The Prophet

Almustafa has waited twelve years in the city of Orphalese for the ship that will carry him home. Before he boards, the people ask him to speak, and he answers in twenty-six short pieces on love, marriage, children, work, giving, joy and sorrow, freedom, pain, friendship, and death. Gibran, a Lebanese emigrant writing in English, drew on Arabic cadence, the Bible, and both Sufi and Christian mysticism to build a voice that sounds ancient while belonging to no single tradition. Published in 1923, the book found its readers slowly and then never lost them. It is recited at weddings and funerals, has been translated into more than a hundred languages, and has never once gone out of print. Free PDF and EPUB editions are available here.