"Are you tired of carrying torches? Then hand them to the younger generation.
"In Latin the morning star is called Lucifer, which means the light-bringer. Old fathers of the Church, misunderstanding a scriptural sentence, believed, and made others believe, that this spirit of the morning star, this Lucifer, was a demon
"Never believe that! It is the most stupid, the most dangerous of all superstitions. The nation that believes that is lost. Lucifer, the father of fire, the torch-bearer, the flame-spirit, whose symbol is the torch he lifts high in his hand: he is that very spark of life which fires our blood; he is the star of intelligence that makes bright our heaven.
"He is the true angel of light. Never believe that the angel of light has fallen or could fall. It is a lie!
"Thanks for those torches!
"See that they blaze! See that they shine!"
*****
So did he speak; but what he asked of those young men who, in the dark October night, crowded around him, torches in hand, he himself has fulfilled. Never has his enemy had the strength to snatch the torch from his hand; never has he tired of carrying it high, that it might shed its radiant light over his country and his people.
Thank you, torch-bearer, for the light you gave us!
