Chapter 11

THE FLY AS AN ASSEMBLER OF LIGHT AND LIFE. (March 25, 1842)

1. Here you will ask and say; “It is all well and fine, but what drives the first kind of spirits, which are still not complete, out of the sun into the wide, endless spaces?”

2. And, I give you this as an answer: Nothing else but My eternal order, in which these wandering spirits from the sun have a positive polarity saturation, but basically they are only negative!

3. But what happens if two like poles come near each other? They repel each other until the positively nourished but, within itself, still negative pole, has given up all the positive!

4. Now, understand - our well-known little atomic animals are basically negative anxieties, and can only remain in the sun as long as they retain a negative polarity. If they too greedily take on a light saturation from the positive polarity sphere of the sun spirits, so that, according to the nature of light, there remains very little difference between them and the truly positive polarity spirits, which are already complete, they, the little atomic animals, will be quickly driven out from the positive polarities, and that with a truly spiritual speed.

5. These expelled spirits are the actual shining light of the sun which, when it falls on a planet, imparts the positive part to it, which is the accompanying light, or rather, the continued love-joy vibration of the completed spirits.

6. But in the negative portion, these atomic beings soon free themselves of their positive part, especially when they get close to a planet, and then, as anti-polar beings, return to the sun. Since these beings always move in a straight line because of their great speed, it is understandable why objects illuminated by the sun are seen so clearly, especially when there are no disturbances in the air.

7. But how such an illuminated form can be seen in all its parts is due to the fact that all matter, out of which a form is made, is likewise – as you already know – nothing else but “a conflict of spiritual potencies.

8. Therefore, when these fast light bearers from the sun encounter a form, the form then takes on, according to its composition, the parts corresponding to itself and lets the unusable parts go in all directions and at the highest rate of speed.

9. And so the eye is only an organ for the reception of the manifold difference of the main – or the returned light, and these manifold differences are also the sculptors of all the different things in the eye, based on these light differentiations.

10. So now that you know this and, in the natural sense, comprehend it as much as possible, it must finally be clear to you that everything which represents anything material, is basically not material but purely spiritual, except you cannot behold what is spirit because you are not yet in the spiritual polarity. But once you find yourself in spiritual polarity, then the opposite will occur, where you will see only what is spirit, but all material you will have to think of as now you think of the spiritual. Therefore, you should not wonder so much if, in the course of this communication, you come upon points, here and there, that cannot be made all so clear to you, for if all these relationships should now be made accessible to you, you would have to step out of the material completely and into the purely spiritual, and it is not yet time for that.

11. As much as it is possible to understand the spiritual within matter, it is sufficiently shown to you in this communication, what a superficial road those take who have nothing but matter before them, and how impossible to understand those who, in their research, will lift themselves above matter.

12. Now that we have shown the differences between light and light, illumination and illumination, made it, as much as possible, understandable to you, we have also made the bulwark for our victory building, and now we want to return to our quite forgotten little animal.

13. But I already sense another question within you, and it is, “Yes, but what will our poor fly suddenly have to do between suns and planets, and between all these light-generating and light-bearing spirits?”

14. This question will soon be answered if you say, “What shall the fly do between light–generating and light-bearing spirits?”

15. And I say, the fly shall serve as a medium and shall become ‘a light-gathering spirit’!

16. See, herein lies the solution.

17. Could you ever say, “Now we understand this being”, and would have to testify loudly that you don’t know its standpoint, - what then would be your understanding?

18. Truly I tell you: There would be very little difference between how ‘you’ see the fly or some other object, and the way another animal would see it, except that you can name it and say that it has six feet, two wings, a body, a head, and belongs to the class of ‘flying insects’, - and then, perhaps, add two or three hypotheses.

19. Thus, the standpoint of a thing is the basis, from which the thing being viewed appears in its full truth.

20. But what is the truth of a thing?

21. Understand, ‘The spirit of a thing is the truth of it!’ As long as this is not established, everything resembles a deaf, hollow nut lacking content.

22. Thus the standpoint is the basis, we have said it, and it must stand the test! So look then at our fly on this middle ground.

23. Is it only spirit, or only matter?

24. You have to say: No! It is partly material and, since it lives, it is also partly spirit. It finds itself, like countless other living beings, between the two main polarities, namely, between the positive living polarity of the sun and the opposite-standing negative polarity of the planets.

25. This is to say: It is ‘neutral’, meaning neither all positive nor all negative. Yes, so it is right, good and true; neither light-generating alone, nor light-bearing alone, but a light collector.

26. But what is this light?

27. We know that it expresses itself in the mobility of life, thus light and life are one and the same, and light is only an appearance of life.

28. But, since our fly is a collector of light, what else does it collect? Or rather, is it not then a ‘collector of life’?

29. How does this life express itself in the fly? Does it express itself, perhaps, in a resplendent light?

30. You must be either blind or have a fanciful eye if you can say you have seen it fly around glowing like a firefly. Yes, the fly preserves life quite exemplary within itself, it no longer lets it stream out, and it puts on a dark garment, so that the light within can better multiply.

31. See now, My dear ones, whoever doesn’t recognize ‘the essence of humility’ in the fly, must be more than threefold blind.

32. You know its manifold usefulness, but the light of the world doesn’t recognize it. And so the fly, the industrious, busy little animal whose every movement is in some way useful, must leave itself open to all contempt. But why? Because the fly is a collector of life, and would rather increase the life within itself, than destroy itself by showing off with it.

33. Now do you see the standpoint? How the rays emanate from it in all directions, so that you can see, brightly illuminated, the victory, which this animal gains by fighting so courageously!

34. But what is this victory?

35. Let’s return to our standpoint, and mark well all the points we have heard up to now! Yes, proceeding from the first origination of light, remembering all that we have heard about light, note, that among all the possible problems, the most difficult problem to solve is this:

36. How does this free life let itself be bound, and how does this formerly freely swarming life let itself be collected?

37. We have learned that in the forming of planets the fly is the first visible animal to inhabit the planet. Thus we first saw the fly take up and collect the scattered life into itself, now, following the light, we see the fly again between sun and planets as a ‘collector of life’.

38. What is the difference between now and the ancient times, when the fly was the only inhabitant of a planet?

39. On one hand, nothing at all, for today as then, it corresponds completely to its nature and order; but on the other hand, an endless difference, for now it stands on the lowest polarity point, not only in the collection of life, but also in the return of same always to greater and more profound potencies and, finally, up to the highest potency of the original life itself.

40. At that time, there was an endless gulf between it and the highest potency, now it is filled by man, as well as the almost endless line of being before man. Isn’t there a big difference to be found between now and then? It was shown to you then what this little animal was, now you see the same thing – but in it is also shown the victory and, therefore, there is a big difference between now and then, for at that time, no fly could sing the victory song, but now it can. So there is an endless difference between its song then and now!

41. And just what is this difference?

42. That is the victory!

43. What then is the victory?

44. Here, open your hand, and grasp the victory right under your nose! But, in case you don’t know it yet, I must spell it out for you. The preserved life is the victory!

45. But how did the fly preserve this life?

46. It preserved its life through its great activity, for the life needs to be exercised! It retains it further by its great humility, for life wants to be collected. It is preserved by blind submission to My will; for all life must be guided if it ever wants to find and recognize itself with ‘self confidence’,

47. Now, when you consider these points and consider the laws which have gone out to you from Me, for the eternal preservation of life, and compare all these with another, having constantly in mind what the victory is, you will also recognize what is meant by the beginning stanza of “The Fly, which says, “The fly, the fly, it sings to you of victory!”

48. For this little song, given to you a long time ago, consisting of a few verses, can only be regarded as the opening stanza to this great song which you now receive. Now that you recognize in this great song the actual victory song of the fly, and since we have recognized the victory, let us look to ourselves to see and pay attention to the victory, so that we become more and more able to come closer and closer to one another and thus experience the final greatest victory.

49. Within ourselves is the reunion of each individual life with My original eternal life.

50. How this can be achieved without the least injury, where each life remains everlastingly independent regardless of being in the most intimate union with the original life, here the fly will sing us another little song in the next and last chapter.