All Nature is but Art, unknown to thee; All Chance, Direction, which thou canst not fee; All Discord, Harmony not understood; All partial Evil, univerfal Good: 291 And, fpite of Pride, in erring Reason's spite, ARGUMENT OF EPISTLE II. Of the Nature and State of Man with refpect to Himself, as an Individual. 1. THE bufinefs of Man not to pry into God, but to Study himself. His Middle Nature; his Powers and Frailties, 1 to 19. The Limits of his Capacity, I 19, &c. II. The two Principles of Man, Selflove and Reason, both necessary, 53, &c. Selflove the ftronger, and why, 67, &c. Their end. the fame, 81, &c. III. The PASSIONS, and their ufe, 93 to 130. The predominant Paffion, and it's force, 132 to 160. It's Neceffity, in directing Men to different purposes, 165, &c. It's providential Ufe, in fixing our Principle, and afcertaining our Virtue, 177. IV. Virtue and Vice joined in our mixed Nature; the limits near, yet the things feparate and evident: What is the Office of Reafon, 202 to 216. V. How odious Vice in itself, and how we deceive ourselves into it, & 217. VI. That, however, the Ends of Providence and general Good are answered in our Paffions and Imperfections, 238, &c. How ufefully thefe are diftributed to all Orders of Men, 241. How useful they are to Society, 251. And to the Individuals, ✯ 263. In every state, and every age of life, 273, &c. 6 I. EPISTLE II. K NOW then thyfelf, prefume not God to scan; Plac'd on this ifthmus of a middle ftate, A Being darkly wife, and rudely great : VER. 2. Ed. ift. VARIATIONS. The only fcience of Mankind is Man. NOTES. VER. 2. The proper ftudy, &c.] The poet having fhewn, in the first epiftle, that the Ways of God are too high for our comprehenfion, rightly draws this conclufion and methodically makes it the fubject of his Introduction to the fecond, which treats of the Nature of Man. VER. 3. Plac'd on this ifthmus, &c.] As the poet hath given us this defcription of man for the very contrary purpose to which Sceptics are wont to em ploy fuch kind of paintings, namely not to deter men from the fearch, but to excite them to the difcovery of truth; he hath, with great judgment, reprefented Man as doubting and wavering between the right and wrong object; from which state there are great hopes he may be relieved by a careful and circumfpect use of Reason. On the contrary, had he fuppofed Man fo blind as to be |
