Behavior

by Walt Whitman

Behavior--fresh, native, copious, each one for himself or herself, Nature and the Soul expressed--America and freedom expressed--In it the finest art, In it pride, cleanliness, sympathy, to have their chance, In it physique, intellect, faith--in it just as much as to manage an army or a city, or to write a book--perhaps more, The youth, the laboring person, the poor person, rivalling all the rest--perhaps outdoing the rest, The effects of the universe no greater than its; For there is nothing in the whole universe that can be more effective than a man's or woman's daily behavior can be, In any position, in any one of These States.