Page:Rolland - Mahatma Gandhi, tr. by Catherine D. Groth, 1924.pdf/18

This page has been proofread, but needs to be validated.

simplicity about him.[1] His manner is gentle and courteous even when dealing with adversaries,[2] and he is of immaculate sincerity.[3] He is modest and unassuming, to the point of sometimes seeming almost timid, hesitant, in making an assertion. Yet you feel his indomitable spirit. He makes no compromises and never tries to hide a mistake. Nor is he afraid to admit having been in the wrong. Diplomacy is unknown to him; he shuns oratorical effect or, rather, never thinks about it; and he shrinks unconsciously from the great popular demonstrations organized in his honor. Literally “ill with the multitude that adores him,”[4] he distrusts

  1. As C. F. Andrews says, “He laughs like a child and adores children.”
  2. “Few can resist the charm of his personality. His bitterest enemies become courteous when confronted with his beautiful courtesy.” (Joseph J. Doke.)
  3. “Every departure from truth, no matter how trifling, is intolerable to him.” (C. F. Andrews.)
  4. “He is not a passionate orator; his manner is