s. Give light to our eyes, hearing to our ears, and understanding and
love to our hearts. Render our souls joyous and happy through Thy glad
tidings. O Lord! Point out to us the pathway of Thy kingdom and
resuscitate all of us through the breaths of the Holy Spirit. Bestow upon
us life everlasting and confer upon us never-ending honor. Unify mankind
and illumine the world of humanity. May we all follow Thy pathway, long
for Thy good pleasure and seek the mysteries of Thy kingdom. O God! Unite
us and connect our hearts with Thine indissoluble bond. Verily, Thou art
the Giver, Thou art the Kind One and Thou art the Almighty.

7 November 1912
Talk at Home of Mr. and Mrs. Arthur J. Parsons
1700 Eighteenth Street, NW, Washington, D. C.

Notes by Joseph H. Hannen

Consider events in the Balkans today where a great conflagration of war is
furiously raging and so much blood is being shed. Virtually the whole
world of humanity is mourning and lamenting because of the revival of
these calamitous conditions. Governments are in the process of change and
transformation. The sovereignty of oriental nations is tottering; outcomes
are wrapped in the greatest uncertainty. I desire, therefore, to speak to
you upon this subject.

I will call your attention more especially to the aspects of this war
which Baha'u'llah prophesied forty years ago fully and completely. During
His exile and while under surveillance in the prison of Akka He addressed
a letter to the Sultan of Turkey. He, likewise, sent Epistles to Napoleon
III and to the _Sh_ah of Persia. All His letters to the kings and rulers
of the earth were compiled in a book published thirty-five years ago in
Bombay, India. There were several editions of this book.

I have with me a copy of an edition published twenty-two years ago. In
1891 Professor E. G. Browne of Cambridge University, England, wrote a book
detailing his visit to Akka. This was followed by a second volume in which
he quoted extracts from Baha'u'llah's Epistles to the kings and rulers.
There are also translations of some of these Epistles in your libraries.
When you get them, you will read the remarkable statements made by
Baha'u'llah.

I will read to you from the Arabic text the very words written by
Baha'u'llah in His Epistle to the Sultan of Turkey. They will be
translated to you as I read. "O King! Thou hast committed that by reason
of which Muhammad, the Prophet of God, lamenteth in the highest heaven.