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derness, for the Inhabitants of Jupiter, &c.” This prefents him with a pleasant Idea, and he pursues it with his ufual Grace and Vivacity.

After this one would scarce think that in the very next Words he fhould confute himself, anfwer his own Objections, and vindicate the very Charity he had ridiculed. And yet this he now does, as much without Fear, as the other was without Wit. "I own (fays he) that a Soul devoted "to its Creator, and ftruck and raised with Admi"ration at the attentive View of his mere corpo"real Creation, would be ready to lend those Be❝ings his Voice and Sentiments, in order to join " with them in an Offering of Praise and Thanks"giving, to their common Creator, whofe Glory "they fo magnificently declare, tho' without any "Knowledge of the Truth which they proclaim. "Nay, I go farther, and fay, that a Soul fo fancti"fied, and at the fame time well affured, that "there are innumerable Choirs of happy In"telligences, who continually adore their Creator "in extatic Raptures, far furpaffing our Concep"tions, will congratulate with them on their Glory "and Felicity." Here we fee described, and to say the Truth, not ill, that very State of Mind which produced the Raptures of our admirable Poet:

Grafp the whole Worlds of Reason, Life, and Senfe,

In one close System of Benevolence.

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Happier, as kinder! in whate'er Degree, And height of Bliss but height of Charity. No, fays our Critic, who would ftill keep on foot the Cenfure he himself has overthrown; the Elevations I speak of, are not Elevations of Charity for thofe glorious Intelligences. We are the Objects of their Charity, not they of ours. Egregious Philofopher! By Charity, Mr. Pope not only means Benevolence, but exprefly calls it fo. And Benevolence furely may be as well exercised towards Superiors, as by them.

But he proceeds,-"This pretended chimerical "Affection can have no Foundation but in the "chimerical System of a Whole, of which we "make a Part, and, of which all the Parts with

Exception, are fo dependent on each other, that, "if any one only be difplaced, or never fo little "deviating from its proper Function, that Difor"der will affect the reft, and fpread itself over "the Whole: And, by confequence, extend to us, "who make an effential Part of that Whole. "Self-love therefore, interests itself in every thing "that exists and moves." Self-love was never fent on fuch an Errand, no not by Rochefocault or Ef prit, tho' they forced it to do all their Drudgery. Here, a Man who never yet once rightly understood what his Adversary did fay, will now pretend to guefs at his Reafons for faying. One might have foreseen with what Success. But fomething he

f Commentaire, p. 338.

has

has taught us, and that is, to reft content with the Poet's own Reasoning. His Argument then for this extended Benevolence, is, that as God has made a Whole, whofe Parts have a perfect Relation to, and an entire Dependency on each other, Man, in extending his Benevolence throughout that Whole, acts in Conformity to the Will of his Creator; and therefore, this Enlargement of his Affection becomes a Duty.

But the Poet hath not only fhewn his Piety in this Precept, but the utmost Art and Address likewife in the Difpofition of it. The Essay on Man, opens with expofing the Murmurings, and impious Conclufions of foolish Men against the present Conftitution of Things. As it proceeds, it occafionally detects all those false Principles and Opinions that led them to conclude thus perverfely. Having now done all that was neceffary in Speculation, the Poet turns to Practice; and ends his Effay with the Recommendation of an acknowledged Virtue, Charity, which, if exercised in the Extent that Conformity to the Will of God requires, would effectually prevent all Complaints against the present Order of Things: Such Complaints being made with a total Difregard to every thing, but their own private System; and seeking Remedy in the Disorder, and at the Expence of all the rest.

The Art and Contrivance, we see, is truly admirable. But Mr. De Croufaz purfues his own Ideas. For to know Mr. Pope's feems to have been his

leaft

leaft Concern throughout his whole Commentary. "This System [namely of a Whole] will carry us ແ to a great length. Miracles, which deviate from "the ordinary Course of Nature, must pass from "henceforward as idle Fable. [Obferve his reafon] "It was impoffible that any kind of thing "which has happened, fhould not have happened,

or not have happened in the Manner it hath " As to Mr. Pope's Fatalism, we have said enough of that Matter already. But now, if, for Difputation's Sake, we admit what, for Truth's Sake, we muft reject, according to my Notions of Logic this Conclufion would follow, that therefore Miracles could not but have been; not Mr. Croufaz's, that therefore they never could be. Miracles are proved, like other Matters of Fact, by human Testimony: If that fays, Iron at one time swam, at other times funk, and we fuppofe Things ordered fatally; these two Events were equally necessary: So that to make out his Conclufion, he must be forced to add downright Atheism to his Fate.

Mr. De Croufaz has now pufhed Matters to a decent Length. He has faid, the Poet's Extent of Charity was irrational,-the Syftem on which it was founded chimerical—that it ended in Fate- and overthrew all Miracles. One would imagine this fhould have fatisfied the most orthodox Refentment." But there wanted fomething to make a right polemical Climax. To crown

a Commentaire, p. 339.

N

the

the Whole, therefore, he tells us, that, "According “to the Poet, the Universe would not have "been a Work fufficiently worthy of God, had "there not been Atheists, Superftitious, Perfecu"tors, Tyrants, Idolaters, Affaffins, and Poifon"ers." What I can find in the Effay coming nearest to this, is, That thofe Mischiefs do not deform God's Creation, because the divine Art is inceffantly producing Good out of Evil: And that as this Univerfe is the best of all those in God's Idea, therefore, whatever is, is right, with respect to that Univerfe: Either as tending, in its own Nature, to the Perfection of it, or made fo to tend by infinite Wifdom, contrary to its Nature. The true Confequence drawn from all this, is, That an Universe with Atheists, Superftitious, &c. is fufficiently worthy of God. How that can infer this other, That the Universe would not have been a Work fufficiently worthy of God, had there not been Atheists, Superftitious, &c. I leave Mr. De Croufaz to draw out by his own Logic, or, which feems the more ductile of the two, his own Conscience.

The Poet's Address to his Friend, which follows, and clofes this Epiftle, comes not within the Defign of thefe Obfervations; which are only to explain the Philofophy and Reasoning of the Effay on Man. Otherwife, this fingle Apoftrophe would furnish a Critic with Examples of every one of thofe five Species of Elocution, from which, as

b Commentaire, p. 340.

from

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