"Know then thyself, presume not God to scan;
The proper study of mankind is man.
Placed on this isthmus of a middle state,
Being darkly wise, and richly great:
With too much knowledge for the sceptic side,
With too much weakness for the Stoic's pride,
He hangs between; in doubt to act or rest;
In doubt to deem himself a God or beast;
In doubt his mind or body to prefer;
Born but to die, and reasoning but to err;
Alike in ignorance, his reasoning such,
Whether he thinks too little or too much;
Chaos of thought and passion, all confused;
Still by himself abused or disabused;
Created half to rise and half to fall;
Great lord of all things, yet prey to all;
Sole judge of truth, in endless error hurl'd;
The glory, jest, and riddle of the world!..."
Saturday, January 11, 2014
"ESSAY ON MAN" excerpt, by Alexander Pope
ESSAY ON MAN, Epistle II, by Alexander Pope (Forgotten Books: 1848, 2012), p.11:
"Know then thyself, presume not God to scan;
The proper study of mankind is man.
Placed on this isthmus of a middle state,
Being darkly wise, and richly great:
With too much knowledge for the sceptic side,
With too much weakness for the Stoic's pride,
He hangs between; in doubt to act or rest;
In doubt to deem himself a God or beast;
In doubt his mind or body to prefer;
Born but to die, and reasoning but to err;
Alike in ignorance, his reasoning such,
Whether he thinks too little or too much;
Chaos of thought and passion, all confused;
Still by himself abused or disabused;
Created half to rise and half to fall;
Great lord of all things, yet prey to all;
Sole judge of truth, in endless error hurl'd;
The glory, jest, and riddle of the world!..."
"Know then thyself, presume not God to scan;
The proper study of mankind is man.
Placed on this isthmus of a middle state,
Being darkly wise, and richly great:
With too much knowledge for the sceptic side,
With too much weakness for the Stoic's pride,
He hangs between; in doubt to act or rest;
In doubt to deem himself a God or beast;
In doubt his mind or body to prefer;
Born but to die, and reasoning but to err;
Alike in ignorance, his reasoning such,
Whether he thinks too little or too much;
Chaos of thought and passion, all confused;
Still by himself abused or disabused;
Created half to rise and half to fall;
Great lord of all things, yet prey to all;
Sole judge of truth, in endless error hurl'd;
The glory, jest, and riddle of the world!..."
