Khalil Gibran

My Soul gave me good counsel, teaching me that the lamp which I carry does not belong to me, and the song that I sing was not generated from within me.

Vain are the beliefs and teachings that make man miserable, and false is the goodness that leads him into sorrow and despair, for it is man's purpose to be happy on this earth and lead the way to felicity and preach its gospel wherever he goes.

Progress lies not in enhancing what is, but in advancing toward what will be.

To understand the heart and mind of a person, look not at what he has already achieved, but what he aspires to.

I know faces, because I look through the fabric my own eye weaves, and behold the reality beneath.

You are your own forerunner, and the towers you have builded are but the foundation of your giant-self. And that self too shall be a foundation.

My face and your faces shall not be masked; our hand shall hold neither sword nor sceptre, and our subjects shall love us in peace and shall not be in fear of us.

He knew the depth of beauty, He was for ever surprised by its peace and its majesty.

The mind weighs and measures but it is the spirit that reaches the heart of life and embraces the secret; and the seed of the spirit is deathless.