The Child Goes to Bed
Author: Luiken, Jan, 1649-1712
Image Title: The Child Goes to Bed
Scripture Reference:
- Psalms 3 (further images / scripture text)
Description: In a bedroom lit by a candle, a mother helps her child put on his night clothes, while a small child who is already in bed watches. A second woman stands in the hallway with her back to this scene. The Dutch artist and poet Jan Luiken (1649-1712) was responsible for drawing and etching this emblem and for the brief poem that accompanies it (below). The attendant Scripture texts are Ps 3:5; 4:8; 91:1-6; and 121:4.
Motto:
Do not follow thy fancy or desire,
So that thy heart will always remain in peace.
Poem:
If the little Child is pious and upright,
And doesn’t play with naughty boys,
Then in the darkness he may,
After his prayer, go to sleep in peace;
For he who in Youth pursues Virtue,
Is guarded by the Angels.
(Translation by Josephine V. Brown, with editorial assistance from William G. Stryker)
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