at first, was fortified by his gradual gaining in spiritual stature.
It will thus be seen that the moral and intellectual outlook with which Mr. Tilak started his career was essentially novel and was destined to bring about nothing less than a revolution in the public life of the country. The older generation of leaders, however, had a merry time of it for the next eleven years owing to Mr. Tilak's long diversion and total absorption in the New English School and the Fergusson College. Three great idolas — to use a Baconian expression — had seized hold of the public mind in India during the last sixty years and diverted the nation from pursuing its first duty, — freedom from foreign domination. To-day we recognize that there can be no National Education without a National Government. We now realise that there can be no true Social Reform without and before political reform. We have learnt to our cost that there can be no regeneration of the national industries unless and until political power is wrested from the representatives of foreign capitalists. Education, Social Reform, Industrial Development — all must wait and make room for political reform. But about 1880 people thought differently ; and so Ranade ran after the lure of Social Reform, Tilak and Agarkar attempted to start National Education, Kunte and others tried to introduce western industries in the unmanured soil of our country. The attempts failed to achieve the intended result. To be sure, a certain amount of progress did result ; but at what cost ? Mr. Tilak's dedication of eleven years to a school :ind a college may have made him a bit less idealistic and more conversant with men
