1676. The concept of "hell", the opposite of "paradise", does not have a pleasant ring in the ear of the terrestrial human being, and yet it is merely the culminating result of the structure of the specific organ for the "highest fire" in the physical body of this being. "Hell", like "paradise", is thus an entirely natural phenomenon. It is the result of the experiencing of life through special-purpose sensory organs and cycles that originate in and are borne by the "highest fire". If the feminine and masculine pole structure of terrestrial beings had been different, their thinking and their exercise of will would have been different too. And we would never have seen "hell" in the culminating form with which we have now become familiar. Hell is thus the culmination of "half-sex sensory perception". Without the "half-sex state" the living being could not possibly be brought into a situation where it was a vital necessity for it to become "one flesh" with a "half-sex being" of the opposite kind, and without this vital necessity, the drive for self-preservation, envy, rivalry with beings of one's own sex, in brief, hatred and unkindness could not arise. The root of all that is called "evil" today would thus be an impossibility, thereby rendering a wealth of absolutely vital experiences unattainable for the living being. "Hell", as will be remembered, is not a "penal institution" somewhere or other. It is not a result of a godhead's anger or punishment for any committed injustice. As we already know from previous analyses, no living being can suffer injustice or commit injustice. Only the cloudy veil of primitivity and superstition can give life to that kind of illusory perception. It is likewise through the same mental fog or superstition that the terrestrial human being – indeed, even within the Christian world religion – refers to "hell" as a "curse", as something "diabolical" or "satanic". But if "hell", that is to say, everything that comes under the concept of "mental darkness" did not exist, what do you think everything that is expressed by the concept of "consciousness" would look like? There would be absolutely no possibility for any kind of thinking; there would be absolutely no possibility for any use of intelligence, intuition or memory. There would be absolutely no opportunity to exercise one's will. There could not possibly be anything on which to exercise one's will. If all mental darkness were completely removed from the universe, only absolute light would remain. But absolute light provides no contrasts. And the artist of life, that is to say, the I in the living being, would then be in the position of an artist who has only one single colour. Just as such an artist could not possibly create any work of art in colour, so the artist of life would be completely unable to create the work of art that we today call the "living being". Without "hell" the I could not possibly experience or manifest itself as a "living being". Life's work of art, "God's image", could never have been realised. If one removes "hell" or darkness from every novel, story, fairy tale or play, that is to say if one removes all the villains and their dark deeds from these literary works, these works would represent only meaninglessness or chaos. How could the beings of light or the heroes of these poetic works be heroes if there were neither dark deeds nor villains? How could the human being possibly attain "wisdom" if no darkness, immorality or so-called "crimes" existed? Wisdom is nothing but the experience that every dark deed ultimately gives rise to. Wisdom is a description of the effects that every infringement of the laws of life entails. No "sacred book", no "Bible" could possibly come into existence if darkness did not exist. If people did not find themselves in darkness, they would have absolutely no light to look forward to, no liberation to long for, nothing beautiful and elevated to live for. If there were no unkindness, love would also be an impossibility, for it is only through unkindness that love can be revealed. Without "hell" or life's mental sphere of darkness all experience of life would be an impossibility.