“ Be man the wit and tyrant of the whole: Nature that tyrant checks ”
Alexander Pope, An Essay on Man (1734). copy citation
| Author | Alexander Pope |
|---|---|
| Source | An Essay on Man |
| Topic | wit checking |
| Date | 1734 |
| Language | English |
| Reference | |
| Note | |
| Weblink | http://www.gutenberg.org/files/2428/2428-h/2428-h.htm |
Context
“While man exclaims, "See all things for my use!" "See man for mine!" replies a pampered goose: And just as short of reason he must fall, Who thinks all made for one, not one for all. Grant that the powerful still the weak control; Be man the wit and tyrant of the whole: Nature that tyrant checks; he only knows, And helps, another creature's wants and woes. Say, will the falcon, stooping from above, Smit with her varying plumage, spare the dove? Admires the jay the insect's gilded wings? Or hears the hawk when Philomela sings?”
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