e people of all nations
acknowledged His greatness, and even those who were His most bitter
enemies have said of Him, "This man was truly great; his influence was
mighty and wonderful. This personage was glorious; his power was
tremendous, his speech most eloquent; but, alas, he was a misleader of the
people." This was the essence of their praise, eulogy and denial. It is
evident that the authors of such statements, although His enemies, were
profoundly impressed by His greatness and majesty. Some of His enemies
have even written poems about Him, which though intended for satire and
sarcastic allusion, have in reality been praise. For instance, a certain
poet opposed to His Cause has said, "Beware! Beware! lest ye approach this
person, for he is possessed of such power and of such an eloquent tongue
that he is a sorcerer. He charms men, he drugs them; he is a hypnotizer.
Beware! Beware! lest you read his book follow his example and associate
with his companions because they are the possessors of tremendous power
and they are misleaders." That is to say, this poet used such
characterizations, believing them to be terms of belittlement and
disparagement, unaware that they were in reality praises, because a wise
man, after reading such a warning, would say, "The power of this man must
unquestionably be very great if even his enemies acknowledge it.
Undoubtedly, such a power is heavenly in its nature." This was one of the
reasons why so many were moved to investigate. The more His enemies wrote
against Him, the more the people were attracted and the greater the number
who came to inquire about the truth. They would say, "This is remarkable.
This is a great man, and we must investigate. We must look into this cause
to find out what it all means, to discover its purpose, examine its proofs
and learn for ourselves what it signifies." In this way the malign and
sinister statements of His enemies caused the people to become friendly
and approach the Cause. In Persia the mullas went so far as to proclaim
from the pulpits against the Cause of Baha'u'llah casting their turbans
upon the ground--a sign of great agitation--and crying out, "O people! This
Baha'u'llah is a sorcerer who is seeking to mesmerize you; he is
alienating you from your own religion and making you his own followers.
Beware! lest you read his book. Beware! lest you associate with his
friends."

Baha'u'llah, speaking of these very ones who were attacking and decryi