There were only a few writers and thinkers whom Antoun Saʿadeh truly regarded as great and worthy of high praise. Among them were his father, Dr. Khalil Saʿadeh; the well-known historian Philip K. Hitti, who wrote extensively on the history of Syria; and the secular intellectual Farah Antun, often described as “the father of the intellectual renaissance and the apostle of democracy in the Arab East”[1]; and the famous writer Gibran Khalil Gibran[2], whom Saʿadeh saw as a model of what the modern Syrian emigrant should become.
Saʿadeh described Gibran as “the spiritual scholar” and referred to him directly in his explanation of the seventh basic principle of the Syrian Social National Party[3]. He admired Gibran’s literature and valued him as a rebellious writer and constructive critic. Through his spiritual writings, Gibran sought to free people from the domination of rigid and outdated social and religious traditions, which he strongly opposed[4]. Saʿadeh believed that Gibran’s writings had a powerful influence on the Syrian spirit by directing it toward higher spiritual ideals. For this reason, he considered Gibran one of the forerunners of the Syrian renaissance.
In this context, Rabeeʿh Debs observed that Gibran anticipated some of the ideas and expressions later used by Saʿadeh himself, including terms such as “the Syrian Nation,” “the Sons of Life,” “Human Cattle,” and “Who are we?”[5]
Debs further argued that Gibran’s art was always connected to the suffering of his nation. Because of his clear sense of nationalism, Gibran became one of the few literary figures whose political, cultural, and national legacy was deeply appreciated in Syrian Social Nationalist thought.[6]
Saʿadeh described Gibran’s literary style as a kind of music that awakens the soul and sets it free[7]. Indeed, Gibran’s writing is unique in its depth, philosophical spirit, and emotional richness. His words often transport readers beyond the pressures of ordinary life into a more reflective and uplifting world[8]. His close friend and biographer, Mikhail Naimy, wrote that what impressed people most about Gibran was his extraordinary use of language, which filled his writing with beauty and imagination and carried readers into “a sort of dream world.”[9]
Saʿadeh also spoke of Gibran’s strong influence on the younger generation in Syria. He believed that Gibran awakened their spiritual awareness and inspired them to long for a new age[10]. At the same time, however, Saʿadeh expressed disappointment that Gibran eventually turned away from what he considered his national mission. Instead of continuing to fight the intellectual and spiritual stagnation of his people through the Arabic language, Gibran chose to write mainly in English, a language through which American readers recognized his talent more quickly than readers in his homeland did.[11]
It should be noted that Gibran was one of the few Syrian émigré writers in the United States to achieve major success in English. As the scholar Mustafa Badawi pointed out, Gibran’s book The Prophet became extraordinarily popular in the English-speaking world, especially in America, where by 1958 it had sold more than one million copies.[12]
Nevertheless, Saʿadeh believed that Gibran’s abandonment of Arabic reflected a form of spiritual weakness. In his view, this choice revealed a contradiction in a writer who had devoted much of his work to overcoming materialism and elevating the human spirit.[13]
[1] See Rabee’h Debs, “Secularism in Sa´adeh’s Thought”, in Adel Beshara (ed.) Antun Sa´adeh: The Man, His Thought – An Anthology, UK: Ithaca, 2007, p. 322.
[2] Sa´adeh mentioned the four scholars in an article titled “In Remembrance of Great Syrians”, published in 1941. See Antun Sa´adeh, Al-‘Athar al-Kamilah – 1941, (Complete works), vol. 8, Beirut: SSNP Cultural Department.
[3] Other great figures of ancient and modern times mentioned by Sa´adeh included Zeno the Stoic, Bar Salibi, St John Chrysostom, Ephraim, al-Ma’ari, Deek-el-Jin of Emessa, al-Kawakibi and others. See Antun Sa´adeh, Al-Muhadarat al-’Ashr (The Ten Lectures), (Beirut: SSNP, 1976), p. 105.
[4] Antun Sa´adeh, Al-‘Athar al-Kamilah – 1941, vol. 8, (Beirut: SSNP Cultural Department), p. 21.
[5] Rabee’h Debs, “Secularism in Sa´adeh’s Thought”, in Adel Beshara (ed.) Antun Sa´adeh: The Man, His Thought – An Anthology, op. cit., p. 325.
[6] Ibid.
[7] Antun Sa´adeh, Al-‘Athar al-Kamilah – 1941, vol. 8, op. cit., p. 21.
[8] M. S. Daoudi, The Meaning of Kahlil Gibran (Secaucus, N.J.: Citadel Press, 1982), p. 15.
[9] Quoted in ibid.
[10] Antun Sa´adeh, Al-‘Athar al-Kamilah – 1941, vol. 8, op. cit., pp. 21-23.
[11] Ibid., p. 22.
[12] Quoted in Roger Allen (ed), Modern Arabic Literature, New York: The Ungar Publishing Company, 1987), p. 174.
[13] Antun Sa´adeh, Al-‘Athar al-Kamilah – 1941, vol. 8, op. cit., p. 22.
