Thornton Chase

At the grave of Thornton Chase,

San Francisco, California,

October 19, 1912

This revered personage was the first Bahá'í in America. He served the Cause faithfully and his services will ever be remembered throughout future ages and cycles. He has written many books in this Cause and they will be studied carefully by the coming generations. He travelled once to 'Akká and there we associated with each other for several days. Indeed he became free from the troubles of this world. No matter how long he might have remained here, he would have met nothing else but trouble.

The purpose of life is to get certain results; that is, the life of man must bring forth certain fruitage. It does not depend upon the length of life. As soon as the life is crowned with fruition then it is completed, although that person may have had a short life. There are certain trees which come to fruition very quickly, but there are other trees which attain to fruition very late; the aim is fruit. If the tree brings forth its fruit young, its life is short; it is praiseworthy. How regretful it is that a man may live a long life and yet his life may not be crowned with success, like unto the cypress tree which does not give any fruitage.

Praise be to God! the tree of Mr. Chase's life brought forth fruit. It gave complete fruit, therefore he is free. He attained to eternal rest. He is now in the Presence of Bahá'u'lláh.

An example of “true brotherly love”

One day some soldiers came to the house of a believer and asked for one of his guests to be brought to them, that they might take him to his execution, according to their warrant. The host gave himself up in his guest's place and was killed in his stead. This is an instance of true brotherly love. 

- 'Abdu'l-Baha  (From a compilation of ‘Discourses of ‘Abdu’l-Baha given in London and Paris’; Star of the West, vol. 2, no. 19, March 2, 1912)

An example of how the East and the West are embracing other

The feeling that existed between the East and the West is changing in the Light of Bahá'u'lláh's teaching. It used to be that if a Westerner drank from the cup of an Easterner the cup would be thought polluted, and the Easterner would break it. Now it is, with believers, that when a Westerner dines with an Easterner, the vessels and the plates that he has used are kept apart and reverenced in his memory. 

- 'Abdu'l-Baha  (From a compilation of ‘Discourses of ‘Abdu’l-Baha given in London and Paris’; Star of the West, vol. 2, no. 19, March 2, 1912)