bers fo harmonious; that every fentiment wears an air of novelty, and displays the excellence of human wit, as himself justly defines it. "True Wit is Nature to advantage dreft; "What oft was thought, but ne'er fo well expreft." In fhort, after having demolished the monftrous fuperftructures of the antients, he has employed the old materials which compofed them, in erecting a regular and beautiful fabric, in which all the parts correfpond with fuch exac fymmetry, and the whole befpeaks fuch an air of noble fimplicity, as proves it to be the invention of a correct and fublime genius *. This *It may be curious to remark, that when this poem was first published, our author carefully concealed its being his production, and it was afcribed to Dr. Young, to Dr. Defaguliers, to Lord Bolingbroke, to Lord Paget, and several others. While his acquaintance read it as the work of an unknown author, they fairly owned they did not understand it. Among others, a certain little poet, fpeaking, in a vifit he paid to Mr. POPE, of the Effy on Man, foon after its appearance, obferved with an air of critical felf-fufficiency, that the poetry was but indifferent, the philofophy intolerable, and the whole devoid of connection. If I thought, added he, that you had not feen it, I would have brought it with me. Mr. POPE, to mortify the coxcomb, frankly told him that he had feen it before it went to the prefs; for that it was his own performance, and had been the work of fome years. The confufion of the vifitor, at this declaration, may be eafier conceived than expreffed. When the reputation of the poem however became fecured, by the knowledge of the writer, it foon grew fo clear and in S 3 telligible, This poem foon became fo univerfally celebrated, that it was tranflated into French by Monfieur Refnel †, and Monfieur Croufaz wrote a formal critique upon it. The errors and abfurdities of feveral of his remarks, were owing to the blunders and inaccuracies of his countryman's tranflation, which mifled him in many inftances; nevertheless, fome of his false criticiíms are owing to his own mifapprehenfions. But this idle critique is fo fully anfwered and refuted by the learned comment fubjoined to this piece, that it is needlefs to fay more of it‡. • It telligible, that on the appearance of the comment upon it, they told him they wondered the editor fhould think a large and minute interpretation neceffary. + It was likewife tranflated into Latin verfe by Dr. Kirkpatrick. Our author was fo fenfible of the fervice done to his work by this comment, that he did not fail to make grateful acknowledgements of it in the following letter, addreffed to his friend and commentator, dated February 2, 1738, wherein, with confcious dignity, he exprefles his indifference with regard to unjust cenfure. "I cannot forbear to return you my thanks for your ani"madverfion on Mr. Croufaz: though I doubt not it was lfs a regard to me, than to candor and truth, which made you take this pains to answer fo mistaken a man. I fear, "indeed, he did not attack me on quite fo good a principle: and whenever I fee fuch a vein of uncharitableness and "vanity in any work, whether it concerns me or another, I am always ready to thank God to find it accompanied with as much weakness. But this is what I should never It remains to obferve, that fome paffages in the Effay on Man, having been unjustly fufpected of a tendency toward fate and naturalism, the author compofed a prayer as the fum of all; which is printed under the title of the UNIVERSAL PRAYER, and was intended to shew that his fyftem was founded in free will, and terminated in piety -and furely devotion never breathed a more pure, fimple, and at the fame time, a more exalted ftrain, than in the following inimitable flanzas. "Thou Great First Cause, leaft understood: "Who all my Senfe confin'd "To know but this, that Thou art good, "And that myself am blind; (*) "Yet "have expofed myself, and therefore I am the more obliged "to you for doing it. This, and the foregoing letters, wherein our poet pays grateful acknowledgements to his learned friend and commentator, naturally leads us to reflect on the different nature of the obligations which he owed to this celebrated perfonage, and to the deceased Lord Bolingbroke. The latter would have given a bias to this admirable effay, which would have been difgraceful to our bard's understanding, difhonourable to his virtue, and injurious to fociety: the former, on the other hand, did give a bias to it, which will reflect immortal honour on the poet's fenfe, do everlasting credit to his virtue, and be for ever ferviceable to mankind. Now let the world determine, which of the two deferves the incomparable praise of being The Poet's Guide, Philofopher, and FRIEND. (*) In the first epiftle, after having vindicated the ways of God, against those who murmur at the imperfections "Yet gave me, in this dark eftate, "What Confcience dictates to be done, "Or warns me not to do, "This, teach me more than Hell to fhun, That, more than Heav'n pursue. "Yet not to Earth's contracted Span "Thy Goodness let me bound, "Or think Thee Lord alone of Man, () "When thoufand Worlds are round: "Let of human nature; he concludes to the fame effect as above. "Ceafe then, nor Order Imperfection name: (b) Our author, in the fecond epift'e, has proved this freedom of man's will.-He has fhewn that virtue and vice are blended in our nature, like light and fhade; and that though it is often difficult to diftinguifh genuine virtue from the fpurious, yet there is an unerring criterion by which we may difcern the difference. "This light and darkacfs in our chaos join'd, What hall divide? The God within the mind- that is, CONSCIENCE. He hath likewife fhewn that man hath it in his power to direct his paffions to good or bad ends; "REASON the byas, turns to good from ill." () The folly and impiety of thus limiting the divine pess, efs, is ftrongly expofed in the third epiftle good. ** One "Let not this weak, unknowing hand "If I am right, thy Grace () impart, "If I am wrong, oh teach my heart "Save "One all-extending, all-preferving foul, "Connects each being, &c. Again "Has God, thou fool, work'd folely for thy good, Thy joy, thy paftime, thy attire, thy food?" (') The writer, in the third epiftle, after tracing the corruption of religion, and the origin of fuperftition, inveighs with great vehemence against the corrupt and vengeful fpirit, which "With Heav'n's own thunder fhook the world below, "And play'd the God an engine on his foe." (*) His learned friend and annotator on this paffage has acutely remarked, that as the imparting of grace, on the Chriftian fyftem, is a ftronger exertion of divine power, than the natural illumination of the heart; one would expect that right and wrong fhould change places; more aid being required to restore men to right, than to keep them in it. But as it was the poet's purpose to infinuate that revelation was the right, nothing could better exprefs his purpose, than making the right fecured by the guards of Grace. I will add, that one principal defign of the Effay on Man is to fhew, that reafon, aided by natural religion, can at most but |