"a critical age called for symmetry, and exquisite finish had to be studied as much as nobility of thought.… pope aimed to take first place as a writer of polished verse. any knowledge he gained of the world, or any suggestion that came to him from his intercourse with society, was utilized to accomplish his main purpose. to put his thoughts into choice language was not enough. each idea had to be put in its neatest and most epigrammatic form."

why did i write? what sin to me unknown

dipt me in ink, my parents', or my own?

as yet a child, nor yet a fool to fame,

i lisped in numbers, for the numbers came.

the muse but served to ease some friend, not wife,

to help me through this long disease, my life.

******

who shames a scribbler? break one cobweb through,

he spins the slight, self-pleasing thread anew;

destroy his fib or sophistry in vain,

the creature's at his foolish work again,

throned in the centre of his thin designs,

proud of a vast extent of flimsy lines!

alexander pope.—epistle to dr. arbuthnot.