any thing with EP. I. ESSAY ON MAN. What vary'd Being peoples ev'ry ftar, May tell why Heav'n has made us as we are.. Look'd through? or can a part contain the whole? 30 Is VER. 29. But of this frame, the bearings] "Imagine only fome perfon entirely a stranger to navigation, and ignorant of the nature of the sea or waters, how great his aftonishment would be, when finding himself on board some vessel anchoring at fea, remote from all land profpect; whilft it was yet a calm, he viewed the `ponderous machine firm and motionlefs in the midst of the smooth ocean, and confidered its foundations beneath, together with its cordage, mafts, and fails above. How eafily would he fee the whole one regular structure, all things depending on one another; the uses of the rooms below, the lodgments, and the conveniencies of men and ftores? But being ignorant of the intent, or of all above, would he pronounce the mafts and cordage to be uselefs and cumbersome, and for this reafon condemn the frame and despise the architect? O my friend; let us not thus betray our ignorance; but confider where we are, and in what universe. Think of the many parts of the vast machine, in which we have fo little infight, and of which it is impoffible we should know the ends and ufes: when, inftead of feeing to the highest pendants, we fee only fome lower deck, and are in this dark case of flesh, confined even to the hold and meanest station of the veffel." I have inferted this paffage at length, because it is a noble and poetical illuftration of the foregoing lines, as well as of many other paffages in this Effay. Characteristics, vol. ii. p. 188. The whole doctrine of Plato is contained in this one short sentence: Μέρος μὲν ἔνεκα ὁλε, και εχ ̓ ὅλον ἔνεκα μέρες απεργάζεται. See a very fine passage in A. Gellius, lib. vi. cap. 1. containing the opinion of Chryfippus on the origin of evil. WARTON. VER. 31. has thy pervading foul] The reader will perhaps remember fome of the fublime apoftrophes in Job: "Haft Is the great chain, that draws all to agree, And drawn fupports, upheld by God, or thee? II. Prefumptuous Man! the reafon would'ft thou find, Why form'd fo weak, fo little, and fo blind?` NOTES. 35 40 Of "Haft thou entered into the springs of the fea? and haft thou walked in the fearch of the depth? Have the gates of death been opened unto thee, and haft thou feen the doors of the fhadow of death? Haft thou perceived the breadth of the earth? Declare, if thou knoweft it all! VER. 33. Is the great chain, that draws all to agree?] I fhould have pointed out the expreffion and great effect of this line, as illuftrating the fubject it defcribes; but Ruffhead fays,"it is the most heavy, languid, and unpoetical, of all Pope ever wrote; and that the expletive "to" before the verb is unpardonable!" "Who fhall decide," &c. Warburton, however, feems to think that its flowness might have been attended! VER. 41. Or afk of yonder, &c.] On thefe lines M. Voltaire thus defcants: "Pope dit que l'homme ne peut favoir pourquoi les Lunes de Jupiter font moins grandes que Jupiter? Il fe trompe. en cela, c'est une erreur pardonable. Il n'y a point de Mathematicien qui n'ont fait voir," &c. [Vol. ii. p. 384. Ed. Gen.] And fo goes on to fhew, like a great mathematician as he is, that it would be very inconvenient for the Page to be as big as his Lord and Mafter. It is pity all this fine reafoning should proceed on a ridiculous blunder. The Poet thus réproves the impious complainer VOL. III. с Of Systems poffible, if 'tis confest That Wisdom infinite must form the best, COMMENTARY. Whère VER. 43. Of Syftems poffible, &c.] So far the Poet's modeft and fober Introduction; in which he truly observes, that no wifdom lefs than omniscient "Can tell why Heav'n has made us as we are.' Yet, though we be unable to difcover the particular reafons for this mode of our exiftence, we may be affured in general that it is right. For now, entering upon his argument, he lays down this evident propofition as the foundation of his Thefis, which he reasonably supposes will be allowed him, That, of all possible systems, infinite NOTES. complainer of the order of Providence: "You are diffatisfied with the weakness of your condition. But, in your fituation, the nature of things requires just such a creature as you are: in a different fituation, it might have required that you should be still weaker. And though you see not the reason of this in cafe; yet, that reasons there are, you may fee in the case of other of God's creatures: "Afk of thy mother Earth, why oaks are made Taller or ftronger than the weeds they shade? Why Jove's Satellites are lefs than Jove?" your own Here (fays the Poet) the ridicule of the weeds' and the Satelites' complaint, had they the faculties of fpeech and reafoning, would be obvious to all; because their very fituation and office might have convinced them of their folly. Your folly, fays the Poet to his complainers, is as great, though not fo evident, because the reason is more out of fight; but that a reason there is, may be demonstrated from the attributes of the Deity. This is the Poet's clear and strong reasoning; from whence, we fee, he was fo far from faying, that Man could not know the cause why Jove's Satellites were less than Jove, that all the force of his reafoning turns upon this, that Man did fee and know it, and should from thence conclude, that there was a caufe of this inferiority as well in the rational, as in the material Creation. WARBURTON, Where all muft full or not coherent be, And all that rifes, rife in due degree; Then, in the scale of reas'ning life, 'tis plain, 45 50 In COMMENTARY. infinite wifdom bath formed the befl. Ver. 43, 44. From whence he draws two confequences: 1. The first (from ver. 44 to 51.) is, that as the best system cannot but be fuch a one as hath no inconnected void; fuch a one in which there is a perfect coherence and gradual fubordination in all its parts; there muft needs be, in fome part or other of the scale of reasoning life, fuch a creature as MAN: which reduces the dispute to this abfurd question, Whether God has placed him wrong? WARBURTON. VER. 51. Refpecting Man, &c.] It being fhewn that MAN, the fubject of this inquiry, has a neceffary place in such a system as this is confeffed to be; and it being evident, that the abuse of Freewill, from whence proceeds all moral evil, is the certain effect of fuch a creature's existence; the next queftion will be, How thefe evils can be accounted for, confiftently with the idea we have of God's moral attributes? Therefore, 2. The fecond confequence he draws from his principle, That of all poffible fyftems infinite Wisdom has formed the best, is, that whatever is wrong in our private fyftem, is right as relative to the whole: 66 Respecting Man, whatever wrong we call, That it may, he proves (from ver. 52 to 61.) by fhewing in what C 2 gain In human works, tho' labour'd on with pain, A thousand movements scarce one purpose gain; 55 Yet ferves to fecond too fome other use. 60 When the proud Steed fhall know why Man restrains His fiery course, or drives him o'er the plains; COMMENTARY. When gain one purpose; in the former, one movement gains many purposes. So that 66 Man, who here feems principal alone, Perhaps acts fecond to fome fphere unknown." And acting thus, the appearance of wrong in the partial system may be right in the univerfal: For ""Tis but a part we fee, and not a whole." That it must, the whole body of this epiftle is employed to illuftrate and enforce. Thus partial Evil is univerfal Good, and thus Providence is fairly acquitted. WARBURTON. VER. 61. When the proud Steed, &c.] From all this the Poet draws a general conclufion (from ver. 60 to 91.), that, as what has been faid is fufficient to vindicate the ways of Providence, Man fhould reft fubmiffive and content, and own every thing to be disposed for the best; that to think of discovering the manner how God conducts this wonderful scheme to its completion, is as abfurd as to imagine NOTES. VER. 53. In human works,] Verbatim from Bolingbroke; Fragments 43 and 63. WARTON. VER. 53. In human works, &c.] How clearly and closely is this fentiment expreffed, and yet how difficult to render into verse with precision and effect! |