"Thy Own Importance Know": The Influence of Le Comte de Gabalis on The Rape of the Lock

" T h y O w n I m p o r t a n c e K n o w " : T h e I n flu e n c e o f ZYXWVUTSRQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA L e C om te de G abalis o n T h e R ap e of the L ockPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA D O N N A S C A R B O R O T h e m ost strikin g d ifferen ce betw een P op e's 1712 version of T h e R a p e o f t h e L o c k , in tw o can tos, an d th e five-can to version of 1714 is of cou rse th e p resen ce of th e sylp h s. In th e letter p refaced to th e 1714 ed ition, P op e nam es as his sou rce for the "m ach in ery" a "Fren ch B ook call'd L e C o m t e d e G a b a lis " (1670), w h ich h e says is th e "b est accou n t" he know s of the p hilosop hy of the R osicru cian s.1 Pope's tone is ironic, bu t h is statem en t th at th e R osicru cian s are a p eop le h e "m u st brin g" h is read er "acq u ain ted w ith " an d h is recom m en d ation of G a b a lis as th e "b est accou n t" of th em reflect th e im p ortan ce of V illars' book to th e m ean in g of T h e R a p e o f t h e L o c k . P op e's u se of V illars' version of th e R osicru cian system w as a ch oice w h ich h ad a sp ecial m ean in g for con tem p oraries fam iliar— as P op e's d ed ication su ggests M iss Ferm or shou ld becom e— w ith V illars' G a b a lis . Pope's borrow ings of detail and ton e from V illars' satire are su bstan tial, an d m an y isolated p arallels have b een n oted elsew h ere; bu t in ord er to see th e th em atic u n ity of G a b a lis an d T h e R a p e it is n ecessary to look at th e sim ilarities as a w h ole. A d d itionally, w h ile th ere are m an y fin e stu d ies of th e sylp h s' role in P op e's p oem , n on e h as treated P op e's u se of V illars' w ork as th orou gh ly or as seriou sly as it d eserves. R alp h C oh en h as p erh ap s gone fu rthest in m aking "B elind a's self-ad oration ... a religiou s rite."2 231 232 / SCARBORO C oh en fin d s th e th em e of tran sform ation an d th e related th em e of self-d eification cru cial asp ects of th e p oem an d em p h asizes th e ritu ­ alistic ten or of P op e's treatm en t. T h e fact th at th ese th em es w ere ad op ted in th e 1714 ed ition alon g w ith V illars' sylp h s an d th eir ritu ­ als, h ow ever, h as gon e u n n oticed . T h e fu ll in flu en ce of th e origin al sylp h s on P op e's p oem n eed s closer atten tion . T h e p u rp ose of th is essay is...