"To err is human; to forgive, divine." You may have heard these words before. They were written by Alexander Pope, born on May 21, 1688, in London, England. Pope became one of the most quoted writers in the English language. Many phrases people use every day came from his poems. "A little learning is a dangerous thing" and "fools rush in where angels fear to tread" are both Pope's words. As a child, Pope faced serious challenges. A disease left him with a curved spine, and he never grew taller than four feet six inches. He could not attend regular schools because he was Catholic during a time when England's laws restricted Catholics from many public activities. So Pope educated himself, reading voraciously and teaching himself Greek and Latin. His determination turned him into one of the most skilled poets of his age. Pope wrote in a style called heroic couplets -- pairs of rhyming lines with ten syllables each. His most famous poem, "The Rape of the Lock," uses this form to make fun of the silly arguments between wealthy families. His sharp wit and ability to pack complex ideas into memorable lines made his work last for centuries.