Page:Twelve men of Bengal in the nineteenth century (1910).djvu/77



the many names associated with the great Renaissance in Bengal during the nineteenth century that of Ramtanu Lahiri bears an honoured place. Foremost in every good work he set by his daily life and conduct a shining example to all those who with him were treading the difficult paths of moral and social progress. His intense lovableness was the secret of the great influence he wielded, his saintly life and whole-hearted devotion to the interests of his fellow-countrymen never failing to leave a deep impression on all those who came in contract with him. Though he courageously broke away from the old beliefs and the old creeds, it was only in so far as he held that they failed in the light of modern knowledge and investigation. All that was best in them he was eager to retain. His was no purely destructive creed ruthlessly sweeping away all that had been held sacred for generations. This was the natural tendency of the sudden awakening that had come to Bengal in the middle of the nineteenth century, but from the first Ramtanu threw the whole weight of his influence on the side of moderation. He was wise enough to see that no nation, enervated by long sleep, can spring to life, at once capable and