The
rose nearly sinks into a grass in the sanguisorba; but the formative
spirit does not the less clearly separate the ear of wheat from the
dog-rose, and oscillate with tremulous constancy round the central forms
of both, having each their due relation to the mind of man. The great
animal kingdoms are connected in the same way. The bird through the
penguin drops towards the fish, and the fish in the cetacean reascends
to the mammal, yet there is no confusion of thought possible between the
perfect forms of an eagle, a trout, and a war-horse, in their relations
to the elements, and to man.
64. Now we have two orders of animals to take some note of in connection
with Athena, and one vast order of plants, which will illustrate this
matter very sufficiently for us.
The orders of animals are the serpent and the bird: the serpent, in which
the breath or spirit is less than in any other creature, and the
earth-power the greatest; the bird, in which the breath or spirit is more
full than in any other creature, and the earth-power least.
65. We will take the bird first.
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