Edinburgh Esperanto Society
Edinburgh, Scotland
January 7, 1913
[From The British Esperantist, February, 1913]
Every movement which promotes unity and harmony in the world
is good, and everything which creates discord and content is bad. This is a
century of illumination, surpassing all others in its many discoveries, its
great inventions, and its vast and varied undertakings. But the greatest
achieve anent of the age in conferring profit and pleasure on mankind is the
creation of an auxiliary language for all. Oneness of language creates oneness
of heart. Oneness of language engenders peace and harmony. It sweeps away all
misunderstandings among peoples. It establishes harmony among the children of
men. It gives to the human intellect a broader conception, a more commanding
point of view.
Today the greatest need of humanity is to understand and to
be understood. With the help of the International Language, every individual
member of a community can learn of world happenings and become in touch with
the ethical and scientific discoveries of the age. The auxiliary international
language gives to us the key -- the key of keys which unlocks the secrets of
the past. By its aid every nation henceforth will be able easily and without
difficulty to work out its own scientific discoveries.
It is a well-known
fact that the Oriental student coming to the west, in his efforts to acquaint
himself with the discoveries and achievements of western civilization, must
spend precious years of his life in acquiring the language of the land to which
he comes before he can turn to the study of the special science in which he is
interested. For example, let us suppose that a youth from India, Persia,
Turkestan or Arabia comes to this country to study medicine. He must first
struggle with the English language for four years, to the exclusion of all
else, before he can even begin the study of medicine. Whereas, if the auxiliary
international language were taught in all the schools during his childhood, he
would learn the language in his own country, and afterward wherever he wished
to go, he could easily pursue his specialty without loss of some of the best
years of his life.
Only think how the International Language will facilitate
intercommunication among all the nations of the earth. Half of our lives are
consumed in acquiring a knowledge of languages, for in this enlightened age
every man who hopes to travel in Asia and Africa and Europe must learn several
languages in order that he may converse with their peoples. But no sooner does
he acquire one language than another is needed. Thus one's whole life may be
passed in acquiring those languages which are a hindrance to international
communication. The International Language frees humanity from all these
problems.
In a word, to understand and be understood, there must be an
international medium. The teacher and the pupil must know each other's
language, in order that the teacher may impart his knowledge and the pupil
receive it. In all the world there is nothing more important than to be
understood by your fellow men, for upon this depends the progress of
civilization itself. To acquire a knowledge of the arts and sciences one must
know how to speak, to understand and at the same time to make himself
understood, and this matter of understanding and being understood depends on
language. Once established this auxiliary language, all will be enabled to
understand each other.
I recall an incident which occurred in Baghdad. There were
two friends who knew not each other's language. One fell ill, the other visited
him, but not being able to express his sympathy in words resorted to gesture,
as if to say, "How do you feel?” - with another sign the sick replied,
"I shall soon be dead;” and his visitor, believing the gesture to indicate
that he was getting better, said, "God be praised!”
From such illustrations you will admit that the greatest
thing in the world is to be able to make yourself understood by your friends
and to understand them, and that there is no greater handicap in the world than
not to be able to communicate your thoughts to others. But with an auxiliary
language all these difficulties disappear.
Now, praise be to God, that language has been created ----
Esperanto This is one of the special gifts of this luminous century, one of the
most remarkable achievements of this great age.
His Holiness Baha’u’llah many years ago wrote a book called
"The Most Holy Book," one of the fundamental principles of which is
the necessity of creating an International Language, and He explains the great
good and advantage that will result from its use.
Now let us thank the Lord because the Esperanto language has
been created. We have commanded all the Baha’is in the Orient to study this
language very carefully, and erelong it will spread all over the East. I pray
you, Esperantists and non-Esperantists, to work with zeal for the spread of
this language, for it will hasten the coming of that day, that millennial day,
foretold by prophets and seers that day when, it is said, the wolf and the lamb
shall drink from the same fountain, the lion and the deer shall feed in the
same pasture. The meaning of this holy word is that hostile races, war ring
nations, differing religions, shall become united in the spirit of love.
I repeat, the most important thing in the world is the
realization of an auxiliary international language. Oneness of language will
transform mankind into one world, remove religious misunderstandings, and unite
East and West in the spirit of brotherhood and love. Oneness of language will
change this world from many families into one family. This auxiliary
international language will gather the nations under one standard, as if the
five continents of the world had become one, for then mutual interchange of thought
will be possible for all. It will remove ignorance and superstition, since each
child of whatever race or nation can pursue his studies in science and art,
needing but two languages -- his own and the International. The world of matter
will become the expression of the world of mind. Then discoveries will be
revealed, inventions will multiply, the sciences advance by leaps and bounds,
the scientific culture of the earth will develop along broader lines. Then the
nations will be enabled to utilize the latest and best thought, because
expressed in the International Language.
If the International Language becomes a factor of the
future, all the Eastern peoples will be enabled to acquaint themselves with the
sciences of the West, and in turn the Western nations will become familiar with
the thoughts and ideas of the East, thereby improving the condition of both. In
short, with the establishment of this International Language the world of
mankind will become another world and extraordinary will be the progress. It is
our hope, then, that the language Esperanto will soon spread throughout the
whole world, in order that all people may be able to live together in the
spirit of friendship and love.
(Star of the West, vo. 4, no. 2, April 9, 1913)
