I + 

I wish either my father or my mother, or indeed both of them, as they were in duty both equally bound to it, had minded what they were about when they begot me; had they duly considerвАЩd how much depended upon what they were then doing;вБ†вАФthat not only the production of a rational Being was concerned in it, but that possibly the happy formation and temperature of his body, perhaps his genius and the very cast of his mind;вБ†вАФand, for aught they knew to the contrary, even the fortunes of his whole house might take their turn from the humours and dispositions which were then uppermost;вБ†вЄЇвБ†Had they duly weighed and considered all this, and proceeded accordingly,вБ†вЄЇвБ†I am verily persuaded I should have made a quite different figure in the world from that in which the reader is likely to see me.вБ†вАФBelieve me, good folks, this is not so inconsiderable a thing as many of you may think it;вБ†вАФyou have all, I dare say, heard of the animal spirits, as how they are transfused from father to son, etc., etc.вБ†вАФand a great deal to that purpose:вБ†вАФWell, you may take my word, that nine parts in ten of a manвАЩs sense or his nonsense, his successes and miscarriages in this world depend upon their motions and activity, and the different tracts and trains you put them into, so that when they are once set a-going, whether right or wrong, вАЩtis not a halfpenny matter,вБ†вАФaway they go cluttering like hey-go mad; and by treading the same steps over and over again, they presently make a road of it, as plain and as smooth as a garden-walk, which, when they are once used to, the Devil himself sometimes shall not be able to drive them off it. + 

Pray, my Dear, quoth my mother, have you not forgot to wind up the clock?вБ†вЄїGood GвБ†вЄЇ! cried my father, making an exclamation, but taking care to moderate his voice at the same time,вБ†вЄЇвБ†Did ever woman, since the creation of the world, interrupt a man with such a silly question? Pray, what was your father saying?вБ†вЄїNothing. + 