Moses from his father and mother, to Christ from his mother's line; also
to Muhammad and the the Bab, and to all the Prophets and the Holy
Manifestations of Israel. The Blessed Beauty(7) is also a lineal
descendant of Abraham, for Abraham had other sons besides Ishmael and
Isaac who in those days migrated to the lands of Persia and Afghanistan,
and the Blessed Beauty is one of their descendants.

Hence it is evident that inherited character also exists, and to such a
degree that if the characters are not in conformity with their origin,
although they belong physically to that lineage, spiritually they are not
considered members of the family, like Canaan,(8) who is not reckoned as
being of the race of Noah.

But the difference of the qualities with regard to culture is very great,
for education has great influence. Through education the ignorant become
learned; the cowardly become valiant. Through cultivation the crooked
branch becomes straight; the acid, bitter fruit of the mountains and woods
becomes sweet and delicious; and the five-petaled flower becomes
hundred-petaled. Through education savage nations become civilized, and
even the animals become domesticated. Education must be considered as most
important, for as diseases in the world of bodies are extremely
contagious, so, in the same way, qualities of spirit and heart are
extremely contagious. Education has a universal influence, and the
differences caused by it are very great.

Perhaps someone will say that, since the capacity and worthiness of men
differ, therefore, the difference of capacity certainly causes the
difference of characters.(9)

But this is not so, for capacity is of two kinds: natural capacity and
acquired capacity. The first, which is the creation of God, is purely
good--in the creation of God there is no evil; but the acquired capacity
has become the cause of the appearance of evil. For example, God has
created all men in such a manner and has given them such a constitution
and such capacities that they are benefited by sugar and honey and harmed
and destroyed by poison. This nature and constitution is innate, and God
has given it equally to all mankind. But man begins little by little to
accustom himself to poison by taking a small quantity each day, and
gradually increasing it, until he reaches such a point that he cannot live
without a gram of opium every day. The natural capacities are thus
completely perverted. Observe how much the