What Bahá'u'lláh meant primarily with "sciences that
begin and end in words" are those theological treatises and commentaries
that encumber the human mind rather than help it to attain the truth. The
students would devote their life to their study but still attain no where.
Bahá'u'lláh surely never meant to include story- writing under such a category;
and shorthand and typewriting are both most useful talents, very necessary in
our present social and economic life.
What you could do, and should do, is to use your stories to
become a source of inspiration and guidance for those who read them. With such
a means at your disposal you can spread the spirit and teachings of the Cause;
you can show the evils that exist in society, as well as the way they can be
remedied. If you possess a real talent in writing you should consider it as
given by God and exert your efforts to use it for the betterment of society.
- Shoghi Effendi (From a letter dated 30 November 1932, written to an individual
believer on behalf of Shoghi Effendi; The Compilation of Compilations, vol.
III, The Importance of Arts in Promoting the Faith)
