4. The Hierarchical Beings of our Solar System and the Kingdoms of the Earth

Now we come to a concept which we must make our own as an especially important one if we are to understand evolution in its entirety. Here I always like to draw attention to the existence in the cosmos of something that corresponds to a certain daily commonplace—a source of anxiety and annoyance to parents—namely, that some children flunk, do not arrive at the goal of their class, and must repeat the work. Certain beings do not reach the goal of a given cosmic grade; and in this sense certain Spirits of Personality, who should have reached their goal on Saturn, lagged behind: they had not done all that was necessary for raising man to the grade of a mineral, which would have brought him to perfection in that,particular evolutionary stage. Such beings must then make up during the next grade what they had previously neglected.