‘Probably,’ he replied. ‘In part, certainly. Whether we are that, in toto, I don’t yet know.’

‘You mean we are flowers of dissolution — fleurs du mal? I don’t feel as if I were,’ she protested.

He was silent for a time.

‘I don’t feel as if we were, ALTOGETHER,’ he replied. ‘Some people are pure flowers of dark corruption — lilies. But there ought to be some roses, warm and flamy. You know Herakleitos says “a dry soul is best.” I know so well what that means. Do you?’

‘I’m not sure,’ Ursula replied. ‘But what if people ARE all flowers of dissolution — when they’re flowers at all — what difference does it make?’