But although he suffered from all these
diseases of the soul, he quickly became convalescent and _Paracelsus_
proves that his cure was complete.
Browning's optimism is not based on any discount of the sufferings
of life, nor any attempt to overlook such gross realities as sin and
pain. No pessimist has realised these facts more keenly than he. The
Pope, who is the poet's mouthpiece, calls the world a dread
machinery of sin and sorrow. The world is full of sin and sorrow,
but it is machinery--and machinery is meant to make something; in
this instance the product is human character, which can not be made
without obstacles, struggles, and torment. In _Reverie_, Browning
goes even farther than this in his description of terrestrial
existence.
Head praises, but heart refrains
From loving's acknowledgment
Whole losses outweigh half-gains:
Earth's good is with evil blent:
Good struggles but evil reigns.
Such an appraisal of life can hardly be called a blind and jaunty
optimism.
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