Dr. Johnson on the loss of his Mother.
In alluding to the death of his mother, Dr. Johnson observes that, notwithstanding the warnings of philosophers, and the daily experience of losses and misfortunes which life forces upon our observation, such is the business of the present day, such the resignation of our reason to empty hopes of future felicity, or such our unwillingness to foresee what we dread, that every calamity comes suddenly upon us, and not only presses as a burthen, but crushes as a blow.