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EPISTLE I.

ΤΟ

SIR RICHARD TEMPLE,

LORD COBHA M.

ARGUMENT.

OF the Knowledge and Characters of Men..

THAT it is not fufficient for this knowledge to con fider man in the abstract: Books will not ferve the purpose, nor yet our own experience fingly, ver. I. General maxims. unless they be formed upon both,, will be but notional, v. 10. Some peculiarity in every man, characteristic to himself, yet varying from himself, v. 15. Difficulties arifing from our own paffions, fancies, faculties, &c. v. 31. The fhortness of life to obferve in, and the uncertainty of the principles of action in men to obferve by, V. 37, &c. Our own principle of action often hid from ourselves, v. 41. Some few characters plain, but in general confounded, diffembled, or inconfistent, v. 51 The fame man utterly different in different places and feafons, v, 73. Unimaginable weakneffes in the greateft, v. 77, &c. Nothing cons ftant and certain but GoD and Nature, v. 95. No

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judging of the motives from the actions; the fame actions proceeding from contrary motives, and the fame motives influencing contrary actions, v. 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, v, 120. Characters given according to the rank of men of the world, v. 135. And fome reason for it, v. 140. Education alters the nature, or at leaft character, of many, v. 149. Actions, paffions, opinions, manners, humours, or principles, all fubject to change. No judging by nature, from v. 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 feeming or real inconsistency of all his actions, verfe 175. Inftanced in the extraordinary character of Clodio, verse 179. A caution against mistaking fecond qualities for firft, which will deftroy all poffibility of the knowledge of mankind, v. 210. Examples of the ftrength of the Ruling Paffion, and its continuation to the last breath, verfe 222, &c.

YES, you defpife the man to books confin'd,
Who from his study rails at human kind;
Tho' what he learns he speaks, and may advance
Some general maxims, or be right by chance.
The coxcomb bird, fo talkative and grave,

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.
To obfervations which ourselves we make,
We grow more partial for th' obferver's fake;
To written wisdom, as another's, lefs:

Maxims are drawn from notions, thefe from guess.
There's fome peculiar in each leaf and grain,
Some unmark'd fibre, or fome varying vein:
Shall only man be taken in the grofs?
Grant but at many forts of mind as mofs.

That each from other differs, first confefs;
Next, that he varies from himself no lefs;
Add Nature's, Cuftom's, Reafon's, Paffion's ftrife,
And all Opinion's colours caft on life.

Our depths who fathoms, or our fhallows finds, Quick whirls, and shifting eddies, of our minds? On human actions reafon tho' you can, It may be reafon, but it is not man: His principle of action once explore, That inftant 'tis his principle no more. Like following life thro' creatures you diffect, You lofe it in the moment you detect.

Yet more; the difference is as great between
The optics feeing, as the objects seen.

All manners take a tincture from our own;
Or come difcolour'd thro' our paffions shown,
Or fancy's beam enlarges, multiplies,

Contracts, inverts, and gives ten thousand dyes.

Nor will life's ftream for observation stay,

It hurries all too faft to mark their way:
In vain fedate reflections we would make,
When half our knowledge we muft fnatch, not take.
Oft in the paffions' wild rotation tost,

Our spring of actions to ourselves is loft:
Tir'd, not determin'd, to the last we yield,
And what comes then is mafter of the field.
As the laft image of that troubled heap,
When fenfe fubfides, and fancy fports in fleep,
(Tho' paft the recollection of the thought)
Becomes the stuff of which our dream is wrought:
Something as dim, to our internal view,
Is thus, perhaps, the cause of most we do.

True, fome are open, and to all men known;
Others fo very clofe, they're known to none;
(So darkness ftrikes the fenfe no lefs than light)
Thus gracious CHANDOS is belov'd at fight;
And every child hates Shylock, tho' his foul
Still fits at fquat, and peeps not from its hole.
At half mankind when generous Manly raves,
All know 'tis virtue, for he thinks them knaves:
When univerfal homage Umbra pays,

All fee 'tis vice, and itch of vulgar praise.
When flattery glares, all hate it in a Queen,
While one there is who charms us with his fpleen.
But thefe plain characters we rarely find;

Tho' ftrong the bent, yet quick the turns of mind:
Or puzzling contraries confound the whole;

Or affectations quite reverfe the foul.

The Dull, flat falfhood ferves, for policy:
And in the Cunning, truth itself's a lye :
Unthought of frailties cheat us in the Wise;
The fool lies hid in inconfiftencies.

See the fame man, in vigour, in the gout;
Alone, in company; in place, or out;
Early at business, and at hazard late;
Mad at a fox-chace, wife at a debate;
Drunk at a borough, civil at a ball;
Friendly at Hackney, faithlefs at Whitehall.
Catius is ever moral, ever grave,

Thinks who endures a knave, is next a knave,
Save just at dinner-then prefers, no doubt,
A rogue with venifon to a faint without.

Who would not praise Patricio's high defert, His hand unftain'd, his uncorrupted heart, His comprehensive head, all interests weigh'd, All Europe fav'd, yet Britain not betray'd. He thanks you not, his pride is in picquette, New-Market fame, and judgment at a bett. What made (fay Montague, or more fage Charron!} Otho a warrior, Cromwell a buffoon? A perjur'd prince a leaden faint revere, A godlefs regent tremble at a star? The throne a bigot keep, a genius quit, Faithlefs thro' piety, and dup'd thro' wit?" Europe a woman, child, or dotard rule, And juft her wifeft monarch made a fool? Know, GoD and NATURE only are the fame : In man, the judgment shoots at flying game ;.

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