Quotes From "The Prophet" By Kahlil Gibran

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Let there be spaces in your togetherness, And let the winds of the heavens dance between you. 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. Sing and dance together and be joyous, but let each one of you be alone, Even as the strings of a lute are alone though they quiver with the same music. Give your hearts, but not into each other's keeping. For only the hand of Life can contain your hearts. And stand together, yet not too near together: For the pillars of the temple stand apart, And the oak tree and the cypress grow not in each other's shadow. Kahlil Gibran
Love one another, but make not a bond of love:...
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Love one another, but make not a bond of love: Let it rather be a moving sea between the shores of your souls. Kahlil Gibran
And think not you can direct the course of love,...
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And think not you can direct the course of love, for love, if it finds you worthy, directs your course. Kahlil Gibran
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When 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.. But if in your fear you would seek only love’s peace and love’s pleasure, Then it is better for you that you cover your nakedness and pass out oflove’s threshing-floor, Into the seasonless world where you shall laugh, but not all of your laughter, and weep, but not all of your tears.. 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. . Kahlil Gibran
You talk when you cease to be at peace with...
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You talk when you cease to be at peace with your thoughts. Kahlil Gibran
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No man can reveal to you aught but that which already lies half asleep in the dawning of your knowledge. The teacher who walks in the shadow of the temple, among his followers, gives not of his wisdom but rather of his faith and his lovingness. If he is indeed wise he does not bid you enter the house of his wisdom, but rather leads you to the threshold of your own mind. Kahlil Gibran
He who is more mindful of one, loses the love...
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He who is more mindful of one, loses the love and the faith of both. Kahlil Gibran
He who wears his morality but as his best garment...
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He who wears his morality but as his best garment were better naked. The wind and the sun will tear no holes in his skin. Kahlil Gibran
For Reason, ruling alone, is a force confining; and Passion,...
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For Reason, ruling alone, is a force confining; and Passion, unattended, is a flame that burns to its own destruction. Kahlil Gibran
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I tell you as well as myself: what we see with our own eyes is nothing other than a cloud concealing what we should perceive with our inner sight, while what we listen to with our ears is merely a ringing sound disturbing what we should understand with our hearts. When we see a man being taken to prion by a police officer let us not hasten to assume he is a wrong-doer. When we see a corpse, and a man standing beside it with bloodstained hands, let us not conclude that this is a victim and his assassin. When we hear one man singing and another lamenting, let us ascertain which one of the two is truly happy. . Kahlil Gibran
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Say not, “I have found the truth, ” but rather, “I have found a truth.” Say not, “I have found the path of the soul.” Say rather, “I have met the soul walking upon my path.” For the soul walks upon all paths. The soul walks not upon a line, neither does it grow like a reed. The soul unfolds itself, like a lotus of countless petals. Kahlil Gibran
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The hidden well-spring of your soul must needs rise and run murmuring to the sea; And the treasure of your infinite depths would be revealed to your eyes. But let there be no scales to weigh your unknown treasure; And seek not the depths of your knowledge with staff or sounding line. For self is a sea boundless and measureless. Say not, “I have found the truth, ” but rather, “I have found a truth.” Say not, “I have found the path of the soul.” Say rather, “I have met the soul walking upon my path.” For the soul walks upon all paths. The soul walks not upon a line, neither does it grow like a reed. The soul unfolds itself, like a lotus of countless petals. Kahlil Gibran
For what is it to die but to stand naked...
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For what is it to die but to stand naked in the wind and melt into the sun? Kahlil Gibran
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For what is it to die but to stand naked in the wind and to melt into the sun? And what is it to cease breathing but to free the breath from its restless tides, that it may rise and expand and seek God unencumbered? Only when you drink from the river of silence shall you indeed sing. And when you have reached the mountaintop, then you shall begin to climb. And when the earth shal claim your limbs, then shall you truly dance. Kahlil Gibran
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Some of you say, “Joy is greater than sorrow, ” and others say, “Nay, sorrow is the greater.” But I say unto you, they are inseparable. Together they come, and when one sits alone with you at your board, remember that the other is asleep upon your bed. Kahlil Gibran
You give but little when you give of your possessions....
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You give but little when you give of your possessions. It is when you give of yourself that you truly give. Kahlil Gibran
Beauty is eternity gazing at itself in a mirror. But...
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Beauty is eternity gazing at itself in a mirror. But you are eternity and you are the mirror. Kahlil Gibran
When you part from your friend, you grieve not; For...
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When you part from your friend, you grieve not; For that which you love most in him may be clearer in his absence, asthe mountain to the climber is clearer from the plain. Kahlil Gibran
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We wanderers, ever seeking the lonelier way, begin no day where we have ended another day; and no sunrise finds us where sunset left us. Even while the earth sleeps we travel. We are the seeds of the tenacious plant, and it is in our ripeness and our fullness of heart that we are given to the wind and are scattered. Kahlil Gibran
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You have been told that, even like a chain, you are as weak as your weakest link. This is but half the truth. You are also as strong as your strongest link. To measure you by your smallest deed is to reckon the power of the oceanby the frailty of its foam. To judge you by your failures is to cast blame upon the seasons for their inconstancy. Kahlil Gibran
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Your reason and your passion are the rudder and the sails of your seafaring soul. If either your sails or your rudder be broken, you can but toss and drift, or else be held at a standstill in mid-seas. For reason, ruling alone, is a force confining; and passion, unattended, is a flame that burns to its own destruction. Therefore let your soul exalt your reason to the height of passion, that it may sing; And let it direct your passion with reason, that your passion may live through its own daily resurrection, and like the phoenix rise above its own ashes. . Kahlil Gibran
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You talk when you cease to be at peace with your thoughts; And when you can no longer dwell in the solitude of your heart you live in your lips, and sound is a diversion and a pastime. And in much of your talking, thinking is half murdered. Kahlil Gibran
No man can reveal to you aught but that which...
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No man can reveal to you aught but that which already lies half asleep in the dawning of your knowledge. Kahlil Gibran
I love you when you bow in your mosque, kneel...
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I love you when you bow in your mosque, kneel in your temple, pray in your church. For you and I are sons of one religion, and it is the spirit. Kahlil Gibran
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And if you would know God, be not therefore a solver of riddles. Rather look about you and you shall see Him playing with your children. And look into space; you shall see Him walking in the cloud, outstretching His arms in the lightning and descending in rain. You shall see Him smiling in flowers, then rising and waving His hands in trees. Kahlil Gibran
The lust for comfort kills the passions of the soul.
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The lust for comfort kills the passions of the soul. Kahlil Gibran
The timeless in you is aware of life's timelessness. And...
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The timeless in you is aware of life's timelessness. And knows that yesterday is but today's memory and tomorrow is today's dream. Kahlil Gibran
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For what is your friend that you should seek him with hours to kill? Seek him always with hours to live. For it is his to fill your need, but not your emptiness. And in th sweetness of friendship let there be laughter, and sharing of pleasures. For in the dew of little things the heart finds its morning and is refreshed. Kahlil Gibran
For how can a tyrant rule the free and the...
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For how can a tyrant rule the free and the proud, but for a tyranny in their own freedom and a shame in their own pride? Kahlil Gibran
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Beauty is not a need but an ecstasy. It is not a mouth thirsting nor an empty hand stretched forth, But rather a heart inflamed and a soul enchanted. It is not the image you would see nor the song you would hear, But rather an image you see though you close your eyes and a song you hear though you shut your ears. It is not the sap within the furrowed bark, nor a win attached to a claw, But rather a garden forever in bloom and a flock of angels forever in flight. Beauty is life when life unveils her holy face. But you are life and you are the veil. Beauty is eternity gazing at itself in the mirror. But you are eternity and you are the mirror. Kahlil Gibran
Beauty is life when life unveils her holy face. But...
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Beauty is life when life unveils her holy face. But you are life and you are the veil. Beauty is eternity gazing at itself in a mirror. But you are eternity and you are the mirror. Kahlil Gibran
Your soul is oftentimes a battlefield, upon your reason and...
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Your soul is oftentimes a battlefield, upon your reason and your judgment wage war against your passion and your appetite. Kahlil Gibran
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Oftentimes in denying yourself pleasure you do but store the desire in the recesses of your being. Who knows but that which seems omitted today, waits for tomorrow? Even your body knows its heritage and its rightful need and will not be deceived. And your body is the harp of your soul, And it is yours to bring forth sweet music from it or confused sounds. Kahlil Gibran
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When you work you fulfill a part of earth's furthest dream, assigned to you when that dream was born, And what is it to work with love? It is to weave the cloth with threads drawn from your heart, even as if your beloved were to wear that cloth. It is to build a house with affection, even as if your beloved were to dwell in that house. It is to sow seeds with tenderness and reap the harvest with joy, even as if your beloved were to eat the fruit. It is to charge all things you fashion with a breath of your own spirit. Work is love made visible . Kahlil Gibran
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Then a ploughman said , speak to us of work : in keeping yourself with labour you are in truth loving life , And to love life throught labour is to be intimate with inmost secrets .And what is it to work with love ?it is to weave the colth with threads from your heart , even as if your beloved were to wear that colth .It is to build a house with affection , even as if your beloved were to dwell in that house .It is to sow seeds with tenderness and reap the harvest with joy , even as if your beloved were to eat the fruit .It is to change all things you fashion with a breath of your own spirit .He who works in marble , and finds the shape of his own soul in the stone , is nobler than he who ploughs the soil. Kahlil Gibran
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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 know pain. Much of your pain is self-chosen. It is the bitter potion by which the physician within you heals your sick self. Therefore trust the physician, and drink his remedy in silence and tranquillity: For his hand, though heavy and hard, is guided by the tender hand of the Unseen, And the cup he brings, though it burn your lips, has been fashioned of the clay which the Potter has moistened with His own sacred tears. Kahlil Gibran
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Could you keep your heart in wonder at the daily miracles of your life, your pain would not seem less wondrous than your joy; Kahlil Gibran
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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 know pain. Kahlil Gibran
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The deeper that sorrow carves into your being, the more joy you can contain. Is not the cup that holds your wine the very cup that was burned in the potters oven? And is not the lute that soothes your spirits the very wood that was hollowed with knives? Kahlil Gibran
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As the strings of a lute are apart though they quiver the same music. Kahlil Gibran
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Sing and dance together and be joyous, but let each one of you be alone. Even as the strings of a lute are alone though they quiver with the same music. Kahlil Gibran
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Your hearts know in silence the secrets of the days and nights. Kahlil Gibran
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Beauty is a thing of might and dread. Like the tempest she shakes the earth beneath us and the sky above us. Kahlil Gibran
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Suffer not yet our eyes to hunger for your face. Kahlil Gibran
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Your reason and your passion are the rudder and the sails of your seafaring soul. For reason, ruling alone, is a force confining; and passion, unattended, is a flame that burns to its own destruction. Therefore let your soul exalt your reason to the height of passion, that it may sing; And let it direct your passion with reason, that your passion may livethrough its own daily resurrection, and like the phoenix rise above its own ashes. And since you are a breath in God’s sphere, and a leaf in God’s forest, you too should rest in reason and move in passion. . Kahlil Gibran
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Reason, ruling alone, is a force confining; and passion, unattended, is a flame that burns to its own destruction. Kahlil Gibran
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When 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. Kahlil Gibran
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Accept the seasons of your heart, even as you have always accepted the seasons that pass over your fields. And you would watch with serenity through the winters of your grief. Kahlil Gibran
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In your winter you deny your spring, Kahlil Gibran
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Your children are not your children. They are the sons and daughters of Life's longing for itself. They come through you but not from you, And though they are with you yet they belong not to you. You may give them your love but not your thoughts, For they have their own thoughts. You may house their bodies but not their souls, For their souls dwell in the house of tomorrow, which you cannot visit, not even in your dreams. You may strive to be like them, but seek not to make them like you. For life goes not backward nor tarries with yesterday. You are the bows from which your childrenas living arrows are sent forth. The archer sees the mark upon the path of the infinite, and He bends you with His might that His arrows may go swift and far. Let your bending in the archer's hand be for gladness; For even as He loves the arrow that flies, so He loves also the bow that is stable. . Kahlil Gibran