The Book of the Epistle to the Son of the Wolf CHAPTER NINE
Divisions 266-295
EPISTLE TO THE SON OF THE WOLF
266.
In the Book of Utterance these exalted words have been written down and recorded:
267.
“Say,
O friends!
Strive that haply the tribulations suffered by this Wronged One and by you, in the path of God,
may not prove to have been in vain.
268.
Cling ye to the hem of virtue,
and hold fast to the cord of trustworthiness and piety.
269.
Concern yourselves with the things that benefit mankind,
and not with your corrupt and selfish desires.
270.
O ye followers of this Wronged One!
Ye are the shepherds of mankind;
liberate ye your flocks from the wolves of evil passions and desires,
and adorn them with the ornament of the fear of God.
271.
This is the firm commandment which hath, at this moment,
flowed out from the Pen of Him Who is the Ancient of Days.
272.
By the righteousness of God!
The sword of a virtuous character and upright conduct is sharper than blades of steel.
273.
The voice of the true Faith calleth aloud, at this moment, and saith:
274.
O people!
Verily, the Day is come, and My Lord hath made Me to shine forth with a light whose splendor hath eclipsed the suns of utterance.
275.
Fear ye the Merciful, and be not of them that have gone astray.”
276.
The third word we have recorded on the third leaf of Paradise is this:
“O son of man!
If thine eyes be turned towards mercy, forsake the things that profit thee, and cleave unto that which will profit mankind.
277.
And if thine eyes be turned towards justice,
choose thou for thy neighbor that which thou choosest for thyself.
278.
Humility exalteth man to the heaven of glory and power,
whilst pride abaseth him to the depths of wretchedness and degradation.
279.
Great is the Day, and mighty the Call!
280.
In one of Our Tablets We have revealed these exalted words:
‘Were the world of the spirit to be wholly converted into the sense of hearing,
it could then claim to be worthy to hearken unto the Voice that calleth from the Supreme Horizon;
281.
for otherwise, these ears that are defiled with lying tales
have never been nor are they now, fit to hear it.’
282.
Well is it with them that hearken;
and woe betide the wayward.”
283.
We pray God (exalted be His glory)
and cherish the hope that He may graciously assist the manifestations of affluence and power
and the daysprings of sovereignty and glory, the kings of the earth
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(may God aid them through His strengthening grace) to establish the Lesser Peace.
284.
This, indeed, is the greatest means for insuring the tranquillity of the nations.
285.
It is incumbent upon the Sovereigns of the world (may God assist them)
unitedly to hold fast unto this Peace,
which is the chief instrument for the protection of all mankind.
286.
It is Our hope that they will arise to achieve what will be conducive to the well-being of man.
287.
It is their duty to convene an all-inclusive assembly,
which either they themselves or their ministers will attend,
and to enforce whatever measures are required to establish unity and concord amongst men.
288.
They must put away the weapons of war,
and turn to the instruments of universal reconstruction.
289.
Should one king rise up against another, all the other kings must arise to deter him.
290.
Arms and armaments will, then, be no more needed
beyond that which is necessary to insure the internal security of their respective countries.
291.
If they attain unto this all-surpassing blessing,
the people of each nation will pursue, with tranquillity and contentment, their own occupations,
and the groanings and lamentations of most men would be silenced.
292.
We beseech God to aid them to do His will and pleasure.
293.
He, verily, is the Lord of the throne on high and of earth below,
and the Lord of this world and of the world to come.
294.
It would be preferable and more fitting that the highly honored kings
themselves should attend such an assembly, and proclaim their edicts.
295.
Any king who will arise and carry out this task,
he verily will, in the sight of God, become the cynosure of all kings.
Happy is he, and great is his blessedness!
The Book of the Epistle to the Son of the Wolf CHAPTER TEN
Divisions 296-330
EPISTLE TO THE SON OF THE WOLF
296.
In this land, every time men are conscripted for the army,
a great terror seizeth the people.
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297.
Every nation augmenteth, each year, its forces,
for their ministers of war are insatiable in their desire to add fresh recruits to their battalions.
298.
We have learned that the government of Persia—may God assist them—
have, likewise decided to reinforce their army.
299.
In the opinion of this Wronged One
a force of 100,00 fully-equipped and well-disciplined men would suffice.
300.
We hope that thou wilt cause the light of justice to shine more brightly.
301.
By the righteousness of God!
Justice is a powerful force.
302.
It is, above all else, the conqueror of the citadels of the hearts and souls of men,
and the revealer of the secrets of the world of being, and the standard-bearer of love and bounty.
303.
In the treasuries of the knowledge of God there lieth concealed a knowledge
which, when applied, will largely, though not wholly, eliminate fear.
304.
This knowledge, however, should be taught from childhood,
as it will greatly aid in its elimination.
305.
Whatever decreaseth fear increaseth courage.
306.
Should the Will of God assist Us,
there would flow out from the Pen of the Divine Expounder
a lengthy exposition of that which hath been mentioned,
and there would be revealed, in the field of arts and sciences,
what would renew the world and the nations.
307.
A word hath, likewise, been written down and recorded
by the Pen of the Most High in the Crimson Book
which is capable of fully disclosing that force which is hid in men,
nay of redoubling its potency.
308.
We implore God—exalted and glorified be He—
to graciously assist His servants to do that which is pleasing and acceptable unto Him.
309.
In these days enemies have compassed Us about, and the fire of hatred is kindled.
310.
O peoples of the earth!
By My life and by your own!
This Wronged One hath never had, nor hath He now any desire for leadership.
311.
My aim hath ever been, and still is,
to suppress whatever is the cause of contention amidst the peoples of the earth,
and of separation amongst the nations,
so that all men may be sanctified from every earthly attachment,
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and be set free to occupy themselves with their own interests.
312.
We entreat Our loved ones not to besmirch the hem of Our raiment with the dust of falsehood,
neither to allow references to what they have regarded as miracles and prodigies
to debase Our rank and station, or to mar the purity and sanctity of Our name.
313.
Gracious God!
This is the day whereon the wise should seek the advice of this Wronged One,
and ask Him Who is the Truth what things are conducive to the glory and tranquillity of men.
314.
And yet, all are earnestly striving to put out this glorious and shining light,
and are diligently seeking either to establish Our guilt, or to voice their protest against Us.
315.
Matters have come to such a pass, that the conduct of this Wronged One hath, in every way,
hath been grossly misrepresented, and in a manner which it would be unseemly to mention.
316.
One of Our friends hath reported that among the residents of the Great City (Constantinople)
he had heard with the greatest regret someone state
that, each year, a sum of 50,000 tumans was being despatched from his native land to ‘Akká!
317.
It hath not, however, been made clear who had disbursed the sum,
nor through whose hands it had passed!
318.
Briefly, this Wronged One hath,
in the face of all that hath befallen Him at their hands, and all that hath been said of Him,
endured patiently, and held His peace,
inasmuch as it is Our purpose, through the loving providence of God—exalted be His glory—
and His surpassing mercy, to abolish, through the force of Our utterance,
all disputes, war, and bloodshed, from the face of the earth.
319.
Under all conditions We have, in spite of what they have said,
endured with seemly patience, and have left them to God.
320.
In answer to this particular imputation, however, We have replied,
that if that which he affirmeth be true, it behooveth him to be thankful
to Him Who is the Lord of all being, and the King of the seen and unseen,
for having raised up in Persia One Who, though a prisoner and with none to help and assist Him,
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hath succeeded in establishing His ascendency over that land, and in drawing from it a yearly revenue.
321.
Such an achievement should be praised rather than censured,
if he be of them that judge equitably.
322.
Should anyone seek to be acquainted with the condition of this Wronged One,
let him be told that these captives whom the world hath persecuted and the nations wronged
have, for days and nights, been entirely denied the barest means of subsistence.
323.
We are loth to mention such things,
neither have We had, nor do We have now, any desire to complain against Our accuser.
324.
Within the walls of this prison a highly esteemed man was for some time obliged to break stones that he might earn a living, whilst others had, at times, to nourish themselves with that Divine sustenance which is hunger!
325.
We entreat God (exalted and glorified be He) to aid all men to be just and fair-minded,
and to graciously assist them to repent and return unto Him.
He, verily, heareth, and is ready to answer.
326.
Glorified art Thou, O Lord my God!
Thou seest what hath befallen this Wronged One
at the hands of them that have not associated with Me, and who have arisen to harm and abase Me,
in a manner which no pen can describe, nor tongue recount, nor can any Tablet sustain its weight.
327.
Thou hearest the cry of Mine heart, and the groaning of Mine inmost being,
and the things that have befallen Thy trusted ones in Thy cities and Thy chosen ones in Thy land,
at the hands of such as have broken Thy Covenant and Thy Testament.
328.
I beseech Thee, O my Lord, by the sighs of Thy lovers throughout the world,
and by their lamentation in their remoteness from the court of Thy presence,
and by the blood that hath been shed for love of Thee,
and by the hearts that have melted in Thy path,
to protect Thy loved ones from the cruelty
of such as have remained unaware of the mysteries of Thy Name, the Unconstrained.
329.
Assist them, O my Lord, by Thy power that hath prevailed over all things,
and aid them to be patient and long-suffering.
330
Thou art the All-Powerful, the Almighty, the All-Bountiful.
No God is there but Thee,
the Generous, the Lord of grace abounding.
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