“The child is father of the man…” what literary device is used?

The child is the father to the man means that we will find the basic personality of the adult nascent in the child. Is the child honest, extroverted, sly, cautious, thoughtful? Driven to succeed? Driven for approval? Fatalistic? You will likely find that when he is an adult he will embody much the same character.

Find the author or creator give him direct credit or quote him and put your citations at the end of whatever you made.