a
time when men were wholly ignorant of the art of writing, and had adopted
a system entirely different from the one which they now use. For a proper
exposition of this an elaborate explanation would be required.

Consider the differences that have arisen since the days of Adam. The
divers and widely-known languages now spoken by the peoples of the earth
were originally unknown, as were the varied rules and customs now
prevailing amongst them. The people of those times spoke a language
different from those now known. Diversities of language arose in a later
age, in a land known as Babel. It was given the name Babel, because the
term signifieth "the place where the confusion of tongues arose."

Subsequently Syriac became prominent among the existing languages. The
Sacred Scriptures of former times were revealed in that tongue. Later,
Abraham, the Friend of God, appeared and shed upon the world the light of
Divine Revelation. The language He spoke while He crossed the Jordan
became known as Hebrew (Ibrani), which meaneth "the language of the
crossing." The Books of God and the Sacred Scriptures were then revealed
in that tongue, and not until after a considerable lapse of time did
Arabic become the language of Revelation....

Witness, therefore, how numerous and far-reaching have been the changes in
language, speech, and writing since the days of Adam. How much greater
must have been the changes before Him!

Our purpose in revealing these words is to show that the one true God
hath, in His all-highest and transcendent station, ever been, and will
everlastingly continue to be, exalted above the praise and conception of
all else but Him. His creation hath ever existed, and the Manifestations
of His Divine glory and the Day Springs of eternal holiness have been sent
down from time immemorial, and been commissioned to summon mankind to the
one true God. That the names of some of them are forgotten and the records
of their lives lost is to be attributed to the disturbances and changes
that have overtaken the world.

Mention hath been made in certain books of a deluge which caused all that
existed on earth, historical records as well as other things, to be
destroyed. Moreover, many cataclysms have occurred which have effaced the
traces of many events. Furthermore, among existing historical records
differences are to be found, and each of the various peoples of the world
hath its own account of the age of the earth and of i