419. "From the visible things in nature, every one can confirm himself in favor of the Divine when he takes note of What is known concerning bees; that they know how to collect wax and suck honey from herbs and flowers; to build cells like little houses, and to arrange them into the form of a city with streets through which they come and go; that they scent from afar the flowers and herbs from which they collect wax for their house and honey for their food, and laden with these, fly back in a direct line to their hive. Thus they provide for themselves food and dwelling for the coming winter as though they had knowledge and foresight. They also set over them as queen, a mistress by whom a posterity may be propagated; and for her, they build above them a kind of palace with attendants round about it; and when the time of bringing forth is at hand, then, accompanied by her attendants, she goes from cell to cell and lays her eggs; and lest these be injured by the air, they are besmeared all around by the crowd that follows her; and from these eggs they obtain a new progeny. Later, when this progeny has come to an age able to do the same things, it is driven from the home; and the swarm thus driven out, first gathers itself together and then, in a compact body lest the company be scattered, it flies off to seek for itself a domicile. Moreover, about autumn, the useless drones are led out and deprived of their wings lest they return and consume the food on which they have expended no labor; besides many other marvels. From all this it can be seen that because of the use they perform to the human race, and by virtue of influx out of the spiritual world, bees have a form of government like that which is among men on earth, yea, among angels in heaven. What man is there of unimpaired reason who does not see that such operations among bees are not from the natural world? What has the sun, the source of nature, in common with a government emulous of the government of heaven and analogous thereto?
"From the above and from similar marvels with brute animals, the confessor and worshipper of nature confirms himself in favor of nature, while, from the same things, the confessor and worshipper of God confirms himself in favor of the Divine, the spiritual man seeing in them spiritual things, and the natural man seeing in them natural things, each seeing in accordance With his nature. As regards myself, to me such things have been testimonies of the influx of the spiritual into the natural, that is, of the spiritual world into the natural world, thus of influx from the Lord's Divine wisdom. Reflect also on this: Is it possible for you to think analytically concerning any form of government, or any civil law or moral virtue or spiritual truth, unless the Divine from His wisdom flow in through the spiritual world? As to myself, it has not been possible, nor is it, for both by perception and by sensation, I have observed that influx, and this now for twenty-five years continuously. Therefore I say this as one who has witnessed it.
