lack of which, the plant appears
more perfect than man in certain respects. Man is filled with passions and
desires and these govern his conduct. With him we can speak of sin
committed by reason of his impulses and passions, whereas in the plant, we
see that it follows the pure laws of growth from leaf to leaf, and that
the blossom without passion opens to the chaste rays of the Sun. So we can
see that man possesses a certain perfection beyond the plant, but that on
the other hand he has paid for this perfection by admitting into his being
inclinations, desires and passions in addition to the pure forces of the
plant. And then we call to mind the green sap flowing through the plant,
and think of it as the expression of the pure and passionless laws of
growth. And then again, we call to mind the red blood as it courses
through the veins of man, and we recognize in it an expression of man's
instincts, his passions and desires. Let a vivid picture of all this arise
in our souls. We then think of man's faculties of development; how he can
purify and cleanse his inclinations and passions through his higher soul
faculties. We think how through this process something that is low is
destroyed in these inclinations and passions which thereby are born upon a
higher plane. Then we may be able to think of the blood as the expression
of these purified and cleansed inclinations and passions.

Now we gaze in spirit on the rose and say to ourselves: "In the red sap of
the rose is the erstwhile green sap of the plant--now changed to
crimson--and the red rose follows the same pure, passionless laws of growth
as does the green leaf." Thus the red of the rose may offer us a symbol of
a kind of blood which is the expression of cleansed impulses and passions,
purged of all lower elements, and resembling in their purity the forces
working in the red rose. Let us now try not only to assimilate such
thoughts within our reason, but also let them come to life within our
feelings. We can experience a blissful sensation when contemplating the
purity and passionless nature of the growing plant. We can awaken the
feeling within us how certain higher perfections must be paid for through
the acquisition of passions and desires. This, then, can change the
blissful sensation previously experienced into a serious mood: and then
only can it stir within us the feeling of liberating happiness, if we
abandon ourselves to the thought of the red blood that can be