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176 The Gospel in Dostoyevskytrembles for fear he should lose his money and the privileges thathe has won for himself. Everywhere in these days men have, intheir mockery, ceased to understand that the true security is tobe found in social solidarity rather than in isolated individualeffort. But this terrible individualism must inevitably have anend, and all will suddenly understand how unnaturally they haveseparated themselves from one another. It will be the spirit of thetime, and people will marvel that they have sat so long in darknesswithout seeing the light. And then the sign of the Son ofMan will be seen in the heavens…But until then we must keepthe banner flying. Sometimes, even if he has to do it alone andhis conduct seems to be crazy, a man must set an example and sodraw men’s souls out of their solitude and spur them to some actof brotherly love, so that the great idea may not die.”Our evenings, one after another, were spent in such stirringand fervent talk. I gave up society and visited my neighbors muchless frequently. Besides, I was no longer in fashion. I say this notas blame, for they still loved me and treated me good-humoredly,but there’s no denying that fashion is a great power in society.I began to regard my mysterious visitor with admiration, forbesides enjoying his intelligence, I began to perceive that he wasbrooding over some plan in his heart and was preparing himselfperhaps for a great step. Perhaps he liked my showing neithercuriosity about his secret nor seeking to discover it by directquestion or insinuation. But I noticed at last that he seemed toshow signs of wanting to tell me something. This had becomequite evident about a month after he first began to visit me.“Do you know,” he said once, “that people are very inquisitiveabout us in the town and wonder why I come to see you so often.But let them wonder, for soon all will be explained.”