It is not for him to pride himself who loveth his own country, but rather for him who loveth the whole world. The earth is but one country and mankind its citizens.

Baha’u’llah (1817–1892), founder of the Bahá’í Faith, articulated a program of spiritual and social renewal during his successive exiles under Persian and Ottoman authority. In the late 19th century—an era marked by intensifying nationalism, imperial rivalry, and new global interconnection—he repeatedly emphasized the oneness of humanity and the need to transcend parochial loyalties. This statement belongs to that wider teaching, contrasting patriotic pride with a broader moral allegiance to humankind as a whole. It is often cited in Bahá’í discourse on world unity, international cooperation, and the ethical limits of nationalism.

The quotation reframes identity and virtue: love of one’s country is not condemned, but pride rooted in exclusive national attachment is treated as morally inferior to a universal love that embraces all people. By calling the earth “one country” and “mankind its citizens,” the line proposes a cosmopolitan ethic in which human solidarity is primary and political borders are secondary. The claim is both spiritual (humanity’s essential oneness) and practical (a basis for peace and justice). It challenges readers to measure loyalty by its inclusiveness and to see global responsibility as a higher form of devotion than national self-congratulation.