wisdom is of the soul

“The Nut Gatherers” by William-Adolphe Bouguereau
“The Nut Gatherers” by William-Adolphe Bouguereau

Here is the test of wisdom,
Wisdom is not finally tested in schools,
Wisdom cannot be pass’d from one having it to another not having it,
Wisdom is of the soul, is not susceptible of proof, is its own proof,
Applies to all stages and objects and qualities and is content,
Is the certainty of the reality and immortality of things,
and the excellence of things;
Something there is in the float of the sight of things that provokes it out of the soul.
~ Walt Whitman
(Meditations of Walt Whitman: Earth, My Likeness)

10 thoughts on “wisdom is of the soul”

  1. Whitman was a wise and soulful man, and man before his time. This is a wonderful meditation…

    I love the paintings you use to convey your thoughts as well!

    I am Love, Jeff

    1. Thanks, Jeff! I find it fascinating that Whitman wrote only one book, “Leaves of Grass,” and then spent the rest of his life fiddling with it, revising, adding, deleting, moving parts of it around, in at least six updated editions. The last was called the deathbed edition. I think he must have been a perfectionist and I can relate to his desire to get it right… 🙂

    1. I’m glad you like the painting – if we could only learn to listen to our inner wisdom while we explore the natural world and learn to read well, there would be so much more true wisdom in the world.

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