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John Bartlett (1820–1905). Familiar Quotations, 10th ed. 1919.

3408 Alexander Pope 1688-1744 John Bartlett

 
NUMBER:3408
AUTHOR:Alexander Pope (1688–1744)
QUOTATION:Chaos of thought and passion, all confused;
Still by himself abused or disabused;
Created half to rise, and half to fall;
Great lord of all things, yet a prey to all;
Sole judge of truth, in endless error hurled,—
The glory, jest, and riddle of the world. 1
ATTRIBUTION:Essay on Man. Epistle ii. Line 13.
 
Note 1.
What a chimera, then, is man! what a novelty, what a monster, what a chaos, what a subject of contradiction, what a prodigy! A judge of all things, feeble worm of the earth, depositary of the truth, cloaca of uncertainty and error, the glory and the shame of the universe.—Blaise Pascal: Thoughts, chap. x. [back]