nations. If one
studies fifty languages one may yet travel through a country and
not know the language. Therefore I hope that you will make the
utmost effort, so that this language of Esperanto may be widely
spread.

While these allusions to Esperanto are specific and encouraging, it
remains true that until the House of Justice has acted on the matter in
accordance with Baha'u'llah's instruction the Baha'i Faith is not
committed to Esperanto nor to any other living or artificial tongue.
'Abdu'l-Baha Himself said: "The love and effort put into Esperanto will
not be lost, but no one person can construct a Universal
Language."--'Abdu'l-Baha in London, p. 95.

Which language to adopt, and whether it is to be a natural or constructed
one, is a decision which the nations of the world will have to make.

Universal League of Nations

Another proposal frequently and powerfully advocated by Baha'u'llah was
that a Universal League of Nations should be formed for the maintenance of
international peace. In a letter to Queen Victoria, written while He was
still a prisoner in the barracks of Akka,(29) He said:--

O Rulers of the earth! Be reconciled among yourselves, that ye may
need no more armaments save in a measure to safeguard your
territories and dominions....

Be united, O Kings of the earth, for thereby will the tempest of
discord be stilled amongst you, and your people find rest....
Should any one among you take up arms against another, rise ye all
against him, for this is naught but manifest justice.

In 1875, 'Abdu'l-Baha gave a forecast of the establishment of a Universal
League of Nations, which is especially interesting at the present time(30)
in view of the strenuous attempts now being made to establish such a
league. He wrote:--

True civilization will unfurl its banner in the midmost heart of
the world whenever a certain number of its distinguished and
high-minded sovereigns--the shining exemplars of devotion and
determination--shall, for the good and happiness of all mankind,
arise, with firm resolve and clear vision, to establish the Cause
of Universal Peace. They must make the Cause of Peace the object
of general consultation, and seek by every means in their power to
establish a Union of the nations of the world. They must conclude
a binding treaty and establish a covenant, the provisions of which
shall