ABSTRACT
When the young child has discovered his primal Will, which is to feed, to grow, to master and possess everything; when he has learned that his mouth and hands have the power to absorb and to grasp what satisfies that Will, then a terrible counter-discovery awaits him. He had lapsed securely into placid sleep, and when he awoke again he knew perfectly what he wanted. Yes, but how shall he get it? How can it happen that sometimes there is no breast at hand, or that it is covered up or snatched away from him? Is his Will, then, not a power? Is it only a need, only a capacity to 45call for the well-known good, to cry for it miserably, vehemently, and in vain? No, not altogether: for presently the breast is here once more, the milk flows, and the last slow tears trickle cold down his cheek. Perhaps he can have his fill; perhaps he can go to sleep again, half comforted. But sleep will never be beatific now; a vague uneasiness will drift through it; he will have his first bad dreams.
