The Greater Sea
My soul and I went to the great sea to bathe. And when we reachedthe shore, we went about looking for a hidden and lonely place.
But as we walked, we saw a man sitting on a grey rock taking pinchesof salt from a bag and throwing them into the sea.
"This is the pessimist," said my soul, "Let us leave this place.We cannot bathe here."
We walked on until we reached an inlet. There we saw, standingon a white rock, a man holding a bejeweled box, from which he tooksugar and threw it into the sea.
"And this is the optimist," said my soul, "And he too must not seeour naked bodies."
Further on we walked. And on a beach we saw a man picking up deadfish and tenderly putting them back into the water.
"And we cannot bathe before him," said my soul. "He is the humanephilanthropist."
And we passed on.
Then we came where we saw a man tracing his shadow on the sand.Great waves came and erased it. But he went on tracing it againand again.
"He is the mystic," said my soul, "Let us leave him."
And we walked on, till in a quiet cover we saw a man scooping upthe foam and putting it into an alabaster bowl.
"He is the idealist," said my soul, "Surely he must not see ournudity."
And on we walked. Suddenly we heard a voice crying, "This is thesea. This is the deep sea. This is the vast and mighty sea."And when we reached the voice it was a man whose back was turnedto the sea, and at his ear he held a shell, listening to its murmur.
And my soul said, "Let us pass on. He is the realist, who turnshis back on the whole he cannot grasp, and busies himself with afragment."
So we passed on. And in a weedy place among the rocks was a manwith his head buried in the sand. And I said to my soul, "We canbath here, for he cannot see us."
"Nay," said my soul, "For he is the most deadly of them all. Heis the puritan."
Then a great sadness came over the face of my soul, and into hervoice.
"Let us go hence," she said, "For there is no lonely, hidden placewhere we can bathe. I would not have this wind lift my golden hair,or bare my white bosom in this air, or let the light disclose mysacred nakedness."
Then we left that sea to seek the Greater Sea.
Words in this poem
- went n.
- Course; way; path; journey; direction.
- pessimist n.
- One who advocates the doctrine of pessimism; -- opposed to Ant: optimist. [L. pessimus worst: cf. F. pessimiste.]
- optimist n.
- One who holds the opinion that all events are ordered for the best. [Cf. F. optimiste.]
- tenderly adv.
- In a tender manner; with tenderness; mildly; gently; softly; in a manner not to injure or give pain; with pity or affection; kindly.
- humane a.
- Pertaining to man; human. Jer. Taylor. [L. humanus: cf. F. humain. See Human.]
- philanthropist n.
- One who practices philanthropy; one who loves mankind, and seeks to promote the good of others. [Gr. philanthrope.]
- idealist n.
- One who idealizes; one who forms picturesque fancies; one given to romantic expectations. [Cf. F. idéaliste.]
- nudity n.
- The quality or state of being nude; nakedness. [Cf. F. nudité .]
- weedy a.
- Of or pertaining to weeds; consisting of weeds.
- sadness n.
- Heaviness; firmness.
- nakedness n.
- The condition of being naked.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
The Greater Sea is in the public domain. This text is taken from The Madman: His Parables and Poems, Project Gutenberg ebook #5616; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Kahlil Gibran, The Greater Sea, in The Madman: His Parables and Poems (1918), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #5616, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/gibran-madman/the-greater-sea.html, id L27307.
About this section
The Greater Sea is prose, printed in 19 paragraphs. It is part of the edition and is kept for reading, but nothing here is measured: the line breaks are the printer's, so no metre, rhyme scheme or scansion is stated.
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