Every now and then I return to my home library for nourishment and inspiration. Among my favorite authors is Alexander Pope. His Essay On Man is extraordinary and deep with meaning. It is written in the Olde Style. I don't read the entire essay anymore, just some verses which I underlined years ago.
"Hope springs eternal in the human breast..."
"Two principles in human nature reign;
Self-love, to urge, and Reason, to restrain...."
"Extremes in nature equal ends produce,
In Man they join to some mysterious use...."
"All nature is Art, unknown to thee;
All Chance, Direction which thou canst not see;
All Discord, Harmony, not understood;
All partial Evil, universal Good...."
I found an old note scribbled on the bookmark which I used while reading Pope's essay years ago. It is the title of a book which I never read: The Mind of God by Paul Davies. Under the book title, there is a quote, perhaps a review comment, by Professor Steven Weinberg: "News that nature is governed by impersonal laws will percolate through society, making it increasingly difficult for people to take seriously astrology or creationism or other superstitions."
Isn't that what Pope wrote about in 1733-34? To eliminate human superstitions may require something more drastic than education. May I suggest the elimination of the human race to achieve it? Just kidding. On second thought....
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