CHORAL OVERTURE from “Essay on Man”

All Nature is but Art, unknown to thee;

All chance, Direction, which thou canst not see;

All Discord, Harmony, not understood;

All partial Evil, Universal Good;

And, spite of Pride, in erring Reason's spite,

One Hope is clear, 'whatever is, is right.'

Know then thyself, presume not God to scan;

The proper study of Mankind is Man.

Plac'd  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 or Body to prefer,

Born but to die, and reas'ning but to err;

Alike in ignorance, his reason such,

Whether he thinks too 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, and yet a prey to all;

Sole judge of Truth, in endless Error hurl'd:

The glory, jest, and riddle of the world!