Henry St John, 1st Viscount Bolingbroke in the context of "Whig (British political party)"

"An Essay on Man" is a poem published by Alexander Pope in 1733–1734. It was dedicated to Henry St John, 1st Viscount Bolingbroke (pronounced 'Bull-en-brook'), hence the opening line: "Awake, my St John...". It is an effort to rationalize or rather "vindicate the ways of God to man" (l.16), a variation of John Milton's claim in the opening lines of Paradise Lost, that he will "justifie the wayes of God to men" (1.26). It is concerned with the natural order God has decreed for man. Because man cannot know God's purposes, he cannot complain about his position in the great chain of being (ll.33–34) and must accept that "Whatever is, is right" (l.292), a theme that was satirized by Voltaire in Candide (1759). More than any other work, it popularized optimistic philosophy throughout England and the rest of Europe.

Pope's Essay on Man and Moral Epistles were designed to be the parts of a system of ethics which he wanted to express in poetry. Moral Epistles has been known under various other names including Ethic Epistles and Moral Essays.

The secretary at war was a political position in the English and later British government, with some responsibility over the administration and organization of the Army, but not over military policy. The Secretary at War ran the War Office. After 1794 it was occasionally a Cabinet-level position, although it was considered of subordinate rank to the secretary of state for war. The position was combined with that of secretary of state for war in 1854 and abolished in 1863.

Notable holders of the position include Henry St John, 1st Viscount Bolingbroke, Robert Walpole, Henry Pelham, Henry Fox, Henry John Temple, 3rd Viscount Palmerston, William Windham and Thomas Babington Macaulay, 1st Baron Macaulay.

The Scriblerus Club was an informal association of authors, based in London, that came together in the early 18th century. They were prominent figures in the Augustan Age of English letters. The nucleus of the club included the satirists Jonathan Swift and Alexander Pope. Other members were John Gay, John Arbuthnot, Henry St. John and Thomas Parnell. The group was founded in 1714 and lasted until the death of the founders, finally ending in 1745. Pope and Swift are the two members whose reputations and work have the most long-lasting influence. Working collaboratively, the group created the persona of Martinus Scriblerus, through whose writings they accomplished their satirical aims. Very little of this material, however, was published until the 1740s. Robert Harley, 1st Earl of Oxford and Mortimer occasionally joined the club for meetings, though he is not known to have contributed to their literary output. He, along with Henry St John, 1st Viscount Bolingbroke, contributed to the literary productions of the club.

The club began as an effort to satirize the abuses of learning wherever they might be found, which led to The Memoirs of Martinus Scriblerus. The second edition of Pope's The Dunciad also contains work attributed to Martinus Scriblerus.

The Craftsman, also known as The Country Journal or, The Craftsman or The Craftsman: Being a Critique on the Times, was a British newspaper which operated from 1726 to 1752. Established by Lord Bolingbroke and William Pulteney, it was edited by Nicholas Amhurst under the pseudonym "Caleb D'Anvers". It is known for publishing letters and essays from Lord Bolingbroke. Lord Bolingbroke and the Patriot Whigs used The Craftsman to oppose the administration of Robert Walpole and his 'Court Whig' faction. The paper's writers are claimed to have included early satirists, such as Jonathan Swift and Alexander Pope, although this is disputed.

In April 1740 the opposition essay-paper The Champion complained that the Craftsman had lifted its advertisement and ten news paragraphs verbatim.