Help me analyze this verse by Alexander Pope?

help me analyze this verse by Alexander Pope:





FROM THE ESSAY OF MAN:





1. Hope springs eternal in the human breast:


Man never is but always to be blest.


Epistle 11. 95-96





2. Vice is a monster of so frightful mien,


As to be hated needs but to be seen;


Yet seen too oft, familiar with her face,


We first endure, then pity, then embrace.


Ibid., 11. 217-220





3. Honor and shame no condition rise;


Act well your part, there all the honor lies.


Epistle IV, 11. 193-194


4. A wit's a feather, and a chief a rod;


An honest man is the noblest work of God.


Ibid. 11. 247-248

Help me analyze this verse by Alexander Pope?
Having never actually studied Pope, I'll give it a shot.





1. First line should be obvious. Second line: There isn't a man in existence who doesn't assume that God would approve of his undertakings. i.e. - Everyone thinks their own goals and motives are admirable.





2. Everyone knows what vice is and condemns the people who engage in it. They know it when they see it. But the more familiar they are with it, the better they understand it, and begin to sympathize with its practitioners, until they find themselves doing it. This could be interpreted two ways: either exposure corrupts them, or by getting to know the people involved, they come to realize that the situations are not as wicked as "virtuous" people believe they are.





3. A "good name" is not something you own. Public honor and shame have to do with appearances, not reality. They don't actually improve or degrade any situation. The important thing is to do what you think best, and "honor" will take care of itself.





4. Intelligence and authority count for much less than honesty.





Hope this doesn't mislead you.
Reply:Translation: They were drunk and spit out words that mean nothing.
Reply:snoozefest