| Citation |
PG-P.751.040
8 Aug 1751:12 (1182)
From the Reflector. 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 delicacy, 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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