Article #260-1 | Gutenberg Articles

Excerpt

Excerpt from An Introduction to the Study of Robert Browning's Poetry, by Robert Browning

“By a bull of Gregory XIII. in the year 1584, all Jews above the age
of twelve years were compelled to listen every week to a sermon
from a Christian priest; usually an exposition of some passages
of the Old Testament, and especially those relating to the Messiah,
from the Christian point of view. This burden is not yet wholly removed
from them; and to this day, several times in the course of a year,
a Jewish congregation is gathered together in the church of S. Angelo
in Pescheria, and constrained to listen to a homily from a Dominican friar,
to whom, unless his zeal have eaten up his good feelings
and his good taste, the ceremony must be as painful as to his hearers.
In the same spirit of vulgar persecution, there is upon the gable
of a church, opposite one of the gates of the Ghetto, a fresco painting
of the Crucifixion, and, underneath, an inscription in Hebrew and Latin,
from the 2d and 3d verses of the 65th chapter of Isaiah--
‘I have spread out my hands all the day unto a rebellious people,
which walketh in a way that was not good, after their own thoughts;
a people that provoketh me to anger continually to my face.’”
--George S. Hillard’s Six Months in Italy. (1853.)
--

{"Now was come about Holy-Cross Day, and now must my lord preach
his first sermon to the Jews: as it was of old cared for
in the merciful bowels of the Church, that, so to speak, a crumb,
at least, from her conspicuous table here in Rome, should be,
though but once yearly, cast to the famishing dogs,
under-trampled and bespitten-upon beneath the feet of the guests.
And a moving sight in truth, this, of so many of the besotted
blind restif and ready-to-perish Hebrews! now maternally brought
--nay (for He saith, ‘Compel them to come in’), haled, as it were,
by the head and hair, and against their obstinate hearts,
to partake of the heavenly grace. What awakening, what striving
with tears, what working of a yeasty conscience! Nor was my lord
wanting to himself on so apt an occasion; witness the abundance
of conversions which did incontinently reward him: though not to my lord
be altogether the glory.”--Diary by the Bishop’s Secretary, 1600.}

What the Jews really said, on thus being driven to church,
was rather to this effect:--

Explanation

This excerpt, drawn from Robert Browning’s The Ring and the Book (1868–69), is a dramatic monologue that weaves together historical context, religious persecution, and ironical commentary on forced conversion. The passage is part of Browning’s larger poetic exploration of a 17th-century Roman murder trial, but this section focuses on the compulsory sermons imposed on Jews—a practice rooted in real historical anti-Jewish policies by the Catholic Church. Below is a detailed breakdown of the text, its themes, literary devices, and significance, with emphasis on the excerpt itself.

Context of the Excerpt

Historical Background:
- The first paragraph is a quotation from George S. Hillard’s Six Months in Italy (1853), describing the Papal bull of 1584 under Pope Gregory XIII, which mandated that Jews over 12 attend weekly Christian sermons (often on Messianic prophecies from the Old Testament). This practice persisted into the 19th century, as Hillard notes, with Jews forced to listen to Dominican friars in churches like S. Angelo in Pescheria.
- The fresco of the Crucifixion with the Isaiah 65:2–3 inscription ("a rebellious people") symbolizes the Church’s accusatory stance toward Jews, framing them as defiant and damned. The Hebrew/Latin inscription underscores the linguistic and theological coercion—Jews were forced to confront Christian interpretations of their own scriptures.
Browning’s Source:
- Browning uses Hillard’s account to ground his poetic narrative in historical reality, but he reframes it through dramatic irony and competing perspectives. The excerpt that follows is from the diary of a bishop’s secretary (1600), a Catholic apologist who justifies forced conversions, followed by Browning’s imagined Jewish counter-narrative.

Analysis of the Excerpt

1. The Bishop’s Secretary’s Perspective (Forced Conversion as "Mercy")

The secretary’s diary entry is satirical in its piety, exposing the hypocrisy of "merciful" persecution:

"a crumb... cast to the famishing dogs":
- Metaphor: Jews are dehumanized as dogs (a common anti-Jewish trope), while the Church’s "mercy" is framed as condescending charity. The "conspicuous table" of Christian doctrine offers only scraps, reinforcing hierarchical oppression.
- Biblical Allusion: Echoes Luke 16:21 (Lazarus and the rich man’s crumbs), but here, the "crumbs" are doctrinal coercion, not genuine sustenance.
"maternally brought—nay, haled by the head and hair":
- Oxymoron: "Maternally" (nurturing) clashes with "haled by the hair" (violent dragging). The Church’s "love" is predatory, justified by Luke 14:23 ("Compel them to come in").
- Sarcasm: The secretary’s tone is self-righteous, but Browning’s framing makes the violence obvious.
"yeasty conscience":
- Metaphor: The Jews’ supposed spiritual fermentation (yeast as corruption or transformation) implies their internal struggle—but the secretary assumes this is divine conviction, not resistance to coercion.
"abundance of conversions... though not to my lord be altogether the glory":
- Irony: The conversions are performative (likely forced or insincere), yet the secretary attributes them to the bishop’s skill while hedging glory—a nod to the hollow nature of the enterprise.

2. The Jewish Counter-Narrative (Implied but Unspoken)

Browning cuts off the secretary’s voice with:

"What the Jews really said, on thus being driven to church, was rather to this effect:—"

This abrupt shift invites the reader to imagine the Jewish perspective, which the text leaves deliberately silent—a powerful literary choice. The absence of their words highlights:

Erasure: The Jews’ voices are suppressed in history (as in the Church’s records).
Resistance: Their "real" words would likely express defiance, despair, or mockery—contrasting the secretary’s pious narrative.
Reader’s Role: Browning forces the audience to fill the gap, confronting the violence of forced assimilation.

Themes

Religious Persecution and Hypocrisy:
- The Church’s "mercy" is theatrical cruelty. The sermons, fresco, and inscriptions are tools of psychological domination, not genuine evangelism.
- The Isaiah 65 passage is weaponized: originally a prophecy against Israel’s idolatry, it’s repurposed to justify Christian supremacy.
Power and Dehumanization:
- Jews are animalized ("dogs"), infantilized ("maternally brought"), and physically violated ("haled by the hair").
- The fresco’s placement (opposite the Ghetto gate) ensures Jews cannot escape the Church’s gaze—architectural oppression.
Silence and Voice:
- The Jewish response is muted, emphasizing how history is written by oppressors. Browning’s elliptical ending ("rather to this effect:—") denies closure, mirroring the unheard suffering of persecuted groups.
Irony and Satire:
- The secretary’s earnest tone clashes with the brutality he describes. Browning exposes how institutional religion masks violence as divine will.

Literary Devices

Dramatic Monologue:
- The secretary’s biased, self-justifying voice reveals more than he intends. His rhetorical flourishes (e.g., "heavenly grace") contrast with the physical force described.
Biblical Allusion/Intertextuality:
- Luke 14:23 ("Compel them to come in"): Twisted to justify coercion as hospitality.
- Isaiah 65:2–3: Repurposed as anti-Jewish propaganda, ignoring its original context.
Metaphor and Simile:
- Jews as "dogs": Dehumanizing, but also ironic—the Church claims to feed them "crumbs" of truth.
- "yeasty conscience": Suggests fermentation (growth or corruption), but implies artificial stirring by the sermon.
Juxtaposition:
- The secretary’s piety vs. the Jews’ silent resistance.
- The fresco’s "sacred" imagery vs. its oppressive function.
Ellipsis and Aposiopesis:
- The unfinished Jewish response ("rather to this effect:—") creates tension, forcing the reader to confront the absence of their voice.

Significance

Historical Critique:
- Browning exposes the mechanics of anti-Jewish persecution, linking 16th–17th century Rome to ongoing oppression (Hillard’s 1853 account shows the practice persisted).
- The fresco and inscriptions symbolize how art and text were weapons of control.
Moral Ambiguity:
- The secretary believes in his mission, making the oppression banal. Browning asks: How do good intentions enable cruelty?
Modern Resonance:
- The passage parallels colonialism, forced assimilation, and religious extremism. The language of "salvation" masking violence remains relevant.
Literary Innovation:
- Browning’s polyphonic technique (competing voices) and unreliable narration influence modernist writers like T.S. Eliot and James Joyce.
- The silenced Jewish perspective foreshadows postcolonial literature’s focus on marginalized voices.

Conclusion

This excerpt is a masterclass in irony and perspective. Browning uses the bishop’s secretary’s smug diary to unmask the violence of forced conversion, while the Jewish silence becomes a haunting rebuttal. The fresco, the sermons, the "crumbs"—all are symbols of institutionalized hatred, framed as mercy. By leaving the Jewish response unwritten, Browning implicates the reader, demanding we reckon with the voices history erases.

The passage is not just about 17th-century Rome; it’s a timeless indictment of power disguised as piety—and a challenge to listen for the stories we’re trained not to hear.

Questions

Question 1

The bishop’s secretary describes the forced conversion of Jews as a "moving sight" of "maternal" care, yet his language simultaneously undermines this claim. Which of the following best captures the primary rhetorical effect of this contradiction?

A. It exposes the secretary’s subconscious guilt, revealing his internal conflict between duty and empathy.
B. It mirrors the theological paradox of free will versus predestination, a central debate in 17th-century Catholicism.
C. It illustrates the cognitive dissonance inherent in all acts of religious proselytization, regardless of historical context.
D. It serves as a metaphor for the Church’s broader doctrinal schizophrenia, torn between Old and New Testament ethics.
E. It creates a dramatic irony in which the secretary’s pious language inadvertently highlights the violence he fails to recognize.

Question 2

The passage juxtaposes the fresco of the Crucifixion with the inscription from Isaiah 65:2–3. The most precise interpretation of this pairing is that it functions as:

A. a visual and textual reinforcement of the Church’s accusatory stance, transforming sacred art into an instrument of psychological coercion.
B. an ironic commentary on Christian hypocrisy, since Isaiah’s prophecy originally condemned Israel’s idolatry, not Jewish rejection of Jesus.
C. a subtle critique of Jewish literalism, implying that their refusal to see Christ in the Old Testament is a fulfillment of the prophecy.
D. a symbolic representation of the Church’s paternalistic role, using both image and scripture to "guide" the rebellious.
E. an aesthetic failure, as the fresco’s emotional power is diluted by the didactic heaviness of the accompanying text.

Question 3

The secretary’s claim that conversions occurred "incontinently" (immediately) after the sermon is most effectively read as:

A. a factual report, given the historical efficacy of forced sermons in producing nominal conversions.
B. an unintentional admission that the Jews’ compliance was performative, lacking genuine spiritual transformation.
C. a demonstration of the bishop’s oratory skill, which the secretary implies was divinely inspired.
D. a satirical exaggeration, undermining the sincerity of both the conversions and the secretary’s account of them.
E. evidence of the Jews’ latent desire for salvation, suppressed only by their "obstinate hearts."

Question 4

Browning’s decision to cut off the Jewish response ("What the Jews really said... was rather to this effect:—") serves all of the following purposes EXCEPT:

A. to emphasize the historical erasure of Jewish voices under Christian hegemony.
B. to force the reader to actively imagine the Jews’ resistance, thereby implicating them in the narrative.
C. to contrast the secretary’s verbose justification with the Jews’ presumed silence, heightening the irony.
D. to provide a neutral, objective account of the event, allowing readers to form their own judgments without authorial bias.
E. to mimic the unspeakable nature of their suffering, which defies the secretary’s pious framing.

Question 5

The metaphor of "crumbs" cast to "famishing dogs" is most fundamentally a critique of:

A. the Church’s economic neglect of the poor, prioritizing doctrinal dominance over material charity.
B. the Jews’ perceived spiritual starvation, which the Church magnanimously attempts to alleviate.
C. the literal hunger of the Jewish population, exacerbated by ghettoization and systemic discrimination.
D. the theological inconsistency of using Old Testament imagery (crumbs, dogs) to justify New Testament missions.
E. the dehumanizing condescension of the Church’s "mercy," which frames oppression as benevolent scraps from a superior table.

Solutions and Explanations

1) Correct answer: E

Why E is most correct: The secretary’s language ("moving sight," "maternally brought") is dramatically ironic because it cloaks violence in piety. His description of haling Jews by the hair while calling it "maternal" care exposes his unselfaware cruelty—the gap between his words and the reality they describe is the core of the irony. Browning uses this to indict the secretary’s perspective without direct authorial comment, forcing the reader to recognize the hypocrisy he cannot.