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AN ESSAY ON MAN.
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AN ESSAY on MAN, Being the FIRST BOOK of ETHIC EPISTLES.
TO HENRY St. JOHN, L. BOLINGBROKE.
ΓΝΩΘΙ ΣΕΑΥΤΟΝ
[...]
LONDON: Printed by JOHN WRIGHT, for LAWTON GILLIVER, MDCCXXXIV.
THE DESIGN.
[]HAVING propoſed to write ſome Pieces on Hu⯑man Life and Manners, ſuch as (to uſe my Lord Bacon's expreſſion) come home to Men's Buſi⯑neſs and Boſoms, I thought it more ſatisfactory to begin with conſidering Man in the Abſtract, his Nature and his State: ſince to prove any moral Duty, to inforce any moral Precept, or to examine the Perfection or Imperfe⯑ction of any Creature whatſoever, it is neceſſary firſt to know what Condition and Relation it is placed in, and what is the proper End and Purpoſe of its Being.
The Science of Human Nature is, like all other Scien⯑ces, reduced to a few, clear Points: There are not many certain Truths in this World. It is therefore in the Ana⯑tomy of the Mind as in that of the Body; more Good will accrue to mankind by attending to the large, open, and perceptible parts, than by ſtudying too much ſuch finer nerves and veſſels as will for ever eſcape our obſervation. The Diſputes are all upon theſe laſt, and I will ven⯑ture [] to ſay, they have leſs ſharpen'd the Wits than the Hearts of Men againſt each other, and have diminiſhed the Practiſe, more than advanced the Theory, of Mora⯑lity. If I could flatter my ſelf that this Eſſay has any Merit, it is in ſteering betwixt Doctrines ſeemingly op⯑poſite, in paſſing over Terms utterly un-intelligible, and in forming out of all a temperate yet not inconſiſtent, and a ſhort yet not imperfect Syſtem of Ethics.
This I might have done in Proſe; but I choſe Verſe, and even Rhyme, for two reaſons. The one will ap⯑pear obvious; that Principles, Maxims, or Precepts ſo written, both ſtrike the reader more ſtrongly at firſt, and are more eaſily retained by him afterwards. The other may ſeem odd but is true; I found I could ex⯑preſs them more ſhortly this way than in Proſe itſelf, and nothing is more certain than that much of the Force as well as Grace of Arguments or Inſtructions depends on their Conciſeneſs. I was unable to treat this part of my ſubject more in detail, without becoming dry and tedious; or more poetically, without ſacrificing Perſpi⯑cuity to Ornament, without wandring from the Preciſion, or breaking the Chain of Reaſoning. If any man can unite all theſe, without diminution of any of them, I freely con⯑feſs he will compaſs a thing above my capacity.
What is now publiſhed, is only to be conſidered as a ge⯑neral Map of MAN, marking out no more than the Greater [] Parts, their Extent, their Limits, and their Connection, but leaving the Particular to be more fully delineated in the Charts which are to follow. Conſequently, theſe Epiſtles in their progreſs will become leſs dry, and more ſuſceptible of Poetical Ornament. I am here only opening the Foun⯑tains, and clearing the paſſage; To deduce the Rivers, to follow them in their Courſe, and to obſerve their Effects, will be a task more agreeable.
[...]
THE CONTENTS OF THE FIRST BOOK.
[]- EPISTLE I. Of the NATURE and STATE of MAN, with reſpect to the UNIVERSE.
OF Man in the Abſtract. We can judge only with regard to our own Syſtem, being ignorant of the Relations of Sy⯑ſtems and Things, VER. 17, &c. to 68. Man is not therefore to be deem'd Imperfect, but a Being ſuited to his Place and Rank in the Creation, agreeable to the General Order of Things, and conformable to Ends and Relations to him unknown. 69, &c. It is partly upon this Ignorance of future Events, and partly upon the Hope of a Future State, that all his Happineſs in the preſent depends, 73, &c. His Pride, in aiming at more Know⯑ledge and pretending to more Perfection, the cauſe of his Error and Miſery, 109. 119. The Impiety of putting himſelf in the [] place of God, and judging of the fitneſs or unfitneſs, perfection or imperfection, juſtice or injuſtice of his diſpenſations, 109 to 120. The Abſurdity of conceiting himſelf the final cauſe of the creation, or expecting that Perfection in the moral world which is not in the natural, 127 to 164. The Unreaſonableneſs of his complaints againſt Providence, while on the one hand he demands the perfections of the Angels, on the other the bodily qualifica⯑tions of the Brutes, 165. That the gift of Reaſon alone counter⯑vails all the latter, and that to poſſeſs any of the ſenſitive faculties in a higher degree, would render him miſerable, 181 to 198. That throughout the whole viſible world, an univerſal Order and gra⯑dation in theſe is obſerv'd, which cauſes a ſubordination of crea⯑ture to creature, and of all creatures of man. The gradations of ſenſe, inſtinct, thought, reflection, reaſon, 199 to 224. How much farther this order and ſubordination of living creatures may extend, above and below us? 225. Were any part of this bro⯑ken, not that part only, but the whole connected Creation muſt be deſtroyed. The extravagance, madneſs, and pride of ſuch a de⯑ſire, 239, &c. Conſequently, the abſolute ſubmiſſion due to Pro⯑vidence, both as to our preſent and future ſtate, 292, &c.
- EPISTLE II. Of the NATURE and STATE of MAN, with reſpect to HIMSELF as an Individual.
THE buſineſs of man not to pry into God, but to ſtudy him⯑ſelf. His Middle Nature; his powers and frailties, and the Limits of his capacity, VER. 3 to 43. His two Principles, Self-love [] and Reaſon, 43. both neceſſary, 49. Self-love the ſtronger, and why?, 57. their End the ſame, 71. The Paſſions, and their Uſe, 83 to 120. The Predominant Paſſion, and its force, 122 to 150. its neceſſity, in directing men to different purpoſes, 153, &c. its providential uſe, in fixing our principle, and aſcertaining our virtue, 167. Virtue and Vice join'd in our mixt nature; the limits near, yet the things ſeparate, and evident. What is the office of Reaſon? 187, &c. How odious Vice in itſelf, and how we deceive our ſelves into it, 209. That however, the Ends of Providence and general Good are anſwer'd in our Paſſions, and Im⯑perfections, 230, &c. How uſefully theſe are diſtributed to all Orders of men, 233. how uſeful they are to Society, 241. and to the Individuals, 253. In every State, and in every Age of life, 263 to the end.
- EPISTLE III. Of the NATURE and STATE of MAN, with reſpect to SOCIETY.
THE whole Univerſe one ſyſtem of Society, VER. 7, &c. Nothing is made wholly for itſelf, nor yet wholly for an⯑other, 27. The happineſs of animals mutual, 53. Reaſon or In⯑ſtinct operate alike to the good of each individual, 83. Reaſon or inſtinct operate to ſociety, in all animals, 109. How far Society carry'd by Inſtinct, 119. How much farther by Reaſon, 132. Of that which is call'd the State of Nature, 148. Reaſon inſtructed by Inſtinct in the invention of Arts, 170. and in the Forms of ſo⯑ciety, 180. Origin of political Societies, 199. Origin of Ma⯑narchy, [] 211. Patriarchal government, 216. Origin of true Religion and Government, from the ſame principle, of Love, 235, &c. Origin of Superſtition and Tyranny, from the ſame principle, of Fear, 241, &c. The influence of Self-love operating to the ſocial and publick good, 269. Reſtoration of true Religion and Govern⯑ment on their firſt principle, 285. Mixt Government, 289. Va⯑rious Forms of each, and the true end of all, 303, &c.
- EPISTLE IV. Of the NATURE and STATE of MAN, with reſpect to HAPPINESS.
HAppineſs ill defin'd by the Philoſophers, VER. 19. That it is the End of all men, and attainable by all, 28. God go⯑verns by general, not particular laws: intends Happineſs to be equal; and to be ſo it muſt be ſocial, ſince all particular happineſs de⯑pends on general, 35. As it is neceſſary for Order, and the peace and welfare of Society, that External goods ſhould be unequal, hap⯑pineſs is not made to conſiſt in theſe, 47. But, notwithſtand⯑ing that inequality, the Balance of Happineſs among mankind is kept even by Providence, by the two Paſſions of Hope and Fear, 66. What the happineſs of Individuals is? as far as is conſiſtent with the conſtitution of this world, 76. That the good man has here the advantage, 80. The error of imputing to Virtue what are only the calamities of Nature, or of Fortune, 92. The folly of expecting that God ſhould alter his General Laws in favour of par⯑ticulars, 118. That we are not judges who are good? but that whoever they are, they muſt be happieſt, 130, &c. That ex⯑ternal [] goods are not the proper rewards, often inconſiſtent with, or deſtructive of Virtue, 166. But that even theſe can make no man happy without Virtue. Inſtanced in Riches, 176. Ho⯑nours, 184. Birth, 203. Greatneſs, 213. Fame, 233. Supe⯑rior talents, 257. with pictures of human Infelicity in men poſ⯑ſeſt of them all, 275, &c. That VIRTUE ONLY conſtitutes a Hap⯑pineſs, whoſe Object is univerſal 311. and whoſe Proſpect eter⯑nal, 345. The perfection of which conſiſts in a conformity to the Order of Providence, here, and in a reſignation to it, here and hereafter, 534. Or (in other words) in Love of God and Charity to all men, &c. to the end.
NIL ADMIRARI
W.K. [...] P.F.sc.
EPISTLE I.
[]AWAKE! my ST. JOHN! leave all meaner things
To low Ambition and the Pride of Kings.
Let Us (ſince Life can little more ſupply
Than juſt to look about us, and to die)
Expatiate free, o'er all this Scene of Man,
A mighty Maze! but not without a Plan;
A Wild, where weeds and flow'rs promiſcuous ſhoot,
Or Garden, tempting with forbidden fruit.
[8] Together let us beat this ample field,
Try what the open, what the covert yield;
The latent tracts or giddy heights explore,
Of all who blindly creep, or ſightleſs ſoar;
Eye Nature's walks, ſhoot Folly as it flies,
And catch the manners living as they riſe;
Laugh where we muſt, be candid where we can,
But vindicate the Ways of GOD to Man.
Say firſt, of God above, or Man below,
What can we reaſon, but from what we know?
Of Man, what ſee we but his Station here,
From which to reaſon, or to which refer?
Thro' Worlds unnumber'd tho' the God be known,
'Tis ours to trace him, only in our own.
He who thro' vaſt Immenſity can pierce,
See worlds on worlds compoſe one Univerſe,
Obſerve how Syſtem into Syſtem runs,
What other Planets, and what other Suns?
What vary'd Being peoples ev'ry Star?
May tell, why Heav'n has made us as we are.
[9] But of this frame the bearings, and the Ties,
The ſtrong connections, nice dependencies,
Gradations juſt, has thy pervading ſoul
Look'd thro'? or can a Part contain the Whole?
Is the great Chain that draws all to agree,
And drawn ſupports, upheld by God, or thee?
Preſumptuous Man! the Reaſon would'ſt thou find
Why form'd ſo weak, ſo little, and ſo blind?
Firſt, if thou can'ſt, the harder reaſon gueſs
Why form'd no weaker, blinder, and no leſs?
Ask of thy mother Earth, why oaks are made
Taller or ſtronger than the weeds they ſhade?
Or ask of yonder argent fields above,
Why Jove's Satellites are leſs than Jove?
Of Syſtems poſſible, if 'tis confeſt
That Wiſdom infinite muſt form the beſt,
Where all muſt full, or not coherent be,
And all that riſes, riſe in due degree;
Then, in the ſcale of life and ſenſe, 'tis plain
There muſt be, ſome where, ſuch a rank as Man;
[10] And all the queſtion (wrangle 'ere ſo long)
Is only this, if God has plac'd him wrong?
Reſpecting Man whatever wrong we call,
May, muſt be right, as relative to All.
In human works, though labour'd on with pain,
A thouſand movements ſcarce one purpoſe gain;
In God's, one ſingle can its End produce,
Yet ſerves to ſecond too ſome other Uſe.
So Man, who here ſeems principal alone,
Perhaps acts ſecond to a Sphere unknown,
Touches ſome wheel, or verges to ſome gole;
'Tis but a part we ſee, and not a whole.
When the proud Steed ſhall know, why Man reſtrains
His fiery courſe, or drives him o'er the plains;
When the dull Ox, why now he breaks the clod,
Now wears a Garland, an Aegyptian God;
Then ſhall Man's pride and dulneſs comprehend
His action's, paſſion's, being's, Uſe and End;
Why doing, ſuff'ring, check'd, impell'd; and why
This hour a Slave, the next a Deity?
[11]
Then ſay not Man's imperfect, Heav'n in fault;
Say rather, Man's as perfect as he ought;
His being meaſur'd to his State, and Place,
His time a moment, and a point his ſpace.
Heav'n from all Creatures hides the book of Fate,
All but the page preſcrib'd, their preſent ſtate,
From Brutes what Men, from Men what Spirits know,
Or who could ſuffer Being here below?
The Lamb thy riot dooms to bleed to day,
Had he thy Reaſon, would he skip and play?
Pleas'd to the laſt, he crops the flow'ry food,
And licks the hand juſt rais'd to ſhed his blood.
Oh blindneſs to the future! kindly giv'n,
That each may fill the Circle mark'd by Heav'n,
Who ſees with equal eye, as God of All,
A Hero periſh, or a Sparrow fall,
Atoms, or Syſtems, into ruin hurl'd,
And now a Bubble burſt, and now a World!
Hope humbly then; with trembling pinions ſoar;
Wait the great teacher, Death, and God adore!
[12] What future bliſs, he gives not thee to know,
But gives that Hope to be thy bleſſing now.
Hope ſprings eternal in the human breaſt;
Man never is, but always to be bleſt;
The ſoul uneaſy, and confin'd at home,
Reſts, and expatiates, in a life to come.
Lo! the poor Indian, whoſe untutor'd mind
Sees God in clouds, or hears him in the wind;
His ſoul, proud Science never taught to ſtray
Far as the Solar walk, or Milky way;
Yet ſimple Nature to his Hope has giv'n
Behind the cloud-topt hill an humbler heav'n,
Some ſafer world in depth of woods embrac'd,
Some happier Iſland in the watry waſte,
Where Slaves once more their native land behold,
No Fiends torment, no Chriſtians thirſt for Gold.
To be, contents his natural deſire,
He asks no Angel's wing, or Seraph's fire,
But thinks, admitted to that equal sky,
This faithful Dog ſhall bear him company.
[13] Go, wiſer thou! and in thy ſcale of ſenſe
Weigh thy Opinion againſt Providence:
Call Imperfection what thou fancy'ſt ſuch;
Say, here he gives too little, there too much;
Deſtroy all Creatures for thy ſport or guſt,
Yet cry, if Man's unhappy, God's unjuſt,
If Man, alone, engroſs not Heav'ns high care,
Alone, made perfect here, immortal there;
Snatch from his hand the Balance and the Rod,
Re-judge his Juſtice, Be the GOD of GOD!
In reas'ning Pride (my Friend) our error lies;
All quit their ſphere, and ruſh into the Skies.
Pride ſtill is aiming at the bleſt abodes,
Men would be Angels, Angels would be Gods.
Aſpiring to be Gods, if Angels fell,
Aſpiring to be Angels, Men rebell:
And who but wiſhes to invert the Laws
Of ORDER, ſins againſt th' Eternal Cauſe.
Ask for what end the heav'nly Bodies ſhine?
Earth for whoſe uſe? Pride anſwers, " 'Tis for mine:
[14] " For me kind Nature wakes her genial pow'r,
" Suckles each herb, and ſpreads out ev'ry flow'r;
" Annual for me the grape, the roſe renew
" The juice nectareous, and the balmy dew;
" For me the mine a thouſand treaſures brings,
" For me health guſhes from a thouſand ſprings;
" Seas roll to waft me, ſuns to light me riſe,
" My footſtool earth, my canopy the skies.
But errs not Nature from this gracious end,
From burning Suns when livid deaths deſcend,
When Earthquakes ſwallow, or when Tempeſts ſweep
Towns to one grave, and Nations to the Deep?
No ('tis reply'd) the firſt Almighty Cauſe
" Acts not by partial, but by gen'ral Laws;
" Th' Exceptions few; ſome Change ſince all began;
" And what created, perfect?"—Why then Man?
If the great End be human Happineſs,
And Nature deviates, how can Man do leſs?
As much that End a conſtant courſe requires
Of ſhow'rs and ſunſhine, as of Man's Deſires,
[15] As much eternal ſprings and cloudleſs skies,
As men for ever temp'rate, calm, and wiſe.
If Plagues or Earthquakes break not heav'ns deſign,
Why then a Borgia or a Catiline?
From Pride, from Pride, our very reas'ning ſprings;
Account for moral, as for nat'ral things:
Why charge we heav'n in thoſe, in theſe acquit?
In both, to reaſon right, is to ſubmit.
Better for us, perhaps, it might appear,
Were there all harmony, all virtue here;
That never air or ocean felt the wind;
That never paſſion diſcompos'd the mind:
But All ſubſiſts by elemental ſtrife;
And Paſſions are the Elements of life.
The gen'ral Order, ſince the whole began,
Is kept in Nature, and is kept in Man.
What would this Man? now upward will he ſoar,
And little leſs than Angel, would be more;
Now looking downward, juſt as griev'd appears
To want the ſtrength of Bulls, the fur of Bears.
[16] Made for his uſe all Creatures if he call,
Say what their uſe, had he the pow'rs of all?
Nature to theſe without profuſion kind,
The proper organs, proper pow'rs aſſign'd,
Each ſeeming want compenſated of courſe,
Here, with degrees of Swiftneſs, there, of Force;1
All in exact proportion to the ſtate,
Nothing to add, and nothing to abate.
Each Beaſt, each Inſect, happy in its own,
Is Heav'n unkind to Man, and Man alone?
Shall he alone, whom rational we call,
Be pleas'd with nothing, if not bleſs'd with all?
The bliſs of Man (could Pride that bleſſing find)
Is, not to think, or act, beyond Mankind;
No pow'rs of Body or of Soul to ſhare,
But what his Nature and his State can bear.
Why has not Man a microſcopic eye?
For this plain reaſon, Man is not a Fly.
[17] Say what the uſe, were finer opticks giv'n,
T' inſpect a Mite, not comprehend the Heav'n?
Or Touch, if tremblingly alive all o'er,
To ſmart, and agonize at ev'ry pore?
Or keen Effluvia darting thro' the brain,
Die of a Roſe, in aromatic pain?
If Nature thunder'd in his opening ears,
And ſtunn'd him with the muſic of the Spheres,
How would he wiſh that Heav'n had left him ſtill
The whiſp'ring Zephyr, and the purling rill?
Who finds not Providence all-good and wiſe,
Alike in what it gives, and what denies?
Far as Creation's ample range extends,
The ſcale of ſenſual, mental pow'rs aſcends;
Mark how it mounts to Man's imperial race,
From the green myriads in the peopled graſs!
What modes of Sight, betwixt each wide extreme,
The Mole's dim curtain, and the Lynx's beam:
[18] Of ſmell, the headlong Lioneſs2 between,
And hound, ſagacious on the tainted green:
Of hearing, from the Life that fills the flood,
To that which warbles through the vernal wood:
The ſpider's touch, how exquiſitely fine!
Feels at each thread, and lives along the line:
In the nice bee, what ſenſe ſo ſubtly true
From pois'nous herbs extracts the healing dew.
How Inſtinct varies! in the groveling ſwine,
Compar'd, half-reas'ning Elephant! with thine;
'Twixt that, and Reaſon, what a nice Barrier,
For ever ſep'rate, yet for ever near:
Remembrance, and Reflection, how ally'd;
What thin partitions Senſe from Thought divide:
And middle natures, how they long to join,
Yet never paſs th' inſuperable line!
Without this juſt Gradation, could they be
Subjected theſe to thoſe, or all to thee?
[19] The pow'rs of all ſubdu'd by thee alone,
Is not thy Reaſon all thoſe pow'rs in one?
See, thro' this air, this ocean, and this earth,
All Matter quick, and burſting into birth.
Above, how high progreſſive life may go?
Around how wide? how deep extend below?
Vaſt Chain of Being! which from God began,
Natures Ethereal, human, Angel, Man,
Beaſt, bird, fiſh, inſect; what no Eye can ſee,
No Glaſs can reach: from Infinite to thee,
From thee to Nothing!—On ſuperior pow'rs
Were we to preſs, inferior might on ours;
Or in the full Creation leave a Void,
Where, one ſtep broken, the great Scale's deſtroy'd:
From Nature's Chain whatever link you ſtrike,
Tenth or ten thouſandth, breaks the chain alike.
And if each Syſtem in gradation roll,
Alike eſſential to th' amazing Whole;
The leaſt confuſion but in one, not all
That Syſtem only, but the whole muſt fall.
[20] Let Earth unbalanc'd from her Orbit fly,
Planets and Suns ruſh lawleſs thro' the sky,
Let ruling Angels from their ſpheres be hurl'd,
Being on Being wreck'd, and World on World,
Heav'ns whole foundations to their Centre nod,
And Nature tremble, to the Throne of God.
All this dread ORDER break—For whom? for thee,
Vile Worm!—O Madneſs! Pride! Impiety!
What if the foot ordain'd the duſt to tread,
Or hand to toil, aſpir'd to be the Head?
What if the head, the eye or ear, repin'd
To ſerve mere Engines to the ruling Mind?
Juſt as abſurd, for any Part to claim
To be Another, in this gen'ral Frame:
Juſt as abſurd, to mourn the tasks, or pains,
The great directing Mind of All ordains.
All are but parts of one ſtupendous Whole,
Whoſe Body Nature is, and God the Soul;
That, chang'd thro' all, and yet in all the ſame,
Great in the Earth as in th' Aethereal frame,
[21] Warms in the Sun, refreſhes in the Breeze,
Glows in the Stars, and bloſſoms in the Trees,
Lives thro' all Life, extends thro' all Extent,
Spreads undivided, operates unſpent,
Breathes in our ſoul, 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 Seraphim that ſings and burns;
To Him no high, no low, no great, no ſmall;
He fills, he bounds, connects, and equals all.
Ceaſe then, nor ORDER Imperfection name:
Our proper bliſs depends on what we blame.
Know thy own Point: This kind, this due degree
Of blindneſs, weakneſs, Heav'n beſtows on thee.
Submit—in this, or any other Sphere,
Secure to be as bleſt as thou canſt bear;
Safe in the hand of one diſpoſing Pow'r,
Or in the natal, or the mortal Hour.
All Nature is but Art, unknown to thee;
All Chance, Direction which thou canſt not ſee;
[22] All Diſcord, Harmony not underſtood;
All partial Evil, univerſal Good:
And ſpight of Pride, in erring Reaſon's ſpight,
One truth is clear; "Whatever Is, is RIGHT."
W.K. [...] P.F.sc.
EPISTLE II.
[]KNow then thy-ſelf, preſume not God to ſcan;
The proper ſtudy of mankind is Man.
Plac'd 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 a 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 reas'ning but to err;
Alike in ignorance, his Reaſon ſuch,
Whether he thinks too little, or too much.
[24] Chaos of Thought and Paſſion, all confus'd;
Still by himſelf abus'd, or diſ-abus'd;
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 hurl'd;
The Glory, Jeſt, and Riddle of the world!
Go, wond'rous Creature! mount where Science guides,
Go meaſure Earth, weigh Air, and ſtate the Tydes,
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 Follow'rs 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 thy-ſelf, and be a Fool!
Superior Beings, when of late they ſaw
A mortal Man unfold all Nature's Law,
[25] Admir'd ſuch Wiſdom in an earthly ſhape,
And ſhow'd a NEWTON, as we ſhow an Ape.
Could He who taught each Planet where to roll,
Deſcribe, or fix, one Movement of the Soul?
Who mark'd their points, to riſe and to deſcend,
Explain, or his Beginning, or his End?
Alas what wonder! Man's ſuperior part
Uncheck'd may riſe, and climb from Art to Art;
But when his own great work is but begun,
What Reaſon weaves, by Paſſion is undone.
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.
[26] Fix'd 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 deſtroy'd.
Moſt ſtrength the moving Principle requires,
Active its task, it prompts, impels, inſpires:
Sedate and quiet the comparing lies,
Form'd but to check, delib'rate, and adviſe.
Self-Love yet ſtronger, as its objects nigh;
Reaſon's at diſtance and in proſpect lye;
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 ſubtile Schoolmen teach theſe Friends to fight,
More ſtudious to divide, than to unite,
[27] 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.
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 tho' ſelfiſh, if their Means be fair,
Liſt under Reaſon, and deſerve her care:
Thoſe that imparted, court a nobler aim,
Exalt their kind, and take ſome Virtue's name.
In lazy Apathy let Stoics boaſt
Their Virtue fix'd; 'tis fix'd as in a Froſt:
[28] Contracted all, retiring to the breaſt:
But Strength of Mind is Exerciſe, not Reſt:
The riſing tempeſt puts in act the ſoul,
Parts it may ravage, but preſerves the whole.
On Life's vaſt Ocean diverſely we ſail,
Reaſon the Card, but Paſſion is the Gale:
Nor GOD alone in the ſtill Calm we find,
He mounts the Storm, and walks upon the Wind.
Paſſions, like Elements, tho' born to fight,
Yet mix'd and ſoften'd, in his work unite:
Theſe, 'tis enough to temper and employ;
But what compoſes Man, can Man deſtroy?
Suffice that Reaſon keep to Nature's road,
Subject, compound them, follow her, and God.
Love, Hope, and Joy, fair Pleaſure's ſmiling train,
Hate, Fear, and Grief, the Family of Pain;
Theſe mix'd with art, and to due bounds confin'd,
Make, and maintain, the Balance of the Mind:
The Lights and Shades, whoſe well-accorded ſtrife
Gives all the Strength and Colour of our life.
[29]
Pleaſures are ever in our hands, or eyes,
And when in Act they ceaſe, in Proſpect riſe;
Preſent to graſp, and future ſtill to find,
The whole employ of Body and of Mind.
All ſpread their charms, but charm not all alike;
On diff'rent Senſes diff'rent Objects ſtrike:
Hence diff'rent Paſſions more or leſs inflame,
As ſtrong, or weak, the Organs of the Frame;
And hence one Maſter Paſſion in the breaſt,
Like Aaron's Serpent, ſwallows up the reſt.
As Man perhaps, the moment of his breath,
Receives the lurking Principle of death,
The young Diſeaſe that muſt ſubdue at length,
Grows with his growth, and ſtrengthens with his ſtrength:
So, caſt and mingled with his very Frame,
The Mind's diſeaſe, its ruling Paſſion came:
Each vital humour which ſhould feed the whole,
Soon flows to this, in Body and in Soul.
Whatever warms the heart, or fills the head,
As the mind opens, and its functions ſpread;
[30] Imagination plies her dang'rous art,
And pours it all upon the peccant part.
Nature its Mother, Habit is its Nurſe;
Wit, Spirit, Faculties, but make it worſe;
Reaſon itſelf but gives it edge and pow'r,
As Heav'n's bleſt Beam turns Vinegar more ſow'r.
The ruling Paſſion, be it what it will,
The ruling Paſſion conquers Reaſon ſtill.
We, wretched ſubjects tho' to lawful ſway,
In this weak Queen, ſome Fav'rite ſtill obey.
Ah! if ſhe lend not Arms as well as Rules,
What can ſhe more, than tell us we are Fools?
Teach us to mourn our nature, not to mend,
A ſharp Accuſer, but a helpleſs Friend?
Or from a Judge turn Pleader, to perſuade
The choice we make, or juſtify it made?
Proud of imagin'd Conqueſts all along,
She but removes weak Paſſions for the ſtrong;
So, when ſmall Humours gather to a Gout,
The Doctor fancies he has driv'n them out.
[31]
Yes; Nature's Road muſt ever be prefer'd;
Reaſon is here no Guide, but ſtill a Guard;
'Tis her's to rectify, not overthrow,
And treat this Paſſion more as Friend than Foe:
A MIGHTIER POW'R the ſtrong Direction ſends,
And ſev'ral Men impells to ſev'ral Ends:
Like varying Winds, by other paſſions toſt,
This drives them conſtant to a certain Coaſt.
Let Pow'r or Knowledge, Gold, or Glory pleaſe,
Or (oft more ſtrong than all) the Love of eaſe,
Thro' life 'tis follow'd, ev'n at life's expence;
The Merchant's toil, the Sage's indolence,
The Monk's humility, the Hero's pride,
All, all alike find Reaſon on their ſide.
Th' Eternal Art, educing Good from Ill,
Grafts on this Paſſion our beſt Principle:
'Tis thus, the Mercury of Man is fix'd,
Strong grows the Virtue with his Nature mix'd;
The Droſs cements what elſe were too refin'd,
And in one int'reſt Body acts with Mind.
[32]
As Fruits ungrateful to the Planter's care
On ſavage ſtocks inſerted, learn to bear,
The ſureſt Virtues thus from Paſſions ſhoot,
Wild Nature's Vigour working at the root.
What Crops of Wit and Honeſty appear,
From Spleen, from Obſtinacy, Hate or Fear!
See Anger, Zeal and Fortitude ſupply;
Ev'n Av'rice Prudence; Sloth Philoſophy;
Envy, to which th' ignoble mind's a ſlave,
Is Emulation in the Learn'd and Brave:
Luſt, thro' ſome certain Strainers well refin'd,
Is gentle Love, and charms all Womankind.
Nor Virtue, male or female, can we name,
But what will grow on Pride, or grow on Shame.
Thus Nature gives us (let it check our pride)
The Virtue neareſt to our Vice ally'd;
Reaſon the Byas turns to Good from Ill,
And Nero reigns a Titus, if he will.
The fiery ſoul abhorr'd in Catiline
In Decius charms, in Curtius is divine.
[33] The ſame Ambition can deſtroy or ſave,
And makes a Patriot, as it makes a Knave.
This Light and Darkneſs, in our Chaos join'd,
What ſhall divide? The God within the Mind.
Extremes in nature equal ends produce,
In man, they join to ſome myſterious uſe;
Tho' oft ſo mix'd, the diff'rence is too nice
Where ends the virtue, or begins the vice,
Now this, now that the other's bound invades,
As in ſome well-wrought Picture, lights and ſhades.
Fools! who from hence into the notion fall,
That Vice or Virtue there is none at all.
If white and black, blend, ſoften, and unite
A thouſand ways, is there no black or white?
Ask your own Heart, and nothing is ſo plain;
'Tis to miſtake them, coſts the time and pain.
Vice is a monſter of ſo frightful mien,
As, to be hated, needs but to be ſeen;
Yet ſeen too oft, familiar with her face,
We firſt endure, then pity, then embrace.
[34] But where th' Extreme of Vice, was ne'er agreed;
Ask, where's the North? at York'tis on the Tweed,
In Scotland at the Orcades, and there
At Greenland, Zembla, or the Lord knows where.
No creature owns it, in the firſt degree,
But thinks his Neighbour farther gone than he.
Ev'n thoſe who dwell beneath her very Zone,
Or never feel the rage, or never own;
What happier Natures ſhrink at with affright,
The hard Inhabitant contends is right.
Virtuous and vicious ev'ry man muſt be,
Few in th' Extreme, but all in the Degree:
The Rogue and Fool by fits is fair and wiſe,
And ev'n the beſt by fits what they deſpiſe,
'Tis but by Parts we follow Good or Ill,
For, Vice or Virtue, Self directs it ſtill;
Each Individual ſeeks a ſev'ral goal:
But HEAV'N'S great view is One, and that the WHOLE:
That counter-works each Folly and Caprice;
That diſappoints th' Effect of ev'ry Vice:
[35] That, happy Frailties to all ranks apply'd,
Shame to the Virgin, to the Matron Pride,
Fear to the Stateſman, Raſhneſs to the Chief,
To Kings Preſumption, and to Crowds Belief.
That, Virtue's Ends from Vanity can raiſe,
Which ſeeks no int'reſt, no reward but Praiſe;
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 Maſter, or a Servant, or a Friend,
Bids each on other for aſſiſtance call,
'Till one man's weakneſs grows the ſtrength of all.
Wants, Frailties, Paſſions, cloſer ſtill allye
The common int'reſt, or endear the tye:
To theſe we owe true Friendſhip, Love ſincere,
Each home-felt joy that Life inherits here:
Yet from the ſame we learn, in its decline,
Thoſe joys, thoſe loves, thoſe int'reſts to reſign;
Taught half by reaſon, half by mere decay,
To welcome Death, and calmly paſs away.
[36]
Whate'er the Paſſion, Knowledge, Fame, or Pelf,
Not one will change his Neighbour with himſelf.
The learn'd are happy, Nature to explore;
The fool is happy, that he knows no more;
The rich are happy in the plenty giv'n;
The poor contents him with the care of Heav'n.
See the blind Beggar dance, the Cripple ſing,
The Sot a Hero, Lunatic a King,
The ſtarving Chymiſt in his golden Views
Supreamly bleſt, the Poet in his Muſe.
See! ſome ſtrange Comfort ev'ry State attend,
And Pride beſtow'd on all, a common Friend;
See! ſome fit Paſſion ev'ry Age ſupply,
Hope travels thro', nor quits us when we die.
'Till then, Opinion gilds with varying rays
Thoſe painted clouds that beautify our days;
Each want of Happineſs by Hope ſupply'd,
And each vacuity of Senſe by Pride.
Theſe build up all that Knowledge can deſtroy;
In Folly's cup ſtill laughs the bubble, Joy;
[37] One Proſpect loſt, another ſtill we gain,
And not a Vanity is giv'n in vain:
Ev'n mean Self-Love becomes, by force divine,
The Scale to meaſure others wants by thine.
See! and confeſs, one comfort ſtill muſt riſe,
'Tis this, tho' Man's a Fool, yet GOD IS WISE.
W.K. [...] P.F.sc.
EPISTLE III.
[]LEarn Dulneſs, learn! "The Univerſal Cauſe
" Acts to one End, but acts by various Laws."
In all the Madneſs of ſuperfluous Health,
The Trim of Pride, and Impudence of Wealth,
Let that great Truth be preſent night and day;
But moſt be preſent, if thou preach, or pray.
View thy own World: behold the Chain of Love
Combining all below, and all above.
See, plaſtic Nature working to this End,
The ſingle Atoms each to other tend,
Attract, attracted to, the next in place,
Form'd, and impell'd, its Neighbour to embrace.
[39] See Matter next, with various life endu'd,
Preſs to one Centre ſtill, the Gen'ral Good.
See dying Vegetables Life ſuſtain,
See Life diſſolving vegetate again.
All Forms that periſh other forms ſupply,
By turns they catch the vital breath, and die;
Like Bubbles on the Sea of Matter born,
They riſe, they break, and to that Sea return.
Nothing is foreign: Parts relate to Whole:
One all-extending, all-preſerving Soul
Connects each Being, greateſt with the leaſt?
Made Beaſt in aid of Man, and Man of Beaſt;
All ſerv'd, and ſerving, nothing ſtands alone;
The Chain holds on, and where it ends, unknown!
Has GOD, thou Fool! work'd ſolely for thy good,
Thy joy, thy paſtime, thy attire, thy food?
Who for thy Table feeds the wanton Fawn,
For him as kindly ſpreads the flow'ry Lawn.
Is it for thee the Lark aſcends and ſings?
Joy tunes his voice, Joy elevates his wings:
[40] Is it for thee the Linnet pours his throat?
Loves of his own, and raptures ſwell the note.
The bounding Steed you pompouſly beſtride,
Shares with his Lord the pleaſure and the pride.
Is thine alone the Seed that ſtrows the plain?
The Birds of heav'n ſhall vindicate their grain:
Thine the full Harveſt of the golden year?
Part pays, and juſtly, the deſerving Steer.
The Hog that plows not, nor obeys thy call,
Lives on the labours of this Lord of all.
Know, Nature's Children all divide her care;
The Furr that warms a Monarch, warm'd a Bear.
While Man exclaims, "ſee all things for my uſe!
See Man for mine," replies a pamper'd Gooſe:
What care to tend, to lodge, to cram, to treat him,
All this he knew; but not that 'twas to eat him.
As far as Gooſe could judge, he reaſon'd right,
But as to Man, miſtook the matter quite:
And juſt as ſhort of Reaſon, Man will fall,
Who thinks All made for One, not One for All.
[41]
Grant, that the pow'rful ſtill the weak controul,
Be Man the Wit and Tyrant of the whole.
Nature that Tyrant checks; He only knows
And feels, another creature's wants and woes.
Say will the falcon, ſtooping from above,
Smit with her varying plumage, ſpare the dove?
Admires the jay the inſect's gilded wings,
Or hears the hawk, when Philomela ſings?
Man cares for All: to birds he gives his woods,
To beaſts his paſtures, and to fiſh his floods;
For ſome his Int'reſt prompts him to provide,
For more his Pleaſure, yet for more his Pride:
All feed on one vain Patron, and enjoy
Th' extenſive bleſſing of his Luxury.
That very life his learned hunger craves,
He ſaves from famine, from the ſavage ſaves;
Nay, feaſts the Animal he dooms his feaſt,
And 'till he ends the Being, makes it bleſt:
[42] Which ſees no more the ſtroke, or feels the pain,
Than favour'd Man, by Touch aetherial ſlain.3
The Creature had his feaſt of life before;
Thou too muſt periſh, when thy feaſt is o'er!
To each unthinking being Heav'n a friend,
Gives not the uſeleſs knowledge of its End;
To Man imparts it; but with ſuch a View,
As while he dreads it, makes him hope it too:
The hour conceal'd, and ſo remote the fear,
Death ſtill draws nearer, never ſeeming near.
Great ſtanding Miracle! that Heav'n aſſign'd
Its only thinking thing, this turn of mind.
Whether with Reaſon, or with Inſtinct bleſt,
Know, all enjoy that pow'r which ſuits 'em beſt,
To Bliſs, alike, by that direction tend,
And find the means proportion'd to their end.
Say, where full Inſtinct is th' unerring guide,
What Pope or Council can they need beſide?
[43] Reaſon, however able, cool at beſt,
Cares not for ſervice, or but ſerves when preſt,
Stays till we call, and then not often near;
But honeſt Inſtinct comes a Volunteer.
This too ſerves always, Reaſon never long;
One muſt go right, the other may go wrong.
See then the acting and comparing pow'rs
One in their nature, which are two in ours,
And Reaſon raiſe o'er Inſtinct, as you can;
In this 'tis God directs, in that 'tis Man.
Who taught the Nations of the field and wood,
To ſhun their Poiſon, and to chuſe their Food?
Preſcient, the Tydes or Tempeſts to withſtand,
Build on the Wave, or arch beneath the Sand?
Who made the Spider Parallels deſign,
Sure as De-Moivre, without rule or line?
Who bid the Stork, Columbus-like, explore
Heav'ns not his own, and worlds unknown before?
Who calls the Council, ſtates the certain day,
Who forms the Phalanx, and who points the way?
[44]
God, in the Nature of each being, founds
Its proper bliſs, and ſets its proper bounds:
But as he fram'd a Whole, the whole to bleſs
On mutual Wants built mutual Happineſs:
So from the firſt Eternal ORDER ran,
And Creature link'd to Creature, Man to Man.
What'ere of Life all-quickening Aether keeps,
Or breathes thro' Air, or ſhoots beneath the Deeps,
Or pours profuſe on Earth; one Nature feeds
The vital flame, and ſwells the genial ſeeds.
Not Man alone, but all that roam the wood,
Or wing the sky, or roll along the flood,
Each loves Itſelf, but not itſelf alone,
Each Sex deſires alike, till two are one:
Nor ends the pleaſure with the fierce embrace;
They love themſelves, a third time, in their Race.
Thus beaſt and bird their common charge attend,
The mothers nurſe it, and the ſires defend;
The young diſmiſs'd to wander earth or air,
There ſtops the Inſtinct, and there ends the care,
[45] The link diſſolves, each ſeeks a freſh embrace,
Another love ſucceeds, another race.
A longer care Man's helpleſs kind demands;
That longer care contracts more laſting bands:
Reflection, Reaſon, ſtill the ties improve,
At once extend the Int'reſt, and the Love:
With Choice we fix, with Sympathy we burn,
Each Virtue in each Paſſion takes its turn;
And ſtill new Needs, new Helps, new Habits riſe,
That graft Benevolence on Charities.
Still as one brood, and as another roſe,
Theſe nat'ral Love maintain'd, habitual thoſe;
The laſt ſcarce ripen'd into perfect Man,
Saw helpleſs Him from whom their life began:
Mem'ry, and Forecaſt, juſt returns engage,
That pointed back to Youth, this on to Age;
While Pleaſure, Gratitude, and Hope combin'd,
Still ſpread the Int'reſt, and preſerv'd the Kind.
Nor think, in Nature's State they blindly trod;
The State of NATURE was the Reign of GOD:
[46] Self-Love, and Social, at her birth began,
UNION the Bond of all things, and of Man.
Pride then was not; nor Arts, that Pride to aid;
Man walk'd with Beaſt, joint Tenant of the Shade;
The ſame his Table, and the ſame his Bed;
No murder cloath'd him, and no murder fed.
In the ſame Temple, the reſounding Wood,
All vocal Beings hymn'd their equal God:
The Shrine with Gore unſtain'd, with Gold undreſt,
Unbrib'd, unbloody, ſtood the blameleſs Prieſt.
Heav'ns Attribute was Univerſal Care,
And Man's Prerogative to rule, but ſpare.
Ah how unlike the man of times to come!
Of half that live, the Butcher, and the Tomb;
Who, foe to Nature, hears the gen'ral groan,
Murders their ſpecies, and betrays his own.
But juſt diſeaſe to luxury ſucceeds,
And ev'ry death its own Avenger breeds;
The Fury-Paſſions from that blood began,
And turn'd on Man a fiercer ſavage, Man.
[47]
See him from Nature riſing ſlow to Art!
To copy Inſtinct then was Reaſon's part;
Thus then to Man the Voice of Nature ſpake—
" Go! from the Creatures thy inſtructions take;
" Learn from the Birds, what food the thickets yield;
" Learn from the Beaſts, the Phyſick of the field:
" Thy Arts of building from the Bee receive;
" Learn of the Mole to plow, the Worm to weave;
" Learn of the little 4 Nautilus to ſail,
" Spread the thin oar, and catch the driving gale.
" Here too all Forms of ſocial Union find,
" And hence let Reaſon, late, inſtruct mankind:
" Here ſubterranean Works and Cities ſee,
" There Towns aerial on the waving Tree.
" Learn each ſmall people's Genius, Policies;
" The Ants Republick, and the Realm of Bees;
" How thoſe in common all their ſtores beſtow,
" And Anarchy without confuſion know,
[48] " And theſe for ever, tho' a Monarch reign,
" Their ſep'rate Cells and Properties maintain.
" Mark what unvary'd Laws preſerve their State,
" Laws wiſe as Nature, and as fix'd as Fate.
" In vain thy Reaſon finer webs ſhall draw,
" Entangle Juſtice in her Net of Law,
" And Right too rigid harden into Wrong,
" Still for the ſtrong too weak, the weak too ſtrong.
" Yet go! and thus o'er all the Creatures ſway,
" Thus let the wiſer make the reſt obey,
" Who for thoſe Arts they learn'd of Brutes before,
" As Kings ſhall crown them, or as Gods adore.
Great Nature ſpoke; obſervant Men obey'd;
Cities were built, Societies were made:
Here roſe one little State; another near
Grew by like means, and join'd thro' Love, or Fear.
Did here the Trees with ruddier burdens bend,
And there the Streams in purer rills deſcend?
What War could raviſh, Commerce could beſtow,
And he return'd a friend, who came a foe.
[49] Converſe and Love mankind might ſtrongly draw,
When Love was Liberty, and Nature Law.
Thus States were form'd; the name of King unknown,
'Till common Int'reſt plac'd the ſway in One.
Then VIRTUE ONLY (or in Arts, or Arms,
Diffuſing bleſſings, or averting harms)
The ſame which in a Sire the Sons obey'd,
A Prince the Father of a People made.
'Till then, by Nature crown'd, each Patriarch ſate,
King, Prieſt, and Parent of his growing State:
On him, their ſecond Providence, they hung,
Their Law, his Eye; their Oracle, his Tongue.
He, from the wond'ring furrow call'd their food,
Taught to command the Fire, controul the Flood,
Draw forth the Monſters of th' Abyſs profound,
Or fetch th' aerial Eagle to the ground.
Till drooping, ſick'ning, dying, they began
Whom they rever'd as God, to mourn as Man.
Then, looking up from Sire to Sire, explor'd
One great, firſt Father, and that firſt ador'd.
[50] Or plain Tradition that this All begun,
Convey'd unbroken Faith from Sire to Son,
The Workman from the Work diſtinct was known,
And ſimple Reaſon never ſought but One:
E're Wit oblique had broke that ſteady light,
Man, like his Maker, ſaw, that all was right,
To Virtue in the paths of Pleaſure trod,
And own'd a Father when he own'd a God.
LOVE all the Faith, and all th' Allegiance then;
For Nature knew no Right Divine in Men,
No Ill could fear in God; and underſtood
A Sovereign Being but a Sovereign Good.
True Faith, true Policy, united ran,
That was but Love of God, and this of Man.
Who firſt taught ſouls enſlav'd, and realms undone,
Th' enormous Faith of Many made for One?
That proud Exception to all Nature's laws,
T'invert the World, and counter-work its Cauſe?
Force firſt made Conqueſt, and that Conqueſt, Law;
Till Superſtition taught the Tyrant Awe,
[51] Then ſhar'd the Tyranny, and lent it aid,
And Gods of Conqu'rors, Slaves of Subjects made:
She, midſt the Light'ning's blaze and Thunder's ſound,
When rock'd the Mountains, and when groan'd the ground,
She taught the weak to bend, the proud to pray
To Pow'r unſeen, and mightier far than they.
She, from the rending earth, and burſting skies,
Saw Gods deſcend, and Fiends infernal riſe;
Here fix'd the dreadful, there the bleſt abodes;
Fear made her Devils, and weak Hope her Gods:
Gods partial, changeful, paſſionate, unjuſt,
Whoſe Attributes were Rage, Revenge, or Luſt:
Such as the ſouls of Cowards might conceive,
And form'd like Tyrants, Tyrants would believe.
Zeal then, not Charity, became the guide,
And Hell was built on Spite, and Heav'n on Pride.
Then ſacred ſeem'd th' Aethereal Vault no more;
Altars grew marble then, and reek'd with gore:
Then firſt the Flamen taſted living food;
Next his grim Idol ſmear'd with human blood;
[52] With Heav'ns own Thunders ſhook the world below,
And play'd the God an Engine on his foe.
So drives Self-love, thro'juſt and thro' unjuſt,
To One man's Pow'r, Ambition, Lucre, Luſt:
The ſame Self-love, in All, becomes the cauſe
Of what reſtrains him, Government and Laws.
For what one likes if others like as well,
What ſerves one Will when many Wills rebel?
How ſhall he keep, what ſleeping or awake
A weaker may ſurprize, a ſtronger take?
His Safety muſt his Liberty reſtrain;
All join to guard what each deſires to gain.
Forc'd into Virtue thus by Self-defence,
Ev'n Kings learn'd Juſtice and Benevolence:
Self-love forſook the path it firſt purſu'd,
And found the private in the public Good.
'Twas then, the ſtudious Head, or gen'rous Mind,
Follo'wer of God, or Friend of Humankind,
Poet or Patriot roſe, but to reſtore
The Faith and Moral, Nature gave before;
[53] Re-lum'd her ancient light, not kindled new;
If not God's Image, yet his Shadow drew;
Taught Pow'rs due uſe to People and to Kings,
Taught, not to ſlack nor ſtrain its tender ſtrings;
The Leſs, and Greater, ſet ſo juſtly true,
That touching one muſt ſtrike the other too,
And jarring Int'reſts of themſelves create
Th' according Muſic of a well-mix'd State.
Such is the WORLD'S great Harmony, that ſprings
From Union, Order, full Conſent of things!
Where ſmall and great, where weak and mighty made
To ſerve, not ſuffer, ſtrengthen, not invade,
More pow'rful each as needful to the reſt,
And in proportion as it bleſſes, bleſt,
Draw to one point, and to one Centre bring
Beaſt, Man, or Angel, Servant, Lord, or King.
For Forms of Government let fools conteſt,
Whate'er is beſt adminiſtred, is beſt:
For Modes of Faith let graceleſs Zealots fight,
His can't be wrong whoſe Life is in the right:
[45] All muſt be falſe, that thwart this One, great End,
And all of God, that bleſs Mankind, or mend,
Man, like the gen'rous Vine, ſupported lives,
The Strength he gains is from th' Embrace he gives.
On their own Axis as the Planets run,
Yet make at once their Circle round the Sun;
So two conſiſtent Motions act the ſoul,
And one regards Itſelf, and one the Whole.
Thus God and Nature link'd the gen'ral Frame,
And bade Self-Love and Social be the ſame.
[figure]
EPISTLE IV.
[]O HAPPINESS! our Being's End and Aim!
Good, Pleaſure, Eaſe, Content! whate'er thy name:
That Something ſtill, which prompts th'eternal ſigh,
For which we bear to live, nor fear to die;
Which ſtill ſo near us, yet beyond us lies,
O'erlook'd, ſeen double, by the fool—and wiſe.
Plant of Caeleſtial ſeed! if dropt below,
Say, in what mortal ſoil thou deign'ſt to grow?
Fair-opening to ſome Court's propitious Shine,
Or deep with diamonds in the flaming Mine,
Twin'd with the wreaths Parnaſſian Laurels yield,
Or reap'd in Iron Harveſts of the Field?
[56] Where grows—where grows it not?—If vain our toil,
We ought to blame the Culture, not the Soil:
Fix'd to no ſpot is Happineſs ſincere;
'Tis no where to be found, or ev'ry where;
'Tis never to be bought, but always free,
And fled from Monarchs, ST. JOHN! dwells with thee.
Ask of the Learn'd the way, the Learn'd are blind,
This bids to ſerve, and that to ſhun mankind:
Some place the bliſs in Action, ſome in Eaſe,
Thoſe call it Pleaſure, and Contentment theſe:
Who thus define it, ſay they more or leſs
Than this, that Happineſs is Happineſs?
One grants his Pleaſure is but Reſt from pain,
One doubts of All, one owns ev'n Virtue vain.
Take Nature's path, and mad Opinion's leave,
All States can reach it, and all Heads conceive;
Obvious her goods, in no Extreme they dwell,
There needs but thinking right, and meaning well;
And mourn our various portions as we pleaſe,
Equal is common Senſe, and common Eaſe.
[57]
Remember Man! "the Univerſal Cauſe
" Acts not by partial, but by gen'ral Laws;
And makes what Happineſs we juſtly call,
Subſiſt not in the Good of one, but all.
There's not a bleſſing Individuals find,
But ſome way leans and hearkens to the Kind.
No Bandit fierce, no Tyrant mad with pride,
No cavern'd Hermit, reſt ſelf-ſatisfy'd;
Who moſt to ſhun or hate mankind pretend,
Seek an Admirer, or wou'd fix a Friend.
Abſtract what others feel, what others think,
All Pleaſures ſicken, and all Glories ſink;
Each has his ſhare, and who wou'd more obtain
Shall find, the pleaſure pays not half the pain.
ORDER is Heav'n's firſt Law; and this confeſt,
Some are, and muſt be, greater than the reſt,
More rich, more wiſe: but who infers from hence
That ſuch are happier, ſhocks all common ſenſe.
Heav'n to mankind impartial we confeſs
If all are equal in their happineſs:
[58] But mutual wants this happineſs increaſe,
All Nature's diff'rence keeps all Nature's peace.
Condition, Circumſtance is not the thing:
Bliſs is the ſame, in Subject or in King;
In who obtain defence, or who defend;
In him who is, or him who finds, a friend.
Heav'n breathes thro' ev'ry member of the whole
One common Bleſſing, as one common Soul:
But Fortune's gifts if each alike poſſeſt,
And each were equal, muſt not all conteſt?
If then to all men Happineſs was meant,
God in Externals could not place Content.
Fortune her gifts may variouſly diſpoſe,
And theſe be call'd unhappy, happy thoſe;
But Heav'n's juſt balance equal will appear,
While thoſe are plac'd in Hope, and theſe in Fear:
Not preſent Good or Ill, the joy or curſe,
But future views, of Better, or of Worſe.
Oh Sons of Earth! attempt ye ſtill to riſe
By mountains pil'd on mountains, to the Skies?
[59] Heav'n ſtill with laughter the vain toil ſurveys,
And buries Madmen in the Heaps they raiſe.
Know, all the Good that Individuals find,
Or God and Nature meant to meer mankind,
Reaſon's whole pleaſures, all the joys of Senſe,
Lie in three words, Health, Peace, and Competence.
But Health conſiſts with Temperance alone,
And Peace, fair Virtue! Peace is all thy own;
The gifts of Fortune good or bad may gain;
But theſe leſs taſte them, as they worſe obtain.
Say, in purſuit of Profit or Delight,
Who riſque the moſt, that take wrong means, or right?
Of Vice or Virtue, whether bleſt or curſt,
Which meets Contempt, or which Compaſſion firſt?
Count all th' advantage proſp'rous Vice attains,
'Tis but what Virtue flies from, and diſdains;
And grant the bad what happineſs they wou'd,
One they muſt want, which is, to paſs for good.
Oh blind to Truth, and God's whole Scheme be⯑low!
Who fancy Bliſs to Vice, to Virtue Woe:
[60] Who ſees and follows that great Scheme the beſt,
Beſt knows his bleſſing, and will moſt be bleſt.
But Fools the Good alone unhappy call,
For Ills or Accidents that chance to All.
See FALKLAND falls, the virtuous and the juſt!
See godlike TURENNE proſtrate on the duſt!
See SIDNEY bleeds amid the martial ſtrife!
Was this their Virtue, or Contempt of life?
Say was it Virtue, more tho' Heav'n ne'er gave,
Lamented DIGBY! ſunk thee to the Grave?
Tell me, if Virtue made the Son expire,
Why, full of Days and Honour, lives the Sire?
Why drew Marſeilles good Biſhop purer breath,
When Nature ſicken'd, and each gale was death?
Or why ſo long (in Life if long can be)
Lent Heav'n a Parent to the Poor and Me?
What makes all Phyſical or Moral Ill?
There deviates Nature, and here wanders Will.
God ſends not Ill, 'tis Nature lets it fall
Or Chance eſcape, and Man improves it all.
[61] We juſt as wiſely might of Heav'n complain,
That righteous Abel was deſtroy'd by Cain,
As that the virtuous Son is ill at eaſe,
When his lewd Father gave the dire diſeaſe.
Think we like ſome weak Prince th' Eternal Cauſe,
Prone for his Fav'rites to reverſe his Laws?
Shall burning Aetna, if a Sage requires,
Forget to thunder, and recall her fires?
On Air or Sea new motions be impreſt,
O blameleſs Bethel! to relieve thy breaſt?
When the looſe Mountain trembles from on high,
Shall Gravitation ceaſe, if you go by?
Or ſome old Temple nodding to its fall,
For Chartres head reſerve the hanging Wall?
But ſtill this World (ſo fitted for the Knave)
Contents us not. A better ſhall we have?
A Kingdom of the Juſt then let it be:
But firſt conſider how thoſe Juſt agree?
The Good muſt merit God's peculiar care;
But who but God can tell us, who they are?
[62] One thinks on Calvin Heav'n's own ſpirit fell,
Another deems him Inſtrument of Hell;
If Calvin feel Heav'n's Bleſſing, or its Rod,
This cries there is, and that, there is no God.
What ſhocks one part will edify the reſt,
Nor with one Syſtem can they all be bleſt.
Give each a Syſtem, all muſt be at ſtrife;
What diff'rent Syſtems for a man and wife?
The very beſt will variouſly incline,
And what rewards your Virtue, puniſh mine.
" Whatever is, is right."—This world, 'tis true,
Was made for Caeſar—but for Titus too:
And which more bleſt? who chain'd his Country, ſay,
Or he, whoſe Virtue ſigh'd to loſe a day?
" But ſometimes Virtue ſtarves while Vice is fed."
What then? is the reward of Virtue, Bread?
That, Vice may merit; 'tis the price of Toil:
The Knave deſerves it when he tills the Soil,
The Knave deſerves it when he tempts the Main,
Where Madneſs fights, for Tyrants, or for Gain.
[63] The good man may be weak, be indolent,
Nor is his claim to Plenty, but Content.
But grant him Riches, your demand is o'er?
" No—ſhall 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?
Nay, why external for internal giv'n,
Why is not Man a God, and Earth a Heav'n?
Who ask and reaſon thus, will ſcarce conceive
God gives enough while he has more to give:
Immenſe the Pow'r, immenſe were the demand;
Say, at what part of Nature will they ſtand?
What nothing earthly gives, or can deſtroy,
The Soul's calm ſun-ſhine, and the heart-felt joy,
Is Virtue's Prize: A better would you fix,
And give Humility a Coach and ſix?
Juſtice a Conqu'ror's ſword, or Truth a Gown,
Or Publick Spirit, its great cure, a Crown?
Rewards that either would to Virtue bring
No joy, or be deſtructive of the thing.
[64] How oft by theſe at ſixty are undone
The Virtues of a Saint at twenty-one!
For Riches, can they give but to the Juſt,
His own Contentment, or another's Truſt?
Judges and Senates have been bought for gold,
Eſteem and Love were never to be ſold.
O Fool! to think, God hates the worthy Mind,
The Lover, and the Love, of Human kind,
Whoſe Life is healthful, and whoſe Conſcience clear;
Becauſe he wants a thouſand pounds a year!
Honour and Shame from no Condition riſe;
Act well your part, there all the Honour lies.
Fortune in men has ſome ſmall diff'rence made,
One flaunts in Rags, one flutters in Brocade,
The Cobler apron'd, and the Parſon gown'd,
The Fryar hooded, and the Monarch crown'd.
" What differ more (you cry) than Crown and Cowl?"
I'll tell you, friend: a Wiſe man and a Fool.
You'll find, if once the Monarch acts the Monk,
Or Cobler-like, the Parſon will be drunk,
[65] Worth makes the Man, and want of it the Fellow;
The reſt, is all but Leather or Prunella.
Stuck o'er with Titles, and hung round with Strings,
That thou may'ſt be, by Kings, or Whores of Kings.
Thy boaſted Blood, a thouſand years or ſo,
May from Lucretia to Lucretia flow;
But by your Father's worth if yours you rate,
Count me thoſe only who were good and great.
Go! if your ancient but ignoble blood
Has crept thro' Scoundrels ever ſince the Flood,
Go! and pretend your Family is young;
Not own your Fathers have been fools ſo long.
What can ennoble Sots, or Slaves, or Cowards?
Alas! not all the blood of all the HOWARDS.
Look next on Greatneſs, ſay where Greatneſs lies?
" Where, but among the Heroes, and the Wiſe?"
Heroes are much the ſame, the point's agreed,
From Macedonia's Madman to the Suede;
The whole ſtrange purpoſe of their lives, to find
Or make, an Enemy of all Mankind:
[66] Not one looks backward, onward ſtill he goes,
Yet ne'er looks foreward, further than his noſe.
No leſs alike the Politick and wiſe,
All ſly ſlow things, with circumſpective eyes;
Men in their looſe, unguarded hours they take,
Nor that themſelves are wiſe, but others weak.
But grant that thoſe can conquer, theſe can cheat,
'Tis phraſe abſurd to call a Villain great.
Who wickedly is wiſe, or madly brave,
Is but the more a fool, the more a knave.
Who noble ends by noble means obtains,
Or failing, ſmiles in Exile or in Chains,
Like good Aurelius let him reign, or bleed
Like Socrates, that Man is great indeed.
What's Fame? that fancy'd Life in others breath!
A thing beyond us ev'n before our death.
Juſt what you hear you have, and what's unknown
The ſame (my Lord) if Tully's, or your own.
All that we feel of it begins and ends
In the ſmall circle of our foes or friends;
[67] To all beſide as much an empty Shade
An Eugene living, as a Caeſar dead,
Alike or when or where, they ſhone or ſhine,
Or on the Rubicon, or on the Rhine.
A Wit's a Feather, and a Chief a Rod;
An honeſt man's the nobleſt Work of God:
Fame but from death a Villain's name can ſave,
As Juſtice tears his body from the grave;
When what t' oblivion better were reſign'd,
Is hung on high, to poiſon half mankind.
All Fame is foreign, but of true deſert,
Plays round the head, but comes not to the heart.
One ſelf-approving hour whole years out-weighs
Of ſtupid Starers, and of loud huzza's;
And more true joy Marcellus exil'd feels
Than Caeſar with a Senate at his heels.
In Parts ſuperior what advantage lies!
Tell (for You can) what is it to be wiſe?
'Tis but to know, how little can be known;
To ſee all others faults, and feel our own;
[68] Condemn'd in Buſineſs or in Arts to drudge
Without a Second, or without a Judge:
Truths would you teach, or ſave a ſinking Land?
All fear, none aid you, and few underſtand.
Painful Preheminence! yourſelf to view
Above Life's Weakneſs, and its Comforts too.
Bring then theſe Bleſſings to a ſtrict account,
Make fair deductions, ſee to what they mount?
How much of other each is ſure to coſt?
How each for other oft is wholly loſt?
How inconſiſtent greater Goods with theſe?
How ſometimes Life is riſqu'd, and always Eaſe?
Think, and if ſtill the Things thy envy call,
Say, would'ſt thou be the Man to whom they fall?
To ſigh for Ribbands if thou art ſo ſilly,
Mark how they grace Lord Umbra, or Sir Billy.
Is yellow Dirt the paſſion of thy life?
Look but on Gripus, or on Gripus' wife.
If Parts allure thee, think how Bacon ſhin'd,
The wiſeſt, brighteſt, meaneſt of Mankind:
[69] Or raviſh'd with the whiſtling of a Name,
See Cromwell, damn'd to everlaſting Fame!
If all, united, thy ambition call,
From ancient Story learn to ſcorn them all.
There, in the rich, the honour'd, fam'd, and great,
See the falſe Scale of Happineſs compleat!
In hearts of Kings or arms of Queens who lay,
(How happy!) thoſe to ruin, theſe betray,
Mark by what wretched ſteps their Glory grows,
From dirt and ſea-weed as proud Venice roſe;
In each, how Guilt and Greatneſs equal ran,
And all that rais'd the Hero ſunk the Man.
Now Europe's Lawrels on their brows behold,
But ſtain'd with Blood, or ill exchang'd for Gold:
Then ſee them broke with Toils, or loſt in Eaſe,
Or infamous for plunder'd Provinces.
Oh Wealth ill-fated! which no Act of ſame
E'er taught to ſhine, or ſanctify'd from ſhame!
What greater bliſs attends their cloſe of life?
Some greedy Minion, or imperious Wife,
[70] The trophy'd Arches, ſtory'd Halls invade,
And haunt their ſlumbers in the pompous Shade.
Alas! not dazled with their Noontide ray,
Compute the Morn and Evening to the Day:
The whole amount of that enormous Fame
A Tale! that blends their Glory with their Shame!
Know then this Truth (enough for man to know)
VIRTUE alone is Happineſs below.
The only point where human bliſs ſtands ſtill,
And taſtes the Good without the fall to Ill:
Where only, Merit conſtant pay receives,
Is bleſs'd in what it takes and what it gives:
The joy unequal'd, if its end it gain,
And if it loſe, attended with no pain:
Without ſatiety, tho' e'er ſo bleſs'd,
And but more reliſh'd as the more diſtreſs'd:
The broadeſt Mirth unfeeling Folly wears,
Leſs pleaſing far than Virtue's very Tears:
Good, from each object, from each place acquir'd,
For ever exercis'd, yet never tir'd;
[71] Never elated, while one Man's oppreſs'd;
Never dejected, while another's bleſs'd:
And where no wants, no wiſhes can remain,
Since but to wiſh more Virtue, is to gain.
See! the ſole Bliſs Heav'n could on all beſtow,
Which who but feels, can taſte, but thinks, can know:
Yet, poor with Fortune and with Learning blind,
The Bad muſt miſs, the Good untaught will find,
Slave to no Sect, who takes no private road,
But looks thro' Nature up to Nature's GOD,
Purſues that Chain which links th' immenſe Deſign,
Joyns Heav'n, and Earth, and mortal, and divine;
Sees, that no Being any Bliſs can know
But touches ſome above, and ſome below;
Learns, from this Union of the riſing Whole,
The firſt, laſt Purpoſe of the human Soul;
And knows, where Faith, Law, Morals all began,
All end, in LOVE of GOD and LOVE of MAN.
For him alone, Hope leads from gole to gole,
And opens ſtill, and opens, on his Soul,
[72] Till lengthen'd on to Faith, and unconfin'd,
It pours the bliſs that fills up all the mind.
He ſees, why Nature plants in Man alone
Hope of known bliſs, and Faith in bliſs unknown?
(Nature, whoſe dictates to no other Kind
Are giv'n in vain, but what they ſeek they find)
Wiſe is the Preſent: ſhe connects in this
His greateſt Virtue with his greateſt Bliſs,
At once his own bright Proſpect to be bleſt,
And ſtrongeſt Motive to aſſiſt the reſt.
Self-Love thus puſh'd to Social, to Divine,
Gives thee to make thy Neighbour's bleſſing thine:
Is this too little for the boundleſs heart?
Extend it, let thy Enemies have part!
Graſp the whole Worlds, of Reaſon, Life, and Senſe,
In one cloſe Syſtem of Benevolence!
Happier, as kinder! in whate'er degree;
And height of Bliſs but height of CHARITY.
GOD loves from whole to parts: but human Soul
Muſt riſe from individual to the whole.
[73] Self-love but ſerves the virtuous Mind to wake,
As the ſmall pebble ſtirs the peaceful Lake;
The Centre mov'd, a Circle ſtrait ſucceeds,
Another ſtill, and ſtill another ſpreads;
Friend, Parent, Neighbour, firſt it will embrace,
His Country next, and next all Human-race;
Wide, and more wide, th' O'erflowings of the mind
Take ev'ry Creature in, of every kind;
Earth ſmiles around, with boundleſs bounty bleſt,
And Heav'n beholds its Image in his Breaſt,
Come then, my Friend! my Genius come along,
Oh Maſter of the Poet, and the Song!
And while the Muſe now ſtoops, or now aſcends,
To Man's low Paſſions or their glorious Ends,
Teach me like thee, in various Nature wiſe,
To fall with Dignity, with Temper riſe,
Form'd by thy Converſe, happily to ſteer
From grave to gay, from lively to ſevere,
Correct with ſpirit, eloquent with eaſe,
Intent to reaſon, or polite to pleaſe.
[74] O! while along the ſtream of Time, thy Name
Expanded flies, and gathers all its fame,
Say, ſhall my little Bark attendant ſail,
Purſue the Triumph, and partake the Gale?
When Stateſmen, Heroes, Kings, in duſt repoſe,
Whoſe Sons ſhall bluſh their Fathers were thy foes,
Shall then this Verſe to future age pretend
Thou wert my Guide, Philoſopher, and Friend?
That urg'd by thee, I turn'd the tuneful Art
From Sounds to Things, from Fancy to the Heart;
For Wit's falſe Mirror held up Nature's Light;
Shew'd erring Pride, Whatever Is, is Right;
That Reaſon, Paſſion, anſwer one great Aim;
That true Self-love and Social are the ſame;
That Virtue only makes our Bliſs below;
And all our Knowledge is, Ourſelves to know.
ΓΝΩΘΙ ΣΕΑΥΤΟΝ
[...]
Notes
1
It is a certain Axiom in the Anatomy of Creatures, that in proportion as they are form'd for Strength their Swiftneſs is leſſen'd; or as they are form'd for Swiftneſs, their Strength is abated.
2
The manner of the Lions hunting their Prey in the Deſerts of Africa is this; at their firſt going out in the night-time they ſet up a loud Roar, and then liſten to the Noiſe made by the Beaſts in their Flight, purſuing them by the Ear, and not by the Noſtril. It is probable, the ſtory of the Jackall's hunting for the Lion was occaſion'd by obſervation of the Defect of Scent in that terrible Animal.
3
Several of the Ancients, and many of the Orientals at this day, eſteam'd thoſe who were ſtruck by Lightning as ſacred Perſons, and the particular Favourites of Heaven.
4
Oppian. Halieut. Lib. I. deſcribes this Fiſh in the following manner. They ſwim on the ſurface of the Sea, on the back of their Shells, which exactly re⯑ſemble the Hulk of a Ship; they raiſe two Feet like Mafts, and extend a Membrane between which ſerves as a Sail; the other two Feet they employ as Oars at the ſide. They are uſually ſeen in the Mediterranean.
- Citation Suggestion for this Object
- TextGrid Repository (2020). TEI. 3676 An essay on man being the first book of ethic epistles To Henry St John L Bolingbroke. University of Oxford Text Archive. . https://hdl.handle.net/21.T11991/0000-001A-5F3D-7