Page:The astral world, higher occult powers; (IA astralworldhighe00tiff).pdf/107

 *ditions. The mineral eventually became receptive of the principle of life, which developed the vegetable kingdom. The moment this life-principle began to work in producing organic structure and multiplying relations and conditions, a variety of forms succeeded, until forms were brought to such a point that they became receptive of a higher principle—the nerve principle or consciousness, and the animal kingdom was the result. The vegetable kingdom only produced the form. The spirit came into it by induction from the other direction. The vegetable did not produce the animal; it merely produced the conditions by which this conscious principle could be induced into the individuality developed by the vegetable. That individuality was raised out of the vegetable and placed upon the animal plane, and a new kingdom was born by the application of the law of commensurability. Eventually form was elaborated through the entire animal kingdom until the highest form the nerve-principle could produce, was produced.

The human form was elaborated through the animal kingdom, but the spirit was not elaborated there. When the nerve-principle had done its best, had fulfilled its highest possible condition, and had brought form to join upon spirit, the condition of spirit was induced into this form; and the induction of that spirit raised the form of the animal kingdom into the human kingdom; and the first man thus stood forth, produced by the divine breath breathing into him, consequently the difference between the lowest man and the highest animal was very slight. The man, to be sure, takes his animal body, appetites, senses, and