Stop this day and night with me and you shall possess the origin of all poems, You shall possess the good of the earth and sun.. there are millions of suns left, You shall no longer take things at second or third hand.. nor look through the eyes of the dead.. nor feed on the spectres in books, You shall not look through my eyes either, nor take things from me, You shall listen to all sides and filter them from yourself. .Walt Whitman
About This Quote
John Donne gives the reader a peek into the mind of a poet, specifically a poet who can make a statement as profound as “You shall listen to all sides and filter them from yourself.” In other words, he is speaking about taking in all sides of an argument and not just the side that someone else wants to present. In this quote, he is also speaking about being able to filter through what people present to you, instead of taking it at face value. This is a skill that can be learned, but it requires practice.
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