Walt Whitman Quotes
I mind how once we lay such a transparent summer morning, How you settled your head athwart my hips and gently turn'd over upon me, And parted the shirt from my bosom-bone, and plunged your tongue to my bare-stript heart, And reach'd till you felt my beard, and reach'd till you held my feet.
Whitman, Walt. Leaves of Grass. David McKay, 1892, p. 32.
The Islamic Prophet had a surprisingly modern view of reasonable sexual activity—one which would not become generally accepted until the 20th century. This quotation is from the Hadith which is essentially a collection of quotations reported by contemporaries of the Prophet. Although valid for Muslims, the Hadith is less well known than the Koran which is recited by all good Muslims. For example, studies have shown that Muslim men do not follow this sexual prescription in most cases and few Muslim men or women even know that the Mohammed weighed in on this intimate a subject. See {586914} for another sexual prescription.
Usually, a prominent politician sending love notes to a mistress does not make for a notable quotation. However, in this bizarre instance, his passion was so great that he went to Argentina without telling his staff of the Lieutenant Governor where he was going. He disappeared for almost a week and the state was left without a chief executive. When he returned amidst the scandal, he refused to resign. That in itself was noteworthy when he had earlier called for the resignation of President William Clinton for sexual indiscretions which did not even affect the government as his indiscretions did. See {628239}.
Walter Whitman was an American poet, essayist, and journalist. A humanist, he was a part of the transition between transcendentalism and realism, incorporating both views in his works. Whitman is among the most influential poets in the American canon, often called the father of free verse. His work was controversial in its time, particularly his poetry collection Leaves of Grass, which was described as obscene for its overt sensuality. Whitman's own life came under scrutiny for his presumed homosexuality.
