“He does seem rather weird,” was Hans Castorp’s view. “Some of the things he said were very queer: it sounded as if he meant to say that the sun revolves round the earth.” But how could they, he went on, have suspected that a friend of his, Herr Settembrini’s, was an unsuitable person for them to associate with? As he himself admitted, they had made the acquaintance through him, had met the man first in his company, and seen that the two walked and took tea together. Surely that must mean⁠—