O handmaid of God! In this wondrous dispensation in which
the Ancient Beauty and the Manifest Light -- may my spirit be sacrificed for
His loved ones -- hath risen from the horizon of age-old hopes, women have
assumed the attributes of men in showing forth steadfastness in the Cause of
God, and revealing the heroism and might of fearless men. They invaded the
arena of mystic knowledge and hoisted aloft the banner on the heights of
certitude. Thou, too, must make a mighty effort and show forth supreme courage.
Exert thyself and taste of the sweetness of a heavenly draught, for the sweet
taste of the love of God will linger on to the end that hath no end.
(‘Abdu’l-Baha, from a Tablet, The Compilation of Compilations, Vol. II, Women)
