Observe that Browning has purposely made his task as difficult as
possible. Had the scholar been a great discoverer in science, a
great master in philosophical thought, a great interpreter in
literature--then we might all take off our hats: but this hero was a
grammarian. He spent his life not on Greek drama or Greek philosophy,
but on Greek Grammar. He is dead: his pupils carry his body up the
mountain, as the native disciples of Stevenson carried their beloved
Tusitala to the summit of the island peak. These students are not
weeping; they sing and shout as they march, for they are carrying
their idol on their shoulders. His life and his death were
magnificent, an inspiration to all humanity. Hurrah! Hurrah!
The swinging movement of the young men is in exact accord with the
splendid advance of the thought. They tell us the history of their
Teacher from his youth to his last breath:
This is our master, famous calm and dead,
Borne on our shoulders.
It is a common error to suppose that missionaries, nuns, and
scholars follow their chosen callings because they are unfit for
anything else.
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