Whither are gone the learned men, the divines and potentates
of old? What hath become of their
discriminating views, their shrewd perceptions, their subtle insights and sage
pronouncements? Where are their hidden
coffers, their flaunted ornaments, their gilded couches, their rugs and
cushions strewn about? Gone forever is
their generation! All have perished,
and, by God’s decree, naught remaineth of them but scattered dust. Exhausted is the wealth they gathered,
dispersed the stores they hoarded, dissipated the treasures they
concealed. Naught can now be seen but
their deserted haunts, their roofless dwellings, their uprooted tree-trunks,
and their faded splendour. No man of
insight will let wealth distract his gaze from his ultimate objective, and no
man of understanding will allow riches to withhold him from turning unto Him
Who is the All-Possessing, the Most High.
- Baha'u'llah (Tablet to Nasiri’d-Din
Shah, Suriy-i-Haykal [Tablet of Temple]; ‘The Summons of the Lord of Hosts’)
