The motives of the two poems were skilfully chosen.
Pope--as has already appeared to some extent--was rarely original in his designs; he liked to have the outlines at last drawn for him, to be filled with his own colouring.

The _Eloisa to Abelard_ was founded upon a translation from the French, published in 1714 by Hughes (author of the _Siege of Damascus_), which is itself a manipulated translation from the famous Latin originals.

Pope, it appears, kept very closely to the words of the English translation, and in some places has done little more than versify the prose, though, of course, it is compressed, rearranged, and modified.

The _Unfortunate Lady_ has been the cause of a good deal of controversy.

Pope's elegy implies, vaguely enough, that she had been cruelly treated by her guardians, and had committed suicide in some foreign country.