The rod, the root, and the flower

Written by a nineteenth-century British poet who was twice widowed and a convert to Roman Catholicism, this book of reflections presents religious musings about the Christian meaning of knowledge, love and marriage with rather antiquated imagery and a somewhat aggressive style. Nevertheless, there are some attractive aspects to Patmore's ideas, such as that women illustrate the love of God for the physical world he created, and that in courtship and marriage the goal of the spouses should be for each one to have high ideals about the other's real potential, and for each to desire to live up to the spouse's good opinion.