As an example, you could apply both of these definitions when describing a child. “The innocent and the beautiful have no enemy but time” (William Butler Yeats).  A child would be both sheltered from moral sins and would have a lack of knowledge due to their lack of exposure to the world.  Once a person has reached an age of maturity they have formed a set of moral codes, a guideline in which they will follow throughout their lives that will define what they consider right and wrong.  “That's what it takes to be a hero, a little gem of innocence inside you that makes you want to believe that there still exists a right and wrong, that decency will somehow triumph in the end” (Lise Hand). A person will also have to have a gained knowledge and understanding of the world which is created through life experiences.  This goes to say that the application of the word innocence is a personal judgment.

In a universal assessment, everyone is innocent and has loss their innocence in one form or another.  A person would have to lose their innocence to gain it back with an understanding. “Experience, which destroys innocence, also leads one back to it” (James Arthur Baldwin). In a biblical sense of the word innocence both definitions would apply. A person without sin would have already accepted a set of moral codes presented to them without any actual knowledge on the matter but rather an understanding of a topic that has been taught to them, this serves as a sort of protection from knowledge that can be harmful. “Innocence is like polished armor; it adorns and defends” (Robert South).

Whilst the tears roll down so meekly the rain strikes the windows so defiantly

As if to say let your heart break a little bit faster

Let your breathing become a little bit slower

Let yourself heal a little bit stronger

So take this as a lesson learned

Declare a new understanding

These tears do not only fall for you