The cousins made astonished faces. Hans Castorp asked: “A⁠—what? But he is a member of a Society. They have to take certain vows, I have always supposed⁠—and then he is such a poor creature physically, so⁠—”

“You are talking rubbish, Engineer,” Settembrini interposed. “It has nothing to do with physical insufficiency; while as for the vows you speak of, there are always reservations. I was speaking in a broader, more intellectual sense, your comprehension of which I felt I might presume upon, by now. You probably remember my visiting you one day in your room⁠—it was long ago, frightfully long ago⁠—you had just finished your three weeks in bed, after being received into the sanatorium.”

“Of course. You came in at dusk, and turned on the light⁠—I remember it as if it were yesterday⁠—”