The Prophet

"Cadenced and vibrant with feeling, the words of Kahlil Gibran bring to one's ears the majestic rhythm of Ecclesiastes... If there is a man or woman who can read this book without a quiet acceptance of a great man's philosophy and a singing in the heart as of music born within, that man or woman is indeed dead to life and truth." -- Chicago Post From the Inside Flap A brilliant man's philosophy on love, marriage, joy and sorrow, time, friendship and much more. Originally published in 1923 - translated into more than 20 languages. With 12 full page drawings by Gibran. Kahlil Gibran was born in 1883 in Lebanon and died in New York in 1931. His family emigrated to the United States in 1895. In his early teens, the artistry of Gibran's drawings caught the eye of his teachers and he was introduced to the avant-garde Boston artist, photographer, and publisher Fred Holland Day, who encouraged and supported Gibran in his creative endeavors. A publisher used some of Gibran's drawings for book covers in 1898, and Gibran held his first art exhibition in 1904 in Boston. In 1908, Gibran went to study art with Auguste Rodin in Paris for two years, and he later studied art in Boston. While most of Gibran's early writing was in Arabic, most of his work published after 1918 was in English. Gibran's best-known work is The Prophet, a book composed of 28 poetic essays. Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved. ON LOVE Then said Almitra, Speak to us of Love.xa0And he raised his head and looked upon the peoxadple, and there fell a stillness upon them. And with a great voice he said:xa0When love beckons to you, follow him,Though his ways are hard and steep.And when his wings enfold you yield to him,Though the sword hidden among his pinions may wound you.And when he speaks to you believe in him,Though his voice may shatter your dreams as the north wind lays waste the garden.xa0xa0For even as love crowns you so shall he crucify you. Even as he is for your growth so is he for your pruning.xa0Even as he ascends to your height and caresses your tenderest branches that quiver in the sun,xa0So shall he descend to your roots and shake them in their clinging to the earth.xa0xa0Like sheaves of corn he gathers you unto himself.He threshes you to make you naked.He sifts you to free you from your husks.He grinds you to whiteness.He kneads you until you are pliant;And then he assigns you to his sacred fire, that you may become sacred bread for God’s sacred feast.xa0xa0All these things shall love do unto you that you may know the secrets of your heart, and in that knowledge become a fragment of Life’s heart.xa0xa0But if in your fear you would seek only love’s peace and love’s pleasure,xa0Then it is better for you that you cover your naxadkedness and pass out of love’s threshing-floor,xa0Into the seasonless world where you shall laugh, but not all of your laughter, and weep, but not all of your tears.xa0xa0• • • xa0xa0Love gives naught but itself and takes naught but from itself.xa0Love possesses not nor would it be possessed;xa0For love is sufficient unto love.xa0xa0When you love you should not say, “God is in my heart,” but rather, “I am in the heart of God.”xa0And think not you can direct the course of love, for love, if it finds you worthy, directs your course.xa0xa0Love has no other desire but to fulfil itself.But if you love and must needs have desires, let these be your desires:To melt and be like a running brook that sings its melody to the night.To know the pain of too much tenderness.To be wounded by your own understanding of love;And to bleed willingly and joyfully.To wake at dawn with a winged heart and give thanks for another day of loving;To rest at the noon hour and meditate love’s ecxadstasy;To return home at eventide with gratitude;And then to sleep with a prayer for the beloved in your heart and a song of praise upon your lips. Read more