y them, and drive
them on to the triumph of their own cause."[25]

The most remarkable of this series of writings is "The Revolutionary
Catechism." This existed for several years in cipher, and was guarded
most carefully by Nechayeff. Altogether it contained twenty-six
articles, classified into four sections. Here it is declared that if the
revolutionist continues to live in this world it is only in order to
annihilate it all the more surely. "The object remains always the same:
the quickest and surest way of destroying this filthy order." ... "For
him exists only one single pleasure, one single consolation, one reward,
one satisfaction: the success of the revolution. Night and day he must
have but one thought, but one aim--implacable destruction." ... "For
this end of implacable destruction a revolutionist can and often must
live in the midst of society, feigning to be altogether different from
what he really is. A revolutionist must penetrate everywhere: into high
society as well as into the middle class, into the shops, into the
church, into the palaces of the aristocracy, into the official,
military, and literary worlds, _into the third section_ (the secret
police), and even into the imperial palace."[26]

"All this unclean society must be divided into several categories, the
first composed of those who are condemned to death without delay." (Sec.
15.) ... "In the first place must be destroyed the men most inimical to
the revolutionary organization and whose violent and sudden death can
frighten the Government the most and break its power in depriving it of
energetic and intelligent agents." (Sec. 16.) "The second category must
be composed of people to whom we concede life provisionally, in order
that by a series of monstrous acts they may drive the people into
inevitable revolt." (Sec. 17.) "To the third category belong a great
number of animals in high position or of individuals who are remarkable
neither for their mind nor for their energy, but who, by their position,
have wealth, connections, influence, power. We must exploit them in
every possible manner, overreach them, deceive them, and, _getting hold
of their dirty secrets_, make them our slaves." (Sec. 18.) ... "The
fourth class is composed of sundry ambitious persons in the service of
the State and of liberals of various shades of opinion. With them we can
conspire after their own program, pretending to follow them blindly. We
must take them in our hands,