remember me, my sufferings and my death, and tell thy father how I fared, with fond caress and streaming eye and arms thrown round his neck. Ah! yes, his children are to every man as his own soul; and i.e. the childless man may laugh at the father for his fondness; he may even escape some pain and annoyance from having no family, but still in his heart he feels a void which nothing else can fill. whoso sneers at this through inexperience, though he suffers less anguish, yet tastes the bitter in his cup of bliss.