The Prophet by Khalil Gibran
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
This is a combination of a narrative poem and a collection of morality poems. The story of the narrative poem is that a wise man (i.e. the Prophet), Almustafa, is about to sail away from his recent — but temporary — home on Orphalese, and he’s asked to speak on a range of topics so the people of Orphalese can gather his wisdom before he goes.
In 26 chapters, the prophet expounds on each topic upon which he is questioned. Topics include relationships, possessions, laws, religion, teaching, and death. The wisdom presented is practical, profound, and reflects a mystic sentiment (i.e. the idea that the divine is within us rather than something separate.) This is an extremely quotable volume. Among his responses, the Prophet says that one should not be too controlling in relationships, that one should not live life under the dictates of fear, that it’s not for one to determine what is moral for another, and that one should not engage in morality or worship for show.
I’ll keep my review short as the book is tiny and certainly worth your time. I’d recommend this book for all readers. I think it has some insight to offer just about anyone.
[Note: Some spell the author’s first name “Kahlil” and others “Khalil.” I picked one at random.]
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By B Gourley in Book Reviews, Books, Literature, Poetry, Review, Reviews, wisdom on March 20, 2018.
