prize in the contest, the reward of victory, the enemy, and the weapons to be employed against him.
2. The prize that you are to win in the fierce conflict of your youth is something celestially fair and infinitely precious; it is the pearl of virtues, your most costly treasure - purity of heart.
With what a mystic charm, with what grace and beauty, does this virtue of innocence invest the child, the chaste young man! That is what the poet means when he sings of the sweet charm of youth which has never known defilement. And so great is this charm, that frequently even the evil man, the libertine, feels its influence, and is filled with veneration. For instance, the poet Heine sings of an innocent child in the following beautiful lines:
"Thou'rt like a tender floweret,
Innocent and pure and fair:
I gaze on thee with joy, and yet
'Tis not without a shade of care;
It seems to me I needs must lay
My hand upon thy head, and pray
That God would keep thee as thou art,
So innocent and pure of heart."
