2nd paragraph of A Modest Propos

November 27th, 2018

Subtitle-For Preventing the Children of Poor People from Being a Burden to Their Parents or Country and for Making Them Beneficial to the Public

Recite:

I think it is agreed by all parties that this prodigious number of children in the arms, on the backs, or at the heels of their mothers, and frequently their father, is in the present deplorable state of the kingdom, a very great additional grievance and therefore whoever could find out a fair, cheap, and easy method of making these children sound, useful members of the commonwealth would deserve so well of the public as to have his statue set up for a preserver of the nation. 

Paraphrase:

At present, the kingdom is at the deplorable state, so the poor children of the great number becomes a burden. So it is better that someone could put up with a solution to this. If he did, then he deserved the well of the public, and even a statue for him as the preserver of the country.