Reason And Passion / Kahlil Gibran

AND the priestess spoke again and said: Speak to us of Reason and Passion. 

And he answered, saying: 

Your soul is oftentimes a battlefield, upon which your reason and your judgment wage war against your passion and your appetite. 

Would that I could be the peacemaker in your soul, that I might turn the discord and the rivalry of your elements into oneness and melody. 

But how shall I, unless you yourselves be also the peacemakers, nay, the lovers of all your elements?

Freedom / Kahlil Gibran

AND an orator said, Speak to us of Freedom. 

And he answered: 

At the city gate and by your fireside I have seen you prostrate yourself and worship your own freedom, 

Even as slaves humble themselves before a tyrant and praise him though he slays them. 

Aye, in the grove of the temple and in the shadow of the citadel I have seen the freest among you wear their freedom as a yoke and a handcuff. 

Laws / Kahlil Gibran

THEN a lawyer said, But what of our Laws, master? 

And he answered: 

You delight in laying down laws, 

Yet you delight more in breaking them. 

Like children playing by the ocean who build sand-towers with constancy and then destroy them with laughter. 

But while you build your sand-towers the ocean brings more sand to the shore, 

And when you destroy them the ocean laughs with you. 

Crime And Punishment / Kahlil Gibran

THEN one of the judges of the city stood forth and said, Speak to us of Crime and Punishment. 

And he answered, saying: 

It is when your spirit goes wandering upon the wind, 

That you, alone and unguarded, commit a wrong unto others and therefore unto yourself. 

And for that wrong committed must you knock and wait a while unheeded at the gate of the blessed. 

Like the ocean is your god-self;

It remains for ever undefiled.

Buying And Selling / Kahlil Gibran

AND a merchant said, Speak to us of Buying and Selling. 

And he answered and said: 

To you the earth yields her fruit, and you shall not want if you but know how to fill your hands. 

It is in exchanging the gifts of the earth that you shall find abundance and be satisfied. 

Yet unless the exchange be in love and kindly justice it will but lead some to greed and others to hunger. 

When in the market-place you toilers of the sea and fields and

Clothes / Kahlil Gibran

AND the weaver said, Speak to us of Clothes. 

And he answered: 

Your clothes conceal much of your beauty, yet they hide not the unbeautiful. 

And though you seek in garments the freedom of privacy you may find in them a harness and a chain.

Would that you could meet the sun and the wind with more of your skin and less of your raiment. 

For the breath of life is in the sunlight and the hand of life is in the wind. 

Houses / Kahlil Gibran

THEN a mason came forth and said, Speak to us of Houses. 

And he answered and said: 

Build of your imaginings a bower in the wilderness ere you build a house within the city walls. 

For even as you have home-comings in your twilight, so has the wanderer in you, the ever distant and alone. 

Your house is your larger body. 

It grows in the sun and sleeps in the stillness of the night; and it is not dreamless. 

Joy And Sorrow / Kahlil Gibran

THEN a woman said, Speak to us of Joy and Sorrow. 

And he answered: 

Your joy is your sorrow unmasked. 

And the selfsame well from which your laughter rises was oftentimes filled with your tears. 

And how else can it be? 

The deeper that sorrow carves into your being, the more joy you can contain. 

Is not the cup that holds your wine the very cup that was burned in the potter's oven? 

Work / Kahlil Gibran

THEN a Ploughman said, Speak to us of Work. 

And he answered, saying: 

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

For to be idle is to become a stranger unto the seasons, and to step out of life's procession that marches in majesty and proud submission towards the infinite. 

When you work you are a flute through whose heart the whispering of the hours turns to music.

Eating And Drinking / Kahlil Gibran

Giving / Kahlil Gibran

THEN said a rich man, Speak to us of Giving. 

And he answered: 

You give but little when you give of your possessions. 

It is when you give of yourself that you truly give. 

For what are your possessions but things you keep and guard for fear you may need them to morrow? 

And to-morrow, what shall to-morrow bring to the over-prudent dog burying bones in the trackless sand as he follows the pilgrims to the holy city? 

Children / Kahlil Gibran

AND a woman who held a babe against her bosom said, Speak to us of Children. 

And he said: 

Your children are not your children. 

They are the sons and daughters of Life's longing for itself. 

They come through you but not from you, 

And though they are with you yet they belong not to you. 

You may give them your love but not your thoughts,

For they have their own thoughts.

Marriage / Kahlil Gibran

THEN Almitra spoke again and said, And what of Marriage, master? 

And he answered saying: 

You were born together, and together you shall be for evermore. 

You shall be together when the white wings of death scatter your days. 

Aye, you shall be together even in the silent memory of God. 

But let there be spaces in your togetherness. 

And let the winds of the heavens dance between you. 

Love one another, but make not a bond of love:

Love / Kahlil Gibran

THEN said Almitra, Speak to us of Love. 

And he raised his head and looked upon the people, and there fell a stillness upon them. And with a great voice he said: 

When love beckons to you, follow him, 

Though his ways are hard and steep. 

And When his wings enfold you yield to him, 

Though the sword hidden among his pinions may wound you. 

And When he speaks to you believe in him, 

Though his voice may shatter your dreams as the north wind lays waste the garden.