Only Themselves Understand Themselves and the Like Of

Walt Whitman . Do not be too moral. You may cheat yourself out of much life. Aim above morality. Be not simply good; “Only themselves understand themselves and the be good for something. like of themselves . As a single footstep will not make a path on the As souls only understand souls.” earth, so a single thought will not make a pathway in the mind. To make a deep physical path, we walk again and again. To make a deep mental “Let me have my own way. path, we must think over and over the kind of Let others promulgate the laws; I will make no thoughts we wish to dominate our lives. account of the laws. . What lies behind us and what lies ahead of us are Let others praise eminent men and hold up peace; I tiny matters compared to what lives within us. hold up agitation and conflict, I praise no eminent man; I rebuke to his face the one  What you get by achieving your goals is not as that was important as what you become by achieving your thought most worthy.” goals.

“We consider bibles and religions divine—I do not say they are not divine. . Go confidently in the direction of your dreams! I say they have all grown out of you, and may grow Live the life you've imagined. out of you still. . If you have built castles in the air, your work need It is not they who give the life; it is you who give the not be lost; that is where they should be. Now put life. the foundations under them. Leaves are not more shed from the tree, or trees from the . It is never too late to give up your prejudices. earth, than they are shed out of you.” . If a man does not keep pace with his companions, perhaps it is because he hears a different “Here is the test of wisdom: drummer. Let him step to the music which he Wisdom is not finally tested in schools; hears, however measured or far away. Wisdom cannot be pass’d from one having it to another not Ralph Waldo Emerson having it; Wisdom is of the soul, is not susceptible of proof, is . Self trust is the first secret to success. its own proof…” . Do not go where the path may lead; go instead where there is no path, and leave a trail.

“It seems to me that every thing in the light and air . Finish each day and be done with it. You have done ought to be what you could. Some blunders and absurdities, no happy; doubt, crept in; forget them as soon as you can. Whoever is not in his coffin and the dark grave let Tomorrow is a new day. him know he has enough.” . Don't be too timid and squeamish about your actions. All life is an experiment. The more experiments you make the better. “To know the universe itself as a road, as many roads, . Don't waste yourself in rejection, nor bark against as roads for traveling souls.” the bad, but chant the beauty of the good.

“I swear I begin to see nothing in audible words. . If I have lost confidence in myself, I have the All merges toward the presentation of the unspoken universe against me. meanings Of the earth, . When a whole nation is roaring Patriotism at the Toward him who sings the songs of the body and of top of its voice, I am fain to explore the cleanness the truths of its hands and purity of its heart. Of the earth, Toward him who makes the dictionaries . To be great is to be misunderstood. of words that print cannot touch.” . To laugh often and much; to win the respect of intelligent people and the affection of children; to earn the appreciation of honest critics and endure Henry David Thoreau the betrayal of false friends; to appreciate beauty; to find the best in others; to leave the world a bit better, whether by a healthy child, a garden patch or a redeemed social condition; to know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived. This is to have succeeded.

. It is easy in the world to live after the world's opinion; it is easy in solitude to live after our own; but the great man is he who in the midst of the crowd keeps with perfect sweetness the independence of solitude.

Assignment: Choose one or more quotations from the Transcendentalists above. Type up a minimum one- page, double spaced, 12 pt., Times New Roman font, response as to why this particular quotation (or quotations) speaks to you. Why and how does it resonate with who and where you are today?