*”Everylustisakindofhydropicdistemper，andthemorewedrinkthemoreweshallthirst。”——Tillotson，quotedin`Webster’——
　　Thelyrico-dramaticverseofthismonologueisespeciallynoticeable。
　　Thereisamarchinit，exhibitingthespiritwithwhichthebearersofthecorpseareconveyingitupthemountain-side。
　　AnEpistlecontainingtheStrangeMedicalExperienceofKarshish，theArabPhysician。
　　Karshish，theArabphysician，hasbeenjourneyinginquestofknowledgepertainingtohisart，andwritestohisall-sagaciousmaster，Abib，ostensiblyaboutthespecimenshehasgatheredofmedicinalplantsandminerals，andtheobservationshehasmade；buthisrealinterest，whichheendeavorstoconcealbypassingtomattersofgreaterimporttohim，ashewouldhavehissageathomebelieve，isinwhathepronounces”acaseofmania，subinducedbyepilepsy”。
　　HislastletterbroughthisjourneyingstoJericho。HeisnowonhiswaytoJerusalem，andhasreachedBethany，wherehepassesthenight。
　　Thecaseofmaniawhichsointerestshim，——farmorethanheiswillingtoadmit，——isthatofLazarus，whosefirmconvictionreststhathewasdeadinfacttheyburiedhimandthenrestoredtolifebyaNazarenephysicianofhistribe，whoafterwardsperishedinatumult。ThemanLazarusiswitless，hewrites，oftherelativevalueofallthings。Vastarmamentsassembledtobesiegehiscity，andthepassingofamulewithgourds，areallonetohim；
　　whileatsometriflingfact，he’llgaze，raptwithstupor，asifithadforhimprodigiousimport。Shouldhischildsickenuntodeath，whylookforscarceabatementofhischeerfulness，orsuspensionofhisdailycraft；whileaword，gesture，orglancefromthatsamechildatplayorlaidasleep，willstarthimtoanagonyoffear，exasperation，justaslike！Thelawofthelife，itseems，towhichhewastemporarilyadmitted，hasbecometohimthelawofthisearthlylife；hisheartandbrainmovethere，hisfeetstayhere。Heappearstobeperfectlysubmissivetotheheavenlywill，andawaitspatientlyfordeathtorestorehisbeingtoequilibrium。Heisbynomeansapathetic，butlovesbotholdandyoung，affectstheverybrutesandbirdsandflowersofthefield。Thisman，sorestoredtolife，regardshisrestoreras，whobutGodhimself，CreatorandSustaineroftheworld，thatcameanddweltinfleshonitawhile，taught，healedthesick，brokebreadathisownhouse，thendied！
　　HereKarshishbreaksoffandaskspardonforwritingofsuchtrivialmatters，whentherearesoimportantonestotreatof，andstatesthathenoticedonthemarginofapoolblue-floweringborageabounding，theAlepposort，verynitrous。Buthereturnsagaintothesubject，andtriestoexplainthepeculiarinterest，andawe，indeed，themanhasinspiredhimwith。Perhapsthejourney’send，andhisweariness，hethinks，mayhavehadsomethingtodowithit。
　　Hethenrelatestheweirdcircumstancesunderwhichhemethim，andconcludesbysayingthatthereposehewillhaveatJerusalemshallmakeamendsforthetimehisletterwastes，hismaster’sandhisown。Tillwhen，oncemorethypardonandfarewell！
　　Butinspiteofhimself，hissuppressedinterestinthestrangecaseMUSThavefullexpression，andhegiveswaytoallreserveandejaculatesinapostscript：——”TheveryGod！think，Abib；dostthouthink?
　　So，theAll-Great，weretheAll-Lovingtoo——
　　So，throughthethundercomesahumanvoiceSaying，`OheartImade，aheartbeatshere！
　　Face，myhandsfashioned，seeitinmyself。
　　Thouhastnopowernormay’stconceiveofmine，ButloveIgavethee，withmyselftolove，Andthoumustlovemewhohavediedforthee！’
　　ThemadmansaithHesaidso：itisstrange。”
　　Seebefore，p。41{aboutone-fifthintoPartIIoftheIntroduction}，someremarksonthepsychologicalphaseofthemonologue。”Themonologueisasignalexampleof`emotionalratiocination’。
　　ThereisaflashofecstasythroughthestrangelycautiousdescriptionofKarshish；everysyllableisweighedandthoughtful，everywherethelinesswellintoperfectfeeling。”——RobertBuchanan。”Asanexampleofourpoet’sdramaticpoweringettingrightattheheartofaman，readingwhatistherewritten，andthenlookingthroughhiseyesandrevealingitallintheman’sownspeech，nothingcanbemorecompleteinitsinnersoundingsandouter-keeping，thantheepistlecontainingthe`StrangeMedicalExperienceofKarshish，theArabPhysician’，whohasbeenpickingupthecrumbsoflearningonhistravelsintheHolyLand，andwritestoAbib，theall-sagacious，athome。Itissosolemnlyrealandsosagelyfine。”——N。Brit。Rev。，May，1861。
　　AMartyr’sEpitaph。
　　Awonderfullyeffectiveexpression，effectivethroughitspatheticsimplicity，ofthepeacefulspiritofaChristian，whohastriumphedoverpersecutionanddeath，andpassedtohisreward。
　　SoliloquyoftheSpanishCloister。
　　ThespeakerinthismonologueisaSpanishmonk，whosejealousytowardasimpleandunoffendingbrotherhas，intheseclusionofthecloister，developedintoafesteringmalignity。Ifhate，hesays，couldkillaman，hishatewouldcertainlykillBrotherLaurence。
　　Heiswatchingthisbrother，fromawindowofthecloister，atworkinthegarden。Helookswithcontemptuponhishonesttoil；
　　repeatsmockinglytohimself，hissimpletalkwhenatmeals，abouttheweatherandthecrops；sneersathisneatness，andorderliness，andcleanliness；imputestohimhisownlibidinousness。
　　Hetakescredittohimselfinlayingcrosswise，inJesu’spraise，hisknifeandfork，afterrefection，andinillustratingtheTrinity，andfrustratingtheArian，bydrinkinghiswateredorange-pulpinthreesips，whileLaurencedrainshisatonegulp。NowhenoticesLaurence’stendercareofthemelons，ofwhichitappearsthegoodmanhaspromisedallthebrethrenafeast；”sonice！”Hecallstohim，fromthewindow，”Howgoonyourflowers?Nonedouble?
　　Notonefruit-sortcanyouspy?”Laurence，itmustbeunderstood，kindlyanswershiminthenegative，andthenhechucklestohimself，”Strange！——andI，too，atsuchtrouble，keep’emclose-nippedonthesly！”HethinksofdevisingmeansofcausinghimtotriponagreattextinGalatians，entailing”twenty-ninedistinctdamnations，onesure，ifanotherfails”；orofslylyputtinghis”scrofulousFrenchnovel”inhisway，whichwillmakehim”grovelhandandfootinBelial’sgripe”。Inhismalignity，heisreadytopledgehissoultoSatanleavingaflawintheindenture，toseeblastedthatrose-acaciaLaurenceissoproudof。Herethevesper-bellinterruptshisfilthyandblasphemouseructations，andheturnsuphiseyesandfoldshishandsonhisbreast，mumbling”PlenagratiaaveVirgo！”
　　andrightupontheprayer，hisdisgustbreaksout，”Gr-r-r——youswine！”
　　Thismonologueaffordsasignalillustrationofthepoet’sskillinmakingaspeaker，whiledirectlyrevealinghisowncharacter，reflectverydistinctlythecharacterofanother。Thishasbeenseenin`MyLastDuchess’，givenasanexampleoftheconstitutionofthisart-form，inthesectionoftheIntroductionon`Browning’sObscurity’。”The`SoliloquyoftheSpanishCloister’，isapictureghastlyinitsevidenttruthofsuperstitionwhichhassurvivedreligion；
　　ofaheartwhichhasabandonedtheloveofkindredandfriends，onlytoloseitselfinawildernessofpettyspite，terminatinginanabyssofdiabolicalhatred。Theordinaryprovidentialhelpstogoodnesshavebeenrejected；theill-providedadventurerhassoughttoscalethehighsnow-peaksofsaintliness，——hehasmissedhisfooting，——
　　andtheblackchasmwhichyawnsbeneath，hasingulfedhim。”——
　　E。J。H[asell]，inSt。Paul’sMagazine，December，1870。
　　Anablewriterin`TheContemporaryReview’，Vol。IV。，p。140，justlyremarks：——”Nolivingwriter——andwedonotknowanyoneinthepastwhocanbenamed，inthisrespect，inthesamebreathwithhim[Browning]——
　　approacheshispowerofanalyzingandreproducingthemorbidforms，thecorruptsemblances，thehypocrisies，formalisms，andfanaticismsofman’sreligiouslife。ThewildnessofanAntinomianpredestinarianismhasneverbeensograndlypaintedasin`JohannesAgricolainMeditation’；thewhiteheatofthepersecutorglaresonus，likeanightmarespectre，in`TheHeretic’sTragedy’。
　　Moresubtleformsaredrawnwithgreaterelaboration。
　　If`BishopBlougram’sApology’，inmanyofitscircumstancesandtouches，suggeststhethoughtofactualportraiture，recallingaformandfaceoncefamiliartous，……itisalsoapictureofaclassofmindswhichwemeetwitheverywhere。
　　Conservativescepticismthatpersuadesitselfthatitbelieves，cynicalacutenessindiscerningtheweakpointseitherofmeresecularismordreamingmysticism，orpassionateeagernesstoreform，avoidingdangerousextremes，andtakingthingsastheyarebecausetheyarecomfortable，andleadtowealth，enjoyment，reputation，——this，whetheratrueaccountornotofthetheologiantowhomwehavereferred……isyettobefoundundermanyeloquentdefencesofthefaith，manyferventandscornfuldenunciationsofcriticismandfreethought……In`CalabanuponSetebos’，ifitismorethantheproductofMr。Browning’sfondnessforallabnormalformsofspirituallife，speculatingamongotherthingsonthereligiousthoughtsofahalfbrute-likesavage，wemustseeaprotestagainstthethoughtthatmancanrisebyhimselftotruethoughtsofGod，anddevelopapuretheologyoutofhismoralconsciousness。Sofaritisawitnessforthenecessityofarevelation，eitherthroughtheimmediateactionoftheLightthatlightetheveryman，orthatwhichhasbeengiventomankindinspokenorwrittenwords，byTheWORDthatwasinthebeginning。
　　Inthe`DeathintheDesert’，inlikemanner，wehaveanotherschoolofthoughtanalyzedwithacorrespondingsubtlety……
　　The`DeathintheDessert’isworthstudyinginitsbearinguponthemythicalschoolofinterpretation，andasaprotest，wewouldfainhope，fromMr。Browning’sownmindagainstthethoughtthatbecausetheloveofGodhasbeenrevealedinChrist，andhastaughtusthegreatnessofalltruehumanlove，therefore，”`Weourselvesmakethelove，andChristwasnot。’”Inoneremarkablepassageatthecloseof`TheLegendofPornic’，Mr。Browning，speakingapparentlyinhisownperson，proclaimshisbeliefinonegreatChristiandoctrine，whichallpantheisticandatheisticsystemsformallyrepudiate，andwhichmanysemi-Christianthinkersimplicitlyreject：——”`ThecandidinclinetosurmiseoflateThattheChristianfaithmaybefalse，Ifind，Forour`EssaysandReviews’*1*debateBeginstotellonthepublicmind，AndColenso’s*2*wordshaveweight。”`Istill，tosupposeittrue，formypart，Seereasonsandreasons：this，tobegin——
　　’Tisthefaiththatlaunchedpoint-blankherdartAttheheadofalie，——taughtOriginalSin，TheCorruptionofMan’sHeart。’”——
　　*1*Avolumewhichappearedin1860，madeupofessaysandreviews，theseveralauthorshaving”writteninentireindependenceofeachother，andwithoutconcertorcomparison”。TheseessaysandreviewsoffsettheextremehighchurchdoctrineoftheTractsfortheTimes。
　　*2*JohnW。Colenso，BishopofNatal，inSouthAfrica；
　　hepublishedworksquestioningtheinspirationandhistoricalaccuracyofcertainpartsoftheBible，amongwhichwas`ThePentateuch，andtheBookofJoshuacriticallyexamined’——
　　Holy-CrossDay。
　　OnwhichtheJewswereforcedtoattendanannualChristiansermoninRome。
　　Theargumentissufficientlyshownbywhatisprefixedtothispoem。
　　The`DiarybytheBishop’sSecretary，1600’，ispresumablyimaginary。
　　Saul。
　　Thisis，ineveryrespect，oneofBrowning’sgrandestpoems；andinallthatisincludedintheideaofEXPRESSION，isquiteperfect。
　　TheportionofScripturewhichisthegermofthepoem，anditisonlythegerm，iscontainedintheFirstBookofSamuel16：14-23。
　　TothepresentconsolationwhichDavidadministerstoSaul，withharpandsong，andtheScripturestorydoesnotgobeyondthis，isaddedtheassuranceofthetransmissionofhispersonality，andoftheinfluenceofhisdeeds；first，throughthosewhohavebeenquickenedbythem，andwhowill，inturn，transmitthatquickening——”Eachdeedthouhastdone，dies，revives，goestoworkintheworld：……eachrayofthywill，everyflashofthypassionandprowess，longover，shallthrillthywholepeople，thecountless，withardor，tilltheytoogiveforthalikecheertotheirsons：who，inturn，filltheSouthandtheNorthwiththeradiancethydeedwasthegermof”；
　　and，then，throughrecordsthatwillgiveunborngenerationstheirdueandtheirpartinhisbeing。
　　Theconsolationis，moreover，carriedbeyondthataffordedbyearthlyfameandinfluence。David’syearningstogiveSaul”newlifealtogether，asgood，ageshence，asthismoment，——
　　hadlovebutthewarrant，love’shearttodispense”，passintoaprophecy，basedonhisownlovingdesires，oftheGod-ManwhoshallthrowopentoSaulthegatesofthatnewlife。
　　Withthisprophecy，DavidleavesSaul。Onhiswayhome，inthenight，herepresentshimselfasattendedbywitnesses，cohortstoleftandtoright。Atthedawn，allnature，theforests，thewind，beastsandbirds，eventheserpentthatslidawaysilent，appeartohimawareofthenewlaw；thelittlebrooks，witnessing，murmuredwithallbuthushedvoices，”E’enso，itisso！”
　　ADeathintheDesert。
　　`ADeathintheDesert’appearstohavebeeninspiredbythecontroversiesinregardtothehistoricalfoundationsofChristianity，and，moreespecially，inregardtothecharacterandtheauthorshipoftheFourthGospel——controversieswhichreceivedtheirfirstgreatimpulsefromthe`LebenJesu’
　　ofDavidFriedrichStrauss，firstpublishedin1835。
　　AnEnglishtranslationofthefourthedition，1840，byMarianEvansGeorgeEliot，waspublishedinLondon，in1846。
　　Theimmediateoccasionofthecompositionof`ADeathintheDesert’
　　was，perhaps，thepublication，in1863，ofJosephErnestRenan’s`ViedeJesus’。`ADeathintheDesert’wasincludedinthepoet’s`DramatisPersonae’，publishedinthefollowingyear。”Instyle，thepoemalittlerecalls`Cleon’；withlessofharmoniousgraceandclearclassicoutline，itpossessesacertainstilledsweetness，ameditativetenderness，allitsown，andbeautifullyappropriatetotheutteranceofthe`beloveddisciple’。”——ArthurSymons。
　　DuringapersecutionoftheChristians，theagedJohnofPatmoshasbeensecretlyconveyed，bysomefaithfuldisciples，toacaveinthedesert，whereheisdying。Revivedtemporarilybythetenderministrationsofhisdisciples，heisenabledtotelloverhispastlaborsintheserviceofhisbelovedMaster，torefutetheAntichristalreadyintheworld，andtoanswerthequestionswhich，withhisfar-reachingspiritualvision，heforeseeswillberaisedinregardtoChrist’snature，life，doctrine，andmiracles，asrecordedintheGospelhehaswritten。
　　Theseserviceshefeelstobeduefromhim，inhisdyinghour，asthesolesurvivorofChrist’sapostlesandintimatecompanions。
　　ThisistheonlycompositioninwhichBrowningdealsdirectlywithhistoricalChristianity；anditsmainpurposemay，inbrief，besaidtobe，tosetforththeabsolutenessofChristianity，whichcannotbeaffectedbyanyassaultsmadeuponitsexternal，historicalcharacter。
　　ThedoctrineofthetrinalunityofmanthewhatDoes，whatKnows，whatIsascribedtoJohnvv。82-104，anduponwhichhisdiscoursemaybesaidtoproceed，leadsupthepresentationofthefinalstageoftheChristianlifeonearth——thatstagewhenmanhaswonhiswaytothekingdomofthe”whatIs”withinhimself，andwhenhenolongerneedstheoutwardsupportstohisfaithwhichheneededbeforehepassedfromthe”whatKnows”。Christianityisareligionwhichisonlysecondarilyadoctrineaddressedtothe”whatKnows”。
　　Itis，firstofall，areligionwhosefountain-headisaPersonalityinwhomallthatisspirituallypotentialinman，wasrealized，andinrespondingtowhomthesoulofmanisquickenedandregenerated。
　　AndtheChurch，throughthecenturies，hasbeenkeptalive，notbytheletteroftheNewTestament，fortheletterkilleth，butbyasuccessionofquickenedandregeneratedspirits，”thenobleLivingandthenobleDead”，throughwhomtheChristhasbeenawakenedanddevelopedinothersouls。
　　POEMS。