He feels himself as if this might be said of him; and he asks in _Gerard de Lairesse_ if he has lost the poetic touch, the poetic spirit, because he writes of the soul, of facts, of things invisible--not of fancy's feignings, not of the things perceived by the senses?
"I can do this," he answers, "if I like, as well as you," and he paints the landscape of a whole day filled with mythological figures.

The passage is poetry; we see that he has not lost his poetic genius.

But, he calls it "fooling," and then contrasts the spirit of Greek lore with the spirit of immortal hope and cheer which he possesses, with his faith that there is for man a certainty of Spring.
But that is not the answer to his question.

It only says that the spirit which animates him now is higher than the Greek spirit.

It does not answer the question--Whether _Daniel Bartoli_ or _Charles Avison_ or any of these _Parleyings_ even approach as poetry _Paracelsus_, the _Dramatic Lyrics_, or _Men and Women_.