Good M-m-t's fate tore P-th' from thy side,

2

And thy last sigh was heard, when W-m' died.
-s, thy Ses bought with gold,

3

Thy nobles Sls, thy Se

Thy clergy perjur'd, thy whole people sold.

Blotch thee all o'er, and sink . .

Alas! on one' alone our all relies,

Let him be honest, and he must be wise;
Let him no trifler from his

school,

Nor like his . . . . . . still a
still a . . . .
Be but a man! unminister'd, alone,

And free at once the senate and the throne;
Esteem the public love his best supply,
A's true glory his integrity;
Rich with his . . . . in his . . . . strong,
Affect no conquest, but endure no wrong."

friends, and Lord Chesterfield particularly, who wrote a most amiable character of him, affected to be unable to account for his suicide; but it seems from this hint of Pope's that the act was committed under the influence of despondency rising out of some scandalous imputation against him.-CROKER.

1 Alexander, Earl of Marchmont, died February, 1740, when Lord Polwarth of course had to vacate his seat in the House of Commons.

2 Wyndham.-Bowles. Compare the verses on his Grotto: "When British sighs from dying Wyndham stole."

80

85

90

5 Note the ambiguity of leaving it in doubt whether this young Marcellus is to be a native or a foreigner, a Papist or a Protestant, and recollect that this was four years before the "45."-CROKER.

6 Bowles suggests:

Let him no trifler from his father's school,
Nor like his father's father, still a fool-
Be but a man!

7 King's. -BowLES.

8 Probably the lines were intended

to run

Rich with his Britain, in his Britain strong,

Affect no conquest, &c.

The allusion in that case would be to George II.'s preference for Hanover. The patriot King would "affect no conquest" on the Continent, but he would "endure no wrong" from Spain. He would be rich enough with Britain, and strong in her love.

Whatever his religion or his blood,'
His public virtue makes his title good.
Europe's just balance and our own may stand,
And one man's honesty redeem the land.

He probably means Frederick, Prince of Wales, who took a decided. part with the malcontents against Walpole's administration.-BOWLES.

Bowles first thought this related to Frederick, Prince of Wales. He subsequently thought they alluded to the

95

Pretender, and he filled up the blanks very plausibly. It is evident that he meant an heir apparent, and "whatever his religion or his blood," would equally suit either the heir de facto or de jure.-CROKER.

APPENDICES.

APPENDIX. I.

[Reprinted from Dodsley and Cooper's edition of 1743.]

THAT for this knowledge it is not sufficient to consider man in the abstract: books will not serve the purpose, nor yet our own observation, singly, V. 1. General maxims, unles they be formed upon both, will be but notional, 10. Some peculiarity in every man, characteristic to himself, yet varying from himself, 15; the further difficulty of separating and fixing this, arising from our own passions, fancies, faculties, &c., 23. The shortness of life, to observe in, and the uncertainty of the principles of action in men, to observe by, 29. Our own principle of action often hid from ourselves, 41. No judging of the motives from the actions; the same actions proceeding from contrary motives, and the same motives influencing contrary actions, 51 to 70. Yet to form charact rs we can only take the strongest actions of a man's life, and try to make them agree: the utter uncertainty of this, from nature itself, and from policy, 71. Characters given according to the rank of men in the world, and some reason for it, 87. Education alters the nature, or at least character of many, 101. Some few characters plain, but in general confounded, dissembled, or inconsistent, 122. The same man utterly different in different places and seasons, 130. Unimaginable weakness in the greatest, 140. Nothing constant and certain but God and Nature. Of men we cannot judge, by his nature, his actions, his passions, his opinions, his manners, humours, or principles, all subject to change, 160, &c. It only remains to find (if we can) his ruling passion: that will certainly influence all the rest, and only can reconcile the seeming or real inconsistency of his actions, 176. Instanced in the extraordinary character of Clodio, 181. A caution against mistaking second qualities for first, which will destroy all possibility of the knowledge of mankind, 212. Examples of the strength of the ruling passion, and its continuation to the last breath, 224, &c.