rn your
souls with the ornament of honesty. Beware, O people, that ye deal not
treacherously with anyone. Be ye the trustees of God amongst His
creatures, and the emblems of His generosity amidst His people." "Let your
eye be chaste," is yet another counsel, "your hand faithful, your tongue
truthful, and your heart enlightened." "Be an ornament to the countenance
of truth," is yet another admonition, "a crown to the brow of fidelity, a
pillar of the temple of righteousness, a breath of life to the body of
mankind, an ensign of the hosts of justice, a luminary above the horizon
of virtue." "Let truthfulness and courtesy be your adorning," is still
another admonition; "suffer not yourselves to be deprived of the robe of
forbearance and justice, that the sweet savors of holiness may be wafted
from your hearts upon all created things. Say: Beware, O people of Baha,
lest ye walk in the ways of them whose words differ from their deeds.
Strive that ye may be enabled to manifest to the peoples of the earth the
signs of God, and to mirror forth His commandments. Let your acts be a
guide unto all mankind, for the professions of most men, be they high or
low, differ from their conduct. It is through your deeds that ye can
distinguish yourselves from others. Through them the brightness of your
light can be shed upon the whole earth. Happy is the man that heedeth My
counsel, and keepeth the precepts prescribed by Him Who is the
All-Knowing, the All-Wise."

"O army of God!" writes 'Abdu'l-Baha, "Through the protection and help
vouchsafed by the Blessed Beauty--may my life be a sacrifice to His loved
ones--ye must conduct yourselves in such a manner that ye may stand out
distinguished and brilliant as the sun among other souls. Should any one
of you enter a city, he should become a center of attraction by reason of
his sincerity, his faithfulness and love, his honesty and fidelity, his
truthfulness and loving-kindness towards all the peoples of the world, so
that the people of that city may cry out and say: 'This man is
unquestionably a Baha'i, for his manners, his behavior, his conduct, his
morals, his nature, and disposition reflect the attributes of the
Baha'is.' Not until ye attain this station can ye be said to have been
faithful to the Covenant and Testament of God." "The most vital duty, in
this day," He, moreover, has written, "is to purify your characters, to
correct your manners, and improve your conduct. The beloved of the