acquaintance, nor ungrateful for the advantages which he might have
derived from it. A small selection from the Italians, who wrote in
Latin, had been published at London, about the latter end of the
last century, by a man who concealed his name, but whom his preface
shows to have been qualified for his undertaking. This collection
Pope amplified by more than half, and (1740) published it in two
volumes, but injuriously omitted his predecessor's preface. To
these books, which had nothing but the mere text, no regard was
paid; the authors were still neglected, and the editor was neither
praised nor censured. He did not sink into idleness; he had planned
a work, which he considered as subsequent to his "Essay on Man," of
which he has given this account to Dr. Swift:-


"March 25, 1736.

"If ever I write any more Epistles in verse, one of them shall be
addressed to you. I have long concerted it and begun it; but I
would make what bears your name as finished as my last work ought to
be, that is to say, more finished than any of the rest. The subject
is large, and will divide into four Epistles, which naturally follow
the 'Essay on Man,' viz: 1. Of the Extent and Limits of Human
Reason and Science. 2. A view of the useful and therefore
attainable, and of the unuseful and therefore unattainable Arts. 3.
Of the Nature, Ends, Application, and Use, of different Capacities.
4. Of the Use of Learning, of the Science, of the World, and of Wit.
It will conclude with a satire against the misapplication of all
these, exemplified by Pictures, Characters, and Examples."