Translation of French Foot-Notes of the Dawn-Breakers/Chapter XXIII

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TRANSLATION OF FRENCH FOOT-NOTES

CHAPTER XXIII

Page 501, Note I

“It was only too well known that Babis were to be found everywhere. Persia was full of them and, if the minds concerned about transcendental questions, if the philosophers in search of new formulas, if the bruised souls shocked by the injustices and weaknesses of the present day—had given themselves up eagerly to the thought and to the promises of a new and more satisfactory world order, one could properly think that the turbulent imaginations eager for action, even at the price of failure, the brave and militant hearts, and finally the daring and ambitious would easily be tempted to throw themselves in with an army which revealed itself so well supplied with soldiers fit to constitute dauntless battalions.

“Mirza Taqi Khan, cursing the laxity with which his predecessor Haji Mirza _[:\_qasi had allowed so great a peril to grow, realized that this weak policy should not continue and decided to destroy the evil to its very roots. He became convinced that the main cause was the Báb himself, father of all the doctrines which were arousing the people, and he decided to remove that cause.” (Comte de Gobineau’s “Les Religions et les Philosophies dans l’Asie Centrale,” pp. 210-21 1.)

Pages 501-502, Note 2

“In the meantime, Haji Mirza Taqi resolved to strike at the very head of this monster of Babism and he imagined that, after such a blow which would definitely remove the instigator of that agitation and silence his appeal, the old order would be restored. Nevertheless, strange phenomenon in an Asiatic government, and especially in a statesmen like Mirza Taqi Khan who could indulge in excessive severity without scruple, this minister did not order the death of the reformer! He thought that the most effective way to destroy him was to ruin him morally; to bring him out of his retreat in _(_3_l;ihriq where a halo of suffering, holiness, science and eloquence made him radiate like a sun; to show him to the people just as he was—that is to say, just as he t/zoug/zt he was—was the best way to render him harmless by destroying his prestige.

“He was picturing him as a vulgar charlatan, a weak dreamer who did not have courage enough to conceive, still less to direct the daring enterprises of his three apostles, or even to take part in them. Such a man, taken to Tihran and brought face to face with the most subtle dialecticians of Islam, could not but surrender shamefully. His influence would vanish the more rapidly than if, while destroying his body, one allowed to linger

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in the minds of the people the phantom of a superiority which death would have consecrated. It was therefore decided to arrest him and bring him to Tihrain and, on the way, to exhibit him publicly in chains and humiliated; to make him debate everywhere with the Mulla’.s, silencing him whenever he would become too audacious; briefly, to engage him in a series of unequal encounters in which he would inevitably meet defeat, as he would have been previously demoralized and heartbroken. It was a lion that they were eager to unnerve, hold in chains and strip of claws and teeth, then turn him over to the dogs to show how easily they could overpower him. Once defeated, his ultimate fate was of little importance.

“This plan was not devoid of sense, but it rested upon premises which were far from proven. It was not enough to imagine that the'Báb was without courage and firmness, it was necessary that he be really so. But his conduct in the fort of Qihriq gave no such evidence. He prayed and worked unceasingly. His meekness was unfailing. Those who came near him felt in spite of themselves the fascinating influence of his personality, of his manner and of his speech. His guards were not free from that weakness. He (the Báb) felt that his death was near and he would frequently refer to it as to a thought that was not only familiar but even pleasant. Suppose, for a moment, that thus exhibited throughout Persia he would still remain undaunted? Suppose he would display neither arrogance nor fear but would rise far above his misfortune? Suppose that he succeeded in throwing into confusion the learned, subtle, and eloquent doctors arraigned against him? Suppose he would remain‘ more than ever the Báb for his old followers and become so for the indifferent and even for his enemies? It was risking much in order to gain much, without doubt, but also perhaps to lose much and, after having weighed the matter with care, they dared not take the chance.” (Comte de Gobineau’s “Les Religions et les Philosophies dans l’Asie Centrale,” pp. 211-213.)

Page 504, Note I

“The prime minister, having summoned Sulayman _I_{_han, the Afshé.r, asked him to carry to Tabríz, to the Prince Hamzih Mirzá, governor of Adhirbáyján, the order to take the Báb out of the fort of Qijhriq and to imprison him in the citadel of Tabríz where he would later be apprised of his fate.” (Comte de Gobineau’s “Les Religions et les Philosophies dans l’Asie Centrale,” p. 213.)

Page 508, Note 2 “On the following day, early in the morning, the people of Hamzih Mirzá, having opened the doors of the prison, brought out the Báb and his

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disciples. They made sure that the irons which they had around their necks and on their wrists were secure; they tied to the iron collar of each one a long cord the end of which was held by a farra’1_s_l_1_. Then, so that everyone could see them well and recognize them, they walked them about the town, through the streets and the bazaars, overwhelming them with blows and insults. The crowd filled the streets and the people climbed upon each others’ shoulders better to see this man who was so much talked about. The Babis, scattered in all directions, were trying to arouse among some of the onlookers a little pity or some feeling of sympathy which might have helped them to save their Master. The indifferent ones, the philosophers, the flaykhis, the Sfifis, turned away from the sight with disgust and returned to their houses, or on the contrary waited for the.Báb at a street corner and simply watched him with silent curiosity. The tattered crowd, restless and excitable, flung insulting words at the three martyrs, but they were all ready to change their minds with any sudden change of circumstances.

“F inally,_ the victorious Muhammadans pursued the prisoners with insults, tried to break through the guard in order to strike them in the face or on the head and when they succeeded, or when a missile thrown by some child would strike the Báb or one of his companions in the face, the guard and the crowd would burst into laughter.” (Comte de Gobineau’s “Les Religions et les Philosophies dans l’Asie Centrale,” p. 220.)

Page 512, Note I

“The Báb remained silent. His pale handsome face framed by a black beard and small mustache, his appearance and his refined manners, his white and delicate hands, his simple but very neat garments-—everything about him awakened sympathy and compassion.” (:7ournal Asiatique, 1866, tome 7, p. 378.)

Page 512, Note 3

“When the condemned are shot in Persia, they are bound to a post looking away from the spectators so that they are not able to see the signals for execution given by the officer.” (:7ozmml /Isiatique, 1866, tome 7, p- 377.) Page 513, Note I

“An intense clamor arose from the crowd at this moment as the onlookers saw the Báb freed from his bonds advancing towards them. Amazing to believe, the bullets had not struck the condemned but, on the contrary, had broken his bonds and he was delivered. It was a real. miracle and God alone knows what would have happened without the fidelity and

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calm of the Christian regiment on this occurrence. The soldiers in order to quiet the excitement of the crowd which, being extremely agitated, was ready to believe the claims of a religion which thus demonstrated its truth, showed the cords broken by the bullets, implying that no miracle had really taken place. At the same time, they seized the Báb and tied him again to the fatal post. This time the execution was effective. Muhammadan justice and ecclesiastical law had asserted themselves. But the crowd, vividly impressed by the spectacle they had witnessed, dispersed slowly, hardly convinced that the Báb was a criminal. After all his crime was only a crime for the legalists and the world is indulgent toward crimes which it does not understand.” (M. C. Huart’s “La Religion du Bab,” pp- 3-4-)

“An extraordinary thing happened, unique in the annals of the history of humanity: the bullets cut the cords that held the Báb and he fell on his feet without a scratch.” (A. L. M. Nicolas’ “Siyyid ‘Ali-Muhammad dit le Báb,” p. 375.)

“By a strange coincidence, the bullet only touched the cords which bound the Báb, they were broken and he felt himself free. Uproar and shouts arose on all sides, no one understanding at first what it was all

about.” (Ibid., p. 379.)

Pages 514-516, Note 2

. . . “Christians believe that if Jesus Christ had wished to come down from the cross he could have done so easily; he died of his own free will because it was written that he should and in order that the prophecies might be fulfilled. The same is true of the Báb, so the Babis say, who, in this way, gave a clear sanction to his teachings. He likewise died voluntarily because his death was to be the salvation of humanity. Who will ever tell us the words that the Báb uttered in the midst of the unprecedented turmoil which broke out as he ascended? Who will ever know the memories which stirred his noble soul? Who will reveal to us the

secret of that death. . . . The sight of the baseness, the vices, the decep- A

tions of that clergy shocked his pure and sincere soul: he felt the need of a thorough reform in public morals and he undoubtedly hesitated more than once, at the thought of a revolution, which seemed unavoidable, to free the bodies as well as the minds from the yoke of brutishness and violence which weighed upon all Persia for the selfish benefit of a minority . . . of pleasure lovers, and to the greatest shame of the true religion of the Prophet. He must have been much perplexed, deeply anxious, and he stood in need of the triple shield of which Horace speaks, to throw himself headlong into that ocean of superstition and hatred which was fatally to engulf him. His 60

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life is one of the most magnificent examples of courage which it has been the privilege of mankind to behold, and it is also an admirable proof of the love which our hero felt for his fellow countrymen. He sacrificed himself for humanity, for it he gave his body and his soul, for it he endured privations, insults, torture and martyrdom. He sealed, with his very lifeblood, the covenant of universal brotherhood. Like Jesus he paid with his life for the proclamation of a reign of concord, equity and brotherly love. More than anyone he knew what dreadful dangers he was heaping upon himself. He had been able to see personally the degree of exasperation that a fanaticism, shrewdly aroused, could reach; but all these considerations could not weaken his resolve. Fear ‘had no hold upon his soul and, perfectly calm, never looking back, in full possession of all his powers, he walked into the furnace.” (A. L. M. Nicolas’ “Siyyid ‘Ali-Muhammad, dit le Báb,” pp- 203-204, 376.)

“The head of the new religion was dead and, according to the previsions of the prime minister, the minds of the people would now be at peace and there was no room for further anxiety, at least from that source. But such political wisdom was bafiied and, instead of appeasing the flames, it had fanned them into greater violence.”

“We shall see shortly, when I shall examine the religious dogmas preached by the Báb, that the perpetuity of the sect did not in the least depend upon his physical presence; all could proceed and grow without him. If the premier had been aware of this fundamental trait of the hostile religion, it is not likely -that he would have been so eager to do away with a man whose existence, after all, would not have had any more significance than his death.” (Comte de Gobineau’s “Les Religions et les Philosophies dans l’Asie Centrale,” pp. 224-225.)

Page 519, Note I

“Following an immemorial custom of the Orient, usage exemplified at the siege of Béthulie as well as at the tomb of our Lord, the sentinel is a soldier who sleeps, to his heart’s content, at the post which he is expected to guard.” (Comte de Gobineau’s “Les Religions et les Philosophies dans l’Asie Centrale,” p. 166.) “We have been able to see throughout this history what the Persian guards are; their functions consist principally in sleeping by the trust that they are given to watch over.” (A. L. M. Nicolas’ “Siyyid ‘Ali-Muhammad dit le Báb,” p. 378.)

Page 519, Note 2 “M. de Gobineau, in agreement with the authors of the Nasikhu"tTava'1ril_<h, of Rawdatu’s-Safa, of Mir’a'1tu’l—Buldan, in a word with all the 61

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official historians, relates that after the execution the body of the Báb was thrown in a moat of the city and devoured by dogs. In reality it was not so, and we shall see why this news had been spread by the authorities of Tabríz (little eager to draw upon themselves a rebuke of the government for a favor dearly sold) and by the Bábis, desirous to prevent any further investigation by the police. The most reliable testimony of the actual witnesses of the drama or of its actors do not leave me any doubt that the body of Siyyid ‘Ali-Muhammad was carried away by pious hands and, at last, after various incidents which I shall narrate, received a burial worthy

of him.” (Ibid., p. 377.)

Page 526, Note '2

“Every one knew that the Babis had foretold the death of the prime minister and predicted the manner of his going. It happened precisely, it is said, as the martyrs of Zanj an, Mirzá. Ridé, Hájí Muhammad-‘Ali and Haiji Muhsin had announced. Fallen into disgrace and pursued by the royal hatred, his veins were slashed open in the village of Fin, near "Kishén,

• as the veins of his victims had been slashed. His successor was Mirzai

Aqa _IQ_1a’1n-i—N1’1ri of a noble tribe of Mazindarzin, and erstwhile minister of war. This new official took the title of Sadr-i—A‘zam which is the privilege of the grand viziers of the Ottoman Empire. This occurred in 1852. (Comte de Gobineau’s*“Les Religions et les Philosophies dans l’Asie Centrale,” p. 230.)