# Second Tablet to Napoleon III: Tablet study outline

*Exported from [Holy-Writings.com](https://www.holy-writings.com/) on 2026-06-18 — 1 clipping.*

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> Name of Tablet in Arabic or Persian: Lawh-i-Napulyun (second)
> 
> Translation into English: Second Tablet to Napoleon III. Sections translated in Gleanings 
> CLVIII, Proclamation of Bahá'u'lláh 17-23, Epistle to the Son of the Wolf 46-56.
> 
> Significance of Name: named after recipient
> 
> Tablet was revealed in: Arabic
> 
> Name of Recipient: Napoleon III, Emperor of France
> 
> Reason for Revelation of the Tablet: As one of the epistles to the rulers of the world, this 
> Tablet fits in with the overall themes of informing the rulers of His station and Message and 
> calling them to accept the new Revelation, reminding them that their earthly rule is not 
> ultimately real, for only God holds true power. This Tablet, as a follow-up to the first 
> Tablet to Napoleon to which there had been no reply, also has the element of chastizing the 
> recipient for his heedlessness.
> 
> Questions asked that are answered in Tablet: 
> Thought not really a question, Bahá'u'lláh does respond to a private utterance of Napoleon:
> 
> "O King! We heard the words thou didst utter in answer to the Czar of Russia, concerning 
> the decision made regarding the war (Crimean War). Thy Lord, verily, knoweth, is 
> informed of all. Thou didst say: `I lay asleep upon my couch, when the cry of the oppressed, 
> who were drowned in the Black Sea, wakened me.' This is what we heard thee say, and, 
> verily, thy Lord is witness unto what I say. We testify that that which wakened thee was not 
> their cry but the promptings of thine own passions, for We tested thee, and found thee 
> wanting."
> 
> Date of Revelation: circa 1869
> 
> Place of Revelation: Akká. 
> 
> Role of Amanuensis or Secretary: not known — it is known, though, that the Tablet was 
> translated into French for Napoleon by a French consular agent in Akká, who then sent it to 
> the emperor.
> 
> Other Tablets revealed at about the same time:
> There were many Tablets revealed around this time, most notably the epistles to the Kings, 
> such as the Súriy-i-Ra'ís, Lawh-i-Fu'ád, Lawh-i-Ra'ís II, Tablet to Pope Pius IX, Tablet 
> to Czar Alexander II, and the Tablet to Queen Victoria. 
> 
> Style, subject, and genre of the Tablet: [?]
>          I. Tone of Tablet
>                1. Tablets with the tone of command and authority.
>          II. Subject Covered by Tablet (could include the following)
>                2. Writings in which laws and ordinances have been enjoined for this age and laws 
> of the past abrogated.
>                4. Tablets concerning matters of government and world order, and those addressed 
> to the kings.
>                6. Tablets exhorting men to education, goodly character and divine virtues.
>                7. Tablets dealing with social teachings.
>          III. Literary Genre of Tablet:
>                1. Letter to an individual. 
> 
> Voice of Tablet: [?] Bahá'u'lláh and God (re the latter, an example is when Bahá'u'lláh says 
> "Verily, there is none other God but Me, the Ever-Forgiving, The Most Merciful!")
> 
> Outline Contents of Tablet:
> 
> A brief summary of the parts of this Tablet that have been translated (not necessarily in 
> order) could include that the "King of Paris" is warned not to deny Bahá'u'lláh's claim. 
> Bahá'u'lláh announces Himself and calls on the Emperor to arise and serve Him. The monks 
> are called out of seclusion that they may marry and benefit mankind. The Emperor, though, 
> is insincere in his concern for the oppressed. Bahá'u'lláh emphasizes courtesy, and declares 
> that for his deeds the Emperor will lose his kingdom. 
> 
> Bahá'u'lláh tells Napoleon that when He was in Iraq He was badly treated, and His situation 
> deteriorated from day to day. However, He was being persecuted for saying the same thing as 
> Moses, Jesus and Muhammad had said before Him. He expresses His longing to be sacrificed 
> for the unity of the world, admonishes Napoleon to take responsibility for his people, and 
> advises him to turn away from worldiness and towards God. 
> 
> As well as rebuking Napoleon for his insincerity, Bahá'u'lláh tells him not to kill or judge 
> unjustly, but to be trustworthy and to give to the poor. He should realize that both 
> possessions and sovereignty are temporary. His selfishness will be the cause of his own 
> downfall. Remember the kings of the past, Bahá'u'lláh points out: where are their empires 
> now?
> 
> In an untranslated part of the Tablet, according to Taherzadeh (vol. 3, p. 115),  Bahá'u'lláh 
> also announces that the two greatest festivals in the Faith are the festival of Ridván and the 
> declaration of the Báb, followed by the birth of Bahá'u'lláh and the birth of the Báb.
> 
> Principal themes of the Tablet:
> 
> Bahá'u'lláh's announcement of His claim and the call to Napoleon to teach it; Bahá'u'lláh's 
> exhortation to Napoleon to be virtuous and trustworthy and responsible for his people; the 
> call to monks to abandon celibacy; prediction of the eminent downfall of Napoleon.  
> 
> Tablet's relationship to other tablets:
> 
> This Tablet was revealed at about the same time as the Tablets to Fu'ád, to Queen Victoria, 
> the Czar of Russia, and to Pope Pius IX.  In all of these, Bahá'u'lláh announces His mission, 
> admonishes the recipients to virtuous behavior, warns them about a failure to heed His 
> proclamation, and makes predictions about their empires.  Queen Victoria is the only one 
> with a positive note; dire predictions are made for the others.  
> 
> Bahá'u'lláh actually wrote two tablets to Napoleon III. The first Tablet, which was written 
> in a mild tone, was received with discourtesy and disrespect. It is reported that he flung 
> down the tablet saying "If this man is God, I am two gods!" The second was revealed in 
> majestic language with a supreme authority declaring that its Author is none other than the 
> King of Kings. 
> 
> Later, in the Aqdas, Bahá'u'lláh again referred to Napoleon III in his apostrophe to Kaiser 
> Wilhelm, in which He wrote: "Say: O King of Berlin! ... Do thou remember the one whose 
> power transcended thy power, and whose station excelled thy station. Where is he? Whither 
> are gone the things he possessed? Take warning, and be not of them that are fast asleep. He 
> it was who cast the Tablet of God behind him when We made known unto him what the hosts 
> of tyranny had caused Us to suffer. Wherefore, disgrace assailed him from all sides, and he 
> went down to dust in great loss.  Think deeply, O King, concerning him, and concerning them 
> who, like unto thee, have conquered cities and ruled over men. The All-Merciful brought 
> them down from their palaces to their graves." 
> 
> 
> Biography or bio note of the recipient of the Tablet:
> 
>   The American Heritage Dictionary gives the following definition of Napoleon:
> "Originally Charles Louis Napoleon Bonaparte. Known as Louis Napoleon. 1808-1873.
> Emperor of the French (1852-1871). A nephew of Napoleon I, he led the Bonapartist 
> opposition to Louis Philippe and became president of the Second Republic (1848). After 
> proclaiming himself emperor (1852), he instituted reforms and rebuilt Paris. His 
> successful imperialist ventures were overshadowed by a failed campaign in Mexico (1861-
> 1867) and the Franco-Prussian War (1870-1871), which resulted in his deposition."  
> 
> 
> Louis Napoleon Bonaparte was born in Paris, on April 20,1808, the third and last son of 
> King Louis of France and Queen Hortense of Holland. His uncle was Napoleon I, thus making 
> him heir to the throne of France. After the downfall of his uncle, in an invasion of Russia, 
> the Bonaparte family was banished from France.
> 
> Napoleon III was educated privately in Switzerland and Bavaria. His mother taught him the 
> history of the Napoleonic legend. Thus he was possessed to emulate the example, and finish 
> the interrupted work, of his imperial Uncle. However, Napoleon III was known as a dreamer 
> and a conspirator; he had a shifting nature that was hypocritical and reckless.
> 
> In his desire to further the work of his uncle he began to aggrandize himself and formulate a 
> political program. He portrayed himself as a social reformer, political liberal, military 
> expert and proponent of agricultural and industrial development. He desired to overthrow 
> the monarchy but, failing in his attempt, he was deported to America. 
> 
> In 1836 and 1840 he led two unsuccessful attempts to overthrow the regime of King Louis 
> Phillipe. He was captured and condemned to life imprisonment. He escaped to London in 
> 1846, but returned in 1848. King Louis Philippi was ousted in 1848 and Louis Napoleon 
> renewed his quest as a candidate for the Presidency of the new French republic. To the 
> astonishment of political veterans, he won by a landslide. However, in 1849 the Royalists 
> had a legislative victory limiting him to a 4 year term. Resolving this by a coup d'etat on 
> December 2 1851, he assumed dictatorial powers, extending his term to ten years. 
> 
> His reign is divided into two periods by historians. The dictatorship persisted until 1860; 
> thereafter he began a series of liberal reforms that culminated in a limited monarchy. This 
> period was marked by labor legislation, a movement toward free trade, and a revival of 
> opposition parties. His most durable work was the reconstruction of Paris. 
> 
> However, he was blinded to the dangers of French security and because of his own passions 
> and desires he was a weak leader. In 1870 he led France to defeat in the Franco-Prussian 
> War in the Battle of Sedan (1870), an event which marked one of the greatest military 
> capitulations recorded in modern history. A ferocious civil war ensued, and the crowning of 
> William I, the Prussian King, as Emperor of a unified Germany, took place in the Palace of 
> Versailles. Napoleon III died in exile on January 9 1873 at Chislehurst, England.
>
> — *Second Tablet to Napoleon III: Tablet study outline (Used by permission of the curator)*