ity of God.

"Have I, O King, ever disobeyed thee? Have I, at any time, transgressed
any of thy laws? Can any of thy ministers that represent thee in 'Iraq
produce any proof that can establish My disloyalty to thee? No, by Him Who
is the Lord of all worlds! Not for one short moment did We rebel against
thee, or against any of thy ministers. Never, God willing, shall We revolt
against thee, though We be exposed to trials more severe than any We
suffered in the past. In the daytime and in the night season, at even and
at morn, We pray to God on thy behalf, that He may graciously aid thee to
be obedient unto Him and to observe His commandments, that He may shield
thee from the hosts of the evil ones. Do, therefore, as it pleaseth thee,
and treat Us as befitteth thy station and beseemeth thy sovereignty. Be
not forgetful of the law of God in whatever thou desirest to achieve, now
or in the days to come. Say: Praise be to God, the Lord of all worlds!"

Moreover, in the Kitab-i-Aqdas, is this vehement apostrophe to
Constantinople: "O Spot that art situate on the shores of the two seas!
The throne of tyranny hath, verily, been stablished upon thee, and the
flame of hatred hath been kindled within thy bosom, in such wise that the
Concourse on high and they who circle around the Exalted Throne have
wailed and lamented. We behold in thee the foolish ruling over the wise,
and darkness vaunting itself against the light. Thou art indeed filled
with manifest pride. Hath thine outward splendor made thee vainglorious?
By Him Who is the Lord of mankind! It shall soon perish, and thy daughters
and thy widows and all the kindreds that dwell within thee shall lament.
Thus informeth thee the All-Knowing, the All-Wise."

As to Nasiri'd-Din _Sh_ah, the Lawh-i-Sultan, despatched to him from Akka
and constituting Baha'u'llah's lengthiest Epistle to any single sovereign,
proclaims: "O King! I was but a man like others, asleep upon My couch,
when lo, the breezes of the All-Glorious were wafted over Me, and taught
Me the knowledge of all that hath been. This thing is not from Me, but
from One Who is Almighty and All-Knowing. And He bade Me lift up My voice
between earth and heaven, and for this there befell Me what hath caused
the tears of every man of understanding to flow. The learning current
amongst men I studied not; their schools I entered not. Ask of the city
wherein I dwelt, that thou mayest be well assured that I am not of them
who speak