But though his Lordship thought fit to keep his principles fecret from his friend, as well as from of the triumvirate, as he calls them, Dr. Arbuthnot, was above the impofition, as never doubting of his Lordship's principles, and efteeming him accordingly. Dr. Swift having heard fomething of the licentioufnefs of his opinions, with the affection of a friend, that does honour to his memory, had told him what he heard, in a manner which fhewed he gave credit to it. His Lordfhip, in a letter, dated September 12th, 1724, replies in thefe words." I muft, on this occafion, fet you right as to an opinion, which I "fhould be very forry to have you entertain concerning me. "The term efprit fort, in English, freethinker, is, according to my obfervation, ufually applied to them whom I "look upon to be the pefts of fociety: because their endea vours are directly to loofen the bands of it, and to take "at least one curb out of the mouth of that wild beaft man; "when it would be well, if he was checked by half a score "others. If indeed, by efprit fort, or freethinker, you mean a man who makes a free ufe of his reason, who "fearches after truth without paffion or prejudice, and ad"heres inviolably to it; you mean a wife and honeft man ; " and fuch a one as I labour to be.-Such freethinkers as these, "I am fure you cannot, in your apoftolical capacity, difapprove: For fince the truth of the divine revelation of Chrifti"anity is as evident as matters of fact, on the belief of which fo "much depends, ought to be, and agreeable to all our ideas of juf"tice; thefe freethinkers must needs be Chriftians on the best foundation; on that which St. Paul himself established, "I think it was St. Paul, omnia probate, quod bonum eft "tenete." This was in 1724; but vice proceeded, as the poet fays, with fuch giant ftrides, that in 1732, that incomparable man, Dr. Arbuthnot, writes thus to Swift-" My neighbour, the profe-man, is wifer, and more cowardly "and defpairing than ever. He talks me into a fit of vapours. "I dream at night of a chain and rowing in the gallies. "But thank God he has not taken from me the freedom I "have been accustomed to in my difcourfe (even with the greatest perfons to whom I have accefs) in defending the "cause from the public; yet, after the prodigious fuccefs of the Essay on Man, he ungenerously used to make the poet, then alive and at his devotion, the frequent topic of ridicule among their common acquaintance, as a man who understood nothing of his own principles, nor saw to what they naturally led. While things were in this state, M. de Croufaz wrote fome malignant and abfurd Remarks on the Efay on Man, accufing it of Spinozism and Naturalism, &c. Thefe Remarks, by accident, fell into the hands of the author of the Divine Legation, &c. and mere refentment against an ill-natured caviller, induced him to write a defence of the firft epiftle, which being well received, he applied himself to defend the rest, on the fame principles of natural and revealed religion, against the blundering mifreprefentations of the Swifs philofopher, and of a certain French tranflator of the Effay in verfe, by whom M. de Croufaz had been frequently milled. In truth, the principal objection to the Effay on Man was its obfcurity, which was intimated to our author, on its first appearance, by his friend Swift *. The "cause of liberty, virtue, and religion: for the laft, I have "the fatisfaction of fuffering fome of the ignominy that "belonged to the first profeffors. This has been my lot, "from a steady refolution I have taken of giving these igno"rant fellows battle upon all occafions." "I confefs," fays Swift, "in fome places I was forced "to read twice, I believe I told you before what the Duke "of The obfcurity of the poem made a comment the more neceffary; and Mr. POPE, who was naturally on the fide of religion, embraced the fense given to the effay, with the utmost plea fure and fatisfaction t. It cannot be fuppofed, however, that his Lordship took the fame delight in feeing his pupil thus reasoned out of his hands; or, what was worse, in feeing him republish* his effay with a defence, which put the poem on the fide of religion, and the poet out of the neceffity of fupporting himself on his Lordship's fyftem, when he should condefcend to impart it to him: or, what was worst of all, in feeing him, at the commentator's inftance, reftore a great number of the best and most fublime lines, ftruck out of the manufcript, which no longer left his religious fentiments equivocal. "of Dorfet faid to me on the occafion, concerning the opi"nion of a judge here who knows you, and told him, that "on the first reading thefe Eflays, he was much pleased, but found fome lines a little dark; on the fecond, most of "them cleared up, and his pleasure encreased; on the third, "he had no doubts remaining, and that he admired the "whole." + This appears from the letters he wrote to the learned commentator on that occafion, wherein he candidly acknowledges the obfcurity of the piece, and, among other things, fays,"You have made my fyftem as clear as I ought to have "done, and could not you understand me as well as I do "myself, but you exprefs me better than I could myfelf.". * This poem was republished in the year 1740, with the commentary. With refpect to this effay, it is perhaps the moft concife and perfect fyftem of ethics in any language it is one of the defiderata which Lord Bacon has marked out in his de augmentis fcientiarum, a work which, as will be fhewn, our author feems to have had in his eye throughout. But it would be needlefs to detain the reader with a particular analysis of this treatise, as the defign, method and end of this work, is fully and accurately explained and illuftrated by the excellent commentary subjoined to it. Nevertheless, as it is propofed not only to give the hiftory of our author, but likewife a critique on his writings, fo much notice muft be taken of the conduct of this effay, as may ferve to exemplify its moft capital beauties and defects. The first epistle confiders the nature and state of man with respect to the Universe. Here the poet fhews how imperfect our reasonings must be both with respect to God and Man: For that as we know no more of man, than what we can learn from his ftation here; fo we know no more of God, than we fee of his difpenfations in this ftation. This leads the poet to the following fublime defcription of God's omniscience, followed by a juft reproof of man's blind prefumption. "He, who thro' vaft immenfity can pierce, "See worlds on worlds compofe one uni "verse, "Obferve "Obferve how system into fyftem runs, are. "But of this frame, the bearings and the ties, "Is the great chain, that draws all to agree, Thefe noble and philofophic fentiments are enforced with fuch ftrength of reafoning and dignity of expreffion, as at once to awe the impious and check the presumptuous, who dare to fcrutinize and arraign the wifdom and juftice of the divine difpenfations. It is to be regretted however, that the line marked in Italics, fhould make a part of the foregoing extract. It is the most heavy, languid, and unpoetical of any perhaps that ever efcaped from our author's pen: and the expletive to before the verb, is unpardonable *, * It has been obferved, nevertheless, by the prefent Bishop of Gloucester, one of the most acute critics of this or any age, that the flowness of the line here objected to, was, perhaps, purposely intended to exprefs in the found the flow, though powerful operations of providence, to the great end here pointed out, |