The republic of wise men believes that the difference in minds and
opinions is due to the difference of education and the acquisition of
ethics. That is, that minds are equal in origin, but education and the
acquisition of ethics cause minds to differ and comprehensions to be at
variance; that this difference is not in entity but in education and
teaching; that there is no individual distinction for any soul. Hence, the
members of the human race all possess the capacity of attaining to the
highest station, and the proof they adduce therefor is this: "The
inhabitants of a country like Africa are all as wandering savages and wild
animals; they lack intelligence and knowledge; all are uncivilized; not
one civilized and wise man is to be found among them. On the contrary,
consider the civilized countries, the inhabitants of which are living in
the highest state of culture and ethics, solidarity and inter-dependence;
possessing, with few exceptions, acute power of comprehension and sound
mind. Therefore, it is made clear and evident that the superiority and
inferiority of minds and comprehensions arises from education and
cultivation, or from their lack and absence. A bent branch is straightened
by training and the wild fruit of the jungle is made the product of the
orchard. An ignorant man by learning becomes knowing, and the world of
savagery, through the bounty of a wise educator, is changed into a
civilized kingdom. The sick is healed by medication, and the poor man, by
learning the arts of commerce, is made rich. The follower, by attaining
the virtues of the leader, becomes great, and the lowly man, by the
education of the teacher, rises from the nadir of oblivion to the zenith
of celebrity." These are the proofs of the wise men.
The prophets also acknowledge this opinion, towit: That education hath a
great effect upon the human race, but they declare that minds and
comprehensions are originally different. And this matter is self-evident;
it cannot be refuted. We see that certain children of the same age,
nativity and race, nay, from the same household, under the tutorship of
one teacher, differ in their minds and comprehensions. One advanceth
rapidly, another is slow in catching the rays of culture, still another
remaineth in the lowest degree of stupidity.
No matter how much the shell is educated, it can never become the radiant
pearl. The black stone will not become the world illuming gem. The
calocynth and the thorny cactus can never by training and development
become the blessed tree. That is to say, training doth not change the
human gem, but it produceth a marvelous effect. By this effective power
all that is registered latent of virtues and capacities in the human
reality will be revealed.
Cultivation by the farmer maketh of the grain the harvest, and the effort
of the gardener maketh of the seed a noble tree. The gentle teacher
promoteth the children of the school to the lofty altitude and the
bestowal of the trainer placeth the little child upon the throne of ether.
Therefore, it is demonstrated and proven that minds are different in the
original entity or nature, and that education commandeth a decided and
great influence. Were there no educator, all souls would remain savage,
and were it not for the teacher, the children would be ignorant creatures.
It is for this reason that, in this New Cycle, education and training are
recorded in the Book of God as obligatory and not voluntary. That is, it
is enjoined upon the father and mother, as a duty, to strive with all
effort to train the daughter and the son, to nurse them from the breast of
knowledge and to rear them in the bosom of sciences and arts. Should they
neglect this matter, they shall be held responsible and worthy of reproach
in the presence of the stern Lord.
This is a sin unpardonable, for they have made that poor babe a wanderer
in the Sahara of ignorance, unfortunate and tormented; to remain during a
lifetime a captive of ignorance and pride, negligent and without
discernment. Verily, if that babe depart from this world at the age of
infancy, it is sweeter and better. In this sense, death is better than
life; deprivation than salvation; non-existence lovelier than existence;
the grave better than the palace; and the narrow, dingy tomb better than
the spacious, regal home; for in the sight of mankind that child is abased
and degraded and in the sight of God weak and defective. In gatherings it
is ashamed and humiliated and in the arena of examination subdued and
defeated by young and old. What a mistake is this! What an everlasting
humiliation!
Therefore, the beloved of God and the maid-servants of the Merciful must
train their children with life and heart and teach them in the school of
virtue and perfection. They must not be lax in this matter; they must not
be inefficient. Truly, if a babe did not live at all it were better than
to let it grow ignorant, for that innocent babe, in later life, would
become afflicted with innumerable defects, responsible to and questioned
by God, reproached and rejected by the people. What a sin this would be
and what an omission!
The first duty of the beloved of God and the maid-servants of the Merciful
is this: They must strive by all possible means to educate both sexes,
male and female; girls like boys; there is no difference whatsoever
between them. The ignorance of both is blameworthy, and negligence in both
cases is reprovable. "Are they who know and they who do not know equal?"
The command is decisive concerning both. If it be considered through the
eye of reality, the training and culture of daughters is more necessary
than that of sons, for these girls will come to the station of motherhood
and will mold the lives of the children. The first trainer of the child is
the mother. The babe, like unto a green and tender branch, will grow
according to the way it is trained. If the training be right, it will grow
right, and if crooked, the growth likewise, and unto the end of life it
will conduct itself accordingly.
Hence, it is firmly established that an untrained and uneducated daughter,
on becoming a mother, will be the prime factor in the deprivation,
ignorance, negligence and the lack of training of many children.
O ye beloved of God and the maid-servants of the Merciful! Teaching and
learning, according to the decisive texts of the Blessed Beauty, is a
duty. Whosoever is indifferent therein depriveth himself of the great
bounty.
Beware! Beware! that ye fail not in this matter. Endeavor with heart, with
life, to train your children, especially the daughters. No excuse is
acceptable in this matter.
Thus may eternal glory and everlasting supremacy, like unto the mid-day
sun, shine forth in the assemblage of the people of Baha, and the heart of
'Abdu'l-Baha become happy and thankful.