The Treasured Writings of Kahlil Gibran

Have mercy on me, my Soul. You have shown me Beauty, But then concealed her. You and Beauty live in the light; Ignorance and I are bound together in the dark. Will e'er the light invade darkness? Your delight comes with the Ending, And you revel now in anticipation; But this body suffers with the life While in life. This, my Soul, is perplexing. You are hastening toward Eternity, But this body goes slowly toward perishment. You do not wait for him, And he cannot go quickly. This, my Soul, is sadness. You ascend high, though heaven's attraction, But this body falls by earth's gravity. You do not console him, And he does not appreciate you. This, my Soul, is misery. You are rich in wisdom, But this body is poor in understanding. You do not compromise, And he does not obey. This, my Soul, is extreme suffering. In the silence of the night you visit The Beloved And enjoy the sweetness of His presence. This body ever remains, The bitter victim of hope and separation. This, my Soul, is agonizing torture. Have mercy on me, my Soul!

Jesus was not sent here to teach the people to build magnificent churches and temples amidst the cold wretched huts and dismal hovels. He came to make the human heart a temple, and the soul an altar, and the mind a priest.

I am a stranger in this world, and there is a severe solitude and painful lonesomeness in my exile.

I deserted the world and sought solitude because I became tired of rendering courtesy to those multitudes who believe that humility is a sort of weakness, and mercy a kind of cowardice, and snobbery a form of strength.

Oh, heart, if one should say to you that the soul perishes like the body, answer that the flower withers, but the seed remains.

Forget not that the earth likes to feel your bare feet and the winds long to play with your hair. Khalil Gibran

The appearance of things change according to the emotions, and thus we see magic and beauty in them, while the magic and beauty are really in ourselves.

Believing is a fine thing, but putting those beliefs into execution is a test of strength.

Speak not of peoples and laws and Kingdoms, for the whole earth is My birthplace and all humans are My brothers.

I use hate as a weapon to defend myself; had I been strong, I would never have needed that kind of a weapon.

Theban who acquires his wealth by inheritance builds his mansion with the weak poor's money. The clergyman erects his temple upon the graves and bones of the devoted worshippers. The prince grasps the fellah's arms while the priest empties his pocket; the ruler looks upon the sobs of the fields with frowning face, and the bishop consoles them with his smile, and between the frown of the tiger and the smile of the wolf the flock is perished; the ruler claims himself as king if the law, and the priest as the representative if god, and between these two, the bodies are destroyed and the souls wither into nothing.

The chemist who can extract from his heart’s elements compassion, respect, longing, patience, regret, surprise, and forgiveness and compound them into one can create that atom which is called love.

The house that does not comfort the needy is worthy of naught but destruction.

I have a yearning for my beautiful country, and I love its people because of their misery. But if my people rose, stimulated by plunder and motivated by what they call "patriotic spirit" to murder, and invaded my neighbour's country, then upon the committing of any human atrocity I would hate my people and my country.

ACTION A little knowledge that acts is worth infinitely more than much knowled1ge that is idle. WM-ST-63

SPRING In every winter’s heart there is a quivering spring, and behind the veil of each night there is a smiling dawn. SP-ST-57

You often say, "I would give, but only to the deserving." The trees in your orchard say not so, nor the flocks in your pastures. They give that they may live, for to withhold is to perish.   They

Humanity is a brilliant river Singing its way and carrying with It the mountains' secrets into The heart of the sea; but you, My Countrymen, are stagnant Marshes invested with insects And vipers.

Hypocrisy is your religion, and Falsehood is your life, and Nothingness is your ending; why, Then, are you living? Is not Death the sole comfort of the Miserables?

One hour devoted to mourning and lamenting the Stolen equality of the weak is nobler than a Century filled with greed and usurpation.

Art is one step from the visibly known toward the unknown. MS-71

DEVIL Remember, one just man causes the Devil greater affliction than a million blind believers. WM-ST-62

FLOWERS The flowers of the field are the children of sun’s affection and nature’s love; and the children of men are the flowers of love and compassion. BW-ST-122

HELL Hell is not in torture; Hell is in an empty heart.    MS-74

Darkness may hide the trees and the flowers from the eyes but it cannot hide love from the soul. S

MADNESS Madness is the first step towards unselfishness. Be mad and tell us what is behind the veil of “sanity.” The purpose of life is to bring us closer to those secrets, and madness is the only means. SP-ST-62

MIMIC He who repeats what he does not understand is no better than an ass that is loaded with books. WM-ST-63

NIGHTINGALE The nightingale does not make his nest in a cage lest slavery be the lot of its chicks. BW-ST-122

TORCH The human soul is but a part of a burning torch which God separated from Himself at Creation. WM-ST-67