e is perpetrating actions which are
anathema in the sight of God and detested by all the Prophets and Holy
Ones, if he sees a person who has just finished eating wash his hands with
soap--an article the inventor of which was 'Abdu'llah Buni, a Muslim--will,
because this unfortunate does not instead wipe his hands up and down the
front of his robe and on his beard, set up a hue and cry to the effect
that the religious law has been overthrown, and the manners and customs of
heathen nations are being introduced into ours. Utterly disregarding the
evil of his own ways, he considers the very cause of cleanliness and
refinement as wicked and foolish.

O People of Persia! Open your eyes! Pay heed! Release yourselves from this
blind following of the bigots, this senseless imitation which is the
principal reason why men fall away into paths of ignorance and
degradation. See the true state of things. Rise up; seize hold of such
means as will bring you life and happiness and greatness and glory among
all the nations of the world.

The winds of the true springtide are passing over you; adorn yourselves
with blossoms like trees in the scented garden. Spring clouds are
streaming; then turn you fresh and verdant like the sweet eternal fields.
The dawn star is shining, set your feet on the true path. The sea of might
is swelling, hasten to the shores of high resolve and fortune. The pure
water of life is welling up, why wear away your days in a desert of
thirst? Aim high, choose noble ends; how long this lethargy, how long this
negligence! Despair, both here and hereafter, is all you will gain from
self-indulgence; abomination and misery are all you will harvest from
fanaticism, from believing the foolish and the mindless. The confirmations
of God are supporting you, the succor of God is at hand: why do you not
cry out and exult with all your heart, and strive with all your soul!

Among those matters which require thorough revision and reform is the
method of studying the various branches of knowledge and the organization
of the academic curriculum. From lack of organization, education has
become haphazard and confused. Trifling subjects which should not call for
elaboration receive undue attention, to such an extent that students, over
long periods of time, waste their minds and their energies on material
that is pure supposition, in no way susceptible of proof, such study
consisting in going deep into statements and concepts which c