To Protus, whose life has been thus spent in activity, forgetfulness seems the one thing most terrible of contemplation. He must pass, and in the words of the dying Alcestis, "who is dead is nought"; of him shall it be said, "He who once was, now is nothing." But for the man whose life "stays in the poems men shall sing, the pictures men shall study," for him may not death prove triumph, since "_thou_ dost not go"? Yet Cleon deals with the question as might have been anticipated. Genius, even in its highest form, culture, art, learning, alike fail to satisfy the restless soul, tossed upon the waves of uncertainty, unanchored by any reasonable hope for the future. All these fail where the satisfaction derivative from wealth and power honourably wielded has already failed. The genius ruling in the kingdom of intellectual life has no consolation to offer the sovereign ruling the outer life--the material and moral welfare--of his subjects. Poet and tyrant alike bow before the inevitable approach of death, taking "the tear-stained dust" as proof that "man--the whole man--cannot live again." The entire poem has been happily designated "the Ecclesiastes of pagan religion." At the outset we have remarked Cleon admitting that Protus equally with himself has recognized, not only that joy is "the use of life," but that joy may not be found in material gratification alone, but rather in the cultivation of the higher faculties of man. For so shall men remark, in such an act [_i.e._, in the munificence displayed by the gifts bestowed upon the poet] Of love for him whose song gives life its joy, Thy recognition of the use of life. (ll. 20-22.) The poet had so estimated "joy." It is in truth a higher estimate than that based upon a recognition of material good. Nevertheless, he is now to confess that from this, too, but an empty and transitory satisfaction is obtainable. His answer to Protus affords an analysis of his own reflections on the subject, since the thoughts have clearly not arisen now for the first time. And in the arguments immediately following we cannot but recognize Browning's own voice. The theory advanced is reiterated constantly throughout his writings, dramatic and otherwise. Cleon directs the attention of Protus to the perfections of animal life as created by Zeus in lines suggesting an interesting comparison with that remarkable and frequently quoted passage from the concluding Section of _Paracelsus_ (ll. 655-694). The centre-fire heaves underneath the earth, And the earth changes like a human face; * * * * * * * * * *