Customer Reviews

The Prophet

5 star:		(139)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

A prophet has waited twelve years in a coastal town for the ship that will bear him back to his homeland, which he misses.

Why he is there, why he is waiting, how he knows what he knows, and who he is is a mystery. As he departs the townspeople gather to wish him well. A local seeress who knows him best asks him to share his wisdom so that it will endure for generations to come.

So, he reveals his wisdom on love, birth, marriage, children, pain, talking, pleasure, death any so much more.

It is a profound work, and here is his advice on marriage so you may judge for yourself:

You were born together, and together you shall be forevermore.
You shall be together when 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:

Let it rather be a moving sea between the shores of your souls.
Fill each other's cup but drink not from one cup.

Give one another of your bread but eat not from the same loaf.
Sing and dance together and be joyous, but let each one of you be alone,

Even as the strings of a lute are alone though they quiver with the same music.
Give your hearts, but not into each other's keeping.

For only the hand of Life can contain your hearts.
And stand together, yet not too near together:

For the pillars of the temple stand apart,
And the oak tree and the cypress grow not in each other's shadow.

Its not a little similar to the Tao Te Ching, where a border guard recognises Lao Tzu, and asks him to share his wisdom as he goes into exile. Written 2,500 years ago, and one of the most translated books in the world. The Tao contains many principles you can use in your everyday life, and if you're not thinking in ego based ways, your wisdom based thinking opens up..

If you like one book, you will love the other, so I recommend both. For the Tao, I recommend the Stephen Mitchell version.

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If I have ever read a book that is timeless, other than the Word of God, it would have to be this one. Although I may not have agreed with every word written, so many of the words of wisdom within these pages brought peace and comfort to me.
I read this book many, many years ago. I quoted from it at times and thought of it often. The words seemed to wrap themselves around your heart and spring out in times of need. There are not many books that can stake that claim, and I have read many.

A classic in my opinion and a book that will never be outdated.

Recommended.

Khalil Gibran's The Prophet is a truly awe inspiring work of prosaic poetry. Despite being a native-born Arabic speaker, Gibran wrote The Prophet in English, ensuring that his powerful words lost nothing in translation.

The work's 28 short chapters recount the words of a prophet as he leaves his home to depart on a new journey. The words that flow from the prophet's mouth and onto the pages are philosophical and spiritual treatises on all aspects of life. Chapters discuss the range of human experiences and include discussions such as "On Friendship", "On Pain" and "On Death." What unites the 28 chapters is Gibran's thought provoking and probing literary style as Gibran's prophet invokes his listeners to live life to the fullest. The book is not overtly religious but every word and sentence is filled with a spiritual clarity.

The book is eminently quotable with every chapter providing a nugget of truth worthy of repeating. Amazingly, Gibran packs his masterpiece into less than 100 pages, making it a very quick and easy read. Readers will find themselves returning to The Prophet again and again to recapture the beauty of Gibran's words.

The Prophet, which Gibran himself recognized as his greatest masterpiece, is a timeless literary classic. Its truth has touched generations of readers and will undoubtedly continue to do so.

Amazing reed.
Great bedside book you can always look back on when you need to remember the world and life.
Highly Recomend.

An unusual departure of an imaginary prophet ... Saying goodbye, his people gather around him asking about human nature and life!!

The dialogue takes the form of questions and answers...which makes it a little monotonous...but the poetic language and the symbolic style of explanation takes your mind away and makes you wonder impatiently what the next question will be!!

An inspiring revelation of truths ..."Love one another, but make not a bond of love...Even as the strings of a lute are alone though they quiver with the same music"

The Prophet is one of my all-time favorite books. Gibran's writing is ingenious and The Prophet has definitely earned it's place in the canon of spiritual classics and masterpieces of the 20th century. Unfortunately, the audiobook version does not live up to the original text. Sparer's reading is blase' at best: uninteresting, uninspired and uninspiring ... plain dull. He merely read the words but put no heart or soul into them. I whole-heartedly recommend the book to everyone but the audiobook, no....I was very disappointed; I couldn't even finish listening. I wish someone would resurrect the Richard Harris recording -- that one was excellent!

The prevailing popularity of Gibran's PROPHET lies in only one secret: he writes his poems with readers in his mind. The compassionate poet I come to know through his lines, Gibran did not write to impress, shock or confuse but to communicate truth with highest poetic beauty. THE PROPHET addresses 27 essential subjects of life that concerns everyone - love, freedom, children, work, self-knowledge, friendship, time, beauty, death to name a few. I have this book for many years but this is a kind of poetry that ripens with time and each time you take a sip, it still surprises you with refreshing revelations. Also recommended are his less known books, A TEAR AND A SMILE, SAND AND FOAM and THE GARDEN OF THE PROPHET.

This is a beautiful piece of literature. It is in the top five of my favorite books. I have read it over and over again and each time I find new wisdom. Kahlil's words will strike your heart.

And excellent book. Although most people mistake the prophet for an eastern religion book (it is even classified under that heading in bookstores!), it is NOT! Gibran was born in Lebanon and was exposed to different religions and had a great insight into life and the way it ought to be lived. Gibrani was a great writer, philosopher, artist and a poet. I was very lucky enough to visit his house in the mountains of Lebanon (now a museum). I brought back pictures (cedars_liban@hotmail.com).

I was given this book by a writer friend who called it "the most beautiful book I've ever read." So, since she and I have similar literary tastes, I was inclined to read it. This little book, written in a rich, colorful, deep, and wise poetic style, is full of some of the most moving and impressive spiritual phrases and messages I've ever read. It was written in 1923 but its poetry and wisdom are timeless.

David Rehak
author of "Poems From My Bleeding Heart"