rareripes

But it matters little -- give the boys time -- some of them ripen slowly, and others there be who know more at sixteen than they will ever know again, like street gamins with the wit of debauchees, rareripes at ten, and rotten at the core.

Little Journeys to the Homes of the Great, Volume 7 Little Journeys to the Homes of Eminent Orators Elbert Hubbard 1885

And here seems a good place to quote what Doctor Charcot said, "In arranging the formula for a great man, make sure you delay adolescence: rareripes rot early."

Little Journeys to the Homes of the Great - Volume 12 Little Journeys to the Homes of Great Scientists Elbert Hubbard 1885