353、若愿意，谁都能根据自然界中所看到的事物来确认支持神性；凡从生命的角度思想神的人，也能如此行。如，当他观察空中的飞鸟，发现每种鸟都知道自己的食物，并知道在哪里找到它，还能凭声音和外表认出自己的同类，在其它种类当中分辨出哪些是友，哪些是敌；它们会结成“新婚夫妇”，知道如何交配，如何熟练筑巢，并在其中产卵，覆在它们上面，还知道孵化多长时间，时间到了就孵化出幼雏，然后极其温柔地爱着它们，将其覆佑在翅膀下面，衔来食物喂养它们，直到它们独立，自己也能做这些事，再产下一窝鸟，以延续它们的种类。凡愿意思想神性通过灵界进入自然界的流注之人，都能在这些现象中看到这种流注，若愿意，还能发自内心说：“这类知识不可能从太阳经由其光线流入这些生物；因为自然界从这太阳获得自己的起源和本质，而这太阳纯粹是火，因此它的光线完全没有生命，是死的。”于是，这些人得出这样的结论：这些现象来自神性智慧进入自然界最外在事物的流注。
353. Any people who want to can decide in favor of Divinity on the basis of what they can see in nature, and people do so decide who base their thinking about God on life. They do this, for example, when they see the birds of the air. Each species knows its foods and where to find them, recognizes its kindred by sound and sight, and knows which of them are friends and which are hostile. They join in marriage and know how to mate and how to build their nests skillfully. They lay their eggs there and incubate them, knowing how long the incubation should last; and when the time has come they hatch their chicks, love them most tenderly, shelter them under their wings, gather food and nourish them, all this until the chicks come of age and can do the same, having their own families and thus ensuring the continuance of their kind.
Anyone who wants to think about the divine inflow through the spiritual world into the physical world can see it in these events. Anyone who wants to can say at heart, "Knowledge like this cannot be flowing into them from the sun, through its light rays. The sun, which provides nature with its origin and essence, is pure fire, so its light rays are absolutely lifeless." We can therefore come to the conclusion that things like this come from an inflow of divine wisdom into the very boundaries of nature.
353. Everyone can, from the visible phenomena in nature, confirm himself on the side of the Divine if he wills; and everyone also does so confirm himself who thinks of God from a consideration of life. As for example, when he observes birds of the air and sees that each species of them knows its own food and where to find it; that each recognizes by sound and appearance its own kind, and which among other species are its friends and which its enemies; that they form nuptial pairs, know how to mate, skillfully build nests, lay their eggs there, brood over them, know how long to incubate them, and at the end of that time hatch out their young, tenderly love them, shelter them under their wings, share their food with them and feed them, and this until they become independent, and can themselves do the like and produce a brood to perpetuate their kind.
Everyone who is willing to think about a Divine influx through the spiritual world into the natural one, can see it in these phenomena, and if he will, can say in his heart, "Such instances of knowledge cannot flow into these creatures from the sun through the rays of its light; for the sun from which nature draws its origin and essence is nothing but fire, and consequently the rays of its light are altogether without life." Thus these people may also conclude that such phenomena exist from an influx of Divine wisdom into the outmost effects of nature.
353. Any one can confirm himself in favour of the Divine from the visible things of nature, if he choose to do so, and he also does confirm himself, who thinks about God in regard to life. Take, for instance, the birds of the air, how each individual species knows its own food and where to find it, recognises its kind by sound and sight, and which among other kinds are its friends and which its enemies; how they mate, know sexual union, skilfully build their nests, lay eggs therein, sit upon them, know the period of incubation, at which time precisely they hatch out their young, love them most tenderly, cherish them under their wings, bring food in their bills to nourish them, and this until they can act for themselves, do the same things themselves and bring forth a family to perpetuate their kind. Every one who is willing to reflect on the Divine influx through the spiritual world into the natural can see this influx in these things. He can also, if he will, say from his heart, "Such items of knowledge cannot flow into them from the sun through its rays of light, for the sun, from which nature derives its origin and essence, is pure fire, and therefore its rays of light are absolutely dead;" and thus he can draw the conclusion, that such wonders come from the influx of the Divine Wisdom into the outmost things of nature.
353. Any one who chooses may confirm himself in favor of the Divine from things seen in nature, and whoever thinks about God in reference to life does so confirm himself; as when he observes the birds of the air, how each species knows its food and where to find it, recognizes its kind by sound and sight, and which among other kinds are its friends and which its enemies; how also they mate, have knowledge of the sexual relation, skillfully build nests, lay eggs therein, sit upon these, know the period of incubation, and this having elapsed, bring forth their young, love them most tenderly, cherish them under their wings, bring them food and feed them, until they can do for themselves, perform the same offices, and bring forth a family to perpetuate their kind. Any one who is willing to reflect on the Divine influx through the spiritual world into the natural can see such influx in these things, and if he will, can say from his heart, Such knowledges cannot flow into these creatures out of the sun through its rays of light, for the sun, from which nature derives its origin and essence, is mere fire, consequently its rays of light are wholly dead; and thus he may conclude that such things are from the influx of Divine Wisdom into the outmosts of nature.
353. Quisque ex visibilibus in natura potest se confirmare pro Divino, si vult, et quoque se confirmat qui de Deo cogitat ex vita; ut dum videt volatilia Coeli, quod quaelibet eorum species sciat sua alimenta, et ubi sunt, cognoscat ex sono et visu consocios, tum inter alios quinam eorum amici, et quinam inimici sunt, quod connubia jungant, congressus sciant, arte struant nidos, ibi ponant ova, incubent illis, tempus incubatus sciant, quo exacto excludunt pullos, illos tenerrime amant, sub alis fovent, escas porrigunt et alunt, hoc usque dum sui juris fiunt, et similia possunt agere, et procreare familiam ad perpetuandum suum genus. Omnis qui vult de influxu Divino per mundum spiritualem in naturalem cogitare, potest illum in his videre, potest etiam si vult corde suo dicere, tales scientiae non possunt in illos influere ex Sole per ejus lucis radios, est enim Sol, ex quo natura suum ortum et essentiam ducit, purus ignis, et inde radii lucis ejus prorsus mortui; et sic possunt concludere, quod talia sint ex influxu Divinae Sapientiae in ultima naturae.