Browning and Dogma: Seven Lectures on Browning's Attitude Towards Dogmatic ReligionNaish, Ethel M.
Religion
Browning and Dogma: Seven Lectures on Browning's Attitude Towards Dogmatic Religion
Naish, Ethel M.
Browning, Robert, 1812-1889 -- Religion
Carried away by the infection of the prevailing enthusiasm, the spectator
questions as to the cause which has led him to remain without upon the
threshold-stone of the cathedral, whilst He who has led him hither is
within. And the answer which Reason returns is, that whilst the Divine
Wisdom may be capable of discerning the faith and love existent beneath
the outward imagery, yet with "mere man" the case is otherwise; hence for
him to disregard the inward promptings of his nature is dangerous to his
spiritual welfare. Thus the decision:
I, a mere man, fear to quit
The due God gave me as most fit
To guide my footsteps through life's maze,
Because himself discerns all ways
Open to reach him. (ll. 621-625.)
For him to whom the bare walls of Zion Chapel have proved repellant, the
glories of St. Peter's may conceivably be fatally attractive in their
appeal to the senses: such, reasonably or unreasonably, is at least the
belief of the soliloquist. The argument of this eleventh Section is
perhaps the most difficult to follow satisfactorily of all those leading
to the ultimate choice of creed. Before attempting to estimate the worth
of the conclusions, it may be well to trace briefly the line of thought
by which they appear to have been reached.
(1) The spectator, at first struck by the glory of outward display as a
means of still imposing upon the world "Rome's gross yoke," is yet led,
through proximity to the Divine Presence, whilst seeing the error, "above
the scope of error" to realize the love. And further, to admit (2) that
the love inspiring the worshippers of St. Peter's on this Christmas Eve of
1849 was also "the love of those first Christian days," a love which did
not hesitate to sacrifice all which might interpose between itself and the
Divine Love whence it emanated. When
The antique sovereign Intellect
Which then sat ruling in the world,
... was hurled
From the throne he reigned upon. (ll. 650-653.)
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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