proper ejaculation after being moved by the poet, 'How noble to have felt that!'
Akin to this is the error of placing in the forefront of his work the argumentative disquisitions on theological subjects, which form no inconsiderable portion of his poetical activity. There is no reason why a poet should not be a theologian; in these days, which have seen more theological disquisition than any period since the Council of Trent, there is every reason why a poet should share in such an absorbing interest of the audience he addresses. But he has not to display the processes of his thoughts on theology; he has only to give results in imaginative form. Browning has shown how to do this in Rabbi ben Ezra, but he has also shown us how not to do it in La Saisiaz. The poet may be—nay, he must be—very sure of God and of an eternal soul, but he is to convince us by his very sureness, not by process of reasoning.
We have now touched on all the sides of the poetic activity of Browning which need touching upon for the purpose of indicating the poetic force of the man, the large stores of spiritual energy which are contained in his works. But poetry has form as well as force, and we know but half of a poet's art when we have measured his poetic force. And in judging of Browning's poetic form
