When Bahá’u’lláh arrived at ‘Akká, through the power of God
He was able to hoist His banner. His light at first had been a star; now it
became a mighty sun, and the illumination of His Cause expanded from the East
to the West. Inside prison walls He wrote Epistles to all the kings and rulers
of nations, summoning them to arbitration and universal peace. Some of the
kings received His words with disdain and contempt. One of these was the Sultán
of the Ottoman kingdom. Napoleon III of France did not reply. A second Epistle
was addressed to him. It stated, “I have written you an Epistle before this,
summoning you to the Cause of God, but you are of the heedless. You have
proclaimed that you were the defender of the oppressed; now it hath become
evident that you are not. Nor are you kind to your own suffering and oppressed
people. Your actions are contrary to your own interests, and your kingly pride
must fall. Because of your arrogance God shortly will destroy your sovereignty.
France will flee away from you, and you will be overwhelmed by a great
conquest. There will be lamentation and mourning, women bemoaning the loss of
their sons.” This arraignment of Napoleon III was published and spread.
- ‘Abdu’l-Baha (From a talk, New York, 1912; ‘The Promulgation of Universal
Peace: Talks Delivered by ‘Abdu’l-Bahá during His Visit to the United States
and Canada in 1912’)
