An Essay on Man

In Section 1 (Lines 1-52), the speaker argues that humanity should try to understand itself before trying to understand God. They describe people as stuck between many contradictory impulses: The ability to reason and the ability to feel, the desire to act and the desire to contemplate. The “chaos of thought and passion” (Line 13) empowers humans to be masters over nature, but people are still weak compared to nature’s power. People can understand the movements of the comets but cannot control their own passions: “What Reason weaves, by Passion is undone” (Line 42). Because human reason is fallible, it is important to regard the products of rationality with a healthy skepticism and do away with reason that has been corrupted by pride, vanity, or “curious pleasure” (Line 48).

Section 2 (Lines 53-92) explores the speaker’s idea of self-love and reason as two opposing forces that coexist in the psyche of every person. Reason “restrains” (Line 54) self-love. The speaker argues that self-love motivates people to act, and reason provides necessary balance: “Attention, habit, and experience” (Line 79) strengthen the ability to reason. The speaker says that many “subtle schoolmen” (Line 81) teach that reason and self-love are divided against each other.