Every noble soul must fail in life, because every noble
soul has an ideal. We may be encouraged by temporary successes, but
we must be inspired by failure. Browning can forgive any daring
criminal; but he can not forgive the man who is selfishly satisfied
with his attainments and his position, and thus accepts compromises
with life. The soul that ceases to grow is utterly damned. The
damnation of contentment is shown with beauty and fervor in one of
Browning's earliest lyrics, _Over the Sea Our Galleys Went_. The
voyagers were weary of the long journey, they heeded not the voice
of the pilot Conscience, they accommodated their ideals to their
personal convenience. The reason why Browning could not forgive
Andrea was not because he was Andrea del Sarto, the son of a tailor;
it was because he was known as the Faultless Painter, because he
could actually realise his dreams. The text of that whole poem is
found in the line
Ah, but a man's reach should exceed his grasp.
In _Cristina_, the man's love is not rewarded here, he fails; but he
has aimed high, he has loved a queen.
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