hunger and thirst to do good. And yet, if
we ponder the lessons of history it will become evident that this very
sense of honor and dignity is itself one of the bounties deriving from the
instructions of the Prophets of God. We also observe in infants the signs
of aggression and lawlessness, and that if a child is deprived of a
teacher's instructions his undesirable qualities increase from one moment
to the next. It is therefore clear that the emergence of this natural
sense of human dignity and honor is the result of education. Secondly,
even if we grant for the sake of the argument that instinctive
intelligence and an innate moral quality would prevent wrongdoing, it is
obvious that individuals so characterized are as rare as the philosopher's
stone. An assumption of this sort cannot be validated by mere words, it
must be supported by the facts. Let us see what power in creation impels
the masses toward righteous aims and deeds!

Aside from this, if that rare individual who does exemplify such a faculty
should also become an embodiment of the fear of God, it is certain that
his strivings toward righteousness would be strongly reinforced.

Universal benefits derive from the grace of the Divine religions, for they
lead their true followers to sincerity of intent, to high purpose, to
purity and spotless honor, to surpassing kindness and compassion, to the
keeping of their covenants when they have covenanted, to concern for the
rights of others, to liberality, to justice in every aspect of life, to
humanity and philanthropy, to valor and to unflagging efforts in the
service of mankind. It is religion, to sum up, which produces all human
virtues, and it is these virtues which are the bright candles of
civilization. If a man is not characterized by these excellent qualities,
it is certain that he has never attained to so much as a drop out of the
fathomless river of the waters of life that flows through the teachings of
the Holy Books, nor caught the faintest breath of the fragrant breezes
that blow from the gardens of God; for nothing on earth can be
demonstrated by words alone, and every level of existence is known by its
signs and symbols, and every degree in man's development has its
identifying mark.

The purpose of these statements is to make it abundantly clear that the
Divine religions, the holy precepts, the heavenly teachings, are the
unassailable basis of human happiness, and that the peoples of the world
can h