The aphorism attributed to the great Indian has long become a classic. We checked whether its author was indeed Mahatma Gandhi.

This quote fits almost perfectly into the speeches of politicians and the slogans of activists, regardless of the views they adhere to. So, in the USA it was also used by a Republican Donald Trump for a 2016 campaign speech, and his failed opponent, Democrat Bernie Sanders, a year earlier. Both of them referred to Mahatma Gandhi. In Russia, the aphorism adorns a selection of quotes from Gandhi on RIA Novosti website. The catchphrase is also included in the annotation to the biographical book of Alexander Vladimirsky "Great Gandhi. Righteous of Power".

A quick study of the distribution of the quote in the literature shows that it began to be associated with Gandhi around 1982, and in English-language sources. In particular, a quote in a somewhat distorted form can be found in one of the issues of WIN magazine, published by the American Committee for Nonviolent Action:

“Gandhi once remarked that every movement goes through four stages: first they ignore you, then they insult you; then they deal with you, and then you win.”

All earlier mentions of something similar to this catchphrase are not associated with the identity of the Indian figure. If you try to go back to the origins, then in Arthur Schopenhauer’s book “The World as Will and Representation,” published in 1819, you can find the following thought:

“Truth is destined only for a brief triumph between two long periods of time, when it is rejected as a paradox and when it is neglected as a triviality.”

This quote was later reported as “Truth passes through three stages: first it is ridiculed, then it is fiercely resisted, and finally it is accepted as obvious.” In approximately this form (but only instead of the truth the problem is mentioned) it appears in the book of the German geographer Kurt Gassert, published in 1913.

Four years will pass, and English-speaking readers will become familiar with the next variation of the catchphrase thanks to an article by E. Morgan in the magazine “Safety Techniques”:

“They say that any new idea must go through three stages. Firstly, she is ridiculed; secondly, it becomes the subject of controversy; thirdly, it is accepted.”

Most likely, this article was read by the American trade unionist Nicholas Klein, who, speaking on May 18, 1918 in Baltimore to members of the United Garment Workers Union, stated: “They don’t notice you at first. Then they laugh at you. Then they attack and want to burn you. And then they erect a monument to you.”

This is the closest phrase to the one attributed to Gandhi. As for the works of the Indian himself, only a somewhat similar thought is found in his book “The Battle of Freedom”:

“The nation must respond effectively with organized non-cooperation and turn ridicule into respect. Ridicule is like repression. Both give way to respect when they don’t produce the desired effect.” And also: “In a civilized country, when ridicule does not kill a movement, it begins to be respected.”

As we can see, the form in which Gandhi's quote is distributed is much more like an excerpt from a speech by Nicholas Klein. And in any case, the Indian Nobel Peace Prize laureate cannot be called the author of the aphorism in question.