1900.] essays. 27 



culture?" They tell me — people of that sort — that they like 

 to see a garden, hut how a man can make it one oi* the habits of 

 his life is something they do not understand. When a question 

 of that kind is propounded to any thinking man, of course he 

 wants to find an answer, if an answer is possible, and the 

 thought I give you this afternoon is something of an answer to 

 that question — Why I love flowers and the good they have done 

 to me and others? I believe it is a good thing for us to he able 

 to give a good reason for anything we do. So many of our 

 actions are performed in a partially unconscious manner that we 

 are not sure of the motives that actuate us, and only see the 

 surface ones. Down underneath the surface there are found 

 deep elements of truths that are hidden away by the overmesh 

 altogether. I hope that when my talk this afternoon is finished, 

 you will not brand me as a cheat, a fraud, and tell me that I 

 have given you a lecture upon moral philosophy rather than 

 upon floriculture ; but there are elements of moral philosophy 

 in my talk. I want to simply lay down this fundamental fact: 

 the one thing that I know that distinguishes men from beasts, 

 the one essential thing, is that man possesses certain moral 

 qualities — qualities which you do not find in the lower orders 

 of life. I express no opinion upon the mooted question as to 

 the origin of man. But I say that there is a gulf that is im- 

 passable, that divides us from all other orders of life. You 

 can find traces of intellectual qualities in some of the lower 

 organizations, but you cannot find traces of moral qualities, 

 those elements which enable us to distinguish right from wrong, 

 and from that basis, I come to the subject which attracts us 

 this afternoon — that of floriculture ; and I want to say this, that 

 in everything we do, whatever it may be, there are certain moral 

 elements ; whether we are eating or drinking, dancing or walk- 

 ing ; whatever our occupation may be, there are in that occupa- 

 tion or in that recreation certain powers that are continually 

 shaping and moulding our lives. We may be altogether insen- 

 sible to the progress of the work ; we may be unconscious of 

 the processes altogether, but it is going on all the while ; and in 

 defence of those who love flowers, I make this strong assertion, 



