“It is to obey—that is all.”
“Perhaps it is not wholly sure of you.”
“I can give your soul only the assurance of the hour that is.”
“What are you planning?”
“Don’t ask me! Hold me fast with your thoughts. Don’t let me go for a moment, or we are lost to each other. Cling to me with all your might.”
Christian answered: “It seems to me as though I ought to know what you mean. But I don’t want to know it. Because you see, you ... I ... all this ... it’s too insignificant.” He shook his head in a troubled way. “Too insignificant.”
“What, what do you mean by that?” Eva cried in fright, and clung to his right hand with both hers. Tensely she looked into his face.
“Too insignificant,” Christian repeated stubbornly, as though he could find no other words.
Then he reflected on all he had said and heard with his accustomed scepticism and toughmindedness, and arose and bade his friend good-night.