"The lust for comfort, that stealthy thing that enters the house a guest, and then becomes a host, and then a master"
About this Quote
Gibran, writing from a diasporic, spiritually charged vantage point in the early 20th century, isn’t scolding pleasure; he’s warning about dependency dressed up as refinement. The “lust” is key: comfort isn’t mere preference but appetite, a craving that escalates. The subtext is moral and political at once. A person domesticated by comfort becomes easier to govern, less willing to risk exile, dissent, creation, or love that costs something. The house stands in for the self, but also for society: once comfort becomes the organizing principle, we build institutions that prioritize cushioning over courage.
It works because it’s not abstract. It’s a mini parable of possession, told in household terms. You can feel the hinges swing, the welcome curdle, the master’s footsteps upstairs. Gibran makes the reader complicit: you invited it in.
Quote Details
| Topic | Wisdom |
|---|---|
| Source | Help us find the source |
| Cite |
Citation Formats
APA Style (7th ed.)
Gibran, Kahlil. (2026, January 14). The lust for comfort, that stealthy thing that enters the house a guest, and then becomes a host, and then a master. FixQuotes. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/the-lust-for-comfort-that-stealthy-thing-that-17368/
Chicago Style
Gibran, Kahlil. "The lust for comfort, that stealthy thing that enters the house a guest, and then becomes a host, and then a master." FixQuotes. January 14, 2026. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/the-lust-for-comfort-that-stealthy-thing-that-17368/.
MLA Style (9th ed.)
"The lust for comfort, that stealthy thing that enters the house a guest, and then becomes a host, and then a master." FixQuotes, 14 Jan. 2026, https://fixquotes.com/quotes/the-lust-for-comfort-that-stealthy-thing-that-17368/. Accessed 13 Feb. 2026.








