to the full possession of himself and of his material at one
bound,--never had to grope for his way and experiment, as most men do.
What apprenticeship he served, or with whom he served it, we get no hint.
He has come to his own, and is in easy, joyful possession of it, when he
first comes into view. He outlines his scheme in his first poem, "Starting
from Paumanok," and he has kept the letter and the spirit of every promise
therein made. We never see him doubtful or hesitating; we never see him
battling for his territory, and uncertain whether or not he is upon his
own ground. He has an air of contentment, of mastery and triumph, from the
start.

His extraordinary self-estimate and self-awareness are equally noticeable.
We should probably have to go back to sacred history to find a parallel
case. The manner of man he was, his composite character, his relation to
his country and times, his unlikeness to other poets, his affinity to the
common people, how he would puzzle and elude his critics, how his words
would itch at our ears till we understood them, etc.,--how did he know all
this from the first?

HIS RULING IDEAS AND AIMS

I

Let me here summarize some of the ideas and principles in which "Leaves of
Grass" has its root, and from which it starts. A collection of poems in
the usual sense, a variety of themes artistically treated and appealing to
our aesthetic perceptibilities alone, it is not. It has, strictly speaking,
but one theme,--personality, the personality of the poet himself. To
exploit this is always the main purpose, and, in doing so, to make the
book both directly and indirectly a large, impassioned utterance upon all
the main problems of life and of nationality. It is primitive, like the
early literature of a race or people, in that its spirit and purpose are
essentially religious. It is like the primitive literatures also in its
prophetic cry and in its bardic simplicity and homeliness, and unlike them
in its faith and joy and its unconquerable optimism.

It has been not inaptly called the bible of democracy. Its biblical
features are obvious enough with the darker negative traits left out. It
is Israel with science and the modern added.

Whitman was swayed by a few great passions,--the passion for country, the
passion for comrades, the cosmic passion, etc. His first concern seems
always to have been for his country. He has touched no theme, named no
man, not related in some way to America