  fatal  moment.  He  is  pleading 
with  them  for  their  aid ;  he  reminds  them  of  his  noble  blood,  toe 
pure  to  leak  away  into  the  drains  of  Rome  from  the  headsman's 
engine.  He  protests  his  innocence  ;  he  has  only  twelve  hours  to 
live,  and  is  as  innocent  as  Mary  herself  He  denounces  the  Pope, 
who  could  have  cast  around  him  the  protection  of  the  Church, 
whose  son  he  is.  His  tonsure  should  have  saved  him.  It  was 
the  Pope's  duty  to  have  shown  him  mercy,  but  he  supposes  he  is 
sick  of  his  life,  and  must  vent  his  spleen  on  him.  He  asks  the 
Abate  if  he  can  do  nothing?  They  used  to  enjoy  life  together, 
but  he  concludes  that  his  companions  have  hearts  of  stone.  He 
wishes  he  had  never  entangled  himself  with  a  wife  ;  he  was  a  fool 
to  slay  her.  Why  must  he  die  ?  It  need  not  be  if  men  were 
good.  If  the  Pope  is  Peter's  successor,  he  should  act  like  Peter. 
Would  Peter  have  ordered  him  to  death  when  there  was  his  soul 
to  save  ?  What  though  half  Rome  condemned  him  ?  the  other 
half  took  his  part.  The  shepherd  of  the  flock  should  use  the 
crumpled  end  of  his  staff  to  rescue  his  sheep,  not  the  pointed  end 
wherewith  to  thrust  them.  The  law  proclaims  him  guiltless,  but 
the  Pope  says  he  is  guilty  ;  and  he  supposes  he  ought  to  acquiesce 
and  say  that  he  deserves  his  fate.  Repent  ?  not  he  !  What  would 
be  the  good  of  that  ?  If  he  fall  at  their  feet  and  gnash  and  foam, 
will  that  put  back  the  death  engine  to  its  hiding-place?  He 
reflects  that  old  Pietro  cried  to  him  for  respite  when  he  chased 
him  about  his  room.  He  asked  for  time  to  save  his  soul :  Guido 
gave  him  none.  Why  grant  respite  to  him  if  he  deserves  his 
doom  ?  Then  he  reproaches  his  companions  :  had  they  not 
sinned  with  him  if  he  had  done  wrong  ?  had  they  ever  warned 
him,  not  by  words,  but  by  their  own  good  deeds  ?  He  declares 
that  he  does  not  and  cannot  repent  one  particle  of  his  past  life. 
How  should  he  have  treated  his  wife  ?  Ought  he  to  have  loved* 
or  hated  her?  When  he  offered  her  his  love,  had  she  not 
recoiled  with  loathing  from  him  ?  Had  she  not  acted  as  a  victim 
at  the  sacrifice  ?  Was  it  not  her  desire  to  be  anywhere  apart: 


Bin]  BROWNING   CYCLOPAEDIA.  443. 

from  him?  What  was  called  his  wife  was  but  "a  nullity  in 
female  shape" — a  plague  mixed  up  with  the  "abominable  non- 
descripts "  she  called  her  father  and  her  mother.  It  was  intended 
that  he  should  be  fooled ;  it  happened  that  he  had  anticipated 
those  who  wished  to  fool  him:  yet  this  boast  was  premature. 
All  Rome  knows  that  the  dowry  was  a  derision,  the  wife  a 
nameless  bastard ;  his  ancient  name  had  been  bespattered  with 
filth,  and  those  who  planned  the  wrong  had  revealed  it  to  the 
world.  Yes,  he  had  punished  those  who  fooled  him  so.  He 
had  punished  his  wife,  too,  who  had  no  part  in  their  crime ; 
and  why  ?  Her  cold,  pale,  mute  obedience  was  so  hateful  to 
him.  "Speak!"  he  had  demanded,  and  she  obeyed;  "Be 
silent ! "  and  she  obeyed  also,  with  just  the  selfsame  white 
despair.  Things  were  better  when  her  parents  were  present; 
when  they  left  she  ran  to  the  Commissary  and  the  Archbishop- 
to  beg  their  interference,  and  then  committed  the  "  worst 
offence  of  not  offending  any  more."  Her  look  of  martyr-like 
endurance  was  worse  than  all:  it  reminded  him  of  the  "terri- 
ble patience  of  God."  All  that  meant  she  did  not  love  him ;. 
— she  might  have  shammed  the  love.  As  it  was,  his  wife 
was  a  true  stumbling-block  in  his  way.  Everything,  too,  went 
against  him.  It  was  so  unlucky  for  him  that  he  did  not  catch 
the  pair  at  the  inn  under  circumstances  when  he  could  law- 
fully have  slain  them  both  together.  There  is  always  some — 

"  Devil,  whose  task  it  is 
To  trip  the  all-but-at  perfection." 

Unhappily,  he  had  just  missed  his  chance  of  appearing  grandly 
right  before  the  world.  When  he  took  his  assassins  to  the  villa 
he  was  fortunate,  it  is  true,  in  finding  all  at  home — the  three  to 
kill ;  but  he  had  been  unlucky  in  not  escaping,  as  he  had  arranged. 
Then,  when  he  thought  he  had  killed  his  wife  (with  his  know- 
ledge of  anatomy  too  ! ),  she  must  linger  for  four  whole  days,  the 
surgeon  keeping  her  alive  that  every  soul  in  Rome  might  learn 
her  story.  All  the  world  could  listen  the*i.  Had  it  not  been  for 
that  he  would  have  had  a  tale  to  tell  that  would  have  saved 
his  head :  he  would  have  sworn  he  had  caught  Pompilia  in  the 
embraces  of  the  priest,  who  had  escaped  in  the  darkness.  And 
now  she  has  lived  to  forgive  him,  commend  him  to  the  mercies 
of  God,  while  fixing;  his  head  upon  the  block.  And  then  at  his 


444  BROWNING   CYCLOPAEDIA.  [Bin 

trial  all  was  against  him :  the  dice  were  loaded,  and  the  lawyers 
of  no  service  to  him.  Yet  he  is  sure  that  the  Roman  people 
approve  his  deed,  though  the  mob  is  in  love  with  his  murdered 
wife.  He  says  "  there  was  no  touch  in  her  of  hate."  The  angels 
would  not  be  able  to  make  a  heaven  for  her  if  she  knew  he  were 
in  hell,  she  would  pray  him  into  heaven  against  his  will ;  for  it  is 
hell  which  he  demands,  so  heartily  does  he  hate  the  good !  Yes, 
he  is  impenitent, — no  spark  of  contrition.  Would  the  Church 
slay  the  impenitent  ?  He  passionately  tells  the  Cardinal  that 
he  knows  he  is  wronged,  yet  will  not  help  him.  As  he  sees  no 
chance  of  their  relenting,  he  tries  to  influence  them  by  suggesting 
how  he  could  have  helped  their  chances  at  the  next  election  of  a 
Pope,  which  cannot  be  long  delayed.  Then  he  falls  to  entreaty 
again :  "  Save  my  life,  Cardinal ;  I  adjure  you  in  God's  name ! " 
begs  him  go,  fall  at  the  Pope's  feet,  tell  him  he  is  innocent ;  and 
if  that  serve  him  not,  say  he  is  an  atheist,  and  implore  him  not 
to  send  his  soul  to  perdition.  "  Take  your  crucifix  away  ! "  he 
«:ries.  Then,  when  all  seems  hopeless,  he  begins  to  abuse  the 
Pope,  the  Cardinals,  and  all.  He  hates  his  victims  too,  he  pro- 
tests, as  much  as  when  he  slew  them ;  and  while  he  curses,  im- 
penitent, scornful  and  full  of  malice,  he  hears  the  chant  of  the 
Brotherhood  of  Mercy,  who  sing  the  Office  of  the  Dying  at  his 
•cell-door.  Then  he  shrieks  that  all  he  had  been  saying  was  false ; 
he  was  mad : 

"  Don't  open  !     Hold  me  from  them  !     I  am  yours, 
I  am  the  Grand  Duke's — no,  I  am  the  Pope's  1 
Abate,— Cardinal, — Christ, — Maria,— God,  .  .  . 
Pompilia,  will  you  let  them  murder  me  ?  " 

NOTES. — Line  13,  Certosa  :  a  Carthusian  monastery,  La  Cer- 
tosa,  in  Val'  Emo,  is  situated  about  four  miles  from  Florence.  It 
was  founded  about  1341.  It  is  Gothic,  and  is  built  in  a  grand 
style,  like  that  of  a  castle.  1.  186,  mannaia :  an  instrument  for 
beheading  criminals,  much  like  the  guillotine.  1.  188,  "  Month" 
cf -Truth" — Bocca  della  Veritd:  S.  Maria  in  Cosmedin,  in 
ancient  Rome.  From  the  mouth  of  a  fountain  to  the  left  is  the 
portico,  into  which,  according  to  a  mediaeval  belief,  the  ancient 
Romans  thrust  their  right  hands  when  taking  an  oath.  1.  261, 
41  Merry  Tales" :  the  novels  and  tales  of  Franco  Sacchetti  (1335- 
1400).  He  wrote  some  three  hundred  novelle  in  pure  Tuscan. 
1.272,  Albano,  or  Albani,  Francesco  (1578-1660):  a  celebrated 


Kill]  BROWNING   CYCLOPEDIA.  445. 

Italian  painter,  who  was  born  at  Bologna.  He  lived  and  taught 
in  Rome  for  many  years.  Among  the  best  of  his  sacred  pictures- 
are  a  "  St  Sebastian"  and  an  "  Assumption  of  the  Virgin,"  both 
in  the  church  of  St.  Sebastian  at  Rome.  1.  274,  "  Europa  and 
the  bull" :  Europa  was  the  daughter  of  Agenor,  king  of  Phoenicia. 
Jupiter  became  enamoured  of  her,  and  assumed  the  form  of  a 
beautiful  bull.  When  Europa  mounted  on  his  back  he  carried 
her  off.  1.  291,  Atlas  and  axis  are  bones  of  the  neck  on  which 
the  head  turns  :  the  atlas  is  the  first  cervical  vertebra,  the  axis  is 
the  second  cervical  vertebra  ;  symphyses,  the  union  of  bones  with. 
each  other.  L  327,  " Petrus,  quo  vadis?"  "  Peter,  whither  goest 
thou  ? "  On  the  Appian  Way  at  Rome  there  is  a  small  church 
called  Domine  Quo  Vadis,  so  named  from  the  legend  that  St. 
Peter,  fleeing  from  the  death  of  a  martyr,  here  met  his  Master, 
and  inquired  of  Him,  "  Domine,  quo  vadis  ?"  ("Lord,  whither 
goest  Thou?")  to  which  he  received  the  reply,  "Venio  iterum 
crucifigi "  ("  I  come  to  be  crucified  again  ") — whereupon  the 
apostle,  ashamed  of  his  weakness,  returned.  1.  569,  King 
Cophetua :  an  imaginary  king  of  Africa,  who  fell  in  love  with  a 
beggar  girl.  He  married  her,  and  lived  happily  with  her  for 
many  years.  1.  683,  "and  tinkle  near"  :  at  the  mass,  when  the 
priest  consecrates  the  elements,  a  small  bell  is  rung  by  the 
server  to  acquaint  the  worshippers  with  the  fact  that  the  conse- 
cration has  taken  place.  This,  of  course,  is  the  most  solemn 
part  of  the  mass,  when  the  worshippers  are  most  attentive, 
1.  685,  Trebbian :  from  Trevi,  in  the  valley  of  the  Clitumnus, 
1.  786,  "  Hocus-pocus  "  ;  Nares  says  these  words  represent  Ochus 
Bochus,  an  Italian  magician  invoked  by  jugglers ;  but  there  are 
other  explanations.  Vallombrosa  Convent:  a  famous  convent 
near  Florence.  Milton  says,  "  Thick  as  autumnal  leaves  that 
strew  the  br  oks  in  Vallombrosa"  (Paradise  Lost,  i.  302).  But 
the  trees  are  pines,  and  not  deciduous.  1.  1119,  "the  Etruscan 
monster" :  Mr.  Browning  was  a  student  of  Etruscan  art  and 
archaeology.  The  Etruscans  were  the  nation  conquered  by  the 
Romans,  and  their  antiquities  are  abundant  in  the  district  between 
Rome  and  Florence.  The  monster  is  the  Chimsera,  represented 
with  three  heads — those  of  a  lion,  a  goat,  and  a  dragon.  Bellero- 
phon,  mounted  on  the  horse  Pegasus,  attacked  and  overcame  it. 
1.  1413,  Armida :  a  beautiful  sorceress,  a  prominent  character 
in  Tasso's  Jerusalem  Delivered.  1.  1416,  Rinaldo,  in  the  same 


446  BROWNING   CYCLOPEDIA.  [Bin 

poem,  was  the  Achilles  of  the  Crusaders'  army.  He  ran  away 
from  home  at  the  age  of  fifteen,  and  was  enrolled  in  the  adven- 
turers' squadron.  Rinaldo  fell  in  love  with  Armida,  and  wasted 
his  time  in  voluptuous  pleasures.  1. 1420,  zecchines>  or  sequins : 
Venetian  gold  coins,  worth  about  9*.  6d.  1.  1669,  stinche :  a 
prison.  1.  1808,  "Helping  Vienna";  this  refers  to  the  second 
siege  of  Vienna  by  the  Turks  in  1683,  when  150,000  Turks  sat 
down  before  the  city,  Cara  Mustapha  being  their  leader.  Pope 
Innocent  XL  and  John  Sobieski,  king  of  Poland,  entered  into  a 
league  to  oppose  the  common  enemy  of  Christian  Europe.  The 
whole  Turkish  army  was  defeated,  and  fled  in  the  utmost  disordei 
after  the  great  battle  fought  under  the  walls  of  Vienna  on 
Sept.  I2th,  1683.  1.  1850,  Gaudeamus,  "let  us  be  glad."  1. 1925, 
Jove  ^Egiochus :  Jupiter  was  surnamed  ^Egiochus  because,  ac- 
cording to  some  authors,  he  was  brought  up  by  a  goat.  Properly 
the  name  is  from  the  cegis  which  the  god  bore.  1.  1928,  "Seventh 
jJEneid" ':  Virgil's  great  poem  was  the  "^Eneis,"  which  has  for  its 
subject  the  settlement  of  ./Eneas  in  Italy.  The  passage  referred 
to  is  in  the  Eighth  Book  (426),  and  begins  "His  informatum, 
manibus  jam  parte  polita."  1.  2034,  "Romano  vivitur  more": 
Life  goes  on  in  the  Roman  way.  1.  2051,  "  Byblis  in  fluvius  " : 
Byblis  fell  in  love  with  her  brother,  and  was  changed  into  a 
fountain.  1.  2052,  " sed  Lycaon  in  lupum"  :  a  cruel  king  of 
Arcadia,  named  Lycaon,  was  changed  into  a  wolf  by  Jupiter, 
because  he  offered  human  sacrifices  on  the  altar  of  the  god  Pan. 
1.  2144,  Paynimrie,  heathendom.  1.  2184,  Olimpia,  in  Orlando 
Furioso :  Countess  of  Holland  and  wife  of  Bireno :  when  her 
husband  deserted  her  she  was  bound  naked  to  a  rock  by  pirates, 
but  Orlando  delivered  her  and  took  her  to  Ireland.  Bianca :  wife 
of  Fazio.  She  tried  to  save  her  husband  from  death ;  failed, 
went  mad,  and  died  of  a  broken  heart.  1.  2185,  Ormuz  wealth  ; 
the  island  Ormuz,  in  the  Persian  Gulf,  is  a  mart  for  diamonds. 
1.  221 1,  Circe:  a  sorceress,  who  turned  the  companions  of  Ulysses 
into  swine.  Ulysses  resisted  the  metamorphosis  by  virtue  of  the 
herb  moly,  given  him  by  Mercury.  1.  2214,  Lucrezia  di  Borgia : 
she  was  thrice  married,  her  last  husband  being  Alfonso,  Duke  of 
Ferrara.  Through  her  influence  many  persons  were  put  to  death. 
Her  natural  son  Gennaro  having  been  poisoned,  she  died  herself 
as  he  expired.  1.  2414,  "  Who  are  these  you  have  let  descend  my 
stair?"  They  were  the  Brothers  of  Mercy,  whose  duty  it  was  t? 


BROWNING   CYCLOPAEDIA.  447 

attend  criminals  on  the  scaffold.     Their  chant  was  the  Office  of 
the  Dying. 

BOOK  XII.,  THE  BOOK  AND  THE  RING. — On  Feb.  22nd,  1698, 
Guido  and  his  confederates  were  executed.  We  have,  in  the 
concluding  book  of  this  long  poem,  the  reports  of  the  execution, 
and  the  comments  made  concerning  it  in  Rome,  from  four  persons. 
The  first  which  the  poet  gives  is  a  letter  from  a  stranger,  a  man 
of  rank,  on  a  visit  to  Rome  from  Venice.  He  begins  his  letter 
on  the  evening  of  the  day  in  question,  by  stating  that  the  Carnival 
is  nearly  over,  the  city  very  full  of  strangers,  the  old  Pope  totter- 
ing on  the  verge  of  the  grave,  and  the  people  already  beginning 
to  discuss  his  probable  successor.  The  Pope  took  daily  exercise 
a  week  ago  by  the  river-side,  for  the  weather  was  like  May. 
Then,  after  more  gossip  about  politics,  he  says  he  has  lost  his 
bet  of  fifty  sequins  by  the  execution  of  the  Count :  he  had  felt, 
up  to  two  days  ago,  that  he  would  win  the  wager,  as  everybody 
seemed  to  think  the  Count  would  save  his  head  ;  but  the  Pope's 
was  the  one  deaf  ear  to  every  appeal  for  a  reprieve,  and  so 
"  persisted  in  the  butchery."  One  of  the  writer's  friends  was  so 
annoyed  at  the  Pope's  refusal  to  spare  the  life  of  a  man  with 
whom  he  had  dined,  that  he  would  have  actually  stayed  away 
from  the  execution,  had  it  not  been  for  a  lady,  whose  presence 
on  that  occasion  made  it  a  desirable  amusement  for  him.  Of 
course,  everybody  of  any  importance  was  there,  and  the  people 
made  a  general  holiday  of  the  occasion.  Then  he  narrates  how 
the  ecclesiastics  who  had  attended  Guido  on  the  eve  of  his 
execution  considered  that  their  efforts  to  prepare  him  for  the 
next  world  had  been  crowned  at  last  with  complete  success. 
The  procession  from  the  prison  to  the  place  of  execution  is 
described ;  and  severe  exception  is  taken  to  the  choice  of  the 
Piazza  del  Popolo,  as  a  deliberate  affront  to  the  aristocracy  re- 
siding there.  Still,  it  had  its  compensations,  as  it  afforded  a  fine 
spectacle,  and  made,  on  the  whole,  a  very  pleasant  day.  There 
were  the  usual  incidents  of  a  street  crowd :  the  man  run  over 
and  killed  ;  the  pushing  and  struggling  for  good  places ;  outcries 
there  were,  also,  against  the  Pope  for  forbidding  the  Lottery ;  and 
a  miracle  was  worked  upon  a  lame  beggar  by  the  prayer  of  the 
holy  Guido  as  he  glanced  that  way.  The  Count  was  the  last  to 
mount  the  scaffold  steps,  and  the  nobility  were  so  occupied  wi^h 
observing  him  and  his  behaviour  in  the  presence  of  death,  that 


448  BROWNING   CYCLOPEDIA.  [Rift- 

they  paid  no  attention  to  the  peasants  who  dangled  on  their 
respective  ropes  at  the  gallows.  The  Count  made  a  speech  to- 
the  multitude,  and  comported  himself  as  became  a  good  Chris- 
tian gentleman.  He  begged  forgiveness  of  God,  and  hoped  his- 
fellow-men  would  put  a  fair  construction  on  his  acts ;  asked  their 
prayers  for  his  soul,  suggesting  that  they  should  forthwith  say 
an  "  Our  Father  "  and  a  "  Hail,  Mary  !  "  for  his  sake.  Then  he 
turned  to  his  confessor,  made  the  sign  of  the  cross,  and  cast  a, 
fervent  glance  at  the  church  over  the  way ;  rose  up,  knelt  down 
again,  bent  his  head,  and  with  the  name  of  Jesus  on  his  lips 
received  the  headsman's  blow.  That  functionary  showed  the- 
head  to  the  populace  in  due  form,  and  the  spectacle  was  over. 
The  strangers  present  were  a  little  disappointed  at  the  Count's- 
height  and  general  appearance.  They  understood  he  was  fully 
six  feet  high,  and  youngish  for  his  years,  and  if  not  handsome, 
at  least  dignified  ;  but  his  face  was  not  one  to  please  a  wife.  No- 
doubt  something  was  due  to  the  rough  costume  in  which  he  com- 
mitted the  murder, — a  coarse  and  shabby  dress  enough.  His  eryi 
was  peace.  If  his  friend  wishes  to  bet  on  the  next  Pope,  he 
will  give  him  a  hint ;  and  now  will  conclude  with  the  last  new 
pasquinade  which  has  amused  the  city. 

There  were  three  letters  which  were  bound  up  with  Mr.  Brown- 
ing's famous  "  find  "  at  Florence.  One  of  these  was  written  by 
the  Count's  advocate,  De  Archangelis,  concerning  certain  fresh- 
points  intended  to  be  used  in  mitigation  of  the  sentence ;  but  the 
lawyer  explains  that  the  Pope  had  set  every  plea  aside,  and  had 
hastened  the  execution.  The  letter  is  addressed  to  the  friends- 
of  the  Count,  and  the  client  is  referred  to  as  a  gallant  man,  who- 
died  in  faith  in  an  exemplary  manner.  He  considers  that  no 
blot  has  fallen  on  the  escutcheon  of  his  noble  house,  as  he  had 
respect  and  commiseration  from  all  Rome,  and  from  the  culti- 
vated everywhere.  He  concludes  by  hoping  that  God  may  com- 
pensate for  this  direful  blow  by  sending  future  blessings  on 
the  family.  Enclosed  with  this  communication  is  another,  not 
intended  for  the  noble  persons  to  whom  the  above  polite  effusion 
is  addressed.  This  is  for  their  lawyer,  and  is  to  be  kept  to- 
himself.  He  tells  him  that  their  "  Pisan  aid"  was  of  no  avail: 
the  Pope  was  determined  to  see  Guido's  head  drop  off,  and 
would  not  listen  to  reason.  Especially  annoying  was  it  that  his 
superb  defence  was  wasted  :  he  got  nothing  for  his  work,  and  he 


Kin]  BROWNING   CYCLOPEDIA.  449 

does  not  care  how  soon  the  obstinate  and  inept  Pope  dies.  He 
tells  his  correspondent,  who  is  his  boy's  godfather,  how  much  the 
lad  enjoyed  the  fine  sight  at  the  execution.  He  had  promised 
him,  if  his  defence  failed  to  save  the  Count's  head,  that  he  shoulid! 
go  and  see  it  chopped  off.  This  was  exactly  to  the  boy's  taste  ; 
and  he  sat  at  a  window  with  a  great  lady,  who  twitted  the  boy 
on  the  triumph  of  his  father's  opponent  Bottini,  saying  that  his- 
"  papa,  with  all  his  eloquence,  cannot  be  reckoned  on  to  help  a& 
before."  The  boy  cleverly  replied  that  his  "  papa  knew  better 
than  offend  the  Pope  and  baulk  him  of  his  grudge  against  th^ 
Count ;  he  would  else  have  argued  off  Bottini's  nose."  He  would! 
have  his  opponent  see  that  he  was  a  man  able  to  drive  right  and] 
left  horses  at  once. — The  next  letter  is  from  the  Fisc  Bottini,  who» 
says  the  case  ended  as  he  foresaw:  Pompilia's  innocence  was 
easily  proved.  Guido  had  made  very  good  sport,  and  "  died  like 
a  saint,  poor  devil ! "  Bottini  regrets  he  had  not  been  on  the 
other  side.  Pompilia  gave  him  no  opportunity  to  show  his  skill ; 
he  could  have  done  better  with  the  Count.  He  can  imagine  how^ 
De  Archangelis  crows  and  boasts  that  he  kept  the  Fisc  a  month  at 
bay ;  he  knows  how  he  would  grin  and  bray ;  but  the  thing  which, 
most  annoys  him  is  the  behaviour  of  the  monk,  whose  report  o£ 
fhe  dying  Pompilia's  words  took  all  the  freshness  from  his  best 
points;  and  then,  when  preaching  at  San  Lorenzo  yesterday 
about  the  case,  from  the  text  "  Let  God  be  true,  and  every  man 
a  liar,"  said  this,  which  he  encloses  from  a  printed  copy  of  the 
sermon  all  Rome  is  reading  to-day.  "Do  not  argue  from  the 
result  of  this  trial,"  said  the  preacher,  "  that  truth  may  look  for 
vindication  from  the  world.  God  seems  to  acquiesce  with  those 
who  say  4  He  sleeps,'  and  will  not  always  put  forth  His  hand, 
and  be  recognised  : 

"  Because  Pompilia's  purity  prevails, 
Conclude  you,  all  truth  triumphs  in  the  end  ?  * 

Of  all  the  birds  that  flew  from  the  ark,  one  only  returned  :  how 
many  perished  ?    So — 

44  How  many  chaste  and  noble  sister-fames 
Wanted  the  extricating  hand,  and  lie 
Strangled,  for  one  Pompilia  proud  above 
The  welter,  plucked  from  the  world's  calumny  ?  * 

Truth  has  to  wait  God's  time ;  for  how  long  did  the  pagans  of  old 

29 


45°  BROWNING   CYCLOPAEDIA.  [Rin 

Rome  point  to  the  Catacombs  and  say,  "Down  there,  below  tht 
ground,  foul  and  obscene  rites  are  practised,  far  from  the  sight  of 
?nen  "  ?  The  most  hideous  and  fearful  practices  were  charged 
(upon  the  early  Christians,  who  worshipped  in  those  places  of 
refuge  ;  but  not  for  ages  did  God's  lightning  expose  to  the  world 
those  holy  receptacles  for  the  mangled  remains  of  His  martyred 
saints,  and  permit  the  gaze  of  the  multitude  to  penetrate  the 
sacred  chambers,  where  the  faith  of  Christ  was  kept  alive  in 
(those  dreadful  centuries  of  persecution.  Then,  when  God  did  call 
the  world  to  see  the  whole  secret  so  long  preserved  from  the 
ftvorld  above,  what  was  there  to  behold?  — a  poor  earthen  lump 
by  the  rock  where  the  corpse  lay,  the  grave  which  held  the 
treasured  blood  of  the  martyr  : 

"  The  rough-scratched  palm  branch,  and  the  legend  left 

Pro  Christo." 

And  so  these  abhorred  ones  turned  out  to  be  saints.  The  best 
•defence  the  law  can  make  for  Pompilta  is  to  say  that  wickedness 
•was  bred  in  her,  and  after  this  specimen  of  man's  protection,  one 
'wave  of  God's  hand  bids  the  mists  dispel,  and  the  true  instinct 
•of  a  good  old  man,  who  hates  the  dark  and  loves  the  light, 
adduces  another  proof  that  "  God  is  true,  and  every  man  a  liar  " : 
tie  who  trusts  to  human  testimony  for  a  fact  thereby  proves 
himself  a  fool:  man  is  false,  man  is  weak,  and  "truth  seems 
reserved  for  heaven,  not  earth."  As  for  himself,  added  the  friar, 
"he  has  long  since  renounced  the  world,  yet  he  is  not  forbidden 
to  estimate  the  value  of  that  which  he  has  forsaken.  If  any  one 
were  to  press  him  as  to  his  content  in  having  put  the  pleasures 
of  the  world'  aside,  he  would  answer  that,  apart  from  Christ's 
assurances,  he  dare  not  say  whether  he  had  not  failed  to  taste 
much  joy;  how  much  of  human  love  in  varied  forms  he  had  lost  ; 
how  much  joy,  from  '  books  that  teach  and  arts  that  help,'  he 
had  missed  He  might  have  learned  how  to  grow  great  as  well 
as  good.  Many  precious  things,  no  doubt,  he  had  forsaken ; 
but  there  was  one — the  chief  object  of  men's  ambition — earthly 
praise  and  the  world's  good  repute  ;  in  renouncing  these,  his  loss, 
he  is  sure,  was  light,  and  in  choosing  obscurity  he  was  con- 
vinced he  had  chosen  well."  Bottini  thinks  this  is  vanity  and 
spite :  how  dare  he  say  "  every  man  is  a  liar  "  !  What  next  ?  He 
iindsthat  the  sermon  has  already  had  its  effect  for  Gomez,  who 
had  decided  to  appeal  to  another  court,  and  declines  to  have  any 


rlin]  BROWNING  CYCLOPAEDIA.  451 

more  to  do  with  lawyers ;  he  has  resolved  to  let  the  liars  possess 
the  world,  and  so  he  must  whistle  for  his  job  and  his  fee.  He 
is  happy  to  say,  however,  that  he  shall  soon  be  able  to  show  the 
rabid  monk  whether  law  be  powerless  or  not ;  for  by  a  great 
piece  of  luck  the  convent  to  which  Pompilia  was  first  sent  has 
claimed  all  her  property  which  she  had  willed  to  those  who  were 
to  act  as  trustees  for  her  son  and  heir ;  as  Pompilia  had  not  been 
relieved  at  the  trial  from  her  imputed  fault,  the  convent  had  a  right 
to  claim  its  due,  and  take  the  whole  of  the  property.  It  has 
therefore  become  the  lawyer's  duty  to  institute  procedure  against 
this  very  Pompilia,  whom  last  week  he  held  up  as  a  saint,  and  charg- 
ing her  with  having  been  a  very  common  sort  of  sinner,  perform 
a  volte-face  before  the  selfsame  court  which  he  had  so  recently 
addressed,  and  show  this  "  foul-mouthed  friar  "  that  his  white 
dove  is  a  sooty  raven.  The  Pope,  however,  soon  rectified  this 
bad  business,  and  issued  an  "  instrument,"  v\  hich  the  poet  says 
is  contained  in  his  precious  little  account  of  the  trial,  by  which 
the  Supreme  Pontiff  restores  the  perfect  fame  of  the  dead  Pom- 
pilia, and  quashes  all  proceedings  brought  or  threatened  to  be 
brought  against  the  heir,  by  the  Most  Venerable  Convent  of  the 
Convertites  in  the  Corso.  So  was  justice  done  a  second  time. 
Two  years  later  died  good  Innocent  XII.,  after  a  rule  of  nine 
years  in  Rome ;  and  so  there  is  an  end  of  the  story.  Mr. 
Browning  is  unable  to  say  what  became  of  the  boy  Gaetano, 
the  child  of  Guido  and  Pompilia. 

NOTES. — Line  12,  Wormwood  Star:  a  star  which  (it  was 
fabled)  appeared  at  the  approach  of  death.  1.  43 :  If  the 
writer  did  bet  on  Spada  for  Pope  he  lost,  as  Cardinal  Albani 
became  the  next  Pope,  in  1700.  1.  62,  Holy  Doors:  certain 
doors  in  St.  Peter's,  at  Rome,  which  are  opened  only  at  the 
commencement  of  a  Papal  jubilee,  and  at  its  close  are  at  once 
bricked  up  again.  1.  65,  "  Fenelon  will  be  condemned"  :  Fenelon 
was  one  of  the  Jansenist  leaders  in  France,  and  Jansenism  was 
on  its  trial  in  Rome.  1.  89,  Dogana-by-the-Bank  :  a  new  custom- 
house. 1.  104,  Palchetto :  a  balcony  made  of  scaffolding,  used 
for  public  spectacles.  1.  105,  The  Pincian :  the  Pincian  hill, 
beyond  the  Piazza  del  Popolo,  is  a  hill  of  gardens.  Here  were 
once  the  gardens  of  Lucullus,  in  which  Messalina  celebrated  her 
orgies.  This  is  a  fashionable  drive  in  the  evening  for  the  modern 
Romans.  1.  1 14.  The  Three  Streets  diverge  from  the  Piazza  del 


45 2  BROWNING   CYCLOPEDIA. 

Popolo  on  the  south  ;  to  the  right  is  the  Via  di  Ripetta ;  to  the 
left  the  Via  del  Babuino,  leading  to  the  Piazza  di  Spagna;  in  the 
centre  is  the  Corso.  1.  139,  The  New  Prisons — Carceri  Nuovi : 
these  were  built  by  Pope  Innocent  X.  They  are  situated  in  the 
Via  Giulia,  leading  to  the  Bridge  of  St.  Angelo.  1.  140,  Pasquiris 
Street :  the  street  in  Rome  where  there  stands  a  mutilated  statue 
in  a  corner  of  the  palace  of  Ursini ;  so  called  from  a  cobbler  who 
was  remarkable  for  his  sneers  and  gibes,  and  near  whose  shop 
the  statue  was  dug  up.  On  this  statue  it  has  been  customary  to 
paste  satiric  papers.  Hence  a  lampoon  d  Pasquinade  is  a  piece 
of  satirical  writing  (Webster's  Diet.).  Place  Navona  :  the  Piazza 
Navona  is  the  largest  in  Rome  after  that  of  St.  Peter.  It  is 
officially  called  Circo  Agonale.  The  name  is  said  to  be  derived 
from  the  agones  (corrupted  to  Navone,  Navona),  or  contests 
which  took  place  in  the  circus.  1.  1 58,  Tern  Quatern  :  a  tern  is 
a  prize  in  a  lottery,  resulting  from  the  favourable  combination  of 
three  numbers  in  the  drawing ;  a  quatern  is  a  combination  of 
four  numbers ;  and  a  combination  of  these  is,  I  presume,  some 
very  exceptional  prize  for  the  holders  of  the  tickets.  1.  178: 
"Pater?  the  Lord's  Prayer;  " Ave"  the  angelical  salutation  to 
the  Virgin.  1.  179,  "  Salve  Regina  Ccsli" :  a  hymn  to  the  Virgin, 
sung  at  Vespers,  which  begins  with  the  words  "  Hail,  Queen  of 
Heaven  ! "  1.  184,  This  is  a  satire  against  relic-worship,  and  not 
in  very  good  taste.  1.  199,  just-a-corps :  a  short  coat  fitting  tightly 
to  the  body.  1.  208,  quatrain :  a  stanza  of  four  lines  rhyming 
alternately.  1.  217,  socius :  an  ally,  a  confederate.  1.  224,  Tarocs  ; 
a  game  at  cards  played  with  seventy-eight  cards.  1.  277,  "  Quan- 
tum est  hominum  venustiorum " :  and  all  men  who  have  any 
grace.  1.  290,  "  hactenus  senioribus  " :  hitherto  for  our  superiors. 
1.  320,  Themis :  a  daughter  of  Coelus  and  Terra,  who  married 
Jupiter  against  her  own  inclination.  She  is  represented  as 
holding  a  sword  in  one  hand  and  a  pair  of  scales  in  the  other. 
1.  326,  "  cast  of  Gome*  "  :  this  was  a  legal  matter  before  the  courts, 
and  which  was  referred  to  in  one  of  the  manuscripts  consulted 
by  Mr.  Browning  when  engaged  upon  the  poem.  1.  327,  "  re- 
liqua  difftramus  in  crastinum  / "  the  rest  let  us  put  off  till 
to-morrow  ;  estafette  :  courier.  1.  361,  "  Bartolus-cum-Baldo  "  : 
the  names  of  two  eminent  Italian  jurists.  1.  367,  "  adverti  sup- 
plico  humiliter  quod";  I  have  observed,  I  humbly  beg  that. 
I.  435,  Spreti :  the  subordinate  of  "  De  Archangelis " ;  he  is 


Bin]  BROWNING   CYCLOPEDIA.  453 

41  advocate  of  the  poor."  1.  504,  "  their  idol  god  an  ass  "  :  the 
«arly  Christians  were  accused  by  their  pagan  persecutors  of  all 
sorts  of  horrible  and  degrading  superstitions,  amongst  other 
things  of  worshipping  the  head  of  an  ass.  There  has  recently 
been  discovered  amongst  the  wall  scratchings  on  some  relics  ot 
ancient  Roman  buildings  the  figure  of  a  crucified  man  with  the 
head  of  an  ass  ;  and  an  inscription  roughly  scratched  implying 
that  this  was  the  god  of  some  Christian  thus  held  up  to  ridicule. 
1.  520,  "the  rude  brown  lamp"  :  used  in  the  Catacombs,  both 
for  light  and  for  burning  at  the  martyrs'  tombs  to  honour  them. 
I.  521,  the  cruse:  thousands  of  these  have  been  discovered,  and 
are  exhibited  in  the  museum  at  the  Church  of  St.  John  Lateran 
in  Rome.  1.  522,  "  the  palm  branch "  :  graven  in  countless 
parts  of  the  Roman  catacombs,  as  a  sign  that  the  martyr  buried 
beneath  it  had  won  the  victory,  and  had  conquered  by  his  faith. 
1.  523,  "pro  Christo"  for  Christ:  that  is  to  say,  the  martyrs 
had  shed  the  blood  presented  in  the  cruse  for  Christ's  sake. 
1.  647,  ampollosity :  windbag  behaviour.  1.  679,  "  claim  every 
paul" :  paolo,  an  Italian  coin  worth  sixpence.  1.  715,  "  Astrcea 
redux" :  justice  brought  back.  1.  745,  " Martial s  phrase" : 
Mart.  iv.  91.  1.  787,  Gonfalonier:  Lord  Mayor,  who  bore  the 
standard,  or  gonfalon.  1.  8 1 1,  Buonarotti=  Michael  Angelo. 
1.  812,  Vtxillifer,  standard-bearer.  1.  813,  The  Patavinian :  *.*., 
Livy  of  Padua.  1.  815,  "  jfamis  of  the  double  face  "  ;  Janus, 
a  Roman  deity  represented  with  two  faces,  because  he  was 
acquainted  with  the  past  and  future,  or  because  he  was  taken 
for  the  sun  who  opens  the  day  at  his  rising  and  shuts  it  at  his 
setting  (Lempriere).  1.  865,  "Deeper  than  e-ver  the  Andante 
dived"  :  a  movement  or  piece  in  andante  (rather  slow)  time, 
as  the  andante  in  Beethoven's  fifth  symphony.  1.  872,  "Lyric 
Love " :  the  poet's  dead  wife  invoked  in  the  first  part  of  this 
work.  Her  poems  on  Italy  are  referred  to  in  the  last  line. — The 
Encyclopedia  Britannicay  vol.  xiii.,  p.  85,  says  that  Innocent  XI. 
was  the  Pope  of  The  Ring  and  the  Book.  Mr.  Browning,  how- 
ever, says  that  Antonio  Pignatelli  (Innocent  XII.)  was  the  Pope 
in  question.  The  character  of  the  earlier  sovereign  pontiff  cer- 
tainly agrees  better  with  the  story  told  by  the  poet  than  does 
that  of  the  latter.  It  may  be,  as  has  been  suggested  by  Mr. 
George  W.  Cooke,  in  his  Guide-Book  to  Browning,  that  the  poet 
confounded  the  two  men  with  each  other,  or,  what  is  more  pro- 


454  BROWNING   CYCLOPEDIA. 

bable,  that  he  deliberately  gave  to  Innocent  XII.  qualities  which 
belonged  only  to  Innocent  XI.  (p.  339).  The  following  sketch 
of  the  life  of  Innocent  XI.  (Benedetto  Odelscalchi)  is  taken  from 
the  Encyclopedia  Britannica  :  "He  was  Pope  from  1676  to  1689  ; 
was  born  at  Como  in  1611,  studied  law  at  Rome  and  Naples, 
[and]  held  successively  the  offices  of  protonotary,  President  of 
the  Apostolic  Chamber,  Commissary  of  the  Marca  di  Roma,  and 
Governor  of  Macerta ;  in  1647  Innocent  X.  made  him  cardinal, 
and  he  afterwards  successively  became  legate  to  Ferrara  and 
bishop  of  Novara.  In  all  these  capacities  the  simplicity  and 
purity  of  character  which  he  displayed  had,  combined  with  his 
unselfish  and  open-handed  benevolence,  secured  for  him  a  high 
place  in  the  popular  affection  and  esteem ;  and  two  months  after 
the  death  of  Clement  X.  he  was  (Sept.  2ist,  1676),  in  spite  of 
French  opposition,  chosen  his  successor.  He  lost  no  time  in 
declaring  and  practically  manifesting  his  zeal  as  a  reformer  of 
manners  and  a  corrector  of  administrative  abuses.  He  sought 
to  abolish  sinecures,  and  to  put  the  papal  finances  otherwise  on  a 
sound  footing ;  beginning  with  the  clergy,  he  endeavoured  to  raise 
the  laity  also  to  a  higher  moral  standard  of  living.  Some  of  his 
regulations  with  the  latter  object,  however,  may  raise  a  smile  as 
showing  more  zeal  than  judgment.  In  1679  ne  publicly  con- 
demned sixty-five  propositions,  taken  chiefly  from  the  writings  o*. 
Escobar,  Suarez,  and  the  like,  as  ' propositiones  laxorum  morali- 
starum'  and  forbade  any  one  to  teach  them  under  pain  of 
excommunication.  Personally  not  unfriendly  to  Molinos,  he 
nevertheless  so  far  yielded  to  the  enormous  pressure  brought 
to  bear  upon  him  as  to  confirm  in  1687  t^ie  judgment  of  the 
inquisitors  by  which  sixty-eight  Molinist  propositions  were  con- 
demned as  blasphemous  and  heretical.  His  pontificate  was 
marked  by  the  prolonged  struggle  with  Louis  XIV.  of  France 
on  the  subject  of  the  so-called  'Gallican  Liberties,'  and  also 
about  certain  immunities  claimed  by  ambassadors  to  the  papal 
court.  He  died  after  a  long  period  of  feeble  health  on  August 
1 2th,  1689.  Hitherto  repeated  attempts  at  his  canonisation  have 
invariably  failed,  the  reason  popularly  assigned  being  the  influ- 
ence of  France.  The  fine  moral  character  of  Innocent  has  been 
sketched  with  much  artistic  power,  as  well  as  with  historical 
fidelity,  by  Mr.  Robert  Browning  in  The  Ring  and  the  Book" — 
Innocent  XII.  (Antonio  Pignatelli),  whose  name  Mr.  Browninr 


Kin]  BROWNING   CYCLOPAEDIA.  455 

expressly  gives,  as  fixing  the  identity  of  the  Pope  whose  char- 
acter he  portrayed,  was  born  at  Naples  in  1615.  He  took 
Innocent  XI.  for  his  model.  This  pontiff  made  him,  in  1681, 
cardinal,  bishop  of  Faenza,  legate  of  Bologna,  and  archbishop  ol 
Naples.  "His  election  as  pope  took  place  February  I2th,  1691. 
At  the  beginning  of  his  reign  he  endeavoured  to  abolish  nepotism 
by  means  of  a  bull,  in  1692.  His  nepotes  were  the  poor — the 
Lateran  his  hospital.  The  Bullarium  magnum  contains  many 
rules  relating  to  cloister  discipline  and  the  life  of  the  secular 
clergy.  His  efforts  for  the  restoration  of  discipline  were  so 
great,  that  scoffers  boasted  he  had  reformed  the  Church  both 
in  its  head  and  members.  He  died  on  September  27th,  1700. 
Shortly  before  his  decease  he  settled  a  large  sum  on  the  hospital 
he  had  erected,  and  ordered  that  his  goods  should  be  sold  and 
the  proceeds  given  to  the  poor.  He  was  a  benevolent  and  pious 
prelate  "  (Imp.  Diet.  Univ.  Biog.).  There  is  such  frequent  refer- 
ence to  Mclinos  and  the  doctrines  of  Molinism  or  Quietism  in 
The  Ring  and  the  Book,  and  the  subject  is  so  unfamiliar  to  the 
general  reader,  that  I  have  thought  it  wise  to  extract  the  following 
admirable  note  on  the  question  from  Butler's  Lives  of  the  Saints, 
under  the  date  November  xxiv.,  "  St.  John  of  the  Cross '  : — 
''Quietism  was  broached  by  Michael  Molinos,  a  Spanish  priest 
and  spiritual  director  in  great  repute  at  Rome,  who,  in  his  book 
entitled  The  Spiritual  Guide,  established  a  system  of  perfect  con- 
templation. It  chiefly  turns  upon  the  following  general  principles. 

1.  That  perfect  contemplation  is  a  state  in  which  a  man  does  not 
reason,  or  reflect,  either  on  God  or  himself,  but  passively  receives 
the  impression  of  heavenly  light  without  exercising  any  acts,  the 
mind  being  in  a  state  of  perfect  inaction  and  inattention,  which 
this  author  calls  quiet.     Which  principle  is  a  notorious  illusion 
and  falsity  :  for  even  in  supernatural  impressions  or  communica- 
tions, how  much  soever  a  soul  may  be  abstracted  from  her  senses, 
and  insensible  to  external  objects,  which  act  upon  their  organs, 
she  still  exercises  her  understanding  and  will,  in  adoring,  loving, 
praising,  or  the  like,  as  is  demonstrable  both  from  principle  and 
from  the  testimony  of  St.  Teresa,  and  all  true  contemplatives. 

2.  This  fanatic  teaches,  that  a  soul  in  that  state  desires  nothing, 
not  even  his  own  salvation ;  and  fears  nothing,  not  even  hell 
itself.      This    principle,   big  with   pernicious   consequences,    is 
heretical;    as  the  precept  and   constant   obligation   of  hope  of 


456  BROWNING   CYCLOPEDIA.  [Rill 

salvation  through  Christ  is  an  article  of  faith.  The  pretence 
that  a  total  indifference  is  a  state  of  perfection  is  folly  and 
impiety,  as  if  solicitude  about  things  of  duty  was  not  a  pre- 
cept And  so  if  a  man  could  ever  be  exempt  from  the 
•obligation  of  that  charity  which  he  owes  both  to  God  and 
himself,  by  which  he  is  bound,  above  all  things,  to  desire  and 
to  labour  for  his  salvation  and  the  eternal  reign  of  God  in  his 
soul.  A  third  principle  of  this  author  is  no  less  notoriously 
heretical :  that  in  such  a  state  the  use  of  the  sacraments  and 
good  works  becomes  indifferent ;  and  that  the  most  criminal 
representations  and  motions  in  the  sensitive  part  of  the  soul 
are  foreign  to  the  superior,  and  not  sinful  in  this  elevated  state  , 
as  if  the  sensitive  part  of  the  soul  was  not  subject  to  the  govern- 
ment of  the  rational  or  superior  part,  or  as  if  this  could  be 
indifferent  about  what  passes  in  it.  Some  will  have  it  that 
Molinos  carried  his  last  principles  so  far  as  to  open  a  door  to  the 
abominations  of  the  Gnostics ;  but  most  excuse  him  from  admit' 
ting  that  horrible  consequence  (see  F.  Avrigny,  Honore  of  St.  Mary, 
•etc.).  Innocent  XL,  in  1687,  condemned  sixty  eight  propositions 
-extracted  from  this  author  as  respectively  heretical,  scandalous  and 
blasphemous.  Molinos  was  condemned  by  the  Inquisition  at 
Rome,  recalled  his  errors,  and  ended  his  life  in  imprisonment  ia 
4696  (see  Argentere,  Collect.  Judiciorum  de  Novis  Erroribus,  t.  Hi., 
part  2,  p.  402  ;  Stevaert,  Damnat.  Prop,,  p.  i).  Semi-Quietism 
was  rendered  famous  by  having  been  for  some  time  patronised 
by  the  great  Fenelon.  Madame  Guyon,  a  widow  lady,  wrote 
An  Easy  and  Short  Method  of  Prayer,  and  Solomons  Canticle 
of  Canticles  interpreted  in  a  Mystical  Sense,  for  which,  by 
order  of  Lewis  XIV.,  she  was  confined  in  a  nunnery,  but  soon 
after  enlarged.  Then  it  was  that  she  became  acquainted  with 
Fenelon  ;  and  she  published  the  Old  Testament  with  explana- 
tions, her  own  li/e  by  herself,  and  other  works,  all  written  wirh 
spirit  and  a  lively  imagination.  She  submitted  her  doctrine  to 
the  judgment  of  Bossuet,  esteemed  the  most  accurate  theologian 
in  the  French  dominions.  After  a  mature  examination,  Bossuet, 
bishop  of  Meaux,  Cardinal  Noailles,  Fenelon,  then  lately  nomi- 
nated archbishop  of  Cambray,  and  M.  Trowson,  superior  of 
S.  Sulpice,  drew  up  thirty  articles  concerning  the  sound  maxims 
of  a  spiritual  life,  to  which  Fenelon  added  four  others.  These 
thirty-four  articles  were  signed  by  them  at  Issy  in  1695,  and  are 


BROWNING    CYCLOPAEDIA.  457 

the  famous  'Articles  of  Issy'  (see  Argentere,  Collectio  Judiri- 
•orum  de  Novis  Erroribus,  t.  iii.  ;  Du  Plessis,  Hist,  de  Meaux, 
4.  L,  p.  492  ;  Memoires  Chronol.t  t.  iii.,  p.  28).  During  this  exami- 
nation Bossuet  and  Fenelon  had  frequent  disputes  for  and 
•against  disinterested  love,  or  divine  love  of  pure  benevolence. 
This  latter  undertook  in  some  measure  the  patronage  of  Madame 
'Guyon,  and  in  1697  published  a  book  entitled  The  Maxims  of 
.the  Saints,  in  which  a  kind  of  Semi-Quietism  was  advanced. 
The  clamour  which  was  raised  drew  the  author  into  disgrace 
•at  the  court  of  Lewis  XIV.,  and  the  book  was  condemned  by 
Innocent  XII.  in  1699,  on  the  I2th  of  March,  and  on  the  9th  of 
April  following,  by  the  author  himself,  who  closed  his  eyes  to  all 
the  glimmerings  of  human  understanding  to  seek  truth  in  the 
obedient  simplicity  of  faith.  By  this  submission  he  vanquished 
and  triumphed  over  his  defeat  itself,  and,  by  a  more  admirable 
greatness  of  soul,  over  his  vanquisher.  With  the  book,  twenty- 
three  propositions  extracted  out  of  it  were  censured  by  the  Pope 
as  rash,  pernicious  in  practice,  and  erroneous  respectively ;  but 
none  were  qualified  as  heretical.  The  principal  error  of  Semi- 
'Quietism  consists  in  this  doctrine, — that,  in  the  state  of  perfect 
contemplation,  it  belongs  to  the  entire  annihilation  in  which  a 
soul  places  herself  before  God,  and  to  the  perfect  resignation  of 
herself  to  His  will,  that  she  be  indifferent  whether  she  be  damned 
or  saved  ;  which  monstrous  extravagance  destroys  the  obligation 
of  Christian  hope.  The  Divine  precepts  can  never  clash,  but 
strengthen  one  another.  It  would  be  blasphemy  to  pretend 
that  because  God,  as  a  universal  ruler,  suffers  sin,  we  can  take 
.a  complacence  in  its  being  committed  by  others.  God  damns  no 
•one  but  for  sin  and  final  impenitence ;  yet,  whilst  we  adore  the 
Divine  justice  and  sanctity,  we  are  bound  to  reject  sin  with  the 
utmost  abhorrence,  and  deprecate  damnation  with  the  greatest 
-ardour,  both  which  by  the  Divine  grace  we  can  shun.  Where, 
then,  can  there  be  any  room  for  such  a  pretended  resignation,  at 
the  very  thought  of  which  piety  shudders  ?  No  such  blasphemies 
occur  in  the  writings  of  St.  Teresa,  St.  John  of  the  Cross,  or 
other  approved  spiritual  authors.  If  they  are,  or  seem  to  be, 
-expressed  in  certain  parts  of  some  spiritual  works,  as  those  of 
Bernieres,  or  in  the  Italian  translation  of  Boudon's  God  Alone, 
these  expressions  are  to  be  corrected  by  the  rule  of  solid 
theology.  Fenelon  was  chiefly  deceived  bv  the  authorit*  of  an 


458  BROWNING   CYCLOPEDIA.  [Ein. 

adulterated  edition  of  2 he  Spiritual  Entertainments  of  St. 
Francis  of  Sales,  published  at  Lyons,  in  1628,  by  Drobet.  Upon 
the  immediate  complaint  and  supplication  of  St.  Francis  Chantali 
and  John  Francis  Sales,  brother  of  the  saint,  then  bishop  of 
Geneva,  Lewis  XIII.  suppressed  the  privilege  granted  for  the 
said  edition  by  letters  patent  given  in  the  camp  before  Rochelle 
in  the  same  year,  prefixed  to  the  correct  and  true  edition  of  that: 
book  made  at  Lyons  by  Cceurceillys  in  1629,  by  order  of  St.. 
Francis  Chantal.  Yet  this  faulty  edition,  with  its  additions  and 
omissions,  has  been  sometimes  reprinted;  and  a  copy  of  this 
edition  imposed  upon  Fenelon,  whom  Bossuet,  who  used  the 
right  edition,  accused  of  falsifying  the  book  (see  Mem,  de  Trev. 
for  July,  anno  1558,  p.  446).  Bossuet  had  several  years  before 
maintained  in  the  schools  of  Sorbonne,  with  great  warmth,  that  a. 
love  of  pure  benevolence  is  chimerical.  Nothing  is  more  insisted 
on  in  theological  schools  than  the  distinction  of  the  love  of  chaste 
desire  and  of  benevolence.  By  the  first,  a  creature  loves  God 
as  the  creature's  own  good — that  is,  upon  the  motive  of  enjoying 
Him,  or  because  he  shall  possess  God  and  find  in  Him  his 
own  complete  happiness, — in  other  words,  because  God  is  good 
to  the  creature  himself,  both  here  and  hereafter.  The  love  of 
benevolence  is  that  by  which  a  creature  loves  God  purely  foi 
His  own  sake,  or  because  He  is  in  Himself  infinitely  good.  This 
latter  is  called  pure  or  disinterested  love,  or  love  of  charity  ;  the 
former  is  a  love  of  an  inferior  order,  and  is  said  by  most  theo- 
logians to  belong  to  hope,  not  to  charity  ;  and  many  maintain  that 
it  can  never  attain  to  such  a  degree  of  perfection  as  to  be  a 
love  of  God  above  all  things;  because,  say  they,  he  who  loves 
God  merely  because  He  is  his  own  good,  or  for  the  sake  of  his 
enjoyment,  loves  Him  not  for  God's  own  increated  goodness, 
which  is  the  motive  of  charity  ;  nor  can  he  love  Him  more  than 
he  does  his  own  enjoyment  of  Him,  though  he  makes  no  such 
comparison,  nor  even  directly  or  interpretatively  forms  such  an 
act,  that  he  loves  Him  not  more  than  he  does  his  own  possession 
of  Him — which  would  be  criminal  and  extremely  inordinate.  So 
this  love  is  good,  and  of  obligation,  as  a  part  of  hope ;  and  it 
disposes  the  soul  to  the  love  of  charity.  Bossuet  allowed  the 
distinct  motives  of  the  loves  of  chaste  desire  and  of  benevolence ;. 
but  said  no  act  of  the  latter  could  be  formed  by  the  heart  which 
does  not  expressly  include  an  act  of  the  former ;  because,  said- 


BROWNING   CYCLOPAEDIA.  45  £ 

he,  no  man  can  love  any  good  without  desiring  to  himself  at  the 
same  time  the  possession  of  that  good  or  its  union  with  himself, 
and  no  man  can  love  another's  good  merely  as  another's.  This 
all  allow,  if  this  other's  good  were  to  destroy  or  exclude  the  love 
of  his  own  good.  Hence  the  habit  of  love  of  benevolence  must 
include  the  habit  of  the  love  of  desire.  But  the  act  may  be  and 
often  is  exercised  without  it,  for  good  is  amiable  in  itself  and  for 
its  own  sake ;  and  this  is  the  general  opinion  of  theologians. 
However,  the  opinion  of  Bossuet,  that  an  act  of  the  love  of 
benevolence  or  of  charity  is  inseparable  from  an  actual  love  of 
desire  is  not  censured,  but  is  maintained  also  by  F.  Honoratus 
of  St.  Mary  (Tradition  sur  la  Contempt.,  t.  iii.,  ch.  iv.,  p.  273). 
Mr.  Morris  carries  this  notion  so  far  as  to  pretend  that  creatures, 
in  loving  God,  consider  nothing  in  His  perfections  but  their  own 
good  (Letter  2,  '  On  Divine  Love,'  p.  8).  Some  advised  Fenelon 
to  make  a  diversion  by  attacking  Bossuet's  sentiments  and  books 
at  Rome,  and  convicting  him  of  establishing  theological  hope  by 
destroying  charity.  But  the  pious  archbishop  made  answer  that 
he  never  would  inflame  a  dispute  by  recriminating  against  a. 
brother,  whatever  might  have  seemed  prudent  to  be  done  at 
another  season.  When  he  was  put  in  mind  to  beware  of  the 
artifices  of  mankind,  which  he  had  so  well  known  and  so  often 
experienced,  he  made  answer:  "Let  us  die  in  our  simplicity ' 
(moriamur  in  simplidtate  nostrd}.  On  this  celebrated  dispute 
the  ingenious  Claville  (Traite  du  Vrai Merite)  makes  this  remark, 
— that  some  of  those  who  carried  the  point  were  condemned  by 
the  public  as  if  they  lost  charity  by  the  manner  in  which  they 
carried  on  the  contest ;  but  if  Fenelon  erred  in  theory  he  was  led 
astray  by  an  excess  in  his  desire  of  charity.  By  this  adversity 
and  submission  he  improved  his  own  charity  and  humility  to 
perfection,  and  arrived  at  the  most  easy  disposition  of  heart, 
disengaged  from  everything  in  the  world,  bowed  down  to  a  state 
of  pliableness  and  docility  not  to  be  expressed,  and  grounded  in. 
a  love  of  simplicity  which  extinguished  in  him  everything  besides. 
Those  who  admired  these  virtues  in  him  before  were  surprised 
at  the  great  heights  to  which  he  afterwards  carried  them :  so  much 
he  appeared  a  new  man,  though  before  a  model  of  piety  and 
humility.  As  to  the  distinction  of  the  motives  in  our  love  of  God,, 
in  practice,  too  nice  or  anxious  an  inquiry  is  generally  fruitless 
and  pernicious;  for  our  business  is  more  and  more  to  die  to 


460  BROWNING    CYCLOPAEDIA. 

ourselves,  purify  our  hearts,  and  employ  our  understanding  in 
the  contemplation  of  the  Divine  perfections  and  heavenly  mys- 
teries, and  our  affections  in  the  various  acts  of  holy  love — a 
boundless  field  in  which  our  souls  may  freely  take  their  range. 
And  while  we  blame  the  extravagances  of  false  mystics,  we  must 
never  fear  being  transported  to  excesses  in  practice  by  the  love 
of  God.  It  can  never  be  carried  too  far,  since  the  only  measure 
of  our  love  to  God  is  to  '  love  without  measure,'  as  St.  Bernard 
says.  No  transports  of  pure  love  can  carry  souls  aside  from  the 
right  way,  so  long  as  they  are  guided  by  humility  and  obedience. 
In  disputes  about  such  things,  the  utmost  care  is  necessary  that 
charity  be  not  lost  in  them,  that  envy  and  pride  be  guarded  against, 
and  that  sobriety  and  moderation  be  observed  in  all  inquiries ; 
for  nothing  is  more  frequent  than  for  the  greatest  geniuses,  in 
pursuing  subtleties,  to  lose  sight  both  of  virtue,  of  good  sense 
and  reason  itself.  (See  Bossuet's  works  on  this  subject,  t.  vi., 
especially  his  Mystici  in  Tuto,  in  which  he  is  more  correct  than 
in  some  of  his  other  pieces ;  also  Du  Plessis,  Hist,  de  I'Eglise 
de  Meaux,  1. 1.,  p.  485  ;  the  several  lines  of  Fenelon,  etc.)  "  Mr. 
Browning  in  this  poem  is  like  a  demonstrator  of  anatomy  in  a 
famous  school  of  dissection — some  Sir  Charles  Bell  lecturing  to 
a  crowded  room  full  of  students ;  taking  up  nerve  after  nerve, 
following  it  through  all  its  ramifications,  tracing  it  from  its  origin 
in  brain  or  spinal  cord,  and  never  leaving  it  till  it  is  lost  in 
microscopic  fibres  at  the  periphery.  He  is  as  impartial  as  the 
anatomist,  who  asks  no  questions  as  to  the  presence  of  the 
subject  on  his  table  :  all  he  has  to  do  with  is  the  science  to 
which  he  is  devoted.  Mr.  Browning  is  as  happy  with  Guido 
in  his  dungeon  as  with  the  Pope  in  the  Vatican,  or  Pompilia 
in  the  presence  of  the  angels  waiting  to  conduct  her  to  God. 
The  matter  in  hand  is  the  human  soul ;  and  as  the  greatest  poet 
of  the  soul  that  the  world  has  ever  seen,  he  is  lost  in  his  work. 
Count  Guido  never  could  have  thought  or  said  so  much  for 
himself  as  Browning  has  said  for  him.  Pompilia's  innocent, 
unsophisticated  heart  never  attempted  to  formulate  such  a  medi- 
tation on  her  brief  history.  Caponsacchi,  we  may  be  sure,  never 
rose  from  his  sonnets  and  gallantry  to  such  a  conscious  elevation 
of  soul  as  burst  suddenly  forth  in  the  splendour  of  Pompilia's 
soldier-saint  on  his  defence.  If  the  Pope  himself,  the  Vicar  of 
Christ,  came  to  his  decision  by  any  such  conscious  process  of 


BROWNING   CYCLOPEDIA.  46* 

reasoning  and  high-toned  Christian  philosophy — Catholic  because 
it  is  the  highest  expression  of  the  highest  thought  and  noblest 
impulse  of  the  human  heart — as  that  with  which  Mr.  Browning 
has  invested  him,  then  Innocent  XII.  was  a  man  of  genius  second 
only  to  the  poet  who  has  "created"  him  nearly  two  hundred 
years  after  he  died.  But  no  !  These  people  lived  indeed ;  they 
wrought  all  which  their  histories  tell  of  them ;  but  how  and  why,. 
they  never  knew.  God  alone  perfectly  reads  the  human  heart  \, 
and  a  few  men  like  Browning  are  privileged  to  catch  a  word 
of  the  record  here  and  there. 

Eoland.     (See  CHILDE  ROLAND  TO  THE  DARK  TOWER  CAME.} 

Rosny.  (Asolando,  1889.)  Love,  pure  and  passionate,  un- 
restrained by  thought  of  self,  and  gluttonous  of  sacrifice,  was  the 
undoing  of  the  hero.  No  prudence  could  keep  Rosny  from  his 
fate.  Strength  in  love,  and  its  victory  in  death  is  judged  by  the 
maiden  to  be  the  best.  Although  there  does  not  seem  to  be  any 
historical  incident  referred  to  in  the  poem,  it  may  be  advisable 
to  say  that  Maximilian  de  Bethune,  duke  of  Sully  (1560-1641), 
the  French  statesman,  was  born  at  the  chateau  of  Rosny,  near 
Mantes.  The  title  of  his  baronetcy  was  derived  from  the  name 
of  his  birthplace,  and  he  was  commonly  known  by  the  name  of 
Rosny  all  his  life.  Murray  says  that  "Rosny  is  a  dirty  little 
village  about  half-way  between  Mantes  and  Bonnieres.  The 
chateau  was  the  birthplace  of  Sully,  where  he  was  frequently 
visited  by  his  friend  and  master,  Henri  IV.,  who  slept  here  the 
night  after  his  victory  at  Ivry.  The  king,  having  overtaken  Sully 
on  the  road  desperately  wounded,  carried  on  a  litter,  accom- 
panied by  his  squires  in  a  like  plight,  fell  on  his  neck  and  affec- 
tionately embraced  him.  The  chateau  is  a  plain,  solid  building, 
of  red  brick,  with  stone  quoins  and  a  high  tent  roof,  surrounded 
by  a  deep  ditch.  It  was  rebuilt  by  Sully  at  the  beginning  of  the 
seventeenth  century.  From  1818  down  to  the  Revolution  of  1830 
Rosny  was  the  favourite  residence  of  the  Duchesse  de  Bern, 
who  erected  here  a  chapel  to  contain  the  heart  of  her  husband." 

Rosamund  Page.  (Martin  Relph.}  She  was  the  young  girl 
who  was  shot  by  the  military  for  supposed  treason,  and  whose 
innocence  would  have  been  proved  by  her  lover  Parkes,  if  Mr. 
Martin  had  made  known  his  presence  when  he  saw  him  arrive  at 
the  village  from  the  eminence  on  which  he  was  standing. 

"  Round  us  the  Wild  Creatures,"    (FerishtaVs  Fancies^ 


462  BROWNING   CYCLOPAEDIA. 

The  lyric  to  the  first  poem,  "  The  Eagle,"  commences  with  this 
line. 

Rudel  to  the  Lady  of  Tripoli.  (Dramatic  Lyrics,  in  Belh 
and  Pomegranates,  No.  III.,  1842.  Since  transferred  to  Men 
and  Women  in  Poetical  Works,  1863.)  Geoffrey  de  Rudel  was  a 
gentleman  of  Blieux,  in  Provence,  and  one  of  those  who  were 
presented  to  Frederick  Barbarossa  in  1154.  He  was  a  trouba- 
dour. Sismondi,  in  his  Literature  of  the  South  of  Europe,  vol. 
i,  p.  87  (Bohn's  Edit.),  gives  the  following  account  of  Rudel : 
— "  The  knights  who  had  returned  from  the  Holy  Land  spoke 
with  enthusiasm  of  a  Countess  of  Tripoli,  who  had  extended  to 
them  the  most  generous  hospitality,  and  whose  grace  and  beauty 
equalled  her  virtues.  Geoffrey  Rudel,  hearing  this  account,  fell 
deeply  in  love  with  her  without  having  ever  seen  her,  and  pre- 
vailed upon  one  of  his  friends,  Bertrand  d'Allamanon,  a  trouba- 
dour like  himself,  to  accompany  him  to  the  Levant  In  1 162  he 
quitted  the  court  of  England,  whither  he  had  been  conducted  by 
Geoffrey,  the  brother  of  Richard  I.,  and  embarked  for  the  Holy 
Land.  On  his  voyage  he  was  attacked  by  a  severe  illness,  and 
had  lost  the  power  of  speech  when  he  arrived  at  the  port  of 
Tripoli.  The  Countess,  being  informed  that  a  celebrated  poet 
was  dying  of  love  for  her  on  board  a  vessel  which  was  entering 
the  roads,  visited  him  on  shipboard,  took  him  kindly  by  the  hand, 
and  attempted  to  cheer  his  spirits.  Rudel,  we  are  assured, 
.recovered  his  speech  sufficiently  to  thank  the  Countess  for  her 
humanity,  and  to  declare  his  passion,  when  his  expressions  of 
gratitude  were  silenced  by  the  convulsions  of  death.  He  was 
buried  at  Tripoli,  beneath  a  tomb  of  porphyry  which  the 
Countess  raised  to  his  memory,  with  an  Arabic  inscription.  1 
have  transcribed  his  verses  on  "  Distant  Love,"  which  he  com- 
posed previous  to  his  last  voyage  : — 

"  Angry  and  sad  shall  be  my  way, 

If  I  behold  not  her  afar  : 
And  yet  I  know  not  when  that  day 

Shall  rise— for  still  she  dwells  afar. 
God  1  who  hast  formed  this  fair  array 

Of  worlds,  and  placed  my  love  afar, 
Strengthen  my  heart  with  hope,  I  pray, 

Of  seeing  her  I  love  afar 


15ai|  BROWNING   CYCLOP/EDIA.  463 

11  Oh  Lord  !  believe  my  faithful  lay. 

For  well  I  love  her,  though  afar ; 
Though  but  one  blessing  may  repa 

The  thousand  griefs  I  feel  afar, 
No  other  love  shall  shed  its  ray 

On  me,  if  not  this  love  afar ; 
A  brighter  one,  where'er  I  stray 

I  shall  not  see,  or  near,  or  far." 

In  Mr.  Browning's  poem,  Rudel  chooses  for  his  device  a  sun 
flower,  which,  by  ever  turning  towards  the  sun,  has  parted  with 
the  graces  of  a  flower  to  become  a  mimic  sun.  He  says  that 
men  feed  on  his  songs  ;  but  the  sunflowers  concern  is  not  for 
the  bees  which  gather  the  sweetness  of  the  flower's  breast, — 
its  concern  is  solely  for  the  sun.  So  turns  Rudel  longingly  to 
the  East,  where  his  lady  dwells  afar. 

St.  John.  (A  Death  in  the  Desert?)  The  poem  is  a  monologue 
of  the  dying  saint  in  the  desert  near  Ephesus.  He  records  what 
he  has  seen  of  our  Lord,  and  sadly  anticipates  the  time  when 
men  will  ask,  "  Did  he  say  he  saw?  " 

St.  Martin's  Summer.  (Pacchiarotto,  with  Other  Poems, 
1876.)  A  husband  and  wife,  both  young,  are  reflecting  on  the 
fact  that  they  have  each  buried  love  under  some  tomb  now  moss- 
grown  and  forgotten.  The  man  admits  that  somehow,  some- 
where, he  has  pledged  his  "  soul  to  endless  duty,  many  a  time 
and  oft."  Grief  is  fickle,  for  time  is  a  traitor.  Love,  being 
mortal,  must  pass  away,  and  he  does  not  think  either  of  them  so 
very  guilty  ;  they  grieved  over  their  lost  love  at  the  time,  though 
now  it  is  forgotten.  Yet,  though  Love's  corpse  lies  quiet,  its 
ghost  sometimes  escapes,  and  it  is  not  well  to  build  too  durable 
a  monument  over  it ;  trellis-woik  is  better.  It  is  better  to  own 
the  power  of  first  love,  recognise  its  permanence  in  the  soul,  and 
let  the  succeeding  love  be  estimated  at  its  value,  which  to  the 
poet  does  not  seem  to  be  very  high.  Dead  loves  are  the  potent, 
though  living  loves  are  ghost  dispellers.  From  the  oft-repeated 
expressions  of  Mr.  Browning's  opinion,  and  from  the  drift  of  this 
poem,  we  might  be  warranted  in  concluding  that  he  believed 
only  in  first  love. 

NOTES. — St.  Martiris  Summer;  or,  St.  Martin's  Little  Summer. 
From  October  9th  to  November  nth.  At  the  close  of  autumn 


464  BROWNING   CYCLOPEDIA.  fSaH 

we  generally  have  a  month  of  magnificent  summer  weather. 
"  Expect  St.  Martin's  summer,  halcyon  days "  (Shakespeare, 
i  Hen,  VL,  Act  i.,  sc.  2),  and,  " Farewell  thou  latter  spring! 
farewell  All-hallown  summer  !  "  It  is  also  called  "  St.  Luke's 
Summer,"  and  Martinmas,  and  Martilmasse,  because  the  feast  of 
St.  Martin  is  kept  on  November  i  ith.  St.  Luke's  Day  is  October 
1 8th.  Verse  12,  Penelope  was  the  wife  of  Ulysses.  During  the 
long  absence  of  her  husband  she  was  several  times  importuned 
by  suitors  to  marry  them.  She  told  them  that  she  could  not 
marry  again,  even  if  she  were  assured  that  Ulysses  were  dead, 
until  she  had  finished  weaving  a  shroud  for  her  aged  father-in- 
law.  Every  night  she  pulled  out  what  she  had  woven  during 
the  day,  and  so  her  work  made  no  progress.  Ulysses:  is  a 
corrupt  form  of  Odusseus,  the  king  of  Ithaca.  He  is  one  of  the 
principal  heroes  in  the  Iliad  of  Honrer,  and  the  chief  hero  of  the 
Odyssey. 

St.  Peter's  at  Rome.  (Christmas  Eve.}  The  great  colonnade 
on  either  side  of  St.  Peter's  Square  is  of  semicircular  form,  and 
is  beautifully  described  by  the  poet  as 


u  Arms  wide  open  to  embrace 
The  entry  of  the  human  race. 


Saul.  This  is  perhaps  the  grandest  and  most  beautiful  of  all 
Mr.  Browning's  religious  poems.  It  is  a  Messianic  oratorio  in 
words.  The  influence  of  music  in  the  cure  of  diseases  has  long, 
been  a  subject  of  study  by  physicians.  Disraeli,  in  his  Curiosities 
of  Literature,  has  an  article  on  "  Medical  Music."  In  Dr.  Burney's 
History  of  Music  there  is  a  chapter  on  "The  Medicinal  Powers 
attributed  to  Music  by  the  Ancients."  Dr.  Burney  thought  this 
influence  was  partly  due  to  its  occasioning  certain  vibrations 
of  the  nerves,  as  well  as  its  well-known  effect  in  diverting  the 
attention.  Depression  of  mind,  delirium  and  insanity,  were 
anciently  attributed  to  evil  spirits,  which  were  put  to  flight  by 
suitable  harmonies.  It  was  for  this  reason  that  David  was  sent 
for  to  cure  the  mental  derangement  of  Saul.  The  influence  of 
music  on  the  lower  animals  is  often  exceedingly  marked,  and  can 
scarcely  in  their  case,  as  in  our  own,  be  due  to  the  association  of 
ideas.  The  peculiar  and  sweet  melancholy  inspired  by  distant 
church  bells  on  a  calm  summer  evening  in  the  country,  though 


San]  BROWNING   CYCLOPAEDIA.  465 

difficult  to  account  for,  is  not  less  real  than  is  the  inspiring  and 
invigorating  effect  produced  by  march  music  on  weary  soldiers. 
Life  is  a  harmonious  process ;  where  there  is  most  health  there  is 
most  harmony  in  the  way  in  which  the  bodily  functions  are 
performed.  A  great  physician  has  described  health  as  "  going 
easy."  It  would  be  strange,  therefore,  if  animal  life  were  not 
attuned  to  sympathy  with  mechanical  harmony.  The  most 
modern  theory  is  that  "  Music  is  one  of  the  stimuli  which 
regulates  the  vaso-motor  activity  employed  in  tissue  nutrition." 
(See  Lancet,  May  9th,  1891,  p.  1055.)  In  another  article  in  the 
same  journal,  for  May  23rd,  the  subject  is  still  further  treated. 
The  writer  says :  "  The  value  of  music  as  a  therapeutic  method 
cannot  yet  be  so  precisely  stated  that  we  may  measure  it  by 
dosage  or  by  an  invariably  similar  order  of  effects.  Of  its  whole- 
some influence  in  various  forms  of  disease,  however,  there  can 
be  little  or  no  doubt.  In  making  this  assertion  we  do  not,  of 
course,  assign  to  it  any  specific  or  peculiar  action.  It  is  no 
quack's  nostrum,  no  reputed  conqueror  of  ache  or  ailment.  It  is 
only,  as  we  have  already  shown  in  a  recent  article,  one  of  those 
intangible  but  effective  aids  of  medicine  which  exert  their  health- 
ful properties  through  the  nervous  system.  It  is  as  a  mental 
tonic  that  music  acts.  Accordingly,  we  may  naturally  expect  it  to 
exert  its  powers  chiefly  in  those  diseases,  or  aspects  of  disease, 
which  are  due  to  morbid  nervous  action.  The  evidence  of  its 
utility  on  occasions  where  fatigue  or  worry  has  disturbed  the 
proper  balance  and  relation  between  the  mind  and  body  of  the 
so-called  healthy  will  explain  its  action  in  disease.  We  can 
readily  understand  how  a  pleasing  and  lively  melody  can  awake 
in  a  jaded  brain  the  strong  emotion  of  hope,  and  energising  by 
its  means  the  languid  nerve-control  of  the  whole  circulation, 
strengthen  the  heart-beat  and  refresh  the  vascularity  of  every 
organ.  We  can  picture  the  same  brain  in  forced  irritation  fret- 
fully stimulating  the  service  of  the  vaso-motor  nerves,  and 
starving  the  tissues  of  their  blood-supply.  Here,  again,  it  is 
easy  to  comprehend  the  regulating  effect  of  quieter  harmony, 
which  brings  at  once  a  rest  and  a  diversion  to  the  fretting  mind. 
Even  aches  are  soothed  for  a  time  by  a  transference  of  attention  ; 
and  why,  then,  should  not  pain  be  lulled  by  music  ?  '*  That  it 
sometimes  is  thus  relieved,  we  cannot  doubt.  It  is  especially  in 
the  graver  nervous  maladies,  however,  that  we  should  look  for 

30 


466  BROWNING   CYCLOPAEDIA.  [Sail 

benefit  from  this  remedy.  Definite  statistics  on  the  subject  may 
not  be  forthcoming,  but  all  that  we  have  said  goes  to  show  that 
states  of  insanity,  which  are  largely  influenced  by  the  condition 
of  the  sympathetic  system,  should  find  some  part  of  their  treat- 
ment in  the  hands  of  the  musician.  It  is,  therefore,  for  such 
cases  especially  that  we  would  enlist  his  services.  In  nervous 
diseases  music  produces  a  stimulating  effect  on  the  trophic 
nerves,  these  are  so  called  because  they  are  supposed  to  govern 
or  control  the  normal  metabolism  of  their  tissues  (or  the  pheno- 
mena whereby  living  organisms  assimilate  their  food  into  their 
tissues).  Depressing  news  will  impede  or  even  arrest  digestion, 
as  is  well  known  ;  cheerful  conversation  and  music  assist  the 
assimilation  of  our  sustenance.  The  almost  total  ignorance  of 
the  ancients  concerning  physiological  processes  caused  them  to 
attribute  to  demons  the  maladies  which  they  could  not  com- 
prehend. Music  was  prescribed  for  Saul  empirically :  it  mattered 
little  to  the  patient,  so  long  as  he  was  cured,  whether  music 
expelled  a  demon  who  was  tormenting  him,  or  lubricated  the 
wheels  of  his  nervous  mechanism.^  David  took  his  harp  to  Saul's 
tent,  untwisted  the  lilies  which  were  twined  round  the  strings  to 
keep  them  cool,  and  began  by  playing  the  tune  all  the  sheep 
knew,  appealing  to  his  mere  animal  nature,  and  bringing  him 
into  harmony  with  the  lower  forms  of  healthy  life  ;  for  there  are 
points  in  our  lives  touched  alike  by  men  and  sheep.  Then  he 
played  the  tune  which  the  quails  love,  and  that  which  delights 
the  crickets,  and  the  music  which  appeals  to  the  quick  jerboa  ;  for 
there  is  a  bond  of  sympathy  between  these  creatures  of  our 
Father's  hand  and  ourselves  which  we  do  ill  to  overlook ;  it  is 
well  for  us  sometimes  to  allow  ourselves  to  be  influenced  by 
those  things  which  God  has  made  to  delight  the  beautiful 
dumb  creatures  whom  St.  Francis  of  Assisi  delighted  to  call 
his  brothers  and  sisters.  It  was  another  step  towards  Saul's 
recovery  when  his  soul  achieved  the  harmony  of  a  quail  and  a 
jerboa.  Then  he  advanced  his  theme  :  he  led  the  patient  by  his 
melody  to  the  help  tune  of  the  reapers;  brought  before  his 
saddened  soul  the  good  friendship  of  the  toilers  at  their  merry- 
making ;  expanded  his  heart  in  the  warmth  of  brotherliness,  the 
sympathy  of  man  with  man.  But  higher  yet  1  The  march  of  the 
honoured  dead  is  played, — the  praise  of  the  men  who  have  for- 
gotten the  faults  in  the  work  the  man  completed.  And  after 


BROWNING   CYCLOPAEDIA.  467 

that  the  joyful  marriage  chant,  the  abounding  life  and  cheerful- 
ness of  the  maidens ;  the  march,  too,  of  the  comradeship  of  man 
in  his  greater  task,  the  compulsion  of  the  mechanical  forces  to 
aid  the  progress  of  the  race.  More  exalted  strains  follow  when, 
in  the  spirit  of  the  worship  of  the  one  God  of  Israel,  the  Levites 
ascend  the  altar  steps  to  appease  Jehovah  in  sacrifice.  By  slow 
degrees  the  music  had  done  the  first  part  of  its  work :  the  sluggish 
forces  of  his  life  began  to  tremble,  the  quiverings  of  returning  vital 
force  began  to  thrill  his  torpid  nerves.  The  song  went  forward : 
the  wild  joys  of  living  were  celebrated,  the  value  of  man's  life,  the 
good  providence  of  God,  the  friendship,  the  kingship,  the  gifts 
combined  to  dower  one  head  with  the  wealth  of  the  world, — the 
stimulus  of  high  ambition,  the  surpassing  deeds,  the  crowning 
fame  all  concentrated  in  Saul,  king  of  Israel.  And  the  leap  of 
David's  heart  voicing  itself  in  the  cry  "  Saul ! "  went  to  his 
wintry  soul  as  "  spring's  arrowy  summons  to  the  vale,  making  it 
laugh  in  freedom  and  flowers."  Saul  was  "  released  and  aware,'' 
the  despair  was  gone  ;  pale  and  worn,  he  stood  by  the  tent  pole, 
once  more  himself ;  he  was  recalled  to  life,  but  not  yet  fitted  to 
enjoy  it  David  pushes  his  advantage  :  the  future,  with  its  glorious 
prospect,  the  reward  which  God  shall  give  to  the  successors  of 
the  king ;  and  as  David  sings  of  the  ages  to  come,  which  will 
ring  with  his  praises  and  the  fame  of  his  mighty  deeds,  the  life 
stream  courses  through  his  veins,  he  begins  to  live  once  more, 
he  puts  out  his  hand,  touches  tenderly  the  brow  of  the  harpist, 
and  as  he  looks  on  David  the  beautiful  soul  of  the  youthful 
singer  goes  out  to  the  king  in  love,  the  magnetism  of  his  sym- 
pathy touches  him,  and  he  longs  to  impart  to  him  more  than  the 
past  and  present;  he  would  give  him  new  life  altogether  ages 
hence  as  at  the  moment.  If  he  would  do  this,  how  much  more 
would  God  do  1 

"  Have  I  knowledge  ?  confounded  it  shrivels  at  Wisdom  laid  bare. 
Have  I  forethought  ?  how  purblind,  how  blank,  to  the  Infinite  Care  1 " 

If  he  would  fain  do  so  much  for  this  suffering  man,  would  save, 
redeem  and  restore  him,  interpose  to  snatch  Saul  the  mistake, 
the  failure,  from  ruin,  and  bid  him  win  by  the  pain-throb,  the  inten- 
sified bliss  of  the  next  world's  reward  and  repose,  if  he  would 
starve  his  own  soul  to  fill  up  Saul's  life,  surely  God  would  exceed 
all  that  David  could  desire  to  do,  as  the  Creator  in  everything 


468  BROWNING   CYCLOPEDIA.  [SaU 

surpasses  the  creature,  and  as  the  Infinite  transcends  the  finite. 
Then,  in  a  magnificent  prophetic  burst,  the  singer  tells  Saul : 

"  O  Saul,  it  shall  be 

A  Face  like  my  face  that  receives  thee ;  a  Man  like  to  me, 
Thou  shalt  love  and  be  loved  by,  for  ever;  a  Hand  like  this  hand 
Shall  throw  open  the  gates  of  new  life  to  thee  I     See  the  Christ 

stand  ! " 

The  singer  leaves  the  tent,  goes  to  his  home  through  the  night, 
but  not  alone:  clouds  of  witnesses  hover  around  him,  angels 
have  come  to  listen  to  his  prophecy,  and  the  air  is  full  of  yearn- 
ing spirits ;  the  earth  has  awakened ;  hell  has  heard  the  echoes  of 
his  song, — her  crews  are  loosed  with  alarm  at  the  danger  which 
impends ;  the  stars  in  their  courses  beat  with  emotion ;  all 
creation  palpitates  with  excitement ;  but  the  Hand  which  impelled 
him  "quenched  it  with  quiet,"  and  earth  in  rapture  sank  to  rest. 
But  the  world  was  the  better  for  the  blessed  news,  "felt  the  new 
law";  the  flowers  rejoiced,  the  heart  of  the  cedars  and  the  sap  01 
the  vines  responded  to  the  thrill  of  joy  the  brooks  murmured, 
"  E'en  so,  it  is  so  1 "  (What  are  known  as  the  Messianic  Psalms, 
or  those  in  which  David  sings  of  the  Christ,  who  was  to  come, 
are  the  following :  Psalm  ii.,  xxi.,  xxii.,  xlv.,  Ixxii.,  and  ex.) — In 
Longus's  romance  of  Daphnis  and  Chloe  there  occur  two- 
passages  which  may  have  furnished  Browning  with  the  sugges- 
tion of  this  series  of  tunes.  The  first  is  found  on  pp.  303-4  (I 
quote  from  Smith's  translation,  in  the  Bohn  edition) :  "  He  ran- 
through  all  variations  of  pastoral  melody;  he  played  the  tune 
which  the  oxen  obey,  and  which  attracts  the  goats, — that  in  which 
the  sheep  delight.  The  notes  for  the  sheep  were  sweet,  those 
for  the  oxen  deep,  those  for  the  goats  were  shrill.  In  short,  his 
single  pipe  could  express  the  tones  of  every  pipe  which  is  played 
upon.  Those  present  lay  listening  in  silent  delight ;  when  Dryas 
rose  up,  and  desired  Philetas  to  strike  up  the  Bacchanalian  tune, 
Philetas  obeyed  ;  and  Dryas  began  the  vintage-dance  in  which 
he  represented  the  plucking  of  the  grapes,  the  carrying  of  the 
baskets,  the  treading  of  the  clusters,  and  the  drinking  of  the 
new-made  wine.  .  .  .  Upon  losing  sight  of  her,  Daphnis,  seizing 
the  large  pipe  of  Philetas,  breathed  into  it  a  mournful  strain  as 
of  one  who  loves  ;  then  a  lovesick  strain  as  of  one  who  pleads  ; 
lastly,  a  recalling  strain,  as  of  one  who  seeks  her  whom  he 
has  lost"  The  other  is  from  pp.  332-4:  "Daphnis  dis- 


BROWNING   CYCLOPAEDIA.  469 

posed  the  company  in  a  semicircle;  then  standing  under  the 
shade  of  a  beech-tree,  he  took  his  pipe  from  his  scrip,  and 
breathed  into  it  very  gently.  The  goats  stood  still,  merely 
lifting  up  their  heads.  Next  he  played  the  pasture  tune,  upon 
which  they  all  put  down  their  heads  and  began  to  graze.  Now 
he  produced  some  notes  soft  and  sweet  in  tone :  at  once  his 
herd  lay  down.  After  this  he  piped  in  a  sharp  key,  and  they  ran 
off  to  the  wood,  as  if  a  wolf  were  in  sight"  Again,  may  not  the 
impulse  to  write  this  poetry  have  been  derived  from  Heber's 
Spirit  of  Hebrew  Poetry '?  On  p.  197,  vol.  ii.,  of  the  translation, 
there  is  a  kind  of  challenge  to  poets  in  general :  "  Take  David 
in  the  presence  of  Saul.  More  than  one  poet  has  availed  him- 
self of  the  beauty  of  this  situation  ;  but  no  one  to  my  knowledge 
has  yet  stolen  the  harp  of  David,  and  produced  a  poem,  such 
even  as  Dryden's  ode  in  the  composition  of  Handel,  where 
Timotheus  plays  before  Alexander.  If  Browning  did  accept  the 
challenge,  it  was  only  to  refute  the  observation  by  his  success." 
—Pall  Mall  Gazette. 

NOTES. — The  Bible  story  of  David  playing  before  Saul  is  found 
in  i  Samuel  xvi.  14-23.  Stanza  i.,  Abner:  the  son  of  Ner, 
captain  of  Saul's  host  (i  Samuel  xxvi.  5).  Stanza  vi.,  jerboa  : 
a  small  jumping  rodent  animal,  called  also  the  jumping  hare. 
Stanza  viii.,  M ale-Sapphires :  the  asterias  or  star-stone,  a  semi- 
transparent  sapphire.  Stanza  xiv.,  Hebron:  the  most  southern 
of  the  three  cities  of  refuge  west  of  Jordan;  Kidron:  a  brook 
in  Jerusalem. 

Science  in  Browning.    The  following  are  some  references 
to  scientific  matters  in  the  poet's  works  appended  to  my  essay 
on  "  Browning  as  a  Scientific  Poet "  in  Brownings  Message  to  his 
Time.    The  list  of  references  makes  no  pretension  to  be  an 
exhaustive  one — it  could  be  considerably  amplified  by  a  careful 
ceperusal  of  the  works — but  it  will  suffice  for  the  purpose : — 
Anatomy. — Poems,  v.,  p.  152 ;  vi.,  p.  158.    Fifine,  p.  68. 
Astronomy.— Prince  H.  S.,  p.  96.    Sordello,  pp.  187,  188. 
Botany.— Poems,  i.,  p.  194;  v.,  pp.  193,  208,  228,  312.    Fifine, 

p.  14.     Sordello,  p.  20. 
Chemistry. — Poems,  iii.,  pp.  219,  220;  iv.,  p.  238 ;  v.,  pp.  155, 156. 

Prince  H.  S.,  pp.  44,  91.     Red  Cotton,  p.  196.     Croisic,  pp. 

90,  92.     Fifine,  pp.  65,  97,  130.     Ferishtah,  pp.  39,  40,  45,  76. 

JPippa  P.,  p.  250.     Sordello,  p.  194.    Ring  and  Book,  L,  p.  2, 


47°  BROWNING   CYCLOPAEDIA.  [Seb 

Electricity.— Poems,   vi.,   pp.   183,   203.     Red  Cotton,    p.    196, 

Fifine,  p.  115. 
Evolution. — Poems,  i.,   p.    188.     Prince  H.   S.,  p.   68.     Fifine. 

p.  162.     La  Saisiaz,  p.  57. 
Light. — Poems,  Hi.,  p.  170.     Jocoseria,  p.  124.     Fifine,  pp.  65,  29. 

Numpholeptos,  p.  101.    Ring  and  Book,  i.,  p.  71 ;  iii.,  p.  170; 

iv.,  pp.  57,  79- 
Materia  Medico,  and  Therapeutics. — Pietro   of   Abano,  p.   84. 

Prince  H.  S.f  p.  77.     Paracelsus,  p.  in. 
Medicine. — Poems,  iv.,  p.  273 ;  v.,  p.  220.     Dramatic  Idyls,  ii., 

preface.     Red  Cotton,  p.   199.    Ferishtah,  pp.  27,   55,  56. 

Ring  and  Book,  iv.,  p.  12. 
Pharmacy. — Poems,  iii.,  p.  96 ;  v.,  p.  220. 
Physiology. — Poems,  v.,  p.  191.    Sordello,  p.  195.     Tray. 
Scientific  Matters  in  General. — Poems,  v.,  pp.  128,  302 ;  vi.,  p.  203. 

Dramatic  Idyls,  ii.,  p.  68.     Fifine,  pp.  51,  86.     La  Saisiaz, 

pp.  69,  82.     Ferishtah,  p.  131.     Sordello,  pp.  25,  203.     Ring 

and  Book,  iv.,  pp.  61,  77,  180. 

The  references  are  to  the  six-volume  edition  of  the  poems,  and 
to  the  original  separate  editions  of  the  larger  works. 

Sebald.  The  man  in  Pippa  Passes  who  murdered  Ottima's 
husband. 

Serenade  at  the  Villa,  A.  (Men  and  Women,  1855 ;  Lyrics, 
1863  ;  Dramatic  Lyrics,  1868.)  A  lover  serenades  his  lady  on  a 
sultry  summer  night ;  and  the  burden  of  his  song  is  that,  as  he 
watches  through  the  dark  night  at  her  villa,  so  he  vows  to  watch 
through  life  over  her  path,  and  shield  her  from  danger  and  serve 
her  in  secret  devotion,  as  he  sings  to  her  now  while  she  sleeps. 
The  lady  dreamed  of  music,  but  slept  on,  though  "the  earth 
turned  in  her  sleep  in  pain."  Earth  has  heard  many  serenades 
and  many  vows  made  only  to  be  broken.  The  iron  gate  which 
ground  its  teeth  to  let  the  serenader  pass  seemed  to  be  disputing 
the  lover's  protestations ;  and  one  fears  that  if  his  mistress  was 
like  the  earth,  and  "turned  in  her  sleep"  too,  she  would  derive 
little  satisfaction  from  his  music. 

Setebos.  (Caliban  and  Setebos^)  The  god  of  the  Patagonians, 
whom  Caliban  worships  because  his  mother  did  so.  Caliban 
thinks  he  lives  in  the  moon,  and  has  made  mankind  for  his 
amusement. 

Shah  '  AbbaB.     (Ferishtah' s  Fancies,  III.}     Shah  'Abbas,  sur- 


BROWNING   CYCLOPAEDIA.  471 

named  the  Great,  was  one  of  the  most  celebrated  of  the  sovereigns 
of  Persia.  He  came  to  the  throne  at  the  age  of  eighteen,  in  the 
year  1585.  He  defeated  the  predatory  Uzbeks,  who  occupied 
Khorassan,  after  a  long  and  severe  struggle,  in  a  great  battle  near 
Herat  (1597),  and  drove  them  out  of  his  dominions.  He  was 
successful  in  the  wars  he  waged  against  the  Turks,  and  thereby 
greatly  extended  his  dominions.  He  defeated  the  united  armies 
of  the  Turks  and  Tartars  in  1618.  Baghdad  was  taken  in  1623. 
When  he  died,  in  1628,  his  dominions  reached  from  the  Tigris 
to  the  Indus.  The  circumstances  narrated  in  Mr.  Browning's 
poem  are  not  historical.  The  subject  of  the  poem  is  Belief. 
"  It  is  beautiful,  but  is  it  true  ? "  Ferishtah  has  now  achieved 
dervishhood,  and  a  pupil  asks,  "Was  this  life  lived,  was  this 
death  died,  not  dreamed  ?  "  It  was  answered,  "  Many  attested 
it  for  fact."  A  cup-bearer  left  on  record  a  story  of  the  death  of 
the  brave  Shah  'Abbas  of  simple  fear  at  discovering  a  spider  in 
his  wine.  The  cup-bearer  was  eye-witness  of  the  fact.  The 
Dervish  says  we  must  distinguish  between  the  noble  act  of  belief, 
and  mere  easy  acquiescence.  Twenty  soldiers  testify  to  the 
death  of  a  comrade ;  yet  he  comes  home  safe  and  sound  after  the 
wars.  He  had  two  sons.  One  who  heard  that  his  father  was 
living  rejoiced ;  the  other  preferred  the  evidence  of  the  twenty 
men  who  saw  him  die.  Ten  years  later  home  comes  Ishak. 
The  townsmen  bid  the  man  of  ready  faith  go  and  welcome  his 
father,  and  the  unbelieving  one  to  hide  his  head.  The  father 
would  praise  the  loving  heart  in  preference  to  the  sceptical  head. 
11  Is  God  less  wise  ?  "  asks  Ferishtah.  The  lyric  teaches  that  the 
true  light  of  life  is  love.  The  dark  ways  of  life  and  the  mysteries 
of  the  human  heart  will  prove  stones  of  stumbling  and  rocks  of 
offence  where  love  is  not  the  guide.  With  love  and  truth  our 
obstacles  disappear. 

Shakespeare.  The  poem  which  Mr.  Browning  wrote  for 
the  Shakespearean  Show-Book,  1884,  commenced  with  the  word 
"  Shakespeare  !  "  See  NAMES,  THE. 

Shop.  (Pacchiarotto,  with  other  Poems,  1876.)  "As  even  in 
science  all  roads,"  it  has  been  said,  "  lead  to  the  mouth,"  so  is  it 
with  Art  and  Letters.  The  poet  deplores  the  life  of  a  tradesman 
who  knows  no  other  use  of  life  but  to  enable  him  to  drive  a 
roaring  business,  his  "meat  and  drink  but  money  chink," — and 
so,  because  flesh  must  be  fed,  spirit  is  chained  In  ihe  counter. 


4  72  BROWNING   CYCLOPEDIA.  [Sib 

The  poet  would  have  the  tradesman  brighten  his  daily  life  with 
art  and  song,  as  men  do  who  let  their  good  angels  sometimes 
converse  with  them,  in  lands  where  poets  and  painters  think  more 
of  art  than  money.  The  danger  and  wickedness  of  compelling 
the  soul  to  be  the  eternal  slave  of  sordid  desires  and  petty 
anxieties  is  pointed  out  in  this  poem,  and  by  "shop  "  we  are  not 
only  to  think  of  tradesmen,  but  of  all  the  large  class  of  those  who 
are,  like  the  man  in  the  Pilgrim's  Progress,  too  busy  with  the 
muck-rake  to  look  at  the  heavens  above  them,  and  losing  their 
higher  selves  in  their  absorption  in  earthly  employments. 

Sibrandus  Schafnabnrgensis.  (See  GARDEN  FANCIES.)  The 
name  of  some  old  scholar,  who  has  written  a  book,  which  is  read 
by  a  profane  fellow  in  a  garden,  who  throws  it  into  a  decaying 
tree,  there  to  be  in  company  with  congenial  fungi. 
"  Sighed  Eawdon  Brown."  (See  RAWDON  BROWN.) 
Soliloquy  of  the  Spanish  Cloister.  [Dramatic  Lyrics,  in 
Bells  and  Pomegranates,  III.,  1842,  under  the  title  of  "Camp 
and  Cloister— I.  Camp  (French),  II.  Cloister  (Spanish)."]  There 
is,  of  course,  no  historical  basis  for  the  subject-matter  of  this 
poem  ;  but  there  is  no  reason  why  such  things  should  not  occur 
in  a  convent  or  monastery.  Ufuman  nature,  we  find,  is  pretty 
much  the  same,  under  whatever  conditions  we  examine  it ;  and 
petty  malice,  ill-nature,  and  evil  passions,  find  their  congenial 
soil  alike  in  the  cloister  and  the  world^J  Some  of  the  most 
unpleasant  failings  of  our  nature  are  no  doubt  directly  fostered 
by  cloister  life,  just  as  religious  people  of  every  class  are  often 
censorious,  uncharitable  in  their  judgments,  pharisaical  and 
severe.  {Unless  monks  and  nuns  are  regularly  and  entirely 
employeoT  in  useful  labour,  these  evil  weeds  are  certain  to  spring 
up  in  the  untilled  soil  of  the  human  heart.  \Worj^jsjhe  only 
remedy  for  pettiness  of ^spirit,  and  active  employment  the  only 
atmosphere  for  the  nobler  products  of  the  soul.  It  must  never 
be  forgotten,  however,  that  thousands  of  the  most  beautiful 
characters  which  have  blessed  the  world  have  been  formed  in 
the  cloister ;  such  are  being  formed  now,  and  will  continue  to  be 
so  formed,  in  direct  proportion  to  the  useful  work  in  which  its 
inmates  are  employed. — JTo  inferior  and  evil  natures  the  lofty 
and  noble  soul  is  generally  an  object  of  hatred  and  jealousy.  J 
/In  this  poem  we  have  a  coarse-minded  Spanish  monk,  boiling 
over  with  abhorrence  of  a  good,  gentle  brother,  who  loves  his 


Sol]  BROWNING   CYCLOPAEDIA.  473 

flowers,  trims  his  bushes  and  waters  his  rose  trees  with  tender 
solicitude  for  the  welfare  of  his  plants,  the  only  things  in  the 
monastery  he  can  love.  The  simple  talk  of  the  hated  friar  at 
meal-time  and  recreation  disgusts  him ;  he  knows  in  his  heart 
that  the  good  brother  is  a  saint,  though  he  tries  in  his  malice 
to  rake  up  some  remembrance  of  a  wandering  look  at  odd 
times,  and  is  not  so  ritualistically  exact  as  he  is  himself. 
He  spites  him  by  damaging  his  plants  all  he  can  in  a  sly  and 
ingenious  way.  He  would  like  him  to  lose  his  chances  of  sa  - 
vation  if  he  could,  so  he  will  endeavour  to  pervert  his  orthodoxy 
and  trip  him  up  on  his  way  to  heaven  ;  he  will  slip  in  amongst 
"his  greengages  a  wicked  French  novel ;  or  he  will  even  go  so 
far  as  to  ask  Satan's  aid, — when,  as  he  meditates  all  this  evil 
•doing,  the  vesper  bell  rings  and  the  wicked  old  fellow  goes  to  his 
prayers,  f 

NOTES. — Verse  ii.,  "Salve  tibi" :  a  salutation,  "Hail  to 
thee !"  Verse  v.,  Cross-wise  :  the  use  of  the  sign  of  the  cross  is 
traceable  to  the  earliest  Christian  times ;  "  The  Trinity  illus- 
trate " :  when  the  sign  of  the  cross  is  made  it  is  usual  to  add 
internally  "  In  the  name  of  the  Father,  and  of  the  Son,  and  of 
the  Holy  Ghost.  Amen."  A  Catholic  remembers  the  Trinity 
in  numberless  ways ;  Arian  :  "  One  who  adheres  to  the  doc- 
trines of  Arius,  a  presbyter  of  the  Church  in  the  fourth  century, 
who  held  Christ  to  be  a  created  being,  inferior  to  God  the  Father 
in  nature  and  dignity,  though  the  first  and  noblest  of  created 
beings."  (Mosheint.)  Verse  vii.,  "  The  great  text  in  the  Galatians  " 
I  take  to  be  the  tenth  verse  of  the  third  chapter :  "  For  as  many  as 
are  of  the  works  of  the  law  are  under  the  curse :  for  it  is  written, 
'  Cursed  is  every  one  that  continueth  not  in  all  things  which  are 
•written  in  the  book  of  the  law  to  do  them.'"  "It  is  written," 
— that  is  to  say,  in  the  book  of  Deuteronomy,  xxviii.,  15  to  68, 
wherein  are  set  forth  at  length  the  curses  for  disobedience. 
Those  arithmetically-minded  commentators  on  this  poem  who 
have  been  disappointed  in  finding  only  some  "  seventeen  works  of 
the  flesh"  in  Galatians  v.  19-21  will  find  an  abundant  oppor- 
tunity for  their  discrimination  in  the  chapter  of  Deuteronomy  to 
which  I  refer.  The  question  to  settle  is  "  the  twenty-nine  dis- 
tinct damnations."  St.  James  says  in  his  epistle  (ii.  10), 
that  "he  who  offends  against  the  law  in  one  point  is  guilty 
of  all."  If,  therefore,  the  envious  monk  could  induce  his  brother 


474  BROWNING   CYCLOPAEDIA.  [Soil 

to  trust  to  his  works  instead  of  to  his  faith,  he  would  fall  under 
the  condemnation  of  the  law,  as  explained  by  St.  Paul  in  his 
epistle.  Manichee  :  "  A  follower  of  Manes,  a  Persian,  who  tried 
to  combine  the  Oriental  philosophy  with  Christianity ;  and  main- 
tained that  there  are  two  supreme  principles  :  the  first  of  which> 
tight,  was  held  to  be  the  author  of  all  good  ;  the  second,  dark- 
ness, the  author  of  all  evil"  (  Webster's  Diet.).  Verse  viii., 
Belial:  an  evil  spirit;  "Plena  gratid  Ave,  Virgo  J"  :  probably 
intended  to  represent  "  the  angelical  salutation,"  which  is  "  Ave 
Maria,  gratia  plena  " — "  Hail,  Mary,  full  of  grace  ! " 

Solomon  and  Balkis.  (Jocoseria,  1883.)  The  Queen  of 
Sheba  sits  on  Solomon's  ivory  throne,  and  talks  of  deep 
mysteries  and  things  sublime ;  she  proves  the  king  with  hard, 
problems,  which  he  solves  ere  she  has  finished  her  questions. 
He  humiliates  the  Queen  by  making  her  difficulties  appear  so- 
childish  that  there  is  no  spirit  in  her ;  but  she  musters  up  strength 
enough  for  just  one  more  hard  question  :  "Who  are  those,"  she 
asks,  "  who  of  all  mankind  should  be  admitted  to  the  palace  of 
the  wisest  monarch  on  application  ? "  Solomon  says  the  wise 
are  the  equals  of  the  king  ;  those  who  are  kingly  in  craft  should 
be  his  friends.  He  in  turn  asks  the  Queen,  "  Who  are  those  whom 
she  would  admit  on  similar  terms?"  "The  good,"  replies  the 
Queen ;  and  as  she  speaks  she  contrives  to  jostle  the  king's  right 
hand,  so  that  the  ring  which  he  wore  was  turned  from  inside  now  ta 
outside.  The  ring  bore  the  "  truth-compelling  Name  "  of  Jehovah  \. 
then  the  King  was  obliged  to  confess  that  those  only  would  be 
considered  wise  who  came  to  offer  him  the  incense  of  their 
flattery. — "You  cat,  you  1 "  he  adds ;  and  then,  turning  the  Name 
towards  her,  makes  her  also  tell  the  truth.  Promptly  she  is- 
compelled  to  answer  that  by  the  good  she  means  young-  men, 
strong,  tall,  and  proper :  these  she  enlists  always  as  her  servants. 
Then  sighed  the  King:  the  soul  that  aspires  to  soar,  yet  ever 
crawls,  can  discern  the  great,  yet  always  chooses  the  small ; 
there  is  earth's  rest,  as  well  as  heaven's  rest ;  above,  the  soul 
may  fly  ;  here,  she  must  plod  heavily  on  earth.  Solomon  proposes 
to  resume  their  discourse  ;  but  the  Queen  tells  him  that  she  came 
fb  see  Solomon  the  wise  man ;  not  to  commune  with  mind,  but 
hody — and,  if  she  does  not  make  too  bold,  would  rather  have  a 
hiss ! 

NOTES.— Conster  :  Old  English  for  construe.    " spheteron  do" : 


Sol]  BROWNING  CYCLOPEDIA.  475 

(Greek),  his  home :  the  idea  of  Balkis  talking  Greek  to  Solomon 
is  to  show  what  a  prig  she  was.  Solomon's  Seal,  as  Solomon's 
ring  is  commonly  called,  was  celebrated  for  its  potency  over 
demons  and  genii.  It  is  probably  of  Hindu  origin,  and  bore  the 
double  triangle  sign  of  the  Kabalists.  (See  Isis  Unveiled 
(Blavatsky),  vol.  i.,  pp.  135-6.)  "  You  cat,  you!"  Solomon  de- 
scending to  this  is  exquisitely  funny.  Habitat:  a  suitable 
dwelling-place.  Hyssop  (i  Kings  iv.  33) :  a  plant  which  grows 
in  crevices  of  walls.  Dr.  J.  Forbes  Royle  considers  it  to  be  the 
caper  (Capparis  spinosd),  the  asuf  of  the  Arabs.  According  to 
the  Encyclopedia  Britannica,  vol.  xxiv.,  p.  738,  the  land  of  Sheba 
is  Yemen,  in  Arabia.  The  ancient  name  of  the  people  of  Yemen 
was  Saba  (Sheba).  "  The  Queen  of  Sheba  who  visited  Solomon 
may  have  come  with  a  caravan  trading  to  Gaza,  to  see  the  great 
king  whose  ships  plied  on  the  Red  Sea.  The  Biblical  picture  of 
the  Sabaean  kingdom  is  confirmed  and  supplemented  by  the 
Assyrian  inscriptions.  Tiglath  Pileser  II.  (733  B.C.)  tells  us  that 
Teima,  Saba,  and  Haipa  (=  Ephah,  Gen.  xxv.  4  and  Isa.  Ix.  6) 
paid  him  tribute  of  gold,  silver,  and  much  incense.  Similarly 
Sargon  (715  B.C.),  in  his  Annals,  mentions  the  tribute  of  Shamsi, 
queen  of  Arabia,  and  of  Itamara  of  the  land  of  Saba,  gold  and 
fragrant  spices,  horses  and  camels."  The  following  is  the 
Talmudic  legend  concerning  the  visit  of  the  Queen  of  Sheba  to. 
Solomon.  "  It  is  said  that  Solomon  ruled  the  whole  world,  and< 
this  verse  is  quoted  as  proof  of  the  assertion :  '  And  Solomon 
was  ruling  over  all  the  kingdoms,  which  brought  presents,  and 
served  Solomon  all  the  days  of  his  life '  (i  Kings  iv.  21).  All 
the  kingdoms  congratulated  Solomon  as  the  worthy  successor  of 
his  father,  David,  whose  fame  was  great  among  the  nations ;  all 
save  one,  the  kingdom  of  Sheba,  the  capital  of  which  was  called 
Kitore.  To  this  kingdom  Solomon  sent  a  letter:  'From  me, 
King  Solomon,  peace  to  thee  and  to  thy  government.  Let  it  be 
known  to  thee  that  the  Almighty  God  has  made  me  to  reign  over 
the  whole  world,  the  kingdoms  of  the  north,  the  south,  the  east, 
the  west.  Lo,  they  have  come  to  me  with  their  congratulations, 
all  save  thee  alone.  Come  thou  also,  I  pray  thee,  and  submit  to 
my  authority,  and  much  honour  shall  be  done  thee ;  but  if  thou. 
refusest,  behold,  I  shall  by  force  compel  thy  acknowledgment. 
— To  thee,  Queen  Sheba,  is  addressed  this  letter  in  peace 
from  me,  Kfng  Solomon,  the  son  of  David.'  Now,  whe* 


-476  BROWNING  CYCLOPAEDIA.  [Sol 

Queen  Sheba  received  this  letter,  she  sent  in  haste  for  her 
elders  and  councillors,  to  ask  their  advice  as  to  the  nature 
of  her  reply.  They  spoke  but  lightly  of  the  message  and 
the  one  who  sent  it;  but  the  Queen  did  not  regard  their 
words.  She  sent  a  vessel,  carrying  many  presents  of  different 
metals,  minerals,  and  precious  stones,  to  Solomon.  It  was  after 
a  voyage  of  two  years'  time  that  these  presents  arrived  at 
Jerusalem;  and  in  a  letter  intrusted  to  the  captain,  the  Queen 
said  '  After  thou  hast  received  the  message,  then  I  myself  will 
come  to  thee.'  And  in  two  years  after  this  time  Queen  Sheba 
arrived  at  Jerusalem.  When  Solomon  heard  that  the  Queen  was 
coming,  he  sent  Benayahu,  the  son  of  Jehoyadah,  the  general  of 
his  army,  to  meet  her.  When  the  Queen  saw  him  she  thought  he 
was  the  King,  and  she  alighted  from  her  carriage.  Then  Benayahu 
asked,  'Why  alightest  thou  from  thy  carriage?'  And  she 
answered,  'Art  thou  not  his  majesty,  the  King?'  No,  replied 
Benayahu,  'I  am  but  one  of  his  officers.'  Then  the  Queen 
turned  back  and  said  to  her  ladies  in  attendance,  '  If  this  is  but 
one  of  the  officers,  and  he  is  so  noble  and  imposing  in  appear- 
ance, how  great  must  be  his  superior,  the  King  ! '  And  Benayahu, 
the  son  of  Jehoyadah,  conducted  Queen  Sheba  to  the  palace  of 
the  King.  Solomon  prepared  to  receive  his  visitor  in  an  apart- 
ment laid  and  lined  with  glass ;  and  the  Queen  at  first  was  so 
deceived  by  the  appearance  that  she  imagined  the  King  to  be 
sitting  in  water.  And  when  the  Queen  had  tested  Solomon's 
wisdom  *  and  witnessed  his  magnificence,  she  said :  '  I  believed 
not  what  I  heard ;  but  now  I  have  come,  and  my  eyes  have  seen 
it  all,  behold,  the  half  has  not  been  told  to  me.  Happy  are  thy 
•servants  who  stand  before  thee  continually  to  listen  to  thy  words 
of  wisdom.  Blessed  be  the  Lord  thy  God,  who  hath  placed  thee 
on  a  throne  to  rule  righteously  and  in  justice.'  When  other 
kingdoms  heard  the  words  of  the  Queen  of  Sheba,  they  feared 
Solomon  exceedingly,  and  he  became  greater  than  all  the  other 
kings  of  the  earth  in  wisdom  and  in  wealth.  Solomon  was  born 
in  the  year  2912  A.M.,  and  reigned  over  Israel  forty  years.  Four 
hundred  and  thirty-three  years  elapsed  between  the  date  of 
Solomon's  reign  and  that  of  the  Temple's  destruction."  (From 
Polano's  translation  of  selections  from  the  Talmud.) 

*  By  means  of  riddles,  as  related  in  the  Bible. 


Soi]  BROWNING   CYCLOPEDIA. 

Sonnet :  * — 

"  Eyes,  calm  beside  thee,  (Lady  could'st  thou  know  I) 

May  turn  away  thick  with  fast-gathering  tears : 
I  glance  not  where  all  gaze :  thrilling  and  low 

Their  passionate  praises  reach  thee — my  cheek  wears 
Alone  no  wonder  when  thou  passest  by ; 
Thy  tremulous  lids  bent  and  suffused  reply 
To  the  irrepressible  homage  which  doth  glow 

On  every  lip  but  mine :  if  in  thine  ears 
Their  accents  linger — and  thou  dost  recall 

Me  as  I  stood,  still,  guarded,  very  pale, 
Beside  each  votarist  whose  lighted  brow 
Wore  worship  like  an  aureole,  '  O'er  them  all 

My  beauty/  thou  wilt  murmur,  '  did  prevail 

Save  that  one  only :  '—Lady  could'st  thou  know  I 

August  ijtfi,  1834.  Z." 

Sordello.  [THE  MAN.]  Sordello  was  a  troubadour,  and  we 
have  to  thank  Dante  for  having  made,  in  his  Purgatorio^  such 
frequent  reference  to  him  as  will  preserve  his  name  from 
oblivion  as  long  as  the  Divina  Commedia  is  known  to  the 
world.  Sordello  is  referred  to  in  the  Purgatorio  eight  times: 
viz.,  in  Canto  vi.  75  ;  vii.  2,  52  ;  viii.  38,  43,  62,  93  ;  ix.  53  (Gary's 
translation).  In  the  sixth  Canto  we  are  introduced  to  Sordello. 
thus : — 

"  But  lo  1  a  spirit  there 

Stands  solitary,  and  toward  us  looks ; 

It  will  instruct  us  in  the  speediest  way." 

We  soon  approach'd  it.     O  thou  Lombard  spirit  1 

How  didst  thou  stand,  in  high  abstracted  mood, 

Scarce  moving  with  slow  dignity  thine  eyes. 

It  spoke  not  aught,  but  let  us  onward  pass, 

Eying  us  as  a  lion  on  his  watch. 

But  Vergil,  with  entreaty  mild,  advanced, 

Requesting  it  to  show  the  best  ascent. 

It  answer  to  his  question  none  return'd  ; 

But  of  our  country  and  our  kind  of  life 

Demanded — When  my  courteous  guide  began, 

*  The  above  sonnet,  by  Robert  Browning,  is  copied  from  Tht 
Monthly  Repository  (edited  by  W.  J.  Fox)  for  1834,  New  series, 
vol.  viii.,  p.  712. 


.178  BROWNING   CYCLOPAEDIA.  [Sor 

'Mantua,'  the  shadow,  in  itself  absorb 'd, 
Rose  towards  us  from  the  place  in  which  it  stood, 
And  cried,  '  Mantuan  !  I  am  thy  countryman, 
Sordello.'     Each  the  other  then  embraced." 

Gary's  note  is  valuable  :  "  The  history  of  Sordello's  life  is  wrapt 
in  the  obscurity  of  romance.  That  he  distinguished  himself 
by  his  skill  in  Proven9al  poetry  is  certain ;  and  many  feats  of 
military  prowess  have  been  attributed  to  him.  It  is  probable 
that  he  was  born  towards  the  end  of  the  twelfth,  and  died 
.about  the  middle  of  the  succeeding  century.  Tiraboschi,  who 
terms  him  the  most  illustrious  of  all  the  Provensal  poets  of  his 
age,  has  taken  much  pains  to  sift  all  the  notices  he  could  collect 
relating  to  him ;  and  has  particularly  exposed  the  fabulous 
narrative  which  Platina  has  introduced  on  this  subject  in  his 
history  of  Mantua.  Honourable  mention  of  his  name  is  made 
by  our  poet  in  the  treatise  De  Vulg.  Eloq.,  lib.  i.  cap.  15,  where 
it  is  said  that,  remarkable  as  he  was  for  eloquence,  he  deserted 
the  vernacular  language  of  his  own  country,  not  only  in  his 
poems,  but  in  every  other  kind  of  writing.  Tiraboschi  had  at  first 
concluded  him  to  be  the  same  writer  whom  Dante  elsewhere 
(De  Vulg.  Eloq.,  lib.  ii.  c.  13)  calls  Gottus  Mantuanus,  but  after- 
Avards  gave  up  that  opinion  to  the  authority  of  the  Conte  d'Arco 
and  the  Abate  Bettinelli.  By  Bastero,  in  his  Crusca  Provenzale, 
(ediz.  Roma.,  1724,  p.  94),  amongst  Sordello's  MS.  poems  in  the 
Vatican,  are  mentioned  "Canzoni,  Tenzoni,  Cobbole,"  and 
various  "  Serventesi,"  particularly  one  in  the  form  of  a  funeral 
song  on  the  death  of  Blancas,  in  which  the  poet  reprehends  all  the 
reigning  princes  in  Christendom. — Many  of  Sordello's  poems 
have  been  brought  to  light  by  the  industry  of  M.  Raynouard,  in 
his  Choix des  Poesies  des  Troubadours  and  bis  Lexique  Roman" 
Sismondi,  in  his  Literature  of  Europe,  vol.  i.,  p.  103,  says  that  the 
xeal  merit  of  Sordello  as  a  troubadour  "  consists  in  the  harmony 
.and  sensibility  of  his  verses.  He  was  amongst  the  first  to  adopt 
the  ballad  form  of  writing;  and  in  one  of  these  which  has  been 
translated  by  Millot,  he  beautifully  contrasts,  in  the  burthen  of 
.his  ballad,  the  gaieties  of  nature,  and  the  ever-reviving  grief 
of  a  heart  devoted  to  love.  Sordel,  or  Sordello,  was  born  at 
"Goi'to,  near  Mantua,  and  was  for  some  time  attached  to  the 
'household  of  the  Count  of  S.  Bonifazio,  the  chief  of  the  Guelt 


:>0r]  BROWNING   CYCLOPEDIA.  479 

.party,  in  the  march  of  Treviso.      He  afterwards  passed  into  the 
service  of  Raymond  Berenger,  the  last  count  of  Provence  ot 
the  house  of  Barcelona.     Although  a  Lombard,  he  had  adopted 
in  his  compositions  the  Proven9al  language,   and  many  of  his 
countrymen  imitated  him.   It  was  not  at  that  time  believed  that  the 
Italian  was  capable  of  becoming  a  polished  language.      The  age 
of  Sordello  was  that  of  the  most  brilliant  chivalric  virtues  and 
the  most  atrocious  crimes.      He  lived  in  the  midst  of  heroes  and 
monsters.     The  imagination  of  the  people  was  still  haunted  by 
ihe  recollection  of  the  ferocious  Ezzelino,  tyrant  of  Verona,  with 
whom  Sordello  is  said  to  have  had    a  contest,  and  who  was 
probably  often  mentioned  in  his  verses.      The  historical  monu- 
ments of  this  reign  of  blood  were,  however,  little  known ;  and  the 
people  mingled  the  name  of  their  favourite  poet  with  every  revolu- 
tion which  excited  their  terror.      It  was  said  that  he  had  carried 
off  the  wife  of  the  Count  of  S.  Bonifazio,  the  sovereign  of  Mantua  ; 
that  he  had  married  the  daughter  or  sister  of  Ezzelino  ;  and  that 
he  had  fought  this  monster,  with  glory  to  himself.     He  united, 
according  to  popular  report,  the  most  brilliant  military  exploits 
-to  the  most  distinguished  poetical  genius.      By  the  voice  of  St. 
Louis  himself  he  had  been  recognised,  at  a  tourney,  as  the  most 
valiant   and  gallant  of  knights ;    and  at   last  the  sovereignty  of 
Mantua  had  been  bestowed  upon  this  noblest  of  the  poets  and 
warriors  of  his  age.     Historians  of  credit  have  collected,  three 
centuries  after  Bordello's  death,  these  brilliant  fictions,  which  are, 
however,  disproved  by  the  testimony  of  contemporary  writers. 
The   reputation  of  Sordello  is  owing,  very  materially,  to  the 
admiration  which  has  been  expressed  for  him  by  Dante ;  who, 
when  he  meets  him  at  the  entrance  .of  Purgatory,  is  so  struck 
with  the  noble  haughtiness  of  his  aspect,  that  he  compares  him 
to  a  lion  in  a  state  of  majestic  repose,  and  represents  Virgil 
•as  embracing  him   on   hearing   his   name." — I  am  indebted  to 
Professor  Sonnenschein  for  the  following  account  of  the  man 
Sordello,  as  well  as  for  the  valuable  notes  on  the  period,  and 
the  persons  with  whom  the  poem  deals.     The  notes  distinguished 
by  the  initial  [S.]  are  also   due  to   Professor  Sonnenschein's 
generous  assistance  :  "  All  that  is  known  of  the  real  Sordello  is 
that  he  was  a  troubadour  of  the  thirteenth  century  mentioned  by 
iis  contemporary  Rolandin,   who  states   that  he  eloped    with 
Cuniza,  wife  of  Count  Richard  de  Saint  Bonifazio,  and  sister  oi 


480  BROWNING   CYCLOPAEDIA.  [Sor 

Ezzelino  da  Komano.  Some  of  his  poems  still  survive,  and  from 
them  a  few  more  facts  relating  to  the  poet  may  be  gleaned ;  and 
that  is  the  whole  of  our  real  knowledge  of  him.  For  some 
reason,  however,  the  poets  and  romantic  historians  have  made 
much  more  of  him.  First,  Dante  met  him  at  the  portals  of 
Purgatory  among  those  who  had  perished  by  violence  without 
a  chance  of  repenting  them  of  their  sins.  When  he  saw  Vergil 
he  cried :  '  <9  Montovano  to  son  Sordello^  delta  tua  terra '  (Oh 
Mantuan,  I  am  Sordello  of  thy  country  ! ')  Dante,  in  his  poem 
says  he  had  the  appearance  and  aspect  of  a  lion  ;  and  the  same 
author,  in  a  prose  treatise  on  the  vulgar  tongue,  says  Sordello 
excelled  in  all  kinds  of  poetry  and  aided  in  founding  the  Italian 
language  by  numerous  words  skilfully  borrowed  from  the 
dialects  of  Cremona,  Brescia  and  Verona.  A  century  later 
Benvenuto  d'Imola,  in  a  commentary  on  the  works  of  Dante,  says- 
Sordello  was  a  citizen  of  Mantua,  an  illustrious  and  able  warrioi 
and  a  courtier,  who  lived  in  the  reign  of  Ezzelin  da  Romano, 
whose  sister  Cuniza  fell  in  love  with  him  and  invited  him  to  a 
rendezvous.  Ezzelino,  disguised  as  a  servant,  discovered  them 
together,  but  permitted  Sordello  to  escape  upon  promising  not  to 
return.  Yielding,  however,  again  to  the  entreaties  of  Cuniza, 
he  was  again  discovered  by  her  watchful  brother,  and  fled.  He 
wa;  pursued  and  slain  by  the  emissaries  of  Ezzelino.  Ben- 
venuto, who  gives  no  authority  for  his  statements,  also  says  that 
Sordello  was  the  author  of  a  book  which  he  admits  never  to- 
have  seen,  called  Thesaurus  thesaurorum.  About  the  same  time 
some  biographical  notices  of  the  troubadours,  written  in  the 
language  of  Provence,  mention  Sordello  as  having  been  the  son 
of  a  poor  knight  of  Mantua.  At  an  early  age  he  composed 
numerous  songs  and  poems,  which  gained  him  admittance  to  the 
court  of  the  Count  of  St.  Boniface.  He  fell  in  love  with  the  wife 
of  that  lord,  and  eloped  with  her.  The  fugitives  were  received 
by  the  lady's  brothers,  who  were  at  war  with  St.  Boniface. 
After  a  time  he  left  the  lady  there,  and  passed  into  Provence,, 
where  his  talents  obtained  such  brilliant  recognition  that  he  was 
soon  the  owner  of  a  chateau,  and  made  an  honourable  marriage. 
Early  in  the  next  century  Aliprando  wrote  a  fabulous  rhyming: 
chronicle  of  Milan,  in  which  Sordello  plays  a  conspicuous  part. 
In  this  he  is  a  member  of  the  family  of  Visconti,  born  at  Goito. 
He  began  his  literary  career  in  early  youth  by  producing  a  book 


SOI1]  BROWNING   CYCLOPEDIA.  481 

called  The  Treasure.  Arms  proving  more  attractive,  by  the  time 
he  was  twenty-five  he  was  distinguished  for  his  bravery,  his 
address,  his  nobility,  and  the  grace  of  his  demeanour,  although 
he  was  small  of  stature.  Accepting  many  challenges,  he  was 
always  victorious,  and  sent  the  vanquished  knights  to  tell  his 
deeds  of  valour  to  the  King  of  France.  At  the  invitation  of  that 
prince  he  was  about  to  cross  the  Alps,  when  he  yielded  to  the 
entreaties  of  Ezzelino  and  went  to  reside  with  him  at  Verona 
There  he  long  resisted  the  advances,  the  prayers,  the  entreaties 
of  Ezzelino's  sister  Beatrice.  At  last  he  fled  to  Mantua,  but  was 
followed  by  Beatrice  disguised  as  a  man.  He  finally  yielded, 
and  married  her.  A  few  days  later  he  left  her,  and  went  to 
France,  where  he  spent  several  months  with  the  court  at  Troyes, 
where  his  valour,  his  gallantry  and  his  poetic  talents  were  greatly 
admired.  After  being  knighted  by  the  King,  who  gave  him  three 
thousand  francs  and  a  golden  falcon,  he  returned  to  Italy.  A1F 
the  towns  received  him  with  pomp,  as  the  first  warrior  of  his- 
time.  The  Mantuans  came  out  to  meet  him,  but  he  passed  on 
to  Verona  to  reclaim  his  bride.  When  he  returned  with  her,  he 
was  welcomed  with  eight  days  of  public  rejoicing.  After  that,. 
Ezzelino  laid  siege  to  Mantua,  but  was  driven  away  by  Sordellor 
who  afterwards  aided  the  Milanese  against  him  and  gave  him  the 
wound  of  which  he  died.  What  became  of  him  afterwards  does- 
not  appear ;  but  this  chronicle,  which  was  a  mass  of  anachron- 
isms, romances,  and  fictions,  was  largely  drawn  upon  by  the 
historic  writers  of  the  next  century,  many  of  whom  have  adopted 
the  story  of  Sordello  as  therein  told,  and  of  the  Lady  Beatrice 
who  never  existed.  In  the  sixteenth  century,  Nostradamus,  in 
his  Lives  of  Provencal  Poets,  says  :  Sordello  was  a  Mantuan,  who 
at  the  age  of  fifteen  years  entered  the  service  of  Berenger,  Count 
of  Provence.  His  verses  were  preferred  to  those  of  Folquet  de 
Marseille,  Perceval  Doria,  and  all  the  other  Genoese  and  Tuscan 
poets.  He  made  very  beautiful  songs,  not  about  love,  but  on 
subjects  relating  to  philosophy.  He  translated  into  Provenfalese 
a  digest  of  the  laws,  and  wrote  a  historical  treatise  on  the  Kings 
of  Aragon  and  Provence.  Darenou,  to  whom  I  am  indebted  for 
most  of  my  information,  after  examining  all  of  these  and  some  later 
authorities,  considers  that  the  only  certain  facts  are  those  written 
by  Rolandin  shortly  after  Bordello's  death.  Dante  was  so  nearly 
Contemporaneous  that  he  also  may  be  taken  as  an  authority.  Of 


4^2  BROWNING   CYCLOPAEDIA.  [Sor 

his  Italian  poems,  and  his  prose  works,  nothing  is  known  to  have 
survived ;  but  at  least  thirty-four  of  his  Proven9alese  poems  still 
exist.  Of  these  one-half  are  love  songs  of  the  most  pronounced 
type,  despite  the  statement  of  Nostradamus  to  the  contrary. 
Several  have  been  translated  into  French,  and  some  are  said  to 
be  of  a  high  character.  In  one,  the  poet  boasts  of  his  conquests 
and  his  fickleness.  Some  are  in  the  form  of  dialogues,  in  which 
he  discusses  such  questions  as,  Whether  it  be  better  for  a  lover 
to  die  or  continue  to  exist  after  the  loss  of  his  beloved ;  or  Whether 
it  be  right  to  sacrifice  love  to  honour,  or  to  prefer  the  glory  of 
knightly  combat  to  love.  In  a  poetic  letter  to  the  Count  of 
Provence,  he  begs  that  prince  not  to  send  him  to  the  Crusades,  as 
he  cannot  make  up  his  mind  to  cross  the  seas,  and  wishes  to 
delay  as  long  as  possible  entering  into  life  eternal.  In  several 
of  his  pcems  he  violently  attacks  Pierre  Vidal,  the  troubadour, 
whom  he  seems  to  have  hated  bitterly.  The  whole  story  is  a 
curious  instance  of  development.  Originally  a  troubadour,  ap- 
parently with  most  of  the  vices,  faults,  and  virtues  of  the  typical 
troubadour  of  the  thirteenth  century,  he  gradually  became,  as 
the  centuries  advanced,  first  a  hero  of  romance,  a  preux-chevalier 
and  model  Italian  knight-errant,  and  finally  that  which  we  see 
Mr.  Browning  has  made  of  him.  In  Sismondi\  find  the  following 
concerning  Sordello :  "  Two  men,  superior  in  character  to  these 
court  parasites,  about  this  time  attained  great  reputations  in  the 
Lombard  republics,  through  their  Proven9alese  songs.  One  of 
these,  Ugo  Cattola,  devoted  his  talents  to  combating  the  corrup- 
tion and  tyranny  of  princes  ;  the  other,  Sordello  de  Mantua,  is 
enveloped  in  mysterious  obscurity.  The  writers  of  the  following 
century  speak  of  him  with  profound  respect,  without  giving  us 
any  details  of  his  life.  Those  who  came  later  have  made  him  a 
magnanimous  warrior,  a  valiant  defender  of  his  country,  and 
some  even  a  prince  of  Mantua.  The  nobility  of  his  birth  and 
his  marriage  with  a  sister  of  Eccelino  da  Romana,  are  attested 
hv  his  contemporaries.  His  violent  death  is  obscurely  indicated 
by  the  great  Florentine  poet ;  and  the  only  claims  to  immortality 
that  remain  to  Sordello  to-day  are  his  words  and  actions  men- 
tioned by  Dante  in  the  Purgatorio"  The  following  is  also  given 
in  Sismondi  as  one  of  the  few  surviving  specimens  of  Sordello's 
poetry.  It  is  called  x 


Sor] 


BROWNING   CYCLOPAEDIA. 


483 


TENSA  DE  SORDEL  ET  DE  PEYRE  GUILHEM. 


GUILHEM. 

En  Sordel  que  vous  en  semblan 
De  la  pros  contessa  preysan  ? 
Car  tout  dison,  et  van  parlan 
Que  per  s'amor  etz  in  vengutz, 
E  quen  cujatz  esser  son  drutz, 
En  blanchatz  etz  por  ley  canutz. 


SORDEL. 

Peyre  Guilhem  tot  son  affan 
Mist  Dieu  in  ley  for  per  mon  dan. 
Les  beautatz  que  les  autratz  an 
En  menz,  et  el  pres  son  menutz. 
Ans  fos  ab  emblanchatz  perdutz 
Che  esso  non  fos  ad  vengutz. 


GUILLAUME. 

Eh  bien,  Sordel,  que  vous  en 
semblede  cette  aimable  comtesse 
si  prise"e  ?  Car  tous  disent,  tons 
vous  repeHant  que  pour  son 
amour  vous  eles  veni  ici,  que 
vous  avez  cru  pouvoir  etre  son 
amant,  et  que  pour  elle  vos  che- 
veux  blanchissent,  et  vos  forces 
vous  abandonnent. 

SORDELLO. 

Pierre  Guillaume,  Dieu  mit  en 
elle  tout  son  travail,  pour  en 
faire  mon  tourment.  Les  beautes 
qu'ont  toutes  les  autres  ne  sont 
rien  j  leur  prix  est  peu  de  chose. 
Plutot  fusse-je  perdu  par  la  vieil- 
lesse,  que  d'avoir  eprouve*  ce  que 
j'eprouve. 


The  poem  of  Sordello  is  a  picture  ot  the  troublous  times  of  the 
early  part  of  the  thirteenth  century  in  North  Italy,  and  is  the 
history  of  the  development  of  Sordello's  soul.  Frederick  II.  is 
Emperor  and  Honorius  III.  is  Pope.  Frederick  II.,  the  noblest 
of  medieeval  princes,  the  man  who  suffered  much  because  he  was 
centuries  in  advance  of  his  time,  is  too  well  known  to  need  any 
description.  To  understand  the  causes  ot  the  conflicts  in  which 
Lombardy  was  engaged,  we  must  go  back  to  the  time  of  Charle- 
magne, who  took  the  Lombard  king  Desiderius  prisoner,  in  774, 
and  destroyed  the  Lombard  kingdom.  Luitprand,  the  sovereign 
of  the  Lombards  from  713  to  726,  had  extended  the  dominion  of 
Lombardy  into  Middle  Italy.  The  Popes  found  this  dominion 
too  formidable,  so  they  solicited  the  assistance  of  the  Frankish 
kings.  The  whole  of  Upper  Italy  had  been  conquered  by  the 
Lomuards  in  the  sixth  century.  "  Charles,  with  the  title  of  King 
of  the  Franks  and  Lombards,  then  became  the  master  of  Italy.  In 
800,  the  Pope,  who  had  crowned  Pepin  King  of  the  Franks, 
claimed  to  bestow  the  Roman  Empire,  and  crowned  his  greater 
son  Emperor  of  the  Romans  "  (Encyc.  Brit).  Now  began  a  vast 


484  BROWNING   CYCLOPAEDIA.  [Sor 

system  in  North  Italy  of  episcopal  "  immunities,"  which  made 
the  bishops  temporal  sovereigns.  In  the  eleventh  century  the 
Lombard  cities  had  become  communes  and  republics,  managing 
their  own  affairs  and  making  war  on  their  troublesome  neigh- 
bours. Leagues  and  counter-leagues  were  formed,  and  confede- 
racies of  cities  even  dared  to  challenge  the  strength  of  Germany. 
Otto  the  Great's  empire,  in  the  early  years  of  the  tenth  century, 
consisted  of  Germany  and  Lombardy,  with  the  Romagna  and 
Burgundy ;  and  it  was  Otto  who  fixed  the  principle,  that  to  the 
German  king  belonged  the  Roman  crown.  The  crown  oi 
Germany  was  at  this  period  elective,  although  it  often  passed  in 
one  family  for  several  generations.  Struggles  for  supremacy 
between  the  two  powers  took  place  in  the  reign  of  the  Emperor 
Henry  IV.  of  Franconia  and  the  papacy  of  Gregory  VII.,  the 
famous  Hildebrand.  It  was  the  struggle  between  Church  and 
State  destined  to  be  fraught  with  so  much  misery.  The  contest 
ended  at  this  period  in  a  compromise  ;  but  most  of  the  gains  were 
on  the  side  of  the  Pope.  It  was  renewed  with  great  fierceness 
in  the  reign  of  Frederick  I.  of  Hohenstaufen,  called  Barbarossa  or 
"  Red  Beard,"  who  came  to  the  throne  in  1152.  He  bestowed  on 
the  Empire  the  title  of  Holy.  The  cities  of  Lombardy  were 
commonwealths,  somewhat  after  the  fashion  of  those  of  ancient 
Greece  ;  they  had  grown  very  rich  and  powerful,  and  whilst  they 
admitted  the  Emperor's  authority  in  theory,  were  averse  to  the 
practice  of  submission.  The  city  of  Milan,  by  her  attacks  on  a 
weaker  neighbour,  who  appealed  to  Frederick  for  aid,  began 
a  war  which  resulted  in  the  Peace  of  Constance  in  1183,  by 
which  the  Emperor  abandoned  all  but  a  nominal  authority  over 
the  Lombard  League.  The  son  and  successor  of  Frederick — 
Henry  VI. — began  to  reign  in  1 190  ;  he  married  Constance,  heiress 
of  the  Norman  kingdom  of  Sicily,  which  was  a  fief  of  the  papal 
crown.  After  the  death  of  Henry  VI.,  Philip,  his  brother,  began  to 
reign,  in  1 198.  In  1208,  Otho  IV.,  surnamedthe  Superb,  ascended 
the  throne,  and  was  crowned  Emperor,  The  next  year  he  was 
excommunicated  and  deposed.  In  1212,  Frederick  II.,  King  of 
Sicily,  who  was  the  son  of  Henry  VI.,  began  his  reign,  he  received 
the  German  crown  at  Aix-la-Chapelle,  1215,  and  the  Imperial 
crown  of  Rome,  1230.  When  he  died  he  possessed  no  fewer  than 
six  crowns, — the  Imperial  crown,  and  the  crowns  of  Germany, 
Burgundy,  Lombardy,  Sicily,  and  Jerusalem.  He  had  assumed  the 


BROWNING  CYCLOPEDIA.  485 

cross,  and  in  1220  he  left  his  Empire  for  a  space  of  fifteen  years, 
to  accomplish  the  crusade  and  to  carry  on  the  war  with  the 
Lombard  cities  and  the  Pope  (Gregory  IX.).  John  of  Brienne, 
the  dethroned  King  of  Jerusalem,  who  was  afterwards  Emperor 
of  the  East,  had  a  daughter  named  Yolande,  whom  Frederick 
married.  He  sent  a  bunch  of  dates  to  Frederick  to  remind  him  of 
his  promised  crusade.  When  that  sovereign  formed  the  army  of 
the  East,  he  left  his  young  son  Henry  to  represent  him  in  Germany. 
Frederick  was  deposed  by  his  subjects,  and  died  in  1250,  naming 
his  son  Conrad  as  his  successor.  In  the  beginning  of  the  reign  of 
Conrad  HI.,  1138,  the  Imperial  crown  was  contested  by  Henry  the 
Proud  Duke  of  Saxony.  It  was  at  this  time  that  the  contests  be- 
tween the  factions,  afterwards  so  famous  in  history  as  those  of  the 
Guelfs  and  the  Ghibellines,  began.  Duke  Henry  had  a  brother 
named  Welf,  the  leader  of  the  Saxon  forces.  They  used  his  name 
as  their  battle  cry,  and  the  Swabians  responded  by  crying  out  the 
name  of  the  village  where  their  leader,  the  brother  of  Conrad,  had 
been  born— namely,  Waibling.  The  Welfs  and  the  Waiblings 
were  therefore  the  originals  of  the  terms  Guelfs  and  Ghibellines. — 
44  The  Romano  Family.  During  the  reign  of  Conrad  II.  (1024-39) 
a  German  gentleman,  named  Eccelino,  accompanied  that  Em- 
peror to  Italy,  with  a  single  horse,  and  so  distinguished  himself 
that,  as  a  reward  for  his  services,  he  received  the  lands  oi 
Onaro  and  Romano  in  the  Trevisan  marches.  This  founder  of  a 
powerful  house,  famous  for  its  crimes,  was  succeeded  by  Alberic, 
and  he  by  another  Eccelino,  called  the  First  and  also  le  Begue 
— 'the  Stammerer.'  These  gentlemen  largely  augmented  their 
patrimony,  acquiring  Bassano,  Marostica,  and  many  other 
estates  situated  to  the  north  of  Vicenza,  Verona,  and  Padua ;  so 
that  their  fief  formed  a  small  principality,  equal  in  power  to 
either  of  its  neighbouring  republics ;  and  as  the  factions  of  the 
towns  sought  to  strengthen  themselves  by  alliances  with  them, 
the  Seigneurs  de  Romano  were  soon  regarded  as  the  chiefs  of 
the  Ghibelline  party  in  all  Venetia.  Eccelin  le  Begue  and 
Tisolin  de  Campo  St.  Pierre,  a  Paduan  noble,  were  warm  friends, 
and  the  latter  was  married  to  a  daughter  of  the  former,  and  had 
a  son  grown  to  manhood.  Cecile,  orphan  daughter  and  heiress 
of  Manfred  Ricco  d'Abano,  was  offered  in  marriage,  by  her 
guardians,  to  the  young  St.  Pierre  ;  but  the  father  before  conclud- 
ing the  advantageous  alliance,  thought  it  proper  to  consult  his 


4^6  BROWNING   CYCLOPAEDIA.  [Sor 

friend  and  father-in-law,  Eccelino.  That  gentleman,  however, 
wished  to  obtain  this  great  fortune  for  his  own  son,  and  secretly 
bribed  the  lady's  guardians  to  deliver  her  up  to  him,  when  he 
carried  her  off  to  his  castle  of  Bassano  and  then  hurriedly  married 
her  to  his  son.  This  treachery  made  the  whole  family  of  Campo 
St.  Pierre  indignant,  and  they  vowed  vengeance.  They  had  not 
long  to  wait  for  their  opportunity.  Several  months  after  the 
marriage,  the  wife  of  the  young  Eccelino  went  on  a  visit  to  her 
estates  in  the  Paduan  territory,  with  a  suite  more  brilliant  than 
valiant.  Tisolin's  son,  Gerard,  who  was  to  have  been  Cecile's 
husband,  and  was  now  her  nephew,  seized  her  and  carried  her 
off  from  the  midst  of  her  retinue  to  his  castle  of  St.  Andr6. 
Cecile,  escaping  after  a  time,  returned  to  Bassano  and  related 
her  terrible  misfortune  to  her  husband,  who  at  once  repudiated 
her,  and  she  afterwards  married  a  Venetian  nobleman.  The 
two  families  had,  however,  thus  founded  a  mutual  hate,  which 
descended  from  father  to  son,  and  cost  many  lives  «md  much 
blood.  In  the  meantime,  Eccelino  II. 's  power  was  augmented  by 
this  marriage  and  the  one  he  afterwards  contracted.  He  made 
alliances  with  the  republics  of  Verona  and  Padua ;  and  he  soon 
required  their  aid,  for  in  1194,  when  one  of  his  enemies  was 
chosen  podesta  of  Vicenza,  he,  his  family,  and  the  whole  faction  oi 
Vivario,  were  exiled  from  the  city.  Before  submitting,  he  under- 
took to  defend  himself  by  setting  fire  to  his  neighbours'  houses ; 
and  a  great  portion  of  the  town  was  destroyed  during  the 
insurrection.  These  were  the  first  scenes  of  disorder  and 
bloodshed  which  greeted  the  eyes  of  Eccelino  III.  or  the  Cruel, 
who  was  born  a  few  weeks  before.  Exile  from  Vicenza  was  not 
a  severe  sentence  for  the  lords  of  Romano ;  for  they  retired  to 
Bassano,  in  the  midst  of  their  own  subjects,  and  called  around 
them  their  partisans,  who  were  persecuted  as  they  themselves 
were,  without  the  same  resources.  By  the  aid  thus  given  with 
apparent  generosity,  they  degraded  their  associates,  transforming 
their  fellow-citizens  into  mercenary  satellites,  and  increasing 
their  influence  in  the  town,  from  which  their  exile  could  not  be 
of  long  duration.  The  Veronese  interfered  to  establish  peace  in 
Vicenza.  They  had  the  Romanes  recalled,  with  all  their  party ; 
and  an  arrangement  was  made  by  which  two  podestas  were 
chosen  at  the  same  time,  one  by  each  party.  In  1197,  however, 
the  Vicenzese  again  chose  a  single  podesta,  hostile  to  Eccelino, 


Sor]  BROWNING   CYCLOP/EDIA.  487 

and  this  time  not  only  banished  the  Romanos,  but  declared  war 
against  them,  and  sent  troops  to  besiege  Marostica.  Eccelino, 
placed  between  three  republics,  could  choose  his  own  allies  ;  and 
decided  now  upon  Padua.  The  Paduan  army  attacked  that  of 
Vicenza,  near  Carmignano,  and  took  two  thousand  prisoners. 
The  Vicenzese  called  upon  the  Veronese  to  assist  them,  and 
together  they  invaded  the  Paduan  territory,  desolating  it  up  to 
the  very  walls  of  the  city,  and  so  frightening  the  Paduans  that 
they  delivered  up  all  of  their  prisoners  without  waiting  to  consult 
Eccelino.  That  prince  took  this  opportunity  to  break  with  Padua, 
and  called  upon  Verona  to  arbitrate  between  him  and  Vicenza, 
giving  them  as  hostages  his  young  daughter  and  his  strongest 
two  castles,  Bassano  and  Anganani.  By  this  thorough  confidence 
he  so  won  the  affection  of  the  podesta  of  Verona  that  he  con- 
cluded peace  for  him  with  Vicenza  and  the  whole  Guelf  party, 
and  then  returned  his  castles  to  him.  The  Paduans  revenged 
themselves  by  confiscating  Onaro,  the  first  estate  possessed  by 
the  Romano  family  in  Italy. — Salinguerra.  William  Marche- 
sella  des  Adelard,  chief  of  the  Guelf  party  in  Ferrara,  had  the 
misfortune  to  see  all  the  male  heirs  of  his  house,  his  brother  and 
all  his  sons,  perish  before  him.  An  only  daughter  of  his  brother, 
named  Marchesella,  remained,  and  he  declared  her  the  sole 
heiress  to  his  immense  estates,  naming  the  son  of  his  sister  as 
heir  should  Marchesella  die  without  children.  Tired  of  warfare, 
and  hoping  to  ensure  peace  to  his  distracted  country,  he  deter- 
mined to  do  so  by  uniting  the  leading  families  of  the  two  factions. 
Salinguerra,  son  of  Torrello,  was  at  the  head  of  the  Ghibellines 
in  Ferrara  ;  and  William  not  only  offered  his  niece  to  him  in 
marriage,  but  actually  before  his  death  placed  her,  then  a  child 
of  seven  years,  in  his  hands  to  be  reared  and  educated.  The 
Guelfs  were,  however,  unwilling  to  permit  the  heiress  of  their 
leading  family  to  remain  in  the  hands  of  their  enemies ;  and 
they  could  not  consent  to  transfer  their  affection  and  allegiance 
to  those  with  whom  they  had  fought  for  so  long  a  time.  They 
therefore  found  an  opportunity  to  surprise  Salinguerra's  palace, 
and  abduct  Marchesella,  whom  they  placed  in  the  palace  of  the 
Marquis  d'Este,  choosing  Obizzo  d'Este  to  be  her  husband,  and 
placing  her  property  in  the  hands  of  the  Marquis.  In  the  end 
Marchesella  died  before  she  was  married;  her  cousins,  desig- 
nated by  William,  in  this  event,  to  be  his  heirs,  were  afraid  to 


488  BROWNING   CYCLOPAEDIA.  [Sor 

claim  the  estates,  and  the  whole  property  continued  in  the  hands 
of  the  Este  family.  In  the  meantime  the  insult  offered  to  Salin- 
guerra  was  keenly  resented.  The  abduction  took  place  in  1180, 
and  for  nearly  forty  years  afterwards  civil  war  continued  within 
the  walls  of  Ferrara  without  ceasing.  During  those  years,  ten 
times  one  faction  drove  the  other  out  of  the  city,  ten  times  all 
the  property  of  the  vanquished  was  given  up  to  pillage,  and  all 
their  houses  razed  to  the  ground. — Eccelino  and  Salinguerra. 
In  1209  Otho  IV.  entered  Italy,  and  held  his  court  near  Verona. 
All  the  chief  lords  of  Venetia — but  especially  Eccelino  II.,  de 
Romano,  and  Azzo  VI.,  Marquis  d'Este — were  summoned  to 
attend.  Those  two  gentlemen  had  profited  by  the  long  inter- 
regnum which  preceded  Otho's  reign  to  increase  their  influence 
in  the  marches,  and  the  factions  were  more  bitter  against  each 
other  than  ever.  These  factions  had  different  reasons  for  exist- 
ing in  the  different  towns ;  but  they  quickly  adopted  the  newly 
introduced  names  of  Guelf  and  Ghibelline,  and  a  common  tie 
was  thus  suddenly  formed  between  the  factions  in  the  various 
places.  Thus,  by  the  mere  adoption  of  a  name,  Salinguerra  in 
Ferrara  and  the  Montecci  in  Verona,  found  themselves  allies  of 
Eccelino;  and,  on  the  other  hand,  the  Adelards  of  Ferrara, 
Count  St.  Bonifazio  at  Verona  and  Mantua,  and  the  Campo 
St.  Pierre  at  Padua,  were  all  allies  of  the  Marquis  d'Este.  The 
year  before,  Este,  after  a  short  banishment,  had  re-entered 
Ferrara,  and  had  succeeded  in  being  declared  lord  of  that  city, — 
the  first  time  that  an  Italian  republic  abandoned  its  rights  for  the 
purpose  of  voluntarily  submitting  to  a  tyrant.  About  the  same 
time  the  Marquis  had  gained  an  important  victory  over  Eccelino 
and  his  party;  but,  at  the  moment  when  the  Emperor  entered 
Italy,  Eccelino  had  gained  some  advantages  over  the  Vicenzese, 
and  thought  himself  on  the  point  of  capturing  the  city.  Azzo 
marched  against  him,  whereupon  Salinguerra  entered  Ferrara 
and  drove  out  all  of  Azzo's  adherents.  The  summons  sent  to 
the  chiefs  to  meet  the  Emperor  no  doubt  prevented  a  bloody 
battle  and  a  useless  massacre.  (See  note,  p.  500 ;  see  also  the 
article,  TAURELLO  SALINGUERRA,  in  this  work.)  In  1235,  after 
a  long  and  turbulent  reign,  full  of  vicissitudes,  Eccelino  II. 
retired  into  a  monastery,  and  divided  his  principality  between 
his  two  sons,  Eccelino  III.  and  Alberic.  The  latter  remained 
at  Treviso;  but  Eccelino  III.  became  very  powerful,  kept  all 


BROWNING   CYCLOPAEDIA.  489 

Italy  in*  turmoil,  and  was  notorious  for  his  infamous  tyrannies 
and  cruelties.  In  1255  he  was  excommunicated  by  the  Pope, 
Alexander  IV.,  and  a  crusade  was  preached  against  him.  He 
fought  against  his  enemies  from  that  time,  with  varying  suc- 
cess and  stubborn  courage,  until  1259,  when  he  was  wounded 
in  battle  and  taken  prisoner.  The  leaders  of  the  enemy  with 
difficulty  protected  him  from  the  fury  of  the  soldiers  and  the 
people ;  but  he  himself  tore  the  bandages  from  his  wounds,  and 
died  on  the  eleventh  day  of  his  captivity.  All  the  cities  which 
he  had  conquered  and  oppressed  at  once  revolted ;  and  Treviso, 
where  Alberic  had  reigned  ever  since  his  father's  abdication, 
revolted  and  drove  him  out.  Alberic,  with  his  family,  took  refuge 
in  his  fortress  of  San  Zeno,  in  the  Euganean  mountains  ;  but  the 
league  of  Guelf  cities  declared  against  him,  and  the  troops  of 
Venice,  Treviso,  Vicenza,  and  Padua  surrounded  the  castle,  where 
they  were  soon  joined  by  the  Marquis  d'Este.  Traitors  delivered 
up  the  outworks ;  but  Alberic  and  his  wife,  two  daughters  and 
six  sons,  took  refuge  on  the  top  of  a  tower.  After  three  days, 
•compelled  by  hunger,  he  delivered  himself  up  to  the  Marquis,  at 
the  same  time  reminding  him  that  one  of  his  daughters  was  the 
wife  of  Renaud  d'Este.  In  spite  of  this,  however,  he  and  his 
family  were  all  murdered  and  torn  to  pieces,  and  their  dismem- 
bered bodies  divided  among  all  the  cities  over  which  the  hated 
Romano  family  had  tyrannised.  In  1240  Gregory  IX.  preached 
a  crusade  against  the  Emperor  Frederick  II.,  and  a  crusading 
army  surrounded  Ferrara,  where  Salinguerra,  then  more  than 
eighty  years  old,  had  reigned  for  some  time  as  prince  and  as 
head  of  the  Ghibellines.  He  successfully  defended  the  city  for 
some  time ;  but  when  attending  a  conference,  to  which  he  was 
invited  by  his  enemies,  he  was  treacherously  captured  and  sent 
to  Venice,  where,  after  five  years'  imprisonment,  he  died."  [S.] 
[THE  POEM.]  Sordello  is  Browning's  Hamlet,  and  is  the 
most  obscure  of  all  Mr.  Browning's  poems.  It  has  been  aptly 
compared  to  a  vast  palace,  in  which  the  architect  has  forgotten 
to  build  a  staircase.  Its  difficulties  are  not  merely  those  which 
are  inseparable  from  an  attempt  to  trace  the  development  of 
a  soul, — such  a  work  without  obscurity  could  only  deal  with 
a  very  simple  soul, — but  are  consequent  on  the  remoteness  of 
time  in  which  the  political  events  and  historical  circumstances 
which  formed  the  environment  of  Bordello's  existence  took  place, 


4QO  BROWNING   CYCLOPAEDIA.  [Sor 

and  the  partial  interest  which  the  majority  of  readers  feel  con- 
cerning those  events.  The  work  deals  with  the  struggles  of  the 
Guelfs  and  Ghibellines;  and  it  is  necessary  to  possess  a  fair 
knowledge  of  the  history  of  the  times,  places,  and  persons  con- 
cerned before  we  can  grasp  the  mere  outlines  of  the  story.  It 
must  be  admitted,  whether  we  allow  the  charge  of  obscurity  or 
not,  that  Mr.  Browning  never  helps  his  reader.  He  may  or  may 
not  actually  hinder  him  :  it  is  certain  that  he  does  not  go  out  of 
his  way  to  assist  him.  The  first  step  towards  understanding 
Sordello,  then,  is  to  gain  some  acquaintance  with  the  period  and 
personages  of  the  story.  The  work  is  full  of  beauty.  Probably 
no  poet  ever  poured  out  such  wealth  of  richest  thought  with  such 
princely  liberality  as  Mr.  Browning  has  done  in  this  much  dis- 
cussed poem.  It  is  like  a  Brazilian  forest,  in  which,  though  we 
shall  almost  certainly  lose  our  way,  it  will  be  amidst  such  pro- 
fusion of  floral  loveliness  that  it  will  be  a  delight  to  be  buried  in 
its  depths. 

BOOK  I. — The  poem  in  its  first  scene  places  us  in  imagination, 
in  Verona  six  hundred  years  ago.  A  restless  group  has  gathered 
in  its  market-place  to  discuss  the  news  which  has  arrived, — that 
their  prince,  Count  Richard  of  St.  Boniface,  the  great  supporter 
of  the  cause  ot  the  Guelfs,  who  had  joined  Azzo,  the  lord  of 
Este,  to  depose  the  Ghibelline  leader,  Tau^ello  Salinguerra,  from 
his  position  in  Ferrara,  has  become  prisoner  in  Ferrara ;  and  in 
consequence  immediate  aid  is  demanded  from  the  "  Lombard 
League  of  fifteen  cities  that  affect  the  Pope."  The  Pope  sup- 
ported the  Guelf  cause,  the  Kaiser  that  of  the  Ghibellines. 
The  leaders  of  the  two  causes  are  described,  and  the  principles 
of  which  each  was  the  representative.  We  are  next  introduced 
to  Sordello ;  not  in  his  youth,  but  in  a  supreme  moment  before 
the  end  of  his  career — a  moment  which  has  to  determine  his 
future.  How  this  pregnant  moment  has  come  about,  and  how 
the  past  has  fashioned  the  present,  the  poet  now  proceeds  to 
explain.  We  are  taken  back  to  the  castle  of  Goito,  when 
Sordello  was  a  boy  already  of  the  regal  class  of  poets,  musing 
by  the  marble  figures  of  the  fountain,  and  finding  companions  in 
the  embroidered  figures  on  the  arras.  Adelaide,  wife  of  Eccelino 
da  Romano,  the  Ghibelline  prince,  was  mistress  of  the  castle. 
Sordello  was  only  a  page,  known  only  as  the  orphan  of  Elcorte, 
an  archer,  who,  in  the  slaughter  of  Vicenza,  had  saved  his  mistress 


BROWNING    CYCLOPAEDIA.  49 H 

and  her  new-born  son  at  the  cost  of  his  own  life.  The  son  was- 
afterwards  known  as  Eccelin  the  Cruel.  Sordello  led  the  ideal 
life  of  a  poet  child  at  Goi'to.  All  nature  was  a  scene  of  enchant- 
ment to  him,  was  endowed  with  form  and  colour  from  his  own. 
rich  fancy.  But  Sordello  was  not  content  with  living  his  own 
life,  he  must  combine  in  his  person  the  lives  of  his  imaginary 
heroes.  He  will  be  perfect :  he  chooses  Apollo  as  his  ideal :  he 
must  love  a  woman  to  match  his  high  ambition.  He  aims  at 
Palma,  Eccelin's  only  child  by  his  former  wife,  Agnes  Este,  but 
who  has  been  already  set  apart,  for  reasons  of  state,  as  the  wife 
of  Count  Richard  of  St.  Boniface,  the  Guelf.  Palma,  however, 
it  is  reported  in  the  castle,  will  refuse  him.  Sordello  anxiously 
awaits  his  opportunity.  The  return  of  Adelaide  to  the  castle 
demands  the  services  of  the  troubadours  :  Sordello's  chance  lies 
this  way. 

BOOK  II.  shows  us  Sordello  setting  forth  on  a  bright  spring 
day,  full  of  hope  that  he  will  meet  Palma.  Arriving  at  Mantua, 
he  finds  a  Court  of  Love,  in  which  his  lady  sits  enthroned  as 
queen,  and  the  troubadour  Eglamor  contending  for  her  prize 
against  all  comers.  Eglamor  seems  to  make  but  a  poor  affair  of 
the  story  he  is  singing.  He  ceases.  Sordello  knows  the  story 
too,  and  feels  that  he  can  do  better  with  it.  He  springs  forward, 
and  with  true  inspiration  sings  a  new  song  to  the  old  idea  trans- 
figured. He  has  won  the  prize  from  Palma's  hands.  Swooning 
with  joy,  he  is  carried  back  to  Goi'to,  the  poet's  crown  on  his 
brow  and  Palma's  scarf  round  his  neck.  Eglamor  is  dead  with 
spite,  and  the  troubadours  have  a  new  chief.  Thus  was  Sordello 
poet,  Master  of  the  Realms  of  Song.  He  will  slumber :  he  can- 
arise  in  his  strength  any  day.  He  is  summoned  to  Mantua  to 
sing  to  order.  He  finds  the  idea  of  work  distasteful ;  but  he 
conquers,  and  is  crowned  with  honours.  But  he  feels  he  has 
only  been  loving  song's  results,  not  song  for  its  own  sake ;  his 
failure  to  reach  his  ideal  destroys  the  pleasure  derived  from  his 
success.  Soon  the  true  Sordello  vanished,  sundered  in  twain, 
the  poet  thwarting  the  man.  The  man  and  bard  was  gone; 
internal  struggles  frittered  his  soul ;  he  became  too  contemptuous, 
and  so  he  neither  pleased  his  patrons  nor  himself.  He  falls 
lower  and  lower,  abjures  the  soul  in  his  songs,  and  contents 
himself  with  body.  His  degradation  is  complete.  Meanwhile 
Adelaide  dies,  and  Eccelin  resolves  to  forsake  the  world  and  the 


49 2  BROWNING  CYCLOPEDIA.  [Sor 

Emperor,  and  come  to  terms  with  the  Pope.  Taurello  rages 
furiously  at  this  news,  and  returns  to  Mantua.  Sordello  is 
chosen  to  sound  his  praises.  "  Tis  a  test,  remember,"  says 
Naddo.  But  Sordello  loathes  the  task :  he  will  not  sing  at  all, 
.and  runs  away  to  Goito. 

BOOK  HI. — Once  more  at  his  old  home,  Mantua  becomes  but 
.&  dream.  Sordello,  well  or  ill,  is  exhausted :  rather  than  imper- 
fectly reveal  himself,  he  will  remain  unrevealed.  He  will  remain 
himself,  instead  of  attempting  to  project  his  soul  into  other  men. 
He  spent  a  year  with  Nature  at  Goito,  but  as  one  defeated, — 
-youth  gone,  love  and  pleasure  foregone,  and  nothing  really  done. 
"With  an  all-embracing  sympathy  he  has  not  himself  really  lived. 
"When  Nature  makes  a  mistake  she  can  rectify  it.  He  must 
perish  once,  and  perish  utterly.  He  should  have  brought  actual 
experience  of  things  obtained  by  sterling  work  to  correct  his 
.mere  reflections  and  observations.  He  may  do  something  yet : 
though  youth  is  gone,  life  is  not  all  spent.  He  has  the  will 
to  do, — what  of  the  means  ?  Resolution  having  thus  been  taken, 
the  means  are  suddenly  discovered.  Naddo  arrives  as  messenger 
from  Palma,  telling  how  Eccelin  has  distributed  his  wealth  to  his 
two  sons,  has  married  them  to  Guelf  brides,  and  has  retired 
to  a  monastery;  that  Palma  is  betrothed  to  Richard  of  St. 
Boniface,  and  Sordello  must  compose  a  marriage  hymn.  Sordello 
seizes  the  opportunity,  and  hastens  to  meet  Palma  at  Verona. 
We  have  now  arrived  at  the  point  at  which  the  poem  of  Sordello 
•opens  in  Book  I.  He  has  to  hear  a  strange  confession  from  the 
lips  of  Palma.  If  Sordello  had  been  paralysed  by  indecision, 
she  too  had  done  nothing,  because  she  was  awaiting  an  "  out- 
soul."  Weary  with  waiting  for  her  complement,  which  should 
enable  her  to  live  her  proper  life,  she  had  conceived  a  great  love 
.for  Sordello  when  he  burst  upon  the  scene  at  the  Love  Court. 
To  win  Sordello  for  herself  and  her  cause  henceforth  was  her 
life-object.  When  Adelaide  died  this  became  practicable.  She 
had  heard  the  astonishing  dying  confession  of  Adelaide,  and  had 
witnessed  Eccelin's  visit  to  the  death-chamber  when  he  came  to 
•undo  everything  which  Adelaide  had  done.  He  had  resolved  to 
reconcile  the  Guelf  and  Ghibelline  factions.  Taurello  determined 
to  use  Palma  to  support  the  Ghibellines.  Palma,  as  head  of  the 
house,  agreed  to  this  ;  but  it  was  arranged  that  the  project  should 
•not  at  present  be  made  public.  She  must  profess  her  intention 


Sor]  BROWNING   CYCLOPEDIA.  49$ 

to  carry  out  the  arrangement  which  Taurello  had  made,  before 
,he  entered  on  the  religious  life,  of  marrying  the  Guelf,  Count 
Richard.  Taurello  has  thus  entrapped  the  Count,  and  has  him 
in  prison  at  Ferrara.  Palma's  father,  Eccelin,  blots  out  all  his  old' 
engagements.  All  now  rests  with  Palma,  and  she  arranges  to- 
fly  with  Sordello  on  the  morrow  as  arbitrators  to  Taurello  at 
Ferrara.  Now  is  one  round  of  Bordello's  life  accomplished.  Mr. 
Browning  here  makes  a  long  digression,  beginning,  "  I  muse 
this  on  a  ruined  palace-step  at  Venice."  The  City  in  the  Sea, 
seems  to  him  a  type  of  life : — 

"Life,  the  evil  with  the  good, 
Which  make  up  living,  rightly  understood; 
Only  do  finish  something  ! " 

No  evil  man  is  past  hope ;  if  he  has  not  truth,  he  has  at  least  his- 
own  conceit  of  truth  ;  he  sees  it  surely  enough  :  his  lies  are  for 
the  crowd.  Good  labours  to  exist ;  though  Evil  and  Ignorance 
thwart  it.  In  this  life  we  are  but  fitting  together  an  engine  to- 
work  in  another  existence.  He  sees  profound  disclosures  in  the 
most  ordinary  type  of  face  :  the  world  will  call  him  dull  for  this,. 
as  being  obscure  and  metaphysical.  There  are  poets  who  are 
content  to  tell  a  simple  story  of  impressions  ;  another  class  pre- 
sents things  as  they  really  are  in  a  general,  and  not,  as  in  the 
previous  class,  in  an  individual  sense ;  but  the  highest  class  of 
all  brings  out  the  deeper  significance  of  things  which  would  never 
have  been  seen  without  the  poet's  aid.  These  are  the  Makers- 
see — obviously  a  higher  type  of  genius  than  the  Seers.  "  But," 
asks  the  objector,  "  what  is  the  use  of  this  ?  It  is  quite  true  that 
men  of  action,  like  Salinguerra,  are  not  unwisely  preferred  to- 
dreamers  like  Sordello:  they,  at  least,  do  the  world's  work 
somehow  ;  this  is  better  than  talking  about  it.  But,  at  any  rate, 
there  is  no  harm  done  in  compelling  the  Makers-see  to  do  their 
duty.  It  is  their  province  to  gaze  through  the  "door  opened  in- 
heaven,"  and  tell  the  world  what  they  see,  and  make  us  see  it 
too,  as  did  John  in  Patmos  Isle.  And  so  Mr.  Browning  has 
analysed  for  us  the  soul  of  Sordello ;  but  he  expects  no  reward 
for  it.  The  world  is  too  indolent  to  look  into  heaven  with  John,. 
or  into  hell  with  Dante. 

BOOK  IV. — The  description  of  the  unhappy  position  of  Ferrara,. 
"the  lady  city,"  for  which  both  Guelf  and  Ghibelline  contended,. 


-494  BROWNING   CYCLOPAEDIA.  [Sor 

-opens  the  fourth  book.  Sordello  is  here  with  Palma.  He  has 
seen  the  dreadful  condition  of  the  people,  and  has  espoused 
'their  cause.  Here,  in  the  midst  of  carnage  and  ruin,  Sordello 
•learns  his  altruism.  He  appeals  to  Taurello  Salinguerra,  but 
•nothing  comes  of  it.  The  more  he  sees  of  the  misery  of  the 
ipeople,  the  more  he  vows  himself  to  an  effort  to  raise  them.  The 
soldiers  ask  him  to  sing  at  their  camp-fire.  He  sings,  and  Palma 
hears  and  takes  him  back  to  Taurello  Salinguerra.  The  poet 
here  describes  the  chief  and  tells  his  story.  He  is  the  doer,  as 
contrasted  with  Sordello  the  visionary ;  but  he  has  led  a  life  of 
misfortune  and  adventure.  At  the  burning  of  Vicenza  he  lost 
wife  and  child ;  he  embraced  the  cause  of  Eccelin  and  the  Ghibel- 
•lines.  As  Eccelin  had  gone  into  a  monastery,  all  Taurello's  plans 
•were  disarranged.  He  ponders  as  to  whom  shall  be  given  the 
Emperor's  badge  of  the  prefectship ;  and  what  shall  he  do  with 
his  prisoner  Richard;  Sordello  asks  Palma  what  are  the  laws 
at  work  which  explain  Ghibellinism.  He  feels  he  has  been  a 
•recreant  to  his  race  :  Taurello  has  the  people's  interest  at  heart ; 
all  that  Sordello  should  have  done  he  does.  Are  Guelfs  as  bad 
as  Ghibellines,  or  better  ?  Both  these  do  worse  than  nothing,  is 
a  reflection  which  comforts  the  do-nothing  poet.  What  if  there 
were  a  Cause  higher  and  nobler  than  either,  and  he  (Sordello) 
-were  to  be  its  true  discoverer  ?  A  soldier,  at  this  point,  suggests  to 
Sordello  a  subject  for  a  ballad  :  a  tale  of  a  dead  worthy  long  ago 
consul  of  Rome,  Crescentius  Nomentanus,  who — 

"  From  his  brain, 
Gave  Rome  out  on  its  ancient  place  again." 

Sordello  resolves  to  build  up  Rome  again — a  Rome  which  should 
mean  the  rights  of  mankind,  the  realisation  of  the  People's  cause. 
BOOK  V. — The  splendid  dream  of  a  New  Rome  has  vanished 
from  Sordello's  mind  ere  night ;  his  enthusiasm  is  chilled,  and 
arch  by  arch  the  vision  has  dissolved.  Mankind  cannot  be 
exalted  of  a  sudden  ;  the  work  of  ages  cannot  be  done  in  a  day. 
The  New  Rome  is  one  more  thing  which  Sordello  could  imagine, 
but  could  not  make.  His  heart  tells  him  that  the  minute's  work 
is  the  first  step  to  the  whole  work  of  a  man :  he  has  purposed  to 
take  the  last  step  first :  he  may  be  a  man  at  least,  if  he  cannot 
be  a  god.  The  world  is  not  prepared  for  such  a  violent  change ; 
-society  has  never  been  advanced  by  leaps  and  bounds.  Charle- 


BROWNING   CYCLOPAEDIA.  495 

magne  had  to  subject  Europe  by  main  force,  then  Hildebrand 
was  enabled  to  rule  by  brain  power.  Strength  wrought  order, 
and  made  the  rule  of  moral  influence  possible ;  in  its  turn,  moral 
power  allied  itself  with  material  power.  The  Crusaders  learned 
the  trick  of  breeding  strength  by  other  aid  than  strength ;  and 
so  the  Lombard  League  turned  righteous  strength  against  pei- 
•nicious  strength.  Then  comes,  in  its  turn,  God's  truce  to  super- 
sede the  use  of  strength  by  the  Divine  influence  of  Religion.  All 
that  precedes  is  as  scaffolding,  indispensable  while  the  building 
is  in  progress,  but  a  thing  to  spurn  when  the  structure  is  com- 
pleted :  that,  however,  is  not  yet.  As  talking  is  Bordello's  trade, 
'he  endeavours  to  persuade  Salinguerra  to  join  the  Guelfs,  as  this, 
to  Sordello,  seems  the  more  popular  cause.  Taurello  hears  him 
with  patience,  mixed  with  a  contemptuous  indifference.  His 
scornful  demeanour  rouses  Sordello  to  make  the  highest  claims 
for  the  poet's  authority  :  "  A  poet  must  be  earth's  essential  king." 
To  bend  Taurello  to  the  Guelf  cause,  Sordello  would  give  up  life 
itself.  He  knows  that  "  this  strife  is  right  for  once."  Taurello  is 
impressed  at  last :  the  argument  hits  him,  not  the  man ;  himself 
must  be  won  to  the  Ghibellines.  Palma,  being  a  woman,  is 
impossible  as  leader  of  the  party ;  her  love  for  Sordello  may, 
however,  be  cast  in  the  balance,  and  in  an  inspired  moment 
Taurello  invests  Sordello  with  the  Emperor's  badge,  which  he 
casts  upon  his  neck.  Palma  now  tells  Taurello  that  Adelaide, 
on  her  death-bed,  confessed  that  Sordello  was  Taurello's  own 
:son,  who  did  not  perish,  as  he  believed,  at  Vicenza.  Adelaide,  for 
her  own  purposes,  had  concealed  his  rescue.  "Embrace  him, 
madman! "  Palma  cried  ;  thoughts  rushed,  fancies  rushed.  "Nay, 
the  best's  behind,"  Taurello  laughed.  Palma  hurries  Taurello 
away,  that  Sordello  may  collect  his  thoughts  awhile.  Sordello 
is  crowned.  They  hear  a  foot-stamp  as  they  discuss  the  future-, 
in  the  room  where  they  left  Sordello,  and  "  out  they  two  reeled 
dizzily." 

BOOK  VL — Now  has  arisen  the  great  temptation  of  Sordello 
Is  it  to  be  the  Great  Renunciation  or  the  Fall  ?  With  the  mag- 
nificent prospect  before  him  of  Chief  of  the  Ghibellines,  the 
Emperor  cause;  with  the  Emperor's  badge  on  his  neck;  with 
Palma,  his  Ghibelline  bride,  he,  Taurello  Salinguerra's  son, 
might  at  last  do  something  !  After  all,  what  was  the  difference 
between  Guelf  and  Ghibelline  ?  Why  should  h«  give  up  all  the 


496  BROWNING   CYCLOPAEDIA.  [Sor 

joy  of  life  that  the  multitude  might  have  some  joy?  "Speed 
their  Then."  "  But  how  this  badge  would  suffer ! — you  improve 
your  Now!"  So  Sordello  lovingly  eyes  the  tempter's  apple. 
After  all,  evil  is  just  as  natural  as  good ;  and  without  evil  no- 
good  can  accrue  to  men.  Sordello  may  then  as  well  be  happy 
while  he  may.  Soul  and  body  have  each  alike  need  of  the  other  : 
soul  must  content  itself  without  the  Infinite  till  the  earth-stage 
is  over.  He  has  tried  to  satisfy  the  soul's  longing,  and  has 
failed:  why  not  seek  now  the  common  joys  of  men?  Salin- 
guerra  and  Palma  reach  the  chamber  door  and  dash  aside  the 
veil,  only  to  find  Sordello  dead,  "under  his  foot  the  badge." 
Has  he  lost  or  won?  He  learned  how  to  live  as  he  came  to 
die  :  he  made  the  Great  Renunciation,  and  in  seeming  defeat  he 
achieved  his  soul's  success. 

NOTES  TO  BOOK  I. — Line  6,  Pentapolin,  "o'  the  naked 
arm,"  king  of  the  Garamanteans,  who  always  went  to  battle 
with  his  right  arm  bare.  (See  Don  Quixote,  I.  iii.  4  ;  "  The  friend- 
less-peoples friend"  etc. :  Don  Quixote  is  here  spoken  of,  and 
•' Pentapolin  named  o'  the  Naked  Arm"  is  mentioned  by  Don 
Quixote  when  he  sees  the  two  flocks  of  sheep  :  "  Know,  friend 
Sancho,  that  yonder  army  before  us  is  commanded  by  the 
Emperor  Alifanfaron,  sovereign  of  the  Island  of  Trapoban ;  and 
the  other  is  commanded  by  his  enemy  the  king  of  the  Gara- 
manteans, known  by  the  name  of  Pentapolin  with  the  naked  armr 
because  he  always  engages  in  battle  with  the  right  arm  bare." 
1.  12,  Verona :  a  city  of  North  Italy,  on  the  Adige,  under  the 
Lombard  Alps.  L  66,  "  The  thunder  phrase  of  the  Athenian"  etc. : 
^Eschylus,  who  fought  at  Marathon.  1.  70,  "  The  starry  paladin  ".- 
Sir  Philip  Sidney's  love  poems  to  Stella  were  written  under  the 
nom  de plume  of  Astrophel  (the  lover  of  the  star).  [S.]  1.  80,  The 
Second  Ftiedrich  =  Holy  Roman  Emperor  (1194-1250),  sur- 
named  the  Hohenstauffen,  the  most  remarkable  historic  figure  o* 
the  middle  ages.  He  was  the  grandson  of  Barbarossa,  and  was 
crowned  in  1220.  L  8 1,  Third  Honorius  =  Pope  Honorius  III 
(1216-1227):  he  was  a  Guelf.  1.  104,  Richard  of  St.  Bonifacer 
Count  of  Verona,  was  of  the  Guelfs ;  Lombard  League  :  the  famous 
alliance  of  the  great  Lombard  cities  began  in  1 164.  1.  1 17,  "Prone 
is  the  putph  pavis "  .•  a  pavise  is  a  large  shield  covering  the 
whole  body :  when  the  shield  was  prone — i.e.  fallen  flat  on  its  face 
— its  owner  was  defenceless.  1.  124,  "  Duke  o'  the  Rood"  :  of  the 


BROWNING   CYCLOPAEDIA.  497 

Order  of  the  Holy  Cross.  1.126,  Hell-cat  =  Eccelin.  1.  131, 
Ferrara :  an  ancient  city  of  North  Italy,  twenty-nine  miles  from 
Bologna  and  seventy  from  Venice.  1.  131,  Osprey  :  a  long- winged 
eagle.  "An  osprey  appears  to  have  been  the  coat  of  arms  of 
Salinguerra,  as  the  'ostrich  with  a  horseshoe  in  his  beak'  was 
that  of  Eccelin."  [S.]  1.  142,  Oliero :  the  monastery  which 
Eccelin  the  monk  entered.  It  is  situated  near  Bassano,  in 
the  Eastern  Alps.  11.  148  and  149,  Cino  Bocchimpane  and 
Buccio  Virtu:  citizens.  1.  149,  God's  Wafer:  an  oath  (Ostia 
di  Dio).  1.  150,  "  Tutti  Santi"  =  "  All  Saints  1 "  an  exclamation. 
1.  153,  Padua:  a  famous  city  of  Lombardy,  said  to  be  the 
oldest  in  North  Italy  ;  Podesta  =  governor  of  a  city.  1.  197, 
Hohenstauffen  :  this  dynasty  of  Germany  began  with  Conrad  III. 
(1137-52).  Frederick  II.  was  the  most  illustrious  man  of  this 
illustrious  family.  1.  198,  John  of  Brienne  :  crusader  and  titular 
king  of  Jerusalem  (1204).  He  was  afterwards  Emperor  of  the 
East.  His  daughter  Yolande  or  lolanthe  married  Frederick  II. 
1.  201,  Of/io  IV.,  Holy  Roman  Emperor  (c.  1174-1218).  1.  202, 
Barbaross  —  Frederick  Barbarossa :  one  of  the  greatest  sove- 
reigns of  Germany  (1152-90).  There  is  a  German  tradition  that 
he  is  not  dead,  but  only  sleeping,  and  that  when  he  starts  from 
his  slumbers  a  golden  age  will  begin  for  Germany.  1.  205, 
Triple-bearded  Teuton  Barbarossa :  the  legend  runs  that  his 
beard  has  already  grown  through  the  table  slab,  but  must  wind 
itself  thrice  round  the  table  before  his  second  advent.  1.  253, 
Trevisan  :  of  the  province  of  Treviso ;  its  chief  town,  Treviso, 
is  distant  seventeen  miles  from  Venice.  1.  257,  Godego:  a  town 
in  Venetia,  amongst  the  Asolan  hills.  Marostica :  a  town  of 
North  Italy,  fifteen  miles  north-east  of  Vicenza,  at  the  foot  of 
Mount  Rovero.  1.  258,  Castiglione  :  a  town  at  the  Italian  end  of 
the  Lago  di  Garda  (Cartiglion  in  the  text,  but  evidently  a  mis- 
print) ;  Bassano :  a  city  of  Italy,  in  the  province  of  Vicenza,  on 
the  Brenta.  In  the  centre  of  the  town  is  the  Tower  of  Ezzelino. 
Loria,  or  Lauria :  a  city  of  Italy  in  the  province  of  Potenza.  The 
castle  was  the  birthplace  of  Ruggiero  di  Loria.  1.  259,  Suabian  : 
the  struggle  for  the  Imperial  throne  between  Philip  of  Swabia 
and  Otto  of  Brunswick  (1198-1208)  enlisted  the  sympathies  of 
Italy,  and  some  of  the  Guelfic  towns  took  the  part  of  the  Guelf 
Otto.  1.  262,  Vale  of  Trent:  Trent  or  Tridentum  was  once  the 
wealthiest  town  in  Tyrol ;  it  lies  between  Botzen  and  Verona. 

32 


498  BROWNING   CYCLOPAEDIA. 

1.  263,  Roncaglia,  near  Piacenza,  where  Frederick  I.  held  the 
Diet  in  1154,  and  received  the  submission  of  the  Lombards. 
1.  265,  Asolan  and  Euganean  hills :  in  the  Trevisan,  a  district  of 
North  Italy,  between  Trent  and  Venice.  1.  266,  Rhetian,  of  the 
country  of  the  Tyrol  and  the  Grisons  ;  Julian  mountains  :  be- 
tween Venetia  and  Noricum.  1.  288,  Romano:  Eccelino  da 
Romano.  1.  304,  Rovigo :  a  city  of  Italy,  about  twenty-seven 
miles  S.S.W  of  Padua.  From  the  eleventh  to  the  fourteenth  cen- 
tury the  Este  family  was  usually  in  authority.  1.  305,  Ancona's 
March  :  the  frontier  or  boundary  of  Aricona,  a  city  of  Central 
Italy  on  the  Adriatic.  1.  315,  Hildebrand :  Pope  Gregory  VII. 
(1073-85).  1.  317,  Twenty-four  :  the  magistrates  of  Verona 
who  managed  the  affairs  of  the  city.  1.  324,  Carroch,  or 
caroccio  :  a  Lombard  war  carriage,  which  was  drawn  by  oxen, 
and  bore  a  great  bell,  the  standard  of  the  army,  and  the  Sacred 
Host,  forming  a  rallying  point.  1.  373,  "John's  transcendent 
vision"  -—  Book  of  Revelation.  11.  382  and  385,  Mantua  and 
Mincio :  about  seven  hundred  years  ago  the  river  Mincio 
formed  a  great  marsh  round  the  city  of  Mantua ;  this  sepa- 
rated the  city  from  the  mountains,  on  the  slope  of  which 
stood  the  castle  of  Goi'to.  1.  420,  Caryatides:  figures  oi 
women  serving  to  support  entablatures.  1.  587,  "  That  Pisan 
Pair " :  Niccolo  Pisano,  and  Giovanni  Pisano,  his  son  were 
great  sculptors  and  architects  of  Pisa  (arc,  1207-78).  "  Nicolo 
was  born  about  1200,  and  was  one  of  the  first  to  seek  after 
the  truer  forms  of  art  in  the  general  quickening  of  the  cen- 
tury. He  was  a.  great  sculptor,  as  his  works  and  those  of 
his  son  Giovanni  (architect  of  the  Campo  Santo  at  Pisa)  and 
his  school  bear  witness  at  Pisa,  Orvieto,  Pistoia,  and  many 
other  towns.  After  he  had  met  with  an  example  of  the  genuine 
antique — a  sarcophagus  now  at  Pisa — he  brought  his  future 
work  into  accordance  with  its  rules."  [S.]  1.  589,  "while  at 
Sienna  is  Guidone  set" :  "The  name  Guido  da  Sienna  and  the 
date  1221,  mark  a  picture  now  at  Sienna;  and  this,  with  other 
works  attributed  to  the  same  painter,  show  him  to  have  been 
one  of  the  earliest  artists  who  express  a  feeling  independent  of 
Byzantine  influence."  [S.]  1.  591,  "Saint  Eup hernia" :  a  fine 
brick  church  at  Verona,  dating  from  the  thirteenth  century.  The 
interior  has  now  been  entirely  remodelled.  [S.}  Saint  Eufemia  : 
of  Chalcedon :  her  body  was  said  to  have  been  miraculously 


Sor]  BROWNING   CYCLOPAEDIA.  499 

conveyed  to  Rovigno,  in  the  sixth  century.  1.  606,  "  so  they  found 
at  Babylon  " :  "  It  is  said  that  after  the  city  (of  Seleucia)  was 
burnt,  the  soldiers  searching  the  temple  (of  Apollo)  found  a 
narrow  hole,  and  when  this  was  opened  in  the  hope  of  finding 
something  of  value  in  it,  there  issued  from  some  deep  gulf, 
which  the  secret  magic  of  the  Chaldeans  had  closed  up,  a 
pestilence  laden  with  the  strength  of  incurable  disease,  which 
polluted  the  whole  world  with  contagion,  in  the  time  of  Verus 
and  Marcus  Antoninus,  and  from  the  borders  of  Persia  to  Gaul 
and  the  Rhine." — Ammianus  Marcellinus.  [S.]  1. 607,  "  Colleagues, 
mad  Lucius  and  sage  Antonine" :  during  the  joint  reign  of 
Marcus  Aurelius  Antoninus  (the  philosopher)  and  the  scapegrace 
Lucius  Verus ;  the  latter  was  in  command  of  the  Roman  forces 
in  the  east,  and  engaged  in  a  war  with  Parthia.  His  generals 
sacked  Seleucia,  and  he  was  himself  present  in  the  neighbour- 
hood of  Babylon  during  the  winters  of  A.D.  163-5  (^-  Clinton, 
Fasti  Romani).  [S.]  1.  608,  "  Apollo's  shrine  "  :  "  Seleuceus,  one 
of  Alexander's  generals,  and  himself  a  Macedonian,  founded  the 
Syrian  empire,  and  built  the  town  of  Seleucia.  A  good  deal  is 
told  of  the  Hellenization  of  the  East  under  Seleucus.  He,  no 
doubt,  founded  the  temple  of  Apollo,  who  was  claimed  as  an 
ancestor  of  the  family."  [S.]  1.  617,  Loxian  :  surname  of  Apollo. 
L  671,  Orpine :  a  yellow  plant,  commonly  called  Livelong  (Sedum 
Telephium).  1.  679,  "adventurous  spider":  the  geometric 
spiders  (Orbitelarise),  are  almost  the  only  ones  whose  method  of 
forming  a  snare  have  been  at  all  minutely  recorded.  The  garden 
spider  (Epeira)  spins  a  large  quantity  of  thread,  which,  floating 
in  the  air  in  various  directions,  happens,  from  its  glutinous 
quality,  at  last  to  adhere  to  some  object  near  it — a  lofty  pla*-';,  or 
the  branch  of  a  tree.  When  the  spider  has  one  end  of  the  lin^ 
fixed,  he  walks  along  part  of  it,  and  fastens  another,  then  drops 
and  affixes  the  thread  to  some  object  below;  climbs  again,  and 
begins  a  third,  fastening  that  in  a  similar  way.  Mr.  Browning 
is  in  error  when  he  makes  the  spider  shoot  her  threads  froir 
depth  to  height,  from  barbican  to  battlement.  1.  707,  "  eat  fertt 
seed  "  :  this  was  anciently  supposed  to  make  the  eater  invisible , 
Naddo  :  appears  as  Sordello's  friend  and  adviser :  Mr.  Browning 
makes  him  a  representative  of  the  "Philistine"  party,  and 
puts  into  his  mouth  the  words  of  mere  conventional,  super- 
ficial wisdom.  1.  720,  "  Poppy — a  coarse  brawn  rattling  crane  "  • 


50O  BROWNING   CYCLOPAEDIA.  [Sor 

the  cranium  or  skull-like  poppy  head,  when  it  contains  the 
seed  and  is  dry.  1. 784,  Valvassor,  or  vavasour:  in  feudal  law  a 
principal  vassal,  not  holding  immediately  of  the  sovereign,  but 
of  a  great  lord ;  suzerain :  a  feudal  lord,  a  lord  paramount. 
1.  835,  "The  Guelfs  paid  stabbers,  etc":  "In  1209  Otho  IV. 
entered  Italy,  and  held  his  court  near  Verona.  All  the  chief 
lords  of  Venetia,  but  especially  Eccelino  II.,  da  Romana,  and 
Azzo  VI.,  Marquis  d'Este,  were  summoned  to  attend.  Those 
two  gentlemen  had  profited  by  the  long  interregnum  which 
preceded  Otho's  reign.  They  had  used  the  various  discords  be- 
tween the  towns  to  increase  each  his  own  faction ;  and  the  hatred 
between  the  two  was  more  bitter  than  ever.  A  dramatic  scene 
took  place  at  the  meeting  before  the  Emperor.  When  Eccelino 
saw  Azzo,  he  said,  in  the  presence  of  the  whole  court,  'We 
were  intimate  in  our  youth,  and  I  believed  him  to  be  my  friend. 
One  day  we  were  in  Venice  together,  walking  on  the  Place  o 
St.  Mark,  when  his  assassins  flung  themselves  upon  me  to  stab 
me ;  and  at  the  same  moment  the  Marquis  seized  my  arms,  to 
prevent  me  fronT  defending  myself ;  and  if  I  had  not  by  a  violent 
effort  escaped,  I  should  have  been  killed,  as  was  one  of  my 
soldiers  by  my  side.  I  denounce  him,  therefore,  before  this 
assembly  as  a  traitor ;  and  of  you,  Sire,  I  demand  permission  to 
prove  by  a  single  combat  his  treachery  to  me  as  well  as  to 
Salinguerra,  and  to  the  podesta  of  Vicenza.'  Shortly  after- 
wards, Salinguerra  arrived,  followed  by  a  hundred  men  at  arms, 
and  throwing  himself  at  the  feet  of  the  Emperor,  he  made  a 
similar  accusation  against  the  Marquis,  and  also  demanded  the 
ordeal  of  battle.  Azzo  replied  to  him,  that  he  had  on  his  hands 
plenty  of  gentlemen  more  noble  than  Salinguerra  ready  to  fight 
for  him  if  he  was  so  anxious  for  battle.  Then  Otho  commanded 
all  three  to  be  silent,  and  declared  that  he  should  not  accord  to 
any  of  them  the  privilege  of  fighting  for  any  of  their  past  quarrels. 
From  these  two  chiefs  the  Emperor  expected  greater  service 
than  from  all  other  Italians ;  and  he  secured  their  allegiance 
by  confirming  the  lordship  of  the  Marches  of  Ancona  upon  the 
Marquis,  and  by  declaring  Eccelino  to  be  imperial  deputy  and 
permanent  podesta  of  Vicenza."  [S.]  Line  857,  Malek,  a  Moor. 
1.  885,  Miramoline  :  a  Saracen  prince,  whose  territory  was  situ- 
ated in  North  Africa :  in  the  year  1214,  St.  Francis  of  Assisi 
*et  out  for  Morocco  to  preach  the  gospel  to  this  famous  Mahometan, 


BROWNING   CYCLOPAEDIA.  50 1 

but  was  taken  seriously  ill  on  the  way.  1.  888,  "  dates  plucked 
from  the  bough  John  Brienne  sent "  :  he  sent  a  bunch  of  dates 
to  remind  Frederick  of  his  promise  to  join  the  crusade.  1.  924, 
crenelled :  embattled,  crenellated.  1.  935,  Damsel-fly :  the 
dragon-fly,  so  called  from  its  elegant  appearance.  1.  946,  Python  : 
a  monstrous  serpent  which  haunted  the  caves  of  Parnassus,  and 
was  slain  by  Apollo.  1.  950,  "  Girls — his  Delians" :  at  the  island 
of  Delos  the  festival  of  Apollo  was  celebrated.  The  girls  were 
priestesses  of  Apollo.  1.956,  " Daphne  and  Apollo"  :  Daphne 
was  a  nymph  who,  being  pursued  by  Apollo,  was  at  her  own 
entreaty  changed  into  a  bay  tree — the  tree  consecrated  to  Apollo. 
I.  1008,  Trouveres  =  troubadours. 

BOOK  II. — Line  68,  Jongleurs:  minstrels  who  accompanied 
the  troubadours,  and  who  sometimes  did  a  little  jugglery.  1.  71, 
Elys:  "  Elys,  then,  is  merely  the  ideal  subject,  with  such  a  name, 
of  Eglamour's  poem,  and  referred  to  in  other  places  as  his  (Sor- 
dello's)  type  of  perfection,  realised  according  to  his  faculty  (El- 
/^— the  lily)"— Robert  Browning.  [S.]  1. 156 :  "  The  rhymes  '  Her 
head  that's  sharp  .  .  .  sunblanched  the  livelong  summer '  are  re- 
ferred to  Book  V.,  1.  246,  '  the  vehicle  that  marred  Elys  so  much,' 
etc.,  and  '  his  worst  performance,  the  Goi'to  as  his  first.'  1.  980  of 
the  same  book."  [S.]  1.  94,  "spied  a  scarab" :  one  of  the  marks  of 
Apis,  the  sacred  bull  of  ancient  Egypt.  The  marks  were  "  a  black 
coloured  hide  with  a  white  triangular  spot  on  the  forehead,  the 
hair  arranged  in  the  shape  of  an  eagle  on  the  back,  and  a  knot 
under  the  tongue  in  the  shape  of  a  scarabaeus,  the  sacred  insect 
and  emblem  of  Ptah,  and  a  white  spot  resembling  a  lunar  crescent 
at  his  right  side"  (Dr.  S.  Birch).  1.  183,  "A  Roman  bride"  : 
44  on  the  wedding  day,  which  in  early  times  was  never  fixed  upon 
without  consulting  the  auspices,  the  bride  was  dressed  in  a  long 
white  robe  with  purple  fringe  and  a  girdle  at  the  waist ;  her  veil 
was  of  a  bright  yellow,  and  shoes  likewise  ;  her  hair  was  divided 
with  the  point  of  a  spear,  which  the  antiquarians  explained 
as  emblematic  of  the  husband's  authority,  or  as  typical  of  the 
guardianship  of  Juno  Curitico  (Juno  with  the  lance)."  "  But 
while  these  rites  are  being  performed,  remain  unwedded,  ye 
damsels ;  let  the  torch  of  pinewood  await  auspicious  days,  and 
let  not  the  curved  spear  part  thy  virgin  ringlets  "  (Ovid,  Fasti, 
ii.  160.  [S.]  1.  218,  "Perseus" — rescuing  Andromeda  when 
chained  to  the  rock  in  the  sea.  1.  222,  "gnome  "  :  the  Rosicrucians 


5O2  BROWNING   CYCLOPEDIA.  [Sor 

imagined  gnomes  to  be  sprites  presiding  over  mines,  etc.     1.  224, 
"  Agate  cup,  his  topaz  rod,  his  seed  pearl" :  amongst  the  various 
superstitions  connected  with  precious  stones  the  agate  was  held 
to  be  an  emblem  of  health  and  long  life,  and  to  possess  certain 
medicinal  uses.    The  topaz,  said  the  old  doctor,  "  is  favourable  to 
haemorrhages,  to  impart  strength,  and  promote  digestion  " ;  it  was 
an  emblem  of  fidelity.    1.  307,  "  Massic  jars  dug  up  at  Baice  " : 
Massic  wine  was  famous  in  old  Roman  days.     Baiae,  an  ancient 
town  near  Naples ;  in  old  Roman  days  a  health  and  pleasure  resort 
of  the  wealthy  ;  innumerable  relics  of  these  times  have  been  un- 
earthed.    "  Mons  Massicus  was  a  vine-clad  hill  in  the  Campagna, 
where  the  Falernian  wine  was  grown."  [S.]    1.  297,  "  A  plant  they 
have  " :  The  day-lily— St.  Bruno's  lily— the  Hemerocallis  liliastrnmt 
in  Frenr  h,  belle  de  jour.     1.  329,  Vicenza :  a  city  oi  Northern  Italy 
oi    greai   antiquity ;   the  first   encounter   between  the   Guelfs  and 
Ghibellines  took  place  here,  about  1194.     1.  330,  Vivaresi:  a  Lom- 
bard family.    1.  331,  Maltraversi:  a  noble  family  of  Padua.    1.  435, 
Machine :  see  1.  1014.     1.  460,  "  some  huge  throbbing  stone  "  :  In  one 
ot  Ossian'a  poems  a  description  is  given  of  bards  walking  around 
a  rocking  stone,  and   by  their  singing  making  it  move   as   an 
oracle  of    battle."     [S.]      1.  483,  truchman  =  an  interpreter. 
1.  527,   rondel,  tenzon,   virlai,  or  sirvent :  forms  of  Provenfal 
poetry.     "  Rondel^  a  thirteen-verse  poem,  in  which  the  beginning 
is   repeated   in   the  third  and  fourth   verses — from   rotundus ; 
tenzon,  a  contest  in  verse  before  a  tribunal  of  love — from  tendo, 
in  the  sense  of  to  strive ;  virlai,  or  vireley,  a  short  poem,  always 
in  short  lines,  and  wholly  in  two  rhymes,  with  a  refrain — from 
virer\  sirvent^  a  poem  of  praise  or  service,  sometimes  satirical; 
from  servire."  (Imp.  Diet.}  [S.]    1.  529,  angelot:  an  instrument 
of  music  somewhat  resembling  a  lute.     1.  625,  "  sparkles  off"  : 
intransitive  verb, — "  his  mail  sparkles  off  and  it  rings,  whirled 
from  each  delicatest  limb  it  warps."  [S.]    1.  627,  "  Apollo  from 
the  sudden  corpse  of  Hyacinth  "  :  Apollo  was  one  day  teaching 
Hyacinthus  to  play  at  quoits,  and  accidentally  killed  him.    1.  630, 
Montfori :  the  father  of  Simon  de  Montfort,  who  fought  against 
the  Albigenses.     1.  729,  Vidal :  Pierre  Vidal,  of  Toulouse,  a  poet 
of  varied  inspiration,  was  loaded  with  gifts  by  the  greatest  nobles 
of  his  time  (see  Sismondi,  Lit.  Eur.,  vol.  i.,  p.  135).     Professor 
Sonnenschein  says  he  was  a  Provenfal  troubadour,  who  died 
about  1210.    He  was  a  sort  of  caricature  of  the  usual  troubadour 


SOI]  BROWNING   CYCLOPAEDIA,  503 

excellence  and  foolishness.  Some  of  his  poems  are  the  best 
remaining  of  the  Proven£al  poetry.  He  went  twice  to  Palestine, 
once  with  a  crusade.  He  was  hated  by  Sordello,  and  referred 
to  in  some  of  his  poems  which  are  extant.  L  730,  filamot : 
yellow-brown  colour ;  from  feuille-morle  ;  murrey-coloured:  of  a 
dark-red  or  mulberry  colour  (morus,  mulberry).  1.  755,  plectre, 
or  plectrum :  a  staff  of  ivory,  horn,  etc.,  for  playing  with  on  a 
lyre.  1.  784,  "  Bocafoli's  stark-naked  psalms  "  :  not  merely  plain 
song,  but  naked  song.  1.  785,  Plards  sonnets.  Both  personages 
are  imaginary.  1.  786,  almug :  "probably  the  red  sandalwood 
of  China  and  India"  (Dr.  W.  Smith).  1.  788,  river-horse:  the 
hippopotamus.  1.  792,  pompion-twine :  pumpkin.  1.  843,  Pappa- 
coda  :  a  nickname.  Tagliafer,  or  Taillefer :  the  favourite  minstrel- 
knight  of  William  of  Normandy,  who  rode  in  front  of  the 
invading  army  at  the  battle  of  Senlac,  and  sang  the  song  of 
Roland.  1.  846,  o'ertoise :  overstretch  ?  1.  877,  Count  Lori,  or 
Loria  of  Naples.  1.  883,  "  The  Grey  Paulitian"  :  "  Eccelino  II. 
found  the  Paterini  or  Paulicians,  a  Manichaean  sect,  who  were 
driven  from  the  East  by  the  Empress  Theodora  (who  had  a 
hundred  thousand  of  them  killed)  and  her  successors.  They  were 
slowly  forced  westward,  and  at  last  settled  in  Italy,  and  it 
Languedoc,  in  the  neighbourhood  of  Albi.  They  are  credited 
with  planting  the  first  seeds  of  the  Reformation  in  the  Latin 
Church.  Innocent  III.,  alarmed  at  their  doctrines  and  increasing 
numbers,  opposed  them,  and  instructed  St.  Dominic  and  St. 
Francis  to  preach  against  them.  The  result  was  the  cruel  crusade 
of  1206,  which  continued  in  the  form  of  more  or  less  spasmodic 
persecution  for  many  years, — at  least  thirty.''  [S.]  1.  899,  Romano: 
the  birthplace  of  Ezzelino,  near  Bassano.  Eccelino  Romano  was 
chief  of  the  Ghibellines.  1.  901,  Azzo's  sister  Beatrix:  married 
Otho  IV.  1.  902,  Richard's  Giglia  :  a  Guelf  lady.  1.  929,  Re- 
trude  :  wife  of  Salinguerra.  1.  948,  Strojavacca  :  a  troubadour  ? 
1.  986,  "  Cafs  head  and  Ibis1  tail"  :  "  Egyptian  symbols  in  mosaic 
on  the  porphyry  floor."  [S.]  1.  989,  Soldan  :  Sultan.  1.  1009, 
"Iris  root  the  Tuscan  grated  over  them  "  orris-root.  1.  1013, 
Carian  group  :  the  Caryatides — women  dressed  as  at  the  feasts 
of  Diana  Caryatis.  Carya  was  a  town  in  Arcadia. 

BOOK  III. — Line  2,  moonfern  and  trifoly  :  plants  which  have 
supposed  magical  and  healing  properties  [S.] ;  moonfern,  the 
same  as  moonwort — Rumex  lunaria ;  ?nystic  trifoly  =  trefoil ; 


504  BROWNING   CYCLOPAEDIA. 

"  Herb  Trinity  "  was  used  by  St.  Patrick  to  teach  the  mystery  of 
the  Holy  Trinity.  1.  12,  painted byssus :  silky  fibres  of  a  mollusc 
which  has  sometimes  been  spun  with  silk.  1.  14,  Tyrrhene  whelk: 
the  celebrated  Tyrian  purple,  formerly  prepared  from  a  shell  fish  at 
Tyre.  1.  14,  trireme  :  a  galley  or  vessel  with  three  benches  of  oars 
on  a  side.  1.  15,  satrap  =  the  governor  of  a  province  (Persian). 
1.  87,  "Marsh  gone  of  a  sudden"  :  when  the  lake  appeared  in 
its  place.  1.  88,  "  Mincio  in  its  place  laughed" :  when  the  river 
occupied  the  place  of  the  marsh.  1.  121,  Island  house:  "a  villa  out- 
side Palermo  called  La  Favara  "  [S.] ;  Nuocera  :  between  Pompeii 
and  Amalfi.  It  was  called  "  de  Pagani,"  from  a  Saracenic  colony  of 
Frederick  II.,  who  was  sometimes  contemptuously  called  the  Sul- 
tan of  Nocera.  Villani  preserves  the  quaint  words  of  the  famous 
taunt  which  Charles  of  Anjou  addressed  to  Manfred,  before  the 
bath  of  Benvinutum :  "Alles  e  dit  moi  a  li  Sultan  de  Nocere  hoggi 
metorai  lui  en  enfers  o  il  mettar  moi  en  paradis."  [S.]  1.  123, 
Palermitans  :  citizens  of  Palermo.  1.  124,  Messinese:  citizens  of 
Messina.  1. 125,  "  dusk  Saracenic  clans  Nuocera  holds":  Frederick, 
who  was  afterwards  the  renowned  Frederick  II.,  Emperor  of 
Germany,  was  crowned  at  Palermo,  in  Sicily,  in  1198  ;  during  his 
minority  the  land  was  torn  by  turbulent  nobles,  and  revolted 
Saracens ;  in  1 220  the  Emperor-King  planted  a  colony  of  Saracens  at 
Nocera  on  the  mainland.  1.  132,  mollitious  alcoves  =  soft  alcoves. 
1.  133,  By z ant  domes  :  Byzantine  architecture,  in  which  the  dome 
was  a  feature,  developed  about  A.D.  300.  1.  135,  "August 
pleasant  Dandolo"  :  "  Enrico  Dandolo,  one  of  the  patrician  family 
of  that  name  in  Venice,  was  chosen  doge  in  1192,  although 
already  blind  and  seventy-two  years  old.  After  naval  successes 
against  the  Pisans,  he  was  applied  to  at  the  time  of  the  fourth 
crusade  to  furnish  vessels  for  transport  to  Constantinople.  After 
making  terms  most  advantageous  to  the  Republic,  he  himself 
led  the  enterprise  to  success,  and  shared  with  the  French  in  the 
pillage  of  the  city,  and  very  largely  in  booty  and  privileges  accru- 
ing. The  four  horses  of  St.  Mark's  Church  were  brought  over  to 
Venice  by  him."  [S.]  1.  140,  "  Transport  to  Venice  square" :  St 
Mark's  Church  in  Venice  is  adorned  with  precious  columns  brought 
from  temples  and  buildings  in  all  parts  of  the  ancient  world. 
1.  225,  "  The  butt  dormant^  etc" :  "  It  was  the  custom  to  bury  the 
hyacinth  bulb  with  mummies."  [S.J.  1.  85,  The  Carroch:  "during 
the  war  of  the  Milanese  with  Conrad,  the  Salic  archbishop, 


Sor]  BROWNING   CYCLOPAEDIA.  505 

Eribert,  invented  the  Carroccio,  which  was  at  once  adopted  by  all 
the  cities  of  Italy.  He  placed  it  at  the  head  of  the  army,  and  it 
was  an  imitation  of  the  ark  of  the  covenant  of  the  tribes  of  Israel. 
The  carroccio  was  a  four-wheeled  car  drawn  by  four  yokes  of 
oxen.  It  was  painted  red ;  the  oxen  were  dressed  in  red  clothes 
to  their  heels  ;  a  very  high  mast,  also  painted  red,  was  in  the 
midst ;  it  terminated  in  a  golden  ball.  Below,  between  two  white 
veils,  floated  the  standard  of  the  commune,  and  below  that  again 
was  a  crucifix,  with  the  Saviour  extending  His  arms  to  bless  the 
army.  A  sort  of  platform  in  the  front  of  the  car  was  devoted  to 
some  of  the  bravest  soldiers  appointed  for  its  defence.  Another 
platform  in  the  rear  was  occupied  by  musicians  and  trumpeters. 
Mass  was  said  upon  the  carroccio  before  it  left  the  town,  and  there 
was  frequently  a  special  chaplain  attached  to  it."  [S.]  1.  312,  "  the 
candle's  at  the  gateway  "  :  "  compare  with  King  Alfred's  measure- 
ment of  time.  It  is  still  the  custom  at  Bremen  for  property  to 
be  sold  at  an  auction  by  the  candle — that  is,  the  bidding  goes  on 
till  the  candle  goes  out."  [S.]  1.  314,  Tiso  Sampler :  "  Eccelin  I. 
and  Tissolin  di  Campo  St.  Pierre  had  been  warm  friends  until,  a 
difference  occurring  about  a  marriage  portion,  Eccelin  proved 
treacherous  and  grasping,  and  a  lasting  feud  arose  between  the 
two  families."  [S.]  1.  31 5,  "  Ferrards  succoured  Palma  /"  "  The 
preceding  passages  in  quotation  marks  are  all  in  the  Guelf 
spirit ;  this  explanation  is  Ghibelline,  say  from  Browning  himself." 
[S.]  1.  386,  Cesano:  a  city  of  Emilia,  between  Bologaa  and 
Ancona,  Dante,  in  Inferno,  canto  xxvii.,  characterises  Cesano 
as  living  midway  between  tryanny  and  freedom.  1.  456, 
Fomalhaut  :  a  star  of  the  first  magnitude,  in  the  constellation 
Priscus  Australis,  one  of  the  brightest  visible  in  the  midnight 
meridian  of  September.  [S.]  1.  476,  Conrad:  the  Swabian 
(1138-52).  1.  486,  Saponian  :  Mr.  Browning  explained  this  puzzling 
term  as  referring  to  the  Saponi,  who  were  a  branch  of  the 
Eccelini  family,  which  settled  in  Lombardy  before  the  time  of 
Sordello.  1.  496,  Vincentines :  the  people  of  Vicenza.  1.  514, 

".  .  .fust 
As  Adelaide  oj  Susa  could  entrust 

Her  donative  .  .  . 
.  .  .  to  the  supetb 
Matilda's  Perfecting." 


506  BROWNING   CYCLOP/EDIA. 

"  The  Biographic  Universelle  says :  '  Adelaide,  Marchioness 
of  Susa,  was  contemporary  with  Matilda  the  great  Countess  of 
Tuscany,  and  governed  Piedmont  with  wisdom  and  firmness. 
She  endeavoured  more  than  once  to  make  peace  between  the 
Emperor  and  Popes.  She  was  married  three  times — to  a  Duke 
of  Swabia,  a  Marquis  of  Montferrat,  and  a  Count  of  Maurienna  ; 
and  partly  through  her  inheritance  from  the  husbands,  all  oi 
whom  she  survived,  partly  on  account  of  her  wise  management, 
her  fief  Susa  became  the  most  important  in  Italy.  Matilda,  the 
great  Countess  of  Tuscany,  was  one  of  the  most  famous  charac- 
ters of  her  age.  Absolute  ruler  of  the  most  powerful  country  in 
Italy,  she  defended  Hildebrand,  and  adhered  to  the  Pope  against 
all  enemies,  proffers  or  threats.  During  her  lifetime  she  trans- 
ferred the  greater  part  of  her  possessions  by  deed  of  gift  to  the 
papacy ;  and  that  deed  was  the  foundation  of  Papal  claims  to 
many  lands  in  Italy  throughout  the  following  centuries.  She 
owned  the  Castle  of  Canozza,  where  the  Pope  took  refuge  from 
Henry  IV.,  who  had  married  Adelaide's  daughter;  and  it  was  to 
Canozza  that  that  Emperor  was  obliged  to  resort,  when  later  he 
sought  the  Pope's  forgiveness,  and  when  he  was  left  standing 
barefoot  in  the  snow  awaiting  the  Pope's  pleasure.  Matilda  con- 
veyed her  estates  to  the  Pope  in  1102,  was  made  sovereign  of  all 
Italy  in  I  no,  and  died  1115.'  There  appears  to  be  no  mention 
of  any  donative  entrusted  to  the  superb  Matilda,  either  in  the 
Biographie  Universelle}  or  in  Sismondi."  [S.]  Line  501,  "  lion's 
crine  "  =  lion's  hair.  1.  583,  "  like  the  alighted  Planet  Pollux 
wore"  Castor  and  Pollux  were  generally  represented  mounted 
on  two  white  horses,  armed  with  spears,  and  riding  side  by  side 
with  their  heads  covered  with  a  bonnet,  on  the  top  of  which 
glittered  a  star.  The  twins  took  part  in  the  Argonautic  expedi- 
tion, and  when  a  violent  storm  arose  two  flames  of  fire  appeared, 
and  were  seen  to  play  around  their  heads.  Pollux  was  the  son 
of  Jupiter,  whilst  Castor  was  only  his  half-brother;  but  he  obtained 
from  Jupiter,  for  Castor,  the  gift  of  immortality,  and  a  place  with 
him  amongst  the  constellations.  St.  Elmo's  fire,  which  frequently 
appears  and  plays  about  masts  and  yards  of  ships  during  storms, 
was  called  Castor 'and  Pollux  by  Roman  sailors"  (Lempriere, 
Class.  Diet.}.  1.  590, 

"  For  thus 
I  bring  Bordello? 


BROWNING   CYCLOPAEDIA.  507 

See  Book  I.,  1.  353.  1.  616,  "  Verona's  Lady"  is  a  statue  on  the 
top  of  a  fountain  at  one  end  of  the  Piazza  d'Erbe.  The  fountain 
was  put  up  in  916,  at  the  completion  of  the  aqueduct  by  Berenger. 
It  was  restored  in  1368.  The  statue  was  first  erected  by  Theo- 
dosius  in  1380.  It  is  called  by  the  people  Donna  Verona,  and 
wears  a  steel  crown  as  a  symbol  that  the  town  was  an  imperial 
residence.  1.  617,  Gaulish  Brennus,  who  besieged  Rome  B.C.  385. 
1.  621,  Manlius :  Manlius  Marcus,  a  celebrated  Roman  who 
defended  the  Capitol  against  the  Gauls.  1.  625,  platan:  the 
plane  tree.  1.  626,  Archimage :  the  high  priest  of  the  Magi 
or  fire-worshippers.  1.  687,  colibri :  humming  birds.  1.  712, 
Bassanese,  of  Bassano,  a  noble  town  on  the  Brenta.  1.  797, 
Basilic:  the  Basilica,  St.  Mark's  great  Cathedral.  1.  798,  "  God's 
great  day  of  the  Corpus  Domini "  (or  Body  of  the  Lord) :  the 
Feast  of  Corpus  Christi,  the  Holy  Sacrament  of  the  Eucharist, 
It  is  held  on  the  Thursday  following  Trinity  Sunday.  1.  8n, 
losel  =  a  wasteful,  worthless  fellow.  1.  813, 

"God  spoke, 
Of  right  hand,  foot,  and  eye" 

(See  St.  Matthew  v.  29,  30)  [S.] 

1.  837,  mugwort=  a  herb  of  the  genus  Artemisia.  1.  839,  "  Zin  the 
Horrid" :  the  Syrian  wilderness  where  the  Israelites  found  no 
water  (Num.  xx.  i).  1.  847,  "potsherd  and  Gibeonites " :  see 
Joshua  ix.  1.  852,  Meribah  :  see  Exod.  xvii.  7  and  Num.  xxvii.  14. 
1.  898,  "Prisoned  in  the  Piombi" :  horrible  torture  cells  on  the 
leads  of  the  Ducal  Palace  at  Venice,  where  the  prisoners  were 
roasted  in  the  sun.  1.  924,  "  Tempos  dewy  vale "  :  a  beautiful 
valley  in  Thessaly.  1.  964,  Hercules — in  Egypt:  in  his  quest  for 
the  golden  apples  of  the  Hesperides,  Hercules  journeyed  through 
Egypt — Busiris,  the  king,  was  about  to  sacrifice  Hercules  to  Zeus, 
but  he  broke  his  bonds  and  slew  Busiris,  his  sons  and  servants. 
1.  975,  patron-friend:  Walter  Savage  Landor,  who  warmly 
praised  Browning's  poetry  when  others  abused  it ;  the  reference 
is  to  Empedocles,  a  Greek  poet.  1.  977,  Marathon,  Platcea,  and 
Salamis:  celebrated  Greek  battle-places.  1.  987,  "  The  king 
•who  lost  the  ruby  "  :  Polycrates  of  Samos.  He  was  advised  to 
throw  into  the  sea  the  most  precious  of  his  jewels,  a  beautiful 
seal ;  he  grieved  much  at  the  loss,  but  in  a  few  days  he  had  a 
present  of  a  large  fish,  in  the  belly  of  which  his  ring  was  found. 


508  BROWNING   CYCLOPAEDIA. 

1.  992,  English  Eyebright\  the  botanical  name  of  the  plant  is 
Eiiphrasia  officinalis.  Euphrasia,  was  the  name  of  a  lady  who 
was  an  old  friend  of  Mr.  Browning's  (Dr.  Furnivall).  1.  1021, 
Xanthus:  a  disciple  of  St.  John  the  Evangelist.  1.  1024,  Polycarp, 
an  early  Christian  martyr,  A.D.  166;  and  a  disciple  of  St.  John. 
1.  1025,  Charicle:  also  a  disciple.  1.  1045,  "  twy prong"  was  one 
of  the  instruments  used  by  necromancers  in  "  raising  the  devil." 
4(  To  procure  the  magic  fork. — This  is  a  branch  of  a  single  beam 
of  hazel  or  almond,  which  must  be  cut  at  a  single  stroke  with  the 
new  knife  used  in  the  sacrifice.  The  rod  must  terminate  in  a 
fork."  (Waite's  Mysteries  of  Magic,  p.  260.)  Pastoral  Cross  : 
the  cross  on  a  priest's  vestment  is  sometimes  Y-shaped.  Har- 
grave  Jennings,  in  his  Rosicrucians,  says  it  is  now  used  as  an 
anagram  exemplifying  the  Athanasian  Creed ;  exactly,  in  fact, 
like  the  magic  twy  prong  in  shape.  An  Archbishop's  crozier  or 
pastoral  staff  terminates  in  a  cross  at  the  top. 

BOOK  IV. — Line  24,  quitch-grass  =  couch-grass  or  dog-grass ; 
it  roots  deeply,  and  is  not  easily  killed.  1.  24,  "  loathy  mallows  ".- 
loathsome  mallows,  probably  because  they  grow  in  ditches  and 
in  churchyards.  1.  34,  Legate  Montelungo  :  Gregorio  di  Monte- 
longo,  Pontifical  legate  for  Gregory  IX.  1.  50,  arbalist,  a  cross- 
bow ;  manganel,  an  engine  of  war  for  battering  down  walls 
and  hurling  stones;  and  catapult,  a  war  engine.  L  72,  Jubilate: 
rejoice  ye!  Jubilate  Deo,  66th  Psalm.  1.83: 

" What  cautelous 

Old  Redbeard  sought  from  Azeo's  sire  to  wrench  vainly." 

The  Lombard  League  had  built  Alexandria  to  defy  Barbarossa, 
who  was  twice  unsuccessful  in  taking  it.  1.  89,  Brenta  :  a  river 
of  North  Italy,  passing  near  Padua.  Bacchiglione  :  the  river  on 
which  stand  Vicenza  and  Padua.  1.  98,  San  Vitale :  a  small 
town  near  Vicenza.  1.  147,  "Messina  marbles  Constance  took 
delight  in  "  :  the  marbles  of  Sicily.  For  variety  and  beauty  they 
rival  those  of  any  country  of  Europe.  1.  229,  Mainard,  or  Mein- 
hard :  Count  of  Gorz,  in  the  Tyrol.  1.  280,  Concorezzi:  a  knightly 
family  of  Padua.  1.  395,  "  Crowned  grim  twy-necked  eagle  " : 
the  two-headed  eagle,  symbol  of  the  empire.  1.  479,  The 
Adelardi:  were  a  noble  Guelf  family  of  Ferrara  and  Mantua. 
Marchesella  was  heiress  of  the  Adelardi  family  ;  Obizzo  I.  carried 
her  off,  and  married  her  to  his  son  Azzo  V.  1.  483,  Blacks  and 


Borj  BROWNING    CYCLOPAEDIA.  $09 

Whites :  the  Neri,  the  black  party,  and  the  Bianchi  the  white. 
The  Bianchi  are  called  the  Porte  selvaggia,  because  its  leaders, 
the  Cerchi,  came  from  the  forest  lands  of  Val  di  Sieve.  The 
other  party,  the  Neri,  were  led  by  the  Donati.  (See  Long- 
fellow's Dante — Notes  to  Inferno,  vi.  65.)  1.  511,  "goshawk" ,•  a 
short-winged  slender  hawk  (Falco  palumbarius).  1.  533,  Pistore: 
Pistoia.  1.  577,  Matilda:  Countess  of  Tuscany  (1046-1114), 
known  as  the  Great  Countess ;  she  was  the  champion  of  the 
Church  and  the  ally  of  Hildebrand.  1.  585,  Heinrich  :  "  Henry  VI., 
married  Constance,  daughter  of  the  King  of  Naples  and  Sicily. 
He  reigned  from  1 190  to  1 197."  [S.]  "  Philip  and  Otho  "  :  "  the 
latter  conspired  against  Frederick  II.,  who  was  brought  up  by 
Innocent  III.,  and  after  Philip's  death  made  Emperor,  in  1212. 
He  lived  till  1250.  His  son  Henry,  King  of  the  Romans,  rebelled 
against  him."  [S.]  1.  614,  Bassano  :  a  city  of  Italy,  in  the  pro- 
vince of  Vicenza,  on  the  Brenta.  "There  is  a  church  of 
St.  Francis  at  Bassano.  Lanze  says,  '  It  is  the  peculiar  boast  of 
Bologna  that  she  can  claim  three  of  the  few  artists  of  the  earliest 
times :  one  Guido,  one  Ventura,  and  one  Ursone,  of  whom  there 
exist  memorials  as  far  back  as  1248."  [S.]  1.  615,  Guido  the 
Bolognian:  Guido  Reni,  the  great  painter  of  Bologna  (1575- 
1642).  1.  645,  Guglielm—Vfilliam  ;  Aldobrand  or  Aldovrandino  : 
Governor  of  Ferrara,  in  conjunction  with  Salinguerra  (1231). 
L  735,  San  Biagio  :  St.  Biase,  a  place  near  the  Lake  of  Garda. 
!•  797»  Constance:  wife  of  Henry  VI.  of  Germany;  by  this 
marriage  Frederick  hoped  that  his  empire  would  soon  include 
Naples  and  Sicily.  1.  837,  Moorish  lentisk :  the  mastich  tree. 
1.  884,  poison-wattles :  the  baggy  flesh  on  the  animal's  neck,  an 
excrescence  or  lobe.  1.  977,  Crescentius  Nomentanus  :  a  Roman 
tribune,  who,  in  the  absence  of  Pope  John  and  King  Otho,  tried 
to  restore  consular  Rome.  But  the  Pope  and  King  returned, 
and  crucified  him,  A.D.  998.  (See  Gibbon's  Decline  and  Fall, 
chap,  xlix.)  Professor  Sonnenschein  sends  me  the  following 
further  note  :  "  Crescentius  was  a  Roman  who,  towards  the  end 
of  the  tenth  century,  endeavoured  to  restore  his  country's  liberty 
and  ancient  glory.  The  power  of  the  Eastern  emperors  had  long 
ceased  in  Rome,  that  of  the  Western  emperors  had  been  suspended 
by  long  interregnas.  Rome  was  a  republic  in  which  the 
citizens,  the  neighbouring  nobles,  and  the  Pope,  disputed  the 
Authority.  Crescentius,  who  was  of  the  family  of  the  Counts  of 


510  BROWNING    CYCLOPEDIA.  [Sor 

the  Tusculum,  placed  himself  at  the  head  of  the  anarchic  govern- 
ment about  980,  with  the  title  of  Consul.  He  had,  to  dispute  his 
rank,  Boniface  VII.,  who,  murderer  of  two  popes,  had  become 
Pope  himself.  This  pontiff  was  stained  by  the  most  shameful 
crimes,  and  as  his  authority  was  not  xvell  founded,  the  nobles 
and  the  people  aided  Crescentius  in  breaking  the  yoke.  Boniface 
died  985.  John  XV.,  who  succeeded  him,  was  detained  by 
Crescentius  far  from  Rome,  in  exile,  until  he  recognised  the 
sovereignty  of  the  people.  Upon  his  return  he  did  not  seek  to 
trouble  the  government ;  and,  as  well  as  one  can  judge  through 
the  obscurity  of  ages,  the  Roman  republic  enjoyed  until  996,  under 
the  Consul  Crescentius,  such  peace,  order,  and  security,  as  it 
had  not  known  for  a  long  time.  John  XV.  died  the  year  Otho  III. 
went  from  Germany  to  Italy,  to  receive  the  imperial  crown. 
The  young  monarch  chose  his  relative,  Gregory  V.,  to  succeed 
John.  None  of  the  rights  or  privileges  of  Rome  were  known  to 
the  new  pontiff,  who,  long  accustomed  to  regard  the  popes  as 
gods  on  earth,  having  now  himself  become  pope,  could  not  con- 
ceive of  any  resistance  to  his  will.  Crescentius  refused  to 
recognise  a  pope  whose  election  and  conduct  were  alike  irregular. 
He  opposed  to  him  another  pope,  a  Greek  by  birth,  who  took  the 
name  of  John  XVI.,  and  he  asked  the  Emperor  of  the  East  to  send 
troops  to  his  assistance.  Otho  III.  entered  Rome  with  an  army 
in  998.  He  condemned  John  XVI.  to  horrible  torture,  and 
besieged  Crescentius  in  the  castle  of  St.  Angelo;  and  as  he 
could  not  conquer  the  latter,  he  offered  him  an  honourable 
capitulation.  However,  he  no  sooner  had  him  in  his  hands  than 
he  put  him  to  death  and  ill-treated  his  wife.  Three  years  later, 
on  his  return  from  a  penitential  pilgrimage,  she  succeeded  in 
causing  his  death  by  poison."  L  1006,  wranal:  a  lantern. 
1.  1032,  "  Rome  of  the  Pandects"  :  "  The  digest  or  abridgment  in 
fifty  books  of  the  decisions  and  opinions  of  the  old  Roman  jurists, 
made  in  the  sixth  century,  by  order  of  the  Emperor  Justinian,  and 
forming  the  first  part  of  the  body  of  the  civil  law."  (Webster.) 

BOOK  V. — Line  6,  Palatine,  one  invested  with  royal  privileges 
and  rights.  L  16,  atria,  halls  or  principal  rooms  in  Roman 
houses.  L  17,  stibadium,  a  half-round  reclining  couch  used  by 
Romans  near  their  baths.  1.  18,  lustral  vase:  used  in  purifica- 
tion at  meals,  etc.  1.  34,  pelt,  a  skin  of  a  beast  with  the  hair  on. 
1.  43,  obsidian,  a  kind  of  black  glass  produced  by  volcanoes. 


BROWNING   CYCLOPAEDIA.  511 

1.  58,  Mauritania,  an  ancient  country  of  North  Africa  =  land  of 
the  Moors,  celebrated  for  the  wood  called  Citrus,  for  tables  of 
which  the  Romans  gave  fabulous  prices.  1.  61,  Demiurge:  a 
worker  for  the  people  ;  so  God,  as  Creator  of  the  world.  Mareo- 
tic:  of  the  locality  of  Lake  Mareotis,  in  Egypt.  Mareotic  wine 
was  very  famous ;  CcBciiban :  Caecubum,  a  town  of  Latium. 
Caecubus  Ager  was  noted  for  the  excellence  and  plenty  of  its 
wines.  1.  82,  Pythoness:  the  priestess  who  gave  oracular 
answers  at  Delphi,  in  Greece.  1.  83,  Lydian  king  :  Lydia  was 
a  kingdom  of  Asia  Minor.  The  king  referred  to  was  Croesus, 
who  interpreted  in  his  own  favour  the  ambiguous  answer  of  the 
oracle,  and  was  destroyed  by  following  the  advice  he  thought 
was  given  to  him.  1.  115,  Nina  and  Alcamo  :  Sicilian  poets  of 
the  period.  In  the  life  of  Joanna,  Queen  of  Naples,  we  read 
of  "the  Poetess  Nina,  whose  love  of  her  art  caused  her  to 
become  enamoured  of  a  poet  whom  she  had  never  seen.  This 
fortunate  bard  (who  returned  her  poetical  passion)  was  called 
Dante ;  but  we  cannot  plead  in  her  excuse  that  he  had  anything 
else  in  common  with  the  great  poet  of  that  name.  Nina  was  the 
most  beautiful  woman  of  the  day,  and  the  first  female  who  wrote 
verse  in  Italian.  She  was  so  engrossed  by  her  passion  for  her 
lover  that  she  caused  herself  always  to  be  called  '  The  Nina 
of  Dante.' "  [S.]  "  Sismondi  only  mentions  C.  d'Alcamo  as  a 
Sicilian  poet,  apparently  nearly  contemporary  with  Frederick  II. 
See  GinguenS  for  a  full  account  of  Sicilian  poetry."  [S.]  1.  145, 
Castellans,  governors  of  castles.  1.  146,  Suzerains,  feudal  lords. 
1.  163,  "  Hildebrand  of  the  huge  brain  mask  "  :  Pope  Gregory  VII. 
He  was  one  of  the  most  famous  of  the  popes,  and  he  lived  in 
the  latter  part  of  the  eleventh  century.  1.  174,  Mandrake  :  Man- 
dragora — a  plant  with  a  bifurcated  root,  concerning  which  many 
singular  superstitions  have  accumulated.  1.  186,  "  Three  Imperial 
Crowns "  :  the  Imperial  Crown  proper,  the  German  crown,  and 
the  Italian  or  Lombard  crown.  There  seems  a  little  confusion 
here  in  the  order  of  the  different  metals.  The  Imperial  Crown 
was  of  gold.  The  German  is  always  spoken  of  as  the  silver 
crown.  The  Italian  or  Lombard  crown  was  known  as  the  iron 
crown,  because  one  of  the  nails  of  Christ's  cross  was  inserted 
into  its  gold  frame."  (Encyc.  Brit.}  L  188,  Akxander  IV.t 
Pope  of  Rome  (1254-61)  ;  Innocent  IV.,  Pope  (1243-54).  1.  189, 
Papal  key:  the  keys  of  Peter  in  the  papal  arms.  1.  194,  "  Th* 


5^2  BROWNING   CYCLOPAEDIA.  [SOI 

heimit  Peter" :  Peter,  the  Hermit  of  Amiens,  who  preached 
up  the  first  Crusade.  1.  195,  Claremont  =  Clermont,  a  city  of 
France,  in  which,  at  a  council  held  in  1095,  Pope  Urban  II. 
first  formally  organised  the  great  Crusade.  1.  200,  Vimmercato, 
a  town  on  the  Molgova,  fourteen  miles  north-east  of  Milan.  1.  203, 
"  Mantuan  Albert  "  :  Blessed  Albert  founder  of  the  Order  of  Canons 
Regular.  But  it  was  Albert,  patriarch  of  Jerusalem,  who  was  umpire 
between  Pope  and  Emperor.  1.  204,  Saint  Francis,  of  Assisi,  born 
1182;  one  of  the  most  beautiful  characters  who  ever  lived.  All 
living  creatures  to  him  were  his  "  brothers  and  sisters."  1.  205, 
"  God's  truce" :  "The  Pax  Ecclesiae,"  or  "Treuga  Dei" — a  sus- 
pension of  arms,  putting  a  stop  to  private  hostilities  within 
certain  periods.  The  treaty  called  the  "Truce  of  God"  was 
set  on  foot  in  A.D.  999.  It  was  agreed,  among  other  articles, 
that  "  churches  should  be  sanctuaries  to  all  sorts  of  persons, 
except  those  who  violated  this  truce ;  and  that  from  Wednesday 
till  Monday  morning  no  one  should  offer  violence  to  any  one, 
not  even  by  way  of  satisfaction  for  any  injustice  he  had  re- 
ceived" (Butler's  Lives  of  the  Saints,  sub  "  St.  Odilo,"  Jan.  ist.) 
1.  281,  hacqueton:  a  quilted  jacket,  worn  under  a  coat  of  mail. 
1.  298,  trabea:  a  regal  robe.  1.  384,  thyrsus:  a  spear  wrapped 
about  with  ivy,  carried  at  feasts  of  Bacchus.  1.  405,  baldric:  a 
richly  ornamented  belt,  passing  only  over  one  shoulder.  1.  453, 
"  Caliphs  wheel  work  man"  :  an  automaton.  1.  509,  Typhon,  a 
giant.  1.  660,  Lombard  Agilulph  :  a  king  of  Lombardy,  A.D.  60 1. 
1.  712,  "changed the  spoils  of  every  clime  at  Venice" :  the  great 
Cathedral  of  St.  Mark's,  Venice,  contains  columns  and  ornaments 
of  various  kinds,  brought  from  heathen  temples  in  all  parts  of 
the  Roman  world.  Pillars  from  the  Temple  of  Jerusalem,  and 
precious  marbles  from  ancient  Roman  palaces,  combine  to  make 
the  interior  of  St.  Mark's  one  of  the  strangest  and  richest 
Christian  churches  in  the  world.  So  these  spoils  from  many 
lands,  taken  from  temples  devoted  to  alien  worship,  have  been 
"changed"  to  Christian  uses  in  this  church.  1.718,  "earth's 
reputed  consummations  "  :  that  is  to  say,  the  noblest  works  which 
the  world  at  the  time  could  produce.  "  The  temple  at  Thebes 
was  the  consummate  achievement  of  one  age ;  of  another,  that 
of  the  Temple  of  Jupiter  Tonans ;  of  another,  the  Parthenon  at 
Athens.  All  these  were  'earth's  reputed  consummations.'" 
1.  719,  "razed  a  seal" :  Thebes  being  despoiled  like  Rome, 


SOT]  BROWNING   CYCLOPEDIA.  513 

Athens  rifled  like  Byzant,  until  St.  Mark's  at  Venice  having  razed 
a  seal  (i.e.  broken  the  seal,  or,  as  it  were,  extracted  the  nails  that 
fixed  the  most  famous  works  in  the  world  to  their  original  site) 
lo !  the  glittering  symbols  of  the  all-purifying  Trinity  blazed  above 
them:  so  the  "horned  and  snouted  god,"  the  "cinerary  pitcher," 
became  part  of  the  Christian  edifice.  1.  719,  "  The  All-trans- 
muting Triad  blazed  above  "  :  that  is,  they  were  consecrated  by 
reason  of  the  new  faith  in  the  Trinity.  The  three  persons  of 
the  Holy  Trinity  are  represented  in  the  mosaics  of  St.  Mark's 
Church."*  1.  750,  Treville  or  Treviglio  :  a  town  in  Lombardy, 
fourteen  miles  south  of  Bergamo.  1.  751.  Cartiglione  :  is  this  a 
misprint  for  Castiglione  ?  1.  788,  writhled  =  wrinkled.  1.  794, 
pauldron  :  a  defence  of  armour-plate  over  the  shoulders.  1.  909, 
Gesi  or  Jesi :  a  city  in  the  Italian  province  of  Ancona.  It  was 
the  birthplace  of  Frederick  II.  in  1194.  1.  943,  Valsugan  :  a  town 
on  the  Brenta,  on  the  road  from  Trent  to  Venice.  1.  970  Torri- 
ani:  a  faction  of  Valsassina  of  Lombardy,  contending  with  the 
Visconti  (1.  971):  Otho  Visconti,  Archbishop  of  Milan  (1262), 
founded  the  ho^oe  of  Visconti.  The  Torriani  were  democrats,  the 
Visconti  aristocrats.  1.  1065,  "  Trent  upon  Apulia  "  :  i.e.,  Northern 
upon  Southern  Italy.  L  1071,  Cunizza:  called  Palma  throughout 
the  poem  (see  p.  123).  1.  1090,  Squarcialupo  :  not  historical. 

BOOK  VI. — Line  100,  jacinth  =  hyacinth  in  mineralogy  ;  a 
name  given  to  several  kinds  of  stone — topaz,  etc.;  lodestone: 
magnetic  oxide  of  iron.  1.  101,  flinders  :  fragments  (of  shining 
metal).  1.  142,  Cydippe  :  an  Athenian  girl  who  met  Acontius  at 
a  festival  of  Artemis.  He  wrote  a  promise  of  marriage  from  the 
girl  to  himself  on  an  apple,  and  threw  it  at  her  feet.  The  girl 
read  the  words  aloud,  and  the  oracle  told  her  father  she  would 
have  to  comply  with  the  words  she  had  read.  1.  143,  Agathon — 
evidently  meant  for  Acontius  in  the  above  story.  1.  184,  Dula- 
rete  :  not  historical.  1.  323,  "  brakes  at  balm-shed":  brake  ferns  at 
seed  time — i.e.,  autumn.  1.  387,  reate  =  a  waterweed,  as  water 
crow-foot.  1.  388,  gold-sparkling  grail:  gravel  gold-coloured. 
1.  417,  citrine  =  crystals :  a  yellow  pellucid  variety  of  quartz  j 
"fierce  pyropus-stone "  =  a  carbuncle  of  fiery  redness.  1.  590, 
King-bird :  "  The  Phoenix  travels  (in  an  egg  of  myrrh)  to 
Heliopolis  to  die."  [S.]  1.  614,  "  an  old  fable"  etc.  See  Pindar's, 

*  For  the  above  suggestions  I  am  indebted  to  the  Notes  of  the  Brown- 
ing Society,  Part  VII.,  p.  42*. 

33 


514  BROWNING   CYCLOPAEDIA.  [got 

*«  Fourth  Pythian  Ode."  1.  630,  Hermit-bee — a  species  of  Apidze  ; 
some  of  the  best  known  of  this  species  are  solitary  in  their 
habits.  The  Carpenter-bee  (Xylocopd)  excavates  nests  and  cells 
in  wood ;  the  Mason-bee  (Osmia  and  Megachill)  forms  nests 
with  particles  of  sand.  1.  677-8,  "Henry  of  Egna"  "Sofia? 
" Lady  of  the  Rock"  etc.  :  Sofia  was  the  " youngest  daughter  oi 
Eccelin  the  monk,  widow  of  Henry  of  Egna,  the  '  Lady  of  the 
Rock,'  or  of  the  Trentine  Pass  "  (W.  M.  Rossetti).  1.  698,  Cam- 
pese  :  a  town  on  the  Brenta,  near  Bassano.  1.  699,  Solagna  :  a 
village  in  the  province  of  Vicenza,  in  the  Eastern  Alps.  1.  787, 
Valley  Ru  :  in  the  valley  of  Enneberg  or  Gaderthal,  on  the  Eastern 
Alps.  1.  788,  San  Zeno  :  the  basilica  of  St.  Zeno,  an  early  bishop 
of  Verona,  1.  792,  ratmce,  or  ranee,  a  bar  or  rail.  1.  799,  cushats 
chirre-^iht  ringdove's  coo.  1.  802,  barrow:  a  tomb.  1.  803, 
Alberic:  brother  of  Eccelin.  He  was  tortured  to  death.  1.  858, 
Hesperian  fmit :  of  the  Western  land  (Italy  or  Spain).  The 
golden  apples  of  the  Hesperides  probably  were  oranges.  1.  894, 
"  rifle  a  musk  pod  and 't  will  ache  like  yours  "  /  a  freshly-opened 
musk  pod  has  a  most  powerful  and  pungent  ammoniacal  odour. 
Musk  requires  to  be  smelt  in  minute  quantity.  Sordello's  story 
deals  with  political  troubles  and  horrors  of  war,  too  powerful  a 
•dose  for  reading  at  one  sitting. 

"  So,  the  head  aches  and  the  limbs  are  faint ! "  (Fensh- 
tah's  Fanciest)  The  sixth  lyric  begins  with  these  words. 

Soul,  The.  It  "  existed  ages  past "  (Cristind) ;  "  is  resting 
herein  age  "  (Cristind} ;  "  on  its  lone  way"  (Cristina  and  Rabbi 
ben  Ezra}  ;  "its  nature  is  to  seek  durability"  (Red  Cotton  Night- 
cap Country)',  "is  independent  of  bodily  pain"  (Red  Cotton}', 
"is  here  to  mate  another  soul"  (Cristind)',  "shall  rise  in  its 
degree  "  (Toccata  of  Galuppt's}  ;  "  it  craves  all  "  (Cleon)  ;  and 
"  can  never  taste  death  "  (Paracelsus].  La  Saisiax  is  the  poem 
for  proof  of  its  existence  and  immortality. 

Soul's  Tragedy,  A :  Act  I.  being  what  was  called  the  poetry 
of  Chiappino's  life,  and  Act  II.  its  prose  (London,  1846).  The  in- 
cidents are  not  all  historical ;  they  are  imagined  to  have  occurred 
at  Faenza,  a  city  of  Italy  about  twenty  miles  south-west  of 
Ravenna,  in  the  sixteenth  century.  Chiappino  is  a  patriot — so  far 
as  words  and  fine  sentiments  go.  He  is  a  good  type  of  the  men 
who  in  all  popular  movements  seek  their  own  interest  while 
pretending  to  be  concerned  only  for  the  welfare  of  the  people. 


SOU]  BROWNING   CYCLOPAEDIA.  515 

Having  fomented  popular  feeling  against  the  Provost  of  Faenza 
he  has  been  sentenced  to  exile.  He  has,  however,  an  influential 
friend,  Luitolfo,  who  has  volunteered  to  exert  his  good  offices 
with  the  Provost,  with  whom  he  is  on  good  terms,  with  the  view 
of  obtaining  a  pardon.  The  first  Act  opens  with  a  dialogue 
between  Eulalia  and  Chiappino  in  Luitolfo's  house,  concerning 
the  cause  of  the  latter's  prolonged  absence  on  his  errand  of 
friendly  intercession.  Luitolfo  and  Eulalia  are  betrothed  lovers. 
Chiappino,  while  his  friend  is  absent  endeavouring  to  save  him,  is 
bragging  of  his  humanitarian  courage  and  daring,  and  depreciating 
his  friend  while  making  love  to  his  betrothed.  Eulalia  listens,  but 
begs  for  "justice  to  him  that's  now  entreating,  at  his  risk,  perhaps, 
justice  for  you  I "  Chiappino  hates  Luitolfo  for  the  favours  he 
has  done  him,  the  fines  he  has  paid  for  him,  the  intercession  he 
has  made ;  and  so  he  endeavours  to  make  himself  important  in 
the  woman's  eyes,  to  pose  as  the  martyr  of  humanity,  while  he 
belittles  her  betrothed  lover,  and  tries  to  prove  that  his  acts  of 
kindness  were  unimportant.  While  they  discuss,  a  knocking  is 
heard  without ;  the  door  is  opened,  and  Luitolfo  rushes  in  with 
blood  upon  him.  He  declares  he  has  killed  the  Provost,  and 
the  crowd  are  in  pursuit  of  him.  Chiappino  offers  his  protec- 
tion, and  talks  bravely  as  usual ;  forces  Luitolfo  to  fly  in  his 
disguise  while  he  remains  with  Eulalia  and  meets  the  angry 
pursuers.  The  populace  enter,  and  Chiappino,  without  hesita- 
tion, declares  it  was  he  who  killed  the  Provost :  he  knows  the 
people  will  bless  him  as  their  saviour,  so  he  takes  the  credit  of 
Luitolfo's  act  of  vengeance.  Eulalia  is  anxious  he  should  give 
the  credit  to  Luitolfo,  as  the  murder  turns  out  to  be  popular  ;  but 
Chiappino  defers  the  explanation  till  the  morrow.  Act  II.  is  in 
prose ;  the  scene  is  laid  a  month  after,  in  the  market-place  of 
Faenza  :  Luitolfo  is  mingling  in  disguise  with  the  populace 
assembled  outside  the  Provost's  palace.  A  bystander  tells  him 
that  Chiappino  will  be  the  new  Provost:  it  is  he  who  was 
the  brave  friend  of  the  people ;  Luitolfo  the  coward,  who  ran 
away  from  them  and  their  cause.  Ravenna,  he  says,  governs 
Faenza,  as  Rome  governs  Ravenna ;  and  the  Papal  legate, 
Ogniben,  has  entered  the  town,  saying  satirically :  "  I  have 
known  three-and-twenty  leaders  of  revolts!"  He  wishes  to 
know  what  the  revolters  want.  The  soldiers  came  into  Ravenna, 
bearing  their  wounded  Provost  (he  had  not  been  killed,  as 


5l6  BROWNING   CYCLOPEDIA.  [SOD 

Luitolfo  supposed).  The  Legate  had  come  to  arrange  matters 
amicably.  He  will  have  no  punishments  for  the  insurrection. 
What  he  desires  to  know  is,  Do  they  wish  to  live  without  any 
government  at  all?  or  if  not,  do  they  wish  their  ruler  to  be 
murdered  by  the  first  citizen  who  conceives  he  has  a  grievance  ? 
Chiappino  puts  himself  forward  as  spokesman,  and  declares  he 
is  in  favour  of  a  republic.  "  And  you  the  administrator  thereof  ?  " 
asks  the  Legate.  After  a  little  fencing,  Chiappino  agrees  to  this  ; 
and  so  the  crowd  is  waiting  to  see  him  invested  with  the  provost- 
ship.  He  is  to  marry  Luitolfo's  love  and  succeed  to  his  pro- 
perty. Luitolfo  will  not  believe  all  this  till  he  sees  Eulalia  and 
his  quondam  friend.  Chiappino  enters  with  Eulalia,  making 
excuses  for  his  volte-face  both  in  politics  and  love,  and  shows 
that  he  falls  completely  into  the  trap  the  clever  and  satirical 
ecclesiastic  has  set  for  the  pretended  patriot.  After  much 
cutting  sarcasm  at  Chiappino's  expense  on  the  part  of  the 
brilliant  legate,  who  evidently  knows  his  man  to  the  marrow, 
the  waiting  populace  are  informed  that  the  provostship  will  be 
conferred  on  Chiappino  as  soon  as  the  name  of  the  person  who 
attempted  to  kill  the  late  Provost  is  given  up.  Luitolfo  comes 
from  his  place  in  the  crowd  to  own  and  justify  his  act,  much  to 
the  confusion  of  the  man  who  has  claimed  all  the  credit  of  the 
deed.  The  Legate  orders  Luitolfo  to  his  house,  and  recom- 
mends the  patriot  to  rusticate  himself  awhile.  Then,  demand- 
ing the  keys  of  the  Provost's  palace,  and  advising  profitable 
meditation  to  the.  people,  he  leaves  them  chuckling  that  he  has 
known  four-and-twenty  leaders  of  revolts.  The  character  of  the 
ecclesiastic  Ogniben  is  one  of  the  finest  inventions  of  Mr.  Browning. 
NOTES.— Act  I.  Scudi:  dollars.  Act  II.:  Brutus  the  Elder: 
who  conspired  with  Cassius  against  Julius  Caesar.  "Dico  vobis  !  " 
I  tell  you !  "  St.  Nepomucene  of  Prague  "  =  St.  John  Nepomucen 
of  Prague  (1383),  martyr.  He  was  an  anchorite  and  an  apostle. 
The  Emperor  Wenceslaus  had  him  put  to  death  because  he 
refused  to  betray  what  the  Empress  had  told  him  under  the  seal 
of  confession.  Ravenna:  a  very  celebrated  and  very  ancient 
city  of  North-east  Italy.  Its  great  historical  importance  began 
early  in  the  fifth  century,  when  Honorius  transferred  his  court 
thither.  From  402  to  476  A.D.  Ravenna  was  the  chief  residence 
of  the  Roman  emperors.  It  was  subject  to  papal  rulers  in  the 
period  of  this  story.  "  Curfremueregentes  ?"  (Psalm  ii.  i) :  "  Why 


BROWNING   CYCLOPAEDIA.  517 

do  the  heathen  so  furiously  rage  together  ?  "  Pontificial  Legate : 
an  ambassador  sent  by  the  Pope  to  the  court  of  a  foreign  prince 
or  state.  "  Western  Lands " :  The  allusion  is  to  the  discovery 
of  America  and  the  treasures  and  curiosities  brought  by  Columbus 
to  Spain. 

Speculative.  (Asolando,  1889.)  Could  the  inspirations  and 
pure  delights  of  the  past  return,  and  remain  with  some  great 
souls  who  have  learned  the  divine  alchemy  of  turning  to  gold 
the  pains  and  pleasures  of  earth's  old  life,  it  would  be  for 
them  all  that  lower  minds  seek  in  a  new  life  in  what  they  call 
heaven ;  the  real  heaven  being  a  state,  and  not  a  place.  Love 
has  inspired  the  poem. 

Spiritualism.    Browning's  opinions  on  this  subject  are  to  be 
found  in  his  poem  Mr.  Sludge  the  Medium. 
Spring  Song.     The  poem  commencing 

"  Dance,  yellows  and  whites  and  reds  1 " 

was  published  under  the  title  of  "  Spring  Song "  in  the  New 
Amphion,  1886.  In  1887  it  was  published  at  the  end  of  Gerard 
de  Lairesse  in  the  " Parleyings"  volume. 

Statue  and  the  Bust,  The.  The  Riccardi  Palace  in  Florence 
is  the  scene  of  the  story  told  in  this  poem.  A  lady  who  has 
just  been  married  to  the  head  of  the  noble  Riccardi  house  notices 
one  who  rides  past  her  window  with  a  "  royal  air."  The  brides- 
maids whisper  that  it  is  the  great  Duke  Ferdinand  ;  who  in  his 
turn  directs  his  glance  at  the  bride  the  head  of  the  house  of 
Riccardi  had  that  day  brought  home.  As  he  looked  at  the 
woman  and  she  at  the  man,  her  past  was  a  sleep — her  life  that 
day  only  began.  That  night  there  was  a  feast  in  the  house  of 
the  bride,  and  the  Grand  Duke  was  present  The  lovers  stood 
face  to  face  a  minute.  In  accordance  with  the  courtly  custom  of 
the  time,  he  \vas  privileged  to  kiss  the  bride.  Whether  a  word 
was  spoken  or  not  cannot  be  said.  The  husband,  who  stood  by, 
however,  saw  or  heard  something  which  mortally  offended  him  ; 
and  when,  at  night,  he  led  his  bride  to  her  chamber,  he  told  her 
calmly  that  the  door  which  was  then  shut  on  her  was  closed  till 
her  body  should  be  taken  thence  for  burial.  She  could  watch 
the  world  from  the  window,  which  faced  the  east,  but  could 
never  more  pass  the  door.  The  bride  as  calmly  assented : 
"  Your  window  and  its  world  suffice," 


518  BROWNING   CYCLOPAEDIA.  [Sta 

she  said.  It  would  be  easy,  she  thought,  to  fly  to  the  Duke, 
who  loved  her :  it  would  only  be  necessary  to  disguise  herself 
as  a  page,  and  she  would  save  her  soul.  She  reflected,  however, 
that  next  day  her  father  was  to  bless  her  new  condition  ;  and  she 
must  tarry  for  a  day,  consoling  herself  with  the  reflection  that 
she  should  certainly  see  the  Duke  ride  past.  And  so  she  turned 
on  her  side,  and  went  to  sleep.  That  night  the  Duke  resolved 
to  ruin  body  and  soul,  if  need  might  be,  for  the  sake  of  this 
beautiful  woman  ;  and  on  the  morrow  he  addressed  the  bride- 
groom, whose  duties  at  court  brought  him  into  his  presence, 
suggesting  that  he,  with  his  wife,  should  visit  him  at  his  country 
seat  at  Petraja.  The  bridegroom  quietly  declined  the  invitation, 
giving  as  his  reason  that  the  state  of  his  lady's  health  did  not 
permit  her  to  quit  the  palace,  the  wind  from  the  Apennines  being 
particularly  dangerous  for  her.  The  Duke  was  foiled  in  his 
project ;  but  promised  himself  it  should  not  be  long  before  he 
met  the  bride  again,  yet  he  must  wait  a  night,  for  the  envoy 
from  France  was  to  visit  him.  He  too  reflects  that  he  shall  see 
the  lady  as  he  rides  past  her  palace.  They  saw  each  other,  and 
each  resolved  that  next  day  they  would  do  more  than  glance  at 
a  distance  ;  but  next  day  and  the  next  passed,  and  as  constantly 
was  the  project  of  union  deferred;  the  weeks  grew  months, 
the  years  passed  by,  till  age  crept  on,  and  each  perceived 
they  had  been  dreaming.  One  day  the  lady  had  to  confess 
that  her  beauty  was  fading  :  her  hair  was  tinged  with  grey,  her 
mouth  was  puckered,  and  she  was  haggard-cheeked ;  and  as  she 
beheld  herself  in  her  glass  she  bade  her  servants  call  a  famous 
sculptor  to  fix  the  remains  of  her  beauty,  so  that  it  should  no 
more  fade.  Delia  Robbia  must  make  her  a  face  on  her  window 
waiting,  as  ever,  to  watch  her  lover  pass  in  the  square  below. 
But  long  before  the  artist's  work  was  finished,  and  the  cornice  in 
its  place,  the  Duke  had  sighed  over  the  escape  of  his  own  youth  ; 
and  he  too  set  John  of  Douay  to  make  an  equestrian  statue  of 
him,  and  to  place  it  in  the  square  he  had  crossed  so  often,  so  that 
men  should  admire  him  when  he  had  gone  to  his  tomb.  The 
figure  looks  straight  at  one  of  the  windows  of  the  Riccardi 
Palace  :  the  attitude  suggests  love  for  the  lady  and  contempt  of 
her  husband.  In  connection  with  all  this  the  poet  reflects  on  the 
condition  of  the  spirits  of  these  two  awaiting  the  Last  Judgment. 
Do  they  reflect  on  the  greatness  of  the  gift  of  life — how  they  had 


Sta]  BROWNING   CYCLOPAEDIA.  519 

seen  the  proper  object  of  their  lives,  and  yet  had  missed  it? 
"  But,"  the  poet  hears  us  object,  "  their  end  was  a  crime,  and 
delay  was  best."  The  test,  however,  of  our  use  of  life  can  be  as 
well  attained  by  a  crime  as  a  virtue.  A  game  can  be  played 
without  money :  where  a  button  answers,  it  would  be  vain  to  use 
a  sovereign.  Whether  we  play  with  counters  or  coins,  we  must 
do  our  best  to  win  : — 

"  If  you  choose  to  play  1 — is  my  principle, 
Let  a  man  contend  to  the  uttermost 
For  his  life's  set  prize,  be  it  what  it  will." 

These  people  as  surely  lost  their  counter  as  if  it  were  lawful 
coin.  This  moral  has  been  much  disputed  by  Browning  students. 
So  far  as  society  was  concerned  the  lady  and  the  Duke  did  well : 
so  far  as  their  own  souls  were  concerned  they  undoubtedly  did 
ill.  The  Duke  would  have  been  more  manly  and  the  woman 
truer  to  her  human  instincts  if  he  and  she  had  let  love  have  its 
way.  Both  dwarfed  and  withered  their  souls  by  looking  and 
longing  and  pining  for  what  they  had  not  courage  to  grasp.  The 
sin  in  each  case  was  as  great  in  the  sight  of  God.  It  was  simply 
prudence  and  conventionality  which  restrained  the  lovers ;  and 
these  things  count  for  nothing  with  the  poet-psychologist.  But 
conventionality  counts  for  a  great  deal  in  our  conduct  of  life.  It 
may  have  been  "the  crowning  disaster  to  miss  life  "  for  the  man  and 
woman  :  if  so,  it  was  a  sacrifice  justly  due  to  human  society.  If 
every  woman  flew  to  the  arms  of  the  man  whom  she  liked  better 
than  her  own  husband,  and  if  every  governor  of  a  city  felt  himself 
at  liberty  to  steal  another  man's  wife  merely  to  complete  and 
perfect  the  circle  of  his  own  delights,  society  would  soon  be 
thrown  back  into  barbarism.  The  sacrifice  to  conventionality 
and  the  self-restraint  these  persons  practised  may  have  atoned 
for  much  that  was  defective  in  their  lives.  "  Pecca  fortiter"  (sin 
bravely),  said  Luther ;  but  it  would  be  difficult  to  defend  the 
doctrine  on  any  principle  of  ethics.  Many  readers  have  found 
difficulties  in  understanding  this  poem.  One  such  wrote  to  an 
American  paper  to  inquire :  "  (i)  When,  how,  and  where  did 
it  happen  ?  Browning's  divine  vagueness  lets  one  gathei  only 
that  the  lady's  husband  was  a  Riccardi.  (2)  Who  was  the  lady  ? 
who  the  Duke?  (3)  The  magnificent  house  where  Florence 
lodges  her  PreTet  is  known  to  all  Florentine  ball-goers  as  the 


520  BROWNING   CYCLOPAEDIA. 

Palazzo  Riccardi.  It  was  bought  by  the  Riccardi  from  the 
Medici  in  1659.  From  none  of  its  windows  did  the  lady  gaze  at 
her  more  than  royal  lover.  From  what  window,  then,  if  from  any? 
Are  the  statue  and  the  bust  still  in  their  original  positions  ? " 
These  queries  fell  into  the  hands  of  Mr.  Wise,  who  forwarded 
them  to  .Mr.  Browning,  who  sent  the  following  answer: — 
"Jan.  8th,  '87.  DEAR  MR.  WISE,— I  have  seldom  met  with 
such  a  strange  inability  to  understand  what  seems  the  plainest 
matter  possible.  '  Ball-goers '  are  probably  not  history  readers  ; 
but  any  guide-book  would  confirm  what  is  sufficiently  stated  in 
the  poem.  I  will  append  a  note  or  two,  however,  (i)  '  This 
story  the  townsmen  tell ' :  '  when,  how,  and  where '  constitutes 
the  subject  of  the  poem.  (2)  The  lady  was  the  wife  of  Riccardi, 
and  the  Duke — Ferdinand,  just  as  the  poem  says.  (3)  As  it 
was  built  by  and  inhabited  by  the  Medici  till  sold,  long  after,  to 
the  Riccardi,  it  was  not  from  the  Duke's  palace,  but  a  window  in 
that  of  the  Riccardi,  that  the  lady  gazed  at  her  lover  riding  by. 
The  statue  is  still  in  its  place,  looking  at  the  window  under  which 
is  'now  the  empty  shrine.'  Can  anything  be  clearer?  My 
1  vagueness '  leaves  what  to  be  '  gathered '  when  all  these  things 
are  put  down  in  black  and  white  ?  Oh,  '  ball-goers ' ! — Yours 
very  sincerely,  ROBERT  BROWNING."  The  Medicean  palace  in 
the  Via  Larga,  now  called  the  Via  Cavour,  is  meant  as  the 
duke's  palace.  See  articles  on  this  question  in  Poet  Lore, 
vol.  iii.,  pp.  284  and  648.  *  It  is  an  error  to  suppose  that  but 
one  palace  is  referred  to  in  the  poem.  The  Piazza  della 
Annunziata  in  Florence  is  the  square  referred  to  in  the  first  verse. 
The  Church  of  the  Annunciation  of  the  Blessed  Virgin  was  built 
in  1250,  and  adorned  at  the  expense  of  Pietro  de'  Medici  from 
the  designs  of  Michelozzi.  The  loggia  of  the  church  forms  the 
north  side.  On  the  east  is  the  Foundling  Hospital,  Spedale 
degli  Innocenti^  dating  from  the  year  1421.  In  the  centre  of  the 
square  is  an  equestrian  statue  of  Ferdinand  I.,  cast  from  cannon 
taken  by  the  Knights  of  St.  Stephen  from  the  Turks. 

NOTES. — "  Great  Duke  Ferdinand"  :  Ferdinand  I.  was  Grand 
Duke  of  Florence,  an  honour  first  conferred  on  Cosimo  (del 
Medici)  I.  by  Pope  Pius  V.,  who  conferred  the  patent  and  crown  v 
upon  him  in  Rome.     Ferdinand  was  a  cardinal  from  the  age  of  / 
fourteen,  but  he  had  never  taken  holy  orders.     He  was  an  amiable 
and  capable  ruler,  and  Tuscany  flourished  under  his  government 


Stl]  BROWNING   CYCLOPEDIA.  $21 

He  was  thirty-eight  years  old  when,  in  1587,  he  succeeded  his 
brother  on  the  throne.  Riccardi:  a  noble  family  of  Florence. 
"  The  Palazzo  Riccardi,  a  proud  and  stately  residence,  was  begun 
in  1430  by  Cosimo  dei  Medici.  It  remained  in  the  possession  of 
the  family  till  1659,  when  they  sold  it  to  Gabriele  Riccardi ;  but 
towards  the  end  of  the  last  century  it  was  bought  by  the  Grand 
Duke,  and  is  now  employed  as  a  species  of  Somerset  House, 
partly  for  literary  purposes  and  partly  for  government  offices. 
It  is  a  noble  building,  and  is  most  imposing  in  appearance.  The 
window-sills  are  by  Michael  Angelo  "  (see  Murray's  Handbook  to 
North  Italy).  Via  Larga  :  this  was  overshadowed  by  the 
Medici  Palace,  symbolical  of  the  shadow  cast  by  the  crime  of  its 
owners  in  destroying  the  liberties  of  the  city.  Encolure  (Fr.)  : 
the  neck  and  shoulders  of  a  horse.  Emprise :  undertaking, 
enterprise.  "  Cosimo  and  his  cursed  son"  :  Cosimo  dei  Medici 
was  called  "the  father  of  his  country,"  his  grandson  was 
"  Lorenzo  the  Magnificent."  Arno :  the  river  which  flows 
through  Florence.  Petraja  :  a  suburban  residence  near  Florence. 
Apennine :  the  mountain  range  in  the  valley  of  which  Florence 
is  seated.  "  Robbia's  craft"  "Robbia's  cornice":  Delia  Robbia 
is  the  name  of  a  family  of  great  distinction  in  the  art  history  of 
Florence.  "  Robbia's  craft  "  would  seem  to  be  a  term  applied  to 
the  kind  of  work  done,  and  does  not  refer  to  the  artist  himself, 
as  the  last  famous  Delia  Robbia  (Girolamo)  died  in  1566.  The 
work  called  Robbia  ware  was  terra-cotta  relief  covered  with 
enamel.  John  of  Douay  (1524-1608),  usually  called  Giovanni 
da  Bologna  :  a  celebrated  sculptor  of  Italy.  "  stamp  of  the  very 
Guelph  '  :  English  money  of  our  time,  our  royal  family  being 
Guelfs.  "  de  tefabula  "  :  the  fable  is  told  concerning  yourself. 

Strafford.  [THE  STATESMAN  AND  THE  HISTORICAL  PERIOD  OF 
THE  POEM.]  It  is  so  important  that  the  reader  of  the  tragedy  of 
Strafford  should  start  with  a  clear  idea  of  the  historical  facts 
with  which  it  deals,  that  I  have  included  in  my  article  the  follow- 
ing extract  from  Professor  Gardiner's  Life  of  Strafford  in  the 
Encyclopedia  Britannica.  For  the  benefit  of  such  of  my  readers 
as  may  have  forgotten  the  fact,  I  may  state  that,  before  the 
earldom  was  conferred  on  Strafford,  he  was  Sir  Thomas  Went- 
worth : — "  High-handed  as  Wentworth  was  by  nature,  his  rule 
in  Ireland  made  him  more  high-handed  than  ever.  As  yet  he 
had  never  been  consulted  on  English  affairs,  and  it  was  only  in 


522  BROWNING   CYCLOPAEDIA.  [Str 

February  1637  that  Charles  asked  his  opinion  on  a  proposed 
interference  in  the  affairs  of  the  Continent.  In  reply,  he  assured 
Charles  that  it  would  be  unwise  to  undertake  even  naval  opera- 
tions till  he  had  secured  absolute  power  at  home.  The  opinion 
of  the  judges  had  given  the  King  the  right  to  levy  ship-money ; 
but,  unless  his  Majesty  had  '  the  like  power  declared  to  raise  a 
land  army,  the  crown '  seemed  '  to  stand  upon  one  leg  at  home, 
to  be  considerable  but  by  halves  to  foreign  princes  abroad.' 
The  power  so  gained,  indeed,  must  be  shown  to  be  beneficent 
by  the  maintenance  of  good  government ;  but  it  ought  to  exist. 
A  beneficent  despotism  supported  by  popular  gratitude  was  now 
Wentworth's  ideal.  In  his  own  case  Wentworth  had  cause  ta 
discover  that  Charles'  absolutism  was  marred  by  human  im- 
perfections. Charles  gave  ear  to  courtiers  far  too  often,  and 
frequently  wanted  to  do  them  a  good  turn  by  promoting  incom- 
petent persons  to  Irish  offices.  To  a  request  from  Wentworth 
to  strengthen  the  position  of  the  deputy  by  raising  him  to  an 
earldom  he  turned  a  deaf  ear.  Yet,  to  make  Charles  more  abso- 
lute continued  to  be  the  dominant  note  of  his  policy  ;  and,  when 
the  Scottish  Puritans  rebelled,  he  advocated  the  most  decided 
measures  of  repression,  and  in  February  1639  ne  offered  the 
king  ^2000  as  his  contribution  to  the  expenses  of  the  coming 
war.  He  was,  however,  too  clear-sighted  to  do  otherwise  than 
deprecate  an  invasion  of  Scotland  before  the  English  army  was 
trained.  In  September  1639,  after  Charles'  failure  in  the  first 
Bishops'  War,  Wentworth  arrived  in  England,  to  conduct  in  the 
Star  Chamber  a  case  in  which  the  Irish  chancellor  was  being 
prosecuted  for  resisting  the  deputy.  From  that  moment  he 
stepped  into  the  place  of  Charles'  principal  adviser.  Ignorant 
of  the  extent  to  which  opposition  had  developed  in  England 
during  his  absence,  he  recommended  the  calling  of  a  parliament 
to  support  a  renewal  of  the  war,  hoping  that  by  the  offer  of 
a  loan  from  the  privy  councillors,  to  which  he  himself  contri- 
buted £20,000,  he  would  place  Charles  above  the  necessity  of 
submitting  to  the  new  parliament  if  it  should  prove  restive.  In 
January  1640  he  was  created  Earl  of  Strafford,  and  in  March  he 
went  to  Ireland  to  hold  a  parliament,  where  the  Catholic  vote 
secured  a  grant  of  subsidies  to  be  used  against  the  Presbyterian 
Scots.  An  Irish  army  was  to  be  levied  to  assist  in  the  coming, 
war.  When,  in  April,  Strafford  returned  to  England,  he  found 


Str]  BROWNING   CYCLOPEDIA.  523 

the  Commons  holding  back  from  a  grant  of  supply,  and  tried  to 
enlist  the  peers  on  the  side  of  resistance.  On  the  other  hand,  he 
attempted  to  induce  Charles  to  be  content  with  a  smaller  grant 
than  he  had  originally  asked  for.  The  Commons,  however, 
insisted  on  peace  with  the  Scots ;  and  on  May  Qth,  at  the  Privy 
Council,  Strafford,  though  reluctantly,  voted  for  a  dissolution. 
After  this  Strafford  supported  the  harshest  measures.  He  urged 
the  King  to  invade  Scotland  ;  and,  in  meeting  the  objection  that 
England  might  resist,  he  uttered  the  words  which  cost  him  dear : 
1  You  have  an  army  in  Ireland ' — the  army  which,  in  the  regular 
course  of  affairs,  was  to  have  been  employed  to  operate  in  the 
west  of  Scotland — '  you  may  employ  here  to  reduce  this  king- 
dom.' He  tried  to  force  the  citizens  of  London  to  lend  money. 
He  supported  a  project  for  debasing  the  coinage,  and  for  seizing 
bullion  in  the  Tower,  the  property  of  foreign  merchants.  He 
also  advocated  the  purchasing  a  loan  from  Spain  by  the  offer  of 
a  future  alliance.  He  was  ultimately  appointed  to  command  the 
English  army,  but  he  was  seized  with  illness,  and  the  rout  of 
Newburn  made  the  position  hopeless.  In  the  great  council  at 
York  he  showed  his  hope  that,  if  Charles  maintained  the  defen- 
sive, the  country  would  still  rally  round  him ;  whilst  he  proposed, 
in  order  to  secure  Ireland,  that  the  Scots  of  Ulster  should  be 
ruthlessly  driven  from  their  homes.  When  the  Long  Parliament 
met,  it  was  preparing  to  impeach  Strafford,  when  tidings  reached 
its  leaders  that  Strafford,  now  Lord  Lieutenant  of  Ireland,  had 
come  to  London,  and  had  advised  the  King  to  take  the  initiative 
by  accusing  his  chief  opponents  of  treason.  On  this  the  im- 
peachment was  hurried  on,  and  the  Lords  committed  Strafford 
to  the  Tower.  At  his  trial  in  Westminster  Hall  he  stood  on  the 
ground  that  each  charge  against  him,  even  if  true,  did  not  amount 
to  treason ;  whilst  Pym  urged  that,  taken  as  a  whole,  they  showed 
an  intention  to  change  the  government,  which  in  itself  was  treason. 
Undoubtedly  the  project  of  bringing  over  the  Irish  army — probably 
never  seriously  entertained — did  the  prisoner  most  damage ;  and, 
when  the  Lords  showed  reluctance  to  condemn  him,  the  Commons 
dropped  the  impeachment,  and  brought  in*  a  bill  of  attainder. 
The  Lords  would  probably  have  refused  to  pass  it  if  they  could 
have  relied  on  Charles's  assurance  to  relegate  Strafford  to  private 
life  if  the  bill  were  rejected.  Charles  unwisely  took  part  in  pro- 
jects for  effecting  Strafford's  escape,  and  even  for  raising  a  military 


524  BROWNING   CYCLOPEDIA.  [Stl 

force  to  accomplish  that  end.  The  Lords  took  alarm  and  passed 
the  bill.  On  May  gth,  1641,  the  King,  frightened  by  popular 
tumults,  reluctantly  signed  a  commission  for  the  purpose  of  giving 
to  it  the  royal  assent,  and  on  the  I2th  Strafford  was  executed  on 
Tower  Hill." 

[THE  TRAGEDY.]  (Published  1837,  and  dedicated  to  William 
•C.  Macready.)  Strafford,  a  tragedy  in  five  acts  (written  for  the 
stage  at  Macready's  request),  has  for  its  plot  the  impeachment 
of  the  Earl  of  Strafford  and  his  condemnation  and  execution. 
It  tells  the  story  of  the  faithful  statesman  who  loved  his  sove- 
reign, and  sacrificed  his  life  from  an  almost  insane  devotion 
to  an  utterly  unworthy  man.  The  tragedy  deals  with  a  period 
of  English  history  which  was  richer  than  any  other  in  the  asser- 
tion of  the  rights  of  the  people  against  the  tyranny  of  their 
rulers.  We  are  introduced  to  the  band  of  patriots  who  secured 
for  us  the  rights  which  are  to-day  the  most  precious  heritage  of 
every  Englishman — the  brave  men  who,  like  Hampden  and  Pym, 
resisted  the  system  of  forced  loans,  and  the  obnoxious  tax  called 
"ship-money."  Strafford  has  been  carrying  fire  and  sword 
through  Ireland,  and  Charles  is  proposing  to  persecute  the 
Scotch  with  similar  severity.  Wentworth  has  answered  the 
summons  of  the  king,  and  has  yielded  to  his  request  to  under- 
take the  Scotch  war.  He  now  begins  to  see  how  treacherous  his 
sovereign  is.  Charles,  by  bribes  and  promises,  has  detached  him 
from  the  people's  cause  only  to  use  him  as  a  catspaw,  to  bear 
the  hatred  and  fury  of  the  people  in  his  stead.  Pym  tries  to 
win  back  "the  apostate"  to  the  cause  of  liberty.  They  loved 
<each  other  as  David  and  Jonathan ;  and  the  efforts  of  Pym  to 
touch  the  heart  of  his  friend,  and  win  him  from  his  chivalrous 
devotion  to  Charles  to  his  duty  to  his  country,  are  finely  described 
in  the  play.  But  neither  duty,  danger,  nor  the  imminent  ap- 
proach of  death  itself,  can  divert  for  a  single  moment  the  noble- 
man who  is  devoted  body  and  soul  to  the  wretchedest  semblance 
of  a  "  king  by  right  divine "  who  ever  secured  such  devoted 
service.  Strafford,  deaf  alike  to  the  calls  of  friendship  and 
patriotism,  serves  one  man  only — Charles, — and  leaves  the- 
patriots  to  fight  for  England  as  best  they  may.  Lady  Carlisle 
interposes  her  influence,  warns  Strafford  of  his  danger,  and  begs 
him  to  secure  his  retreat  while  he  may  ;  but  he  is  as  little  moved 
iby  the  appeals  of  a  woman's  love  as  by  those  more  powerful 


Str]  BROWNING  CYCLOPAEDIA.  525 

and  legitimate  motives  which  he  has  refused  to  entertain.  Such 
blind  devotion  to  an  ideal  founded  on  so  insecure  a  base  could 
have  only  ruin  for  its  end.  Strafford  leads  the  army  to  the 
north,  is  ignominiously  defeated,  finds  that  Charles  has  treach- 
erously listened  to  proposals  of  reconciliation  with  the  Scotch, 
and  that  the  patriots  are  in  league  with  them  ;  returns  to  London, 
and  determines  to  impeach  the  patriots,  but  finds  his  move  an- 
ticipated. He  is  himself  impeached,  a  bill  of  attainder  against 
him  is  passed,  and  he  is  arrested  and  imprisoned  in  the  Tower. 
Charles,  who  had  promised  that  Strafford  should  not  suffer  in 
life,  liberty,  or  estate  for  his  devotion  to  his  cause,  makes  no 
effort  to  save  him,  though  nothing  could  have  been  easier  than  to 
have  done  so ;  and  actually,  after  a  little  show  of  hesitation,  signs 
his  death  warrant  at  the  request  of  Pym.  Passionately  and  en- 
tirely devoted  to  Strafford,  Lady  Carlisle  has  conceived  a  plan 
by  which,  with  the  King's  connivance,  he  may  escape  from  the 
Tower.  A  boat  has  been  brought  to  the  river  entrance  of  the 
fortress,  and  arrangements  made  for  his  escape  to  France ;  but 
Strafford  refuses  to  run  away  from  the  country  which  demands 
his  life,  and  will  not  let  it  be  said  to  his  children  in  after  years 
that  their  father  broke  prison  to  save  his  head ;  and  so,  while  he 
delays  the  acceptance  of  Lady  Carlisle's  assistance,  he  is  led  to 
execution.  He  sees  that  not  he  alone,  but  the  master  who  has 
betrayed  him,  must  incur  the  vengeance  of  the  outraged  people 
of  England ;  and  his  last  words  addressed  to  Pym  are  to  implore 
him  (on  his  knees)  to  spare  the  King's  life.  He  feels  that 
nothing  will  move  the  stern  patriot  from  his  sense  of  duty,  and 
thanks  God  that  it  is  himself  who  dies  first.  He  expresses  no 
word  of  ill-feeling  against  Pym,  and  goes  bravely  to  death,  the 
victim  of  a  misplaced  affection  almost  without  parallel  in  our 
history.  Strafford  is  a  presentation  of  "  naked  souls,"  as  Dr.  J. 
Todhunter  called  it.  "  They  are  almost  like  Hugo's  personages, 
monomaniacs  of  ideas — Strafford  of  loyalty  to  Charles ;  Lady 
Carlisle  of  loyalty  to  Stafford's  infatuation ;  Pym  of  loyalty  to  an 
ideal  England  .  .  .  Browning  has  not  left  the  King  even  a  rag  of 
conventional  royalty  to  cover  his  nakedness.  He  has  stript  him 
with  a  vengeance."  How  far  Browning's  representation  of  the 
circumstances  attendant  on  the  impeachment  and  condemnation 
of  Strafford  is  true  to  the  actual  facts  must  be  left  to  the  decision 
of  the  greatest  authority  on  the  history  of  the  period — Professor 


526  BROWNING   CYCLOPAEDIA.  [StT 

Gardiner.  In  his  introduction  to  Miss  E.  H.  Hickey's  Strafford, 
he  says :  "  We  may  be  sure  that  it  was  not  by  accident  that  Mr. 
Browning,  in  writing  this  play,  decisively  abandoned  all  attempt 
to  be  historically  accurate.  Only  here  and  there  does  anything 
in  the  course  oi  the  drama  take  place  as  it  could  have  taken 
place  at  the  actual  court  of  Charles  I.  Not  merely  are  there 
frequent  minor  inaccuracies,  but  the  very  roots  of  the  situation 
are  untrue  to  fact.  The  real  Strafford  was  far  from  opposing 
the  war  with  the  Scots  at  the  time  when  the  Short  Parliament 
was  summoned.  Pym  never  had  such  a  friendship  for  Strafford 
as  he  is  represented  as  having;  and,  to  any  one  who  knows 
anything  of  the  habits  of  Charles,  the  idea  of  Pym  or  his  friends 
entering  into  colloquies  with  Strafford,  and  even  bursting  un- 
announced into  Charles's  presence,  is,  from  the  historical  point 
of  view,  simply  ridiculous.  So  completely  does  the  drama  pro- 
ceed irrespectively  of  historical  truth,  that  the  critic  may  dispense 
with  the  thankless  task  of  pointing  out  discrepancies.  He  will 
be  better  employed  in  asking  what  ends  those  discrepancies 
were  intended  to  serve,  and  whether  the  neglect  of  truth  of  fact 
has  resulted  in  the  highest  truth  of  character. — For  myself  I  can 
only  say  that,  every  time  I  read  the  play,  I  feel  more  certain  that 
Mr.  Browning  has  seized  the  real  Strafford,  the  man  of  critical 
brain,  of  rapid  decision,  and  tender  heart,  who  strove  for  the 
good  of  his  nation  without  sympathy  for  the  generation  in  which 
he  lived.  Charles  I.,  too,  with  his  faults  perhaps  exaggerated,  is 
the  real  Charles.  Of  Lady  Carlisle  we  know  too  little  to  speak 
with  anything  like  certainty;  but,  in  spite  of  Mr.  Browning's 
statement  that  his  character  of  her  is  purely  imaginary,  there  is  a 
wonderful  parallelism  between  the  Lady  Carlisle  which  history 
conjectures  rather  than  describes.  There  is  the  same  tendency 
to  fix  the  heart  upon  the  truly  great  man,  and  to  labour  for  him 
without  the  requital  of  human  affection ;  though  in  the  play  no 
part  is  played  by  that  vanity  which  seems  to  have  been  the  main 
motive  with  the  real  personage."  It  has  frequently  been  said 
that  Browning,  in  this  play,  has  closely  followed  the  story  as 
given  in  the  Life  of  Strafford  by  the  late  John  Forster.  The 
reason  for  this  undoubted  fact  has  recently  been  given  to  the 
world.  In  the  Pall  Mall  Gazette,  in  the  month  of  April  1890, 
Dr.  F.  J.  Furnivall  published  the  following  letter,  which  asserts 
the  late  poet's  right  to  almost  the  whole  of  the  Life  of  Strafford 


Str]  BROWNING  CYCLOPEDIA.  527 

that  has  hitherto  gone  under  the  name  of  the  late  John  Forster, 
in  the  second  volume  of  the  Lives  of  Eminent  British  States- 
men in  Lardner's  "Cabinet  Cyclopaedia,"  pp.  178-411,  with  the 
Strafford  Appendix,  pp.  412-21:  "This  volume  was  published 
in  1836.  John  Forster  wrote  the  life  of  Eliot,  the  first  in  the 
volume,  and  began  that  of  Strafford.  He  then  fell  ill ;  and  as 
lie  was  anxious  to  produce  the  book  in  the  time  agreed  on, 
Browning  offered  to  finish  Strafford  for  him,  on  his  handing 
over  all  the  material  he  had  accumulated  for  it.  Forster  was 
greatly  relieved  by  Browning's  kindness.  The  poet  set  to  work, 
completed  Stratford's  life  on  his  own  lines,  in  accordance  with 
his  own  conception  of  Strafford's  character,  but  generously  said 
nothing  about  it  till  after  Forster's  death.  Then  he  told  a  few 
of  his  friends — me  among  them — of  how  he  had  helped  Forster. 
On  my  telling  Prof.  Gardiner  of  this,  I  found  that  he  knew  it ; 
and  had  been  long  convinced  that  the  conception  of  Stratford 
in  this  Lardner  Life  was  not  John  Forster's,  but  was  Robert 
Browning's.  The  other  day  Prof.  Gardiner  urged  me  to  make 
the  fact  of  Browning's  authorship  public ;  and  I  do  so  now, 
though  I  have  frequently  mentioned  it  to  friends  in  private  ;  and 
at  the  Browning  Society,  when  a  member  has  said,  '  It  is  curi- 
ous how  closely  Browning  has  followed  his  authority,  Forster's 
Life  of  Strafford^  I  have  answered,  'Yes,  because  he  wrote 
it  himself.'  We  thus  understand  why,  when  Macready  asked 
Browning,  on  May  26th,  1836,  to  write  him  a  play,  the  poet 
suggested  Strafford  as  its  subject;  and  why,  the  Life  being 
finished  in  1836,  the  play  was  printed  and  played  in  1837.  The 
internal  evidence  will  satisfy  any  intelligent  reader  that  almost 
all  the  prose  Life  is  the  poet's.  It  is  not  only  little  touches  like 
these  on  pp.  182-3,  describing  James  I.,  which  reveal  Browning, 
— '  He  was  not  an  absolute  fool,  and  little  more  can  be  said  of 
him  .  .  .  whenever  an  obvious  or  judicious  truth  seemed  likely 
to  fall  in  his  way,  his  pen  infallibly  waddled  off  from  it ' ;  on 
p.  227,  '  divers  ill-spelt  and  solemn  sillinesses  from  the  King/ 
the  reference  to  the  '  Sordello '  Ezzelin  *  on  p.  229,  etc., — 
but  it  is  the  conception  and  working-out  of  the  character  of 
Strafford,  '  that  he  was  consistent  to  himself  throughout' 
p.  228,  etc.,  and  that  his  one  object  was  to  make  Charles 

*  Browning  stopped  his  work  on  Sordello  to  write  Strafford. 


528  BROWNING  CYCLOPEDIA.  [Str 

'the  most  absolute  lord  in  Christendom/  and  that  this  ex- 
plains all  apparent  inconsistencies  and  vanities  in  his  con- 
duct. Let  any  one  read  the  following  last  paragraph  of  the 
Life,  and  ask  himself  if  it  is  not  the  poet's  hand.  Page  411: 
'  A  great  lesson  is  written  in  the  life  of  this  truly  extraordinary 
person.  In  the  career  of  Strafford  is  to  be  sought  the  justi- 
fication of  the  world's  "  appeal  from  tyranny  to  God."  In  him 
Despotism  had  at  length  obtained  an  instrument  with  mind  to 
comprehend,  and  resolution  to  act  upon,  her  principles  in  their 
length  and  breadth ;  and  enough  of  her  purposes  were  effected 
by  him  to  enable  mankind  to  see  "  as  from  a  tower  the  end  of  all." 
I  cannot  discern  one  false  step  in  Stafford's  public  conduct,  one 
glimpse  of  a  recognition  of  an  alien  principle,  one  instance  of  a 
dereliction  of  the  law  of  his  being,  which  can  come  in  to  dispute 
the  decisive  result  of  the  experiment,  or  explain  away  its  failure. 
The  least  vivid  fancy  will  have  no  diffictdty  in  taking  up  the 
interrupted  design,  and  by  wholly  enfeebling,  or  materially  em- 
boldening, the  insignificant  nature  of  Charles,  and  by  according 
some  half-dozen  years  of  immunity  to  the  "fretted  tenement"  of 
Stafford's  "fiery  soul," — contemplate  then,  for  itself,  the  perject 
realisation  of  the  scheme  of  "making  the  prince  the  most  absolute 
lord  in  Christendom"  That  done, — let  it  pur  sue  the  same  course 
with  respect  to  Eliofs  noble  imaginings,  or  to  young  Vane's 
dreamy  aspirings,  and  apply  in  like  manner  a  fit  machinery  to 
the  working  out  the  project  which  made  the  dungeon  of  the  one 
a  holy  place,  and  sustained  the  other  tn  his  self-imposed  exile. 
The  result  is  great  and  decisive!  It  establishes,  in  renewed 
force,  those  principles  of  political  conduct  which  have  endured, 
and  must  continue  to  endure,  "  like  truth  from  age  to  age."  '  Take 
again  a  couple  of  passages  of  two  and  a  half  lines  each  on 
Strafford's  illnesses,  on  page  369,  and  recollect  that  Browning 
owed  much  to  Donne  : — '  The  soul  of  the  Earl  of  Strafford  was 
indeed  lodged,  to  use  the  expression  of  his  favourite  Donne, 
within  a  "  low  and  fatal  room  "...  But  even  by  the  side  of  the 
body's  weakness  we  find  a  witness  of  the  spirit's  triumph, — a 
vindication  of  the  mightiness  of  will  1 '  And  on  page  370— 
'  Then,  when  every  energy  was  to  be  taxed  to  the  uttermost,  the 
question  of  his  fiery  spirit's  supremacy  was  indeed  put  to  the 
issue,  by  a  complication  of  ghastly  diseases.'  Are  these  and  like 
passages  by  John  Forster  ?  No  1  They  are  Robert  Browning's 


Str]  BROWNING   CYCLOPAEDIA.  529 

Plenty  of  others  have  his  mark,  especially  those  passages  ana- 
lysing and  philosophising  on  character.  I  have  appealed  to 
Messrs.  Smith  &  Elder  to  reprint  this  Life  of  Strafford,  with  an 
Introduction  by  Prof.  Gardiner ;  but  I  suppose  that  there  is  no 
copyright  in  it,  as  it  has  always  gone  under  John  Forster's  name. 
Assuredly  all  students  of  Browning  should  have  this  Life  on  their 
shelves.  I  should  say  that  Forster  did  not  write  more  than  the 
first  four  pages  of  it,  and  that  Browning  began  with  '  James  I. 
.  .  .  came  to  this  country  in  an  ecstasy  of  infinite  relief/  on 
page  182."  In  this  Life  of  Strafford  there  is  a  striking  passage  on 
the  question  of  that  statesman's  "apostacy."  "In  one  word, 
what  it  is  desired  to  impress  upon  the  reader,  before  the  de- 
lineation of  Wentworth  in  his  after  years,  is  this — that  he  was 
consistent  to  himself  throughout,  I  have  always  considered  that 
much  good  wrath  is  thrown  away  upon  what  is  usually  called 
1  apostacy.'  In  the  majority  of  cases,  if  the  circumstances  are 
thoroughly  examined,  it  will  be  found  that  there  has  been  '  no 
such  thing.'  The  position  on  which  the  acute  Roman  thought 
fit  to  base  his  whole  theory  of  aesthetics — 

"  Humano  capiti  cervicem  pictor  equinam 
Jungere  si  velit,  et  varias  inducere  pluraas, 
Undique  collatis  membris,  ut  turpiter  atram 
Desinat  in  piscem  mulier  formosa  supernd, 
Spectatum  admissi  risum  teneatis,  amici  ?  "  etc. 

is  ol  far  wider  application  than  to  the  exigencies  of  an  art  of 
poetry ;  and  those  who  carry  their  researches  into  the  moral 
nature  of  mankind  cannot  do  better  than  impress  upon  their 
minds,  at  the  outset,  that  in  the  regions  they  explore  they  are  to 
expect  no  monsters — no  essentially  discordant  termination  to  any 
'Mulier  formosa  superne.'  Infinitely  and  distinctly  various  as 
appear  the  shifting  hues  of  our  common  nature  when  subjected 
to  the  prism  of  CIRCUMSTANCE,  each  ray  into  which  it  is  broken 
is  no  less  in  itself  a  primitive  colour,  susceptible,  indeed,  of  vast 
modification,  but  incapable  of  further  division.*  Indolence,  how- 
ever, in  its  delight  for  broad  classifications,  finds  its  account  in 
overlooking  this  ;  and  among  the  results  none  is  more  conspicu- 

*  Compare  this  use  of  the  Light  metaphor  with  Browning's  frequent 
use  of  it  in  his  poems,  as  I  explain  in  the  article  on  "  Browning  as  a 
Scientific  Poet "  in  my  Browning's  Message  to  his  Time. 

34 


530  BROWNING   CYCLOPAEDIA.  [Str 

ous  than  the  long  list  of  apostates  with  which  history  furnishes 
us.  It  is  very  true,  it  may  be  admitted,  that  when  we  are  informed 
by  an  old  chronicler  that  '  at  this  time  Ezzelin  changed  totally 
his  disposition/ — or  by  a  modern  biographer  that  'at  such  a 
period  Tiberius  first  became  a  wicked  prince,' — we  examine  too 
curiously  if  we  consider  such  information  as  in  reality  regard- 
ing other  than  the  act  done  and  the  popular  inference  recorded  ; 
beyond  which  it  was  no  part  of  the  writer  to  inquire. — Against  all 
such  conclusions  I  earnestly  protest  in  the  case  of  the  remarkable 
personage  whose  ill-fated  career  we  are  now  retracing.  Let  him 
be  judged  sternly,  but  in  no  unphilosophic  spirit.  In  turning 
from  the  bright  band  of  patriot  brothers  to  the  solitary  Strafford 
— '  a  star  which  dwelt  apart ' — we  have  to  contemplate  no  extin- 
guished splendour,  razed  and  blotted  from  the  book  of  life. 
Lustrous,  indeed,  as  was  the  gathering  of  the  lights  in  the 
political  heaven  of  this  great  time,  even  that  radiant  cluster  might 
have  exulted  in  the  accession  of  the  ( comet  beautiful  and  fierce,' 
which  tarried  a  while  within  its  limits  ere  it  '  darted  athwart  with 
train  of  flame.'  But  it  was  governed  by  other  laws  than  were 
owned  by  its  golden  associates,  and  impelled  by  a  contrary,  yet 
no  less  irresistible  force,  than  that  which  restrained  them  within 
their  eternal  orbits, — it  left  them,  never  to  '  float  into  that  azure 
heaven  again.' " — John  Forster's  Life  of  Strafford,  in  the  "  Cabinet 
Cyclopaedia  "  (conducted  by  Dr.  Lardner),  pp.  228-9. 

NOTES. — Act  i.,  Scene  I.  Pym,  the  great  and  learned  cham- 
pion of  English  liberty,  was  an  intimate  friend  of  Wentvvorth, 
and  deeply  felt  his  desertion  of  the  popular  cause.  Sir  Benjamin 
Rudyard  was  a  prominent  member  of  the  Long  Parliament. 
When  the  quarrel  broke  out  between  Charles  and  the  Parliament, 
jRudyard  quitted  his  parliamentary  pursuits  and  joined  Hampden 
and  Pym's  party.  He  opposed  the  attainder  of  Strafford.  He 
ultimately  became  anxious  for  a  compromise  between  the  King 
and  the  Commons  ;  he  acted,  however,  to  the  last  with  the  patriots. 
Henry  Vane,  Sir,  the  younger,  was  a  disciple  of  Pym,  and  was  of 
considerable  talents  and  equal  fanaticism.  He  purloined  from  his 
father's  cabinet  a  very  important  document,  which  was  used  against 
Strafford  on  his  trial.  After  the  Restoration  he  was  brought  to 
trial  and  executed.  Hampden,  John,  a  gentleman  of  Bucking- 
hamshire, quiet,  courteous,  and  submissive ;  but  with  a  correct 
judgment,  an  invincible  spirit,  and  the  most  consummate  address. 


Stl]  BROWNING   CYCLOPAEDIA.  531 

In  1626  he  was  imprisoned  for  refusing  to  contribute  towards 
the  forced  loan ;  he  resisted  the  payment  of  ship-money.  He 
threw  himself  heartily  into  the  work  of  the  Long  Parliament,  and 
commanded  a  troop  in  the  parliamentary  army.  He  was  a  great 
patriot  and  defender  of  the  rights  of  the  people.  Denzil  Hollis, 
Lord:  "  In  1629,  when  the  Speaker  refused  to  put  to  the  vote  Sir 
John  Eliot's  remonstrance  against  the  illegal  levying  of  tonnage 
and  poundage,  and  against  Catholic  and  Arminian  innovations^ 
Hollis  read  the  resolutions,  and  was  one  of  two  members  who 
forcibly  held  the  Speaker  in  the  chair  till  they  were  passed.  He 
was  in  consequence  committed  to  the  Tower.  He  was  one  of  the 
4  five  members,'  as  they  were  called,  whom  Charles  accused  of 
high  treason  in  January  1642.  He  took  no  part  in  the  proceed- 
ings against  Strafford,  who  was  his  brother-in-law  "  (Imp.  Diet. 
Biog.).  The  Bill  of  Rights:  the  third  great  charter  of  English 
liberties  must  not  be  confounded  with  "the  Petition  of  Right. " 
"  The  Bill  of  Rights  "  was  passed  in  the  reign  of  William  and 
Mary,  in  1689.  "  much  worn  Cottington" :  he  was  ambassador  to 
Madrid.  "  maniac  Laud"  :  Archbishop  Laud  was  detested  by  the 
Puritans  because  he  endeavoured  to  assimilate  the  doctrines  and 
ritual  of  the  Church  of  England  to  those  of  Rome.  He  was 
charged  by  Holies  with  high  treason,  and  executed.  Runnymead: 
the  place  where  Magna  Charta  was  signed,  renegade:  one 
faithless  to  principle  or  party ;  a  deserter  of  a  cause.  Haman  :  see 
the  Book  of  Esther.  Haman  resolved  to  extirpate  the  Jews  out 
of  the  Persian  empire,  but  Haman  fell  and  Mordecai  was  advanced 
to  his  place.  Ahitophel  was  a  conspirator  with  Absalom  against 
David,  who  prayed  the  Lord  to  turn  the  counsel  of  Ahitophel 
into  foolishness  (2  Sam.  xv.  31) ;  whence  the  term  "  Ahitophel's 
counsel."  League  and  Covenant:  the  "Solemn  League  and 
Covenant"  was  designed  by  the  Scotch  to  carry  out  in  their 
integrity  the  principles  of  the  Reformation  and  to  establish  the 
Presbyterian  in  lieu  of  the  Episcopal  Church.  Eliot :  Sir  John 
Eliot  compared  Buckingham  to  Sejanus  in  lust,  rapacity  and 
ambition,  in  the  House  of  Commons,  and  seconded  the  motion 
for  his  impeachment.  Eliot  was  sent  to  the  Tower.  "  The  Philis- 
tine" :  the  giant  slain  by  David.  "Exalting  Dagon  where  the 
ark  should  be"  (i  Sam.  v.).  Dagon  was  an  idol,  half  man  and 
half  fish.  He  was  worshipped  by  the  Philistines.  When  they 
captured  the  "  ark  "  from  the  Jews,  it  was  placed  in  his  temple, 


532  BROWNING  CYCLOPAEDIA.  [Str 

the  idol  fell,  and  the  palms  of  his  hands  were  broken  off.  scourge 
and  gag  :  instruments  of  torture  well  understood  in  those  days. 
"The  Midianite  drove  Israel  into  dens"  (Judges  vi.  2):  the 
Israelites  for  their  sins  were  oppressed  by  Midian,  and  were  com- 
pelled to  hide  from  them  in  dens  and  caves  of  the  mountains. 
Gideon  :  the  Israelites  prayed  to  God  for  deliverance  from  their 
enemies,  and  an  angel  sent  Gideon,  who  destroyed  Baal's  altar 
and  delivered  Israel  (Judges  vi.).  London.:  Scottish  lord  and 
covenanter ;  committed  to  the  Tower  for  soliciting  the  aid  of  the 
king  of  France  :  he  was  sent  to  Scotland  by  Charles.  Hamilton, 
Marquess  of:  sent  by  Charles  to  Scotland  as  commissioner  to 
suppress  the  Covenant,  he  dared  not  land;  was  suspected  of 
treason,  and  fled ;  was  restored  to  the  King's  favour,  and  became 
a  leader  of  the  royalists ;  was  defeated  by  the  parliamentary 
troops  ;  fined  ;£ioo,ooo,  and  executed.  Joab  :  David,  when  dying, 
gave  charge  to  Solomon  to  put  his  enemy  Joab  to  death,  which 
was  done  (l  Kings  ii.  28-34).  "  No  Feltons ":  J.  Felton  assassi- 
nated Villiers,  Duke  of  Buckingham,  and  was  executed.  Grac- 
chus: Tiberius  and  Caius  Gracchus,  the  celebrated  Roman  tri- 
bunes, were  after  their  death  worshipped  as  gods,  and  their  mother 
esteemed  herself  the  happiest  of  Roman  matrons  in  having  given 
birth  to  such  illustrious  sons.  The  Petition  of  Right,  the  second 
great  charter  of  English  liberties,  was  directed  against  those 
grievances  which  Wentworth  thus  described  in  his  speech  in  the 
third  parliament :  "  the  raising  of  money  by  loans,  strengthened 
by  commission,  with  unheard-of  instruction;  the  billeting  of 
soldiers  by  the  lieutenants.  .  .  .  Our  persons  have  been  injured 
both  by  imprisonment  without  law  (the  King  exercised  an  abso- 
lute right  to  imprison  any  one  without  legal  proceedings),  and  by 
being  designed  to  some  office,  charge,  and  employment,  foreign 
or  domestic,  as  a  brand  of  infamy  and  mark  of  disgrace  "  (Prof. 
Gardiner).  Aceldama:  "a  field  said  to  have  lain  south  of 
Jerusalem,  purchased  with  the  bribe  which  Judas  took  for 
betraying  his  Master,  and  therefore  called  the  field  of  blood  \ 
— sometimes  used  in  figurative  sense"  (Webster's  Diet.}. 
Nathaniel  Fiennes  was  the  second  son  of  William  Fiennes ;  he 
was  a  lawyer,  and  in  1640  sat  in  the  House  of  Commons  for 
Banbury.  He  was  a  rigid  Presbyterian,  and  a  member  of  nearly 
all  Cromwell's  parliaments.  Ship  money:  "An  imposition 
formerly  charged  on  the  ports,  towns,  cities,  boroughs  and 


Str]  BROWNING  CYCLOPEDIA.  533 

counties  of  England,  for  providing  and  furnishing  certain  ships 
for  the  king's  service.     The  attempt  made  by  Charles  I.  to  revive 
and  enforce  this  imposition  was  resisted  by  John  Hampden,  and 
was  one  of  the  causes  which  led  to  the  death  of  Charles.     It  was 
finally  abolished  "  (  Webster's  Diet.).     "  Wentworth's  influence  in 
the  North " :  Wentworth  represented  Yorkshire  in  parliament, 
and  had  great   influence    in  the  north    of  England. — Scene  ii. 
"  Old    Vane "  was  secretary  of   state  and  comptroller  of  the 
household  under  Charles  I.     Savill:  George  Savill,  Marquis  of 
Halifax  (?).     Holland,  Earl  of:  raised  forces  against  the  parlia- 
ment after  espousing  its  cause  against  Charles  ;  he  was  tried  after 
the  King's  death  and  executed.     "  Lady  Carlisle  was  the  daughter 
of  the  ninth  Earl  of  Northumberland.     In  1639  she  had  been  for 
three  years  a    widow.      Her  husband  was  James,  Lord   Hay, 
created  successively  Viscount  Doncaster  and  Earl  of  Carlisle " 
(from  Miss  Hickey's  Strafford).      Weston,  Sir  Richard,  Chan- 
cellor of  the  Exchequer,  made  Earl  of  Portland ;  denounced  by 
Sir  J.  Eliot  as  an  enemy  of  the  Commonwealth.     "  This  frightful 
Scots  affair  "  :  Professor  Gardiner  shows  that  Strafford  opposed 
peace  with  the  Scots,  supported  the  harshest  measures,  and  urged 
the  King  to  invade  Scotland  (Encyc.  Brit.,  vol.  xxii.,  p.  586).     "/# 
this  Ezekiel  chamber " :  in   the  eighth  chapter  of  Ezekiel  the 
prophet  has  a  vision  of  the  chambers  of  imagery  where  he  saw 
"  wicked  abominations."    "  The' Faction"  a  party  acting  in  oppo- 
sition to  the  constituted  authority. — Act II.,  Scene  i.  "Subsidies" 
says  Blackstone,  were  taxes,  not  immediately  on  property,  but 
on  persons  in  respect  of  their  reputed  estates,  after  the  nominal 
rate  of  4$.  in  the  pound  for  lands  and  2s.  %d.  for  goods,     cocka- 
trice: "The  basilisk;  a  fabulous  serpent,  said  to  be  produced 
from  a  cock's  egg  brooded  by  a  serpent.     Its  breath,  and  even  its 
look,  is  fabled  to  be  fatal"  (Webster's  Diet.}.     Star  Chamber: 
"The  origin  of  this  court  is  derived  from  the  most  remote  antiquity. 
Its  title  was  derived  from  the  Camera  Stellata  or  Star  Chamber, 
an  apartment  in  the  king's  palace  at  Westminster,  in  which  it 
held  its  sittings  ;  it  exercised  an  illegal  control  over  the  ordinary 
courts  of  justice,  and  in  the  reign  of  Charles  I.  became  very 
tyrannical  and  offensive  as  a  means  of  asserting  the  royal  pre- 
rogative.     It  was  abolished  by  the  Long  Parliament  "  (Studenfs 
Hume,  p.  358). — Scene  ii.  The  George:  a  figure  of  St.  George 
on  horseback,  worn  by  knights  of  the  Garter.      A  masque,  a 


534  BROWNING   CYCLOPEDIA.  [StT 

species  of  dramatic  entertainment.  Fletcher  and  Ben  Jonsoii 
wrote  many  masques  which  were  acted  at  Court.  The  most 
beautiful  work  of  this  kind  is  the  Comus  of  Milton.  Act  III., 
Scene  i.— The  new  Parliament:  "  The  Long  Parliament,"  which 
met  Nov.  3rd,  1640;  it  voted  the  House  of  Lords  as  useless. 
The  Great  Duke :  Buckingham. — Scene  ii.  Windebank,  one  of 
the  secretaries  of  state,  was  impeached  by  the  Commons  for 
treason,  and  escaped  to  France.  "  sly,  pitiful  intriguing  -with  the 
Scots  "  :  "  Charles,  in  his  eagerness  to  conclude  the  negotiation, 
was  induced  to  concede  many  points  which  he  would  otherwise 
have  refused "  (Lingard,  Hist.  Eng.,  voL  vii.,  p.  232).  "  The 
Crew  and  the  Cabal" :  the  "crew"  was  a  number  of  people 
associated  together  ;  the  "  cabal  "  a  number  of  persons  united  to 
promote  their  private  views  in  church  or  state  by  intrigue.  What 
is  usually  understood  by  the  "  cabal "  was  a  name  given  to  a 
ministry  under  Charles*  II.,  the  initial  letters  of  the  names  of 
its  members  forming  the  word  cabal.  Mainwaring,  Dr.,  a 
clergyman  who  preached  in  favour  of  the  general  loan.  He 
was  impeached  by  the  Commons.  Goring,  Colonel:  he  was 
Governor  of  Portsmouth,  was  an  officer  of  distinguished  merit, 
and  devoted  to  the  King. — Scene  iii.,  rufflers,  bullies,  swaggerers. 
"  Are  we  in  Geneva  ? "  .*  Calvin's  city,  where  all  sorts  of  puri- 
tanical restrictions  were  enforced  against  harmless  amusements 
as  well  as  breaches  of  morality.  St.  John,  Oliver:  St.  John  was 
Solicitor-General ;  he  was  one  of  the  leaders  of  the  Independents. 
stockishness,  hardness,  stupidity,  blockishness  (rare).  Maxwell, 
Usher  of  the  Black  Rod.  He  received  Strafford  as  his  prisoner, 
after  his  impeachment,  and  required  him  to  deliver  his  sword. — 
Act  IV.,  Scene  i.  Hollis  :  Strafford  was  his  brother-in-law,  and 
so  he  took  no  part  in  the  proceedings  against  him.  "  A  blind 
moth-eaten  law " :  Strafford  said  on  his  trial  that  "  it  was  two 
hundred  and  forty  years  since  any  man  was  touched  for  this 
crime."— Scene  ii.  "  Prophets  rod "  :  "  Moses  took  the  rod  of 
God  in  his  hand"  (Exod.  iv.  20).  Haselrig,  Sir  Arthur:  was 
one  of  the  five  members  of  the  House  of  Commons  whom 
Charles  tried  to  impeach.  Laud,  Archbishop:  had  been  im- 
peached by  Sir  Harry  Vane,  and  was  a  prisoner  in  the  Tower. 
Bill  of  attainder:  The  Student's  Hume  says  (p.  399) :  "  The 
student  should  bear  in  mind  the  difference  between  an  Impeach- 
ment &&&  a  Bill  of  Attainder.  In  an  impeachment  the  Commons 


Str]  BROWNING   CYCLOPAEDIA.  535 

are  the  accusers,  and  the  Lords  alone  the  judges.  In  a  bill  of 
attainder  the  Commons  are  the  judges  as  well  as  the  Lords  ;  it 
may  be  introduced  in  either  House ;  it  passes  through  the  same 
stages  as  any  other  bill ;  and  when  agreed  to  by  both  Houses 
it  receives  the  assent  of  the  Crown." — Act  V.,  Scene  ii. 
"  O  bell'  andare  "  :  "  The  Italian  boat-song  is  from  Redi's  Bacco, 
long  since  naturalised  in  the  joyous  and  delicate  version  of  Leigh 
Hunt."  (R.  B.)  Term,  or  Terminus  :  the  Roman  god  of  bounds, 
under  whose  protection  were  the  stones  which  marked  boundaries. 
Genius:  the  Italian  peoples  regarded  the  Genius  as  a  higher 
power  which  creates  and  maintains  life,  assists  at  the  begetting 
and  birth  of  every  individual  man,  determines  his  character,  tries 
to  influence  his  destiny  for  good,  accompanies  him  through  life 
as  his  tutelary  spirit,  and  lives  on  in  the  Lares  after  his  death 
(Seyffert's  Diet.  Class.  Ant?)  "  Garrard — my  newsman  "  :  was 
a  clergyman  who,  when  Wentworth  went  to  Ireland  as  Lord 
Deputy,  in  1633,  was  instructed  to  furnish  him  with  news  and 
gossip.  (Miss  Hickey.)  Tribune  :  in  ancient  Rome,  a  magistrate 
chosen  by  the  people  to  protect  them  from  the  oppression  of 
the  patricians  or  nobles.  Sejanus,  sElius  :  distinguished  himself 
at  the  court  of  Tiberius,  who  made  a  confidant  of  this  fawning 
favourite,  who  made  himself  the  darling  of  the  senate,  and  the 
army.  He  was  commander  of  the  praetorian  guards,  and  used 
every  artifice  to  make  himself  important.  He  became  practically 
head  of  the  empire.  He  ridiculed  the  Emperor  by  introducing 
him  on  the  stage ;  Tiberius  then  ordered  him  to  be  accused 
before  the  senate ;  he  was  subsequently  imprisoned  and  strangled, 
A.D.  31.  Richelieu,  Cardinal:  fomented  the  first  commotions  in 
Scotland,  and  secretly  supplied  the  Covenanters  with  money  and 
arms.  He  was  prime  minister  to  Louis  XIII.  of  France.  "A 
mask  at  Theobald's" :  Theobald's,  in  Hertfordshire,  was  a  beau- 
tiful house,  inherited  by  Robert  Cecil,  Earl  of  Salisbury,  from 
his  father,  William  Cecil,  Lord  Burleigh.  King  James  liked  this 
house  so  much  that,  in  1607,  he  offered  Robert  Cecil  the  Queen's 
dower-house  at  Hatfield  in  exchange  for  it.  Several  of  Ben 
Jonson's  masques  were  written  for  performance  at  Theobald's. 
(Prof.  Morley.)  Prynne :  William  Prynne  was  a  barrister 
of  Lincoln's  Inn,  of  a  morose  and  gloomy  disposition,  and  a 
thorough-going  Puritan ;  he  particularly  hated  theatres,  dancing, 
hunting,  card  playing,  and  Christmas  festivities.  He  wrote  a 


BROWNING   CYCLOPAEDIA.  [Sum 

great  book  against  all  these  things,  which  he  called  Histrio- 
Mastix.  He  was  indicted  as  a  libeller  of  the  Queen,  condemned 
to  stand  in  the  pillory,  to  lose  both  his  ears,  to  pay  ,£5000  fine  to 
the  King,  and  to  be  imprisoned  for  life.  "  Str afford  shall  take 
no  hurt"  ;  Charles  had  said  to  Stratford,  "Upon  the  word  of  a 
king  you  shall  not  suffer  in  life,  honour,  or  fortune."  "Put 
not  your  trust  in  princes  "  .•  Psalm  cxlvi.  3.  Wandesford:  Sir 
Christopher  Wandesford  was  Master  of  the  Rolls,  and  Privy 
Councillor  in  Ireland,  and  had  been  deputy  there  during  Stafford's 
absence.  He  was  an  intimate  friend  of  Strafford's,  and  is  said 
to  have  died  of  grief  at  hearing  of  Strafford's  arrest.  (Miss 
Rickey's  Strafford.)  Radcliffe,  Sir  George:  was  appointed  by 
Strafford  guardian  of  his  children  ;  he  was  charged  by  Pym  with 
treason.  Balfour :  Lieutenant  of  the  Tower.  "  Too  late  for 
sermon  at  St.  Antholiris  "  :  the  Government  had  appropriated  the 
Church  of  St.  Antholin  to  the  use  of  the  Scotch  commission. 
(Miss  Hickey.)  Billingsley  :  Balfour  was  desired  by  the  King  to 
admit  Captain  Billingsley  and  one  hundred  men  to  the  Tower  to 
effect  Strafford's  escape.  (Miss  Hickey's  notes.)  "  I  fought  her  io 
the  utterance  "  :  the  last  or  utmost  extremity — the  same  as  Fr.  d 
outrance.  ' '  David  not  more  Jonathan  ":  were  inseparable  friends. 
The  allusion  is  to  David  the  psalmist  and  Jonathan  the  son  of 
Saul.  David's  lamentation  at  the  death  of  Jonathan  was  never 
surpassed  in  pathos  and  beauty.  (2  Sam.  i.  19-27.)  "His 
dream — of  a  perfect  church"  Laud  wished  to  make  the  Church  of 
England  "  Catholic  " ;  he  endeavoured  to  assimilate  its  doctrines 
and  ceremonies  to  those  of  the  Catholic  Church,  ignoring  the  fact 
that  "the  Tudor  settlement"  was  Protestant.  Laud  desired  to 
appropriate  all  that  to  him  appeared  valuable  in  the  Roman 
Catholic  system,  and  to  reject  all  that  to  him  seemed  objection- 
able. His  "  perfect  church  "  was,  as  Browning  puts  it,  "  a  dream." 
Su.Hmru.in  Bonum.  (Asolando,  1889.)  A  Latin  phrase  mean- 
ing the  chief  or  ultimate  good.  "  In  ethics  it  was  a  phrase 
employed  by  ancient  philosophers  to  denote  that  end  in  the 
following  and  attainment  of  which  the  progress,  perfection  and 
happiness  of  human  beings  consist.  Cicero  treated  of  the  subject 
very  fully  in  his  De  Finibus."  (Encyc.  Diet.)  Concentration  is 
the  key-note  of  the  poem :  in  the  honey-bag  of  one  bee  there  is 
the  breath  and  bloom  of  a  year ;  in  a  single  gem  is  represented 
all  the  chemistry  of  nature,  from  the  condensation  of  the  gases 


Sun]  BROWNING   CYCLOPAEDIA.  537 

which  went  to  form  the  earth  ;  in  the  beauty  of  a  single  pearl  is 
all  the  wonder  of  the  sea,  just  as  in  a  lump  of  coal  are  the 
imprisoned  sun-rays  of  prehistoric  forests.  But  truth  and  trust 
are  brighter  and  purer  than  gems  and  pearls ;  in  the  love  of  a 
young  girl  Mr.  Browning  sees  the  concentration  of  the  brightest 
truth  and  purest  trust  in  the  universe,  so  holy  a  thing  to  him  is 
love.  The  Summum  Bonum  of  St.  Augustine  is,  of  course,  the 
true,  ultimate  good  of  man — the  Love  of  God — of  which  the  love 
of  the  purest  ot  mankind  is  but  a  dim  reflection. 

Sun,  The.  (Ferishtah's  Fancies,  5.)  Some  one  told  one  of 
Ferishtah's  pupils  that  it  had  been  reported  that  "  God  once 
assumed  on  earth  a  human  shape,"  and  he  desired  to  know  how 
the  strange  idea  arose.  Ferishtah  replied  that  in  days  of  igno- 
rance men  took  the  sun  for  God.  "  Let  it  be  considered  as  the  sym- 
bol of  the  Supreme,"  said  the  Dervish.  "There  must  be  such  an 
Author  of  life  and  light  somewhere  :  let  us  suppose  the  sun  to  be 
that  Author.  This  ball  of  fire  gives  us  all  we  enjoy  on  earth,  and 
so  inspires  us  with  love  and  praise.  If  we  eat  a  fig  we  praise  the 
planter ;  and  so  on  up  to  the  sun,  which  gathers  to  himself  all  love 
and  praise.  The  sun  is  fire,  and  more  beside.  Does  the  force 
know  that  it  gives  us  what  it  does  ?  Must  our  love  go  forth  to 
fire  ?  If  we  must  thank  it,  there  must  be  purpose  with  the  power 
— a  humanity  like  our  own.  Power  has  no  need  of  will  or  purpose ; 
and  no  occasion  for  beneficence  when  all  that  is,  so  is  and 
so  must  be.  As  these  qualities  imply  imperfection,  let  us  'eject 
the  man,  retain  the  orb,'  and  then  'what  remains  to  love  and 
praise?'  We  cannot  be  expected  to  thank  insentient  things. 
No !  man's  soul  can  only  be  moved  by  what  is  kindred  soul : 
man's  way  it  receives  good ;  man's  way  it  must  make  acknow- 
ledgment. If  man  were  an  angel,  his  love  and  praise,  right  and 
fit  enough  now,  would  go  forth  idly.  Man's  part  is  to  send  love 
forth,  even  if  it  go  astray."  "But,"  says  the  objector,  "man  is 
bound  by  man's  conditions,  can  only  judge  as  good  and  right  what 
his  faculty  adjudges  such :  how  can  we  then  accept  in  this  one 
case  falsehood  for  truth  ?  We  lack  an  union  of  fire  with  flesh  ; 
but  lacking  is  not  gaining  :  is  there  any  trace  of  such  an  union  re- 
corded ?  "  Ferishtah  replies,  "  Perhaps  there  may  be ;  perhaps  the 
greatly  yearned-for  once  befell ;  perhaps  the  sun  was  flesh  once.' 
The  pupil  demands  "An  union  inconceivable  once  was  fact?" 
The  Dervish  replies,  "  There  is  something  pervading  the  sun  which 


53$  BROWNING   CYCLOPAEDIA.  [Tab 

it  does  not  consume :  is  it  not  fitter  to  stand  appalled  before  a 
conception  unattainable  by  man  s  intelligence  ?  "  Firdausf,  in  the 
Shah  N£meh,  records  that  Husheng  was  the  first  who  brought 
out  fire  from  stone ;  and  from  that  circumstance  he  founded  the 
religion  of  the  fire-worshippers,  calling  the  flame  which  was 
produced  the  light  of  the  Divinity.  Husheng  was  the  second 
king  of  the  Peshadian  dynasty ;  from  his  time  the  fire  faith  seems 
to  have  slept  till  the  appearance  of  Zerdusht,  in  the  reign  of 
Gushtasp,  many  centuries  afterwards,  when  Isfendiyar  propagated 
it  by  the  sword  After  Husheng  had  discovered  fire  by  hurling 
a  stone  against  a  rock,  thereby  producing  a  spark,  which  set 
light  to  the  herbage,  he  made  an  immense  fire,  and  gave  a  royal 
entertainment,  calling  it  the  Feast  of  Siddeh.  The  lyric  explains 
that  the  divine  element  of  fire  is  enshrined  in  the  earthly  flint 
when  the  spark  escapes ;  the  relationship  is  difficult  to  remember. 
So  God  was  once  incarnate  in  the  form  of  man ;  and  this  some 
find  it  as  hard  to  believe. 

Tab.  (Ned  Bratts.)  Tabitha  Bratts,  who  was  converted  by 
John  Bunyan,  and  who  went  with  her  husband  to  the  Chief 
Justice  at  the  assizes,  asking  to  be  hanged,  and  whose  request 
was  favourably  entertained. 

Tale,  A.  The  Epilogue  to  the  Two  Poets  of  Croisic  is  included 
in  the  second  series  of  Selections  under  this  title. 

Tanrello  Salinguerra,  (Sordello.}  His  name,  says  Mr.  W. 
M.  Rossetti,  may  be  translated  as  "  Bullock  Sally-in-war,"  or 
"  Dash-into-fight."  He  belonged  to  the  family  of  the  Torelli, 
one  of  the  two  leading  families  of  Ferrara.  He  married  Sofia,  a 
daughter  of  Eccelin  the  Monk,  and  he  became  the  ruler  of  his 
native  city.  He  was  the  right-hand  man  of  Eccelin,  and  also 
of  his  son.  The  great  authority  on  this  character  is  Muratori 
(Annali  d'  Italia,  compilati  da  Lodovico  Antonio  Muratori).  Mr. 
W.  M.  Rossetti  read  a  paper  to  the  Browning  Society  in  Novem- 
ber 1889  on  "Taurello  Salinguerra,"  and  I  am  indebted  to  this 
valuable  essay  for  the  following  dates  and  particulars  concerning 
this  interesting  character.  He  was  born  about  the  year  1 160.  In 
1 200,  when  he  was  head  of  the  Ghibelline  faction  in  Ferrara,  he 
suddenly  assailed  the  town  of  Argenta  with  the  Ferrarese  army, 
and  having  taken  it,  sacked  it.  In  1205  the  head  of  the  Guelf 
faction,  both  in  Ferrara  and  the  March  of  Verona,  was  Azzo  VI., 


Tail]  BROWNING   CYCLOPAEDIA.  539 

Marquis  of  Este.  Naturally  they  quarrelled,  and  Azzo  took  cue 
castle  of  La  Fratta  from  Salinguerra  and  dismantled  it.  This 
was  the  beginning  of  the  many  dissensions  between  them.  In 
1207  Azzo  VI.  was  compelled  by  Eccelino  da  Onara  and  others 
to  retire  from  Verona.  Then  it  was  that  Salinguerra,  head  of 
the  Ghibellines  in  Ferrara,  declaring  himself  the  intimate  friend 
of  Eccelino,  expelled  from  that  city  all  the  adherents  of  Marquis 
Azzo ;  and,  leaving  no  room  for  him,  began  to  act  as  Lord  of 
Ferrara.  In  1208  Marquis  Azzo  VI.  re-established  himself  in 
Verona.  Reaching  Ferrara  with  an  army,  he  expelled  Salin- 
guerra. In  1 209  Salinguerra  re-entered  Ferrara,  stripped  Azzo  VI. 
of  Este  of  its  dominion,  and  sent  his  partisans  into  exile.  In 
1210,  the  Emperor  OthoIV.  professing  that  the  March  of  Ancona 
belonged  to  the  empire,  Azzo  obtained  the  investiture  of  it  from 
the  Emperor.  Probably  at  this  time  peace  was  re-established 
between  Azzo  VI.  and  Salinguerra,  the  competitors  for  the  lord- 
ship of  Ferrara.  In  1213  Aldrovandino,  Marquis  of  Este  and 
Ancona,  succeeded  his  father  Azzo  VI.  and  continued  to  hold, 
along  with  Count  Richard  of  San  Bonifazio,  the  dominion  of 
Verona,  where  he  was  created  Podesta  in  this  year.  He  had 
contests  with  Salinguerra  in  Ferrara.  In  1215  Aldrovandino, 
Marquis  of  Este,  died,  and  was  succeeded  by  Azzo  VII.,  a  minor. 
In  1 22 1  Azzo  VII.  and  his  adherents  assailed  Salinguerra  at 
Ferrara,  and  forced  him  to  abandon  the  city,  and  consigned 
the  palace  of  Salinguerra  to  the  flames.  After  mediation,  the 
expelled  men  returned  to  their  homes.  In  1222  the  Ghibelline 
cause  prevailed  at  Ferrara :  Azzo  and  the  Guelfs  had  to  leave 
the  city.  He  collected  an  army  at  Rovigo,  and  returned  to 
Ferrara.  Salinguerra,  a  crafty  fox,  made  peace,  for  fear  the 
people  should  turn  against  him.  The  peace  was  only  a  trap* 
however,  by  which  to  catch  Azzo.  In  1224  Azzo  VII.  returned  to 
lay  siege  to  Ferrara.  The  astute  Salinguerra  sent  embassies  to 
Count  Richard  of  San  Bonifazio,  to  induce  him,  with  a  number 
of  horsemen,  to  enter  Ferrara  under  pretext  of  concluding  a 
friendly  pact.  But  on  entering  he  was  at  once  made  prisoner* 
with  all  his  company  ;  and  therefore  the  Marquis  of  Este,  dis- 
appointed, retired  from  the  siege.  Enraged  at  this  result,  Mar- 
quis Azzo  proceeded  to  the  siege  of  the  castle  of  La  Fratta,  a 
favourite  stronghold  of  Salinguerra,  and  starved  it  into  submis- 
sion. Salinguerra  complained  of  this  to  Eccelino  da  Romana, 


540  BROWNING  CYCLOPEDIA.  [Tem 

nis  brother-in-law,  and  they  both  studied  more  assiduously  than 
ever  how  best  to  crush  the  Guelfs,  of  which  the  Marquis  of  Este 
was  chief.  In  1225  the  Lombard  League  procured  the  release  of 
Count  Richard,  who  returned  to  Verona ;  but  he  was  expelled, 
when  he  took  refuge  in  Mantua.  He  ultimately  returned  to 
Verona.  In  1227  Eccelino  the  younger  was  established  in  Verona, 
and  Count  Richard  again  expelled.  In  1228  Eccelino  da  Onara, 
father  of  Eccelino  da  Romana  and  of  Alberic,  had  become  a 
monk,  and  led  the  life  of  a  hypocrite,  finally  showing  himself 
to  be  a  Paterine  heretic.  In  1230  Verona  was  in  trouble :  the 
Ghibellines  raised  a  riot  and  imprisoned  Count  Richard ;  Salin- 
guerra  was  made  Podesta.  In  1240  Pope  Gregory  IX.  incited 
the  Lombards  and  the  Marquis  of  Este  to  besiege  Ferrara.  The 
Doge  of  Venice  attended  in  person  ;  the  Mantuans  concurred, 
as  also  did  Alberico  da  Romana.  After  some  months  peace  was 
proposed,  and  Salinguerra  came  to  the  camp  of  the  confederates 
to  ratify  them.  Salinguerra  was  entrapped,  and  was  transferred 
as  a  prisoner  to  Venice ;  where,  treated  courteously,  he  ended 
his  days  in  holy  peace ;  and  the  House  of  Este,  after  so  many 
years,  re-entered  Ferrara. 

Templars.  The  poem  The  Heretic's  Tragedy  deals  with  the 
suppression  of  the  order  of  the  Knights  Templars. 

Theocrite.  (The  Boy  and  the  Angel.)  The  boy  who  wishes 
to  praise  God  "the  Pope's  great  way,"  and  who  leaves  his 
common  task,  and  is  replaced  by  the  angel  Gabriel.  As  neither 
boy  nor  angel  please  God  in  their  changed  positions,  each  returns 
to  his  appropriate  sphere. 

"  The  Poets  pour  us  wine."  (Epilogue  to  Pacchiarotto.} 
These  words  are  the  beginning  of  the  Epilogue  named,  and  are 
quoted  from  a  poem  of  Mr.  Browning's  entitled  Wine  of  Cyprus, 
the  last  verse  but  one,  the  last  line  of  which  is  "  And  the  poets 
poured  us  wine." 

"There's  a  Woman  like  a  Dewdrop."  (A  Blot  in  the 
'Scutcheon.)  The  song  in  Act  I.,  Scene  iii.,  begins  with  this  line. 
It  is  sung  by  Earl  Mertoun  as  he  climbs  to  Mildred  Tresham's 
-chamber. 

"  The  Year's  at  the  Spring."  (Pippa  Passes.)  The  song 
which  Pippa  sings  as  she  passes  the  house  of  Ottima,  and 
thereby  brings  conviction  to  her  lover  Sebald. 

Thorold,  Earl  Tresham.    (A  Blot  in  the  'Scutcheon.}    The 


Thr]  BROWNING   CYCLOPEDIA.  541 

brother  of  Mildred  Tresham,  who  challenges  Mertoun,  her  lover, 
on  his  way  to  a  stolen  interview  with  his  sister,  and  kills  him, 
thinking  he  has  disgraced  the  family. 

Through  the  Metidja  to  Abd-el-Kader.  (1842.)  The 
Metidja  is  an  extensive  plain  near  the  coast  of  Algeria,  "  com- 
mencing on  the  eastern  side  of  the  Bay  of  Algiers,  and  stretching 
thence  inland  to  the  south  and  west.  It  is  about  sixty  miles  in 
length  by  ten  or  twelve  in  breadth  "  (Encyc.  Btit.\  Algiers  was 
conquered  by  the  French  in  1830  ;  but,  after  the  conquest,  con- 
stant outbreaks  of  hostilities  on  the  part  of  the  natives  occurred, 
and  in  1831  General  Bertherene  was  despatched  to  chastise  the 
rebels.  Later  in  the  same  year  General  Savary  was  sent  with 
an  additional  force  of  16,000  men  for  the  same  purpose.  He 
attempted  to  suppress  the  outbreaks  of  hostilities  with  the 
greatest  cruelty  and  treachery.  These  acts  so  exasperated  the 
people  against  their  new  ruler  that  such  tribes  as  had  acquiesced 
in  the  new  order  of  things  now  armed  themselves  against  the 
French.  It  was  at  this  time  that  the  world  first  heard  of  Abd-el- 
Kader.  He  was  born  in  1807,  and  was  a  learned  and  pious  man, 
greatly  distinguished  amongst  his  people  for  his  skill  in  horse- 
manship and  athletic  sports.  He  now  rapidly  collected  an  army 
of  ten  thousand  men,  marched  to  Oran  and  attacked  the  French, 
who  had  taken  possession  of  the  town ;  but  was  repulsed  with 
great  loss.  He  was  so  popular  with  his  people  that  he  had  little 
difficulty  in  recruiting  his  forces,  and  he  made  himself  so  dan- 
gerous to  the  French  that  they  found  it  expedient  to  offer  him 
terms  of  peace,  and  he  was  recognised  as  emir  of  the  province  of 
Mascara.  The  peace  did  not  last  long,  and  hostilities  broke  out, 
leading  to  a  defeat  of  the  French  in  1835.  Constant  troubles 
were  caused  the  French  by  the  opposition  of  Abd-el-Kader,  and 
reinforcements  on  a  large  scale  were  sent  against  him  from 
France.  After  varying  fortunes,  Abd-el-Kader  was  at  last 
reduced  to  extremities,  and  was  compelled  to  hide  in  the 
mountains  with  a  few  followers ;  at  length  he  gave  himself  up 
to  the  French,  and  was  imprisoned  at  Pau,  and  afterwards  at 
Amboise.  He  afterwards  obtained  permission  to  remove  to 
Constantinople,  and  from  thence  to  remove  to  Damascus.  The 
poem  describes  an  incident  of  the  war  which  took  place  in  1842, 
when  the  Duke  d'Aumale  fell  upon  the  emir's  camp  and  took 
several  thousand  prisoners,  Abd-el-Kader  escaping  with  difficulty. 


542  BROWNING   CYCLOPAEDIA.  [Thtl 

*'  Thus  the  Mayne  glideth."  (Paracelsus^  The  song  which 
Festus  sings  to  Paracelsus  in  the  closing  scene  in  his  cell  in  the 
Hospital  of  St.  Sebastian. 

Tiburzio.  (Luria.)  The  general  of  the  army  of  the  Pisans, 
who  exposes  to  Luria  the  treachery  of  the  Florentines,  and  whose 
letter  the  Moor  destroys  without  reading  it. 

Time's  Revenges.  A  SOLILOQUY.  (Dramatic  Romances  and 
Lyrics,  in  Bells  and  Pomegranates,  VII.,  1845;  Romances, 
1863;  Dramatic  Romances,  1868.)  "Love  begets  love,"  they 
say:  probably  this  is  not  much  truer  than  proverbs  usually 
are.  The  speaker  in  the  poem  has  a  friend  who  would  do 
anything  in  the  world  for  him ;  in  return,  he  barely  likes  him. 
As  a  compensation,  inasmuch  as  "  human  love  is  not  the 
growth  of  human  will,"  the  lady  to  whom  the  soliloquiser  is 
passionately  devoted,  the  woman  for  whom  he  is  prepared  to 
sacrifice  body,  soul,  everything  he  holds  dear,  cares  nothing 
at  all  for  him  ;  she  would  roast  him  before  a  slow  fire  for 
a  coveted  ball-ticket.  And  why  not?  if  love  be  what  the 
poet  says  it  is — the  merging  by  affinity  of  one  soul  in  another — 
where  no  affinity  exists  no  union  can  result.  Lovers  should 
study  the  elements  of  chemistry,  and  the  laws  which  govern  the 
affinities  of  the  elementary  bodies  ;  or,  if  they  are  not  inclined  to 
so  serious  a  task,  let  them  take  to  heart  the  Spanish  proverb, 
"  Love  one  that  does  not  love  you,  answer  one  that  does  not  call 
you,  and  you  will  run  a  fruitless  race." 

Toccata  of  Graluppi's,  A.  (Men  and  Women,  1855.)  Baldas- 
sare  Galuppi  (1706-85)  was  a  celebrated  Italian  composer, 
who  was  born  in  1706  near  Venice.  His  father  was  a  barber 
with  a  taste  for  music,  and  he  taught  his  son  sufficient  of  the 
elements  of  music  to  enable  him  to  enter  the  Conservatorio 
degli  Incurabile,  where  Lotti  was  a  teacher.  He  produced  an 
opera  at  the  age  of  sixteen,  but  it  was  a  failure ;  seven  years  after, 
however,  he  produced  a  comic  opera  Dorinda,  which  -  was  a 
great  success.  The  young  composer's  great  abilities  were  now 
everywhere  recognised,  and  his  fame  assured.  He  was  a  most 
industrious  writer,  and  left  no  less  than  seventy  operas ;  which, 
however,  have  not  survived  to  our  time.  Galuppi  resided  and 
worked  in  London  from  1741  to  1744.  He  went  to  Russia, 
where  he  lived  at  the  court  of  the  Empress  Catherine  II.  (at 
whose  invitation  he  went)  in  great  honour,  and  did  much  for  the 


TOC]  BROWNING   CYCLOPAEDIA.  543 

improvement  of  musical  taste  in  that  country.  In  1768  he  left 
Russia,  and  became  organist  of  St.  Mark's,  Venice.  He  died  in 
1785,  and  left  fifty  thousand  lire  to  the  poor  of  that  city.  His 
best  comic  opera  is  his  //  Mondo  della  Luna.  A  Toccata  is  a 
"  TtaoA-piece,"  a  prelude  or  overture.  "  It  does  but  touch  its 
theme  rapidly,  even  superficially,  for  the  most  part ;  so  that  the 
interpolation  of  solemn  chords  and  emotional  phrases,  incon- 
sistent with  its  traditional  character,  may  naturally,  by  force  of 
contrast,  lead  to  some  suggestion  or  recognition  of  the  many 
irregularities  of  life  "  (Mrs.  Alexander  Ireland).  In  the  admirable 
paper  on  this  poem  written  by  Mrs.  Alexander  Ireland  for  the 
Browning  Society,  she  continues:  "A  Toccata  of  Gahippi's 
touches  on  deep  subjects  with  a  mere  feather-touch  of  light  and 
capricious  suggestiveness,  interwoven  with  the  graver  mood,  with 
the  heart-searching  questionings  of  man's  deep  nature  and 
mysterious  spirit.  The  Toccata  as  a  form  of  composition  is  not 
the  measured,  deliberate  working-out  of  some  central  musical 
thought,  as  is  the  Sonata  or  sound-piece,  where  the  trained  ear 
can  follow  out  the  whole  process  to  its  delightful  and  orderly 
consummation,  where  the  student  marks  the  introduction  and 
development  of  the  subject,  its  extension,  through  various  forms, 
and  its  whole  sequence  of  movement  and  meaning,  to  its  glorious 
rounding-off  and  culmination,  spiritually  noting  each  stage  of  the 
climbing  structure  and  acknowledging  its  perfection  with  the 
inward  silent  verdict,  '  It  is  well.'  The  Toccata,  in  its  early  and 
pure  form,  possessed  no  decided  subject,  made  such  by  repe- 
tition, but  bore  rather  the  form  of  a  capricious  Improvisation  or 
"Impromptu."  It  was  a  very  flowing  movement,  in  notes  ot 
equal  length,  and  a  homophonous  character,  the  earliest  examples 
of  any  importance  being  those  by  Gabrieli  (1557-1613),  and 
those  by  Merulo  (1533-1604);  while  Galuppi,  who  was  born  in 
1706  and  died  in  1785,  produced  a  further  advanced  development 
of  this  particular  form  of  musical  composition,  with  chords  freely 
introduced  and  other  important  innovations."  Vernon  Lee,  in  her 
Studies  of  the  Eighteenth  Century  in  Italy  (III.  "The  Musical 
Life")  says  of  the  Venetian,  Baldassare  Galuppi,  surnamed 
Buranello,  that  he  was  "an  immensely  prolific  composer,  and 
abounded  in  melody,  tender,  pathetic  and  brilliant,  which  in  its 
extreme  simplicity  and  slightness  occasionally  rose  to  the  highest 
beauty.  .  .  .  He  defined  the  requisites  of  his  art  to  Burney  in 


544  BROWNING   CYCLOPAEDIA.  [ToC 

very  moderate  terms  :  '  Chiarezza,  vaghezza,  e  buona  modulazi- 
one  ' — clearness,  beauty,  and  good  modulation,  without  troubling 
himself  much  about  any  others.  .  .  .  Galuppi  was  a  model  of  the 
respectable,  modest  artist,  living  quietly  on  a  moderate  fortune, 
busy  with  his  art  and  the  education  of  his  numerous  children, 
beloved  and  revered  by  his  fellow-artists  ;  and  when  some  fifteen 
years  later  [than  1770]  he  died,  honoured  by  them  with  a  splendid 
funeral,  at  which  all  the  Venetian  musicians  performed ;  the 
great  Pacchiarotti  writing  to  Burney  that  he  had  sung  with  much 
devotion  to  obtain  a  rest  for  Buranello's  (Galuppi's)  soul "  (p.  101). 
In  a  note  Vernon  Lee  adds :  "  Mr.  Browning's  fine  poem, 
4  A  Toccata  of  Galuppi's,'  has  made  at  least  his  name  familiar  to- 
many  English  readers.  Ritter,  in  his  History  of  Music  (p.  245), 
has  a  concise  but  expressive  notice  of  Galuppi."  Balthazar 
Galuppi,  called  Buranello  (1706-85),  a  pupil  of  Lotti,  also 
composed  many  comic  operas.  The  main  features  of  his  operas 
are  melodic  elegance  and  lively  and  spirited  comic  forms  ;  but 
they  are  rather  thin  and  weak  in  their  execution.  He  was  a 
great  favourite  during  his  lifetime."  The  poem  deals  with  two 
classes  of  human  beings — the  mere  pleasure-takers  with  their 
balls  and  masks  (Stanza  iv.),  and  the  scientists  (Stanza  xiii.)  with 
their  research  and  their  'ologies.  The  Venetians — who  seemed 
to  the  poet  merely  born  to  blow  and  droop,  who  lived  frivolous 
lives  of  gaiety  and  love-making — lived  lives  which  came  to 
nothing,  and  did  deeds  better  left  undone — heard  the  music  which 
dreamily  told  them  they  must  die,  but  went  on  with  their 
kissing  and  their  dancing  till  death  took  them  where  they  never 
see  the  sun.  The  other  class,  immersed  in  the  passion  for 
knowledge,  the  class  which  despises  the  vanities  and  frivolities 
of  the  butterfly's  life,  and  consecrates  itself  to  science,  not  the 
less  surely  dissipates  its  energies  and  misses  the  true  end  of  life 
if  it  has  nothing  higher  to  live  for  than  "physics  and  geology." 

NOTES.— ii.,  St.  Mark's.  The  great  cathedral  of  Venice, 
named  after  St.  Mark,  because  it  is  said  that  the  body  of  that 
Evangelist  was  brought  to  Venice  and  enshrined  there.  "  where 
the  Doges  used  to  wed  the  sea  with  rings" :  the  Doge  was 
the  chief  magistrate  of  Venice  when  it  was  a  republic.  "The 
ceremony  of  wedding  the  Adriatic  was  instituted  in  1174  by  Pope 
Alexander  III.,  who  gave  the  Doge  a  gold  ring  from  off  his  own 
finger  in  token  of  the  victory  achieved  by  the  Venetian  fleet  at 


TOC]  BROWNING    CYCLOPAEDIA.  545 

Istriaover  Frederick  Barbarossa,  in  defence  of  the  Pope's  quarrel. 
When  his  Holiness  gave  the  ring,  he  desired  the  Doge  to  throw 
a  similar  ring  into  the  sea  annually,  in  commemoration  of  the 
event"  (Dr.  Brewer),  iii.,  "the  sea's  the  street  there" :  there 
are  neither  horses  nor  carriages  in  Venice ;  ypu  go  everywhere 
by  gondola — to  church,  to  theatre,  to  market;  your  gondola 
meets  you  at  the  railway  station;  in  a  word,  the  sea  is  the 
street.  Shyloctis  Bridge:  they  show  you  Shylock's  house 
in  the  old  market  place  by  the  Rialto  Bridge,  vi.,  clavichord,  a 
keyed  and  stringed  instrument,  not  now  in  use,  being  superseded 
by  the  pianoforte,  viii.,  dominant's  persistence.  The  dominant 
in  music  is  the  name  given  to  the  fifth  note  of  the  scale  of  any 
key,  counting  upwards.  The  dominant  plays  a  most  important 
part  in  cadences,  in  which  it  is  indispensable  that  the  key 
should  be  strongly  marked  (Grove).  "  dear  dead  women  "  : 
the  ladies  of  Venice  are  celebrated  for  their  beauty.  An 
article  in  Poet  Lore,  October  1890,  p.  546,  thus  explains  the 
technical  musical  allusions  in  A  Toccata  of  Galuppi's.  These 
are  all  to  be  found  in  the  seventh,  eighth,  and  ninth  verses. 
"The  lesser  thirds  are,  of  course,  minor  thirds,  and  are  of 
common  occurrence;  but  the  diminished  sixth  is  an  interval 
rarely  used.  So  rare  is  it,  that  I  have  seen  it  stated  by  good 
authorities  that  it  is  never  used  harmonically.  Ordinarily  a 
diminished  sixth  (seven  semitones),  exactly  the  same  interval  as 
a  perfect  fifth,  instead  of  giving  a  plaintive,  mournful,  or  minor 
impression,  would  suggest  a  feeling  of  rest  and  satisfaction.  As 
I  have  said,  however,  there  is  one  way  in  which  it  can  be  used — 
as  a  suspension,  in  which  the  root  of  the  chord  on  the  lowered 
super-tonic  of  the  scale  is  suspended  from  above  into  the  chord 
with  added  seventh  on  the  super-tonic,  making  a  diminished  sixth 
between  the  root  of  the  first  and  the  third  of  the  second  chord. 
The  effect  of  this  progression  is  most  dismal,  and  possibly 
Browning  had  it  in  mind,  though  it  is  doubtful  almost  to  certainty 
if  Galuppi  knew  anything  of  it.  Whether  it  be  an  anachronism 
or  not,  or  whether  it  is  used  in  a  scientifically  accurate  way  or 
not,  the  figure  is  true  enough  poetically,  for  a  diminished  interval 
— namely,  something  less  than  normal — would  naturally  suggest 
an  effect  of  sadness.  Suspensions^  as  may  already  have  been 
guessed  by  the  preceding  example,  are  notes  which  are  held 
over  from  one  chord  into  another,  and  must  be  made  according 

35 


346  BROWNING   CYCLOPAEDIA.  [TOC 

to  certain  musical  rules  as  strict  as  the  laws  of  the  Medes  and 
Persians.  This  holding  over  of  a  note  always  produces  a  dis- 
sonance, and  must  be  followed  by  a  concord, — in  other  words,  a 
solution.  Sevenths  are  very  important  dissonances  in  music, 
and  a  commiserating  seventh  is  most  likely  the  variety  called  a 
minor  seventh.  Being  a  somewhat  less  mournful  interval  than 
the  lesser  thirds  and  the  diminished  sixths,  whether  real  or 
imaginary,  yet  not  so  final  as  '  those  solutions '  which  seem  to 
put  an  end  to  all  uncertainty,  and  therefore  to  life,  they  arouse 
in  the  listeners  to  Galuppi's  playing  a  hope  that  life  may  last, 
although  in  a  sort  of  dissonantal,  Wagnerian  fashion.  The 
1  commiserating  sevenths  '  are  closely  connected  with  the  '  domi- 
nant's persistence '  in  the  next  verse : — 

'  Hark  !  the  dominant's  persistence  till  it  must  be  answered  to  : 

So  an  octave  struck  the  answer.' 

The  dominant  chord  in  music  is  the  chord  written  on  the  fifth 
degree  of  the  scale,  and  it  almost  always  has  a  seventh  added  to 
it,  and  in  a  large  percentage  of  cases  is  followed  by  the  tonic,  the 
chord  on  the  first  degree  of  the  scale.  Now,  in  fugue  form  a 
theme  is  repeated  in  the  dominant  key,  the  latter  being  called 
the  answer.  After  further  contrapuntal  wanderings  of  the  theme, 
the  fugue  comes  to  what  is  called  an  episode,  after  which  the 
theme  is  presented  first,  in  the  dominant.  '  Hark  !  the  domi- 
nant's persistence'  alludes  to  this  musical  fact;  but,  accord- 
ing to  rule,  this  dominant  must  be  answered  in  the  tonic  an 
octave  above  the  first  presentation  of  the  theme ;  and  '  so  an 
octave  struck  the  answer.'  Thus  the  inexorable  solution  comes 
in  after  the  dominant's  persistence.  Although  life  seemed  pos- 
sible with  commiserating  sevenths,  the  tonic,  a  resistless  fate, 
strikes  the  answer  that  all  must  end— an  answer  which  the 
frivolous  people  of  Venice  failed  to  perceive,  and  went  on  with 
their  kissing.  The  notion  of  the  tonic  key  as  a  relentless  fate 
seems  to  suit  well  with  the  formal  music  of  the  days  of  Galuppi : 
while  the  more  hopeful  tonic  key  of  Abt  Vogler,  the  C  major  of 
this  life,  indicates  that  fate  and  the  tonic  key  have  both  fallen 
more  under  man's  control." — Miss  Helen  Ormerod's  paper,  read 
before  the  Browning  Society,  May  27th,  1887,  throws  additional 
light  on  some  of  the  difficulties  of  this  poem.  "  That  the  minor 
predominated  in  this  quaint  old  piece  (Toccata,  by  the  way, 
means  a  touch  piece,  and  probably  was  written  to  display 


Toe]  BROWNING   CYCLOPAEDIA.  547 

the  delicacy  of  the  composer's  touch)  is  evident  from  the 
mention  of — 

'  Those  lesser  thirds  so  plaintive,  sixths  diminished,  sigh  on  sigh, 
Told  them  something  ?    Those  suspensions,  those  solutions,—'  Must 

we  die  ? ' 

Those  commiserating  sevenths — ' Life  might  last !  we  can  but  try ! '" 
The  internal  of  the  third  is  one  of  the  most  important ;  the 
signature  of  a  piece  may  mislead  one,  the  same  signature  stand- 
ing for  a  major  key  and  its  relative  minor ;  but  the  third  of  the 
opening  chord  decides  the  question,  a  lesser  'plaintive'  third 
(composed  of  a  tone  and  a  semitone)  showing  the  key  to  be 
minor  \  the  greater  third  (composed  of  two  whole  tones)  showing 
the  key  to  be  major.  Pauer  tells  us  that  '  the  minor  third  gives  the 
idea  of  tenderness,  grief  and  romantic  feeling.'  Next  come  the 
'  diminished  sixths ' :  these  are  sixths  possessing  a  semitone  less 
than  a  minor  sixth, — for  instance,  from  C  sharp  to  A  flat :  this 
interval  in  a  different  key  would  stand  as  a  perfect  fifth.  '  Those 
suspensions,  those  solutions ' — a  suspension  is  the  stoppage  of 
one  or  more  parts  for  a  moment,  while  the  others  move  on  ;  this 
produces  a  dissonance,  which  is  only  resolved  by  the  parts  which 
produced  it  moving  on  to  the  position  which  would  have  been 
theirs  had  the  parts  moved  simultaneously.  We  can  under- 
stand that  '  those  suspensions,  those  solutions '  might  teach  the 
Venetians,  as  they  teach  us,  lessons  of  experience  and  hope  ;  light 
after  darkness,  joy  after  sorrow,  smiles  after  tears.  '  Those 
commiserating  sevenths/  of  all  dissonances,  none  is  so  pleasing 
to  the  ear,  or  so  attractive  to  musicians,  as  that  of  minor  and 
diminished  sevenths,  that  of  the  major  seventh  being  crude  and 
harsh  ;  in  fact,  the  minor  seventh  is  so  charming  in  its  discord  as 
to  suggest  concord.  Again,  to  quote  from  Pauer :  '  It  is  the 
antithesis  of  discord  and  concord  which  fascinates  and  charms 
the  ear ;  it  is  the  necessary  solution  and  return  to  unity  which 
delights  us.'  After  all  this,  the  love-making  begins  again  ;  but 
kisses  are  interrupted  by  the  '  dominant's  persistence  till  it  must 
be  answered  to.'  This  seems  to  indicate  the  close  of  the  piece, 
the  dominant  being  answered  by  an  octave  which  suggests  the 
perfect  authentic  cadence,  in  which  the  chord  of  the  dominant 
is  followed  by  that  of  the  tonic.  The  Toccata  is  ended,  and  the 
gay  gathering  dispersed.  I  cannot  help  the  thought  that  this  old 
music  of  Galuppi's  was  more  of  the  head  than  the  heart — more 


54$  .  BROWNING   CYCLOPEDIA.  [TOO 

formal  than  fiery,  suggestive  rather  of  the  chill  of  death  than  the 
heat  of  passion.  The  temporary  silence  into  which  the  dancers 
were  surprised  by  the  playing  of  the  Maestro  is  over,  and  the 
impressions  caused  by  it  are  passed  away,  just  as  the  silence 
of  death  was  to  foUow  the  warmth  and  brightness  of  the  glad 
Venetian  life." 

To  Edward  Fitzgerald.    In  the  Athenceum  of  July  I3th,  1889, 
appeared  this  sonnet : — 

"To  EDWARD  FITZGERALD. 
"  I  chanced  upon  a  new  book  yesterday ; 
I  opened  it,  and,  where  my  finger  lay 

Twixt  page  and  uncut  page,  these  words  I  read — 
Some  six  or  seven  at  most — and  learned  thereby 
That  you,  Fitzgerald,  whom  by  ear  and  eye 

She  never  knew,  '  thanked  God  my  wife  was  dead.' 
Ay,  dead  !  and  were  yourself  alive,  good  Fitz, 
How  to  return  you  thanks  would  task  my  wits. 

Kicking  you  seems  the  common  lot  of  curs — 
While  more  appropriate  greeting  lends  you  grace, 
Surely  to  spit  there  glorifies  your  face — 

Spitting  from  lips  cnce  sanctified  by  hers. 

"ROBERT  BROWNING. 
"July  Sth,  1889." 

The  passage  referred  to  is  as  follows  :  "  Mrs.  Browning's  death 
is  rather  a  relief  to  me,  I  must  say :  no  more  Aurora  Leighs, 
thank  God  !  A  woman  of  real  genius,  I  know ;  but  what  is  the 
upshot  of  it  all !  She  and  her  sex  had  better  mind  the  kitchen 
and  the  children ;  and  perhaps  the  poor.  Except  in  such  things 
as  little  novels,  they  only  devote  themselves  to  what  men  do 
much  better,  leaving  that  which  men  do  worse  or  not  at  all." 
(Life  and  Letters  of  Edward  Fitzgerald.  Edited  by  Aldis 
Wright.) — Browning  Society  Papers,  Notes,  229. 
Tokay.  See  NATIONALITY  IN  DRINKS.  (Dramatic  Lyrics,  III.) 
Too  Late.  (Dramatis  Persona,  1864.)  A  man  addressing  a 
dead  woman  whom  he  has  loved  and  lost,  tells  how  he  feels 
that  she  needs  help  in  her  grave  and  finds  none  ;  wants  warmth 
from  a  heart  which  longs  to  send  it.  She  married  another  who 
did  not  love  her  "  nor  any  one  else  in  the  world."  This  great 
sorrow  was  the  rock  which  stopped  the  even  flow  of  his  life 
current.  Some  devil  must  have  hurled  it  into  the  stream,  and  so 


BROWNING    CYCLOPAEDIA.  549 

thwarted  God,  who  had  made  these  two  souls  for  each  other. 
Just  a  thread  of  water  escaped  from  the  obstacle,  and  that  wan- 
dered "  through  the  evening  country"  down  to  the  great  sea  which 
absorbs  all  our  life  streams.  He  has  hoped  at  times  that  some 
convulsion  of  nature  might  roll  the  stone  from  its  place  and  let 
the  stream  flow  undisturbed.  But  all  is  past  hope  now :  Edith  is 
dead  that  should  have  been  his.  What  should  he  have  done 
that  he  omitted?  Had  he  not  taken  her  "No"  too  readily? 
Men  do  more  for  trifling  reasons  than  he  had  done  for  his  life's 
whole  peace.  Perhaps  he  was  proud — perhaps  helpless  as  a 
man  paralysed  by  a  great  blow ;  anyway,  she  was  gone  from  his 
life,  and  he  was  desolate  henceforth.  She  was  not  handsome, — 
nobody  said  that.  She  had  features  which  no  artist  would 
select  for  a  model ;  but  she  was  his  life,  and  even  now  that  she 
is  dead  he  will  be  her  slave  while  his  soul  endures.  The  poem 
is  full  of  concentrated  emotion,  and  is  the  expression  of  a  strong 
man's  life  passion  for  a  woman's  soul ;  a  passion  unalloyed  by 
any  gross  affection ;  such  a  love  of  one  soul  for  another  congenial 
soul  as  proves  that  man  is  more  than  matter. 

Transcendentalism:  a  Poem  in  Twelve  Books.  (Men 
and  Women,  1855.)  This  poem  is  probably  intended  by  Mr. 
Browning  as  an  answer  to  his  critics.  It  has  been  said  of  Mr. 
Browning's  poetry  by  a  hundred  competent  writers  that  he  does 
not  sing,  but  philosophises  instead ;  that  he  gives  the  world  his 
naked  thoughts,  his  analyses  of  souls  not  draped  in  the  beauty 
of  the  poet's  art,  but  in  the  form  of  "stark-naked  thought." 
There  is  no  objection,  says  his  interviewer,  if  he  will  but  cast 
aside  the  harp  which  he  does  not  play  but  only  tunes  and  adjusts, 
and  speak  his  prose  to  Europe  through  "the  six-foot  Swiss  tube 
which  helps  the  hunter's  voice  from  Alp  to  Alp."  The  fault  is, 
that  he  utters  thoughts  to  men  thinking  they  care  little  for  form 
or  melody,  as  boys  do,  It  is  quite  otherwise  he  should  interpret 
nature — which  is  full  of  mystery — to  the  soul  of  man  :  as  Jacob 
Boehme  heard  the  plants  speak,  and  told  men  what  they  said ; 
or  as  John  of  Halberstadt,  the  magician,  who  by  his  will-power 
could  create  the  flowers  Boehme  thought  about.  The  true  poet 
is  a  poem  himself,  whatever  be  his  utterance.  Take  back  the 
harp  again,  and  "pour  heaven  into  this  short  home  of  life." 
Jacob  Boehme  (1575-1624)  was  a  German  mystical  writer,  who 
began  life  as  a  shoemaker  and  developed  into  a  "  seer  "  of  the 


55°  BROWNING  CYCLOPAEDIA.  [Tra 

highest  order.  He  was  a  follower  of  the  school  of  Paracelsus, 
and  professed  to  know  all  mysteries  by  actually  beholding  them. 
He  saw  the  origin  of  love  and  sorrow,  heaven  and  hell.  Nature 
lay  unveiled  to  him  ;  he  saw  into  the  being  of  God,  and  into  the 
heart  of  things.  Mr.  Browning  refers  to  this  in  the  line  of  the 
poem,  "  He  noticed  all  at  once  that  plants  could  speak." 
"  William  Law  (1686-1761)  was  a  follower  of  Boehme's  system 
of  philosophy.  The  Quakers  have  been  much  influenced  by  the 
Boehmenists.  The  old  magicians  thought  they  had  discovered  in 
the  ashes  of  plants  their  primitive  forms,  which  were  again  raised 
up  by  the  force  of  heat.  Nothing,  they  say,  perishes  in  Nature  ; 
all  is  but  a  continuation  or  a  revival  The  germina  of  resurrec- 
tion are  concealed  in  extinct  bodies,  as  in  the  blood  of  men ; 
the  ashes  of  roses  will  again  revive  into  roses,  though  smaller 
and  paler  than  if  they  had  been  planted.  The  process  of  the 
Palingenesis — this  picture  of  immortality — is  described.  These 
philosophers,  having  burnt  a  flower  by  calcination,  disengaged 
the  salts  from  its  ashes,  and  deposited  them  in  a  glass  phial ; 
a  chemical  mixture  acted  on  it  till  in  the  fermentation  they 
assumed  a  bluish  and  spectral  hue.  This  dust,  thus  excited 
by  heat,  shoots  upwards  into  its  primitive  form;  by  sympathy 
the  parts  unite,  and  while  each  is  returning  to  its  destined  place 
we  see  distinctly  the  stalk,  the  leaves,  and  the  flower  arise; 
it  is  the  pale  spectre  of  a  flower  coming  slowly  forth  from 
its  ashes."  (Disraeli's  Curiosities  of  Literature,  art.  "  Dreams 
at  the  Dawn  of  Philosophy.")  John  of  Halberstadt  was  the 
magician  who  made  the  flowers  on  some  such  principles  as 
is  fabled  above.  He  was  an  ecclesiastic,  and  had  probably 
some  knowledge  of  alchemy,  often  considered  in  those  days 
as  more  or  less  a  diabolical  kind  of  learning.  Transcend- 
entalism is  thus  described  by  Webster :  "  Transcendental, 
Empirical. — These  terms,  with  the  corresponding  nouns  trans- 
cendentalism and  empiricism,  are  of  comparatively  recent  origin. 
Empirical  refers  to  knowledge  which  is  gained  by  the  experi- 
ence of  actual  phenomena,  without  reference  to  the  principles 
or  laws  to  which  they  are  to  be  referred,  or  by  which  they  are 
to  be  explained  Transcendental  has  reference  to  those  beliefs 
or  principles  which  are  not  derived  from  experience,  and  yet  are 
absolutely  necessary  to  make  experience  possible  or  useful. 
Such,  in  the  better  sense  of  the  term,  is  the  transcendental 


Twi]  BROWNING   CYCLOPAEDIA.  551 

philosophy,  or  transcendentalism.  The  term  has  been  applied 
to  a  kind  of  investigation,  or  a  use  of  language  which  is  vague, 
obscure,  fantastic,  or  extravagant."  The  reference  in  the  title 
of  the  poem  is  purely  imaginary :  there  is  no  such  work. 

Tray.  (Dramatic  Idyls,  1879.)  Three  bards  sing  each  a  song 
of  a  hero ;  but  the  bard  who  sings  of  Olaf  the  Dane,  and  he 
who  tells  of  the  hero  standing  unflinching  on  the  precipice,  have 
not  their  song  rewarded  here  :  the  place  of  honour  is  reserved 
by  the  poet  for  a  dog  story.  Tray  was  the  poet's  hero  of 
the  three.  A  beggar  child  fell  into  the  Seine  in  Paris.  The 
bystanders  prudently  bethought  themselves  of  their  families  ere 
risking  their  lives  to  save  her.  While  the  people  were  wondering 
how  the  child  was  to  be  extricated,  "  a  mere  instinctive  dog " 
jumped  over  the  balustrade  and  brought  her  to  land.  The  people 
applauded  the  dog,  who  had  no  sooner  deposited  his  burden  on 
the  shore  than  he  was  off  again,  apparently  to  save  another 
child  whom  nobody  had  seen  fall.  The  dog  was  so  long  under 
the  water  that  he  was  thought  to  have  been  carried  away  by  the 
current ;  but  in  a  few  minutes  he  was  seen  swimming  to  land 
with  the  child's  doll  in  his  mouth.  The  people  began  to  pride 
themselves  on  man's  possession  of  reason,  and  to  vaunt  the 
superiority  of  our  race  over  that  of  the  dog.  Meanwhile  Tray 
trotted  off;  till  one  of  the  crowd,  with  a  larger  share  of  "  reason  " 
than  the  rest,  bade  his  servant  go  and  catch  the  animal  for  him, 
that,  by  expenditure  "  of  half  an  hour  and  eighteen-pence,"  he 
might  vivisect  it  at  the  physiological  laboratory  and  see  "  how 
brain  secretes  dog's  soul."  This  was  poor  Tray's  reward  at 
the  hands  of  humanity,  endowed  with  the  "reason"  which  had 
been  denied  to  the  brave  and  faithful  little  brain  of  the  "  lower 
animal."  (See  VIVISECTION.) 

Twins,  The.  (Originally  published  in  a  little  volume  with  a 
poem  of  Mrs.  Browning's,  on  behalf  of  the  Ragged  Schools  of 
London,  1854;  then  in  Men  and  Women,  1855;  Romances, 
1863;  Dramatic  Romances,  1868.)  In  Martin  Luther's  Table 
Talk  there  is  a  story  which  is  the  foundation  of  this  poem.  In 
the  talk  "On  Justification"  (No.  316),  he  says:  "Give,  and  it 
shall  be  given  unto  you  :  this  is  a  fine  maxim,  and  makes  people 
poor  and  rich.  .  .  There  is  in  Austria  a  monastery  which,  in 
former  times,  was  very  rich,  and  remained  rich  so  long  as  it 
was  charitable  to  the  poor ;  but  when  it  ceased  to  give,  then  it 


552  BROWNING   CYCLOPAEDIA.  [TWO 

became  indigent,  and  is  so  to  this  day.  Not  long  since,  a  poor 
man  went  there  and  solicited  alms,  which  were  denied  him  ;  he 
demanded  the  cause  why  they  refused  to  give  for  God's  sake  ? 
The  porter  of  the  monastery  answered,  '  We  are  become  poor ' ; 
whereupon  the  mendicant  said,  '  The  cause  of  your  poverty  is 
this  :  ye  had  formerly  in  this  monastery  two  brethren — the  one 
named  Date  (give),  and  the  other  Dabitur  (it  shall  be  given  to 
you) :  the  former  ye  thrust  out,  and  the  other  went  away  of  him- 
self.' .  .  .  Beloved,  he  that  desires  to  have  anything  must  also 
give  :  a  liberal  hand  was  never  in  want  or  empty.' "  (Mr.  Brown- 
ing's poem  is  simply  the  above  narrative  in  verse.) 

Two  Camels.  (Ferishtatts  Fancies,  8 :  "  Self-mortification.") 
Is  self-mortification  necessary  for  the  attainment  of  wisdom  ? 
Two  camels  started  on  a  long  journey  with  their  loads  of  mer- 
chandise. One,  desiring  to  please  his  master,  refused  to  eat 
the  food  which  was  provided  for  him  :  he  died  of  exhaustion  on 
the  road,  and  thieves  secured  his  burden.  The  other  ate  his 
provender  thankfully,  and  safely  reached  his  destination  with 
his  load.  Which  beast  pleased  his  master  ?  We  are  here  to  do 
our  day's  work :  help  refused  is  hindrance  sought.  We  are  to 
desire  joy  and  thank  God  for  it.  The  Creator  wills  that  we  should 
recognise  our  creatureship  and  call  upon  Him  in  our  need.  As  we 
are  God's  sons,  He  cannot  be  indifferent  to  our  needs  and  sorrows. 
Neither  work  nor  the  spirit  of  self-dependence  are  antagonistic  to 
prayer.  The  "  ear,  hungry  for  music,"  is  a  more  intelligible 
phrase  when  we  know  that  the  organ  of  Corti  in  the  human  ear 
has  three  thousand  arches,  with  keys  ranged  like  those  of  a 
piano,  marvellously  adapted  for  the  appreciation  of  every  tone- 
shade.  The  "seven-stringed  instrument"  refers  to  light  and  the 
seven  colours  of  the  spectrum. — In  the  lyric,  the  chemical  com- 
bination of  two  harmless  substances  produces  an  effect  which 
either  by  itself  would  have  been  powerless  to  produce.  How 
know  we  what  God  intends  to  work  in  us  by  the  influences  by 
which  we  are  surrounded  ?  We  are  not  to  reject  the  joys  of 
earth,  the  bliss  produced  by  slight  and  transient  mental  stimuli ; 
they  suffice  to  move  the  heart.  There  is  earth-bliss  which  heaven 
itself  cannot  improve,  but  may  make  permanent :  why  despise  it  ? 

Two  in  the  Campagna.  (Men  and  Women,  1855;  Lyrics, 
1863  ;  Dramatic  Lyrics,  1868.)  The  Campagna  di  Roma  is  that 
portion  of  the  area  almost  coinciding  with  the  ancient  Latium, 


TWO]  BROWNING   CYCLOPEDIA.  553 

which  lies  round  the  city  of  Rome.  Gregorovius  says  we  might 
mark  its  circumference  "  by  a  series  of  well-known  points :  Civita 
Vecchia,  Tolfa,  Ronciglione,  Soracte,  Tivoli,  Palestrina,  Albano, 
and  Ostia."  Anciently  it  was  the  seat  of  numerous  cities,  and  is 
now  dotted  with  ruins  in  its  whole  extent.  In  summer  its  vast 
expanse  is  little  better  than  an  arid  steppe,  and  is  very  dangerous 
on  account  of  the  malaria  almost  everywhere  prevalent.  In 
winter  and  spring  it  is  safer,  and  affords  abundant  pasture  for 
sheep  and  cattle.  There  is  a  solemnity  and  beauty  about  the 
Campagna  entirely  its  own.  To  the  reflective  mind,  this  ghost 
of  old  Rome  is  full  of  suggestion:  its  vast,  almost  limitless 
extent,  as  it  seems  to  the  traveller ;  its  abundant  herbage  and 
floral  wealth  in  early  spring ;  its  desolation,  its  crumbling  monu- 
ments, and  its  evidences  of  a  vanished  civilisation,  fill  the  mind 
with  a  sweet  sadness,  which  readily  awakens  the  longing  for 
the  infinite  spoken  of  in  the  poem,  the  key-note  of  which  is 
undoubtedly  found  in  the  lines — 

11  Only  I  discern 
Infinite  passion,  and  the  pain 
Of  finite  hearts  that  yearn." 

Says  Pascal :  "  This  desire  and  this  weakness  cry  aloud  to  us 
that  there  was  once  in  man  a  true  happiness,  of  which  there  now 
remains  to  him  but  the  mark  and  the  empty  trace,  which  he 
vainly  tries  to  fill  from  all  that  surround  him  ;  seeking  from  things 
absent  the  succour  he  finds  not  in  things  present ;  and  these  are 
all  inadequate,  because  this  infinite  void  can  only  be  filled  by  an 
infinite  and  immutable  object — that  is  to  say,  only  by  God  Him- 
self." The  speaker  in  the  poem  says  to  the  woman,  "I  would 
that  you  were  all  to  me."  As  pleasure,  learning,  wealth,  have 
failed  to  satisfy  the  soul  of  man,  so  not  even  Love,  the  holiest 
passion  of  the  soul,  can  satisfy  the  human  heart,  which  can  rest 
in  God  alone.  Dr.  Martineau  says  that  "  all  finite  loves  are  only 
half-born,  wandering  in  a  poor  twilight,  unknowing  of  their  peace 
and  power,  till  they  lie  within  the  encompassing  and  glorifying 
love  of  God."  The  restful  music,  the  anodyne  for  the  pain  of 
yearning  hearts,  comes  from  no  earth-born  love,  however  pure. 

Two  Poets  of  Croisic,  The.  (1878,  with  La  Saisiaz^  Le 
Croisic  is  an  old  town  in  Brittany,  in  the  department  of  Loire 
Inf£rieure.  Murray  describes  it  as  "a  popular  watering-place. 


554  BROWNING   CYCLOPAEDIA.  [TWO 

Croisic  was  formerly  a  place  of  some  importance — was  fortified, 
and  had  a  castle,  and  reached  its  greatest  prosperity  in  the 
sixteenth  century,  when  it  sent  vessels  to  the  cod-fishery,  and 
had  some  six  thousand  inhabitants  ;  but,  like  many  other  towns, 
was  ruined  by  the  revocation  of  the  Edict  of  Nantes.  There  is  a 
chapel  of  St.  Gourtan  to  the  west  of  the  town,  with  a  miraculous 
well  near  it.  When  there  is  a  storm  from  the  south  the  sailors' 
wives  pray  at  St.  Gourtan  ;  when  from  the  north,  at  the  Chapel 
of  the  Crucifix,  at  the  east  of  the  town.  About  half  a  mile  due 
north-west  of  the  church  is  a  menhir  eight  feet  high,  situated  on 
a  mound  overlooking  the  sea.  The  rocky  cliffs  on  the  sea  shore 
near  it,  for  about  a  mile,  have  been  worn  by  the  waves  and 
weather  into  the  most  extraordinary  and  fantastic  shapes,  and 
are  well  worth  a  visit."  Croisic  is  one  of  the  principal  ports  o\ 
the  sardine  fishery.  Gue"rande  and  Batz,  also  referred  to  in  the 
poem,  are  close  to  Le  Croisic,  the  former  being  "  a  very  curious 
old  town,  still  surrounded,"  says  Murray,  "  by  the  ditches  and 
walls  built  by  Duke  John  V.  about  1431.  On  Sundays,  the 
assemblage  of  Bretons  from  the  north,  peat-diggers  from  the 
east,  and  salt-makers  from  the  west,  is  very  striking.  Soon  after 
leaving  Gu6rande  the  road  descends  into  a  wide  plain  covered 
with  pits  and  salterns.  This  plain  is  of  great  extent,  below 
the  level  of  the  sea,  and  protected  by  dykes.  The  water  is  ad- 
mitted at  high  water,  by  channels  or  rivers,  into  reservoirs  called 
vasteres,  from  which  it  is  passed  into  shallow,  irregularly-formed 
receptacles  called  fares.  In  these  a  considerable  portion  of  the 
water  is  evaporated,  and  the  brine  is  allowed  to  run  into  square 
basins  called  aeillets,  where  the  sun  finally  evaporates  the  water 
and  leaves  a  layer  of  salt.  The  salt  is  scraped  off  to  square 
patches  between  the  ceilkts,  and  is  thence  carried  to  a  conical 
heap  on  the  high  ground,  where  it  is  left  without  protection  from 
the  rain  until  the  autumn,  when  the  heap  is  covered  with  wood, 
and  so  left  until  it  can  be  sold.  The  men  engaged  in  the  work 
are  called  paludiers,  and  receive  one-fourth  of  the  salt,  the  owner 
of  the  salterns  receiving  the  other  three-fourths."  Mr.  Browning 
refers  to  such  a  process  in  Sordello,  to  illustrate  his  theory  of  the 
necessity  of  evil: — 

"Where  the  salt  marshes  stagnate,  crystals  branch; 

Blood  dries  to  crimson  ;  Evil's  beautified 

In  every  shape." 


TWO]  BROWNING   CYCLOPAEDIA.  555 

"  The  paludiers,  and  their  assistants,  called  saulniers,  inhabit 
Batz,  Pouliguen,  Saillie,  and  other  villages,  and  form  a  most 
peculiar  class  Their  usual  dress  is  an  enormous  black  flapped 
hat,  a  long  white  frock  or  waistcoat,  huge  baggy  white  breeches, 
white  gaiters  and  white  shoes.  The  men  of  Batz  are  a  magni- 
ficent race  of  large,  stalwart,  evident  Saxons." — The  opening 
stanzas  of  the  poem  are  descriptive  of  a  scene  in  winter,  round 
a  good  log-fire  of  old  shipwood.  As  the  flames  ascend,  they 
are  tinted  with  various  brilliant  colours,  due  to  the  chemicals 
with  which  the  old  timber  is  impregnated  and  the  metals  which 
are  attached  to  it.  Sodium  salts  from  the  sea  brine  account 
for  the  yellow  and  crimson  flames  ;  the  greenish  flame  owes  its 
tint  to  the  copper ;  the  flake  brilliance  is  due  to  the  zinc ;  and  so 
forth.  All  this  flame  splendour  suggests  the  flash  of  fame — 
brilliant  for  a  few  minutes,  and  then  subsiding  into  darkness 
At  the  eleventh  stanza  begins  a  description  of  Croisic,  Guerande, 
and  Batz,  and  the  salt  industry  as  described  above.  An  island 
opposite  was  the  Druids'  chosen  chief  of  homes  ;  where  their  women 
were  employed,  building  a  temple  to  the  sun,  destroying  it  and 
rebuilding  it  every  May.  Even  at  the  present  day  women  steal 
to  the  sole  menhir  standing  and  the  rude  stone  pillars,  with  or 
without  still  ruder  inscriptions,  found  in  many  parts  of  Brittany 
But  Croisic  has  had  its  men  of  note :  two  poets  must  be  remem- 
bered who  lived  there.  Rene  Gentiihomme,  in  the  year  1610, 
flamed  forth  a  liquid  ruby ;  he  was  of  noble  birth,  and  page  to 
the  Prince  of  Cond6,  whom  men  called  "  the  Duke."  His  cousin 
the  King  had  no  heir,  so  men  began  to  call  him  "  Next  King,"  and 
he  to  expect  the  dignity.  His  page  Rene"  was  a  poet,  and  had 
written  many  sonnets  and  madrigals.  One  day,  when  he  sat 
a-rhyming,  a  storm  came  on ;  and,  struck  by  lightning,  a  ducal 
crown,  emblem  of  the  Prince,  was  dashed  to  atoms.  Rene 
ceased  his  sonnets,  and,  considering  the  destruction  as  an  omen 
of  the  ruined  hopes  of  the  Duke,  wrote  forty  lines,  which  he 
gave  to  the  man,  who  asked  how  it  came  his  ducal  crown  was 
wrecked — "  Sir,  God's  word  to  you ! "  It  happened  as  the  poet 
foresaw  :  at  the  year's  end  was  born  the  Dauphin,  who  wrecked 
the  Prince's  hopes.  King  Louis  honoured  Rene  with  the  title 
"  Royal  Poet,"  inasmuch  as  he  not  only  poetised,  but  prophesied. 
The  other  famous  poet  of  Croisic,  represented  by  the  green  flame, 
was  a  dapper  gentleman,  Paul  Desforges  Maillard,  who  lived  in 


556  BROWNING    CYCLOPAEDIA. 

Voltaire's  time,  and  did  something  which  made  Voltaire  ridiculous. 
He  wrote  a  poem,  which  he  submitted  to  the  Academy,  but  which 
the  Forty  ignominiously  rejected.  When  the  poet's  rage  sub- 
sided, he  made  bold  to  offer  his  work  to  the  Chevalier  La  Roque, 
editor  of  the  Paris  Mercury,  who  rejected  it  with  the  polite 
excuse  that  he  could  not  offend  the  Forty.  Flattered,  though 
enraged  at  this  excuse,  the  poet  abused  the  editor  till  he  ex- 
plained that  his  poetry  was  execrable,  but  he  had  sought  to 
conceal  the  truth  in  his  rejection.  Maillard  had  a  sister,  who 
determined  to  help  him  by  strategy.  Copying  out  some  of  her 
brother's  verses,  she  sent  them  as  the  efforts  of  a  young  girl,  who 
threw  herself  on  the  great  editor's  mercy,  and  begged  his  intro- 
duction to  a  literary  career  under  the  name  of  Malcrais.  The 
editor  fell  into  the  trap,  and  published  the  poems  from  time  to 
time  till  she  grew  famous.  He  even  went  so  far  as  to  fall  in  love 
with  the  authoress,  and  to  offer  her  marriage.  Voltaire  moreover 
was  deceived,  and  wrote  "  a  stomach-moving  tribute  "  in  her 
honour.  Naturally  the  brother,  finding  that  his  poetry  had  such 
value,  was  unwilling  that  he  should  be  any  longer  deprived  of 
the  glory  attaching  to  it ;  so  he  determined  to  go  to  Paris  and 
confront  the  editor  who  had  insulted  him  with  the  proofs  of  his 
incapability,  by  explaining  who  the  real  Malcrais  was.  This  step 
was  his  ruin :  the  world  does  not  like  to  be  convicted  of  its 
foolishness.  Voltaire  was  not  the  man  to  enjoy  a  jibe  at  his  own 
expense.  Maillard's  literary  career  was  over.  Piron  wrote  a 
famous  play  on  this  subject,  entitled  Metromanie. 

Up  at  a  Villa— Down  in  the  City.  As  distinguished  by 
an  Italian  person  of  quality.  (Men  and  Women,  1855;  Lyrics, 
1863  ;  Dramatic  Lyrics,  1868.)  The  speaker  likes  city  life  :  it  is 
expensive,  he  admits,  but  one  has  something  for  one's  money 
there.  The  whole  day  long  life  is  a  perfect  feast ;  but  up  in  the 
villa  on  the  mountain  side  the  life  is  no  better  than  a  beast's. 
In  the  city  you  can  watch  the  gossips  and  the  passers-by ; 
whereas  up  in  the  villa  there  is  nothing  to  see  but  the  oxen 
dragging  the  plough.  Even  in  summer  it  is  no  better,  and  it  is 
actually  cooler  in  the  city  square  with  the  fountain  playing.  He 
hates  fireflies,  bees,  and  cicalas,  about  which  folks  talk  so  much 
poetry :  what  he  prefers  is  the  blessed  church-bells,  the  rattle  of 
the  diligence,  the  ever  succeeding  news,  the  quack  doctor,  the 


Vll]  BROWNING    CYCLOPAEDIA.  557 

fun  at  the  post  office,  the  execution  of  "  liberals,"  and  the  gay 
church  procession  in  the  streets  on  festivals,  the  drum,  the  fife, 
the  noise  and  bustle.  Of  course  it  is  dear ;  you  cannot  have  all 
these  luxuries  without  paying  for  them,  and  that  is  why  he  is 
compelled  to  live  a  country  life ;  but  oh,  the  pity  of  it,— the  proces- 
sions, the  candles,  the  flags,  the  Duke's  guard,  the  drum,  the  fife ! — 

"  Oh,  a  day  in  the  city-square,  there  is  no  such  pleasure  in  life  !  " 

NOTES. — Stanza  ii.,  "By  Bacchus"  :  Per  Bacco — Italians  still 
swear  by  the  wine-god.  Stanza  ix.,  "  with  a  pink  gauze  gown 
all  spangles,  and  seven  swords  stuck  in  her  heart!"  The 
"  seven  sorrows  of  Our  Lady "  are  referred  to  here.  They  are 
(i)  Her  grief  at  the  prophecy  of  Simeon;  (2)  Her  affliction 
during  the  flight  into  Egypt ;  (3)  Her  distress  at  the  loss  of  her 
Son  before  finding  Him  in  the  Temple ;  (4)  Her  sorrow  when 
she  met  her  Son  bearing  His  cross ;  ( 5)  Her  martyrdom  at  the 
sight  of  His  agony ;  (6)  The  wound  to  her  heart  when  His  was 
pierced ;  and  (7)  Her  agony  at  His  burial.  The  contrast  of  these 
sorrows  with  the  pink  gown,  the  spangles,  and  the  smiles,  is  an 
exquisite  satire  on  some  peculiarities  in  Continental  devotions, 
very  distasteful  to  English  people.  Stanza  x.,  "  Tax  on  salt"  : 
salt  is  taxed  in  Italy;  the  salt  monopoly,  the  lottery,  the  grist 
tax  and  an  octroi  are  the  more  important  items  of  Italy's  immoral 
system  of  taxation.  "  what  oil  pays  passing  the  gate  "  :  the  octroi 
or  town-dues  have  to  be  paid  on  all  provisions  entering  the  cities 
of  Italy,  yellow  candles:  these  are  used  at  funerals,  and  in 
penitential  processions  in  the  Roman  Church. 

Valence.  (Colombe's  Birthday.}  The  advocate  ot  Cleves 
who  marries  Colombe. 

"  Verse-making  was  the  least  of  my  Virtues."  (Ferishtatts 
Fanciest)  The  first  line  of  the  ninth  lyric. 

Villains.  Browning's  principal  villains  are  the  following: — 
Halbert  and  Hob ;  Ned  Bratts ;  Count  Guido  Franceschini; 
the  devil-like  elder  man  of  the  Inn  Album  ;  Paolo  and  Girolamo 
in  The  Ring  and  the  Book ;  Ottima  and  the  Intendant  of 
the  Bishop,  Uguccio,  Stefano  and  Sebald,  in  Pippa  Passes 
(Bluphocks,  in  the  same  poem,  is  rather  a  tool  of  others  than  a 
great  villain  on  his  own  account);  Louscha,  the  mother,  in 
Ivan  Ivanovitch ;  Chiappino  in  A  Soul's  Tragedy. 


55^  BROWNING    CYCLOPAEDIA.  [Vin 

Vincent  Parkes.  (Martin  Relph.)  He  was  Rosamund  Page's 
lover.  The  girl  is  accused  of  being  a  spy,  and  unless  she  can 
clear  herself  within  a  given  time  is  to  be  shot.  Parkes  arrives 
at  the  place  of  execution  with  the  proofs  of  the  girl's  innocence 
just  as  the  fatal  volley  is  fired. 

Violante  Comparini.  (The  Ring  and  the  Book.}  The  sup- 
posed mother  of  Pompilia.  She  was  the  wife  of  Pietro,  and  by 
him  had  no  children ;  she  bought  Pompilia  of  a  courtesan,  and 
brought  the  child  up  as  her  own,  and  was  murdered,  with  her 
husband  and  Pompilia,  by  Count  Guido. 

Vivisection,  or  the  cutting  into  living  animals  for  scientific  pur- 
poses. Mr.  Browning  was  to  the  last  a  Vice-President  of  the  Vic- 
toria Street  Society  for  the  Protection  of  Animals,  and  he  always 
expressed  the  utmost  abhorrence  of  the  practices  which  it  op- 
poses. The  following  letter  was  written  by  Mr.  Browning  on  the 
occasion  of  the  presentation  of  the  memorial  to  the  Royal  Society 
for  the  Prevention  of  Cruelty  to  Animals  in  1875  : — "  19,  War- 
wick Crescent,  W.,  December  28th,  1874. — DEAR  Miss  COBBE, — 
I  return  the  petition  unsigned,  for  the  one  good  reason — that  I 
have  just  signed  its  fellow  forwarded  to  me  by  Mrs.  Leslie 
Stephen.  You  have  heard,  'I  take  an  equal  interest  with  your- 
self in  the  effort  to  supress  vivisection.'  I  dare  not  so  honour  my 
mere  wishes  and  prayers  as  to  put  them  for  a  moment  beside 
your  noble  acts  ;  but  this  I  know :  I  would  rather  submit  to  the 
worst  of  the  deaths,  so  far  as  pain  goes,  than  have  a  single  dog 
or  cat  tortured  on  the  pretence  of  sparing  me  a  twinge  or  two.  I 
return  the  paper,  because  I  shall  be  probably  shut  up  here  for 
the  next  week  or  more,  and  prevented  from  seeing  my  friends. 
Whoever  would  refuse  to  sign  would  certainly  not  be  of  the 
number. — Ever  truly  and  gratefully  yours,  ROBERT  BROWNING." 
— In  two  of  his  poems  the  poet  has  expressed  his  emphatic 
opinion  upon  Vivisection :  in  Tray,  and  in  Arcades  Ambo, 
See  my  chapter  "Browning  and  Vivisection"  in  Browning's 
Message  to  his  Time.  In  the  recently  published  Life  and 
Letters  of  Robert  Browning^  by  Mrs.  Sutherland  Orr,  there  are 
many  interesting  incidents  connected  with  the  great  poet's 
love  for  animals,  which  characterised  him  from  infancy  till 
death.  Mrs.  On  says  (p.  27)  this  fondness  for  animals  was 
conspicuous  in  his  earliest  days.  "His  urgent  demand  for 
' something  to  do'  would  constantly  include  'something  to  be 


Wan]  BROWNING  CYCLOPAEDIA.  559 

caught '  for  him  :  '  they  were  to  catch  him  an  eft  ;  4  they  were  to 
catch  him  a  frog.' "  He  would  refuse  to  take  his  medicine  unless 
bribed  by  the  gift  of  a  speckled  frog  from  among  the  strawberries  ; 
and  the  maternal  parasol,  hovering  above  the  strawberry  bed 
during  the  search  for  this  object  of  his  desires,  remained  a  stand- 
ing picture  in  his  remembrance.  But  the  love  of  the  uncommon 
was  already  asserting  itself ;  and  one  of  his  very  juvenile  pro- 
jects was  a  collection  of  rare  creatures,  the  first  contribution  to 
which  was  a  couple  of  lady-birds,  picked  up  one  winter's  day  on 
a  wall  and  immediately  consigned  to  a  box  lined  with  cotton- 
wool, and  labelled  '  Animals  found  Surviving  in  the  Depths  of 
a  Severe  Winter.'  Nor  did  curiosity  in  this  case  weaken  the 
power  of  sympathy.  His  passion  for  beasts  and  birds  was  the 
counterpart  of  his  father's  love  of  children,  only  displaying  itself 
before  the  age  at  which  child-love  naturally  appears.  His  mother 
used  to  read  CroxalVs  Fables  to  his  little  sister  and  him.  The 
story  contained  in  them  of  a  lion  who  was  kicked  to  death  by  an 
ass  affected  him  so  painfully  that  he  could  no  longer  endure  the 
sight  of  the  book ;  and  as  he  dare  not  destroy  it,  he  buried  it 
between  the  stuffing  and  the  woodwork  of  an  old  dining-room 
chair,  where  it  stood  for  lost,  at  all  events  for  the  time  being. 
When  first  he  heard  of  the  adventures  of  the  parrot  who  insisted 
on  leaving  his  cage,  and  who  enjoyed  himself  for  a  little  while 
and  then  died  of  hunger  and  cold,  he — and  his  sister  with  him — 
cried  so  bitterly  that  it  was  found  necessary  to  invent  a  different 
ending,  according  to  which  the  parrot  was  rescued  just  in  time 
and  brought  back  to  his  cage  to  live  peacefully  in  it  ever  after. 
As  a  boy  he  kept  owls  and  monkeys,  magpies  and  hedgehogs,  an 
eagle,  and  even  a  couple  of  large  snakes  ;  constantly  bringing 
home  the  more  portable  creatures  in  his  pockets,  and  transferring 
them  to  his  mother  for  immediate  care.  I  have  heard  him  speak 
admiringly  of  the  skilful  tenderness  with  which  she  took  into  her 
lap  a  lacerated  cat,  washed  and  sewed  up  its  ghastly  wound,  and 
nursed  it  back  to  health.  The  great  intimacy  with  the  life  and 
habits  of  animals  which  reveals  itself  in  his  works  is  readily 
explained  by  these  facts." 

Wall,  A.     The  prologue  to  Pacchiarotto  (q.v)  bears  this  title 
in  the  Selections,  Series  the  Second  (published  in  1880). 
Wanting  is— what  ?    (Prologue  to  Jocoseria,  1883.)    In  every 


560  BROWNING    CYCLOPAEDIA.  [Wan 

phase  of  human  life,  and  in  every  human  action,  there  is  imper- 
fection— always  something  still  to  come.  In  the  characters  de- 
picted and  the  incidents  narrated  in  the  volume  called  Jocoseria 
the  poet  asks  us  to  say  what  is  wanting  to  perfect  them.  His 
question  "  Wanting  is — what  ?  "  governs  the  whole  volume.  In 
Solomon  and  Balkis  what  was  wanting  was  not  mere  wisdom, 
but  a  sanctified  nature.  In  Christina  and  Monaldeschi  the  woman 
was  wanting  in  forgiveness.  Here  the  love  was  not  perfect.  In 
Mary  Wollstonecraft  and  Fuseli  what  was  wanting  was  self- 
sacrifice.  Had  Mary  really  loved  Fuseli,  she  would  not  have 
attempted  to  ruin  his  life  by  endeavouring  to  win  him  from  his 
wife.  In  Adam,  Lilith,  and  Eve,  there  was  wanting,  says  Mr. 
Sharpe,  "the  union  of  perfect  love  with  perfect  holiness."  In 
Ixion  was  wanting  a  just  conception  of  the  Fatherhood  of  God. 
God  is  not  the  tyrannical  Master  of  the  world,  but  the  Loving  All- 
Father.  In  Jochanan  Hakkadosh,  Mr.  Sharpe  says,  in  answer  to 
the  question,  "Wanting  is — what?"  "One  who  shall  combine 
perfect  wisdom  with  the  full  experience  of  life,  and  the  complete- 
ness of  these  intuitions  of  the  Spirit."  "Is  not  this  the  Christ  ?  " 
In  Never  the  Time  and  the  Place,  to  completely  develop  our  souls 
we  need  perfect  conditions  of  existence.  We  shall  not  find 
them  till  we  reach  heaven.  In  Pambo  the  saint  recognised  that 
he  could  not  perfectly  fulfil  the  smallest  of  God's  commandments, 
nor  can  we  perfectly  keep  God's  law.  Wanting  is  the  Atonement. 
NOTE. — "  Come,  then,  complete  incompletion,  O  Comer,  Pant 
through  the  blueness," — i.e.  descend  from  heaven.  The  Rev.  J. 
Sharpe,  M.A.,  thus  explains  the  title  "  O  Comer"  :  "6  epx6pcvotf 
in  the  New  Testament,  is  one  of  the  titles  of  the  Messiah — the 
Future  One,  He  who  shall  come  (Matt.  xi.  3,  xxi.  9 ;  Luke  vii. 
19,20;  John  xii.  13;  also  John  vi.  14,  xi.  27).  So  in  the 
periphrase  of  the  name  Jehovah,  6  &v  KOI  o  qv  KOI  6  epxop-cvos 
(Rev.  i.  4,  8  ;  iv.  8). — Robinson's  Greek  Lexicon  of  the  New  Testa- 
ment. The  title  hints  at  the  connection  between  this  preface 
and  the  stories  from  the  Talmud  which  follow.  The  Incarnation, 
the  union  of  God  and  man,  of  Creator  and  creation,  supplies  the 
solution  of  the  problem  raised  by  the  incompleteness  and  death  all 
around  us.  The  beauty  is  no  longer  without  meaning,  for  it  is  a 
revelation  of  God ;  the  huge  mass  of  death  is  no  longer  revolt- 
ing, for  '  all  things  were  created  by  Him,  and  for  Him  .  .  .  and 
by  Him  all  things  consist,'  and  He  will  '  reunite  all  things  .  . 


War]  BROWNING   CYCLOP/EDIA.  561 

whether  they  be  things  on  earth  or  things  in  heaven."*  In  the 
character  of  Donald,  what  was  wanting  was  the  development  of 
"  the  latent  moral  faculty."  He  did  not  recognise  the  rights  of 
the  stag,  which  the  commonest  principles  of  justice,  to  say  nothing 
of  gratitude,  should  have  made  obvious  to  the  sportsman. 

Waring.  Waring  was  the  name  given  by  the  poet  to  his 
friend  Mr.  Alfred  Domett,  C.M.G.,  son  of  Mr.  Nathaniel  Domett, 
born  at  Camberwell,  May  2Oth,  1811.  He  matriculated  at  Cam- 
bridge in  1829,  as  a  member  of  St.  John's  College.  In  1832  he 
published  a  volume  of  poems.  He  then  travelled  in  America  for 
two  years,  and  after  his  return  to  London,  about  1836-7,  he  con- 
tributed some  verses  to  Blackwood's  Magazine.  Mr.  Domett 
afterwards  spent  two  years  in  Italy,  Switzerland,  and  other 
continental  countries.  He  was  called  to  the  bar  in  1841. 
Having  purchased  some  land  of  the  New  Zealand  Company,  he 
went  as  a  settler  to  New  Zealand  in  1842.  In  1851  he  became 
Secretary  for  the  whole  of  that  country.  He  accepted  posts 
as  Commissioner  of  Crown  Lands  and  Resident  Magistrate  at 
Hawke's  Bay.  Subsequently  he  was  elected  to  represent  the 
town  of  Nelson  in  the  House  of  Representatives.  In  1862  Mr. 
Domett  was  called  upon  to  form  a  Government,  which  he  did. 
Having  held  various  important  offices  in  the  Legislature,  and 
rendered  great  services  to  the  country,  he  was  created  a  Com- 
panion of  the  Order  of  St.  Michael  and  St.  George  (1880).  He 
returned  to  England  and  published  several  volumes  of  poems. 
His  chief  work  is  Ranolf  and  Amohia,  full  of  descriptions  of 
New  Zealand  scenery,  and  paying  a  warm  tribute  to  Mr- 
Browning,  whom  he  calls 

"Subtlest  assertor  of  the  soul  in  song."          «-•;;•"..,  ,*   j1 

Mr.  Domett  suddenly  disappeared  from  London  life  in  the  manner 
described  in  the  poem.  He  shook  off,  by  an  overpowering  im- 
pulse, the  restraints  of  conventional  life,  and  without  a  word  to 
his  dearest  friends,  vanished  into  the  unknown.  As  the  story  is 
told  in  the  poem,  we  see  a  man  with  large  ideas,  ambitious,  full 
of  great  thoughts,  inspired  by  a  passion  for  great  things,  a  man 
born  to  rule,  and  fretting  against  the  restraints  of  the  petty  con- 
ventionalities of  civilised  life.  Those  about  him  cannot  under- 
stand, and  if  they  did  could  in  no  wise  help  him  ;  he  chafes  and 
longs  to  break  his  bonds  and  live  the  freer  life  in  which  his 

36 


562  BROWNING   CYCLOPAEDIA. 

energies  can  expand.  The  poem  tells  of  the  cold  and  unsym- 
pathetic criticism  he  received  amongst  his  friends  ;  and  now  that 
he  has  disappeared,  the  poet's  spirit  yearns  for  his  society  once 
more.  He  wonders  where  he  has  pitched  his  tent,  and  in  fancy 
runs  through  the  world  to  seek  him.  He  has  been  heard  of  in  a 
ghostly  sort  of  way.  A  vision  of  him  has  been  narrated  by  one 
who  for  a  few  moments  caught  sight  of  him  and  lost  him  again 
in  the  setting  sun.  The  poet  reflects  that  the  stars  which  set 
here,  rise  in  some  distant  heaven.  The  following  obituary  notice 
of  Alfred  Domett,  by  Dr.  Furnivall,  appeared  in  the  Pall  Mali 
Gazette  of  November  9th,  1 887.  It  has  had  the  advantage  of  being 
revised  and  corrected  in  a  few  small  details  by  Mr.  F.  Young, 
"  Waring's"  cousin.  See  also  an  article  in  Temple  Ear,  Feb.,  1896, 
p,  253,  entitled  "  A  Queen's  Messenger." 

1  "What's  Become  of  Waring?"— IN  MEMORIAM.  (By  a 
itlember  of  the  Browning  Society.)  "  What's  become  of 
Waring?"  is  the  first  line  of  one  of  Mr.  Browning's  poems 
•of  1842  (Bells  and  Pomegranates,  Part  II.),  which,  from  its 
•dealing  with  his  life  in  London  in  early  manhood,  is  a  great 
favourite  with  his  readers.  Alas!  the  handsome  and  brilliant 
hero  of  the  Browning  set  in  the  thirties  died  last  Wednesday, 
at  the  house  in  St.  Charles's  Square,  North  Kensington,  where 
he  had  for  many  years  lived  near  his  artist  son.  Alfred 
Domett  was  the  son  of  one  of  Nelson's  middies,  a  gallant 
seaman.  He  was  called  to  the  bar,  and  lived  in  the  Temple 
with  his  friend  '  Joe  Arnold,'  a  man  of  great  ability,  afterwards 
Sir  Joseph,  Chief  Justice  of  Bombay,  who  ultimately  settled  at 
Naples,  where  he  died.  Having  an  independency,  Alfred  Domett 
lingered  in  London  society  for  a  time, — one  of  the  handsomest 
and  most  attractive  men  there, — till  he  was  induced  to  emigrate 
to  New  Zealand,  to  join  his  cousin,  William  Young,  the  son  of 
the  London  shipowner,  George  Frederick  Young,  who  had  bought 
a  large  tract  of  land  in  the  islands.  Alfred  Domett  landed  to 
find  his  cousin  drowned.  He  was  himself  soon  after  appointed 
to  a  magistracy  with  £700  a  year.  He  had  a  successful  career 
in  New  Zealand, — where  Mr.  Browning  alludes  to  him  in  The 
Guardian  Angel — became  Premier,  married  a  handsome  English 
lady,  and  then  returned  to  England.  He  first  lived  at  Phillimore 
Place  or  Terrace,  Kensington,  and  while  there  saw  a  good 
deal  of  his  old  friend  Mr.  Browning ;  but  after  he  moved  to  St 


BROWNING   CYCLOPAEDIA.  563 

Charles's  Square,  the  former  companions  seldom  met.  On  the 
foundation  of  the  Browning  Society,  Alfred  Domett  declined  any 
post  of  honour,  but  became  an  interested  member  of  the  body. 
His  grand  white  head  was  to  be  seen  at  all  the  Society's  per- 
formances and  at  several  of  its  meetings.  He  naturally  preferred 
Mr.  Browning's  early  works  to  the  later  ones.  He  could  not  be 
persuaded  to  write  any  account  of  his  early  London  days,  but 
said  he  would  try  to  find  the  letters  in  which  his  friend  'Joe 
Arnold'  reported  to  him  in  New  Zealand  the  doings  of  their 
London  set.  Mr.  Domett  produced  with  pride  his  sea-stained 
copy  of  Browning's  Bells  and  Pomegranates,  now  worth  twenty 
or  thirty  times  its  original  price.  Before  he  left  England,  his 
poem  on  Venice  was  printed  in  Blackwood>  and  very  highly 
praised  by  Christopher  North.  (The  reprint  is  in  the  British 
Museum.)  His  longer  and  chief  poem,  Ranolf  and  Amohia 
(1872),  full  of  New  Zealand  scenery,  and  paying  a  warm  tribute 
to  Mr.  Browning,  was  reprinted  by  him  in  two  volumes,  revised 
and  enlarged,  some  four  or  five  years  ago.  A  lucky  accident  to 
a  leg,  which  permanently  lamed  him,  soon  after  his  arrival  in 
New  Zealand,  saved  his  life ;  for  it  prevented  his  accepting  the 
invitation  of  some  treacherous  native  chiefs  to  a  banquet  at 
which  all  the  English  guests  were  killed.  A  sterling,  manlj>v, 
independent  nature  was  Alfred  Domett's.  He  impressed  every 
one  with  whom  he  came  in  contact,  and  is  deeply  regretted  by 
his  remaining  friends.  We  hope  that  Mr.  Browning  will  in  his 
next  volume  give  a  few  lines  to  the  memory  of  his  early  friend. 
Not  many  of  the  old  set  remain,  possibly  not  one  save  the  poet 
himself ;  and  all  his  readers  will  rejoice  to  hear  again  of  Waring, 
41  Alfred,  dear  friend."  The  Guardian  Angel  question — 

"Where  are  you,  dear  old  friend  ?" 
needs  other  answer  now  than  that  of  1855 — 

"How  rolls  the  Wairoa  at  your  world's  far  end? 
This  is  Ancona,  yonder  is  the  sea." 

NOTES. — Canto  iv.,"  Monstr1 — inform' — ingens — hoiren-dous" : 
from  Vergil's  &n.  iii.  657 — "Monstrum  horreudum,  informe, 
ingens,  cui  lumen  ademtum":  a  horrid  monster,  misshapen, 
huge,  from  whom  sight  had  been  taken  away,  vi.,  Vishnu-land: 
India,  where  Vishnu  is  worshipped ;  the  second  person  of  the 
modern  Hindu  Trinity.  He  is  regarded  as  a  member  of  the 


54  BROWNING  CYCLOPAEDIA. 

Triad  whose  special  function  is  to  preserve.  To  do  this  he  has 
nine  times  in  succession  become  incarnate,  and  will  do  so  once 
more.  Avatar:  the  incarnation  of  a  deity.  The  ten  incarna- 
tions of  Vishnu  are — I.  Matsya-Avatar,  as  a  fish ;  2.  Kurm- 
Avatar,  as  a  tortoise;  3.  Varaha,  as  a  boar;  4.  Nara-Sing,  as 
a  man-lion,  last  animal  stage ;  5.  Vamuna,  as  a  dwarf,  first  step 
toward  the  human  form ;  6.  Parasu-Raraa,  as  a  hero,  but  yet  an 
imperfect  man  ;  7.  Rama-Chandra,  as  the  hero  of  Ramaydna, 
physically  a  perfect  man,  his  next  of  kin,  friend  and  ally  Hamouma, 
the  monkey-god,  the  monkey  endowed  with  speech  ;  8.  Christna- 
Avatar,  the  son  of  the  virgin  Devanaguy,  one  formed  by  God ; 
9.  Gautama-Buddha,  Siddhartha,  or  Sakya-muni ;  10.  This  avatar 
has  not  yet  occurred.  It  is  expected  in  the  future  ;  when  Vishnu 
appears  for  the  last  time  he  will  come  as  a  "saviour."  (Bla- 
vatzky,  Isis  Unveiled,  vol.  ii.,  p  274.)  Kremlin,  the  citadel  of 
Moscow,  Russia,  serpentine :  a  rock,  often  of  a  dull  green 
colour,  mantled  and  mottled  with  red  and  purple,  syenite  :  a 
stone  named  from  Syene,  in  Egypt,  where  it  was  first  found. 
11  Diaris  fame " :  Diana  was  worshipped  by  the  inhabitants  of 
Taurica  Chersonesus.  Taurica  Chersonesus  is  now  the  country 
called  the  Crimea.  Hellenic  speech  =  Greek.  Scythian  strands : 
Taurica  is  joined  by  an  isthmus  to  Scythia,  and  is  bounded  by 
the  Bosphorus,  the  Euxine  Sea,  and  the  Palus  Maeotis.  Caldara 
Polidore  da  Caravaggio  (1495-1543):  he  was  a  celebrated 
painter  of  frieze,  etc.,  at  the  Vatican.  Raphael  discovered  his 
talents  when  he  was  a  mere  mortar  carrier  to  the  other  artists. 
The  "Andromeda"  picture,  of  which  Browning  speaks  in  Pauline, 
was  an  engraving  from  a  work  of  this  artist.  "  The  heart  of 
Hamlefs  Mystery  "  :  few  characters  in  literature  have  been  more 
discussed  than  that  of  Hamlet.  Schlegel  thought  he  exhausted 
the  power  of  action  by  calculating  consideration.  Goethe 
thought  he  possessed  a  noble  nature  without  the  strength  of 
nerve  which  forms  a  hero.  Many  say  he  was  mad,  others  that 
he  was  the  founder  of  the  pessimistic  school.  Junius :  the 
mystery  of  the  authorship  of  the  famous  letters  of  Junius  is 
referred  to.  Chatterton,  Thomas  (1752-70)  :  the  boy  poet  "who 
deceived  the  credulous  scholars  of  his  day  by  pretending  that 
he  had  discovered  some  Ancient  poems  in  the  parish  chest  of 
Redcliffe  Church,  Bristol.  Rowley,  Thomas:  the  hypothetical 
priest  of'  Bristol,  said  by  Chatterton  to  have  lived  in  the  reigns 


WM]  BROWNING   CYCLOPAEDIA.  565 

of  Henry  VI.  and  Edward  IV.,  and  to  have  written  the  poems  of 
which  Chatterton  himself  was  the  author,  ii.  2,  Triest :  the 
principal  seaport  of  the  Austro-Hungarian  empire,  situated  very 
picturesquely  at  the  north-east  angle  of  the  Adriatic  Sea,  in 
the  Gulf  of  Trieste,  lateen  sail:  a  triangular  sail  commonly 
used  in  the  Mediterranean.  "  'long-shore  thieves "  :  "  along- 
shore men "  are  the  low  fellows  who  hang  about  quays  and 
docks,  generally  of  bad  character. 

1  When  I  vexed  you  and  you  chid  me."  (Ferisktah's  Fancies.} 
The  first  line  of  the  seventh  lyric. 
Which?    (Asolando,  1889.)    Three  court  ladies  make 

"Trial  of  all  who  judged  best 
In  esteeming  the  love  of  a  man." 

An  abbe"  sits  to  decide  the  wager  and  say  who  was  to  be  con- 
sidered the  best  Cupid  catcher.  First,  the  Duchesse  maintains 
that  it  is  the  man  who  holds  none  above  his  lady-love  save  his 
God  and  his  king.  The  Marquise  does  not  care  for  saint  and 
loyalist,  so  much  as  a  man  of  pure  thoughts  and  fine  deeds  who 
can  play  the  paladin.  The  Comtesse  chooses  any  wretch,  any 
poor  outcast,  who  would  look  to  her  as  his  sole  saviour,  and 
stretch  his  arms  to  her  as  love's  ultimate  goal.  The  abbe"  had  to 
reflect  awhile.  He  took  a  pinch  of  snuff  to  clear  his  brain,  and 
then,  after  deliberation,  said — 

u  The  love  which  to  one,  and  one  only,  has  reference, 
Seems  terribly  like  what  perhaps  gains  God's  preference." 

White  Witchcraft.  (Asolando,  1889.)  Magic  is  defined  to 
be  of  two  kinds — Divine  and  evil.  Divine  is  white  magic ;  black 
magic  is  of  the  devil.  Amongst  the  ancients  magic  was  con- 
sidered a  Divine  science,  which  led  to  a  participation  in  the 
attributes  of  Divinity  itself.  Philo-Judaeus,  De  Specialibus 
Legibus,  says :  "  It  unveils  the  operations  of  Nature,  and  leads 
to  the  contemplation  of  celestial  powers."  When  magic  became 
degraded  into  sorcery  it  was  naturally  abhorred  by  all  the  world, 
and  the  evil  reputation  attaching  to  the  word,  even  at  the  present 
day,  must  be  attributed  to  the  fact  that  white  witchcraft  had  a 
singular  affinity  for  the  black  arts.  Perhaps  what  is  now  termed 
11  science  "  expresses  all  that  was  originally  intended  by  the  term 
white  magic.  The  men  of  science  of  the  past  were  not  un- 


566  BROWNING   CYCLOPAEDIA. 

acquainted  with  black  arts,  according  to  their  enemies.  Hence 
Pietro  d'Abano,  John  of  Halberstadt,  Cornelius  Agrippa,  and 
other  learned  men  of  the  middle  ages,  incurred  the  hatred  of  the 
clergy.  Paracelsus  is  made  expressly  by  Browning  to  abjure 
"black  arts"  in  his  struggles  for  knowledge.  Burton,  in  his 
Anatomy  of  Melancholy,  speaks  of  white  witches.  He  says 
(Part  II.,  sec.  i.) :  "  Sorcerers  are  too  common :  cunning  men, 
wizards,  and  whit»-witches,  as  they  call  them,  in  every  village, 
which,  if  they  be  sought  to,  will  help  almost  all  infirmities  of 
body  and  mind — setvatores,  in  Latin  ;  and  they  have  commonly 
St.  Catherine's  wheel  printed  in  the  roof  of  their  mouth,  or  in 
some  part  about  them." 

[THE  POEM.]  One  says  if  he  could  play  Jupiter  for  once,  and 
had  the  power  to  turn  his  friend  into  an  animal,  he  would  decree 
that  she  should  become  a  fox.  The  lady,  if  invested  with  the 
same  power,  would  turn  him  into  a  toad.  He  bids  Canidia  say 
her  worst  about  him  when  reduced  to  this  condition.  The 
Canidia  referred  to  is  the  sorceress  of  Naples  in  Horace,  who 
could  bring  the  moon  from  heaven.  The  witch  boasts  of  her 
power  in  this  respect: — 

"  Meaeque  terra  cedit  insolentiae. 
(Ut  ipse  nosti  curiosus)  et  Polo 
An  quae  movere  cereas  imagines, 
Diripere  Lunam." 

(HORAT.,  Canid.  Epod.,  xvii.  75,  etc.) 

Hudibras  mentions  this  (Part  II.,  3)  ; — 

"  Your  ancient  conjurors  were  wont 
To  make  her  (the  moon)  from  her  sphere  dismount, 
And  to  their  incantations  stoop." 

The  Zoophilist  for  July  1891  gives  the  following,  from  Mrs.  Orr's 
Life  of  Browning,  as  the  origin  of  the  reference  to  the  toad  in 
the  poem  :  "About  the  year  1835,  when  Mr.  Browning's  parents 
removed  to  Hatcham,  the  young  poet  found  a  humble  friend 
'  in  the  form  of  a  toad,  which  became  so  much  attached  to  him 
that  it  would  follow  him  as  he  walked.  He  visited  it  daily, 
where  it  burrowed  under  a  white  rose  tree,  announcing  himself 
by  a  pinch  of  gravel  dropped  into  its  hole;  and  the  creature 
would  crawl  forth,  allow  its  head  to  be  gently  tickled,  and 
reward  the  act  with  that  loving  glance  of  the  soft,  full  eyes  which 


W11J  BROWNING   CYCLOPAEDIA.  567 

Mr.  Browning  has  recalled  in  one  of  the  poems  of  Asolando? 
The  lines  are : — 

"  He's  loathsome,  I  allow ; 

There  may  or  may  not  lurk  a  pearl  beneath  his  puckered  brow ; 
But  see  his  eyes  that  follow  mine — love  lasts  there,  anyhow." 

"Why  from  the  World."  The  first  words  of  the  twelfth 
lyric  in  Ferishtatis  Fancies. 

Why  I  am  a  Liberal  was  a  poem  written  for  Cassell  &  Co. 
in  1885,  who  published  a  volume  of  replies  by  English  men  of 
letters,  etc.,  to  the  question,  "  Why  I  am  a  Liberal?" 

"WHY  I  AM  A  LIBERAL. 

" '  Why  ?'    Because  all  I  haply  can  and  do, 
All  that  I  am  now,  all  I  hope  to  be, — 
Whence  comes  it  save  from  future  setting  free 

Body  and  soul  the  purpose  to  pursue 

God  traced  for  both  ?     If  fetters,  not  a  few, 
Of  prejudice,  convention,  fall  from  me, 
These  shall  I  bid  men — each  in  his  degree, 

Also  God-guided — bear,  and  gayly,  too? 

But  little  do  or  can,  the  best  of  us : 

That  little  is  achieved  through  Liberty. 

Who,  then,  dares  hold,  emancipated  thus, 
His  fellow  shall  continue  bound  ?     Not  I, 

Who  live,  love,  labour  freely,  nor  discuss 

A  brother's  right  to  freedom.     That  is  '  Why. '  * 

Will,  The.  (Sordello.}  Mr.  Browning  uses  the  term  "  will "  to 
express  Sordello's  effort  to  "realise  all  his  aspirations  in  his 
inner  consciousness,  in  his  imagination,  in  his  feeling  that  he 
is  potentially  all  these  things."  See  Professor  Alexanders 
Analysis  of  "  Sordello"  Ivii.,  p.  406  (Browning  Society's  Papers}  \ 
"The  Body,  the  machine  for  acting  Will"  (Sordello,  Book  II., 
line  1014,  and  p.  477  of  this  work).  Mr.  Browning's  early  opinions 
were  so  largely  formed  by  his  occult  and  theosophical  studies 
that  it  is  necessary  for  the  full  understanding  of  his  theory  of  the 
will  and  its  power,  to  study  the  following  axioms  from  the  work 
of  an  occult  writer,  Eliphas  Levi,  as  a  good  summary  of  the 
teaching  so  largely  imbibed  by  the  poet. 


568  BROWNING  CYCLOPEDIA. 

"THEORY  OF  WILL-POWER. 

"Axiom  i.  Nothing  can  resist  the  will  of  man  when  he  knows 
what  is  true  and  wills  what  is  good.  Axiom  2.  To  will  evil  is  to 
will  death.  A  perverse  will  is  the  beginning  of  suicide.  Axiom  3. 
To  will  what  is  good  with  violence  is  to  will  evil,  for  violence 
produces  disorder  and  disorder  produces  evil.  Axiom  4.  We 
can  and  should  accept  evil  as  the  means  to  good  ;  but  we  must 
never  practise  it,  otherwise  we  should  demolish  with  one  hand 
what  we  erect  with  the  other.  A  good  intention  never  justifies 
bad  means  ;  when  it  submits  to  them  it  corrects  them,  and  con- 
demns them  while  it  makes  use  of  them.  Axiom  5.  To  earn 
the  right  to  possess  permanently  we  must  will  long  and 
patiently.  Axiom  6.  To  pass  one's  life  in  willing  what  it  is 
impossible  to  retain  for  ever  is  to  abdicate  life  and  accept  the 
eternity  of  death.  Axiom  7.  The  more  numerous  the  obstacles 
which  are  surmounted  by  the  will,  the  stronger  the  will  becomes. 
It  is  for  this  reason  that  Christ  has  exalted  poverty  and  suffering. 
Axiom  8.  When  the  will  is  devoted  to  what  is  absurd  it  is  repri- 
manded by  eternal  reason.  Axiom  9.  The  will  of  the  just  man 
is  the  will  of  God  Himself,  and  it  is  the  law  of  nature.  Axiom  10. 
The  understanding  perceives  through  the  medium  of  the  will. 
If  the  will  be  healthy,  the  sight  is  accurate.  God  said,  '  Let 
there  be  light  I '  and  the  light  was.  The  will  says :  '  Let  the 
world  be  such  as  I  wish  to  behold  it!'  and  the  intelligence 
perceives  it  as  the  will  has  determined.  This  is  the  meaning  of 
Amen,  which  confirms  the  acts  of  faith.  Axiom  n.  When  we 
produce  phantoms  we  give  birth  to  vampires,  and  must  nourish 
these  children  of  nightmare  with  our  own  blood  and  life,  with 
our  own  intelligence  and  reason,  and  still  we  shall  never  satiate 
them.  Axiom  12.  To  affirm  and  will  what  ought  to  be  is  to 
create;  to  affirm  and  will  what  should  not  be  is  to  destroy. 
Axiom  13.  Light  is  an  electric  fire,  which  is  placed  by  man  at 
the  disposition  of  the  will ;  it  illuminates  those  who  know  how 
to  make  use  of  it,  and  burns  those  who  abuse  it  Axiom  14. 
The  empire  of  the  world  is  the  empire  of  light.  Axiom  15. 
Great  minds  with  wills  badly  equilibrated  are  like  comets,  which 
are  abortive  suns.  Axiom  16.  To  do  nothing  is  as  fatal  as  to 
commit  evil,  and  it  is  more  cowardly.  Sloth  is  the  most  unpar- ' 
donable  of  the  deadly  sins.  Axiom  17.  To  suffer  is  to  labour. 


BROWNING   CYCLOP/EDIA.  569 

A  great  misfortune  properly  endured  is  a  progress  accomplished. 
Those  who  suffer  much  live  more  truly  than  those  who  undergo 
no  trials.  Axiom  18.  The  voluntary  death  of  self-devotion  is  not 
a  suicide,— it  is  the  apotheosis  of  free-will.  Axiom  19.  Fear 
is  only  indolence  of  will;  and  for  this  reason  public  opinion 
brands  the  coward.  Axiom  20.  An  iron  chain  is  less  difficult  to 
burst  than  a  chain  of  flowers.  Axiom  21.  Succeed  in  not  fearing 
the  lion,  and  the  lion  will  be  afraid  of  you.  Say  to  suffering, 
4 1  will  that  thou  shalt  become  a  pleasure,'  and  it  will  prove 
such,  and  more  even  than  a  pleasure,  for  it  will  be  a  blessing. 
Axiom  22.  Before  deciding  that  a  man  is  happy  or  otherwise 
seek  to  ascertain  the  bent  of  his  will.  Tiberius  died  daily  at 
Caprea,  while  Jesus  proved  His  immortality,  and  even  His 
divinity,  upon  Calvary  and  the  Cross." 

"Wish  no  word  unspoken."  (FerishtdKs  Fancies?)  The 
first  words  of  the  lyric  to  the  second  poem. 

Woman's  Last  Word,  A.  (Men  and  Women,  1855 ;  Lyrics, 
1863;  Dramatic  Lyrics,  1868.)  In  the  presence  of  perfect  love 
words  are  often  superfluous,  wild,  and  hurtful ;  words  lead  to  de- 
bate, debate  to  contention,  striving,  weeping.  Even  truth  becomes 
falseness;  for  if  the  heart  is  consecrated  by  a  pure  affection, 
love  is  the  only  truth ;  and  the  chill  of  logic  and  the  precision  of 
a  definition  can  be  no  other  than  harmful;  therefore  hush  the 
talking,  pry  not  after  the  apples  of  the  knowledge  of  good  and 
evil,  or  Eden  will  surely  be  in  peril.  The  only  knowledge  is  the 
charm  of  love's  protecting  embrace,  the  only  language  is  the 
speech  of  love,  the  only  thought  to  think  the  loved  one's  thought — 
the  absolute  sacrifice  of  the  whole  self  on  the  altar  of  love  ;  but 
before  the  altar  can  be  approached  sorrow  must  be  buried,  a 
little  weeping  has  to  be  done  ;  the  morrow  shall  see  the  offering 
presented, — "  the  might  of  love  "  will  drown  alike  both  hopes  and 
fears. 

Women  and  Roses.  (Men  and  Women,  1855  ;  Lyrics,  1863; 
Dramatic  Lyrics,  1868.)  The  singer  dreams  of  a  red  rose  tree 
with  three  roses  on  its  branches  ;  one  is  a  faded  rose  whose  petals 
are  about  to  fall, — the  bees  do  not  notice  it  as  they  pass ;  the  second 
is  a  rose  in  its  perfection;  its  cup  "ruby-rimmed/'  its  heart 
"  nectar-brimmed," — the  bee  revels  in  its  nectar ;  the  third  is  a 
baby  rosebud.  And  in  these  flowers  the  poet  sees  types  of  the 
women  of  the  ages, — the  past,  the  present,  and  the  future :  the 


57°  BROWNING    CYCLOPEDIA.  [Wom 

shadows  of  the  noble  and  beautiful,  or  wicked  women  in  history 
and  poetry  dance  round  the  dead  rose ;  round  the  perfect  rose 
of  the  present  dance  the  spirits  of  the  women  of  to-day ;  round 
the  bud  troop  the  little  feet  of  maidens  yet  unborn ;  and  all  dance 
to  one  cadence  round  the  dreamer's  tree.  The  dance  will  go  on 
as  before  when  the  dreamer  has  departed,  roses  will  bloom  then 
for  other  beholders,  and  other  dreamers  will  see  and  remember 
their  loveliness ;  the  creations  of  the  poet  even  must  join  the 
dance.  As  the  love  of  the  past,  so  the  love  to  come,  must  link 
hands  and  trip  to  the  measure. 

Women  of  Browning.  The  best  are  Pompilia,  in  The  Ring 
and  the  Book,  the  lady  in  the  Inn  Album,  and  the  heroine  in 
Colombe's  Birthday ;  the  others,  good  and  bad,  are  the  wife  in 
Any  Wife  to  any  Husband ;  James  Lee's  Wife,  Michal,  Pippa, 
Mildred,  Gwendolen,  Polixena,  Colombe,  Anael,  Domizia,  "  The 
Queen,"  Constance;  and  the  heroines  of  The  Laboratory,  The 
Confessional,  A  Woman's  Last  Word,  In  a  Year,  A  Light 
Woman,  and  A  Forgiveness. 

Works  of  Robert  Browning.  The  new  and  uniform  edition 
of  the  works  of  Robert  Browning  is  published  in  sixteen  volumes, 
small  crown  Svo.  This  edition  contains  three  portraits  of  Mr. 
Browning,  at  different  periods  of  life,  and  a  few  illustrations. 
Contents  of  the  volumes : — 

Vol.    I.  Pauline  and  Sordello. 
„     2.  Paracelsus  and  Strafford. 
„     3.  Pippa  Passes,  King  Victor  and  King  Charles,  The  Return  of 

the  Druses,   and  A  Soul's  Tragedy  \  with  a  portrait  of 

Mr.  Browning. 
„    4.  A  Blot  in  the  'Scutcheon,  Colombe's  Birthday,  and  Men  and 

Women. 

„     5.  Dramatic  Romances,  and  Christmas  Eve  and  Easter  Day. 
„     6.  Dramatic  Lyrics,  and  Luria. 
„     7.  In  a  Balcony,  and  Dramatis  Persona* ;  with  a  portrait  of  Mr. 

Browning. 

„     8.  The  Ring  and  the  Book :  books  i.  to  iv. ;  with  two  illustrations. 
„     9.   The  Ring  and  the  Book  :  books  v.  to  viii. 
„  10.  The  Ring  and  the  Book :  books  ix.  to  xii. ;  with  a  portrait 

of  Guido  Franceschini. 
„  II.  Balaustion's  Adventure,  Prince Hohenstiel-Schwangau,  Saviour 

of  Society,  and  Fifine  at  the  Fair. 


YOU]  BROWNING  CYCLOPAEDIA.  571 

Vol.  12.  Red  Cotton  Nightcap  Country,  and  The  Inn  Album. 

„  13.  Aristophanes'  Apology,  including  a  Transcript  from  Euripides, 
being  the  Last  Adventure  of  Balaustion,  and  The  Agamem 
non  of  Aeschylus. 

„  14.  Pacchiarotto,  and  How  he  worked  in  Distemper ;  with  other 
Poems ;  La  Saisias  and  The  Two  Poets  of  Croisic. 

„  15.  Dramatic  Idyls,  first  series ;  Dramatic  Idyls,  second  series, 
and  Jocoseria. 

„  1 6.  Ferishtatis  Fancies,  and  Parleyings  with  certain  People  of  Im- 
portance in  their  Day,  with  a  portrait  of  Mr.  Browning. 

Also  Mr.  Browning's  last  volume,  Asolando,  Fancies  and  Facts. 

Worst  of  it,  The.  (Dramatis  Persona,  1864.)  A  fleck  on 
a  swan  is  beauty  spoiled ;  a  speck  on  a  mottled  hide  is  nought. 
A  man  had  angel  fellowship  with  a  young  wife  who  proved  false 
to  him ;  he  loves  her  still,  and  mourns  that  she  ruined  her  soul 
in  stooping  to  save  his  ;  he  made  her  sin  by  fettering  with  a  gold 
ring  a  soul  which  could  not  blend  with  his.  He  sorrows,  not  for 
his  own  loss,  but  that  his  swan  must  take  the  crow's  rebuff.  He 
desires  her  good,  and  hopes  she  may  work  out  her  penance,  and 
reach  heaven's  purity  at  last.  He  will  love  on,  but  if  they  meet 
in  Paradise,  will  pass  nor  turn  his  face. 

Xanthus.  (A  Death  in  the  Desert?)  One  of  the  disciples  of 
St.  John  in  attendance  upon  the  dying  apostle  in  the  cave. 

"  You  groped  your  way  across  my  room."  (Ferishtah's 
Fancies?)  The  first  line  of  the  third  lyric. 

"  You'll  love  me  yet."    (Pippa  Passes.}    A  song. 

Youth  and  Art.  (Dramatis  Persona,  1864.)  A  meditation 
on  what  might  have  been,  had  two  young  people  who  had  the 
chance  not  missed  it  and  lost  it  for  ever.  They  lodged  in  the 
same  street  in  Rome.  The  man  was  a  sculptor  who  had  dreams 
of  demolishing  Gibson  some  day,  and  putting  up  Smith  to  reign 
in  his  stead;  the  woman  was  a  singer  who  hoped  to  trill 
bitterness  into  the  cup  of  Grisi,  and  make  her  envious  of  Kate 
Brown.  The  warbler  earned  in  those  days  as  little  by  her  voice 
as  the  chiseller  by  his  work.  They  were  poor,  lived  on  a  crust 
apiece,  and  for  fun  watched  each  other  from  their  respective 
windows.  She  was  evidently  dying  for  an  introduction  to  him  ; 
she  fidgeted  about  with  the  window  plants,  and  did  her  best  to 


572  BROWNING  CYCLOPEDIA.  [YOU 

attract  his  attention  in  a  quiet  sort  of  way ;  she  did  not  like  his 
models  always  tripping  up  his  stairs,  which  she  could  not  ascend, 
and  was  glad  to  have  the  opportunity  of  showing  off  the  foreign 
fellow  who  came  to  tune  the  piano.  But  life  passed,  he  made 
no  advances,  and  so  in  process  of  time  she  married  a  rich  old 
lord,  and  he  is  a  knight,  R.A.,  and  dines  with  the  Prince.  With 
all  this  show  of  success  neither  life  is  complete,  neither  soul  has 
achieved  the  sole  good  of  its  earth  wanderings.  Their  lives  hang 
patchy  and  scrappy ;  they  have  not  sighed,  starved,  feasted,  de- 
spaired, and  been  happy.  There  was  once  the  chance  of  these 
things ;  they  were  missed,  and  eternity  cannot  make  good  the  loss. 
As  for  life  *  Love"  as  Browning  is  always  telling  us,  "  is  the  sole 
good  of  it."  This  poem  may  be  compared  with  the  moral  of  The 
Statue  and  the  Bust.  In  the  one  case  reasons  of  prudence  and 
the  restrictions  of  religion  and  society  prevented  the  duke  and  the 
lady  from  following  the  inclinations  of  their  hearts ;  in  the  other 
case  mere  worldly  motives  operated  to  the  same  end— the  missing 
of  the  union  of  the  actors'  souls.  In  both  cases  the  lives  were 
spoiled.  In  Youth  and  Art  the  woman's  character  cuts  a  very 
poor  figure  :  love  is  subordinated  to  her  art,  and  that  to  the  mere 
worldly  advantage  of  a  rich  marriage  and  the  opportunity  of 
becoming  "  queen  at  bals-pare"s."  The  man  was  cold,  not 
because  his  art  made  him  so,  but  because  of  his  overwhelming 
prudence,  which  we  may  be  sure  did  not  make  him  a  Gibson 
after  all. 

NOTE.— Verse  ii.,  Gibson,  John  (1790-1866),  the  sculptor,  best 
known  to  fame  by  his  "Tinted  Venus."  He  died  at  Rome. 
Verse  iii.,  Grist,  Giulietta  (bora  in  Milan,  1812),  one  of  the  most 
distinguished  singers  of  our  time.  She  came  to  London  in  1834, 
and  at  once  took  a  leading  position  in  the  operatic  world. 
Verse  xv.,  bals-pares  =  dress-balls. 


573 


APPENDIX 

Charles  Avison,  Parleyings  with.  (Parleyings  with  Certain 
People  of  Importance  in  their  Day;  1877,  No.  VII.) 

[THE  MAN.]  Charles  Avison  was  born  at  Newcastle-upon-Tyne  in 
1710,  and  died  in  1770.  He  was  organist  of  St.  Nicholas  Church, 
Newcastle.  Mr.  Barnett  Smith  says  that  "  very  little  is  known  of  his 
life,  but  he  had  the  reputation  of  being  a  man  of  great  culture  and 
polish,  and  for  many  years  was  the  chief  of  a  small  circle  of  musical 
amateurs  in  the  North  of  England  who  were  devoted  to  his  views." 

He  was  the  composer  of  the  once  popular  air,  "  Sound  the  Loud 
Timbrel,"  and  the  "  bold-stepping  C  major  March." 

His  "  Essay  on  Musical  Expression,"  published  in  1752,  was  highly 
esteemed  in  his  day.  His  musical  education  was  acquired  in  Italy, 
and  he  was  the  pupil  of  Geminiani  on  his  return  to  England.  He 
preferred  French  and  Italian  music  to  the  German,  and  gave  a  higher 
position  to  Geminiani  than  to  Handel. 

[THE   POEM.]     This  is  one  of  the  poet's  great  music  poems;   its 
subject  is  the  Grand  March  by  Avison,  a  manuscript  copy  of  which 
belonged  to  Browning's  father.    The  poet's  aim  is  to  prove  that  music 
interprets  the  soul  as  neither  painting  nor  poetry  can  do.     Painting 
is  but  reproduction,  poetry  can  only  tell  what  has  taken  place,  but 
There  is  no  truer  truth  obtainable 
By  Man  than  comes  of  music. 

Miss  Helen  Ormerod  in  her  paper  read  at  the  Browning  Society  (27th 
May,  1887)  on  Browning's  Poems  referring  to  Music,  says  that  "  Charles 
Avison  is  speculative,  almost  analytical,  of  the  Earth  Earthy;  while 
in  Abt  Vogler  we  gain  admission  to  the  Holiest  of  Holies.  In  Charles 
Avison  we  have  the  reasonings  of  an  outsider,  in  Abt  Vogler  the  white- 
heat  enthusiasm  of  one  of  those  favoured  few  '  whom  God  whispers  in 
the  ear.' " 

NOTES. — (4)  "Great  John  Relfe":  a  learned  contrapuntist  who 
was  Browning's  music-master.  Tonic  :  the  key  note.  Dominant ; 
the  fifth  tone  of  the  scale.  Pepusch  :  a  German  organist  at  the 
Charter  House.  Died  1752.  Alexis  :  one  of  six  cantatas  by  Pepusch. 


574  APPENDIX. 

Great  favourites  in  their  day.  (5)  Suite :  one  of  the  old  musical 
forms,  consisting  of  a  string  or  series  of  pieces  all  in  the  same  key. 
Fugue :  see  my  notes  to  "  Master  Hugues  of  Saxe-Gotha  "  (p.  267). 
(8)  "Radaminta  "  and  " Rinaldo,"  operas  by  Handel.  (9)  C  Major: 
see  notes  to  "Abt  Vogler"  (p.  7).  (15)  "Little-Ease" :  a  form  of 
punishment,  as  the  stocks.  "  Tyburn  " :  the  historic  place  of  execu- 
tion in  London.  "Larges  and  Longs  and  Breves"  :  "the  long- 
drawn  notes  which  were  used  in  the  early  days  of  music  "  (Ormerod). 
Epistle  Of  Karshish.  Dr.  R.  Garnett  published  the  following 
note  on  this  poem  in  the  Academy  of  loth  October,  1896 : — 

"BRITISH  MUSEUM, 
"  i6/A  Sept.,  1896. 

"  Browning,  in  his  «  Epistle  of  Karshish,'  commits  an  oversight,  as 
it  seems  to  me,  in  making  Lazarus  fifty  years  of  age  at  the  eve  of  the 
siege  of  Jerusalem,  circa  68  A.D.  The  miracle  of  which  he  was  the 
subject  is  supposed  to  have  been  wrought  about  33  A.D.  He  would 
consequently  have  been  only  about  fifteen  at  the  time,  which  is  quite 
inconsistent  with  the  general  tenor  of  the  narrative.  According  to 
tradition,  Lazarus  was  thirty  at  the  time,  and  lived  thirty  years 
longer,  not  surviving,  therefore,  to  the  date  intimated  in  Browning's 
poem. 

'A  black  lynx  snarled  and  pricked  a  tufted  ear.' 

If  I  do  not  mistake,  there  is  no  such  thing  as  a  black  lynx,  except  as 
a  lusus  naturae.  It  is  easy  to  see  how  the  generally  accurate 
Browning  fell  into  this  error.  The  Syrian  lynx,  which  he  is  describ- 
ing, has  black  tufted  ears — the  whole  outer  surface  of  the  ear  is  black 
— and  the  Turkish  name  by  which  it  is  commonly  known,  cara-calt 
means  'black  ear.1  Browning,  intent  on  the  creature's  special 
characteristic,  has  extended  the  blackness  from  the  ear  to  the  entire 
body." 

Pietro  of  Abano.    Verse  10. 

"ALPHABET   ON  A   MAN'S   EYES. 

"  In  Alonzo  Lee,  of  Atlanta,  Galveston,  the  Americans  have  found 
a  singular  phenomenon,  nothing  less  than  the  alphabet  marked  quite 
plainly  on  the  edge  of  the  iris  of  each  of  his  eyes  similar  to  the  figures 
on  a  watch.  This  wonder  is  said  to  have  been  caused  by  his  mother, 
who  was  an  illiterate  woman,  desiring  to  educate  herself.  In  each 
eye  the  entire  alphabet  is  plainly  marked  in  capital  letters,  not, 
however  in  regular  order.  The  •  W '  is  in  the  lower  part  of  the 


APPRiSDIX.  575 

iris  and  '  X '  at  the  top.  They  appear  to  be  made  of  white  fibre 
wove  cord,  being  connected  at  the  top  by  another  cord  seemingly 
linked  to  the  upper  extremity  of  each  letter.  The  eye  itself  is  blue, 
with  white  lines  radiating  from  the  centre  almost  to  the  letters  them- 
selves: these  letters  do  not  slope  exactly  in  the  direction  that  the 
radials  extend  from  the  centre.  Beginning  at  the  bottom  with  '  W 
and  following  the  letters  like  the  hands  of  a  watch  they  can  be  more 
readily  distinguished.  So  too,  the  irregularity  is  a  striking  feature, 
showing  how  the  mother  learned  her  letters  in  broken  patches,  as  a 
child  learns  when  beginning  to  read.  Lee,  who  has  been  three  times 
divorced,  has  a  son  whose  eyes  are  similar  to  his  father's." 

Echo,  23rd  March,  1896. 

The  Bing  and  the  Book.    Book  I.,  l.  902.    "  Cariteilas," 

evidently  for  "  carretellas."  "  A  kind  of  drosky  with  a  single  pony 
harnessed  to  the  near  side  of  the  pole."  See  The  Romance  of  Isabel. 
Lady  Burton,  vol.  ii.,  p.  538. 

Book  I.  "  O  Lyric  Love,"  etc.  The  following  letter  was  sent  to 
me  as  likely  to  be  interesting  on  account  of  Mr.  Browning's  own  ex- 
planation of  his  terms  Whiteness  and  Wanness.  My  correspondent 
says:  "I  happen  to  have  an  original  letter  from  R.  Browning  in 
which  he  says,  'The  greater  and  lesser  lights  indicate  the  greater 
and  less  proximity  of  the  person,'  "  etc.  Wanness  should  be  taken 
as  meaning  simply  less  bright  than  absolute  whiteness,  as  Keats 
speaks  of  "  wannish  fire,"  etc. 

Book  VIII.,  1.  329.  The  torture  referred  to  by  De  Archangelis  as 
the  Vigiliantm,  is  evidently  identical  with  that  called  the  "  Vigilia" 
and  which  is  described  in  Hare's  Walks  in  Rome.  "  Upon  a  high 
joint-stool,  the  seat  about  a  span  large,  and,  instead  of  being  flat, 
cut  in  the  form  of  pointed  diamonds,  the  victim  was  seated ;  the 
legs  were  fastened  together  and  without  support ;  the  hands  bound 
behind  the  back,  and  with  a  running  knot  attached  to  a  cord  descend- 
ing from  the  ceiling ;  the  body  was  loosley  attached  to  the  back  of 
the  chair,  cut  also  into  angular  points.  A  wretch  stood  near  pushing 
the  victim  from  side  to  side ;  and  now  and  then,  by  pulling  the  rope 
from  the  ceiling,  gave  the  arms  most  painful  jerks.  In  this  horrible 
position  the  sufferer  remained  forty  hours,  the  assistants  being 
changed  every  fifth  hour. 

Book  IX.,  1.  1109.  "  The  sole  joke  of  Thucydides."  Mr.  F.  Cf 
Snow,  writing  from  Oxford  to  the  Daily  News,  says :  "  Browning 
was  misled  by  a  scholiast.  The  ancient  critics  said,  '  Here  the 


576  APPENDIX. 

lion  laughs,*  with  reference  to  the  passage  of  Thucydides  where 
the  story  of  Cylon  is  told  (1.  126,  see  also  the  Scholia).  But 
they  did  not  mean  that  the  passage  contained  any  joke,  only  that 
the  narrative  style  was  unusually  genial.  There  are  other  passages 
of  Thucydides  where  his  grim  humour  comes  much  nearer  to 
the  modern  idea  of  pleasantry." 

44  The  lion,  lo,  hath  laughed !  "  in  the  context,  proves  the  correct- 
ness of  Mr.  Snow's  explanation. 

Sordello.  Book  III.,  1.  975.  In  the  Athenaum,  i2th  December, 
1896,  Mr.  Alfred  Forman  published  a  letter  on  this  passage  which 
is  an  important  contribution  to  our  commentary  on  Sordello. 

"  In  a  review  of  Dr.  Berdoe's  Browning  Cyclopedia,  1  have  seen  it 
asked:  'In  what  form  did  Empedocles  put  up  with  ./Etna  for  a 
stimulant?'  In  what  form  indeed!  But  I  think  a  more  pertinent 
question  would  have  been:  How  can  either  Empedocles  or,  as  is 
usually  alleged,  Landor  have  anything  to  do  with  the  passage  referred 
to  ?  To  me  it  has  always  appeared  to  be  ^Eschylus  whom  Browning 
(vol.  i.,  pp.  169-70,  of  the  seventeen-volume  edition,  1888-94,  Smith, 
Elder  &  Co.)  addresses  as 

'  Yours,  my  patron-friend, 
Whose  great  verse  blares  unintennittent  on 
Like  your  own  trumpeter  at  Marathon, — 
You  who,  Plataea  and  Salamis  being  scant, 
Put  up  with  y£tna  for  a  stimulant. 

I  need  not  recall  the  legend  of  the  Greek  tragedian  having  fought  at 
Marathon  as  well  as  at  Salamis  and  Plataea  (the  '  stimulants '  to  his 
'  Persas '),  but  his  ancient  biographer  further  says :  *  Having  arrived 
in  Sicily,  as  Hiero  was  then  engaged  in  founding  the  city  of  ,fl£tna, 
he  exhibited  his  "  Women  of  ^Etna  "  by  way  of  predicting  a  pros- 
perous life  to  those  who  contributed  to  colonise  the  city.'  After 
a  perusal  of  pp.  52-53,  we  may  imagine  that  ^Eschylus  was  one  of 
Browning's  audience  ('few  living,  many  dead'),  and  not  unlikely, 
as  coming  from  the  realm  where  Browning  says  he  had  'many 
lovers '  (p.  53),  to  be  designated  a  4  patron-friend,'  while  the 
4  great  verse '  that  '  blares  unintermittent  on,'  etc.,  is  surely 
identical  (pp.  53-4)  with 

1  The  thunder-phrase  of  the  Athenian,  grown 
Up  out  of  memories  of  Marathon. 

44 1  have  not  been  able  to  discover  any  substantiating  facts  in  the 
life,  or  passages  in  the  works,  of  Landor ;  but  possibly  some  corres- 


APPENDIX.  577 

pendent  of  yours  may  be  able  to  lay  me  under  an  obligation  by 
pointing  such  out.  A  simple  statement  to  the  effect  that  '  Browning 
said  so'  could  not,  I  think,  in  such  a  case  as  the  one  in  question, 
be  deemed  satisfactory.  Dr.  Garnett  writes  to  me  on  the  matter 
as  follows : — 

" '  Could  the  poet  alluded  to  in  Sordello  possibly  be  R.  H. 
Home?  Home  was,  !  think,  an  intimate  friend  of  Browning's;  he 
was  more  ^Eschylean  than  any  other  contemporary ;  he  had  served 
as  soldier  and  sailor  in  the  Mexican  War ;  and,  having  given  up 
arms  for  letters,  might  be  said  to  have  forsaken  Marathon  and 
Salamis  for  ^tna,  although  the  introduction  of  jEtna  would  be  quite 
incomprehensible  but  for  the  historical  fact  of  ^Eschylus's  secession 
thither.  I  do  not  feel  convinced  that  the  identification  of  Home 
with  Browning's  "patron-friend"  is  the  correct  interpretation,  but  it 
seems  to  me  to  deserve  attention.' 

"  While  on  the  subject  of  Sordello,  may  I  ask  how  (as  I  have 
seen  it  assumed  in  'Browning'  books)  the  'child  barefoot  and 
rosy1  of  p.  288  can  be  Sordello  himself?  In  the  first  place,  are  not 
the  words  he  is  singing  taken  from  Sordello's  own  'Goitolay'  (cf, 
pp.  97,  249,  289),  with  which  he  vanquished  Eglamor,  long  after  he 
had  ceased  to  be,  if  he  ever  was,  a  rosy  and  barefoot  child  ?  And, 
in  the  second  place,  is  there  any  indication  in  the  whole  poem  that 
Sordello  was  ever  'by  sparkling  Asolo,'  where  the  aforesaid  child  is 
described  as  being  ? 

"ALFRED    FORMAN." 

Book  VI.,  1.  614  :— 

"  The  old  fable  of  the  two  eagles:'     They— 

"  Went  two  ways 

About  the  world  :  where,  in  the  midst,  they  mrt, 
Though  on  a  shifting  waste  of  sand,  men  set 
Jove's  temple." 

The  story  is  referred  to  in  Pindar's  "  Fourth  Pythian  Ode,"  where 
he  speaks  of  "Jove's  golden  eagles."  These  were  placed  near  tht 
Delphic  tripod,  and  probably  gave  rise  to  the  story  of  the  two 
birds  sent  by  Jupiter,  one  from  the  east  and  the  other  from  the 
west,  and  which  met  at  Pytho  or  Delphi.  Mr.  Browning  seems 
to  be  in  error  here.  Delphi  was  not  "  on  a  shifting  waste  of  sand," 
but  on  a  mountain  ;  and  the  temple  was  not  that  of  Jove,  but  of 
Apollo.  The  poet  appears  to  have  sent  the  eagles  to  the  oasis  of 
Ammon,  which  was  in  the  middle  of  a  sandy  desert  and  bad  a 
most  famous  oracle  of  Zeus. 

37 


PR 
4230 
B4 

1909 
cop.  2 


Berdoe,   Edward 

The  Browning  cyclopaedia 
C6th  ed.3 


PLEASE  DO  NOT  REMOVE 
CARDS  OR  SLIPS  FROM  THIS  POCKET 


UNIVERSITY  OF  TORONTO  LIBRARY