e of life must remain unanswered, if there be no access to
higher worlds. Theoretically we may delude ourselves concerning this fact
and so get away from it; the depths of our soul-life, however, will not
tolerate such self-delusion. The person who will not listen to what comes
from these depths of the soul will naturally reject any account of
supersensible worlds. There are however people--and their number is not
small--who find it impossible to remain deaf to the demands coming from the
depths of the soul. They must always be knocking at the gates which, in
the opinion of others, bar the way to what is "incomprehensible."

Secondly, the statements of "exact thinkers" are on no account to be
despised. Where they have to be taken seriously, one who occupies himself
with them will thoroughly feel and appreciate this seriousness. The writer
of this book would not like to be taken for one who lightly disregards the
enormous thought-labour which has been expended in determining the limits
of the human intellect. This thought-labour cannot be put aside with a few
phrases about "academic wisdom" and the like. In many cases it has its
source in true striving after knowledge and in genuine discernment.
Indeed, even more than this must be admitted; reasons have been brought
forward to show that that knowledge which is to-day regarded as scientific
cannot penetrate into supersensible worlds, and these reasons _are in a
certain sense irrefutable_.

Now it may appear strange to many people that the writer of this book
admits this freely, and yet undertakes to make statements about
supersensible worlds. It seems indeed almost impossible that a person
should admit _in a certain sense_ the reasons why knowledge of
superphysical worlds is unattainable, and should yet speak about those
worlds.

Yet it is possible to take this attitude, and at the same time to
understand that it impresses others as being inconsistent. It is not given
to every one to enter into the experiences we pass through when we
approach supersensible realms with the human intellect. Then it turns out
that intellectual proofs may certainly be irrefutable, and that
_notwithstanding this_, they need not be decisive with regard to reality.
Instead of all sorts of theoretical explanations, let us now try to make
this comprehensible by a comparison. That comparisons are not in
themselves proofs is readily admitted, but this does not prevent their
often making intelligib