An Essay on Man 6/30/13

In An Essay on Man, Alexander Pope discusses his reasoning behind the negative things happening in the world and in nature, in regards to Man and Heaven. He argues that Nature, if left to its own devices, would be a positive influence on Man. The reason that bad things happen, as far as disasters and catastrophes are concerned, is because humans do bad things and Nature reflects this. God and Heaven are inherently good and wish to extend their positive qualities to the world, but because humans are not always capable of being good, God allows Nature to also cause negative influences back on man to create a balance between the two. This balance is illustrated in the lines “The general ORDER, since the whole began, / Is kept in Nature, and is kept in Man” (Pope 171-172). He does not clearly clarify whether or not Nature would remain positive if Man was able to always do the same, yet it is implied.

This argument attempts to answer one of the great mysteries that most religions strive to answer. The question of “Why do bad things happen to good people?” is asked often by those who are questioning religion or the will of God. In a religious context, Pope's argument is a believable one. The idea that all of mankind is punished for the actions that all of mankind perform is realistic and may have settled the minds of people who were beginning to question religion in light of all of the scientific advancements that were being made during Pope's time. For someone who had already renounced Christianity, however, the argument appears weak. It is as easy to simply say that Nature runs on her own schedule and that things happen because they do rather than attempt to balance these natural disasters with mankind's own negative actions.

Works Cited

Pope, Alexander. "An Essay on Man." The Norton Anthology of World Literature. Ed. Martin Puchner. Shorter 3rd ed. Vol. 2. New York: Norton, 2013. 90-97. Print.