Khalil Gibran Quotes

Beauty shall rise with the dawn from the east.

Prayer is the song of the heart. It reaches the ear of God even if it is mingled with the cry and the tumult of a thousand men.

Man is like the foam of the sea, that floats upon the surface of the water. When the wind blows, it vanishes, as if it had never been. Thus are our lives blown away by Death.

To love life through our labor is to be intimate with life's inmost secrets.

Why dispute what we shall be, when we know not even what we are.

Be like the flower, turn your faces to the sun.

When God created Man, he gave him Music as a language different from all other languages. And early man sang his glory in the wilderness; and drew the hearts of kings and moved them from their thrones.

I have passed the mountain peak and my soul is soaring in the firmament of Complete and unbounded freedom; I am in comfort, I am in peace.

Happiness is a myth we seek,
If manifested surely irks;
Like river speeding to the plain,
On its arrival slows and murks.
For man is happy only in
His aspiration to the heights;
When he attains his goal, he cools
And longs for other distant flights.

When you are sorrowful, look again.

In the mouth of Society are many diseased teeth, decayed to the bones of the jaws. But Society makes no effort to have them extracted and be rid of the affliction. It contents itself with gold fillings.

Every man is two men; one is awake in the darkness, the other asleep in the light.

Our pain carves out a larger space for love to fill.

You progress not through what has been done, but reaching towards what has yet to be done.

Love is a sacred mystery.
To those who love, it remains forever wordless;
But to those who do not love, it may be but a heartless jest.

They tell me: If you see a slave sleeping, do not wake him lest he be dreaming of freedom. I tell them: If you see a slave sleeping, wake him and explain to him freedom.

This for God and this for myself;
This for my soul, and this other for my body?

A minute moving among the patterns of beauty and the dreams of love is greater and more precious than an age filled with splendor granted by the weak to the strong.

When you look closely people are so strange & so complicated that they're actually beautiful.

How distant I am from people when I am with them, and how close when they are far away.

She danced the dance of flames and fire,
and the dance of swords and spears;
she danced the dance of stars and the dance of space,
and then she danced the dance of flowers in the wind.

He who requires urging to do a noble act will never accomplish it.

If indeed you must be candid, be candid beautifully.

Mother: the most beautiful word on the lips of mankind.

The heart's affections are divided like the branches of the cedar tree; if the tree loses one strong branch; it will suffer but it does not die; it will pour all its vitality into the next branch so that it will grow and fill the empty place.

He who repeats what he does not understand is no better than an ass that is loaded with books.

I learnt silence from the talkative

Darkness is dawn not yet born.

Fear of the devil is one way of doubting God.

Humanity is a river of light running from the ex-eternity to eternity.

Youth is a beautiful dream, on whose brightness books shed a blinding dust. Will ever the day come when the wise link the joy of knowledge to youth's dream? Will ever the day come when Nature becomes the teacher of man, humanity his book and life his school? Youth's joyous purpose cannot be fulfilled until that day comes. Too slow is our march toward spiritual elevation, because we make so little use of youth's ardor.

The truly just is he who feels half guilty of your misdeeds.

If the grandfather of the grandfather of Jesus had known what was hidden within him, he would have stood humble and awe-struck before his soul.

At ebb tide I wrote a line upon the sand, and gave it all my heart and all my soul. At flood tide I returned to read what I had inscribed and found my ignorance upon the shore.

Tears have cleansed my eyes, and errors have taught me the language of the hearts.

We shall never understand one another until we reduce the language to seven words.

Where is the justice of political power if it executes the murderer and jails the plunderer, and then itself marches upon neighboring lands, killing thousands and pillaging the very hills?

When I planted my pain in the field of patience it bore fruit of happiness.

The first thought of God was an angel. The first word of God was a man

Would that I were a dry well, and that the people tossed stones into me, for that would be easier than to be a spring of flowing water that the thirsty pass by, and from which they avoid drinking.

If your knowledge teaches you not to rise above human weakness and misery and lead your fellow man on the right path, you are indeed a man of little worth and will remain such till Judgment Day.

Real beauty lies in the spiritual accord that is called love which can exist between a man and a woman ...

Do not be merciful, but be just, for mercy is bestowed upon the guilty criminal, while Justice is all that the innocent man requires.

The earth is like a beautiful bride who needs no manmade jewels to heighten her loveliness ...

The universe is my country and the human family is my tribe.

The tears that you spill, the sorrowful, are sweeter than the laughter of snobs and the guffaws of scoffers.

My Lebanon is a flock of birds fluttering in the early morning as shepherds lead their sheep into the meadow & rising in the evening as farmers return from their fields and vineyards.You have your Lebanon and its people. I have my Lebanon and its people.

The envier praises me unknowingly.

Like the ocean is your god-self; It remains for ever undefiled. And like the ether it lifts but the winged. Even like the sun is your god-self; It knows not the ways of the mole nor seeks it the holes of the serpent. But your god-self does not dwell alone in your being. Much in you is still man, and much in you is not yet man, But a shapeless pigmy that walks asleep in the mist searching for its own awakening.

Love is a gracious host to his guests though to the unbidden his house is a mirage and a mockery.

He who understands you is greater kin to you than your own brother. For even your own kindred neither understand you nor know your true worth.

He that tries to seize an opportunity after it has passed him by is like one who sees it approach but will not go to meet it.

If it's a despot you would dethrone, see first that his throne erected within you is destroyed.

Death changes nothing but the mask that covers our faces.

The best of man is he who blushes when you praise him and remains silent when you defame him.

When you are born, your work is placed in your heart.

You are not enclosed within your bodies, nor confined to houses or fields. That which is you dwells above the mountain and roves with the wind ...

Some think I wink at them when I shut my eyes to avoid their sight.

The ageless melody, unheard, heals; the healing vision, unseen, leads; the true leaders, immortal, know ...

Sow a seed and the earth will yield you a flower. Dream your dream to the sky and it will bring you your beloved.

Education sows not seeds in you, but makes your seeds grow.

All things in this vast universe exist in you, with you, and for you.

I am one of those who believe that spiritual progress is a rule of human life, but the approach to perfection is slow and painful. If a woman elevates herself in one respect and is retarded in another, it is because the rough trail that leads to the mountain peak is not free of ambushes of thieves and lairs of wolves.

No man can reveal to you nothing but that which already lies half-asleep in the dawning of your knowledge.

Each day look into your conscience and amend your faults; if you fail in this duty you will be untrue to the Knowledge and Reason that are within you. Keep a watchful eye over yourself as if you were your own enemy; for you cannot learn to govern yourself, unless you first learn to govern your own passions and obey the dictates of your conscience.

There is no secret in the mystery of life stronger and more beautiful than that attachment which converts the silence of a virgin's spirit into a perpetual awareness that makes a person forget the past, for it kindles fiercely in the heart the sweet and overwhelming hope of the coming future.

You work that you may keep peace with the earth and the soul of the earth.

Poverty is a veil that obscures the face of greatness. An appeal is a mask covering the face of tribulation.

If we were to all sit in a circle and confess our sins, we would laugh at each other for lack of originality.

The brooks flow to their lover, the sea, and the flowers smile at the object of their passion, the light. The mist rolls down to its beloved, the valley. And I? In me is what brooks do not know, what flowers do not hear, what the mist does not apprehend. You see me alone in my love, solitary in my yearning.

Zeal is a volcano, the peak of which the grass of indecisiveness does not grow.

I once heard a learned man say, "Every evil has its remedy, except folly. To reprimand an obstinate fool or to preach to a dolt is like writing upon the water. Christ healed the blind, the halt, the palsied, and the leprous. But the fool He could not cure."

Life is but a sleep disturbed by dreaming, prompted by the will; the saddened soul with sadness hides it's secrets, and the gay, with thrill.

A shy failure is nobler than an immodest success.

Give your hearts, but not into each other's keeping,
For only the hand of God can contain your hearts.

The most solid stone in the structure is the lowest one in the foundation.

My friend, be not like him who sits by his fireside and watches the fire go out, then blows vainly upon the dead ashes. Do not give up hope or yield to despair because of that which is past, for to bewail the irretrievable is the worst of human frailties.

We are the sons of Sorrow; we are the poets and the prophets and the musicians.

What the soul knows is often unknown to the man who has a soul. We are infinitely more than we think.

Philosophy began when man ate the produce of the earth and suffered indigestion.

Be patient, for it is from doubt that knowledge is born.

Humanity looks upon Jesus the Nazarene as a poor-born Who suffered misery and humiliation with all of the weak. And He is pitied, for Humanity believes He was crucified painfully ... And all that Humanity offers to Him is crying and wailing and lamentation. For centuries Humanity has been worshiping weakness in the person of the Savior. The Nazarene was not weak! He was strong and is strong! But the people refuse to heed the true meaning of strength.

Love is not without its flaws. The stronger the love, the more it tests you. Compassion and empathy will make true love persist.

Those to whom worshiping is a window, to open but also to shut, have not yet visited the house of their souls whose windows are open from dawn to dawn.

Verily the kindness that gazes upon itself in a mirror turns to stone, and a good deed that calls itself by tender names becomes the parent to a curse.

God has bestowed upon you intelligence and knowledge. Do not extinguish the lamp of Divine Grace and do not let the candle of wisdom die out in the darkness of lust and error. For a wise man approaches with his torch to light up the path of mankind.

The longing for paradise is paradise itself.

Have you not heard of the man who was digging in the earth for roots and found a treasure?

Whoever would be a teacher of men let him begin by teaching himself before teaching others; and let him teach by example before teaching by word. For he who teaches himself and rectifies his own ways is more deserving of respect and reverence than he who would teach others and rectify their ways.

A look which reveals inward stress adds more beauty to the face, no matter how much tragedy and pain it bespeaks; but the face which, in silence, does not announce hidden mysteries is not beautiful, regardless of the symmetry of its features.

When you have solved all the mysteries of life you long for death, for it is but another mystery of life.

What of the old serpent who cannot shed his skin, and calls all others naked and shameless?

Now I realize that the trees blossom in Spring and bear fruit in Summer without seeking praise; and they drop their leaves in Autumn and become naked in Winter without fearing blame.

Everyone has experienced that truth: that love, like a running brook, is disregarded, taken for granted; but when the brook freezes over, then people begin to remember how it was when it ran, and they want it to run again.

Let passion fill your sails, but let reason be your rudder.

Braving obstacles and hardships is braver than retreat to tranquility.

He who denies his heritage, has no heritage

It is only when you are pursued that you become swift.

Do not keep crying when your love has been gone. You only need Smile because he had been given you the opportunity to meet someone who is better.

Knowledge cultivates your seeds and does not sow in your seeds.