Distress in ourselves, Mr. Pope defires to be taught to feel another's Woe, and then not unlike that Paffage in the Lord's Prayer, which renders it impoffible to be offer'd by the Mercilefs without praying for their own Condemnation: Forgive us our Trefpaffes, as we forgive them that trefpafs against us. Mr. Pope calls out for Mercy, and only fuch Mercy as he fhows to others. This is an apparent Proof, that notwithftanding in the wrangling Way of Wit he might feem to refent Things for a great while, either that he thought he was doing Good as a Reformer, or vindicating the Rights and Liberties of Mankind, as a free-born Man and a Philofopher; that in the last Refult of his Idea all Offences were the Subjects of Mercy, and fuch Mercy as in this folemn Manner he has afk'd of Heaven: Mean tho' I am, not wholly fo, The only Confideration that could divert him from the Thoughts of his own Littleness, was, not that he was a rational Creature endow'd with noble Faculties, that he was Lord of himself and had a Freedom in his own Will, could begin Motion, and fet forth Matter in numberlefs Forms of his own Defign, by the Power of Mechanism; nor that he was to take a Place among immortal Beings, tho' these Things might all have been mention'd without Pre-fumption and with Thankfulness: No, he rather chufes to value himfelf wholly upon the Power that quicken'd him, and which he defires ftill to lead him thro' Life this Day, if I am allotted to live thro' this Day, but if my Days are all number'd, then thre the the Death of this Day; that is, he defires whether Life or Death, or whatever elfe may happen, that Providence will always be his Guide, and thro' all Difficulties and Difafters his Creator will ftill be his Support. This Day, be Bread and Peace my Lot; Thou knowft if best bestow'd, or not; Here again he gives into the Lord's Prayer, Give us this Day our daily Bread; and afterwards, Thy Will be done. But except Bread be afks nothing but Peace; he does not ask for Power, for Riches, for Length of Days, or even Wifdom, much lefs Revenge, 'tis PEACE alone; for what are all earthly Things, Mitres, Coronets, and Crowns, if Peace be wanting? And if Peace be not wanting, then I afk again, what are all earthly Things, Mitres, and Coronets, and Crowns? God only knows, whether thofe Things are beft beftow'd on us or no; but he has declar'd, that without Peace ye cannot be in the right Path, for his Ways are Ways of Pleasantness, and all his Paths are Peace; true Peace, not an unreal and falfe Peace, only fuch in Appearance, but a Peace that furpaffeth all Underftanding; that is, what is inconceivable by a finite and human Mind, how there fhould be fuch a Peace, or what it is that causes fuch a calm and home-felt Pleasure in the Soul, 'till they acknowledge it to be the Peace of God, and the Effect of his infinite Goodness and Power, which are not to be comprehended even by the Angels: For who fhall fathom Infinity? Το To thee, whofe Temple is all Space, It fignifies nothing where we pay our Adoration, feeing his Temple and his Altar are every where, not confin'd to Mecca, to Jerufalem, or Rome; and continual Praifes are his. For tho' Man were to be mute, and should deny with his Tongue; his very -Being, as all other Beings do, would práife him; his Works praise him and proclaim him great. This is what David intends, when he calls out upon. Things inanimate, the Stars, the Sea, the Earth, the Hills, to praise the Lord. This is the great Chorus of Nature, and the continual Incense arifing from the Order and Difpofition of the Universe, and the various animated and intelligent Beings exifting; of whom, perhaps, but very few are known to us. The Thought of worfhipping without Church or Altar, form'd by Men, is very noble; for what is more ridiculous than to fuppofe, that the Deity cannot be rightly ador'd, prais'd, or pray'd to, without Man prepare the Place, and adjust the Ceremony? It is obfervable, that Mr. Pope is fo fenfible of the continual Praise arifing from the Creation, that he calls out upon all Being, and all the Incenfe of Nature, bidding it to rife, at the fame Time that he knew it was continually rifing. So the Pfalmift, tho' he knew the Works of the Creation were praising the Lord, fays, (naming many of them) Praise ye the Lord. - This Prayer is the first of the Kind, which (as I believe) was ever made by any Profeffor of the Romish Church: But Mr. Pope must be judg'd very gently here, for, more efpecially in his latter Time, he he was exceeding moderate; and never a flaming Zealot. This Prayer breathes nothing but Humility, Charity, and Peace, and is without any Pomp in the Phrafe, (which here was purposely avoided) very excellent, and worthy much Confideration and Áttention. After thefe Things Mr. Pope gave Rest to his Pen, being able to write little, by Reafon of the Weaknefs of his Eyes, and other bodily Infirmities; and finding his Strength entirely give Way, he began to think that his Days, which had been prolong'd paft his Expectation, were drawing to a Conclufion: However, he was carry'd to the HotWell at Bristol, (having been us'd before moftly to go to Bath) where fometimes there were fmall Hopes of his Recovery; he feem'd at first to receive a little Benefit by the Air, and the Prospect, (which he oftentimes faid was the fineft he ever faw), delighted him; but making too free with Purges, he grew worfe again, and feem'd defirous to draw nearer Home, which by Degrees he did, and on the 12th Day of December in the Year of our Lord, 1743, ftill declining, and wholly refign'd to Death, made his Will in Manner and Form as follows: I N THE NAME OF GOD, AMEN. 1 Alexander Pope, of Twickenham, in the County of Middlefex, make this my laft Will and Teftament. I refign my Soul to its Creator, in all humble Hopes of its future Happiness, as in the Dispofal of a Being infinitely good. As to my Body, my Will is, That it be buried near the Monument of my dear Parents at Twickenham, with the Addition, after the Words filius fecit-of these only, Et fibi: Qui abiit Anno 17. tatis and that it be carry'd carry'd to the Grave by fix of the pooreft Men of the Parish, to each of whom I order a Suit of grey coarse Cloth, as Mourning. If I happen to die at any inconvenient Distance, let the fame be done in any other Parish, and the Inscription be added on the Monument at Twickenham. I hereby make and appoint my particular Friends, Allen Lord Bathurst, Hugh Earl of Marchmont, the Honourable William Murray, his Majefty's Solicitor General, and George Arbuthnot, of the Court of Exchequer, Efq; the Survivors or Survivor of them, Executors of this my laft Will and Teftament. But all the Manuscript and unprinted Papers which I shall leave at my Deceafe, I defire may be deliver'd to my noble Friend, Henry St. John, Lord Bolingbroke, to whofe fole Care and Judgment I commit them, either to be preferv'd or deftroy'd; or, in Cafe he fhall not furvive me, to the abovefaid Earl of Marchmont. Thefe, who in the Course of my Life have done me all other good Offices, will not refuse me this last after my Death: I leave them therefore this Trouble, as a Mark of my Truft and Friendship; only defiring them each to accept of fome fmall Memorial of me: That my Lord Bolingbroke will add to his Library all the Volumes of my Works and Tranflations of Homer, bound in red Morocco, and the Eleven Volumes of thofe of Erafmus: That my Lord Marchmont will take the large Paper Edition of Thuanus by Buckley, or that Portrait of Lord Bolingbroke by Richardson; which he fhall prefer: That my Lord Bathurst will find a Place for the three Statues of the Hercules of Furnese, the Venus of Medicis, and the Apollo in Chiaro obfcuro, done by Kneller: That Mr. Murray will accept of the Marble Head of Homer by Bernini, and of Sir Ifaac Newton by Guelfi; and that Mr. Arbuthnot will take the |
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