五、理性能由世间万物推知上帝存在且独一
12# 人的理性只要愿意，便能借着世间万物感知并推断出：上帝存在，且是独一的。
这一真理可藉着世间可见之物的无数事例得到印证。因为宇宙如同一座剧场，不断上演着 “上帝存在，且是独一的” 这一见证。
为阐明这一点，我要讲述一件灵界中值得记念的事：
一次，我正与众天使交谈，有几位刚从尘世来的新灵在场。我见到他们，便欢迎他们的到来，向他们讲述了诸多灵界的未知之事。谈毕，我问他们，从尘世带来了怎样的关于上帝与自然的学问。
他们答道：“我们带来的学问是：自然运作着宇宙造化中的一切事；上帝在创世之后，便将这种能力与权能赋予自然、刻印在自然之中；上帝仅维持、保守这一切，不致消亡。因此，现今地上一切存在、生发、繁衍之物，都当归功于自然。”
我便回答说，自然本身不能运作任何事，乃是上帝借着自然运作。因他们要求举证，我便说道：“凡相信神性运作藏于自然每一个细节之中的人，都能借着世间无数可见之物，为自己确认上帝的存在，其确凿远胜过确认自然的存在。
【2】因为凡确认神性运作于自然每一个细节之中的人，都会留意到动植物繁衍中所显明的奇妙作为。
就植物的繁衍而言：种子撒入地中，便生根，由茎抽枝，渐次长出梢、叶、花、果，最终结出新的种子 —— 仿佛种子通晓自身更新的全部次序与过程。哪一个有理性的人会以为，不过是火的太阳能知晓这一切？又或太阳能将这般能力赋予它的热与光，使之产生如此果效，且处处指向功用？凡理性得以提升的人，目睹此等景象并深思之时，断不会不想到，这一切皆出自那位拥有无限智慧者 —— 也就是上帝。
凡承认神性运作于自然每一个细节之中的人，见此便会在其中得到印证。反之，不承认的人，无法以额前的理性之眼看见这些事，只能以脑后之眼去看 —— 这类人一切的思想观念都取自身体感官，且执着于感官的错觉，说：‘你难道没看见太阳以其热与光成就这一切吗？你所看不见的，难道还能算存在吗？’
【3】凡确认神性存在的人，也会留意到动物繁衍中的奇妙作为。譬如单看鸡蛋：雏鸡的胚胎藏于其中，具备发育所需的一切条件，包含孵化后直至长成成鸟形态的全部生长程序。
再者，若遍观各类飞鸟，深入思考的心智便会发现令人惊叹的事实：无论最小的飞鸟还是最大的禽鸟，无论肉眼难辨的昆虫还是可见的走兽，都具备感官 —— 视觉、嗅觉、味觉、触觉；也具备运动器官 —— 肌肉，因此能飞能走；还有心肺相连的脏腑，皆由大脑支配运行。
将一切归于自然的人，固然也看见这些事，却只想到它们的存在，便说这是自然产生的。他们如此说，是因为已将心智从对神性的思考上转离。转离神性的人，在自然界中看见奇妙之事时，无法理性地思考，更遑论属灵地思考；他们只能以感官、以物质的方式思考。他们只在自然之中、从自然的角度思考，从不超越自然。他们与走兽唯一的分别，只在于拥有理性能力 —— 也就是说，他们能够理解，只要他们愿意。
【4】那些转离对神性的思考、因此沦为属肉体的感官主义者，从不曾思想：肉眼的视觉如此粗糙、如此物质化，以至于许多小虫在眼中只是模糊的小点；然而其中每一个都有完整的构造，能感知、能活动，因此具备纤维与血管，有微小的心脏、气管、脏腑与大脑。这些构造由自然界最精纯的物质构成，且对应着最末层级的生命，其最微小的部分都各有其运行的动力。既然肉眼如此粗陋，无数内含万千精微结构的事物在它看来不过一个模糊小点，而感官主义者正是凭着这般视觉去思考、去判断，由此可见他们的心智是何等粗钝，在属灵之事上又是何等昏昧。
【5】人只要愿意，都能借着自然界的可见之物确认神性的存在；凡思想上帝创世的全能、以及祂保全宇宙的无所不在的人，也都会如此确认。譬如看见空中的飞鸟：每一种都知道自己的食物在何处；能凭声音与样貌认出同类；知道哪些鸟是友、哪些是敌。它们两两结合、缔结姻缘，精巧地筑巢，在巢中产蛋、孵化，知晓孵化的时日，雏鸟破壳后，便以极深的柔情呵护它们，用翅膀遮蔽它们，衔食喂养它们，直到它们能够独立、能够重演这一切。
凡愿意思想神性藉着灵界流入自然界的人，都能在这一切事上看见这流注。他若愿意，也能从心中说：‘这些知识不可能是太阳及其热与光赐给它们的；因为太阳 —— 自然界的起源与本质之所系 —— 不过是火；从它发出的热与光全然是死的。’如此他便能得出结论：这等事，乃是神性藉着灵界流入自然的最末层级而成就的。
【6】人只要愿意，都能借着自然界的可见之物确认神性的存在。看见毛虫之时便是如此：它们出于某种爱的欢愉，渴慕并切望从属地的状态转变为某种近似属天的状态。因此它们爬到合适的地方，以茧自裹，进入如同子宫的环境中预备重生，在其中依次经历蛹、茧、若虫的阶段，最终化为蝴蝶。蜕变完成之后，它们披上各从其类的美丽翅膀，飞入空中 —— 仿佛进入自己的天堂 —— 在那里欢快嬉戏，两两交配，产卵繁衍后代。那时，它们以花朵中甘甜的汁液为食。
凡愿意借着自然界的可见之物确认神性的人，谁不能在毛虫身上看见人属地状态的样式，在蝴蝶身上看见人属天状态的预表呢？然而那些为自然辩护的人，虽也看见这一切，却因心中拒绝人的属天状态，便称这一切不过是自然的运作。
【7】人只要愿意，都能借着自然界的可见之物确认神性的存在。留意蜜蜂众所周知的习性时亦是如此：它们知道从玫瑰与百花中采蜡、吸蜜，建造如同小屋的蜂巢，排布成城市的样式，有进出的通道；它们能从远处嗅到可采蜡采蜜的花草，满载而归后，又能循着方向准确飞回蜂巢；它们还为即将到来的冬天储备食粮，仿佛预先知晓寒冬将至。它们还立一位女王般的首领，由她繁衍后代；在她周围建造宫殿般的居所，有侍卫环伺。产卵之时，女王在被称为雄蜂的侍从簇拥下，从一个蜂房走到另一个蜂房产卵，身后的工蜂便用蜜将蜂房封住，以免受空气伤害。于是新的蜂群便诞生了。新蜂长大能劳作之后，便被逐出巢穴，蜂群先聚集一处，避免分散，然后飞去寻找新的家园。
到了秋天，那些不曾采蜡酿蜜的雄蜂，便会被驱逐出去，还被咬掉翅膀，免得它们回来消耗自己未曾劳作得来的食粮。此外还有诸多类似的事。由此可见，因着它们对人类的功用，藉着神性从灵界而来的流注，它们拥有的治理形态，正如同地上的人类 —— 甚至如同天上的天使一样。
【8】心智健全的人，谁看不出这些事并非出于自然界？太阳 —— 自然的源头 —— 与一种堪比、甚至类同属天之治的治理形态，能有什么相干？
凭着这些以及动物身上类似的事，自然的信奉者与崇拜者为自己确认自然；而上帝的信奉者与崇拜者，也凭着同样的事为自己确认上帝。因为属灵的人在其中看见属灵的事，属世的人在其中看见属世的事；各人照着自己的本性而看见。
对我而言，这些事就是神性从灵界流入自然界的明证。你也可以想一想：若没有上帝以其智慧藉着灵界的流注，你能对任何治理形态、任何民事法律、任何道德美德、任何属灵真理进行分析思考吗？就我而言，我不能，也从来不能。因为二十六年来[ “二十六年”指瑞登堡自其灵界漫游经历开始（约1745年），至本书于1771年出版期间的持续体验。关于其灵性觉醒的具体起始时间，不同文献记载略有出入 ]，我一直持续、清晰、可感知地觉察到这流注。因此，我是凭着亲身见证说这话的。
【9】自然能以 “功用” 为目的，将功用安排成秩序与形式吗？唯有智慧者能做到这事；而能如此安排、塑造整个宇宙的，唯有那位拥有无限智慧的上帝。还有谁能预见并预备人类衣食所需的一切？食物来自田间的庄稼、地上的果实与各类动物，衣物也出于同样的源头。其中更有奇妙之处：卑贱的小虫 —— 蚕 —— 竟能为人类提供丝绸，使君王、王后乃至男女仆从都得穿华美服饰；卑贱的小虫 —— 蜜蜂 —— 竟能提供制蜡的原料，使教堂与宫殿都得蒙光照。这些以及许多其他的事，都是现存的确凿证据，证明上帝藉着灵界，亲自运作着自然界中所发生的一切。
【10】此外还要补充：在灵界曾见过那些借着世上可见之物确认自然、最终沦为无神论者的人。他们的理智在属灵之光中显为：下部敞开，上部封闭。原因是他们的思想向下注视大地，而不向上仰望诸天。在感官层 —— 也就是理解力的最底层 —— 之上，覆盖着一层如同地狱之火闪烁的薄膜；有些人身上是黑如烟灰的，有些人则是青如死尸的。
因此，人人都当警惕那些为自然辩护的论调，转而要为上帝确认信仰。这方面的证据是丰足有余的。”
12# （5）人类理性若愿意，就能从世界上的许多事物中感知到并确信，有一位神，祂是一。这一真理可通过可见世界上的无数事物得到证实；因为宇宙就像一个舞台，在这个舞台上不断有证据表明，有一位神，祂是一。为说明这一点，我将从我在灵界的经历中讲述以下记事。有一次，我正与天使们交谈，一些刚从自然界到来的灵人出现了。一看到他们，我就向他们表示欢迎，并告诉他们许多他们以前不知道的关于灵界的事。我与他们交谈后，就问他们从世界上带来了关于神和自然的什么知识。“这个嘛，”他们说，“根据我们的知识，自然执行了发生在整个受造宇宙中的一切运作；神在创造之后，就将这种能力和力量赋予了自然，并将其铭刻在它上面；神只是维持并保护这种力量，免得它消失。因此，现在地上万物的出现或存在、产生和再生，都归于自然。”对此，我回答说，自然凭自身什么也做不了，或不能执行任何运作，而是神通过自然如此行。当他们要求证明时，我说：“那些相信神性运作就在自然的一切细节里的人，能在他们在世界上所看到的众多事物中找到大量支持神的证据，远远多于支持自然的。
“因为那些在自然的细节中发现支持神性运作证据的人，会仔细观察他们在植物和动物的产生中所看到的奇事。在植物的产生中，他们发现，从撒在地里的一粒小小的种子中会发出根来，根又长出茎，并先后长出枝子、芽、叶子、花朵和果实，甚至结出新种子，就好像这种子知道自我繁殖或自我更新的发展顺序一样。凡有理性的人，谁会以为太阳，即纯粹的火，知道这一切，或这太阳能将产生这些效果，并以这些功用为目标的能力赋予它的热和光？凡理性向上看，或理性能力被提升的人，当他看到并适当考虑这些事时，必会得出结论：它们来自拥有无限智慧的那一位，即来自神。那些承认神性运作在自然的一切细节中的人，当看到这些事时，都会确认这个结论。另一方面，那些不承认的人则从相反的角度，或用他们脑袋后面而非前面的理性眼光来看待这些事。他们从身体感官中获得他们的一切思维观念，并通过感官谬误或幻觉来确认它们，说：“难道你没有看到这太阳通过它的热和光实现这一切吗？你看不到的东西不可能存在。
“那些确认支持神性的人会仔细观察他们在动物的产生中所看到的奇事。先说说蛋，在精液状态下的雏鸟就隐藏在这些蛋里，其中包括雏鸟形成，以及孵化之后整个生长过程，直到长成父母样式的鸟所需的一切。此外，当普遍关注有翅膀的生物时，深思的心智会对呈现给它的东西感到惊讶；因为在它们当中，无论最小的还是最大的，无论不可见的还是可见的，也就是说，无论细小的昆虫还是大型的鸟类和兽类，都拥有感觉器官，即视觉、嗅觉、味觉和触觉，也拥有运动器官，即肌肉，因为它们会飞、会走；还有与心肺相连的内脏，这些内脏受大脑支配。那些将一切都归于自然的人的确看到了这些事，但只注意到它们的存在，并说自然产生了它们。他们之所以这样说，是因为他们使自己的心智远离了对神性的一切思考；那些如此行的人当看到自然界中的奇事时，不能理性地思考它们，更不用说属灵地思考了；相反，他们感官和物质地思考；因此，他们出于自然而在自然中思考，而不是在自然之上思考；他们与野兽的不同之处仅在于，他们拥有理性，也就是说，若愿意，就能够理解。
“那些远离对神性的一切思考，从而变得肉体-感官化的人，没有意识到肉眼的视觉如此粗糙和物质化，以至于它将许多小昆虫看作一个单一的模糊物体；然而，其中的每只昆虫都是为了感觉和运动而被组织起来的，因而具有纤维和血管，微小的心脏和肺管，以及微小的内脏和大脑；这些都是由自然界最纯粹的元素构成的，这些结构对应于其最低层级上的生命，它们最微小的部分被这种生命分别激活了。既然肉体的视觉如此粗糙，以至于许多昆虫（其中每只昆虫都具有无数部分）在它看来，就像一个单一的微小的模糊物体，而感官人却基于这种视觉来思考并得出结论，那么明显可知，感官人的心智必何等粗糙，他们在属灵事物上必陷入何等的黑暗。
“若愿意，谁都能在自然界的可见事物中找到支持神性的证据；思想神，思想祂在创造宇宙中的全能、在维护宇宙中的全在之人就会如此行。例如，当他观察空中的飞鸟时，就会发现，每一种鸟都知道适合自己的食物，并知道在哪里可以找到，它通过视觉和声音识别同伴，在其它鸟类中分辨哪些是友，哪些是敌；它们知道在交配的季节如何选择配偶，巧妙地筑巢，在里面产卵并孵化它们，还知道孵卵期；孵出幼雏后，它们极温柔地爱着它们，把它们庇护在翅膀下，喂食并滋养它们，直到它们能照顾好自己、履行类似职责。凡愿意思想神性流注经由灵界进入自然界的人，都能在这些生物中看到它；他若愿意，还能从心里说，这些知识不可能是从太阳那里通过它的热和光传给这些生物的，因为作为自然界的起源和本质的太阳是纯粹的火，因此它发出的热和光完全是死的。由此可以得出结论，这些知识来自经由灵界进入自然界的最低形式或最外层的神性流注。
“当观察昆虫，看到它们在一种特有的爱之喜悦地驱使下，急切地寻求从地上捆绑的状态转变为有点类似天堂的状态时，谁都能在自然界的可见事物中找到支持神性的证据。为了实现这个目的，它们爬到合适的地方，把自己织进一个茧里，因而可以说将自己置于一个子宫，从那里再次出生；它们在那里变成蝶蛹、蛹、若虫，最后变成蝴蝶；当它们经历了这种蜕变，并照其物种而披上美丽的翅膀时，它们就会飞入空中，就像飞入自己的天堂，在那里愉快地玩耍，婚配，产卵，为自己留下后代；在这种状态下，它们用从花中汲取的甘甜可口的食物来滋养自己。凡在自然界的可见事物中看到支持神性证据的人，谁不能在这些昆虫的幼虫阶段看到人类尘世状态的形像，在它们成为蝴蝶时看到人类天堂状态的形像？那些确认支持自然的人也看到这些事实，却从思想上拒绝人类的天堂状态，只将其称为自然的运作。
“当研究关于蜜蜂的众所周知的事实时，谁都能在自然界的可见事物中找到支持神性的证据。蜜蜂知道如何从玫瑰和花朵中采集蜂蜡、吸食花蜜，建造像小房子一样的蜂室，按城市的样式来排列它们，有进出的通道；它们从远处嗅到花草的香气，从中采集建房用的蜂蜡和可作食物的花蜜，并满载这些东西径直飞回自己的蜂巢，从而为即将到来的冬天提供食物，就好像它们预见到冬天的到来。它们还立了一位女主人为自己的王后，通过她繁殖后代；它们在自己上面为她建造宫室，在周围设置警卫。当她的时间到来时，在被称为雄蜂的警卫们的陪伴下，她逐个蜂室产卵，她的随从则将这些卵密封起来，免得它们被空气伤害。新的一代就这样出生了；当这一代达到能重复这一过程的年龄时，它就被逐出蜂巢，新的蜂群首先聚集成一个群体，以免分散，然后飞出去另觅家园。约在秋季时分，那些既没有供应任何蜂蜡，也没有供应任何蜂蜜的雄蜂就被带出来，并被剥去翅膀，以防止它们飞回来消耗食物，因为它们没有为这些食物劳力。从这一事实和其它许多事实可以看出，鉴于这些昆虫为人类所发挥的功用，它们通过经由灵界而来的神性流注而接受了一种类似世人，事实上类似天堂天使的一种政府形式。
“凡具有健全理性的人，谁看不出自然界不可能是这一切的源头？也就是说，蜜蜂不是从自然界中获得它们的本能的。自然界所源于的太阳，与堪比并类似天堂政府的一种政府有什么共同之处呢？也就是说，它没有像天堂那样的政府形式。从表现在动物当中的这些和类似事实中，一个承认并敬拜自然的人会确认支持自然，而一个承认并敬拜神的人则确认支持神；因为属灵人在它们身上看到属灵事物，而属世人在它们身上只看到属世事物，因而各自都照着自己的性质来看。就我本人而言，这些事对我来说就是证据，证明神性流注从灵界进入自然界。此外，请考虑一下，除非假设神性从自己的智慧通过灵界流入，否则你是否能够分析思考任何政府形式、任何文明法律、任何道德美德，或任何属灵真理。至于我自己，我不能如此行，也从来没有如此行。26年以来，我不断可感知且显著地观察这种流注；因此，我是根据我所知道的来说的。
“大自然能视功用为目的，并按顺序和形式来安排功用吗？唯有一位智者能如此行；唯独智慧无限的神才能如此组织并形成宇宙。还有谁能为人类预见并提供食物和衣服，从田里的出产，地上的果实和动物中提供食物和衣服呢？其中一个不可思议的事实是，那些被称为蚕的微不足道的昆虫给女人和男人穿上丝绸，华美地装扮他们，上至王后和国王，下至男仆和女佣；像蜜蜂这样微不足道的昆虫都会为照亮圣殿和宫殿，或教堂和大厅的灯而提供蜂蜡。这一切和更多事实都是确凿的证据，证明神从祂自己那里通过灵界运作发生在自然界的一切事。
“对此，我必须补充以下事实：在灵界，我看见过那些从自然界的可见事物中确认支持自然的人，直到他们成为无神论者。在属灵之光中，他们的理解力似乎下面敞开，上面关闭，因为他们在思维中向下看大地，而不是向上看天堂。在其形成理解力最低部分的感官官能之上，可以看到一种闪耀着地狱之火的面纱或遮盖物，有时黑如烟灰，有时乌青如死尸。因此，要让每个人都警惕这些支持自然的确认；让他确认支持神；材料并不缺乏。”
12. 5. On the basis of many phenomena in the world the human reason is capable of perceiving and concluding, if it wants to, that God exists and that there is one God. This truth can be corroborated by countless phenomena in the visible world [around us], for the universe is like a stage on which proofs are constantly being demonstrated that God exists and that there is one God.
By way of illustration I will cite a memorable occurrence that I experienced in the spiritual world: Once when I was having a conversation with angels, there were several people present who had recently arrived from the physical world. When I saw them I wished them a happy arrival and told them a number of things they would not otherwise have known about the spiritual world. After that I asked them what considered opinions about God and nature they were bringing with them from the world.
Their answer was this: "Nature produces everything that occurs in the created universe. After creation, God endowed nature with this productive power and ability; he imprinted this power on it. God's only role [now] is to maintain nature's productive power and ability and keep them from failing. Therefore these days everything in the world that comes about and is produced or reproduced is attributed to nature. "
I replied that nature of itself does nothing; it is God who produces things through nature. They asked me to prove it. So I said, "People who believe that the Divine is at work in every detail of nature find support for a belief in God in many of the phenomena they observe in the world. They find much more evidence to support a belief in God than to support a belief in nature.
[2] "Those who see evidence of God at work in the details of nature ponder the obvious yet astounding phenomena in the reproduction of plants and animals.
"In the reproduction of plants, a tiny seed is put in the ground, and a root comes out. Up through the root comes a stem, and then in succession come branches, twigs, leaves, flowers, and fruit, leading to new seeds, completely as if the seed knew the sequence of events or procedure to follow in order to create itself anew! What rational person could think that the sun, which is nothing but fire, knows how to achieve this? Or that the sun can empower its heat and light to bring about these developments? Is the sun capable of intending to be useful? Those with an elevated rational mind, when they see and consider these phenomena in the proper light, cannot help but think that these phenomena come from One whose wisdom is infinite - namely, God. Others as well who do recognize the divine handiwork in the details of nature find additional support for their belief in these phenomena.
"On the other hand, those who do not acknowledge that God is at work in nature move the eyes of their reason to the back of their heads rather than the front when looking at these phenomena. They are the type who derive every idea of their thought process from their bodily senses, and let themselves be convinced by false sensory evidence, saying, 'You see the sun producing all these changes through its heat and light, don't you? What is a thing you can't even see? Is it in fact anything at all?'
[3] "People who are strengthening their belief in the Divine take note of the astounding things they see in the reproduction of animals: Here I should first mention eggs as an example. In the seed of an egg there is a potential chick, together with everything required for its formation and for every stage it will go through after hatching until it becomes a bird just like its mother.
"Furthermore, if it considers flying creatures of every kind, a mind capable of deep thought will encounter stupefying things. For example, in the smallest thing that flies, just as in the largest, in the microscopic, just as in the plainly visible, in tiny insects, just as in songbirds and giant birds of prey, there are sensory organs of sight, smell, taste, and touch, and motor organs or muscles allowing them to fly and walk; and there are internal organs attached to their hearts and lungs that are activated by their brains.
"Those who attribute everything to nature do indeed see these phenomena, but their only thought is that they exist. They simply say that nature has that effect. They say this because they turn their minds away from thoughts about the Divine; and when people who turn away from the Divine see astounding things in nature they cannot think about them rationally, much less spiritually. They think with their senses and in a material way. They think in nature, from nature, and not beyond it. The only difference between them and animals is that they have rational capability, meaning that they could understand if they wanted to.
[4] "Those who are averse to thinking about the Divine and have therefore become mindlessly sense-oriented, fail to realize that their eyesight is so dull and limited to physical matter that it sees a mass of tiny insects as a single vague object, although in fact every single one of those insects has organs for sensing and moving. They are equipped with fibers and vessels, with tiny little hearts, windpipes that function like lungs, internal organs, and brains that have all been woven out of the finest substances in nature. Those structures respond to life at the lowest level; that life individually activates their most minuscule parts. Eyesight, then, is so dull that it sees many things, each of which has countless elements, as nothing more than a little blur; and yet sense-oriented people think and pass judgment on the basis of their eyesight. Obviously, then, their minds are dulled, and they are in darkness regarding what is spiritual.
[5] "All of us, if we want to, can use phenomena in nature to support a belief in the Divine; and we do so when we think about God, about the omnipotence he displayed in creating the universe, and about his omnipresence in preserving the universe.
"For example, when we see the birds that fly in the sky we can reflect on the fact that each species of them knows its own food and where to find it, and recognizes its companions by sight and sound. In fact it knows which birds among all others are friendly and which are hostile. Birds know the mating of their kind; they pair off with a mate, they artfully arrange nests, and in them they lay their eggs and brood over them; they know how long to incubate them; and when the time comes they hatch their young, give them tender love, nurture them under their wings, and gather food and feed them, until the young come of age and can take on those tasks for themselves. All who are willing to think about a divine inflow through the spiritual world into the physical world can see that inflow from these examples. If they are willing, they can say in their hearts that such knowledge cannot be acquired from the sun through its heat and light. The sun, nature's origin and essence, is nothing but a fire. The flow of heat and light from it is utterly dead. From this they can conclude that these phenomena are the result of divine inflow through the spiritual world into the outermost aspects of nature.
[6] "When they look at caterpillars, too, all people can put the visible features of nature to use to strengthen their belief in the Divine. The delight of some love impels caterpillars to long and strive for a change from their earthly condition to something like a heavenly state. So they crawl into a suitable place, wrap themselves in a covering, and create for themselves a kind of womb in which to be reborn. In that womb they become chrysalises, pupas, nymphs, and finally butterflies. After they have undergone their metamorphosis and have been adorned with beautiful wings that reflect their species, they fly into the air as if it were their own heaven and cheerfully play there. They find a partner, lay eggs, and provide for the next generation. During their butterfly phase they nourish themselves with sweet and pleasant food from flowers. Surely all who use the phenomena visible in nature to strengthen their belief in the Divine see an image of our earthly state in the caterpillars, and an image of our heavenly state in the butterflies. Those who convince themselves in favor of nature do indeed see these phenomena, but because they reject the existence of a heavenly human state, they call these phenomena the mere workings of nature.
[7] "By focusing on what is known about bees as well, anyone can use things visible in nature to strengthen a belief in the Divine. Bees know how to collect wax from roses and other flowers, and how to extract honey. They know how to build cells like little apartments and lay them out in the form of a city with passages for coming and going. From far away they smell the flowers and plants from which they get wax for their hive and honey for food. Once stuffed with these, they fly in a straight line back to their own beehive. By doing so they store up food for themselves for the coming winter as if they saw it coming. They set over themselves a female to lead them as their queen. She gives birth to the next generation. They also set over themselves a kind of court for her, complete with bodyguards. When the time comes for her to give birth, she takes an entourage of these bodyguards, called drones, and goes from cell to cell laying eggs, which her crowd of followers covers with daub to protect the eggs from the air. This results in new offspring. Later on, when they have grown to the age at which they can take on these tasks, the young bees are expelled from the hive. They first gather into a swarm in order to stay together and then fly to look for a new home. In the fall the drones are taken away because they have contributed no wax or honey. Their wings are removed to prevent them from coming back and consuming the hives food, for which they did no work.
"All this and more besides serves to show that because bees are useful to the human race, a divine inflow through the spiritual world gives bees a form of government like the one among people on earth, and even like the one among angels in the heavens.
[8] "Surely everyone of sound reason sees that it is not because of the physical world that bees behave this way. What does the sun, the origin of nature, have in common with a government that emulates and is analogous to a government in heaven?
Those who believe in nature and worship it use these and similar animal phenomena to support their belief in nature. Those who believe in and worship God use the same phenomena to support their belief in God. The spiritual person sees something spiritual in these phenomena, while the earthly person sees something earthly; everyone sees it in her or his own way. To me, these phenomena have been evidence of an inflow of the spiritual world into the physical world - an inflow from God.
"While you are at it, ponder whether it would be possible for you to think analytically about a form of government, or about a civil law, or about a moral virtue, or about a spiritual truth, if the Divine were not flowing in from its wisdom through the spiritual world. It has not been possible for me, nor is it now. I have been aware of and have sensed this inflow continually for twenty-six years now. Therefore I speak from personal experience.
[9] "Can nature have usefulness as a goal? Can it sort useful functions into well-ordered sequences and forms? This is impossible except for one who is wise. And to arrange and form the whole universe like this is impossible except for God, whose wisdom is infinite. Who else could foresee and provide substances for people to eat and to wear - food from the fields harvest, from the earths fruit, and from animals; and clothing from the same sources? Among the marvels of the universe is that those lowly insects called silkworms clothe with silk and magnificently adorn both women and men from queens and kings down to maids and butlers. And those lowly insects called bees supply wax for the lamps that give churches and royal courts their splendor. These and many other things are obvious proof that everything occurring in nature is produced by God himself through the spiritual world. "
[10] To that statement I should add that in the spiritual world I have had a chance to observe people who used phenomena visible in the physical world to support a belief in nature even to the point that they became atheists. In spiritual light it became apparent that their intellect was open at the bottom but closed at the top, because they had looked downward toward the earth in their thought rather than upward to heaven. Just above the lowest level of their intellect, the sensory level, I saw a kind of covering that was flickering with hellish fire. In some it was as black as soot; in others, gray like a corpse.
Everyone needs to beware of affirming a belief in nature. Affirm a belief in God instead. There is no shortage of support for it.
12. (v) THERE ARE MANY THINGS IN THE WORLD WHICH CAN LEAD THE HUMAN REASON, IF IT WISHES, TO GRASP AND DEDUCE THAT THERE IS A GOD AND THAT HE IS ONE.
This truth can be supported by countless things in the visible world; for the universe is like a theatre, upon the stage of which demonstrations of the existence of God and His oneness are continually being presented. To illustrate this I shall relate this account from my experiences in the spiritual world.
Once when I was talking with angels, some newcomers from the natural world arrived. On seeing them I made them welcome, and told them many facts they did not know about the spiritual world. After this conversation I asked them what learning about God and nature they brought with them from the world.
'We have been taught,' they said, 'that nature performs all the operations which take place in the whole of creation. After the act of creation God assigned to nature and stamped upon her this ability and power; God only supports and preserves everything from being destroyed. Consequently everything on earth which comes into existence, is born or re-born, is to-day put down to nature.'
I replied that nature of herself performs no operation; but it is God who does this by means of nature. Since they demanded a proof, I said: 1 'Those who believe in the working of God in the details of Nature can find many sights in the world in favour of their belief in God, many more than in favour of nature.
[2] Those who favour the working of God in the details of nature pay attention to the amazing sights to be seen in the reproduction of both plants and animals. In the case of plants, a tiny seed cast into the ground produces a root, by means of the root a stem, and so in order branches, twigs, leaves, flowers and fruit, until the result is fresh seeds, just as if the seed knew the pattern of successive stages or processes which lead to its renewal. Can any rational person think that the sun, which is nothing but fire, has this knowledge, or that it can instruct its heat and light to produce such effects, and that it can act purposefully? A person whose reasoning faculty is uplifted, on seeing and duly considering these facts, is inevitably led to think that they come from Him who possesses infinite wisdom, that is, from God. Those who acknowledge the working of God in the details of nature are further confirmed in their view on seeing these things; those on the other hand who do not make this acknowledgment see them not with the eyes of reason set in the face, but with eyes in the back of the head; these are the people who get all the ideas in their heads from the bodily senses and support their fallacious beliefs by saying 'Surely you see it is the sun which produces all these results by its heat and light. Something you cannot see cannot be anything.'
[3] 'Those seeking support for a Divine origin pay attention to the amazing sights to be seen in animal reproduction. First of all I may mention eggs, which contain the chick hidden in its seed together with everything needed for its development, and its whole future growth after hatching until it becomes a bird resembling its mother. Further if we consider flying creatures in general, the mind which thinks profoundly boggles at the astonishing facts about them; that the smallest as well as the largest, the invisible as well as the visible, that is, tiny insects as well as birds and large animals, possess sensory organs of sight, smell, taste and touch; also motor organs or muscles which allow them to fly and walk; also viscera attached to a heart and lungs, all controlled by brains. Those who attribute everything to nature admittedly see these things, but they think of them merely as facts and call them the products of nature. They say this because they have turned their minds away from thinking about the Divine. This turning away from the Divine prevents them from thinking rationally, much less spiritually, about the amazing sights they see in nature. Their thoughts are limited to the senses and matter, so that they think in nature from nature, rather than above her. Their only difference from animals is that they enjoy the faculty of rationality, that is, they can understand if they wish.
[4] 'Those who have turned away from thoughts of the Divine, which makes them dependent upon the bodily senses, do not realise that the sight of the eye is so coarse and gross that it sees a group of tiny insects as a dark mass. Yet every one of these is endowed with the powers of sensation and movement, that is to say, it is provided with fibres and vessels, a tiny heart, breathing pores, viscera and brain. These are constructed of the simplest natural substances, and their systems answer to the vital principle in its lowest degree, for even the tiniest organs are individually activated by it. Since the sight of the eye is so gross that a number of creatures, each with its countless parts, look like a small dark mass, and yet those who rely on their senses found their thought and judgment on those visual powers, it is obvious how blunted their minds are and thus how blind they are on spiritual matters.
[5] 'Anyone can, if he wishes, find support for the Divine idea in the sights of nature, and also further if he thinks about God and His omnipotence in the creation of the universe and His omnipresence in preserving it. As when he considers the birds of the air, each species of which knows its proper food and where to find it; it recognises its kind by sight and sound; it knows which birds are its friends and which its enemies; they know how to nestle under their plumage, they form pairs, cleverly construct nests, lay eggs in them and sit on them; they know how long to sit, and in due season hatch their chicks, whom they love dearly, protecting them under their wings, providing food and nourishing them, and continuing until they can look after themselves and perform the same service. Anyone who is willing to think how the Divine influences the natural world by means of the spiritual can see this in these facts. He can even, if he wishes, say in his heart, 'Such knowledge cannot be acquired from the sun's heat and light, for the sun which is the origin and essence of nature is nothing but fire. Consequently the radiation of its heat and light is totally devoid of life.' This may lead them to deduce that such things are the effect of Divine influence working on the lowest forms of nature by means of the spiritual world.
[6] 'Anyone can find support for the Divine idea from the sights of nature, when he looks at grubs. The pleasure of a certain love makes them seek and aspire to change their earthly condition into one analogous to the heavenly condition. Therefore they creep into suitable places, surround themselves with a cocoon and so put themselves into a womb that they may be born again. There they become chrysallises, pupae, nymphs, and finally butterflies. And when they have undergone their metamorphosis and have put on the lovely wings typical of their species, they fly up into the air as into their private heaven, play happily together, mate, lay eggs and see to the continuation of their race. Then they feed on lovely, sweet food provided by flowers. Can anyone, who finds support for the Divine idea in the sights of nature, fail to see a picture of man's earthly state in their life as grubs and his heavenly state when they become butterflies? But those who support the idea of nature admittedly see these facts, but because they have mentally rejected the idea of man's heavenly state, they call these nothing but the workings of nature.
[7] 'Anyone can find support for the Divine idea from the sights of nature when he pays attention to the facts known about bees. They know how to collect wax and suck up honey from roses and other flowers, how to construct cells as their tiny homes and arrange them so as to resemble a city with streets by which to come in and go out. They smell out from a distance the flowers and plants from which they collect wax for building and honey to eat. When they are loaded with these they know their bearings to fly home to their hive, and thus provide themselves with food for the coming winter, as if they could foresee it. They set a mistress or queen over them; she is the mother of their offspring. They build a sort of court above their own quarters for the queen surrounded by her courtiers. When the time comes for her to give birth, she goes around accompanied by her courtiers, called drones, from one cell to the next and lays her eggs which the attendant crowd seal in to protect them from the air. These produce their new stock. Later on when this grows up sufficiently to behave in the same way, it is expelled from the hive; the swarm first of all gathers into a cloud to keep together in formation, and then flies off to find themselves a home. Towards autumn the drones, because they have brought home no wax or honey, are taken out and stripped of their wings, so that they cannot come back and consume the food to which they have done nothing to contribute; and much more might be said. From all this it can be clearly seen that for the sake of the service they perform to human beings the Divine influence coming through the spiritual world has given them an organisation similar to that of men on earth, or indeed of angels in the heavens.
[8] 'Is there anyone of unimpaired reason who does not see that such effects are not produced in them by the natural world? What has the sun, the origin of nature, in common with an organisation which rivals and mirrors the organisation of the heavens? These and similar facts concerning the lower animals confirm in his belief the man who makes a profession of and worships nature. But the man who professes belief in and worships God uses the same facts to reinforce his belief in God; for the spiritual man sees in them spiritual facts, while the natural man sees natural ones, in other words, each sees what he is. For my part, such facts have been evidence to me of the influence of the spiritual world coming from God on the natural. Consider too whether you could think analytically about any type of organisation, or any civil law, or any moral virtue, or any spiritual truth, if the Divine influence did not make itself felt as a result of its wisdom by means of the spiritual world. I for my part have never been able to do so, nor can I now. I have consciously perceived that influence and felt it through the senses continuously for the last twenty-six years. So I make this statement as a witness.
[9] 'Can nature have as its aim the fulfilment of a purpose, and arrange these purposes into organised structures? Only a wise being can do this; and no one could so order and structure the universe except God, whose wisdom is infinite. Who else can foresee and provide what men need to eat and clothe themselves: the crops of the field, the fruits of the earth and animals for food, and clothing from the same sources? One of the astonishing things in this is that those insignificant insects called silk-worms dress both women and men in silk and adorn them magnificently, from queens and kings down to maids and servants; and that those insignificant insects called bees supply wax to illuminate splendidly churches and halls. These and many more are the outstanding proofs that God of Himself performs all the workings of nature by means of the spiritual world.
[10] 'To this I must add that I have seen in the spiritual world those who found confirmation of their naturalistic view in the sights of the world, to such an extent that they became atheists. Seen in spiritual light, their understandings seemed to be open underneath, but closed on top, because their thoughts had been turned downwards to earth, and not up to heaven. Above their sensual area, which is the lowest level of the understanding, there appeared a sort of covering flashing with hellish fire, in some cases black as soot, in others livid like a corpse. Therefore let everyone take care not to confirm his belief in nature, but seek rather proofs of God; there is no lack of material.'
Footnotes:
1. The following passage is adapted from Angelic Wisdom concerning Divine Love and Wisdom 351-357, <../cl/416.htm">Conjugial Love 416-421.
12. (5) Human reason can, if it will, perceive and be convinced, from many things in the world, that there is a God, and that He is one. This truth may be confirmed by innumerable things in the visible world; for the universe is like a stage, upon which evidences that there is a God and that He is one are continually exhibited. To illustrate this I will cite this Memorable Relation from the spiritual world:
Once while I was talking with angels, certain spirits that had recently arrived from the natural world were present. Seeing them, I bade them welcome, and told them many things they had not known before about the spiritual world.
After this I asked them what knowledge about God and about nature they had brought with them from the world.
"This," they said, "that nature is the operative power in all things that are done in the created universe; and that God, after creation, endowed nature with and impressed upon it that capability and power; and that God merely sustains and preserves that power lest it perish; consequently, all things that spring forth or are produced and reproduced upon the earth are now ascribed to nature."
But I replied that in nothing is nature of itself the operative power, but God through nature. And when they asked for proof I said, "Those who believe the Divine operation to be in every least thing of nature find in very many things they see in the world much more evidence in favor of a God than in favor of nature.
[2] For those who find evidences in favor of the Divine operation in every least thing of nature observe attentively the wonderful things that are seen in the production of plants and of animals. In the Production of Plants, they observe that from a little seed sown in the ground there goes forth a root, and from the root a stem, and successively branches, buds, leaves, flowers, and fruits, even to new seeds, just as if the seed knew the order of succession or development by which to renew itself. What rational person can imagine that the sun, which is pure fire, knows this, or that it can impart to its heat and light the power to produce such effects and to have such uses in view? Any man whose reason looks upward, when he sees these things and properly considers them, must needs conclude that they are from one whose wisdom is infinite, that is, from God. In this conclusion those who recognize a Divine operation in all the particulars of nature confirm themselves when they observe these things. On the other hand, those who do not recognize such an operation in nature behold these things with the eyes of their reason in the back of the head, and not in the front. These are such as derive all the ideas of their thought from the bodily senses, and confirm the fallacies of the senses, saying, 'Do you not see the sun accomplishing all these things by means of its heat and light? Is that which you do not see of any account?'
[3] Those who confirm themselves in favor of the Divine carefully observe the wonderful things they see in the Production of Animals; as in regard to eggs (speaking first of these), the chick in its seminal state lies concealed in them With every thing requisite for its formation, and also for its entire development after it is hatched until it becomes a bird in the form of the parent. Moreover, to any mind that thinks deeply, things which excite wonder are presented whenever winged creatures in general are observed; as that both the smallest and largest of them, both the invisible and the visible, that is, both minute insects and great birds and beasts, possess organs of sense, namely, sight, smell, taste, and touch; also organs of motion, which are muscles, for they fly and walk; also viscera connected with the heart and lungs which are moved by the brains. All these things are seen also by those who ascribe everything to nature; but such merely notice their existence, and claim that they are products of nature. This they claim because they have turned away their minds from all thoughts of the Divine; and those who have done this, when they behold the wonderful things in nature, are unable to think about them rationally, still less spiritually; but they think sensually and materially; thus they think in nature from nature, and not above nature; and such differ from beasts only in being endowed with rationality, that is, only in an ability to understand if they wish to.
[4] Those who have turned themselves away from all thought of a Divine, and have thereby become corporeal-sensual, never consider that the sight of the eye is so gross and material that it sees many small insects as a single obscure object; and yet each one of these is organized for sensation and motion, and is consequently endowed with fibers and vessels, with a minute heart and pulmonic tubes, with minute viscera and with brains; and these are composed of nature's purest elements, these textures corresponding to life in its lowest degree whereby their least parts are severally actuated. Considering the grossness of our bodily vision, to which many such insects, with the innumerable parts in each, appear as a single minute indistinct object, while yet it is from this vision that sensual men think and draw conclusions, it is evident how gross their minds must be, and in what darkness they must be respecting spiritual things.
[5] "Any man is able, if he will, to find evidences in favor of a Divine in the visible things of nature; and this he does whenever he thinks of God and of His omnipotence in the creation of the universe, and of His omnipresence in the preservation of it; as, for instance, when he sees that among the birds of heaven each species knows its own food and where to find it, recognizes its companions by sight and sound, and among other species knows which are friends and which enemies; that they know how to mate, to form marriages, construct their nests skillfully, place their eggs in them and hatch them, also the period of incubation; and when the young have been hatched they love them most tenderly, shelter them beneath their wings, feed and nourish them, and this until they are able to provide for themselves and to perform like offices. If anyone is willing to think about a Divine influx through the spiritual world into the natural he can see it in these creatures; and can also, if he will, say from his heart that the sun through its heat and light cannot be the source of such knowledge, for the sun from which nature has its rise and essence is pure fire, and consequently its effluent heat and light must be utterly dead; and thus he may reach the conclusion that these knowledges are from a Divine influx through the spiritual world into the outmosts of nature.
[6] "Anyone can find evidences in favor of a Divine in the visible things of nature when he observes those worms which are moved by the joy of a peculiar love to aspire after a change of their earthly state into one somewhat analogous to a heavenly state. For this purpose they crawl into suitable places, enclose themselves in a covering, and thus place themselves in a womb from which to be born again; and there they become chrysalids, aureliae, nymphs, and finally butterflies; and having undergone this transformation and been decked with beautiful wings according to their species, they fly forth into the air as into their heaven, and there disport themselves merrily, marrying, laying eggs, and providing for themselves a posterity, meanwhile nourishing themselves with sweet and pleasant food from flowers. Who that sees evidences in favor of a Divine in the visible things of nature can help seeing in these as worms an image of man's earthly state, and in these as butterflies an image of his heavenly state? Those who have confirmed themselves in favor of nature behold the same things, but having rejected man's heavenly state from their thought they call them mere operations of nature.
[7] "Anyone can find evidences in favor of a Divine in the visible things in nature when he gives thought to what is known of bees, their knowing how to collect wax from roses and blossoms, to suck out honey, to build cells like little houses, to arrange them like a city, with streets for going in and out; their smelling from a distance the flowers and herbs from which they collect wax for their houses and honey for food, being loaded with which they fly back straight to their hive. Thus they provide themselves with food for the coming winter as if they foresaw it. They also appoint a mistress over themselves as queen, and through her they propagate a posterity; and for her they build a sort of palace above themselves, and place guards around it. When the time for propagation arrives, accompanied by her guards, which are called drones, she goes from cell to cell, and lays her eggs, which her retinue seal up lest they be injured by the air. Thus a new generation is born; and when this generation has reached the proper age to be able to repeat the process it is expelled from the hive, and the new swarm, after gathering into a body to prevent separation, flies forth to find itself a home. About the time of autumn, as the drones have added nothing to the supply of wax or honey, they are led out and deprived of their wings to prevent their returning and consuming the food on which they had spent no labor. From this and other facts it can be seen that on account of the use they perform for the human race these insects receive by influx from the spiritual world a form of government similar to that which is formed among men on the earth, and even among the angels in the heavens.
[8] What man of sound reason does not see that the natural world cannot be the source of all this? What has the sun, from which nature springs, in common with a government which so vies with and closely resembles heavenly government? From these and like facts exhibited among animals, one who acknowledges and worships nature confirms himself in favor of nature; while he who acknowledges and worships God confirms himself from the same facts in favor of God; for the spiritual man sees in them spiritual things, and the natural man sees in them natural things, thus each in accord with his character. For my own part, such things have been to me evidences that from God there is an influx of the spiritual world into the natural. Consider, moreover, whether you are able to think analytically of any form of government, of any civil law, or any moral virtue, or any spiritual truth, except on the supposition that there is an inflow of the Divine from its own wisdom through the spiritual world. As to myself, I am not able to do so, and never have been. I have now for twenty-six years continually observed that influx perceptibly and sensibly; I therefore speak from what I know.
[9] "Can nature pursue use as an end, and arrange uses in order and in forms? Only a wise being is able to do this; and God alone, whose wisdom is infinite, is able so to order and form the universe. Who else can foresee and provide food and clothing for man-food from the products of the field, from the fruits of the earth, and from animals; and clothing from the same sources? It is among these marvelous facts that those petty worms called silkworms clothe with silk and magnificently adorn both women and men, from queens and kings even to maidservants and menservants; and that a petty insect like the bee supplies the wax for the tapers that make temples and palaces brilliant. All these and more are conclusive proofs that God from Himself through the spiritual world operates all things that take place in nature.
[10] "To all this let me add the fact that I have seen in the spiritual world those who from things visible in the natural world had confirmed themselves in favor of nature until they had become atheists; and that in spiritual light the understanding of such appeared to be open below, but closed above, for the reason that in their thought they had looked down toward the earth, and not up toward heaven. Above their sensual faculties, which form the lowest part of the understanding, a kind of covering flashing with infernal fire was seen, in some cases like soot, and in others livid like a corpse. Let everyone therefore beware of these confirmations in favor of nature; and let him confirm himself in favor of God; there is no lack of means. "
12. (5) HUMAN REASON MAY, IF IT WILL, PERCEIVE AND CONCLUDE FROM MANY THINGS IN THE WORLD THAT THERE IS A GOD, AND THAT HE IS ONE.
This truth may be confirmed by innumerable testimonies from the visible world; for the universe is like a stage on which are continually being exhibited evidences that there is a God, and that He is one.
To illustrate this I will mention the following remarkable experience from the spiritual world. 1 I was once talking with angels and there were present some spirits who had just arrived from the natural world. When I saw them I wished them happiness on their arrival, and told them many things that were new to them about the spiritual world. After talking to them, I enquired of them what knowledge concerning God and nature they brought with them from the world. They replied that according to their knowledge nature is the agent by which all things are done in the universe; for God, after creation, endowed and impressed upon nature this faculty and power, and God merely sustains and preserves all things lest they should perish. Therefore the existence, production and reproduction of all things are to-day ascribed to nature.
[2] To this I replied that nature of herself does nothing, but that it is God who operates through nature. When they asked for proof I said that those who believe in the Divine agency in the various works of nature can confirm their view from the many things they see in nature much more than those who believe in the agency of nature. Those who believe in the Divine agency in nature study the wonders that appear in the production of plants and animals. In the production of plants they see that from a tiny seed sown in the ground there issues a root, by means of the root a stem, and successively branches, buds, leaves, flowers and fruit, till finally new seeds are produced just as if the seed knew the order of the successive stages by which it should reproduce itself. What rational man can suppose that the sun, which is pure fire, knows this, or can endow its heat and light with the power to accomplish such things, or can intentionally perform uses? The man whose rational faculty has been elevated cannot do otherwise than suppose, when he sees and duly considers these things, that they are from Him who has infinite wisdom, that is, from God. Those who acknowledge the Divine agency in the various works of nature confirm their view when they see these things. On the other hand, those who do not acknowledge it regard these things from an inverted point of view. They derive the ideas in their mind from the senses of the body, and confirm them by the illusions of the senses of the body, and confirm them by the illusions of the senses, saying: 'Surely you see the sun effecting all these things by its own heat and light-sun effecting all these things by its own heat and light. What you cannot see cannot exist.'
[3] Those who believe in the Divine study also the wonders that appear in the production of animals. First may be mentioned the egg. In it the chicken lies in its seed, with all things necessary for its formation and also for its future growth till it becomes a bird like its parent. Further, when regard is paid to winged creatures in general, the thoughtful mind is astonished at what is presented to it. For in the least as in the greatest, in the invisible as in the visible, that is, in the least of insects as in birds and great animals, there are organs of sense, namely sight, smell, taste and touch; also organs of motion, or muscles, for they fly and walk. There are viscera also, connected with the heart and lungs, and these are actuated by the brain. Those who ascribe all things to nature indeed see these things, but note only their existence, and say that nature produces them. They say this because they have turned away their minds from thinking of the Divine; and those who have done this, when they regard the wonders of nature, cannot think rationally, still less spiritually, but sensually and materially, and finally they think in nature from nature, and not above nature; they differ only from beasts in that, having rationality, they are capable of understanding, if they will.
[4] Those who have turned away from thinking of the Divine and have thereby become sensual and corporeal, do not realize that the sight of the eye is so gross that it sees many tiny insects as mere dark specks; and yet each is organized to feel and to move, and so has fibres and vessels, a minute heart and pulmonary tubes, viscera and brains. All these are composed of the purest substances in nature, and their structures correspond to life in its lowest degree, by which the minutest of them are distinctly actuated. Since the sight of the eye is so gross that many insects, each with its innumerable parts, appear to it as tiny, dark specks, it is manifest how gross the minds of sensual men must be who base their thoughts and conclusions on that sight, and consequently in what darkness they are with respect to spiritual things.
[5] Every man, if he will, may confirm his belief in the Divine from the visible things in nature; and he does so who thinks about God and His omnipotence in creating the universe, and about His omnipresence in preserving it. As for instance when he observes the fowls of the air, how every species knows its own proper food, and where it may be found, and recognizes its own kind by sound and sight; how birds can distinguish friends and enemies among other birds, know the mating season, choose their mates, skillfully build their nests, lay their eggs and sit upon them; and how they know the time of hatching when they help their young out of the shell. These they love most tenderly, cherishing them under their wings, providing them with food, and supporting them until they are able to provide for themselves, and in their turn perform the same offices. Every man who is disposed to think of the Divine influx through the spiritual world into the natural may see it in those things; and, if he will, he may say in his heart that such knowledge cannot be communicated to these creatures from the sun through its heat and light. For the sun, from which nature derives her own origin and essence, is pure fire, and consequently its emanations of heat and light are completely void of life. It may therefore be concluded that such things are the result of Divine influx through the spiritual world into the ultimates of nature.
[6] Every one also may confirm his belief in the Divine when he considers those insects which, impelled by the craving of a sort of love, ardently seek for a change from their earth-bound state to one like that of heaven. For this purpose they creep into suitable places, weave round themselves a cocoon and thus, as it were, return into the womb to be born again, becoming pupae and finally butterflies. When they have passed through these changes and put on their beautiful wings, after their kind, they fly into the air as into a heaven of their own, where they sport in happy mood, choose mates, lay their eggs, and provide for themselves a posterity. In this state they feed upon a sweet and pleasant nectar drawn from the flowers. Any one who confirms his belief in the Divine from the visible things of nature sees an image of man's earthly state in them as insects, and of his heavenly state in them as butterflies. Those, however, who confirm their belief in nature, see these things indeed, but as they have renounced all belief in the heavenly state, they call them merely the operations of nature.
[7] Again, every man may confirm his belief in the Divine from the visible things of nature when he studies the well-known facts about bees. They know how to gather wax and honey from roses and other flowers, and build cells like little houses, arranged in the form of a city, with passages by which to go in and out. They scent from afar the flowers and herbs from which they gather the wax for their homes and honey for food; and laden with these they fly back in the right direction to their own hive, and thus provide for themselves food for the coming winter, as if they foresaw its approach. They also set over themselves a queen, from whom to propagate their posterity. They provide a sort of palace for her with guards, called drones, and when her time comes, accompanied by them, she proceeds from cell to cell and lays her eggs, which her attendants seal up to protect them from the air. In this way a new progeny arises. When its time comes to perform similar offices it is driven from the hive. The swarm first gathers itself into a band so as not to be scattered, and then flies abroad to seek a home for itself. About autumn the drones, having brought in neither wax nor honey, are taken out and deprived of their wings, to prevent them from returning and consuming the food they had expended no labor to collect. Many other facts might be added; but from those just related it is evident that for the sake of the use they perform to mankind, from the Divine influx through the spiritual world, they have a form of government resembling that of men on earth, and indeed that of angels in heaven.
[8] Any one of sound reason may see that the bees do not acquire their instincts from the world of nature, and that the sun, from which nature is derived, has no form of government like that of heaven.
From these and similar observations in the animal world he who believes in nature and worships her confirms his belief in her; while he who believes in God and worships Him confirms his belief in Him. The spiritual man sees what is spiritual in them, but the natural man only what is natural, each according to his own nature. For myself such things have been manifestations of Divine influx from the spiritual world into the natural. Consider also whether one could think analytically concerning any form of government, or any civil law, or any morel virtue, or any spiritual truth unless the Divine wisdom entered by influx through the spiritual world. For my own part, I never could, nor can I now, as I have perceptibly and manifestly observed this influx continuously, for twenty-six years: I therefore speak from my own experience.
[9] Could nature regard use as an end, and arrange uses into their orders and forms? No one could do this but one who is wise, and no one could so order and form the universe but God, whose wisdom is infinite. No other could foresee and provide for man food and clothing, food from the harvests of the fields, the fruits of the earth, and from animals, and clothing from the same. It is a wonderful thing that those humble insects called silk-worms should clothe with silk and magnificently adorn men and women, from kings and queens, even to menservants and maidservants; that those humble insects called bees should furnish wax for lamps to illuminate temples and palaces. These and many other things are outstanding proofs that God Himself, acting through the spiritual world, directs all the operations of nature.
[10] I should add that in the spiritual world I have seen some who had so confirmed their belief in nature from what they saw while in this world that they became atheists. In the light of the spiritual world their understanding appeared open from beneath but closed from above, because in thought they looked downwards to the earth, and not upwards to heaven. Over the sensual faculty, which is the lowest part of the understanding, there appeared as it were a veil, sparkling with infernal fire. With some it appeared black as soot, with others livid, corpse-like in color. No one, therefore, ought to confirm himself in a belief in nature from nature's manifestations: these rather furnish grounds for belief in God.
Footnotes:
1. We render thus "memorabile" (pl. memorabilia). Swedenborg uses this term for the illustrative narratives he gives, as those appended to chapters of TRUE CHRISTIAN RELIGION, of things seen and heard in the spiritual world. The reader should reserve judgment on Swedenborg's descriptions of experiences in the spiritual world till he has satisfied himself as to the reality as well as the nature of that world. 851, and Tafel's Doc., Vol. 2, pp. 415-416.
12. V. QUOD RATIO HUMANA EX MULTIS IN MUNDO PERCIPERE AUT CONCLUDERE POSSIT, SI VULT, QUOD DEUS SIT, ET QUOD UNUS SIT. Haec veritas per innumerabilia in Mundo aspectabili, confirmari potest; est enim Universum sicut Theatrum, super quo Testimonia, quod Deus sit, et quod unus sit, continue exhibentur. Sed ad hoc illustrandum adducam MEMORABILE hoc e Mundo Spirituali. Quondam inter loquendum cum Angelis, aderant aliqui Novitii e Mundo naturali, quibus visis optabam felicem adventum, et narravi plura ignota de Mundo Spirituali; et post sermonem de illis quaesivi, quam eruditionem de Deo et de Natura e Mundo secum ferrent; dicebant hanc, quod Natura operetur omnia quae in Universo Creato fiunt, et quod Deus post Creationem illi indiderit et impresserit facultatem et potentiam illam, et quod Deus solum sustentet et conservet illa ne pereant; quapropter cuncta quae existunt, nascuntur et renascuntur super Tellure, Naturae hodie adscribuntur: sed respondi, quod Natura ex se non operetur quicquam, sed Deus per naturam: et quia poscebant demonstrationem, dixi; illi qui credunt Divinam operationem in singulis naturae, possunt ex permultis, quae in Mundo vident, se confirmare pro Deo, multo plus quam pro Natura:
[2] illi enim, qui se confirmant pro Divina Operatione in singulis naturae, attendunt ad Mirabilia, quae conspiciuntur 1 in Productionibus tam Vegetabilium quam Animalium: in PRODUCTIONIBUS VEGETABILIUM; quod ex seminulo jacto in terram exeat radix, per radicem caulis, et successive rami, termites, folia, flores, fructus, usque ad nova semina, prorsus sicut Semen sciret ordinem successionis seu processum, quo se renovaturum sit. Quis rationalis cogitare potest, quod Sol, qui est purus ignis, hoc sciat, aut quod possit indere calori suo et luci suae, ut talia efficiat, et quod possit intendere usus; homo, cui rationale elevatum est, dum illa videt et rite expendit, non potest aliter cogitare, quam quod sint ab Ipso, cui infinita Sapientia est, ita a Deo; illi qui Divinam Operationem in singulis naturae agnoscunt, etiam confirmant se in eo, cum illa vident; at vicissim illi qui illam non agnoscunt, non vident talia oculis rationis in fronte, sed in occipitio, qui sunt qui omnes ideas cogitationis suae attrahunt ex sensibus corporis, et fallacias illorum confirmant, dicentes, nonne vides Solem per calorem suum et lucem suam omnia illa operantem; quid est quod non vides, num est aliquid.
[3] Illi qui se confirmant pro Divino, attendunt ad MIRABILIA quae vident in PRODUCTIONIBUS ANIMALIUM; ut hic primum memorem in Ovis, quod in illis lateat pullus in suo semine cum omni requisito ad formationem, et quoque cum omni progressione post exclusionem 2 usque dum fiat avis in forma genetricis. Porro, si attenditur ad Volatilia in genere, sistuntur menti, quae alte cogitat, talia, quae creant stuporem, ut quod in minimis illorum ut in maximis, in invisibilibus ut in visibilibus, hoc est, in insectulis ut in alitibus et bestiis magnis, sint organa sensuum, quae sunt visus, odoratus, gustus et tactus, tum organa motuum, quae sunt musculi, volant enim et gradiuntur; ut et viscera adhaerentia cordi et pulmoni, quae actuantur a cerebris. Qui omnia Naturae adscribunt, illi quidem vident talia, sed cogitant modo quod sint, et dicunt, quod Natura producat; et hoc dicunt, quia averterunt mentem a cogitando de Divino, et qui averterunt se a Divino, dum vident mirabilia in Natura, non possunt rationaliter, minus spiritualiter, de illis cogitare, sed cogitant sensualiter et materialiter, et tunc cogitant in natura a natura, et non supra illam; solum cum differentia a bestiis, quod rationalitate polleant, hoc est, quod possint intelligere, si volunt.
[4] Illi, qui averterunt se a cogitando de Divino, et per id facti sunt sensuales corporei, non cogitant, quod visus oculi tam crassus et materialis sit, ut plura insectula spectet ut unum obscurum, et tamen unumquodvis organizatum est ad sentiendum et ad se movendum, et sic quod praeditum sit fibris et vasis, tum corculis, fistulis pulmonicis, viscerulis ac cerebris, et quod haec contexta sint a purissimis in natura, et quod contextus illi correspondeant vitae in ultimo gradu, e qua minutissima illorum distincte aguntur. Cum Visus oculi tam crassus est, ut plura cum innumerabilibus in unoquovis, appareant ei sicut parvum obscurum, et tamen illi, qui sensuales sunt, ex illo visu cogitant et judicant, patet quam incrassata est Mens illorum, et inde in qua caligine sunt de spiritualibus.
[5] Quisque ex visibilibus in Natura potest se confirmare pro Divino, si vult, et quoque se confirmat, qui de Deo et Ipsius Omnipotentia in creando Universum, et de Ipsius Omnipraesentia in conservando illud, cogitat; ut dum videt Volatilia Coeli, quod quaelibet eorum species sciat sua alimenta, et ubi haec sunt; cognoscat ex sono et visu consocios; tum inter aves, quaenam earum amicae, et quaenam inimicae sunt, quod congressus sub plumis sciant, connubia jungant, arte struant nidos, ibi ponant ova, incubent illis, tempus incubatus sciant, quo exacto excludunt pullos, quos tenerrime amant, sub alis fovent, escas porrigunt, et alunt, et hoc usque dum sui juris fiunt, et similia possunt agere. Omnis qui vult de Divino influxu per Mundum spiritualem in naturalem cogitare, potest eum in illis videre; potest etiam, si vult, corde suo dicere, tales Scientiae non possunt illis dari ex Sole per ejus calorem et lucem, est enim Sol, ex quo Natura suum ortum et essentiam ducit, purus Ignis, et inde effluxus caloris et lucis ejus prorsus mortui; et sic possunt concludere, quod talia sint ex influxu Divino per Mundum spiritualem in ultima naturae.
[6] Quisque potest ex Visibilibus in Natura pro Divino se confirmare, dum videt Vermes, qui ex jucundo cujusdam amoris affectant et spirant mutationem sui status terrestris in statum quendam analogum status coelestis, et propterea repunt in loca, circumdant se tegmine, et sic mittunt se in uterum ut renascantur, et ibi fiant chrysallides, aureliae, nymphae, et tandem papiliones; et cum Metamorphosin subierunt, et secundum speciem pulchris induti sunt alis, evolant in aerem sicut in suum coelum, ac ibi genialiter ludunt, et agunt connubia, ponunt ova, ac prospiciunt sibi posteritatem; et tunc victu amoeno et dulci ex floribus se nutriunt. Quis non, qui pro Divino ex visibilibus in natura se confirmat, non videt aliquam imaginem terrestris status hominis in illis ut vermibus, et imaginem status coelestis in illis ut papilionibus: at illi, qui pro Natura se confirmant, vident quidem illa, sed quia coelestem hominis statum rejecerunt ex animo, vocant illa meras naturae operationes.
[7] Quisque ex Visibilibus in Natura pro Divino se potest confirmare, dum attendit ad illa quae nota sunt de 3 Apibus, quod sciant ex rosis et floribus colligere ceram, et exsugere mel, ac struere cellas sicut domunculas, et disponere illas in formam civitatis, cum plateis per quas intrent et per quas exeant; quod e longinquo odorent flores et herbas, ex quibus colligant ceras pro domo, et mella pro victu, et quod illis refertae revolent secundum plagam ad suum alveare, et sic prospiciant sibi victum pro ventura hyeme, sicut illam praeviderent: praeficiunt etiam sibi dominam sicut Reginam, ex qua Posteritas propagetur, et pro illa quasi Aulam supra se struunt cum satellitiis circum, quae, cum tempus partus instat, vadit in comitatu a satellitibus, qui vocantur Fuci, a cellula in cellulam, et ponit ova, quae turba sequens circumlinit, ne laedantur ab aere; inde illis nova soboles: postea cum haec ad aetatem suam provecta est, ut similia possit facere, expellitur domo, et examen se primum colligit in turmam, ne consociatio divellatur, et dein evolat ad investigandum sibi domicilium: circa Autumnum fuci illi, quia nihil cerae aut mellis intulerunt, educuntur et deprivantur alis, ne redeant, et escas suas, quibus nihil operae impenderunt, consumant; praeter plura: ex quibus constare potest, quod illis, propter Usum, quem praestant Generi humano, ex influxu Divino per Spiritualem Mundum, sit forma regiminis, qualis est apud homines in terris, imo apud angelos in Coelis.
[8] Quis, cui ratio illibata est, non videt, quod talia apud illos non sint ex Naturali mundo; quid Sol, a quo Natura, commune habet cum Regimine aemulo et analogo Regiminis coelestis. Ex his et similibus apud Animalia bruta, confessor et cultor Naturae confirmat se pro Natura, dum confessor et cultor Dei ex iisdem se confirmat pro Deo, nam Spiritualis homo videt spiritualia in illis, et Naturalis homo videt naturalia in illis, ita quisque qualis est: quod me attinet, talia mihi fuerunt testimonia Influxus Mundi Spiritualis in Naturalem a Deo. Expende etiam, Numeri de aliqua Forma regiminis, aut de aliqua Lege civili, aut de aliqua Virtute morali, aut de aliqua Veritate spirituali, potes analytice cogitare, nisi Divinum ex Sapientia sua per Mundum Spiritualem influat; quod ad me, non potui nec possum; animadverti enim perceptibiliter et sensibiliter Influxum illum nunc per 26 annos continue, quare hoc dico ex testato.
[9] Num Natura pro fine potest habere Usum, et disponere usus in ordines et formas, hoc non potest nisi quam Sapiens; ac Universum ita ordinare et formare non potest nisi Deus, Cui infinita Sapientia est; quis alius potest praevidere et providere quae victus et amictus sunt, hominibus, victus ex messibus agri, fructibus terrae, et ex animalibus, et vestitus ex iisdem. Inter Mirabilia ibi est, quod viles illi vermes, qui vocantur Bombyces, serico vestirent, et magnifice ornarent et foeminas et viros, a Reginis et Regibus, usque ad ancillas et famulos: et quod viles illi vermes, qui vocantur Apes, suppeditarent Ceras pro luminaribus, ex quibus Templa et Aulae in splendore sunt. Haec et plura sunt Auctoramenta exstantia, quod Deus a Se per Mundum Spiritualem operetur omnia quae in Natura fiunt.
[10] His adjiciendum est, quod in Mundo Spirituali visi sint illi, qui pro Natura ex visibilibus in Mundo se confirmaverunt, usque ut athei facti sint, et quod Intellectus eorum in Luce spirituali apparuerit apertus infra, sed occlusus supra, ex causa, quia Cogitatione spectaverunt deorsum ad terram, et non sursum ad Coelum: supra sensuale, quod est infimum intellectus, apparuit sicut velamen fulgurans ex igne infernali, apud quosdam atrum sicut fuligo, et apud quosdam lividum sicut cadaver. Caveat itaque quisque sibi a confirmationibus pro Natura, sed confirmet se pro Deo; non deest supellex.
Footnotes: