Alike in ignorance, his reason fuch, Whether he thinks too little, or too much: Chaos of Thought and Paffion, all confus'd; Created half to rife, and half to fall; VARIATIONS. After 18. in the MS. For more perfection than this ftate can bear VER. II. Alike in igno- | VER. 12. Whether he thinks too little, or too much:] This is fo true, that ignorance arifes as well from pushing our enquiries too far, as from not carrying them far enough, that we may obferve, when Speculations, even in Science, are carried beyond a certain point; that 15 point where ufe is reasonably fuppofed to end, and mere curiofity to begin; they conclude in the most extravagant and fenfelefs inferences; fuch as the unreality of matter; the reality of space; the fervility of the Will, &c. The reafon of this fudden fall out of full light into utter darkness appears not to refult from the natural condition of things, but to be the arbitrary decree of infinite wisdom and goodnefs, which impofed a barrier to the extravagances of its giddy lawless creature, always inclined to pursue truths of lefs importance too far, to the neglect of those more neceflary for his improvement in his ftation here. VER.17. Sole judge of Truth, in endless Error burl'd:] Some Go, wond'rous creature! mount where Science guides, 19 Go, measure earth, weigh air, and state the tides; VARIATIONS. As wifely fure a modeft Ape might aim Till fet on end and married to his mind. NOTES. have imagined that the author, by, in endless error burl'd, meant, caft into endless error, or into the regions of endless error, and therefore have taken notice of it as an incongruity of fpeech. But they neither understood the poet's language, nor his fenfe, to hurl and caft are not fynonymous; but are related only as the genus and fpecies; for to burl fignifies, not fimply to caft, but to caft backward and forward, and is taken from the rural game called hurling. So that, into endlefs error burl'd, as thefe critics would have it, would have been a barbarifm. His words therefore fignify, toffed about in endless error; and this he intended they should fignify, as appears from the antithesis, fole judge of truth. So that the fenfe of the whole is, "Tho', as fole judge of "truth, he is now fixed and "ftable; yet, as involved in "endless error, he is now again "burl'd, or toffed up and down " in it." This fhews us how cautious we ought to be in cenfuring the expreffions of a writer, one of whose characteristic qualities was correctness of expreffion and propriety of senti ment. VER. 20. Go, measure earth, &c.] Alluding to the noble and ufeful project of the mo Inftruct the planets in what orbs to run, VARIATIONS. Go, reafoning Thing! affume the Doctor's chair, As Plato deep, as Seneca severe : Fix moral fitness, and to God give rule, Then drop into thyself, &c. VER. 21. Ed 4th and 5th. Show by what rules the wand'ring planets ftray, NOTES. dern Mathematicians, to meafure a degree at the equator and the polar circle, in order to determine the true figure of the earth; of great importance to aftronomy and navigation. VER. 22. Correct old Time,] This alludes to Sir Ifaac Newton's Grecian Chronology, which he reformed on those two fublime conceptions, the 25 30 difference between the reigns of kings, and the generations of men; and the position of the colures of the equinoxes and folftices at the time of the Argonautic expedition. VER. 29, 30. Go, teach Eternal Wisdom &c.] These two lines are a conclufion from all that had been faid from 18, to this effect: Go now, vain Man, elated Superior beings, when of late they faw COMMENTARY. VER. 31. Superior beings, &c.] To give this fecond argument its full force, he illuftrates it (from 30 to 43) by the nobleft example that ever was in fcience, the incomparable NEWTON; who, although he penetrated so far beyond others into the works of GOD, yet could go no farther in the knowledge of his own nature than the generality of his fellows. Of which the poet affigns this very just and adequate reason: In all other fciences the Understanding is unchecked and uncontrouled by any oppofite principle; but in the science of Man, the Paffions overturn as fast as Reason can build up. NOTES. with thy acquirements in real | doubt whether the owner of fcience, and imaginary inti- fuch prodigious science should macy with God; go, and run not be reckoned of their own into all the extravagancies I order; juft as men, when they have exploded in the firft fee the furprising marks of epistle, where thou pretendeft Reason in an Ape, are almost to teach Providence how to tempted to rank him with govern; then drop into the their own kind. And yet this obfcurities of thy own nature, wondrous Man could go no and thereby manifeft thy igno- farther in the knowledge of rance and folly. himself than the generality of his fpecies. In which we fee it was not Mr. Pope's intention to bring any of the Ape's qualities, but its fagacity, into the comparison. But why the Ape's, it may be said, rather than the fagacity of some more decent animal, particularly the half-reafoning elephant, as the poet calls it; which, as VER. 31. Superior beings, &c.] In thefe lines he speaks to this effect: But to make you fully fenfible of the difficulty of this ftudy, I fhall inftance in the great Newton himself; whom, when fuperior beings, not long fince, faw capable of unfolding the whole law of Nature, they were in Could he, whofe rules the rapid Comet bind, Defcribe or fix one movement of his Mind? 36 Who faw its fires here rife, and there defcend, Explain his own beginning, or his end? VER. 35. Ed. Ift. VARIATIONS. Could he, who taught each Planet where to roll, NOTES. well on account of this its fuperiority, as for its having no ridiculous fide, like the Ape, on which it could be viewed, feems better to have deferved this honour? I reply, Because, as none but a shape refembling human, accompanied with great fagacity, could occafion the doubt of that animal's relation to Man, the Ape only having that refemblance, no other animal was fitted for the comparison. And on this ground of relation the whole beauty of the thought depends; Newton and thofe superior spirits being equally immortal, though of different orders. And here let me take notice of a new fpecies of the Sublime, of which our poet may be justly said to be the maker; so new, that we have yet no name for it, though of a nature diftinct from every other poetical excellence. The two great perfections of works of genius are Wit and Sublimity. Many writers have been witty, feveral have been fublime, and fome few have even poffeffed both these qualities feparately; but none that I know of, befides our Poet, hath had the art to incorporate them; of which he hath given many examples, both in this Effay and his other poems, one of the nobleft being the paffage in queftion. This feems to be the laft effort of the imagination, to poetical perfection : and in this compounded excellence the Wit receives a dignity from the Sublime, and the Sublime a fplendor from the Wit; which, in their ftate of separate exiftence, they both wanted. VER. 37. Who Jaw its fires here rife, &c.] Sir Ifaac New |