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Poem of the Road.
319

I will toss the new gladness and roughness among
them;
Whoever denies me, it shall not trouble me,
Whoever accepts me, he or she shall be blessed, and
shall bless me.

18.Now if a thousand perfect men were to appear, it
would not amaze me.
Now if a thousand beautiful forms of women appeared,
it would not astonish me.

19.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.

20.Here is space —here a great personal deed has room,
A great deed seizes upon the hearts of the whole race
of men,
Its effusion of strength and will overwhelms law, and
mocks all authority and all argument against it.

21.Here is the test of wisdom,
Wisdom is not finally tested in schools,
Wisdom cannot be passed 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.