worn iJlvw sLOSANCflij: ^OFCALIFO^ ^sm ^3MNfi -m ' %aw^ THE WORKS OF Alexander Pope, Efq, A NEW EDITION. IN TEN VOLUMES. VOL. III. Strahan and Prefton, New-Street Square, London. EwnnrJtu W.J-. ., 7>nmr>w fiv <~ A I, I'', \A>: DKH POPE J ';M/..V:../ /;<;,,/,/. A /).,::,: .W-r.m.I., iii.I t/ir . //,,; /'. >/,. /. .-. M, THE WORKS OF Alexander Pope, Efq. IN VERSE AND PROSE. CONTAINING THE PRINCIPAL NOTES OF DRS. WARBURTON AND WARTON : ILLUSTRATIONS, AND CRITICAL AND EXPLANATORY REMARKS, By JOHNSON, WAKEFIELD, A.CHALMERS, F.S.A. AND OTHERS. TO WHICH ARE ADDED, NOW FIRST PUBLISHED, SOME ORIGINAL LETTERS, WITH ADDITIONAL OBSERVATIONS, AND MEMOIRS OF THE LIFE OF THE AUTHOR. By the Rev. WILLIAM LISLE BOWLES, A. M. PREBENDARY OF SALISBURY, AND CHAPLAIN TO HIS ROYAL HIGHNESS THE PRINCE OF WALES. IN" TEN VOLUMES. VOL. III. LONDON: Printed fur J. Johnfon, J. Nichols and Son, R. Baldwin, F. and C. Rivingron, W. Otudge and Son, VV. J. and J. Richardfon, R. Faulder and Sun, T. Payne, W'ilkie and Robinfon, Sratcherd and Lctterman, J. Walker, Veinor Hood and Sharpc, R. Lea, J. White, J. Nunn, Lackington Allen and Co., J. Stockdale, Cuthell and Martin, Longman Hurft Roes and Orme, Cadcll and Davies, Pole and Williams, Ogilvie and Sun, E. Jeffery, J. Booker, J. and A. Aich, Blacks and Party, S. Bagfter, J. Mawman, and J. Afperne. 1806. 3GZ0 CONTENTS OF THE THIRD VOLUME. Page ESSAY ON MAN, in Four Epistles. Epistle I. Of the Nature and State of Man with refpeft to the Univerfe - I Epistle II. Of the Nature and State of Man with refpecl: to Himfelf, as an Individual 6t Epistle III. Of the Nature and State of Man with refpecl: to Society - 99 Epistle IV. Of the Nature and State of Man with refpecl; to Happinefs - - 143 The Univerfal Prayer - - 195 MORAL ESSAYS. Epistle I. Of the Knowledge and Characters of Men - 207 Epistle II. Of the Characters of Women - 245 EpistleIII. Of the Ufe of Riches - - 271 Epistle IV. Of the Ufe of Riches - - 321 Epistle V. To Mr. Addifon, occaf.oned by his Dialogues on Medals - - 357 APPEN- vi CONTENTS. APPENDIX. Page An ESSAY on SATIRE - - - 371 Part L 373 Part II. - - - 386 Part III. - - - 387 A Letter to a Noble Lord, on occafion of fome Libels written and propagated at Court, in the Year 1732-3 - - - - 395 Notes and Observations by Gilbert Wake- field, B. A. On the Effay on Man - - - 429 On the Univerfal Prayer - - 436 On Moral Eflays - - - 437 AN v AN ESSAY ON MAN, IN FOUR EPISTLES. TO H. ST. JOHN, LORD JBOLINGBROKE. >*OJ-. Ill* C 3 3 THE DESIGN. T Taving propofed to write fome pieces on Humari - Life and Manners, fuch as (to ufe my Lord Bacon'* exprefiion) come home to Men's Buftnefs and Bofoms, I thought it more fatisfactory to begin with confidering Man in the abftrat, his Nature and his State; fince, to prore any moral duty, to enforce any moral precept, or to examine the perfection or imperfection of any creature whatfoever, it is ncceflary nrft to know what condition and relation it is placed in, and what is the proper end ind purpofe of its being. The fcience of Human Nature is, like all other fciences, reduced to zfeia clear points : There are not many certain tndhs in this world. It is therefore in the Anatomy of the Mind as in that of the Body j more good will accrue to mankind by attending to the large, open, and perceptible parts, than by ftudying too much fuch finer nerves and vef- fels, the conformations and ufes of which will for ever efcape our observation. The difputes are all upon thefe laft, and, I will venture to fay, they have lefs fharpened the wits than the hearts of men againll each other, and have diminifhed the practice, more than advanced the theory, of Morality. If I could flatter myfelf that this Eflay has any merit, it is in fleering betwixt the extremes of doctrines leemingly oppolite, in palling over terms utterly unintel- ligible, and in forming a temperate, yet not inconftjlent, and nJhort f yet not imperfect y fyftem of Ethics. This I might have done in profe ; but I chofe verfe, and even rhyme, for two reafons. The one will appear ob- vious ; that principles, maxims, or precepts fo written, both fh-ike the reader more ftrongly at nrft, and arc more b 2 cafily t 4 3 eafily retained by him afterwards : The other may feem odd, but is true. I found I could exprefs them move Jhortly this way than in profe itfelf , and nothing is more certain, than that much of the force as well as grace of arguments or inftructions depends on their concifenefs. I was unable to treat this part of my fubject more in detail, without becom- ing dry and tedious ; or more poetically without facrificing perfpieuity to ornament, without wandering from the pre- cifion, or breaking the chain of reafoning : If any man can unite all thefe without diminution of any of them, I freely confefs he will compafs a thing above my capacity. What is now publiihed, is only to be confidered as a general Map of Man, marking out no more than the greater parts, their extent, their limits, and their connexion, but leaving the particular to be more fully delineated in the charts which are now to follow. Confequently thefe Epiftles in their progrefs (if I have health and leifure to make any progrefs) will be lefs dry, and more fufceptible of poetical ornament. I am here only opening the fountains, and clear- ing the paflage. To deduce the rivers, to follow them in their courfe, and to obferve their effects, may be a tafk more agreeable. Pope. C 5 ] ARGUMENT OF EPISTLE I. Of the Nature and State of Man, with rcfpecl to the Universe. OF Man in the abfratl. I. That we can judge only ninth regard to our own fyftem, being ignorant of the relations of fyjlems and things, Ver. 17, &c. II. That Man is not to be deemed imperfect, but a Being fuited to his place end rank in the creation, agreeable to the general Order of things, and conformable to Ends and Relations to him unknown, Ver. 35, &c. III. That it is partly upon his ignorance of future events, and partly upon the hope of a future fate, that all his happinefs in the prefent depends, Ver. 77, &c. IV. The pride of aiming at more know- ledge, and pretending to more perfeElion, the caufe of Man's error and mifery. The impiety of putting him/elf in the place of God, and judging of the fitnefs or unfit nefs, per- fetlion or imperfection, jujlice or injufice, of his difpenfa- tions, Ver. 100, &c. V. The abfurdity of conceiting himfelf the final caufe of the creation, or expecling that perfection in the moral world, which is not in the na- tural, Ver. 131, &c. VI. The unreafonablenefs of his complaints againjl Providence, while on the one hand he demands the Perfections of the Angels, and on the other the bodily qualifications of the Brutes , though, to pojfefs any bf the fenfitive faculties /'// a higher degree, would render him miferable, Ver. 173, &c. VII. That throughout the whole vifible world, an univerfal order and gradation in the fenfual and mental faculties is obferved, which caufe s a fubord'mation of creature to creature, and of all creatures to Man. The gradations of fenfe, inftinct, thought, rc- B 3 fle&ion, e e : flection, rcafon : that Reafon alone countervails all the other faculties y Ver. 207. VIII. How much further this order and fubordination of living creatures may extend, above and beloiv -us,- were any part of which broken, not that part only y but the whole connected creation mufl be dejlroyed, Ver. 233. IX. The extravagance, madnefs, and pride of fuch a defire, Ver. 250. X. The confequence of aU the abfolute fubmiflion due to Providence, both as to our prefent and future flate, Ver. 281, &c. to the end. C 7 3 POPE informs us, in his firft preface to this Efiay, " that he chofe this epiftolary way of writing, notwithstanding his fubjeft was high, and of dignity, becaufe of its being mixed with argu- ment which of its nature approacheth to profe." He has not wandered into any ufelefs digrefiions ; has employed no fictions, no tale or Aory, and has relied chiefly on the poetry of his ftyle for the purpofe of interelting his readers. His ftyle is concife and figurative, forcible and elegant. He has many metaphors and images, artfully interfperfed in the dricft paflages, which flood mod in need of fuch ornaments. If any beauty in this Eflay be uncommonly tranfeendent and peculiar, it is brevity of diction ; which, in a few inftances, and^thofe perhaps pardonable, has occa- fioned obfeurity. On its firft publication Pope did not own it, and it was given by the public to Lord Paget, Dr. Young, Dr. Defaguliers, and others. Even Swift feems to have been deceived. There is a remarkable paflage in one of his letters : " I confefs I did never imagine you were fo deep in morals, or that fo many and excellent rules could be produced fo advantageoufly and agreeably in that fcience, from any one head. I confefs in fome places I was forced to read twice. I believe I told you before what the Duke of D faid to me on that occafion ; how a judge here, who knows you, told him, that, on the firft reading thofe Eflays, he was much pleafed, but found fome lines a little dark : On the fecund, moil of them cleared up, and his pleafure increaf<_d : On the third, he had no doubt remaining, and then he admired the whole." The fubjedt of this Efiay is a vindication of Providence ; in which the poet propofes to prove, That, of all poflible fyftems, Infinite Wifdom has formed the beft : That in fuch a fyftem, coherence, union, fubordination, are necefiary ; and if to, that appearances of evil, both moral and natural, are alio necefiary and unavoidable : That tne feeming defects and blemihhcs in the uni- verfe confpire to its general beauty : That as all parts in an animal are net eyes ; and as in a city, comedy, or picture, all ranks, cha- h 4 rafters, C 8 ] rafters, and colours arc not equal or alike ; even (o exceffes and contrary qualities contribute to the proportion and harmony of the univerfal fyflem : That it is not ftrange that we fhould not be able to difcovtr perfection and order in every inftance ; becaufe, in an infinity of things mutually relative, a mind which fees not infi- nitely, can fee nothing fully. This doctrine was inculcated by Plato and the Stoics, but more amply and particularly by the later Platorafts, and by Antoninus asid Simplicius. In illuftrating his fubject, Pope has been much more deeply- indebted to the Theodicee of Leibnitz, to Archbifhop King's Origin of Evil, and to the Moralifts of Lord Shafteflmry, (parti- cularly to the laft,) than to the philofophers above mentioned. The late Lord Bathuril repeatedly afiured me, that he had read the whole fcheme of the Eflay of Man, in the hand-writing of Bolingbroke, and drawn up in a feriesof propofitions, which Pope was to amplify, vcrfify, and iliuftrate. In doing which, our poet, it mufl be confeffed, left feveral pafiages fo expreffed, as to be favourable to fatalifm and necefiity, notwithftanding all the pains that can be taken, and the artful turns that can be given to thofe paflages, to place them on the fide of religion, and make them coincide with the fundamental doctrines of revelation. The doctrine obvioufiy intended to be inculcated in this Eflay is, " That the difpenfations of Providence in the diftribution of good and evil, in this life, Hand in no need of any hypothefis to juitify them ; all is adjuftxd in the moil perfect order ; whatever is, is right ; and we have no occafion to call in the notion of a future life to vindicate the ways of God to man, becaufe they are fully and fufficiently benevolent and juft. in the prefent." If we cannot fubferibe, on one hand, to Dr. Warbnrton's opinion, " that thefe epiftles have a precifion, force, and clofenefs of connection rarelv to be met with, even in the moil formal treatifes of philofophy :'* yet neither can we aflent to the fevere fentence that Dr. Johnfon has pafTed on the other hand ; namely, " that penury of know- ledge, and vulgarity of fentiment, were never fo happily difguifed as in this Eflay; the reader feels his mind full, though he learns nothing ; and, when he meets it in its new array, no longer knows the talk of his mother and his nurfe." Warton. The difference between Lord Bolingbroke's fyftem and Pone's is very well ftated by RufThead : " Pope's Eflay on Man is a real vindication of Providence againll libertines and atheiits, who quarrel with the prefent coniii-. tution C 9 ] tution of things, and deny a future ftate. To thefe he anfwers, that whatever is, is right; and he afiigns this reafon, that we fee only a part of the moral fyftem, and not the whole : therefore thefe irregularities ferving to great purpofes, fuch as the fuller manifeftation of God's goodnefs and juftice, they are right. " On the other hand, Lord Bolingbroke's Eflays are a pretended vindication of Providence againft what heconfiders an ingenious confe- deracy between Divines and Atheifts ; who ufe a common principle, namely, the irregularities of Gad's moral government here, for different ends and purpofes ; the one, to eftablifh a future Jlate, and the other to difcredit the being of God. Lord Bolingbroke oppofes both con- elufions, by endeavouring to overthrow the common principle, by hi* friend's maxim, " Whatever is, is right ;" not becaufe the prefent flate of our moral world (which is part only of a general fyftem) is neccjfary for the perfection of the 'whole, but becaufe our rr.or.tl world is an entirf. system of itself. In a word, the poet directs his reafojiings again ft Atheifts and Libertines in fupport of religion ; Lord Bolingbroke againft Divines in fupport of natural- ifm. Mr. Pope's argument is manly, fyftematical, and convincing; Lord B.'s confufed, prevaricating, and inconfiftent." It is well known, that M. de Croufaz wrote remarks on the Eflay, accufimjthe Author of inculcating " Naturalifm." Thefe remarks were anfwered by Warburton, whofe interpretation, as it was adopted by Pope, is here retained. It is plain, that Pope did not in his Effay intend to inculcate Naturalifm ; but there are fome paflages which, notwithftandir.g all Warburton has done, feem to look that way. It is but fair, however, that he fhould have that interpretation by which he deliberately wifhed to abide. The eagernefs with which Warburton's explanations were adopted, appears evidently from Pope's letter to him on the fubje&, in which I have no doubt he fpoke the truth : " You have made my fyitem as clear as I ought to have done, and could not ; you underfland me as well as I underftand myfelf, but you exprefs me better than I could myfelf." This poem i: - , of the moral and philosophical kind, and is to be elafied with the ' Poem of Lucretius,' &c. It has very little rtfemblanee to didactic or preceptive pieces, fuch as the Game of Chefs by Vida, Boileau's Art of Poetry, Phillips' Cyder, ard other poems of the kind, which Warton enumerates. In its caft i v rhr.rr.&er if is almoft as different from thefe, as they are of a 7 djiiereut [ 10 ] different rank and character from poems which (as Warton fays) dcfcribe events." Its merit is to be eflimated from the depth of thinking which it evinces as a philosophical treatife, and from the propriety and beauty of the language and illuflrations which it difplays as a poem. This EfTay was tranflated into Latin verfe by J. Sayer, [ ii ] :i EPISTL E I. \ wake, my St. John! leave all meaner things To low ambition, and the pride of Kings. Let us (fmce Life can little more fupply Than jufl to look about us and to die) Expatiate COMMENTARY. THE opening of this Poem [in fif:eea lines] is taken up ia giving an account of the fubject ; which, agreeably to the title, is. an Essay on Man, or a Philosophical Inquiry into his Nature and End) his PaJJions and Purfu'tts. The exordium relates to the whole work, of which the EJfciy on Man was only the firil book. The fixth, Seventh, and eighth lines allude to the fubjects of this Effay, viz. the general Order and Dcfign of Providence ; the Conltitution of the Human Mind ; the Origin, Ufc, and End of the Pafiions and Affections, both felfifh and focial ; and the wrong Purfuits of Happinefs in Power, Plea- fure, ccc. The tenth, eleventh, twelfth, &c. have relation to the fubjec'ts of the books intended to follow, viz. the Characters and Capacities of Men, and the Limits of Science, which once tranf- greffed, ignorance begins, and errors without end Succeed. The thirteenth and fourteenth, to the Knowledge of Mankind, and the various Manners of the Age. The NOTES. Ver. I. Awake, my St. John !] Henry St. John, fon of Sir Henry St. John, Baronet, of Lydiard Tregofe in Wiltshire, by Mary, fecond daughter and heirefs of Robert Rich, Earl of Warwick, was born in 1678. Pie was educated iirit at Etou School, from thence he went to Chrift Church, Oxford, where, as through life, he was diflinguifhcd both by talents and excefTes. Of 12 ESSAY ON MAN. Ep. T. Expatiate free o'er all this fccne of Man ; 5 A mighty maze ! but not without a plan ; A wild, COMMENTARY. The Poet tells us next (line i6th3 with what defign he wrote, viz. " To vindicate the ways of God to Man." The men he writes againft, he frequently informs us, are fuch as weigh their opinion againft Providence (ver. 1 14.), fuch as cry^ Ij Man y s unhappy, God's vnjujl (ver. 1 18.), or fuch as fall into the notion, that Vice and Virtue there is none at all (Ep. ii. ver. 212.). This occafions the Poet to divide his vindication of the ways of God into two parts. In the firft of which he gives direct anfwers to thofe objections which libertine men, on a view of the diforder-; arifing from the perverfity of the human will, have intended againft Providence : and in the fecond, he obviates all thole objec- tions, by a true delineation of human nature ; or a general, but exact, map of Man. The firft epiftle is empkryed in the management of the firft part of this difpute ; and the three following in the difcuf- fion of the fecond. So that this whole book conftitutes a com- plete EJfay on Man y written for the beft purpofe, to vindicate the ways of God. Warburtcs NOTES. Of his political career more will be faid in another place. His talents were fhewy and brilliant, if not folid; though he certainly wifhed to be confidered in the light of a great genius, born for great eonjunclures ! His predominant ambition, or, as Pope would fay, *' his ruling pafiion," was to unite the characters of a man of bufinefsand of pleafure. By the favour of Mr, Coxe, I have feer. a collection of his letters, belonging to the Egremont family. His letters to Sir William Wyndham, from Paris, are fenfible, unaffected, and eloquent, with fome plaufible accounts of his virtues and philofophy in his exile ; at the fame time he corre- fponds with Charles Wyndham, his fon, a youth (afterwards Earl of Egremont), encouraging him in his earlieft fchemes of pleafure, and promoting an intrigue with a favourite actrefs ; on which fubject, though fixty years old at the time, he evidently writes con amorc. He married the niece of Madame de Maintenon, after the death of his firft wife. Of Ep.I. ESSAY ON MAN. 13 A Wild, where weeds and flow'rs promifcuous (hoot, Or Garden, tempting with forbidden fruit. Together let us beat this ample field, Try what the open, what the covert yield ; 10 The latent tracts, the giddy heights, explore Of all who blindly creep, or fightlefs foar ; Eye Nature's walks, moot Folly as it flies, And catch the manners living as they rife ; Laugh NOTES. Of his Philofophy, in which he was the preceptor of Pope, we may fay with Burke, " Who r.onu reads Bolingbroke ? Who ever read him through ?" Eut this Poem will continue to charm, from the mufic of its verfe, the fplendour of it3 diction, and the beauty of its illuftrations, when the Philofophy that gave rife to it, like the coarfe manure that fed the flowers, is perceived and remem- bered no more. Ver. 6. A mighty maze! but not without a plan /] In the firfl: edition, it was " a mighty maze, 'without a plan." It is Angular that Mr. Gray fell into fomething like the fame contradiction. In the firft edition of his Ode on the Death of a Favourite Cat, it was printed, " What cat's a foe to fifh ?" when the ftrongeft. proof of it was this very ode. It was altered to " What cat's averfe to fifh ?" but it is bad enough ftill. I mention this to (hew that the mod correct writers are fubject to thefe inadvertencies, * quas aut incuria fudit, aut humana parum cavet natura." Ver. 12. Of all who blindly creep, &c.~\ i. e. Thofe who only follow the blind guidance of their pafiions ; or thofe who leave behind them common fenfe and fober reafon, in their high flights through the regions of Metaphyfics. Both which foliies are ex- pofed in the fourth epiftle, where the popular and philofophical errors concerning Happinefs are detected. The figure is takea from animal life. Warburtok. Ver. 13. Eye Nature's walks,'] Thefe metaphors, drawn from the field fports of fotting and (hooting, feem much below the dig- nity of the fubject, and an unnatural mixture of the ludicrous and ferious. Warton. 14 ESSAY ON MAN. Ep.f. Laugh where we mud:, be candid where we can; 1 5 But vindicate the ways of God to Man. I. Say firft, of God above, or Man below, What can we reafon, but from what we know? Of COMMENTARY. Ver. 17. Sayfrfl, of God above, or Man below, ffc.] The Poet having declared his fubjecl; his end of writing ; and the quality of his advcrfarics ; proceeds (from vcr. 16 to 23.) to inftrucr. us, from whence he intends to draw his arguments ; namely, from the vj/tble things of God in this fyftem, to demonftrate the invjf.ble things of God, his eternal Power and Godhead. And why ? Becaufe we can reafon only from what we know ; and as we know no more of Man than what we fee of his ftation here, fo we know no. more of God than what we fee of his difpenfations in this ftation ; being able, to trace him no further than to the limits of our own fyftem. This- naturally leads the Poet to exprobate the miferable folly NOTES. -They are the more i'o, as Pope is not content with barelv touching the metaphor of mooting en paffant, but purfues it with fo much minutenefs. Let us " beat this ample field" " try what the covert yields," " eye* 1 Nature's walks, "fhoot" Folly. I need i>ot mention the want of exatinefs, into which this illuftration has betrayed him, when he talks of " eying a walk," &c. Ver. 15. Laugh 'where we mnfl, &c.~\ Intimating, that human follies are fo ftrangely abfurd, that it is not in the power of the moil compajfionatc, on fome occalions, to reftrain their mirth : and that its crimes are fo flagitious, that the moil candid have feldom an opportunity, on this fubject, to txercife their virtue. Warburtos: ' Ver. 15. Laugh where we mufl,~\ " La fottife (fays old Mon- taigne) eft une mauvaife qualite; mais ne la pouvoir fupporter, & s'en depiter & rouger, comme il m'advient, c'eft une autre forte de maladie, qui ne doit gueres a la fottife en impovtunite." War ton. Ver. 16. Bui vindicate the ways of God to Man"] . " And juftify the ways of God to Man." Mdton. Ep.I. ESSAY ON MAN. 15 Of Man, what fee we but his ftation here, From which to reafon, or to which refer ? 20 Thro* worlds unnumber'd tho* the God be known, *Tis ours to trace him only in our own. He, who through vaft immenfity can pierce, See worlds on worlds compofe one univerfe, Obferve how fyftem into fyftem runs, 25 What other planets circle other funs, What COMMENTARY. Folly and impiety of pretending to pry into, and call in queftion, the profound difpenfations of Providence : which reproof contains (from ver. 22 to 43.) a fublime defcription of the Omnifcience of God, and the miferable blindnefs and prefumption of Man. Warburton, NOTES. Ver. 19, 20. Of Man, what fee ., xi s^' oXov htxM f*?paj eivif/ai^treu. See a very fine paffage in A. Geliius, lib. vi. cap. I. containing the opinion of Chryfippus on the origin of evil. Warton. Ver. 31. has thy pervading foul'] The reader will perhaps remember fomc of the fublime apoftrophes in Job : Haft Ep.I. ESSAY ON MAN. i 7 Is the great chain, that draws all to agree, And drawn fupports, upheld by God, or thee ? II. Prefumptuous Man! the reafon woukTfl thou find, 35 Why form'd fo weak, fo little, and fo blind? Firft, if thou can'ft, the harder reafon guefs, Why form'd no weaker, blinder, and no lefs ? Afk of thy mother Earth, why oaks are made Taller or (Ironger than the weeds they made ? 40 Or afk of yonder argent fields above, Why Jove's Satellites are lefs than Jove ? Of NOTES. " Haft thou entered into the fprings of the fea ? and haft thou walked in the fearch of the depth ? Have the gates of death been opened unto thee, and haft thou feen the doors of the fhadow of death ? Haft thou perceived the breadth of the earth ? Declare, if thou knoivejl it all ! Ver. 33. Is the great chain, that draws all to agree ?~\ I fhould have pointed out the exprefuon and great effe6t of this line, as illuitrating the fubjeft it defcribes ; but Ruffhead fays, " it is the mult heavy, languid, and vnpoetical, of all Pope ever wrote ; and that the expletive " to" before the verb is unpardoiir able!" " Who (hall decide," &c. Warburton, however, fee ma to think that its Jloivncfs might have keen attended! Ver. 41. Or aji of yonder, oV.] On thefe lines M. Voltaire thus defcants : " Pope dit que 1'homme ne pent favoir pourquoi les Limes de Jupiter font moins grandes que Jupiter? II fe trompe en cela, c'ell une erreur pardonable. II n'y a point de Mathema- tician qui n'ont fait voir," &c. [Vol. ii. p. 3S4. Ed. Gen. 3 And fo goes on to fhew, like a great mathematician as he is, that it would be very inconvenient for the Page to be as big as his Lord and Mailer. It is pity all this fine reafoning mould proceed n a ridiculous blunder. The Poet thus reproves the impious tol. in. c complainer 1 ESSAY ON MAN. Ep.I. Of Syitems poffible, if 'tis confeft That Wifdom .infinite mult form the beft, Where COMMENTARY. , Ver. 43. Of Sypms pojible, &c.~\ So far the Poet's modeft and fober Introduction ; in which he truly obferves, that no wif- dom lefs than omnifcient " Can tell why Keav'n has made us as we are." Yet, though we be unable to difcover the particular reafons for this mode of our exiftence, we may be affured in general that it is right. For now, entering upon his argument, he lays down this evident propoiition as the foundation of his Thefts, which he reafonably fuppofes will be allowed him, That, of all poffible fyflems , infinite NOTES. complainer of the order of Providence : " You are diffatisfied With the weaknefs of your condition. But, in your fituation, the nature of things requires juft fuch a creature as you are : in a dif- ferent fituation, it might have required that you fliould be ftill weaker. And though you lee not the reafon of this in your own cafe ; yet, tV ut reafons there are, you may fee in the cafe of other of God's creatures : " Afk of thy mother Earth, why oaks are made Taller or itronger than the weeds they fliade ? Or afk of yonder argent fields above, Why Jove's Satellites are lefs than Jove V Here (fays the Poet) the ridicule of the weeds' and the Satel- lites' complaint, had they the faculties of fpeech and reafoning, would be obvious to all ; becaufe their very fituation and office might have convinced them of their folly. Your folly, fays the Poet to his complainers, is as great, though not fo evident, be- caufe the reafon is more out of fight ; but that a reafon there is, may be demonftrated from the attributes of the Deity. This is the Poet's clear and ftrong reafoning ; from whence, we fee, he was fo fa from faying, that Man could not know the caufe why jfove's Satellites were lefs than Jove, that all the force of his rea- foning turns upon this, that Man did fee and know it, and fliould from thence conclude, that there was a caufe of this inferiority as well in the rational, as in the material Creation. War burton. Ep.L ESSAY ON MAN. 19 Where all mult full or not coherent.be, 45 And all that rifes, rife in due degree ; * Then, in the fcale of reas'ning life, 'tis plain, There muft be, fomewhere, fuch a rank as Man : And all the queftion (wrangle e'er fo long) Is only this, if God has plac'd him wrong ? 50 Refpe&ing Man, whatever wrong we call, May, muft be right, as relative ,to all. In COMM ENTARY. uifinite CsV.] Matth. x. 29. C4 24 ESSAY ON MAN. p.I. What future blifs, he gives not thee to know, But gives that Hope to be thy bleffing now. Hope fprings eternal in the human bread : 95 Man never Is, but always To be bleft. The foul, uneafy and confin'd, from home, Refts and expatiates in a life to come. Lo, the poor Indian ! whofe untutor'd mind Sees God in clouds, or hears him in the wind ; 1 00 His VARIATIONS. Ver, 93, 94. In the firft Fol. and Quarto, What blifs above he gives not thee to know, But gives that Hope to be thy blifs below, COMMENTARY. " He fees, why Nature plants in Man alone Hope of known blifs, and Faith in blifs unknown : (Nature, whofe dictates to no other kind Are giv'n in vain, but what they feek they find.)" It is only for the good man, he tell us, that Hope leads from goal to goal, &c. It would then be ilrange indeed, if it ihould prove an illufion. Warburton. Ver. 99. Lo, the poor Indian ! &c.~] The Poet, as we laid, hav- ing bid Man comfort himfelf with expectation of future happinefs : having fhewn him that this hope is an earneil of it; and put in one very ncceffary caution, " Hope humbly then ; with trembling pinions foar ;" provoked at thofe mifcreants whom he afterwards (Ep.iii. ver. 263,) defcribes as building Hell onfpite, and Heaven on pride, he upbraids them (from ver. 98 to 1 1 3.) with the example of the poor Indian, to whom alfo Nature hath given this common hope of Mankind: but though his untutored mind had betrayed him into many childifh fancies concerning the nature of that future ftate, yet he is note s. Ver. 99. Lo, the poor Indian ! &c.~\ Pope has indulged himfelf in but few digreflions in this piece ; this is one of the moil poeti- cal. Wart o\ Ep.I. ESSAY ON MAN. 25 His f^ul, proud Science never taught to ftray Far as the folar walk, or milky way j Yet COMMENTARY. is fo far from excluding any part of his own fpecics (a vice which could proceed only from the pride of falfe Science), that he humanely, though fimply, admits even his faithful dog to bear him company. War BURTON. NOTES. Ver. 100. Sees God in clouds, or hears him in the wind ;] In John Wefley's curious journal, there is a fingular, and not unm- terefling, account of his converfation with the Indians. Their reli- gious ideas are literally thofe of " feeing God in clouds, and hearing him in the wind :" ' Tucfday, July 20. Five of the Chicafaw Indians came to fee us : they were all warriors. The two chief were Pauiloobee and Mingo Mattaw. Our conference was as follows : (^hieflion. Do you believe there is One above, who is over all things ? Paustoobee anfvered. We believe there are four beloved things above; the Clouds, the Sun, the Clear Sky, and He that lives in the Clear Sky. JQ. Do you think He made the Sun, and the other beloved things ? y/. We cannot tell ; who hath feen ? 0. Cannot He fave you from your enemies ? jl. Yes ; but we know not if he will. We have now fo many enemies round about us, that I think of nothing but death. If I am to die, I fhall die, and I will die like a Man ; but if He will have me live, I fhall live. Though I had ever fo many enemies, He can dcflroy them all. (). How do you know that ? si. From what I have feen. When our enemies came againfl us before, then the beloved Clouds came for us ; and often much rain, and fometimes hail, has come upon them, and that in a very hot day : and 1 faw when many French and Choflaws, and other Nations, came againfl one of our towns, the ground made a noife under them, and the Beloved Ones in the air behind them ; and they were afraid, and went away, and left the meat, and drink, and guns. I tell 110 lie. All there law it too." 26 ESSAY ON MAN. Ep.I. Yet fimple Nature to his hope has giv'n, Behind the cloud-topt hill, an humbler heav'n ; Some fafer world in depth of woods embrac'd, 105 Some happier ifland in the wat'ry wafte, Where flaves once more their native land behold, No fiends torment, no Chriftians third for gold. To Be, contents hi$ natural defire, He afks no Angel's wing, no Seraph's fire j no But thinks, admitted to that equal fky, His faithful dog {hall bear him company. IV. Go, wifer thou ! and, in thy fcale of fenfe, Weigh thy Opinion againfl Providence ; Call imperfection what thou fancy 'ft fuch, 115 Say, Here he gives too little, there too much : Deflroy * VARIATIONS. After ver. 10S. in the firfl Ed. But does he fay the Maker is not good, Till he's exalted to what ftate he v.-ou'd : Himfelf alcne high Heav'n's peculiar care, Alone made happy when he will, and where ? COMMENTARY. Ver. 113. Go, nvifer thou I &c.'] He proceeds with thefe accu- fers of Providence (from ver. 112 to 123.), and mews them, that complaints againfl the eflahlijhed order of things begin in the highefl abfurdity, from mifapplied reafon and power ; and end in the higheji impiety, in an attempt to degrade the God of heaven, and to affumc his place : " Alone made perfect, here, immortal there :" That is, be made God, ivho only is perfect, and hath immortality .- to which fenfe the lines immediately following confine us : *' Snatch from his hand the balance and the rod, Re-judge his juftice, be the God of God." Warburton. note s. Ver. 104. Behind the cloud-top' 't hill,"] " Cloud-top'd hill," is from Milton. Ep.I. ESSAY ON MAN. 27 Deftroy all creatures for thy fport or guft, Yet cry, If Man's unhappy, God's unjufl ; * If Man alone ingrofs not Heav'n's high care, Alone made perfect here, immortal there : 120 Snatch from his hand the balance and the rod, Re-judge his juftice, be the God of God. In Pride, in reas'ning Pride, our error lies ; All quit their fphere, and rufh into the Ikies, j Pride COMMENTARY. Ver. 123. In Pride, in reas'ning Pride, our error lies ; &c.~\ From thefe men, the Poet now turns to his friend ; and (from ver. 122 to 131.) remarks, that the ground of all this extravagance is Pride ; which, more or lefs, infects the whole reafoning Tribe ; (hews the ill effects of it, in the cafe of the fallen Angels ; and obferves, that even wifhing to invert the laws of Order, is a lower fpecies of their crime : he then brings an inftance of one of the effects of Pride, which is the folly of thinking every thing made folely for the ufe of Man, without the lead regard to any other of the creatures of God. " Afk for what end the heav'nly bodies fhine," sV. The ridicule of imagining the greater portions of the material fyftcm to be folely for the ufe of Man, true Philofophy has fuffi- ciently expofed : and Common Senfe, as the Poet obferves, initruds us to conclude, that our fellow-creatures, placed by Providence as the joint inhabitants of this Globe, are dcligned to be joint fliarcrs with us of its blefiings : " Has God, thou fool ! work'd folely for thy good, Thy joy, thy paftime, thy attire, thy food ? Who for thy table feeds the wanton fawn, For him as kindly fpreads the fiow'ry lawn." EpiiUe iii. Ver. 27. Warburton. NOTES. Ver. 120. Alone made perfect here,~\ It is a Angular fact, that neither the ancient philofophers nor potts, though they abound in Loir.nlaiuts of the unequal diltribution of good and evil at prtfent, yet 28 ESSAY ON MAN. Ep.I. Pride ftill is aiming at the bleft abodes, 125 Men would be Angels, Angels would be Gods. Afpiring to be Gods, if Angels fell, Afpiring to be Angels, Men rebel : And NOTES. yet do not ever infer or draw any arguments, from this fupnqfeci inequality, for the neceflky of a future life, where fucli inequality will be rectified, and Providence vindicated. Warton. Ver. 126. Men would be Angels ,] Verbatim from Bolingbroke, vol. v. p. 465. ; as are many other paffages. Warton. Ver. 127. If Angels fell,"] Milton, in book v. copies from the Rabbinical writers, from the fathers, and fome of Ae fchoolmen, the caufes of the rebellion of Satan and his aflociates, but feems more particularly to have in view an obfcure Latin poem written by Odoricus Valmarana, and printed at Vienna in 1627, intitled, " Diemonomachiae, live de Bello Intelligentiarum fuper Divini Verbi Incarnatione ;" in which the revolt of Satan, or Lucifer, is exprefsly ai'cribed to his envy at the exaltation of the Son of God. See Newton's Milton, vol. i. p. 407. But the commentators on Milton have not obferved that there is ftill another poem which he feems to have copied, " L'Angeleida di Erafmo di Valvafone," printed at Venice, in quarto, in 1590, describing the battle of the Angels againft Lucifer, and which Gordon de Porcel, in his Library of Romances, torn. ii. p. 190. thought related to Angelica, the heroine of Boiardo and Ariofto. I beg leave to add, that Milton feems alfo to have attended to a poem of Tafio, not much noticed, on the Creation, " Le Sette Giornate del Mondo Creato," in 1607. Warton. Ver. 128. Afp'irlng to le Angeh,~] One of the mod pernicious tenets of Hobbes, was the debafing and difparaging human nature, attempting, in the language of Cud worth, to " villanife mankind." We know it has fallen from its original beauty and perfection : but " Intellectual Fride," the fubject of fo continued an invective through this E'fay, being confined to a few, cannot be fo dangerous to general morality, as the contrary extreme. This obfervation, however, does not affect, the general fenfe in which Pope employs the idea, that it is from prefumption we pretend to judge, of what we can fee and know fo little. " Ccclum ipfum pctimus, ftultitia." Kp.I. ESSAY ON MAN. 29 And who but wifhes to invert the laws Of Order, fins againft th' Eternal Caufe. 130 V. Afk for what end the heav'nly bodies fhine, Earth for whofe ufe ? Pride anfwers, " 'Tis for mine : " For me kind Nature wakes her genial pow'r, " Suckles each herb, and fpreads out ev'ry flpw'r ; " Annual for me, the grape, the rofe renew, 135 " The juice nedtareous, and the balmy dew ; " For me, the mine a thoufand treafures brings ; " For me, health gulhes from a thoirfand fprings ; " Seas roll to waft me, funs to light me rife ; " My foot-ftool earth, my canopy the Ikies. " 140 But errs not Nature from this gracious end, From burning funs when livid deaths defcend, When COM M EN*T AR Y. Vkr. 141. But errs not Nature from tins gracious end,~\ The author comes next to the confirmation of his Thefis, That partial 'moral Evil \s univerfal Good ; but introduceth it with an allowed indance in the natural world, to abate our wonder at the phenomenon of moral evil ; which he forms into an argument on a conceffion of his adveifarics. If we afk yon, fays he (from ver. 140 to 151.), whether Nature doth not err from the gracious purpofe of its Creator, when plagues, earthquakes, and tempefts unpeople whole regions at a time ; you readily anfwer, No : for that God acts by general, and not by particular laws ; and that the courfe of matter and motion mu ft be necefiarily fubjeit to fome irregularities, becaufe nothing is created perfect. I then afk, why you fhould expect this perfection in Man I If you own that the great end of God (notwithstanding all this deviation) be general happ'uufs, then it is Nature t NOTfS. VtK. 141. But errs not Nature'] " Whence evil in the univerfe, and why r Some things, perhaps, which thou thinkeit fuch, are 7 not 30 ESS AT ON MAN. Ep.I. When earthquakes fwallow, or when tempefts fweep Towns to one grave, whole nations to the deep ? "No COMMENTARY. Nature, and not God, that deviates ; and do you expeft greater conftancy in Man ? *' Then Nature deviates ; and can Man do Iefs ? That, is, if Nature, or the inanimate fyftem (on which God hath impofed his laws, which it obeys, as a machine obeys the hand of the workman) may in courfe of time deviate from its firit direction ; as the bell philofophy (hews it may ; where is the wonder that Man, who was created a free Agent, and hath it in his power every moment to tranfgrefs the eternal rule of Right, fhould fome- times go out oi Order ? War burton. NOTES. not evil, but in appearance. Where the whole is vaftly great, the connections will be innumerable. When, therefore, a part only ;-s feen, many of thefe connections will be inexplicable. Being inex- plicable, they will often exhibit appearances of evil, where yet in fact is no evil, but only good not underftood. " Again, throughout the whole, there is more good than evil : for in the fyftem of the heavens we know of no evil at all. The fame perhaps is true in many other parts of the whole. And with refpett even to men, 'tis their intereft to be good, if it be true that by Nature they are rational and focial. So that if, by vice of any kind, they chance to introduce evil, 'tis by deviating from Nature, and thwarting her original purpofe. Indeed, all evil in general appears to be of the cafual kind ; not fomething intended by the Maker of the world, (for all his preparations plainly tend towards good,) but fomething which follows, without being in- tended, and that perhaps neceffarily, from the nature and effence of things. Indeed, the nature and effence of every being is immu- table ; and, while it exifts itfelf, all its attributes will exift likewife. To fay, therefore, a thing fhould be, without its infe- parable and conftitutive attributes, is the fame as to fay, it fhould be, and not be. A miller works in his mill, and becomes white ; a 1 collier works in his mine, and becomes black : yet were neither of thefe incidents intended by either ; but other and better ends being purpofed to be anfwered, they were neccfuirily attended by thefe Ep.L ESSAY ON MAN.. 31 " No ('tis reply'd), the firft Almighty Caufe 145 " Afts not by partial, but by gen'ral laws j "Th* NOTES. thefc collateral incidents. So it is in the'univerfe. The good leads, the evil follows : the good is always defigned, the evil only admitted : the good has exiilence, by being the final caufe of all things ; the evil has exiilence, becaufe it cannot be avoided : the good appears to be fomething in character and form, which all beings fome way or other are framed to enjoy ; the evil, on the contrary, appears to be fomething which all beings fome way or other are framed to* avoid ; fome by talons, others by teeth ; fome by wings, others by fins ; and, lailly, man, by genius ripened into arts, which alone is fuperior to the fum of all other prepara- tions. " Again, fome evil, though evil, is yet productive of good, and therefore had better be, than not be, elfe there had not been the good. For example, human nature is infirm ; expofed to many and daily hardfhips ; to pinching colds and fcorching heats ; to famines, droughts, difeafes, wounds. Call this, all of it, evil, if you pleafe : yet what a variety of arts arife from this evil, and which, if this evil had not urged, had never exifled ? Where had been agriculture, architecture, medicine, weaving, with a thou- fand other arts, too many to enumerate, had man been born a felf- fufficient animal, fuperior to the fciifations of want or evil ? Where had been that noble activity, that never-ceafing energy of ;dl his various power:-, had not the poignancy of evil awakened them from the very birth, and difpelled all fymptoms of lethargy and drowfinefs ? Nay, more ; courage, magnanimity, prudence, and wife indifference ; patience, long-fufTering, and acquiefcence in our lot ; a calm and manly refignation to the will of God, whatever he difpenfes, whether good or bad; thefe heroic vir- tues could never have had exiilence, had not thofe things called evils firft eUablifhed them into habit, and afterwards given occa- fion for them to energize, and become confpicuous. But the molt important circumilance of all is, that the very being and effence of fociety itfelf is derived from the wants and infirmities of human nature. 'Tis thefe various infirmities, fo much more nu- merous and lafting in man than in other animals, which make hu- M-.an focieties fo eminently neeeffary ; which extend them fo far beyond 32 ESSAY ON MAN. Ep.L " Th' exceptions few; fome change fince all began : " And what created perfed ? Why then Man? If NOTES. beyond all other animal afTociations, and knit them together with fuch indiffoluble bands. Let each individual be fuppofed felf- fufficient, and fociety at once is difTolved and annihilated. For why affociate without a caufe ? And what need of fociety, if each can fupport himfelf? But mark the confequence : if fociety be loft, with it we lofe the energy of every focial affection ; a lofs, in which every man lofes fomething, but in which a good man Iofes his principal, and almoft his only happinefs : for what then becomes of friendfhip, benevolence, love of country, hofpitality, generoiity, forgivenefs, with all the charities Of father, fon, and brother ? A man detached from human connections and relations (if fuch a monfter may indeed be fuppofed) is no better than an ignorant inhuman favage ; a mere Cyclops, devoid of all that is amiable and good." J. Harris, MS. Warton. Ver. 143. When earthquakes /wallow, &c.~] There is a fingular ftory, of a city fwallowed up by an earthquake, in Kircher ; the account of which, as it is ftriking and awful, I beg to lay before the reader: " After fome time, this violent paroxyfm ceafing, we again flood up, in order to profecute our voyage to Euphemia, that lay within fight. In the mean time, while we were preparing for the purpofe, I turned my eyes towards the city, but could fee only a frightful dark cloud, that feemed to reft upon the place. This the more' furprifed us, as the weather was fo ferene ; we waited therefore till the cloud was pafled away : then turning to look for the city, it was totally funk. Wonderful to tell ! nothing but a difmal and putrid lake was feen where it Hood. We looked about to find fome one that could tell us of its fad cataftrophe, but could fee none. All was become a melancholy folitude, a fcene of hideous defolation. Thus proceeding penfively along, in queft of fome human being that could give us lomc information, we faw a boy fitting on the fnore, appearing ttupified by terror. Of him we inquired concerning the fate of the city, but Ue could not be prevailed on to give us an anfwer. We intreated him Er.I. ESSAY ON MAN. 33 If the great end be human Happinefs, Then Nature deviates ; and can Man do lefs ? 150 As much that end a conftant courfe requires Of fhow'rs and fun-fhine, as of Man's defires ; As COMMENTARY. Ver. 151. As much that end, &c.~] Having thus (hewn how moral evil came into the world, namely, by Man's abufe of his otvn freewill, our Poet comes to the point, the confirmation of his thefts, by fhewing how moral evil promotes good ; and employs the fame conceffions of his adverfaries, concerning natural evil, to lllnilrate it. 1. He mews it tends to the good oi the Whole, or Univerfe (from ver. 150 to 165.), and this by analogy. You own, fays he, that ftorms NOTES. him to tell us, but his fenfes were quite wrapt up in the contem- plation of the danger he had efcaped. We ftill perfilted in our offices of kindnefs, but he only pointed to the place of the city, like one out of his fenfes ; and then, running into the woods, wai never heard of after. Such was the fate of the city of Euphemia : and as we continued our melancholy courfe along the fhore, the whole coait, for the fpace of two hundred miles, prefented nothing but the remains of cities, and men fcattered, without an habitation, over the fields. Proceeding thus along, we at length ended our diilrcfsful voyage, by arriving at Naples, after having efcaped a thoufand dangers both by fca and land." Goldfmith's Tranflation. Vi r. 14S. And what created perfect ?~\ No pofition can be more true and iolid ; for perfect happinefs is as incommunicable as om- nipotence. Warton. Vf.r. 150. Then Nature deviates; &Y.] "While comets move in very eccentric orbs, in all manner of politions, blind Fate could never make all the planets move one and the fame way in orbs con- centric ; fome inconfiderable irregularities excepted, which may have rifen from the mutual actions of comets and planets upon one another, and which will be apt to increafe, till this fyftem wants a reformation." Sir Jfaac Newton's Qj>tiis, Qjtafl. ult. W/.R.8URTOM. VOL. lit* D 54 ESSAY ON MAN. Ep.I. As much eternal fprings and cloudlefs Ikies, As Men for ever template, calm, and wife. If plagues or earthquakes break not Heav'n's defign, Why then a Borgia, or a Catiline ? 156 Who COMMENTARY. ftorms and tempefts, clouds, rain, heat, and variety of feafons, arc neceffary (notwithstanding the accidental evil they bring with them) to the health and plenty of this Globe; why then fhould you fuppofe there is not the fame ufe, with regard to the Uni-uerfe, in a Borgia or a Catiline ? But you fay you can fee the one, and not the other. You fay right : one terminates in this fflem, the other refers to the Whole ; which Whole can be comprehended by none but the great Author himfelf. For, fays the Poet in another place, *' of this Frame, the bearings and the ties, The ftrong connections, nice dependencies, Gradations juit, has thy pervading foul Look'd through ? or can a pari contain the whole P" Ver. 29, zfffeq. Own therefore, fays he, that " From Pride, our very Reas'ning fprings ; Account for moral, as for nat'ral things : Why charge we Heav'n in thofe, in thefe acquit ? In both, to reafon right, is tofubmit." Warburton. NOTES. Ver. 155. If plagues, &c.~\ What hath mifled Mr. de Croufaz in his cenfure of this pafl'age, is his fuppofing the comparifon to be between the effects of two things in this fublunary world; when not only the elegancy, but the juftnefs of it, confifts in its being between the effefts of a thing in the univerfe at large, and the fami- liar known effects of one in this fublunary world. For the pofition inforced in thefe lines is this, that partial evil tends to the good of the whole . " Reflecting Man, whatever wrong we call, May, mull be right, as relative to all." Ver. 51. How does the Poet inforce it ? If you will believe this Critic, in illuitrating the effects of partial moral evil in a particular fyftem, by that of partial natural evil in the fame fyftem, and fo he leaves his Ep.I. ESSAY ON MAN. 35 Who knows but He, whofe hand the light'ning forms, Who heaves old Ocean, and who wings the dorms ; Pours fierce Ambition in a Casfar's mind, Or turns young Ammon loofe to fcourge man- kind ? 1 60 From pride, from pride, our very reas'ning fprings; Account for moral, as for nat'ral things : Why charge we Heav'n in thofe, in thefe acquit ? In both, to reafon right, is to fubmit. Better for Us, perhaps, it might appear, 165 Were there all harmony, all virtue here ; That COMMENTARY. Ver. 165. Better for Us, &c.~] But, fecondly, to ftrengthen the foregoing analogical argument, and to make the wifdom and good- nefs of God ft ill more apparent, he obfcrves (from ver. 164 to 1 73.), that moral evil is not only productive of good to the Whole, but is fvcn productive of good in our c-zvn fyjl-m. It might, fays he, perhaps NOTE S. his pojition in the lurch. But the Poet reafons at another rate : The way to prove his point, he knew, was to illuftrate the effect of partial moral evil in the univerfe, by partial natural evil in zpar~ 'icular fyflem. Whether partial moral evil tend to the good of the Univerfe, being a queftion which, by reafon of our ignorance of many parts of that Univerfe, we cannot decide but from known effects ; the rules of good reafoning require that it be proved by analogy, 1. e. fettingit by, and comparing it with, a thing clear and certain; and it is a thing clear and certain, that partial natural evil tends to the good of our particular fyjlem. Warburton. Ver. 157. Who knows but He, &c.~\ The fublimity with which the great Author of Nature is here chara&erifed, is but the fecond beauty of this tine paflage. The greatefl is the making the very (lifpcnfatiou objected to, the periphraiis of h: ; title. Warburton D 2 36 ESSAY ON MA'jN. Ep.I. That never air or ocean felt the wind ; That never paffion difcompos'd the mind. But COMMENTARY. perhaps appear better to us, that there were nothing in this world hut peace and virtue: " That never air or ocean felt the wind; That never paflion difcompos'd the mind." But then confider, that as our material fyjlem is fupported by the ilrife of its elementary particles ; fo is our intelle8ual fyjlem by the conflict of our Paffions, which are the elements of human adlion. In a word, as without the benefit of tempeiluous winds, both air and ocean would Magnate, corrupt, and fprcad univerfal conta- gion throughout all the ranks of animals that inhabit, or are fup- ported by, them ; fo, without the benefit of the Paffions, fuch Virtue as was merely the effect of the abfence of thofe Paffions^ would be a lifelefs calm, a ftoical Apathy. " Contracted all, retiring to the breail : But health of mind is Exercife, not /? for fome very acute obfervations on the EfTay on Man. Pope in thefe lines ufes almoft the very words of Bolingbroke : " To think worthily of God, we mud think that the natural order of things has always been the fame ; and that a being of infinite wifdom and knowledge, to whom the paft and the future are like the prefent, and who wants no experience to inform him, can have no reafon to alter what infinite wifdom and knowledge have once done." Section 58. Effays to Pope. War ton. Ver. 174. And little lefs than Angels, &e.~] Thou hajl made him a little lower than the Angels, and l:ajl crowned him with glory and honour, Pfalm viii. 9. WarburTON. Ep.I. ESSAY ON MAN. 39 Now looking downwards, juft as griev'd appears 175 To want the ftrength of bulls, the fur of bears. Made for his ufe all creatures if he call, Say, what their ufe, had he the pow'rs of all ; Nature to thefe, without profufion, kind, The proper organs, proper pow'rs aflign'd; 180 Each feeming want compenfated of courfe, Here with degrees of fwiftnefs, there of force ; All in exact proportion to the ft ate ; Nothing to add, and nothing to abate. Each beaft, each infect, happy in its own : 185 Is Heav'n unkind to Man, and Man alone ? Shall COMMENTARY. froward humour of thefc childifh complainers, would be every where found to be either 'wanting or fuperjluous . But even though en- dowed with thefe brutal qualities, Man would not only be no gainer, but a eonfulerable lofer ; as the Poet fhews, in explaining the confequences which would follow from his having his fenfations in that exquilite degree, in which this or the other animal is obferved to poflefs them. \V\r burton. notes. Ver. 182. Here iv'ith degrees of fwiftnefs, &c.'} It is a certaitv. axiom in the anatomy of creatures, that in proportion as they are formed for llrength, their fwiftnefs is IefTened ; or as they are formed for fwiftnefs, their ftrength is abated. Popf. Ver. 183. Ml in excitl proportion^ I cannot forbear thinking, that a little French treatifc on Providence, publifhed at Paris, 1728, formed on the principles of Leibnitz, fomewhat moderated, had fallen into the hands both of Bolingbroke and Pope, from the great fimilarity of the reafoning there employed. Warton. Ver. 186. Is Heav'n unkind to Man,~\ Cudworth, Leibnitz, King, Shaftefbury, Hutchefon, Balguy, have all ftrenuoufly ar- gued for the prepollency of good to evil in our present fyftem ; d 4 but 40 ESSAY ON MAN. Ep.I. Shall he alone, whom rational we call, Be pleas'd with nothing, if not blefs'd with all ? The blifs of Man (could Pride that bleffing find) Is not to act or think beyond mankind ; 1 90 No pow'rs of body or of foul to fhare, But what his nature and his ftate can bear. "Why has not Man a microfcopic eye ? For this plain reafon, Man is not a Fly. Say what the ufe, were finer optics giv'n, 195 T* infpeft a mite, not comprehend the heav'n ? Or touch, if tremblingly alive all o'er, To fmart and agonize at ev'ry pore ? Or quick effluvia darting through the brain, Die of a rofe in aromatic pain ? 200 If Nature thunder'd in his op'ning ears, And ftunn'd him with the mufic of the fpheres, How would he wifli that Heav'n had left him flill The whifp'ring Zephyr, and the purling rill ? "Who finds not Providence all good and wife, 205 Alike in what it gives, and what denies ? VII. Far NOTES. but none more forcibly than Balguy from p. 103 to p. 125 of his Divine Benevolence. War ton. Ver. 202. And Jlunn y d him"] The argument certainly required an inftance drawn from real found, and not from the imaginary mufic of the fpheres. Locke's illuftration of this doftrine is not only proper but poetical : " If our feufe of hearing were but one thoufand times quicker than it is, how would a perpetual noife diftraft us ; and we fhould, in the quieted retirement, be lefs able to fleep or meditate, than in the middle of a fea-fight." In line before 193, the exprefiion of microfcopic eye is from Locke. V/artc. Ep.I. ESSAY ON MAN. 41 VII. Far as Creation's ample range extends, The fcale of fenfual, mental pow'rs afcends : Mark how it mounts, to Man's imperial race, From the green myriads in the peopled grafs : 210 What COMMENTARY. Ver. 207. Far as Creation's ample range extends ,~] He tells us next (from ver. 206 to 233.), that the complying with fuch extravagant defires would not only be ufelefs and pernicious to Man, but would be breaking into the order, and deforming the beauty of God's Creation, in which this animal is fubject to that, and ever)' one to Man ; who, by his Reafon, enjoys the fum of all their powers. War burton. notes. Ver. 207. Far as Creation'' s ample range extends,'] It may be doubted, whether our Author has excelled Dryden in the art of reafoning in rhyme, whofe Religio Laici, and Hind and Panther, are in this refpccl admirable; though the fable of the latter abounds in abfurdities and inconhltencies. Warton. Ver. 209. Marl low it mounts,'] When it is faid that Pope was guilty of fomc contradictions and fome inconfittencies in his reafonings on the bejl, let us alfo remember, that to alfo was his guide and philofophical friend, who, it is to be wiihed, had always exprelTed himfelf as in the following terms, p. 121, v. 5. " Methinks I hear a iincere and devout theift, in the midll of iuch meditations as thefe, cry out, " No ; the world was not made for man, nor man only to be happy. The objections urged by atheifts and divines againil the wifdom and goodnefs of the Supreme Being, on thefe arbitrary fuppoiitions, deliroy their own foundations. Mankind is expofed, as well as other animals, to many inconveniencies and to various evils, by the conftitntion of the world. The world was not, therefore, made ft v him, nor he to be happy. But he enjoys numberlefs benefits, b\ the litn ' of his nature to this eonltitution, unafked, unmerited, freely be- llowed. Pie returns, like other animals, to the dull ; yet neither he nor they are willing to leave the (late wherein tiny art placed here. The wifdom and the goodnefs of God are therefore mam- felt. J thank thee, O my Creator! that 1 am placed in a low 42 ESSAY ON MAN. Ep.I, What modes of fight betwixt each wide extreme, The mole's dim curtain, and the lynx's beam : Of NOTES. low in the whole order of being, but the firil in that animal fyftem to which I belong : a rank wherein I am made capable of know- ing thee, and of difcovering thy will, the perfection of my own nature, and the means of my own happinefs. Far be it from me to repine at my prefent ftate, like thofc who deny thee ; or like thofe who own thee, only to cenfure thy works and the difpenfa- tions of thy providence. May I enjoy thankfully the benefits beftowed on me by thy divine liberality ! May I fufFer the evils, to which I Hand expofed, patiently, nay willingly ! None of thy creatures are made to be perfectly happy like thyfelf 5 nor did thy goodnefs require that they fhould be fo. Such of them as are more worthy objects of it than thy human creatures, fuperior natures that inhabit other worlds, may be afFected in fome degree or other by phyfical evils, fince thefe are effects of the general laws of matter and motion. They muil be affected too, in fome degree or other, by moral evil, fince moral evil is the confequence of error, as well as of disorderly appetites and pafiions, and fince error is the confequence of imperfect understanding. Lefs of this evil may prevail among them. But all that is finite, the moll exalted intel- ligences, mud be liable to fome errors. Thou, O God ! that Being who is liable to none, and to whom infallibility and impec- cability belong, " Due me, parens celiique dominator poli, " Quocumque placuit. Nulla parendi mora eft, " Affum impiger*." War ton. Ver. 210. From the green myriads'] Thefe lines are admirable patterns of forcible diction. The peculiar and difcrimiuating expreffivenefs of the epithets ought to be particularly regarded. Perhaps we have no image in the language more lively than that of the laft verfe. " To live along the line," is equally bold and beautiful. In this part of the epiftle the Poet feems to have re- markably laboured his ftyle, which abounds in various figures, and is much elevated. Pope has practifed the great fecret of Virgil's art, Sen. Ep. 10% Ep.L ESSAY ON MAN. 43 Of fmell, the headlong lionefs between, And hound fagacious to the tainted green : Of hearing, from the life that fills the flood, 215 To that which warbles through the vernal wood ? The fpider's touch, how exquifitely fine ! Feels at each thread, and lives along the line : In the nice bee, what fenfe fo fubtly true From pois'nous herbs extracts the healing dew? 220 How Inftinct varies in the grov'ling fwine, Compar'd, half-reas'ning elephant, with thine! 'Twixt thfet, and Reafon, what a nice barrier ? For ever fep'rate, yet for ever near i Remem- NOTF.S. art, which was to difcover the very fingle epithet that precifely fuited each occafion. If Pope muft yield to other poets in point of fertility of fancy, or harmony of numbers, yet in point of pro- priety, clofenefs, and elegance ofdidion, he can yield to none. Very inferior is the tranflation of Abbe du Refnel, of all this fine paifage, to the original, though it is evident he took pains about it. See his four lines on the fpider : Contemplez l'araignee en fon reduit obfeur; Que fon toucher eft vif, qu'il eft prompt, qu'ilcftfur; Sur ces pieges, tendus fans cefTe vigilante, Dans chacun de fes fils elle paroit vivante. War ton VER.213. the headlong lionefs~\ The manner of the lions hunt- ing their prey in the defarts of Africa is this : At their firft going out in the night-time, they fet up a loud roar, and then liilen to the noife made by the beafts in their flight, purfuing them by the ear, and not by the nollril. It is probable the ftory of the jackall's hunting for the lion, was occafioned by the obfervation of this defect of fcent in that terrible animal. Pope. Vkr. 224. For ever ftp" rate, ijc.~\ Near, by the fimilitude of the operations \fiparate, by the immenfe difference in the nature of :'.'< powers. War burton. 44 ESSAY ON MAN. Er.I. Remembrance and Reflection, how ally'd ; 225 What thin partitions Senfe from Thought divide ? And Middle natures, how they long to join, Yet never pafs th' infuperable line ! Without this juft gradation, could they be Subjected, thefe to thofe, or all to thee ? 230 The povv'rs of all fubdu'd by thee alone, Is not thy Reafon all thefe pow'rs in one ? VIII. See, through this air, this ocean, and this earth, All matter quick, and burfling into birth, o Above, how high, progreffive life may go ! 2 35 Around, how wide, how deep extend below ! Vaft COMMENTARY. Ver. 233. See, through this air, o'V.] And further (from ver. 232 to 267.), that this breaking the order of things, which, as a link or chain, connects all beings, from the highett to the loweft, would unavoidably be attended with the deftruction of the Univerfe : for that the feveral parts of it mull at leait compofe at> entire and harmonious a Whole, as the parts of a human body, can be doubted of by no one : yet we fee what confufion it would make in our frame, if the members were fet upon invading each other's office : " What if the foot," iffc. Who will not acknowledge, therefore, that a connection, in the difpofition of things, fo harmonious as here deicribed, is tranf- cendently beautiful ? But the Fatalilts fnppofe fuch an one. What then ? Is the Firlt Free Agent, the great Caufe of all things, debarred a contrivance infinitely exquilite, becaufe iome Men, to fet up their idol, Fate, abfurdly reprefent it as prefiding over fuch a fyftem ? Warburton . N O T E S . Ver. 235. Above, hero higb,~\ This is a magnificent pafiage. Ha Ep.I. ESSAY ON MAN. 45 Vaft chain of Being ! which from God began, Natures ethereal, human, angel, man, Beaft, bird, fifh, infect, what no eye can fee, No glafs can reach ; from infinite to thee, 240 From thee to Nothing. On fuperior pow'rs Were we to prefs, inferior might on ours : Or VARIATIONS. Vm. 238. Ed. lit, Ethereal effcnce, fpirit, fubflance, man. NOTES. - Has any feen rhe might v chain of beings, leiTening down From infinite Perfection, to the brink Of dreary Nothing, defolate abyfs ! from whuh alloniuVd Thought recoiling turns? Thomson. Wartos. The paffage in Locke on this topic is fo eloquent, that the reader will pardon jts infertion : " That there fliould be more fpecies of intelligent creature* above us, than there are or fenlible and material below us, is probable to me from hence : That in all the vifible corporeal world we lee no chafms, or gaps. All quite down from us. the defcent is by eafy Heps, and a continued feries of things, that in each remove differ very little one from the other. And when we confider the infinite power and wifdom of the Maker, we have reafon to think that it is fuitable to the magnificent har- mony of the Univerfe, and the great defign and infinite goodnefs of the Architect, that the fpecies of creatures fuould alfo, by gentle degrees, afcend upwards from us towards his infinite Per- fection, as we fee from us they gradually defcend downward." Vol. ii. p. 4. Ver. 240. No glafi can reach ,-] " There are," fays Hookc the Ijaturalilt, " 8,: So, 000 animakula in one drop of water." " Na- ture, in manv inftances," fays Themiftius, " appears to make her tranfitions fo imperceptibly, and bv little arid little, that in fome beings it may be doubted whether they ar* ^rr-ra 1 c- vegetable. Waptov 4 6 ESSAY ON MAN. Ep.L Or in the full creation leave a void, Where, one ftep broken, the great fcale's deflroy'd : From Nature's chain whatever link you ftrike, 245 Tenth, or ten thoufandth, breaks the chain alike. And, if each fyftem in gradation roll Alike efiential to th' amazing Whole, The leaft confufion but in one, not all That fyftem only, but the Whole muft fall. 25c Let Earth unbalanc'd from her orbit fly, Planets and ftars run lawlefs through the fky ; Let VOTES. VER.244. the great fcale' 's dejlfoy^ 'd ;~\ All that can be faid of the fuppofition of a fcale of beings gradually defcending from per- fetion to non-entity, and complete in every rank and degree, is to be found in the third chapter of King's Origin of Evil, and in a note of the Archbifhop, marked G, p. 137, of Law's Tranflation, ending with thefe emphatical words : " Whatever fyftem God had chofen, all creatures in it could not have been equally perfect ; and there could have been but a certain determinate multitude of the mofl perfect ; and, when that was completed, there would have been a ftation for creatures lefs perfect, and it would ftill have been an inftance of goodnefs to give them a being as well as others." Warton. Ver. 245. From Nature's chain'] Almofl the words of Marcus Antoninus, 1. v. c. 8. ; as alfo v. 265. from the fame. Warton. Ver. 251. Let Earth unbalanced] i.e. Being no longer kept within its orbit by the different directions of its progreifive and attra&ive motions ; which, like equal weights in a balance, keep it in an equihbre. Warburton. It is obfervable, that thefe noble lines were added after the firfl folio edition. It is a pleafing and ufeful amufement to trace out the alterations that a great and correct writer gradually makes in his works. At firlt it ran, How inftinct varies ! What a hog may want, Compar'd with thine, balf-rea-foning Elephant. And Ep.L ESSAY ON MAN. 47 Let ruling Angels from their fpheres be hurl'd, Being on Being wreck'd, and world on world ; Heav'n's NOTES. And again ; What the advantage if his finer eyes Study a mite, not comprehend the Ikies. Which lines at prefent Hand thus : How inftincl varies in the grov'ling ("wine, Compar'd, half-reas'ning Elephant, with thine ! Say what the ufe, were finer optics giv'n, T' infpect a mite, not comprehend the Heav'n. Formerly it Rood thus : No felf-confounding faculties to (hare, No fenfes ilronger than his brain can bear. At prefent ; No pow'rs of body or of foul to mare, But what his nature and his Mate can bear. It appeared at firit very except ionably ; Expatiate far o'er all this Icene of Man, A mighty maze ! of walks without a plan. Which contradicted his whole fyflem, and it was altered to, A mighty maze ! but not without a plan ! Warton*. VER.251. Let Earth vnbalanc'd~\ Ruffhcad fays, "There is r.o reading thcfe lines, without being llruck with a momentary appre- henfion .'" Without quite allowing this, we cannot but feel their great beauty and force. Line rifes upon line, with greater erTeci and nobler imagery, and in the conclufion the Poet has touched the idea with propriety, as well as dignity and fublimity. If he hud been more particular, the pafiage would have been unworthy the grandeur of the fubject ; had he been hfs, it would have been olfcurc. He has at once evinced judgment and poetry. If there be a word or two not quite fuitable, perhaps it is " run," and " foundations nod." I could have wifhed fuch a word as " rujl: V lawlefs," or " JlanCd lawlefs through the flcy." Let me here obferve, that there are many truly great pafTage? in this EfTay. Such is that defcribing Superftition, " When roll'd the thunder, and when rock'd the ground ;" which evince the hand of a mailer, and which are the more linking, a~ all along the poetical part is kept in fubftrv'ieti'f to the rrafor.'-ig- 48 ESSAY ON MAN. Ep.I. HeavVs whole foundations to their centre nod, i$ And Nature trembles to the throne of God. All this dread Order break for whom ? for thee ? Vile worm ! oh Madnefs ! Pride ! Impiety ! IX. What if the foot, ordain' d the dull to tread, Or hand, to toil, afpir'd to be the head ? 260 What if the head, the eye, or ear repin'd To ferve mere engines to the ruling mind ? Juft as abfurd for any part to claim To be another, in this gen'ral frame : juft as abfurd, to mourn the talks or pains, 265 The great directing Mind of All ordains. All are but parts of one ftupendous whole, Whofe body Nature is, and God the foul ; That, COMMENTARY. Ver. 267. All are but parts of one Jlupendous whole,'] Our Author having thus given a representation of God's work, as one entire whole, where all the parts have a necefiary dependance on, and relation to, each other, and where each particular part works and concurs to the perfection of the Whole ; as fuch a fyftem tranf- cends vulgar ideas ; to reconcile it to common conceptions, he fliews (from ver. 266 to 281.), that God is equally and intimately prefent to every fort of fubjlance, to every particle of matter, and in every inftant of being ; which eafes the labouring imagination, and makes us expect, no lefs, from fuch a Prefrnce, than fuch a Difpetifation. Warburtok. notes. Ver. 265. Jujl as abfurd, cSc.j See the profecution and appli- cation of this in Ep. iv. Pope. Ver. 266. The great directing Mind, sV.] " Veneramur autem et colimus ob dominium. Deus enim fine dominio, providentia, et caufis finalibus, nihil aliud ell quam Fatum et Natura." Neivtonl Princip. Schol. genet: fubfnem . War burton. Ep.I. ESSAY ON MAN. 49 That, chang'd through all, and yet in all the fame ; Great in the earth, as in th* ethereal frame ; 270 Warms NOTES. Ver. 267. All are hut parts'] Thefe are lines of a marvellous energy and clofenefs of expreflion. They are exa&ly like the old Orphic verfes quoted in Ariflotle, De Mundo. Edit. Lugd. folio, 1590, p. 378. ; and line 289 as minutely refembles the doctrine of the fublime hymn of Cleanthes the Stoic ; not that I imagine Pope or Bolingbroke ever read that hymn, efpecially the latter, who was ignorant of Greek. Warton. Ver. 268. Whofe body Nature is, &c.~] Mr. de Croufaz remarks, on this line, that " A Spinozid would exprefs himfelf in this manner." I believe he would ; for fo the infamous Toland has done, in his Atheift's Liturgy, called Pantheisticon : But fo would St. Paul likewifc, who, writing on this fubject, the om- niprefence of God in his Providence, and in his Subftance, fays, in the words of a pantheillical Greek Poet, In him ive live, and move, and have our being ; i. e. we are parts of him, his offspring : And the reafon is, becaufe a religious theift and an impious pan- the ill both profefs to believe the omniprefer.ee of God. But would Spinoza, as Mr. Pope does, call God the great directing Mind cf all, who hath intentionally created a perfect Univerfe ? Or would a Spinozift have told us, " The workman from the work diftinct was known ?" aline that overturns all Spinozifm from its very foundations. But this fublime description of the Godhead contains not only the divinity of St. Paul ; but, if that will not fatisfy the men he writes againft, the philofophy likewife of Sir Ifaac Newton. The Poet fays, " All are but parts of one (lupendous Whole, Whofe body Nature is, and God the foul ;" cJV. The Philofopher : " In ipfo continentur et moventur univerfa, fed abfque mutua paflione. Deus nihil patitur ex corporum moti- bus ; ilia nullam fentiunt refiftentiam ex omniprxfentia Dei. Cor- pore omni et figura corporea deilituitur. Omnia regit et omnia cognofcit Cum unaquxque Spatii particula fit frmper, et unum- quodque Durationis indivifibile momentum, ubique certe rerum omnium Fabricator ae Dominus non erit nunquam, nufuuam." vol. in. f Mr 50 ESSAY ON MAN. Ep. I. Warms in the fun, refrefhes in the breeze, Glows in the ftars, and bloflbms in the trees, Lives NOTES. Mr. Pope ; " Breathes in our foul, informs our mortal part, " As full, as perfect, in a hair as heart ; " As full, as perfect, in vile Man that mourns, " As the rapt Seraph that adores and burns : " To him, no high, no low, no great, no fmall ; " He fills, he bounds, connects, and equals all." Sir Ifaac Newton :~-" Annon ex phaenomenis conftat efTe entem incorporeum, viventem, intelligentetn, omniprsefentem, qui in fpati:> infinito, tanquam fenforio fuo, res ipfas intime cernat, penitufque perfpiciat, totafque intra fe prrefens praefentes complectatur." But now, admitting there were an ambiguity in thefe expreffions, fo great that a Spiuoziit might employ them to exprefs his own particular principles ; and fuch a thing might well be, becaufe the Spinoziils, in order to hide the impiety of their principle, are wont to exprefs the Omniprefence of God in terms that any religion?. Theift might employ ; in this cafe, I fay, how are we to judge ot the Poet's meaning ? Surely, by the whole tenor of his argument - Now, take the words in the fenfe of the Spinozifts, and he is mad; , in the conchifion of his epiftle, to overthrow all he had been advancing throughout the body of it : for Spinozifm is the deftruc- tion of an Univerfe, where every thing tends, by a forefeen con- trivance in all its parts, to the perfection of the Whole. But allow him to employ the pafTage in the fenfe of St. Paul, That . 280. to the end), that, from what had been faid, it appears, that the very things we blame contribute to our happinefs, either as unrelated particulars, or at lean; as parts of the univerfal fyftem ; that our ftate of ignorance was allotted to us out of compaffion ; that yet we have as much knowledge as is fufficient to fhew us, that we are, and always fhall be, as bled as we NOTES. " That which God made was the Whole, as One thing ; which he that attends to may hear it fpeaking to him afttr this manner : " God Almighty hath made Me, and from thence came I perfect and complete, and (landing in need of nothing, becaufe in Me are contained all things ; plants and animals, and good fouls, and men happy with virtue ; and innumerable demons, and many gods. Nor is the earth alone in me adorned with all manner of plants and variety of animals ; or does the power of foul extend at moil no further than t the feas, as if the whole air, and xther, and heaven, in the mean time, were quite devoid of foul, and alto- gether unadorned with living inhabitants. Moreover, all things in me defire good, and every thing reaches to it, according to its power and nature. For the whole world depends upon that fir ft and higheft good, the gods themfelves who reign in my feveral parts, and all animals and plants, and whatsoever feems to be inanimate in me. For fome things in me partake only of being, fome of life alfo, fome of fenfe, fome of reafon, and fome of intellect above reafon. But no man ought to require equal things from unequal ; nor that the finger fhould fee, but the eye ; it being enough for the finger to be a finger, and to perform its own e 3 office- 54 ESSAY ON MAN. Ep.I. Know thy own point : This kind, this due degree Of blindnefs, weaknefs, Heav'n beftows on thee. Submit.-^ COMMENTARY. we can Vear; for that Nature is neither a Stratonlc chain of blind caufes and effects, ( All Nature is but Art, unknown to thee, ) nor yet the fortuitous refult of Epicurean atoms, (^//Chance, Direction, which thou canjl not fee) ; as thofe two fpecies of atheifm fuppofed it ; but the wonderful art and contrivance, unknown indeed to Man, of an all-powerful, all- wife, all-good, and free Being. And therefore we may be affured, that the arguments brought above, to prove partial moral Evil productive NOTES. office. As an artificer would not make all things in an animal to be eyes ; fo neither has the Divine Aoyoc, or Spermatic R<_afon of the World, made all tilings gods ; but fome gods, and fome demons, and fome men, and fome lower animals : not out of envy, but to difplay its own variety and fecundity : but we are like unfkilful fpectators of a picture, who condemn the limner, becaufe he hath not put bright colours every where ; whereas he had fuited his colours to every part refpectively, giving to each fuch as belonged to it. Or elfe are we like thofe who would blame a comedy or tragedy, becaufe they were not all kings or heroes that acted in it, but fome fervants and ruftic clowns introduced alfo, talking after their rudefafliion. Whereas the dramatic poem would neither be complete, nor elegant and delightful, were all thofe worfer parts taken out of it." The learned reader will be highly gratified by turning to a fine paffage on this fubject in Plutarch, De Animi Tranquiliitate, vol. ii. p. 473, folio, 162c, and to the noble liaes of Euripides there quoted : and would be gratified ftill more by attentively perufing the fhort treatife of Ariftotle, ITfp KocyxS, concerning the beauty and concord of the Univerfe arifing from Contrarieties ; which treatife, notwithstanding the different form of its composi- tion, ought to be afcribtd to this philofopher, for the reafons affigiK .1 by Petit in his Obfervations, b. ii. ; and by a differtation of Daniel Heinfius, a6 well as the opinion of our truly learned Bifhop Berkeley. Warton. Ep.I. ESSAY ON MAN. S5 Submit. In this, or any other fphere, 285 Secure to be as bled as thou canft bear : Safe COMMENTARY. productive of Good, are conclusive ; from whence one certain truth refults, in fpite of all the pride and cavils of vain Reafon, That WHATEVER IS, IS RIGHT. That the reader may fee in one view the exactnefs of the Method, as well as force of the Argument, I (hall here draw up a fhort fynopfis of this Epiitle. The Poet begins by telling us, his fubject is an Efiay on Man : That his end of writing is to vindicate Providence : That he intends to derive his arguments from the vifbk things of God fe en in this fyflem : Lays down this proportion, That of all poffible fyflem s, infinite Wifdom has formed the bcfl : Draws from thence two confequenccs ; I. That there mujl needs be fomeiuhere fuch a creature as Man ; 7. That the moral Evil, ivhich he is author of, is productive of the Good of the IVhole. This is his general Thtfis; from whence he forms this conclufion, That Man fhould refl fubmifftve and content, and make the hopes of Futurity his comfort ; but not fufj'er this to be the occafion of Pride, which is the caufe of all his impious complaints. lie proceeds to confirm his Theiis. Previoufly endeavours to abate our wonder at the phenomenon of moral Evil ; fhews, firft, its ufe to the perfection of the Univerfe, by analogy, from the ufe of phyfical Evil in this particular fyttem : Secondly, its life in thisfyjlem, where it is turned, providentially, from its natural bias, to pro- mote Virtue. Then goes on to vindicate Providence from the imputation of certain fuppofd natural Evils; as he had before juftitied it for the pcrmifiion of real moral Evil, in fhewing that, though the Atheilt's conipl.iint againft Providence be on pretence of real moral Evil, yet the true caufe is his impatience under imaginary natural Evil } the iffue of a depraved appetite for fantaf- t'tcal advantages, which, if obtained, would be ufelefs or hurtful to Man, and deforming of, and deftru&ive to, the Univerfe, as breaking into that order by which it is fupported. He tiefcribe.-i that order, harmony, and clofe connection oj the parts ; and by Ihewing the intimate prefence of God to his whole crea- tion, gives a reafon for an Univerfe fo amazingly beautiful and * 4 perfect. $6 ESSAY ON MAN. Ep.I. Safe in the hand of one difpofmg Pow'r, Or in the natal, or the mortal hour. All Nature is but Art, unknown to thee ; All Chance, Direction, which thou canft not fee ; 290 All Difcord, Harmony not underflood; All partial Evil, univerfal Good : And, COMMENTARY. perfect. From all this he dedhces his general conclufion, That Nature being neither a blind chain of Caufes and EffeBs, nor yet the fortuitous refult of chambers .r. the waters, and lualkcth upon the wings of the wind.'' Ep.IL ESSAY ON MAN. 79 Thefe, 'tis enough to temper and employ ; But what compofes Man, can Man deftroy ? Suffice that Reafon keep to Nature's road, 115 Subject, compeund them, follow her and God. Love, Hope, and Joy, fair Pleafure's fmiling train, Hate, Fear, and Grief, the family of Pain, Thefe mix'd with art, and to due bounds confin'd, Make and maintain the balance of the Mind : 120 The lights and fhades, whofe well-accorded ft rife Gives all the ftrength and colour of our life. Pleafures are ever in our hands or eyes ; And when, in acl:, they ceafe, in profpecT:, rife : Prefent to grafp, and future flill to find, 125 The whole employ of body and of mind. All VARIATIONS. After ver. 112. in the MS. The foft reward the virtuous, or invite ; The fierce, the vicious punilh or affright. COMMENTARY. Ver. 123. Pleafures are ever in our hands or eyes ;~\ His third argument againll the Stoics (from ver. 122 to 127.) is, that the Paffions are a continual fpur to the purfuit of Happinefs ; which, without thefe powerful inciters, we (hould neglect, and fink into a fenfelefs indolence. Now Happinefs is the end of our creation ; and this excitement, the means to that end : therefore,, thefe movers, the Paffions, are the inflruments of God, which he hath put into the hands of Reafou to work withal. Warblrton NOTFS. Vfr. 117. Love, Hope, and Joy,'} This beautiful groupe of allegorical perfonages, lo itrongly contrafted, how docs it act : The profopopana is unfortunately dropped, and the metaphor changed immediately in the fucceeding line;,, viz. Thefe mix'J with art," &c Wap.ton 8o ESSAY ON MAN. Ep.IL All fpread their charms, but charm not all alike ; On different fenfes different objects ftrike ; Hence COMMENTARY. Ver. 127. All fpread their charms, lfjc.~\ The Poet now proceeds in his fubject ; and this laft obfervation leads him naturally to the difcufiion of his next principle. He (hews then, that though all the Paflions have their turn in fwaying the determinations of the mind, yet every Man hath one Master Passion, that at length ftifles or abforbs all the reft. The fact he illuftrates at large in his epiftle to Lord Cobham. Here (from ver. 126 to 149.) he giveth us the Cause of it. Thofe Pleafures or Goods, which are the objects of the Paflions, affect the mind by ftriking on the fenfes ; but as, through the formation of the organs of our frame, every man hath fome one fenfe ftronger and more acute than others, the object which ftrikes the ftronger or acuter fenfe, whatever it be, will be the object moll defired ; and confequently, the purfuit of that will be the ruling Pa/firm: That the difference of force in this ruling Paflion, (hall, at firft, perhaps, be very fmall, or even imperceptible ; but Nature, Habit, Imagination, Wit, nay even Reafon itfelf, (hall aflift its growth, till it hath at length drawn and converted every other into itfelf. All which is delivered in a ftrain of Poetry fo wonderfully fublime, as fufpends, for a while, the ruling PaJJion in every Reader, and engrofl'es his whole admi- ration. This naturally leads the Poet to lament the weaknefs and infuf- ficiency of human Reafon (from ver. 14810 161.); and thepurpoft he had in fo doing, was plainly to intimate the necessity of a MORE PERFECT DISPENSATION TO MANKIND. WaRBURTON. NOTES. Ver. 128. On diff'rent fenfes~\ A didactic poet has thus nobly illuftrated this very doctrine : " Different minds Incline to different objects : one purfues The vaft alone, the wonderful, the wild ; Another fighs for harmony, and grace, And gentleft beauty. Hence, when lightning fires The arch of heaven, and thunders rock the ground , When furious whirlwinds rend the howling air, And p.II. ESSAY ON MAN. 81 Hence difPrent Paflions more or lefs inflame, As flrong or weak, the organs of the frame ; 130 And hence one master Passion in thebreaftj Like Aaron's ferpent, fwallows up the reft. As Man, perhaps, the moment of his breath* Receives the lurking principle of death ; The young difeafe, that muft fubdue at length, 135 Grows with his growth, and ftrengthehs with his ftrength : So, caft and mingl'd with his very frame, The Mind's difeafe, its ruling Passion, came 5 Each vital humour which fhould feed the whole, Soon flows to this, in body and in foul : 140 Whatever KOT E S. And Ocean, groaning from the lowed bed, Heaves his tempeftuous billows to the fky ; Amid the mighty uproar, while below The nations tremble, Shakefpear looks abroad From fome high cliff, fuperior, and enjoys The elemental war. But Waller longs All on the margin of fome flow'ry ilream, To fpread his carelefs limbs, amid the cool Of plantane fhades." Akensidk. Warton'. Ver. 129. Henc: d'ljprcnt Pqflions~\ It may be doubted, as Johnfon juftly obferves, whether there be any foundation in Nature for this great paramount principle of action, and whether Pope does not confound " Paffions, Appetites, and Habits," in his theory. Ver. 133. As Man, perhaps, lffc.~\ " Antipatcr Sidonius Poeta omnibus annis uno die natali tantum corripiebatur febre, et to con- fumptus eil fatis longa fenefta." Plin. 1. vii. A r . H. This Anti- pater was in the times of CrafTus, and is celebrated for the quick- nefsof his parts by Cicero. Warburton. VOL. III. G 8s ESSAY ON MAN. Ep.II. Whatever warms the heart, or fills the head, As the mind opens, and its functions fpread, Imagination plies her dang'rous art, And pours it all upon the peccant part. Nature its mother, Habit is its nurfe ; 1 45 Wit, Spirit, Faculties, but make it worfc ; Reafon itfelf but gives it edge and pow'r ; As Heav'n's blefl beam turns vinegar more four. We, wretched fubjects, tho' to lawful fway, In this weak queen, fome fav'rite (till obey : 150 Ah! NOTES. Ver. 147. Reafon itfelf, iffc] The Poet, in fome other of his epiftles, gives examples of the doctrines and precepts here deli- vered. Thus, in that Of the life of Riches, he has illuftrated this truth in the character of Cotta : " Old Cotta fham'd his fortune and his birth, Yet was not Cotta void of wit or worth. What though (the ufe of barb'rous fpits forgot) His kitchen vy'd in coolnefs with his grot ? If Cotta liv'd on pulfe, it //~ directs vice and virtue, and its confequence, which is, that " Each individual feeks a fev'ral goal," leads the Author to obierve, " That Heav'n's great View is One, and that the Whole." And this brings him naturally round again to his main fubject, namely, God's producing good out of ill, which he profecutes from ver. 238 to 249. Warburton. notes. and unmerited averfion which men too generally entertain of each other, and which gradually diminim and deftroy the focial and kind affe&ions. " Our emulation," fays the amiable and faga- cious Hutchefon, " our jealoufy or envy, fhould be retrained in a great meafure by a conilant rcfolution of bearing always in our minds the lovely fide of every character." And Plato obferves, in the Phxdon, that there is fomething amiabie in almoft' every man living. Warton. VtR.234. by Jits, ivhat they defpif."\ XaXsrov io-SXov I/a/ash^, was a faying of Pittacus, quoted and commented upon by Plato, in the Protagoras. 7 Warton, Er.II. ESSAY ON MAN. g i That, Virtue's ends from Vanity can raife, 245 Which feeks no int'reft, no reward but praife ; And build on wants, and on defects of mind, The joy, the peace, the glory of Mankind. Heav'n forming each on other to depend, A mafter, or a fervant, or a friend, 250 Bids each on other for affiftance call, Till one Man's weaknefs grows the ftrength of all. Wants, frailties, paflions, clofer dill ally The common int'reft, or endear the tie. To COMMENTARY. Ver. 249. Heav'n forming each another to depend,"] I. Hitherto the Poet hath been employed in difcotirfing of the ufe of the Paflions, with regard to Society at large ; and in freeing his doc- trine from objections: This is xhcjirjl general diviiion of the fub- jeS of this Epiille. II. He comes now to fhew (from ver. 248 to 261.) the ufe of thefe Paflions, with regard to the rno:e confined circle of our friends, relations, and acquaintance : and this is the fecon d general diviiion. Warburton. NOTES. Ver. 253. Wants, frailties, paflions, clofer jlill ally The common int're/l, is'c.~] As thefe lines have been mifunderitood, I (hall give the reader their plain and obvious meaning. To thefe frailties (fays he) we owe all the endearments of private life ; yet, when we come to that age, which generally difpofes men to think more ferioufly of the true value of things, and confequently of their provifion for a future (late, the conf' ration, that the grounds of thofe joys, loves, and friend.hips, are wants, frailties and paflions, proves the bed expedient to wean us from the world ; a difengagement fo friendly to that provifion we are now making for another ftate. The obfer- vation is new, and would in any place be extremely beautiful, but has hero an infinite grace and propriety, as it fo well confirms, by an inftance ot great moment, the general Thefts, That God makes JH, a.' wry ///>, productive of Good. Wareurton. 92 ESSAY ON MAN. Ep.IL To thefe we owe true friendfhip, love fincere, 255 Each home-felt joy that life inherits here ; Yet from the fame we learn, in its decline, Thofe joys, thofe loves, thofe int'refts to refign ; Taught half by Reafon, half by mere decay, To welcome death, and calmly pafs away. 260 Whate'er the Paffion, knowledge, fame, or pelf, Not one will change his neighbour with himfelf. The COMMENTARY. Ver. 261. Whatever the Paffion, iff,:.'} III. The Poet having thus fhewn the ufe of the Pafhons in Society, and in Dome/lie life, comes, in the laft place (from ver. 260 to the end), to (hew their ufe to the Individual, even in their illufions ; the imaginary happinefs they prefent, helping to make the real miferies oi life lefs infupportable : And tiiis is his third general diviiion : *' Opinion gilds with varying rays Thofe painted clouds that beautify our days," &c. ** One profpec~l loft, another ftill we gain ; And not a Vanity is giv'n in vain." Which rnuft needs vaftly raife our idea of God's goodnefs ; who hath net only provided more than a counterbalance cf real happi- nefs to humen miferies, but hath even, in his infinite compaffion, beilowed on thofe who were fo foolifn as not to have made this provifion, an imaginary happinefs ; that they may not be quite overborne with the load of human miferies. This is the Poet"'? great and noble thought ; as ftrong and folid as it is new and inge- nious : It teaches, that thefe illufions are the faults and follies of Men, which they wilfully fall into ; and thereby deprive them- felres of much happinefs, and expofe themfelves to equal mifery : but that ftill, God (according to his univerfal way of working) gracioufly turns thefe faults and follies fo far to the advantage of his miferable creatures, as to become, for a time, the lolace and fupport of their diftreffes : " Tho' Man's a fool, yet God is wife." Warburtox. Ep.II. ESSAY ON MAN. 93 The learn' d is happy nature to explore, The fool is happy that he knows no more ; The NOT E S. Ver. 261. Whatever the Piiflion, C5V.] It was an objection con- flantly urged by the ancient Epicureans, that Man could not be the creature of a benevolent Being, as he was formed in a ft ate fo helplefs and infirm. Montague took it, and urged it alfo. They never considered or perceived that this very infirmity and helplefi- nefs were the caufe and cement of fociety ; that if men had been perfect and felf-fufticient, and had Rood in no need of each other's afJiftance, there would have been no occafion fpr the invention of the arts, and no opportunity for the exertion of the affections. The ht:es, therefore, in which I-ucretius propofes this objection, are as unphilofophical and inconclufive, as they are highly pathetic jnd poetical : " Turn porro puer, ut fsevis projectus ab undis Mavita, nudus humi jacet, infans, indigus omni V itai auxilio, cum primum in lumisiis oras Nixibus ex alvo matris natura profudit ; Vagituque locum lugubri complct, ut requum eft, Cui tantum in vita reflet tranhre maloium." Lib- 5. ver. 223, There is a pafiage in the Moralifts, which I cannot forbear thinking Pope had in his eye, and which I muft not therefore omit, as it ferves to illuftrate and confirm fo many parts of the Eflay on Man. I (hall therefore give it at length, without apology : " The young of moft other kinds are inftantly helpful to thew- felves, fenlible, vigorous, know how to fhun danger, and feek their good : a human infant is of all the mod weak, helplefs, and infirm. And wherefore fhou'.d it not have been fo ordered ? Where is the lofs in fuch a fpeeies ? Or what is Man the woric for that defect, amidft fuch large fupplies ? Does not this defect engage him the more ilrongly to fociety, and force him to own that he is purpofely, and not by accident, made rational and fociable ; and can no otherwife increafe or fubfift than in that focial iutercourfe and community which is bis natural Hate? Is aot both conjugal affeclinn, and natural election to parents, duty 94 ESSAY ON MAN. Ep.IT. The rich is happy in the plenty giv'n, 265 The poor contents him with the care of Heav'n. See the blind beggar dance, the cripple fmg, The fot a hero, lunatic a king ; The (larving chemift in his golden views Supremely bleft, the poet in his Mufe. 270 See NOTES. to magiftrates, love of a common city, community, or country, with the other duties and focial parts of life, deduced from hence, and founded in thefe very wants ? What can be happier than fuch a deficiency, as it is the occafion of fo much good ? What better, than a want fo abundantly made up, and anfwered by fo many enjoyments ? Now, if there are ftill to be found among mankind, fuch as even, in the midfl of thefe wants, feem not afhamed to affect a right of independency, and deny themfelves to be by nature fociable ; where would their fhame have been had Nature otherwife fupplied their wants ? What duty or obligation had been ever thought of? What refpedt or reverence of parents, magiftrates, their country, or their kind ? Would not their ull and felf-fufficient Mate more ftrongly have determined them to throw off nature, and deny the ends and Author of their creation :'" Warton. Ver. 264. The fool is happy, &c.~\ So when fome navigators arrived on the coaft of Africa, the Natives, full of their own ideal fuperiority, inquired of the Strangers, whether there was fuch a thing as the Sun in their country? " Behold," faid the inhabitants to Briffon, " that luminary, which is unknown in thy country. Thou art not enlightened, as we are, by that heavenly body, which regulates our days and our fafls." Difcc-vcries and Settlements of Europeans in North and JVeJl Africa. Edinburgh printed, 1 799. Ver. 270. the poet in his Muf.~] The Author having faid, that no one could change his own profeffion or views for thofe of another, intended to carry his obfervation ftill further, and fhew that men were unwilling to exchange their own acquirements even for Ep.II. ESSAY ON MAN. 95 See fome ftrange comfort ev'ry flate attend, And pride beftow'd on all, a common friend : See fome fit paflion ev'ry age fupply, Hope travels through, nor quits us when we die. Behold the child, by nature's kindly law, 275 Pleas'd with a rattle, tickled with a draw : Some livelier play-thing gives his youth delight, A little louder, but as empty quire : Scarfs, garters, gold, amufe his riper ftage, And beads and pray'r-books are the toys of age : 280 Pleas'd NOTES. for thofe of the fame kind, conftffedly larger, and infinitely more eminent, in another. To this end he wrote, '-:-;. WARB U RTON. Ver. 214. A Prince the Father'] Joiuville relates, that he had frequently fcen St. Louis, after having heard mafs in the fummer, feat Up. III. USSAY ON MAN". 123 VI. Till then, by Nature crown'd, each Patriarch fate, 415 King, prieft, and parent of his growing flate ; On COMMENTARY. Ver. 215. Till then, by Nature crown' d, sV-2 The Poet now returns (at ver. 215 to 241.) to what he had left unfinished in his defcription of natural Society. This, which appears irregular, is, indeed, a fine inftance of his thorough knowledge of method. I will explain it : This third epiftle, we fee, confiders Man with refpect. to Society ; the fecond, with refpect to Himsei f ; and thefourth, with refpect to Happiness. But in none of thefe relations does the Poet ever lofe fight of him under that in which he ftands to God : It will follow, therefore, that fpeaking of him with refpeft to Society, the account would be moft imperfect, were he not at the fame time confidered with refpect to his Religion ; for between thefe two, there is a clofe, and, while things continue in order, a mod interefting connection : " True Faith, true Policy united ran; That was but love of God, and this of Man." Now Religion fullering no change or depravation when Man firft: entered into civil Society, but continuing the fame as in the ftatc of Nature ; the Author, to avoid repetition, and to bring the account of true znAfalfe Religion nearer to one another, in order to contrail them by the advantage of that fituation, deferred giving an account of his Religion till he had fpoken of the origin of civil Society. Thence it is, that he here refumes the account of the date of Nature, that is, fo much of it as he had left untouched, which was only the Religion of it. This confiding in the knowledge of the one God, the Creator of all things, he fhews how Men came by that knowledge : That it was either found out by NOTES. feat himfelf at the foot of an old oak in the forcd of Vincennes, where any one of his fubjects might approach him, and lay his bufinefs or complaint before this good king. Our Author would have much improved all that he fays of Government, if he had lived to have read one of the bed, perhaps, of all treatifes on, politics, that of the Prefident Montefquieu. Warton. 124 ESSAY ON MAN. Ep.IIL On him, their fecond Providence, they hung, Their law his eye, their oracle his tongue. He from the wond'ring furrow call'd the food, Taught to command the fire, controul the flood, 220 Draw forth the monflers of th' abyfs profound, Or fetch the aerial eagle to the ground. Till COMMENTARY. by Reason, which giving to every effect a eaufe, inftructed them to go from caufe to caufe, till they came to the firft, who, being caufelefs, would neceffarily be judged felf-exiftent ; or elfe that it was taught by Tradition, which preferved the memory of the Creation. He then tells us what thefe men, uudebauched by falfe fcience, underftood by God's nature and attributes : Firft, of God's Nature, that they eafily diftinguifhed between ihe Worker and the Work ; faw the fubftance of the Creator to be diftinct and differ- ent from that of the Creature, and fo were in no danger of falling into the horrid opinion of the Greek philofophers, and their fol- lower, Spinoza. And fimple Reafon teaching them that the Creator was but One, they eafily faw that all was right, and fo were in as little danger of falling into the Manichean error ; which, when oblique Wit had broken the Jleddy light of Reafor^ imagined all was not right, having before imagined that all was not the work of One. Secondly, he fhews, what they underftood of God's Attributes; that they eafily acknowledged a Father where they found a Deity ; and could not conceive a fovereign Being to be any other than a fovereign Good. War burton-. notes. Ver. 219. He from the That COMMENTARY". Vf.r. 241. Who Jirfl taught fouls enflav'd, &c.~] Order leadet.lt the Poet to fpeak (from ver. 240 to 245.) of the corruption of - ivll Society into Tyranny, and its .caufes ; and here, with all the dexterity of addrefs, as well as force of truth, he obferyes it arofc from the violation of that great Principle, which he fo much infills upon throughout his Eflay, that each was made for the ufe of all. We may be fnre, that in this corruption, where right or natural juftice was call afide, and violence, the Atheift's juftice, prefidcd in its itead, Religion would follow the fate of civil Society : We know, from ancient hi (lory, it did fo. Accordingly Mr. Pope (from ver. 244 to 269.), together with corrupt Politics, defcribes corrupt Religion and its Caufes : he firft informs us, agreeable to his exact knowledge of Antiquity, that it was the Politician, and not the Prieft (as the illiterate tribe of Freethinkers would make us believe), who firft corrupted Religion. Secondly, That the Superfiition he brought in was not invented by him, as an engine to play upon others (as the dreaming Atheift feigns, who would thus account for the origin of Religion), but was a trap he firft fell into himfelf. " Superfiition taught the Tyrant awe." Warburtos. NOTES. Ver. 241. Who fiijl taught'] " What flatterers of princes often tell us, that monarchy was the carlieft form, is rather dishonour- able to it ; importing, indeed, that it at firft pleated a rude and unexperienced populace, but could not continue to pleafe upon experience and the increafe of wiidom. And indeed in nothing could 128 ESSAY ON MAN. Ep.III. That proud exception to all Nature's laws, T* invert the work, and counter-work its Caufe ? Force firfl made Conqueft., and that conqueft, law ; Till Superftition taught the Tyrant awe, 246 Then KOTtS. could one Iefs expe& that the firft effays could be perfect, than in a conttitution of civil policy ; a work requiring the greateft know- ledge and prudence, to be acquired only by much thought and experience of human life. The feveral great inconveniencies at- tending each of the fimple forms, fhew the neceffity of having recourfe to the mixed and complex ; and the feveral great advan- tages peculiar to each of the fimple, fhew that thofe mixed forms are beft where all the three kinds are artfully compounded : and this was the opinion of the wifeft men of antiquity Plato, Arif- totle, Zeno, Cicero." Thefe are the words of that mod amiable and candid philofo- pher, Hutchefon. War ton Ver. 242. Th* enormous faith, &c.~] In this Ariflotle placeth the difference between a King and a Tyrant, that the firft fup- pofeth himfelf made for the People ; the other, that the People are made for him : B&XsIa* " I BATJAEYS thoti m%, virus ol fA* xsx1i ( u.fvoi ?; acriaj jay&\v adixov sra(r^a;o the Means (that is, in all his relations, whether as an Indivi- dual, or a Member of Society) t this lall comes to confider him with regard to the End, that is, Happinefs. It opens with an Invocation to Happiness, in the manner of the ancient Poets ; who, when deftitute of a patron God, applied to the Mufe ; and if me was not at leifure, took up with any fimple Virtue next at hand, to infpire and profper their under- takings. This was the ancient Invocation, which few modern Poets have had the art to imitate with any degree either of fpirit or decorum : but our Author hath contrived to make his fubfer* vient to the method and reafoning of his philofophic compofition. 1 will endeavour to explain fo uncommon a beauty. It is to be obterved that the pagan Deities had each their feveral names and places of abode ; with fome of which they were fuppofed to NOTES. Ver. i. Oh Happinefs /] He begins his addrefs to Happintfs after the manner of the ancient hymn*, by enumerating the titles vol. in. v and 146 ESSAY ON MAN. Ep. IV. Which iTt ill fo near us, yet beyond us lies, 5 O'erlook'd, feen double, by the fool, and wife. Plant COMMENTARY. to be more delighted than others ; and confequently to be then molt propitious when invoked by the favourite name and place : Hence we find, the hymns of Homer, Orpheus, and Callimachus, to be chiefly employed in reckoning up the feveral titles and habi- tations by which the patron God was known and diftinguifhed, Our Poet hath made thefe two circumilances ferve to introduce his fubjecl. His purpofe is to write of Happinefs : method, there- fore, requires that lie lirit define what Men mean by Happinefs ; and this he does in the ornament of a poetic Invocation ; in which the feveral names, that Happinefs goes by, are enumerated : " Oh Happinefs ! our being's end and aim ! Good, Pleafure, Eafe, Content! whate'er thy Name." After the Definition, that which follows next, is the Propo- sition, which is, thai human Happinefs conffls not in externa! Advantages, hit in Virtue. For the fubject of this epiftle is to detect Xhtfalfe notions of Happinefs, and to fettle and explain the true ; and this the Poet lays down in the next fixteen lines. Now the enumeration of the fev eral fit uai ions where Happinefs is fuppofec to reiide, is a fummary offa/fe Happinefs placed in Externals : " Plant of celeltial feed! if dropt below, Sav, in what mortal foil thou deign'lt to grow ? Fair NOTES. and various places of abode of this goddefs. He has undoubtedly ptriorulied fur at the beginning, but he feems to have dropped ihat idea in the feventh line, where the deity is fuddenly tranf- f'ormed into a plant ; from thence this metaphor of a vegetable is carried on diltinflly through the eleven fucceeding lines, till he iuddenly returns to confider Happinefs again as a perfon, in the eighteenth line, " And fled from Monarchs, St. John ! dwells with thee !" For to fly and to dwell, cannot juftly be predicated of the fame fubjed, that immediately before was defcribed as twining with laurels, and being reaped in harveils. Of the raimbe;!efs treatifes that have been written on Happi. nefs, one of the moll fenlible is that of Fontenelle, in the third volume: of his works. Warton. Ep.IV. ESSAY ON MAN. 147 Plant of celeftial feed ! if dropt below, Say, in what mortal foil thou deign'ft to grow ? Fair op'ning to fome Court's propitious mine,- Or deep with di'mpnds in the flaming mine ? 10 Tvvin'd with the wreaths Parnaflian laurels yield, Or reap'd in iron harvefts of the field ? Where grows ? where grows it not ? If vain our toil, We ought to blame the culture, not the foil : Fix'd to no fpot is Happinefs fincere, 1 5 'Tis no where to be found, or ev'ry where : 'Tis COMMENTARY. Fair op'ning to fome Court's propitious fhine, Or deep with di'monds in the flaming mine ? Twin'd with the wreaths Parnaffian laurels yield, Or reap'd in iron harvefts of the field ?" Phe fix remaining lines deliver the true notion of Happinefs, and ihew that it h rightly placed in Virtue. Which is fummed up in thefe two : " Fix'd to no fpot is Happinefs fincere ; 'Tis no where to be found, or ev'ry where." The Poet, having thus defined his terms, and laid down his pro- portion, proceeds to the fupport of his Thefis ; the various argument- of which make up the body of the Epiftle. War burton NOTES. Ver. 16. 'Tis no .where to be found, iffc."] There is fomeihing very ftriking and poetical in Herbert's little hymn, who inquires, like jur Author, where he fiiall find the abode of Peace and Happi- ntf;. The full flanza is particularly beautiful: " Swttt Peace, where doft thou dwell, I humbly cn^ ? Let me once know : I fought thee in a fecret place, And afk'd if Peace were there. A hollow Wind did feem to anfwer, No ; Go, leek elie-where." T did ; and going, did a rainbow rote,'' c'V- 148 ESSAY ON MAN. Ep.IV. 'Tis never to be bought, but always free, And fled from Monarchs, St. John ! dwells with thee. Afk of the Learn'd the way? The Learn'd are blind ; This bids to ferve, and that to fhun mankind ; 20 Some COMMENTARY. Ver. 19. Afe of the Leam\l, csV.] He begins (from ver. 18 to X).) with detecting the falfe notions of Happinefs. Thefe are of. two kinds, the PhihfophiCal and Popular : The Popular he had recapitulated in the Invocation, when Happinefs was called upon, at her feveral fuppofed places of abode : the Philofophical only remained to be delivered : " A Ik of the Learn'd the way ? The Learn'd are blind : This bide to ferve, and that to fiiun mankind : Some place the blifs in action, fome in cafe ; Thofe call it Pkafure, and Contentment thefe." They differed as well in the means, as in the nature of the end. Some placed Happinefs in Adlion, fome in Contemplation ; the firft called it Pkafure, the fecond Eafe. Of thofe who placed it in Action and called it Pkafure, the route they purfued either funk them into fenfual Plcafures, which ended in Pain ; or led them in fearch of Imaginary Perfections, unfuitable to their nature and Ration (fee Ep. i.), which ended in Vanity. Of thofe who placed it in Eafe, the contemplative ftation they were fixed in, made feme, for their quiet, find truth in every thing ; others, in nothing : " Who thus define it, fay they more or lefs Than this, that Happinefs is Plappinefs ?" The confutation of thefe Philofophic errors he fhews to be verv eafy, one common fallacy running through them all ; namely this, that inilead of telling us in what the happinefs of human nature con- fifts, which was what was aflced of them, each bufies himfelf in explaining in what he placed his ozun. Warburton. note s. Ver. 18. St. John ! dwells with thee.'} Among the many paf- fagce in Bolingbroke's Poilhumous Works that bear a clofe refem- blance Ep.IV. ESSAY ON MAN. 149 Some place the blifs in acYion, fome in eafe, Thofe call it Pleafure, and Contentment thefe ; Some funk to Beads, find pleafure end in pain ; Some fweird to Gods confefs, ev'n Virtue vain ! Or indolent, to each extreme they fall, 25 To truft in ev'ry thing, or doubt of all. Who thus define it, fay they more or Iefs Than this, that Happinefs is Happinefs ? Take NOTES. blance to the tenets of this Eflay, are the following : Vol. iv. oftavo edition, pp. 223. 324. 388, 389. alfo pp.49. 316. 328. 336, 337. 339. And in Vol. v. pp. 5, 6. 17. 92. 51. 113. 310. Wartok. Ver. 21. 23. Some place the hl'ifs in aclion, Somefunl to Beajls, &c.~] I. Thofe who place Happinefs, or the fummum bor.um, in Pleafure, H^ovj; fuch as the Cyrenaic feci, called, on that account, the Hedonic. 2. Thofe who place it in a certain tranquillity or calmnefs of Mind, which they call EiQvjAci ; fuch as the Demo- critic feft. 3. The Epicurean. 4. The Stoic. 5. The Prota- gorean, which held that Man was nravTiv x$r,ixxrzv ju.'^ov, the mea- fure of all things ; for that all things which appear to him, are, and thofe things which appear not to any Man, are not ; fo that every imagination or opinion of every Man was true. 6. The Sceptic : Whofe abfolute doubt is, with great judgment, faid to be the effect of Indolence, as well as the abfolute trull of the Protago- rean : For the fame dread of labour attending the fearch of truth, which makes the Protagorean prefume it is always at hand, makes the Sceptic conclude it is never to be found. The only differ- ence is, that the la/.inefs of the one is defponding, and the lazi- nefa of the other fanguine ; yet both can give it a good name, and call it Happiness. Warburton. Ver. 23. Some funk to Beajls, &c.~\ Thefe four lines added in the lad Edition, as ncceffary to complete the fummary of the falfe purfuits after Happinefs among the Greek Philosophers. Warburton. - 3 i5o ESSAY ON MAN. Ep.IV. Take Nature's path, and mad Opinion's leave ; All ftates can reach it, and all heads conceive ; 30 Obvious her goods, in no extreme they dwell ; There needs but thinking right, and meaning well ; And mourn our various portions as we pleafe, Equal is Common Senfe, and Common Eafe. Remember, Man, " the Univerfal Caufe 35 * c Ads not by partial, but by gen'ral laws :" And COMMENTARY. Ver. 29. Take Nature's path, &c.~] The Poet then proceeds (from ver. 28 to 35.) to reform their millakes ; and {hews them that, if they will but take the road of Nature, and leave that of mad Opinion, they will foon find Happinefs to be a good of the fpecies, and, like Common Senfe, equally diflributed to all man- kind. Warbvrton. VER..35. Remember, Man, &c.~\ Having expofed the two falfe fpecies of Happinefs, the Pkilofophical and Popular, and denounced the true ; in order to eftablifh the laft, he goes on to a confutatiou of the two former. I. lie firlt (from ver. 34 to 49.) confutes the Philofophical ; which, as we faid, makes Happinefs a particular, not a general good : And this two ways ; 1 . From his grand principle, that God afts by general laws ; the confequence of which is, that Hap. pinefs, which fupportsthe well-being of every fyftem, mull needs be univerfal; and not partial, as the Philofophers conceived. 2. From fact,, that Man inftinclively concurs with this defignatiou of Providence, to make Happinefs univerfal, by his having no delight in any thing uncommuuicatedor uncommunicable. Warburton. NOTES. Ver. 32. There needs but thinking right, &<:.] This is a very concife mode of making men wife and virtuous ; but it is to be feared this wifdom and virtue is not always to be fo eaiily attained as this verfe fuppofes. Ver. 34. Equal is Common Senfe,'] The experience of every day and every hour convinces us of the falfehood of this Stoical boaft. Warton. Ep.IV. ESSAY ON MAN. 151 And makes what Happinefs we juflly call Subfifl not in the good of one, but all. There's not a bleffing Individuals find, But fome way leans and hearkens to the kind ; 40 No Bandit fierce, no Tyrant mad with pride, No cavern' d Hermit, reds felf-fatisfy'd : "Who mod tofhun or hate Mankind pretend, Seek an admirer, or would fix a friend : Abftracl what others feel, what others think, 45 AH pleafures ficken, and all glories fink : Each has his fhare ; and who would more obtain, Shall find, the pleafure pays not half the pain. Order is Heav'n's firft law ; and this confeft, Some are, and muft be, greater than the reft, 50 More COM MENT ARY. V er. 49. Ordtr is Hcarfn'sjirjl law ;~\ II. In the fecond place 'from ver. 48 to 67.), he confutes the popular error concerning Happinefs, namely, that it cou lifts in externals : This he does,jr//, by inquiring into the reafons of the prefent providential difpoiitkm of external goods : A topic of confutation chofen with the grtateft accuracy and penetration : For, if it appears they were given in the manner we fee them diftributed, for reafons different from the Happinefs of Individuals, it is abfurd to think that they fhould make part of that Happinefi. He fliews, therefore, that diiparity ol external poffefTions among men was for the fake of Society : i. To promote the harmony and happinefs of a fyftem ; becaufe the want of external goods in fome, and the abundance in others, increafe general harmony in the obliger and obliged. \ ct here (lays he) mark the impartial wifdom of Heaven ; this very inequa- lity of externals, by contributing to general harmony and order, produceth an equality of Happinefs amongil Individuals. 2. To prevent perpetual difcord amongil men equal in power; which an equal diftribution of external goods would neceflarily occallon. From hence he concludes, that as external goods were L 4 not. i 5 2 ESSAY ON MAN. Ep.IV. More rich, more wife ; but who infers from hence That fuch are happier, fhocks all eommon fenfe. Heav'n to Mankind impartial we confefs, If all are equal in their Happinefs : But mutual wants this Happinefs increafe ; $$ All Nature's diff'rence keeps all Nature's peace. Condition, circumftance is not the thing ; Blifs is the lame in fubjeft or in king, In who obtain defence, or who defend, In him who is, or him who finds a friend : 6 Heav'n breathes thro' ev'ry member of the whole One common blefling, as one common foul. But Fortune's gifts if each alike pofleft, And each were equal, mud not all conteft ? If then to all Men Happinefs was .meant, 65 God in Externals could not place Content. Fortune VARIATIONS. After Ver. 52. in the MS. Say not, " Heav'n's here profufe, there poorly faves, " And for one Monarch makes a thoufand Haves." You'll find, when Caufes and their Ends are known, 'Twas for the thoufand Heav'n has made that one. After Ver. 66. in the MS. : Tis peace of mind alone is at a flay : The reit mad Fortune gives or takes away. All other blifs by accident's debar'd ; But Virtue's, in the inftant, a reward ; In hardeft trials operates the beft, And more is relilh'd as the more diftreiL COMMENTARY. not given for the reward of virtue, but for many different purpofes, God could not, if he intended Happinefs for ail, place it in the enjoyment of externals. Wa rbvrtck. Ep.IV. ESSAY ON MAN, 153 Fortune her gifts may varioufly difpofe, And thefe be happy call'd, unhappy thofe ; But Heav'n' s juft balance equal will appear, While thofe are plac'd in Hope, and thefe in Fear : Not prcfent good or ill, the joy or curfe, 71 But future views of better, or of worfe. Oh fons of earth ! attempt ye (till to rife, By mountains pil'd on mountains, to the fkies ? Heav'n flill with laughter the vain toil furveys, y$ And buries madmen in the heaps they raife. Know, all the good that individuals find, Or God and Nature meant to mere Mankind, Reafon's COMMENTARY. Ver. 67. Fortune her gifts may varioujly difpofe, &c.~\ His fecond argument (from ver. 66 to 73.) againfl the popular error of Happi- nefs being placed in externals, is, that the pofleffion of them is infeparably attended with fear ; the want of them with hope j which direcUy crofling all their pretenfions to making happy, evi- dently fliews that God had placed Happintfs elfewhere. And hence, in concluding this argument, he takes occa'ion (from ver. 72 to 77.) to upbraid the defperate folly and impiety of thofe, who, in fpite of God and Nature, will yet attempt to place Happi- Tiefs in externals : " Oh fons of earth ! attempt ye Mil! to rife, By mountains pil'd on mountains, to the (Ides? Heav'n ft ill with laughter the vain toil furveys, And buries madmen in the heaps they raife." War burton. Ver. 77. Know, all the good, &c.~] The Poet having thus con- futed the two errors concerning Ilappinefs, the Philofophical and Popular ; and proved that true Happinefs was neither folitary and partial, nor yet placed in externals ; goes on (from ver. 76 to 83.) to fliew in what it doth confiit. He had before laid in general, and repeated it, that Happinefs lay in common to the whole.fpecies. He now brings us better acquainted with it, in a more explicit accouftl i 5 4 ESSAY ON MAN. Ep.IV. Reafon's whole pleafure, all the joys of Senfe, Lie in three words, Health, Peace, and Competence. But Health confifts with Temperance alone ; 8 1 And Peace, oh Virtue ! Peace is all thy own. The good or bad the gifts of Fortune gain ; But thefe lefs tafte them, as they worfe obtain. Say, in purfuit of profit or delight, 8z Who rifk the mod, that take wrong means, or right ? Of Vice or Virtue, whether bled or curft, Which meets contempt, or which companion firft r Count COMMENTARY. account of its nature ; and tells us, it is all contained in healthy peace, and competence; but that thefe are to be gained only by Virtue, namely, by temperance, innocence, and induftry. Wareurtok Ver. 83. The good or bad, csV.] Hitherto the Poet hath only confidered health and peace : ** But Health confilts with Temperance alone ; And Peace, oh Virtue ! Peace is all thy own." One head yet remained to be fpoken to, namely, competence. In the purfuit of health and peace there is no danger of running into excefs ; but the cafe is different with regard to competence : here wealth and affluence would be apt to be miftaken for it, in men's paffionate purfuit after external goods. To obviate this miftake, therefore, the Poet fhews (from ver. 82 to 93.), that, as exorbi- tant wealth adds nothing to the Happinefs ariling from a competence; fo, as it is generally ill-gotten, it is attended with circumftancc: which weaken another part of this triple cord, namely peace. " Reafon's whole pleafure, all the joys of Senfe, Lie in three words, Health, Peace, and Competence, But Health confifts with Temperance alone ; And Peace, oh Virtue ! Peace is all thy own." Warburto.v. NOTES. Ver. 88. Which meets contempt,'] Companion, it will be faiu, is but a poor compenfation for mifery. Warton Ep.IV. ESSAY ON MAN. 155 Count all th* advantage profp'rous Vice attains, 'Tis but what Virtue flies from and difdains : 90 And grant the bad what happinefs they wou'd, One they muft want, which is, to pafs for good. Oh blind to truth, and God's whole fcheme below, Who fancy Blifs to Vice, to Virtue Woe ! Wh VARIATIONS. After Ver. 92. in the MS. Let fober Moralifts correct their fpeech, No bad man's happy : he is great, or rich. COMMENTARY. Ver. 93. Oh blind to truth, lf?c.~] Our Author having thus largely confuted the miftake, that Happinefs confifts in externals, proceeds to expofe the terrible confequences of fuch an opinion, on the fentiments and practice of all forts of men ; making the Diffolute, impious and atheidical ; the Religious, uncharitable and intolerant ; and the Good, relllefs and difcontent. For when it is once taken for granted, that happine s confifts in externals, it is immediately feen that ill men are often more happy than the Good ; which fets all conditions on objecting to the ways of Providence : and fome even on ralhly attempting to rectify its diipenfations, though by the violation of all laws, divine and human. Now this being the moll important part of the fubject under coniideration, is defervedly treated moil at large. And here it will be proper to take notice of the art of the Poet in making this confutation ferve, at the fame time, for a full folution of all objections which might be made to his main proportion, that Happinefs confifls not in externals. I. He begins, firil of all, with the atheiftical complainers ; and purfucs their impiety from ver. 92 to 131. < Oh blind to truth I and God's whole fcheme below," &c. Warburton. NOT F. S. Ver. 92. to pafs for good.'] But are not the one Frequently mittaken for the other ? How many profligate hypocrites have p.'. (ltd for good? 7 Warton. j 5 6 ESSAY ON MAN. Ep.1V. Who fees and follows that great fcheme the beft, 95 Beft knows the bleffing, and will moft be bleft. But fools, the Good alone unhappy call, For ills or accidents that chance to all. See Falkland dies, the virtuous and the juft ! See god -like Turenne proftrate on the dufl ! 100 See COMMENTARY. Ver. 97. But fools, the Good alone unhappy call, &c.~\ He ex- pofes their folly, even in their own notions of external goods. j. By examples (from ver. 98 to Hi.), where he (hews, fijl, that if good men have been untimely cut off, this is not to be afcribed to their virtue, but to a contempt of life, which hurried them into dangers. Secondly, That if they will ftill perfift in afcribing untimely death to virtue, they muft needs, on the fame principle, afcribe long life to it alfo ; confequently, as the argu- ment, in fact, concludes both ways, in logic it concludes neither. " Say, was it Virtue, more tho' Heav'n ne'er gave, Lamented Digby ! funk thee to the grave ? Tell me, if Virtue made the Son expire, Why, full of days and honour, lives the Sire :" Warburton. NOTES. Ver. 99. See Falkland] His genius, his learning, his inte- grity, his patriotifm, are eloquently difplayed by Cowley, as well as by Clarendon ; but Lord Orford thinks the portrait by the latter too flattering and over-charged. If any proofs had been wanting of the violence and haughtinefs of archbilhop Laud, this virtuous nobleman's oppoling him would have been fufficient. He affifted Chillingworth in his great work againit Popery ; and he wrote fome very elegant verfes to Sandys, on his Tranflation of the Pfalms. The gallantry of Sir Philip Sidney, mentioned in a fucceeding line (joi.), cannot be difputed ; but whether the death of this valorous knight was a proper example of fuffering virtue to be here introduced, is another queftion. Warton . Ver. 100. See god-lihe Turenne] This great general was killed July 27, 1675, by a cannot-Pnot, near the village of Sultyback, in Ep.IV. ESSAY ON MAN. 157 See Sidney bleeds amid the martial ftrife! Was this their Virtue, or Contempt of Life ? Say, was it Virtue, more tho* Heav'n ne'er gave, Lamented Digby ! funk thee to the grave ? Tell me, if Virtue made the Son expire, 105 Why, full of days and honour, lives the Sire? Why NOTES. m going to choofe a place whereon to ereft a battery. " No one,** fays Voltaire, " is ignorant of the circumftances of his death ; but we cannot here refrain a review of the principal of them, for the iarae reafon that they are ftill talked of every day. It feems as if one could not too often repeat, that the fame bullet which killed him, having (hot off the arm of St: Hilaire, lieutenant-general of the artillery, his fon came and bewailed his misfortune with many tears ; but the father, looking towards Turenne, faid, * It is not 1, but that great man, who mould be lamented.' Thefe words may be compared with the moll heroic fayings recorded in all hif- tory ; and are the beit eulogy that can be beftowed upon Turenne. It is uncommon under a defpotic government, where people are actuated only by private intereils, for thofe who have ferved their country to die regretted by the public. Neverthelefs, Turenne was lamented both by the foldiers and people ; and Louvois was the only one who rejoiced at his death. The honours which the king ordered to be paid to his memory are known to every one; and that he was interred at St. Denis, in the fame manner as the conllable du Guefclin." But how much is the glory of Turenne tarnifhed by his cruel devaftation of the Palatinate ? Wartox. Ver. ioi. See Sidney bleeds'] Among the many things related of the life and character of this all-accomplimed perfon, it does not feem to be much known, that he was the intimate friend and patron of the famous atheift Giordano Bruno; was in a fecret club with him and Sir Fulk Greville, held in London in 1587 ; and that the Spaccio dtlla Beftia Triomfante was at that time con- pofed and printed in London, and dedicated to Sir Philip. See General Dictionary, vol. iii. p. 622. Wartok. Ver. 104. Lamented Dicky !] The Honourable Robert Digby. See Epitaph". i 5 8 ESSAY ON MAN. Er.IV. Why drew Marfeilles' good bifhop purer breath, When Nature ficken'd, and each gale was death ? Or why fo long (in life if long can be) Lent Heav'n a parent to the poor and me? no What NOTES. Ver. 107. Why drew"] M. de Belfance, bifhop of Marfeilles. This illuftrious prelate was of a noble family in Guienne. In early life he took the vows, and belonged to a convent of Jefuits. He was made bifhop of Marfeilles in 1709. In the plague of that city, in the year 1720, he diftinguifhed himfelf by his zeal and activity, being the paftor, the phyfician, and the magiurate of his flock, whilft that horrid calamity. pre- vailed. Louis XV. in 1723, offered him a more confiderable bifhopric (to which peculiar feudal honours were annexed), that of Laon in Picardy. He refufed, however, to quit that of Mar- feilles, giving for a reafon, that he could not defert a flock which had been fo endeared to him by their misfortunes and his own exer- tions. The king, however, infifted upon his accepting of the pri- vilege of appealing, in all his own caufes, either temporal or fpiri- tual, to the Parliament of Paris. The Pope fent him from Rome arc ornament called Pallium, worn only by archbifhops. He died at a very advanced age, in the year 1755, after having founded a college in Marfeilles, which bears his name, and after having written the Hiftory of the Lives of his Predeceffors in that See- When he was grand vicar of A gen, he publifhed the life of a female relation of his, who was eminent for her piety, with this title, " Vie de Sufanne Henriette de Foix Candale." Vaniere has finely celebrated him. Lib. iii. of the Praedium Rufticum. Warton. Ver. 108. When Nature Jichen' 7/,l A verfe of marvellous com- prehenfion and exprefllvenefs, adopted from Dryden's Mifcellanies, v. 6. The effects of this peftilence are more emphatically fet forth in thefe few words, than in forty fuch Odes as Sprat's on the Plague at Athens. A fine example of what Dion. Halicarnaffus calls ITwaoinloj kva ur yon will fay, Why doth not God either prevent, or immedi- ately repair thefe evils ? You may as well afk, why he doth not work, continual miracles, and every moment reverfe the eftablifhed laws of Nature : " Shall burning Etna, if a fage requires," &c. Thia is the force of t he Poet's reasoning ; and thefe the men to whom he addrcfTcth it ; namely, the libertine cavillers againft Providence. Ward u r ion. NOTES. a peculiar elegance ; where a tribute of piety to a parent i> paid in return of thanks to, and made fubfervient of his vindication of, the g-eat Giver and Father of all things. The Mother of the Author, a perfon of great piety and charity, died the year this poem was finifhed, viz. 1733. Warburtov. Vf.r. 112. There deviates Nature,] There is certaiuly an obfeu- rity in the word Pope ufe?, " Nature." i6o ESSAY ON MAN. Ep.IV. Or Change admits, or Nature lets it fall ; 115 Short, and but rare, till Man improv'd it all. We juft as wifely might of Heav*n complain That righteous Abel was deftroy'd by Cain, As that the virtuous fon is ill at eafe When his lewd father gave the dire difeafe. 1^0 Think we, like fome weak Prince, th* Eternal Caufe, Prone for his fav'rites to reverfe his laws ? Shall VARIATIONS. After Ver. 116. in the MS. Of ev'ry evil, iince the world began, The real fource is not in God, but man. NOTES. Ver. 115. Or Change admits, ~j The reafons afiigned for the Origin of Evil, in thefe two lines, are furely not folid and fatis- fadtory, and the doctrine is expreffed in obfcure and equivocal terms. Thefe fix lines are perhaps the mofl exceptionable in the whole Poem, in point both of fentiment and expreffion. Warton. Ver. 121. Think w, like fome weak Prince, &c.~] Agreeable hereunto, Holy Scripture, in its account of things under the com- mon Providence of Heaven, never reprefents miracles as wrought for the fake of him who is the object of them, but in order to give credit to fome of God's extraordinary difpenfations to Mankind, Warburton. Akenfide has thus enlarged on this opinion, book i. p. 120. in a more copious and diffufe ftyle and manner : Left blind o'erweening pride Pollute their offerings : left their felfifh heart Say to the heavenly ruler, *' At our call Relents thy power : by us thy arm is mov'd ! Fools ! who of God as of each other deem : Who his invariable a&s deduce From fudden counfels tranfient as their own j Nor farther of his bounty, than the event Which haply meets their loud and eager prayer, Ac-know- Ep.1V. ESSAY ON MAN. 161 Shall burning Etna, if a fage requires, Forget to thunder, and recall her fires ? On air or fea new motions be impreft, 1 25 Oh blamelefs Bethel ! "to relieve thy breaft ? When NOTES. Acknowledge ; nor, beyond the drop minute, Which haply they have tafted, heed the fource That flows from all ; the fountain of his love ; Which, from the fummit where he fits inthron'd, Pours health and joy, unfailing ftreams throughout The fpaeious region flourifhing in view, The goodly work of his eternal day, His own fair univerfe ; on which alone Hiscounfels fix, and whence alone his will Affumes her ftrong direction." Warton. Ver. 123. Shall burning Etna, sV.] Alluding to the fate of thofe two great Naturalifts, Empedocles and Pliny, who both perifhed by too near an approach to Etna and Vefuvius, while they were exploring the caufe of their eruptions. Warburton. Ver. 125. On air or fea~\ It was obferved in the Adventurer, many years before the elegant Letter to Mr. Mafon, on the Marks of Imitation, appeared, that this whole paffage, and even the expreffions, " New motions be impreft," and " Shall gravitation ccafe," were taken from Wollafton, feclion v. p. 99. Wollafton, in this fection, endeavours to prove, that " It is not impofiible, that fuch laws of nature, and fuch a fcries of caufes and effe&s may be originally deligned ; that not only general provilions may be made for the feveral fpecies of beings, but even particular cafes, at leaft many of them, may alfo be pro- vided for, without innovations or alterations in the courfe of nature." From whence he infers the doc/trine of a particular Pro- vidence, and the reafonablencfs and tfficacy of prayer: a doctrine for which Bolingbroke, in a variety of paffages in his works, is fond of condemning Wollafton, and his Defence of this Duty of Prayer. I have received the moft authentic information that Dr. Middleton left behind him, a treatife on this fubject ; which Mrs. Middleton, by the advice of a judicious friend, was prevailed on not to publifh, from the offence it might have given. But it was vol. in.' M commn^ i6* ESSAY ON MAN. Ep.IV. When the loofe mountain trembles from on high, Shall gravitation ceafe, if you go by ? Or fome old temple, nodding to its fall, For Chartres' head referve the hanging wall ? 130 But (till this world (fo fitted for the knave) Contents us not. A better fhall we have ? A king- COMMENTARY. Ver. 131. But Jllll this world, &c.~\ II. But now, fo unhappy is the condition of our corrupt nature, that thefe are not the only complainers. Religious men are but too apt, if not to fpeak out, yet fometimes fecretly to murmur againft Providence ; and fay, its ways are not equal : Thofe efpecially, who are more inor- dinately devoted to a feft or party, are fcandalized, that the Jujl (for fuch they efteem themfelves), the jfujl, who are to judge the world, have no better a portion in their own inheritance and domi- nion : The Poet, therefore, now leaves thofe more profeffedly impious, and turns to thefe lefs profligate complainers (from ver. 130 to 149.) : " But ftill this world (fo fitted for the knave)," &c. As N OTE S. communicated to Lord Bolingbroke at his earneft requeft, and returned to Mrs. Middleton after he had kept it a confiderable time. After Bolingbroke's death, a copy of it was found in his library. Warton. Ver. 126. Oh blamclefs Bethel 7] Pope feems to hint at this paflage, in a letter written to Mr. Bethel, foon after the death of his mother : " I have now too much melancholy leifure, and no other care but to finifh my Eifay on Man. There will be in it but one line that will offend you (I fear), and yet I will not alter it or omit it, tmlefs you come to town and prevent it. It is all a poor Poet can do, to bear teftimony to the virtue he cannot reach." Ruffhead. Ver. 130. the hanging wall ?~] Eufebius is weak enough to relate, from the tellimonies of Irensens and Polycarp, that the roof of the building under which Cerinthus the heretic was bathing, providen- tially fell down and crufhed him to death. Lib. 3. cap. 29. War to v. Ep.IV. ESSAY ON MAN. 163 A kingdom of the Juft then let it be : But firfl confider how thofe Juft agree. The COMMENTARV. As the former wanted external goods to be the reward of virtue for the moral man ; (o Thefe want them for the pious, in order to have a kingdom of the jfujl : To this the Poet holds it fufficient to anfwer ; Pray firft agree among yourfdves, who thofe Juft are. As they are not likely to do this, he bids them to refl fatisfied ; to remember his fundamental principle, that whatever is, is right ; and to content themfelves (as their religion teaches them to profefs a more than ordinary fubmiffion to the will of Providence) with that common anfwer which he, with fo much reafon and piety, gives to every kind of complainer. However, though there be yet no kingdom of the Juft, there is ft ill no kingdom of the Unjuft ; both the virtuous and the vicious (whatfoever becomes of thofe whom every fet calls the Faithful) have their fhare in external goods ; and what is more, the virtuous have infinitely the mod enjoyment of their fhare : " This world, 'tis true, Was made for Casfar but for Titus too : And which more bleit ? who chain'd his country ? fay, Or he whofe Virtue figh'd to lofe a day :" I have been the more folicitous to explain this laft argument, and to {hew again/l whom it is directed, becaufe a great deal depends upon it for the illuftration of the fenfe, and the defence of the Poet's reafoning. For if we fuppofe him to be ftill addreff- ing himfelf to thofe impious complainers, confuted in the forty preceding lines, we fhould make him guilty of a paralogifm, in the argument about the Juft ; and in the illuitration of it by the cafe of Calvin. For then the Libertine afks, Why the Juft, that is, the moral man, is not rewarded ? The anfwer is, That none but God can tell, who the Juft, that is, the faithful man, is. Where the Term is changed, in order to fupport the argument ; for about the truly moral man there is no difpute ; about the truly faithful, or the orthodox, a great deal. But take the Poet right, as arguing here againft religious complainers, and the reafoning is ilrict and logical. They alk, Why the truly faithful are not rewarded ? Fie anfwereth, " They may be, for aught you know ; for none but God can tell who they are." Warburtoh. i5* ESSAY ON MAN. Ep. IV. The good mud merit God's peculiar care ; 135 But who, but God, can tell us who they are ? One thinks on Calvin Heav'n's own fpirit fell j Another deems him inftrument of hell ; If Calvin feel HeavVs blefling, or its rod, This cries, there is, and that, there is no God. 140 What mocks one part will edify the reft, Nor with one fyftem can they all be bleft. The very beft will varioufly incline, And what rewards your Virtue, punifh mine. Whatever is, is right. This world, 'tis true, Was made for Csefar but for Titus too : .146 And which more bleft ? who chain'd his country ? fay, Or he whofe Virtue figh'd to lofe a day ! " But fometimes Virtue ftarves, while Vice is fed." What then ? Is the reward of Virtue bread ? 1 50 That* VARIATIONS. After ver. 142. in fome Editions, Give each a Syltem, all muft be at ftrife ; What diff 'rent Syftems for a Man and Wife ? The joke, though lively, was ill plac'd, and therefore ftruck out of the text. COMMENTARY. Ver. 149. " But fometimes Virtue Jlarves, while Vice is fed. "~\ [II. The Poet, having difpatched thefe two fpecies of murmurers, comes now to the third, and dill more pardonable fort, the dif con- tented good men, who lament only that Virtue ftarves, while Vice riots. To thefe he replies (from ver. 148 to 157.), that, admit this to be the cafe, yet they have no reafon to complain, either of the good man's lot in particular, or of the difpenfation of Provi- dence in general. Not of the former, becaufe Happinefs, the reward of Virtue, conhfteth not in Externals ; nor of the latter, becaufe ill men may gain wealth by commendable induftry ; good men want neceffaries through indolence or ill conduft. Warburton. Ep.IV. ESSAY ON MAN. 165 That, Vice may merit, 'tis the price of toil ; The knave deferves it, when he tills the foil, The knave deferves, it when he tempts the main, Where Folly fights for kings, or dives for gain. The good man may be weak, be indolent ; 1 55 Nor is his claim to plenty, but content. But grant him Riches, your demand is o'er ? " No mall the good want Health, the good want Pow'r ?" Add Health, and Pow'r, and ev'ry earthly thing. " Why bounded Pow'r ? why private ? why no king ?" 1 60 Nay, COMMENTARY. Ver. 157. But grant him Riches, iffc.~] But as modeft as this complaint feemeth at fir ft view, the Poet next (hews (from ver. 156 to 167.), that it is founded on a principle of the higheft extravagance, which will never let the difcontented good man reft, till he becomes as vain and foolifh in his imagination as the very worft fort of complainers. For that when once he begins to think he wants what is his due, he will never know where to flop, while God hath any thing to give. Warburtos. notes. Ver. 136. tell us who they are ?~] This again is exactly copied from Wollafton, feclion v. p. no. who quotes Virgil on the, eccafion : Cadit & Ripheus juftiflimus unus Qui fuit in Teucris, & fcrvantiflimus a?qui ; Diis aliter vifum. Warton. Vfr. 138. injlrument of hell ;] The hard fate of Scrvetus will remain for ever as an indelible mark of the violence, cruelty, and intolerance of Calvin. Warton. Ver. 157. But grant him Riches^"] It does by no means follow, that becaufe he fhould want riches, wealth, and power, he (hould want everything, and never know where to flop. Warton* m 3 1 66 ESSAY ON MAN. Ep.IV. Nay, why external for internal giv'n ? Why is not Man a God, and Earth a Heav'n ? Who afk and reafon thus, will fcarce conceive God gives enough, while he has more to give : Immenfe the pow'r, immenfe were the demand ; Say, at what part of nature will they ftand ? 1 66 What nothing earthly gives, or can deflroy, The foul's calm fun-fhine, and the heart-felt joy, Is COM MENTARY. Ver. 167. What nothing earthly gives, life."] But this is not all ; the Poet (heweth next (from ver. 166 to 185.), that thefe demands are not only unreafonable, but in the higheft degree abfurd like- wife. For that thofe very goods, if granted, would be the deftruction of that Virtue for which they are demanded as a reward ? He concludes, therefore, on the whole, that " What nothing earthly gives, or can deftroy, The foul's calm fun-fhine, and the heart-felt joy, Is Virtue's prize " And that to aim at other, which not only is of no ufe to us here, but, what is more, will be of none hereafter, is a paffion like that of an Infant or a Savage ; where the one is impatient for what he will foon defpife ; and the other makes a provifion for what he can never want. War burton. note s. Ver. 162. Why is not Man a God,~] The manner in which Ramfay endeavours, but in vain, to explain the doctrine of the Effay, is as follows : " Pope is far from afferting, that the pre- fent ftate of Man is his primitive ftate, and is conformable to Or- der : His defign is to (hew, that fince the Fall, all is proportioned with weight, meafure, and harmony, to the condition of a degraded Being, who fuffers, and who deferves to fuffer, and who cannot be reftored but by fufferings ; that phyfical evils are defigned to cure moral evil ; that the paffions and the crimes of the mod abandoned men are confined, directed, and governed by infinite wifdom, in fuch a manner as to make order emerge out of confu- fion, light out of darknefs, and to call out innumerable advantages from Ep.IV. ESSAY ON MAN. 167 Is Virtue's prize : A better would you fix, Then give Humility a coach and fix, 170 Juftice NOTES. from the tranfkory inconveniencies of this life ; that this fo gra- cious Providence condu&s all things to its own ends, and without either caufing or approving the effects of their deliberate malice ; that all is ordained in the phyfical order, as all is free in the moral ; that thefe two orders are connefted clofely without fatality, and are not fubjeft to that neceffity which renders us virtuous without merit, and vicious without crime; that we fee at pre lent but a fingle wheel of the magnificent machine of the univerfe ; but a fmall link of the great chain ; and but an infignificant part of that immenfe plan which will one day be unfolded. Then will God juftify all the incompreheniible proceedings of his wifdom and goodnefs, and will vindicate himfelf, as Milton lpeaks, from the ram judgment of mortals." But there are too many paffages in this Efiay to fufFer us to admit of the forced interpretation here given by Ramfay. Wartox. Ver. 170. Then give Humility'] In a work of fo ferious and fevere a caft, in a work of reafoning, in a work of theology, defigned to explain the moft interefting fubjecl that can employ the mind of man, furely fuch llrokes of levity, of fattre, of ridicule, as alfo lines 204. 223. 276, however poignant and witty, are ill placed and difguiling, are violations of that propriety which Pope in general fo ftrictly obferved. Lucretius prefervts throughout, the dignity he at firil aflumed ; even his farcafms and irony on the fuperititious have fomething auguft, and a noble haughtinefs in them ; as in particular where he alks, " How it comes to pafs that Jupiter fometimes flrikes his own temples with his thunderbolts ; whether he employs himfelf in calling them in the deferts for the fake of exercifing his arm ; and why he hurls them in places where he. cannot llrike the guilty. " Turn fulmina mittat ; et sedes Srepe fuas dillurbet ; et in deferta recedens Saeviat, exercens telum, quod fxpe nocentes Prasterit, exanimatque indignos, inqne merentes." He has turned the infult into a magnificent image. Wartox. m 4 1 68 ESSAY ON MAN. Er.IV. Juftice a Conqu'ror's fword, or Truth a gown, Or Public Spirit its great cure, a Crown. Weak, fooliih Man ! will Heav'n reward us there With the fame trafh mad mortals wifh for here ? The Boy and Man an Individual makes, 175 Yet figh'ft thou now for apples and for cakes ? Go, like the Indian, in another life xpet thy dog, thy bottle, and thy wife : As well as dream fuch trifles are affign'd, As toys and empires, for a god-like mind. 180 Rewards, that either would to Virtue bring No joy, or be deftru&iv e of the thing : How oft by thefe at fixty are undone The virtues of a faint at twenty-one ! To whom can Riches give Repute, or Truft, 185 Content, or Pleafure, but the Good and Juft ? Judges VARIATIONS. After Ver. 172. in the MS. Say, what rewards this idle world imparts, Or fit for fearching heads or honeft hearts. COMMENTARY. Ver. 185. To tvhom can Riches give Repute, or TruJ},~\ The Poet now enters more at large upon the matter : And Hill continuing his difcourfe to this third fort of complainers (whom he indulgeth, as much more pardonable than the firft or fecond, in rectifying all their doubts and miftakes), he proves, both from reafon and example, how unable any of thofe things are, which the world moft. admires, to make a good man happy. For as to the Philo- fophic NOTES. Ver. 173. Weak, foolifh Man !~\ Thefe eight fucceeding lines weie not in former editions ; and indeed none of them, efpecially lines 177 and 179, do any credit to the Author, and rather make us wifh they had been fuppreffed. Warton. Ep.IV. ESSAY ON MAN. 169 Judges and Senates have been bought for gold, Eiteem and Love were never to be fold. Oh COMMENTARY. fophic miflakes concerning happinefs, there being little danger of. their -nak: ;g a ., ..eral imprefiion, he had, after a fhort confuta- tion, difmiffed them for altogether. But External goods are thofe Syrens, which r o bewitch the world with dreams of happinefs, that it .3 of all things the moil difficult to awaken it out of its del ..ions; th mgl . a^ he proves in an exact review of the moft pretending, ti.ev difhonour bad men, a;id add no lullre to the good. That it is ' nly this third, and leafl criminal fort of complainers, agamft whom the remaining part of the difcourfe is directed, appearet'n from the Poet's fo frequently addreffing himfelf, hence- forwan , to his friend. 1. He b^ginneth therefore (fromver. 184 to 205.) with confider- ing Riches, i. He examines firft, what there is of real ufe or enjovment in them ; and fheweth, they can give the good man only that very contentment in himfelf, and that very eileem and love from others, which he had before : And fcornfully cries out ro thofe of a different opinion, " Oh fool ! to think God hates the worthy mind, The lover and the love of human-kind ; Whofe life is healthful, and whofe confeience clear ; Bccaufe he wants a thoufand pounds a year !" 2. He next examines the imaginary value of Riches, as the fountain of Honour. For the objection of his adverfaries ftandeth thus : As honour is the genuine chum of virtue ; and Jhame the juft retribution of vice , and as honour, in their opinion, follows riches ; and fhame, poverty ; therefore the good man mould be rich. He tells them i.i this they are much millaken : *' Honour and fhame from no condition rife ; Aft well your part, there all the honour lies." What power then has Fortune over the Man ? None at all ; for as her favours can confer neither worth nor wifdom ; fo neither can her difpleafure cure him of any of his follies. On his garb, indeed, ihe hath fome little influence ; but his fjrart Hi\l remains the fame : Fortune in Men has fome fmall difference made, Omjlaunts in rags, one flutters in brocade." 7 So 170 ESSAY ON MAN. Ep.IV. Oh fool ! to think God hates the worthy mind, The lover and the love of human-kind, 190 Whofe life is healthful, and whofe confcience clear, Becaufe he wants a thoufand pounds a year. Honour and fhame from no Condition rife ; Act well your part, there all the honour lies. Fortune COMMENTARY. So that this difference extends no further than to the habit ; the pride of heart is the fame both in the fiaunter and the jlutterer ; as it is the Poet's intention to infinuate by the ufe of thofe terms. Warburton. NOTES. Ver. 189. God hates the worthy mind,'] The ground of the complaint is, not that the worthy man does not poiTefs a large and ample fortune, but becaufe he fometimes wants even necelfaries. Warton. Ver. 194. A3 well your part,"] The Ancients were very fond of this comparifon of human life with a drama. Epictetus ufes it in a well-known paffage, chapter 27. and Arrian alfo recites it: it is repeated twice or thrice in Stobasus ; and Antoninus finifhes his meditations with an allufion to it. Ivie has given it from Epic~tetus in a manner fo truly Horatian, that I cannot forbear repeating it : " Nos fumus in fcena; quin et mandante magiflro, Quifque datas agimus partes ; fit longa brevifve Fabula, nil refert : Tyrio feu dives in oftro Incedam, pannis feu veler fquallidus, imo Prognatus populo, feu fracto crure humerovc Intriviis rogitem aera ; placet lex" But our Author found the fame illuflration in his friend's EfTay. See Bolingbroke, vol. v. p. 79. " The whole world, nay, the whole univerfe, is filled with Beings which are all connected in one immenfe defign. The fenfitive inhabitants of our globe, like the dramatis perfonae, have different characters, and are applied to dif- ferent purpofes of action in every fcene. The feveral parts of the material world, like the machines of a theatre, were contrived not for the actors, but for the action : and the whole order and fyflent of Ep.IV. ESSAY ON MAN. 171 Fortune in Men has fome fmall difference made, 195 One flaunts in rags, one flutters in brocade ; The cobler apron'd, and the parfon gown'd, The friar hooded, and the monarch crown'd. " What differ more (you cry) than crown and cowl ?" I'll tell you, friend ! a wife man and a fool. 200 You'll find, if once the monarch acts the monk, Or, cobler-like, the parfon will be drunk, Worth makes the man, and want of it the fellow ; The red is all but leather or prunella. 204 Stuck NOTES. of the drama would be disordered and fpoiled, if any alteration was made in either. The nature of every creature, his manner of being, is adapted to his ftate here, to the place he is to inhabit, and, as we may fay, to the part he is to act. If man was a creature infe- rior or fuperior to what he is, he would be a very prepofterous creature in this lyflem. Gulliver's horfes made a very abfurd figure in the place of men, and men would make one as abfurd in the place of horfes. I do not think that philofophers have (hewn in every inftance why every thing is what it is, and as it is, or that nothing could be, in any one cafe, otherwife than it i?, with- out producing a greater inconveniency to the whole than the par- ticular inconveniency that would be removed. But I am fure this has been proved in fo many inftances, that it is trifling, as well as profane, to deny it in any. Wc complain often of our fenfes, and fometimes cf our reafoning faculties : both are defective, weak, fallible : and yet if the former were more extenfive, more acute, and more nice, they would not anfwer the purpofes of human life, they would be absolutely inconfiftent with them. Juft fo, if cur reafoning faculties were more perfect than they are, the order of intellectual Beings would be broken unneceffarily, and man would be raifed above his proper form, without any real advantage to himfelf, fince the rcafon he has is Sufficient for him in the (late Hotted to him ; and fince higher faculties and greater degrees ci knowledge would on one hand increafe his prefumption, and yet on the other would rather excite than fate his curiolity, bv (hewing him more clearlv the extent of his ignorance. " War ton. ij2 ESSAY ON MAN. Ep.IV. Stuck o'er with titles, and hung round with firings, That thou may'ft be by kings, or whores of kings, Boaft the pure blood of an illuftrious race, In quiet flow from Lucrece to Lucrece : But by your fathers' worth if your's you rate, Count me thofe only who were good and great. 2 1 o Go ! if your ancient, but ignoble blood Has crept through fcoundrels ever fince the flood, Go ! and pretend your family is young ; Nor own, your fathers have been fools fo long. What can ennoble fots, or flaves, or cowards ? 215 Alas ! not all the blood of all the Howards. Look next on Greatnefs ; fay where Greatnefs lies r * Where, but among the Heroes and the Wife.?" Heroes VARIATION'S. Ver. 207. Boaft the pure blood, sV.] In the MS. thus, The richeft blood, right-honourably old, Down from Lucretia to Lucretia roll'd, May fvvell thy heart and gallop in thy breaft, Without one dam of ufher or of prieft : Thy pride as much defpife all other pride As Chrift Church once all colleges befide. COMMENTARY. Ver. 205. Stuck o'er with titles, &c.~] II. Tl^en, as to Nobi- tiTY, by creation or birth ; this too the Poet mews (from ver. 204 to 217.), is in itfelf as devoid of all real worth as the reft; becaufe, in the firft cafe, the Honour is generally gained by no merit at all ; in the fecond, by the merit of the firft Founder of the Family ; which, when well confidered, is generally the fubjecl rather of humiliation than of glory. Warburton. Ver. 217. Look next on Greatnefs, &c.~] III. The Poet now unmafks (from ver. 216 to 237.), the falfe pretences of Great- ness, whereby it is feen that the Hero and the Politician (the two characters Ep.IV. ESSAY ON MAN. 173 Heroes are much the fame, the point's agreed, From Macedonia's madman to the Swede ; 220 The COM M E NTAR Y. diara&ers which would monopolize that quality) do, after all their buftle, if they want Virtue, effeft only this, that the one prove s himfelf a Fool, and the other a Knave : and Virtue they but too generally want ; the art of Heroifm being underftood to confift in Ravage and Defolation ; and the art of Politics, in Circum- vention. It is not fuccefs, therefore, that conftitutes true Greatnefs ; but the end aimed at, and the means which are employed : And if thefe be right, Glory will follow as the reward, whatever happens to be the iflue : " Who noble ends by noble means obtains, Or failing fmiles in exile or in chains, Like good Aurelius let him reign, or bleed Like Socrates, that man is great indeed." Warburton. notes. Ver. 220. From Macedonia's^} He has fallen into the common cant abput Alexander the Great. Think of the fcene in Darius's tent ; of the foundation of the city of Alexandria, and the extent of its commerce ; of the many colonies he eilablifhed ; of his refu- fing to treat the Perfians as flaves ; of the grief expreflfed by the Perfians at his death ; of the encouragement he gave to arts, both ufeful and elegant ; and of his affitlance to Ariftotle his mailer, in making experiments and promoting fcience : The encomiums be- llowed on him by two fuch judges of men as Bacon and Montef quieu, outweigh the cenfures of Boileau and Pope. Charles XII. deferved not to be joined with him : Charles XII. tore out the leaf in which Boileau had cenfnrcd Alexander. Robertfon, in his Dif- quiiitions on India, has given a fine and comprehenfive view of the very grand deiign which Alexander had formed to annex that extenfive and opulent country to his empire. Se&ion i. Appen- dix. Warton. See alfo the truly amiable and learned Dr. Vincent's difTertation on the voyage of Nearchus. There ar^-, however, fome iid -hole ihades in Alexander's character, which nothing can foften ; fuch as i 7 4 ESSAY ON MAN. Ep.IV. The whole ftrange purpofe of their lives, to find Or make, an enemy of all mankind ! Not one looks backward, onward (till he goes, Yet ne'er looks forward further than his nofe. No lefs alike the Politic and Wife ; 225 All fly flow things, with circumfpe&ive eyes : Men in their loofe unguarded hours they take, Not that themfelves are wife, but others weak. But grant that thofe can conquer, thefe can cheat ; 'Tis phrafe abfurd to call a Villain Great : 230 Who wickedly is wife, or madly brave, Is but the more a fool, the more a knave. Who noble ends by noble means obtains, Or failing, fmiles in exile or in chains, Like good Aurelius let him reign, or bleed 2$$ Like Socrates, that Man is great indeed. What's NOTES. as his conduct to the Tyrians, and thofe who bravely oppofed him in India. His political wifdom was undoubted ; his kindnefs and his cruelty were, I fear, alike capricious. Ver. 222. an enemy of all mankind!] Had all nations, with regard to their Heroes, been of the humour with the Normans, who called Robert II., the greateft of their Dukes, by the name of Robert the Devil, the Races of Heroes might have been lefs numerous, or, however, lefs mifchievous. Warburton. Ver. 235. or Meed like Socraies,~\ Confidering the manner in which Socrates was put to death, the word " bleed" feems to be improperly ufed. Cudworth has remarked, that it is a common miilake to aiTert that Socrates was condemned for afTerting the do&rine of one Supreme Deity ; for he alfo acknowledged the txiftence of inferior created gods ; but he was puniihed for expof- ing and ridiculing the common fabulous poetic accounts of thefe inferior and iubordfnate gods, which accounts were held facred by the people. It was hence he was accufed of impiety. War ton. Ep.IV. ESSAY ON MAN. 175 What's Fame ? a fancy'd life in other's breath, A thing beyond us, ev'n before our death. Juft what you hear, you have, and what's unknown The fame (my Lord) if Tully's, or your own. 240 All that we feel of it begins and ends In the fmall circle of our foes or friends ; To all befide as much an empty made An Eugene living, as a Csefar dead : Alike or when, or where, they fhone, or mine, 245 Or on the Rubicon, or on the Rhine. A Wit's a feather, and a Chief a rod ; An honeft Man's the nobleft work of God. Fame COMMENTARY. Ver. 237. What's Fame ?~\ IV. With regard to Fame, that ilill more fantaftic bltfling, he fheweth (from ver. 256 to 259.) that ail of it, bcfides what we hear ourfelves, is merely nothing ; and that, even of this fmall portion, no more of it giveth the pof- feflbr a real fatisfa SfjV.] Hitherto the Poet had proved, negatively, that Happinefs confifts in Virtue, by (hewing, that it did not confift in any thing elfe. He now (from ver. 310 to 327.) proves the fame posi- tively, by an enumeration of the qualities of Virtue, all naturally adapted to give and to increafe human Happinefs ; as its Conftancy, Capacity, Vigour, Efficacy, Activity, Moderation, and Self- fufficiency. War burton. notes. Ver. 3 19. The Iroadeji mirth~\ It is fingular that this uncom- nson expreffion, broad mirth, mould be in Origen. Not that we are 7 to Ep.IV. ESSAY ON MAN. 183 Good, from each object, from each place acquir'd, For ever exercis'd, yet never tir'd ; Never elated, while one man's opprefs'd ; Never dejedted, while another's blefs'd ; And where no wants, no wiflies can remain, 325 Since but to wifh more Virtue, is to gain. See the fole blifs Heav'n could on all beflow ! Which who but feels can tafte, but thinks can know : Yet poor with fortune, and with learning blind, The bad muft mifs ; the good, untaught, will find j Slave to no feet, who takes no private road, 331 But lcoks through Nature, up to Nature's God ; Purines COMM ENTARY. Ver. 327. See the fole blifs Heav'n could on all beflow /] Having thus proved that Happinefs is placed in Virtue ; he proves next (from ver. 326 to 329.), that it is rightly placed there; for that then, and then only, all may partake of it, and all he capable of relifhing it. Warburton. Ver. 329. Yet poor with fortune, &V.] The Poet then, with fome indignation, obferveth (from ver. 328 to 341.)* that as obvious and as evident as this truth was, yet Riches and falfe * Philofophy had fo blinded the difcernment even of improved minds, that the pofleflbrs of the firit placed Happinefs in externals, unfuit- able to Man's nature ; and the followers of the latter, in refined vifions, unfuitable to his fituation : while the fimple-minded man, with Nature only for his guide, found plainly in what it mould be placed. War burton. notes. to imagine that Pope had read it in this Greek father. There are many fuch coincidences, which muft not be attributed to copying or borrowing. The words in Origen are, yi\u\ct wXaxvv o^wo^iy. Warton. " Broad mirth" is a common expreflion, the derivation of which it fufficiently obvious, without recurring to Origen. N 4 184 ESSAY ON MAN. Ep.1V. Purfues that Chain which links th J immenfe defign, Joins heav'nand earth, and mortal and divine; Sees, that no Being any blifs can know, 335 But touches fome above, and fome below ; Learns from this union of the rifing Whole, The firft, laft purpofe of the human foul ; And knows where Faith, Law, Morals, all began, All end, in Love of God, and Love of Man. 340 For him alone, Hope leads from goal to goal, And opens ftill, and opens on his foul ; Till COMMENTARY. Ver. 341. For him alone, Hope leads from goal to goal,"] But this is not all ; the Author fhews further (from ver. 340 to 353.), that when the fimple-minded man, on his firft fetting out in the purfuit of Truth in order to Happinefs, hath had the wifdom " To look through Nature up to Nature's God," (inftead of adhering to any feft or party, where there was fo great odds of his chufing wrong,) that then the benefit of gain- ing the knowledge of God's will written in the mind, is not confined there ; for {landing on this fure foundation, he is now no longer in danger of chufing wrong, amidft fuch diverfities of Religions ; but by purfuing this grand fcheme of univerfal benevolence, in practice as well as theory, he arrives at length to the knowledge of the revealed will of God, which is the confummation of the fyftem of benevolence : " For him alone, Hope leads from goal to goal, And opens ftill, and opens on his foul ; Till lengthen'd on to Faith, and unconfin'd, It pours the blifs that fills up all the mind." Warburtoh, NOTES. Ver. 332. But looks through Nature,'] Verbatim from Boling- broke's Letters to Pope. Warton* Ep.IV. ESSAY ON MAN. 185 Till lengthen'd on to Faith, and unconfin'd, It pours the blifs that fills up all the mind. He fees, why Nature plants in Man alone 345 Hope of known blifs, and Faith in blifs unknown : (Nature, whofe di&ates to no other kind Are giv'n in vain, but what they feek they find ;) Wife is her prefent ; foe connects in this His greateft Virtue with his greateft Blifs ; 350 At once his own bright profpect to be bleft, And ftrongeft motive to affift the reft. Self- NOTES. Ver. 341. For htm alone, Hope leads from goal to goal, sV.]| Plato, in his firft book of a Republic, hath a remarkable paflage to this purpofe : " He whofe confcience does not reproach him, has chearful Nope for his companion, and the fupport and com- fort of his old age, according to Pindar. For this great Poet, O Socrates, very elegantly fays, That he who leads a juft and holy life has always amiable Nope for his companion, which fills his heart with joy, and is the fupport and comfort of his old age. Nope, thd mod powerful of the Divinities, in governing the ever-changing and inconftant temper of mortal men." Taj rli fj.wiv lcx.vru) adwcoy uvE*dj yxp to), w 'Zcux^xn;, tSt* ixJvoj uttiv, or* o; v dixa/wj xa) ocriuis tov @lov dic.ya.yr:, y\vxi7x ol Kxqoittv xrctWcHTec yngoTgiQos ovvxogu fXxlj, u. y.xKt. I. TlgZrov psv kou KTro to tatpl t< votio~:(; a.dfiTCTho\o)t. 2. At/r?oi> Tt to cQoSgo* x.a.1 iv9oucr*c*- xov ra9^. 3. TIohz to;v er;>iuT;y wXao-*;. 4. 'H ytvvarc* is, that the Author has not formed his plan with all the regularity of method which it might have admitted." And again '* I was, by the unanimous opinion of all thofe whom I have con- fulted on this occafion, and, amongft thefe, of feveral EngUJhmen completely fkilled in both languages, obliged to follow a different method. The French are not fatlsfied with fentiments, however beauti- ful, unle/s they be methodically difpofed : Method being the charaHeriflic that di/lingui/Joes our performances from thofe of our neighbours" &c. After having given many examples of the critical {kill of this wonderful man of method, in the foregoing notes, it is enough jufl: to have quoted this flourifh of felf-applaufe, and fo to leave him to the laughter of the World. Warburton. THE UNIVERSAL PRAYER. DEO OPT. MAX. 2 C *97 3 THE UNIVERSAL PRAYER, DEO OPT. MAX. t^ather of All ! in ev'ry Age, In ev'ry Clime ador'd, By Saint, by Savage, and by Sage, Jehovah, Jove, or Lord ! Thou NOTES. Universal Prayer.] " Some paflages in the Eflay on Man having been unjuftly fufpe&ed of a tendency toward Fate and Naturalifm, the Author compofed a Prayer, as the fum of all, which was intended to (hew that his fyftem was founded in Free- will, and terminated in Piety." Ruffhead. Warton thinks, for " clofenefs and compreherifion of thought, and for brevity and energy of expreflion, there are few pieces of poetry in our language that can be compared with this." How extraordinary is it, that Warton fliould be ever accufed, as if he wifhed to decry Pope ! No one has borne fuch willing and ample tellimony to his excellence as a Poet, when he truly deferves it ; but will any one compare him to Milton ? In this place, Warton gives the Poetry more pralfe than it appears entitled to ; though this compofition is beautiful, and in fome paflages fublime. VER.4. Jehovah, Jove, or Lord 7] " It is of very little con- fequence," fays Seneca, De Beneficiis, " by what name you call the firft. Nature, and the divine Reafon, that prefides over the univerfe, and fills all the parts of it. He is ftill the fame God. You may give Him as many names as you pleafe, provided you allow but one Sole Principle every-where prefent." 03 " Notwith- i 9 8 UNIVERSAL PRAYER. Thou Great Firft Caufe, lead underftood, 5 Who all my Senfe confin'd To know but this, that Thou art Good, And that myfelf am blind ; Yet gave me, in this dark Eftate, To fee the Good from 111 ; l And binding Nature faft in Fate, Left free the Human Will. What NOTES. " Notwithstanding all the extravagancies and mifcarriages of the Poets," fays Cudvvorth, chap. 4., " we fhall now make it plainly appear, that they really afferted, not a multitude of felf- exiftent and independent Deities, but one, only, unmade Deity ; and all the other, generated or created gods. This hath been already proved concerning Orpheus, from fuch fragments of the Orphic Poems as have been owned and attefted by Pagan writers." Cudworth proceeds to confirm this opinion by many ftrong and uncontefted paffages from Homer, Hefiod, Pindar, Sophocles* and efpecially Euripides, Book i. chap. iv. feet. 19. ; and Arifto- phanes, in the firft line of Plutus, diftinguiflies betwixt Jupiter and the gods : O Zeu x* Sew. Warton. Vkr. 6. my Se?ife confin'd"} It ought to be confinedft, or didft confine ; and afterwards, gaveft, or didft give, in the fecond per- fon. See Lowth's Grammar. Warton. Ver. 9. Tet gave me,'] Originally Pope had written another ftanza, immediately after this : " Can fins of moments claim the rod Of everlafting fires ? And that offend great Nature's God Which Nature's felf infpires ?" The licentious fentiment it contains, evidently borrowed from a well-known paffage of Guarini in the Paftor Fido, induced him to ftrike it out. And perhaps alfo the abfurd metaphor of a rod of fires, on examination, difpleafed him. Warton. Ver. 12. Left free] An abfurd and impofiible exemption, ex- claims the Fataliftj " comparing together the moral and the na- tural UNIVERSAL PRAYER.* 199 What Confcience di dates to be done, Or warns me not to do, This, teach me more than Hell to fhun, 15 That, more than Heav'n purfue. What Bleflings thy free Bounty gives, Let me not caft away ; For God is paid when Man receives, T' enjoy is to obey. 20 Yet NOTES. tural world, every thing is as much the refult of eftablifhed laws in the one as in the other. There is nothing in the whole univerfe that can properly be called contingent: nothing loofe or fluctu- ating in any part of Nature ; but every motion in the natural, and every determination and action in the moral world, are directed by immutable laws ; fo that, whilft thefe laws remain in their force, not the fmalleft link of the universal chain of caufes and effects can be broken, nor any one thing be otherwife than it is." All the moft fubtile- and refined arguments that can be urged in a difpute on Fate and Free-will, are introduced, in a converfation on this fubjecl, betwixt the angels Gabriel and Raphael, and Adam, in the fourth aft of Drydcn's State of Innocence, and ftatcd with a wonderful precifion and perfpicuity. Reafoning, in verfe, was one of Dryden's moft Angular and predominant excellencies ; not- withstanding which, he muft rank as a poet for his Mufic-ode, not for his Religio Laid. Warton. Ver. 12. the Human Will.'] The refult of what Locke advances on this, the moft difficult of all fubjcAs, is, that we have a power of doing what we will. If it be the occafion of diforder, it is the caufe of order ; of all the moral order that appears in the world. Had Liberty been excluded, Virtue had been excluded with it. And if this had been the cafe, the world could have had no charms, no beauties, fufficient to recommend it to Him who made it. In fhort, all other powers and perfections would have been very defective without this, which is truly the life and fpirit of the whole creation," Warton. 04 2oo UNIVERSAL PRAYER. Yet not to Earth's contra&ed Span Thy Godnefs let me bound, Or think Thee Lord alone of Man, When thoufand Worlds are round : Let not this weak, unknowing hand 25 Prefume thy bolts to throw, And deal damnation round the land, On each I judge thy Foe. If I am right, thy grace impart, Still in the right to ftay ; 30 If I am wrong, oh teach my heart To find that better way ! Save me alike from foolifh Pride, Or impious Difcontent, At aught thy Wifdom has deny'd, 35 Or aught thy Goodnefs lent. Teach me to feel another's Woe, To hide the Fault I fee ; That Mercy I to others fhow, That Mercy fhow to me. 40 Mean NOTES. Ver. 27. deal damnation} There is fomething elevated in the idea and exprcfiion, " Or think Thee Lord alone of Man, When ihoafand Worlds are round ;" but the conclufion is a contrail of littlenefs, " And deal damnation round the landV* UNIVERSAL PRAYER. 201 Mean though I am, not wholly fo, Since quicken'd by thy Breath ; Oh lead me wherefoe'er I go, Through this day's Life or Death ! This day, be Bread and Peace my Lot : 45 All elfe beneath the Sun, Thou know' ft if beft beftow'd or not, And let Thy Will be done. To thee, whofe Temple is all Space, Whofe Altar, Earth, Sea, Skies ! 50 One Chorus let all Being raife ! All Nature's Incenfe rife ! NOTES. Ver. 39. That Mercy"] It has been faid that our Poet, in this Prayer, chofe the Lord's Prayer for his model ; but there is no refcmblance but in this paflage, and in the lad flan/a but one. M. Le Franc de Pompignan, a celebrated avocat at Montau- ban, anthor of Dido a tragedy, was feverely cenfured in France For tranflating this Univerfal Prayer, as a piece of Deifm ; which, having been printed in London, in 4to. by Vaillant, was conveyed to the Chancellor Agueflau, who immediately fent a ftrong repri- mand to M. Le Franc, and he vindicated his orthodoxy in a laboured letter to that learned Chancellor. Voltaire reproached Le Franc with making this tranflation. His brother, Bifliop of Puy au Velei, has called Locke an atheiit. Warton. Warton feems to have violated his own principles of eflimating tne character of genuine poetry, when he praifes fo highly the poetry of this Hymn. The two laft flanzas are fublimc ; but I fear, if we were to examine the greater part by the Horatian rule, which Warton recommends, that is, altering the rhyme and meafure, we (hould not find the " disjefti membra Poetae." This Prayer was tranflated into Latin by J. Saver. MORAL ESSAYS, IN FOUR EPISTLES TO SEVERAL PERSONS. Eft brevitate opus, ut currat fententia, neu fe Impediat verbis laflls onerantibus aures : Et fermone opus eft modo trifti, faepe jocofo, Defendente vicem modo Rhetoris atque Poetae Interdum urbani, parcentis viribus, atque Extenuantis eas confulto. Hor. O.Zhuht nam a Dr. LORD cob mam:. '//<>/// ff //V //,/;y,s/,, r/ /> f'r>//< Ver. 171. in what you cannot change."] " Combien diverfement jugeons nous de chofes ?" fays honell Montaigne. " Combien de fois Ep.L MORAL ESSAYS. 231 Manners with Fortunes, Humours turn with Climes, Tenets with Books, and Principles with Times. III. Search then the Ruling Passion : There, aione, The Wild are eonftant, and the Cunning known ; The COMMENTARY. III. Ver. 174. Search then the Ruling Pa/Jion, &c.~] And now we enter on the third and lafl part ; which treats of the right means of furmounting the difficulties in coming to the knowledge and cha- raders of men : This the Poet fhews, is by invejligating the Ruling Passion ; of whofe origin and nature we may find an exa6t account in the fecond Epiftle of the EJfay on Man. This Prin- ciple, he rightly obferves (from ver. 173 to 180.), is the clue which mult guide us through all the intricacies in the ways of men : To convince us of this, he applies it (from ver. 179 to 210.), to the mod wild and inconfiftent Character that ever was ; which (when drawn out at length, as we here find it, in a fpirit of poetry as rare as the Character itfelf), we fee, this Principle unravels, and renders throughout of one plain confident thread. Warburton. notes. fois changeons nous nos fantafies ? Ce que je tien aujourdhuy, ce que je croy, je le tien et le croy, de toute ma creance ; mais ne m'elt-il pas advenu, non une fois mais cent ; mais miile et tous les jouis, d'avoir embrafle quelque autre chofe ?" Montaigne fur- nished many hints for this Epiille. Warton. Ver. 174. the Ruling Passion :] Two eminent writers have attacked our Author's notion of a Ruling Paflion, Mr. Har- ris and Dr. Johnfon : The former fays, " One talks of an univerfal paflion ; as if all paflions were not univerfal. Another talks of a Ruling Paflion ; and means, without knowing it, cer- tain ruling opinions. Thus, when fpecious falfehood aflumes the lyre, we are charmed with the mufic, and worfhip her as truth." Q>4 " Of 232 MORAL ESSAYS. Ep.I, The Fool confident, and the Falfe fincere ; 176 Priefts, Princes, Women, no Difiemblers here. This NOTES. " Of any paffion," fays Johnfon, " thus innate and irrefiftible, the exiftence may reafonably be doubted. Human characters are by no means conftant ; men change, by change of place, of fortune, of acquaintance ; he who is at one time a lover of pleafure, is at another a lover of money. Thofe, indeed, who attain any excel- lence, commonly fpend life in one purfuit ; for excellence is not often gained upon eafier terms. But to the particular fpecics of excellence men are directed, not by an afcendant planet or predo- minating humour, but by the firft book which they read, fome early converfation which they heard, or feme accident which excited ardour and emulation. " It mud be at leaft allowed, that this ruling paffion, antece- dent to reafon and obfervation, mull have an object independent on human contrivance ; for there can be no natural defire of artificial good. No man, therefore, can be born, in the ftricteft accepta- tion, a lover of money ; for he may be born where money does not exift : nor can he be born, in a moral fenfe, as a lover of his coun- try ; for fociety, politically regulated, is a (late contra-diftinguilhed from a ftate of nature ; and any attention to that coalition of interests which makes the happinefs of a country, is poffible only to thofe whom inquiry and reflection have enabled to compre- hend it. " This doctrine is in itfclf pernicious as well as falfe : its ten- dency is to produce the belief of a kind of moral predeftination or over-ruling principle, which cannot be refilled ; he that admits it is prepared to comply with every defire that caprice or opportunity fhall excite, and to flatter himfelf that he fubmits only to the law- ful dominion of nature, in obeying the refilllefs authority of his Ruling Paffion. " Pope has formed his theory with fo little fkill, that, in the examples by which he illuftrates and confirms it, he has confounded paffions, appetites, and habits." I fhall add, that the expreffion, Ruling Paffion, was fivft ufed by Rofcommon. See how much" is attributed to the effects of a Ruling Paffioa ; Eflay on Man, Epiftle ii. v. 132. War ton.. Ep.I. MORAL ESSAYS. 233 This clue once found, unravels all the reft, The profpecl: clears, and Wharton ftands confefl. Wharton, the fcorn and wonder of our days, 180 Whofe Ruling Paflion was the Lufl: of Praife : Born with whate'er could win it from the Wife, Women and Fools mud like him, or he dies ; Tho' wond'ring Senates hung on all he fpoke, The Club muft hail him matter of the joke. 185 Shall parts fo various aim at nothing new ? He'll fhine a Tully and a Wilmot too. Then turns repentant, and his God adores With the fame fpirit that he drinks and whores ; Enough, if all around him but admire, 190 And now the Punk applaud, and now the Fryer. Thus NOTES. Ver. 177. Prlcfls, Princes, Women, no Diffcmblers here.'] infmuating that one common principle, the purfuit of power, gives a conformity of conduct to the mod diftant and different charac- ters. , Warburton. Ver. 181. the Lufl of Praife :~] This very well expreffes the groffnefs of his appetite for it ; where the ftrength of the paflion had destroyed all the delicacy of the fenfation. Warp.urton. Ver. 183. Women and Fools, &c.~\ Surely a very unmanly and pettifh mode of exprefling his fplcen. The Author was not unacquainted with the talents of his cotempoi-aries Lady Mon- tague and Madame Dacier, which at lafl were fufiicient to excite his refentment : He too frequently falls into the error of his friend Swift, though his objeft is Polite Satire. Ver. 187. John Wilmot, Earl of Roche ft er, famous for his wit and extravagancies in the time of Charles the Second. Warburton. Ver. 189. With the fame fpirit] Spirit for principle, not pqfjion. Warburton. Ver. 190. Enough, if all around him but admire, t?fc.~] What an able French writer obferves of Alclbladcs, may be jullly applied to 234 MORAL ESSAYS. Ep.I. Thus with each gift of nature and of aft, And wanting nothing but an honeft heart ; Grown all to all, from no one Vice exempt ; And moft contemptible to fhun contempt j 195 His Paffion (till, to covet gen'ral praife, His Life, to forfeit it a thoufand ways ; A conftant Bounty which no friend has made ; An angel Tongue, which no man can perfuade ! A Fool, with more of Wit than half mankind, 200 Too ram for Thought, for Action too refin'd : A Tyrant to the Wife his heart approves ; A Rebel to the very king he loves ; He dies, fad out-caft of each church and flate, And, harder (till ! flagitious, yet not great. 205 Afk NOTES. to this nobleman. " Ce n'etoit pas un ambitieux, mais un homme vain, qui vouloit fair du bruit, etoccuper les Atheniens. II avoit Vefpr'it d'un grand homme ; mais Con ante, dont les refforts amollis etoient devenus incapables d'une application conftante, ne pouvoit fc'elever au grand, que par boutade. J'ai bien de la peine a croire, qu'un homme affez fouple, pour etre a Sparte aufii dur et auffi fevere, qu'un Spartiate ; dans l'lonie auffi recherche dans fes plaifirs, qu'un Ionien, &c. fut propre a faire un grand homme." War ton. Ver. 200. A Fool, with more of Wit] Folly, joined with much wit, produces that behaviour which we call abfurdity ; and this abfurdity the Poet has here admirably defcribed in the words, u Too rafh for Thought, for Adlion too refin'd :" by which we are given to underiland, that the perfon defcribed, indulged his fancy when he fhould have ufed his judgment; and purlued his fpeculations when he fhould have trufted to his expe- rience. Warburton. Ver. 205. And, harder jl'dl 7 JIagitious, yet not great."] To arrive at what the world calls Greatness, a wicked man mull either hide Ep.I. MORAL ESSAYS. 235 Afk you why Wharton broke thro* ev'ry rule ? 'Twas all for fear the Knaves mould call him Fool. Nature NOTES. hide and conceal his vices, or he muft openly and fteadily pra&ife them in the purfuit and attainment of one important end. This unhappy nobleman did neither. Warburton. Ver. 206. Jljh you 'why Wharton] " This celebrated peer," fays Lord Orford, " like Buckingham and Rochefter, comforted all the grave and dull by throwing away the brighten 1 : profufion of parts on witty fooleries, debaucheries, and fcrapes, which may mix graces with a great character, but never can compofe one. If Julius Caefar had only rioted with Catiline, he had never been empe- ror of the world. Indeed the Duke of Wharton was not made for conqueft ; he was not equally formed for a Round-houfe and Ph.ar- falia. In one of his ballads he has bantered his own want of heroifm ; it was in a fong he made on being feized by the guard in St. James's Park, for finging the Jacobite air, ' The King ihall have his own again :' " The duke he drew out half his fword, The guard drew out the reft." His levities, wit, and want of principles, his eloquence and adven- tures, are too well known to be recapitulated. With attachment to no party* though with talents to govern any party, this lively man changed the free air of Weftminfter for the gloom of the Efcurial, the profpect of King George's garter for the Pretender's; and, with indifference to all religion, the frolic lord, who had writ the ballad on the Archbifhop of Canterbury, died in the habit of a capuchin. It is difficult to give an account of the works of fo mercurial a man, whofe library was a tavern, and women of pleafure hismufes. A thoufand fallies of his imagination may have been loft : he no more wrote for fame than he a6led for it. There are two volumes in ottavo, called his Life and Writings, buc containing of the latter nothing but " feventy-four numbers of a periodical paper, caikd the True Briton," and his celebrated " Speech in the Houfe of Lords on the third reading of the bill to inflift pains and penal- ties on Francis Lord Bifhop of Rochefter, May 15, 1723." It is a remarkable anecdote relating to this fpecch, that his Grace, the;? 7 in 236 MORAL ESSAYS. Ep.I. Nature well known, no prodigies remain, Comets are regular, and Wharton plain. Yet, in this fearch, the wifeft may miftake, 210 If fecond qualities for firft they take. When VARIATION S. Ver. 208. In the former Editions, Nature well known, no Miracles remain. Altered as above, for very obvious reafons. COMHENTAR Y. Ver. 2IC Yet, in this fearch, &V.] But here (from ver. 209 to 222.), he gives one very neceffary caution, that, in developing the Ruling Paffion, we muft be careful not to miftake afubjidiary paffion for the principal ; which, without great attention, we may be veiy liable to do ; as the fubfidiary, acting in fupport of the principal, has frequently all its vigour and much of its perfevtrance : This error has mifled fevcral both of the ancient and modern hiftorians ; as when they fuppofed lujl and luxury to be characteriftics of Oefar and Luculius j whereas, in truth, the Ruling PaJJion in both was ambition ; NOTES. in oppofition to the Court, went to Chelfea the day before the laft debate on that prelate's affair, where, acting contrition, he profeffed being determined to work out his pardon at Court, by fptaking againft the bifhop, in order to which he begged fome hints. The minifter was deceived, and went through the whole caufe with him, pointing out where the ilrength of the argument lay, and where its weakneis. The duke was very thankful, returned to town, pafled the night in drinking, and, without going to bed, went to the Houfe of Lords, where he fpoke for the bifhop, recapitulating, in the moft mafterly manner, and anfwer- ing all that had been urged againft him. His fpeech againft the Miniftry, two years before, on the affair of the South-Sea Com- pany, had a fatal effect, Earl Stanhope anfwering it with fo much warmth that he broke a blood-veflei and died. Warton. Ver. 207. 'Ttuas all for fear, life."] To underftand this, we muft obferve, that the lufl of general praife made the perfon, whofe charact er Ep.I. moral essays. 237 When Catiline by rapine fwell'd his ftore ; When Casfar made a noble dame a whore ; In this the Luft, in that the Avarice Were means, not ends; Ambition was the vice. 215 That COMMENTARY. ambition; which is fo certain, that at whatfoever different time of tiie Republic thefe men had lived, their ambition, as the Ruling Pqjjion, had been the fame ; but a different time had changed their J'ubfidlary ones of lujl and luxury, into their very oppofites of cbaflity and frugality. 'Tis in vain, therefore, fays our Author, for the obftrver of human nature to fix his attention on the workman, if he all the while miltakes the fcaffold for the building. Warburton. NOTES. character is here fo admirably drawn, both extravagant and^a- g'ttloiis ; his madnefs was to pleafe the Fools, " Women and Fools mull like him, or he dies." And his crimes, to avoid the cenfure of the Knaves, " 'Tvvas all for fear the Knaves fhould call him Fool." Prudence and Honejly being the two qualities, in which fools and knaves are moll interelled, and confequently mod induftrious, to mifreprefent. Warburton. VER.213. When Cufar made"] This was Servilia, the filter of Cato, and the mother of Brutus. " How great," fays St. Real, finely, " mud have been her affliction at the death of Csefar her lover, maffacred by the hand of htr own fon ! who perhaps hoped to efface this fufpicion of his baftardy by this very action ! Hiilotians have neglected to inform us of the fate of this mod unhappy miftrtfs and mother. Nothing could have been more interfiling than the hi (lory of Servilia after this event. Next to Cleopatra, fhe was the moil beloved of all Cxfar's miftreffes ; and Suetonius fays, Ccsfar bought for her a fingle jewel at the price of 50.CO0I. . Wartpn. Vkr. 214. In this the Lujl,~] The fame paffion excited Richelieu to throw up the dyke at Rochelle, and to difpute the prize of poetry with Corneille ; whom to traduce was the fureft method of gaining the affection of this ambitious miniller ; nay, who formed a dtfign to be canonized as a Saint. A perfect contrail to the character 238 MORAL ESSAYS. Ep.I. That very Caefar born in Scipio's days, Had aim'd, like him, by Chaftity at praife. Lucullus, when Frugality could charm, Had roafted turnips in the Sabin farm. In vain th* obferver eyes the builder's toil, 220 But quite miftakes the fcaffold for the pile. In this one Paflion man can ftrength enjoy, As Fits give vigour, juit when they deftroy. Time, COMMENTARY. Ver. 222. In this one Pajfion, 3V.] But now it may be objected to our philosophic Poet, that he has indeed fhewn the true mean* of coming to the knowledge and characlers of men, by a Principle certain and infallible, when found ; yet it is, by his own account of fo difficult inveftigation, that its Counterfeit (and it is always attended with one) may be eafily miftaken for it. To remove this difficulty, therefore, and confequently the objection that arifes from it, the Poet has given (from ver. 221 to 228.) one certain and infallible criterion of the Puling Pajjion : which is this, that all the other pafiions, in the courfe of time, change and wear away ; while this is ever conftant and vigorous, and ftill going on from ftrength to ftrength, to the very moment of its demoliftiing the miferable machine which it has now, at length, over-worked. Of this great truth, the Poet (from ver. 227 to the end) gives various inftances, in all the principal Ruling PaJJions of our nature, as they are to be found in the Man of bujinefs y the Man of pleafure, the Epicure, the Parfmonious, the Toajl, the Courtier, the Mifer, and the Patriot ; which laft. iuftance, the Poet has had the art, under the appearance of Satire, to turn into the nobleft Compliment on theperfon to whom the Epiftleis addrefied. Warburton* notes. character of Cardinal Fleury, who (hewed that it was poffible to govern a great ftate with moderate abilities and a mild temper. His miniftry is impartially reprefented by Voltaire in the Age of Louis XIV. Warton. Ver. 215. dinbition ivas the vice.'] Pride, Vanity, and Ambition arc fuch bordering and neighbouring vices, and hold fo much in common, Ep.I. MORAL ESSAYS. 239 Time, that on all things lays his lenient hand, Yet tames not this ; it flicks to our lad land. 225 Confident in our follies and our fins, Here honefl Nature ends as fhe begins. Old Politicians chew on wifdom pafl, And totter on in bus'nefs to the lafl ; As NO TBS. common, that we generally find them going together ; and, there- fore, as generally miftake them for one another. This does not a little contribute to our confounding characters ; for they are, in reality, very different and diitinct ; fo much fo, that it is remark- able, the three greateft men in Rome, and cotemporaries, pofieffed each of thefe pafiions feparately, with very little mixture of the other two : The men I mean were Caefar, Cato, and Cicero : for Caefar had ambition without either vanity or pride ; Cato had pride without ambition or vanity ; and Cicero had vanity without pride or ambition. The aim of thefe pafiions too are very different. Vanity leads men, as it did Cicero, to feek homage from others : Pride, as it did Cato, to feek homage from one's fclf: And Ambition, as in the cafe of Caefar, to difpenfe with it from all, for the fake of folid intereft. Warburton. Ver. 225. itjlich to our laji fand, sV.] " M. de Lagny mourut le 12 Avril 1734. Dans les dernicrs momens, ou il ne connoifibit plus aucun de ceux qui etoient autour de fon lit, quelqu'un, pour faire une experience philofophiqae, s'avifa de lui demander quel etoit le quarre de douze : II repondit dans l'inftant, et apparement fans favoir qu'il repondit, cent quarante quatre." Fontencllc, Eloge de M. dc Lagny. Warton. Ver.228. Old Politicians] The fixength and continuauce of what our Author calls the Ruling Pafllon, concerning which fee ver. 174. and the notes, is flrongly exemplified in thefe eight cha- racters ; namely, the Politician, the Debauchee, the Glutton, the Economift, the Coquet, the Courtier, the Mifer, and the Patriot. Of thefe characters, the mod lively, becaufe the moil dramatic, are the fifth and feventh. There is true humour alfo in the circumftarce of the frugal Crone, who blows out one of the confecrated taper; in order to prevent its wafting. Shall I venture to infert another example 24a MORAL ESSAYS. Ep.I. As weak, as earned ; and as gravely out, 230 As fober Lanefb'row dancing in the gout. Behold a rev'rend fire, whom want of grace Has made the father of a namelefs race, Shov'd from the wall perhaps, or rudely prefs'd By his own fon, that panes by unblefs'd : 235 Still NOTES. example or two ? An old ufurer, lying in his laft agonies, was prefented by the pvieft with the crucifix. He opened his eyes a moment before he expired, attentively gazed on it, and cried out, " Thefe jewels are counterfeit ; I cannot lend more than ten pif- toles upon'fo wretched a pledge." To reform the language of his country was the ruling pafiion of Malherbe. The prieft, who attended him in his lall moments, aiked him if he was not affected with the defcription he gave him of the joys of heaven ? " By no means," anfwered the incorrigible bard ; " I defire to hear no more of them, if you cannot defcribe them in a purer ftyle." Both thefe florics would have fhone under the hands of Pope. This doctrine of our Author may be farther illuflrated by the following patfage of Bacon : " It is no lefs worthy to obferve how Jttle alteration, in good fpirits, the approaches of death make, for they appear to be the fame men till the lad inftant. Auguftus Csefar died in a compliment ; Livia, conjugii noftri memor, vive et vale. Tiberius, in difiimulation ; as Tacitus faith of him, Jam Tiberium vires et corpus, non diflimulatio deferebant. Vefpaiian, in a jell ; Ut puto Deus fio. Galba, with a fentence ; Feri, fi ex re fit populi Romani ; holding forth his neck. Septimus Severus, in a difpatchj Adeile, fi quid mihi reilat agendum." This Epiftle concludes with a llroke of art worthy admiration. The Poet fuddenly flops the vein of ridicule with which he was flowing, and addreffes his friend in a moil delicate compliment, concealed under the appearance of fatire. Warton. Ve$. 251. Lancjh' row~\ An ancient Nobleman, who continued this pra&ice long after his legs were difabled by the gout. Upon the death of Prince George of Denmark, he demanded an audience of the Queen, to advife her to prefcrve her health and difpel .her grief by Dancing. Pope. Ep.I. MORAL ESSAYS. 241 Still to his wench he crawls on knocking knees, And envies ev'ry fparrow that he fees. A falmon's belly, Helluo, was thy fate ; The doctor call'd, declares all help too late : " Mercy !" cries Helluo, " mercy on my foul ! 240 " Is there no hope ? Alas ! then bring the "jowl." The frugal Crone, whom praying priefts attend, Still tries to fave the hallow'd taper's end, Collects her breath, as ebbing life retires, For one puff more, and in that puff expires. 245 " Odious ! in woollen ! 'twould a Saint provoke," (Were the lafl words that poor NarcirTa fpoke ;) "No, NOTES. Ver. 241. then bring tbejow!.~\ It is remarkable that a fimilar ftory may be found in the eighth book of Athenasus, concerning the poet Philoxenus, a writer of dithyrambics, who grew flck by eating a whole polypus, except the head ; and who, when his phyfician told him he would never recover from his furfeit, called out, " Bring me then the head of the polypus." It is not here infinuated that Pope was a reader of Athenseus ; but he evidently copied this ludicrous iuflance of gluttony from La Fontaine : " Puis qu'il faut que je nictire Sans faire tant de facon, Qu'on m'apporte tout a l'heure JLe refte de mon poiflbn." Wartov. Ver. 242. The frugal Crone, EsV.] A hdt told him by Lady Bolingbroke, of an old Countefs at Paris. Warton. Ver. 245. expires. ~\ He repeated thefe four lines to Mr. J. Richardfon many years before they were here inferted. Warton. Ver. 247. the lafl worth that poor Narc'ijfa fpoie ;] Tliis rtory, as well as the others, is founded on fact, though the Author had the goodnefs not to mention the names. Several attribute this in vol. 111. r particular 242 MORAL ESSAYS. Er. I. " No, let a charming Chintz and Bruffels lace " Wrap my cold limbs, and (hade my lifelefs face : " One would not, fure, be frightful when one's " dead 250 " And Betty give this Cheek a little Red." The Courtier fmooth, who forty years had fhin'd An humble fervant to all human kind, Juft brought out this, when fcarce his tongue could flir, " If where I'm going I could ferve you, Sir ?" " I give and I devife" (old Euclio faid, 256 And figh'd) " my lands and tenements to Ned." Your money, Sir ? " My money, Sir ! what all ? " Why, if I mud (then wept) I give it Paul." The Manor, Sir ? " The Manor ! hold," he cry'd, " Not that, I cannot part with that" and dy'd. And you, brave Cobham ! to the lateft breath, 262 Shall feel your Ruling Paffion ftrong in death : Such NOTES. particular to a very celebrated A&refs, who, in deteftation of the thought of being buried in woollen, gave \hefe her lalt orders with her dying breath. Pope. Ver. 251. Betty ] The Betty here mentioned was Mrs. Saun- ders, Mrs. Oldfield's friend and confidante ; a good aftrefs in parts of decayed widows and old maids. Warton. Ver. 261. and dy'd.^ Sir William Bateman ufed thofe very words on his death-bed. No comic nor fatyric writer has ever car- ried their defcriptions of avarice or gluttony fo far as what has hap- pened in real life. Other vices have been exaggerated ; thefe two never have been. _ Warton. Ver. 262. And you, brave Cobham !] Lord Cobham had perufed this Epiftle in manufcript, as appears from the following Letter (from Ruffhead) : " Though Ep.I. MORAL ESSAYS. 243 Such in thofe moments as in all the pad ; (< Oh, fave my Country, Heav'n !" fliall be your laft. 265 NOTES. " Though I have not modefty enough to be pleafed with your extraordinary compliment, I have wit enough to know how little I deferve it. I am afraid I fhall not pafs for an abfolute Patriot ; however, I have the honour of having received a public teflimony of your efteem and friendship ; and am as proud of it as I could be of any advantage that could happen to me. As I remember, when I faw the brouillion of this Epiltle, it was perplexed ; you have now made it the contrary, &c."_ From another Letter it appears that Pope adopted Lord Cobham's hints : " Stowe, Nov. 8. ** and the Glutton is a very good epigram. They are both appetites that from Nature we indulge, as well for her ends as our pleafure . A cardinal in his way of pleafure, would have been a better inllance. What do you think of an old Lady drefling her filver-locks with pink, and ordering her coffin to be lined with quilted fattin ; or Counsellor Vernon, &c." I mean, that a pajjion, or habit, that has not a natural foundation, falls in with your fubjtct better than any of our natural wants, which in fome degree we cannot avoid purfuing to the laft, &c." Ruffhead juftly obferves, that from thefe Letters his Lordfhip appears to have been a man of fenfe and vivacity. It is to be wiihed that Pope, who faw the good fenfe of his Lordfhip's opi- nion, had gone a ftep farther, and, inftead of "Jhortening" the character of the Qld Debauchee, had left it entirely out. I cannot help making a few more obfervations on this Epiftle. Johnfon has very juftly remarked, that Pope has confounded Pajpons, Habits, and Appetites ! The examples are humourous, and the ftories well told ; but it is rather an odd circumftance, that, although the profefied fubjecr. of this Epiftle is " the Characters of Men," Pope has taken two of the examples to r 2 illuftrate 244 MORAL ESSAYS. Ep.I. illuftrate his theory from Women, the " frugal Crone," and " poor Narciffa ;" and yet he fays, in the next Epiftle on Women, '* In Men, we various ruling Passions find; In Women, two almbft divide the kind ; The Love of Pleafure, and the Love of Sivay /" Neither of thefe Paflions belonged to the Women, whofe example he has introduced to illuftrate the Character and ruling Paffions of Men. When Warburton firft faw this Epiftle, it was entirely disjointed, and without " connection, order, or dependence." It was, he fays, fo jumbled together, as if the feveral parts of a Poem tuere rolled up together, drawn at random, and fet doivn as they rofe. The regular difpofition of it was entirely owing to Warburton. This is not faying much in favour of Pope's being fuch a mighty " Man of method," as he would willingly perfuade us he was. In my opi- nion this is the worft of Pope's Epiftles : it is founded upon an abfurd and unphilofophical principle ; and, though it is enlivened by humourous and accurate touches of character, it neither exhibits much extent of thought, or fuperior happinefs of fancy. Warton has obferved with his natural warmth, that the lines 166 to 174. difplay a " perfeS anatomy of the human mind!" but, if we can neither judge of Men's Characters by Paffions or Actions, the Ruling Paffion lies under the fame difficulty. If Aclions can denote the Ruling Pajfion, and no other, there is little obfervation required : but the whole theory is full of inconfiftency. Ep.II. MORAL ESSAYS. 245 EPISTLE II. TO A LADY, N ( Of the Characters of WOMEN. othing fo true as what you once let fall, " Moft Women have no Characters at all." Matter too foft a lading mark to bear, And bed diftinguifh'd by black, brown, or fair. How NOTES. Of the Charatlers of Women.] There is nothing in Mr. Pope's Works more highly finifhed, or written with greater fpirit, than this Epiftle : Yet its fuccefs was in no proportion to the pains he took in compofiug it, or the effort of genius difplayed in adorning it. Something he chanced to drop in a fhort advertifement pre- fixed to it, on its firil publication, may perhaps account for the fmall attention the Public gave to it. He faid, that no one Cha- ratler in it was drawn from the Life. They believed him on his word ; and expreffed little curiofity about a fatire in which there was nothing perfonal. Warburton. Ver. 1. Nothing fo true~\ Bolingbroke, a judge of the fubjedr, thought this Epillle the malter-piece of Pope. But the bitternefs of the fatire is not always concealed in a laugh. The characters are lively, though uncommon. I fcarcely remember one of them in our comic writers of the belt order. The ridiculous is heightened by many Erokes of humour, carried even to the borders of extra- vagance, as much as the two laft lines of Boileau, quoted in the next page. The female foibles have been the fubject of perhaps more wit in every language, than any other topic that can be named. The fixth fatire of Juvenal, though dcteftable for its r 3 obfcenitYj 246 MORAL ESSAYS. Ep.II. How many pictures of one Nymph we view, 5 All how unlike each other, all how true ! Arcadia's Countefs, here, in ermin'd pride, Is there, Paftora by a fountain fide. Here obfcenity, is undoubtedly the moft witty of all his fixteen, and is curious for the picture it exhibits of the private lires of the Roman ladies. If this Epiftle yields, in any refpect, to the tenth fatire of Boileau on the fame fubject, it is in the delicacy and variety of the tranfitions by which the French writer paffes from one character to another, always connecting each with the fore- going. It was a common faying of Boileau, fpeaking of La Bruyere, that one of the moft difficult parts of compofition was the art of traniition. That we may fee how happily Pope has caught the manner of Boileau, let us furvey one of his portraits : it (hall be that of his learned lady : " Qui s'offrira d'abord ? c'eft cette Scavante, Qu'eftime Roberval, et que Sauveur frequente. D'ou vient qu'elle a l'ceil trouble, et le fceint'-fi terni ? Ceil que fur le calcal, dit-on, de Caffini, Un Altrolabe en main, elie a dans fa goutiere II fuivre Jupiter pafle le Quit entiere : Gardons de la troubler. Sa fcicnce, fe croy, Aura par s'occuper ce jour plus d'un employ. D'un nouveau microfcope ou doit en fa prefence Tantot chez Dalance faire rexperience ; Puis d'une ftmme morte avec fon embryon, II faut chez Du Vernay voir'la direction." None of Pope's female characters excel the Doris of Congreve in delicate touches of raillery and ridicule. Warton. Ver. 5. How many pi3ures~\ The Poet's purpofe here is to mew, that the characters of Women are generally inconfiftent with them- felves ; and this he illuftrates by fo happy a fimilitudc, that we fee the folly defcribed in it arifes from that very principle which gives birth to this inconfiftency of character. Warburton. Ver. 7, 8. 10, &c. Arcadia's Countefs, Paftora by a fountain, Leda with a Swan, Magdalen, Cecilia ] Attitudes in which feveral ladies atfe o/ /)nf/-a/ <<>//< f/i<>/t i// //r/r i. I ;/./ ;1 hr nd gave you Beauty, but deny'd the Pelf That buys your Sex a Tyrant o'er itfelf. The gen'rous God, who Wit and Gold refines, And ripens Spirits as he ripens Mines, 29c Kept Drofs for Duchefies, the world fhall know it, To you gave Senfe, Good-humour, and a Poet. NOTES. * Jove mix'd up all, and his beft clay employ'd, Then call'd the happy compofition Floyd." Mrs. Patty Blount was always fuppofed to be the lady here ad. dreffed " produces You." Warton. Ver. 291. the world Jhall hioiu it,"] This is an unmeaning < exprefiion, and a poor expletive, into which our Poet was unfor- tunately forced by the rhyme. Warton. Rhyme, as Warton properly remarks, has been the occafion of fome other faulty exprefiions in our Author's Works, which he points out, though they fcarcely need enumeration. On this occa- fion, he enters into the general comparative merits of Rhyme and Blank Verfe : but there can be furely no doubt on the fubject. Rhyme is abfolutely neceflary for pieces like thefe, of point, wit, and fatire ; if not for lyric and elegiac poetry. A fatire in blank vtrfe, would be as ridiculous as an " iEneid in hexameter and pentameter verfes," For more dignified and extenfive fubjects, there can be no doubt of the propriety of a more varied, harmo- nious, and lofty meafure, as blank verfe for the ferious drama, and epic poetry, notwithftanding Burnet's opinion, that " The Para- dife Loft was a Jine f>oem, though the Author affected to write it in blank verfe /" It mould be remembered, that when this Epiule was firft pub- limed, Pope in an advertisement declared, " upon his honour," no Character was taken from real life. Walpole relates a ftory nf his conduct in this refpedt, highly to his difcredit, to which Warton alludes ; but I do not think it mould be admitted without the cleartft evidence, as we mould read, cum grano falls, whatever comes from Walpole's party againft Pope, and vice verfa. EPISTLE III. TO ALLEN LORD BATHURST. The following original Letter of Lord Bathurd to Pope, will fhew the great refpect and kindnefs he had for him. It is taken from the Autographs of the Odyfley and Iliad, preferved in the Britim Mufeum, which are written chiefly on the backs of various letters : " I will not fail to attend Mrs. Howard upon Marble Hill next Tuefday ; but Lady Bathurd is not able to come at this time, which is no fmall mortification to her. I hope I fhall perfuade John Gay to come hither to me, for I really think fuch a wintry fummer as this fliould be pafled altogether in focietyby a chimney- corner ; but 1 believe I fliould not lie, if \ afiured you that I would quit the fined walk on the fined day in the fined garden, to have your company at any time. This is faying a great deal more thau is commonly underdood by one. I am Your mod faithful humble fervant, BATHURST." ARGUMENT. Of the Vk of RICHES. THAT it is known to few, mojl falling into one of the ex-> tremes, Avarice or Profufion, Ver. i, &c. The Point dif- cuffed, whether the invention of Money has been more com- modious ; or pernicious to Mankind ', Ver. 21 to 77. That Riches either to the Avaricious or the Prodigal, cannot afford Happinefs,fcarcely Necejfaries, Ver. 89 to 160. That Ava- rice is an abfolute Frenzy, without an End or Purpofe, Ver. 113, &c. 152. Conjeclures about the Motives of Avari- cious Men, Ver. 121 to 153. That the conduEl of Men, with refpecl to Riches, can only be accounted for by the Order of Providence, which works the general Good out of Ex- tremes, and brings all to its great End by perpetual Revolu- tions, Ver. 161 to 178. How a Mifer atls upon Principles which appear to him reafonable, Ver. 1 79. How a Prodigal does the fame, Ver. 199. The due Medium, and true Ufe of Riches, Ver. 219. The Man of Rofs, Ver. 250. The fate cf the Profufe and the Covetous, in two examples , both mifer able in Life and in Death, Ver. 300, &c. The Story of Sir Balaam, Ver. 339, to the End. [ 271 ] EPISTLE III. p who fhall decide, when Doctors difagree, And founded Cafuifts doubt, like you and me ? You hold the word, from Jove to Momus giv'n, That Man was made the (landing jeft of Heav'n ; And COM MENTARY. Epistle III.] This Epiftle was written after a violent outcry again ft our Author, on fufpicion that he had ridiculed a worthy nobleman merely for his wrong tafte. He juftified himftlf upon that article in a letter to the Earl of Burlington ; at the end of which are thefe words : " I have learnt that there are fome who would rather be wicked than ridiculous ; and therefore it may be fafer to attack vices than follies, I will therefore leave my betters in the quiet poffeffion of their idols, their groves, and their high place", and change my fubjedl from their pride to their meannefs, from their vanities to their miferies ; and as the only certain way to avoid mifconftruflions, to leflen offence, and not to multiply ill- natured applications, I may probably, in my next, make ufe of real names initead of fictitious ones." Pope. Ver. I. Whojhall decide, &c.'] The addrefs of the introduclion (from ver. I to 21.) is remarkable : The Poet reprefents himfelf, a:id the noble Lord, his friend, as in a free converfation, philofo- phizing on the jinal caufe of Riches ; and it proceeds by way of dialogue, which mod writers have employed to hide the want of method ; our Author ufes it only to foften and enliven the drynefs and feverity of it. You (fays the Poet) " hold the word from Jove to Momus giv'n, But I, who think more highly of our kind, Opine, that Nature," &c. A3 NOTES. Ver. 2. like you and ms?~\ A moft unaccountable piece of falfe Engliih me for I. It is not for the fake of making petty objections 272 MORAL ESSAYS. Ep.III. And Gold but fent to keep the fools in play, 5 For fome to heap, and fome to throw away. But I, who think more highly of our kind, (And furely, Heav'n and I are of a mind,) Opine, that Nature, as in duty bound, Deep hid the fhining mifchief under ground : 10 But when by Man's audacious labour won, Flam'd forth this rival to its Sire, the Sun, Then careful Heav'n fupply'd two forts of Men, To fquander Thefe, and Thofe to hide agen. Like Doctors thus, when much difpute has part, We find our tenets juft the fame at laft. 16 Both COMMENTARY. As much as to fay, " You, my Lord, hold the fubjedi we are upon, as lit only for Satire ; I, on the contrary, efteem it amongil the high points of Philofophy, and profound Ethics : But as we both agree in the main Principle, that Riches were not given for the reward of Virtue, but for very different purpofes (fee Effay on Man, Ep. iv. ), let us compromife the matter, and con- lider the fubjecl both under your idea and mine conjointly, /. e. Satirically and Philofphically." And this, in fact, we mall find to be the true character of this poem ; which is of a Species peculiar to itfelf ; partaking equally of the nature of his Ethic Epijlles and of his Satires, juft as the bell pieces of Lucian arofe from a combina- tion of the Dialogues of Plato, and the Scenes of Arijlophanes. This it will be neceffary to carry with us, if we would fee either the wit or the reafoning of this EpilUe in their true light. Warburton. NOTES. objections that it is thought necefTary to hint at thefe inaccuracies in fo correct a writer, but merely to prevent their becoming authorities for errors. " In the Epiflles to Lords Bathurft and Burlington," fays Jolmfon, " Warburton has endeavoured to find a train of thought which was never in the writer's head ; and, to fupport his hypothefis, has printed that fir ft which was publilhed laft." 7 Wartoji. Ep. III. MORAL ESSAYS. 273 Both fairly owning, Riches, in effecl, No grace of Heav'n, or token of th* EIer. ; Giv'n to the Fool, the Mad, the Vain, the Evil, To Ward, to Waters, Chartres, and the Devil. 20 B.What NOTES. Ver.20. John Ward of Hackney, Efq. Member of Parlia- ment, being profecuted by the Duchefs of Buckingham, and con- victed of Forgery, was firft expelled the Houfe, and then ftood on the pillory on the 17th of March, 1727. He was fufpe&ed of joining in a conveyance with Sir John Blunt, to fecrete fifty thou- fand pounds of that Director's eftate, forfeited to the South Sea Company by Al of Parliament. The Company recovered the fifty thoufand pounds againil Ward ; but he fet up prior convey- ances of his real eftate to his brother and fon, and concealed all his perfonal, which wa8 computed to be one hundred and fifty thoufand pounds. Thefe conveyances being alfo fet afide by a bill in Chancery, Ward was imprifoned, and hazarded the forfeiture of his life, by not giving in his effects till the laft day, which was that of his examination. During his confinement, his amufement was to give poifon to dogs and cats, and fee them expire by flower or quicker torments. To lum up the worth of this gentleman, at the feveral aeras of his life : At his {landing in the Pillory, he was worth above tivo hundred thoufand pounds ; at his commitment to prifon, he was worth one hundred and fifty thoufand ; but has been fince fo far diminifhed in his reputation, as to be thought a ivorfe man by fifty orjixty thoufand. Pope. Fr. Chartres, a man infamous for all manner of vices. When he was an eniign in the army, he was drummed out of the regi- ment for a cheat ; he was next banifhed Bruflels, and drummed out of Ghent, on the fame account. After a hundred tricks at the gaming-tables, he took to lending of money at exorbitant intereft and on great penalties, accumulating premium, intereft, and capital into a new capital, and feizing to a minute when the payments became due ; in a word, by a conflant attention to the vices, wants, and follies of mankind, he acquired an immenfe for- tune. His houfe was a perpetual bawdy-houfe. He was twice condemned for rapes, and pardoned ; but the lall time not without imprifonment in Newgate, and large confifcations. He died in tol. in. t Scotland 274 MORAL ESSAYS. Ep. III. B. What Nature wants, commodious Gold beftows, 'Tis thus we eat the bread another fows. P. But COM M EN TAR Y. Ver. 21. What Nature wants, &c.~] Having thus fettled the terms of the debate, before he comes to the main quejl'wn, the Ufe of Riches, it was neceflary to difcufs a previous one, whether, indeed, they be, upon the whole, ufeful to mankind or not ; (which he docs from ver. 20 to 77). It is commonly obferved, fays he, (from ver. 20 to 35. ), That, Gold mojh commodioujly fupplies the wants of Nature: " Let us firffc confider the proportion in general, both in matter and expression; I. As it regards the fupply ; and this we (hall' find to be very unequal : 2. As it regards the wants ; and thefe, we {hall fee, are very ambiguous ; under that term, alt our NOTES. Scotland in 1731, aged 62. The populace at his funeral raifed a great riot, almoll tore the body out of the coffin, and calt dead dogs, &c. into the grave along with it. The following Epitaph contains his character very juftly drawn by Dr. Arbuthnot : here continueth to rot The Body of FRANCIS CHARTRES, Who, with an inflexible Constancy, and inimitable Uniformity of Life, Persisted, In fpite of Age and Infirmities, In the Practice of Every Human Vice, Excepting Prodigality and Hypocrisy : His infatiable Avarice exempted him from the firft, His matchlefs Impudence from the fecond. Nor was he more lingular in the undeviating Praviiy, of his Manners, Than fuccefsful i n Accum ulating Wealth; For, without Trade or Profession, Without Trust of Public Mousey, And without Bribe-worthy Service, He acquired, or more properly created, A Ministerial Estate. He was the only Perfon of his Time, Who Ep.III. MORAL ESSAYS. 275 P. But how unequal it bellows, .obferve, 'Tis thus we riot, while, who fow it, ftarve : What COMMENTARY. our fantaftic and imaginary, as well as real, wants being comprized. Hitherto the ufe is not very apparent. Let us in the fecond place, therefore, confider the proportion in particular, or how Gold fup- plies the wants of nature both in private and public life : 1. As to private ; it aids us, indeed, to fupport life ; but, at the fame time, it hires the afTaffm. 2. As to Society ; it may procure friendships and extend trade ; but it, allures robbers, and corrupts our acquaintance. 3. As to Government ; it pays the guards neceflary for the fupport of public liberty ; but it may, with the fame eafe, bribe a Senate to overturn it." The matter, therefore, being thus problematical, the Poet, inftead of formally balancing between the good and ill, chufcs to leave this previous Quejlion undetermined (as Tacitus had done before him ; where, fpeaking of the ancient Germans, he fays, yfrgentum et aurum propitii autirati Dii negaverint dulito) ; and falls at NOTES. Who could cheat without the Mafic of Honesty, Retain his Primeval Meanness When pofleffed of Ten Thousand a Year, And having daily deferved the Gibbet for what he did, Was at lall condemned to it for what he could not do. Oh indignant Reader ! Think not his Life ufelefs to Mankind ! Providence conniyed at his execrable Defigns, To give to After-ages A confpicuous Proof and Example, Of how fmall Eilimation is Exorbitant Wealth In the Sight of GOD, By his bellowing it on the mod unworthy of all Mortals. This fine reflection has been much admired ; it is alfo found in La Bruyere ; but he evidently borrowed it from Seneca : " Non funt divitia? bonum ; nullo modo magis poteft Deus concupita tra- ducere, quam fi ille ad perpeflimos deftrt, ab optimis abigit." Cur Bonis Viris mala fiunt, cap. v. t 2 This 276 MORAL ESSAYS. Ep.III. What Nature wants (a phrafe I much diftruft) 25 Extends to Luxury, extends to Luft : Ufeful, COMMENTARY. at once upon what he efteems the principal of thefe abufes, public Corruption. For having in the Iafl inftance, of the Ufe of Riches in Government, fpoken of venal Senates, he goes on to lament the mifchief as defperate and remedilefs ; Gold, by its power to corrupt with Secrecy, defeating all the efforts of public fpirit, whether exerted in the courage of Heroes, or in the wifdom of Patriots. It NOTES. This pafTage was pointed out to me by an amiable friend, equally fkilled in all parts of ufeful and ornamental learning in mat- ters both of tafte and philofophy, Dr. Heberden. The figure of Chartres is introduced by Hogarth in the flrffc plate of his Rake's Progrefs, and behind him Hands a man whom he always had about him, and was his pimp. This Gentleman, it was faid, was worth /even thoufand pounds a year eflate in Land, and about one hundred thoufand in Money. Mr. Waters, the third of thefe worthies, was a man no way refembling the former in his military, but extremely fo in his civil capacity ; his great fortune having been raifed by the like diligent attendance on the neceffities of others. But this Gentleman's hif- tory muft be deferred till his death, when his worth may be known more certainly. Pope. Ver. 20. Waters,"} The Waters here mentioned is the fame perfon who is introduced under the character of " Wife Peter ;" whofe name was " Walter," though fometimes called Waters. See Note in this Epillle. Ver. 21. What Nature wants, commodious Gold beflows , ~\ The epithet commodious gives us the very proper idea of a Bawd or Pander ; and this thought produced the two following lines, which were in all the former editions, but, for their bad reafoning, omitted : " And if we count amongft the needs of life Another's Toil, why not another's Wife ? Warburton. Ep.m. MORAL ESSAYS. 277 Ufeful, I grant, it ferves what life requires, But dreadful too, the dark Aflaflin hires. B. Trade it may help, Society extend. P. But lures the Pirate, and cerrupts the Friend. 30 B. It raifes Armies in a Nation's aid. P. But bribes a Senate, and the Land's betray 'd. In COMMENTARY. It is true, indeed, (continues the Poet', from ver. 34. to 49.), the very weight of the bribe has fometimes detected the corrup- tion : '* From the crack'd bag the dropping Guinea fpoke," &c. But this inconvenience was foon repaired, by the invention of paper credit ; whofe dreadful effects on public Liberty he defcribes in all the colouring of his poetry, heightened by the warmeft concern for virtue ; which now makes him willing to give up, as it were, the previous quejlion, in a paffionate wifh (from ver. 48 to 59.) for the return of that incumbrance attendant on public Corruption, before the fo common ufe of money. And, pleafed with this flattering idea, he goes on (from ver. 58 to 77.) to (hew the other advantages which would accrue from riches only in kind ; thefe are, that neither Avarice could contrive to hoard, nor Prodigality to lavifh, in fo mad and boundlefs a manner as they ,d at prefent. Here he (hews particularly, in a tine ironi- cal defcription of the embarras on Gaming, how naturally it tends to eradicate that execrable vice. But this whole Digrejfton (from ver. 34 to 77.) has another very uncommon beauty ; for, at the fame time that it arifes naturally from the lajl confideration, in the debate of the previous quejlion, it artfully denounces, in our entrance on the main quejlion, the prin- cipal topics intended to be employed for the dilucidation of it ; namely Avarice, Profusion, and Public Corruption. Warburton. NOTE S. Ver. 32. But bribes a Senate, &V.] Evidently levelled at Sir Robert Walpole'e adminiftration, and the fuppofed corrupt mode by which he maintained his influence and fupcrionty in Parliament. T 3 278 MORAL ESSAYS. Ep. III. In vain may Heroes fight, and Patriots rave ; If fecret Gold fap on from knave to knave. Once, we confefs, beneath the Patriot's cloak, '3$ From the crack'd bag the dropping Guinea fpoke, And gingling down the back-flairs, told the, crew, " Old Cato is as great a Rogue as you." Bleft NOTES. Ver. 33. and Patriots rave ;] The character of modern patriots was, in the opinion of our Poet, very equivocal ; as the name was undiftinguifhably beftowed on every one who was in opposition to the court ; of this he gives a hint in ver. 139. of this Epiftle. And agreeable to thefe fentiments is the equivocal turn of his expreffion here, " Tn vain may Patriots rave ; which they may do either in earneft or in jeft ; and, in the opi- nion of Sempronius in the Play, it is bell done in jeft. Warburton. Ver. 34. If fecret Gold fap on from knave to knave.] The expreffion is fine, and give^s us the image of a place inverted ; where the approaches are made by communications, which fupport one another : juft as the connexions amongft knaves, after they have been taken in by a ftate-engineer, ferve to fcreen and encourage each other's private corruptions. Warburton. Ver. 35. beneath the Patriot's cloak,'] This is a true ftory, which happened in the reign of William III. to an unfufpe&ed old Patriot, who coming out at the back-door from having been clo- feted by the King, where he had received a large bag of Guineas, the burfting of the bag difcovered his bufinefs there. Pope. " Sir Chriftopher Mufgrave, the wifeft man of the part) (the Tories), died before the laft Seffion ; and, by their conduct after his death, it appeared that they wanted his direction : He had been at the head of the oppofition that was made in the laft reign, from the beginning to the end ; but he gave up many points of great importance in the critical minute; for which I have good reafon to believe that he had twelve thouland pounds from the late King, at different times." Burnet under the year 1705. Warburton. Ep. III. MORAL ESSAYS. 279 Bleft paper- credit ! laft and beft fupply ! That lends Corruption lighter wings to fly ! 40 Gold imp'd by thee, can compafs hardeft: things, Can pocket States, can fetch or carry Kings ; A fmgle NOTES. Ver. 39. Blejl paper-credit /] " None of my Works," faid Pope to Mr. Spence, " was more laboured than my Epi'dle on the Ufe of Riches." It does indeed abound in knowledge of life, and in the juiteit fatire. The lines above quoted have alfo the additional merit of touching on a fubject. that never occurred to former fatir: S. And though it was difficult to fay any thing new about avarice, " a vice that has been fo pelted," fays Cowley, " with good fen- tences," yet has our Author done it fo fuccefsfully, that this EpiiUe, together with Lord Bacon's thirty-third EfTay, contains almoft all that can be faid on the ufe and abufe of Riches, and the abfurd extremes of avarice and profufion. But our Poet his enlivened his precepts with fo many various characters, pictures, and images, as may entitle him to claim the preference over all that have treated on this tempting fubject, down from the time of the Plutus of Ariftophanes. That very lively and amiable old noble- man, the late Lord Bathurfl, told me, " that he was much fur- prifed to fee, what he had with repeated pleafure fo often read as an epiltle addrelTed to himfelf, in this edition converted into a dia- logue, in which," faid he, " I perceive I make but a fhabby and indifferent figure, and contribute very little to the fpirit of the dia- logue, if it mud be a dialogue ; and I hope I had generally more to fay for rayfelf in the many charming converfations I ufed to hold with Pope and Swift, and my old poetical friends." In truth we may make the fame objection that Perrault is faid to have done to the tenth fatire of Boilcau ; " 1'auUur oubiie quel- quefois que e'eft un dialogue qu'il compofe." I cannot forbear adding, that Cicero gives to his friend Atticus a very fmall fhare iu thofe dialogues in which he himfelf is rtprefented as a fpeaker. WAR.1 < N'. Ver. 42. fetch or carry Kinjs ;~] In our Author's time, many Princes had been fent about the world, and great chan Kings projected in Europe. The partition treaty had difpofed of T 4 Spain ; 28o MORAL ESSAYS. Ep.III. A fingle leaf fhall waft an Army o'er, Or fhip off. Senates to a diflant Shore ; A leaf, like Sibyl's, fcatter to and fro 45 Our fates and fortunes, as the winds fhall blow : Pregnant with thoufands flits the Scrap unfeen, And filent fells a King, or buys a Queen. Oh ! that fuch bulky Bribes as all might fee, Still, as of old, incumber'd Villainy ! 50 Could France or Rome divert our brave defigns, With all their brandies or with, all their wines ? What VARIATION S. After Ver. 50. in the MS. To break a truft were Peter brib'd with wine, Peter ! 'twould pofe as wife a head as thine. NOTES. Spain ; France had fet up a King for England, who was fent to Scotland, and back again ; King Staniflaus was fent to Poland, and back again ; the Duke of Anjou was fent to Spain, and Don Carlos to Italy. Pope. Ver. 44. Or Jhip off Senates to a dijlant Shore ;] Alludes to feveral Ministers, Counfellors, and Patriots banifhed in our times to Siberia, and to that more glorious fate of the Parliament of Paris, banifhed to Pontoife in the year 1720. Pope. Ver. 47. Pregnant ivith thoufands~\ Warburton thinks that the Pfalmift, in his exprefiion of " walketh in darknefs" fupplied Pope with the " grandeur" of this idea. He calls the imagery of the " Scrap that jlits unfeen" very fublime, and thinks it alludes to the courfe of a deftroying peftilence. The ''grandeur''' of the image is not fo clear, but no one can be infenfible to the humour, the wit, and the happy combination of the circumftances. Ver. 48. buys a Queen.~] Another ftroke of undeferved fatire on Queen Caroline. What right had Pope to complain of the *' whifper vibrating on his Sovereign's ear," when he never omits an opportunity of fhewing his contempt, both of his Sovereign, and of all who were connected with him ? Ep.III. MORAL ESSAYS. 281 What could they more than Knights and Squires confound, Or water all the Quorum ten miles round ? A Statefman's (lumbers how this fpeech would fpoil ! " Sir, Spain has fent a thoufand jars of oil ; 56 " Huge bales of Britifli cloth blockade the door ; " A hundred oxen at your levee roar." Poor Avarice one torment more would find ; - Nor could Profufion fquander all in kind. 60 Aftride his cheefe Sir Morgan might we meet ; And Worldly crying coals from ftreet to flreet, Whom with a wig fo wild, and mien fo maz'd, Pity miftakes for fome poor tradefrran craz'd. Had Colepepper's whole weakh been hops and hogs, Could he himfelf have fent it to the dogs ? 66 His NOTES. Ver. 62.. Some Mifers of great wealth, proprietors of the coal- mines, had entered at this time into an Aflbciation to keep up coals to -an extravagant price, whereby the poor were reduced almoft to ftarve ; till one of them, taking the advantage of under- felling the reft, defeated the defign. One of thefe Mifers was worth ten thou/and^ another /even thoufand a year. Pope. Ver. 65. Colepepper's'] Sir William Colepepper, Bart, a Perfon of an ancient family and ample fortune, without one other quality of a Gentleman, who, after ruining himfelf at the Gam- ing-table, pa{Ted the reft of his days in fitting there to fee the ruin of others ; preferring to fubfift upon borrowing and begging, rather than to enter into any reputable method of life, and refufing a Poft in the army, which was offered him. Pote. Ver. 65. Had Colepepper's] Thus in former Editions, Had Hawley's fortune lay'n in hops and hogs, , Scarce Hawley's felf hed fent it to the dogs. Wartox. 282 MORAL ESSAYS. Ep.III. His Grace will game : to White's a Bull be led, With fpurning heels and with a butting head. To White's be carry'd, as to ancient games, Fair Courfers, Vafes, and alluring Dames. 70 Shall then Uxorio, if the flakes he fweep, Bear home fix Whores, and make his Lady weep? Or foft Adonis, fo perfum'd'and fine, Drive to St. James's a whole herd of fwine ? Oh filthy check on all induflrious fkill, 75 To fpoil the nation's lad great trade, Quadrille ! Since then, my Lord, on fuch a world we fall, What fay you ? B. Say ? Why take it, Gold and all. P. What VARIATIONS. Ver. 77. Since then, fcfr.J In the former Editions, Well then, fince with the world we Hand or fall, Come take it as we find it, Gold and all. COMMENTARY. Ver. 77. Since then, my Lord, on fuch a tvorld, &c.~] Having thus ironically defcnbed the incumbrance which the want of money would occafion to all criminal excefTes by the abnfe of Riches, particularly to Gaming, which being now become of public concern, he affects much regard to : '* Oh filthy check on all induftrious fkill, To fpoil the nation's lafl great trade, Quadrille !" he difmiffes the previous quejiion without deciding on it, in the fame ironical manner, ". Since then, my Lord, on fuch a world we fall, What fay you? Say I Why take it, Gold and all." That is, fince for thefe great purpofes we muft have Money let us now ferioufly inquire into its true ufe. Warburton. Ep. III. MORAL ESSAYS. 283 P. What Riches give us let us then enquire : Meat, Fire, and Clothes. B. What more ? P. Meat, Clothes, and Fire. 80 Is COMMENTARY. Ver. 79. What Riches give us, &c.~] He examines therefore in the firfl place (from ver. 78 to 97.), I. Of what ufe Riches are to furfclves : " What Riches give us let us then enquire : Meat, Fire, and Clothes. What more ? Meat, Clothes, and Fnc." The mere turn of the expreffion, without further reafoning, fhews thai all the infinite ways of fpending on our/elves, contrived in the infolence of wealth, by thofe who would more than live, are only thefe three things diverfified throughout every wearied mode of luxury and wantonnefs. Y' t as little as this is (adds the Poet from ver. 81 to 85.) it is only to be had by the moderate ufe of riches ; Avarice and Profu- Jion not allowing the poffeffors of the moft exorbitant wealth even this little: " Alas ! 'tis more than Turner finds they give. Alas! 'tis more than (all his vifions pad) Unhappy Wharton, waking, found at laft !" But what is it you would expect them to give ? continues the Poet (from ver. 84 to 91.). Would you have them capable of reftoring thofe real blefiings, which men have loft by their vices or their villainies ; or of fatisfying thofe imaginary ones, which they have gotten by their irregular paffions ? Though they were, with what face could Japhet demand his forfeit noie and ears ? or in what note s. Ver. 8c. Meat, Fire, and Clothes .] This decifion muft be allowed at leaft the merit of humility, pretending to no farther knowledge of the ufe of Riches, than the fupply of phyfical wants. . The Poet's Friend is not highly flattered by being reprefer.ted infenfible to the moft exalted of human enjoyments to the power of reliev- ing diftrefs, and to leifure for intellectual improvement, which can- not be obtained without a competency. The amiable and fcnfible Lord Bathurft, as he himfelf obferved, makes but an indifferent figure in the Dialogue. 284 MORAL ESSAYS. Ep.IIL Is this too little ? would you more than live ? Alas ! 'tis more than Turner finds they give. Alas ! 'tis more than (all his Vifions paft) Unhappy Wharton, waking, found at laft ! What can they give ? to dying Hopkins, Heirs ; 85 To Chartres, Vigour ; Japhet, Nofe and Ears ? Can COMMENTARY. what language could Narfes afk for the gratification of appetites which Nature never gave ? But now admit, purfues our Author (from ver. 90 to 97.), that wealth might, in fome cafes, alleviate the unmerited miferies of life, by procuring medicines both for the mind and body ; it is not to be thought that it fhould operate like a charm, while only worn about one : Yet this, thefe poor men of pelf expect from it ; while Avarice on the one hand, withholds them from giving at all, even to the Doctor in extremity ; or Vanity diverts the donation from a Friend in life, to the Endowment of a Cat or College at their death. It is true, Riches might beftow the greateft of all bleffings, a "vir- tuous confcioiifnefs of our having employed them as becomes the fubjlitutes of Providence, " To eafe or emulate the care of Heav'n," Ver. 230. in acts of Benefjcence and Charity ; and this ufe is next to be confidered. Warburton. note s. Ver. 82. Turner"} One who, being poffeffed of three hundred thoufand pounds, laid down his Coach, becaufe Intereft was reduced from five to four per cent, and then put feventy thoufand into the Charitable Corporation for better Intereft ; which fum having loft, he took it fo much to heart, that he kept his chamber ever after. It is thought he would not have outlived it, but that he was heir to another confiderable eftate, whigh he daily expected, and that by this courfe of life he faved both clothes and all other expences. Pope. Ver. 84. Unhappy Wharton,'] A Nobleman of great qualities, but as unfortunate in the application of them> as if they had been vices and follies. See his Character in the firft Epiftle. Pope. Ver. 85. Hopkins,] A Citizen, whofe rapacity obtained him the name of Vulture Hopkins. He lived worthlefs, but died -worth 7 thrat Ep. III. MORAL ESSAYS. 285 Can they, in gems bid pallid Hippia glow, In Fulvia's buckle eafe the throbs below : Or heal, old Narfes, thy obfcener ail, With all th' embroid'ry plaifter'd at thy tail ? go They might (were Harpax not too wife to fpend) Give Harpax felf the blemng of a Friend ; Or find fome Doctor that would fave the life Of wretched Shylock, fpite of Shylock's Wife : But thoufands die, without or this or that, 95 Die, and endow a College, or a Cat. To NOTES. three hundred thou/and pounds, which he would give to no perfon living, but left it fo as not to be inherited till after the fecond generation. His counfel reprefenthg to him how many years it muft be before this could take effect, and that his money could only lie at intereft all that time, he expreffed great joy thereat, and faid, " They would then be as long in fpending, as he had been in getting it." But the Chancery afterwards fet afide the will, and gave it to the heir at law. Pope. Ver. 86. Japhet, Nofe and Ears ?~\ Japhet Crook, alias Sir Peter Stranger, was punimed with the lofs of thofe parts, for hav- ing forged a conveyance of an eftate to himfelf, upon which he took up feveral thoufand pounds. He wa.s at the fame time fued in Chancery for having fraudulently obtained a Will, by which he poflcfied another confidcrable eftate, in wrong of the brother of the deceafed. By thefe means he was worth a great fum, which (in reward for the fmall lofs of his ears) he enjoyed in prifon till his death, and quietly left to his executor. Pope. Ver. 90. Or heal, old Narfes, &c.~] Pope followed Lord Cob- ham's fenfible advice, in fhortening the character of the Old Debauchee. How much more offenfive are fome of thefe images ! Ver. 96. Die, and endow a College, or a Cat.~\ A famous Duchefs of R. in her laft Will left confidcrable legacies and annuities to her Cats. Pope. This 286 MORAL ESSAYS. Ep.IIL To fome, indeed, Heav'n grants the happier fate, T' enrich a Ballard, or a Son they hate. Perhaps you think the Poor might have their part ? Bond damns the Poor, and hates them from his heart : i oo The COM M ENTARY. Ver. 97. To fome, indeed, &c.~\ For now the Poet comes, in the fecond place, to examine, II. Of what ufe Riches are to others ; which he teaches, as is his way throughout this Poem, by the abufe that ftands oppofed to it : Thus he mews (from ver. 96 to 107.), that with regard to acls of beneficence, the utmoft Heaven will grant to thofe who fo greatly abufe its bleflings, is either to enrich fome favourite Baflard, and fo perpetuate their vice and infamy ; or elfe, contrary to their intent, a legitimate Son they hated, and fo expofe to public fcorn and ridicule, the defeat of their unnatural cruelty. But with regard to acls of charity, they are given up to fo reprobate a fenfe, as to believe they are then feconding the defigns of Heaven, when they purfue the indigent with imprecations, or leave them in the midft of their diftreffes unrelieved, as the common enemies of God and Man. Warburton. notes. This benefaftrefs was no other than La Belle Stuart of the Comte de Grammont ; and her endowment was not a proper object of fatire. The real truth was, that (lie left annuities to certain female friends, with the burden of maintaining fome of her cats ; a delicate way of providing for poor, and probably, proud gentle- women, without making them feel that they owed their livelihood to her mere liberality. , Warton. Ver. 100. Bond damns the Poor, &c.~\ This Epiftle was written in the year 1730, when a corporation was eftablifhed to lend money to the poor upon pledges, by the name of the Charitable Corpora- tion ; but the whole was turned only to an iniquitous method of enriching particular people, to the ruin of fuch numbers, that it became a parliamentary concern to endeavour the relief of thofe unhappy fufferers ; and three of the managers, who were members of the Houfe, were expelled. By the report of the Committee appointed Ep. III. MORAL ESSAYS. 287 The grave Sir Gilbert holds it for a rule That ev'ry man in want is knave or fool : " God cannot love (fays Blunt, with tearlefs eyes) " The wretch he ftarves" and pioufly denies : But the good Bilhop, with a meeker air, 105 Admits, and leaves them, Providence's care. Yet, NOTES. appointed to inquire into that iniquitous affair, it appears, that when it was objected to the intended removal of the office, that the Poor, for whofe ufe it was erected, would be hurt by it Bond, one of the Directors, replied, Damn the Poor. That " God hates the poor," and, " That every man in want is either knave or fool," &c. were the genuine apothegms of fome of the Perfons here mentioned. Pope. Ver. 105. But the good BJ/hop, tffc.'] In the place of this imaginary Bljhop, and in the firit Dialogue of 1738, the Poet had named a very worthy Perfon of condition, who, for a courfe of many years, had mined in public ftations much to the honour and advantage of his country. But being at once oppreftVd by popu- lar prejudice and a public cenfure, it was no wonder the Poet, to whom he was perfonally a ftranger, mould think hardly of him. I had the honour to be well known to that truly illuftrious Perfon, and to be greatly obliged by him. From my intimate knowledge of his character, I was fully perfuaded of his innocence, and that he was unwarily drawn in by a pack of infamous Cheats, to his great lofs of fortune as well as reputation. At my requefl and information, therefore, the Poet with much fatisfactiou retracted, and {truck out, in both places, his ill-grounded cenfure. I have fince had the pleafure to underltand, from the bell authority, that thefe favourable fentiments of him have of late been fully juftiried in the courfe of fome proceedings in the PI igh Court of Chancery, the molt unerring inveftigator of Truth and Falfehood. Warburton. This proceeding certainly does great honour to Dr. Warburton's gratitude and fiiendfliip. Sir R. gave him the living of Brand- broughton ; and the letter he wrote in his vindication appears in p. 144. of his Life by Bifliop Hurd. Warton. 238 MORAL ESSAYS. Ep.III. Yet, to be juft to thefe poor men of pelf, Each does but hate his neighbour as himfelf : Damn'd COM MENTARY. Ver. 107. Yet, to he juft, sV.J Having thus fhcwn the true vfe of Riches in a defcription of the abufe ; and how that ufe is perpetually defeated by profujlon and avarice ; it was natural to inquire into the fpring and original of thefe vices ; as the mif- chiefs they occafion mud be well underftood, before they can be corrected. The difpofition of his matter, therefore, now calls upon him to come to the Philofophy of his fubject. : And he exa- mines particularly into the Motives of Avarice ; But what is obfervable, he, all along, fatirically intermixes with the real motives, feveral imaginary ; and thofe as wild as imagination could conceive. This, which at firft fight might feem to vitiate the purpofe of his philcfophical inquiry, is found, when duly confi- dered, to have the higheft art of defign. His bufinefs, the reader fees, was to prove that the real motives had the utmoft extrava- gancy : Nothing could more conduce to this end, than the fetting them by, and comparing them with, the moft whimfical the fancy itfelf could invent ; in which fituation it was feen, that the real were full as wild as the fictitious. To give thefe images all the force they are capable of, he firil defcribes (from ver. 118 to 123.) the real motive, and an imaginary one different from the real, in the fame per/on ; and then (from ver. 122 to 133.) an imaginary one, and a real the very fame with the imaginary, in different perfons. This addrefs the Poet himfelf hints at, ver. 155. " Lefs mad the wildeft whimfey we can frame," &c. Let me obferve, that this has 1111 a further beauty, arifing from the nature of the poem, which (as we have fhewn) is partly fati- rical, and partly philofophical. With regard to the particular beauties of this difpofition, I fhall only take notice of one ; where the Poet introduces the fi&itious motive of Blunt's avarice, by a wizard's prophecy : "At NOTES. Ver. 105. But the good Bjfbop,~] Formerly thus : But rev'rend Sutton, with a fofter air Admits and leaves them Warton. Ep.III. MORAL ESSAYS. *8? Damn'd to the Mines, an equal fate betides The Slave that digs it, and the Slave that hides. B. Who fuffer thus, mere Charity mould own, 1 1 1 Mud a& on motives pow'rful, tho* unknown. P. Some War, fome Plague, or Famine they forefee, Some Revelation hid from you and me. 1 14 Why Shylock wants a meal, the caufe is found, He thinks a Loaf will rife to fifty pound. What made Dire&ors cheat in South-fea year ? To live on Ven'fon when it fold fo dear. Afk you why Phryne the whole Auction buys ? Phryne forefees a general Excife. 120 Why COMMENTARY. *' At length Corruption, like a gen'ral flood, (So long by watchful Minifters withstood) Shall deluge all ; and Av'rice creeping on, Spread like a low-born mift, and blot the Sun," &c. " See Britain funk in lucre's fordid charms, And France reveng'd on Anne's and Edward's arras I" For it was the Poet's purpofe to (hew, that the main and principal abufeoi Riches arifes from Avarick. Warburton. NOTES. Ver. 109. Damn'd to the Mines,'] This is plainly taken from the Caufes of the Decay of Chriftian Piety. " It has always been held," fays this excellent writer, " the fevcreft treatment of (laves and malefactors, damnare ad metalla, to force them to dig in the mines : now this is the covetous man's lot, from which he is never to expect a releafe. - Warton. Ver. 118. To live on Veiffon] In the extravagance and luxury of the South-fea year, the price of a haunch of Venifon was from three to five pounds. - Pope. Ver. 120. general Excife*'] Many people, about the year 1733, had a conceit that fuch a thing was intended, of which it is not improbable this lady might have fome intimation. Pope. VOL. III. U 19 MORAL ESSAYS. Ep.IH. Why me and Sappho raife that monftrous fum ? Alas ! they fear a man will coft a plum. Wife Peter fees the World's refpeft for Gold, And therefore hopes this Nation may be fold : Glorious Ver. 121. Why Jhe and Sappho] See Note to the Letter to Lord Hervey. Ver. 123. Wife Peter] Peter Walter, a perfon not only eminent in the wifdom of his profeffion, as a dextrous attorney, but allowed to be a good, if not a fafe, conveyancer ; extremely refpe&ed by the Nobility of this land, though free from all man- ner of luxury and oftentation : his Wealth was never feen, and his Bounty never heard of, except to his own fon, for whom he pro- cured an employment of considerable profit, of which he gave him as much as was neceffary. Therefore the taxing this gentleman with any Ambition, is certainly a great wrong to him. Po?e. Peter Walter purchafed Stalbridge Park, near Sherborne, a feat of the Boyle Family, now in poffefiion of the Earl of Uxbridge, where he lived many years. He was a neighbour of Henry Fielding, who lived at Eaft Stour, about four miles diftant, and was fuppofed to be the character defcribed by him in Tom Jones, the important " Peter Pounce." " The manor of Stalbridge was purchafed by Peter Walter, Efq. who was Clerk of the Peace for the county of Middle- fex, fteward to the Duke of Newcaftle, and other Noblemen and Gentlemen. He acquired an immenfe fortune, reprefented the borough of Br'idport in Parliament, and died 1745, at. 83." Hiftory of Dorfet. He refided, during the latter period of his life, in a fpacious man- fion within this Manor, where fome particulars of him are ftill re- membered. He had been affifted in making a favourite purchafe by a, dependant, who confequently expected a compenfation : Mr. W. refufed making any at his oiim expence, but promifed to reward him at the expence of fome other perfon. He accordingly prevailed pn a neighbouring Baronet to leafe to hJm a part of his demefne lands on terms fo unufually advantageous, that they could not efcape obfervation ; the taxes and parochial impofts being charged . n Ep. III. MORAL ESSAYS. 291 Glorious Ambition! Peter, fwell thy (lore, 125 And be what Rome's great Didius was before. The Crown of Poland, venal twice an age, To jufl three millions {tinted modeft Gage. But NOTES. . on the occupier of the adjoining farm. The eftate is flill poffefTed by a daughter of the leffee, with all the advantages attached to it. A charafteriftic fcene wa3 defcribed by a fon of his bailiff, who, when a boy, attended his father in an evening on bufinefs at the Manor- Houfe. They found its poffeflbr fitting without light in a fmall room communicating with the kitchen. On their approach he applied a dry rafpberry ftick to his fire, and lighted a fmall candle which flood on the table before him ; but finding, on enquiry, that the prefent bufinefs required no light, he extinguifhed the candle, and continued the converfation in the dark. Notwith- ftanding his rigid parfimony, he exafted the refpeft ufually paid to opulence ; for obferving that the youth had continued with his hat on, fuppofing no extraordinary deference due to the great man's appearance, he rated him violently for his ruflicity and inattention. The flory of the " Mifer and the Candle," is not uncommon : but I have this account from undoubted authority. The other anecdote fhews the propriety of Pope's epithet, " Wife Peter." Ver. 126. Rome's great Didius'] A Roman lawyer, fo rich as to purchafe the Empire when it was fet to fale upon the death of Pertinax. Pope. Ver. 127. The Crown of Poland, sV.] The two perfons here mentioned were of Quality, each of whom in the Miffiffippi defpifed to realize above three hundred thoufand pounds ; the Gen- tleman with a view to the purchafe of the Crown of Poland, the Lady on a vifion of the like royal nature. They fince retired into Spain, where they are flill in fearch of gold in the mines of the Afturies. Pope. A country devoted to ruin by its ambitious and unjufl neigh- bours ; who deferve the fcvereft. ftrokes of fuch a fatirift as our Author. Warton. Ver. 128. Jl'mted modejl Gage.~\ " The names of thefe two per- fons were Mr. Gage, and Lady Mary Herbert, daughter of Wil* V 2 liana 292 MORAL ESSAYS. Ep.IIL But nobler fcenes Maria's dreams unfold, Hereditary realms, and worlds of Gold. 130 Congenial fouls ! whofe life one Av'rice joins, And one fate buries in th' Afturian Mines. Much injur'd Blunt ! why bears he Britain's hate ? A wizard told him in thefe words our fate : " At NOTES. liam Marquis of Powis, who, dying Oftober 1745, left in the hands of his executors and truftees an annuity of 200I. a-year to be paid to the ufe of this daughter, not for the payment of her many debts which (he had contracted, but to keep her from want- ing necefTaries. William Marquis of Powis, fon of the former, liti- gated the faid will, but died while the fuit was pending in the Ecclefiaftical Court, leaving the refidue of the lands and profits of his eftates, after his debts mould be paid, in the hands of truftees for the ufe of the Right Honourable Henry Arthur, then Lord Herbert, afterwards Earl of Powis, with whom he had no rela- tion, friendship, or acquaintance ; which Arthur afterwards mar- ried Barbara Herbert, niece and heir at. law of the latter Earl Powis. This man, "by fair promifes and threats, got the truftees of the firft Earl to agree in obtaining adminiftration with the will and codicil of the Marquis the father, annexed in May 1749, and then repented paying the annuity of 200L to Mary Herbert, daughter of the faid Marquis. As fhe now refided in France, fhe had obtained a promife there of being made Dame of Honour to the Queen of France ; which Lord Herbert hearing of, went out of England to difluade her from accepting it, as being a difgrace to her and the family ; and promifed he would pay her all the arrears of the annuity of 200I. due by her father's will, and would give her, over and above, 200I. a-year more. This he never per- formed, till after feveral fuits of law the caufe was brought to the Houfe of Lords, who decreed both her annuities to be paid, with all arrears due in the year 1766. Throughout a long life, fo little difference has this lady found between dreams and realities." From MSS. Notes of Mr. Bowyer. War ton. Ver. 133. Much injur* d Blunt !~\ Sir John Blunt, originally a fcrivener, was one of the firft projectors of the South-Sea Com- pany, Ep. III. MORAL ESSAYS. 293 " At length Corruption, like a gen'ral flood, 135 " (So long by watchful Minifters withftood,) " Shall deluge all ; and Av'rice creeping on, " Spread like a low-born mift, and blot the Sun; " Statefman and Patriot ply alike the flocks, " Peerefs and Butler fhare alike the Box, 140 " And Judges job, and Bifhops bite the town, " And mighty Dukes pack cards for half a crown. " See Britain funk in lucre's fordid charms, " And France reveng'd on Anne's and Edward's " arms!" 'Twas NOTES. pany, and afterwards one of the dire&ors and chief managers of the famous fcheme in 1720. He was alfo one of thofe who fuf- fered moft feverely by the bill of pains and penalties on the faid directors. He was a DifTenter of a moft religious deportment, and profeffed to be a great believer. Whether he did really credit the prophecy here mentioned is not certain, but it was conftantly in thi6 very ftyle he declaimed againft the corruption and luxury of the Age, the partiality of Parliaments, and the mifery of Party- fpirit. He was particularly eloquent againft Avarice in great and noble perfons, of which he had indeed lived to fee many miferable examples. He died in the year 1732. Pope. Ver. 137. Jin? rice creeping on, Spread like a low-born mift, and blot the Sun ;] The fimilitude is extremely appofite, implying that this vice is of bafe and mean original ; hatched and nurfed up among Scriveners and Stock jobbers, and unknown, till of late, to the Nobles of this land : But now, in the fulnefs of time, (he rears her head, and afpires to cover the moft illuftrious ftations in her dark and pefti- lential made. The Sun, and other luminaries of Heaven, fignify- ing, in the high eaftern ftyle, the Grandees and Nobles of the earth. Scribl. Warburton, The interpretation is here ftraincd, but the illuftration is correct and beautiful. u 3 294 MORAL ESSAYS. Ep. III. 'Twas no Court-badge, great Scriv'ner ! fir'd thy brain, 145 Nor lordly Luxury, nor City Gain : No, 'twas thy righteous end, afhamM to fee Senates degen'rate, Patriots difagree, And nobly wifhing Party-rage to ceafe, To buy both fides, and give thy Country peace. 150 " All this is madnefs," cries a fober fage : But who, my friend, has reafon in his rage ? " The COMMENTARY. Ver. 151. " All this is madnefs" sV.] But now the Sage, who has confined himfelf to books, which prescribe the government of the pajjions j and never looked out upon the world, where he might fee them let loofe, and, like Milton's devils, riding the air in whirlwind, cries out, All this is madnefs. True, replies the Poet (from ver. 151 to 177-), but this madnefs is a common one ; and only to be prevented by a fevere attention to the rule laid down in the EJfay, " Reafon flill ufe, to Reafon ftill attend ;" Ep. ii. ver. 68. for amongft the generality of men, and without the greateft circumfpeftion, " The ruling Pajfion, be it what it will, The ruling Pajfion conquers Reafon Jlill" But then (continues he), as fenfelefs as thispafiion appears, by the fway of its overbearing bias, it would be ftill more fenfelefs had it no bias at all : You have feen us here intermix with the real, the moft. fanta/lical and extravagant that imagination could invent; yet even thefe are lefs extravagant than a ruling Pajfion without a con- fiant aim. Would you know the reafon ? then lilten to this impor- tant truth : " 'Tis Heaven itfelf that gives the ruling Pajfion, and thereby directs different men to different ends : But thefe being exerted through the miniftry of Nature (of whom the great notes. Ver. 145". fir'd thy brain,'] A Court-badge firing the brain, is furely an uncouth and improper exprefiion. Warton. Ep. III. MORAL ESSAYS. 295 " The Ruling Paflion, be it what it will, " The Ruling Paflion conquers Reafon dill." Lefs mad the wildeft whimfey we can frame, 155 Than ev'n that Paflion, if it has no Aim ; For tho' fuch motives Folly you may calf, The Folly's greater to have none at all. Hear COM M ENTARY. great Philofopher truly obferves, modum tenere nefcia eft, Aug. Scient. 1. ii. c. 13.), they are very apt to run into extremes: To correct which, Heaven, at the fame time, added the moderatrix Reafon; not to take the ruTing Paflion out of the hands and rainiftry of Nature, but to reftrain and rectify its irregular impulfes (fee Effay, Ep.ii. ver. 151, Iff /eg.) ; and what extremes, after this, remained uncorrected in the adminiftration of this weak Shieen (ver. 140. Ep. ii.), the Divine Artift himfelf has, in his heavenly fkill and bounty, fet to rights ; by fo ordering, that thefe of the moral world, like thofe of the natural, fhauld, even by the very means of their contrariety and diverfity, concur to defeat the malignity of one another ; " Extreme* in Nature equal good produce, Extremes in Man concur to gen'ral ufe.'* For as the various feafons of the year are fupported and fuftained by the reconciled extremes of Wet and Dry, Cold and Heat ; fo all the orders and degrees of civil life are kept up by Avarice and Profujion, Selfijhnefs and Vanity. The Mifer being but the Steward of the Prodigal ; and only fo much the more backward as the other is precipitate : " This year a Refervoir, te keep and fpare ; The next, a Fountain, fpouting thro' his Heir,'* Warburtom. Ver. 154. conquers Reafon Jl\ll.~\ See what is faid before of the pernicious tenet of a Ruling Paflion. Warton. Ver. 158. The Folly's greater"] Verbatim from Rochefoucault. Warton. M i 9 6 MORAL ESSAYS. Ep.III. - Hear then the truth : " 'Tis Heav'n each Paflion " fends, " And difPrent men directs to diff'rent ends. 1 60 " Extremes in Nature equal good produce, " Extremes in Man concur to gen'ral ufe." Aik me what makes one keep, and one beftow ? That Pow'r who bids the Ocean ebb and flow, Bids feed-time, harveft, equal courfe maintain, 1 65 Thro' reconcil'd extremes of drought and rain, Builds Life on Death, on Change Duration founds, And gives th* eternal wheels to know their rounds. Riches, like infefts, when conceal'd they lie, Wait but for wings, and in their feafon fly. 170 "Who fees pale Mammon pine amidfl his ftore, Sees but a backward fteward for the Poor ; This year a Refervoir, to keep and fpare ; The next, a Fountain, fpouting thro* his Heir, In lavifh ftreams to quench a Country's third, 175 And men and dogs mall drink him till they burft. Old Cotta fham'd his fortune and his birth, Yet was not Cotta void of wit or worth : What COM M E NTA RY. VER.177. Old Cotta flam' d his fortune, CsV.] The Poet now proceeds to fupport the principles of his Philofophy by examples ; but before we come to thefe, it will be neceflary to look back upon the general economy of the Poem. In NOTES. Ver. 173. This year a Refervoir,"] The fame comparifon was before ufed by Young, Sat. vi. line 34. Pope collected gold from many a dunghill ; for this allufion is taken from Fuller's Church Hillory, p. 28. Wartos Ep.IIT. MORAL ESSAYS. 297 What tho' (the ufe of ki-b'rous fpits forgot) His kitchen vy'd in coolnefs with his grot? 180 His court with nettles, moats with creffes ftor'd, With foups unbought and iUlads blefs'd his board ? If COMMENTARY. In the firft part, to ver. 109 the ufe and abufe of Riches are fatirically delivered in precept. From thence to ver. 177, the caufes of the abufe are philofophically inquired into : And from thence to the end. the ufe and' abufe are hijlor'ically illuftrated by examples. Where we may obferve, that the conclulion of the Jlrjl part, concernin ; the Mifrr's cruelty to others, naturally introduceth the feconJ, by a fatincal apology, which {hews that he is full as cruel to himfelf : The explanation of this extraordinary phasno- menon brings the Author into the Philofophy of his fubject. ; and this ending in an obfervation of Avarice and Proftfion's correcting and reconciling one another, as naturally introduces the third., which proves the truth of the obfervation from fad. And thus the Ph'dofophy of his fubject Handing between his Precepts and Examples, gives ftrength and light to both, and receives it reflected back again from both. He firft gives us two examples (from ver. 176 to 219.) of thefe oppofite ruling Pajjtons, and (to fee them in their full force) taken from fubje&s, as he tells us, not void of wit or worth ; from fuch as could reafon themfclves as we fee by ver. 183, & fq. and ver. 205, iff feq.) into the whole length of each extreme : For the Poet had obferved of the ruling Pajfion, that " Wit, Spirit, Faculties, but make it worfe ; Reafon itfelf but gives it edge and power." Effay, Ep. ii. -ver. 146. Old Cotta and his Son therefore afforded him the mcft happy illuftration of his doctrine. Warburtos. notes. Ver. 181. His court ivitb nettles, sV.] Dr. Warton has taken from this ftriking paffage occafion to point out the necefhtv, in Poetry, of ufing diftinct and particular images. Although I could IMITATIONS. Ver. 182. With foups unbough: ] " dapibus menfas onerabat inemptis." Virg. Pope. 298 MORAL ESSAYS. Ep.III. If Cotta liv'd on pulfe, it was no more Than Bramins, Saints, and Sages did before j To NOTES. could not avoid thinking, in fume places perhaps, " Non nunc erat his locus," yet the criticifm is generally fo juft, I am fure I need make no apology for retaining the moil efiential part of it. We cannot help fmiling, perhaps, when Dr. Warton afks, " After having paffed over the moat full of crelfes, do you not atlually Jind yourfeif, in the middle court, overgrown with nettles P and do you not hear the dog who is going to a/fault you ?" Without being quite fo much alarmed, no perfon can view the minute, circum- ftantial, and highly-finifhed picture, " Like fome lone Chartreux," &c. without feeling very ftrongly the fenfations it is intended to convey. Ver. i8x. His court ivith nettles,"] The ufe, the force, and the excellence of language, certainly confifts in raifing clear, complete, and circumftantial images, and in turning readers into fpectators. Here is an eminent example of this excellence, of all others the moll effential in poetry. Every epithet here ufed paints its object, and paints it diftinctly. Among the other fortunate circumilances that attended Homer, it was not one of the leaft, that he wrote before general and abftract terms were invented. Hence his mufe (like his own Helen {landing on the walls of Troy) points out every perfon and thing accurately and forcibly. All the views and profpects he lays before us appear as fully and perfectly to the eye as that which engaged the attention of Neptune when he was fitting (Iliad, b. xiii. v. 12.), X\h he axpoTwroj xopt^nj 2a/x vXmj-irvty pwawj* evGev yap E^atvsTO -?avTO d UpiXfjLOto yoXif, xat vwsj A^atSv. Thofe who are fond of generalities may think the number of natural little circumilances, introduced in the beautiful narration of the expedition of Dolon and Diomed (book the tenth), too particular and trifling, and below the dignity of epic poetry. But every reader of a juft tafte will always admire the minute descrip- tion of the helmet and creft, at verfe 257 ; the clapping of the wings Ep. III. MORAL ESSAYS. 299 To cram the Rich was prodigal expence, 185 And who would take the Poor from Providence ? Like wings of the heron which they could not fee ; the fquatting down among the dead bodies till Dolon had patted ; Ulyffes hitt- ing to Diomed as a figrtal ; the ftriking the horfes with his bow, becaufe he had forgotten to bring his whip with him ; and the innumerable circumllances which make this narration fo lively, fo dramatic, and fo interefting. Half the Iliad and the Odyffey might be quoted as examples of this way of writing : fo different from the unfinifhed, half-formed figures prefented to us by many modern writers. How much is the pathetic heightened by Sophocles, when, fpeaking of Deianira determined to deftroy her- felf, and taking leave of her palace, he adds, a circumftance that Voltaire would have difdained, 1 KXkie $' opyxvuv ora YatKTimv, ojj EXP" ^^* Trap,-. Among the Roman poets, Lucretius will furnifli many inftances of this fort of ftrong painting. Witnefs his portrait of a jealous man, book iv. v. i j 30. " Aut quod in ambiguo verbum jaculata reliquit j Aut nimium jadlare oculos, aliumve tueri Quod putat, in vultuque videt veftigia rifus." Of Iphigenia going to be facrificed, at the moment when, -" Mccftum ante aras aftare parentem Senfit, et hunc propter ferrum celare miniftros." Of fear, in book iii. v. 155. " Sudores itaque et pallorem exiftere toto Corpore ; tt infringi linguam ; vocemque aboriri ; Caligare oculos ; fonere aures ; fuccidere artus." Without fpecifying the various ftrokes of nature with which Virgil has defcribed the prognoftics of the weather in his firft Georgic, let us only confider with what energy he has enumerated and particularized the geftures and attitudes of his dying Dido. No five verfes ever contained more images more diftin&ly expreffed : Ilia 3 oo MORAL ESSAYS. Ep.Ilf. Like fome lone Chartreux Hands the good old Hall, Silence without, and fails within the wall ; N NOTES. ** Ilia graves oculos conata attollere, rurfus Deficit ; infixum ftridet fub pedlore vulnus ; Ter revoluta toro eft ; oculifque errantibus, alto Quaefivit ccelo lucem, ingemuitque reperta." The words of Virgil have here painted the dying Dido as power- fully as the pencil of Reynolds has done when (he is juft dead. I once faw Mr. Garrick gefticulate every circumftance in this fine description. But none of the Roman writers has difplayed a greater force and vigour of imagination than Tacitus, who was in truth a great poet. With what an aflemblage of mafterly ftrokes has he exhibited the diftrefs of the Roman army under Caecina, in the firft book of the Annals ! " Nox per diverfa inquies ; cum barbari feftis epulis, lasto cantu, aut truci fonore, fubjecta vallium, ac refultantes faltus, complerent. Apud Romanos, invalidi ignes, interruptae voces, atque ipfi paflim adjacerent vallo, oberrarent tentoriis, infomnes magis quam pervigiles, ducemque terruit dira quies." And what a fpe&re he then immediately calls up, in the ftyle of Michael Angelo ! " Nam Quintilium Varum, fanguine oblitum, et paludibus emerfum, cernere et audire vifus eft, velut vocantem, non tamen obfecutos, et manum intendentis repulifie." I have dwelt the longer on this fubjeft, becaufe I think I can perceive many fymptoms, even among writers of eminence, of departing from thefe true, and lively, and minute reprefentations of Nature, and of dwelling in generalities. To thefe I oppofe the teftimony of, perhaps, the mofl judicious and elegant critic among the ancients : " Proculdubio qui dicit expugnatam efle civitatem, comple&itur omnia quaecunque talis fortuna recipit : fed in affec- tus minus penetrat brevis hie velut nuntius. At fi aperias hsec quae verbo uno inclufa erant, apparebunt effufa per domos ac tem- pla fiammas, et ruentium tectorum fragor, et ex diverlis clamori- bus unus quidam fonus ; aliorum fuga incerta ; alii in extremo complexu fuorum cohaerentes, et infantium faeminarumque plora- tus, et male ufque in ilium diem fervati fato fenes ; turn ilia pro- fanorum facrorumque direptio, efferentium prasdas, repetentiumque difcurfus, et adli ante fuum quifque praedonem catenati, et conata retinere Ep.ni. MORAL ESSAYS. 301 No rafter'd roofs with dance and tabor found, No noon-tide bell invites the country round : 190' Tenants with fighs the fmoaklefs tow'rs furvey, And turn th' unwilling fteeds another way : Benighted wanderers, the foreft o'er, Curfe the fav'd candle, and unop'ning door ; While the gaunt maftiff, growling at the gate, 195 Affrights the beggar whom he longs to eat. Not fo his Son, he mark'd this overfight, And then miftook reverfe of wrong for right. (For what to Ihun will no great knowledge need, But what to follow, is a talk indeed.) 20 Yet fure, of qualities deferring praife, More go to ruin Fortunes, than to raife. What flaughter'd hecatombs, what floods of wine, Fill the capacious 'Squire, and deep Divine ! Yet no mean motive this profufion draws, 205 His oxen perifh in his Country's caufe ; 'lis George and Liberty that crowns the cup, And Zeal for that great Houfe which eats him up. The woods recede around the naked feat, The fylvans groan no matter for the Fleet : 210 Next NOTE S. retinere infante m fuum mater, et ficubi majus lucrum eft, pugna inter victores. Licet enim haec omnia, ut dixi, complectatur ever- fio, minus eft tamcn totum dicere quam omnia." Warton. Ver. 200. Here I found two lines in the Poet's MS. " Yet fure, of qualities deferving praife, More go to ruin Fortunes, than to raife ;" which, as they feemed to be neceffary to do juftice to the ima- ginary Character going to be defcribed, I advifed him to infert in their place. War burton. The expreffion of " more qualities go," is furely faulty. 7 Warton. 3 o2 MORAL ESSAYS. Ep.III. Next goes his wool to clothe our valiant bands ; Lad, for his Country's Love, he fells his Lands. To town he comes, completes the nation's hope, And heads the bold Train-bands, and burns a Pope. And (hall not Britain now regard his toils, 215 Britain, that pays her Patriots with her Spoils ? In vain at Court the Bankrupt pleads his caufe, His thanklefs Country leaves him to her Laws. The Senfe to value Riches, with the Art T' enjoy them, and the Virtue to impart, 220 Not VARIATIONS. After ver. 218. in the MS. Where one lean herring furnihVd Cotta's board, And nettles grew, fit porridge for their Lord ; Where mad good-nature, bounty mifapply'd, In lavifh Curio blaz'd a-while and dy'd j There Providence once more (hall fhift the fceive, And fhewing H -y, teach the golden mean. COMMENTARY. Ver. 219. The Senfe to value Riches, &c.~] The Author having now largely expofed the Abuse of Riches by example ; not only the Plan, but the Philofophy of his Poem, required that he mould, in the fame way, mew the Use likewife : He therefore (from ver. 218 to 249.) calls for an Example, in which may be found, againft the Prodigal, the Senfe to value Riches j againft the Vain, the Art to enjoy them; and againft the Avaricious, the Virtue to impart them, when acquired. This whole Art (he tells us) may be comprized in one great and general precept^ which is this ; " That the rich man mould confider himfelf as the fubftitute of Pro- vidence, in this unequal distribution of things ; as the perfon who is " To eafe, or emulate, the care of Heav'n." Warburton. note s. Ver. 214. burns a Pop?.'] This was the common mode, at the: time, of the people's expreffing their dcteftation of " the Devil, the Pretender, and the Pope." Poor Guy Faux, who is burnt every year, teems to bear all the odium at prefent. Ep.IH. moral essays. w Not meanly, nor ambitioufly purfu'd, Not funk by floth, nor rais'd by fervitude ; To balance Fortune by a juft expence, Join with Economy, Magnificence ; 224 With Splendor, Charity ; with Plenty, Health ; Oh teach us, Bathurst ! yet unfpoil'd by wealth ! That fecret rare, between th' extremes to move Of mad Good-nature, and of mean Self-love. B. To Worth or Want well weigh'd, be Bounty giv'n, And eafe, or emulate, the care of Heav'n ; 230 (Whofe meafure full o'erflows on human race j) Mend Fortune's fault, and juftify her grace. Wealth in the grofs is death, but life diffus'd ; As Poifon heals, in juft proportion us'd : In heaps, like Ambergrife, a hunk it lies,' 235 But well difpers'd, is Incenfe to the Skies. P. Who ftarves by Nobles, or with Nobles eats ? The Wretch that trufls them, and the Rogue that cheats. Is there a Lord, who knows a chearful noon Without a Fiddler, Flatt'rer, or Buffoon ? 240 Whofe VARIATIONS. After Ver. 226. in the MS. That fecret rare, with affluence hardly join'd, Which W n loft, yet B y ne'er could find ; Still mifs'd by Vice, and fcarce by Virtue hit, By G 's goodnefs, or by S \s wit. NOTES. Ver. 229. To Worth or Want'] Lord Bathurft here makes amends for the feutimcr.ts attributed to him at the beginning of this Epiftle. 3 o 4 MORAL ESSAYS. Ep.III. Whofe table, Wit, or modeft Merit (hare, Un-elbow'd by a Gamefter, Pimp, or Play'r ? Who copies Yours, or Oxford's better part, To eafe th' opprefs'd, and raife the finking heart ? Where'er he (bines, oh Fortune, gild the fcene, 245 And Angels guard him in the golden Mean ! There, Englifh Bounty yet awhile may ftand, And Honour linger ere it leaves the land. But all our praifes why mould Lords engrofs ? Rife, honeft Mufe ! and fing the Man of Ross : 250 Pleas'd VARIATIONS. After Ver. 250. in the MS. Trace humble worth beyond Sabrina's fhore, Who lings not him, oh may he ling no more ! COMMENTARY. Ver. 249. But all our praifes nvhy Jloould Lords engrofs ? Rife, honeft Mufe .'] This invidious expreflion of unwiilingnefs that the Nobility fhould engrofs all the praife, is ftrongly ironical ; their example having been hitherto given only to fhew ihcaiufe of Riches. But there is great juftnefs of defign, as well as agreeablenefs of manner, in the preference here given to the Man of Rofs. The purpofe of the Poet is to fhew, that an immenfe fortune is not wanted for all the good that Riches are capable of doing : He therefore chufes fuch an inftance, as proves, that a man with five hundred pounds a-year could become a bleffing to a whole country ; and, confe- quently, that his precepts for the right ufe of money, are of more NOTES. Ver. 242. orPlay'r?'] Alluding to Cibber. Ver. 243. Oxford'j better part,~\ Edward Harley, Earl of Oxford. The fon of Robert, created Earl of Oxford and Earl of Mortimer by Queen Anne. This Nobleman died regretted by all men of letters, great numbers of whom had experienced his bene- fits. He left behind him one of the moil noble Libraries in Europe. Pope. Ep.III. MORAL ESSAYS. 305 Pleas'd Vaga echoes thro' her winding bounds, And rapid Severn hoarfe applaufe refounds. Who COMMENTARY. more general fervice than a bad heart will give an indifferent head leave to conceive. This was a truth of the greateft importance to inculcate: He therefore (from ver. 249 to 297.) exalts the character of a very private man, one Mr. J. Kyrle, of Hereford- shire : And, in ending his defcription, ftruck as it were with admi- ration at a fublimity of his o-wn creating, and warmed with fenti- ments of gratitude which he had raifed in himfelf, in behalf of the public, he breaks out : " And what ? no monument, inscription, ftone ? His race, his form, his name almoft unknown ?" And then, tranfported with indignation at a contrary object, he exclaims, " When Hopkins dies, a thoufand lights attend The wretch, who living fav'd a candle's end : Should'ring God's altar a vile image Hands, Belies his features, nay extends his hands." I take notice of this defcription of the portentous vanity of a miferable Extortioner, chiefly for the ufe we fhall now fee he makes of it, in carrying on his fubje&. Warburton. notes. Ver. 246. And Angels guard him in the golden Mean!] 14 The idea of this Guard, fays Warburton, very gravely, was prettily imagined, being taken from the Supporters of his Lordfhip's Arms!!!" Ver. 250. The Mam of Ross :] The perfon here celebrated, who with a finall eftate actually performed all thefe good works, and whofe true name was almoft. loft (partly by the title of the Man of Rofs given him by way of eminence, and partly by being buried without fo much as an infeription), was called Mr. John Kyrle. He died in the year 1724, aged 90, and lies interred in the chancel of the church of Rofs in Herefordfhire. Pope. Ver. 250. Rife, honefl Mufe /] Thefe lines, which are emi- nently beautiful, particularly 267, containing a fine profopoprcia, have conferred immortality on a plain, wo; thy, and ufeful citizen of Herefordfhire, Mr. John Kyrle, who fpent his long life in vol. in. x advancing 306 MORAL ESSAYS. Ep.III. Who hung with woods yon mountain's fultry brow ? From the dry rock who bade the waters flow ? Not to the Ikies in ufelefs columns toft, 255 Or in proud falls magnificently loft, But clear and artlefs, pouring thro* the plain Health to the fick, and folace to the fwain. Whole Caufe-way parts the vale with fhady rows ? Whofe Seats, the weary Traveller repofe ? 260 Who taught that heav'n-direcled fpire to rife ? " The Man of Ross !" each lifping babe replies. Behold the Market-place with poor o'erfpread 1 The Man of Ross divides the weekly bread ; He feeds yon Alms-houfe, neat, but void of ftate, Where Age and Want fit fmiling at the gate : 26 Q Him portion'd maids, apprentic'd orphans bleft, The young who labour, and the old who reft. Is NOTES. advancing and contriving plans of public utility. The Howard of his time ; who deferves to be celebrated more than all the heroes of* Pindar. The particular reafon for which I mention them, is to obferve the pleafing effect that the ufe of common and familiar words and objects, judicioufly managed, produce in poetry. Such as are here, the words caufenvay, feats, fpire, market-place, alms- houfe, apprenticed. A faft idious delicacy, and a falfe refinement, in order to avoid meannefs, have deterred our writers from the intro- duction of fuch words ; but Dryden often hazarded it, and gave by it a fecret charm, and a natural air to his verfes, well knowing of what confequence it was fometimes to foften and fubdue his hints, and not to paint and adorn every object he touched, with perpetual pomp and unremitted fplendor. Mr. Kyrle was enabled to effect many of his benevolent purpofes by the afliftance of liberal fubfcriptions, which his character eafily procured. This circum fiance was communicated by Mr. Victor. Warton. Ep, III. MORAL ESSAYS. 307 Is any fick ? the Man of Ross relieves, . Prefcribes, attends, the mecTcine makes, and gives. Is there a variance ? enter but his door, 271 Balk'd are the Courts, and contefl is no more. Defpairing Quacks with curfes fled the place, And vile Attornies, now an ufelefs race. B. Thrice happy man ! enabl'd to purfue 275 What all fo wifh, but want the pow'r to do ! Oh fay, what funis that gen'rous hand fupply ? What mines, to fwell that boundlefs charity ? P. Of Debts, and Taxes, Wife and Children clear, This man poifefl: five hundred pounds a year. Blum, Grandeur, blufh ! proud Courts, withdraw your blaze! 281 Ye little Stars ! hide your diminiftYd rays. B. And what ? no monument, infcription, (lone ? His race, his form, his name almoft unknown ? P. Who builds a Church to God, and not to Fame, Will never mark the marble with his Name : 286 Go, NOTES. Ver. 269. Is any fick .*] Warton mentions the pleafing effet which familiar words, fuch as caufeway, fpire, &c. have ; but the beauty of this paflage confiils in the pidhirefque adjuncts ; every circumftance forms an interesting little landfcape. Pope has car- ried " familiar words," perhaps, too far, when he fays, " the med'eine makes, and gives.'* Ver. 281. Blnfb, Grandeur, Mujh ! proud Courts, withdraw your blaze, &c.~] In this fublime apoitrophe, proud Courts arc not bid to blujh becaufe outflript in virtue ; for no fuch contention is fup- pofed : but for being outfhined in their own proper pretenfions to Splendor and Magnificence. Scricl. Warburton. Ver. 286. Will never mark'] As Voltaire did at Ferney, w ; th this infcription : ** Deo erexit Voltaire." Wartox. x 2 3 o8 MORAL ESSAYS. Ep.III. Go, fearch it there, where to be born and die, Of rich and poor, makes all the hiftory ; Enough, that Virtue fill'd the fpace between ; Prov'd, by the ends of being, to have been. 290 When Hopkins dies, a thoufand lights attend The wretch, who living fav'd a candle's end : Should'ring God's altar a vile image (lands, Belies his features, nay extends his hands ; That live-long wig which Gorgon's felf might own, Eternal buckle takes in Parian ftone. 296 Behold what bleffings Wealth to life can lend ! And fee, what comfort it affords our end. VARIATION S. Ver. 287. Thus in the MS. The Regifter inrolls him with his Poor, Tells he was born and dy'd, and tells no more. Juft as he ought, he fill'd the fpace between ; Then ftole to reft, unheeded and unfeen. COMMENTARY. Ver. 297. Behold what blejjings Wealth to life can lend ! And fee, what comfort it affords our end.] In the firft part of this Epiftle, the Author had (hewn, from Reafn, that Riches abufed afford no comfort either in life or death. In this part, where the fame truth is taught by examples, he had, in the cafe of Cotta and his fon, (hewn, that they afford no comfort in life : the other member of the divifion remained to be fpoken to : " Now NOTES.. Ver. 2S7. Go, fearch it there,"] The Parifh-regifter. Warburton- VER.296. Eternal buckle tales ift Parianjlone.] The Poet ridi- cules the wretched talte of carving large periwigs on buftos, of which there are feveral vile examples in the tombs at Weftminfter, and elfewhere. Pope. Ep. III. MORAL ESSAYS. 309 In the worft inn's word room, with mat half- hung, The floors of philter, and the walls of dung, 300 On once a flock-bed, but repair'd with ftraw, With tape-ty'd curtains, never meant to draw, The George and Garter dangling from that bed Where tawdry yellow flrove with dirty red, Great Villers lies alas ! how chang'd from him, That life of pleafure, and that foul of whim ! 306 Gallant COMMENTARY. " Now fee what comfort they afford our end." And this he illuftrates (from ver. 298 to 335.) in the unhappy- deaths of the laft Viliers, Duke of Buckingham, and Sir J. Cut- ler ; whofe profufion and avarice he has beautifully contrafted. The miferable end of thefe two extraordinary perfons naturally leads the Poet into this reflection, truly humane, however ludi- croufly as well as ironically expreffed ; ** Say, for fuch worth, are other worlds prepar'd ? 'Or are they both, in this, their own reward ?" And now, as if fully determin'd to refolve this doubtful queftion, he aflumes the air and importance of a Profeflbr ready addreffed to plunge himfelf into the very depths of Theology : " A knotty point ! to which we now proceed " ivhen, on a fudden, the whole fenfe is changed, " But you are tir'd I'll tell a tale. Agreed." And thus, by the moil eafy tranfition, we are come to the con- cluding doctrine of his poem. Warburton. notes. Ver. 305. Great Fillers lies ] This Lord, yet more famous for his vices than his misfortunes, having been pofrefTed of about 50,0001. a-year, and palled through many of the highefl pods in the kingdom, died in the year 1687, in a remote inn in Yorkfliire, reduced to the utmoft mifery. Pope. " When this extraordinary man, with the figure and genius of Alcibiadcs, could equally charm the prelbyterian Fairfax, and the diffolute Charles; when he alike ridiculed that witty king, and his x 3 folemn 3 io MORAL ESSAYS. Ep.III. Gallant and gay, in Cliveden's proud alcove, The bow'r of wanton Shrewfbury and love j Or juft as gay, at Council, in a ring Of mimick Statefmen, and their merry King. 310 No fulemn chancellor ; when he plotted the ruin of his country with a cabal of bad mimfters ; or, equally unprincipled, fupported its caufe with bad patriots ; one laments that fuch parts fhould have been devoid of every virtue. But when Alcibiades turns chymift ; when he is a real bubble, and a vifionary mifer ; when ambition is but a frolic ; when the worft defigns are for the foolifheft ends ; con- tempt extinguifhes all reflections on his character. The portrait of this duke has been drawn by four mafterly hands : Burnet has hewn it with a rough chiflel : Count Hamilton touched it with that flight delicacy that finiflies while it feems to fketch : Dryden catched the living likenefs : Pope completed the hiftorical refem- blance. Yet the abilities of this Lord appear in no inftance more amazing, than that being expofed by two of the greateft Poets, he has expofed one of them ten times more fevercly. Zimri is an admirable portrait ; but Bayes an original creation. Dryden fatirized -Buckingham ; but Villers made Dryden fatirize him- felf." Catalogue of Noble Authors, vol. ii. p. 77. Warton. Ver. 307. Cliveden'] A delightful palace, on the banks of the Thames, built by the D. of Buckingham. Pope. Ver. 308. Shrew/bury"] The Countefs of Shrewfbury, a woman abandoned to gallantries. The Earl her hufband was killed by the Duke of Buckingham in a duel ; and it has been faid, that during the combat fhe held the Duke's horfes in the habit of a page. Pope. Ver. 308. The botu'r"] This very infamous Countefs of Shrewf- bury was eldeft daughter of Robert Brudenel Earl of Cardigan. Her hufband was killed March 16, 1667. She afterwards mar- ried George Rodney Bridges, Efq. fecond fon of Sir Thomas Bridges of Keynfham in Somerfetfhire, Knt. and died April 20, 1702. The noble houfe of Cliveden, fo delightfully and fuperbly fituated on the banks of the Thames, which had been the refi- dence of Frederick Prince of Wales, who lived in it for many years with a proper dignity and magnificence, attended by many of Ep.III. MORAL ESSAYS. 311 No Wit to flatter, left of all his (lore ! No Fool to laugh at, which he valu'd more. There, Victor of his health, of fortune, friends, And fame ; this lord of ufelefs thoufands ends. His Grace's fate fage Cutler could forefee, 3 1 5 And well (he thought) advis'd him, " Live like me." As well his Grace reply'd, " Like you, Sir John? " That I can do, when all I have is gone." Refolve me, Reafon, which of thefe is worfe, Want with a full, or with an empty purfe? 320 Thy life more wretched, Cutler, was confefs'd, Arife, and tell me, was thy death more blefs'd ? Cutler faw tenants break, and houfes fall, For very want ; he could not build a wall. His only daughter in a ftranger's pow'r, 325 For very want ; he could not pay a dowV. A few grey hairs his rev'rend temples crown'd, 'Twas very want that fold them for two pound. What ev'n deny'd a cordial at his end, BaninYd the doctor, and expelPd the friend ? 330 What NOTES. of the firft geniufes of the age, was unfortunately burnt to the ground in May 1795, and nothing of its elegant furniture pre - ferved from the flames but the fine tapeftry that reprefented the Duke of Marlborough's viftories. The beautiful Maflc of Alfred was written and a&ed at Cliveden in 1744. In the duel men- tioned above, the Duke of Buckingham had for his two feconds, captain Holmes and Mr. Jenkins. The Earl of Shrewsbury's feconds were Sir John Talbot of Laycock, and Mr. Bernard How- ard. The Duke of Buckingham mortally wounded the Earl. War ton. X 4 312 MORAL ESSAYS. Ep.III. What but a want, which you perhaps think mad, Yet numbers feel, the want of what he had ! Cutler and Brutus, dying, both exclaim, " Virtue ! and Wealth ! what are ye but a name !" Say, for fuch worth are other worlds prepared ? Or are they both, in this, their own reward ? 336 A knotty point ! to which we now proceed. But you are tir'd I'll tell a tale. B. Agreed. P. Where London's column, pointing at the fkies Like a tall bully, lifts the head, and lies ; 340 There VARIATIONS. Ver. 337. in the former Editions : That knotty point, my Lord, mall I difcufs, Or tell a tale ? A Tale. It follows thus. COMMENTARY. Ver. 339. Where London's column, &c.~] For, the foregoing examples of profufion and avarice having been given, to fhew that wealth mifapplied was not enjoyed, it only remained to prove, that, in fuch circumftances, wealth became the heaviejl puni/hment ; and this was the very point to conclude with, as it is the great Moral of this inftrudtive Poem ; which is to teach us, hotu mife- rable men make them/elves by not endeavouring to rejirain the Ruling Paffion, though it be indeed implanted in us by the Author of our Nature ; while, at the fame time, it is an anfwer to the latter part of the queltion, " Say, NOTES. Ver. 339. Where London's column,"} The Monument built in memory of the fire of London, with an infeription importing that city to have been burnt by the Papifts. Pope- Ver. 340. Li he a tall bully, lifts the head, and lies f\ It were to be wiftied, the City monument had been compared to fomething of more dignity : As, to the Court-champion, for inftance, fince, like him, it only fpoke the fenfe of the Government. Scribl. Warburton. Ep. III. MORAL ESSAYS. 313 There dwelt a Citizen of fober fame, A plain good man, and Balaam was his name ; Religious, COMMENTARY. " Say, for fuch worth are other worlds prepar'd ? Or are they both, in this, their own reward ?" For the folution of which only, this Example was jocularly pre- tended to have been given. All this, the Poet has admirably fupported in the artful con- ftrudtion of his fable of Sir Balaam ; whofe character is fo drawn, as to let the Reader fee he had it in his power to regulate the ruling Pafjion by Reafon, as having in himfelf the feeds of integrity, religion, and fobriety. Thefe are all gradually worked out by an infatiable thirjl of 'wealth ; and this again (through a falfe fenfe of his own abilities in acquiring it) fucceeded by as immoderate a vanity : Which will lead us to another beauty in the management of the Story. For, in order to fee, in one concluding Example, the miferies of exorbitant wealth, ill employed, it was necefiary to fet before the Reader, at once, all the mifufe that flowed both from avarice and profujion. The vices of the Citizen and the Noble, therefore, which were feparated, and contrafted in the foregoing inftances, are here (hewn incorporated in a Courtly Cit. Perhaps it will be faid, that the character has, by this means, the appearance of two ruling Paflions : but thofe ftudied in human nature know the contrary ; and that alieni appetens fui profufus, is frequently as much one as either the profufe or avaricious apart. Indeed, this is fo far from an inaccuracy, that it produces a new beauty. The Ruling Paflion is of two kinds, the fimpie and the complex. The firft fort, the Poet had given examples of before. Nothing then remained to complete his philofophic plan, but to conclude with the other. Let me only obferve further, that the Author, NOTES. Ver. 341. There dwelt a Citizen'] This tale of Sir Balaam, his progrefs and change of manners, from being a plodding, fober, plain, and punctual citizen, to his becoming a debauched and dif- folutc courtier and fenator, abounds in much knowledge of life, and many ftrokes of true humour, and will bear to be compared to the exquifite hiftory of Eugenio and Crofodes in one of Swift's Intelligencers. War ton. 314 MORAL ESSAYS. Ep.III. Religious, punctual, frugal, and fo forth ; His word would pafs for more than he was worth. One folid difh his week-day meal affords, 345 An added pudding folemniz'd the Lord's : Conftant at Church, and 'Change ; his gains were fure, His givings rare, fave farthings to the poor. The Dev'l was piqu'd fuch faintfhip to behold, And long'd to tempt him like good Job of old : 350 But Satan now is wifer than of yore, And tempts by making rich, not making poor. Rous'd by the Prince of Air, the whirlwinds fweep The furge, and plunge his Father in the deep ; Then COMMENTARY. Author, in this Tale, has artfully fummed up and recapitulated thofe three principal mifchiefs in the abufe of money, which the fatir'ical part of this Poem throughout was employed to expofe, namely Avarice, Profusion, and public Corruption. " Conftant at Church, and 'Change ; his gains were fure, His givings rare, fave farthings to the poor." " Leaves the dull Cits, and joins (to pleafe the fair) The well-bred Cuckolds in St. James's air." *' In Britain's Senate he a feat obtains, And one more Penfioner St, Stephen gains." War burton, notes. Ver. 346. An added pudding~\ It would be curious to trace the origin of this old Englifh cuftom : '* With a pudding on Sunday, with flout humming liquor, And remnants of Latin, to welcome the vicar !" See that old excellent ballad, the " Old Man's Wifh," where there is this note : " Though the Poet never eats any, yet he provides this difh for his guefts ; but principally in Obfervance of the old Englifh cuftcm, to let no Sunday pafs without a pudding ! !" Ep. III. MORAL ESSAYS. 315 Then full againfl his Cornifh lands they roar, 355 And two rich fhipwrecks blefs the lucky fhore. Sir Balaam now, he lives like other folks, He takes his chirping pint, and cracks his jokes : 46 Live like yourfelf," was foon my Lady's word ; And lo ! two puddings fmoak'd upon the board. 360 Afleep and naked as an Indian lay, An honed: fa&or ftole a Gem away : He pledg'd it to the Knight, the Knight had wit, So kept the Di'mond, and the rogue was bit. 364 Some fcruple rofe, but thus he eas'd his thought, " I'll now give fixpence where I gave a groat ; " Where once I went to church, I'll now go twice " And am fo clear too of all other vice." The Tempter faw his time ; the work he ply'd j Stocks and Subscriptions pour on ev'ry fide, 370 Till NOTES. Ver.. 355. CornlfJj'] The Author has placed the fcene of thefe fhipwrecks in Cornwall, not only from their frequency on that coaft, but from the inhumanity of the inhabitants to thofe to whom that misfortune arrives : When a (hip happens to be ftranded there, they have been known to bore holes in it, to prevent its getting off; to plunder, and fometimes even to maffacre the people : Nor has the Parliament of England been yet able wholly to fupprefs thefe barbarities. Pops. Ver. 356. lucky Jbore.~] The common people in Cornwall call, as impioufly as inhumanely, a fhipwreck on their fhores, " a God- fend." A fhip, whole owner was unknown, if loll on the coail of Cornwall, would in general belong to the Prince of Wales, as Duke of Cornwall. There are, however, many exceptions. The Arundel Family claim any fhip loft in Mount's Bay. It is not generally known, that if there is a living creature on board, a cat or a dog, when a keffel ic ftranded, it is not coniidered in law as a wreck. 7 3 i6 MORAL ESSAYS. Ep.IIL Till all the Demon makes his full defcent In one abundant fhow'r of Cent per Cent, Sinks deep within him, and poffefles whole, Then dubs Director, and fecures his foul. Behold Sir Balaam, now a man of fpirit, ,375 Afcribes his gettings to his parts and merit ; ' What late he call'd a Blefling, now was Wit, And God's good Providence, a lucky Hit. Things NOTES. Ver. 377. What late he call'd a Blejfing, now was Wit, &c.~} This is an admirable pidtui'e of human nature : In the entrance into life, all, but coxcombs-born, are modeft ; and efteem the favours of their fuperiors as marks of their benevolence : But if thefe favours happen to increafe ; then, in (lead of advancing in gratitude to our benefactors, we only improve in the good opinion of ourfelves ; and the conftant returns of fuch favours make us confider them no longer as accommodations to our wants, or the hire of our fervice, but debts due to our merit : Yet, at the fame time, to do juftice to our common nature, we (hould obferve, that this does not proceed fo often from downright vice as is imagined, but frequently from mere infirmity ; of which the rea- fon is evident ; for, having fmall knowledge, and yet an exceffive opinion of ourfelves, we eftimate our merit by the paflions and caprice of others ; and this perhaps would not be fo much amifs, were we not apt to take their favours for a declaration of their fenfe of our merits. How often, for inftance, has it been feen, in the three learned Profeflions, that a Man, who, had he con- tinued in his primeval meannefs, would have circumfcribed his knowledge within the modeft limits of Socrates ; yet, htmgpajhcd up, as the phrafe is, has felt himfelf growing into a Hooker, a Hales, or a Sydenham ; while, in the rapidity of his courfe, he imagined he faw, at every new ftation, a new door of fcience opening to him, without fo much as flaying for a Flatterer to let him in ? " Beatus enim jam Cum pulchris tunicis fumet nova confilia," War burton. Ep. III. MORAL ESSAYS. 317 Things change their titles, as our manners turn : His Compting-houfe employ'd the Sunday-morn j Seldom at Church ('twas fuch a bufy life) 381 But duly fent his family and wife. There (fo the Dev'l ordain'd) one Ohriflmas-tide My good old Lady catch'd a cold, and dy'd. A Nymph of Quality admires our Knight ; 385 He marries, bows at Court, and grows polite : Leaves the dull Cits, and joins (to pleafe the fair) The well-bred cuckolds in St. James's air : Firft, for his Son a gay Commiflion buys, Who drinks, whores, fights, and in a duel dies : 390 His Daughter flaunts a Vifcount's tawdry wife ; She bears a Coronet and P x for life. In Britain's Senate he a feat obtains, And one more Penfioner St. Stephen gains. My Lady falls to play ; fo bad her chance, 395 He muft repair it ; takes a bribe from France ; The Houfe impeach him ; Coningiby harangues ; The Court forfake him, and Sir Balaam hangs : Wife, fon, and daughter, Satan ! are thy own, His wealth, yet dearer, forfeit to the Crown : 400 The Devil and the King divide the Prize, And fad Sir Balaam curfes God and dies. NOTES. VER.401. The Devil and the King divide the Prize,"] This is to be underftood in a very fober and decent fenfe ; as a Satire only on fuch Minifters of State (which Hiltory informs us have been found) who IMITATIONS. Ver. 394. And one more Penfioner St. Stephen gains.'] " atquc unum civem donare Sibylla." Jvv. 3i8 MORAL ESSAYS. Ep.III. who aided the Devil in his temptations., in order to foment, if not to make, Plots for the fake of confiscations. So fure always, and juft, is our Author's fatire, even in thofe places where he feems moft to have indulged himfelf only in an elegant badinage. But this Satire on the abufe of the general laws of forfeiture for high treafon, which laws all well-policied communities have found neceflary, is by no means to be underftood as a reflection on the Laws themfelves ; whofe neceffity, equity, and even lenity, have been excellently well vindicated in that very learned and elegant Difcourfe, intitled, Some Conftderations on the Laiv of Forfeiture for High Treafon. Third Edition, London, 1748. Warburton. Methinks it was better in the former Editions, becaufe fhorter : " Wife, fon, and daughter, Satan ! are thy prize, And fad Sir Balaam curfes God and dies." Warton. VER.4C2. curfes God'] Alluding to the fecond chapter of the Book of Job ; on which paffage Warburton made (Divine Lega- tion, Bookvi.) the following remarkable obfervation : " The wife of Job acts a fmall part in this drama, but a very fpirited one. Then faid his wife unto him, ' Doll thou ftill retain thy integrity? Curfe God and die.' Tender and pious! He might fee by this prelude of his fpoufe, what he was to expect from his friends. The Devil, indeed, affaulted Job, but he feems to have got poffeffon of his wife !" p. 261. Warton. C 3 ! 9 3 EPISTLE IV. TO RICHARD BOYLE, Earl of BURLINGTON. ARGUMENT. Of the Ufe of RICHES. THE Vanity of Expence in People of Wealth and Quality. The abufe of the Word Tafte, Ver. 13. That the frjl prin- ciple and foundation in this, as in every thing elfe, is Good Senfe, Ver. 40. The chief proof of it is to follow Nature, even in works of mere Luxury and Elegance. Inflanced in Architecture and Gardening, where all mujl be adapted to the Genius and Ufe of the Place, and the Beauties not forced into it, but refulting from it, Ver. 50. Hoiv men are dij ap- pointed in their mojl expenfive undertakings, for want of this true Foundation, without which nothing can pleafe long, if at all , and the be)} Examples and Rules will be but perverted into fmething burdenfome and ridiculous, Ver. 65, &c. to 92. A defcription of the falfe Tafte of Magnificence j the f if grand Error of which is to imagine that Greatnefs confjls in the Size and D'uncnCion, infead of the Proportion and Harmony of the whole, Ver. 97. and the fecond, either in joining together Parts incoherent, or too minutely re- fembling, or in the Repetition of the fame too frequently, Ver. 105, &c. A word or two of falfe Tafe in Books, in Mufic, in Painting, even in Preaching and Prayer, and lafly in Entertainments, Ver. 133, &c. Tet Provi- dence is jt fifed in giving Wealth to be fquandered in this 3 2o ARGUMENT. manner t fince it is difperfed to the Poor and laborious part of tnanktnd y/Ver. 169. [recurring to what is laid down in the Jirji book., Ep. ii. and in the Epi/lle preceding this, Ver. 1 59, &c] What are the proper Objects of Magnificence, and a proper fi eld for the Expence of Great Men, Ver. 177, &c. and finally the Great and Public Works which become a Prince, Ver. 191, to the end. C 3* 1 3 EPISTLE IV. ?npis ftrange, the Mifer fliould his Cares employ To gain thofe Riches he can ne'er enjoy : Is it lefs ftrange, the Prodigal mould wafte His wealth, to purchafe what he ne'ercan tafte? Not COMMENTARY. Epistle IV.] The extremes of jlvarice and Profufion being treated of in the foregoing Epiftle ; this takes up one branch of the latter, the Vanity of expenfve Tafle, in people of wealth and condition ; and is therefore a corollary to the preceding, juft as the Epiftle on the Characters of Women is to that of the Knowledge and Characters of Men. It is equally eftimable with the reft, as on other accounts, fo likewife for exa&nefs of method. But the nature of the fubjec~t, which is lefs philofophical, makes it capable of being analyfed in a lefs compafs. Ver. i. 'Tisfirange, CsV.] The Poet's introduction (fromver. I to 39.) confifts of a very curious remark, arifing from his inti- mate knowledge of nature ; together with an illuftration of that remark, taken from his obfervations on life. It is this, that Prodigal no more enjoys his profufion, than the Mifer his rapacity. It was generally thought that Avarice only kept, without enjoy- ment ; but the Poet here firft acquaints us with a circumftance in human life much more to be lamented, viz. that Profufion too can communicate, without it ; whereas Enjoyment was thought to be as peculiarly the reward of the beneficent paflions (of which this has the appearance), as ivant of enjoyment was the puniftunent of the felffo. The phenomenon obferved is odd enough. But if we look NOTES. Ver. 1. 'Tisffrangc,'] This Epiftle was written and published before the preceding one ; and the placing it after the third, has occasioned fome aukward anachronifms and inconliftencies. Warton. tot. III. * 3 12 MORAL ESSAYS. Ep.IV. Not for himfelf he fees, or hears, or eats ; 5 Artifts mud chufe his Pi&ures, Mufic, Meats : He buys for Topham, Drawings and Defigns, For Pembroke, Statues, dirty Gods, and Coins ; Rare COMMENTARY. look more narrowly into this matter, we fhall find, that Prodiga- lity, when in purfuit of Tafte, is only a mode of *vanity, and confe- quently ^sfelfiflj a paflion as even Avarice itfelf ; and it is of the ordonnanee and conftitution of all felfifh paflions, when growing to an excefs, to defeat their own end, which is Self-enjoyment. But befides the accurate philofophy of this obfervation, there is a fine morality contained in it ; namely, that ill-got Wealth is not only as vnreafonably, but as uncomfortably, fquandered, as it was raked together ; which the Poet himfelf further infmuates in ver. 15. " What brought Sir Vifto's ill-got wealth to wafte ?" He then illuftrates the above obfervation by divers examples in every branch of wrong Tafte ; and to fet their abfurdities in the ftrongeft light, he, in conclufion, contrails them with feveral inftances of the true, in the Nobleman to whom the Epiftle is addrefTed. This difpofition is productive of ! various beauties ; for, by this means, the introduction becomes an epitome of the body of the Epiftle ; which, as we (hall fee, confifts of general reflections on Tafte, and particular examples of bad and good. And his friend's example concluding the introduction, leads the Poet grace, fully into the fubject itfelf; for the'Lord, here celebrated for hi3 good Tafte, was now at hand to deliver the firft and fundamental precept of it himfelf, which gives authority and dignity to all that follow. Warburton. NOTES. Ver. 7. Topham,] A Gentleman famous for a judicious collec- tion of Drawings. Pope. Ver. 8. For Pembroke, Statues,'] " The foul of Inigo Jones," fays Mr. Walpole, " which had been patronized by the anceftors of Henry Earl of Pembroke, feemed ftill to hover over its favourite Wilton, and to have aflifted the Mufes of Arts in the education of this noble perfon. The towers, the chambers, the fcenes which Holbein, Jones, and Vandyck had decorated, and which Earl Thomas had enriched with the fpoils of the beft ages, received the laft touches of beauty from Earl Henry's hand." Warton. Ep.IV. MORAL ESSAYS. 323 Rare monkifh Mamifcripts for Hearne alone, And Books for Mead, and Butterflies for Sloane. 10 Think we all thefe are for himfelf ? no more Than his fine Wife, alas ! or finer Whore. For what has Virro painted, built, and planted ? Only to fhow, how many Tafles he wanted. What brought Sir Vifto's ill-got wealth to wafle ? 15 Some Demon whifper'd, " Vifto ! have a Tafte." Heav'n vifits with a Tafte the wealthy fool, And needs no Rod but Ripley with a Rule. See ! fportive Fate, to punifh aukward pride, Bids Bubo build, and fends him fuch a Guide : 20 A (landing NOTES. Ver. 9. Hearne] Well known as an Antiquarian. Ver. IO. And Books for Mead, and Butterflies for Sloane. ] Two eminent Phyficians : the one had an excellent Library, the other the fineft collection in Europe of natural curiofities ; both men of great learning and humanity. Pope. Ver. 11. Think nve all tbefe~\ The oftentation of this man of falfe tafte is only here ridiculed ; he has no enjoyment of either of the two objects of falfe magnificence here mentioned. Warton. Ver. 17. Heav'n vifits ivifh a Tajle the wealthy fool,] The pre- fent rage of Tajle, in this overflow of general Luxury, may be very properly reprcfented by a defolaling pejlilcnce, alluded to in the word vifit. Warburton. Ver. 18. Ripley] This man was a carpenter, employed by a firft Miniiler, who raifed him to an Architect, without any genius in the art ; and after fome wretched proofs of his infufficiency in public Buildings, made him Comptroller of the Board of Works. Pope. Mr. Walpole fpeaks more favourably of this architect. Warton. Ver. 19. See! fportive Fate, to pimijh aukivard pride,] Pride is one of the greatcft mifchiefs, as well as highefl abfurdities of our nature ; and therefore, as appears both from profane and facrcd y 2 Hilt orv 324 MORAL ESSAYS. Ep.IV. A (landing fermon, at each year's expence, That never Coxcomb reach'd Magnificence I You fhow us, Rome was glorious, not profufe, And pompous buildings once were things of Ufe. Yet VARIATIONS. After Ver. 22. in the MS. Muft Bifhops, Lawyers, Statefmen have the fkill To build, to plant, judge paintings, what you will ? Then why not Kent as well our treaties draw, Bridgraan explain the Gofpel, Gibbs the Law ? NOTES. Hiftory, has ever been the more peculiar object of divine ven- geance. But aukivard Pride intimates fuch abilities in its owner, as eafes us of the apprehenfion of much mifchief from it ; fo that the Poet fuppofes fuch a one fecure from the ferious refentment of Heaven, though it may permit fate or fortune to bring him into that public contempt and ridicule, which his natural badnefs of heart fo well deferves. Warburton. Ver. 20. Bids Bubo build,"] He means Bub Dodington's mag- nificent palace at Eaftbury near Blandford, which he had juft finifhed. Ver. 23. The Earl of Burlington was then publishing the Defigns of Inigo Jones, and the Antiquities of Rome by Palladio. Pope. Ver. 23. Toujho'zv us, Roms~\ " Never was protection and great wealth *," fays an able judge of the fubject, " more generoufly and judicioufly diffufed than by this great perfon, who had every quality of a genius and artift, except envy. Though his own deligns were more chafte and claffic than Kent's, he entertained him in his houfe till his death, and was more ftudious to extend his friend's fame than his own. As we have few famples of architecture more antique and impofing than the colonnade within the court of his houfe in Piccadilly, I cannot help mentioning the effect it had on myfelf- I had not only never feen it, but had never heard of it, at leaft with any attention, when, foon after my return from Italy, I was invited * Mr. Walpole, p. 10S. Anecdotes of Painting, vol. iv. Ep.IV. MORAL ESSAYS. 325 Yet fhall (my Lord) your juft, your noble rules, 25 Fill half the land with Imitating Fools j Who NOTES. invited to a ball at Burlington-houfe. As I patted under the gate by night, it could not ftrike me. At day-break, looking out of the window to fee the fun rife, I war. furprifed with the vifion of the colonnade that fronted me. It feemed one of thofe edifices in Fairy tales, that are raifed by genii in a night's time." Pope having appeared an excellent moralift in the foregoing Epiftlcs, in this appears to be as excellent aconnoiffeur, and has given not only fome of our firft, but our beft rules and obfervations on architecture and gardening, but particularly on the latter of thefe ufeful and entertaining arts, on which he has dwelt more largely, and with rather more knowledge of the fubjecL The following is copied verbatim from a little paper which he gave to Mr. Spence : " Arts are taken from nature ; and, after a thoufand vain efforts for improvements, are beft when they return to their firft fimplicity. A fketch or analyfis of the firft principles of each art, with their firft confequences, might be a thing of moil excellent fervice. Thus, for inftancc, all the rules of architecture might be reducible to three or four heads; thejuftnefs of the openings; bearings upon bearings ; the regularity of the pillars, &c. That which is not juft in buildings is difagreeable to the eye (as a greater upon a leffer, &c), and this may be called the reafon'mg of the eye. In laying out a garden, the firft and chief thing to be confidered is the genius of the place. Thus at Rifkins, now called Piercy Lodge, Lord * * * fhould have raifed two or three mounts, becaufe his fituation is all a plain, and nothing can pleafe without variety." ^ Mr. Walpole, in his elegant and entertaining Hiftory of Modern Gardening, has clearly proved that Kent was the artift to whom the Englifh nation was chiefly indebted for diffufing a tafte in laying out grounds, of which the French and Italians have no idea. But he adds, much to the credit of our Author, that Pope undoubtedly contributed to form Kent's tafte. The defign of the Prince of Wales's garden at Carlton Houfe was evidently borrowed from the Poet's at Twickenham. There was a little affected modefty in the latter, when he faid, of all his Works he was molt proud of his garden. And yet it was a fingular effort of art and y 3 tafte 326 MORAL ESSAYS. Ep. IV. Who random drawings from your meets mail take, And of one beauty many blunders make ; Load NOTES. tafte to imprefs fo much variety and fcenery on a fpot of five acres. The paffing through the gloom from the grotto to the opening day, the retiring and again aflembling fhades, the dufky groves, the larger lawn, and the folemnity of the termination at the cypreffes that lead up to his mother's tomb, arc managed with exquifite judgment ; and though Lord Peterborough affifted him " To form his quincunx, and to rank his vines," thofe were not the moil pleafing ingredients of his little perfpec- tive. I do not know whether the difpofition of the garden at Roufham, laid out by General Dormer, and, in my opinion, the moft engaging of all Kent's works, was not planned on the model of Mr. Pope's, at lead in the opening and retiring " fhades of Venus'sVale." It ought to be obferved, that many years before this Epiftle was written, and before Kent was employed as an improver of grounds, even fo early as the year 1713, Pope feems to have been the very firft perfon that cenfured and ridiculed the formal French, Dutch, falfe and unnatural mode in gardening, by a paper in the Guardian, No. 173, levelled againft capricious operations of art, and every fpecies of verdant fculpture and inverted nature ; which paper abounds with wit as well as tafte, and ends with a ridiculous catalogue of various figures cut in evergreens. Neither do I think that thefe four lines in this Epiftle, " Here Amphitrite fails thro' myrtle bow'rs ; There gladiators fight, or die in flow'rs : Unwater'd fee the drooping fea-horfe mourn. And fwallows root! on Nilus' dufty urn ;" do at all excel the following paffage in his Guardian : ** A citizen is no fooner proprietor of a couple of yews, but he entertains thoughts of erecting them into giants, like thofe of Guildhall. I know of an eminent cook who beautified his coun- try-feat with a coronation dinner in greens, where you fee the champion flourifhing on horfeback at the end of the table, and the queen in perpetual youth at the other." But Ep.IV. MORAL ESSAYS. 327 Load fome vain Church with old Theatric flate, Turn Arcs of Triumph to a Garden-gate j 30 Reverfe NOTES. But it was the vigorous and creative imagination of Milton, fuperior to the prejudices of his time, that exhibited in his Eden the firft hints and outlines of what a beautiful garden mould be ; for even his beloved Ariofto and Taffo, in their luxuriant picture* of the gardens of Alcina and Armida, (hewed they were not free from the unnatural and narrow tafte of their countrymen ; and even his mailer, Spenfer, has an artificial fountain in the midft of his bower of blifs- I cannot forbear taking occafion to remark in this place, that in the facred drama, intitled L'Adamo, written and publifhed at Milan, ia the year 1617, by Gio Battifta Andreini, a Florentine, which Milton certainly had read, (and of which Voltaire has given fo falfe and fo imperfect an account in his Eflays on the Epic Poets,) the priuts that are to reprefent Paradife are full of dipt hedges, fquare parterres, ftraight walks, trees uniformly lopt, regu- lar knots and carpets of flowers, groves nodding at groves, marble fountains, and water-works. And yet thefe prints were defigned by Carlo Antonio Proccachini, a celebrated landfcape painter of his time, and of the fchool of the Carraches : many of thofe works are (till admired at Milan. To every fcene of this drama is pre- fixed a print of this artift's defigning. The poem, though wild and incorrect, has many ftrokes of genius. The author was an a&or. It hence appears, that this enchanting art of modern gardening, in which this kingdom claims a preference over every nation in Europe, chiefly owes its origin and its improvements to two great poets, Milton and Pope. May I be fuffered to add, in behalf of a favourite author, and who would have been a firft-rate poet, if hi6 ftyle had been equal to his conceptions, that the Seafons of Thomfon have been very inftrumental in diffuiing a general tafte for the beauties of nature and landfcape ? Warton. Ver. 29. Load fome vain Church iv'ith old Theatric Jlate,~] In which there is a complication of abfurdities, arifing both from their different natures and forms : For the one being for religious fervice, and the other only for civil amufement, it is impoflible that the profufe and lafcivious ornaments of the latter fhould become the y 4 modefty 3*8 MORAL ESSAYS. Ep.IV. Reverfe your Ornaments ; and hang them all On fome patch'd dog-hole ek'd with ends of wall ; Then NOTES. modefty and fanftity of the other. Nor will any examples of this vanity of drefs in the facred buildings of antiquity juftify this imi- tation ; for thofe ornaments might be very fuitable to a Temple of Bacchus, or Venus, which would ill become the fobriety and purity of the Chriftian Religion. Befides, it fhould be considered, that the form of a Theatre would not permit the architectonic ornaments to be placed but on the outward face ; whereas thofe of a Church may be as commo- dioufly, and are more properly, put within ; particularly in great and clofe pent-up Cities, where the inceflant driving of the fmoke, in a little time, corrodes and deftroys all outward ornaments of this kind ; efpecially if the members, as in the common tafte, be fmall and little. Our Gothic anceftors had jufter and manlier notions of magni- ficence, on Greek and Roman ideas, than thefe Mimics of Tq/le, who profefs to ftudy only clalfic elegance. And becaufe the thing does honour to the genius of thofe Barbarians, I fhall endea- vour to explain it. All our ancient Churches are called, without diftinction, Gothic; but erroneoufly. They are of two forts ; the one built in the Saxon times ; the other in the Norman. Several Cathedral and Collegiate Churches of the firft fort are yet remaining, either in the whole or in part : of which, this was the Original : When the Saxon kings became Chriftian, their piety (which was the piety of the times) confifted in building Churches at home, and performing pilgrimages abroad, efpecially to the Holy Land : and thefe fpiritual Exercifes affifted and fupported one another. For the moil venerable as well as moft elegant models of religious edifices were then in Paleftine. From thefe, our Saxon Builders took the whole of their ideas, as may be feen by comparing the drawings which travellers have given us of the Churches yet Hand- ing in that country, with the Saxon remains of what we find at home ; and particularly in that famenefs of ftyle in the later reli- gious edifices of the Knights Templars (profeffedly built upon the model of the church of the Holy Sepulchre at Jerufalem) with the earlier remains of our Saxon Edifices. Now the architecture of the Holy Land was Grecian, but greatly fallen from its ancient elegance. Ep. IV. MORAL ESSAYS. 329 Then clap four flices of Pilafter on't, That, lac'd with bits of ruftic, makes a Front. Shall NOTES. elegance. Our Saxon performance was indeed a bad copy of it ; and as much inferior to the works of St. Helene and Juftinian, as theirs were to the Grecian models they had followed : Yet ftill the footfteps of ancient art appeared in the circular arches, the entire columns, the divifion of the entablature, into a fort of Architrave, Frize, and Corniche, and a folidity equally difFufed over the whole mafs. This, by way of diftinction, I would call the Saxon Architecture. But our Norman works had a very different original. When the Goths had conquered Spain, and the genial warmth of the climate, and the religion of the old inhabitants, had ripened their wits, and inflamed their miftaken piety, (both kept in exercife by the neighbourhood of the Saracens, through emulation of their fcience and averfion to their fuperftition), they ftrack out a new fpecies of Architecture unknown to Greece and Rome ; upon ori- ginal principles and ideas much nobler than what had given birth even to clafllcal magnificence : For this northern people having been accuftomed, during the gloom of Paganifm, to worfhip the Deity in Groves (a practice common to ail nations), when their new religion required covered edifices, they ingenioufly projected to make them refemble Groves, as nearly as the diftance of Archi- tecture would permit ; at once indulging their old prejudices, and providing for their prefent conveniencies, by a cool receptacle in a fultry climate. And with what fkill and fuccefs they executed the project by the aiTiltance of Saracen Architects, whofe exotic ftyle of building very luckily fuited their purpofe, appears from hence, That no attentive obferver ever viewed a regular Avenue of well-grown trees, intermixing their branches over head, but it prefently put him in mind of the long Villo through a Gothic Cathedral ; or ever entered one of the larger and more elegant Edi- fices of this kind, but it reprefented to his imagination an Avenue of trees. And this alone is what can be truly called the Gothic ftyle of Building. Under this idea, of fo extraordinary a fpecies of Architecture, all the irregular tranfgrefiions againft art, all the monftrous offences againft nature, difappear ; every thing has its reafon, every 33<> MORAL ESSAYS. Ep.IV. Shall call the winds thro* long arcades to roar, 35 Proud to catch cold at a Venetian door ; Confcious every thing is in order, and an harmonious Whole arifes from the ftudious application of means, proper and proportioned to the end. For could the Arches be otherwise than pointed when the Work- man was to imitate that curve which branches of two oppoiite trees make by their interfeftion with one another ? Or could the Columns be otherwife than fplit into dillind (hafts, when they were to reprefent the Stems of a clump of Trees growing cloie toge- ther ?. On the fame principles they formed the fpreading ramifi- cation of the ftone-work in the windows, and the ftained glafs in the interftices ; the one to reprefent the branches, and the other the leaves, of an opening Grove ; and both concurred to preferve that gloomy light which infpires religious reverence and dread. Laftly, we fee the reafon of their ftudied averiion to apparent folidity in thefe ftupendous mafTes, deemed fo abfurd by men accuftomed to the apparent as well as real ftrength of Grecian Architecture . Had it been only a wanton exercife of the Artift's flail, to mew he could give real ftrength without the appearance of any, we might indeed admire his fuperior fcience, but we muft needs condemn his ill judgment. But when one confiders, that this furpriling light- nefs was neceffary to complete the execution of his idea of a Sylvan place of worfhip, one cannot fufficiently admire the ingenuity of the contrivance. This too will account for the contrary qualities in what I caU the Saxon Architecture. Thefe Artifts copied, as has been faid, from the churches in the Holy Land, which were built on the models of the Grecian Architecture ; but corrupted by prevailing barbarifm ; and ftill further depraved by a religious idea. The firft places of Chriftian worfhip were Sepulchres and fubterraneous caverns, low and heavy from neceffity. When Chriftianity became the Religion of the State, and fumptuous Temples began to be erected, they yet, in regard to the firft pious ages, preferved the maffive Style ; made ftill more venerable by the Church of the Holy Sepulchre; where this ftyle was, on a double account, followed and aggravated. Such as is here defcribed was Gothic Architecture. And it would be no difcredit to the warmeft admirers of Jones and Pal- ladia to acknowledge it hath its merit. Thev muft at leaft confefs 7 it Ep.IV. MORAL ESSAYS. 331 Confcious they act a true Palladian part, And if they ftarve, they ftarve by rules of art. Oft have you hinted to your brother Peer, A certain truth, which many buy too dear : 40 Something COMMENTARY. Ver. 39. Oft have you hinted to your brother Peer, A certain truth , ~] and in this artful manner begins the body of the Epiftle. I. The firfl part of it (from ver, 38 to 99.) delivers rules for attaining to the magnificent in jull expence ; which is the fame in Building and Planting, that the sublime is in Painting and Poetry ; and confequently, the qualities neceffary for the attain- ment of both mud be analogous. 1. The NOTES. it had a nobler birth, though an humbler fortune, than the Greek and Roman Architecture. The Reader may fee Sir Chrifto- pher Wren's* account of this matter from fome papers of his, published fince the printing this, in a book called Parentalia, page 273 297 306-7-8 355, and then judge for himfelf. Warburton. See Wren's Parentalia, the Preface to Bentham's Hiftory of Ely Cathedral, in which it is faid he was aflifted by Gray. Warton. Ver. 30. Turn Arcs of Triumph to a Garden-gate ;~] This abfur- dity feems to have arifen from an injudicious imitation of what thefe Builders might have heard of, at the entrance of the ancient Gardens of Rome : But they do not confider, that thofe were public Gardens, given to the people by fome great man after a triumph ; to which, therefore, Arcs of this kind were very fuit- able ornaments. Warburton. Ver. 36. Proud to catch cold at a Venetian door ;~\ In the fore- going initancts, the Poet expofes the abfurd imitation of foreign and difcordant manners in public buildings ; here he turns to the ftill greater abfurdity of taking their models from a difcordant climate, in their private ; which folly, he fuppofes, maybe more eafily redrefled, as men will be fooner brought to feel for them- felves than to fee for the public. Warburton. 332 MORAL ESSAYS. Ep. IV. Something there is more needful than Expence, And fomething previous ev'n to Tafte 'tis Senfe : Good Senfe, which only is the gift of Heav'n, And though no Science, fairly worth the feven : A Light, which in yourfelf you muft perceive ; 45 Jones and Le Notre have it not to give. To build, to plant, whatever you intend, To rear the Column, or the Arch to bend, To COMMENTARY. I. The firft and fundamental, he ftiews (from ver. 38 to 4.7.) to be Sense : " Good Senfe, which only is the gift of Heav'n ; And tho' no Science, fairly worth the feven." And for that reafon ; not only as it is the foundation and parent of them all, and the conilant regulator and director of their ope- rations ; or, as the Poet better expreffes it, of every art the foul ; but likevvife as it alone can, in cafe of need, very often fupply the offices of every one of them. Warburton. Ver. 47. To build, to plant, lfjc.~\ 2. The next quality, for dignity and ufe, is Taste, and but the next: For, as the Poet truly obferves, there is fomething previous ev'u to Tajle 'tis Senfe; and this in the order of things : For Senfe is a tafte and true con* ception of Nature ; and Tafte is a fenfe or true conception of beau- tiful Nature ; but we muft iirft know the eflences of things, before we can judge truly of their qualities : The bufinefs of Tafte, therefore, in the purfuit of magnificence, is as the Poet ftiews us (from ver. 46 to 65.), 1. (to ver. 51.) To catch or lay hold on Nature, where fhe appears moil in her charms. 2. (to ver. 57.) To adorn her, when taken, as beft fuits her dignity and quality ; that is, to drefs her in the light and modeft habit of a Virgin, not load NOTES. Ver. 46. Le N6tre~\ The architect of the groves and grottos of Verfailles : He came hither on a miffion to improve our tafte. He planted St. James's and Greenwich Parks: no great monu- ments of his invention. Walpole on Gardening, p. 278. Ep.IV. MORAL ESSAYS. 333 To fwell the Terras, or to fink the Grot ; In all, let Nature never be forgot. 50 But COMMENTARY. load her with the gaudy ornaments of a Proftitute. This rule obferved, will prevent a tranfgrefiion in the following, which is, not to let all her beauties be feen at once, but in fuccefiion ; for that advantage is infeparable from a graceful and well-drefled perfon. 3. (to ver. 65.) To take care that the ornaments be well dire&ed to that part, which it is your purpofe to adorn ; and as, in drefling out a modeft Fair (which is the Poet's own comparifon), the colours are fuited to her complexion ; the (luff, to the pro- portion of her perfon ; and the fafhion, to her air and fhape ; fo in ornamenting a Villa, the rife or fall of waters mould corrtfpond to its acclivities or declivities ; the artificial hills or vales, to its cover or expofure ; and the manner of calling in the country, to the difpo- fttion of its afpect. But again, as in the illuftration, whatever be the variety in colour, (luff, or fafhion, they muft ftill be fo fuited with refpect to one another, as to produce an agreement and har- mony in their aflemblage : fo woods, waters, mountains, vales, and villas muft, amidft all their diverfity, be fo difpofed with a relation to each other, as to create a perfect fymmetry refulting from the whole ; and this, the Genius of the place, when rcligioufly con- fulted, will never fail to inform us of ; who, as the Poet fays, " Now breaks, or now directs, th' intending lines ; Paints as you plant, and, as you work, defigns." And this is a full and complete defcription of the office ofTafle. Warburton. NOTE S. Ver. 5c. In all, let Nature'] In Caftell's Villas of the Ancients, folio, London, 1728, may be feen how much the celebrated Tuf- can villa refembled our gardens, as they were planned a few years ago. Pliny's villa was like his genius. War ton. Ver. 50. In all, let Nature'} Notwithftanding all the objections which of late have been made to the method of laying out grounds purfued by Brown, &c. it ought always to be remembered, that both Pope and Kent, and Shenftone, and afterwards Brown (for J do not mention Milton, becaufe he was not a practical gar- dener), were the firft who approache.l towards Nature, in difcard- mg 334 MORAL ESSAYS. Ep.IV. But treat the Goddefs like a modeft fair, Nor over-drefs, nor leave her wholly bare ; Let not each beauty ev'ry where be fpy'd, "Where half the fkill is decently to hide. He NOTES. ing the artificial ftyle and trim quaintnefies which were confidered the great ornaments of garden-fcenery before their time. Let them at leaft have this merit. If, as is very true, they carried their ideas too far if their perpetual line of beauty be tirefome, and their ornaments, the laurel circus's, their " terminated points," the edged waters, are to the eye of the great Poet or Painter but fo many littlenefTes, as infipid as the artificial objects, the clipped hedges, and the cut yews they fupplanted, were unnatural ; yet the merit of having firft opened the eye of tatte to more natural combinations of beauty, ought not to be denied them. Nor (hould they be decried as the fubvertcrs of rural beauty, inftead of being confidered the Jtrft promoters ; for no one can fay but that clumps, however round and black, are handfomer, and more natural, than trees cut into " dragons," &c. It remained for an ingenious and eloquent writer of the pre- fent age, a gentleman of fortune *, of tafte, and originality of thinking, accurately to diftinguifh the characters of the " beautiful and piSurefque ;" and he has opened the Englifh eye to ampler and nobler views of Landfcape Gardening ; fuch as Milton, when he meditated his fublimeft rural picture, would have approved. I Hill, however, think he carries his ideas, particularly refpefting fore- grounds, too far ; and that he is fomewhat too hard in his ftrictures on thofe who, after all, were the firft to inculcate, whatever might have been their practice, " let Nature never be forgot !" Dr. Warton mentions Milton and Pope as the Poets to whom Englifh Landfcape is indebted. He forgot poor Shentlone ! Ver. 53. Let not each beauty ev*ry where bejpy'd, Where half the Jhill is decently to hide. ] The late lamented Thomas Warton, in his excellent edition of Milton's Poems, has, as ufual, with as much tafte as good fenfe, molt clearly elucidated this point : " Where Effay on Pidlurefque, by H. Price, Efq. Ep.IV. MORAL ESSAYS. 335 He gains all points, who pleafingly confounds, 5$ Surprizes, varies, and conceals the Bounds. Confult the Genius of the Place in all j That tells the Waters, or to rife or fall ; Or helps th* ambitious Hill the Heav'ns to fcale, Or fcoops in circling theatres the Vale ; . 60 Calls in the Country, catches op'ning Glades, Joins willing Woods, and varies Shades from Shades ; Now breaks, or now directs, th' intending Lines ; Paints as you plant, and, as you work, defigns. Still NOTES. " Where only a little is feen, more is left to the imagination. Thefe fymptoms of an old palace, efpecially when thus difpofed, have a greater effect, than a difcovery of larger parts, and a full difplay of the whole. The embofomcd battlements, and the fpreading top of the tall grove, on which they reflecl: a reciprocal charm, ftill further intereft the fancy ; whilft juji enough of the towering Jlrudure is (hewn, to make an accompaniment to the tufted expanfe of venerable verdure, and to compofe a pidturefque affociation. Modern feats are feldom fo deeply ambufhed : they difclofe their glories at once, and never excite expe&ation by concealment, by gradual approaches, and by interrupted appear- ances." Edition of Milton, p. 54. Ver. 58. That tells the I'.'ii.ers,'} Would it not give life and vigour to th noble profipopitiu, if we were to venture to alter onlv one word, and . ad, in the fecond line, lie tells :ie Waters inftead of That tells ? Our Author is neve r than in his alliifions to Painting, an art he fo much and undcrftood : So below, at ver. 81. " Th'.' wood fnpports the plain) the parts unite] A; \J:.\'t:gth afjhade contends with Jlrength of light." Indeed, the two art3 in queftion differ only in the materials which thc^- employ Warton. 336 MORAL ESSAYS. Ep.IV. Still follow Senfe, of ev'ry art the foul, 6$ Parts anfw'ring parts fhall Hide into a whole, Spontaneous beauties all around advance, Start ev'n from Difficulty, {hike from Chance ; Nature COMMENTARY. Ver. 65. Still follow Senfe, &c.~] But now when Good Senfe has led us up to Tajle, our fondnefs for the elegancies of our new miltrefs, oftentimes occafions us to negleft the plainnefs and fimplicity of the old ; we are but too apt to forfake our Guide, and to give ourfelves up folely to Tajle. .Our Author's next rule, therefore, 3. is, Still to follow Senfe, and let Senfe perpetually accompany us through all the works of Tafle. Still follow Senfe, of ev'ry Art the SouW That is, Good Senfe fhould never be a moment abfent from the works of Tafle, any more than the foul from the body ; for juft as the foul animates and informs every air and feature of a beauteous body, fo Senfe gives life and vigour to all the productions of Tajle. Warburton. Ver. 66. Parts anfw'ring Parts, &c.~\ The Poet then explains the particular advantages of the union of Senfe with Tafte (from this verfe to 71.). 1. That the beautiful parts which Tajle has laid out and contrived, Senfe makes to anfwer to one another, and to flicle naturally, without violence, into a whole. 2. That many beauties \v\\\fpontaneoufly offer themfelves, fuggefted from the very neceflity which Senfe lays upon us, of conforming the parts to the whole, which no original invention of Tajle would have fupplied. 3. A third advantage is, that you are then always fure to have Nature on your fide ; " Nature (hall join you" The expreflion is important ; when we were bid to begin with Senfe, we were (hewn how this would lead us to Tafle in the purfuit of Nature : but now, that he bids us to go on with Senfe, oxflill to follow it, after having arrived at Tafle, he tells us, that Nature will then join us of her own accord : This has a great beauty, which arifes from the philofophic truth of the obfervation. For, as we obferved before, Senfe being a right conception of Nature, and Tajle a right conception of beautiful Nature ; when thefe are in conjunction, Nature can ftand out no longer, but prefentsherfelf to you without further pains or fearch. Warburton. Ep.IV. moral essays. 337 Nature mall join you ; Time fhall make it grow A Work to wonder at -perhaps a Stow. 70 Without it, proud Verfailles ! thy glory falls ; And Nero's Terraces defert their walls : The COMMENTARY. Ver. 71. Without it) proud Verfailles! t$c.~\ To illuftrate thia do&rine, the Poet next (hews us (from ver. 70 to 99.), that with- out this continued fupport of Good Senfe, things even of ihe/nghe/} Tajle and utmoft Magnificence, fuch as the Buildings of VerfaiHes t the Gardens of Villario, and the Groves of Sabinus (which are the inftances he gives), all, in a very little time, come to nothing ; an d no wonder: for the exercife of Tajle without Sense is, where fomething that is not beautiful Nature is miftaken for it, and orna- mented as beautiful Nature mould be ; thefe ornaments, therefore, being deftitute of all real fupport, muft be continually fubject to change. Sometimes the owner himfelf will grow weary of them (as NOTES. Ver . 69. Nature Jhall join you ;] I reeollec"fcno Ancient that had fo juft a tafte as Atticus, who preferred Tully's houfe at Arpi- nurn to all his other houfes ; declaring a contempt of the laboured magnificence, marble pavements, artificial canals, and forced dreams of the villas of Italy, compared with the natural beauties of this place. De Legibus, lib. ii. Every reader of taftr, we prefume, muft be acquainted with the Englifh garden of Mr. Mafou, and with the commentary and notes upon it by Mr. Burgh. Warton. Ver. 70. The feat and gardens of the Lord Vifcount Cobhana in Buckinghamfhhe, Pope. Ver. 71. proud Verfailles /] Every inftance of falfe tafte and falfe magnificence is to be found at Verfailles. Warton. Ver. 72. This line is obfeure ; it is difficult to know what is meant by the terraces deferting their walls. In line 172, below, is another obfeurity, " his hard heart denies," it does not imme- diately occur lubofe heart. In line 71, " Without it," is obfeurc. Without what ? Good fenfe, he means, which is too far disjoined in the context. Warton. 335 MORAL ESSAYS. Ep.IV. The vaft Parterres a thoufand hands fhall make, Lo ! Cobham comes, and floats them with a Lake : Or cut wide views thro' Mountains to the Plain, j$ You'll wiih your hill or fhelter'd feat again. Ev'n COMMENTARY. (as in the cafe of Villario), and find at laft, that Nature is to be preferred before them : " Tir'd of tbe fcene Parterres and Fountains yield, He finds at laft, he better likes a Field." Sometimes, again, the Heir (like Sabinus's) will be changing a bad Tafte for a worfe : " One boundlefs green, or Jlourijh'd carpet views, With all the mournful family of Yews." So that mere Tajle Handing expofed between the true and falfe, like the decent man between the rigidly virtuous and thoroughly profligate, hated and defpifed by both, can never long fupport itfelf : and with this, the firft part of the Epiftle concludes. Warburton. NOTES. Ver. 74. Lo ! Cob HAM comes, and floats them ivith a Lake :~\ An high compliment to the noble perfon on whom it is bellowed, as making him the fubjlitute of good Senfe. This ofhee, in the ori- ginal plan of the Poem, was given to another Man of Tafte, Bridg- man ; who not having the Senfe to fee that a compliment was intended him, it convinced the Poet that it did not belong to him. Warburtox. The garden at Stowe, which in Pope's time was a " work to wonder at," may be confidered now, with its temples, fhell- grottos, and half-moon of Heads (called the " Temple of Britijh Worthies), alrnoft as unnatural and abfurd, as the gardens which Pope ridiculed. I do not deny, however, that, taken altogether, without fo many obtrufive ornaments, it has an air of beauty and pomp, fuch as become the cultivated refidence of a Britifh Peer ; nor do T wiih to take from the merit of the firft defigners. Ver . 75, 76. Or cut cvide views thro' Mountains to the Plain, You'll ivijh your hill or fhelter' d feat again.~] This was done in Hertfordfhire by a wealthy citizen, at the <*xpence of above 5000I. by which means (merely to overlook a dead Ep.IV. MORAL ESSAYS. 339 Ev'n in an ornament its place remark^ Nor in an Hermitage fet Dr. Clarke. Behold Villario's ten-years toil complete ; His Quincunx darkens, his Efpaliers meet ; 80 The Wood fupports the Plain, the parts unite, And flrength of Shade contends with flrength of Light ; A waving NOTES. dead plain) he let in the north wind upon his houfe and parterre, which were before adorned and defended by beautiful woods. Pott. VER.77. Ev'n in an ornament'] Thefe lines are as ill-placed, and as injudicious, as the builo they were defigned to cenfure. Pope imbibed an averfion to this excellent man from Bolingbrokc, who hated Clarke, not only becaufe he had written a book which this declamatory philofopher could not confute, but becaufe he was a favourite of Queen Caroline. In Pope's MSS. were two lines on Dr.Alured Clarke, Dean of Exeter, who muft not be confounded with the ReBor of St. James's : " Let Clarke tire half his days the Poor's fupport, But let him pafs the other half at Court ;" for he was iuftrumental in building our two firft county hofpitals at Winchefter and at Exeter. War ton. Dr. Clarke, in the Hermitage of Richmond Park, is not more ridiculous than the " Britifh Worthies" are, at Stowe. V**. 78. fet Dr. Clarke.} Dr. S. Clarke's bufto placed by the Queen in the Hermitage, while the Doctor duly frequented the Court. Pope. But he mould have added with the innocence and difinterefted- nefs of an Hermit. Warburton. Ver. 82. And flrength of Shadc~\ After celebrating Kent as very iuftrumental in promoting the new andjuft tafte in gardening, Mr. Walpole adds, " Juft as the encomiums are that I have beftowed on Kent, he was neither without afliftance or faults. Whoever would fearch for his faults will find an ample crop in a very favourite work of his, the Prints forSpenfer's Fairy Queen. A* z 2 the 34o MORAL ESSAYS. Ep.IV. A waving Glow the bloomy beds difplay, Blufhing in bright diverfities of day, With filver-quiv'ring rills meander'd o'er 85 Enjoy them, you ! Villario can no more ; Tir'd of the fcene Parterres and Fountains yield, He finds at laft, he better likes a Field. Thro* his young Woods how pleas'd Sabinus ftray'd, Or fat delighted in the thick'ning made, 9 With annual joy the redd'ning moots to greet, Or fee the ftretching branches long to meet! His Son's fine Tafle an op'ning Vifta loves, Foe to the Dryads of his Father's groves ; One boundlefs Green, or flourifh'd Carpet views, 95 With all the mournful family of Yews ; The NOTES. the drawings were exceedingly cried up by his admirers, the blame was unjuftly thrown on the engraver. His celebrated monument of Shakefpeare in the Abbey was prepofterous. Warton. Ver. 83. A waving Glonv~] Thefe three lines are full of gay and florid epithets, well adapted to the fubjecl. Warton. Ver. 88. he better Hies a Field.'] The late Earl of Leicefter, being complimented upon the completion of his great defign at Holkham, replied, " It is a melancholy thing to ftand alone in one's country. 1 look round ; not a houfe is to be feen but mine. I am the giant of Giant-caflle, and have ate up all my neigh- bours." Warton. Ver. 95. The two extremes in parterres, which are equally faulty ; a boundlefs Green, large and naked as a field, or a fouri/h' 'd Carpet, where the greatnefs and noblenefs of the piece is leflened by being divided into too many v parts, with fcroll'd works and beds, of which the examples are frequent. Pope Ep.IV. MORAL ESSAYS. 341 The thriving plants, ignoble broomfticks made, Now fweep thofe Alleys they were born to fhade. At Timon's Villa let us pafs a day, Where all cry out, " What funis are thrown away V* So COM MENTARY. II. Ver. 99. AtTimon's Villa, Iffc] A3 the firft part ended with expofing the works of Tajle without Senfe, the fecond begins with a defcription (from ver. 98 to 173.) of falfe Magnificence without either Sense or Taste, in the gardens, buildings, table furni- ture, library, and way of living of Lord Timon ; who, in none of thefe, could diftinguifh between greatnefs and valtnefs ; between regularity and form ; between dignity and ftate ; ncr between learning and pedantry. But what then ? fays the Poet, refuming here the great principle of his Philofophy (which thefe Moral Epiftles were written to illuftrate, and confequently, on which they are all regulated), though ** Heav'n vifits with a Tafte the wealthy Fool, And needs no Rod " yet the punifhment is confined as it ought ; and the evil is turned to the benefit of others : For " hence the Poor are cloth'd, the Hungry fed j Health to himfelf, and to his Infants bread The Lab'rer bears ; what his hard heart denies, His charitable vanity fupplies." War burton, NOTES. Ver. 9$. Carpet views ,] His "fine tafle views " is an inaccurate expreflion, and hardly grammar ; at leaft, an harfh combination of words. War ton. Ver. 96. mournful family of Tews ;] Touches upon the ill tafte of thofe who are fo fond of Evergreens (particularly Yews, which are the mod tonfile,) as to deftroy the nobler Foreft-trees to make way for fuch little ornaments as Pyramids of dark green, continually repeated, not unlike a Funeral proceflion. Pope. Ver. 99. At TimonV Villa'] This defcription is intended to comprize the principles of a falfe Tafte of Magnificence, and to exemplify what was faid before, that nothing but Good Senfe can attain it. Pope. z 3 342 MORAL ESSAYS. Ep, IV, So proud, fo grand j of that ftupendous air, ioi Soft and Agreeable come never there. often fet to as bad mufic. Ver. 6. Where, mix* d with Slaves, the groaning Martyr toil 'd :] Palladio, fpeaking of the Baths of Dioclefian, fays, " Nell' edifi- eatione delle quali, Dioclefiano tenne molti enni 140 mila Chriftian 1 . a edificarle." Warburton. Ver. 6. groaning Martyr] Dodwell, in his Diffcrtntiones Cy- priauicx, has undertaken to prove that the number of Martyrs was far lefs than hath been ufually imagined. His opinion is com- bated by Mofhcim in the 5th chapter of hia excellent Hillory of the Church. Wartos. A A 4 2,6o MORAL ESSAYS. Ep.V. Perhaps, by its own ruins fav'd from flame, 15 Some bury'd marble half preferves a name ; That Name the Learn'd with fierce difputes purfue, And give to Titus old Vefpafian's due. Ambition figh'd : She found it vain to truft The faithlefs Column, and the crumbling Buff : 20 Huge moles, whofe fhadow ftretch'd from fhore to more, Their ruins perinVd, and their place no more I Convinc'd, me now contracts her vaft defign, And all her Triumphs fhrink into a Coin. - A narrow orb each crowded conqueft keeps, 25 Beneath her Palm here fad Judea weeps. Now fcantier limits the proud Arch confine, And fcarce are feen the proflrate Nile or Rhine ; A fmall Euphrates through the piece is roll'd, And little Eagles wave their wings in gold. 30 The Medal, faithful to its charge of fame, Through climes and ages bears each form and name 3 In one fhort view fubjecled to our eye Gods, Emp'rors, Heroes, Sages, Beauties, lie. With 'ft O T L S . Ver. f8. And give to Thus old Ftfpajian's due."] A fine infinna- tion of the want both of tafte and learning in Antiquaries ; whofe ignorance of characters mifleads them (fupportcd only by a name) againft reafon and hiftory. Warburton Ver. 19. Ambition fig!? d :~] Such fhort perfon'f cations have a great effect. " Silence was pleas'd," fays Milton ; which perfoni- fication is taken, though it happens not to have been obferved by any of his commentators, from the Hero and Leander of Mufaeiu, v. 280. Warton. Ep.V. MORAL ESSAYS. 361 With fharpen'd fight pale Antiquaries pore, 35 Th' infcription value, but the ruft adore. This the blue varnifli, that the green endears, The facred rufl: of twice ten hundred years ! To gain Pefcennius one employs his Schemes, One grafps a Cecrops in ecftatic dreams. 40 Poor Vadius, long with learned fpleen devour'd, Can tafte no pleafure fince his Shield was fcour'd : And Curio, reftlefs by the Fair One's fide, Sighs for an Otho, and neglects his bride. Theirs NOTES. Ver. 35. With {harpen'd fight pale Antiquaries pore,"] Micro- fcopic glajfes, invented by Philofophers to difcover the beauties in the minuter works of Nature, ridiculoufly applied by Antiquaries to detect the cheats of counterfeit medals. Warburton. Ver. 37. This the Hue varni/h, that the green endears."] i. e. This a colle&or of filver ; that, of brafs coins. Warburton. Ver. 39. To gain Pefcennius"] The lively and ingenious Young fays, in his 4th Satire, " How his eyes languifh ! how his thoughts adore That painted coat which Jofeph never wore ! He fhews, on holidays, a facred pin, That touch'd the ruff that touch'd Queen Befs'schin." How much wit has been wailed and mifplaced in endeavouring to ridicule antiquarians, whofe ftudies are not only pleafing to the imagination, but attended with many advantages to fociety, efpecially fince they have been improved, as they lately have been, with fingular tafte and propriety, in elucidating what, after all, is the mod interefting and important part of a//hiftory the hi/lory of manners ! Warton. Ver. 41. Poor Vadius,"] See his hiftory, and that of his Shield, in the Memoirs of Scribkrus. Warburton. Vadius was Dr. Woodward. I cannot conceive why Pope fhould have fo often attempted to ridicule him. Their iludies were totally different ; there could be neither envy nor jealoufy. Pope introduced him in his unfortunate farce, " Three Weeks after Marriage," written in conjun&ion with Gay. 362 MORAL ESSAYS. L>.V. Theirs is the Vanity, the Learning thine : 45 Touch'd by thy hand, again Rome's glories mine ; Her Gods, and godlike Heroes rife to view, And all her faded garlands bloom a-ne*w. Nor NOTES. VER.43. And Curio, re/IIefs, &c.~] The Hiftorian Dio has given us a very extraordinary inftance of this Virtuofo-tafte. He tells us, that one Vibius Rufus, who, in the reign of Tiberius, was the fourth hufband to Cicero's widow, Terentia, then upwards of an hundred years old, ufed to value himfelf on his being pof- feffed of the two nobleft pieces of Antiquity in the world, Tully's Widow and Cesar's Chair, that Chair in which he was affaf. finatcd in full Senate. Warburton* Ver. 44. Sighs for an Otho,'} Charles Patin was banifhed from the Court, becaufe he fold Louis XIV. an Otho that was not genuine. Patin's Treatife on Medals is a good one. Ficoroni, the celebrated virtuofo at Florence, faid to Mr. Spence, " Addifon did not go any great depth in the ftudy of medals ; all the know- ledge he had of that kind, I believe, he received of me ; and I did not give him above twenty lefions on that fubject." Warton. Ver. 48. her faded] In Winkelman's Hiftory of Art among the Ancients, is to be found perhaps the belt account of the gra- dual decay of painting, architecture, and medals, that can be read ; abounding with many inftances of the fate that has befallen many exquifite pieces of art. Amongft the reft he fays, that when the Auftrians took Madrid, Lord Galloway fearched for a very celebrated Bufto of Caligula, that he knew Cardinal G. Colonna had conveyed to Spain ; which fine Bufto he at laft found in the Efcurial, where it ferved for a weight of the church-clock. What Winkelman fays of the Laocoon, vol. ii. feci. 3. is a capital piece of criticifm and juft tafte ; which he finifties by mentioning a matchlefs abfurdity, worthy of the country where it is to be found, that in the Caftle of St. lldephonfo in Spain, there is a Relief of this group of Laocoon and his fons, with a figure of Cupid fluttering over their heads, as if flying to their afllftance. As to the revival of arts in Italy, we have lately been gratified with a curious account of this important event, in the elegant Hiftory of the Life of Lorenzo de Medici, their chief reftorer and protestor. See, particularly, chapter ix. p. 196. Warton Ep.V. MORAL ESSAYS. 363 Nor blufh, thefe ftudies thy regard engage ; Thefe pleas'd the Fathers of poetic rage; 50 The verfe and fculpture bore an equal part, And Art reflected images to Art. Oh when (hall Britain, confcious of her claim, Stand emulous of Greek and Roman fame ? In living medals fee her wars enroll'd, 55 And vanquifli'd realms fupply recording gold ? Here, rifmg bold, the Patriot's honed face ; There Warriors frowning in hiftoric brafs : Then future ages with delight mall fee How Plato's, Bacon's, Newton's looks agree ; 60 Or in fair feries laurel'd Bards be mown, A Virgil there, and here an Addifon. Then NOTES. VER.49. Nor blu/by thefe Jludies thy regard engage ;] A fenfelefs affe&ation, which fome Authors of eminence have betrayed ; who, when fortune or their talents have raifed them to a condition to do without thofe arts, for which only they gained our efteem, have pretended to think letters below their character. This falfe fhame M. Voltaire has very well, and with proper indignation, expofed in his account of Mr. Congreve : " He had one defect, which was* his entertaining too mean an idea of his find profeflion, (that of a Writer,) though it was to this he owed his fame and fortune. He fpoke of his works as of trifles that were beneath him ; and hinted to me, in our firft converfation, that I fliould viGt him upon no other footing than that of a gentleman who led a life of plainnefs and fimplicity. I anfwered, that had he been fo unfortunate as to be a mere gentleman, I fliould never have come to fee him ; and I was very much difgufted at fo unfeafonable a piece of vanity." Letters concerning the Engl'tjh Nation, six. Warburton. Ver. 5$. Oh ivhenjha/l Britain, &c] A compliment to one of Mr. AdJifon's papers in the Spectator, on this fubject. Warburton. 364 MORAL ESSAYS. Ep.V. Then fhall thy Craggs (and let me call him mine) On the caft ore, another Pollio, fhine ; With afpect open, fhall erect his head, 65 And round the orb in lading notes be read, " Statefman, yet friend to Truth ! of foul fincere, " In action faithful, and in honour clear ; "Who NOTES: ' Ver. 62. A Virgil there,'] Copied evidently from Tickell to Addifon on his Rofamond : " Which gain'd a Virgil and an Addifon." This elegant copy of Verfes was fo acceptable to Addifon, that it was the foundation of a lalling friendship betwixt them. Tickell deferves a higher place among poets than is ufually allotted to him; Warton. Ver. 67. Statefman, yet friend to Truth, &c] It fhould be remembered, that this poem was Compofed to be printed befor^ Mr. Addifon's Difcourfc on Medals, in which there is the following cenfure of long legends upon coins : " The firft fault I find with a modern legend is its difruftvenefs. You have fometimes the whole fide of a medal over-run with it. One would fancy the Author had a defign of being Ciceronian but it is not only the tedioufnefs of thefe inferiptions that I find fault with ; fuppofing them of a moderate length, why muft they be in verfe ? We fhould be furprifed to fee the title of a ferious book in rhyme." Dial. iii. Warburton. Ver. 67. Statefman,"] Thefe nervous and finifhed lines were afterwards inferibed as an epitaph on this worthy man's monument in Weftminfter Abbey, with the alteration of two words in the laft verfe, which there ftands thus : " Prais'd, wept, and honour'd by the Mufe he lov'd." It was Craggs, who, having raifed himfelf by his abilities, in the moll friendly manner offered our Author a penfion of three hundred pounds per annum. Though Pope enliiled under the banner of Bolingbroke, in what was called the country party, and in violent oppofition to the meafurss of Walpole, yet his clear and good fenfe enabled him to fee the follies and virulence of all parties ; and it was his favourite Ep.V. MORAL ESSAYS. 36$ " Who broke no promife, ferv'd no private end, 7S Till madly zealous, impotently vain, He forfeits ev'ry Praife he pants to gain. Thus ftill imperious Nature plies her part ; And ftill her Dictates work in ev'ry heart. Each Pow'r that fov'reign Nature bids enjoy, 55 Man may corrupt, but Man can ne'er deftroy : Like mighty rivers, with refiftlefs force The Paflions rage, obftrucled in their courfe ; Swell to new heights, forbidden paths explore, And drown thofe Virtues which they fed before. 6~o And fure, the deadlieft Foe to Virtue's flame, Our word of Evils, is perverted Shame. Beneath this load what abject numbers groan, Th' entangled Slaves to folly not their own ! Meanly by fafhionable fear opprefs'd, 6$ We feek our Virtues in each other's bread ; Blind to ourfelves, adopt each foreign Vice, Another's weaknefs, int'reft, or caprice. Each Fool to low Ambition, poorly great, That pines in fplendid wretchednefs of ftate, 70 Tir'd in the treach'rous Chace, would nobly yield, And, but for fhame, like Sylla, quit the field: The demon Shame paints flrong the ridicule, And whifpers clofe, " The World will call you Fool." Behold yon Wretch, by impious fafhion driv'n, j$ Believes and trembles while he feoffs at Heav'n. By weaknefs flrong, and bold through fear alone, He dreads the fneer by mallow Coxcombs thrown ; b 4 Dauntlefs 376 ESSAY ON SATIRE. Part I. Dauntlefs purfues the path Spinoza trod ; To Man a Coward, and a Brave to God. 8 Faith, Juflice, Heav'n itfelf now quit their hold, When to falfe Fame the captiv'd heart is fold : Hence, blind to truth, relentlefs Cato dy'd ; Nought could fubdue his Virtue, but his Pride. Hence chafte Lucretia's Innocence betray'd 5 Fell by that Honour which was meant its aid. Thus Virtue finks beneath unnumber'd woes, When Paflions, born her friends, revolt her foes. Hence Satire's pow'r : 'tis her corrective part, To calm the wild diforders of the heart. 9 She points the arduous height where Glory lies, And teaches mad Ambition to be wife : In the dark bofom wakes the fair defire, Draws good from ill, a brighter flame from fire j Strips black Oppreflion of her gay difguife, 9,5 And bids the Hag in native horror rife j Strikes tow'ring Pride, and lawlefs Rapine dead, And plants the wreath on Virtue's awful head. Nor boafts the Mufe a vain imagin'd pow'r, Tho' oft (he mourn thofe ills Ihe cannot cure. 100 The IMITATION S. Ver. 80. To Man a Coward, ffr.] " Vois tu ce Libertin en public intrepide, Qui preche contre un Dieu que dans fon Ame il croit ? 11 iroit embrafTer la Verite, qu'il voit ; Mais de fes faux Amis il craint la Raillerie, Et ne brave ainfi Dieu que par Poltronnerie." * Boileau, Ep. hi. Part I. ESSAY ON SATIRE. The Worthy court her, and the Worthlefs fear : Who fliun her piercing eye, that eye revere. Her awful voice the Vain and Vile obey, And ev'ry foe to Wifdom feels her fway. Smarts, Pedants, as (he fmiles, no more are vain ; Defponding Fops refign the clouded cane : 106 Hufh'd at her voice, pert Folly's felf is ftill, And Dulnefs wonders while fhe drops her quill. Like the arm'd Bee, with art moft fubtly true, From pois'nous Vice fhe draws a healing dew : no Weak are the ties that civil arts can find, To quell the ferment of the tainted mind : Cunning evades, fecurely wrapt in wiles ; And Force flrong flnew'd rends th' unequal toils : The dream of Vice impetuous drives along, 115 Too deep for Policy, for Pow'r too ftrong. Ev'n fair Religion, Native of the fkies, Scorn' d by the Crowd, feeks refuge with the Wife ; The Crowd with laughter fpurns her awful train, And Mercy courts, and Juftice frowns in vain. 120 But Satire's mart can pierce the harden'd breaft : She plays a ruling pajfion on the reft : Undaunted ftorms the batt'ry of his pride, And awes the Brave that Earth and Heav'n defy'd. When IMITATIONS. Ver. lie. From pois' nous Via, &c.~\ Alluding to thefc line* of Mr. Pope : " In the nice Bee what Art fo fubtly true From pois'uous Herbs extradis a healing Dew ?' 378 ESSAY ON SATIRE. Part I. When fell Corruption, by her vaffals crown'd, 125 Derides fall'n Juflice proftrate on the ground j Swift to redrefs an injur'd People's groan, Bold Satire (hakes the Tyrant on her throne ; Pow'rful as Death, defies the fordid train, And Slaves and Sycophants furroundin vain. 130 But with the friends of Vice, the foes of Satire, All truth is Spleen ; all juft reproof, Ill-nature. Well may they dread the Mufe's fatal Ikill ; Well may they tremble, when fhe draws her quill : Her magic quill, that, like Ithuriel's fpear, 135 Reveals the cloven hoof, or lengthen' d ear: Bids Vice and Folly take their nat'ral (hapes, Turns DuchefTes to (trumpets, Beaux to apes ; Drags the vile Whifp'rer from his dark abode, Till all the Demon (tarts up from the toad. 1 40 O fordid maxim, form'd to fcreen the vile, That true good-nature (till muft wear a fmile ! In frowns array 'd her beauties (tronger rife, When love of Virtue makes her fcorn of Vice : Where Juflice calls, 'tis Cruelty to fave ; 145 And 'tis the Law's good-nature hangs the Knave. Who combats Virtue's foe is Virtue's friend ; Then judge of Satire's merit by her end : To Guilt alone her vengeance (tands confm'd, The object of her love is all Mankind. 150 Scarce more the friend of Man, the wife muft own, Ev'n Allen's bounteous hand, than Satire's frown : This to chaftize, as That to blefs, was giv'n j Alike the faithful Minifters of Heav'n. Oft Parti. ESSAY ON SATIRE. 379 Oft in unfeeling hearts the (haft is fpent : 155 Tho' ftrong th' example, weak the punifhment. They leafl: are pain'd, who merit Satire moft ; Folly the Laureates, Vice was Chartres* boaft : Then where's the wrong, to gibbet high the name Of Fools and Knaves already dead to fhame ? 1 60 Oft Satire acts the faithful Surgeon's part ; Gen'rous and kind, tho' painful is her art : With caution bold, me only ftrikes to heal ; Tho' folly raves to break the friendly fteel. Then fure no fault impartial Satire knows, 165 Kind ev'n in Vengeance, kind to Virtue's foes. Whofe is the crime, thefcandal too be theirs : The Knave and Fool are their own Libellers. PART [ 38 ] PAR T II. t\are nobly then : But confcious of your truft, As ever warm and bold, be ever jufl: : 17c* Nor court applaufe in thefe degen'rate days : The Villain's cenfure is extorted praife. But chief, be fteady in a noble end, And fhew mankind that Truth has yet a friend. 'Tis mean for empty praife of wit to write, 175 As Foplings grin to (hew their teeth are white : To brand a doubtful folly with a fmile, Or madly blaze unknown defe&s, is vile : 'Tis doubly vile, when, but to prove your art, You fix an arrow in a blamelefs heart. 180 O ioft to honour's voice, O doom'd to fhame, Thou Fiend accurs'd, thou Murderer of Fame ! Fell Ravifher, from Innocence to tear That name, than liberty, than life more dear ! Where fhall thy bafenefs meet its juft return ! 185 Or what repay thy guilt, but endlcfs fcorn ? And know, immortal Truth mall mock thy toil : Immortal Truth mall bid the fhaft recoil ; With rage retorted, wing the deadly dart ; And empty all its poifon in thy heart. 190 W T ith caution next, the dang'rous pow'r apply ; An eagle's talon alks an eagle's eye : Let Part II. ESSAY ON SATIRE. 381 Let Satire then her proper object know, And ere me ftrike, be fure (he ftrike a foe. Nor fondly deem the real fool confeuV, 195 Becaufe blind Ridicule conceives a jeft : Before whofe altar Virtue oft hath bled, And oft a deftin'd Vi&im fhall be led : Lo, Shaftjb'ry rears her high on Reafon's throne, And loads the Slave with honours not her own : 200 Big-fWoln with folly, as her fmiles provoke, Prophanenefs fpawns, pert Dunces nurfe the joke ! Come, let us join awhile this titt'ring crew, And now the Ideot Guide for once is true ; Deride our weak forefathers' mufty rule, 205 Who therefore fmil'd, becaufe they faw a Fool ; Sublimer logic now adorns our ifle, We therefore fee a Fool, becaufe we fmile. Truth in her gloomy Cave why fondly feek ? Lo, gay fhe fits in Laughter's dimple cheek : 210 Contemns each furly academic foe, And courts the fpruce Freethinker and the Beau. Dadalian arguments but few can trace, But all can read the language of grimace. Hence mighty Ridicule's all-conqu'ring hand 2 1 5 Shall work Herculean wonders through the Land : Bound in the magic of her cob-web chain, You, mighty Warburton, fhall rage in vain, In vain the tracklefs maze of Truth vou fcan, And lend th' informing Clue to erring Man: 220 No more (hall Reafon boaft her pow'r divine, fler Bafe eternal fhook by Folly's mine ! 7 Truth's 382 ESSAY ON SATIRE. Part II. Truth's facred Fort th' exploded laugh fhall win ; And Coxcombs vanquifh Berkley by a grin. Bat you, more fage, reject th' inverted rule, 225 That Truth is e'er explor'd by Ridicule : On truth, on falfehood let her colours fall, She throws a dazzling glare alike on all ; As the gay Prifm but mocks the flatter'd eye, And gives to ev'ry objed ev'ry dye. 230 Beware the mad Advent'rer : bold and blind She hoifts her fail, and drives with ev'ry wind ; Deaf as the ftorm to finking Virtue's groan, Nor heeds a Friend's deftru&ion, or her own. Let clear-ey'd Reafon at the helm prefide, 235 Bear to the wind, or ftem the furious tide j Then Mirth may urge, when Reafon can explore, This point the way, that waft us glad to more. Tho' diftant Times may rife in Satire's page, Yet chief 'tis Her's to draw the prefent Age : 240 With Wifdom's luftre, Folly's fhade contraft, And judge the reigning Manners by the pad : Bid Britain's Heroes (awful Shades !) arife, And ancient Honour beam on modern Vice : Point back to minds ingenuous, actions fair, 245 Till the Sons blufh at what their Fathers were : Ere yet 'twas beggary the great to truft ; Ere yet 'twas quite a folly to be juft ; When low-born Sharpers only dar'd a lie, Or falfify'd the card, or cogg'd the die; 250 Ere Lewdnefs the ftain'd garb of Honour wore, Or Chaflity was carted for the Whore ; Vice PartlL ESSAY ON SATIRE. 383 Vice fluttered, in the plumes of freedom drefs'd ; Or public Spirit was the public jeft. Be ever, in a juft expreflion, bold, 255 Yet ne'er degrade fair Satire to a Scold : Let no unworthy mien her form debafe, But let her fmile, and let her frown with grace : In mirth be temp'rate, temp'rate in her fpleen ; Nor, while fhe preaches modefty, obfcene. 260 Deep let her wound, not rankle to a fore, Nor call his Lordfhip , her Grace a : The Mule's charms refiftlefs then afiail, When wrapt in Irony's tranfparent veil : Her beauties half conceal'd, the more furprize, And keener luflre fparkles in her eyes. 266 Then be your line with fharp encomiums grac'd : Style Clodius honourable, Bafa chafte. Dart not on Folly an indignant eye : Whoe'er difcharg'd Artillery on a Fly ? 270 Deride not Vice : Abfurd the thought and vain, To bind the Tiger in fo weak a chain. Nay more : when flagrant crimes your laughter move, The Knave exults : to fmile is to approve. The Mufe's labour then fuccefs fhali crown, 275 When Folly feels her fmile, and Vice her frown. Know next what Meafures to each Theme belong, And fuit your thoughts and numbers to your fong : On wing proportion'd to your quarry rife, And (loop to earth, or foar among the Ikies. 280 Thus when a modifh folly you rehearfe, Free the expreflion, Ample be the verfe. In 384 ESSAY ON SATIRE. Part II. In artlefs numbers paint th* ambitious Peer That mounts the box, and mines a Charioteer : In ftrains familiar fing the midnight toil 285 Of Camps and Senates difciplin'd by Hoyle ; Patriots and Chiefs, whofe deep defign invades And carries off the captive King of Spades ! Let Satire here in milder vigour mine, And gayly graceful fport along the line ; 290 Bid courtly faihion quit her thin pretence, And fmile each. AfFelation into fenfe. Not fo when Virtue by her Guards betray'd, Spurn'd from her Throne, implores the Mufe's aid : When crimes, which erfl in kindred darknefs lay, Rife frontlefs, and infult the eye of day ; 296 Indignant Hymen veils his hallow'd fires, And white-rob'd Chaflity with tears retires ; When rank Adultery on the genial bed Hot from Cocytus rears her baleful head : 30 When private Faith and public Truft are fold, And Traitors barter Liberty for Gold : When fell Corruption, dark and deep, like fate, Saps the foundation of a finking State : When Giant-Vice and Irreligion rife, 305 On mountain'd falfehoods to invade the fkies : Then warmer numbers glow thro' Satire's page, And all her fmiles are darken'd into rage : On eagle-wing (he gains Parnajp/s' height, Not lofty Epic foars a nobler flight : 310 Then keener indignation fires her eye ; Then flam her lightnings, and her thunders fly ; Wide Part II. ESSAY ON SATIRE. 385 Wide and more wide her flaming bolts are hurl'd, Till all her wrath involves the guilty World. Yet Satire oft aflumes a gentler mien, 315 And beams on Virtue's friends a fmile ferene : She wounds reluctant ; pours her balm with joy ; Glad to commend where Worth attracts her eye. But chief, when Virtue, Learning, Arts decline, She joys to fee unconquer'd merit fhine; 320 Where burfting glorious, with departing ray, True Genius gilds the clofe of Britain's day : With joy fhe fees the ftream of Roman art From Murray's tongue flow purer to the heart : Sees Yorke to Fame, ere yet to Manhood known, And juft to ev'ry Virtue but his own : 326 Hears unftain'd Cam with gen'rous pride proclaim A Sage's, Critic's, and a Poet's name : Beholds, where Widcombe's happy hills afcend, Each orphan'd Art and Virtue find a friend : 33P To Hagley's honour'd Shade directs her view; And culls each flow'r, to form a Wreath for You. But tread with cautious flep this dangerous ground, Befet with faithlefs precipices round : 334 Truth be your guide : . difdain Ambition's call ; And if you fall, with Truth, you 'greatly fall. 'Lis Virtue's mitl-ve. htflre that mu(tjhine; The Poet can but fet it in his line : And who unmov'd with laughter can behold A fordid pebble meanly grae'd with gold? 34 Let real Merit then adorn your lays, For Shame attends on proltituted praife : vol. in. C c And 386 ESSAY ON SATIRE, Part II. And all your wit, your molt diftinguifiVd art, But make us grieve you want an honeft heart. Nor think the Mufe by Satire's Law confin'd : She yields defcription of the nobleft kind. 346 Inferior art the Landfcape may defign, And paint the purple ev'ning in the line : Her daring thought effays a higher plan ; Her hand delineates Paffion, pictures Man. 350 And great the toil, the latent foul to trace, To paint the heart, and catch internal grace ; By turns bid Vice or Virtue ftrike our eyes, Now bid a Wolfey, or a Cromwell rife ; Now with a touch more facred and refin'd, 355 Call forth a Chesterfield's or Lonsdale's mind. Here fweet or flrong may ev'ry Colour flow : Here let the pencil warm, the canvafs glow : Of light and fhade provoke the noble ftrife, -And wake each flriking feature into life. 360 PART Z 387 3 PART III. npHRouGH Ages thus has Satire keenly fhin'd, The Friend to Truth, to Virtue, and Mankind : Yet the bright flame from Virtue ne'er had fprung, And Man was guilty ere the Poet fung. This Mufe in filencejoy'd each better Age, 365 Till glowing crimes had wak'd her into rage. Truth faw her honeft fpleen with new delight, And bade her wing her fhafts, and urge their flight. Firft on the Sons of Greece fhe prov'd her art, And Sparta felt the fierce Iambic dart *. 370 To Latium next, avenging Satire flew : The flaming faulchion rough Luciliu.s f drew ; With dauntlefs warmth in Virtue's caufe engag'd, And confcious Villains trembled as he rag'd. Then fportive Horace { caught the gen'rous fire ; For Satire's bow refign'd the founding lyre : 376 Each NOTES. * ** Archilochum proprio rabies armavit Iambo." Hor. \ " Enfc velut ftri&o quoties Lucilius ardens Infremuit, rubet auditor cui frigida mens eft Criminibus, tacita fudant praecordia culpa." Juv. S. i. J " Omne vafer vitium ridenti Flaccus amico Tangit, et admifTus circum praecordia ludit, Callidus cxcuflb populum fufpendere nafo." Pers. S.i. C C 2 388 ESSAY ON SATIRE. Part III. Each arrow polifh'd in his hand was feen, And, as it grew more polifh'd, grew more keen. His art, conceal'd in ftudy'd negligence, Politely fly, cajol'd the foes of fenfe t 380 He feem'd to fport and trifle with the dart, But while he fported, drove it to the heart. In graver {trains majeftic Persius wrote, Big with a ripe exuberance of thought : Greatly fedate, contemn'd a Tyrant's reign, 385 And lafh'd Corruption with a calm difdain. More ardent eloquence, and boundlefs rage, Inflame bold Juvenal's exalted page, His mighty numbers aw'd corrupted Rome, And fwept audacious Greatnefs to its doom ; 390 The headlong torrent thund'ring from on high, Rent the proud rock that lately brav'd the fky. But lo ! the fatal Victor of Mankind ! Swoln Luxury ! pale Ruin flalks behind ! As countlefs lnfefts from the north-eaft pour, 395 To blafl the Spring, and ravage ev'ry flow'r : So barb'rous Millions fpread contagious death : The fick'ning Laurel wither'd at their breath. Deep Superflition's night the fkies o'erhung, Beneath whofe baleful dews the Poppy fprung. 400 No longer Genius woo'd the Nine to love, But Dulnefs nodded in the Mufe's grove : Wit, Spirit, Freedom, were the fole offence, Nor aught was held fo dangerous as Senfe. At Part III. ESSAY ON SATIRE. 389 At length, again fair Science fhot her ray, 405 Dawn'd in the fkies, and fpoke returning day. Now, Satire, triumph o'er thy flying foe, Now, load thy quiver, firing thy flacken'd bow ! 'Tis done ! See, great Erasmus breaks the fpell, And wounds triumphant Folly in her cell ! 410 (In vain the folemn Cowl furrounds her face, Vain all her bigot cant, her four grimace,) With fhame compell'd her leaden throne to quit, And own the force of Reafon urg'd by Wit. 414 'Twas then plain Donne in honed vengeance rofe, His Wit harmonious, tho' his Rhyme was profe : He 'midfl an age of Puns and Pedants wrote With genuine fenfe, and Roman ftrength of thought. Yet fcarce had Satire well relum'd her flame, ^With grief the Mufe records her Country's fhame,) Ere Britain faw the foul revolt commence, 421 And treach'rous Wit began her war with Senfe. Then rofe a fhamelefs mercenary train, Whom latefl Time fhall view with juft difdain : A race fantaftic, in whofe gaudy line 425 Untutor'd thought, and tinfel beauty fhine ; Wit's fhatter'd Mirror lies in fragments bright, Reflects not Nature, but confounds the fight. Dry Morals the Court-Poet blulh'd to fing : 'Twas all his praife to fay, " the oddcjl thing. " Proud for a jeft obfcene, a Patron's nod, 431 To martyr Virtue, or blafpheme his God. c c 3 Ill-fated 390 ESSAY ON SATIRE. Part III; Ill-fated Dryden ! who unmov'd can fee Th* extremes of wit and meannefs join'd in Thee ! Flames that could mount, and gain their kindred ikies, Low creeping in the putrid fink of vice ; 436 A Mufe whom Wifdom woo'd, but woo'd in vain, The Pimp of Pow'r, the Proftitute to Gain : Wreaths that mould deck fair Virtue's form alone, To Strumpets, Traitors, Tyrants vilely thrown : Unrival'd parts, the fcorn of honed fame ; 441 And Genius rife, a Monument of fhame ! More happy France : immortal Boileau there Supported Genius with a Sage's care : Him with her love propitious Satire bleft, 445 And breath'd her airs divine into his breaft : Fancy and Senfe to form his line confpire, And faultlefs Judgment guides the pureft Fire, But fee at length the Britijh Genius fmile, And fhow'r her bounties o'er her favour'd Ifle : 450 Behold for Pope fhe twines the laurel crown, And centers ev'ry Poet's pow'r in one : Each Roman's force adorns his various page, Gay fmiles, corrected ftrength, and manly rage. Defpairjng Guilt and Dulnefs loath the fight, 455 As Spectres vanifh at approaching light : In this clear Mirror with delight we view Each image juftly fine, and boldly true : Here Vice, dragg'd forth by Truth's fupreme decree, Beholds and hates her own deformity : 460 While Part III. ESSAY ON SATIRE. 391 While felf-feen Virtue in the faithful line With modeft joy furveys her form divine. But oh, what thoughts, what numbers (hall I find, But faintly to exprefs the Poet's mind ! Who yonder Star's effulgence can difplay, 465 Unlefs he dip his pencil in the ray ? Who paint a God, unlefs the God infpire ? What catch the Lightning, but the fpeed of fire ? So, mighty Pope, to make thy Genius known, All pow'r is weak, all numbers but thy own. 470 Each Mufe for thee with kind contention ftrove, For thee the Graces left th' Idalian grove ; With watchful fondnefs o'er thy cradle hung, Attun'd thy voice, and form'd thy infant-tongue. Next, to her Bard majeftic Wifdom came ; 475 The Bard enraptur'd caught the heav'nly flame : With tafte fuperior fcorn'd the venal tribe, Whom fear can fway, or guilty Greatnefs bribe ; At Fancy's call, who rear the wanton fail, Sport with the ftream, and trifle in the gale : 480 Sublimer views thy daring Spirit bound j Thy mighty Voyage was Creation's round j Intent new Worlds of Wifdom to explore, And blefs Mankind with Virtue's facred (lore ; A nobler joy than Wit can give, impart ; 485 And pour a moral tranfport o'er the heart. Fantaftic Wit moots momentary fires, And, like a Meteor, while we gaze, expires : c c 4 Wit 392 ESSAY ON SATIRE. Part III. Wit kindled by the fulph'rous breath of Vice, Like the blue Light'ning, while it mines, deftroys : But Genius, fir'd by Truth's eternal ray, 491 Burns clear and conftant, like the fource of day : Like this, its beam prolific and refin'd, Feeds, warms, infpirits, and exalts the mind ; Mildly difpels each wintry Paffion's gloom, 495 And opens all the Virtues into bloom* This Praife, immortal Pope, to thee be giv'n : Thy Genius was indeed a Gift from Heav'n. Hail, Bard unequal'd, in whofe deathlefs line Reafon and Wit, with ftrength collected mine ; 500 Where matchlefs Wit but wins the fecond praife, Loft, nobly loft, in Truth's fuperior blaze. Did Friendship e'er miflead thy wand'ring Mufe ? That Friendfhip fure may plead the great excufe : That facred Friendfhip which infpir'd thy Song, Fair in defect, and amiably wrong. 506 Error like this ev'n Truth can fcarce reprove ; 'Tis almofl Virtue when it flows from Love. Ye deathlefs Names, ye Sons of endlefs praife, By Virtue crown'd with never-fading bays ! 510 Say, {hall an artlefs Mufe, if you infpire, Light her pale lamp at your immortal fire ? Or if, O Warburton ! infpir'd by You, The daring Mufe a nobler path purfue, By You infpir'd, on trembling pinion foar, 5 1 5 The facred founts of focial blifs explore, In Part III. ESSAY ON SATIRE. 393 In her bold numbers chain the Tyrant's rage, And bid her Country's Glory fire her page : If fuch her fate, do thou, fair Truth, defcend, And watchful guard her in an honeft end : 520 Kindly fevere, inflrucl: her equal line To court no Friend, nor own a Foe but thine. But if her giddy eye mould vainly quit Thy facred paths, to run the maze of wit ; If her apoftate heart" mould e'er incline 525 To offer incenfe at Corruption's fhrine ; Urge, urge thy pow'r, the black attempt confound, And dafh the fmoaking Cenfer to the ground. Thus aw'd to fear, inftru&ed Bards may fee, That Guilt is doom'd to fink in Infamy. 530 [ 395 ] A LETTER" TO A NOBLE LORD On occasion of some Libees written and prot pagatep at Court, in the year 1732-3. My LORD, Nov. 30, 1733. Vour Lordfhip's c epiftle has been publifhed fome days, but I had not the pleafure and pain of feeing it till yefterday : Pain, to think your Lord- (hip mould attack me at all j Pleafure, to find that you a This Letter (which was firfl printed in the Year 1733) bears the fame place in our Author's profe that the Epiftle to Dr. Arbuthnot does in his poetry. They are both Apologetical, repelling the libellous flanders on his Reputation : with this differ- ence, that the Epiftle to Dr. Arbuthnot, his friend, was chiefly directed againft Grub-Jlrect Writers, and this Letter to the Noble Lord, his enemy, againft Court Scribblers. For the reft, they are both Matter- pieces in their kinds; That in verfe, more grave, moral, and fublime ; This in profe, more lively, critical, and pointed ; but equally conducive to what he had moft at heart, the vindication of his moral Character: the only thing he thought 'worth his care in literary altercations ; and the firft thing he would expecl from the good offices of a furviving Friend. Warburton. b Lord Hervey, who, together with Lady M. W. Montagu, had written fome fevere lines on him, but certainly after provoca- tion on his part. Lord Hervey is fatirizcd by him under the name of Lord Fanny, and Sporus. He was certainly affecled. In one of his Letters from Bath, he fays, " The Duchtfs of Marlborough, 396 A LETTER TO you can attack me fo weakly. As I want not the humility, to think myfelf in every way but one your inferior, it feems but reafonable that I mould take the only method either of felf-defence or retaliation, that is left me againft a perfon of your quality and power. And Marlborough, Congrdve, and Lady Rich, are the only people whofe faces I know, whofe names I ever heard, or who, / believe, have any names belonging to them. The reft are a fwarm of wretched beings, fome with balf-\ixn\>s, fome with none, the ingredients of Pandora's Box personified," &c. Again, * I do not meet a creature without faying to myfelf, as Lady did of her femme de chambre, * Regardez cet animal, confiderc-z. ce neant, voila un bel ame pour etre immortel !" He was alfo very effeminate in perfon, and ufed paint. His fpeeches in Parliament prove he had more than "florid impotence." He was Vice-Chamberlain and Privy-Seal to George II. Then; was an excellent caricature-print publifhed of the combatants, when he fought with Pulteney. Sir Robert Walpole was drawn ftanding as Lord Hervey's Second. For further particulars of this Nobleman, I muft refer to Mr. Coxe's Memoirs. c Intitled, An Epijlle to a DoSor of Divinity from a Nobleman at Hampton-Court, Aug. 28, 1733, and printed the November follow- ing for J. Roberts. Fol. The following advertifement appeared in the Papers, 1733, refpecting this Letter : " Whereas a great demand hath been made for an Anfwer to * a certain fcurrilous Epijlle from a Nobleman to Dr. Sh-r-n ; " this is to acquaint the Public, that it hath been hitherto hin- *' dered by what fecmed a denial of that Epiftle by the Noble " Lord, in the Daily Courant of Nov. 22., affirming that nofuch " Epiftle was written by him. But whereas that dechration hath " fince been undeclared by the Courant ; this is to certify, that " unlefs the faid Noble Lord (hall this next week, in a manner as u public as the injury, deny the faid Poem to be his, or contra- " dift the afperfions therein contained, there will with all fpted bt " publifhed, a mojl proper reply to the fame. n , 733 . A NOBLE LORD. 397 And as by your choice of this weapon, your pen, you generoufly (and modeftly too, no doubt) meant to put yourfelf upon a level with me ; I will as foon believe that your Lordmip would give a wound to a man unarmed, as that you would deny me the ufe of it in my own defence. I.prefume you will allow me to take the fame liberty in my anfwer to fo candid, polite, and ingenious a Nobleman, which your Lordfhip took in yours, to fo grave, religious, and refpeclable a clergyman d : As you anfwered his Latin in Eriglijh, permit me to an- fwer your Verfe in Profe. And though your Lord- mip's reafons for not writing in Latin, might be ftronger than mine for not writing in Verfe, yet I may plead Two good ones, for this conduct : the one that I want the talent of fpinning a thoufand lines in a Day % (which, I think, is as much Time as this fub- jecl: deferves,) and the other, that I take your Lord- fhip's Verfe to be as much Profe as this letter. But no doubt it was your choice, in writing to a friend, to renounce all the pomp of Poetry, and give us this excellent model of the familiar. When I confider the great difference betwixt the rank your Lordfhip holds in the World, and the rank which your writings are like to hold in the learned world, I prefume that diftindtion of flyle is but necefTary, * Dr. S. * And Pope, with juftice, of fuch lines may fay, His Lordfhip fpins a thoufand in a day. Epift. p. 6. 398 A LETTER TO neceflary, which you will fee obferved through this letter. When I fpeak of you-, my Lord, it will be with all the deference due to the inequality which Fortune has made between you and myfelf: but when I fpeak of your writings, my Lord, I muft, I can do nothing but trifle. I mould be obliged indeed to leflen this Refpeft, if all the Nobility (and efpecially the elder brothers) are but fo many hereditary fools f , if the privilege of Lords be to want brains g , if noblemen can hardly write or read h , if all their bufmefs. is but to drefs and vote ', and all their employment in court, to tell lies, flatter in public, fiander in private, be falfe to each other, and follow nothing but felf-intereft k . Biefs me, my Lord, what an account is this you give of them ? and what would have been faid of me, had I immolated, in this manner, the whole body of the Nobility, at the flail of a well-fed Prebendary ? Were it the mere Excefs of your Lordfhip's Wit, that carried you thus triumphantly over all the bounds of 1 That to good blood by old prefcriptive rules, Gives right hereditary to be Fools. B Nor wonder that my Brain no more affords, But recollect the privilege of Lords. h And when you fee me fairly write my name ; For England's fake wifh all could do the fame. 1 Whilft all our bufinefs is to drefs and vote. Epift. p. 6- * Courts are only larger families, The growth of each, few truths, and many lies : in private fatyrize, in public flatter. Few to each other, all to one point true ; Which one I {han't, nor need explain. Adieu. P. ult- A NOBLE LORD. 399 of decency, I might confider your Lordfhip on your Pegafus, as a fprightly hunter on a mettled horfe ; and while you were trampling down all our works, patiently fufFer the injury, in pure admiration of the Noble Sport. But mould the cafe be quite otherwife, mould your Lordfhip be only like a Boy that is run away with ; and run away with by a Very Foal ; really common charity, as well as refpect for a noble family, would oblige me to flop your career, and to help you down from this Pegafus. Surely the little praife of a Writer mould be a thing below your ambition : You, who were nofoonerborn, but in the lap of the Graces ; no fooner at fchool, but in the arms of the Mufes ; no fooner in the World, but you pra&ifed all the fkill of it j no fooner in the Court, but you pofiefled all the art of it ! UnrivaPd as you are, in making a figure, and in making a fpeech, methinks, my Lord, you may well give up the poor talent of turning a Diflich. And why this fondnefs for Poetry ? Profe admits of the two ex- cellencies you mofl admire, Diction and Fiction : It admits of the talents you chiefly poflefs, a mofl fertile invention, and mofl florid expreflion , it is with profe, nay the plaineft profe, that you befl could teach our nobility to vote, which you juflly obferve, is half at lead of their bufinefs ' : And give me leave to pro- phefy, it is to your talent in profe, and not in verfe, to 1 All their bus'ncfs is, to tlrefs, and vote. 4 oo A LETTER TO to your fpeaking, not your writing, to your art at court, not your art of poetry, that your Lordfhip muft owe your future figure in the world. My Lord, whatever you imagine, this is the advice of a Friend, and one who remembers he formerly had the honour of fome profeflion of Friendfhip from you : Whatever was his real Jhare in it, whether fmall or great, yet as your Lordlhip could never have had the lead Lofs by continuing it, or the lead Intereji by , withdrawing it ; the misfortune of lofing it, I fear, muft have been owing to his own deficiency or neglecl. But as to any atliial fault which deferved to forfeit it in fuch a degree, he protefls he is to this day guiltlefs and ignorant. It could at mod be but a fault of omijfion ; but indeed by omiflions, men of your Lord- fhip's uncommon merit may fometimes think them- felves fo injured, as to be capable of an inclination to injure another ; who, though very much below their quality, may be above the injury. I never heard of the lead difpleafure you had con- ceived againfl me, till I was told that an imitation 1 had made of m Horace had offended fome perfons, and among them your Lordfhip. I could not have ap- prehended that a few general Jlrokes about a Lord fcribbling carelefsly, a Pimp, or a Spy at Court, a Sharper in a gilded chariot, EsV. that thefe, I fay, mould be ever applied as they have been, by any malice *' The firft Satire of the fecor.cT Book, printed in 1732. A NOBLE LORD. 401 malice but that which is the greateft in the world, the Malice of III people to themf elves. Your Lordfhip fo well knows, (and the whole Court and Town through your means fo well know,) how far the refentment was carried upon that imagin- ation, not only in the Nature of the Libel you pro- pagated again ft me, but in the extraordinary manner ', place ', and pre fence, in which it was propagated p ; that I fhall only fay, it feemed to me to exceed the bounds of juftice, common fenfe, and decency. I wonder yet more, how a Lady, of great wit, beauty, and fame for her poetry, (between whom and your Lordfhip there is a natural, a jujl, and a well-grounded e/fcem,) could be prevailed upon to take a part in that proceeding. Your refentments againft me indeed might be equal, as my offence to you both was the fame j for neither had I the leaft mif- underflanding with that Lady, till after I was the Author of my own misfortune in discontinuing her acquaintance. I may venture to own a truth, which cannot be unpleafing to either of you ; I affure you my reafon for fo doing, was merely that you had both too much wit for me q j and that I could not do with mine, Verfes to the Imitator of Hornet, afterwards printed by J.Roberts, J 73 2. fol. p It was for tliis reafon that this Letter, as foon as it was printed, was communicated to the Queen. , Once, and but once, his heedlefs youth was bit, And lik'd that dang'rous thing a female Wit. See the Letter to Dr. Arbuthnot, amongjl the Variations. VOL. III. D D 4 o2 A LETTER TO mine, many things which you could with yours. The injury done you in withdrawing myfelf could be but fmall, if the value you had for me was no greater than you have been pleafed fince to profefs. But furely, my Lord, one may fay, neither the Revenge, nor the Language you held, bore any proportion to the pretended offence : The appellations of q Foe to humankind^ an Enemy like the Devil to all that have Being; ungrateful, unjuft, deferving to be whipt, blanketed, kicked, nay killed: a Monjler, an AJJaJfin, whofe converfation every man ought to Jhun, and againfl whom all doors mould be fhut ; I befeech you my Lord, had you the leafl right to give, or to en- courage or juftify any other in giving fuch language as this to me ? Could I be treated in terms more ftrong or more atrocious, if during my acquaint- ance with you I had been a Betrayer, a Backbiter, a Whifperer, an Eves -dropper, or an Informer I Did I in all that time ever throw a falfe Dye, or palm a foul Card upon you ? Did I ever borrow, Jieal, or ac- cept, either Money, Wit, or Advice from you ? Had I ever the honour to join with either of you in one Ballad, Satire, Pamphlet, or Epigram, on any perfon living or dead ? Did I ever do you fo great an Injury as to put off my ovum verfes for yours, efpecially on thofe Perfons whom they might moji offend? I am confident you cannot aniwer in the affirmative j and I can truly affirm, that ever fince I loft the happinefs of * See the aforefaid Verfes to the Imitator of Horace, A NOBLE LORD. 403 of your converfation, I have not publifhed or written one fyllable of or to either of you ; never hitched your names in a Verfe, or trifled with your good names in company. Can I be honeftly charged with any other crime but an Omijfion (for the word Neglecl, which I ufed before, flipped my pen unguardedly) to continue my admiration of you all my life, and ftill to Contemplate, face to face, your many excellencies and perfections ? I am perfuaded you can reproach me truly with no great Faults, except my natural ones, which I am as ready to own, as to do all juftice to the contrary Beauties in you. It is true, my Lord, I am ftiort, not well fhaped, generally ill-drefled, if not fometimes dirty : Your Lordfhip and Ladyfhip are ftill in bloom ; your Figures fuch, as rival the Apollo of Belvedere, and the Venus of Medicis ; and your faces fo finifhed, that neither ficknefs or paflion can deprive them of Colour; I will allow your own in particular to be the fineft that ever Ma?i was blefl with : preferve it, my Lord, and reflect, that to be a Critic , would cod it too many frowns, and to be a Statefman, too many wrinkles ! I further confefs, I am now fomewhat old ; but fo your Lordfhip and this excellent Lady, with all your beauty, will (I hope) one day be. I know your Genius and hers fo per- fectly tally, that you cannot but join in admiring each other, and by confequence in the contempt of all fuch as myfelf. You have both, in my regard, been i> d 2 like 4 04 A LETTER TO like (your Lordfhip, I know, loves a Simile^ and it will be one fuitable to your Quality J you have been like Two Princes, and I like a poor Animal facrificed between them to cement a la fling league : I hope I have not bled in vain ; but that fuch an amity may endure for ever ! For though it be what common un- der/landings would hardly conceive, Two Wits how- ever may be perfuaded that it is in friendship as in enmity, The more danger the more honour* Give me the liberty, my Lord, to tell you, why I never replied to thofe Verfes on the Imitator of Horace ? They regarded nothing but my Figure, which I fet no value upon ; and my Morals, which, I knew, needed no defence : Any honeft man has the pleafure to be confcious, that it is out of the power of the Wittiejiy nay the Greateji Per/on in the kingdom, to leffen him that way, but at the expence of his own Truth, Ho- nour, or Juflice. But though I declined to explain myfelf jufl: at the time when I was fillily threatened, I mail now give your Lordfhip a frank account of the offence you imagined to be meant to you. Fanny (my Lord) is the plain Englifh of Fannius, a real perfon, who was a foolifh Critic, and an enemy of Horace : perhaps a Noble one, fo (if your Latin be gone in earnefl s ) I muft 5 All I Icarn'd from Dr. Freind at fchool, Has quite deferted this poor John Trot-head, And left plain native Englifh in it3 Head. Epift. p. 2 A NOBLE LORD. 405 muft acquaint you, the word Beatus may be con- strued ; Beatus Fannius ! ultro Delatis capfts et imagine. This Fannius was, it feems, extremely fond both of his Poetry and his Per/on, which appears by the pic- tures and Statues he caufed to be made of himfelf, and by his great diligence to propagate bad Verfes at Court, and get them admitted into the library of Au- gujlus. He was moreover of a delicate or effeminate complexion, and conftant at the AlTemblies and Operas of thofe days, where he took it into his head to flan- der poor Horace ; Ineptus Fannius, Hermogenis laedat conviva Tigelli; till it provoked him at lad juft to name him, give him a Iajh, and fend him whimpering to the Ladies, Difcipularum inter jubeo plorare. cathedras. So much for Fan?iy, my Lord. The word fpins (as Dr. Freind or even Dr. Sherwin could aflure you) was the literal tranflation of deduct ; a metaphor taken from a Silk-worm, my Lord, to fignify any flight, filken, or (as your Lordfhip and the Ladies call it) 'flimfy piece of work. I prefume your Lordfhip has enough of this, to convince you there was nothing perfonal but to that Fannius, who (with all his fine accomplifhments) had never been heard of, but for that Horace he injured. In 1 Weak texture of his flimfy brain. DD3 4 o6 A LETTER TO In regard to the right honourable Lady, your Lordfhip's friend, I was far from defigning a perfon of her condition by a name fo derogatory to her w , as that of Sappho ; a name proftituted to every infamous Creature that ever wrote Verfe or Novels. I proteft I never applied that name" to her in any verfe of mine, public or private ; (and I firmly believe) not in any Letter or Converfation. Whoever could invent a Falfehood w Pope avers that he was far from defigning a Lady of Lady- Mary's condition by a name fo derogatory to her as Sappho ; yet that very Sappho is faid to " wear diamonds * ;" and he talks of meaning many Sappho's, yet in the Epiftle to Dr. Arbuthnot he has " Still Sappho " and ?f Why (he and Sappho rofe that monftrous firm." By which quotation, and feveral others, the unity is decided. It therefore remains to afcertain the perfon whom he intended to fatirize ; and it would not be difficult to feleft many paflages in which Lady Mary is mentioned by name. Pope fays, he himfelf difcontinued her acquaintance, becaufe i Jhe had too much wit for him." The explanatory note to which words, in Warburton's edition, confifts of the following couplet : " Once, and but once, his heedlefs youth was bit, - And lik'd that dang'rous thing, a female wit." Pope's avowed reafon for difcontinuing Lady Mary's acquaint- ance was, therefore, that fhe had outwitted him ; and the truth, by the corrected lines, **. Yet foft by Nature, more a dupe than wit, Sappho can tell you how this man was bit;" is mod fairly proved : for if he ivere outivitted by a female wit, and by Sappho, and yet outwitted but once, Sappho and Lady Ma|y mufl of courfe be the fame identical perfon. Dallaway's Memoirs of Lady M. W. Montagu. * See argument further puifued in the Gentleman's Migazinc, 1791, p. 4*0. A NOBLE LORD. 407 Falfehood to fupport an accufation, I pity ; and who- ever can believe fuch a Character to be theirs, I pity ftill more. God forbid the Court or Town mould have the complaifance to join in that opinion ! Cer- tainly I meant it only of fuch modern Sappho's, as imitate much more the Lewdnefs than the Genius of the ancient one ; and upon whom their wretched brethren frequently bellow both the Name and the Qualification there mentioned \ There was another reafon why I was filent as to that paper I took it for a Lady's (on the printer's word in the title-page,) and thought it too prefuming, as well as indecent, to contend with one of that Sex in altercation : For I never was fo mean a creature as to commit my Anger againft a Lady to paper, though but in a private Letter. But foon after, her denial of it was brought to me by a Noble perfon of real Honour and Truth. Your Lordfliip indeed faid you had it from a Lady, and the Lady faid it was your Lordfhip's ; fome thought the beautiful by-blow had Two Fathers, or (if one of them will hardly be allow- ed a man) Two Mothers ; indeed I think both Sexes had a fhare in it, but which was uppcrmojl, I know not : I pretend not to determine the exact method of this Witty Fornication : and if I call it 7 "ours, my Lord it x From furious Sappho fearce a milder fate, Pox'd by her love, or libell'd by her hate. 1 Sr.t. B. ii. Hor. D D 4 408 A LETTER TO it is only becaufe, whoever got it, you brought it forth. Here, my Lord, allow me to obferve, the different proceeding of the Ignoble Poet, and his Noble Enemies. What he has written of Fanny % Adonis, Sappho, or who you will, he owned he publifhed, he fet his name to : What they have publi/hed of him, they have denied to have written ; and what they have -written of him, they have denied to have publijhed. One of thefe * All the topics of contempt, ridicule, and fatire that are ufcd in this letter againfl Lord Hervey, had been ufed before, 1731, by the Author of a Reply to a late Scurrilous Libel ; particularly the topics of the delicacy of his manners, and the foppery of his drefs, and the effeminacy of his perfon. He is there faid M to be fuch a compofition of the two iexes, that it is difficult to diflin- guifh which is mod predominant." My friend Horace hath defcribed him much better than I can : " Quern fi puellarum infereres choro, Mire fagaces falleret hofpites Difcrimen obfcurum, folutis Crinibus, ambiguoque vultii." And it is added, " Though it would be barbarous to handle fuch a delicate hermaphrodite, fuch a pretty little mafter-niifs, too roughly, yet you mull give me leave, my dear, to give you a little gentle correction for your good." Page 6. Lord Hervey left behind him Memoirs of his own Times, faid to be full of curious matter, and which, it is to be hoped, will one day be publifhed ; Mr. Hans Stanley told me he had read them. In the fecond volume of the Letters of Voltaire, page 305, is a very long and curious letter to Lord Hervey, full of high encomiums on this Peer, and Hill higher of Louis XIV. and his reign. From whence it appears that Lord Hervey had made fome objections to this work of Voltaire ; and particularly for his intitling it, The Age of Louis XIV. Jn a celebrated pamphlet, intitled The Court Secret, written on occafion of the death of Lord Scarborough, Lord Hervey was very feverely fatirized under the name of Ibrahim. 8vo. 1791. War ton. A NOBLE LORD. 409 thefe was the cafe in the paft Libel, and the other in the prefent. For though the parent has owned it to a few choice friends, it is fuch as he has been obliged to deny in the mod particular terms, to the great perfon whofe opinion concerned him mofl. Yet, my Lord, this Epiftle was a piece not written in hafle, or in a pajfion, but many months after all pretended provocations ; when you was at full le'ijure at Hamp- ton-court, and I the object Jingled, like a Deer oirt of Seafon, for fo ill-timed and ill-placed a diverfion. It was a deliberate work, directed to a Reverend Per- fon y , of the molt ferious and facred character, with whom you are known to cultivate a Jlricl correfpond- ence, and to whom it will not be doubted but you open your fecret Sentiments, and deliver your real judgment of men and things. This, I fay, my Lord, with fubmiflion, could not but awaken all my Re* jleclion and Attention. Your Lordfhip's opinion of me as a Poet, I cannot help ; it is yours, my Lord, and that were enough to mortify a poor man ; but it is not yours alone, you muft be content to fhare it with the Gentlemen of the Dunciad, and (it may be) with many more innocent and ingenious men. If your Lordfhip deftroys my poetical character, they will claim their part in the glory : but, give me leave to fay, if my moral character be ruined, it muft be wholly the work of your Lord/hip ; and will be hard even for you to do, unlefs I my f elf co-operate. How 9 Dr. Shcrwin. 4io A LETTER TO How can you talk (my mod worthy Lord) of all Pope's Works as fo many Libels, affirm, that he has no invention but in Defamation % and charge him with felling another man's labours printed with his own name* ; Fye, my Lord, you forget yourfelf. He printed not his name before a line of the perfon's you mention ; that perfon himfelf has told you and all the world in the book itfelf, what part he had in it, as may be feen at the conclufion of his notes to the Odyfiey. I can only fuppofe your Lordfhip (not having at that time forgot your Greek) defpifed to look upon the Tranflation ; and ever fmce entertained too mean an opinion of the Tranflator to caft an eye upon it. Be-r fides, my Lord, when you faid he fold another man's works, you ought in juftice to have added that he bought them, which very much alters the Cafe. What he gave him was five hundred pounds : his receipt can be produced to your Lordfhip. I dare not af- firm that he was as well paid as feme Writers (much his inferiors) have been fince ; but your Lordfhip will reflect that I am no man of quality, either to buy or fell fcribling fo high : and that I have neither Place, Pen/ion, nor Power to reward for Secret Services. It cannot be, that one of your rank can have the leaft Envy to fuch an author as I : but were that pojjible, it were much better gratified by employing not your own, but fome of thofe low and ignoble pens to do you this mean office. To his eternal (hame Prov'd he can ne'er invent but to defame. 6 And fold Broom's labours printed with Pope's name. P. 7. A NOBLE LORD. 4" office. I dare engage you will have them for lefs than I gave Mr. Broom, if your friends have not raifed the market : Let them drive the bargain for you, my Lord ; and you may depend on feeing, every day in the week, as many (and now and then as pretty) Verfes, as thefe of your Lordfhip. And would it not be full as well, that my poor perfon mould be abufed by them, as by one of your rank and quality ? Cannot Curl do the fame ? nay has he not done it before your Lordfhip, in the fame kind of Language ', and almoft the fame words ? I can- not but think the worthy and difcreet clergyman him- felf will agree, it is improper, nay unchriftian, to ex- pofe the perfonal defects of our brother : that both fuch perfect forms as yours, and fuch unfortunate ones as mine, proceed from the hand of the fame Maker ; who fafhioncth his Vejfels as he pleafeth, and that it is not from their fi bape we can tell whether they are made for honour or difhonour. In .a word, he would teach you Charity to your greatefl enemies ; of which number, my Lord, I cannot be reckoned, fince, though a Poet, I was never your flatterer. Next, my Lord, as to the Obfcurity of c my Birth, (a reflection copy'd alio from Mr. Curl and his brethren,) I am forry to be obliged to fuch a pre- fumption as to name my Family in the fame leaf with your Lordfhip's : but my Father had the honour in one inftance to refemble you, for he was a younger Brother* * Hard as thy Heart, and as thy Birth obfcure. 4 i2 A LETTER TO Brother. He did not indeed think it a happinefs to bury his elder Brother, though he had one who wanted fome of thofe good qualities which yours pof- fefled. How fincerely glad could I be, to pay to that young Nobleman's memory the debt I owed to his friendfhip, whofe early death deprived your family of as much Wit and Honour as he left behind him in any branch of it. But as to my Father, I could affure you, my Lord, that he was no mechanic, (neither a hatter, nor, which might pleafe your Lordfhip yet better, a Cobler,) but, in truth, of a very tolerable family : And my Mother of an ancient one, as well born and edu- cated as that c Lady, whom your Lordfhip made choice of to be the Mother of your own Children ; whofe merit, beauty, and vivacity (if tranfmitted to your pofterity) will be a better prefent than even the noble blood they derive only from you. A mother, on whom I was never obliged fo far to reflect, as to fay, fhe fpoiled me d . And a Father, who never found himfelf obliged to fay of me that he difapproved my conducl. In a word, my Lord, I think it enough that my pa- tents, fuch as they were, never coll me a Blujh ; and that their Son, fuch as he is, never coft them a Tear. I have purpofely omitted to confider your Lord- fhip's Criticifms on my Poetry. As they are exa&Iy the c Pope's former acquaintance, Mary Le Pell, now Lady Hervey. See Note at the end. 6 A noble Father's heir fpoil'd by his mother. His Lord/hip's account of himfelf \ p. 7. A NOBLE LORD. 413 the fame with thofe of the forementioned Authors, I apprehend they would juftly charge me with partiality, if I gave to you what belongs to them ; or paid more distinction to the fame things when they are in your mouth, than when they were in theirs. It will be fhewing both them and you (my Lord) a more parti- cular refpecl, to obferve how much they are honoured by your Imitation of them, which indeed is carried through your whole Epiftle. 1 have read fomewhere at School, (though I make it no Vanity to have forgot where,) that Titily naturalized a few phrafes at the inflance of fome of his friends. Your Lordfhip has done more in honour of thefe Gentlemen ; you have authorized not only their Affertions, but their Style. For example, A Flow that wants fkill to refirain its ardour, A Dictionary that gives us nothing at its own expence. As lu'xuria?it branches bear but little fruit, fo Wit unprun'd is but raw fruit While you rehearfe ignorance, you flill know enough to do it in Verfe Wits are but glittering ignorance. The account whither he had retreated, into the " camp ; but, rinding this impracticable and learning that fome 44 of his foldiers had fubmitted to the conquerors, he abandoned ** himfelf to defpair : but, difdaining captivity, he refolved on M death ; and defired fome of his attendants to difpatch him, " after he had repeated with a loud voice that exclamation of " Hercules, in the Tragedy : ** Ah ! haplefs Virtue ! deem'd a truth by me ; " But Fortune's flave thou wert, and a mere empty name." EPISTLE IV. P. 321. Ver. 1 17. Grove nods at grove, each alley has a brother, And half the platform juft reflecls the other. An author of congenial tafte ; and, on a fimilar fubjeS, has made ufe of this molt happy couplet : And fcatter'd clumps, that nod at one another, Each ftiffly waving at its formal brother. * Landfcape, ii. 6. a poem, which the elegant and ingenious author, by a few leftures on verification, relative to modes of expreffion too undignified for poetry, and a languifhing imbecillity of numbers, would foon polifh into greater excellence. The addrefs of Sir Edward Winnington is an admirable fpecimen of fine tafte and noble ientiment. Ver. Mr. Knight's Poem. NOTES AND OBSERVATIONS. 439 Ver. 149. The/oft Dean is faid to be Dr. Alured Clarke, Dean of Peterborough. B. Vet. 204. Thefe are imperial works, and worthy kings. From Dryden's Virgil, vi. 1 1 77. Thofe are imperial arts, and worthy thee. END Of THE THIRD VOLUME. Strahan and Prefton, Prinuru-Street. s UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LIBRARY Los Angeles This book is DUE on the last date stamped below. to % SEP 29 IS6: tp -5- URU JAN 17 1* )89 Form L9-Series4939 3 1158 01309 1052 - 3