He knew the depth of beauty, He was for ever surprised by its peace and its majesty; and He stood before the earth as the first man had stood before the first day.
We whose senses have been dulled, we gaze in full daylight and yet we do not see. We would cup our ears, but we do not hear; and stretch forth our hands, but we do not touch. And though all the incense of Arabia is burned, we go our way and do not smell." - Meaning and context.">
A Philosopher: On Wonder And Beauty

He knew the depth of beauty, He was for ever surprised by its peace and its majesty; and He stood before the earth as the first man had stood before the first day.
We whose senses have been dulled, we gaze in full daylight and yet we do not see. We would cup our ears, but we do not hear; and stretch forth our hands, but we do not touch. And though all the incense of Arabia is burned, we go our way and do not smell.

— Kahlil Gibran

What It Means

This is a placeholder explanation generated by the low-overhead model. It interprets "He knew the depth of beauty, He was for ever surprised by its peace and its majesty; and He stood before the earth as the first man had stood before the first day.
We whose senses have been dulled, we gaze in full daylight and yet we do not see. We would cup our ears, but we do not hear; and stretch forth our hands, but we do not touch. And though all the incense of Arabia is burned, we go our way and do not smell." in the context of "A Philosopher: On Wonder And Beauty" to mean that wisdom is timeless.

Source: Wikiquote: "Kahlil Gibran" (Quotes, Jesus, The Son of Man (1928): Full text online) The 'What it means' explanation text was generated by Google Gemini Flash (accessed January 18, 2026). https://gemini.google.com/app
Kahlil Gibran

About Kahlil Gibran

Gibran Khalil Gibran (6 January 1883 – 10 April 1931), usually referred to in English as Kahlil Gibran, was a Lebanese-American writer, poet and visual artist.