Much to Hope From the Flowers

Today I was reminded of this portion of the story of "The Naval Treaty" in which the following dialogue of Sherlock Holmes is captured:

"…What a lovely thing a rose is!"

"He walked past the couch to the open window and held up the drooping stalk of
a moss-rose, looking down at the dainty blend of crimson and green. It was a
new phase of his character to me, for I had never before seen him show any keen
interest in natural objects."

" 'There is nothing in which deduction is so necessary as in religion,' said
he, leaning with his back against the shutters. 'It can be built up as an exact
science by the reasoner. Our highest assurance of the goodness of Providence
seems to me to rest in the flowers. All other things, our powers, our desires,
our food, are all really necessary for our existence in the first instance. But
this rose is an extra. Its smell and its colour are an embellishment of life,
not a condition of it. It is only goodness which gives extras, and so I say
again that we have much to hope from the flowers.' " 

pp 455-456 The Complete Sherlock Holmes by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle