. A handful of clay is greater in the sight of God than all
your dominion and your sovereignty, and all your might and your fortune.
Should it be His wish, He would scatter you in dust. Soon will He seize
you in His wrathful anger, sedition will be stirred up in your midst, and
your dominions will be disrupted. Then will ye wail and lament, and will
find none to help or succour you.

8 In making mention of these matters, it is not Our purpose to rouse you
from your slumber, since the fury of God's wrath hath so encompassed you
that ye shall never take heed. Nor is it Our intention to recount the
iniquities visited upon these pure and blessed souls, for they have been
so intoxicated with the wine of the All-Merciful and are so carried away
with the inebriating effect of the living waters of His loving providence
that even were they to suffer all the cruelties of the world for His sake,
they would remain content and yield thanks unto Him. These souls have
never held, nor shall they ever hold any grievance. Nay, their blood
continually imploreth and beseecheth the Lord of the worlds that it might
be spilt upon the dust in His path, and their heads yearn to be borne
aloft on spears for the sake of the Beloved of hearts and souls.

9 Several times calamities have overtaken you, and yet ye failed utterly
to take heed. One of them was the conflagration which devoured most of the
City(74) with the flames of justice, and concerning which many poems were
written, stating that no such fire had ever been witnessed. And yet, ye
waxed more heedless. Plague, likewise, broke out, and ye still failed to
give heed! Be expectant, however, for the wrath of God is ready to
overtake you. Erelong will ye behold that which hath been sent down from
the Pen of My command.

10 Have ye fondly imagined your glory to be imperishable and your dominion
to be everlasting? Nay, by Him Who is the All-Merciful! Neither will your
glory last, nor will Mine abasement endure. Such abasement, in the
estimation of a true man, is the pride of every glory.

11 When I was still a child and had not yet attained the age of maturity,
My father made arrangements in Tihran for the marriage of one of My older
brothers, and as is customary in that city, the festivities lasted for
seven days and seven nights. On the last day it was announced that the
play "Shah Sultan Salim" would be presented. A large number of princes,
dignitaries, and notables of the capital gathered