THE BEAUTY AND CHARACTER OF 

 FLOWERS 



ONE might become very metaphysical over the 

 beauty of flowers; and it would be good for 

 metaphysicians to observe their beauty disinterestedly 

 for a long time before attempting to deal with aesthetic 

 questions. "To look with the eye confounds the wis- 

 dom of ages." It gives you a respect for facts, for the 

 thing in itself. It makes you cautious of theories, 

 not from scepticism, but for fear lest they should im- 

 poverish your sense of the value of things. A disin- 

 terested love of flowers enriches that sense. For 

 flowers, so far as we are concerned, are simply beau- 

 tiful things. We cannot argue about them as we 

 argue about works of art. Even the Senior Wrangler 

 who wanted to know what "Paradise Lost" proved 

 would not have made the same demand about a rose. 

 Men make works of art, and it is open to any one to 

 say that they might be better employed. But flowers 

 are made by nature, just like ourselves, and if we 

 question their right to exist, we question our own. 

 Therefore, no one does question their right to exist 

 or the pleasure which they give us. It is part of the 

 process of life. Flowers are beautiful, and we are 

 made to enjoy their beauty, just as we are made to 



eat and sleep; and there is an end of it. We cannot 



283 



