” ‘Conscience’ is again a term that needs explanation. Fragments: Eight
“Conscience is a state in which a man feels all at once everything that he in general feels, or can feel. And as everyone has within him thousands of contradictory feelings which vary from a deeply hidden realization of his own nothingness and fears of all kinds to the most stupid kind of self-conceit, self-confidence, self-satisfaction, and self-praise, to feel all this together would not only be painful but literally unbearable. Fragments: Eight
“Conscience is a general and a permanent phenomenon. Conscience is the same for all men and CONSCIENCE is possible only in the absence of ‘buffers.’ From the point of view of understanding the different categories of man we may say that there exists the CONSCIENCE of a man in whom there are no contradictions. This CONSCIENCE is not suffering; on the contrary it is joy of a totally new character which we are unable to understand. But even a momentary awakening of CONSCIENCE in a man who has thousands of different I’s is bound to involve suffering. And if these moments of CONSCIENCE become longer and if a man does not fear them but on the contrary cooperates with them and tries to keep and prolong them, an element of very subtle joy, a foretaste of the future ‘clear consciousness’ will gradually enter into these moments. Fragments: Eight
“‘Buffers’ are created slowly and gradually. Very many ‘buffers’ are created artificially through ‘education.’ Others are created under the hypnotic influence of all surrounding life. A man is surrounded by people who live, speak, think, and feel by means of ‘buffers.’ Imitating them in their opinions, actions, and words, a man involuntarily creates similar ‘buffers’ in himself. ‘Buffers’ make a man’s life more easy. It is very hard to live without ‘buffers.’ But they keep man from the possibility of inner development because ‘buffers’ are made to lessen shocks and it is only shocks that can lead a man out of the state in which he lives, that is, waken him. ‘Buffers’ lull a man to sleep, give him the agreeable and peaceful sensation that all will be well, that no contradictions exist and that he can sleep in peace. ‘Buffers’ are appliances by means of -which a man can always be in the right. ‘Buffers’ help a man not to feel his CONSCIENCE. Fragments: Eight
“In ordinary life the concept ‘CONSCIENCE’ is taken too simply. As if we had a CONSCIENCE. Actually the concept ‘CONSCIENCE’ in the sphere of the emotions is equivalent to the concept ‘consciousness’ in the sphere of the intellect. And as we have no consciousness we have no CONSCIENCE. Fragments: Eight
“If a man whose entire inner world is composed of contradictions were suddenly to feel all these contradictions simultaneously within himself, if he were to feel all at once that he loves everything he hates and hates everything he loves; that he lies when he tells the truth and that he tells the truth when he lies; and if he could feel the shame and horror of it all, this would be the state which is called ‘CONSCIENCE. A man cannot live in this state; he must either destroy contradictions or destroy CONSCIENCE. He cannot destroy CONSCIENCE, but if he cannot destroy it he can put it to sleep, that is, he can separate by impenetrable barriers one feeling of self from another, never see them together, never feel their incompatibility, the absurdity of one existing alongside another. Fragments: Eight
“But fortunately for man, that is, for his peace and for his sleep, this state of CONSCIENCE is very rare. From early childhood ‘buffers’ begin to grow and strengthen in him, taking from him the possibility of seeing his inner contradictions and therefore, for him, there is no danger whatever of a sudden awakening. Awakening is possible only for those who seek it and want it, for those who are ready to struggle with themselves and work on themselves for a very long time and very persistently in order to attain it. For this it is necessary to destroy ‘buffers,’ that is, to go out to meet all those inner sufferings which are connected with the sensations of contradictions. Moreover the destruction of ‘buffers’ in itself requires very long work and a man must agree to this work realizing that the result of his work will be every possible discomfort and suffering from the awakening of his CONSCIENCE. Fragments: Eight
“But CONSCIENCE is the fire which alone can fuse all the powders in the glass retort which was mentioned before and create the unity which a man lacks in that state in which he begins to study himself. Fragments: Eight
“The concept ‘CONSCIENCE’ has nothing in common with the concept ‘morality.’ Fragments: Eight
“Of course not,” said G. “People are very fond of talking about morality. But morality is merely self-suggestion. What is necessary is CONSCIENCE. We do not teach morality. We teach how to find CONSCIENCE. People are not pleased when we say this. They say that we have no love. Simply because we do not encourage weakness and hypocrisy but, on the contrary, take off all masks. He who desires the truth will not speak of love or of Christianity because he knows how far he is from these. Christian teaching is for Christians. And Christians are those who live, that is, who do everything, according to Christ’s precepts. Can they who talk of love and morality live according to Christ’s precepts? Of course they cannot; but there will always be talk of this kind, there will always be people to whom words are more precious than anything else. But this is a true sign! He who speaks like this is an empty man; it is not worth while wasting time on him. Fragments: Eight
“Morality and CONSCIENCE are quite different things. One CONSCIENCE can never contradict another CONSCIENCE. One morality can always very easily contradict and completely deny another. A man with ‘buffers’ may be very moral. And ‘buffers’ can be very different, that is, two very moral men may consider each other very immoral. As a rule it is almost inevitably so. The more ‘moral’ a man is, the more ‘immoral’ does he think other moral people. Fragments: Eight
G. told another of our party — it was the middle-aged man on whom he had carried out the experiment of dividing personality from essence and who asked for raspberry jam — that his feature was that he had no CONSCIENCE. Fragments: Thirteen
The following day the man came and said that he had been in the public library and had looked through the encyclopedic dictionaries of four languages for the meaning of the word “CONSCIENCE.” Fragments: Thirteen
“People of the objective way simply live in life. They are those whom we call good people. Particular systems and methods are not necessary for them; making use of ordinary religious or intellectual teachings and ordinary morality, they live at the same time according to CONSCIENCE. They do not of necessity do much good, but they do no evil. Sometimes they happen to be quite uneducated, simple people but they understand life very well, they have a right valuation of things and a right outlook. And they are of course perfecting themselves and evolving. Only their way can be very long with many unnecessary repetitions.” Fragments: Seventeen
“At length, I do not know why, he suddenly felt qualms of CONSCIENCE and began to repent his life; so he decided to reform and to slaughter no more sheep. Fragments: Seventeen