PERFECTING THE IDEAL 179 



know that the rose can only bring forth roses, and 

 that they can only bring forth men : they know that 

 they cannot bring forth angels. But they know 

 also that the rose, when wisely mated and its off- 

 spring provided with favourable surroundings of 

 soil and air and sunshine, can give rise to blooms in- 

 comparably more perfect than itself. And they 

 know that they themselves, if they have wisely 

 mated, if they carefully tend their offspring and 

 provide them with healthy, sunny, physical and 

 social surroundings, can give rise, in generations to 

 come,. to unions of men and women incomparably 

 more perfect than their own — as much more perfect 

 as their union is than the unions of primitive men — 

 richer in colour, more graceful in form, sweeter in 

 fragrance, and of an altogether finer texture. 



This, then, is the ideal in its completeness which 

 we set up before us. But we have no sooner set it 

 up than we find that the presence of this ideal within 

 us makes us restless, unsatisfied, discontented, till 

 we have^ set to work to bring things up to it ; and 

 that when jve do start improving them we are 

 forthwith involved in endless strife. Improvement 

 means effort. It does not come by itself. It is 

 only effected by strong, persistent, determined 

 effort. It was no easy matter for the particles in 

 the rose-seed to battle their way through the hard 

 seed-case, strike down into the soil, send up shoots 

 into the air, stand steadfastly to their ideal of the 

 rose, and produce a seed capable of bringing forth a 

 still more perfect flower. And it is no easy matter 

 for us to burst through our own shells, strike our 



