Original: The locus classicus of the 18th-century portrayal of the American Indian are the famous lines from Alexander Pope's "Essay on Man" (1734): Lo, the poor Indian!
Simplified: The locus classicus of the eighteenth century portrayal of the American Indian is that of Alexander Pope, unquestionably the most famous and widely-translated poet of his day. In his philosophical poem, "Essay on Man" (1734), Pope wrote: Lo, the poor Indian!