ent. If it becomes
the cause of discord, enmity and hatred, it is better that man should be
without it. For in its teachings we seek the spirit of charity and love to
bind the hearts of men together. If, on the contrary, we find it alienates
and embitters human hearts, we are justified in casting it aside.
Therefore, when man through sincere investigation discovers the
fundamental reality of religion, his former prejudices disappear, and his
new condition of enlightenment is conducive to the development of the
world of humanity.

The purport of our subject is that, just as man is in need of outward
education, he is likewise in need of ideal refinement; just as the outer
sense of sight is necessary to him, he should also possess insight and
conscious perception; as he needs hearing, at the same time memory is
essential; as a body is indispensable to him, likewise a mind is
requisite; one is a material virtue, the other is ideal. As human
creatures fitted and qualified with this dual endowment, we must endeavor
through the assistance and grace of God and by the exercise of our ideal
power of intellect to attain all lofty virtues, that we may witness the
effulgence of the Sun of Reality, reflect the spirit of the Kingdom,
behold the manifest evidences of the reality of Divinity, comprehend
irrefutable proofs of the immortality of the soul, live in conscious
at-one-ment with the eternal world and become quickened and awake with the
life and love of God.

TALK 'ABDU'L-BAHA DELIVERED IN ST. PAUL

20 September 1912
Talk at Home of Dr. and Mrs. Clement Woolson
870 Laurel Avenue, St. Paul, Minnesota

From Stenographic Notes

The materialists hold to the opinion that the world of nature is complete.
The divine philosophers declare that the world of nature is incomplete.
There is a wide difference between the two. The materialists call
attention to the perfection of nature, the sun, moon and stars, the trees
in their adornment, the whole earth and the sea--even unimportant phenomena
revealing the most perfect symmetry. The divine philosophers deny this
seeming perfection and completeness in nature's kingdom, even though
admitting the beauty of its scenes and aspects and acknowledging the
irresistible cosmic forces which control the colossal suns and planets.
They hold that while nature seems perfect, it is, nevertheless, imperfect
because it has need of intelligence and education. In proof of this they
say t