‘The Spirit in the plant – that is to say, its power of gathering dead matter out of the wreck round it, and shaping it into its own chosen shape – is of course strongest in the moment of flowering, for it then not only gathers, but forms, with the greatest energy.’ It is characteristic of Ruskin’s conception of the relationship between man’s mind and nature that he added: ‘And where this life is in it at full power, its form becomes invested with aspects that are chiefly delightful to our own senses.’ (II, 60.)