Evening star., 1928-02-22
THIS AND THAT
BY CHARLES f. TRACEWELL.
Will cure the arrantest puppy Of his
L.


pride"
Imagine poet today beginning line
with the conversational, colloquial
say!
1t was because Pope dared to be thus
natural that he was great. 1t Is curious
to see how he antedated modern ad-
vcrtising. too. in his lines beginning
with the command know" Just as
in our modern magazines eight out of
ten Of the ads end with command
slogan" such as buy one today" or
some admonition. SO Alexander Pope
commended his thoughts to his readers
with the calm statement, Know that
so and so Is true" Listen to me, he
seems to say. know what / am talk
ing about. or at least I think / do.
There was in his verse no timid ad-
vancing of thoughts He never used
such phrases as lit is believed" or ''it
Is understood"
With Pope thing was either true
or untrue. as he saw it. to the best of
his knowledge and belief.
y u 4 x
"'Tis the first virtue, vices to abhor::
And the first wisdom, to be fool no
more.
But to the world no bugbear is so great
AS want OF figure and great estate
The age-old struggle Of the human
spirit with worldly desires Is here ad-
mirably summed up in four short lines
Pope said it, once and for all. He
speaks of the tolls and tribulations of
merchants, burning through the tropics.
freezing at the pole, in order to make
money, and asks:
wilt thou do nothing for a nobler end
Nothing to make philosophy thy friend?
To stop thy foolish views. thy long
desires.
And ease the heart Of all that it adj
mires?"
In two more couplets he states life's
perpetual conflict again-all one has
to do is to substitute the name OF his
own city for that of London:
Here. wisdom calls: Seek virtue first,
be bold!
As gold to silver. virtue is to gold"
There. London's voice: Get money.
money still!
And then let virtue follow. If she will ;"
Yet every child is taught to sing.
"Virtue. brave boys. It's virtue makes
a King" He is armed without who Is
innocent within. So Proverbs: The
guilty flee when no man pursueth, but
the righteous are bold as a lion"
Pope had no large opinion Of the
common people:
We'll, if a Kings lion. at the least
The people are a many-headed beast:
Can they direct what measures to pur-
sue.
Who know themselves so little what to
Go?"
He points to the abuse of usury. to
the aping of the rich by the poor. and
to the mania for change. probably little
different then from now.
He says that his friends call his at
tention TO his carriage, II he stands
incorrectly, and reprove him for drop
ping snuff on his sleeve. but that no
one says a word to him II his mind is
incohercnt, or If his very life is an ebb
and flow OF follies.
II he jumps from one plan TO an
other. first to round. and then 10 square.
not a muscle Of face moves. His
friends hang their lip to see a seam
awry. but judge his mental yacillat!on
common state OF humanity
Careless how Ill I with myself agree.
Kind to my dress, my figure. not to me!"
Thus our poet. great in his littleness,
gets back TO his basic idea. that OF his
mastery OF himself, that Of the control
of his own soul.
He longed to be that man divine
whom wisdom calls her own" the think
ing human being the dream of count
less men OF all ages, so great yet so
pitiful in achievement, SO grand yet so
futile In endeaVor.