Page:TheYoungMansGuide.djvu/356

 forces he has in reserve. The same thing holds good in regard to the spiritual conflict, especially that which is waged on behalf of the virtue of purity.

It is, first of all, to be observed that the enemy of chastity has planted himself firmly in the heart of every human being; and if I place before your eyes, my dear reader, this position of the enemy with all its dangers, do not allow it to terrify you to such an extent as to cause you to become faint-hearted.

2. In the world we notice two different things. We observe that even a child is ashamed if it is discovered when doing anything indecorous. We find something similar in the case of the ancient heathen; they sought to hide their sins from the eyes of their fellow-men under cover of the darkness of night. Not only on the tables of stone, which God gave to Moses upon Mount Sinai, but also in the book of conscience, it is written, "Thou shalt not offend against chastity." This is our first observation.

Now, who could believe that, in spite of the voice of conscience and the conviction of every nation that this vice is a shameful thing, people are so addicted to it! Whence comes this contradiction - this opposition to reason and conscience? St. Paul answers this question in the name of the whole human race: "I see another law in my members, fighting against the law of my mind, and captivating me in the law of sin that is in my