Be thou an unbeliever, but be not a plotter.
Make thy home in taverns, but tread not the path of the
mischief-maker.
Fear thou God, but not the priest.
Give to the executioner thy head, but not thy heart.
Let thine abode be under the stone, but seek not the shelter of the
cleric.
Thus doth the Holy Reed intone its melodies, and the Nightingale of Paradise warble its song, so that He may infuse life eternal into the mortal frames of men, impart to the temples of dust the essence of the Holy Spirit and the heavenly Light, and draw the transient world, through the potency of a single word, unto the Everlasting Kingdom.
- Baha’u’llah ('The Compilation of Compilations, Vol. II, Trustworthiness')
