The Care, Charge, and Hazzard of a Brood of many Children, in the
Education and Proof of them, does, in a Great Measure, Countervail the
Blessing: Especially where they are gotten in a State of Slavery. Sorrow
and Vexation is Entail’d upon the whole Race of Mankind. We are Begotten
to’t; We are Born to’t; and as it has Descended to us, so it is by us to
be Handed down to Those that come after us. The Stress of the Fable lies
upon the Hazzard of having a Numerous Stock of Children, which must of
Necessity, whether they Live or Dye, furnish Matter of Great Anxiety to
the Parents. The Loss of them is Grievous to us. The Miscarriage of them,
by falling into Lewd and Vicious Courses, is much Worse: And one such
Disappointment is sufficient to Blast the Comfort of All the Rest. Nay,
the very Possibility, or rather the Likelyhood and Odds, that some out
of such a Number will Prove Ungracious and Rebellious, makes our Beds
Uneasie to us; Fills our Heads and our Hearts with Carking Thoughts, and
keeps us in Anxiety Night and Day for fear they should be so, and prove
like Vipers, to eat out the Belly of their Own Mothers.