child is father to the man

Yokohama in 1872 by Paul Blumには当時の色々と興味のある話が出てきます。
In the beginning, the Government had ordered certain shops in Edo, Shinagawa, Shimoda and Shizuoka to open branches in Yokohama, but these reputable firms were soon joined by others from all over the country, eager to a make a quick - and not necessarily honest - profit. There were merchant adventures on both sides of town. But perhaps the most serious obstacle to trade was the bureaucracy, a small but lusty child, already father to the man.
当時の官僚機構を "a small but lusty child, already father to the man" と言っていますが、この "father to the man" がいま一つ分かりません。辞書で調べます。　中々分かりませんでしたが、"child is father to (or of) the man" と言う諺がある事が分かりました。　その意味は
・McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs: Prov. People's personalities form when they are children; A person will have the same qualities as an adult that he or she had as a child. (From William Wordsworth's poem, "My Heart Leaps Up.") In Bill's case, the child was father of the man; he never lost his childhood delight in observing nature.
と言うことは、まだ生まれたての官僚機構だが、既に官僚機構特有の仕事ぶり、お役所仕事は備わっていたと言う事なのでしょう。