Private Life
Shoghi Effendi's personal life was largely subordinate to his work as Guardian of the religion. His lack of secretarial support with the mass of correspondence had left a pattern of hard work in Haifa interspersed with occasional summer breaks to Europe — in the early years often to the Swiss Alps. In 1929 and 1940 he also travelled through Africa from south to north.
Shoghi Effendi had a great love for the English language. Carrying with him a short note-book, he would note down words and sentences he liked. He was an avid fan of music and English literature, and enjoyed reading the King James Bible. His favourite book was The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire. Whilst a young man studying in Oxford, Shoghi Effendi was part of a debating society and enjoyed playing tennis. He was noted for speaking English in subtle received pronunciation, and Persian in an Isfahani dialect, inherited from his grandmother.
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“The private life of one man shall be a more illustrious monarchy,—more formidable to its enemy, more sweet and serene in its influence to its friend, than any kingdom in history. For a man, rightly viewed, comprehendeth the particular natures of all men.”
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