Essay on Man | Page 7

both necessary,
v.53, etc. Self-love the stronger, and why, v.67, etc. Their end the same,
v.81, etc.
III. The Passions, and their use, v.93 to 130. The predominant Passion,
and its force, v.132 to 160. Its Necessity, in directing Men to different
purposes, v.165, etc. Its providential Use, in fixing our Principle, and
ascertaining our Virtue, v.177.
IV. Virtue and Vice joined in our mixed Nature; the limits near, yet the
things separate and evident: What is the Office of Reason, v.202 to
216.
V. How odious Vice in itself, and how we deceive ourselves into it,
v.217.
VI. That, however, the Ends of Providence and general Good are
answered in our Passions and Imperfections, v.238, etc. How usefully
these are distributed to all Orders of Men, v.241. How useful they are
to Society, v.251. And to the Individuals, v.263. In every state, and
every age of life, v.273, etc.
EPISTLE II.
I. Know, then, thyself, presume not God to scan;
The proper study of
mankind is man.
Placed on this isthmus of a middle state,
A being
darkly wise, and rudely great:
With too much knowledge for the
sceptic side,
With too much weakness for the stoic's pride,
He
hangs between; in doubt to act, or rest;
In doubt to deem himself a
god, or beast;
In doubt his mind or body to prefer;
Born but to die,

and reasoning but to err;
Alike in ignorance, his reason such,

Whether he thinks too little, or too much:
Chaos of thought and
passion, all confused;
Still by himself abused, or disabused;
Created
half to rise, and half to fall;
Great lord of all things, yet a prey to all;

Sole judge of truth, in endless error hurled:
The glory, jest, and
riddle of the world!
Go, wondrous creature! mount where science guides,
Go, measure
earth, weigh air, and state the tides;
Instruct the planets in what orbs
to run,
Correct old time, and regulate the sun;
Go, soar with Plato to
th' empyreal sphere,
To the first good, first perfect, and first fair;
Or
tread the mazy round his followers trod,
And quitting sense call
imitating God;
As Eastern priests in giddy circles run,
And turn
their heads to imitate the sun.
Go, teach Eternal Wisdom how to rule
--
Then drop into thyself, and be a fool!
Superior beings, when of late they saw
A mortal man unfold all
Nature's law,
Admired such wisdom in an earthly shape
And
showed a Newton as we show an ape.
Could he, whose rules the rapid comet bind,
Describe or fix one
movement of his mind?
Who saw its fires here rise, and there descend,

Explain his own beginning, or his end?
Alas, what wonder! man's
superior part
Unchecked may rise, and climb from art to art;
But
when his own great work is but begun,
What reason weaves, by
passion is undone.
Trace Science, then, with Modesty thy guide;

First strip off all her equipage of pride;
Deduct what is but vanity or
dress,
Or learning's luxury, or idleness;
Or tricks to show the stretch
of human brain,
Mere curious pleasure, or ingenious pain;
Expunge
the whole, or lop th' excrescent parts
Of all our vices have created
arts;
Then see how little the remaining sum,

Which served the past,
and must the times to come!
II. Two principles in human nature reign;
Self-love to urge, and

reason, to restrain;
Nor this a good, nor that a bad we call,
Each
works its end, to move or govern all
And to their proper operation
still,
Ascribe all good; to their improper, ill.
Self-love, the spring of
motion, acts the soul;
Reason's comparing balance rules the whole.

Man, but for that, no action could attend,
And but for this, were
active to no end:
Fixed like a plant on his peculiar spot,
To draw
nutrition, propagate, and rot;
Or, meteor-like, flame lawless through
the void,
Destroying others, by himself destroyed.
Most strength the
moving principle requires;
Active its task, it prompts, impels, inspires.

Sedate and quiet the comparing lies,
Formed but to check,
deliberate, and advise.
Self-love still stronger, as its objects nigh;

Reason's at distance, and in prospect lie:
That sees immediate good
by present sense;
Reason, the future and the consequence.
Thicker
than arguments, temptations throng.
At best more watchful this, but
that more strong.
The action of the stronger to suspend,
Reason still
use, to reason still attend.
Attention, habit and experience gains;

Each strengthens reason, and self-love restrains.
Let subtle schoolmen
teach these friends to fight,
More studious to divide than to unite;

And grace and virtue, sense and reason split,
With all the rash
dexterity of wit.
Wits, just like fools, at war about a name,
Have
full as oft no meaning, or the same.
Self-love and reason to one end
aspire,
Pain their aversion, pleasure their desire;
But greedy that, its
object would devour,
This taste the honey, and not wound the flower:

Pleasure, or wrong or rightly understood,
Our greatest evil, or our
greatest good.
III. Modes of self-love the passions we may call;
'Tis real good, or
seeming, moves them all:
But since not every good we can divide,


And reason bids us for our own provide;
Passions, though selfish, if
their means be fair,
List under Reason, and deserve her care;
Those,
that imparted, court a nobler aim,
Exalt