But the way of progress was often thorny. Independent women who earned their own bread were treated with suspicion, she noted. 'Faith in woman's work is still not general, and such distrust, with the resulting exploitation, results in the fact that often for work ofthe same quantity and quality a woman receives half or a third of the pay given a
achord played
man.' But these, she said, were difficulties 'of the transitional period. When that period is over', she was confident, 'woman will be economically equal to man.'
Of all the new fields women were entering, one profession, Lidia believed, seemed 'almost predestined by nature itself for women - that is education. And not only teaching itself, but all that touches the moral, intellectual or even physical culture of the youngest generation.' The child's first education occurred under the eye of the mother - and those early experiences gave direction to the development of the child's character. 'In the hands of women lies a boundless responsibility - the formation of the souls of the young generation, which means in effect, thefuture of the world\
'If the generation which in the year 1914 decided the fate ofhumanity had had mothers and teachers conscious of their high task - if that generation, instead ofplaying with lead soldiers and wooden swords in childhood, had been educated in the spirit of respect for life, oflove for one's neighbor beyond the threshold ofone's native land, would we be where we are today?
'We know not what the next moments have in store for us. Never more right was the warning, "Beware, for ye know neither the day nor the hour!" Tomorrow the bloody phantom may return, a thousand times more terrible than before. Perhaps tomorrow the apocalyptic rider will gallop through the world, to fulfill the power given to it, power over a fourth of mankind!
'But in the end, massacred to the bone, mankind will indeed understand how terrible are those dark forces which it led onto the arena so that there they could tear apart and rend its own body. And it will wish to chain them firmly, once and for all. It will wish for peace- not a parody of peace, not a peace that serves only to prepare better for war. It will wish for etemal Peace, universal and sacred.
'For that Peace to come, men must want it. And for them to want it, they must understand that it alone is beautiful, good and worthy. And for them to understand that, someone must teach it to them, someone must enlighten them about it. And thus, oh women, do not cease your efforts, because a vast field lies before you. Do not lose heart when you hear that today around the ship of mankind a furious ocean howls with a thousand waves. Save that which is to be saved: the future of the world!
'Show your children, your charges, that glories exist more noble than the bloody crowns of Caesars and Napoleons. Tell them that concord builds up, discord destroys. Teach them that "love" is not merely a banal harangue, that "brotherhood" is not just a utopian dream.
'Explain to them that if they do not make these truths an essential part of their thought, action and life, they will themselves, in their turn, bow low and sigh under the threat of those black clouds which today hang over us.
'Teach them to understand and to love not only the members of their own family, of their city, province and land. Teach them to extend a hand to brothers from beyond the borders. Teach them to understand those human brothers, although borders and languages divide them. And to that end, teach them the language of love and peace, that language which opens the hearts and binds them together like an enchanting bond, teach them Esperanto!
'Say to them that that language must not serve them solely for the exchange of postage stamps and picture post cards, but that above all it must serve for the exchange of thoughts and feelings, so that they may recognize the true face of their neighbor and see that that face is the face of a brother.
'Women, individual effort is always noble and good. But the way of individual effort is long, and we do not have time to lose, because destruction and death move quickly. Unite your efforts! Unite your voices and cry throughout the world: love and peace among the peoples of the world! Let there be understanding among the children of men! Through Esperanto, the language of unity, let understanding reign upon earth! May that language be spread throughout the world! Esperanto in the schools!
'Nothing comes into being without a cause, and nothing passes without causing an effect. A chord played, even when it disappears from our hearing, lives on in space, goes round the world, rises beyond, and flies to worlds we cannot reach, and brings them that chord as our greeting. Will the chords of our planet be grating or harmonious? Will they bring into the music of the spheres a sweet sound or a harsh noise?
'And the rapid-flying lightning-quick waves of light, which pass through the ether, even when their source is long extinguished, what picture will they immortalize in the universe - a picture of burning cities, or the lights of promethean fires, which lead mankind forward on the eternal way of progress?
'At the threshold of the new era stands humanity as a weak, trembling child. Women, extend to it a helping hand, so that that child may not fall on the threshold, so that it may grow in glory and go forward to a better future!'
NINETEEN
Without Eggs and Without Chickens
After the Vienna congress Lidia went home to Warsaw for several weeks, 'very happy to see my hometown, my friends and relatives again'. Then she returned to France and plunged into a busy schedule of classes. In Nantes 300 attended the introductory lesson, and 182 signed up for the course. It was the largest number of students she had ever had in a single class. In the past year, Lidia had developed her own course for those who had already completed the Cseh beginner's lessons. In Nantes, seventy enrolled in her advanced class. Afterward, she gave another course in Lyon, and, once again, over a hundred enrolled.
Meanwhile, Martha Root had been at work on her plan to send Lidia to the United States. From the steamer en route to New York she wrote to the Baha'fs in the United States to tell them she hoped they would invite Lidia to America. To Della Quinlan, secretary of the Baha'f International Auxiliary Language Committee, she wrote: 'I wish Lidia Zamenhof could come to New York and teach Esperanto and continue her study in Persian . . . Lidia is trying to learn Persian and it is her great aim to take Esperanto to Iran the land of Baha'u'llah, but of course she could not go yet for conditions are so upset there and also the Guardian wishes her to know Persian well before she goes. Lidia is the best teacher from Europe to come to our country and she is a most confirmed Baha'iV Martha underlined 'confirmed' three times.
Martha Root had been in contact with Shoghi Effendi about sending Lidia to America and the Guardian was enthusiastic about the idea. In July 1936 he wrote Lidia: 'It would be splendid if you could visit the United States where the friends are so eager to meet you and accord you a hearty welcome. You will let me know, I trust, whenever you decide to visit them, for I wish to introduce you to them in a befitting manner . . .' Lidia was grateful for his encouragement to go to America. She wrote him that if she went to the US it would be to teach Esperanto there, but she hoped it would lead to opportunities to serve the Baha'i Faith more directly.
Mrs Della Quinlan, from New York City, would play a major role in Lidia's visit to America. A middle-aged woman, Mrs Quinlan worked in the public relations department of the New York Stock Exchange. She had become an Esperantist and a Baha'f as a teenager. Both movements were very dear to her, and she hoped that the Baha'is and the Esperantists could work together to bring Lidia to the United States. Lidia also placed great importance on such cooperation. She wrote Martha Root that she would not come to America unless both groups were behind her.