418. "From the things visible in nature, every one can confirm himself in favor of the Divine when he sees those worms which, from the delight of some desire, strive after and aspire to a change of their earthly state to a state analogous to the heavenly, and for this purpose creep into places where they put themselves into a womb, as it were, to be born again, and there become chrysalises, aurelias, nymphs, and at last butterflies; and after undergoing this metamorphosis, then, clothed with beautiful wings according to the species, fly off into the air as into their heaven and there engage in genial sport, mate, lay eggs, provide for themselves a posterity, and then nourish themselves on delectable and sweet food drawn from flowers. What man is there, if from the visible things of nature he confirms himself in favor of the Divine, who does not see in these creatures as worms, some image of man's earthly state, and in them as butterflies, some image of his heavenly state? Those who confirm themselves in favor of nature do indeed see these operations, but having rejected man's heavenly state from their mind, they call them mere instincts of nature.