Ruskin finds God’s witness in creation in contemplating a leaf:
If you ask an ordinary botanist the reason of the form of a
leaf, he will tell you it is a “developed tubercle,” and that
its ultimate form “is owing to the directions of its vascular
threads.” But what directs its vascular threads? “They are
seeking for something they want,” he will probably answer. What
made them want that? What made them seek for it thus? Seek for
it, in five fibers or in three? Seek for it, in serration, or in
sweeping curves? Seek for it in servile tendrils, or impetuous
spray? Seek for it in woolen wrinkles rough with stings, or
in glossy surfaces, green with pure strength and winterless
delight? It is Mr. Ruskin who asks these questions: and it is
Mr. Ruskin who adds, “There is no answer.”
(613)
=Creation, Intelligence in=--See DESIGN IN NATURE.