Note 1570 — AN ESSAY ON MAN, IN FOUR EPISTLES (continued 3)
Reading edition
In the MS. thus:
And now transported o'er so vast a plain, While the winged courser flies with all her rein, While heav'n-ward now her mounting wing she feels, Now scattered fools fly trembling from her heels, Wilt thou, my St. John! keep her course in sight, Confine her fury, and assist her flight?—Warburton.
The exaggerated estimate which Pope had formed of the Essay on Man is apparent from this passage. With respect to the poetry, "the winged courser flew with all her rein;" with respect to the argument, "scattered fools flew trembling" from its crushing power.