Epilogue, p.663, f.1
"The Cause of the Bab is on the road to great achievements. We have
now shown how there has taken place a religious movement which absorbs the
deepest attention of Central Asia, that is to say, of Persia, several
regions of India and a section of Asiatic Turkey; a religious movement,
therefore, truly remarkable and worthy of being studied. Through it, we
witness events, manifestations, catastrophes such that one could only
imagine possible in remote ages when the great religions were born. I even
confess that if I were to see appear in Europe a religion like unto
Babism, with advantages such as Babism possesses, with complete faith, an
undaunted enthusiasm, tried courage and proven devotion, winning the
respect of the indifferent, frightening its adversaries and, moreover, a
tireless proselytism constantly gaining adherents in every social class,
--if I were to see such a phenomenon in Europe, I would not hesitate to
predict that, within a given time, power and sovereignty would of necessity
belong to a group so richly endowed." (Comte de Gobineau's "Les Religions
et les Philosophies dans l'Asie Centrale," pp. 116, 293-294.)
"It seems certain that from the religious standpoint and especially from
the moral one, Babism marks an advance over the teachings of Islam; one
may hold with M. Vambery (French Academy, March 12, 1892) that its leader
has expressed doctrines worthy of the greatest thinkers.... In any case
the growth of Babism is an interesting chapter in the history of modern
religions and civilization. And thus, after all is said, those who praise
it are perhaps right; it may be that from Babism will come the
regeneration of the Persian peoples, even of the whole of Islam which is
in real need of it. Unfortunately there is seldom a national regeneration
without much shedding of blood." (M. J. Balteau's "Le Babisme," p. 28.)
"Now it appears to me that the history of the Babi movement must be
interesting in effort ways to others besides those who are directly engaged
in the study of Persian. To the student of religious thought it will
afford no little matter for reflection; for here he may contemplate such
personalities as by lapse of time pass into heroes and demi-gods still
unobscured by myth and fable he may examine by the light of concurrent and
independent testimony one of those strange outbursts of enthusiasm, faith,
fervent devotion, and indomitable heroism--or fanaticism, if you will--
which we are accustomed to associate with the earlier history of the human
race; he may witness in a word, the birth of a faith which may not
impossibly win a place amidst the great religions of the world. To the
ethnologist also it may yield food for thought as to the character of a
people who, stigmatised as they often have been as selfish, mercenary,
avaricious, egotistical, sordid, and cowardly, are yet capable of
exhibiting under the influence of a strong religious impulse a degree of
devotion, disinterestedness, generosity, unselfishness, nobility, and
courage which may be paralleled in history, but can scarcely be surpassed.
To the politician, too, the matter is not devoid of importance; for what
changes may not be effected in a country now reckoned almost as a cypher in
the balance of national forces by a religion capable of evoking so mighty a
spirit? Let those who know what Muhammad made the Arabs, consider well
what the Bab may yet make the Persians." (E. G. Browne's introduction to
"A Traveller's Narrative," pp. 8-9.)
"So here at Bahji was I installed as a guest, in the very midst of all
that Babism accounts most noble and most holy; and here did I spend five most
memorable days, during which I enjoyed unparalleled and unhoped-for
opportunities of holding intercourse with those who are the very
fountain-heads of that mighty and wondrous spirit which works with
invisible but ever-increasing force for the transformation and quickening
of a people who slumber in a sleep like unto death. It was in truth a
strange and moving experience, but one whereof I despair of conveying any
save the feeblest impression. I might, indeed, strive to describe in
greater detail the faces and forms which surrounded me, the conversations
to which I was privileged to listen, the solemn melodious reading of the
sacred books, the general sense of harmony and content which pervaded the
place, and the fragrant shady gardens whither in the afternoon we sometimes
repaired; but all this was as nought in comparison with the spiritual
atmosphere with which I was encompassed. Persian Muslims will tell you
often that the Babis bewitch or drug their guests so that these, impelled
by a fascination which they cannot resist, become similarly affected with
what the aforesaid Muslims regard as a strange and incomprehensible
madness. Idle and absurd as this belief is, it yet rests on a basis of
fact stronger than that which supports the greater part of what they
allege concerning this people. The spirit which pervades the Babis is
such that it can hardly fail to affect most powerfully all subjected to its
influence. It may appeal or attract: it cannot be ignored or
disregarded. Let those who have not seen disbelieve me if they will; but,
should that spirit once reveal itself to them, they will experience an
emotion which they are not likely to forget." (Ibid., pp. 38-9.)
"It will thus be seen that, in its external organisation, Babism has
undergone great and radical changes since it first appeared as a
proselytising force half a century ago. These changes, however, have in no
wise impaired, but appear, on the contrary, to have stimulated, its
propaganda, which has advanced with a rapidity inexplicable to those who
can only see therein a crude form of political or even of metaphysical
fermentation. The lowest estimate places the present number of Babis in
Persia at half a million. I am disposed to think, from conversations with
persons well qualified to judge, that the total is nearer one million.
They are to be found in every walk of life, from the ministers and nobles
of the Court to the scavenger or the groom, not the least arena of their
activity being the Musulman priesthood itself. It will have been noticed
that the movement was initiated by siyyids, hajis, and mullas--i.e.
persons who, either by descent, from pious inclination, or by profession,
were intimately concerned with the Muhammadan creed; and it is among even
the professed votaries of the faith that they continue to make their
converts. Many Babis are well known to be such, but, as long as they walk
circumspectly, are free from intrusion or persecution. In the poorer walks
of life the fact is, as a rule, concealed for fear of giving an excuse for
the superstitious rancour of superiors. Quite recently the Babis have had
great success in the camp of another enemy, having secured many proselytes
among the Jewish populations of the Persian towns. I hear that during the
past year they are reported to have made 150 Jewish converts in Tihran,
100 in Hamadan, 50 in Kashan, and 75 per cent of the Jews at
Gulpayigan." (Lord Curzon's "Persia and the Persian Question," vol. 1,
pp. 499-500.)
"From that subtle race," writes Dr. J. Estlin Carpenter, "issues the most
remarkable movement which modern Muhammadanism has produced.... Disciples
gathered round him, and the movement was not checked by his arrest, his
imprisonment for nearly six years and his final execution in 1850.... It,
too, claims to be a universal teaching; it has already its noble army of
martyrs and its holy hooks; has Persia, in the midst of her miseries, given
birth to a religion which will go round the world?" ("Comparative
Religion," pp. 70, 71.)
"Once again," writes Professor E. G. Browne, "in the world's history has
the East vindicated her claim to teach religion to the West, and to hold in
the Spiritual World that preeminence which the Western nations hold in the
Material." (Introduction to M. H. Phelps' "Life and Teachings of Abbas
Effendi," p. 15.)