Make ye then a mighty effort, that the purity and sanctity
which, above all else, are cherished by ‘Abdu'l-Bahá, shall distinguish the
people of Bahá; that in every kind of excellence the people of God shall
surpass all other human beings; that both outwardly and inwardly they shall prove
superior to the rest; that for purity, immaculacy, refinement, and the
preservation of health, they shall be leaders in the vanguard of those who
know. And that by their freedom from enslavement, their knowledge, their
self-control, they shall be first among the pure, the free and the wise.
- ‘Abdu’l-Baha ('Selections from the Writings of ‘Abdu'l-Bahá'; The
Compilation of Compilations, vol. I, Excellence in All Things)
