“The moment when the man who is looking for the WAY meets a man who knows the WAY is called the first threshold or the first step. From this first threshold the stairWAY begins. Between ‘life’ and the ‘WAY’ lies the ‘stairWAY.’ Only by passing along this ‘stairWAY’ can a man enter the ‘WAY.’ In addition, the man ascends this stairWAY with the help of the man who is his guide; he cannot go up the stairWAY by himself. The WAY begins only where the stairWAY ends, that is, after the last threshold on the stairWAY, on a level much higher than the ordinary level of life. Fragments: Ten

“This is almost all that can be said in general about the ‘stairWAY’ and about the ‘WAY,’ because there are different WAYs. We have spoken of this before. And, for instance, on the fourth WAY there are special conditions which cannot be on the other WAYs. Thus the conditions for ascending the stairWAY on the fourth WAY are that a man cannot ascend to a higher step until he places another man upon his own step. The other, in his turn, must put in his place a third man in order to ascend higher. Thus, the higher a man ascends the more he depends upon those who are following him. If they stop he also stops. Such situations as this may also occur on the WAY. A man may attain something, for instance, some special powers, and may later on sacrifice these powers in order to raise other people to his level. If the people with whom he is working ascend to his level, he will receive back all that he has sacrificed. But if they do not ascend, he may lose it altogether. Fragments: Ten

“The work itself of schools of the fourth WAY can have very many forms and many meanings. In the midst of the ordinary conditions of life the only chance a man has of finding a ‘WAY’ is in the possibility of meeting with the beginning of work of this kind. But the chance of meeting with such work as well as the possibility of profiting by this chance depends upon many circumstances and conditions. Fragments: Fifteen

I had for a long time wanted to get G. to talk about repetition but he alWAYs avoided it. So it was on this occasion. Without answering my question about repetition he continued: “It often seems to people of the ‘WAY,’ that is, of the subjective WAY, especially those who are just beginning, that other people, that is, people of the objective WAY, are not moving. But this is a great mistake. A simple obyvatel may sometimes do such work within him that he will overtake another, a monk or even a yogi. Fragments: Seventeen

“Obyvatel is a strange word in the Russian language. It is used in the sense of ‘inhabitant,’ without any particular shade. At the same time it is used to express contempt or derision — ‘obyvatel’ — as though there could be nothing worse. But those who speak in this WAY do not understand that the obyvatel is the healthy kernel of life. And from the point of view of the possibility of evolution, a good obyvatel has many more chances than a ‘lunatic’ or a ‘tramp.’ Afterwards I will perhaps explain what I mean by these two words. In the meantime we will talk about the obyvatel. I do not at all wish to say that all obyvatels are people of the objective WAY. Nothing of the kind. Among them are thieves, rascals, and fools; but there are others. I merely wish to say that being a good obyvatel by itself does not hinder the ‘WAY’ And finally there are different types of obyvatel. Imagine, for example, the type of obyvatel who lives all his life just as the other people round him, conspicuous in nothing, perhaps a good master, who makes money, and is perhaps even close-fisted. At the same time he dreams all his life of monasteries, for instance, and dreams that some time or other he will leave everything and go into a monastery. And such things happen in the East and in Russia. A man lives and works, then, when his children or his grandchildren are grown up, he gives everything to them and goes into a monastery. This is the obyvatel of which I speak. Perhaps he does not go into a monastery, perhaps he does not need this. His own life as an obyvatel can be his WAY. Fragments: Seventeen