Le Prophte est un livre constitu de 26 fables crites dans une prose potique en anglais par le pote et philosophe libano-amricain Kahlil Gibran. Il a t publi pour la premire fois en 1923 et est l'oeuvre la plus clbre de Khalil Gibran. Le Prophte a t traduit dans plus de 100 langues, en faisant un des livres les plus traduits dans l'histoire. Ses rditions n'ont jamais cess.
Le rcit nous prsente le prophte Almustafa, qui a attendu douze annes qu'un navire vienne finalement le chercher, pour le ramener dans sa terre natale. Avant son dpart, des habitants de la cit d'Orphalese lui demandent une dernire fois de partager ses rflexions sur diffrent sujets ( Parle nous de... ). Le prophte prononce alors 26 sermons qui traitent de questions quotidiennes de la vie humaine, savoir l'amour, le mariage, les enfants, le don, la nourriture, le travail, la joie et la tristesse, la maison, les vtements, le commerce, le crime et le chtiment, les lois, la libert, la raison et la passion, la souffrance, la connaissance de soi, l'enseignement, l'amiti, la parole, le temps, le bien et le mal, la prire, le plaisir, la beaut, la religion, et enfin la mort. Dans le chapitre final, Almustafa entremle son discours de dpart une rflexion sur le sens.
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The Prophet is a book of 26 fables written in English prose poetry by the Lebanese-American poet and philosopher Kahlil Gibran. It was first published in 1923 and is Gibran's best known work. The Prophet has been translated into over 100 languages, making it one of the most translated books in history. It has never been out of print.
The narrative introduces us to the Prophet Almustafa, who has waited twelve years for his ship, which will finally take him back to his homeland. Before leaving, some inhabitants of the city of Orphalese ask him to convey to them his insights on various topics for the last time ("Speak to us of..."). The Prophet relates 26 sermons that deal with basic questions of human life, such as love, marriage, children, giving, eating and drinking, work, joy and sorrow, houses, clothes, buying and selling, crime and punish-ment, laws, freedom, reason and passion, pain, self-knowledge, teaching, friendship, talking, time, good and evil, prayer, pleasure, beauty, religion, and finally death. In the final chapter, Almustafa interweaves a discussion about the question of meaning into his parting words.