This short man was wearing a white leather apron， that covered his chest and part of his legs； upon his neck could be seen something like a necklace， and a high white ruffle stood up from under the necklace， framing his long face， on which the light fell from below.
“For what are you come hither？” asked the newcomer， turning towards Pierre at a faint rustle made by the latter. “For what are you， an unbeliever in the truth of the light， who have not seen the light， for what are you come here？ What do you seek from us？ Wisdom， virtue， enlightenment？”
At the moment when the door opened and the unknown person came in， Pierre had a sensation of awe and reverence， such as he had felt in childhood at confession； he felt himself alone with a man who was in the circumstances of life a complete stranger， and yet through the brotherhood of men so near. With a beating heart that made him gasp for breath， Pierre turned to the rhetor， as in the phraseology of freemasonry the man is called who prepares the seeker for entering the brotherhood. Going closer， Pierre recognised in the rhetor a man he knew， Smolyaninov， but it was mortifying to him to think that the newcomer was a familiar figure； he was to him only a brother and a guide in the path of virtue. For a long while Pierre could not utter a word， so that the rhetor was obliged to repeat his question.
“Yes； I…I… wish to begin anew，” Pierre articulated with difficulty.
“Very good，” said Smolyaninov， and went on at once.
“Have you any idea of the means by which our holy order will assist you in attaining your aim？…” said the rhetor calmly and rapidly.
“I…hope for…guidance…for help…in renewing…” said Pierre， with a tremble in his voice and a difficulty in utterance due both to emotion and to being unaccustomed to speak of abstract subjects in Russian.
“What idea have you of freemasonry？”
“I assume that freemasonry is the fraternité and equality of men with virtuous aims，” said Pierre， feeling ashamed as he spoke of the incongruity of his words with the solemnity of the moment. “I assume …”
“Very good，” said the rhetor hastily， apparently quite satisfied with the reply. “Have you sought the means of attaining your aim in religion？”
“No； I regarded it as untrue and have not followed it，” said Pierre， so softly that the rhetor did not catch it， and asked him what he was saying. “I was an atheist，” answered Pierre.
“You seek the truth in order to follow its laws in life； consequently， you seek wisdom and virtue， do you not？” said the rhetor， after a moment’s pause.
“Yes， yes，” assented Pierre.
The rhetor cleared his throat， folded his gloved hands across his chest， and began speaking.
“Now I must reveal to you the chief aim of our order，” he said， “and if that aim coincides with yours， you may with profit enter our brotherhood. The first and greatest aim and united basis of our order， on which it is established and which no human force can destroy， is the preservation and handing down to posterity of a certain important mystery … that has come down to us from the most ancient times， even from the first man—a mystery upon which， perhaps， the fate of the human race depends. But since this mystery is of such a kind that no one can know it and profit by it if he has not been prepared by a prolonged and diligent self-purification， not every one can hope to attain it quickly. Hence we have a second aim， which consists in preparing our members， as far as possible reforming their hearts， purifying and enlightening their intelligence by those means which have been revealed to us by tradition from men who have striven to attain this mystery， and thereby to render them fit for the reception of it. Purifying and regenerating our members， we endeavor， thirdly， to improve the whole human race， offering it in our members an example of piety and virtue， and thereby we strive with all our strength to combat the evil that is paramount in the world. Ponder on these things， and I will come again to you，” he said， and went out of the room.