“Taken in itself, a man’s being has many different sides. The most characteristic feature of a modem man is the absence of unity in him and, further, the absence in him of even traces of those properties which he most likes to ascribe to himself, that is, ‘lucid consciousness,’ ‘free will,’ a ‘permanent ego or I,’ and the ‘ability to do.’ It may surprise you if I say that the CHIEF FEATURE of a modem man’s being which explains everything else that is lacking in him is sleep. Fragments: Four
“A modern man lives in sleep, in sleep he is born and in sleep he dies. About sleep, its significance and its role in life, we will speak later. But at present just think of one thing, what knowledge can a sleeping man have? And if you think about it and at the same time remember that sleep is the CHIEF FEATURE of our being, it will at once become clear to you that if a man really wants knowledge, he must first of all think about how to wake, that is, about how to change his being. Fragments: Four
“Besides these general rules there are certain individual conditions which are given to each person separately and which are generally connected with his ‘chief fault,’ or CHIEF FEATURE. “This requires some explanation. “Every man has a certain feature in his character which is central. It is like an axle round which all his ‘false personality’ revolves. Every man’s personal work must consist in struggling against this chief fault. This explains why there can be no general rules of work and why all systems that attempt to evolve such rules either lead to nothing or cause harm. How can there be general rules? What is useful for one is harmful for another. One man talks too much; he must learn to keep silent. Another man is silent when he ought to talk and he must learn to talk; and so it is always and in everything. General rules for the work of groups refer to everyone. Personal directions can only be individual. In this connection again a man cannot find his own CHIEF FEATURE, his chief fault, by himself. This is practically a law. The teacher has to point out this feature to him and show him how to fight against it. No one else but the teacher can do this. Fragments: Eleven
“The struggle against the ‘false I,’ against one’s CHIEF FEATURE or chief fault, is the most important part of the work, and it must proceed in deeds, not in words. For this purpose the teacher gives each man definite tasks which require, in order to carry them out, the conquest of his CHIEF FEATURE. When a man carries out these tasks he struggles with himself, works on himself. If he avoids the tasks, tries not to carry them out, it means that either he does not want to or that he cannot work. Fragments: Eleven
On one occasion, continuing this talk about the work of groups, G, said: “Later on you will see that everyone in the work is given his own individual tasks corresponding to his type and his CHIEF FEATURE or his chief fault, that is, something that will give him an opportunity of struggling more intensively against his chief fault. But besides individual tasks there are general tasks which are given to the group as a whole, in which case the whole group is responsible for their execution or their nonexecution, although in some cases the group is also responsible for individual tasks. But first we will take general tasks. For instance, you ought by now to have some understanding as to the nature of the system and its principal methods, and you ought to be able to pass these ideas on to others. You will remember that at the beginning I was against your talking about the ideas of the system outside the groups. On the contrary there was a definite rule that none of you, excepting those whom I specially instructed to do so, should talk to anyone either about the groups or the lectures or the ideas. And I explained then why this was necessary. You would not have been able to give a correct picture, a correct impression. Instead of giving people the possibility of coming to these ideas you would have repelled them for ever; you would have even deprived them of the possibility of coming to them at any later time. But now the situation is different. You have already heard enough. And if you really have made efforts to understand what you have heard, then you should be able to pass it on to others. Therefore I give you all a definite task. Fragments: Twelve
“You do not understand what it means to be sincere,” said G. “You are so used to lying both to yourselves and to others that you can find neither words nor thoughts when you wish to speak the truth. To tell the complete truth about oneself is very difficult. But before telling it one must know it. And you do not even know what the truth about yourselves consists of. Some day I will tell every one of you his CHIEF FEATURE or chief fault. We shall then see whether you will understand me or not.” Fragments: Twelve
On this visit the center of gravity of the talks was in the “CHIEF FEATURE” or “chief fault” of each one of us. Fragments: Thirteen
G. was very ingenious in the definition of features. I realized on this occasion that not everyone’s CHIEF FEATURE could be defined. With some people this feature can be so hidden beneath different formal manifestations as to be almost impossible to find. And then a man can consider himself as his CHIEF FEATURE just as I could call my CHIEF FEATURE “Ouspensky” or, as G. always called it, “Piotr Demianovich.” Mistakes there cannot be because the “Piotr Demianovich” of each person forms so to speak “round his CHIEF FEATURE.” Fragments: Thirteen
Whenever anyone disagreed with the definition of his CHIEF FEATURE given by G. he always said that the fact that the person disagreed with him showed that he was right. Fragments: Thirteen
“I disagree only with what you say is actually my CHIEF FEATURE,” said one of our people. “The CHIEF FEATURE which I know in myself is very much worse. But I do not dispute that people may see me as you describe.” Fragments: Thirteen
“You know nothing in yourself,” G. told him; “if you knew you would not have that feature. And people certainly see you in the way I told you. But you do not see how they see you. If you accept what I told you as your CHIEF FEATURE you will understand how people see you. And if you find a way to struggle with this feature and to destroy it, that is, to destroy its involuntary manifestation” (G. emphasized these words), “you will produce on people not the impression that you do now but any impression you like.” Fragments: Thirteen
Those around him see a man’s CHIEF FEATURE however hidden it may be. Of course they cannot always define it. But their definitions are often very good and very near. Take nicknames. Nicknames sometimes define CHIEF FEATUREs very well. Fragments: Thirteen
“There cannot be proper outward considering while a man is seated in his CHIEF FEATURE,” said G. “For instance So-and-So” (he named one of our party). “His feature is that he is never at home. How can he consider anything or anybody?” Fragments: Thirteen
He said to another that his CHIEF FEATURE was a tendency always to argue with everybody about everything. Fragments: Thirteen