The latent tracts, the giddy heights, explore
Of all who blindly creep, or sightless foar ;
Eye Nature's walks, shoot Folly as it flies,
And catch the manners living as they rife;
Laugh where we must, be candid where we can;
But vindicate the ways of God to Man.
1. 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 thro' 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 connexions, nice dependencies,