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Gibran's Treasury #3
A Third Treasury of Kahlil Gibran
"Gibran's exquisite poetry and incisive commentaries are among the hummingbirds of literature. There are artful ponderings on the meaning of life and exploration of delicate personal situations. Master of mood and situation, Gibran plumbs the depths of both".--"Dallas Times-Herald". Lightning Print on Demand Title
452 pages, Paperback
First published April 1, 1974
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112 people want to read
About the author
Kahlil Gibran
1,341 books15.1k followersKahlil Gibran (Arabic:
جبران خليل جبران
) was a Lebanese-American artist, poet, and writer.
Born in the town of Bsharri in modern-day Lebanon (then part of Ottoman Mount Lebanon), as a young man he emigrated with his family to the United States where he studied art and began his literary career. In the Arab world, Gibran is regarded as a literary and political rebel. His romantic style was at the heart of a renaissance in modern Arabic literature, especially prose poetry, breaking away from the classical school. In Lebanon, he is still celebrated as a literary hero.
He is chiefly known in the English-speaking world for his 1923 book The Prophet, an early example of inspirational fiction including a series of philosophical essays written in poetic English prose. The book sold well despite a cool critical reception, gaining popularity in the 1930s and again, especially in the 1960s counterculture.
Gibran is the third best-selling poet of all time, behind Shakespeare and Lao-Tzu.
Born in the town of Bsharri in modern-day Lebanon (then part of Ottoman Mount Lebanon), as a young man he emigrated with his family to the United States where he studied art and began his literary career. In the Arab world, Gibran is regarded as a literary and political rebel. His romantic style was at the heart of a renaissance in modern Arabic literature, especially prose poetry, breaking away from the classical school. In Lebanon, he is still celebrated as a literary hero.
He is chiefly known in the English-speaking world for his 1923 book The Prophet, an early example of inspirational fiction including a series of philosophical essays written in poetic English prose. The book sold well despite a cool critical reception, gaining popularity in the 1930s and again, especially in the 1960s counterculture.
Gibran is the third best-selling poet of all time, behind Shakespeare and Lao-Tzu.
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
July 10, 2016
“Believing is a fine thing, but placing those beliefs into execution is a test of strength. Many are those who talk like the roar of the sea, but their lives are shallow and stagnant, like the rotting marshes. Many are those who left their heads above the mountain tops, but their spirits remain dormant in the obscurity of the caverns.”
“Beauty is not in the face;
Beauty is a light in the heart.”
“The coin which you drop into
The withered hand stretching toward
You is the only golden chain that
Binds your rich heart to the
Loving heart of God.”
“Death is an ending to the son of
The earth, but to the soul it is
The start, the triumph of Life.”
“He who does not see the angels and devils in the beauty and malice of life will be far removed from knowledge, and his spirit will be empty of affection.”
“God has made many doors opening into truth which He opens to all who knock upon them with hands of Faith.”
“Gold leads into gold, then into restlessness, and finally into crushing misery.”
“Hell is not in torture;
Hell is in an empty heart.”
No voice has ever roared so much from the east as did of Gibran. His pen was sharp, thorny and precise. Throwing critical venom at the strong as well as the weak. Chastising the strong for cruelty and urging the weak to shake off slavery. Gibran has dual personality. One was very loving, tender and romantic while the other was scornful and merciless as can be read in this and other works of Gibran. He was in every essence a brilliant critic who understood life all too well. He glorified life but loved the eternal rest of death. I personally loved this book because I learned so much about the author and people who were a part of his life. The women, friends and the family. I think the introduction given by the translator was brilliant. It sheds so much light on Gibran, his writings and how his thinking/philosophy came into being.
“Beauty is not in the face;
Beauty is a light in the heart.”
“The coin which you drop into
The withered hand stretching toward
You is the only golden chain that
Binds your rich heart to the
Loving heart of God.”
“Death is an ending to the son of
The earth, but to the soul it is
The start, the triumph of Life.”
“He who does not see the angels and devils in the beauty and malice of life will be far removed from knowledge, and his spirit will be empty of affection.”
“God has made many doors opening into truth which He opens to all who knock upon them with hands of Faith.”
“Gold leads into gold, then into restlessness, and finally into crushing misery.”
“Hell is not in torture;
Hell is in an empty heart.”
No voice has ever roared so much from the east as did of Gibran. His pen was sharp, thorny and precise. Throwing critical venom at the strong as well as the weak. Chastising the strong for cruelty and urging the weak to shake off slavery. Gibran has dual personality. One was very loving, tender and romantic while the other was scornful and merciless as can be read in this and other works of Gibran. He was in every essence a brilliant critic who understood life all too well. He glorified life but loved the eternal rest of death. I personally loved this book because I learned so much about the author and people who were a part of his life. The women, friends and the family. I think the introduction given by the translator was brilliant. It sheds so much light on Gibran, his writings and how his thinking/philosophy came into being.
January 1, 2026
When I was in deep in depression in my twenties, I was watching the television show “Boondocks” in which the main character - Huey - quoted a line from the poet Kahlil Gibran:
“Your pain is the breaking of the shell that encloses your understanding, even as the stone of the fruit must break so that its heart may stand in the sun, so must you know pain”
I was very intrigued by this poem and I immediately found the whole thing online. Little did I know that this line, and this poem more broadly would become a mantra by which I found life in the darkest of those times. I was introduced the entire book this poem came from, “The Prophet” in 2017 and that book became sacred to me and a set of meditations on life. Last Juneteenth at a local event my partner came across this treasury at the stand of a Lebanese seller and bought it for me knowing I liked “The Prophet”.
I think that this was the perfect book for someone like me that enjoyed some of Gibran’s art, but knew little about him or his philosophy beyond a skim of Wikipedia. Coming into the book not knowing much about Gibran, it was just enough information on his life and philosophies to build a basic framework when I move into reading his other writings. I am not sure if I would recommend it for a seasoned Gibran reader - though they might get more context on his writings by perusing this. I certainly think it is something that I will refer back to as I study his art and philosophy further.
The book is broken up into three sections. The first giving an overview of Gibran’s life and historical context, the second painstakingly pulling quotes from his work to find a through line of philosophy of different topics, and the third book more deeply examining Gibranism through the framework of comparative philosophy - mainly contextualizing him among his contemporaries, but ultimately including a multitude of philosophical comparisons. I would recommend this to anyone that is interested in philosophy, despite whether or not you agree with Gibran.
ANALYSIS:
As far as a book goes, I would say this was alright. The first two books were a bit dry and the second one in particular was difficult to get through without the context of the snippets being presented (though they were ultimately interesting to read) The absolute best and most interesting portion was the third book in the treasury. I am conclusively not a Gibranist, as he was dualistic/monotheistic and I tend towards Hegel in my pantheism. Reading about Gibran’s thoughts on religion and spirituality was very interesting though. He is admirable in his worship of beauty, his love of God & Jesus in a humanist way, his outspokenness against wealth & tyrannical institutions, etc. I think his tendency towards existentialism is one of the more interesting things I read about him and I have constructed a self-study to better understand some of his philosophies through his contemporaries (and his own literature of course!)
All in all, I will keep this book around as I feel it will be a helpful companion in learning more aobut this important and underrated figure!
“Your pain is the breaking of the shell that encloses your understanding, even as the stone of the fruit must break so that its heart may stand in the sun, so must you know pain”
I was very intrigued by this poem and I immediately found the whole thing online. Little did I know that this line, and this poem more broadly would become a mantra by which I found life in the darkest of those times. I was introduced the entire book this poem came from, “The Prophet” in 2017 and that book became sacred to me and a set of meditations on life. Last Juneteenth at a local event my partner came across this treasury at the stand of a Lebanese seller and bought it for me knowing I liked “The Prophet”.
I think that this was the perfect book for someone like me that enjoyed some of Gibran’s art, but knew little about him or his philosophy beyond a skim of Wikipedia. Coming into the book not knowing much about Gibran, it was just enough information on his life and philosophies to build a basic framework when I move into reading his other writings. I am not sure if I would recommend it for a seasoned Gibran reader - though they might get more context on his writings by perusing this. I certainly think it is something that I will refer back to as I study his art and philosophy further.
The book is broken up into three sections. The first giving an overview of Gibran’s life and historical context, the second painstakingly pulling quotes from his work to find a through line of philosophy of different topics, and the third book more deeply examining Gibranism through the framework of comparative philosophy - mainly contextualizing him among his contemporaries, but ultimately including a multitude of philosophical comparisons. I would recommend this to anyone that is interested in philosophy, despite whether or not you agree with Gibran.
ANALYSIS:
As far as a book goes, I would say this was alright. The first two books were a bit dry and the second one in particular was difficult to get through without the context of the snippets being presented (though they were ultimately interesting to read) The absolute best and most interesting portion was the third book in the treasury. I am conclusively not a Gibranist, as he was dualistic/monotheistic and I tend towards Hegel in my pantheism. Reading about Gibran’s thoughts on religion and spirituality was very interesting though. He is admirable in his worship of beauty, his love of God & Jesus in a humanist way, his outspokenness against wealth & tyrannical institutions, etc. I think his tendency towards existentialism is one of the more interesting things I read about him and I have constructed a self-study to better understand some of his philosophies through his contemporaries (and his own literature of course!)
All in all, I will keep this book around as I feel it will be a helpful companion in learning more aobut this important and underrated figure!
December 5, 2018
A nice dance into all things Gibran.
January 6, 2022
A good compilation of Gibrans poems and commentaries. The book guarantees a lot of food for thought and things to ponder. Worth a read.
March 12, 2013
This is a must read from Gibran's Work. This book is a collection of Multiple ideas, Quotations, comparative discussions about Philosophers and Poets. Also a good combination of what different thinkers said about the same issue in different ways..
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews