an essay on man epistle 2 explanation

An Essay on Man

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Epistle 2 Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Summary epistle 2: “on the nature and state of man with respect to himself, as an individual”.

In Section 1 (Lines 1-52), the speaker argues that humanity should try to understand itself before trying to understand God. They describe people as stuck between many contradictory impulses: The ability to reason and the ability to feel, the desire to act and the desire to contemplate. The “chaos of thought and passion” (Line 13) empowers humans to be masters over nature , but people are still weak compared to nature’s power. People can understand the movements of the comets but cannot control their own passions: “What Reason weaves, by Passion is undone” (Line 42). Because human reason is fallible, it is important to regard the products of rationality with a healthy skepticism and do away with reason that has been corrupted by pride, vanity, or “curious pleasure” (Line 48).

Section 2 (Lines 53-92) explores the speaker’s idea of self-love and reason as two opposing forces that coexist in the psyche of every person. Reason “restrains” (Line 54) self-love. The speaker argues that self-love motivates people to act, and reason provides necessary balance: “Attention, habit, and experience” (Line 79) strengthen the ability to reason. The speaker says that many “subtle schoolmen” (Line 81) teach that reason and self-love are divided against each other. The speaker sees this as a false understanding; they believe that reason and self-love ideally work together to achieve one purpose, the avoidance of pain and the achievement of pleasure. The desire for pleasure is complex, however; if it becomes too strong it can lead to evil.

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In section 3 (Line 93-202), the speaker argues that passion, a type of self-love, can be healthy if guarded by reason (Line 98). The passions should be embraced because they give purpose to life, while reason is a necessary tool to control them. “The balance of the mind” (Line 122) is maintained by following “nature’s road” (Line 117). If a person is ruled by a single passion their mind becomes “disease[d]” (Line 140). This is Nature’s way of inflicting harm for a passion that has overwhelmed reason. The inferior passions are removed from individuals, much like a doctor removing excess “humours” to cure “gout” (Lines 158-160).

The overruling passion is not meant to be completely removed. It should be curtailed by reason; then it becomes “more as friend than foe” (Line 164). The speaker says that people are driven by wealth, power, fame, and knowledge, but they are usually motivated most strongly by convenience. People become more virtuous as they learn how to discern “good from ill” (Line 175) and understand how passion is a component of human virtue. The speaker argues that human flaws are the seeds of virtue. Truth and humor can arise from stubbornness or fear, valor from rage, lust can give way to love , and jealousy can inspire one to imitate admirable traits in others.

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In Section 4 (Lines 203-216), the speaker uses the contrast between light and dark to represent vice and virtue. They say that every individual has both in equal parts.

Section 5 (Lines 217-230) discusses vice. Vice is as an ugly monster that people try to avoid seeing, but they must examine it to understand it. However, people should not see vice too often, because then they will gravitate toward it. Humans see vices in others, but typically refuse to see it in themselves. They claim that those with the worst vices are people who live far away from them.

In Section 6 (Lines 231-294), the speaker explores how vice and virtue are aspects of every individual nature. Most people are in between these qualities: Even the worst people exhibit virtue, and even the best are “by fits, what they despise” (Line 234). From the individual differences between people, God constructs a unity that serves the “joy, the peace, the glory of mankind” (Line 248). People depend on each other to serve a large purpose. Once their death becomes near, they accept it because they believe that they will achieve the state that they desired during life. Though people are foolish, “God is wise” (Line 294).

Analysis: Epistle 2

This epistle focuses on the individual nature of human beings and their psychology. The speaker uses imagery , anaphora , allusions, and amplification to explore the relationship between reason and passion and how they function to guide individual people.

The speaker uses the image of an isthmus, or a small strip of land bridging continents, to capture the middling condition of humans. According to the speaker, humans are gifted with more reason than animals but also have less reason than God; thus humans are stuck “between [...] god, or beast” (Lines 7- 8). Human pride can lead to the presumptuous view that humanity can access God’s perspective . The speaker illustrates the gap in understanding between humans and God in the first line: “Know then thyself, presume not God to scan” (Line 1). Humans cannot completely understand God and should turn their attention toward understanding themselves: This is within their abilities. Line 1 inverts the conventional order of words: Instead of writing the more expected “Presume not to scan God,” Pope inverts word order to emphasize God’s perspective as superior to that of humans and to write a perfectly rhymed couplet .

We see anaphora, or repetition of a phrase, in lines 5-6: “With too much knowledge for the sceptic side/with too much weakness for the stoic’s pride.” “With too much” emphasizes the excessive reason and emotionalism of humanity. In addition, the repetition of “first good, first perfect, and first fair” (Line 24) highlights the human belief of being the most important being in the universe. Humans make fools of themselves by believing this; there are limitations to what they can achieve.

The speaker uses circles to highlight humanity’s pointless pride. They describe the “mazy round” (Line 25), or the circles that Plato’s followers walked in as they contemplated philosophy, the priests from Eastern religions who in “giddy circles run” (27), mimicking the sun. The speaker is putting up a mirror to the absurdity of humans believing that they can understand the world like God.

The speaker uses astronomical imagery to evoke the idea of the heavens and create a mood of wonder. They believe that humans study astronomy to understand the universe, that understanding the solar system is different from creating or controlling it. The speaker repeats commands that increasingly point out humanity’s lack of power: “Go, measure the earth, weigh air, and state the tides/Instruct the planets [...] Correct old time, and regulate the sun” (Lines 20-22). The speaker uses amplification, where see an increasing intensity of statements: Each clause escalates the speaker’s instructions and ends on the most drastic one. This underscores the sardonic tone: It is not possible for a human to “regulate the sun.”

The speaker alludes to “Aaron’s serpent” (Line 132) to convey the idea of a single overruling passion consuming all else. “Aaron’s serpent” refers to the biblical story of Aaron, Moses’s brother from Exodus. The Pharoah asked for a miracle to prove God’s existence. Aaron threw a rod before the Pharoah of Egypt under God’s direction, and the rod became a serpent. The Pharoah then brought his magicians to study the event, and they were able to turn rods into serpents as well. The Pharoah declared that this meant that God did not exist. However, Aaron’s serpent ate all the serpents that the magicians had.

The speaker alludes to the serpent as dominating all the other serpents; this suggests how one passion can swallow up others if imbalanced. The speaker argues that passion unconstrained by reason acts similarly. They name historical rulers such as Nero, Titus, Catiline, Decius, and Curtius to show how ambition can be a vice or a virtue, depending on whether a person can control it.

The speaker contrasts light and dark to show that each human has both good and bad qualities. Humans should not seek to remove all their vices, as virtue and vice exist in equal parts. To eradicate one’s vices is to take white and black and “blend, soften, and unite” (Line 213) them so much that there is no longer any black or white left. In other words, there are no longer any virtues either.

To extend their religious theme, the speaker uses “beads and pray’r books” (Line 280) to show the comfort and delight that faith in an afterlife brings people. They compare this comfort to the “playthings” (Line 277) that entertain children. The speaker lists the “the learned [...] the fool [...] the rich [...] the poor” (Lines 263-266) to express the universality of their claims. They believe that every single person on earth, regardless of their differences, welcomes the comforting idea that after death, there is happiness still possible for humans.

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Pope's Poems and Prose

By alexander pope, pope's poems and prose summary and analysis of an essay on man: epistle ii.

The subtitle of the second epistle is “Of the Nature and State of Man, with Respect to Himself as an Individual” and treats on the relationship between the individual and God’s greater design.

Here is a section-by-section explanation of the second epistle:

Section I (1-52): Section I argues that man should not pry into God’s affairs but rather study himself, especially his nature, powers, limits, and frailties.

Section II (53-92): Section II shows that the two principles of man are self-love and reason. Self-love is the stronger of the two, but their ultimate goal is the same.

Section III (93-202): Section III describes the modes of self-love (i.e., the passions) and their function. Pope then describes the ruling passion and its potency. The ruling passion works to provide man with direction and defines man’s nature and virtue.

Section IV (203-16): Section IV indicates that virtue and vice are combined in man’s nature and that the two, while distinct, often mix.

Section V (217-30): Section V illustrates the evils of vice and explains how easily man is drawn to it.

Section VI (231-294): Section VI asserts that man’s passions and imperfections are simply designed to suit God’s purposes. The passions and imperfections are distributed to all individuals of each order of men in all societies. They guide man in every state and at every age of life.

The second epistle adds to the interpretive challenges presented in the first epistle. At its outset, Pope commands man to “Know then thyself,” an adage that misdescribes his argument (1). Although he actually intends for man to better understand his place in the universe, the classical meaning of “Know thyself” is that man should look inwards for truth rather than outwards. Having spent most of the first epistle describing man’s relationship to God as well as his fellow creatures, Pope’s true meaning of the phrase is clear. He then confuses the issue by endeavoring to convince man to avoid the presumptuousness of studying God’s creation through natural science. Science has given man the tools to better understand God’s creation, but its intoxicating power has caused man to imitate God. It seems that man must look outwards to gain any understanding of his divine purpose but avoid excessive analysis of what he sees. To do so would be to assume the role of God.

The second epistle abruptly turns to focus on the principles that guide human action. The rest of this section focuses largely on “self-love,” an eighteenth-century term for self-maintenance and fulfillment. It was common during Pope’s lifetime to view the passions as the force determining human action. Typically instinctual, the immediate object of the passions was seen as pleasure. According to Pope’s philosophy, each man has a “ruling passion” that subordinates the others. In contrast with the accepted eighteenth-century views of the passions, Pope’s doctrine of the “ruling passion” is quite original. It seems clear that with this idea, Pope tries to explain why certain individual behave in distinct ways, seemingly governed by a particular desire. He does not, however, make this explicit in the poem.

Pope’s discussion of the passions shows that “self-love” and “reason” are not opposing principles. Reason’s role, it seems, is to regulate human behavior while self-love originates it. In another sense, self-love and the passions dictate the short term while reason shapes the long term.

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The Rape of the Lock

In Canto I, a dream is sent to Belinda by Ariel, “her guardian Sylph” (20). The Sylphs are Belinda’s guardians because they understand her vanity and pride, having been coquettes when they were humans. They are devoted to any woman who “rejects...

Study Guide for Pope’s Poems and Prose

Pope's Poems and Prose study guide contains a biography of Alexander Pope, literature essays, quiz questions, major themes, characters, and a full summary and analysis.

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Pope's Poems and Prose essays are academic essays for citation. These papers were written primarily by students and provide critical analysis of Alexander Pope's Poems and Prose.

• Of the Characteristics of Pope
• Breaking Clod: Hierarchical Transformation in Pope's An Essay on Man
• Fortasse, Pope, Idcirco Nulla Tibi Umquam Nupsit (The Rape of the Lock)
• An Exploration of 'Dulness' In Pope's Dunciad
• Belinda: Wronged On Behalf of All Women

Wikipedia Entries for Pope’s Poems and Prose

• Introduction

An Essay On Man: Epistle Ii by Alexander Pope: poem analysis

• alexander-pope

This is an analysis of the poem An Essay On Man: Epistle Ii that begins with:

I. Know then thyself, presume not God to scan; ... full text

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Essay on Man 

Contents in the Article

Essay on Man 

Explanations of “Essay on Man”

Know then…………………is man..

In these lines from “Essay on Man” the poet Alexander Pope, advises man to confine his studies to himself and to his kind. Man should try first to know and understand himself. There are lots of things that need to be explored. He is a great riddle. Over the ages philosophers have tried to explicate his thought and behaviour but the work is still incomplete. So if man wants to study, he should study himself first. He shouldn’t venture to question the design of God. For man, he himself is the most proper subject of study.

Placed on this…………………….Stoic’s pride.

Reference -These lines occur in Essay on Man’ composed by Alexander Pope

Context – In these lines the poet makes an ironic comment on man as a social animal.

Explanation – About man’s position the poet says that he holds an intermediate place in the chain of being. He is sandwiched between the animal and heavenly worlds. He is ignorant but he calls himself wise. He is rude and insolent but claims to be great.

In fact it is very difficult to rank man. It is not that he is an utter fool but he is not wise even. He is placed somewhere between the two extremes. His knowledge in enough to disappoint scepties as they denied the possibility of knowledge. At the same time his weaknesses are too many to allow Stoics to take pride in him because they endured pain or hardship without complaint. Man thus defies definition

Notes : ‘Darkly wise; and ‘rudely great’ ar good examples of Oxymoron.

He hangs between………………..but to err.

Reference – This passage has been extracted from ‘Essay on Man’ composed by Alexander Pope.

Context – The poet is of the view that man occupies a middle state in God’s scheme of things. In these lines he holds his intermediate place responsible for his vacillating nature.

Explanation – The poet says than man is always in a state of dilemma. He cannot decide whether to act or to be inert. He doesn’t know whether he should consider himself a god or a beast. He is not certain whether he should be a spiritualist or a materialist. He is born only to die. He reasons out things only to make more mistakes.

Alike in ignorance………………….or disabused.

Reference – These lines have been taken from Essay on Man’ composed by Alexander Pope.

Context – The poet thinks that man is in a perpetual state of dilemma. Here, he is trying to diagnose man’s make-up. .

Explanation – The poet says that man’s mental faculties are such that he always remains ignorant whether he thinks too little or too much. Born with an inherent combination of thought and passion, he always remains confused. He first conceives false notions and then tries to get rid of them. This cycle of committing mistakes and correcting them goes on until he breathes his last.

Created half to rise………………..riddle of the world.

Reference – This passage has been taken from “Essay on Man” composed by Alexander Pope.

Context – In these lines the poet tries to sum up his views on man.

Explanation – The poet says that man a bundle of contradictions. He is gifted with noble and base elements in equal measure. He is both angelic and demoniac. He is master of all things yet a prey to each one of them. He is the victor and the victim both. He is the only creature that can distinguish right from wrong yet he goes on committing mistakes endlessly He is the pride as well as the butt of the world. He remains a riddle plausible explanation.

Go, wondrous creature!……….. and regulate the sun.

Reference to the Context- These lines have been taken from the poem “Essay on Man” composed by Alexander Pope. The poem has been extracted from “Epistle II- Man in himself” Which deals with the power of man. Here the poet highlights the glory of man.

Explanation – Man is the prized creation of God, who created him in his own image. That is to man is nearer to God in caliber and capability. The poet address man as a wondrous creature and exhorts him to take strides. Man should mount higher and higher with the help of science. He should use scientific knowledge and win laurels. He can and therefore he should measure the earth, weight air and fathom the depth of ocean. Man is endowed with godly power. He should, therefore establish his supremacy over nature and unearth secrets. Armed with his superior scientific knowledge he can instruct the stars is known to him. He should known the secret of nature and all about the sun. With such knowledge at his command, he will be able to adjust time everywhere. It is the glory of man. We take pride in the power of man, which all of us naturally must possess.

Go, soar with Plato to…………quitting sense call imitating God.

Reference to the Context- These lines have been taken from the poem “Essay on Man” composed by Alexander Pope. The poem contains philosophical ideas of the poet on the existence of man. Here the poet hints at the capability of man.

Explanation- The poet exhorts man to compete with the famous philosopher Plato who would not rest contented with down to earth ideas. Plato soar high in the heavenly regions with his thoughtful mind. He would also does the same as he has the samne mental ability? He thinks of the world in such a way as make it good, perfect and fair. Alternatively, man acts as the followers of Plato. The followers of Plato went on the complicated philosopher ways of thinking. They left the wordly common sense and imitated the ways of God. In their vanity they imagined themselves as the Lord of the universe and posed as God themselves. Today’s man also sometimes does the same. He imitates the ways of God. But he is not God. The lesson he must learn is that he is merely a link in the great chain of God’s impartial order.

As Eastern priests in………into thyself, and be a fool!

Reference to the Context- These lines have been taken from the poem “Essay on Man” composed by Alexander Pope. It is a philosopher poem wherein the poet his speculative thought about man.

Explanation – The poet suggests man to work like eastern priests. They seem to be overwhelmed by excitement a pleasure and go round the world imitating the ways of the sun. They like the sun scatter eight of wisdom and teach the society to adopt ethical and moral living. Many may also do the same. He may show his fellow beings the path to morality and good living. He should really do this. He should teach eternal wisdom to the society at large. He should teach people how to regulate life for self-good. But this is not all. Man should not think that this was the only work for which he was sent to earth. He has got another pious duty to perform. Which he owes to himself. After fulfilling his obligations to the society and people, he must turn inward and peep into his own self. He has finally to leave all outward duties and sit quietly alone like a fool. As if he has nothing to do with the world outside. He now takes an inward journey to known his own-self. That is to say he has to attain self-knowledge which is the ultimate good of life.

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Analysis of An Essay on Man: Epistle II

Alexander pope 1688 (london) – 1744 (twickenham).

I. Know then thyself, presume not God to scan; The proper study of mankind is man. Plac'd on this isthmus of a middle state, A being darkly wise, and rudely 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 reas'ning but to err; Alike in ignorance, his reason such, Whether he thinks too little, or too much: Chaos of thought and passion, all confus'd; Still by himself abus'd, or disabus'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, jest, and riddle of the world! Go, wondrous creature! mount where science guides, Go, measure earth, weigh air, and state the tides; Instruct the planets in what orbs to run, Correct old time, and regulate the sun; Go, soar with Plato to th' empyreal sphere, To the first good, first perfect, and first fair; Or tread the mazy round his follow'rs trod, And quitting sense call imitating God; As Eastern priests in giddy circles run, And turn their heads to imitate the sun. Go, teach Eternal Wisdom how to rule— Then drop into thyself, and be a fool! Superior beings, when of late they saw A mortal Man unfold all Nature's law, Admir'd such wisdom in an earthly shape, And showed a Newton as we shew an Ape. Could he, whose rules the rapid comet bind, Describe or fix one movement of his mind? Who saw its fires here rise, and there descend, Explain his own beginning, or his end? Alas what wonder! Man's superior part Uncheck'd may rise, and climb from art to art; But when his own great work is but begun, What Reason weaves, by Passion is undone. Trace science then, with modesty thy guide; First strip off all her equipage of pride; Deduct what is but vanity, or dress, Or learning's luxury, or idleness; Or tricks to show the stretch of human brain, Mere curious pleasure, or ingenious pain; Expunge the whole, or lop th' excrescent parts Of all our Vices have created Arts; Then see how little the remaining sum, Which serv'd the past, and must the times to come! II. Two principles in human nature reign; Self-love, to urge, and reason, to restrain; Nor this a good, nor that a bad we call, Each works its end, to move or govern all: And to their proper operation still, Ascribe all good; to their improper, ill. Self-love, the spring of motion, acts the soul; Reason's comparing balance rules the whole. Man, but for that, no action could attend, And but for this, were active to no end: Fix'd like a plant on his peculiar spot, To draw nutrition, propagate, and rot; Or, meteor-like, flame lawless through the void, Destroying others, by himself destroy'd. Most strength the moving principle requires; Active its task, it prompts, impels, inspires. Sedate and quiet the comparing lies, Form'd but to check, delib'rate, and advise. Self-love still stronger, as its objects nigh; Reason's at distance, and in prospect lie: That sees immediate good by present sense; Reason, the future and the consequence. Thicker than arguments, temptations throng, At best more watchful this, but that more strong. The action of the stronger to suspend, Reason still use, to reason still attend. Attention, habit and experience gains; Each strengthens reason, and self-love restrains. Let subtle schoolmen teach these friends to fight, More studious to divide than to unite, And grace and virtue, sense and reason split, With all the rash dexterity of wit: Wits, just like fools, at war about a name, Have full as oft no meaning, or the same. Self-love and reason to one end aspire, Pain their aversion, pleasure their desire; But greedy that its object would devour, This taste the honey, and not wound the flow'r: Pleasure, or wrong or rightly understood, Our greatest evil, or our greatest good. III. Modes of self-love the passions we may call: 'Tis real good, or seeming, moves them all: But since not every good we can divide, And reason bids us for our own provide; Passions, though selfish, if their means be fair, List under reason, and deserve her care; Those, that imparted, court a nobler aim, Exalt their kind, and take some virtue's name. In lazy apathy let Stoics boast

Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on May 03, 2023

Alexander Pope

Alexander Pope (1688-1744) is regarded as one of the greatest English poets, and the foremost poet of the early eighteenth century. He is best known for his satirical and discursive poetry, including The Rape of the Lock, The Dunciad, and An Essay on Criticism, as well as for his translation of Homer.  more…

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An Essay on Man: Epistle II

Pope, alexander (1688 - 1744).

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