The best rose-bush, after all, is not that which has the fewest thorns, but that which bears the finest roses.

Van Dyke contrasts two ways of judging worth: by the absence of defects (“fewest thorns”) or by the presence of excellence (“finest roses”). The image suggests that a life, work, or character should not be evaluated primarily by its pains, risks, or inconveniences, but by the beauty and value it produces. Thorns are treated as natural, even inevitable accompaniments to growth; what matters is whether the plant fulfills its purpose in flowering. The aphorism thus encourages a standards-of-fruitfulness ethic: accept that difficulties and sharp edges may remain, and focus on cultivating what is most admirable and life-giving.