vidual. The poet here recommends the study of mankind, and fhews the imperfect ftate of the human understanding with regard to the knowledge of ourselves. He reprefents man as doubting and wavering between the objects of right and wrong. "With too much knowledge for the Sceptic "fide, ; "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 Beaft "In doubt his Mind or Body to prefer ; "Born but to die, and reas'ning but to err; "Alike in ignorance, his reafon fuch, "Whether he thinks too little, or too much; "Chaos of Thought and Paffion, all confus'd; "Still by himself abus'd, or dif-abus'd; "Created half to rise, and half to fall; "Great Lord of all things, yet a prey to all; "Sole judge of truth, in endless error hurl'd; "The glory, jeft, and riddle of the world!" Nothing can be more animated, more pointed, and at the fame time more juft, than this defcription of man's imperfect ftate, with refpect to the knowledge of himself, which is of all others the most difficult: For to whatever extent 'he may ftretch his understanding in other sciences, yet in the knowledge of his own nature, he will neceffarily be more limited, as the intervention of the paffions will check and impede the operations of his reason, Q4 There There are, as the poet obferves, two prin ciples in human nature, Self-love and Reafon: of which the diftinct offices are explained. Self-love is the spring of action; Reason the balance which governs it "Moft ftrength the moving principle requires: "Active its task, it prompts, impels, in"fpires. "Sedate and quiet, the comparing lies, "Form'd but to check, delib'rate, and advise. "Self-love still stronger, as its objects nigh; "Reafon's at diftance, and in profpect lie: "That fees immediate good by prefent fenfe; "Reason, the future and the confequence*" The paffions, our author obferves, are but modes of felf-love: and their influence and use in human life is admirably described in the following lines. "Paffions, tho' felfifh, if their means be fair, "Lift under Reason, and deferve her care; "Thofe, that imparted, court a nobler aim, "Exalt their kind, and take fome Virtue's (6 name "In lazy Apathy let Stoics boast "Their Virtue fix'd; 'tis fix'd as in a froft; *To the fame effect Lord Bacon expreffes himself. "The "affections," fays he, "carry ever an appetite to good, as reafon doth. The difference is, that the affection beholdeth merely the prefent, reafon beholdeth the future and fum of time." "Cons *Contracted all, retiring to the breast; "Parts it may ravage, but preferves the whole. **❝ On life's vaft ocean diversely we fail, "Reason the card, but paffion is the gale †; Perhaps ftrength of reafoning and harmony of numbers were never more happily united than in the foregoing extract; and the image, by which the truth of the argument is illuftrated in the two concluding lines, is as fublime as poetry can exprefs. Nor are the fucceeding lines lefs poetical or juft, wherein our author remarks, that though all the paffions, in their turn, influence the human mind, yet there is one mafter paffion, which, in the end, over-powers and abforbs the reft. "Pleasures are ever in our hands or eyes; "And when, in act, they cease, in prospect, "rife: "Present to grafp, and future still to find, "The whole employ of body and of mind. + "The mind," fays Lord Bacon, "would be tempe"rate and ftayed, if the affections, as winds, did not put it into tumult and perturbation," "All "All spread their charms, but charm not all “alike; "On diff'rent senses diff'rent objects strike; "Hence diff'rent Paffions more or less inflame, "As ftrong or weak, the organs of the frame; “And hence one mafter passion * in the breast, "Like Aaron's ferpent, fwallows up the reft." These truths are fo forcibly and beautifully conveyed, that at the fame time we are convinced by the fentiments, we are charmed with the expreffions. Nor is the poet less happy in explaining the growth of the ruling paffion. "Nature its mother, Habit † is its nurfe; "Wit, Spirit, Faculties, but make it worse; "Reason *The strength of the ruling paffion, and the neceffity of attending to it in our commerce with mankind, is remarked by Lord Bacon, who fays, "It is not fufficient to inform "ourfelves in mens ends and natures of the variety of them "only, but also of the predominancy, what humour reigneth "moft, and what end is principally fought." I will add, that the reader will find the predominance of the ruling paffion farther exemplified by Mr. POPE, in his firft Ethic epiftle, of which hereafter. + Our author's ftrong fenfe of the prevalence of Habit is well defcribed in one of his letters to Mr. Bethel, where he fays "Habit is the miftrefs of the world, and whatever is "generally faid, has more fway than opinion. Yours con"fines you to the wolds of Yorkshire, mine to the banks of "the Thames and yet I think I have lefs dependance on "others, and others lefs on me, than most men I have ever "known; "Reason itself but gives it edge and pow'r; "As Heav'n's bleft beam turns vinegar more "fow'r." But the poet rifes with his fubject, till he leads us into extacy. Speaking of the inefficacy of reason to controul the ruling paffion, he says, “We, wretched fubjects, tho' to lawful sway, "In this weak queen, fome fav'rite still obey: "Ah! if the lend not arms, as well as rules, "What can the more than tell us we are "fools? "Teach us to mourn our Nature, not to mend, A fharp accufer, but a helpless friend! "Or from a judge turn pleader, to perfuade "The choice we make, or justify it made; "Proud of an eafy conqueft all along, "She but removes weak Paffions for the "ftrong *: So, when small humours gather to a gout, "The doctor fancies he has driven them out.' known; fo that I should be free. So fhould a female "friend of ours +; but habit is her Goddefs, I wish I could "not fay worse, her tyrant: fhe not only obeys, but fuffers "under her and reason and friendship plead in vain. Out "of hell, and out of habit, there is no redemption." It is of fpecial ufe in morality, as Lord Bacon obferves, to fet affection against affection, and endeavour to master one paffion by another, as we hunt beaft with beaft, &c. + Meaning Mrs. Blount. 3 There |
