THEFOURKINGDOMS 81
Should he at last put on, in addition to the two pairs of
gloves already ha mp ering him, a pair of still hea vier mittens,
he would, temporarily, be entirely unable to play, and one
who had not heard him play previously to the time he put on
the gloves and the mittens, would naturally think that he had
never been able to do so, especially if ignorant of the
hampering of his hands.
So it is with the Spirit; every step down, every descent
into coarser matter is to it what the putting on of a pair of
gloves would be to the musician. Every step down limits its
power of expression until it has become accustomed to the
limitations and has found its focus, in the same way that the
eye must find its focus after we enter a house on a bright
summer day. The pupil of the eye contracts to its limit in the
glare of the sun and on entering the house all seems dark;
but, as the pupil expands, and admits the light, the man is
enabled to see as well in the dimmer light of the house as he
did in the sunlight.
The purpose of man's evolution here is to enable him to
find his focus in the Physical World, where at present the
light of wisdom seems obscured. But when in time we have
“found the light,” the wisdom of man will shine forth in his
actions, and far surpass the wisdom expressed by the group-
spirit of the animal.
Besides, a distinction must be made between the group-
spirit and the virgin spirits of the life wave now expressing
itself as animals. The group-spirit belongs to a different
evolution and is the guardian of the animal spirits.
The dense body in which we function is composed of
numerous cells, each having separate cell-consciousness,
though of a very low order. While these cells form part of
our body they are subjected to and dominated by our