“Thus，allmylife，Itouchafairythingthatfadesandfades。
　　Eventomybabe!Ithought，whenhewasborn，Somethingbeganforoncethatwouldnotend，Norchangeintoalaughatme，butstayForevermore，eternallyquitemine“
　　oncemore
　　“OnecannotjudgeOfwhathasbeentheillorwelloflifeThedaythatoneisdying……
　　Nowitisover，andnodangermore……
　　TomeatleastwasnevereveningyetButseemedfarbeautifullerthanitsday，Forpastispast“
　　Lovely，again，arethelinesinwhichshespeaksofthefirst“thrillofdawn’ssuffusionthroughherdark，“
　　the“lightoftheunbornfacesentlongbefore：“orthoseuniquelinesofthestarvedsoul’sSpringll。1512-27：orthose，ofthebirthofherlittleone
　　“Awholelongfortnight；inalifelikemineAfortnightfilledwithblissislongandmuch。
　　Allwomenarenotmothersofaboy……
　　IneverrealisedGod’sbirthbefore
　　HowhegrewlikestGodinbeingborn。
　　ThistimeIfeltlikeMary，hadmybabeLyingalittleonmybreastlikehers。“
　　Whenshehasweariedly，yetwithsurpassingtriumph，sighedoutherlastwords
　　“GodstoopingshowssufficientofHislightForusi’thedarktoriseby。AndIrise“
　　whodoesnotrealisethattolife’sendheshallnotforgetthatplaintivevoice，sopoignantlysweet，thatineffabledyingsmile，thosewistfuleyeswithsomuchlessofearththanheaven？
　　Butthetwosucceeding“books“aremoretiresomeandmoreunnecessarythanthemostinferiorofthethreeopeningsectionsthefirstofthetwo，indeed，isintolerablywearisome，adesolateboulder-strewngorgeafterthesweetairandsunlitsummitsof“Caponsacchi“and“Pompilia“。
　　Inthenext“book“InnocentXII。isrevealed。Allthissectionhasaloftyserenity，unsurpassedinitskind。Itmustbereadfromfirsttolastforitsfulleffect，butImayexcerptonepassage，thehigh-watermarkofmodernblank-verse：
　　“ForthemaincriminalIhavenohopeExceptinsuchasuddennessoffate。
　　IstoodatNaplesonce，anightsodarkIcouldhavescarceconjecturedtherewasearthAnywhere，skyorseaorworldatall：
　　Butthenight’sblackwasburstthroughbyablaze
　　Thunderstruckblowonblow，earthgroanedandbore，Throughherwholelengthofmountainvisible：
　　Therelaythecitythickandplainwithspires，And，likeaghostdisshrouded，whitethesea。
　　Somaythetruthbeflashedoutbyoneblow，AndGuidosee，oneinstant，andbesaved。“
　　Finallycomesthatthrobbing，terriblelast“book“wherethemurdererfindshimselfbroughttobayandknowsthatallislost。
　　Whocanforgetitsunparalleledclose，whenthewolf-likeGuidosuddenly，inhissupremeagony，transcendshislostmanhoodinonedespairingcry
　　“Abate，Cardinal，Christ，Maria，God，……
　　Pompilia，willyouletthemmurderme？“
　　Lastly，theEpilogueroundsoffthetale。ButisthisEpiloguenecessary？
　　Surelythecloseshouldhavecomewiththewordsjustquoted？
　　Itwillnotbeafterafirstperusalthatthereaderwillbeabletoarriveatadefiniteconviction。Noindividualorcollectiveestimateofto-daycanbeacceptedasfinal。Thosewhocomeafterus，perhapsnotthenextgeneration，northenextagain，willsee“TheRingandtheBook“
　　freeofallthemanifoldandcomplexconsiderationswhichconfuseourjudgment。Meanwhile，eachcanonlyspeakforhimself。
　　Tomeitseemsthat“TheRingandtheBook“is，regardedasanartisticwhole，themostmagnificentfailureinourliterature。Itenshrinespoetrywhichnootherthanourgreatestcouldhavewritten；
　　ithasdepthstowhichmanyoffarinferiorpowerhavenotdescended。
　　Surelythepoemmustbejudgedbythebalanceofitssuccessandfailure？
　　Itisinnopresumptuousspirit，butoutofmyprofoundadmirationofthislong-lovedandoften-read，thissuperbpoem，thatI，forone，wishitcomprisedbutthePrologue，thePleaofGuido，“Caponsacchi“，“Pompilia“，“ThePope“，andGuido’slastDefence。
　　Icannothelpthinkingthatthisistheforminwhichitwillbereadintheyearstocome。Thuscircumscribed，itseemstometoberoundedandcomplete，agreatworkofartvoidofthedross，themeredebriswhichthetrueartistdiscards。Butasitis，inallitslordlypoeticstrengthandflaggingimpulse，isitnot，afterall，thetrueclimactericofBrowning’sgenius？
　　“TheInnAlbum“，adramaticpoemofextraordinarypower，hassomuchmoremarkedlythedefectsofhisqualitiesthatItakeittobe，attheutmost，thepoiseofthefirstgradualrefluence。
　　ThisanalogyofthetidalebbandflowmaybeobservedwithsingularaptnessinBrowning’slife-workthetidethatfirstmovedshorewardinthelovelinessof“Pauline“，and，with“longwithdrawingroar，“
　　ebbedinslow，justperceptiblelapsetothepoet’spenultimatevolume。
　　Asfor“Asolando“，Iwouldratherregarditasthegatheringofanewwave
　　nay，againrather，asthedeepsoundofoceanwhichtheoutwardsurgehasreached。
　　ButformyselfIdonotaccept“TheInnAlbum“asthefirsthesitantswingofthetide。Iseemtoheartheresilientundertoneallthroughthelongslowpoiseof“TheRingandtheBook“。
　　Wherethenisthefullsplendourandrushofthetide，whereitsculminatingreachandpower？
　　Ishouldsayin“MenandWomen“；andby“MenandWomen“
　　Imeannotmerelythepoemscomprisedinthecollectionsoentitled，butallinthe“DramaticRomances“，“Lyrics“，andthe“DramatisPersonae“，alltheshortpiecesofacertainintensityofnoteandqualityofpower，tobefoundinthelatervolumes，from“Pacchiarotto“to“Asolando“。
　　Andthisbecause，inthewordsofthepoethimselfwhenspeakingofShelley，Iprefertolookforthehighestattainment，notsimplythehigh
　　and，seeingit，toholdbyit。YetIamnotobliviousofthemassofBrowning’sloftyachievement，“tobeknownenduringlyamongmen，“
　　anachievement，evenonitssecondarylevel，sohigh，thatarounditsimperfectproportions，“themostelaboratedproductionsofordinaryartmustarrangethemselvesasinferiorillustrations。“
　　HowamItoconveyconciselythatwhichitwouldtakeavolumetodoadequatelyanideaoftherichestefflorescenceofBrowning’sgeniusintheseunfadingbloomswhichwewillagreetoincludein“MenandWomen“？
　　Howbettercertainlyitwouldbeimpossibletobemoresuccinct
　　thanbytheenumerationofthecontentsofanimaginedvolume，tobecalled，say“TranscriptsfromLife“？
　　Itwouldbetosomeextent，butnotrigidly，arrangedchronologically。
　　Itwouldbeginwiththatmasterpieceofpoeticconcision，whereawholetragedyisburnedinuponthebraininfifty-sixlines，“MyLastDuchess“。Thenwouldfollow“InaGondola“，thathauntinglyricaldrama`inpetto’，wheretheloverisstabbedtodeathashisheartisbeatingagainstthatofhismistress；“Cristina“，withitskeenintrospection；thosedelightfullystirringpieces，the“CavalierTunes“，“ThroughtheMetidjatoAbd-el-Kadr“，and“ThePiedPiperofHamelin“；“TheFlower’sName“；
　　“TheFlightoftheDuchess“；“TheTombatSt。Praxed’s“，thepoemwhicheducedRuskin’senthusiasticpraiseforitsmarvellousapprehensionofthespiritoftheMiddleAges；“PictorIgnotus“，and“TheLostLeader“。
　　Butasthereisnotspaceforindividualdetail，andasmanyofthemoreimportantarespokenofelsewhereinthisvolume，Imusttakethereader’sacquaintancewiththepoemsforgranted。
　　So，followingthosefirstmentioned，therewouldcome“HomeThoughtsfromAbroad“；“HomeThoughtsfromtheSea“；
　　“TheConfessional“；“TheHeretic’sTragedy“；“Earth’sImmortalities“；
　　“MeetingatNight：PartingatMorning“；“Saul“；“Karshish“；
　　“ADeathintheDesert“；“RabbiBenEzra“；“AGrammarian’sFuneral“；
　　“LoveAmongtheRuins“；Song，“Naybutyou“；“ALover’sQuarrel“；
　　“EvelynHope“；“AWoman’sLastWord“；“FraLippoLippi“；
　　“BytheFireside“；“AnyWifetoAnyHusband“；“ASerenadeattheVilla“；
　　“MyStar“；“APrettyWoman“；“ALightWoman“；“LoveinaLife“；
　　“LifeinaLove“；“TheLastRideTogether“；“AToccataofGaluppi’s“；
　　“MasterHuguesofSaxeGotha“；“AbtVogler“；“Memorabilia“；
　　“AndreaDelSarto“；“Before“；“After“；“InThreeDays“；“InaYear“；
　　“OldPicturesinFlorence“；“DeGustibus“；“WomenandRoses“；
　　“TheGuardianAngel“；“Cleon“；“TwointheCampagna“；“OneWayofLove“；
　　“AnotherWayofLove“；“Misconceptions“；“MayandDeath“；“JamesLee’sWife“；
　　“DisAliterVisum“；“TooLate“；“Confessions“；“Prospice“；“YouthandArt“；
　　“AFace“；“ALikeness“；“ApparentFailure“。EpiloguetoPartI。
　　“OLyricVoice“，etc。，fromendofFirstPartof“TheRingandtheBook“。
　　PartII。“HerveRiel“；“Amphibian“；“EpiloguetoFifine“；
　　“PisgahSights“；“NaturalMagic“；“MagicalNature“；“Bifurcation“；
　　“Numpholeptos“；“Appearances“；“St。Martin’sSummer“；“AForgiveness“；