*These arguments appear
all together at the beginning of each Epistle; for ease of study, we have taken
the liberty of arranging them on the page they apply to.
Epistle 4: Of The Nature and State of Man, With Respect to
Happiness
(False Notions of Happiness*)
hear these verses
click arrow to start
O, HAPPINESS! Our being's end and aim!
Good, pleasure, ease, content! whate'er thy name:
That something still which prompts the eternal sigh,
For which we bear to live, or dare to die,
Which still so near us, yet beyond us lies,
O'erlooked, seen double, by the fool, and wise.
Plant of celestial seed! if dropp'd below,
Say, in what mortal soil thou deign'st to grow?
Fair opening to some Court's propitious shine,
Or deep with diamonds in the flaming mine?
Twined with the wreaths Parnassian laurels yield,
Or reaped in iron harvests of the field;
Where grows?—where grows it not? If vain our toil,
We ought to blame the culture, not the soil:
Fix'd to no spot is happiness sincere,
'Tis nowhere to be found, or everywhere;
'Tis never to be bought, but always free,
And fled from monarchs, ST. JOHN! dwells with thee.
Ask of the learn'd the way? The learn'd are blind;
This bids to serve, and that to shun mankind;
Some place the bliss in action, some in ease,
Those call it pleasure, and contentment these;
Some, sunk to beasts, find pleasure end in pain;
Some, swelled to gods, confess e'en virtue vain;
Or. indolent, to each extreme they fall,
To trust in every thing, or doubt of all.
Who thus define it, say they more or less
Than this,—that happiness is happiness?
"As a Catholic Pope could not attend mainstream schools and could not attend university. He was taught to read by his aunt,
and had developed a very precise calligraphy by imitating the typography of printed books, a talent which he often used in designing
his books in later life ..." from The Complete Critical Guide to Alexander Pope
(2001) by Paul Baines
(2001) by Paul Baines
