All the sciences, arts and discoveries were mysteries of
nature, and according to natural law these mysteries should remain latent,
hidden; but man has proceeded to break this law, free himself from this rule
and bring them forth into the realm of the visible. Therefore, he is the ruler
and commander of nature. Man has intelligence; nature has not. Man has
volition; nature has none. Man has memory; nature is without it. Man has the
reasoning faculty; nature is deprived. Man has the perceptive faculty; nature
cannot perceive. It is therefore proved and evident that man is nobler than
nature.
- ‘Abdu’l-Baha (From a talk, 15
April, 1912, New York; ‘The Promulgation of Universal Peace: Talks Delivered by
'Abdu'l-Bahá during His Visit to the United States and Canada in 1912’)
