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PhilosophyAn Essay on Man; Moral Essays and SatiresAlexander PopeAn Essay on Man; Moral Essays and Satires

An Essay on Man; Moral Essays and Satires

Alexander Pope

PhilosophyEnglish
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'Know then thyself, presume not God to scan; the proper study of mankind is man.' In four verse epistles addressed to his friend Lord Bolingbroke, Alexander…

Catalogue details

Author
Alexander Pope
Category
Philosophy
Language
English
Source
Project Gutenberg

About this book

'Know then thyself, presume not God to scan; the proper study of mankind is man.' In four verse epistles addressed to his friend Lord Bolingbroke, Alexander Pope sets out to 'vindicate the ways of God to man': the place of human beings in the great chain of being, the balance of reason and passion within us, our place in society, and the nature of happiness, concluding that 'whatever is, is right'. This volume adds his Moral Essays and his satires.

Context and significance

Pope (1688–1744), the leading English poet of his century, published the Essay in 1733 and 1734. Its polished couplets made it famous across Europe, and Voltaire admired it, though he later mocked its optimism in Candide. This edition was edited by Henry Morley. For more in the same vein, read Pope's The Rape of the Lock.

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