972. The desire to become an "expert in matter" is therefore really the primordial urge or "wanderlust" in the "prodigal son's" heart that caused him to long for the exact contrast to this existence or state of consciousness, just as it was the same desire for contrast that lay behind the "serpent's" "seduction" of "Eve" and her "seduction" of "Adam". In all these situations it was the desire to see "effects" that were the very opposite of those normally found in the "garden" or in perfect life. The kind of life that was normal in the garden consisted of everything logical, harmonious and healthily pleasurable and that was thereby a direct source of happiness. Such a life could be enjoyed to the full by the inhabitants of the garden, that is to say, the "serpent", "Adam" and "Eve", each of these inhabitants being identical to the "prodigal son". But this enjoyment was not without its conditions. It was upheld or maintained in accordance with certain, specific laws. These laws were not known to "Adam" and "Eve" or to the "prodigal son". These beings had lived in the light so long that fulfilling the laws of the light or the perfect life had become natural, automatic functions in the same way that the functioning of the lungs and heart are natural, automatic functions in animal, physical beings. Creating light and happiness for oneself and one's surroundings was no longer to any particular degree an awake, day-conscious act of will, but a purely unconscious, organic activation of a function. And the purely day-conscious function of the will had therefore begun to lack nourishment. But a living, functioning will is the same as a desire, a hunger or a longing. And the beings of the light, in the form of "Adam", "Eve" and the "prodigal son" were consequently beings that had begun to feel a desire that could not be satisfied through any form of compliance with the ordinary laws of life. This compliance was, as already mentioned, not an act of will, but a function of the subconsciousness*, which no longer required any effort in terms of speculation, thought or will. It therefore no longer required any effort of day-conscious functioning. But when life or existence no longer required any effort of the day-conscious functioning, it received no nourishment. It therefore became completely lacking in "knowledge A" or experience. And this lack of nourishment clearly prepared the ground for the "Fall". With its help a door was opened that led out to a sphere in which the starved day-consciousness could be fully satisfied. Here there were phenomena in abundance that could set both imagination and intelligence in full swing and bring life into the dying day-consciousness, which had become satiated with the "light". The nature of all these phenomena without exception would have to be contrary to the light or perfection. But a nature that is contrary to the light, harmony and perfection can be in favour of only darkness, that is to say disharmony and imperfection. This contrary nature was therefore at a certain point the only existing food that could satisfy the mental hunger or longing of the son of God in the light. It was the redeeming coolness, the refreshing morning dew, the growth-producing summer rain falling upon this son of God, this plant that was beginning to wilt as a result of bliss or mental sunshine and dryness. At this point we therefore meet in this contrary nature, which we know as the "Fall", a principle that promotes and thereby "redeems" the son of God's ongoing maintenance of life and mentality or its passage through the cycle. This principle of "redemption" is nothing less than the "principle of world redemption" in its first phase. And we will therefore define this phase as "life substance no. 45".
 
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* "overbevidsthedsfunktion" (meaning "function of the superconsciousness") has been corrected to "underbevisthedsfunktion" ("function of the subconsciousness") in accordance with the original manuscript.