Paragraph 208

Among the sciences which this pretender hath professed is that of alchemy. We cherish the hope that either a king or a man of preeminent power may call upon him to translate this science from the realm of fancy to the domain of fact and from the plane of mere pretension to that of actual achievement. Would that this unlearned and humble Servant, who never laid any pretension to such things, nor even regarded them as the criterion of true knowledge, might undertake the same task, that thereby the truth might be known and distinguished from falsehood. But of what avail! All this generation could offer Us were wounds from its darts, and the only cup it proffered to Our lips was the cup of its venom. On Our neck We still bear the scar of chains, and upon Our body are imprinted the evidences of an unyielding cruelty.

Continuing on with this "certain man, reputed for his learning and attainment", who accounts "himself as one of the preeminent leaders of his people", Baha'u'llah focuses in on a single one of his preposterous claims, the mastery of alchemy.

What makes this most fascinating to us is to compare it to what Baha'u'llah has already said about alchemy in paragraphs 165 - 167. In those paragraphs He refers to the potency of the "Divine Elixir", the Word of God, and how it can transform people from one state of being to another, more golden state of being. Of course, He also points out that those people who have been touched and transformed by the Word of God cannot be compared to themselves from before that transformation. They have so utterly changed, become so much more spiritual, that it is like the copper that has been changed to gold.

Here, in this paragraph, He asks that someone take this man up on his claim. Specifically, He cherishes "the hope" that someone in a position of power do this, as He Himself is essentially seen as a powerless exile at this point.

Further to this, though, He also hopes that someone ask Him to do the same thing. It is very reminiscent of that later challenge when some members of the clergy asked Him to perform a miracle, presuming He wouldn't accept such a challenge. Immediately upon this request, He agreed, provided they chose a single miracle and, upon its performance, accepted His claim. They were unable to do this, and so never followed through.

Over and over Baha'u'llah seems to dare people to challenge Him to do such things, and every single time they do not.

Then, at the end of this paragraph, there is another point He introduces: His sufferings. Why? Why would He introduce this idea here?

This suffering is not the suffering of exasperation, but a literal physical suffering. He had already been bastinadoed, imprisoned, and even exiled for His faith. When He was imprisoned in the Siyyah-Chal, the chains on His neck bent His back and left their scars on Him for life. When He says He bears the scars of their cruelty, and that His body bears the evidence of it, this is not hyperbole. It is a reality.

Of what use is it, He asks, to hope for such a test as to be asked to change copper to gold. This generation, He implies, is not interested in investigating the truth. All that it has given Him is suffering.

And just in case we have forgotten, remember that line from way back in paragraph 6, "the more closely thou observest the denials of those who have opposed the Manifestations of the divine attributes, the firmer will be thy faith in the Cause of God"? In addition to this, in paragraph 80 He said of those same Manifestations, "Each and every one of them fell a prey to the hands of the enemies of His Cause, and had to suffer whatsoever they decreed." As He is just getting ready to embark on the actual proofs of the Mission and Station of the Bab, it seems that this is a hint at how to become more certain of Baha'u'llah's own Station, too.