THE PROPHET

Alfred A. Knopf, New York, 1977, 97^th pr.  ISBN 0-394-40428-9.  Hard cover, 96 pages.  Very good; black boards with stamped lettering on front with gilt decoration, gilt lettering on spine.  Light corner and spine end wear, small mark at top front board edge, old faint water mark near lower front edge; binding sound with yellow top stain.  Price-clipped dust jacket shows edge and cover wear, short edge tears and tears repaired on verso, wear at corners and spine ends; old water mark, spine darkened.  Prior owner’s bookplate on front paste-down; remainder of interior clean and unmarked; aquatone illustrations.  ‘The prophet, Almustafa, has lived in the foreign city of Orphalese for 12 years and is about to board a ship which will carry him home. He is stopped by a group of people, with whom he discusses topics such as life and the human condition. The book is divided into chapters dealing with love, marriage, children, giving, eating and drinking, work, joy and sorrow, houses, clothes, buying and selling, crime and punishment, laws, freedom, reason and passion, pain, self-knowledge, teaching, friendship, talking, time, good and evil, prayer, pleasure, beauty, religion, and death.’ (from Wikipedia)