Quotes
Quotes - Whitman
Over all the sky--the sky! far, far out of reach, studded with the eternal stars.
Give me the splendid silent sun, with all his beams full-dazzling!
Lo! the moon ascending!
Up from the East, the silvery round moon;
Beautiful over the house-tops, ghastly, phantom moon;
Immense and silent moon.
Beautiful that war and all its deeds of carnage, must in time be utterly lost;
That the hands of the sisters Death and Night incessantly softly wash again and ever again, this soiled world.
When lilacs last in the door-yard bloomed,
And the great star early drooped in the western sky in the night,
I mourned, and yet shall mourn with ever-returning spring.
Come lovely and soothing death,
Undulate round the world, serenely arriving, arriving,
In the day, in the night, to all, to each,
Sooner or later, delicate death.
Praised be the fathomless universe
For life and joy and for objects and knowledge curious;
And for love, sweet love--But praise! O praise and praise
For the sure-enwinding arms of cool-enfolding Death.
O Captain! my Captain! our fearful trip is done!
The ship has weathered every wrack, the prize we sought is won,
The port is near, the bells I hear, the people all exulting.
Liberty is to be subserved, whatever occurs.
Peace is always beautiful.
What do you suppose will satisfy the soul except to walk free and own no superior?
To me every hour of the light and dark is a miracle,
Every cubic inch of space is a miracle.
I was thinking the day most splendid, till I saw what the not-day exhibited;
I was thinking this globe enough, till there sprang out so noiseless around me myriads of other globes.
I see that I am to wait for what will be exhibited by death.
I swear I think there is nothing but immortality!
The paths to the house I seek to make,
But leave to those to come the house itself.
Society waits unformed and is between things ended and things begun.
Now obey thy cherished secret wish,
Embrace thy friends--leave all in order;
To port and hawser's tie no more returning,
Depart upon thy endless cruise, old Sailor!
I announce the great individual, fluid as Nature, chaste, affectionate, compassionate, fully armed;
I announce a life that shall be copious, vehement, spiritual, bold,
And I announce an end that shall lightly and joyfully meet its translation.
To have great poets, there must be great audiences.
I never would believe that Providence had sent a few men into the world, ready booted and spurred to ride, and millions ready saddled and bridled to be ridden.
A morning-glory at my window satisfies me more than the metaphysics of books.
The poet judges not as a judge judges but as the sun falling around a helpless thing.
I believe a leaf of grass is no less than the journey-work of the stars.
Now I see the secret of the making of the best persons. It is to grow in the open air and to eat and sleep with the earth.
