Excerpt from Fundamental Religious Principles in Browning's Poetry Robert Browning was one of the greatest seers as he was one of the foremost poets of his time. His poetry is a study of the deeper problems of life. These were more to him than all the forms of art. God, Christ, the World, Man, Suffering, Sin - these are in reality the subjects of his thought. They emerge everywhere in his poems. Though he was not professedly a theologian, he has thought more vitally and written more helpfully on the problems of theology than most of the theology makers. Browning saw life. He saw it sanely. He saw it deeply. His starting point was life, his data, the experiences of the human soul. Upon these he reasoned, free from the biases of theological training and the narrowing restrictions of theological method. He touches the great vital truths, and he touches them with a vital touch. He has therefore vital messages on the fundamental problems and principles. His messages will reach and help those who do not read theology - and those who do. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.

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This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work was reproduced from the original artifact, and remains as true to the original work as possible. Therefore, you will see the original copyright references, library stamps (as most of these works have been housed in our most important libraries around the world), and other notations in the work. This work is in the public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work. As a reproduction of a historical artifact, this work may contain missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.

Excerpt from Browning: As a Philosophical and Religions Teacher In order to do even this successfully, it is essential that every judgment passed should be exclusively ruled by the principles which govern art. Fine art is not real art till it is free that is, till its value is recognized as lying wholly within itself. And it is not, unfortunately, altogether unnecessary to insist that, so far from enhancing the value of an artist's work, we only degrade it into mere means, subordinate it to uses alien, and therefore antagonistic to its perfection, if we try to show that it gives pleasure, or refinement, or moral culture. There is no doubt that great poetry has all these uses, but the reader can enjoy them only on condition of for getting them; for they are effects that follow the sense of its beauty. Art, morality, religion, is each supreme in its Own Sphere; the beautiful is not more beautiful because it is also moral, nor is a painting great because its subject is religious. It is true that their spheres overlap, and art is never at its best except when it is a beautiful representa tion of the good; nevertheless the points of View of the artist and of the ethical teacher are quite different, and consequently also the elements within which they work and the truth they reveal. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.