Attributed to Kahlil Gibran
«Kennedy's line 'Ask not what your country can do for you…' comes from Gibran.»
Misattributed
Verdict
It is not in Kahlil Gibran's work
In 'The New Frontier' (1925) Gibran contrasts those who ask what their country can do for them with those who ask what they can do for their country. The resemblance to the 1961 inaugural address is real, but there is no documentary proof that Kennedy or his speechwriters knew the text: it is a hypothesis, not a quotation.
What they did say
Verified words of Kahlil Gibran
«Your children are not your children. They are the sons and daughters of Life’s longing for itself.»
The Prophet (1923), «On Children»
«You are the bows from which your children as living arrows are sent forth.»
The Prophet (1923), «On Children»
«Work is love made visible.»
The Prophet (1923), «On Work»