Death and Immortality in the Light of Spiritual Science

Thus, within the Western world, this idea of repeated earthly lives first appears, out of the compulsion of thought, in Lessing's work, which he left behind as his testament, in “The Education of the Human Race,” where he says of this teaching: Even if it is the oldest to which humans have professed, should it not be one that must reappear at the peak of human development? — And Lessing also answers many questions that can be raised in his “Education of the Human Race” with regard to repeated earthly lives. However, when such a thing occurs in an outstanding person, people who judge this outstanding spirit usually say: He has achieved great things, but later fell prey to this strange dream of repeated earthly lives, and one must give credit to the great Lessing, who was also capable of committing this strange error. - Thus, every small mind feels called upon to judge the great minds with their “grave errors.”