Reincarnation : A study of forgotten truth by E. D. Walker
"Reincarnation" by E. D. Walker is a philosophical and religious study written in the late 19th century. It argues that the soul undergoes repeated earthly lives, using Western philosophy, science, theology, and literature to rehabilitate reincarnation for modern readers. The work aims to counter materialism, resolve the problems of injustice, suffering, and “original sin,” and distinguish true reincarnation from crude notions of animal transmigration. The opening of the book presents a preface
and introduction positioning reincarnation as a “forgotten truth” once common across Egypt, Greece, Rome, Judaism, early Christianity, and still dominant in the East. The first chapter defines the doctrine: the ego is an enduring thread that carries character from life to life under the moral law of cause and effect, with forgetfulness as a merciful veil, and denies regression into animal bodies. The next chapter lays out seven Western-style evidences—immortality implies preexistence, nature’s analogies (evolution and embryology), scientific economy and causation, the soul’s persistent identity and unconscious memory, theological clarity on sin and punishment, explanations for déjà vu and related experiences, and a just solution to life’s inequalities. The third chapter answers objections about missing memories, fairness, heredity, and congeniality by appealing to deeper forms of memory, divine justice through causation, the soul’s selective affinity for its birth, recognition by character rather than form, and the ancient “pilgrimage” view of life. The text then turns to survey Western prose writers who have embraced or echoed reincarnation, signaling a broad intellectual lineage for the thesis. (This is an automatically generated summary.)
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About this eBook
| Author | Walker, E. D. (Edward Dwight), 1859-1890 |
|---|---|
| LoC No. | 18027485 |
| Title | Reincarnation : A study of forgotten truth |
| Original Publication | Boston and New York: Houghton, Mifflin And Company, 1888. |
| Credits | Richard Tonsing, Carla Foust, MFR, and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from images generously made available by The Internet Archive) |
| Language | English |
| LoC Class | BP: Philosophy, Psychology, Religion: Islam, Bahaism, Theosophy, Other and new beliefs |
| Subject | Reincarnation |
| Subject | Theosophy |
| Category | Text |
| EBook-No. | 77318 |
| Release Date | Nov 24, 2025 |
| Copyright Status | Public domain in the USA. |
| Downloads | 863 downloads in the last 30 days. |
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