on his old quest. Only now he will seek knowledge in every experience life has to offer, no matter how evil. His mood varies between reckless belief in himself, sneering scorn of his enemies, and self-depreciation, while through it all Festus still has faith in him. In the lyric "Over the Sea our Galleys went," he symbolizes the fact that he is too closely wedded to his old ideal — the attainment of knowledge to attune his life to any other,

even though recognizing its hopelessness.

V. Festus is watching by the bedside of Paracelsus as he lies dying. At first wandering in his mind, he gradually regains, under the loving ministrations of Festus, his clearness of vision, and breaks forth in an inspired presentation of his philosophy of life as now developed by his experiences. It includes the scientific idea of the gradual development of forms until man is reached, and the religious idea of the whole course of life being directed by the love of God, who himself feels infinite joy in his own manifestations. In man begins the fresh evolution of knowledge and love, and, consciousness being born, the beauty of nature is no longer in vain. But after man has been perfected, there will be a fresh development Godwards, and so on successive phases will ever open fresh vistas of new joy. All this Paracelsus has learned through Aprile, who taught him the worth of love and the value of human limitations, how all strivings of the human soul, however weak and miserable, are intrinsically precious, and that the guiding principle of life is love, which will grow in power and beauty as it is strengthened by knowledge.

The sketch which Browning himself gives of the life of Paracelsus is very unsatisfactory, as it shows only an external view of him. For further information upon this subject Dr. Franz Hartmann's "The Life of Paracelsus should be consulted; also articles in the "Encyclopædia Britannica" on Paracelsus, Alchemy, Chemistry, Medicine, Surgery, Pathology, and Mysticism. George Willis Cooke calls attention to the fact that M. Jules Andriev

and Mr. Charles Kingsley both consider Browning's poem a true and sympathetic interpretation of the genius and character of Paracelsus, of whom it has been said that his enemies unstintedly maligned him as a demon, while disciples and friends adored him as a god.

I. Paracelsus Aspires. Würzburg: an ancient and historically important town in Germany.

232. Einsiedeln: a town in Canton Schwyz, Switzerland, thirty miles from Zurich, where Paracelsus was born.

241. Trithemius: Johann, Abbot of St. Jacob at Würzburg (1461-1516), one of the greatest adepts in magic, alchemy, and astrology, and the teacher of

Paracelsus.

347. Geier-eagle: vulture-eagle, mentioned in Leviticus xi. 18.

357. Black Arts: black magic or sorcery, as opposed to white magic or science.

417. Stagirite: Aristotle, the Greek philosopher, who was born at Stagira in Macedon (384-323 B. C.). 481. Riveled: wrinkled.

helmet.

Burgonet: a kind of

801. Twine amaranth: the amaranth was a sacred plant among the Greeks and Romans; from the former it received its name, which means "never fading." Hence it became an emblem of immortality, and was classed among the funeral flowers. Homer describes the Thessalians as wearing crowns of amaranth at the funeral of Achilles. Paracelsus means here that he will crown life with immortality instead of death.

811. Mayne: same as the Main, an important river in Germany which flows into the Rhine, and on which Würzburg stood.

812. Schistous ore: admitting of division by natural cleavage into slabs, slates, or flags.

II. Paracelsus Attains. Constantinople: many astrologers practised their art in this Eastern city.

6. Like a Turk verse along a scimitar: verses of the

Koran are used by the Arabs in the decoration of their walls, pottery, arms, etc.

25. Genethliac: a caster of horoscopes.

265. Fire-labarum . founder of these walls: Constantine the Great," the founder of Constantinople, when he was going to fight against Maxentius in 312, saw a flaming cross in the heavens with the inscription In hoc signo vinces (Under this sign thou shalt conquer). He became a convert to Christianity and obtained an easy victory. He adopted the cross as his standard, calling it labarum, from lavar, "command." In form his standard was a long pike, having a transverse beam to which was attached a silken veil wrought with images of the monarch and his children. On the top was a crown of gold enclosing the mysterious monogram representing the cross, with the initial letters of the name of Christ.

453. Wyvern: a kind of flying serpent, sometimes represented in coats of arms.

III. Paracelsus.

pelican.

100. Gannet: a sea-fowl allied to the

128. Pansies: these were said to be favorite flowers of Paracelsus.

152. Basil: same as Basle, situated on the Swiss bank of the Rhine.

211. Rhasis: or Rhazes, a famous Arabian physician, died at Bagdad about 932.

293. Ecolampadius: John, a celebrated German divine, who taught at Basle, and exhorted the Swiss to embrace the principles of the Reformation, though he afterwards joined with Zwingli against Luther. See Browning's own note (4).

294. Castellanus: Pierre Duchatel, a French prelate. When he was at Basle he corrected proof with Frobenius, a position procured for him by Erasmus.

295. Munsterus: a celebrated scholar who among other things taught Hebrew and theology at Basle, and adopted the tenets of Luther (1490-1525). Frobenius: a German printer who lived at Basle, and was greatly

esteemed by Erasmus, whose works he printed. (Died 1527.)

391. Rear-mice: leather-winged bats who evidently ung themselves as bats do on the old gate.

394. Lachen: a village on the shore of Lake Zurich. 437. Sudary: handkerchief or napkin.

441. Suffumigation: in medicine, the application of smoke to the body as a cure.

446. Would raise a cross-grained devil in this sword is described in "Hudibras

my

sword:

(part ii. canto 3):

"Bumbastus kept a devil's bird
Shut in the pummel of his sword,
That taught him all the cunning pranks
Of past and future mountebanks.'

Dr. Berdoe calls attention to the fact that Naudæus (in his History of Magic ") observes of this familiar spirit, "that though the alchymists maintain that it was the secret of the philosopher's stone, yet it were more rational to believe that, if there was anything in it, it was certainly two or three doses of his laudanum, which he never went without, because he did strange things with it, and used it as a medicine to cure almost all diseases." See Browning's own note (5).

480. Erasmus: the illustrious Dutch writer, was in Basle in 1514, when he prepared for the press his "New Testament and Epistles of Jerome.' He was attracted thither by the fame of the printing-press of

Frobenius.

481. Frobenius . . . and him “I raised . . . from the dead": Paracelsus cured him of the gout with laudanum.

741. A sick wretch describes the ape, etc.: patients suffering from delirium frequently see the figure of some animal mocking them from the foot of the bed.

802. Spain's cork-groves: the cork-oak (Quercus suber) is found abundantly in Catalonia and Valencia in Spain. 867. Præclare! Optime! Bravo! well done!

907. Ulysses' bow, Achilles' shield: for description of Ulysses' bow, see Homer, "Odyssey," book xxi.; for

description of Achilles' shield, see Homer, “Iliad," book xviii.

946. Aëtius: an Arian doctor, skilful in medical disputation, died at Constantinople in 367. Oribasius: court physician of Julian the Apostate (326-403). · Galen celebrated Greek physician (130-200). Rhasis:

see note III. 211.

947. Serapion: an Alexandrian physician of the eleventh century. Avicenna: an Arabian philosopher and physician (born about 980), whose doctrines combined those of Galen and Aristotle. Averroes: an Arabian philosopher and physician (born at Cordova, 1126). He interpreted the Aristotelian philosophy to the Mohammedans. 955. Zuinglius: the "reformer of Switzerland," who also had a controversy with Luther. See Browning's own note (4).

961. Carolostadius: or Carlstadt, one of the first Reformers. He was the leader of the fanatical sect of iconoclasts at Wittemberg, was banished, and died at Basle in 1541.

993. These gangs of peasants . . . from Suabia ... whom Münzer leads: Münzer was a Reformer of the type of the Christian socialist, and opposed both to the friars and the humanists. In 1524 he was in Thuringia and in South Germany. Wherever he went his Christian socialism was welcomed by the oppressed peasantry, who were encouraged to rise in the insurrection which ended so disastrously for them at Mühlhausen in 1525 (14901525).

IV. Paracelsus Aspires. I. Oporinus: the most renowned of the followers of Paracelsus, his secretary for three years, afterwards professor of the Greek language, and a wellknown printer and bookseller. Oporinus is said to have spoken bitterly of Paracelsus because he was reticent about his secrets. But after the death of Paracelsus he regretted his unkindness. See Browning's own note (5). Si itur ad astra: Such is the way to the stars.

5. Liechtenfels: Canon Corneliu" of Liechtenfels was