Till then by Nature crown'd each Patriarch fat King, Prieft, and Parent, of his growing State; On him, their fecond Providence, they hung, Their Law his Eye, their Oracle his Tongue.

So that it was the common Interest alone, which induc'd Men to fet a King up over them; for our Poet fays, that Nature never knew any Right divine in Men, to be great, was understood to be good, in all Degrees, even up to the Deity, and that Kings were only intended that Men might be happier; made Kings for the Sake of the Many, and not to make them Royal.

Concerning which, and the abominable Doctrines of Superftition, leading to Tyranny and Ignorance, I do not remember to have feen finer Lines than the following:

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Who first taught Souls enflav'd, and Realms unTh' enormous Faith of Many made for One? [done That proud Exception to all Nature's Laws, T' invert the World, and counter-work its Caufe? Force first made Conquest, and that Conqueft Law; 'Till Superftition taught the Tyrant Awe, Then fhar'd the Tyranny, and lent it Aid, And Gods of Conqu❜rors, Slaves of Subjects made: She, 'midft the Lightning's Blaze, and Thunder's Sound, [Ground, When rock'd the Mountains, and when groan'd the She taught the Weak to bend, the Proud to pray To.Pow'r unfeen, and mightier far than they. She, from the rending Earth and bursting Skies, Saw Gods defcend, and Fiends infernal rife, Here fix'd the dreadful, there the bleft Abodes; Fear made her Devils, and weak Hope her Gods:

Gods

Gods partial, changeful, paffionate, unjust,
Whole Attributes, were Rage, Revenge, or Luft:
Such as the Souls of Cowards might conceive,
And form'd like Tyrants, Tyrants would believe.
Zeal then,, not Charity, became the Guide,
And Hell was built on Spite, and Heaven on Pride.
Then facred feem'd the ethereal Vault no more;

Altars grew Marble then, and reek'd with Gore:
Then first the Flamen tafted living Food;
Next his grim Idol fmear'd with human Blood;
With Heav'n's own Thunder fhook the World below,
And play'd the God an Engine on his Foc.

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Thefe were Effects of arbitrary Power, the chief of which is Superftition, which, tho' it ftops all the Avenues to Truth, has been fo much encourag❜d by the Priests, because under the Shade of that they have (more formerly indeed than now) been able to set up what Idol they pleas'd, could fee Gods defcend, and Powers infernal rife, as it beft fuited what Work they had in Hand, affuming moreover to themselves a Dominion over the very Confciences of Man, and threat'ning everlafting Torments, not only to those whofe Practice or general Rule of Faith did not correspond with theirs, but even for Want of Affent to one fingle Tenet, having the Interpretation of all foregoing religious Laws wholly in their own Power, fo that they took upon them to add, to interline where it was neceflary to their Schemes, and to alter, or wholly craze what might appear to be against them, tho' the Privilege of impofing any Senfe upon any Words, one might think, was Safety enough; but fearing left fome Time or other fome free Spirit might arife, too great to become their Slaves, and take all upon Truft, or their Word, which is the fame Thing, they carefully provided as far as lay in

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their Power, to prevent his Enquiry being of any great Service to Truth, by corrupting, adulterating, and darkening every Thing that had pafs'd thro' their Hands; to fhew a Defire of Infpection, is to gain from them the Name of Sceptick, or Heretick, tho' fome Things, they all affect to leave doubtful, in fhort, they are generally moft affur'd where they ought to be moft doubtful, and most doubtful where they ought to be most affur'd; but as these affum'd Powers were by them claim'd louder in antienter Days *than they are at prefent, fo it may be hop'd, that future Times will be ftill more free from the Government of Superftition than this present Age: This Progrefs of Superftition, with its beginning to totter a little, Mr. Dryden has very wittily defcrib'd, in his Poem mention'd before :

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In Times o'ergrown with Ruft and Ignorance, A gainful Trade their Clergy did advance: When Want of Learning kept the Laymen low, *And none but Priefts were authoriz'd to know: When what fmall Knowledge was, in them did dwell; And he a God who cou'd but read or spell; Then Mother-Church did mightily prevail : She parcel'd out the Bible by retail: But ftill expounded what the fold or gave; To keep it in her Power to damn and fave: Scripture was fcarce, and as the Market went, "Poor Laymen took Salvation on Content;

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As needy Men take Money, good or bad; "God's Word they had not, but the Priest's they had. Yet whate'er falfe Conveyances they made, The Lawyer ftill was certain to be paid.

In thofe dark Times they learn'd their Knack fo well, That by long Ufe they grew infallible:

-At

At laft, a knowing Age began t' enquire
If they the Book, or that did them infpire:
And, making narrow Search, they found, tho' late,
That what they thought the Priefts, was their Eftate:
Taught by the Will produc'd, (the written Word)
How long they had been cheated on Record.
Then, every Man who faw the Title fair,
Claim'd a Child's Part, and put in for a Share:
Confulted foberly his private Good;
And fav'd himself as cheap as e'er he cou❜d.

These were they of whom Mr. Pope had declar'd, that their Hell was built on Spite, and Heaven on Pride; their Defign in propagating Mysteries nothing but Self-love, to augment their own Power, Riches, and Voluptuoufnefs; fo drives Self-love thro' Juft and thro' Unjuft,

The Inference our Poet draws from all this [from Line 269 to 284] is, that Self-love drives thro' Right and Wrong; it caufes the Tyrant to violate the Rights of Mankind; and it caufes the People to vindicate that Violation, For Self-love being common to the whole Species, and setting each Individual in Pursuit of the fame Objects, it became neceffary for each, if he would fecure his own, to provide for the Safety of another. And thus Enquiry and Benevolence arofe from that fame Self-love, which had given Birth to Avarice and Injustice.

For what one likes, if others like as well,
What serves one Will, when many Wills rebel?
How fhall he keep, what fleeping or awake
A Weaker may furprize, a Stronger take?
His Safety muft his Liberty restrain ;
All join to guard what each defires to gain.

The

The Poet hath not any where fhewn greater Address in the masterly Difpofition of his Work, than with Regard to the Inference before us; which not only gives a proper and timely Support to what he had before advanc'd in his Second Epiftle, concerning the Nature and Effects of Self-love; but is a neceffary Introduction to what follows concerning the Reformation of Religion and Society, as we shall see presently.

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The Poet hath now defcrib'd the Rife, Perfection, and Decay of civil Policy and Religion, in the more early Ages. But the Defign had been imperfectly executed, had he here dropp'd his Difcourfe; there was, after this, a Recovery from their feveral Corruptions. Accordingly, he hath chofen that happy Period for the Conclufion of his Song. But as good and ill Governments and Religions fucceed one another without ceafing, he now, with great Judgment leaves Facts, and turns his Difcourfe [from Line 283 to 296] to speak of a more lafting Reform of Mankind, in the Invention of those philofophick Principles, by whofe Obfervance, a Policy and Religion may be for ever kept from finking into Tyranny and Superftition.

'Twas then the ftudious Head, or gen'rous Mind, Foll'wer of God, or Friend of human Kind, Poet or Patriot rofe, but to restore

The Faith and Morals, Nature gave before;
Relum'd her antient Light, not kindled new,
If not God's Image, yet his Shadow drew;
Taught Pow'r's due Ufe to People and to Kings,
Taught not to flack, nor ftrain its tender Strings, &c..

The eafy and juft Transition into this Subject from the foregoing is admirable. In the foregoing he had defcrib'd