The quotation preceding this poem is from _Acts_ xvii, 28, and is, in
full, "As certain also of your own poets have said, 'For we are also his
offspring.'" The poet thus referred to by Paul was Aratus, a Greek poet
from Tarsus, Paul's own city. The Cleon and Protus of Browning's poem
are not historical characters, but they are representative of the tone
of thought and inquiry on the part of the Greek philosophers at the time
of Paul. Lines 1-158 give an account of the achievements of Cleon, a man
who has attained eminence in the various realms of poetry, philosophy,
painting, and sculpture. He is not in any one accomplishment equal to
the great poets, musicians, or artists of the past, and yet he
represents progress because he is able to enter into sympathy with the
great achievements in all these realms.