o thickly on the heart that the ears would hear no more, and the
eyes would no longer behold the light of truth.

If, however, a person setteth about speaking well of another, opening his
lips to praise another, he will touch an answering chord in his hearers
and they will be stirred up by the breathings of God. Their hearts and
souls will rejoice to know that, God be thanked, here is a soul in the
Faith who is a focus of human perfections, a very embodiment of the
bounties of the Lord, one whose tongue is eloquent, and whose face
shineth, in whatever gathering he may be, one who hath victory upon his
brow, and who is a being sustained by the sweet savours of God.

Now which is the better way? I swear this by the beauty of the Lord:
whensoever I hear good of the friends, my heart filleth up with joy; but
whensoever I find even a hint that they are on bad terms one with another,
I am overwhelmed by grief. Such is the condition of 'Abdu'l-Baha. Then
judge from this where your duty lieth.

God be praised, wherever we turn, the Ancient Beauty hath opened wide the
gates of grace, and hath in unmistakable words announced glad tidings of
victory through the Lord's sustaining help. Through love hath He carried
off the hearts of the believers, and He hath entrusted their triumph to
the armies of the Concourse on high.

Now amidst all the peoples of the world must the beloved arise, with a
heart even as the day-star, a strong inward urge, a shining brow, a
musk-scented breath, a tongue speaking ever of God, an exposition
crystal-clear, a high resolve, a power born of heaven, a spiritual
character, a confirmation nothing short of the divine. Let them one and
all become as a splendour on the horizon of heaven, and in the skies of
the world a dazzling star. Let them be fruitful trees in the celestial
bowers, sweet-scented blooms in the divine gardens; let them be verses of
perfection on the page of the universe, words of oneness in the Book of
Life. This is the first age, and the early beginnings of the dispensation
of the Most Great Light, wherefore, within this century, virtues must be
acquired, goodly qualities must be perfected within this span of time. In
these very days the Abha Paradise must pitch its pavilions on the plains
of the world. The lights of reality must now be revealed, and the secrets
of God's bestowals must now be made known, and now must the olden grace
shine forth and this world change into the pleasure-grou