Treasured Writings of Kahlil Gibran

by Kahlil Gibran

Is scented with cleanliness.

  Relate not the tales of wealth and

  Greatness, for my soul is rich

  With bounty and great with God’s glory.

  Speak not of peoples and laws and

  Kingdoms, for the whole earth is

  My birthplace and all humans are

  My brothers.

  Go from me, for you are taking away

  Life-giving repentance and bringing

  Needless words.

  A LOVER’S CALL

  WHERE are you, my beloved? Are you in that little

  Paradise, watering the flowers who look upon you

  As infants look upon the breast of their mothers?

  Or are you in your chamber where the shrine of

  Virtue has been placed in your honour, and upon

  Which you offer my heart and soul as sacrifice?

  Or amongst the books, seeking human knowledge,

  While you are replete with heavenly wisdom?

  Oh companion of my soul, where are you? Are you

  Praying in the temple? Or calling Nature in the

  Field, haven of your dreams?

  Are you in the huts of the poor, consoling the

  Broken-hearted with the sweetness of your soul, and

  Filling their hands with your bounty?

  You are God’s spirit everywhere;

  You are stronger than the ages.

  Do you have memory of the day we met, when the halo of

  Your spirit surrounded us, and the Angels of Love

  Floated about, singing the praise of the soul’s deeds?

  Do you recollect our sitting in the shade of the

  Branches, sheltering ourselves from Humanity, as the ribs

  Protect the divine secret of the heart from injury?

  Remember you the trails and forest we walked, with hands

  Joined, and our heads leaning against each other, as if

  We were hiding ourselves within ourselves?

  Recall you the hour I bade you farewell,

  And the Miriamite kiss you placed on my lips?

  That kiss taught me that joining of lips in Love

  Reveals heavenly secrets which the tongue cannot utter!

  That kiss was introduction to a great sigh,

  Like the Almighty’s breath that turned earth into man.

  That sigh led my way into the spiritual world,

  Announcing the glory of my soul; and there

  It shall perpetuate until again we meet.

  I remember when you kissed me and kissed me,

  With tears coursing your cheeks, and you said,

  “Earthly bodies must often separate for earthly purpose,

  And must live apart impelled by worldly intent.

  “But the spirit remains joined safely in the hands of

  Love, until death arrives and takes joined souls to God.

  “Go, my beloved; Love has chosen you her delegate;

  Obey her, for she is Beauty who offers to her follower

  The cup of the sweetness of life.

  As for my own empty arms, your love shall remain my

  Comforting groom; your memory, my Eternal wedding.”

  Where are you now, my other self? Are you awake in

  The silence of the night? Let the clean breeze convey

  To you my heart’s every beat and affection.

  Are you fondling my face in your memory? That image

  Is no longer my own, for Sorrow has dropped his

  Shadow on my happy countenance of the past.

  Sobs have withered my eyes which reflected your beauty

  And dried my lips which you sweetened with kisses.

  Where are you, my beloved? Do you hear my weeping

  From beyond the ocean? Do you understand my need?

  Do you know the greatness of my patience?

  Is there any spirit in the air capable of conveying

  To you the breath of this dying youth? Is there any

  Secret communication between angels that will carry to

  You my complaint?

  Where are you, my beautiful star? The obscurity of life

  Has cast me upon its bosom; sorrow has conquered me.

  Sail your smile into the air; it will reach and enliven me!

  Breathe your fragrance into the air; it will sustain me!

  Where are you, my beloved?

  Oh, how great is Love!

  And how little am I!

  THE BEAUTY OF DEATH

  Dedicated to M. E. H.

  PART ONE — THE CALLING

  LET ME sleep, for my soul is intoxicated with love, and

  Let me rest, for my spirit has had its bounty of days and nights;

  Light the candles and burn the incense around my bed, and

  Scatter leaves of jasmine and roses over my body;

  Embalm my hair with frankincense and sprinkle my feet with perfume,

  And read what the hand of Death has written on my forehead.

  Let me rest in the arms of Slumber, for my open eyes are tired;

  Let the silver-stringed lyre quiver and soothe my spirit;

  Weave from the harp and lute a veil around my withering heart.

  Sing of the past as you behold the dawn of hope in my eyes, for

  Its magic meaning is a soft bed upon which my heart rests.

  Dry your tears, my friends, and raise your heads as the flowers

  Raise their crowns to greet the dawn.

  Look at the bride of Death standing like a column of light

  Between my bed and the infinite;

  Hold your breath and listen with me to the beckoning rustle of

  Her white wings.

  Come close and bid me farewell; touch my eyes with smiling lips.

  Let the children grasp my hands with soft and rosy fingers;

  Let the aged place their veined hands upon my head and bless me;

  Let the virgins come close and see the shadow of God in my eyes,

  And hear the echo of His will racing with my breath.

  PART TWO — THE ASCENDING

  I have passed a mountain peak and my soul is soaring in the

  Firmament of complete and unbound freedom;

  I am far, far away, my companions, and the clouds are

  Hiding the hills from my eyes.

  The valleys are becoming flooded with an ocean of silence, and the

  Hands of oblivion are engulfing the roads and the houses;

  The prairies and fields are disappearing behind a white spectre

  That looks like the spring cloud, yellow as the candlelight

  And red as the twilight.

  The songs of the waves and the hymns of the streams

  Are scattered, and the voices of the throngs reduced to silence;

  And I can hear naught but the music of Eternity

  In exact harmony with the spirit’s desires.

  I am cloaked in full whiteness;

  I am in comfort; I am in peace.

  PART THREE — THE REMAINS

  Unwrap me from this white linen shroud and clothe me

  With leaves of jasmine and lilies;

  Take my body from the ivory casket and let it rest

  Upon pillows of orange blossoms.

  Lament me not, but sing songs of youth and joy;

  Shed not tears upon me, but sing of harvest and the winepress;

  Utter no sigh of agony, but draw upon my face with your

  Finger the symbol of Love and Joy.

  Disturb not the air’s tranquility with chanting and requiems,

  But let your hearts sing with me the song of Eternal Life;

  Mourn me not with apparel of black,

  But dress in colour and rejoice with me;

  Talk not of my departure with sighs in your hearts; close

  Your eyes and you will see me with you forevermore.

  Place me upon clusters of leaves and

  Carry me upon your friendly shoulders and />
  Walk slowly to the deserted forest.

  Take me not to the crowded burying ground lest my slumber

  Be disrupted by the rattling of bones and skulls.

  Carry me to the cypress woods and dig my grave where violets

  And poppies grow not in the other’s shadow;

  Let my grave be deep so that the flood will not

  Carry my bones to the open valley;

  Let my grave be wide, so that the twilight shadows

  Will come and sit by me.

  Take from me all earthly raiment and place me deep in my

  Mother Earth; and place me with care upon my mother’s breast.

  Cover me with soft earth, and let each handful be mixed

  With seeds of jasmine, lilies, and myrtle; and when they

  Grow above me and thrive on my body’s element they will

  Breathe the fragrance of my heart into space;

  And reveal even to the sun the secret of my peace;

  And sail with the breeze and comfort the wayfarer.

  Leave me then, friends—leave me and depart on mute feet,

  As the silence walks in the deserted valley;

  Leave me to God and disperse yourselves slowly, as the almond

  And apple blossoms disperse under the vibration of Nisan’s breeze.

  Go back to the joy of your dwellings and you will find there

  That which Death cannot remove from you and me.

  Leave this place, for what you see here is far away in meaning

  From the earthly world. Leave me.

  THE PALACE AND THE HUT

  PART ONE

  AS NIGHT fell and the light glittered in the great house, the servants stood at the massive door awaiting the coming of the guests; and upon their velvet garments shone golden buttons.

  The magnificent carriages drew into the palace park and the nobles entered, dressed in gorgeous raiment and decorated with jewels. The instruments filled the air with pleasant melodies while the dignitaries danced to the soothing music.

  At midnight the finest and most palatable foods were served on a beautiful table embellished with all kinds of the rarest flowers. The feasters dined and drank abundantly, until the sequence of the wine began to play its part. At dawn the throng dispersed boisterously, after spending a long night of intoxication and gluttony which hurried their worn bodies into their deep beds with unnatural sleep.

  PART TWO

  At eventide, a man attired in the dress of heavy work stood before the door of his small house and knocked at the door. As it opened, he entered and greeted the occupants in a cheerful manner, and then sat between his children who were playing at the fireplace. In a short time, his wife had the meal prepared and they sat at a wooden table consuming their food. After eating they gathered around the oil lamp and talked of the day’s events. When early night had lapsed, all stood silently and surrendered themselves to the King of Slumber with a song of praise and a prayer of gratitude upon their lips.

  A POET’S VOICE

  PART ONE

  THE POWER of charity sows deep in my heart, and I reap and gather the wheat in bundles and give them to the hungry.

  My soul gives life to the grapevine and I press its bunches and give the juice to the thirsty.

  Heaven fills my lamp with oil and I place it at my window to direct the stranger through the dark.

  I do all these things because I live in them; and if destiny should tie my hands and prevent me from so doing, then death would be my only desire. For I am a poet, and if I cannot give, I shall refuse to receive.

  Humanity rages like a tempest, but I sigh in silence for I know the storm must pass away while a sigh goes to God.

  Human kinds cling to earthly things, but I seek ever to embrace the torch of love so it will purify me by its fire and sear inhumanity from my heart.

  Substantial things deaden a man without suffering; love awakens him with enlivening pains.

  Humans are divided into different clans and tribes, and belong to countries and towns. But I find myself a stranger to all communities and belong to no settlement. The universe is my country and the human family is my tribe.

  Men are weak, and it is sad that they divide amongst themselves. The world is narrow and it is unwise to cleave it into kingdoms, empires, and provinces.

  Human kinds unite themselves only to destroy the temples of soul, and they join hands to build edifices for earthly bodies. I stand alone listening to the voice of hope in my deep self saying, “As love enlivens a man’s heart with pain, so ignorance teaches him the way to knowledge.” Pain and ignorance lead to great joy and knowledge because the Supreme Being has created nothing vain under the sun.

  PART TWO

  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.

  I sing the praise of my birthplace and long to see the home of my childhood; but if the people in that home refused to shelter and feed the needy wayfarer, I would convert my praise into anger and my longing into forgetfulness. My inner voice would say, “The house that does not comfort the needy is worthy of naught but destruction.”

  I love my native village with some of my love for my country; and I love my country with part of my love for the earth, all of which is my country; and I love the earth with all of myself because it is the haven of humanity, the manifest spirit of God.

  Humanity is the spirit of the Supreme Being on earth, and that humanity is standing amidst ruins, hiding its nakedness behind tattered rags, shedding tears upon hollow cheeks, and calling for its children with pitiful voice. But the children are busy singing their clan’s anthem; they are busy sharpening the swords and cannot hear the cry of their mothers.

  Humanity appeals to its people but they listen not. Were one to listen, and console a mother by wiping her tears, others would say, “He is weak, affected by sentiment.”

  Humanity is the spirit of the Supreme Being on earth, and that Supreme Being preaches love and good-will. But the people ridicule such teachings. The Nazarene Jesus listened, and crucifixion was his lot; Socrates heard the voice and followed it, and he too fell victim in body. The followers of The Nazarene and Socrates are the followers of Deity, and since people will not kill them, they deride them, saying, “Ridicule is more bitter than killing.”

  Jerusalem could not kill The Nazarene, nor Athens Socrates; they are living yet and shall live eternally. Ridicule cannot triumph over the followers of Deity. They live and grow forever.

  PART THREE

  Thou art my brother because you are a human, and we both are sons of one Holy Spirit; we are equal and made of the same earth.

  You are here as my companion along the path of life, and my aid in understanding the meaning of hidden Truth. You are a human, and, that fact sufficing, I love you as a brother. You may speak of me as you choose, for Tomorrow shall take you away and will use your talk as evidence for his judgment, and you shall receive justice.

  You may deprive me of whatever I possess, for my greed instigated the amassing of wealth and you are entitled to my lot if it will satisfy you.

  You may do unto me whatever you wish, but you shall not be able to touch my Truth.

  You may shed my blood and burn my body, but you cannot kill or hurt my spirit.

  You may tie my hands with chains and my feet with shackles, and put me in the dark prison, but you shall not enslave my thinking, for it is free, like the breeze in the spacious sky.

  You are my brother and I love you. I love you worshipping in your church, kneeling in your temple, and praying in your mosque. You and I and all are children of one religion, for the varied paths of religion are but the fingers of the loving hand of the Supreme Being, extended to all, offering completeness of spirit to all, anxious to receive all
.

  I love you for your Truth, derived from your knowledge; that Truth which I cannot see because of my ignorance. But I respect it as a divine thing, for it is the deed of the spirit. Your Truth shall meet my Truth in the coming world and blend together like the fragrance of flowers and become one whole and eternal Truth, perpetuating and living in the eternity of Love and Beauty.

  I love you because you are weak before the strong oppressor, and poor before the greedy rich. For these reasons I shed tears and comfort you; and from behind my tears I see you embraced in the arms of Justice, smiling and forgiving your persecutors. You are my brother and I love you.

  PART FOUR

  You are my brother, but why are you quarreling with me? Why do you invade my country and try to subjugate me for the sake of pleasing those who are seeking glory and authority?

  Why do you leave your wife and children and follow Death to the distant land for the sake of those who buy glory with your blood, and high honour with your mother’s tears?

  Is it an honour for a man to kill his brother man? If you deem it an honour, let it be an act of worship, and erect a temple to Cain who slew his brother Abel.

  Is self-preservation the first law of Nature? Why, then, does Greed urge you to self-sacrifice in order only to achieve his aim in hurting your brothers? Beware, my brother, of the leader who says, “Love of existence obliges us to deprive the people of their rights!” I say unto you but this: protecting others’ rights is the noblest and most beautiful human act; if my existence requires that I kill others, then death is more honourable to me, and if I cannot find someone to kill me for the protection of my honour, I will not hesitate to take my life by my own hands for the sake of Eternity before Eternity comes.

  Selfishness, my brother, is the cause of blind superiority, and superiority creates clanship, and clanship creates authority which leads to discord and subjugation.

  The soul believes in the power of knowledge and justice over dark ignorance; it denies the authority that supplies the swords to defend and strengthen ignorance and oppression—that authority which destroyed Babylon and shook the foundation of Jerusalem and left Rome in ruins. It is that which made people call criminals great men; made writers respect their names; made historians relate the stories of their inhumanity in manner of praise.

  The only authority I obey is the knowledge of guarding and acquiescing in the Natural Law of Justice.