74. The Riddle of Death as a Riddle of Life

But now it is particularly important to consider what we are now dealing with in the time after death - of which we are now speaking - to consider what effect both our thoughts and our actions have had on our fellow world. Just take the extreme case that I often cite, just because it illustrates something: I inflict an insult on someone in life, whether through words or deeds. Not true, I, who inflict the insult, will have certain feelings. I will not inflict a certain offense on him for nothing, if I am not a fool; but I will have my reasons for doing so. I feel something. But he feels differently - differently when he receives the insult. What he feels and what I feel are two different things. But during my life here between birth and death, I only go through what I feel. This feeling is not repeated in the same way after death in the life backwards, but I experience what he felt. I go through all my actions in their effects. I go through the effects of what I have experienced here, thus living back what I have done. I live through that.