What Youth deemed crystal, Age finds out was dew.

Ah, children of the future, gather close and listen to the words of Robert Browning, a poet who saw the world with the eyes of both the youth and the elder: "What Youth deemed crystal, Age finds out was dew." These words, though simple in their outward form, carry a profound truth about the passage of time, the nature of perspective, and the way we come to understand the world. What seems so certain and unyielding in the freshness of youth often reveals itself to be more fragile, more fleeting, as we grow older. The crystal of youth's dreams, so clear and brilliant in the early years, becomes the dew of age's reflection, delicate and ephemeral, vanishing with the warmth of experience.

In the fervor of youth, O children, everything is sharp, brilliant, and permanent. The world seems full of promise, and we look at our dreams, our goals, and our passions with the certainty that they are lasting, that they are as solid as crystal. When we are young, we see things with a sense of clarity—there are no doubts, no hesitations. We believe that the choices we make, the paths we follow, will forever define who we are, that the strength we feel in our youth will carry us through all of life. Yet, as Browning wisely observes, time has a way of altering that perception. As we grow, the things we once believed to be permanent—the dreams, the ideals, the passions—often prove to be more fleeting, more fragile than we imagined. What we once thought was crystal turns out to be the dew, beautiful but impermanent, here for a moment and gone the next.

Consider, O children, the Greek heroes of old—figures like Achilles and Hector, whose youth and vitality were matched only by their fame and glory. In their prime, they were invincible, gods in human form. Their lives and deeds seemed eternal, and their names would live on forever in the songs of poets and the stories of legends. Yet, as time wore on, as their battles took their toll, their lives became fleeting, much like the dew on the morning grass. Achilles, with all his strength and honor, could not escape the inevitable pull of death, and his legacy, though grand, was shaped by the harsh reality of mortality. The crystal of his heroism became the dew of reality, fragile and ephemeral, lost to the march of time. The lesson is clear: even the brightest flames of youth must eventually flicker and fade.

In the same way, the passions of youth often undergo a transformation as we grow older. Youth sees the world through the lens of possibility, of endless potential. The dreams of youth are like a crystal, perfect and unbreakable in their clarity. But with the passage of time, as experience accumulates and the weight of life's trials presses upon us, we come to realize that some of those dreams were illusions, not as solid as we once believed. The dew of age reflects the truth that the world is not as simple as it seemed in youth. What once appeared to be clear and certain becomes complex, layered with understanding and the knowledge of loss and change.

Consider, O children, the life of Leonardo da Vinci, a man whose youth was filled with the crystal of boundless possibility. He saw the world through the eyes of a visionary, believing that he could solve the mysteries of nature, create works of unparalleled genius, and change the world forever. His dreams were vast, and his ambitions as grand as any hero of old. But as his life progressed, he began to realize that even his most brilliant ideas and creations were not without limitations. His dreams of invention, many of which seemed revolutionary in his time, would not bear fruit in his own lifetime. The crystal of his youth gave way to the dew of his later years—a recognition that even the greatest minds are bound by the limitations of time and circumstance. Yet, even in that realization, da Vinci continued to create, continued to question, and continued to push the boundaries of human understanding. His transformation from the crystal of youthful brilliance to the dew of wisdom is the journey we must all face.

The lesson here, O children, is that the crystal of youth is precious, but it is also fleeting. The dreams you carry in your youth may seem permanent, but they are, in truth, as fragile as the dew on a summer morning. As you grow, as you encounter life in all its complexities, you will come to see that not all things endure. Yet, that does not mean your dreams are lost. The dew of age is not the end, but a transformation. It is the moment when the sharpness of youth's clarity softens into the deep wisdom of experience. The challenge, O children, is to hold onto your passion, your dreams, even as you come to understand that the world is not as simple as it once seemed. Allow your youthful energy to evolve into the wisdom of age, where the dreams are tempered with understanding and where the fleeting beauty of life is embraced for what it is.

So walk forward, O children, with the awareness that life is a journey of transformation. The crystal of youth will eventually fade, but in its place will emerge the dew of experience, which carries its own beauty and wisdom. Do not mourn the passing of your youthful dreams, but allow them to evolve into something deeper, something richer. Understand that life is not about clinging to the crystal of youth, but about embracing the dew of the present, with all its fragility and wonder. Let each moment of your life be filled with the wisdom that comes from seeing clearly, not just with the eyes of youth, but with the heart of experience.