The philosophy of natural history / by William Smellie.

  • William Smellie
Date:
1808
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Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: The philosophy of natural history / by William Smellie. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by the National Library of Medicine (U.S.), through the Medical Heritage Library. The original may be consulted at the National Library of Medicine (U.S.)

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    CHAPTER VII. Of Infancy. l^Y the term Infancy in this chapter, is gener- ally meant that portion of life which commences at birth, and terminates at that period when animals have acquired the power of felf-prefervation, without any affiftance from their parents. This period varies greatly in different ani- mals. Of courfe, when different fpecies are mentioned, the term infamy muft have very different limitations with regard to time. The ftate of infancy, in the human fpecies, continues lon- ger than in any other animal. Infants, immediately after birth, are indeed extremely helplefs, and require every affift- ance and attention from the mother. Moft writers, however, on this fubject feem to have exaggerated not only the irnbe-* cility, but the miferies of the infant ftate. * An infant,' fays ]Buffon, «is more helplefi than the young of any other animal: * Its uncertain life feems every moment to vibrate on the f borders of death. It can neither move nor fupport its bo- * dy : It has hardly force enough to exift, and to announce, * by groans, the pain which it fuffers; as if Nature intended * to apprife the little innocent, that it is born to mifery, and 4 that it is to be ranked among human creatures only to par- * take of their infirmities and of their afflictions*.' This humiliating picture is partly juft, and partly mifre- prefented. Though infants remain longer in a ftate of im- becility than the young of other animals, they are by no means more helplefs. The inftant after birth, they are capa- ble of fucking whatever is prefented to their mouths. When in the fame condition, the young of the opoflum, of hares, rabbits, rats, mice, &c. can do more. They can * Buffcn, vol. j, page 369. Tranflat.