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 moft doubtful where they ought to be moft affur'd; but as thefe 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 prefent 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 :

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 scarce, and as the Market went, Poor Laymen took Salvation on Content; As needy Men take Money, good or bad: God's Word they had not, but the Prieft's they had. Yet whate'er falfe Conveyances they made, The Lawyer fill was certain to be paid.

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

At

At laft, a knowing Age began t' enquire.

If they the Book, or that did them inspire :

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 Design in propagating Myfteries 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 fetting each Individual in Pursuit of the fame Objects, it became neceflary 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 Injuftice.

For what one likes, if others like as well,
What ferves cne 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 Ad drefs 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 Re-I formation of Religion and Society, as we shall fee presently 21

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 chosen 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 Man kind, 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; W. T Taught Pow'r's due Ute to People and to Kings, Taught not to flack, nor ftrain its tender Strings, &

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

defcrib'd the Effects of Self-love, now the Obfervation of thefe Effects, he, with great Art and high Probability, makes the Occafion of thofe Difcove ries, which fpeculative Men made of the true Prin ciples of Policy and Religion, defcrib'd in the prefent Paragraph; and this he evidently hints at in that fine Tranfition.

>

The Poet goes on and afferts, that many jarring Interefts do of themfelyes accord at Length in the Mufick of a well-mix'd State: That the World is 1 full of great Harmony; that there is nothing but Union, Order, and a full Confent of Things y

More pow'rful each, as needful to the reft;
And in Proportion as it bleffes, bleft;

Draw to one Point, and to one Centre bring
Beaft, Man, or Angel, Servant, Lord, or King. I

1

When he comes to fpeak of Modes of Faith, and Forms of Government. I beg Leave to explain and illuftrate him by his Commentator. But the Poet now, fays he, having fo much commended the Invention and Inventors of the philofophick Principles of Religion and Government, left an evil Ufe be made of this, by Men's refting in Theory and Speculation, as they have been always too apt to do, in Matters whofe Practice makes their Happiness; he cautions his Reader [from Line, 304 to 311] against this Error, in a Warmth of Expreffion, which the fublime Ideas of that univerfal Harmony, operating inceffantly to univerfal Good, had rais'd up in him.

For Forms of Government let Fools conteft)
Whate'er is beft adminifter'd is beft.
For Modes of Faith let gracelefs Zealots fight;
His can't be wrong, whofe Life is in the Right.
All must be falfe, that thwart this one great End
And all of God, that blefs Mankind, or mend.

The

T

The Seafonablenefs of this Reproof will appear evident enough to thofe, who know, that mad Disputes about Liberty and Prerogative, had once well nigh overturn'd our Conftitution; and that others about Mystery and Church Authority had almost destroy'd the very Spirit of our holy Religion.

But thefe fine Lines have been ftrangely mifunderftood: The Author, against his own exprefs Words, against the plain Senfe of his Syftem, has been conceiv'd to mean, That all Governments and all Religions were, as to their Forms and Objects, indifferent. But as this wrong Judgment proceeded from Ignorance of the Reason of the Reproof, as explain'd above, that Explanation is alone fufficient to rectify the Mikake,

However, not to leave him under the least Sufpicion, in a Matter of fo much Importance, I fhall juftify the Senfe here given to this Passage more at large. First, by confidering the Words themfelves: And then by comparing the mistaken Sense with the Context.

The Poet, we must observe, is here speaking, not of civil Society at large, but of a juft legitimate Policy,

Th' according Mufick of a WELL-MIX'D State.

1: A

Now these are of feveral Kinds; in fome of which the Democratick, in the others the Ariftocratick, and in others the Monarchick Form prevails. Now, as each of these mix'd Forms is equally legitimate, as being founded on the Principles of natural Liberty, that Man is guilty of the highest Folly, who chufes rather to employ himself in a fpeculative Conteft for the fuperior Excellence of one of thefe Forms to the reft, than in promoting the good Adminiftration of that fettled Form to which he is fubject: And yet all our warm Difputes about Government have been of