in the greatest, 70, &c. Nothing conftant and certain but God and Nature, 95. No judging of the Motives from the actions; the fame actions proceeding from contrary Motives, and the fame Motives influencing contrary actions, 100. II. Yet to form Characters, we can only take the strongest actions of a man's life, and try to make them agree: The utter uncertainty of this, from Nature itself, and from Policy, 120. Characters given according to the rank of men of the world, 135. And fome reafon for it, 140. Education alters the Nature, or at leaft Character of many, 149. Actions, Paffions, Opinions, Manners, Humours, or Principles all fubject to change. No judging by Nature, from 158 to 178. III. It only remains to find (if we can) his RULING PASSION: That will certainly influence all the reft, and can reconcile the Seeming or real inconfiftency of all his actions, ✯ 175. Inftanced in the extraordinary character of Clodio,

179. A caution against mistaking second qualities for firft, which will deftroy all poffibility of the knowledge of mankind,210. Examples of the ftrength of the Ruling Paffion, and its continuation to the laft breath, 222, &c.

THE NEW YORK PUBLIC LIBRARY

ASTOR, LENOX AND TILDEN FOUND AT ONS.

Plate XII.

Vol. III. facing P

N. Blakey inv. & del.

G.Satin Sculp Squire, The next a Tradesman, meek and much aliar; Tom struts a Soldier, open, bold and Brave"; Will oncaks a Scrivener, an exceeding Knav

Boastfull & rough your first Son is a

Char: of Men

EPISTLE I

YE

E S, you despise the man to Books confin'd, Who from his study rails at human kind; Tho' what he learns he speaks, and may advance

Some gen❜ral maxims, or be right by chance.
The coxcomb bird, fo talkative and grave,

5

That from his cage cries Cuckold, Whore, and Knave, Tho' many a passenger he rightly call,

You hold him no Philofopher at all.

And yet the fate of all extremes is fuch,

Men may be read, as well as Books, too much. 10
To obfervations which ourselves we make,
We grow more partial for th'Obferver's fake;

NOTES.

VER. 5. The coxcomb | Books too much, &c.] The bird, &c.] A fine turn'd allufion to what Philoftratus 'faid of Euxenus, the Tutor of Apollonius, that he could only repeat fome fentences of Pythagoras, like thofe coxcomb birds, who were taught their spále and their Ζεὺς ἕλεως, but knew not what they fignified.

VER. 10. And yet-Men may be read, as well as

poet has here covertly defcrib'd a famous fyftem of a man of the world, the celebrated Maxims of M. de la Rochefoucault, which are one continued fatire on human Nature, and hold much of the ill language of the Parrot: The reason of the cenfure, our author's system of human nature will explain.

To written Wisdom, as another's lefs:

15

Maxims are drawn from Notions, thofe from Guefs.
There's fome Peculiar in each leaf and grain,
Some unmark'd fibre, or some varying vein;
Shall only Man be taken in the gross?

Grant but as many forts of Mind as Mofs.

1

That each from other differs, firft confefs;

Next, that he varies from himself no less:
Add Nature's, Custom's, Reason's, Paffion's ftrife,
And all Opinion's colours caft on life.

Our depths who fathoms, or our fhallows finds,
Quick whirls, and fhifting eddies, of our minds?
On human actions reason tho' you can,
It may be Reason, but it is not Man :

NOTES.

VER. 22. And all Opi- | nion's colours caft on life.] The poet refers here only to the effects: In the Essay

20

25

on Man he gives both the efficient and the final caufe: The First in the third Ep. 231.

that freddy light.

E'er Wit oblique had broke For oblique Wit is Opinion. The other, in the second Ep. 283.

Mean-while Opinion gilds with varying rays

Thefe painted clouds that beautify our days, &c.

VER. 25. It may be Rea- | appearances he would infon, but it is not Man:] i. e. veftigate; and yet that bý. The Philofopher may in-pothefis be all the while very vent a rational hypothefis wide of truth and the nathat shall account for the ture of things.