Stephanie, good tcp, I never knew that this essay had such affect not just on writters of the time but on the world as well. I find it kind of Ironical on youre feeling of benightedness. In an argument on this, popes first epistle it is said "that we (man) partly upon our ignorance of future events and partly upon the hope of future states, that all our happiness in the present depends." I think it is hard to understand because there is SO much to learn, everything that brought the Pope to his state of mind before writting his essay on man was im sure a HUGE accumulation of writtings and ideas, and constant studying on the subject.On youre feeling of not knowing, did that make you want to learn more on the subject?