The Bahá’í Writings enjoin the acquisition of knowledge and the study of the arts and sciences. Bahá’ís are admonished to respect people of learning and accomplishment, and are warned against the pursuit of studies that are productive only of futile wrangling. In His Tablets Bahá’u’lláh counsels the believers to study such sciences and arts as are "useful" and would further "the progress and advancement" of society, and He cautions against sciences which "begin with words and end with words", the pursuit of which leads to "idle disputation". Shoghi Effendi, in a letter written on his behalf, likened sciences that "begin with words and end with words" to "fruitless excursions into metaphysical hair-splittings", and, in another letter, he explained that what Bahá’u’lláh primarily intended by such "sciences" are "those theological treatises and commentaries that encumber the human mind rather than help it to attain the truth". 111. He Who held converse with God #80 This is a traditional Jewish and Islamic title of Moses. Bahá’u’lláh states that with the coming of His Revelation "human ears have been privileged to hear what He Who conversed with God heard upon Sinai". 112. Sinai #80 The mountain where the Law was revealed by God to Moses. 113. the Spirit of God #80 This is one of the titles used in the Islamic and Bahá’í Writings to designate Jesus Christ. 114. Carmel ... Zion #80 Carmel, the "Vineyard of God", is the mountain in the Holy Land where the Shrine of the Báb and the seat of the world administrative centre of the Faith are situated. Zion is a hill in Jerusalem, the traditional site of the tomb of King David, and is symbolic of Jerusalem as a Holy City. 115. the Crimson Ark #84 The "Crimson Ark" refers to the Cause of Bahá’u’lláh. His followers are designated as the "companions of the Crimson Ark", lauded by the Báb in the Qayyúmu’l-Asmá. 116. O Emperor of Austria! He Who is the Dayspring of God’s Light dwelt in the prison of Akká at the time when thou didst set forth to visit the Aqsá Mosque. #85 Francis Joseph (Franz Josef, 1830-1916), Emperor of Austria and King of Hungary, made a pilgrimage to Jerusalem in 1869. While in the Holy Land he failed to take the opportunity to inquire about Bahá’u’lláh Who at that time was a prisoner in Akká (Acre). The Aqsá Mosque, literally, the "Most Distant" Mosque, is referred to in the Qur’án, and has become identified with the Temple Mount in Jerusalem. 117. O King of Berlin! #86 Kaiser William I (Wilhelm Friedrich Ludwig, 1797-1888), the seventh king of Prussia, was acclaimed first Emperor of Germany in January 1871 at Versailles in France, following the victory of Germany over France in the Franco-Prussian War. 118. the one whose power transcended thy power, and whose station excelled thy station #86