Khalil Gibran

Then said Almitra, "Speak to us of Love." And he raised his head and looked upon the people, and there fell a stillness upon them.
And with a great voice he said:
When love beckons to you follow him,
Though his ways are…

Almustafa, the chosen and the beloved, who was a dawn onto his own day, had waited twelve years in the city of Orphalese for his ship that was to return and bear him back to the isle of his birth.
And in the twelfth year, on the seventh day…

In the ancient days, when the first quiver of speech came to my lips,
I ascended the holy mountain and spoke unto God, saying, "Master,
I am thy slave.
Thy hidden will is my law and I shall obey thee for ever more."But…

As the Sun withdrew his rays from the garden, and the moon threw cushioned beams upon the flowers,
I sat under the trees pondering upon the phenomena of the atmosphere, looking through the branches at the strewn stars which glittered like…

And a man said, "Speak to us of Self-Knowledge." And he answered, saying:
Your hearts know in silence the secrets of the days and the nights.
But your ears thirst for the sound of your heart's knowledge.
You would know in…

Then said a teacher, "Speak to us of Teaching." And he said:
No man can reveal to you aught but that which already lies half asleep in the dawning of our knowledge.
The teacher who walks in the shadow of the temple, among his…

And a woman spoke, saying, "Tell us of Pain." And he said:
Your pain is the breaking of the shell that encloses your understanding.
Even as the stone of the fruit must break, that its heart may stand in the sun, so must you…

I am dotted silver threads dropped from heaven By the gods.
Nature then takes me, to adorn Her fields and valleys.
I am beautiful pearls, plucked from the Crown of Ishtar by the daughter of Dawn To embellish the gardens.
When I cry…

Love has no other desire but to fulfill itself But if your 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.

Then a priestess said, "Speak to us of Prayer." And he answered, saying:
You pray in your distress and in your need; would that you might pray also in the fullness of your joy and in your days of abundance.
For what is prayer…

Then a woman said, "Speak to us of Joy and Sorrow." And he answered:
Your joy is your sorrow unmasked.
And the selfsame well from which your laughter rises was oftentimes filled with your tears.
And how else can it be?

Love is a magic ray emitted from the burning core of the soul and illuminating the surrounding earth.
It enables us to perceive life as a beautiful dream between one awakening and another.

Come, my beloved; let us walk amidst the knolls,
For the snow is water, and Life is alive from its Slumber and is roaming the hills and valleys.
Let us follow the footprints of Spring into the Distant fields, and mount the hilltops to…

A young man of strong body, weakened by hunger, sat on the walker's portion of the street stretching his hand toward all who passed, begging and repeating his hand toward all who passed, begging and repeating the sad song of his defeat in life,…

Then Almitra spoke, saying, "We would ask now of Death." And he said:
You would know the secret of death.
But how shall you find it unless you seek it in the heart of life?
The owl whose night-bound eyes are blind unto…

Love one another, but make not a bond of love.
Let it rather be a moving sea between the shores of your souls.
Fill each other's cup, but drink not from one cup.
Give one another of your bread, but eat not from the same loaf.

Then an old man, a keeper of an inn, said, "Speak to us of Eating and Drinking." And he said:
Would that you could live on the fragrance of the earth, and like an air plant be sustained by the light.
But since you must kill to…

Then a hermit, who visited the city once a year, came forth and said, "Speak to us of Pleasure." And he answered, saying:
Pleasure is a freedom song,
But it is not freedom.
It is the blossoming of your desires

And an old priest said, "Speak to us of Religion." And he said:
Have I spoken this day of aught else?
Is not religion all deeds and all reflection,
And that which is neither deed nor reflection, but a wonder and a…

In the depth of my soul there is A wordless song - a song that lives In the seed of my heart.
It refuses to melt with ink on Parchment; it engulfs my affection In a transparent cloak and flows,
But not upon my lips.
How can I sigh it?

And a merchant said, "Speak to us of Buying and Selling." And he answered and said:
To you the earth yields her fruit, and you shall not want if you but know how to fill your hands.
It is in exchanging the gifts of the earth…

Then one of the judges of the city stood forth and said, "Speak to us of Crime and Punishment." And he answered saying:
It is when your spirit goes wandering upon the wind,
That you, alone and unguarded, commit a wrong unto…

And the priestess spoke again and said: "Speak to us of Reason and Passion." And he answered saying:
Your soul is oftentimes a battlefield, upon which your reason and your judgment wage war against passion and your…

And an astronomer said, "Master, what of Time?" And he answered:
You would measure time the measureless and the immeasurable.
You would adjust your conduct and even direct the course of your spirit according to hours and…