s Latin was Cicero's (Marcus
Tullius Cicero), the purest classic style. The Grammarian in "The
Grammarian's Funeral" was equally intense on a point of elegance or
correctness in the ancient languages.

80-84. The Bishop rejoices in all that has to do with the forms and
ceremonies of the church. Note in ll. 119-121 his insistence on form and
order.

91. _Strange thoughts._ From this point on the Bishop's mind seems to
wander.

108. _A visor and a Term._ The visor is a mask. A term is any bust or
half-statue not placed upon but incorporated with, and as it were
immediately springing out of, the square pillar which serves as its
pedestal.

CLEON

The quotation preceding this poem is from _Acts_ xvii, 28, and is, in
full, "As certain also of your own poets have said, 'For we are also his
offspring.'" The poet thus referred to by Paul was Aratus, a Greek poet
from Tarsus, Paul's own city. The Cleon and Protus of Browning's poem
are not historical characters, but they are representative of the tone
of thought and inquiry on the part of the Greek philosophers at the time
of Paul. Lines 1-158 give an account of the achievements of Cleon, a man
who has attained eminence in the various realms of poetry, philosophy,
painting, and sculpture. He is not in any one accomplishment equal to
the great poets, musicians, or artists of the past, and yet he
represents progress because he is able to enter into sympathy with the
great achievements in all these realms.

1. _Sprinkled isles._ Presumably the Sporades, the "scattered isles."

4. _Profits in his Tyranny._ Free government [in Greece] having
superseded the old hereditary sovereignties, all who obtained absolute
power in a state were called tyrants, or rather despots; for the term
indicates the irregular way in which the power was given rather than the
way in which it was exercised. Tyrants might be mild in exercise of
authority, and, like Protus, liberal in their patronage of the arts.

8. _Gift after gift._ Protus, a patron of the arts, shows his
appreciation of the work of Cleon by many royal gifts. Chief among the
slaves, black and white, sent by Protus, is one white woman in a bright
yellow wool robe, who is especially commissioned to present a beautiful
cup. Lines 136-8 are also descriptive of this girl.

41. _Zeus._ The chief of the Grecian gods.

47. _That epos._ An epic poem by Cleon engraved on golden plates.

51. _The image of the sun-god on the phare._ Cleo