| Citation |
INST.755.002
17 Apr 1755:25 (1/7)
A Sketch of Human Life.
The life of man seems short in respect of comforts; but
long in respect of miseries. A child comes crying into the
world, as if apprehensive of the misery he is born to.
Indeed, we cannot figure to ourselves a more indigent
creature than a new-born infant; the day of whose birth must
infallibly prove the day of its death, without the help of
others: for unless properly assisted, with care and skill,
to support his tender frame, he would just make his
appearance, like an actor in the opera, sing his dirge, and
quit the stage. With all the care taken to preserve the
life of a child, death threatens him every hour; because his
body, on account of its delivery, seems, like a bubble,
capable of breaking by the least rude accident. He must,
therefore, be watched day and night; be covered up in
blankets and wrappers, and delivered over to the nurse to be
fed, and lulled, and sung to sleep. This is the state of a
child in his tender years; and makes the first act of the
tragedy, as Shakespear describes it. . .
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