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The Treasured Writings of Kahlil Gibran

Kahlil Gibran

Top 10 Best Quotes

“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.”

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

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

“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.”

“Beauty is that which attracts your soul, and that which loves to give and not receive. When you meet Beauty, you feel that the hands deep within your inner self are stretched forth to bring her into the domain of your heart. It is a magnificence combined of sorrow and joy; it is the Unseen which you see, and the Vague which you understand, and the Mute which you hear-it is the Holy of Holies that begins in yourself and ends vastly beyond your earthly imagination.”

“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?”

“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.”

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Book Keywords:

isolation, love, connectedness, faith, war, humanity, courage, charity, hate, injustice, conviction, compassion, estrangement, patriotism

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