373 to reproduce in the sound and
movement
of his verse the sense of
swift flight.
swift flight.
Alexander Pope
Pope says explicitly "to follow nature is
to follow them;" and he praises Virgil for turning aside from his own
original conceptions to imitate Homer, for:
Nature and Homer were, he found, the same.
Certain exceptions to these rules were, indeed, allowable,--severer
critics than Pope, by the way, absolutely denied this,--but only to the
ancient poets. The moderns must not dare to make use of them, or at the
very best moderns must only venture upon such exceptions to the rules as
classic precedents would justify. Inasmuch as all these rules were
discovered and illustrated in ancient times, it followed logically that
the great breach with antiquity, which is called the Middle Ages, was a
period of hopeless and unredeemed barbarism, incapable of bringing forth
any good thing. The light of literature began to dawn again with the
revival of learning at the Renaissance, but the great poets of the
Renaissance, Spenser and Shakespeare, for example, were "irregular,"
that is, they trusted too much to their individual powers and did not
accept with sufficient humility the orthodox rules of poetry. This
dogma, by the way, is hardly touched upon in the 'Essay', but is
elaborated with great emphasis in Pope's later utterance on the
principles of literature, the well-known 'Epistle to Augustus'. Finally
with the establishment of the reign of Reason in France under Louis XIV,
and in England a little later, the full day had come, and literary sins
of omission and commission that might be winked at in such an untutored
genius as Shakespeare were now unpardonable. This last dogma explains
the fact that in the brief sketch of the history of criticism which
concludes the 'Essay', Pope does not condescend to name an English poet
or critic prior to the reign of Charles II.
It would be beside the purpose to discuss these ideas to-day or to
attempt an elaborate refutation of their claims to acceptance. Time has
done its work upon them, and the literary creed of the wits of Queen
Anne's day is as antiquated as their periwigs and knee-breeches. Except
for purposes of historical investigation it is quite absurd to take the
'Essay on Criticism' seriously.
And yet it has even for us of to-day a real value. Our age absolutely
lacks a standard of literary criticism; and of all standards the one
least likely to be accepted is that of Pope and his fellow-believers.
Individual taste reigns supreme in this democratic age, and one man's
judgment is as good as, perhaps a little better than, another's. But
even this democratic and individual age may profit by turning back for a
time to consider some of the general truths, as valid to-day as ever, to
which Pope gave such inimitable expression, or to study the outlines of
that noble picture of the true critic which St. Beuve declared every
professed critic should frame and hang up in his study. An age which
seems at times upon the point of throwing classical studies overboard as
useless lumber might do far worse than listen to the eloquent tribute
which the poet pays to the great writers of antiquity. And finally
nothing could be more salutary for an age in which literature itself has
caught something of the taint of the prevailing commercialism than to
bathe itself again in that spirit of sincere and disinterested love of
letters which breathes throughout the 'Essay' and which, in spite of all
his errors, and jealousies, and petty vices, was the master-passion of
Alexander Pope.
'6 censure:'
the word has here its original meaning of "judge," not its modern "judge
severely" or "blame. "
'8'
Because each foolish poem provokes a host of foolish commentators and
critics.
'15-16'
This assertion that only a good writer can be a fair critic is not to be
accepted without reservation.
'17'
The word "wit" has a number of different meanings in this poem, and the
student should be careful to discriminate between them. It means
1) mind, intellect, l. 61;
2) learning, culture, l 727;
3) imagination, genius, l. 82;
4) the power to discover amusing analogies, or the apt expression of
such an analogy, ll. 449, 297;
5) a man possessed of wit in its various significations, l. 45;
this last form usually occurs in the plural, ll. 104, 539.
'26 the maze of schools:'
the labyrinth of conflicting systems of thought, especially of criticism.
'21 coxcombs . . . fools:'
what is the difference in meaning between these words in this passage?
'30-31'
In this couplet Pope hits off the spiteful envy of conceited critics
toward successful writers. If the critic can write himself, he hates the
author as a rival; if he cannot, he entertains against him the deep
grudge an incapable man so often cherishes toward an effective worker.
'34 Maevius:'
a poetaster whose name has been handed down by Virgil and Horace. His
name, like that of his associate, Bavius, has become a by-word for a
wretched scribbler.
'Apollo':
here thought of as the god of poetry. The true poet was inspired by
Apollo; but a poetaster like Maevius wrote without inspiration, as it
were, in spite of the god.
'40-43'
Pope here compares "half-learned" critics to the animals which old
writers reported were bred from the Nile mud. In 'Antony and Cleopatra',
for example, Lepidus says, "Your serpent of Egypt is bred now of your
mud by the operation of your sun; so is your crocodile. " Pope thinks of
these animals as in the unformed stage, part "kindled into life, part a
lump of mud. " So these critics are unfinished things for which no proper
name can be found. "Equivocal generation" is the old term used to denote
spontaneous generation of this sort. Pope applies it here to critics
without proper training who spring spontaneously from the mire of
ignorance.
'44 tell:'
count.
'45'
The idea is that a vain wit's tongue could out-talk a hundred ordinary
men's.
'53 pretending wit:'
presuming, or ambitious mind.
'56-58 memory . . . understanding imagination. '
This is the old threefold division of the human mind. Pope means that
where one of these faculties is above the average in any individual,
another of them is sure to fall below. Is this always the case?
'63 peculiar arts:'
special branches of knowledge.
'73'
In what sense can nature be called the source, the end, and the test of
art?
'76 th' informing soul:'
the soul which not only dwells in, but animates
and molds the body.
'80-81'
What two meanings are attached to "wit" in this couplet?
'84 'Tis more:'
it is more important.
'the Muse's steed:'
Pegasus, the winged horse of Greek mythology, was supposed to be the
horse of the Muses and came to be considered a symbol of poetic genius.
'86 gen'rous:'
high-bred.
'88'
What is the difference between "discovered" and "devised"?
'94 Parnassus' top:'
the Muses were supposed to dwell on the top of Parnassus, a mountain in
Greece. Great poets are here thought of as having climbed the mountain
to dwell with the Muses.
'96'
What is (cf. text) "the immortal prize"?
'99 She',
i. e. learned Greece, especially Greek criticism, which obtained the
rules of poetry from the practice of great poets, and, as it were,
systematized their inspiration.
'104 following wits':
later scholars.
'105'
What is meant by "the mistress" and "the maid" in this line?
'109 Doctor's bills:'
prescriptions.
'112'
These are the prosy commentators on great poets, whose dreary notes
often disgust readers with the original.
'120 fable:'
plot.
'123'
What is the difference between "cavil" and "criticise"?
'129 the Mantuan Muse:'
the poetry of Virgil, which Pope thinks the best commentary on Homer. In
what sense is this to be understood?
'130 Maro:'
Virgil, whose full name was Publius Vergilius Maro, Pope here praises
Virgil's well-known imitation of Homer. Since "nature and Homer were the
same," a young poet like Virgil could do nothing better than copy Homer.
'138 the Stagirite:'
Aristotle, a native of Stagyra, was the first and one of the greatest of
literary critics. His "rules" were drawn from the practice of great
poets, and so, according to Pope, to imitate Homer was to obey the
"ancient rules. "
'141'
There are some beauties in poetry which cannot be explained by criticism.
'142 happiness:'
used here to express the peculiar charm of spontaneous poetic expression
as contrasted with "care," 'i. e. ' the art of revising and improving,
which can be taught.
'152 vulgar bounds:'
the limitations imposed upon ordinary writers.
'157 out of . . . rise:'
surpass the ordinary scenes of nature.
'159 Great wits:'
poets of real genius.
'160 faults:'
here used in the sense of irregularities, exceptions to the rules of
poetry. When these are justified by the poet's genius, true critics do
not presume to correct them. In many editions this couplet comes after
l. 151. This was Pope's first arrangement, but he later shifted it to
its present position.
'162 As Kings:'
the Stuart kings claimed the right to "dispense with laws," that is, to
set them aside in special instances. In 1686 eleven out of twelve
English judges decided in a test case that "it is a privilege
inseparably connected with the sovereignty of the king to dispense with
penal laws, and that according to his own judgment. " The English people
very naturally felt that such a privilege opened the door to absolute
monarchy, and after the fall of James II, Parliament declared in 1689
that "the pretended power of suspending of laws . . . without the consent
of Parliament, is illegal. "
'164 its End:'
the purpose of every law of poetry, namely, to please the reader. This
purpose must not be "transgressed," 'i. e. ' forgotten by those who wish
to make exceptions to these laws.
'166 their precedent:'
the example of classic poets.
'179 stratagems . . . error:'
things in the classic poets which to carping critics seem faults are
often clever devices to make a deeper impression on the reader.
'180 Homer nods:'
Horace in his 'Art of Poetry' used this figure to imply that even the
greatest poet sometimes made mistakes. Pope very neatly suggests that it
may be the critic rather than the poet who is asleep.
'181 each ancient Altar:'
used here to denote the works of the great classic writers. The whole
passage down to l. 200 is a noble outburst of enthusiasm for the poets
whom Pope had read so eagerly in early youth.
'186 consenting Paeans:'
unanimous hymns of praise.
'194 must . . . found:'
are not destined to be discovered till some future time.
'196'
Who is "the last, the meanest of your sons"?
'203 bias:'
mental bent, or inclination.
'208'
This line is based upon physiological theories which are now obsolete.
According to these wind or air supplied the lack of blood or of animal
spirits in imperfectly constituted bodies. To such bodies Pope compares
those ill-regulated minds where a deficiency of learning and natural
ability is supplied by self-conceit.
'216' The Pierian spring:
the spring of the Muses, who were called Pierides in Greek mythology. It
is used here as a symbol for learning, particularly for the study of
literature.
'222' the lengths behind:
the great spaces of learning that lie behind the first objects of our
study.
'225-232'
This fine simile is one of the best expressions in English verse of the
modesty of the true scholar, due to his realization of the boundless
extent of knowledge. It was such a feeling that led Sir Isaac Newton to
say after all his wonderful discoveries,
"I do not know what I may appear to the world, but to myself I seem to
have been only like a boy playing on the seashore and diverting myself
in now and then finding a smoother pebble or a prettier shell than
ordinary whilst the great ocean of truth lay all the time undiscovered
before me. "
'244' peculiar parts:
individual parts.
'248 ev'n thine, O Rome:'
there are so many splendid churches in Rome that an inhabitant of this
city would be less inclined than a stranger to wonder at the perfect
proportions of any of them. But there are two, at least, the Pantheon
and St. Peter's, which might justly evoke the admiration even of a
Roman. It was probably of one of these that Pope was thinking.
'265'
What is the difference between "principles" and "notions" in this line?
'265 La Mancha's Knight:'
Don Quixote. The anecdote that follows is not taken from Cervantes'
novel, but from a continuation of it by an author calling himself
Avellanada. The story is that Don Quixote once fell in with a scholar
who had written a play about a persecuted queen of Bohemia. Her
innocence in the original story was established by a combat in the
lists, but this the poet proposed to omit as contrary to the rules of
Aristotle. The Don, although professing great respect for Aristotle,
insisted that the combat was the best part of the story and must be
acted, even if a special theater had to be built for the purpose, or the
play given in the open fields. Pope quotes this anecdote to show how
some critics in spite of their professed acceptance of general rules are
so prejudiced in favor of a minor point as to judge a whole work of art
from one standpoint only.
'270 Dennis:'
John Dennis, a playwright and critic of Pope's time. Pope and he were
engaged in frequent quarrels, but this first reference to him in Pope's
works is distinctly complimentary. The line probably refers to some
remarks by Dennis on the Grecian stage in his 'Impartial Critic', a
pamphlet published in 1693.
'273 nice:'
discriminating; in l. 286 the meaning is "over-scrupulous, finicky. "
'276 unities:'
according to the laws of dramatic composition generally accepted in
Pope's day, a play must observe the unities of subject, place, and time.
That is, it must have one main theme, not a number of diverse stories,
for its plot; all the scenes must be laid in one place, or as nearly so
as possible; and the action must be begun and finished within the space
of twenty-four hours.
'286 Curious:'
fastidious, over-particular.
'288 by a love to parts:'
by too diligent attention to particular parts of a work of art, which
hinders them from forming a true judgment of the work as a whole.
'289 Conceit:'
an uncommon or fantastic expression of thought. "Conceits" had been much
sought after by the poets who wrote in the first half of the seventeenth
century.
'297 True Wit:'
here opposed to the "conceit" of which Pope has been speaking. It is
defined as a natural idea expressed in fit words.
'299 whose truth . . . find:'
of whose truth we find ourselves at once convinced.
'308 take upon content:'
take for granted.
'311-317'
Show how Pope uses the simile of the "prismatic glass" to distinguish
between "false eloquence" and "true expression. "
'319 decent:'
becoming.
'328 Fungoso:'
a character in Ben Jonson's 'Every Man out of his Humour'. He is the son
of a miserly farmer, and tries hard, though all in vain, to imitate the
dress and manners of a fine gentleman.
'329 These sparks:'
these would-be dandies.
'337 Numbers:'
rhythm, meter.
'341 haunt Parnassus:
read poetry. --ear:' note that in Pope's day this word rhymed with
"repair" and "there. "
'344 These:'
critics who care for the meter only in poetry insist on the proper
number of syllables in a line, no matter what sort of sound or sense
results. For instance, they do not object to a series of "open vowels,"
'i. e. ' hiatuses caused by the juxtaposition of such words as "tho" and
"oft," "the" and "ear. " Line 345 is composed especially to show how
feeble a rhythm results from such a succession of "open vowels. " They do
not object to bolstering up a line with "expletives," such as "do" in l.
346, nor to using ten "low words," 'i. e. ' short, monosyllabic words to
make up a line.
'347'
With this line Pope passes unconsciously from speaking of bad critics to
denouncing some of the errors of bad poets, who keep on using hackneyed
phrases and worn-out metrical devices.
'356 Alexandrine:'
a line of six iambic feet, such as l. 357, written especially to
illustrate this form. Why does Pope use the adjective "needless" here?
'361 Denham's strength . . . Waller's sweetness:'
Waller and Denham were poets of the century before Pope; they are almost
forgotten to-day, but were extravagantly admired in his time. Waller
began and Denham continued the fashion of writing in "closed" heroic
couplets, 'i. e. ' in verses where the sense is for the most part
contained within one couplet and does not run over into the next as had
been the fashion in earlier verse. Dryden said that "the excellence and
dignity of rhyme were never fully known till Mr. Waller taught it," and
the same critic spoke of Denham's poetry as "majestic and correct. "
'370 Ajax:'
one of the heroes of the 'Iliad'. He is represented more than once as
hurling huge stones at his enemies. Note that Pope has endeavored in
this and the following line to convey the sense of effort and struggle.
What means does he employ? Do you think he succeeds?
'372 Camilla:'
a heroine who appears in the latter part of the 'AEneid' fighting against
the Trojan invaders of Italy. Virgil says that she was so swift of foot
that she might have run over a field of wheat without breaking the
stalks, or across the sea without wetting her feet. Pope attempts in l.
373 to reproduce in the sound and movement of his verse the sense of
swift flight.
'374 Timotheus:'
a Greek poet and singer who was said to have played and sung before
Alexander the Great. The reference in this passage is to Dryden's famous
poem, 'Alexander's Feast'.
'376 the son of Libyan Jove:'
Alexander the Great, who boasted that he was the son of Jupiter. The
famous oracle of Jupiter Ammon situated in the Libyan desert was visited
by Alexander, who was said to have learned there the secret of his
parentage.
'383 Dryden:'
this fine compliment is paid to a poet whom Pope was proud to
acknowledge as his master. "I learned versification wholly from Dryden's
works," he once said. Pope's admiration for Dryden dated from early
youth, and while still a boy he induced a friend to take him to see the
old poet in his favorite coffee-house.
'391' admire:
not used in our modern sense, but in its original meaning, "to wonder
at. " According to Pope, it is only fools who are lost in wonder at the
beauties of a poem; wise men "approve," 'i. e. ' test and pronounce them
good.
'396-397'
Pope acknowledged that in these lines he was alluding to the
uncharitable belief of his fellow-Catholics that all outside the fold of
the Catholic church were sure to be damned.
'400 sublimes:'
purifies.
'404 each:'
each age.
'415 joins with Quality:'
takes sides with "the quality," 'i. e. ' people of rank.
'429'
Are so clever that they refuse to accept the common and true belief, and
so forfeit their salvation.
'441 Sentences:'
the reference is to a mediaeval treatise on Theology, by Peter Lombard,
called the 'Book of Sentences'. It was long used as a university
text-book.
'444 Scotists and Thomists:'
mediaeval scholars, followers respectively of Duns Scotus and Thomas
Aquinas. A long dispute raged between their disciples. In this couplet
Pope points out that the dispute is now forgotten, and the books of the
old disputants lie covered with cobwebs in Duck-lane, a street in London
where second-hand books were sold in Pope's day. He calls the cobwebs
"kindred," because the arguments of Thomists and Scotists were as fine
spun as a spider's web.
'449'
"The latest fashionable folly is the test, or the proof, of a quick,
up-to-date wit. " In other words, to be generally accepted an author must
accept the current fashion, foolish though it may be.
'457'
This was especially true in Pope's day when literature was so closely
connected with politics that an author's work was praised or blamed not
upon its merits, but according to his, and the critic's, politics.
'459 Parsons, Critics, Beaus':
Dryden, the head of English letters in the generation before Pope, had
been bitterly assailed on various charges by parsons, like Jeremy
Collier, critics like Milbourn, and fine gentlemen like the Duke of
Buckingham. But his works remained when the jests that were made against
them were forgotten.
'463'
Sir Richard Blackmore, a famous doctor in Dryden's day, was also a very
dull and voluminous writer. He attacked Dryden in a poem called 'A
Satire against Wit'. Luke Milbourn was a clergyman of the same period,
who abused Dryden's translation of Virgil.
'465 Zoilus':
a Greek critic who attacked Homer.
'481'
The English language and the public taste had changed very rapidly
during the century preceding Pope. He imagined that these changes would
continue so that no poet's reputation would last longer than a man's
life, "bare threescore," and Dryden's poetry would come to be as hard to
understand and as little read as Chaucer's at that time. It is worth
noting that both Dryden and Pope rewrote parts of Chaucer in modern
English.
'506-507'
Explain why "wit" is feared by wicked men and shunned by the virtuous,
hated by fools, and "undone" or ruined by knaves.
'521 sacred':
accursed, like the Latin 'sacer'.
'527 spleen':
bad temper.
'534 the fat age':
the reign of Charles II, as ll. 536-537 show, when literature became
notoriously licentious.
'538 Jilts . . . statesmen':
loose women like Lady Castlemaine and the Duchess of Portsmouth had
great influence on the politics of Charles II's time, and statesmen of
that day like Buckingham and Etheredge wrote comedies.
'541 Mask':
it was not uncommon in Restoration times for ladies to wear a mask in
public, especially at the theater. Here the word is used to denote the
woman who wore a mask.
'544 a Foreign reign':
the reign of William III, a Dutchman. Pope, as a Tory and a Catholic,
hated the memory of William, and here asserts, rather unfairly, that his
age was marked by an increase of heresy and infidelity.
'545 Socinus':
the name of two famous heretics, uncle and nephew, of the sixteenth
century, who denied the divinity of Christ.
'549'
Pope insinuates here that the clergy under William III hated an absolute
monarch so much that they even encouraged their hearers to question the
absolute power of God.
'551 admir'd:'
see note l. 391.
'552 Wit's Titans:'
wits who defied heaven as the old Titans did the gods. The reference is
to a group of freethinkers who came into prominence in King William's
reign.
'556 scandalously nice:'
so over-particular as to find cause for scandal where none exists.
'557 mistake an author into vice:'
mistakenly read into an author vicious ideas which are not really to be
found in his work.
'575'
Things that men really do not know must be brought forward modestly as
if they had only been forgotten for a time.
'577 That only:'
good-breeding alone.
'585 Appius:'
a nickname for John Dennis, taken from his tragedy, 'Appius and
Virginia', which appeared two years before the 'Essay on Criticism'.
Lines 585-587 hit off some of the personal characteristics of this
hot-tempered critic. "Tremendous" was a favorite word with Dennis.
'588 tax:'
blame, find fault with.
'591'
In Pope's time noblemen could take degrees at the English universities
without passing the regular examinations.
'617'
Dryden's 'Fables' published in 1700 represented the very best narrative
poetry of the greatest poet of his day. D'Urfey's 'Tales', on the other
hand, published in 1704 and 1706, were collections of dull and obscene
doggerel by a wretched poet.
'618 With him:'
according to "the bookful blockhead. "
'619 Garth:'
a well-known doctor of the day, who wrote a much admired mock-heroic
poem called 'The Dispensary'. His enemies asserted that he was not
really the author of the poem.
'623'
Such foolish critics are just as ready to pour out their opinions on a
man in St. Paul's cathedral as in the bookseller's shops in the square
around the church, which is called St. Paul's churchyard.
'632 proud to know:'
proud of his knowledge.
'636 humanly:'
an old form for "humanely. "
'642 love to praise:'
a love of praising men.
'648 Maeonian Star:'
Homer. Maeonia, or Lydia, was a district in Asia which was said to have
been the birthplace of Homer.
'652 conquered Nature:'
Aristotle was a master of all the knowledge of nature extant in his day.
'653 Horace:'
the famous Latin poet whose 'Ars Poetica' was one of Pope's models for
the 'Essay on Criticism'.
'662 fle'me:'
phlegm, according to old ideas of physiology, one of the four "humours"
or fluids which composed the body. Where it abounded it made men dull
and heavy, or as we still say "phlegmatic. "
'663-664'
A rather confused couplet. It means, "Horace suffers as much by the
misquotations critics make from his work as by the bad translations that
wits make of them. "
'665 Dionysius:'
Dionysius of Halicarnassus, a famous Greek critic. Pope's manner of
reference to him seems to show that he had never read his works.
'667 Petronius:'
a courtier and man of letters of the time of Nero. Only a few lines of
his remaining work contain any criticism.
'669 Quintilian's work:'
the 'Institutiones Oratoriae' of Quintilianus, a famous Latin critic of
the first century A. D.
'675 Longinus:'
a Greek critic of the third century A. D. , who composed a famous work
called 'A Treatise on the Sublime'. It is a work showing high
imagination as well as careful reasoning, and hence Pope speaks of the
author as inspired by the Nine, 'i. e. ' the Muses.
'692'
The willful hatred of the monks for the works of classical antiquity
tended to complete that destruction of old books which the Goths began
when they sacked the Roman cities. Many ancient writings were erased,
for example, in order to get parchment for monkish chronicles and
commentaries.
'693 Erasmus:'
perhaps the greatest scholar of the Renaissance. Pope calls him the
"glory of the priesthood" on account of his being a monk of such
extraordinary learning, and "the shame" of his order, because he was so
abused by monks in his lifetime. Is this a good antithesis?
'697 Leo's golden days:'
the pontificate of Leo X (1513-1521). Leo himself was a generous patron
of art and learning. He paid particular attention to sacred music (l.
703), and engaged Raphael to decorate the Vatican with frescoes. Vida
(l. 704) was an Italian poet of his time, who became famous by the
excellence of his Latin verse. One of his poems was on the art of
poetry, and it is to this that Pope refers in l. 706.
'707-708'
Cremona was the birthplace of Vida; Mantua, of Virgil.
'709'
The allusion is to the sack of Rome by the Constable Bourbon's army in
1527. This marked the end of the golden age of arts in Italy.
'714 Boileau:'
a French poet and critic (1636-1711). His 'L'Art Poetique' is founded on
Horace's 'Ars Poetica'.
'723 the Muse:'
'i. e. ' the genius, of John Sheffield (1649-1720), Duke of Buckingham
(not to be confounded with Dryden's enemy). Line 724 is quoted from his
'Essay on Poetry'.
'725 Roscommon:'
Wentworth Dillon (1633-1684), Earl of Roscommon, author of a translation
of the 'Ars Poetica' and of 'An Essay on Translated Verse'.
'729 Walsh:'
a commonplace poet (1663-1708), but apparently a good critic. Dryden, in
fact, called him the best critic in the nation. He was an early friend
and judicious adviser of Pope himself, who showed him much of his early
work, including the first draft of this very poem. Pope was sincerely
attached to him, and this tribute to his dead friend is marked by deep
and genuine feeling.
'738 short excursions:'
such as this 'Essay on Criticism' instead of longer and more ambitious
poems which Pope planned and in part executed in his boyhood. There is
no reason to believe with Mr. Elwin that this passage proves that Pope
formed the design of the poem after the death of Walsh.
* * * * *
AN ESSAY ON MAN
INTRODUCTION
The 'Essay on Man' is the longest and in some ways the most important
work of the third period of Pope's career. It corresponds closely to his
early work, the 'Essay on Criticism'. Like the earlier work, the 'Essay
on Man' is a didactic poem, written primarily to diffuse and popularize
certain ideas of the poet. As in the earlier work these ideas are by no
means original with Pope, but were the common property of a school of
thinkers in his day. As in the 'Essay on Criticism', Pope here attempts
to show that these ideas have their origin in nature and are consistent
with the common sense of man. And finally the merit of the later work,
even more than of the earlier, is due to the force and brilliancy of
detached passages rather than to any coherent, consistent, and
well-balanced system which it presents.
The close of the seventeenth century and beginning of the eighteenth was
marked by a change of ground in the sphere of religious controversy. The
old debates between the Catholic and Protestant churches gradually died
out as these two branches of Western Christianity settled down in quiet
possession of the territory they still occupy. In their place arose a
vigorous controversy on the first principles of religion in general, on
the nature of God, the origin of evil, the place of man in the universe,
and the respective merits of optimism and pessimism as philosophic
theories. The controversialists as a rule either rejected or neglected
the dogmas of revealed religion and based their arguments upon real or
supposed facts of history, physical nature, and the mental processes and
moral characteristics of man. In this controversy the two parties at
times were curiously mingled. Orthodox clergymen used arguments which
justified a strong suspicion of their orthodoxy; and avowed freethinkers
bitterly disclaimed the imputation of atheism and wrote in terms that
might be easily adopted by a devout believer.
Into this controversy Pope was led by his deepening intimacy with
Bolingbroke, who had returned from France in 1725 and settled at his
country place within a few miles of Twickenham. During his long exile
Bolingbroke had amused himself with the study of moral philosophy and
natural religion, and in his frequent intercourse with Pope he poured
out his new-found opinions with all the fluency, vigor, and polish which
made him so famous among the orators and talkers of the day.
Bolingbroke's views were for that time distinctly heterodox, and, if
logically developed, led to complete agnosticism. But he seems to have
avoided a complete statement of his ideas to Pope, possibly for fear of
shocking or frightening the sensitive little poet who still remained a
professed Catholic. Pope, however, was very far from being a strict
Catholic, and indeed prided himself on the breadth and liberality of his
opinions. He was, therefore, at once fascinated and stimulated by the
eloquent conversation of Bolingbroke, and resolved to write a
philosophical poem in which to embody the ideas they held in common.
Bolingbroke approved of the idea, and went so far as to furnish the poet
with seven or eight sheets of notes "to direct the plan in general and
to supply matter for particular epistles. " Lord Bathurst, who knew both
Pope and Bolingbroke, went so far as to say in later years that the
'Essay' was originally composed by Bolingbroke in prose and that Pope
only put it into verse. But this is undoubtedly an exaggeration of what
Pope himself frankly acknowledged, that the poem was composed under the
influence of Bolingbroke, that in the main it reflected his opinions,
and that Bolingbroke had assisted him in the general plan and in
numerous details. Very properly, therefore, the poem is addressed to
Bolingbroke and begins and closes with a direct address to the poet's
"guide, philosopher, and friend. "
In substance the 'Essay on Man' is a discussion of the moral order of
the world. Its purpose is "to vindicate the ways of God to man," and it
may therefore be regarded as an attempt to confute the skeptics who
argued from the existence of evil in the world and the wretchedness of
man's existence to the impossibility of belief in an all-good and
all-wise God. It attempts to do this, not by an appeal to revelation or
the doctrines of Christianity, but simply on the basis of a common-sense
interpretation of the facts of existence.
A brief outline of the poem will show the general tenor of Pope's
argument.
The first epistle deals with the nature and state of man with respect to
the universe. It insists on the limitations of man's knowledge, and the
consequent absurdity of his presuming to murmur against God. It teaches
that the universe was not made for man, but that man with all his
apparent imperfections is exactly fitted to the place which he occupies
in the universe. In the physical universe all things work together for
good, although certain aspects of nature seem evil to man, and likewise
in the moral universe all things, even man's passions and crimes conduce
to the general good of the whole. Finally it urges calm submission and
acquiescence in what is hard to understand, since "one truth is
clear,--whatever is, is right. "
The second epistle deals with the nature of man as an individual. It
begins by urging men to abandon vain questionings of God's providence
and to take up the consideration of their own natures, for "the proper
study of mankind is man. " Pope points out that the two cardinal
principles of man's nature are self-love and reason, the first an
impelling, the second a regulating power. The aim of both these
principles is pleasure, by which Pope means happiness, which he takes
for the highest good. Each man is dominated by a master passion, and it
is the proper function of reason to control this passion for good and to
make it bear fruit in virtue. No man is wholly virtuous or vicious, and
Heaven uses the mingled qualities of men to bind them together in mutual
interdependence, and makes the various passions and imperfections of
mankind serve the general good. And the final conclusion is that "though
man's a fool, yet God is wise. "
The third epistle treats of the nature of man with respect to society.
All creatures, Pope asserts, are bound together and live not for
themselves alone, but man is preeminently a social being. The first
state of man was the state of nature when he lived in innocent ignorance
with his fellow-creatures. Obeying the voice of nature, man learned to
copy and improve upon the instincts of the animals, to build, to plow,
to spin, to unite in societies like those of ants and bees. The first
form of government was patriarchal; then monarchies arose in which
virtue, "in arms or arts," made one man ruler over many. In either case
the origin of true government as of true religion was love. Gradually
force crept in and uniting with superstition gave rise to tyranny and
false religions. Poets and patriots, however, restored the ancient faith
and taught power's due use by showing the necessity of harmony in the
state. Pope concludes by asserting the folly of contention for forms of
government or modes of faith. The common end of government as of
religion is the general good. It may be noticed in passing that Pope's
account of the evolution of society bears even less relation to
historical facts than does his account of the development of literature
in the 'Essay on Criticism. '
The last epistle discusses the nature of happiness, "our being's end and
aim. " Happiness is attainable by all men who think right and mean well.
It consists not in individual, but in mutual pleasure. It does not
consist in external things, mere gifts of fortune, but in health, peace,
and competence. Virtuous men are, indeed, subject to calamities of
nature; but God cannot be expected to suspend the operation of general
laws to spare the virtuous. Objectors who would construct a system in
which all virtuous men are blest, are challenged to define the virtuous
and to specify what is meant by blessings. Honors, nobility, fame,
superior talents, often merely serve to make their possessors unhappy.
Virtue alone is happiness, and virtue consists in a recognition of the
laws of Providence, and in love for one's fellow-man.
Even this brief outline will show, I think, some of the inconsistencies
and omissions of Pope's train of thought. A careful examination of his
arguments in detail would be wholly out of place here. The reader who
wishes to pursue the subject further may consult Warburton's elaborate
vindication of Pope's argument, and Elwin's equally prosy refutation, or
better still the admirable summary by Leslie Stephen in the chapter on
this poem in his life of Pope ('English Men of Letters'). No one is now
likely to turn to the writer of the early eighteenth century for a
system of the universe, least of all to a writer so incapable of exact
or systematic thinking as Alexander Pope. If the 'Essay on Man' has any
claim to be read to-day, it must be as a piece of literature pure and
simple. For philosophy and poetry combined, Browning and Tennyson lie
nearer to our age and mode of thought than Pope.
Even regarded as a piece of literature the 'Essay on Man' cannot, I
think, claim the highest place among Pope's works. It obtained, indeed,
a success at home and abroad such as was achieved by no other English
poem until the appearance of 'Childe Harold'. It was translated into
French, German, Italian, Portuguese, Polish, and Latin. It was imitated
by Wieland, praised by Voltaire, and quoted by Kant. But this success
was due in part to the accuracy with which it reflected ideas which were
the common property of its age, in part to the extraordinary vigor and
finish of its epigrams, which made it one of the most quotable of
English poems. But as a whole the Essay is not a great poem. The poet is
evidently struggling with a subject that is too weighty for him, and at
times he staggers and sinks beneath his burden. The second and third
books in particular are, it must be confessed, with the exception of one
or two fine outbursts, little better than dull, and dullness is not a
quality one is accustomed to associate with Pope. The 'Essay on Man'
lacks the bright humor and imaginative artistry of 'The Rape of the
Lock,' and the lively portraiture, vigorous satire, and strong personal
note of the 'Moral Epistles' and 'Imitations of Horace'. Pope is at his
best when he is dealing with a concrete world of men and women as they
lived and moved in the London of his day; he is at his worst when he is
attempting to seize and render abstract ideas.
Yet the 'Essay on Man' is a very remarkable work. In the first place, it
shows Pope's wonderful power of expression.
to follow them;" and he praises Virgil for turning aside from his own
original conceptions to imitate Homer, for:
Nature and Homer were, he found, the same.
Certain exceptions to these rules were, indeed, allowable,--severer
critics than Pope, by the way, absolutely denied this,--but only to the
ancient poets. The moderns must not dare to make use of them, or at the
very best moderns must only venture upon such exceptions to the rules as
classic precedents would justify. Inasmuch as all these rules were
discovered and illustrated in ancient times, it followed logically that
the great breach with antiquity, which is called the Middle Ages, was a
period of hopeless and unredeemed barbarism, incapable of bringing forth
any good thing. The light of literature began to dawn again with the
revival of learning at the Renaissance, but the great poets of the
Renaissance, Spenser and Shakespeare, for example, were "irregular,"
that is, they trusted too much to their individual powers and did not
accept with sufficient humility the orthodox rules of poetry. This
dogma, by the way, is hardly touched upon in the 'Essay', but is
elaborated with great emphasis in Pope's later utterance on the
principles of literature, the well-known 'Epistle to Augustus'. Finally
with the establishment of the reign of Reason in France under Louis XIV,
and in England a little later, the full day had come, and literary sins
of omission and commission that might be winked at in such an untutored
genius as Shakespeare were now unpardonable. This last dogma explains
the fact that in the brief sketch of the history of criticism which
concludes the 'Essay', Pope does not condescend to name an English poet
or critic prior to the reign of Charles II.
It would be beside the purpose to discuss these ideas to-day or to
attempt an elaborate refutation of their claims to acceptance. Time has
done its work upon them, and the literary creed of the wits of Queen
Anne's day is as antiquated as their periwigs and knee-breeches. Except
for purposes of historical investigation it is quite absurd to take the
'Essay on Criticism' seriously.
And yet it has even for us of to-day a real value. Our age absolutely
lacks a standard of literary criticism; and of all standards the one
least likely to be accepted is that of Pope and his fellow-believers.
Individual taste reigns supreme in this democratic age, and one man's
judgment is as good as, perhaps a little better than, another's. But
even this democratic and individual age may profit by turning back for a
time to consider some of the general truths, as valid to-day as ever, to
which Pope gave such inimitable expression, or to study the outlines of
that noble picture of the true critic which St. Beuve declared every
professed critic should frame and hang up in his study. An age which
seems at times upon the point of throwing classical studies overboard as
useless lumber might do far worse than listen to the eloquent tribute
which the poet pays to the great writers of antiquity. And finally
nothing could be more salutary for an age in which literature itself has
caught something of the taint of the prevailing commercialism than to
bathe itself again in that spirit of sincere and disinterested love of
letters which breathes throughout the 'Essay' and which, in spite of all
his errors, and jealousies, and petty vices, was the master-passion of
Alexander Pope.
'6 censure:'
the word has here its original meaning of "judge," not its modern "judge
severely" or "blame. "
'8'
Because each foolish poem provokes a host of foolish commentators and
critics.
'15-16'
This assertion that only a good writer can be a fair critic is not to be
accepted without reservation.
'17'
The word "wit" has a number of different meanings in this poem, and the
student should be careful to discriminate between them. It means
1) mind, intellect, l. 61;
2) learning, culture, l 727;
3) imagination, genius, l. 82;
4) the power to discover amusing analogies, or the apt expression of
such an analogy, ll. 449, 297;
5) a man possessed of wit in its various significations, l. 45;
this last form usually occurs in the plural, ll. 104, 539.
'26 the maze of schools:'
the labyrinth of conflicting systems of thought, especially of criticism.
'21 coxcombs . . . fools:'
what is the difference in meaning between these words in this passage?
'30-31'
In this couplet Pope hits off the spiteful envy of conceited critics
toward successful writers. If the critic can write himself, he hates the
author as a rival; if he cannot, he entertains against him the deep
grudge an incapable man so often cherishes toward an effective worker.
'34 Maevius:'
a poetaster whose name has been handed down by Virgil and Horace. His
name, like that of his associate, Bavius, has become a by-word for a
wretched scribbler.
'Apollo':
here thought of as the god of poetry. The true poet was inspired by
Apollo; but a poetaster like Maevius wrote without inspiration, as it
were, in spite of the god.
'40-43'
Pope here compares "half-learned" critics to the animals which old
writers reported were bred from the Nile mud. In 'Antony and Cleopatra',
for example, Lepidus says, "Your serpent of Egypt is bred now of your
mud by the operation of your sun; so is your crocodile. " Pope thinks of
these animals as in the unformed stage, part "kindled into life, part a
lump of mud. " So these critics are unfinished things for which no proper
name can be found. "Equivocal generation" is the old term used to denote
spontaneous generation of this sort. Pope applies it here to critics
without proper training who spring spontaneously from the mire of
ignorance.
'44 tell:'
count.
'45'
The idea is that a vain wit's tongue could out-talk a hundred ordinary
men's.
'53 pretending wit:'
presuming, or ambitious mind.
'56-58 memory . . . understanding imagination. '
This is the old threefold division of the human mind. Pope means that
where one of these faculties is above the average in any individual,
another of them is sure to fall below. Is this always the case?
'63 peculiar arts:'
special branches of knowledge.
'73'
In what sense can nature be called the source, the end, and the test of
art?
'76 th' informing soul:'
the soul which not only dwells in, but animates
and molds the body.
'80-81'
What two meanings are attached to "wit" in this couplet?
'84 'Tis more:'
it is more important.
'the Muse's steed:'
Pegasus, the winged horse of Greek mythology, was supposed to be the
horse of the Muses and came to be considered a symbol of poetic genius.
'86 gen'rous:'
high-bred.
'88'
What is the difference between "discovered" and "devised"?
'94 Parnassus' top:'
the Muses were supposed to dwell on the top of Parnassus, a mountain in
Greece. Great poets are here thought of as having climbed the mountain
to dwell with the Muses.
'96'
What is (cf. text) "the immortal prize"?
'99 She',
i. e. learned Greece, especially Greek criticism, which obtained the
rules of poetry from the practice of great poets, and, as it were,
systematized their inspiration.
'104 following wits':
later scholars.
'105'
What is meant by "the mistress" and "the maid" in this line?
'109 Doctor's bills:'
prescriptions.
'112'
These are the prosy commentators on great poets, whose dreary notes
often disgust readers with the original.
'120 fable:'
plot.
'123'
What is the difference between "cavil" and "criticise"?
'129 the Mantuan Muse:'
the poetry of Virgil, which Pope thinks the best commentary on Homer. In
what sense is this to be understood?
'130 Maro:'
Virgil, whose full name was Publius Vergilius Maro, Pope here praises
Virgil's well-known imitation of Homer. Since "nature and Homer were the
same," a young poet like Virgil could do nothing better than copy Homer.
'138 the Stagirite:'
Aristotle, a native of Stagyra, was the first and one of the greatest of
literary critics. His "rules" were drawn from the practice of great
poets, and so, according to Pope, to imitate Homer was to obey the
"ancient rules. "
'141'
There are some beauties in poetry which cannot be explained by criticism.
'142 happiness:'
used here to express the peculiar charm of spontaneous poetic expression
as contrasted with "care," 'i. e. ' the art of revising and improving,
which can be taught.
'152 vulgar bounds:'
the limitations imposed upon ordinary writers.
'157 out of . . . rise:'
surpass the ordinary scenes of nature.
'159 Great wits:'
poets of real genius.
'160 faults:'
here used in the sense of irregularities, exceptions to the rules of
poetry. When these are justified by the poet's genius, true critics do
not presume to correct them. In many editions this couplet comes after
l. 151. This was Pope's first arrangement, but he later shifted it to
its present position.
'162 As Kings:'
the Stuart kings claimed the right to "dispense with laws," that is, to
set them aside in special instances. In 1686 eleven out of twelve
English judges decided in a test case that "it is a privilege
inseparably connected with the sovereignty of the king to dispense with
penal laws, and that according to his own judgment. " The English people
very naturally felt that such a privilege opened the door to absolute
monarchy, and after the fall of James II, Parliament declared in 1689
that "the pretended power of suspending of laws . . . without the consent
of Parliament, is illegal. "
'164 its End:'
the purpose of every law of poetry, namely, to please the reader. This
purpose must not be "transgressed," 'i. e. ' forgotten by those who wish
to make exceptions to these laws.
'166 their precedent:'
the example of classic poets.
'179 stratagems . . . error:'
things in the classic poets which to carping critics seem faults are
often clever devices to make a deeper impression on the reader.
'180 Homer nods:'
Horace in his 'Art of Poetry' used this figure to imply that even the
greatest poet sometimes made mistakes. Pope very neatly suggests that it
may be the critic rather than the poet who is asleep.
'181 each ancient Altar:'
used here to denote the works of the great classic writers. The whole
passage down to l. 200 is a noble outburst of enthusiasm for the poets
whom Pope had read so eagerly in early youth.
'186 consenting Paeans:'
unanimous hymns of praise.
'194 must . . . found:'
are not destined to be discovered till some future time.
'196'
Who is "the last, the meanest of your sons"?
'203 bias:'
mental bent, or inclination.
'208'
This line is based upon physiological theories which are now obsolete.
According to these wind or air supplied the lack of blood or of animal
spirits in imperfectly constituted bodies. To such bodies Pope compares
those ill-regulated minds where a deficiency of learning and natural
ability is supplied by self-conceit.
'216' The Pierian spring:
the spring of the Muses, who were called Pierides in Greek mythology. It
is used here as a symbol for learning, particularly for the study of
literature.
'222' the lengths behind:
the great spaces of learning that lie behind the first objects of our
study.
'225-232'
This fine simile is one of the best expressions in English verse of the
modesty of the true scholar, due to his realization of the boundless
extent of knowledge. It was such a feeling that led Sir Isaac Newton to
say after all his wonderful discoveries,
"I do not know what I may appear to the world, but to myself I seem to
have been only like a boy playing on the seashore and diverting myself
in now and then finding a smoother pebble or a prettier shell than
ordinary whilst the great ocean of truth lay all the time undiscovered
before me. "
'244' peculiar parts:
individual parts.
'248 ev'n thine, O Rome:'
there are so many splendid churches in Rome that an inhabitant of this
city would be less inclined than a stranger to wonder at the perfect
proportions of any of them. But there are two, at least, the Pantheon
and St. Peter's, which might justly evoke the admiration even of a
Roman. It was probably of one of these that Pope was thinking.
'265'
What is the difference between "principles" and "notions" in this line?
'265 La Mancha's Knight:'
Don Quixote. The anecdote that follows is not taken from Cervantes'
novel, but from a continuation of it by an author calling himself
Avellanada. The story is that Don Quixote once fell in with a scholar
who had written a play about a persecuted queen of Bohemia. Her
innocence in the original story was established by a combat in the
lists, but this the poet proposed to omit as contrary to the rules of
Aristotle. The Don, although professing great respect for Aristotle,
insisted that the combat was the best part of the story and must be
acted, even if a special theater had to be built for the purpose, or the
play given in the open fields. Pope quotes this anecdote to show how
some critics in spite of their professed acceptance of general rules are
so prejudiced in favor of a minor point as to judge a whole work of art
from one standpoint only.
'270 Dennis:'
John Dennis, a playwright and critic of Pope's time. Pope and he were
engaged in frequent quarrels, but this first reference to him in Pope's
works is distinctly complimentary. The line probably refers to some
remarks by Dennis on the Grecian stage in his 'Impartial Critic', a
pamphlet published in 1693.
'273 nice:'
discriminating; in l. 286 the meaning is "over-scrupulous, finicky. "
'276 unities:'
according to the laws of dramatic composition generally accepted in
Pope's day, a play must observe the unities of subject, place, and time.
That is, it must have one main theme, not a number of diverse stories,
for its plot; all the scenes must be laid in one place, or as nearly so
as possible; and the action must be begun and finished within the space
of twenty-four hours.
'286 Curious:'
fastidious, over-particular.
'288 by a love to parts:'
by too diligent attention to particular parts of a work of art, which
hinders them from forming a true judgment of the work as a whole.
'289 Conceit:'
an uncommon or fantastic expression of thought. "Conceits" had been much
sought after by the poets who wrote in the first half of the seventeenth
century.
'297 True Wit:'
here opposed to the "conceit" of which Pope has been speaking. It is
defined as a natural idea expressed in fit words.
'299 whose truth . . . find:'
of whose truth we find ourselves at once convinced.
'308 take upon content:'
take for granted.
'311-317'
Show how Pope uses the simile of the "prismatic glass" to distinguish
between "false eloquence" and "true expression. "
'319 decent:'
becoming.
'328 Fungoso:'
a character in Ben Jonson's 'Every Man out of his Humour'. He is the son
of a miserly farmer, and tries hard, though all in vain, to imitate the
dress and manners of a fine gentleman.
'329 These sparks:'
these would-be dandies.
'337 Numbers:'
rhythm, meter.
'341 haunt Parnassus:
read poetry. --ear:' note that in Pope's day this word rhymed with
"repair" and "there. "
'344 These:'
critics who care for the meter only in poetry insist on the proper
number of syllables in a line, no matter what sort of sound or sense
results. For instance, they do not object to a series of "open vowels,"
'i. e. ' hiatuses caused by the juxtaposition of such words as "tho" and
"oft," "the" and "ear. " Line 345 is composed especially to show how
feeble a rhythm results from such a succession of "open vowels. " They do
not object to bolstering up a line with "expletives," such as "do" in l.
346, nor to using ten "low words," 'i. e. ' short, monosyllabic words to
make up a line.
'347'
With this line Pope passes unconsciously from speaking of bad critics to
denouncing some of the errors of bad poets, who keep on using hackneyed
phrases and worn-out metrical devices.
'356 Alexandrine:'
a line of six iambic feet, such as l. 357, written especially to
illustrate this form. Why does Pope use the adjective "needless" here?
'361 Denham's strength . . . Waller's sweetness:'
Waller and Denham were poets of the century before Pope; they are almost
forgotten to-day, but were extravagantly admired in his time. Waller
began and Denham continued the fashion of writing in "closed" heroic
couplets, 'i. e. ' in verses where the sense is for the most part
contained within one couplet and does not run over into the next as had
been the fashion in earlier verse. Dryden said that "the excellence and
dignity of rhyme were never fully known till Mr. Waller taught it," and
the same critic spoke of Denham's poetry as "majestic and correct. "
'370 Ajax:'
one of the heroes of the 'Iliad'. He is represented more than once as
hurling huge stones at his enemies. Note that Pope has endeavored in
this and the following line to convey the sense of effort and struggle.
What means does he employ? Do you think he succeeds?
'372 Camilla:'
a heroine who appears in the latter part of the 'AEneid' fighting against
the Trojan invaders of Italy. Virgil says that she was so swift of foot
that she might have run over a field of wheat without breaking the
stalks, or across the sea without wetting her feet. Pope attempts in l.
373 to reproduce in the sound and movement of his verse the sense of
swift flight.
'374 Timotheus:'
a Greek poet and singer who was said to have played and sung before
Alexander the Great. The reference in this passage is to Dryden's famous
poem, 'Alexander's Feast'.
'376 the son of Libyan Jove:'
Alexander the Great, who boasted that he was the son of Jupiter. The
famous oracle of Jupiter Ammon situated in the Libyan desert was visited
by Alexander, who was said to have learned there the secret of his
parentage.
'383 Dryden:'
this fine compliment is paid to a poet whom Pope was proud to
acknowledge as his master. "I learned versification wholly from Dryden's
works," he once said. Pope's admiration for Dryden dated from early
youth, and while still a boy he induced a friend to take him to see the
old poet in his favorite coffee-house.
'391' admire:
not used in our modern sense, but in its original meaning, "to wonder
at. " According to Pope, it is only fools who are lost in wonder at the
beauties of a poem; wise men "approve," 'i. e. ' test and pronounce them
good.
'396-397'
Pope acknowledged that in these lines he was alluding to the
uncharitable belief of his fellow-Catholics that all outside the fold of
the Catholic church were sure to be damned.
'400 sublimes:'
purifies.
'404 each:'
each age.
'415 joins with Quality:'
takes sides with "the quality," 'i. e. ' people of rank.
'429'
Are so clever that they refuse to accept the common and true belief, and
so forfeit their salvation.
'441 Sentences:'
the reference is to a mediaeval treatise on Theology, by Peter Lombard,
called the 'Book of Sentences'. It was long used as a university
text-book.
'444 Scotists and Thomists:'
mediaeval scholars, followers respectively of Duns Scotus and Thomas
Aquinas. A long dispute raged between their disciples. In this couplet
Pope points out that the dispute is now forgotten, and the books of the
old disputants lie covered with cobwebs in Duck-lane, a street in London
where second-hand books were sold in Pope's day. He calls the cobwebs
"kindred," because the arguments of Thomists and Scotists were as fine
spun as a spider's web.
'449'
"The latest fashionable folly is the test, or the proof, of a quick,
up-to-date wit. " In other words, to be generally accepted an author must
accept the current fashion, foolish though it may be.
'457'
This was especially true in Pope's day when literature was so closely
connected with politics that an author's work was praised or blamed not
upon its merits, but according to his, and the critic's, politics.
'459 Parsons, Critics, Beaus':
Dryden, the head of English letters in the generation before Pope, had
been bitterly assailed on various charges by parsons, like Jeremy
Collier, critics like Milbourn, and fine gentlemen like the Duke of
Buckingham. But his works remained when the jests that were made against
them were forgotten.
'463'
Sir Richard Blackmore, a famous doctor in Dryden's day, was also a very
dull and voluminous writer. He attacked Dryden in a poem called 'A
Satire against Wit'. Luke Milbourn was a clergyman of the same period,
who abused Dryden's translation of Virgil.
'465 Zoilus':
a Greek critic who attacked Homer.
'481'
The English language and the public taste had changed very rapidly
during the century preceding Pope. He imagined that these changes would
continue so that no poet's reputation would last longer than a man's
life, "bare threescore," and Dryden's poetry would come to be as hard to
understand and as little read as Chaucer's at that time. It is worth
noting that both Dryden and Pope rewrote parts of Chaucer in modern
English.
'506-507'
Explain why "wit" is feared by wicked men and shunned by the virtuous,
hated by fools, and "undone" or ruined by knaves.
'521 sacred':
accursed, like the Latin 'sacer'.
'527 spleen':
bad temper.
'534 the fat age':
the reign of Charles II, as ll. 536-537 show, when literature became
notoriously licentious.
'538 Jilts . . . statesmen':
loose women like Lady Castlemaine and the Duchess of Portsmouth had
great influence on the politics of Charles II's time, and statesmen of
that day like Buckingham and Etheredge wrote comedies.
'541 Mask':
it was not uncommon in Restoration times for ladies to wear a mask in
public, especially at the theater. Here the word is used to denote the
woman who wore a mask.
'544 a Foreign reign':
the reign of William III, a Dutchman. Pope, as a Tory and a Catholic,
hated the memory of William, and here asserts, rather unfairly, that his
age was marked by an increase of heresy and infidelity.
'545 Socinus':
the name of two famous heretics, uncle and nephew, of the sixteenth
century, who denied the divinity of Christ.
'549'
Pope insinuates here that the clergy under William III hated an absolute
monarch so much that they even encouraged their hearers to question the
absolute power of God.
'551 admir'd:'
see note l. 391.
'552 Wit's Titans:'
wits who defied heaven as the old Titans did the gods. The reference is
to a group of freethinkers who came into prominence in King William's
reign.
'556 scandalously nice:'
so over-particular as to find cause for scandal where none exists.
'557 mistake an author into vice:'
mistakenly read into an author vicious ideas which are not really to be
found in his work.
'575'
Things that men really do not know must be brought forward modestly as
if they had only been forgotten for a time.
'577 That only:'
good-breeding alone.
'585 Appius:'
a nickname for John Dennis, taken from his tragedy, 'Appius and
Virginia', which appeared two years before the 'Essay on Criticism'.
Lines 585-587 hit off some of the personal characteristics of this
hot-tempered critic. "Tremendous" was a favorite word with Dennis.
'588 tax:'
blame, find fault with.
'591'
In Pope's time noblemen could take degrees at the English universities
without passing the regular examinations.
'617'
Dryden's 'Fables' published in 1700 represented the very best narrative
poetry of the greatest poet of his day. D'Urfey's 'Tales', on the other
hand, published in 1704 and 1706, were collections of dull and obscene
doggerel by a wretched poet.
'618 With him:'
according to "the bookful blockhead. "
'619 Garth:'
a well-known doctor of the day, who wrote a much admired mock-heroic
poem called 'The Dispensary'. His enemies asserted that he was not
really the author of the poem.
'623'
Such foolish critics are just as ready to pour out their opinions on a
man in St. Paul's cathedral as in the bookseller's shops in the square
around the church, which is called St. Paul's churchyard.
'632 proud to know:'
proud of his knowledge.
'636 humanly:'
an old form for "humanely. "
'642 love to praise:'
a love of praising men.
'648 Maeonian Star:'
Homer. Maeonia, or Lydia, was a district in Asia which was said to have
been the birthplace of Homer.
'652 conquered Nature:'
Aristotle was a master of all the knowledge of nature extant in his day.
'653 Horace:'
the famous Latin poet whose 'Ars Poetica' was one of Pope's models for
the 'Essay on Criticism'.
'662 fle'me:'
phlegm, according to old ideas of physiology, one of the four "humours"
or fluids which composed the body. Where it abounded it made men dull
and heavy, or as we still say "phlegmatic. "
'663-664'
A rather confused couplet. It means, "Horace suffers as much by the
misquotations critics make from his work as by the bad translations that
wits make of them. "
'665 Dionysius:'
Dionysius of Halicarnassus, a famous Greek critic. Pope's manner of
reference to him seems to show that he had never read his works.
'667 Petronius:'
a courtier and man of letters of the time of Nero. Only a few lines of
his remaining work contain any criticism.
'669 Quintilian's work:'
the 'Institutiones Oratoriae' of Quintilianus, a famous Latin critic of
the first century A. D.
'675 Longinus:'
a Greek critic of the third century A. D. , who composed a famous work
called 'A Treatise on the Sublime'. It is a work showing high
imagination as well as careful reasoning, and hence Pope speaks of the
author as inspired by the Nine, 'i. e. ' the Muses.
'692'
The willful hatred of the monks for the works of classical antiquity
tended to complete that destruction of old books which the Goths began
when they sacked the Roman cities. Many ancient writings were erased,
for example, in order to get parchment for monkish chronicles and
commentaries.
'693 Erasmus:'
perhaps the greatest scholar of the Renaissance. Pope calls him the
"glory of the priesthood" on account of his being a monk of such
extraordinary learning, and "the shame" of his order, because he was so
abused by monks in his lifetime. Is this a good antithesis?
'697 Leo's golden days:'
the pontificate of Leo X (1513-1521). Leo himself was a generous patron
of art and learning. He paid particular attention to sacred music (l.
703), and engaged Raphael to decorate the Vatican with frescoes. Vida
(l. 704) was an Italian poet of his time, who became famous by the
excellence of his Latin verse. One of his poems was on the art of
poetry, and it is to this that Pope refers in l. 706.
'707-708'
Cremona was the birthplace of Vida; Mantua, of Virgil.
'709'
The allusion is to the sack of Rome by the Constable Bourbon's army in
1527. This marked the end of the golden age of arts in Italy.
'714 Boileau:'
a French poet and critic (1636-1711). His 'L'Art Poetique' is founded on
Horace's 'Ars Poetica'.
'723 the Muse:'
'i. e. ' the genius, of John Sheffield (1649-1720), Duke of Buckingham
(not to be confounded with Dryden's enemy). Line 724 is quoted from his
'Essay on Poetry'.
'725 Roscommon:'
Wentworth Dillon (1633-1684), Earl of Roscommon, author of a translation
of the 'Ars Poetica' and of 'An Essay on Translated Verse'.
'729 Walsh:'
a commonplace poet (1663-1708), but apparently a good critic. Dryden, in
fact, called him the best critic in the nation. He was an early friend
and judicious adviser of Pope himself, who showed him much of his early
work, including the first draft of this very poem. Pope was sincerely
attached to him, and this tribute to his dead friend is marked by deep
and genuine feeling.
'738 short excursions:'
such as this 'Essay on Criticism' instead of longer and more ambitious
poems which Pope planned and in part executed in his boyhood. There is
no reason to believe with Mr. Elwin that this passage proves that Pope
formed the design of the poem after the death of Walsh.
* * * * *
AN ESSAY ON MAN
INTRODUCTION
The 'Essay on Man' is the longest and in some ways the most important
work of the third period of Pope's career. It corresponds closely to his
early work, the 'Essay on Criticism'. Like the earlier work, the 'Essay
on Man' is a didactic poem, written primarily to diffuse and popularize
certain ideas of the poet. As in the earlier work these ideas are by no
means original with Pope, but were the common property of a school of
thinkers in his day. As in the 'Essay on Criticism', Pope here attempts
to show that these ideas have their origin in nature and are consistent
with the common sense of man. And finally the merit of the later work,
even more than of the earlier, is due to the force and brilliancy of
detached passages rather than to any coherent, consistent, and
well-balanced system which it presents.
The close of the seventeenth century and beginning of the eighteenth was
marked by a change of ground in the sphere of religious controversy. The
old debates between the Catholic and Protestant churches gradually died
out as these two branches of Western Christianity settled down in quiet
possession of the territory they still occupy. In their place arose a
vigorous controversy on the first principles of religion in general, on
the nature of God, the origin of evil, the place of man in the universe,
and the respective merits of optimism and pessimism as philosophic
theories. The controversialists as a rule either rejected or neglected
the dogmas of revealed religion and based their arguments upon real or
supposed facts of history, physical nature, and the mental processes and
moral characteristics of man. In this controversy the two parties at
times were curiously mingled. Orthodox clergymen used arguments which
justified a strong suspicion of their orthodoxy; and avowed freethinkers
bitterly disclaimed the imputation of atheism and wrote in terms that
might be easily adopted by a devout believer.
Into this controversy Pope was led by his deepening intimacy with
Bolingbroke, who had returned from France in 1725 and settled at his
country place within a few miles of Twickenham. During his long exile
Bolingbroke had amused himself with the study of moral philosophy and
natural religion, and in his frequent intercourse with Pope he poured
out his new-found opinions with all the fluency, vigor, and polish which
made him so famous among the orators and talkers of the day.
Bolingbroke's views were for that time distinctly heterodox, and, if
logically developed, led to complete agnosticism. But he seems to have
avoided a complete statement of his ideas to Pope, possibly for fear of
shocking or frightening the sensitive little poet who still remained a
professed Catholic. Pope, however, was very far from being a strict
Catholic, and indeed prided himself on the breadth and liberality of his
opinions. He was, therefore, at once fascinated and stimulated by the
eloquent conversation of Bolingbroke, and resolved to write a
philosophical poem in which to embody the ideas they held in common.
Bolingbroke approved of the idea, and went so far as to furnish the poet
with seven or eight sheets of notes "to direct the plan in general and
to supply matter for particular epistles. " Lord Bathurst, who knew both
Pope and Bolingbroke, went so far as to say in later years that the
'Essay' was originally composed by Bolingbroke in prose and that Pope
only put it into verse. But this is undoubtedly an exaggeration of what
Pope himself frankly acknowledged, that the poem was composed under the
influence of Bolingbroke, that in the main it reflected his opinions,
and that Bolingbroke had assisted him in the general plan and in
numerous details. Very properly, therefore, the poem is addressed to
Bolingbroke and begins and closes with a direct address to the poet's
"guide, philosopher, and friend. "
In substance the 'Essay on Man' is a discussion of the moral order of
the world. Its purpose is "to vindicate the ways of God to man," and it
may therefore be regarded as an attempt to confute the skeptics who
argued from the existence of evil in the world and the wretchedness of
man's existence to the impossibility of belief in an all-good and
all-wise God. It attempts to do this, not by an appeal to revelation or
the doctrines of Christianity, but simply on the basis of a common-sense
interpretation of the facts of existence.
A brief outline of the poem will show the general tenor of Pope's
argument.
The first epistle deals with the nature and state of man with respect to
the universe. It insists on the limitations of man's knowledge, and the
consequent absurdity of his presuming to murmur against God. It teaches
that the universe was not made for man, but that man with all his
apparent imperfections is exactly fitted to the place which he occupies
in the universe. In the physical universe all things work together for
good, although certain aspects of nature seem evil to man, and likewise
in the moral universe all things, even man's passions and crimes conduce
to the general good of the whole. Finally it urges calm submission and
acquiescence in what is hard to understand, since "one truth is
clear,--whatever is, is right. "
The second epistle deals with the nature of man as an individual. It
begins by urging men to abandon vain questionings of God's providence
and to take up the consideration of their own natures, for "the proper
study of mankind is man. " Pope points out that the two cardinal
principles of man's nature are self-love and reason, the first an
impelling, the second a regulating power. The aim of both these
principles is pleasure, by which Pope means happiness, which he takes
for the highest good. Each man is dominated by a master passion, and it
is the proper function of reason to control this passion for good and to
make it bear fruit in virtue. No man is wholly virtuous or vicious, and
Heaven uses the mingled qualities of men to bind them together in mutual
interdependence, and makes the various passions and imperfections of
mankind serve the general good. And the final conclusion is that "though
man's a fool, yet God is wise. "
The third epistle treats of the nature of man with respect to society.
All creatures, Pope asserts, are bound together and live not for
themselves alone, but man is preeminently a social being. The first
state of man was the state of nature when he lived in innocent ignorance
with his fellow-creatures. Obeying the voice of nature, man learned to
copy and improve upon the instincts of the animals, to build, to plow,
to spin, to unite in societies like those of ants and bees. The first
form of government was patriarchal; then monarchies arose in which
virtue, "in arms or arts," made one man ruler over many. In either case
the origin of true government as of true religion was love. Gradually
force crept in and uniting with superstition gave rise to tyranny and
false religions. Poets and patriots, however, restored the ancient faith
and taught power's due use by showing the necessity of harmony in the
state. Pope concludes by asserting the folly of contention for forms of
government or modes of faith. The common end of government as of
religion is the general good. It may be noticed in passing that Pope's
account of the evolution of society bears even less relation to
historical facts than does his account of the development of literature
in the 'Essay on Criticism. '
The last epistle discusses the nature of happiness, "our being's end and
aim. " Happiness is attainable by all men who think right and mean well.
It consists not in individual, but in mutual pleasure. It does not
consist in external things, mere gifts of fortune, but in health, peace,
and competence. Virtuous men are, indeed, subject to calamities of
nature; but God cannot be expected to suspend the operation of general
laws to spare the virtuous. Objectors who would construct a system in
which all virtuous men are blest, are challenged to define the virtuous
and to specify what is meant by blessings. Honors, nobility, fame,
superior talents, often merely serve to make their possessors unhappy.
Virtue alone is happiness, and virtue consists in a recognition of the
laws of Providence, and in love for one's fellow-man.
Even this brief outline will show, I think, some of the inconsistencies
and omissions of Pope's train of thought. A careful examination of his
arguments in detail would be wholly out of place here. The reader who
wishes to pursue the subject further may consult Warburton's elaborate
vindication of Pope's argument, and Elwin's equally prosy refutation, or
better still the admirable summary by Leslie Stephen in the chapter on
this poem in his life of Pope ('English Men of Letters'). No one is now
likely to turn to the writer of the early eighteenth century for a
system of the universe, least of all to a writer so incapable of exact
or systematic thinking as Alexander Pope. If the 'Essay on Man' has any
claim to be read to-day, it must be as a piece of literature pure and
simple. For philosophy and poetry combined, Browning and Tennyson lie
nearer to our age and mode of thought than Pope.
Even regarded as a piece of literature the 'Essay on Man' cannot, I
think, claim the highest place among Pope's works. It obtained, indeed,
a success at home and abroad such as was achieved by no other English
poem until the appearance of 'Childe Harold'. It was translated into
French, German, Italian, Portuguese, Polish, and Latin. It was imitated
by Wieland, praised by Voltaire, and quoted by Kant. But this success
was due in part to the accuracy with which it reflected ideas which were
the common property of its age, in part to the extraordinary vigor and
finish of its epigrams, which made it one of the most quotable of
English poems. But as a whole the Essay is not a great poem. The poet is
evidently struggling with a subject that is too weighty for him, and at
times he staggers and sinks beneath his burden. The second and third
books in particular are, it must be confessed, with the exception of one
or two fine outbursts, little better than dull, and dullness is not a
quality one is accustomed to associate with Pope. The 'Essay on Man'
lacks the bright humor and imaginative artistry of 'The Rape of the
Lock,' and the lively portraiture, vigorous satire, and strong personal
note of the 'Moral Epistles' and 'Imitations of Horace'. Pope is at his
best when he is dealing with a concrete world of men and women as they
lived and moved in the London of his day; he is at his worst when he is
attempting to seize and render abstract ideas.
Yet the 'Essay on Man' is a very remarkable work. In the first place, it
shows Pope's wonderful power of expression.
