The Prophet, which was to become enduringly popular, is a prose piece which is partly auto-biographical. In the story, a young man prepares to leave for his homeland; but first he must say goodbye to those he has lived amongst for the previous twelve years. The book is his farewell speech, touching on love, friendship, children, joy, sorrow and much else besides. Summing up the message of the book, Gibran said this: ‘The whole prophet is saying one thing: “You are far far greater than you know – and all is well.”’

Kahlil Gibran (1883-1931) best selling author and spiritual guide, was a man in search of himself and his place in the world. He was a writer and painter, based in the United States. An immigrant from Lebanon at the beginning of the 20th century, he wrote with one eye on his homeland, and with a restless questioning spirit. ‘He had an impetuous soul, a rebellious mind and an eye mocking everything it sees,’ one of his teachers said. ‘Half of what I say is meaningless,’ Gibran wrote. ‘But I say it so that the other half may reach you.’ Through Gibran’s writing, much has reached many.