WHAT General has a good army in himself, has a good army; He happy in himself, or she happy in herself, is happy, But I tell you you cannot be happy by others, any more than you can beget or conceive a child by others.
Three short lines from Walt Whitman argue that real strength and happiness can only come from within. A general who has a good army in himself isn’t depending on troops—he’s carrying his own power. The same goes for joy: if you aren’t happy in your own company, no other person can fix that.
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