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"The earth is but one country, and mankind its citizens."
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"The earth is but one country, and mankind its citizens."
By Juliet Thompson · 1947 · Kalimát Press
Formative Age (1921–1957) · in copyright
Intimate diary of an early American Bahá'í (bahai-library.com edition). Use brief paraphrases only.
About Juliet Thompson
American portrait painter and early Bahá'í. Met 'Abdu'l-Bahá in Paris in 1901 and again in New York in 1912; her diary is one of the most intimate Western accounts of His Western journeys.
1873–1956
Featured figures
“We are together now. Be happy in the present.”
“Blessed are the poor." He never said: blessed are the rich!”
From Blessed Are the Poor
“God is kind. God is faithful. God never forgets you.”
“He says He sent for you out of pure affection. It was nothing but affection.”
“If all the spirits in the air were to congregate together, they could not create a salad!”
From Not Even a Salad
The Dawn-Breakers: Nabíl's Narrative of the Early Days of the Bahá'í Revelation
Cited in Authoritative HistoryNabíl-i-A'ẓam · 1932
God Passes By
Cited in Authoritative HistoryShoghi Effendi · 1944
The Chosen Highway
Secondary RetellingLady Blomfield · 1940
Portals to Freedom
Secondary RetellingHoward Colby Ives · 1937
World Order
Secondary RetellingWorld Order Editors · 1935
The Promised Day Is Come
Cited in Authoritative HistoryShoghi Effendi · 1941
On a summer day in the Swiss countryside, 'Abdu'l-Bahá rode out to a forest, bought the violets of a swarm of peasant children, and stood entranced before a waterfall. When Juliet wished the days could last forever, He gave her a gentle answer. A retelling from the Diary of Juliet Thompson.
On an April night in 1912, 'Abdu'l-Bahá came to the Bowery Mission to address three hundred of New York's destitute men — and then stood at the door and pressed a coin and a gaze into the hand of every one of them. A retelling from the Diary of Juliet Thompson.
Juliet Thompson's mother carried a grief — and a quiet resentment of her daughter's new Faith. Then she knelt at 'Abdu'l-Bahá's bedside, and a few gentle words changed everything. A retelling from the Diary of Juliet Thompson.
Juliet Thompson had heard the whispers about herself. One morning in a Swiss hotel room, sitting at the feet of 'Abdu'l-Bahá, she learned how little they mattered to Him. A tender retelling from the Diary of Juliet Thompson.
At a glittering embassy dinner in Washington, a skeptical diplomat sat across from 'Abdu'l-Bahá with tears in his eyes. A solemn question about spiritual power drew from the Master a reply that made the whole table smile. A retelling from the Diary of Juliet Thompson.
On a July day in 1909, the painter Juliet Thompson followed 'Abdu'l-Bahá to the Shrine of Bahá'u'lláh at Bahjí. What she saw there — the Master on the floor among the children, sweetening their tea with His own hands — she never forgot. A retelling from her Diary.
In His small room in 'Akka, 'Abdu'l-Bahá took Juliet Thompson's hands and listened as she laid before Him, one by one, the names of everyone she loved back in America. To each He answered with a prayer. A retelling from the Diary of Juliet Thompson.
On a sunny day in the Swiss countryside, 'Abdu'l-Bahá bought every flower a group of children were selling — and then taught His friends a simple secret about being happy.
Three hundred poor men crowded into a hall to meet 'Abdu'l-Bahá. He gave each one a coin — but He gave them something even more precious too.
When a painter named Juliet visited the Holy Land, she saw 'Abdu'l-Bahá do something she never forgot — He sat right down on the floor to make tea for the children.
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