An Essay on Man

The first section (Lines 1-28) discusses happiness and the many contradictory ideas that people harbor. The speaker says that both “the fool and the wise” (Line 6) hold incorrect views about what happiness is. Happiness is elusive, difficult to define. It is “nowhere to be found, and everywhere” (Line 16). However, happiness is not about wealth or power: The speaker writes that it cannot be purchased and is “always free” (Line 17). They say that some people find happiness in bliss, others in rest, but that no one has found a general definition of happiness that works for all.

Section 2 (Lines 29-76) proposes that happiness is what all people seek, and that God has made it accessible to all—“all states can reach it, and all heads conceive” (Line 30). The search for happiness is not about one individual’s joy, but the happiness of everyone. The speaker says that God works by “general laws” (Line 36): Happiness is based on social love as well as self-love. No one can live as a “caverned hermit” (Line 42) and be happy; individual happiness is dependent on the happiness of everyone else. Though people have different amounts of wealth or intelligence, their ability to feel happiness is equal—“all are equal in their happiness” (Line 54).