The Ideal of Voluntary
Simplicity
Alexander Pope
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Alexander Pope (1688 -1744)
is one
of the main English
poets of all time, and his
writings have much in
common with Esoteric
Philosophy. In the
following poem, he sums up the
ideal of a simple and
transcendent life. In its wider
sense, the ancient
concept of voluntary simplicity is
an essential factor in
Buddhism, theosophy, classical
philosophy, ecology, and
even in sustainable economy.
The poem is reproduced
from “Essay on Man and
Other Poems”, Alexander
Pope, Dover-Thrift Editions,
Dover Publications, New York
(C. C. A.)
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Happy the man, whose wish
and care
A few
paternal acres bound,
Content to breathe his native air,
In his own
ground.
Whose herds with milk, whose fields with bread,
Whose flocks
supply him with attire,
Whose trees in summer yield him shade,
In winter
fire.
Blest, who can unconcern’dly find
Hours, days,
and years slide soft away,
In health of body, peace of mind,
Quiet by day.
Sound sleep by night; study and ease,
Together mixt;
sweet recreation:
And innocence, which most does please,
With
meditation.
Thus let me live, unseen, unknown;
Thus
unlamented let me die;
Steal from the world, and not a stone
Tell where I
lie.
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