The Madman - Kahlil Gibran (best feel good books .txt) 📗
- Author: Kahlil Gibran
- Performer: -
Book online «The Madman - Kahlil Gibran (best feel good books .txt) 📗». Author Kahlil Gibran
by and said to me, “Of all those who come here to bury, you alone
I like.”
Said I, “You please me exceedingly, but why do you like me?”
“Because,” said he, “They come weeping and go weeping—you only
come laughing and go laughing.”
On the Steps of the Temple
Yestereve, on the marble steps of the Temple, I saw a woman sitting
between two men. One side of her face was pale, the other was
blushing.
The Blessed City
In my youth I was told that in a certain city every one lived
according to the Scriptures.
And I said, “I will seek that city and the blessedness thereof.”
And it was far. And I made great provision for my journey. And
after forty days I beheld the city and on the forty-first day I
entered into it.
And lo! the whole company of the inhabitants had each but a single
eye and but one hand. And I was astonished and said to myself,
“Shall they of this so holy city have but one eye and one hand?”
then I saw that they too were astonished, for they were marveling
greatly at my two hands and my two eyes. And as they were speaking
together I inquired of them saying, “Is this indeed the Blessed
City, where each man lives according to the Scriptures?” And they
said, “Yes, this is that city.”
“And what,” said I, “hath befallen you, and where are your right
eyes and your right hands?”
And all the people were moved. And they said, “Come thou and see.”
And they took me to the temple in the midst of the city. and in
the temple I saw a heap of hands and eyes. All withered. Then said
I, “Alas! what conqueror hath committed this cruelty upon you?”
And there went a murmur amongst them. And one of their elders
stood forth and said, “This doing is of ourselves. God hath made
us conquerors over the evil that was in us.”
And he led me to a high altar, and all the people followed. And
he showed me above the altar an inscription graven, and I read:
“If thy right eye offend thee, pluck it out and cast it from thee;
for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish,
and not that the whole body should be cast into hell. And if thy
right hand offend thee, cut it off and cast it from thee; for it
is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and
not that thy whole body should be cast into hell.”
Then I understood. And I turned about to all the people and cried,
“Hath no man or woman among you two eyes or two hands?”
And they answered me saying, “No, not one. There is none whole save
such as are yet too young to read the Scripture and to understand
its commandment.”
And when we had come out of the temple, I straightway left that
Blessed City; for I was not too young, and I could read the scripture.
The Good God and the Evil God
The Good God and the Evil God met on the mountain top.
The Good God said, “Good day to you, brother.”
The Evil God did not answer.
And the Good God said, “You are in a bad humour today.”
“Yes,” said the Evil God, “for of late I have been often mistaken
for you, called by your name, and treated as if I were you, and it
ill-pleases me.”
And the Good God said, “But I too have been mistaken for you and
called by your name.”
The Evil God walked away curing the stupidity of man.
Defeat
Defeat, my Defeat, my solitude and my aloofness;
You are dearer to me than a thousand triumphs,
And sweeter to my heart than all world-glory.
Defeat, my Defeat, my self-knowledge and my defiance,
Through you I know that I am yet young and swift of foot
And not to be trapped by withering laurels.
And in you I have found aloneness
And the joy of being shunned and scorned.
Defeat, my Defeat, my shining sword and shield,
In your eyes I have read
That to be enthroned is to be enslaved,
and to be understood is to be leveled down,
And to be grasped is but to reach one’s fullness
and like a ripe fruit to fall and be consumed.
Defeat, my Defeat, my bold companion,
You shall hear my songs and my cries an my silences,
And none but you shall speak to me of the beating of wings,
And urging of seas,
And of mountains that burn in the night,
And you alone shall climb my steep and rocky soul.
Defeat, my Defeat, my deathless courage,
You and I shall laugh together with the storm,
And together we shall dig graves for all that die in us,
And we shall stand in the sun with a will,
And we shall be dangerous.
Night and the Madman
“I am like thee, O, Night, dark and naked; I walk on the flaming
path which is above my day-dreams, and whenever my foot touches
earth a giant oak tree comes forth.”
“Nay, thou art not like me, O, Madman, for thou still lookest
backward to see how large a foot-print thou leavest on the sand.”
“I am like thee, O, Night, silent and deep; and in the heart of
my loneliness lies a Goddess in child-bed; and in him who is being
born Heaven touches Hell.”
“Nay, thou art not like me, O, Madman, for thou shudderest yet
before pain, and the song of the abyss terrifies thee.”
“I am like thee, O, Night, wild and terrible; for my ears are crowded
with cries of conquered nations and sighs for forgotten lands.”
“Nay, thou art not like me, O, Madman, for thou still takest thy
little-self for a comrade, and with thy monster-self thou canst
not be friend.”
“I am like thee, O, Night, cruel and awful; for my bosom is lit
by burning ships at sea, and my lips are wet with blood of slain
warriors.”
“Nay, thou art not like me, O, Madman; for the desire for a
sister-spirit is yet upon thee, and thou has not become a low unto
thyself.”
“I am like thee, O, Night, joyous and glad; for he who dwells in
my shadow is now drunk with virgin wine, and she who follows me is
sinning mirthfully.”
“Nay, thou art not like me, O, Madman, for thy soul is wrapped in
the veil of seven folds and thou holdest not they heart in thine
hand.”
“I am like thee, O, Night, patient and passionate; for in my breast
a thousand dead lovers are buried in shrouds of withered kisses.”
“Yea, Madman, art thou like me? Art thou like me? And canst thou
ride the tempest as a steed, and grasp the lightning as a sword?”
“Like thee, O, Night, like thee, mighty and high, and my throne is
built upon heaps of fallen Gods; and before me too pass the days
to kiss the hem of my garment but never to gaze at my face.”
“Art thou like me, child of my darkest heart? And dost thou think
my untamed thoughts and speak my vast language?”
“Yea, we are twin brothers, O, Night; for thou revealest space and
I reveal my soul.”
Faces
I have seen a face with a thousand countenances, and a face that
was but a single countenance as if held in a mould.
I have seen a face whose sheen I could look through to the ugliness
beneath, and a face whose sheen I had to lift to see how beautiful
it was.
I have seen an old face much lined with nothing, and a smooth face
in which all things were graven.
I know faces, because I look through the fabric my own eye weaves,
and behold the reality beneath.
The Greater Sea
My soul and I went to the great sea to bathe. And when we reached
the shore, we went about looking for a hidden and lonely place.
But as we walked, we saw a man sitting on a grey rock taking pinches
of salt from a bag and throwing them into the sea.
“This is the pessimist,” said my soul, “Let us leave this place.
We cannot bathe here.”
We walked on until we reached an inlet. There we saw, standing
on a white rock, a man holding a bejeweled box, from which he took
sugar and threw it into the sea.
“And this is the optimist,” said my soul, “And he too must not see
our naked bodies.
Further on we walked. And on a beach we saw a man picking up dead
fish and tenderly putting them back into the water.
“And we cannot bathe before him,” said my soul. “He is the humane
philanthropist.”
And we passed on.
Then we came where we saw a man tracing his shadow on the sand.
Great waves came and erased it. But he went on tracing it again
and again.
“He is the mystic,” said my soul, “Let us leave him.”
And we walked on, till in a quiet cover we saw a man scooping up
the foam and putting it into an alabaster bowl.
“He is the idealist,” said my soul, “Surely he must not see our
nudity.”
And on we walked. Suddenly we heard a voice crying, “This is the
sea. This is the deep sea. This is the vast and mighty sea.”
And when we reached the voice it was a man whose back was turned
to the sea, and at his ear he held a shell, listening to its murmur.
And my soul said, “Let us pass on. He is the realist, who turns
his back on the whole he cannot grasp, and busies himself with a
fragment.”
So we passed on. And in a weedy place among the rocks was a man
with his head buried in the sand. And I said to my soul, “We can
bath here, for he cannot see us.”
“Nay,” said my soul, “For he is the most deadly of them all. He
is the puritan.”
Then a great sadness came over the face of my soul, and into her
voice.
“Let us go hence,” she said, “For there is no lonely, hidden place
where we can bathe. I would not have this wind lift my golden hair,
or bare my white bosom in this air, or let the light disclose my
sacred nakedness.”
Then we left that sea to seek the Greater Sea.
Crucified
I cried to men, “I would be crucified!”
And they said, “Why should your blood be upon our heads?”
And I answered, “How else shall you be exalted except by crucifying
madmen?”
And they heeded and I was crucified. And the crucifixion appeased
me.
And when I was hanged between earth and heaven they lifted up their
heads to see me. And they were exalted, for their heads had never
before been lifted.
But as they stood looking up at me one called out, “For what art
thou seeking to atone?”
And another cried, “In what cause dost thou sacrifice thyself?”
And a third said, “Thinkest thou with this price to buy world
glory?”
Then said a fourth, “Behold, how he smiles! Can such pain be
forgiven?”
Comments (0)