Inoneofhis`Causeries’，thekeenFrenchcriticquotedabovehasaremarkuponthegreatBossuet，whichmaywithsingularaptnessberepeatedofBrowning：“HisistheHebrewgeniusextended，fecundatedbyChristianity，andopentoalltheacquisitionsoftheunderstanding，butretainingsomedegreeofsovereigninterdiction，andclosingitsvasthorizonpreciselywhereitslightceases。“
Browningcannot，orwillnot，facetheproblemofthefutureexceptfromthebasisofassuredcontinuityofindividualexistence。
Heissomuchinlovewithlife，forlife’ssake，thathecannotevencreditthepossibilityofincontinuity；hisassuranceofeternityinanotherworldisatleastinpartduetohisdespairatnotbeingeternalinthis。
Heissosure，thattheintellectuallyscrupulousdetecttheodoursofhypothesesamidthesweetsavourofindestructibleassurance。
Schopenhauersays，inoneofthoserecently-foundAnnotationsofhiswhicharesocharacteristicandsoacute，“thatwhichiscalled`mathematicalcertainty’isthecaneofablindmanwithoutadog，orequilibriumindarkness。“Browningwouldsometimeshaveusaccepttheevidenceofhis`cane’asall-sufficient。Hedoesnotentrenchhimselfamongconventions：forhealreadyfindshimselfwithinthefortifiedlinesofconvention，andremainsthere。ThusistruewhatMr。Mortimersaysinarecentadmirablecritique“Hispositioninregardtothethoughtoftheageisparadoxical，ifnotinconsistent。