July 13

It may be that some foolish person among the Persians will affix his name to the contents of the Tablets of Bahá’u’lláh or to the explanations given in the letters of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá and send it to that esteemed Assembly. Ye must be aware of this fact, for any Persian who seeks fame or has some other intention will take the entire contents of the Tablets of Bahá’u’lláh and publish them in his own name or in that of his community, just as happened at the Universal Races Congress in London before the war. A Persian took the substance of the Epistles of Bahá’u’lláh, entered that Congress, gave them forth in his own name and published them, whereas the wording was exactly that of Bahá’u’lláh. Some such souls have gone to Europe and have caused confusion in the minds of the people of Europe and have disturbed the thoughts of some Orientalists. Ye must bear this fact in mind, for not a word of these teachings was heard in Persia before the appearance of Bahá’u’lláh. Investigate this matter so that it may become to you evident and manifest. Some souls are like parrots. They learn any note which they may hear, and sing it, but they themselves are unaware of what they utter. 

- ‘Abdu’l-Baha  (From the First Tablet to the Hague, 17 December 1919; revised translation under the direction of the Universal House of Justice, available at the online ‘Baha’i Reference Library’ site of the Baha’i World Center)