course, to devote himself to the eradication of any, even the most enormous wrong; he may properly have other concerns engage him; but it is his duty, at least to wash his hands of it, and if he gives it no longer thought, not to give it practically his support" (Thoreau, 1965:240). Thus, nonviolence is envisioned not as a humanistic way of life, but as an act of withdrawal according to the dictates of individual conscience. "Doingood," he states in Walden, "does not agree with my constitution" (Thoreau, 1965:57).
Mahatma Gandhi made significant strides in developing a theory of nonviolent resistance. Gandhi's understanding of nonviolence originated with the writings of Thoreau and matured in the course of personal experiences. At 24, Gandhi traveled to South Africa as a lawyer on business. He had booked a first-class seat on a train bound for Pretoria when a fellow passenger entered, looked him "up and down," and then quickly left. An official of the railroad promptly returned and ordered Gandhi to move to the third-class section reserved for "coloreds." Gandhi refused and was immediately ejected from the train. From that point on, Gandhi was committed to opposing racial segregation in South Africa.
Gandhi's resistance took the form of nonviolence. His concept of nonviolence was termed "ahimsa" in Sanskrit, a word signifying both love and nonviolence. "Truth," he wr
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