Alexander Pope

    Alexander Pope seems like a philosopher to me. In his essays he chose to quote the wisest of English poets to make a strong clear point. The Epigrams and “An Essay on Man” have one thing in common: man’s reason and knowledge.

In his Epigrams, Pope talks about reason and knowledge. He compares learning to water and says to take a sip is deadly, but if you drink mouthfuls at a time, it sobers the toxic in our minds. He also says that words are like leaves that bury the fruit of sense beneath it when in abundance. Pope even says that writing comes from art not chance and to avoid extremes. So far, I like his epigrams.

In “An Essay on Man”, Pope explores the nature of man. He basically says that man hangs between the skeptic side and the stoic pride for he has the too much knowledge for a skeptic and too much weakness for a stoic. Pope also says man has doubt to act, rest, deem himself a god or beast, and in mind or body to prefer. He even says man has thoughts and feelings as an endless cycle. Or at least that’s what I can draw from it.