An Essay on Man, authored by Alexander Pop, is one of the most conspicuous pieces of

philosophical poetry in the Enlightenment movement. The work is on the structure of the God-
created cosmos and human understanding of it, along with articulating correlation with the
Clockwork Universe theory and disagreement with the belief in the absolute power of science
and reason to answer all phenomena.

The initial argument in Epistle I is about the order of the universe established by the divine hand
of God, which can possibly refer to a prevalent idea at the time about the Clockwork Universe
despite some differences. It is indicated in the two first sections that the universe of all beings "is
the great chain" that is designed, constructed, and supported by God, and human is an
indispensable part of that hierarchy of that heavenly creation, "as relative to all." With Almighty
God, he has the optimal ability to handle all on his own. Mentioned in section VIII, the "vast
chain of being," ranging from celestial entities to earthly ones, has the function as an absolute
wholeness, of which every link is equally crucial. The universe's order is failed to be maintained
and might fall into annihilation unless all of its subordinations remain intact (line 247-250). Just
the same as a clock, the whole's faculty is only available when the components work
simultaneously and altogether. Nevertheless, unlike the conception popular amongst the deists
during the Age of Enlightenment that the Clockwork Universe is a mechanical machine, the idea
in An Essay on Man expressed that the universe is more like an organic whole. The "stupendous
whole," constituting of Nature as the body and God as the soul, pervades all mortal beings
within it; ergo, there is an interconnection between the former and the latter. A citation may
make this clear: "All are but parts of one stupendous whole, /Whose body Nature is, and God
the soul;/That, chang'd through all, and yet in all the same, /[...] Lives through all life, extends
through all extent, /Spreads undivided, operates unspent, /Breathes in our soul, informs our
mortal part."

Another aspect to examine is the skeptical view on human's capacity to grasp the laws of the
universe; thus, it queries the omnipotence of science and reason. The first section states that:
"What can we reason, but from what we know? /Of man what see we, but his station here, /From
which to reason, or to which refer?". That exposes the limited human perception, for humans
can only perceive what is sensible. The entire creation of God remains ineffable due to the
unlimited knowledge that is far from the exalted position, and only God can have a broad and
profound view of his cosmic construction. The consecutive section emphasizes the inability of
human reason to perceive all in the universe as they are fated to be a portion of the whole
hierarchical system ("'Tis but a part we see, and not a whole"). Besides, "Say rather, man's as
perfect as he ought: /His knowledge measur'd to his state and place; /His time a moment, and a
point his space. /If to be perfect in a certain sphere," so humanity is still perfect when their
knowledge only expands infinitely within their finite sphere. In section VIII and XI, human is
criticized for being presumptuous to hold the belief to disobey the supernatural order that is
perfectly designed for the harmony of all (243-246 and 259-166). If this happened, it would
cause potentially chaotic devastation of the universe. The universe is incomprehensible per se:
"All nature is but art, unknown to thee; /All chance, direction, which thou canst not see; /All
discord, harmony, not understood" (Section X). Contradicting the contemporary belief in the
endowment of human reason to interpret and demystify all the enigma of the universe by
scientific accounts, it is asserted that there are things beyond human understanding that remain
in obscurity. Humans can only be sure that: "Whatever is, is right."

In conclusion, the poem represents the view on the system of cosmology which has a
relationship with Clockwork Universe theory and opposes the notion that human
comprehension can expose all marvels in the universe.

Very good, Ngoc. A