Divine Electric Element

The young person, as he passes through life, advances through a long line of tempters ranged on either side of him; and the inevitable effect of yielding, is degradation in a greater or lesser degree. Contact with them tends insensibly to draw away from them some portion of the divine electric element with which our nature is charged. Samuel Smiles

I suppose of all the descriptions of how sin degrades and robs us, this one captures an element that is immediate to identify, but elusive to describe; 'the divine electric element with which our nature is charged'
There is a divine electric element in our nature and sadly we rarely see it in one with any age.
The dancing life in a seven year old, the face on the edge of laughter of a 12 year old, the eye to eye conversation with the innocent, all have that divine electric element.
But as we surrender our will to temptation, we begin to erode some portion of that element, the result of which is vividly apparent in the eyes.