eir power to transform what can be truly regarded as
one of the most backward, the most cowardly, and perverse of peoples into
a race of heroes, fit to effect in turn a similar revolution in the life
of mankind. To have appeared among a race or nation which by its intrinsic
worth and high attainments seemed to warrant the inestimable privilege of
being made the receptacle of such a Revelation would in the eyes of an
unbelieving world greatly reduce the efficacy of that Message, and detract
from the self-sufficiency of its omnipotent power. The contrast so
strikingly presented in the pages of Nabil's Narrative between the heroism
that immortalized the life and deeds of the Dawn-Breakers and the
degeneracy and cowardice of their defamers and persecutors is in itself a
most impressive testimony to the truth of the Message of Him Who had
instilled such a spirit into the breasts of His disciples. For any
believer of that race to maintain that the excellence of his country and
the innate nobility of its people were the fundamental reasons for its
being singled out as the primary receptacle of the Revelations of the Bab
and Baha'u'llah would be untenable in the face of the overwhelming
evidence afforded so convincingly by that Narrative.

To a lesser degree this principle must of necessity apply to the country
which has vindicated its right to be regarded as the cradle of the World
Order of Baha'u'llah. So great a function, so noble a role, can be
regarded as no less inferior to the part played by those immortal souls
who, through their sublime renunciation and unparalleled deeds, have been
responsible for the birth of the Faith itself. Let not, therefore, those
who are to participate so predominantly in the birth of that world
civilization, which is the direct offspring of their Faith, imagine for a
moment that for some mysterious purpose or by any reason of inherent
excellence or special merit Baha'u'llah has chosen to confer upon their
country and people so great and lasting a distinction. It is precisely by
reason of the patent evils which, notwithstanding its other admittedly
great characteristics and achievements, an excessive and binding
materialism has unfortunately engendered within it that the Author of
their Faith and the Center of His Covenant have singled it out to become
the standard-bearer of the New World Order envisaged in their writings. It
is by such means as this that Baha'u'llah can best demonstrate to a
he