I hope you will now
see that the perfection of a process--that is, its utility--is the better
point of beauty about it. It is not the best looking thing, but the best
acting thing, which is the most advantageous to us. This good-looking
candle is a bad burning one. There will be a guttering round about it
because of the irregularity of the stream of air and the badness of the
cup which is formed thereby. You may see some pretty examples (and I trust
you will notice these instances) of the action of the ascending current
when you have A little gutter run down the side of a candle, making it
thicker there than it is elsewhere. As the candle goes on burning, that
keeps its place and forms a little pillar sticking up by the side,
because, as it rises higher above the rest of the wax or fuel, the air
gets better round it, and it is more cooled and better able to resist the
action of the heat at a little distance. Now, the greatest mistakes and
faults with regard to candles, as in many other things, often bring with
them instruction which we should not receive if they had not occurred. We
come here to be philosophers; and I hope you will always remember that
whenever a result happens, especially if it be new, you should say, "What
is the cause? Why does it occur?" and you will in the course of time find
out the reason.
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