harmony with Černyševskii's views, and there are traces of his hand or of his editorship in the literary style.
In the beginning of 1862 the secret society Zemlja i Volja (Land and Freedom) was organised, probably by members of the staff of "Velikorus'," which ceased to exist after the issue of its third number.
It seems indubitable that Černyševskii participated in the secret revolutionary organisation Velikorus', and also that he was a member of Zemlja i Volja. This much, at least, is certain, that he was part author of the proclamation to the peasants.
The catastrophe that befell Černyševskii, his participation in revolutionary propaganda, seem to conflict with the views to which he gave expression in his writings. We might recall what he said concerning the futility of sacrifice, but this would hardly be relevant. Černyševskii did not make any sacrifice but was coerced by the powers of reaction under Alexander II, and no one is secure against the tactics of absolutism. More weighty is the circumstance that prior to 1861, when he discussed the question of secret revolutionary activities, he declared that these were not wholly to his liking. In Lessing and his Time, a work published in 1856, he declared himself opposed to secret societies, saying that great and truly useful ends can be secured only by straightforward and open procedures. He went further, and expressed opposition to revolutions in general, or at any rate was very sceptical as to the practicability of their doing any good. He had no belief in the possibility of a revolution to be effected by the Russian peasants, for he was disinclined to idealise the mužik, and was under no illusions regarding the extent of the latter's enlightenment. We are told, however, that by 1861 and 1862 he had abandoned or modified his scepticism, having noted the unrest and activity among the peasantry, and having decided therefore, though sceptical, to take part in secret revolutionary work. The conclusion of What is to be Done may certainly be quoted in favour of the belief that its author looked forward to the speedy success of the revolution.
Reference is sometimes made to Černyševskii's Siberian novel The Prologue, which is considered to contain autobiographical confessions, and the following passage is quoted, "Wait, wait, as long as possible and as quietly as possible." Quoted, again, is the passage wherein Černyševskii criticises
