166 ROSICRUCIANCOSMO-CONCEPTION
up to the time when man gained self-consciousness,
absolutely nothing was left to chance.
After self-consciousness there is a certain scope for the
exercise of man's own individual will to enable unfolding
his Divine spiritual powers.
The great Leaders of mankind take everything into
consideration, the food of man included. This has a great
deal to do with his development. “Tell me what you eat and
I will tell you what you are” is not a far-fetched idea, but a
great truth in nature.
The man of the First Epoch was ethereal. That does not
contradict the statement that he was mineral-like, for all
gases are mineral. The Earth was still soft, not yet having
solidified. In the Bible man is called Adam and it is said that
he was made of earth.
Cain is described as an agriculturist. He symbolizes the
man of the Second Epoch. He had a vital body like the
plants which sustained him.
In the Third Epoch food was obtained fromliving
animals to supplement the former plant food. Milk was the
means used for evolving the desire body, which made the
mankind of that time animal-like. This is what is meant by
the Bible statement that “Abel was a shepherd.” It is
nowhere stated that he killed animals.
In the Fourth Epoch man had evolved beyond animal—
he had mind. Thought breaks down nerve cells; kills,
destroys and causes decay. Therefore the food of the
Atlantean was, by analogy, carcasses. He killed to eat and
that is why the Bible states that “Nimrod was a mighty
hunter.” Nimrod represents the man of the Fourth Epoch.
In the meanwhile, man had descended deeper and
deeper into matter. His former ethereal body formed the