Feeble as is the hope at times, the dawn of Easter Day yet recalls the boundless possibilities opening out for human nature. And, for the moment at least, faith is paramount; no vague, impersonal belief, but that which looks for its direct inspiration to a living Christ. Christ rises! Mercy every way Is Infinite,--and who can say? LECTURE VI CHRISTMAS EVE AND EASTER DAY (iii) LECTURE VI CHRISTMAS EVE AND EASTER DAY (iii) The closer and more unprejudiced the study accorded it, the stronger becomes the conviction of the essentially dramatic character of the composition of both _Christmas Eve_ and _Easter Day_. And at first sight it may, to many readers, be matter of regret that this is so: to those readers more especially who had at first rejoiced to discover, in the assertions of the soliloquists, what they held to be an immediate assurance that Browning's faith was that form of dogmatic belief which was also theirs. If, in all honesty, we are compelled to renounce our original acceptance of the less complex nature of the poems, what is the worth, it may be asked, of the arguments which would unquestionably, were they the direct expression of the writer's feelings, stamp him as a devout Christian, prepared to make even "doubt occasion still more faith"? Nevertheless, further reflection minimizes the cause for regret. Although we may not accept without question, as Browning's own, the criticisms of the soliloquist of _Christmas Eve_, directed against the arguments of the humanitarian Lecturer, or the reasoning of the concluding Sections of _Easter Day_, in favour of belief in the Gospel story and in the essentially probationary character of human life; yet that which we have already had occasion to notice as true concerning all dramatic work, is true also here. The expression of the author's own opinions is not necessarily excluded, as it is not necessarily implied. Thus, in the present instance, occur not a few passages in which it seems almost impossible that we should be in error in discerning Browning's own personality beneath the disguise of the speaker; the immediate expression of his own vital belief, in the theories advanced. And the passages seemingly thus directly inspired are those dealing with the permanent truths of life, which find at once embodiment and limitation in the dogma of various religious bodies. How far such passages may justly be accepted as non-dramatic in character can only be ascertained by reference to and comparison with treatment of these and similar subjects elsewhere in the works. We may not judge from one poem alone as to the writer's intention; evidence so obtained is insufficient.