There are some who
imagine that an innate sense of human dignity will prevent man from committing
evil actions and insure his spiritual and material perfection. That is, that an
individual who is characterized with natural intelligence, high resolve, and a
driving zeal, will, without any consideration for the severe punishments
consequent on evil acts, or for the great rewards of righteousness,
instinctively refrain from inflicting harm on his fellow men and will hunger
and thirst to do good. And yet, if we ponder the lessons of history it will
become evident that this very sense of honor and dignity is itself one of the
bounties deriving from the instructions of the Prophets of God. We also observe
in infants the signs of aggression and lawlessness, and that if a child is
deprived of a teacher’s instructions his undesirable qualities increase from
one moment to the next. It is therefore clear that the emergence of this
natural sense of human dignity and honor is the result of education. Secondly,
even if we grant for the sake of the argument that instinctive intelligence and
an innate moral quality would prevent wrongdoing, it is obvious that
individuals so characterized are as rare as the philosopher’s stone. An
assumption of this sort cannot be validated by mere words, it must be supported
by the facts.
- ‘Abdu’l-Baha (‘The Secret of Divine Civilization’)
