lest. There is no God save
Thee, the wise and the generous."

In short, from these Holy Utterances and those of His Holiness Christ, it
becomes clear, evident and proved, that man should associate with people
who are firm in the Covenant and Testament, and befriend the pure ones;
because bad associates bring about infection of bad qualities. It is like
leprosy; it is impossible for a man to associate and befriend a leper and
not be infected. This command is for the sake of protection and to
safeguard.

Consider this text of the New Testament: the brothers of His Holiness
Christ, came to Him and they said: "These are your brothers." He answered
that His brothers were those who believed in God, and refused to associate
with His own brothers.

Likewise Qurratu'l-'Ayn, who is celebrated in all the world, when she
believed in God and was attracted to the Divine Breaths, she forsook her
two eldest sons, although they were her two oldest children, because they
did not become believers, and thereafter did not meet them. She said: "All
the friends of God are my children, but these two are not. I will have
nothing to do with them."

Consider! The Divine Gardener cuts off the dry or weak branch from the
good tree and grafts to it, a branch from another tree. He both separates
and unites. This is that which His Holiness Christ says: that from all the
world they come and enter the Kingdom, and the children of the Kingdom
shall be cast out. Noah's grandson, Canaan, was detested in the sight of
Noah and others were accepted. The brothers of the Blessed Beauty detached
themselves from Him, and the Blessed Beauty never met them. He said: "This
is an eternal separation between you and Me." All this was not because the
Blessed Beauty was despotic; but because these persons, through their own
actions and words deprived themselves from the bounties and bestowals of
the Blessed Beauty. His Holiness Christ did not exercise despotism in the
case of Judas Iscariot and His own brothers,--but they separated
themselves.

In short, the point is this: 'Abdu'l-Baha is extremely kind, but when the
disease is leprosy, what am I to do? Just as in bodily diseases we must
prevent intermingling and infection and put into effect sanitary
laws--because the infectious physical diseases uproot the foundation of
humanity; likewise one must protect and safeguard the blessed souls from
the breaths and fatal spiritual diseases; otherwise violation, like the