phomila
On Children
A person holding a baby asks Gibran to speak of children. He answers with a paradox, a house beyond dreams, and a bow held under the strain of love.
Each passage uses a four-line block: the Phi sentence, its exact lexicon gloss, an English reading derived from Phi alone, and Gibran's source wording. A continuous Phi reading and a table of translation limits follow.
Translation
This is the whole teaching, from the opening request to the final, steady bow. Phi follows the paradox directly, then builds the archery image from visible materials and actions without adding weapon vocabulary.
The request
ta himo miona to nai. ta ru limu lopia nia ha miona pharoe to nai. ha miona ha lopia to phelu. ha miona sha no nua lo mia lo phomila shareo sho to haolu.
Word-by-word gloss: [[one HUM.CLF person] PST be]. [[one [INTS young] child] [ON [[PROX person] chest]] PST be]. [[PROX person] [PROX child] PST hold]. [[PROX person] [QUOT.COMP [IMP [COM [PL 1SG]] [PL offspring] discuss] QUOT.COMP.CLOSE] PST speak].
Literal English: (There was one person. One very young child was on this person's chest. This person held this child. This person said, "Discuss the offspring with us.")
gibran: And a woman who held a babe against her bosom said, Speak to us of _Children_.
ne musatapha to haolu.
Word-by-word gloss: [NAME musatapha] PST speak.
Literal English: (musatapha spoke.)
gibran: And he said:
Children and ownership
thia lo phomila thia lo phomila ma nai.
Word-by-word gloss: [[2SG] [PL offspring]] [[2SG] [PL offspring]] NEG be.
Literal English: (Your children are not your children.)
gibran: Your children are not your children.
lioru miso wilao. lo shia ha wilao phomila nai.
Word-by-word gloss: [life] [REFL] long-for. [PL 3SG] [[PROX long-for] offspring] be.
Literal English: (Life longs for itself. They are the offspring of this longing.)
gibran: They are the sons and daughters of Life’s longing for itself.
lo shia thue thia shua. whekai lo shia lue thia ma shua.
Word-by-word gloss: [PL 3SG] [THROUGH 2SG] come. CONTR [[PL 3SG] [ABL 2SG] NEG come].
Literal English: (They come through you. However, they do not come from you.)
gibran: They come through you but not from you,
shai lo shia nua thia nai lo shia mua thia phenori ma nai.
Word-by-word gloss: [[CONC [[PL 3SG] [COM 2SG] be]] [[PL 3SG] [[LOC 2SG] ownership] [NEG be]]].
Literal English: (Although they are with you, you do not own them.)
gibran: And though they are with you yet they belong not to you.
Love, thought, body, and soul
thia wei lo shia thia lothea po loa.
Word-by-word gloss: [2SG] [DAT [PL 3SG]] [[2SG] love] POT give.
Literal English: (You may give them your love.)
gibran: You may give them your love
whekai lo shia lo remo phelu. ha lo remo thia lo remo ma nai. thelao thia wei lo shia thia lo remo po ma loa.
Word-by-word gloss: [CONTR [[PL 3SG] [PL think] hold]]. [[PROX [PL think]] [2SG [PL think]] [NEG be]]. [CONS [2SG [DAT [PL 3SG]] [2SG [PL think]] [POT NEG give]]].
Literal English: (However, they have thoughts. These thoughts are not your thoughts. Therefore, you cannot give them your thoughts.)
gibran: but not your thoughts, For they have their own thoughts.
thia lo shia lo weloni ka po menui.
Word-by-word gloss: [2SG] [[PL 3SG] [PL body]] CAUS POT dwell.
Literal English: (You may house their bodies.)
gibran: You may house their bodies
whekai lo shia lo norea mua wireo womu menui. thelao thia lo shia lo norea ka po ma menui.
Word-by-word gloss: CONTR [[[PL 3SG] [PL soul]] [LOC [future home]] dwell]. CONS [[2SG] [[PL 3SG] [PL soul]] CAUS POT NEG dwell].
Literal English: (Their souls, however, dwell in the home of the future. That means you cannot house their souls.)
gibran: but not their souls, For their souls dwell in the house of tomorrow,
thia ha womu po ma phemiru. thia we mua thia lo whemura ha womu po ma phemiru.
Word-by-word gloss: [2SG] [PROX home] POT NEG visit. [2SG] [ALSO [LOC [[2SG] [PL dream]]]] [PROX home] POT NEG visit.
Literal English: (You cannot visit this home. You cannot visit it in your dreams either.)
gibran: which you cannot visit, not even in your dreams.
Becoming and time
lila thia phea lo shia nai thia po meloa.
Word-by-word gloss: [PURP [[2SG] [AS [PL 3SG]] be]] [2SG] POT persevere.
Literal English: (You may keep striving to be like them.)
gibran: You may strive to be like them,
whekai lioru wea luera ma wepu nela shia nua luera philo ma manolu. no thelao tha thia lo shia phea thia ka kelu tho ma mesatu.
Word-by-word gloss: CONTR [[[life] [TOWARD past] NEG go] COORD [[3SG] [COM [past day]] NEG stay]]. IMP CONS [[DECL.COMP [2SG] [PL 3SG] [AS 2SG] CAUS become DECL.COMP.CLOSE] NEG try].
Literal English: (Yet life does not go toward the past, and it does not stay with yesterday. So do not try to make them like you.)
gibran: but seek not to make them like you. For life goes not backward nor tarries with yesterday.
Bow, arrow, and archer
thia lo luwi tenoa nai. ha lo tenoa nira phelu. thia lo phomila phea lo [whu wapi] lima tekari tiso thena lue ha lo tenoa se sepho.
Word-by-word gloss: [2SG] [PL [flexible tool]] be. [PROX PL tool] cord hold. [[2SG] [PL offspring]] [AS [PL [[REL fly] alive straight sharp thing]]] [ABL [PROX PL tool]] PASS send.
Literal English: (You are flexible tools. These tools hold cord. Your offspring are sent from these tools as living, straight, sharp things that fly.)
gibran: You are the bows from which your children as living arrows are sent forth.
ta ruela mawha lumae phelu. ta siru mua ha ruela nai. ha lo thena wea ha siru wapi. ta himo miona roe ha lo tenoa ha lo thena sepho. ha miona ha siru nila.
Word-by-word gloss: [one path] [NONE end] hold. [one marker] [LOC [PROX path]] be. [PROX PL thing] [TOWARD [PROX marker]] fly. [one HUM.CLF person] [INS [PROX PL tool]] [PROX PL thing] send. [PROX person] [PROX marker] see.
Literal English: (One path has no end. One marker is on this path. These things fly toward this marker. One person sends these things with these tools. This person sees this marker.)
gibran: The archer sees the mark upon the path of the infinite,
lila ha lo thena reshi nela wuero wapi ha miona puro thia luwi ka kelu.
Word-by-word gloss: [PURP [[PROX PL thing] [[fast COORD far] fly]]] [[[PROX person] strength] [2SG flexible [CAUS become]]].
Literal English: (This person's strength makes you flexible so that these things fly fast and far.)
gibran: and He bends you with His might that His arrows may go swift and far.
su lila thia siora nai thia mua ha miona manuwe luwi kelu.
Word-by-word gloss: [OPT [PURP [2SG joy be] [2SG [LOC [[PROX person] hand]] flexible become]]].
Literal English: (May you become flexible in this person's hand so that you are joyful.)
gibran: Let your bending in the Archer’s hand be for gladness;
ha miona [whu wapi] lima tekari tiso thena lothea. ha mureo luwi tenoa nira phelu. ha miona we ha tenoa lothea. wi lothea senao nai.
Word-by-word gloss: [PROX person] [[REL fly] alive straight sharp thing] love. [PROX stable flexible tool] cord hold. [PROX person] [ALSO [PROX tool]] love. [two love] same be.
Literal English: (This person loves a living, straight, sharp thing that flies. This stable, flexible tool holds cord. This person also loves this tool. The two loves are the same.)
gibran: For even as he loves the arrow that flies, so He loves also the bow that is stable.
Complete translation
ta himo miona to nai. ta ru limu lopia nia ha miona pharoe to nai. ha miona ha lopia to phelu. ha miona sha no nua lo mia lo phomila shareo sho to haolu. ne musatapha to haolu.
thia lo phomila thia lo phomila ma nai. lioru miso wilao. lo shia ha wilao phomila nai. lo shia thue thia shua. whekai lo shia lue thia ma shua. shai lo shia nua thia nai lo shia mua thia phenori ma nai.
thia wei lo shia thia lothea po loa. whekai lo shia lo remo phelu. ha lo remo thia lo remo ma nai. thelao thia wei lo shia thia lo remo po ma loa. thia lo shia lo weloni ka po menui. whekai lo shia lo norea mua wireo womu menui. thelao thia lo shia lo norea ka po ma menui. thia ha womu po ma phemiru. thia we mua thia lo whemura ha womu po ma phemiru.
lila thia phea lo shia nai thia po meloa. whekai lioru wea luera ma wepu nela shia nua luera philo ma manolu. no thelao tha thia lo shia phea thia ka kelu tho ma mesatu.
thia lo luwi tenoa nai. ha lo tenoa nira phelu. thia lo phomila phea lo [whu wapi] lima tekari tiso thena lue ha lo tenoa se sepho. ta ruela mawha lumae phelu. ta siru mua ha ruela nai. ha lo thena wea ha siru wapi. ta himo miona roe ha lo tenoa ha lo thena sepho. ha miona ha siru nila. lila ha lo thena reshi nela wuero wapi ha miona puro thia luwi ka kelu. su lila thia siora nai thia mua ha miona manuwe luwi kelu. ha miona [whu wapi] lima tekari tiso thena lothea. ha mureo luwi tenoa nira phelu. ha miona we ha tenoa lothea. wi lothea senao nai.
Translation limits
| Gibran wording | Phi treatment | Remaining difference |
|---|---|---|
| woman with a babe; he | one person, one very young child, and ne musatapha | Phi leaves gender unstated. pharoe, chest, is more anatomical than bosom, and the stable Phi onym identifies Gibran's speaker across the collection. |
| Speak to us of Children | imperative shareo, discuss, with the participants under nua | Phi asks the speaker to discuss offspring with the group. The source's one-way address remains visible in Gibran's line. |
| your children are not your children | thia lo phomila on both sides of nai | The same descent phrase appears twice. The ownership passage that follows gives the second use its paradoxical force. |
| sons and daughters | plural phomila, offspring | Direct descent remains without assigning gender or implying that every offspring is still in childhood. |
| Life's longing for itself | lioru miso wilao followed by ha wilao phomila | Phi states the reflexive longing and then names its offspring. The capital letter and personification belong to Gibran's source. |
| belong not to you | outside thia phenori, your ownership | Ownership states the property relation more narrowly than Gibran's broad verb belong. |
| their own thoughts | thoughts they hold, followed by the explicit claim that these are not the listener's thoughts | Phi makes the contrast in a separate assertion before drawing the consequence about giving. |
| house their bodies and souls | causative ka menui, cause to dwell, with plural bodies and plural souls | Phi treats housing as an act without making the noun for home into a verb. |
| house of tomorrow | wireo womu, future home | Phi names the temporal direction of the home rather than using tomorrow as its possessor. |
| not even in your dreams | additive we over the dream location | Phi makes dreams another unavailable place of visiting; the additive does not reproduce every shade of scalar emphasis in even. |
| strive; seek not | meloa, persevere; imperative mesatu, try | Perseverance stresses continued effort. Trying states the attempted conformity without reproducing seek as a searching motion. |
| reason stated after its conclusion | reason first, then thelao, consequence | Modifier-first order places the reason before the directive it supports. The citation preserves Gibran's order. |
| bow; arrow; archer | a flexible cord-holding tool; a living straight sharp thing that flies; a person who sends the latter with the former | The material descriptions rebuild the scene but do not create reusable weapon vocabulary. |
| mark; infinite | a marker toward which the things fly; a path that holds no end | The path describes unbounded extension without adding an abstract infinity root. |
| bends you with His might | the person's strength causes flexible becoming | Phi makes the strength the causer, keeping its possessor explicit while leaving the drawn curve and stored tension to the source image. |
| for gladness | a lila purpose clause in the optative | Phi wishes that the bending lead to joy. It does not turn joy into the instrument of bending. |
| even as ... so | two acts of love followed by wi lothea senao nai, the two loves are the same | Phi unfolds the balanced conjunction across explicit assertions. |
| He; His | ha miona, this person, and ordinary possessor-first phrases | Phi marks neither gender nor reverential capitalization. Gibran's typography remains exact in the source lines. |