第200章

第200章thisshortmanwaswearingawhiteleatherapron，thatcoveredhischestandpartofhislegs；uponhisneckcouldbeseensomethinglikeanecklace，andahighwhiterufflestoodupfromunderthenecklace，framinghislongface，onwhichthelightfellfrombelow.

“forwhatareyoucomehither？”askedthenewcomer，turningtowardspierreatafaintrustlemadebythelatter.“forwhatareyou，anunbelieverinthetruthofthelight，whohavenotseenthelight，forwhatareyoucomehere？whatdoyouseekfromus？wisdom，virtue，enlightenment？”

atthemomentwhenthedooropenedandtheunknownpersoncamein，pierrehadasensationofaweandreverence，suchashehadfeltinchildhoodatconfession；hefelthimselfalonewithamanwhowasinthecircumstancesoflifeacompletestranger，andyetthroughthebrotherhoodofmensonear.withabeatingheartthatmadehimgaspforbreath，pierreturnedtotherhetor，asinthephraseologyoffreemasonrythemaniscalledwhopreparestheseekerforenteringthebrotherhood.goingcloser，pierrerecognisedintherhetoramanheknew，smolyaninov，butitwasmortifyingtohimtothinkthatthenewcomerwasafamiliarfigure；hewastohimonlyabrotherandaguideinthepathofvirtue.foralongwhilepierrecouldnotutteraword，sothattherhetorwasobligedtorepeathisquestion.

“yes；i…i…wishtobeginanew，”pierrearticulatedwithdifficulty.

“verygood，”saidsmolyaninov，andwentonatonce.

“haveyouanyideaofthemeansbywhichourholyorderwillassistyouinattainingyouraim？…”saidtherhetorcalmlyandrapidly.

“i…hopefor…guidance…forhelp…inrenewing…”saidpierre，withatrembleinhisvoiceandadifficultyinutteranceduebothtoemotionandtobeingustomedtospeakofabstractsubjectsinrussian.

“whatideahaveyouoffreemasonry？”

“iassumethatfreemasonryisthefraternitéandequalityofmenwithvirtuousaims，”saidpierre，feelingashamedashespokeoftheincongruityofhiswordswiththesolemnityofthemoment.“iassume…”

“verygood，”saidtherhetorhastily，apparentlyquitesatisfiedwiththereply.“haveyousoughtthemeansofattainingyouraiminreligion？”

“no；iregardeditasuntrueandhavenotfollowedit，”saidpierre，sosoftlythattherhetordidnotcatchit，andaskedhimwhathewassaying.“iwasanatheist，”answeredpierre.

“youseekthetruthinordertofollowitslawsinlife；consequently，youseekwisdomandvirtue，doyounot？”saidtherhetor，afteramoment’spause.

“yes，yes，”assentedpierre.

therhetorclearedhisthroat，foldedhisglovedhandsacrosshischest，andbeganspeaking.

“nowimustrevealtoyouthechiefaimofourorder，”hesaid，“andifthataimcoincideswithyours，youmaywithprofitenterourbrotherhood.thefirstandgreatestaimandunitedbasisofourorder，onwhichitisestablishedandwhichnohumanforcecandestroy，isthepreservationandhandingdowntoposterityofacertainimportantmystery…thathascomedowntousfromthemostancienttimes，evenfromthefirstman—amysteryuponwhich，perhaps，thefateofthehumanracedepends.butsincethismysteryisofsuchakindthatnoonecanknowitandprofitbyitifhehasnotbeenpreparedbyaprolongedanddiligentself-purification，noteveryonecanhopetoattainitquickly.hencewehaveasecondaim，whichconsistsinpreparingourmembers，asfaraspossiblereformingtheirhearts，purifyingandenlighteningtheirintelligencebythosemeanswhichhavebeenrevealedtousbytraditionfrommenwhohavestriventoattainthismystery，andtherebytorenderthemfitforthereceptionofit.purifyingandregeneratingourmembers，weendeavor，thirdly，toimprovethewholehumanrace，offeringitinourmembersanexampleofpietyandvirtue，andtherebywestrivewithallourstrengthtocombattheevilthatisparamountintheworld.ponderonthesethings，andiwillcomeagaintoyou，”hesaid，andwentoutoftheroom.