Habit, Imagination, Wit, nay even Reafon itself fhall affift its Growth, 'till it hath at length drawn and converted every other into itself. All this is delivered in a Strain of Poetry fo wonderfully fublime, as fufpends for a while the ruling Paffion in every Reader, and engroffes his whole Admiration. 2 This naturally leads the Poet to lament the Weaknefs and Infufficiency of human Reafon [from 1. 138 to 151] and the honest Purpose he had in fo doing, was, plainly to intimate the Neceffity of a more fublime Difpenfation to Mankind: St. Paul himself did not chufe to employ other Arguments, when difpos'd to give us the highest Idea of the Usefulness of ChriStianity.* But it may be, the Poet finds a Remedy in natural Religion: Far from it. He here leaves Reafon unrelieved. What is this then but an Intimation that we ought to feek for a Cure in that Religion which only dares profess to give it? To proceed, as it appears from the Account here given of the ruling Paffion, and its Cause, which results from the Structure of the Organs, that it is the Road of Nature, the Poet fhews [from 1. 150 to 157] that this Road is to be followed. So that the Office of Reason is not to direct us what Paffion to exercise, but to affjft us in rectifying, and keeping within due Bounds, that which Nature hath so strongly impreffed: The Poet's Precept can have no other Meaning than this, "That as the ruling Paffion is "planted by Nature, it is Reason's Office to regu late, direct, and reftrain, but not to overthrow "it. To regulate the Paffion of Avarice, for inftance, into a parfimonious Dispensation of the "pub See his Epifle to the Romans, c. vii. "publick Revenues; to direct the Paffion of Loves "whofe Object is Worth and Beauty, "To the firft Good, firft Perfect, and first Fair, 66 as his Mafter, Plato advises; and to restrain Spleen, to a Contempt and Hatred of Vice." This is what the Poet meant, and what every unprejudiced Man could not but fee he muft needs mean, by rectifying the Mafter Paffion, tho' he had not confin'd us to this Senfe, in the Reafon he gives of his Precept, in thefe Words: A mightier Pow'r the strong Direction sends, The Poet having proved that the ruling Paffion (fince Nature hath given it us) is not to be overthrown but rectified, the next Inquiry will be of what Ufe the ruling Paffion is; for an Use of it must have been if Reafon be to treat it thus mildly? This Use he fhews us is twofold, Natural and Moral. 1. It's natural Ufe is to conduct Men fteddily to one certain End, who would otherwife be eternally fluctuating between the equal Violence of various and difcordant Paffions, driving them up and down at Random; Like varying Winds, by other Paffions toft, and by that Means enables them to promote the Good of Society by making each a Contributor to the common Stock. Let Pow'r or Knowledge, Gold or Glory pleafe, 2. Its moral Ufe is to engraft our ruling Virtue up on it: Th 'Th' eternal Art educing Good from Ill, Grafts on this Paffion our best Principle ; And by that Means enables us to promote our own Good by turning the Exorbitancy of the ruling Paffion into its neighbouring Virtue : See Anger, Zeal and Fortitude fupply; Ev'n Av'rice, Prudence; Sloth, Philofophy: Nor Virtue, male or female, can we name, But what will grow on Pride, or grow on Shame. The Wisdom of the divine Artift is, as the Poet finely obferves, very illustrious in this Contrivance: For the Mind and Body having now one common Intereft, the Efforts of Virtue will have their Force infinitely augmented : 'Tis thus the Mercury of Man is fixt, After this the Poet fpeaks largely concerning Virtue and Vice, about which his Way of thinking is very remarkable: He fays, there is no Virtue but what will grow either on Pride or Shame, and that Nature gives us those Virtues which are nearest allied to our Vices : Reason the Biafs turns from Good to ill, He fays likewife, that the Virtues are grafted on the Paffions, and that Wit and Honefty are often produc'd from Spleen, Fear, Hate, and Obftinacy, that Prudence often arifes from Avarice, and Philofophy from Sloth, and that Envy, with but little Change becomes Emulation, that the Difference is too too nice to fuffer us to diftinguish where Virtue ends and Vice begins, then how can it be known? He makes the Query and answers it himself: This Light and Darkness in our Chaos join'd, This, the Commentator fays, is a Platonick Phrafe for Confcience, and here employ'd with great Judgment and Propriety-The God, that is the Law of God within the Mind; and if there be such a Law, it puts all the different Religions upon a Level, each Man having within him this Law: And this we fhall find to have been the Sentiment of Mr. Dryden alfo, whose Thoughts are fo frequently to be parallell'd with Mr. Pope's. That, if the Gentiles, (whom no Law infpir'd) By Nature did what was by Law requir'd; They, who the written Rule had never known, Were to themfelves both Rule and Law alone : To Nature's plain Indictment they shall plead : And, by their Confcience, be condemn'd or freed. That is, they who affent and fubmit to that which their Souls are thoroughly convinc'd of, it fhall be to them as a Law, and by it they ftand juftified, and is what Mr. Pope calls the God within the Mind ; yet he defires not to be misunderstood, as if there were no fuch Thing as Virtue or Vice, he only fays, they are fo mix'd in us, that sometimes we fcarcely know how to distinguish them : Afk your own Heart, and nothing is fo plain; In the following Lines he very finely describes by what infenfible Degrees we are drawn to become fond of Vice, which at firft affrighted us. Vice is a Monster of fo frightful Mien, As, to be hated, needs but to be feen; But feen too oft, familiar with her Face, We first endure, then pity, then embrace. A Cheat,! a Whore! who ftarts not at the Name, In all the Inns of Court, or Drury Lane? But where the Point of Vice, was ne'er agreed: Afk where's the North? at York 'tis on the Tweed: In Scotland at the Orcades, and there At Greenland, Zembla, the or Lord knows where.. After this he fhews the Imperfection of the best, and the Inequality of all, at the fame Time that Selfishness directs both Vice and Virtue : But Heav'n's great View is one, and that the Whole. By this he defires to be understood, that God regarding the Whole, will produce at laft Good out of all Ill: That counterworks each Folly and Caprice; Hitherto the Poet hath been employ'd in difcour fing of the Ufe of the Paffions, with regard to Society at large, and in freeing his Doctrine from Objections. |