324 Quotes by Kahlil Gibran

It is well to give when asked, but it is better to give unasked, through understanding; And to the open-handed the search for one who shall receive is joy greater than giving.

Those who give you a serpent when you ask for a fish, may have nothing but serpents to give. It is then generosity on their part.

I have loved humanity, I have loved it so much. For me, there are three kinds of men; he who curses life, he who blesses it and he who contemplates it. I loved the first for his wretchedness, the second for his indulgence and the third for his perception.

Some believe that art is the imitation of nature; in fact, nature is so sublime that it cannot be imitated. However noble it may be, art cannot perform a single one of the miracles of nature. And besides, why imitate nature when it can be perceived by all those endowed with senses?

Man will be on the path to perfection when he feels that he is one with space that knows no bounds and with the ocean that has no shores; when he becomes that undying fire, that ever-gleaming light, that still air or that violent storm, those clouds charged with lightning, thunder and rain, those rivers merry or sad, those trees in bloom or shedding their leaves, those lands that rise up into mountains or slope down into valleys, those fields under seed or lying fallow.

I have come to learn about things that intrigue people through their strangeness. But barley did I find myself in you presence than I understood that life is none other than the different manifestations of the universal spirit.

Oftentimes I have hated in self-defense; but if I were stronger I would not have used such a weapon.

The most pitiful among men is he who turns his dreams into silver and gold.

I hope I will live long and be able to do some things worthy of giving to you who is giving so much to me.