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A little learning is a dangerous thing;
Drink deep, or taste not the Pierian spring.
All are but parts of one stupendous whole,
Whose body Nature is, and God the soul.
And all who told it added something new,
and all who heard it, made enlargements too.
In words, as fashions, the same rule will hold;
Alike fantastic, if too new, or old:
Be not the first by whom the new are tried,
Nor yet the last to lay the old aside.
Beauties in vain their pretty eyes may roll;
charms strike the sight, but merit wins the soul.
But blind to former as to future fate,
what mortal knows his pre-existent state?
But Satan now is wiser than of yore,
and tempts by making rich, not making poor.
Education forms the common mind.
Just as the twig is bent, the tree's inclined.
Extremes in nature equal ends produce;
In man they join to some mysterious use.
Fondly we think we honor merit then,
When we but praise ourselves in other men.
For Forms of Government let fools contest;
whatever is best administered is best.
For modes of faith let graceless zealots fight,
His can't be wrong whose life is in the right
Get place and wealth, if possible with grace;
if not, by any means get wealth and place.
Honor and shame from no condition rise.
Act well your part: there all the honor lies.
Hope springs eternal in the human breast:
Man never is, but always To be Blest.
How happy is the blameless vestal's lot?
The world forgetting, by the world forgot.
How shall I lose the sin, yet keep the sense,
and love the offender, yet detest the offence?
Know then this truth, enough for man to know
virtue alone is happiness below.
Know then thyself, presume not God to scan;
The proper study of mankind is man.
Like Cato, give his little senate laws,
and sit attentive to his own applause.
Men must be taught as if you taught them not,
and things unknown proposed as things forgot.
Nature and nature's laws lay hid in the night.
God said, Let Newton be! and all was light!
Never elated when someone's oppressed,
never dejected when another one's blessed.
Never was it given to mortal man -
To lie so boldly as we women can.
Not to go back is somewhat to advance,
and men must walk, at least, before they dance.
Of Manners gentle, of Affections mild;
In Wit a man; Simplicity, a child.
On life's vast ocean diversely we sail,
Reason the card, but passion is the gale.
One science only will one genius fit;
so vast is art, so narrow human wit.
Teach me to feel another's woe,To hide the fault I see,
That mercy I to others show,That mercy show to me.
The hungry judges soon the sentence sign,
and wretches hang that jurymen may dine.
The learned is happy, nature to explore;
The fool is happy, that he knows no more.
The ruling passion, be it what it will.
The ruling passion conquers reason still.
The same ambition can destroy or save,
and make a patriot as it makes a knave.
'Tis not enough your counsel still be true;
Blunt truths more mischief than nice falsehoods do.
To observations which ourselves we make,
we grow more partial for th' observer's sake.
True ease in writing comes from art, not chance,
as those who move easiest have learned to dance.
Trust not yourself, but your defects to know,
make use of every friend and every foe.
Virtue she finds too painful an endeavour,
content to dwell in decencies for ever.
Who shall decide when doctors disagree,
And soundest casuists doubt, like you and me?
Whoever thinks a faultless piece to see,
Thinks what ne'er was, nor is, nor e'er shall be.
The content of this post was posted by Gregory Foster but the writer is Alexander Pope and he alone shall receive any and all credit due for said content.
 Nyan Koi · Mon May 19, 2008 @ 05:26am · 0 Comments |
