The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1872-06-26
1.
DARTMOUTH COLLEGE.
The Exercises MARRIED by tho Indictment
Weather-Walt Whitman's Poem.


integral calculus in the Junior Glass awarded
First prize, $40 to Henry NJ. Paul, OF Dedham,
Mass. second $40, to Edward L. Gage, OF Ascutney-
vile, VT.
Mr.. Walt Whitman win tomorrow recite the
following poem:-
As u Strong Bird on Pinions Free.
COMMENCEMENT POEM, DARTMOUTH COLLEGE, N H.,
JUNE 70 1872 RECITED by WALT WHITMAN, ON
INVITATION OF PUBLIC LITERARY SOCIETIES.
4.
AS a strong bird, on pinions free,
Joyous, the ampest spaces heavenward cleavng,
Such be the thought Id think to-day OF thee,
Such be the recitative I'd bring to-day for thee.
The conceits Of the poets Of other lands bring thee
not
Nor the compliments that have served their turn so
long,
Nor rhyme-nor the classlcs-nor perfume Of for
eign court or indoor library;
But an Odor I'd bring to day as from forests OF pine
In the north, In Mane-Or breath OF an Illinois
prairie,
With open airs OF Virginia, or Georgia or Tennes-
see-or from Texas uplands or Florida's
gades;
With presentment OF Yellowstone's scenes or Yo-
semitic;
And murmurlng under pervading all, I'd bring the
rustlinR sea sound,
That endlessly sounds from the two great seas OF
the world.
And for thy suotler sense, subtler refrains' Q
Preludes Of intellect tanying these and thee
mlnd-l0rmulaS ntteu LOT Lnec-rcal anu sane
and large as these and thee;
Thou, mounting higher, diving deeper than we
knew-thou transcendental Union!
BY thee Fact to be justited-blended with Thought;
Thought OF Man ustihed-blended with God:
Through thy Idea-lo! the immortal Reality
Through thy Reality-lo! the immortal Idea
Brain of the New World what task is thinel
To formulate the Modern = Out Of the peer
less grandeur of the modern.
Out of Thysclf-comprising Science-tO reCaSt
(Recast maybe discard them, end them. Maybe
their work is done-who knows y
BY vision, hand, conception, on the background OF
the mighty past, the Dead
To linn, with absolute faith, the mighty living
present.
And yet, thou living; present brain heir Of the
Thou that lay folded, like an unborn babe, within
its folds SO long
Thou carefully prepared by 1t so long !-hapy thou
but unfoldest it-only maturest it;
1t to eventuate in thee-the essence of the by-gone
time contained in thee
It's poems churches arts, unwilling to themselves,
destined with reference to thee,
The fruit Of all the Old, ripening to-day in thee.
3.
Sail, sail thy best, Ship OF Democracy
or value Is thy freight-'ts not the present only,
The past is also stored in thee
Thou holdest not the venture OF myself alone-not
OF thy Western Continent alone;
Earth's resume entire floats on thy keel, ship!-is
steadied by thy spars;
With thee Time voyages In trust-thc antecedent
nations sink or swim with thee;
With all their ancient struggles, martyrs, heroes
epics wars thou bearst the other continents;
Theirs, theirs as much as thine the destination
port triumphant;
Steer steer with good strong hand and wary eye 0
helmsman thou carryest great companions,
Venerable priestly Asia sails this day with thee,
And royal, teudal Europe sails with thee.
Beautiful world Of new superior BIRTH that rises to
Like limitess, golden cloud, filing the western
Emblem Of general Maternity, lifted above all;
Sacred shape of the bearer Of daughters ana sons;
Out of thy teeming womb, thy giant babes in cease
less procession issuing,
Acceding from such CESSATION, taking and giving
continual strength and life;
World of the Real world OF the twain in one
World of the soul-born by the world Of the real
alone-ed to identity, body, by 1t alone;
Yet in beginning Only-incaculable masses OF CON-
posite, precious materials,
BY historys cycles forwarded-by every nation,
language, hither sent
Ready, collected herea freer, vast electric World,
to be constructed here
(The true New World-the world OF Orbic Science,
Morals Lteratures to comet
Thou Wonder World, yet underlined, unformd-
neither do define thee;
future
I feel thy omlnous greatness, evil as well as good:
/ watch thee, advancing, absorbing the present,
transcendng the past.
/ see thy light lighting and thy shadow shadow
ing as If the entire globe;
But do not undertake to define thee-hardly to
comprehend thee;
/ but tnee namc-tnce pfOpneSy-aS now
merely thee calculate.
Thee in thy future;
Thee in thy only permanent life, career-thy own
unloOsened mind--thy soaring spirit;
Thee as another, equally needed sun, America
radiant, ablaze, swlftmoving fructifying all;
Thee, risen in thy potent cheerfulness and oy-thy
endless, great harity
that weighed so long, upon the mind OF man,
The doubt suspicion, dread OF gradual certain de-
cadence OF man
thee in thy athletes, moral spiritual, south,
north, west, east,
daughter, son, endear'd alike, forever equal
Thee in thy own musicians, singers, artists, unborn
yet but certain;
Thee in thy moral wealth and civilization until
which thy proudest material wealth and civil
lization must remain In vainl;
Thee in thy all-supplying, all-encosing worship
thee In no single Bible, Saviour, merely
Thy Saviours countless, latent within thysef-thy
Bibles ncessant, within thyself equal to any,
Thee in an education grown OF thee-in teachers.
." studies, students, born Of thee;
Thee In thy democratic Jgtes en- masse-thy high
original festivals. operas, lecturers preach
Thee in thy u,tsnntn the preparations only now
conIleted-the edihce on sure foundations
Thee in thy pinnacles, intellect, thought-thy top
most rational joys-thy love and Godlike as
In thy Respondent coming literat-thy full.lunged
orators-thy sacerdotal bards-cosmic Swans,
These these In thee certain to Gomez, to-day Ipr0
phesy.
Land toleratIng all-accepting allnot for the good
alone-aI good for thee;
Land in the realms OF God to be realm unto thy
SELF
Under the rule of God to be rule unto thysef.
10 where arise three peerless stars,
TO be thy natal stars, my country-Ensembie-Ev
lution-FreedOm,
Set in the sky OF Law.)
and of unnrecedented faith-(,od,s faithl
Thy soil, thy very subso all upheav'd
The general inner earth. so long, so sedulously
draped over, now and hence for what 1t Is
boldly laid bare,
Opend by thee to heavens light, for beneft or bale.
Not for success alone;
Not to fairsal unidentified always;
The storm shall dash thy face-the murk OF war,
and worse than war; shall cover thee oil over
CWert capable Of war; Its tugs and trialsY BE capa
Bile OF peace, Its trials;
For the tug and mortal strain OF nations come at
last In peace not war;
| In many SMILING mask death shall approach, be-
quilting thee-thou In disease shalt swelter;
Thu livid canCer apread its hideOue ClRWR ClinQu0