Simple poem(شعر ساده)

Summary and analysis

An essay on man

Alexander Pope

Know then thyself, presume not God to scan
The proper study of mankind is man.
Placed on this isthmus of a middle state,
A being darkly wise, and rudely great:
With too much knowledge for the sceptic side,
With too much weakness for the stoic's pride,
He hangs between; in doubt to act, or rest;
In doubt to deem himself a God, or beast;
In doubt his mind and body to prefer;
Born but to die, and reas'ning but to err;
Alike in ignorance, his reason such,
Whether he thinks to little, or too much;
Chaos of thought and passion, all confus'd;
Still by himself, abus'd or disabus'd;
Created half to rise and half to fall;
Great lord of all things, yet a prey to all,
Sole judge of truth, in endless error hurl'd;
The glory, jest and riddle of the world.

Pope's summary of the Epistle II is as follows. ARGUMENT OF EPISTLE II/Of the Nature and State of Man with respect to Himself as an Individual.
I. The business of man not to pry into God, but to study himself. His Middle Nature; his Powers and Frailties, ver. 1 to 18. The limits of his capacity, ver. 19 etc.
II. The two principles of man, self-love and reason, both necessary, ver. 53 etc. Self-love the stronger, and why, ver. 67 ff. Their end the same, ver. 81 ff.

One of Pope's phrases, still strikingly fresh 250 years after his death, is helpful here:

Know then thyself, presume not God to scan,
The proper study of mankind is man. [1]

These lines illustrate a radical change in our perspective today. Instead of wondering what "out there" causes us to sin, we now question what it is about ourselves that sets us on the wrong path. That is, to understand sin, we should study humanity and not the supernatural. One implication of this change is that

There are at least two ways ahead:

1.     Grow up: It is childish to seek partial absolution by blaming an external tempter. After all, the good news is that Jesus gives us freedom from "the ruling spirits of the universe" [2]. We alone, not a hypothetical Satan, decide to do right or wrong.

2.     Know ourselves: It is now possible to be keenly aware of the parental and social forces which make us who we are. The dynamics of the "shoulds" which provide us with an awareness of sin are there for the understanding. 

Many effective ways exist of resisting "Satan and all his works" - or, to put it differently, of knowing our weak points and guarding against them. Sadly, traditional Christian teaching displays few of them. 

Nevertheless, Lent can become a time when you and I can venture into the sometimes scary business of self-knowledge. Pope's "proper study of mankind" is the key to metaphorically crushing Satan under our feet [3].