The country of The ring and the book . .Supposing that he does come to a wrong conclusion,how would he defend himself? What other should I say than God so willed :Mankind is ignorant, a man am I :Call ignorance my sorrow, not my sin ! So and not otherwise, in after-time,If some acuter wit, fresh probing, soundThis multifarious mass of words and deedsDeeper, and reach through guilt to innocence,I shall face Guidos ghost nor blench a who set me to judge thee, meted outSo much of judging faculty, no more :Ask Him if I was slack in use thereof. He wonders if he, as a man of the world, will
The country of The ring and the book . .Supposing that he does come to a wrong conclusion,how would he defend himself? What other should I say than God so willed :Mankind is ignorant, a man am I :Call ignorance my sorrow, not my sin ! So and not otherwise, in after-time,If some acuter wit, fresh probing, soundThis multifarious mass of words and deedsDeeper, and reach through guilt to innocence,I shall face Guidos ghost nor blench a who set me to judge thee, meted outSo much of judging faculty, no more :Ask Him if I was slack in use thereof. He wonders if he, as a man of the world, will everquestion his decision as the head of the Church. Wherefore, Antonio Pignatelli, thouMy ancient self, who wast no Pope so longBut studied God and man, the many yearsI the school, i the cloister, in the diocese—Thou, not Pope, but the mere old man o the worldSupposed inquisitive and dispassionate,Wilt thou, the one whose speech I somewhat trust,Question the after-me, this self now Pope,Hear his procedure, criticise his work ? 288. The Pope He proceeds to go through the whole of the story,from the beginning to the end, making wise com-ments as each phase unfolds itself. For what he did Guido had assuredly not his cir-cumstances to blame, for he began life with more thannormal advantages. Fortified by propitious circumstance,Great birth, good breeding, with the Church for guide, and guarded from the arch tempter by diligent cultureand choice companionship, he yet proved himself tobe a man of low instinct and base pretension. With regard to his fatal marriage and the object ofthat marriage, the Pope speaks as follows: He purposes this marriage, I remark,On no one motive that should prompt thereto-Farthest, by consequence, from ends allegedAppropriate to the action ; so they were :The best, he knew and feigned, the worst he one permissible impulse moves the man,From the mere liking of the eye and ear,To the true longing of the heart that loves,No trace of these : but
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