At the Fire Station Thrift House today I found 'A Treasury of Kahlil Gibran' And 'A Second Treasury of Kahlil Gibran' translated by Anthony Rizcellah Ferris, both a dollar each. Wow- Of coarse I read ' We and You ' first a line to start...
"We are the sons of Sorrow, and you are the Sons of Joy...." basically describing the personality of Empire. I read and think Gibran meant a different word than Joy - mirth - maybe? Here are the last three paragraphs of
We and You
"You crucified Jesus and stood below Him,
Blaspheming and mocking at Him; but at last
He came down and overcame the generations,
And walked among you as a hero, filling the
Universe with His glory and His beauty.
You poisoned Socrates and stoned Paul and
Destroyed Ali Talib and assassinated
Madhat Pasha, and yet those immortals are
With us forever before the face of Eternity.
But you live in the memory of man like
Corpses upon the face of the earth; and you
Cannot find a friend who will bury you in
The obscurity of non-existence and oblivion,
Which you sought on earth.
We are the sons of Sorrow, and sorrow is a
Rich cloud, showering the multitudes with
Knowledge and Truth. You are the sons of
Joy and as high as you joy may reach,
By the Law of God it must be destroyed
Before the winds of heaven and dispersed
Into nothingness, for it is naught but a
Thin and wavering pillar of smoke."
long sigh
Next I read
Slavery- here are the last lines of 'Slavery
'My name is Liberty," replied the ghastly shadow of a corpse.
And I inquired, "Where are your children?"
And Liberty, tearful and weak, gasped, "one died crucified, another died mad, and the third one is not yet born."
She limped away and spoke further, but the mist in my eyes'
Hear
and cries of my heart prevented sight or hearing
