of this station. God,
verily, is a sufficient witness!

Consort with all men, O people of Baha, in a spirit of friendliness and
fellowship. If ye be aware of a certain truth, if ye possess a jewel, of
which others are deprived, share it with them in a language of utmost
kindliness and goodwill. If it be accepted, if it fulfill its purpose,
your object is attained. If anyone should refuse it, leave him unto
himself, and beseech God to guide him. Beware lest ye deal unkindly with
him. A kindly tongue is the lodestone of the hearts of men. It is the
bread of the spirit, it clotheth the words with meaning, it is the
fountain of the light of wisdom and understanding.

By "divines" in the passage cited above is meant those men who outwardly
attire themselves with the raiment of knowledge, but who inwardly are
deprived therefrom. In this connection, We quote from the Tablet addressed
to His Majesty the _Sh_ah, certain passages from the "Hidden Words" which
were revealed by the Abha Pen under the name of the "Book of Fatimih," the
blessings of God be upon her!

"O ye that are foolish, yet have a name to be wise! Wherefore do ye wear
the guise of the shepherd, when inwardly ye have become wolves, intent
upon My flock? Ye are even as the star, which riseth ere the dawn, and
which, though it seem radiant and luminous, leadeth the wayfarers of My
city astray into the paths of perdition."

And likewise He saith: "O ye seeming fair yet inwardly foul! Ye are like
clear but bitter water, which to outward seeming is crystal pure but of
which, when tested by the Divine Assayer, not a drop is accepted. Yea, the
sunbeam falls alike upon the dust and the mirror, yet differ they in
reflection even as doth the star from the earth: nay, immeasurable is the
difference!"

And also He saith: "O essence of desire! At many a dawn have I turned from
the realms of the Placeless unto thine abode, and found thee on the bed of
ease busied with others than Myself. Thereupon, even as the flash of the
spirit, I returned to the realms of celest and breathed it not in My
retreats above unto the hosts of holiness."

And again He saith: "O bond slave of the world! Many a dawn hath the
breeze of My loving-kindness wafted over thee and found thee upon the bed
of heedlessness fast asleep. Bewailing then thy plight it returned whence
it came."

Those divines, however, who are truly adorned with the ornament of
knowledge and of a goodly character are, veri