Science Fiction Gem

"They had loved each other, but never slept together. Valentine had been pleased to hear it when Miro told her, though he said it with angry regret. Valentine had long ago observed that in a society that expected chastity and fidelity, like Lusitania, the adolescents who controlled and channeled their youthful passions were the ones who grew up to be both strong and civilized. Adolescents in such a community who were either too weak to control themselves or too contemptuous of society's norms to try usually ended up being either sheep or wolves-- either mindless members of the herd or predators who took what they could and gave nothing."

This is an excerpt from a book I am currently reading; Xenocide, by Orson Scott Card.  It's a science fiction book, sure, but there is more to it that I did not expect.  Religion is a common theme, and the main religion dealt with is Catholicism.  The settlement Lusitania, on a distant planet also inhabited by a race of alien creatures, is an entirely Catholic settlement.  There is evangelization and heresy, those with strong faith those that are struggling to believe anything at all.  It is quite sociological study that could have, and probably did happen many times already in our Church's history.
Back to the quote though.  I found the quote to be, well, harsh, but stingingly true in what is says.  I know, from experience and from what I both hear and see, that chastity is not one of the popular virtues, especially in this country.  And not even with just the younger crowd... the lure of pleasures of the flesh holds no bounds.  Yet, for the youth, whether chastity is practiced or thrown in the dumpster (sad reference there) can have many repercussions. When the virtue of chastity is not developed at a young age and strengthened through the growing years, it can have horrible consequences.  The many examples of this are out there and don't need to be listed by me.
The idea though, that those who fail in chastity in their youth either become sheep or wolves is something I have never really thought about.  It makes sense in some ways though.  The sheep might be those people who become numb to what love and pleasures of the flesh should be and are intended for.  They just keep following the crap society gives them.  The wolves on the other hand would be those can never be satisfied.  They take and do whatever they can to feed their pleasures.  Searching for that next almost fulfillment of their lust drives them, in many cases, to do inhuman things; pornography, prostitution, rape...
For those of us that do try to stay chaste, I can only hope that we will become those who grow up strong and civilized... because Lord knows, we need more people like that in our world.

Peace all