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 hive’s 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
physicalworld that bees behave this way. What does the sun, the origin of
nature, have in common with a government that emulates and is analo-
gous 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 per-
sonal 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
§12 god the creator & creation 17