“A man is ‘called’ to nothing, and has no ‘calling’, no ‘destiny’ as little as a plant or a beast has ‘calling.’ The flower does not follow the calling to complete itself, but it spends all its forces to enjoy and consume the world as it can – it sucks in as much of the juices of the earth, as much air of the ether, as much light of the sun, as it can get and lodge. The bird lives up to no calling, but it uses its forces as much as practicable; it catches beetles and sings to its heart’s delight. But the forces of the flower and the bird are slight in comparison to those of a man, and a man who applies his forces will affect the world much more powerfully than the flower and beast. A calling he has not, but he has forces that manifest…