truth,' and long to
behold the countenance of the Omnipotent King. It is Thine to command, and
all sovereignty belongeth to Thee, and the realm of might boweth before
Thy behest. Everything Thou doest is pure justice, nay, the very essence
of grace. One gleam from the splendors of Thy Name, the All-Merciful,
sufficeth to banish and blot out every trace of sinfulness from the world,
and a single breath from the breezes of the Day of Thy Revelation is
enough to adorn all mankind with a fresh attire. Vouchsafe Thy strength, O
Almighty One, unto Thy weak creatures, and quicken them who are as dead,
that haply they may find Thee, and may be led unto the ocean of Thy
guidance, and may remain steadfast in Thy Cause. Should the fragrance of
Thy praise be shed abroad by any of the divers tongues of the world, out
of the East or out of the West, it would, verily, be prized and greatly
cherished. If such tongues, however, be deprived of that fragrance, they
assuredly would be unworthy of any mention, in word or yet in thought. We
beg of Thee, O Providence, to show Thy way unto all men, and to guide them
aright. Thou art, verily, the Almighty, the Most Powerful, the
All-Knowing, the All-Seeing."

We beseech God to aid thee to be just and fair-minded, and to acquaint
thee with the things that were hidden from the eyes of men. He, in truth,
is the Mighty, the Unconstrained. We ask thee to reflect upon that which
hath been revealed, and to be fair and just in thy speech, that perchance
the splendors of the daystar of truthfulness and sincerity may shine
forth, and may deliver thee from the darkness of ignorance, and illumine
the world with the light of knowledge. This Wronged One hath frequented no
school, neither hath He attended the controversies of the learned. By My
life! Not of Mine own volition have I revealed Myself, but God, of His own
choosing, hath manifested Me. In the Tablet, addressed to His Majesty the
_Sh_ah--may God, blessed and glorified be He, assist him--these words have
streamed from the tongue of this Wronged One:

"O King! I was but a man like others, asleep upon My couch, when lo, the
breezes of the All-Glorious were wafted over Me, and taught Me the
knowledge of all that hath been. This thing is not from Me, but from One
Who is Almighty and All-Knowing. And He bade Me lift up My voice between
earth and heaven, and for this there befell Me what hath caused the tears
of every man of understanding to flow. The le