matter where it may arise. Let
us inhale the perfume of the rose from the midst of thorns which surround
it; let us drink the running water from every pure spring.

Since I arrived in Paris, it has given me much pleasure to meet such
Parisians as you are, for praise be to God, you are intelligent,
unprejudiced, and you long to know the truth. You have in your hearts the
love of humanity, and as far as you are able, you exert yourselves in the
cause of charitable work and in the bringing about of unity; this is
especially what Baha'u'llah desired.

It is for this reason that I am so happy to be among you, and I pray for
you, that you may be receptacles for the Blessings of God, and that you
may be the means of spreading spirituality throughout this country.

You already have a wonderful material civilization and in like manner
shall spiritual civilization be yours.

Monsieur Bleck thanked 'Abdu'l-Baha, and he replied:

'I am very grateful to you for the kind sentiments which you have just
uttered. I hope that these two movements will ere long be spread all over
the earth. Then will the unity of humanity have pitched its tent in the
centre of the world.'

THE FIRST PRINCIPLE--SEARCH AFTER TRUTH

4 Avenue de Camoeens, Paris
November 10th

The first principle of the Teaching of Baha'u'llah is:

The Search after Truth

If a man would succeed in his search after truth, he must, in the first
place, shut his eyes to all the traditional superstitions of the past.

The Jews have traditional superstitions, the Buddhists and the
Zoroastrians are not free from them, neither are the Christians! All
religions have gradually become bound by tradition and dogma.

All consider themselves, respectively, the only guardians of the truth,
and that every other religion is composed of errors. They themselves are
right, all others are wrong! The Jews believe that they are the only
possessors of the truth and condemn all other religions. The Christians
affirm that their religion is the only true one, that all others are
false. Likewise the Buddhists and Muhammadans; all limit themselves. If
all condemn one another, where shall we search for truth? All
contradicting one another, all cannot be true. If each believe his
particular religion to be the only true one, he blinds his eyes to the
truth in the others. If, for instance, a Jew is bound by the external
practice of the religion of Israel, he does not permit himself to pe