# The Epistolary Style of Shoghi Effendi

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> Source: Bahá'í Library Online (bahai-library.com), curated by Jonah Winters. Used by permission of the curator. Original citation: Ann Boyles, The Epistolary Style of Shoghi Effendi, bahai-library.com.
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> 
> The Epistolary                                    Before embarking upon this in-
> vestigation, however, it is necessary
> Style of Shoghi                               to have a clear understanding of the
> terminology that will be used. The
> Effendi1                                      words epistle and epistolary have been
> chosen in preference to the words let-
> ter and literary because of the former
> ANN BOYLES
> pair’s associative rather than definitive
> meaning. As C. Hugh Holman states,
> The English letters of Shoghi Effendi
> “Theoretically an epistle is any letter,
> to the Bahá’í world during his tenure
> but in practice the term is limited to
> as Guardian of the new faith reflect the
> formal compositions written by an in-
> revolutionary nature of the Revelation,
> dividual or a group to a distant individ-
> not only in their vast and astounding
> ual or group.” Holman further says that
> range of content but also in their form
> an epistle differs from a letter because
> and style. Aside from the historical
> it is “a conscious literary form,” which
> God Passes By, letters constitute the
> concerns itself with “public matters
> bulk of Shoghi Effendi’s written com-
> and with philosophy as well as with re-
> munications with the Bahá’í world,
> ligious problems” (199). While Shoghi
> and many of these epistles were written
> Effendi did write letters that were less
> in English. Since Shoghi Effendi must
> formal in tone and that were in answer
> rank as the master literary stylist of the
> to an individual’s private questions,
> Bahá’í Faith in the English language,
> in his role as Guardian of the Bahá’í
> in addition to being the Revelation’s
> Faith, one could not really class any
> unique Guardian, his choice, use of,
> of this correspondence as “private,”
> and adaptations to this literary form
> since his answers to any questions al-
> are significant to Bahá’ís both now and
> ways constituted the authoritative in-
> in the future. The purposes of this pa-
> terpretation of Bahá’u’lláh’s and ‘Ab-
> per are to investigate the new style of
> du’l-Bahá’s teachings. Thus, “epistle,”
> the epistle, to examine the roots of its
> with its more public and formal con-
> development, and to demonstrate thar
> notations, suits the nature of Shoghi
> elements of the form have been modi-
> Effendi’s communications much better
> fied to accommodate the great vision of
> than does “letter” with its chatty and
> Shoghi Effendi, architect of the World
> private connotations, especially since
> Order of Bahá’u’lláh.
> in the twentieth century the latter term
> has come to be associated only with the
> 1     This a slightly revised version of   familiar letter.
> an essay originally published in The Vision       In the Guardian’s usage, the former
> of Shoghi Effendi: Proceedings of the As-     type of communication might be clas-
> sociation for Bahá’í Studies Ninth Annual     sified loosely as an “epistolary essay.”
> Conference, November 2-4, 1984, Ottawa,       This is the Guardians most striking
> Canada.
> 10                  The Journal of Bahá’í Studies 31.4 2021
> 
> contribution to English letters. The            In the case of Shoghi Effendi, his
> relation between letter and essay here       elegant English prose style reflects
> is tailor-made for the Guardian’s pur-       perfectly his station as Guardian of the
> pose. The “essay” aspect allows for          Bahá’í Faith, elucidating the teachings
> breadth of subject matter, use of his-       and giving direction to its adherents in
> torical analysis, a world-encompassing       language that would endure for the en-
> perspective, and a scholarly, definitive     tire duration of the Revelation. When
> treatment of the issue at hand. Yet, the     deciding on the design and materials
> direct nature of the address, often in-      for the buildings at the World Centre
> timate in tone, as well as the striking      of the Bahá’í Faith on Mount Carmel,
> blend of formal and highly informal          Haifa, the Guardian chose as his mod-
> levels of rhetoric—perhaps a reflection      els the structures of the classical world
> of the Guardian himself—make these           because of their enduring qualities. His
> letters tremendously powerful on the         choice of English prose style is as time-
> level of personal appeal.                    less and as enduring, as meticulously
> Shoghi Effendis choice of the more        fashioned and as majestic in the realm
> formal epistle form is wholly befitting      of words as those architectural models
> to the style of his writing. Again, refer-   are in the realm of physical structures.
> ring to Holman for a working defini-         Bearing in mind Holman’s definition
> tion, style may be said to be “the ar-       of style, the reader sees that it is impos-
> rangement of words in a manner which         sible to change even one word of the
> at once best expresses the individuality     Guardian’s communications and retain
> of the author and the idea and intent in     the identical meaning. Rúhíyyih Khá-
> his mind. . . . Style is a combination       num Rabbani, in The Priceless Pearl,
> of two elements: the idea to be ex-          describes the conciseness and density
> pressed, and the individuality of the        of his style, a style lofty enough to
> author.” Holman goes on to say:              carry the complex ideas that he had
> to communicate to the Bahá’í world.
> It is impossible to change the             She says, “In his translations of the
> diction or to alter the phrasing of        Bahá’í writings, and above all in his
> statement and thus to say exactly          own compositions, Shoghi Effendi set
> the same thing; for what the reader        a standard that educates and raises the
> receives from a statement is not           cultural level of the reader at the same
> alone what is said, but also cer-          time that it feeds his mind and soul with
> tain connotations which affect his         thoughts and truth” (Rabbani 197). For
> consciousness from the manner in           Shoghi Effendi, then, style was not
> which the statement is made. And           merely an affected use of language; it
> from this it follows that, just as no      was his vehicle for rendering the divine
> wo personalities are alike, no two         teachings into a definitive and accessi-
> styles are actually alike. (514)           ble language for growing numbers of
> English-speaking believers around the
> The Epistolary Style of Shoghi Effendi                       11
> 
> world who urgently required inspira-        virtues of the great English stylists. In
> tion and direction.                         the translations of Bahá’u’lláh prayers,
> The roots of Shoghi Effendi’s fine-      one senses the influence of that great
> ly honed English style must lie in the      Renaissance model of style, the King
> original Persian and Arabic languag-        James version of the Bible. This turn-
> es of the Revelation, the power and         ing to a more archaic style on the part
> beauty of which are exemplified in          of Shoghi Effendi reflects his great re-
> the writings of Bahá’u’lláh and ‘Ab-        spect for the elegance of Shakespear-
> du’l-Bahá. The delicacy and allusive-       ean English and also makes use of the
> ness of the Oriental languages, their       most scholarly example of religious
> role as the first media of God’s most       writings rendered into English.
> recent Revelation, and their strength as       In Shoghi Effendi’s original work,
> the communicators of God’s new laws         the style and technique of Edward
> and principles for the spiritual well-be-   Gibbon and Thomas Carlyle exert in-
> ing and development of humankind            fluence. Rúhíyyih Khánum has noted
> can be best understood and appreciated      the Guardian’s fondness for Gibbon’s
> by native Arabic- and Persian-speak-        History of the Decline and Fall of the
> ing Bahá’ís. These, too, were Shoghi        Roman Empire, and it was nor for the
> Effendi’s first languages. Yet Shoghi       content alone that Shoghi Effendi had
> Effendi was chosen and trained by           admiration. She records, “It was his
> ‘Abdu’l-Bahá to translate the major         own pet bible of the English languag
> sacred writings of the Bahá’í Faith into    and often he would read to me excerpts
> English. It was to this end, he himself     from it, interrupting himself with ex-
> said, that he was educated at Oxford.       clamations such as ‘Oh what style;
> Shoghi Effendi was uniquely endowed         what a command of English; what roll-
> with the talents for this monumental        ing sentences” (Rabbani 38).
> task of translation, not only steeped          Gibbon’s penchant for lengthy, bal-
> in the original writings but also pos-      anced sentences and his stylistic habit
> sessing an exquisite sense of language      of building a paragraph that cannot be
> and the ability to convey its shades of     broken apart without serious rupture to
> meaning. It is obvious thar the require-    the meaning of the whole are features
> ments of translation, with the inherent     also apparent in the writings of the
> necessity of fixing the exact meaning       Guardian. A brief passage taken from
> of the text for the Western believers, so   Gibbon’s examination of the early
> as to eliminate any possible ambiguity      history of the Christian church in the
> in interpretation, would certainly leave    Roman Empire will serve to indicate
> their mark upon the style of the Guard-     comparable aspects of style. Gibbon
> ian’s original works.                       writes:
> In addition to his appreciation for
> Persian and Arabic style, Shoghi Effen-       The promise of divine favour, in-
> di possessed an ear finely attuned to the     stead of being partially confined
> 12                   The Journal of Bahá’í Studies 31.4 2021
> 
> to the posterity of Abraham, was            duty,” “inestimable blessing,” and “a
> universally proposed to the free-           benevolent but all-powerful Deity” all
> man and the slave, to the Greek             of which bear great resemblance to the
> and to the barbarian, to the Jew            usage of the Guardian two-hundred
> and to the Gentile. Every privi-            years later.
> lege that could raise the proselyte            Trevor-Roper’s introduction to The
> from earth to heaven, that could            History of the Decline and Fall of the
> exalt his devotion, secure his hap-         Roman Empire points out that in addi-
> piness, or even gratify that secret         tion to syntactical expertise, Gibbon
> pride which under the semblance             combined “beneath a majestic style
> of devotion, insinuates itself into         and the appearance of ease, an equal
> the human heart, was still reserved         mastery of the new ‘philosophy’ and
> for the members of the Christian            the old ‘erudition’” (viii). An exam-
> church; but at the same time all            ple of this philosophy and erudition
> mankind was permitted, and even             is evident in Gibbon’s passage on the
> solicited, to accept the glorious           early miracles of Christianity, when he
> distinction, which was not only             states:
> proffered as a favour, but imposed
> as an obligation. It became the               The duty of an historian does not
> most sacred duty of a new convert             call upon him to interpose his pri-
> to diffuse among his friends and              vate judgment in this nice and im-
> relations the inestimable blessing            portant controversy; but he ought
> which he had received, and to                 not to dissemble the difficulty of
> warn them against a refusal that              adopting such a theory as may rec-
> would be severely punished as a               oncile the interest of religion with
> criminal disobedience to the will             that of reason, of making a proper
> of a benevolent but all-powerful              application of that theory, and of
> Deity. (92)                                   defining with precision the limits
> of that happy period, exempt from
> One notes, in the first sentence, the list-     error and from deceit, to which we
> ing of balanced prepositional phrases           might be disposed to extend the
> appearing in pairs of opposites, a syn-         gift of supernatural powers. (110)
> tactical technique designed to demon-
> strate the truth of the universality of          Shoghi Effendi’s philosophy and
> Christianity. In the second sentence,         erudition were, perforce, much broad-
> multiple verb phrases are embedded            er than that of the eighteenth-century
> in the first of the two major clauses,        Gibbon, but the technique of reason-
> while the second major clause quali-          able and thorough scholarship through-
> fies and elaborates upon the first. The       out his epistles shows how Shoghi
> final sentence of the quotation includes      Effendi built upon Gibbon’s solidly
> vocabulary usage such as “most sacred         laid foundations. In The World Order
> The Epistolary Style of Shoghi Effendi                       13
> 
> of Bahá’u’lláh, Shoghi Effendi clearly      attain their salvation from present evils
> outlines the historical perspective of      through work, follows:
> the rise of the Bahá’í Faith. He writes:
> Awake, ye noble Workers, war-
> Should we look back upon the                riors in the one true war: all this
> past, were we to search out the             must be remedied. It is you who
> Gospel and the Qur’án, we will              are already half-alive, whom l will
> readily recognize that neither the          welcome into life; whom I will
> Christian nor the Islamic Dispen-           conjure in God’s name to shake
> sations can offer a parallel either         off your enchanted sleep, and live
> to the system of Divine Econo-              wholly! Cease to count scalps,
> my so thoroughly established by             gold-purses; not in these lies your
> Bahá’u’lláh, or to the safeguards           or our salvation. Even these, if
> which He has provided for its               you count only these, will not be
> preservation and advancement.               left. Let bucaniering be put far
> (20)                                        from you; alter, speedily abrogate
> all laws of the bucaniers, if you
> From this point, the Guardian proceeds        would gain any victory that shall
> with historical analysis of the develop-      endure. Let God’s justice, let pity,
> ment of Christianity and Islam, demon-        nobleness and manly valour, with
> strating their deviations from the origi-     more gold-purses or fewer, tes-
> nal teachings of their divine Founders.       tify themselves in this your brief
> Certainly Gibbon’s call for a reasoned        Life-transit to all the Eternities,
> examination of religion is answered           the Gods and Silences. It is to you
> here. Thus, not only in style but also in     I call; for ye are not dead, ye are
> approach, Gibbon served as one major          already half-alive: there is in you
> model for Shoghi Effendi.                     a sleepless dauntless energy, the
> Nineteenth-century historian, man          prime-matter of all nobleness in
> of letters, and stylist, Thomas Carlyle       man. Honour to you in your kind.
> was also admired by the Guardian.             It is to you I call: ye know at least
> Again, the style is complex, reflect-         this, That the mandate of God to
> ing the complexity of thought present         His creature man is: Work! The
> in the writer himself. Carlyle’s power        future Epic of the World rests not
> of rhetoric was perhaps his most im-          with those that are near dead, but
> portant talent as far as Shoghi Effendi       with those that are alive, and those
> was concerned, and for an example of          that are coming into life. (166)
> this power it is instructive to examine
> a paragraph of the “Captains of Indus-      Carlyle had no way of knowing the
> try” chapter in the philosophical histo-    true significance of that final sentence,
> ry Past and Present. Carlyle’s rallying     written in 1843, but certainly the air of
> cry to his fellows, that they arise and     expectancy and prophecy found in this
> 14                 The Journal of Bahá’í Studies 31.4 2021
> 
> brief passage is representative of much     East or West to achieve such as-
> early Victorian writing. Content aside,     cendancy as shall deprive her of
> however, Carlyle’s literary techniques      that spiritual primacy with which
> of exhortation, caution, praise, and        she has been invested and which
> promise are apparent in passages of the     she has thus far so nobly retained?
> Guardian’s writings as well. Witness        Will she not rather contribute, by
> the following from the conclusion of        a still further revelation of those
> his letter “America and the Most Great      inherent powers that motivate her
> Peace,” included in The World Order of      life, to enhance the priceless heri-
> Bahá’u’lláh:                                tage which the love and wisdom of
> a departed Master have conferred
> Fellow-believers in the American          upon her?
> continent! Great indeed have been            Her past has been a testimony
> your past and present achieve-            to the inexhaustible vitality of her
> ments! Immeasurably greater are           faith. May not her future confirm
> the wonders which the future has          it? (Shoghi Effendi 94)
> in store for you! The Edifice your
> sacrifices have raised still remains        The same basic rhetorical stance is
> to be clothed. The House which          taken by the writers in both of these
> must needs be supported by the          lengthy passages; the authors are seek-
> highest administrative institution      ing to move their audiences to action.
> your hands have reared, is as yet       Both overtly challenge their audiences
> unbuilt. The provisions of the          to respond to their calls; both praise
> chief Repository of those laws          their audiences, Shoghi Effendi for the
> that must govern its operation are      Americans’ accomplishments in the
> thus far mostly undisclosed. The        past and Carlyle for the inherent capac-
> Standard which, if ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s       ities of people; both, in a sense, tem-
> wishes are to be fulfilled, must be     per their praise, Carlyle by cautioning
> raised in your own country has yet      the workers not to be “bucaniers” and
> to be unfurled. The Unity of which      Shoghi Effendi by listing the tasks that
> that standard is to be the symbol       still lie ahead. Carlyle, too, looks to the
> is far from being yet established.      future, but he lacks the specificity of
> The machinery which must needs          vision that Shoghi Effendi expresses.
> incarnate and preserve that unity is    This lack gives Carlyle’s exhortation a
> not even created. Will it be Amer-      tentative air, on the whole, while that
> ica, will it be one of the countries    of the Guardian radiates confidence in
> of Europe, who will arise to as-        its challenge to the American Bahá’í
> sume the leadership essential to        community.
> the shaping of the destinies of this        A comparison of Carlyle, Gibbon,
> troubled age? Will America allow        and Shoghi Effendi not only reveals the
> any of her sister communities in        influences of the former two upon the
> The Epistolary Style of Shoghi Effendi                         15
> 
> Guardian but also shows their points of        friends,” “friends and fellow-heirs of
> difference. Certainly, the scope of the        the grace of Bahá’u’lláh,” “friends
> Guardian’s vision was beyond that of           and fellow-defenders of the Faith of
> Carlyle, and while this breadth of vi-         Bahá’u’lláh,” and numerous other lov-
> sion may be more a legacy of Gibbon,           ing and tender appellations.
> who wrote not only history, as Hugh               Throughout the letters, he rallies
> Trevor-Roper points out, but also “uni-        the troops of his followers around
> versal history” or “philosophic histo-         him, giving the authoritative interpre-
> ry” (viii). Still, there are further differ-   tation of events, yet including himself
> ences. Gibbon wrote the history of a           in the numbers of believers undergo-
> civilization long dead, where historical       ing the turmoils of the age, as in the
> interpretation was made easy because           following example: “Dearly-beloved
> of the era’s remoteness. Shoghi Ef-            friends! Can our eyes be so dim as to
> fendi, however, used this technique of         fail to recognize in the anguish and
> historical interpretation and analysis to      turmoil which, greater than in any oth-
> clarify the significance of the clouded,       er country and in a manner unprece-
> ever-changing events that were taking          dented in its history, are now afflicting
> place around him as he wrote. Aston-           the American nation . . . ?” (Shoghi
> ishingly, these writings still read as if      Effendi 79). Many times the eyes of
> they were written only yesterday.              the average Bahá’í were “so dim,” but
> Stylistically, one of the most strik-       Shoghi Effendi’s eyes, possessing that
> ing differences between the Guardian           sweeping perspective with which he
> and his predecessors is the nature of          was endowed as Guardian, were nev-
> rhetorical address. Of course, in both         er dimmed. Another example of the
> the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries        Guardian’s including himself with the
> the rhetorical stance of the writer was        rest of the Bahá’ís occurs in his let-
> conventionally formal, and although            ter “The Goal of a New World Order”
> there might occur the occasional ad-           where, in speaking of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá,
> dress to the “gentle reader,” the dis-         he states:
> tancing of writers from their audience
> was a rhetorical device designed to              How well we, the little band of
> enhance the authority of the authors             His avowed supporters who lay
> over their addressees. Shoghi Effen-             claim to have recognized the
> di completely reverses this form of              Light that shone within Him, can
> address. Throughout his writings are             still remember His repeated allu-
> scattered numerous intimate address-             sions, in the evening of His earth-
> es to the communications’ recipients,            ly life, to the tribulation and tur-
> such as the “fellow believers” of                moil with which an unregenerate
> the passage quoted earlier, “beloved             humanity was to be increasingly
> co-workers,” “fellow laborers in the             afflicted. (29)
> Divine Vineyard,” “dearly-beloved
> 16                  The Journal of Bahá’í Studies 31.4 2021
> 
> At the close of his communications,       New Testament of the Bible. Paul’s
> he signs simply as “your brother and         epistles to the Romans, the Corinthians,
> co-worker” or “your true brother,” his       the Thessalonians, and numerous other
> name given simply as “Shoghi” rather         groups are prime examples of these
> than the more formal “Shoghi Effendi”        communications. Other apostles also
> that one might well expect from the          addressed groups of early Christians
> appointed head of a world religion. It       in the epistle form. It was their only
> is a mark of the Guardian’s humility         means of communicating with scat-
> and his great sense of the necessity         tered groups of believers, to encourage
> that Bahá’ís work together in order          them, to clarify what they perceived
> to achieve enduring victories that he        Christ’s teachings to be, to exhort the
> included himself in the number of            people to live by their new beliefs,
> the rank and file, much like a general       and to go out and teach others. These
> marching to the front lines with his         were the same objectives with which
> troops. This, in itself sets him apart       Shoghi Effendi sat down to write his
> from his stylistic models and indicates      letters to the Bahá’í world. The import-
> that he is willing to put his words into     ant and obvious difference in the two
> action, not merely to write academic         cases is that Shoghi Effendi possessed
> tomes.                                       divine authority in his interpretations
> The choice of the epistle form is also    of Bahá’u’lláh’s teachings, while the
> indicative of the Guardian’s desire to       apostles had no definitive authority and
> inspire to action. He could conceivably      incorporated their personal ideas into
> have written straight essays, nor direct-    the small body of Christ’s teachings.
> ly addressing anyone, but the purpose        In so doing, they may have diluted the
> of his communication was always to           strength and changed the intention of
> move his audience to deeds, not mere-        the original Word of God.
> ly to inspire them with his words. To            The epistles of Christianity, then,
> this end, the epistle form with its direct   while providing an early example of
> address is uniquely suited. It is diffi-     communication, are not suitable mod-
> cult for the recipient of a letter (be it    els to which one may turn for explain-
> a nation or an individual) to miss the       ing Shoghi Effendi’s choice of this
> purport of a document that bears the re-     form. Infinitely more rewarding is a
> cipient’s name at the beginning, while       turning to the tablets of Bahá’u’lláh
> a formal essay written in the third per-     and ‘Abdu’l-Bahá. The English trans-
> son can easily be put out of mind once       lation of one of Bahá’u’lláh’s most
> read.                                        comprehensive writings is, in fact,
> Historically, the epistle has been the    titled Epistle to the Son of the Wolf,
> vehicle for teachings in former reli-        addressed as proof of His teachings to
> gions, notably Christianity. One thinks      the son of the eminent Muslim leader
> immediately of those written by the          who was responsible for the execution
> Apostles of Jesus and included in the        of two devoted and innocent Bábís.
> The Epistolary Style of Shoghi Effendi                        17
> 
> Numerous others of Bahá’u’lláh’s             to analyze extensively the global chal-
> works, such as The Seven Valleys and         lenges confronting Bahá’ís. Historical
> The Four Valleys, are addressed to           perspective on the Bahá’í Faith, was
> leading intellectuals, and his tablets to    possible by Shoghi Effendi’s time, as
> the kings and rulers of the world pro-       well, and played a large part in the
> vide an important example for Shoghi         Guardian’s messages. The sense of
> Effendi, dealing directly as they do         urgency as an effect of the Guardian’s
> with the problems and challenges of          use of direct address is also a result of
> the immediate future. The many, more         the convergence of his historical anal-
> intimate personal addresses of ‘Abdu’l-      ysis and his world-encompassing per-
> Bahá serve as models for the render,         spective of the future.
> understanding, and intimate aspects of          This same sense of urgency lies
> Shoghi Effendi’s letters. Still, ‘Abdu’l-    behind another method of communica-
> Bahá’s tablets were written in Arabic        tion employed by the Guardian and for
> or Persian. In Shoghi Effendi’s own          which he adapted the English language
> letters to the Bahá’í world, humanity        to suit his purpose. Whenever a matter
> received for the first time in its history   was too urgent for conveyance via let-
> divinely inspired direction originating      ter, or whenever Bahá’ís did not arise
> in the English language.                     in response to his direction, the Guard-
> The differences between Shoghi            ian would send a cable. In composing
> Effendi’s communications and those           cables, he did not abandon his majestic
> of Bahá’u’lláh and ‘Abdu’l-Bahá are          epistolary style; he merely pared it,
> many. Significantly, the contents of         eliminating connectives unnecessary
> the Guardian’s letters are much more         to the meaning but retaining always his
> concerned with the practical aspects of      unmistakable dignity of language.
> building the Administrative Order of            Shoghi Effendi was never domi-
> the Bahá’í Faith, a project which was        nated by form or convention in his
> advanced primarily in the West, and          communications. Rather, he adapt-
> particularly in North America. For this      ed and used form and convention (as
> purpose, English was more functional         any good craftsperson uses tools) to
> than Persian or Arabic. Also, during         accomplish the task before him—the
> Shoghi Effendi’s lifetime there existed      building of the Administrative Order of
> the means to disseminate such letters        Bahá’u’lláh. It is illuminating to note
> widely and efficiently to the rapidly        the enduring influence of the Guard-
> growing number of English-speaking           ian’s style in communications from the
> believers. Because of improvements           Universal House of Justice since its es-
> in worldwide communications, as well         tablishment in 1963. In continuing the
> as the spread of the Bahá’í Faith, the       same use of epistolary and cable forms
> Guardian was able to give much more          initiated by the Guardian, in its blend-
> up-to-date and comprehensive reports         ing of formal and intimate language,
> of the global progress being made and        in its dignified yet loving tone, in its
> 18                  The Journal of Bahá’í Studies 31.4 2021
> 
> dual historical and futuristic perspec-       ample assurance of victories to
> tive, and in its world-encompassing yet       come if we but follow the path
> personal scope, this second “twin pil-        of His guidance. He rewards our
> lar” of the Administrative Order has, in      humble efforts with effusions of
> turn, upheld the standard toward which        grace which bring not only ad-
> all Bahá’í institutions must strive.          vancement to the Cause but assur-
> While it is difficult to choose one        ance and happiness to our hearts,
> passage that exemplifies all of these         so that we may indeed look upon
> features, the opening sentences of            our neighbors with bright and
> the 1979 Naw-Rúz message from the             shining faces, confident that from
> Universal House of Justice indicated          our services now will eventuate
> the similarities of style. “Dearly-loved      that blissful future which our de-
> Friends,” the Institution writes:             scendants will inherit, glorifying
> Bahá’u’lláh, the Prince of Peace,
> The decline of religion and moral           the Redeemer of Mankind. (¶ 11)
> restraints has unleashed a fury of
> chaos and confusion that already          The features seen in these messages
> bears the signs of universal anar-        are indeed the legacy bequeathed to
> chy. Engulfed in this maelstrom,          us by the beloved Guardian, who not
> the Bahá’í world community, pur-          only gave to the Bahá’í World his great
> suing with indefeasible unity and         vision but also set the example of how
> spiritual force its redemptive mis-       to carry forward this “ever-advancing
> sion, inevitably suffers the disrup-      civilization” in language, style, and
> tion of economic, social and civil        form worthy to be its medium.
> life which afflicts its fellow men
> throughout the planet. (¶ 1)
> 
> This passage reflects the lofty style and
> world-encompassing vision of the Uni-
> versal House of Justice, while the ten-
> derness also apparent in the Guardian’s
> writings can be seen in the concluding
> paragraph of the 1984 Riḍván message
> to the Bahá’ís of the world:
> 
> Beloved friends, the bounties and
> protection with which the Blessed
> Beauty is nurturing and sheltering
> the infant organism of His new
> world order through this violent
> period of transition and trial, give
> The Epistolary Style of Shoghi Effendi                       19
> 
> Works Cited
> 
> Bahá’u’lláh. Epistle to the Son of the Wolf, trans. Shoghi Effendi. 3d ed. US Bahá’í
> Publishing Trust, 1988.
> ———. The Seven Valleys and The Four Valleys, trans. Marzieh Gail, 3d ed. US
> Bahá’í Publishing Trust, 1973.
> Carlyle, Thomas. “Captains of Industry,” In Prose of the Victorian Period, ed.
> William F. Buckler. Houghton-Mifflin Co., 1958.
> Gibbon, Edward. The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire,
> abridged and edited by Hugh Trevor-Roper. Twayne Publishers, 1963.
> Holman, C. Hugh. A Handbook to Literature, 3d ed. Bobbs-Merrill, 1972.
> Rabbani, Rúhíyyih. The Priceless Pearl. UK Bahá’í Publishing Trust, 2000.
> Shoghi Effendi. The World Order of Bahá’u’lláh, 2d ed. US Bahá’í Publishing
> Trust, 1993.
> Trevor-Roper, Hugh. Introduction. The History of the Decline and Fall of the Ro-
> man Empire, by Edward Gibbon. Twayne Publishers, 1963.
> Universal House of Justice. Naw-Rúz 1979 Message to the Bahá’ís of the World.
> Bahá’í Reference Library. bahai.org/library/authoritative-texts/the-uni-
> versal-house-of-justice/messages/#19790321_002
> ———. Riḍván 1984 Message to the Bahá’ís of the World. Bahá’í Reference Li-
> brary. bahai.org/library/authoritative-texts/the-universal-house-of-jus-
> tice/messages/#19840421_001
> The Vision of Shoghi Effendi: Proceedings of the Association for Bahá’í Studies
> Ninth Annual Conference, November 2-4, 1984, Ottawa, Canada. Associ-
> ation for Bahá’í Studies, 1993.
>
> — *The Epistolary Style of Shoghi Effendi (Used by permission of the curator)*