Page:Rolland - Mahatma Gandhi, tr. by Catherine D. Groth, 1924.pdf/25

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But even while practising law he used to make a point of reserving the right to abandon a case if he had reason to believe it unjust.

At this stage of his career he met various people who stirred in him a presentiment as to his future mission in life. He was influenced by two men in particular. One of them was the “Uncrowned King of Bombay,” the Parsi Dadabhai, and the other Professor Gokhale. Gokhale was one of the leading statesmen in India and one of the first to introduce educational reforms, while Dadabhai, according to Gandhi, was the real founder of the Indian nationalist movement. Both men combined the highest wisdom and learning with the utmost simplicity and gentleness.[1] It was Dadabhai who, in trying to moderate Gandhi’s youthful ardor,

  1. These two men, precursors, have suffered from the ingratitude and forgetfulness of younger generations. Their political ideal having been surpassed,