"We who bore the mark, felt no anxiety about the shape the future was to take. All of these faiths and teachings seemed to us already dead and useless. The only duty and destiny we acknowledged was that each one of us should become so completely himself, so utterly faithful to the active seed which nature planted within him, that in living out its growth he could be surprised by nothing unknown to come."

This quote comes from the middle of the seventh chapter, as Sinclair reflects on the time he spent in the Demian household. Here is an expression of the full force of the ideal toward which Demian has been leading Sinclair. Sinclair, at this point, recognizes and ascribes to this ideal; he has become one of those who bear the mark. This mark, of course, is the sign that singles out as special those like Demian, Frau Eva, and now, Sinclair, who subscribe to the ideal described here. This ideal champions the individual, prizing him above all else—particularly, antiquated religious and moral systems.