Note from the Lebanese Cenacle.
The publication of this work “Face and Presence of Lebanon” took place at the Editions du Cénacle Libanais in 1964. An Arabic translation of the texts preceded it in 1962, and another in English, appeared in 1966, these two editions having been also provided by the Cénacle.
We find here, in the original language of these conferences, the substance of Michel Chiha’s ideas on man and the existence of his vision of the Lebanese present and future, inspired by the knowledge of the past six thousand years: history, geography , people, and openness to the world.
This is what motivates the reissue of this book, in collaboration with Editions du Trident, sponsored by the Michel Chiha family.
For us, Chiha’s thought remains today, especially after the tragic ordeals of the last fifteen years, an objective and authentic light for the understanding of Lebanon, which should be the basis of its development and its evolution.
May our researchers, as well as our politicians, detect in it the references to any reflection on our dear country. “Small country, certainly, very small country; small nation perhaps, but not small people.”
Michel Asmar, Founder-director of the Cenacle. September 1984.