In the Latin writers the thought occurs several times. The first in whom it is found is Lucretius:
"At jam non domus adcipiet te læta, neque uxor
Optuma, nec dulces obcurrent oscula natei
Præripere, et tacitâ pectus dulcedine tangent."
III. 907.
"But thy cheerful home shall no more receive thee, nor thy excellent wife; nor shall thy sweet children run to snatch kisses from thee, and touch thy breast with secret delight."
In whose steps Virgil treads:
"Interea dulces pendent circum oscula nati;
Casta pudicitiam servat domus."
Geo. II. 523.