What do you think?
Rate this book
The Essential Kahlil Gibran: Aphorisms And Maxims
Book by Gibran, Kahlil
- GenresPhilosophyPoetry
112 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2005
14 people are currently reading
323 people want to read
About the author
Kahlil Gibran
1,355 books15.2k 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.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
May 17, 2020
Kahlil Gibran writing style remind me of Rumi's poems expecially about unconditional love that is very set afar from romantic love, very unromantic yet romantic. His philosophy is very similar with sufistic islamic values and i really thought he was muslim at first and i didnt know he was American until I recently search him on the internet. Rumi poems might be too hard for me to understand back then since word he choose was very deep but Kahlil Gibran give us something you can understood even if you translated his word into Indonesian. Very reccomended if you like poetry of words
December 12, 2012
I love his short simple words about life. I think about his quotes often.
December 11, 2018
I am so happy I found this book because I got to meet Gibran in it!
You could read the review of this gem and others on my blog! Follow IG: @bringabookhome!
Now let's dig in!
Whenever I love a book, I tend to become emotionally attached to it, and the Essential Gibran might be the perfect example. Before receiving it, I had only known Gibran Khalil Gibran by his prestigious reputation in the literary world, and his being a national symbol in Lebanon. However, this book was a 101 on everything Gibran: it starts with an introduction on his life, followed by selections from his Arabic translated work, selections from his English works, three of his translated Lebanese poems, selections from letters he wrote to and received from Ameen Rihani, May Ziadah and Mary Haskell and finally testimonials from the people who allegedly knew him best. The edition also includes sketches drawn by him throughout his life.
If I had known that everything I read after Gibran would seem so dull, I probably would’ve kept my deeper knowledge of him for a later stage in life. Nevertheless, my understanding of poetry and poetic prose had been forever tinted by his work, and however unfair it is, he is now a reference I go back to after everything I read and everything I write.
I will leave you with some of my favorite poems and quotes from each of his selections and letters.
From his Arabic works in translation
“Be still, my heart, be still until dawn.
Be still, for space is heavy with the odor of dead things and cannot inhale your living breath.”
From his English works
“Blessed, blessed are the thieves who stole my mask. Thus, I became a madman. And I have found both freedom and safety in my madness; the freedom of loneliness and the safety from being understood, for those who understand us enslave something in us”
“O Mist, my winged sister Mist, we are together now,
And together we shall be till life’s second day,
Whose dawn shall lay you, dewdrops in a garden,
And me a babe upon the breast of a woman,
And we shall remember.”
(This has to be my ultimate favorite poem so I couldn’t resist linking the full version of it: http://leb.net/mira/works/garden/gard... )
From letters to Mary Haskell
“Each and every one of us, dear Mary, has a resting place somewhere. The resting place of my soul is a beautiful grove where my knowledge of you lives.”
I hope you get to experience the thrilling adventure of love and magic that is Gibran Khalil Gibran. This is a book that you can easily pick up and read a random few pages off, and still be enchanted by it.
Enjoy and always bring a book home. x
You could read the review of this gem and others on my blog! Follow IG: @bringabookhome!
Now let's dig in!
Whenever I love a book, I tend to become emotionally attached to it, and the Essential Gibran might be the perfect example. Before receiving it, I had only known Gibran Khalil Gibran by his prestigious reputation in the literary world, and his being a national symbol in Lebanon. However, this book was a 101 on everything Gibran: it starts with an introduction on his life, followed by selections from his Arabic translated work, selections from his English works, three of his translated Lebanese poems, selections from letters he wrote to and received from Ameen Rihani, May Ziadah and Mary Haskell and finally testimonials from the people who allegedly knew him best. The edition also includes sketches drawn by him throughout his life.
If I had known that everything I read after Gibran would seem so dull, I probably would’ve kept my deeper knowledge of him for a later stage in life. Nevertheless, my understanding of poetry and poetic prose had been forever tinted by his work, and however unfair it is, he is now a reference I go back to after everything I read and everything I write.
I will leave you with some of my favorite poems and quotes from each of his selections and letters.
From his Arabic works in translation
“Be still, my heart, be still until dawn.
Be still, for space is heavy with the odor of dead things and cannot inhale your living breath.”
From his English works
“Blessed, blessed are the thieves who stole my mask. Thus, I became a madman. And I have found both freedom and safety in my madness; the freedom of loneliness and the safety from being understood, for those who understand us enslave something in us”
“O Mist, my winged sister Mist, we are together now,
And together we shall be till life’s second day,
Whose dawn shall lay you, dewdrops in a garden,
And me a babe upon the breast of a woman,
And we shall remember.”
(This has to be my ultimate favorite poem so I couldn’t resist linking the full version of it: http://leb.net/mira/works/garden/gard... )
From letters to Mary Haskell
“Each and every one of us, dear Mary, has a resting place somewhere. The resting place of my soul is a beautiful grove where my knowledge of you lives.”
I hope you get to experience the thrilling adventure of love and magic that is Gibran Khalil Gibran. This is a book that you can easily pick up and read a random few pages off, and still be enchanted by it.
Enjoy and always bring a book home. x
May 7, 2013
"Μια καρδιά θα καίγεται,μα δε θα γίνει στάχτη...μπορείς ν' αρκεστείς σε αυτό;"
July 16, 2015
- Absolutely the most beautiful prose
Read
February 6, 2016This is a book which can be read again and again. Keep it on your shelf ( or a table in my case) and pick it up and read a page or two randomly.
July 15, 2019
It is such a good book for everyone
November 23, 2023
"He who does not seek advice is a fool. His folly blinds him to truth and makes him evil, stubborn and a danger to his fellow man".
"The hearts affection 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".
"Beauty is not in the face; beauty is a light in the heart".
"I abstain from the people who consider insolence, bravery and tenderness cowardice. And I abstain from those who consider chatter wisdom and silence ignorance".
"The things which the child loves remain in the domain of the heart until old age. The most beautiful thing I our life is that our souls remain hovering over the places where we once enjoyed ourselves".
"Wisdom is not in words; wisdom is meaning within words".
"Happiness on earth is but a fleet, passing ghost, which man craves at any cost in gold or time. And when the phantom becomes the reality, man soon wearies of it".
"Remember one just man causes the devil greater affliction than a million blind believers".
“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.”
"The Reality of Life is Life itself, whose beginning is not in the womb, and whose ending is not in the grave. For the years that pass are naught but a moment in eternal life; and the world of matter and all in it is but a dream compared to the awakening which we call the terror of Death."
"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."
"The hearts affection 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".
"Beauty is not in the face; beauty is a light in the heart".
"I abstain from the people who consider insolence, bravery and tenderness cowardice. And I abstain from those who consider chatter wisdom and silence ignorance".
"The things which the child loves remain in the domain of the heart until old age. The most beautiful thing I our life is that our souls remain hovering over the places where we once enjoyed ourselves".
"Wisdom is not in words; wisdom is meaning within words".
"Happiness on earth is but a fleet, passing ghost, which man craves at any cost in gold or time. And when the phantom becomes the reality, man soon wearies of it".
"Remember one just man causes the devil greater affliction than a million blind believers".
“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.”
"The Reality of Life is Life itself, whose beginning is not in the womb, and whose ending is not in the grave. For the years that pass are naught but a moment in eternal life; and the world of matter and all in it is but a dream compared to the awakening which we call the terror of Death."
"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."
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 7, 2023
Timeless gems beckoning us to fall in love again and again.
With ourselves.
With ourselves.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews