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by Khalil Gibran (1883 - 1931)
Translation © by Ferdinando Albeggiani

Love
Language: English 
Our translations:  GER ITA
And he raised his head and looked upon the people, 
and there fell a stillness upon them.
And with a great voice he said:
When love beckons to you follow him, 
though his ways are hard and steep.
And when his wings enfold you yield to him,
Though the sword hidden among his pinions may wound you.
And when he speaks to you believe in him,
Though his voice may shatter your dreams 
as the north wind lays waste the garden.
For even as love crowns you so shall he crucify you.
Even as he ascends to your height 
and caresses your tenderest branches that quiver in the sun,
So shall he descend to your roots and shake them 
in their clinging to the earth.

Like sheaves of corn he gathers you unto himself.
He threshes you to make you naked.
He sifts you to free you from your husks.
He grinds you to whiteness.
He kneads you until you are pliant;
And then he assigns you to his sacred fire,
that you may become sacred bread for God's sacred feast.
All these things shall love do unto you 
that you may know the secrets of your heart,
and in that knowledge become a fragment of Life's heart.

But if in your fear you would seek only 
love's peace and love's pleasure,
Then it is better for you that you cover your nakedness 
and pass out of love's threshing-floor,
Into the seasonless world where you shall laugh, 
but not all of your laughter,
and weep, but not all of your tears.

Love gives naught but itself 
and takes naught but from itself. 
Love possesses not nor would it be possessed; 
for love is sufficient unto love.

When you love you should not say, "God is in my heart," 
but rather, I am in the heart of God."
And think not you can direct the course of love, 
for love, if it finds you worthy,
directs your course.
Love has no other desire but to fulfil itself.
But if you love and must needs have desires, 
let these be your desires:
To melt and be like a running brook 
that sings its melody to the night.
To wake at dawn with a winged heart 
and give thanks for another day of loving;
To rest at the noon hour and meditate love's ecstasy;
To return home at eventide with gratitude;
And then to sleep with a prayer 
for the beloved in your heart 
and a song of praise upon your lips.

Love gives naught but itself 
and takes naught but from itself. 
Love possesses not nor would it be possessed, 
for love is sufficient unto love.

Text Authorship:

  • by Khalil Gibran (1883 - 1931), appears in The Prophet [author's text not yet checked against a primary source]

Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):

  • by Thomas F. Schubert (b. 1961), "Love" [ mixed chorus, solo voices, and percussion instruments ], from Trilogy of Love, no. 1 [sung text checked 1 time]

Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):

  • GER German (Deutsch) (Bertram Kottmann) , "Liebe", copyright © 2012, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
  • ITA Italian (Italiano) (Ferdinando Albeggiani) , "Amore", copyright © 2012, (re)printed on this website with kind permission


Researcher for this page: Maria Nimmerfall

This text was added to the website: 2010-11-06
Line count: 57
Word count: 444

Amore
Language: Italian (Italiano)  after the English 
Ed egli sollevò la testa e guardò il popolo, 
e discese su di loro il silenzio.
Allora, con voce sonora, egli disse:
Quando l'Amore vi chiamerà seguitelo, 
anche se le sue strade fossero dure e scoscese.
E, se vi avvolgerà con le sue ali, abbandonatevi a lui,
anche se la lama, celata fra le sue piume, potrebbe ferirvi.
E quando vi parlerà, prestategli fede,
anche se la sua voce potrà disperdere i vostri sogni 
come il vento del nord devasta il giardino. 
Perché come l'amore vi incorona così vi mette in croce,
e come sale fino alla vostra cima, accarezzando i più teneri
rami che vibrano al sole,
così scenderà nel profondo delle vostre radici scuotendole
proprio là dove stanno più abbarbicate al terreno. 

Vi ammasserà come covoni di grano. 
Vi trebbierà fino a rendervi spogli.
Vi setaccerà per liberarvi da ogni scarto.
Vi macinerà per rendervi candidi.
Vi impasterà per rendervi cedevoli.
Per consegnarvi infine al suo sacro fuoco,
in modo che possiate diventare il pane sacro alla mensa divina.
Tutto questo può fare di voi l'Amore, 
affinché possiate conoscere i segreti del vostro cuore,
e, per questa conoscenza, farvi frammenti del cuore della vita.

Ma se la vostra paura vi spingerà a cercare nell'amore
solo la pace e il piacere,
allora sarà meglio per voi celare le vostre nudità
e passare oltre l'aia dell'amore,
verso un mondo privo di stagioni dove riderete,
ma non tutto il vostro riso,
o dove vi capiterà di piangere, ma non tutto il vostro pianto.

L'amore non dà niente tranne se stesso 
e non prende niente se non da se stesso.
L'amore non possiede né vuole essere posseduto,
perché l'amore basta all'amore.

Quando amerete non dovreste dire "Dio è nel mio cuore",
ma "Sono nel cuore di Dio".
E non crediate di poter guidare l'amore, 
perché sarà l'amore,
se vi reputa degni, a condurre voi.
L'amore non vuole altro che realizzarsi.
Ma se amerete costretti dal desiderio, 
siano questi i vostri desideri:
Sciogliervi tutti e farvi simili a un ruscello che regala 
alla notte il suo canto.
Svegliarvi all'alba con le ali nel cuore e ringraziare
per un nuovo giorno d'amore.
Riposare nell'ora meridiana e assaporare l'estasi amorosa.
Rincasare grati al vespro.
Scivolare nel sonno pregando, 
nel cuore, per la persona amata
con un canto di lode sulle labbra.

L'amore non dà niente tranne se stesso 
e non prende niente se non da se stesso.
L'amore non possiede né vuole essere posseduto,
perché l'amore basta all'amore.

Text Authorship:

  • Translation from English to Italian (Italiano) copyright © 2012 by Ferdinando Albeggiani, (re)printed on this website with kind permission. To reprint and distribute this author's work for concert programs, CD booklets, etc., you may ask the copyright-holder(s) directly or ask us; we are authorized to grant permission on their behalf. Please provide the translator's name when contacting us.
    Contact: licenses@email.lieder.example.net

Based on:

  • a text in English by Khalil Gibran (1883 - 1931), appears in The Prophet
    • Go to the text page.

 

This text was added to the website: 2012-04-30
Line count: 57
Word count: 413

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This website began in 1995 as a personal project by Emily Ezust, who has been working on it full-time without a salary since 2008. Our research has never had any government or institutional funding, so if you found the information here useful, please consider making a donation. Your help is greatly appreciated!
–Emily Ezust, Founder

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