An Essay on Man

To Alexander Pope, understanding why evil and disorder exist is not important. Pope believes that how the universe works is beyond men’s ability to understand, and those who believe that all things are created for the sake of men and attempt to interpret what they cannot understand are merely driven by pride: “Pride still is aiming at the blest abodes, / Men would be Angels, Angels would be Gods. / Aspiring to be Gods, if Angels fell, / Aspiring to be Angels, Men rebel: / And who but wishes to invert the laws / Of ORDER, sins against the Eternal Cause” (Pope lns. 125-130). As Pope “moves among voices and viewpoints, he comes to the conclusion that although we cannot see it, the universe works according to a design that is good” (Simon 89): “All Nature is but Art, unknown to thee; / All Chance, Direction, which thou canst not see; / All Discord, Harmony not understood; / All partial Evil, universal Good” (Pope 289-92). Thus, Pope suggests that we cast all doubt and submit to the Providence, for men are just a part of the universal system which they are not able to fully understand.

Pope was very wise in composing his argument from different perspectives, for it supports his idea of that men are not superior to other beings which is, to Pope, essential to accepting (but not understanding) the existence of evil and disorder. His argument is persuasive but not believable in my opinion. In the beliefs of Buddhism and Daoism, evil is imposed on a person for what she/he has done wrong in the past or the previous life. Thus, evil can be stopped if one is willing to let go of grudges and hatred. Pope’s approach to the existence of evil is passive. He encourages people to accept the existence of evil because it is beyond men’s ability to understand. However, he does offer a way to minimize the possibility of evil in men by insisting that men should never allow their pride to take control.

Works Cited

Pope, Alexander. An Essay on Man. 1650 to the Present. Ed. Peter Simon. 3rd ed. New York: W.W. Norton & Company, 2013. 90-97. Print. Vol. 2 of The Norton Anthology of World Literature, Martin Puchner, gen. ed. 2 vols.

Simon, Peter, ed. 1650 to the Present. 3rd ed. New York: W.W. Norton & Company, 2013. Print. Vol. 2 of The Norton Anthology of World Literature, Martin Puchner, gen. ed. 2 vols.