Frank J. Wilstach, comp. A Dictionary of Similes. 1916.
Children
Thou art not dead; not even though thou didst die, for children are to the deceased reputation preserving; and like corks they buoy up the net, upholding the twist of the flaxen cord from the deep.
—Æschylus
Children …
Like bells rung backwards,
Nothing but noise and giddiness.
—Beaumont and Fletcher
Children are like grown people; the experience of others is never of any use to them.
—Alphonse Daudet
It is the case with children as with plants, that their future character is indicated by their early dispositions.
—Demophilus
Children are like beggars; often coming without being called.
—W. S. Downey
Childhood shows the man, as the morning shows the day.
—John Milton
Children are never too tender to be whipped; like tough beef-steaks, the more you beat them the more tender they become.
—Edgar Allan Poe
The smallest children are nearest to God, as the smallest planets are nearest the sun.
—John Paul Richter
Childhood is like a mirror, which reflects in after life the images first presented to it.
—Samuel Smiles