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 visi-
ble 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 flow-
ers. 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 cater-
pillars, 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
singke
(singke)
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