“There is a Remnant there that you know nothing about. They are obscure, unorganized, inarticulate, each one rubbing along as best he can. They need to be encouraged and braced up because when everything has gone completely to the dogs, they are the ones who will come back and build up a new society; and meanwhile, your preaching will reassure them and keep them hanging on. Your job is to take care of the Remnant, so be off now and set about it.”

What is a remnant?
The Remnant are those who by force of intellect are able to apprehend these *principles, and by force of character are able, at least measurably, to cleave to them. The masses are those who are unable to do either.
*The line of differentiation between the masses and the Remnant is set invariably by quality, not by circumstance.

Isaiah's Job
https://mises.org/library/isaiahs-job