nally in their clear duty to
investigate the truth of His Faith and to restrain the hand of the
wrongdoer, His teachings embody no principle that can, in any way, be
construed as a repudiation, or even a disparagement, however veiled, of
the institution of kingship. The catastrophic fall, and the extinction of
the dynasties and empires of those monarchs whose disastrous end He
particularly prophesied, and the declining fortunes of the sovereigns of
His Own generation, whom He generally reproved--both constituting a passing
phase of the evolution of the Faith--should, in no wise, be confounded with
the future position of that institution. Indeed if we delve into the
writings of the Author of the Baha'i Faith, we cannot fail to discover
unnumbered passages in which, in terms that none can misrepresent, the
principle of kingship is eulogized, the rank and conduct of just and
fair-minded kings is extolled, the rise of monarchs, ruling with justice
and even professing His Faith, is envisaged, and the solemn duty to arise
and ensure the triumph of Baha'i sovereigns is inculcated. To conclude
from the above quoted words, addressed by Baha'u'llah to the monarchs of
the earth, to infer from the recital of the woeful disasters that have
overtaken so many of them, that His followers either advocate or
anticipate the definite extinction of the institution of kingship, would
indeed be tantamount to a distortion of His teaching.

I can do no better than quote some of Baha'u'llah's Own testimonies,
leaving the reader to shape his own judgment as to the falsity of such a
deduction. In His "Epistle to the Son of the Wolf" He indicates the true
source of kingship: "Regard for the rank of sovereigns is divinely
ordained, as is clearly attested by the words of the Prophets of God and
His chosen ones. He Who is the Spirit [Jesus]--may peace be upon Him--was
asked: 'O Spirit of God! Is it lawful to give tribute to Caesar, or not?'
And He made reply: 'Yea, render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's,
and to God the things that are God's.' He forbade it not. These two
sayings are, in the estimation of men of insight, one and the same, for if
that which belonged to Caesar had not come from God He would have
forbidden it. And likewise in the sacred verse: 'Obey God and obey the
Apostle, and those among you invested with authority.' By 'those invested
with authority' is meant primarily and more specially the Imams--the
blessings of God rest upon