No More Learning

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.