Original artwork, not a still
That low man seeks a little thing to do,
Behind the line
What it means
Our interpretation.
The linked contrast sets a modest task that can be completed beside a greater aim that may remain unfinished at death. The funeral speakers esteem the larger aspiration; this fragment is not simply an insult to someone who chooses a small practical task.
Sources (1)
- Bartlett, Familiar Quotations (1891)Browning, A Grammarian’s FuneralReference checked
Context reviewed
