I. Say first, of God above, or Man below,
What can we reason, but from what we know?
Of Man, what see we but his station here,
From which to reason, or to which refer?
Thro' worlds unnumber'd tho' the God be known,
'Tis ours to trace him only in our own.
He, who through vast immensity can pierce,
See worlds on worlds compose one universe,
Observe how system into system runs,
What other planets circle other suns,
What vary'd Being peoples every star,
May tell why Heav'n has made us as we are.
But of this frame, the bearings and the ties,
The strong connections, nice dependencies,
Gradations just, has thy pervading soul
Look'd thro'? or can a part contain the whole?
Is the great chain, that draws all to agree, And drawn supports, upheld by God, or thee?
Tous ces globes semés par ses mains immortelles, Tous ces soleils nouveaux, ces planètes nouvelles, Ce vaste enchaînement de systèmes divers,
Ces peuples inconnus qui roulent dans les airs,
Et tous ces grands ressorts qui, par des lois fécond
Forment un monde seul de la foule des mondes.
Lui seul, homme orgueilleux! lui seul connaît
Ton maître souverain dispose ainsi de toi.
Mais toi, pour décider si l'Homme est à sa place,
Ton œil mesure-t-il ce que Dieu seul embrasse?
As-tu de l'univers établi les rapports,
Les vastes fondements et les justes accords,
Cette gradation de toute la nature?
Membre de ce grand corps en es-tu la mesure ?
La chaîne qui joint tout, par qui tout se soutient,
Est-ce toi, vil mortel, ou ton Dieu qui la tient?
II. Presumptuous Man! the reason would'st thou find,
Why form'd so weak, so little, and so blind?
First, if thou canst, the harder reason guess,
Why form'd no weaker, blinder, and no less?
Ask of thy mother Earth, why oaks are made
Taller or stronger than the weeds they shade!
Or ask of yonder argent fields above,
Why Jove's Satellites are less than JOVE?
Of Systems possible, if 'tis confest
That Wisdom infinite must form the best,
Where all must full or not coherent be,
And all that rises, rise in due degree;
Then, in the scale of reas'ning life, 'tis plain,
There must be, somewhere, such a rank as Man :
And all the question (wrangle e'er so long)
Is only this, if God has plac'd him wrong?
Respecting Man, whatever wrong we call,
May, must be right, as relative to all.
In human works, tho labour'd on with pain,
A thousand movements scarce one purpose gain;
In God's, one single can its end produce;
Yet serves to second to some other use.
Grand Dieu! si ta sagesse, en formant ton ouvrage dû de tous les plans préférer le plus sage, 1, suivant un progrès avec art établi, our que tout soit lié tout doit être rempli; Homme, dans les degrés de la classe qui pense, e ce plan gradué doit être une nuance. nsi, quoi que prétende un orgueil insensé, out se borne à ces mots : l'Homme est-il bien placé ans nos faibles travaux, que tant d'efforts polissent our produire un effet cent mouvements s'unissent; ais dans ceux du Très-Haut un seul remplit sa fin, t concourt à la fois pour un autre dessein. insi l'Homme ici bas pour lui seul semble naître ; ais pour un autre monde il travaille peut-être ; tourne quelque roue, il meut quelques ressorts; vant de te juger connais donc tes rapports.
So Man, who here seems principal alone,
Perhaps acts second to some sphere unknown, Touches some wheel, or verges to some goal; 'Tis but a part we see, and not a whole.
When the proud steed shall know why man restrains
His fiery course, or drives him o'er the plains;
When the dull Ox, why now he breaks the clod,
Is now a victim, and now Egypt's God:
Then shall Man's pride and dulness comprehend
His actions's, passions's, beings's, use and end;
Why doing, suff'ring, check'd, impell'd; and why
This hour a slave, the next a deity.
Then say not Man's imperfect, Heav'n in fault;
Say rather, Man's as perfect as he ought:
His knowledge measur❜d to his state and place;
His time a moment, and a point his space.
If to be perfect in a certain sphere,
What matter, soon or late, or here or there?
The blest to day is as completely so,
As who began a thousand years ago.
III. Heav'n from all creatures hides the book of Fate,
All but the page prescrib'd, their present state :
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