of nature to invention.

Suppose you learn to draw rightly, and, therefore, to know correctly the
spirals of springing ferns--not that you may give ugly names to all the
species of them--but that you may understand the grace and vitality of
every hour of their existence. Suppose you have sense and cleverness
enough to translate the essential character of this beauty into forms
expressible by simple lines--therefore expressible by thread--you might
then have a series of fern-patterns which would each contain points of
distinctive interest and beauty, and of scientific truth, and yet be
variable by fancy, with quite as much ease as the meaningless Indian
one. Similarly, there is no form of leaf, of flower, or of insect, which
might not become suggestive to you, and expressible in terms of
manufacture, so as to be interesting, and useful to others.

174. Only don't think that this kind of study will ever "pay" in the
vulgar sense.

It will make you wiser and happier. But do you suppose that it is the
law of God, or nature, that people shall be paid in money for becoming
wiser and happier? They are so, by that law, for honest work; and as all
honest work makes people wiser and happier, they are indeed, in some
sort, paid in money for becoming wise.

But if you seek wisdom only that you may get money, believe me, you are
exactly on the foolishest of all fools' errands. "She is more precious
than rubies"--but do you think that is only because she will help you to
buy rubies?

"All the things thou canst desire are not to be compared to her." Do you
think that is only because she will enable you to get all the things you
desire? She is offered to you as a blessing _in herself_. She is the
reward of kindness, of modesty, of industry. She is the prize of
Prizes--and alike in poverty or in riches--the strength of your Life
now, the earnest of whatever Life is to come.

SOCIAL POLICY

BASED ON NATURAL SELECTION.

_Paper read before the Metaphysical Society, May 11th, 1875._[23]

175. It has always seemed to me that Societies like this of ours, happy
in including members not a little diverse in thought and various in
knowledge, might be more useful to the public than perhaps they can
fairly be said to have approved themselves hitherto, by using their
variety of power rather to support intellectual conclusions by
concentric props, than to shake them with rotatory storms of wit; and
modestly endeavouring to initi