Khalil Gibran Quotes

Madness is the first step towards unselfishness. Be mad and tell us what is behind the veil of "sanity". The purpose of life is to bring us closer to those secrets, and madness is the only means.

He who has not looked on Sorrow will never see Joy.

You would know the secret of death. But how shall you find it unless you seek it in the heart of life.

Many are the places of worship, but few indeed are those who worship in Spirit and in truth.

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.

Marriage is like a temple resting on two pillars. If they come too close to each other the temple will collapse.

Your freedom when it loses its fetters becomes itself the fetter of a greater freedom.

The lights of stars that were extinguished ages ago still reaches us. So it is with great men who died centuries ago, but still reach us with the radiations of their personalities.

The saint and the sinner are twin brothers...one was born but the moment before the other.

He who defines his conduct by ethics imprisons his song-bird in a cage.

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.

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

Verily all things move within your being in constant half embrace, the desired and the dreaded, the repugnant and the cherished, the pursued and that which you would escape.

He who passes not his days in the realm of dreams is the slave of the days.

Braving obstacles and hardships is braver than retreat to tranquility.

Wit is often a mask. If you tear it you will find either genius irritated or cleverness juggling.

No lower can a man descend than to interpret his dreams into gold and silver.

You who are strong and swift, see that you do not limp before the lame, deeming it kindness.

Life has two halves: one patient and one afire. Love is the fiery half. Make me, O Lord, food for the flames.

What is this world that is hastening me toward I know not what, viewing me with contempt?

In every aspect of the day Jesus was aware of the Father. He beheld Him in the clouds and in the shadows of the clouds that pass over the earth.

Love gives naught but itself and takes naught but from itself.

What difference is there between us, save a restless dream that follows my soul but fears to come near you?

Which of you would be silent - when all else sings together in unison?

If you would behold the spirit of death, open your heart wide unto the body of life. For life and death are one, even as the river and sea are one.

If it were not for guests all houses would be graves.

I am the lover's gift; I am the wedding wreath; I am the memory of a moment of happiness; I am the last gift of the living to the dead; I am a part of joy and a part of sorrow.

Nor shall derision prove powerful against those who listen to humanity or those who follow in the footsteps of divinity, for they shall live forever. Forever.

Wisdom stands at the turn in the road and calls upon us publicly, but we consider it false and despise its adherents.

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.

The true wealth of a nation lies not in it's gold or silver but in it's learning, wisdom and in the uprightness of its sons.

God has created several doors which open onto truth. He opens them to all those who knock on them with the hand of faith.

I use hate as a weapon to defend myself; had I been strong, I would never have needed that kind of weapon.

Strange that creatures without backbones have the hardest shells.

You see but your shadow when you turn your back to the sun.

I am a poet who composes what life proses, and who proses what life composes.

life unfolds itself in mysteries ways.

For a love to grow through the test of everyday living, one must respect that zone of privacy where one retires to relate to the inside instead of the outside.

Then it is also in my heart to be worthy of your hate.

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

And your fragrance shall be my breath, And together we shall rejoice through all the seasons.

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.

The longing for paradise is paradise itself.

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

Where can I find a man governed by reason instead of habits and urges?

Seek not the depths of your knowledge with staff or sounding line. For self is a sea boundless and measureless.

If your knowledge teaches you not the value of things, and frees you not from the bondage to matter, you shall never come near the throne of Truth.

Birth and Death are the two noblest expressions of bravery.

Is not dread of thirst when your well is full, the thirst that is unquenchable?

In the depth of your hopes and desires lies your silent knowledge of the beyond.