367。Andletusaskandanswer:John’stalk,itmustbeunderstood,iswithfuturepeople,notwiththeattendants。
  368。Mybookspeakson:thatis,topeopleofallfutures,becauseitcannotpassaway。
  371。Whattruth,etc。:thatis,truthissoonperverted,obscured,andoftenturnedintopositiveuntruth。
  372。Wonders,thatwouldprovedoctrine:thatis,whosepurposewastoprove。
  385。Comestobeconsideredassomethingoutsideof,anddistinctfrom,himself——”Nay,donotgivemewine,forIamstrong,ButplacemygospelwhereIputmyhands。”Isaythatmanwasmadetogrow,notstop;
  Thathelp,heneededonce,andneedsnomore,[425]
  Havinggrownbutaninchby,iswithdrawn:
  Forhehathnewneeds,andnewhelpstothese。
  Thisimportssolely,manshouldmountoneachNewheightinview;thehelpwherebyhemounts,Theladder-runghisfoothasleft,mayfall,[430]
  SinceallthingssufferchangesaveGodtheTruth。
  ManapprehendsHimnewlyateachstageWhereatearth’sladderdrops,itsservicedone;
  Andnothingshallprovetwicewhatoncewasproved。
  Youstickagarden-plotwithorderedtwigs[435]
  Toshowinsideliegermsofherbsunborn,Andcheckthecarelessstepwouldspoiltheirbirth;
  Butwhenherbswave,theguardiantwigsmaygo,Sinceshouldyedoubtofvirtues,questionkinds,Itisnolongerforoldtwigsyelook,[440]
  Whichprovedonceunderneathlaystoreofseed,Buttotheherb’sself,bywhatlightyeboast,Forwhatfruit’ssignsare。Thisbook’sfruitisplain,Normiraclesneedproveitanymore。
  Doththefruitshow?Thenmiraclesbade’ware[445]
  Atfirstofrootandstem,savedbothtillnowFromtramplingox,roughboar,andwantongoat。
  What?Wasmanmadeawheelworktowindup,Andbedischarged,andstraightwoundupanew?
  No!——grown,hisgrowthlasts;taught,hene’erforgets:[450]
  Maylearnathousandthings,nottwicethesame。
  Thismightbepaganteaching:nowhearmine——
  424。HereJohn’sanswerbeginstothequestioningandreasoningcontainedinvv。370-421。
  Invv。424-434,iscontainedafavoriteteachingofBrowning。
  Itappearsinvariousformsthroughouthispoetry。Seethequotationfrom`Luria’,p。38。
  428。Thisimportssolely:thisistheoneallimportantthing。
  428-430。Asimilarcomparisonisusedin`JuliusCaesar’,A。II。,S。I。,22-27:……”lowlinessisyoungambition’sladder,Wheretotheclimber-upwardturnshisface;
  Butwhenheonceattainstheupmostround,Hethenuntotheladderturnshisback,Looksintheclouds,scorningthebasedegreesBywhichhedidascend。”
  452。Thismightbepaganteaching:thatis,evenpaganteachingmightgosofarasthis——”Isay,thatasthebabe,youfeedawhile,Becomesaboyandfittofeedhimself,So,mindsatfirstmustbespoon-fedwithtruth:[455]
  Whentheycaneat,babe’snurtureiswithdrawn。
  Ifedthebabewhetheritwouldorno:
  Ibidtheboyorfeedhimselforstarve。
  Icriedonce,`ThatyemaybelieveinChrist,Beholdthisblindmanshallreceivehissight!’[460]
  Icrynow,`Urgestthou,FORIAMSHREWD,ANDSMILEATSTORIESHOWJOHN’SWORDCOULDCURE——
  REPEATTHATMIRACLEANDTAKEMYFAITH?’
  Isay,thatmiraclewasdulywroughtWhen,saveforit,nofaithwaspossible。[465]
  Whetherachangewerewroughti’theshowso’theworld,WhetherthechangecamefromourmindswhichseeOfshowso’theworldsomuchasandnomoreThanGodwillsforHispurpose,——whatdoI
  Seenow,supposeyou,therewhereyouseerock[470]
  Roundus?——Iknownot;suchwastheeffect,Sofaithgrew,makingvoidmoremiraclesBecausetoomuch:theywouldcompel,nothelp。
  Isay,theacknowledgmentofGodinChristAcceptedbythyreason,solvesforthee[475]
  Allquestionsintheearthandoutofit,Andhassofaradvancedtheetobewise。
  Wouldstthouunprovethistore-provetheproved?
  Inlife’smereminute,withpowertousethatproof,Leaveknowledgeandreverttohowitsprung?[480]
  Thouhastit;useitandforthwith,ordie!——
  472。Sofaithgrew,makingvoidmoremiracles:theoutwardmanifestationsofspiritualpowersdu/namis,`power’,`actofpower’,andshmei^on,`sign’,`token’,aretheoriginalwordsintheN。T。,whicharetranslated`miracle’gaveplacetosubjectiveproof。
  Christianitywasendorsedbyman’sownsoul。Tothismaybeadded,thateventhehistoricalbulwarksofChristianitymay,erelong,bedispensedwith。
  474-481。TheseversesmaybetakenaspresentingBrowning’sownconclusionastothewholedutyofman,inaspiritualdirection。
  Andseethequotationfrom`ChristmasEve’andtheremarkswhichfollow,onpp。63and64。{Inetext,ChapterII,Section3ofIntroduction。}——”ForIsay,thisisdeathandthesoledeath,Whenaman’slosscomestohimfromhisgain,Darknessfromlight,fromknowledgeignorance,Andlackoflovefromlovemademanifest;[485]
  Alamp’sdeathwhen,repletewithoil,itchokes;
  Astomach’swhen,surchargedwithfood,itstarves。
  Withignorancewassuretyofacure。
  Whenman,appalledatnature,questionedfirst`Whatiftherelurkamightbehindthismight?’[490]
  HeneededsatisfactionGodcouldgive,Anddidgive,asyehavethewrittenword:
  Butwhenhefindsmightstillredoublemight,Yetasks,`Sinceallismight,whatuseofwill?’——
  Will,theonesourceofmight,——hebeingman[495]
  Withaman’swillandaman’smight,toteachInlittlehowthetwocombineinlarge,——
  Thatmanhasturnedroundonhimselfandstands,Whichinthecourseofnatureis,todie。”Andwhenmanquestioned,`Whatiftherebelove[500]
  Behindthewillandmight,asrealasthey?’——
  HeneededsatisfactionGodcouldgive,Anddidgive,asyehavethewrittenword:
  Butwhen,beholdingthatloveeverywhere,Hereasons,`Sincesuchloveiseverywhere,[505]
  Andsinceourselvescanloveandwouldbeloved,Weourselvesmakethelove,andChristwasnot’,——
  Howshallyehelpthismanwhoknowshimself,Thathemustloveandwouldbelovedagain,Yet,owninghisownlovethatprovethChrist,[510]
  RejectethChristthroughveryneedofHim?
  Thelampo’erswimswithoil,thestomachflagsLoadedwithnurture,andthatman’ssouldies。”Ifherejoin,`ButthiswasallthewhileAtrick;thefaultwas,firstofall,inthee,[515]
  Thystoryoftheplaces,namesanddates,Where,when,andhowtheultimatetruthhadrise,——Thypriortruth,atlastdiscoverednone,Whencenowthesecondsuffersdetriment。
  Whatgoodofgivingknowledgeif,because[520]
  O’themannerofthegift,itsprofitfail?
  AndwhyrefusewhatmodicumofhelpHadstoppedtheafter-doubt,impossibleI’thefaceoftruth——truthabsolute,uniform?
  WhymustIhitofthisandmissofthat,[525]
  DistinguishjustasIbeweakorstrong,Andnotaskoftheeandhaveanswerprompt,Wasthisonce,wasitnotonce?——thenandnowAndevermore,plaintruthfrommantoman。
  IsJohn’sprocedurejusttheheathenbard’s?[530]
  PutquestionofhisfamousplayagainHowfortheephemerals’sake,Jove’sfirewasfilched,Andcarriedinacaneandbroughttoearth:
  THEFACTISINTHEFABLE,crythewise,MORTALSOBTAINEDTHEBOON,SOMUCHISFACT,[535]
  THOUGHFIREBESPIRITANDPRODUCEDONEARTH。
  AswiththeTitan’s,sonowwiththytale:
  Whybreedinusperplexity,mistake,Nortellthewholetruthintheproperwords?’——
  514-539。JohnanticipatesanotherobjectionthatwillbemadetohisGospel,namely,thatsomanythingsthereinarenotclearedup,thatthewholetruthisnottoldintheproperwords,thescepticclaimingthateverythingshouldhavebeensoproved”ThattheprobationbearnohingenorloopTohangadoubton”;
  thatallafter-doubt,impossibleinthefaceoftruth——truthabsolute,uniform,mighthavebeenstopped。
  523。Hadstopped:wouldhavestopped。
  530。theheathenbard’s:Aeschylus’。
  531。famousplay:`PrometheusBound’。
  532。ephemerals’:mortals’。
  537。Titan’s:Prometheus’——”Ianswer,Haveyenottoargueout[540]
  Theveryprimalthesis,plainestlaw,——ManisnotGodbuthathGod’sendtoserve,Amastertoobey,acoursetotake,Somewhattocastoff,somewhattobecome?
  Grantthis,thenmanmustpassfromoldtonew,[545]
  Fromvaintoreal,frommistaketofact,Fromwhatonceseemedgood,towhatnowprovesbest。
  Howcouldmanhaveprogressionotherwise?
  Beforethepointwasmooted`WhatisGod?’
  Nosavagemaninquired`Whatismyself?’[550]
  Muchlessreplied,`First,last,andbestofthings。’
  MantakesthattitlenowifhebelievesMightcanexistwithneitherwillnorlove,InGod’scase——whathenamesnowNature’sLaw——
  Whileinhimselfherecognizeslove[555]
  Nolessthanmightandwill:andrightlytakes。
  SinceifmanprovethesoleexistentthingWherethesecombine,whatevertheirdegree,Howeverweakthemightorwillorlove,Sotheybefoundthere,putinevidence,——[560]
  HeisassurelyhigherinthescaleThananymightwithneitherlovenorwill,Aslife,apparentinthepoorestmidgeWhenthefaintdust-speckflits,yeguessitswing,IsmarvellousbeyonddeadAtlas’self——[565]
  Giventothenoblermidgeforresting-place!
  Thus,manprovesbestandhighest——God,infine,Andthusthevictoryleadsbuttodefeat,Thegaintoloss,bestrisetotheworstfall,Hislifebecomesimpossible,whichisdeath。[570]