xliv Editor's Introduction 



them without veneration and delight, he should cher- 

 ish them as the apple of his eye, for neither money 

 nor power, neither a Croesus nor an Alexander, can 

 restore an oak a thousand years old in its wonderful 

 majesty after the poor laborer has felled it. Terrible 

 and swift is the destructive power of man, but poor 

 and weak is his power to rebuild. Mayan ancient tree 

 be to you, kind reader, who love Nature, a holy thing. 



The concluding paragraph of the book makes 

 a fine ending to his dissertation on his much- 

 loved pursuit : — 



For when once the landowner has begun to idealize 

 his property, he will soon become aware that cultiva- 

 tion of the soil will secure for him not only pecuniary 

 advantage, but also real artistic delight, and how thank- 

 ful Nature is to him who dedicates his powers with love. 

 So then, if each one does his best for his own tirelessly 

 and thoroughly, and the thousand facets combine easily 

 and well to form one ring, the lovable dream of the St. 

 Simonians might become true of a universal cult of our 

 mother earth. For this purpose, however, it would be 

 well to turn aside a little from these sad politics, which 

 absorb everything and give so little in return, and 

 revert a little more to happy art, whose service is in 

 itself a reward ; since for the ruling of the State we can- 

 not all strive. But to seek to improve himself and his 

 property is in the power of each one of us, and it is even 

 a question whether in such a simple manner, in honest 

 and homely endeavor, the so-much-desired freedom 

 may not be attained with more calm and safety than by 

 the many experiments in superficial theoretic forms of 

 State. For he only can be free who commands himself. 



The letters from England, however, form the 

 best kind of introduction to the real Puckler and 



