[Footnote 121: We must remark that these arguments are not directed
against Atheism and its naturalistic philosophy, which supplies, in Mr.
Browning's judgment, a consistent, if erroneous, solution of the
problem. They only attack the position of those who would retain the
belief in a personal God, and yet divest Him of every quality which
makes such a Being thinkable.]
[Footnote 122: It has been wrongly inferred from the passage in question
that Mr. Browning admits the pretensions of science to solve the
problems of the universe.]
[Footnote 123: The "goddess-sent plague" woven by Lachesis into the
destiny of Admetus was a vengeance of Artemis which befell him on the
day of his marriage. He had slighted her by omitting the usual
sacrifice, and in punishment of this she sent a crowd of serpents to
meet him in the nuptial chamber; but Apollo effected a reconciliation
between them.]
[Footnote 124: He had, as a young man, so great an admiration for one of
Bartoli's works, "De' Simboli trasportati al Morale," that when he
travelled he always carried it with him.]
[Footnote 125: Her reply was that if she possessed any influence over M.
de Lorraine she would never use it to make him do anything so contrary
to his honour and to his interests; she already sufficiently reproached
herself for the marriage to which his friendship for her had impelled
him; and would rather be "Marianne" to the end of her days than become
Duchess on such conditions The reply has been necessarily modified in
Mr. Browning's more poetic rendering of the scene]
[Footnote 126: Indented,--for want of writing materials,--with a key on
the wainscot of his cell.]
[Footnote 127: Created Lord Melcombe a year before his death:
sufficiently known by his diary from March, 1748, to Feb., 1761. See its
character in the Preface to the original edition by his relation, Henry
Penruddocke Wyndham, 1784. Other notices will be found in "Edgeworth on
Education," Belsham's "George II.," and Hawkins' "Life of Johnson."]
[Footnote 128: Furini is also honourably mentioned in Pilkington's
"Dictionary of Painters," revised by Fuseli, and till the middle of the
present century the authoritative work on the subject. It is stated in
the edition of 1805 that "many of his paintings are in Florence, which
are deemed to add honour to the valuable collections of the nobility of
that city."]
[Footnote 129: The allusion in vol. xvi. p. 195, to the old artificer
who could make men "believe" instead of merely "fancy" that what he
presented to them was real, refers especially to the Greek painter
Zeuxis; but it is suggested by the generally realistic character of
Greek art.]
[Footnote 130: Described at p. 253 and onwards under the heading
"Painter-like Beauty in the Open Air."]
[Footnote 131: The last line and a half of the eighth stanza was
directly suggested by the tragedy of Æschylus; the thunderstorm by
another version of the Promethean myth.]
[Footnote 132: See Shelley's translation from Moschus.]
[Footnote 133: Battle of Arbela.]
[Footnote 134: These lines were published in 1886 in the little volume
entitled "The New Amphion."]
[Footnote 135: Organist of Newcastle about 1750; author of "An Essay on
Musical Expression" and other works.]
[Footnote 136: The "Relfe" spoken of in this connection was Mr.
Browning's music-master: a learned contrapuntist.]
[Footnote 137: In interpreting this passage I have somewhat exceeded the
letter, but only to emphasize the spirit of Mr. Browning's words.]
[Footnote 138: From an MS. copy formerly in the possession of Mr.
Browning's father.]
[Footnote 139: The wealth to which he alludes was justly imputed to him,
as the real Fust was a goldsmith's son.]
[Footnote 140: The relation of John Fust to the popular legend is
pleasantly set forth in Mr. Sutherland Edwards' little book, "The Faust
Legend: Its Origin and Development."]