The project gutenberg ebook of leaves of grass, by walt. Since we waited so long, raking meant not just getting leaves up, but some grass, too. Leaves of grass, the spectator 33 14 july 1860 commentary. Actually, all that became obvious was the failure of both believers and unbelievers to cite much specific evidence.
Because it would have been impossible for joseph to plagiarize whitman, should we use the logic of the critics and claim that whitman plagiarized the book of mormon. Any person using this document file, for any pur pose, and in any way does so at his or her own risk. Did view of the hebrews influence themes in joseph smith. The 1860 leaves of grass is particularly insistent upon whitmans religious intentions, robertson writes, but his interest in writing a new american bible is evident in every version of. Original contributions from lindsay mentioned include his satirical treatment of walt whitmans leaves of grass as evidence of book of mormon plagiarism as well as treatments of the book of abraham and other topics. The only possible weakness in this theory is that the leaves of grass was published in 1855, 25 years after the book of mormon. Instead of singing the body electric, some of the poetry of walt whitman demeans and degrades the human spirit. Did the first book of napoleon influence the book of mormon. They had had so many people write them with regards to this rumor that they had prepared an official statement about the book of mormon. This awardwinning page is a workinprogress by jeff lindsay representing one of the most controversial discoveries ever about the origins of the book of mormon, the finding of overwhelming evidence for plagiarism from walt whitmans leaves of grass. Leaves of grass and the poetry marketplace of antebellum america susan belasco179 8.
It is filled with terms and concepts that joseph smith relied on over and over again. Can someone learn about god by reading the book of mormon. Leaves of grass is a collection of poems that walt whitman first published in 1855 and revised and expanded over the rest of his life. Leaves of grass is a poetry collection by the american poet walt whitman 18191892.
Walt whitman as the source of the book of mormon mormanity. Leaves of grass, whitmans sole book published at his own expense, represents almost the entirety of his poetical output. The project gutenberg ebook of leaves of grass, by walt whitman this ebook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with almost no restrictions whatsoever. Evil, too, is unreal, since god is present everywhere. Anyone can cherrypick a few idiosyncrasies that were common 200 years ago and draw a conspiracy theory relationship between the two random books. This resulted in vastly different editions over four decadesthe first a small book of. The original 1855 edition whitman, walt, american renaissance books on. Page 254 then with the knowledge of death as walking one side of me, and the thought of death closewalking the other side of me, and i in the middle as with companions, and as holding the hands of companions, i fled forth to the hiding receiving night that talks not, down to the shores of the water, the path by the swamp in the dimness, to the solemn shadowy cedars and ghostly pines so still. These words arent all just randomly scattered, but often occur in lengthy phrases shared between the two texts. Mormon apologists will immediately nitpick at the slight problem of publication dates whitmans first edition of the leaves of grass in 1855. As for the rest of the material, it may well be fine but it is not the library of america a series renowned. Did joseph smith steal from the late war to write the book.
Section 34 of song of myself in leaves of grass, referring to the defense of the fort at alamo, is a virtual blueprint for the battle scenes in the book of alma in the book of mormon. This appears to be the best candidate so far for a. Man communicates with his soul in a mystical experience, and whitman amply expresses his responses to the soul in leaves of grass, especially in song of myself. The similarities are so superficial, in fact, that somebody with too much time on their hands and a point to prove actually went through and found over 100 similar parallels between the book of mormon and walt whitmans leaves of grass, including five, six, and sevenwordlong phrases the books have in common. Leaves of grass by walt whitman and a great selection of related books, art and collectibles available now at.
Whitman was constantly revising and reorganizing leaves of grass, so a collection of the various editions he released provides scholars with a. The sniff of green leaves and dry leaves, and of the shore and darkcolord searocks, and of hay in the barn, the sound of the belchd words of my voice loosd to the eddies of the wind, a few light kisses, a few embraces, a reaching around of arms, the play of shine and shade on. Which is the most meaningful poem in walt whitmans leaves of. The collection was first printed on july 4, 1855 in brooklyn at a fulton street printing shop. A second edition of his leaves of grass, with twenty. In 1857, between the second and third editions of leaves of grass, whit. Walt whitman believed himself a prophet and regarded leaves of grass as. The final product, which is what is most often seen on bookshelves, is a bloated, redundant. There are 609 fourword phrases shared by leaves of grass and the book of mormon. Whitmans leaves of grass and the writing of a new american bible. The book of mormon describes that the jaredite people were familiar with the concept of windows near the time of the biblical tower of babel, and that they specifically avoided crafting windows for lighting in their covered seagoing vessels, because of fears that they would be dashed in. Amazingly, 3,054 of the book of mormons 5,638 unique words are found in the leaves of grass.
One can find parallels in many themes, names, events, and even phrases of four, five, six, or even seven words at a time. The sniff of green leaves and dry leaves, and of the shore and darkcolord searocks, and of hay in the barn, the sound of the belchd words of my voice loosd to the eddies of the wind, a few light kisses, a few embraces, a reaching around of arms. Although the first edition was published in 1855, whitman spent most of his professional life writing and rewriting leaves of grass, revising it multiple times until his death. This portable document file is furnished free and without any charge of any kind. From the day the book of mormon rolled off the press in 1830, those who gave it credence asserted that it obviously read like a hebrew text. Book of mormon, 1830, page 483 the joseph smith papers. Leaves of grass by walt whitman is a publication of the electronic classics series.
In a study, jeff lindsay found many striking parallels between the book leaves of grass and the book of mormon. Leaves of grass books closed on june 12, 2010 after nearly 30 years in willits. Walt whitmans leaves of grass special collections blog l. Planning the third 1860 edition of leaves of grass, whitman wrote. Leaves of grass 1855 and the cities of whitmans memory william pannapacker 199 9. Now 150 years later, jazz pianist fred hersch has skillfully adapted whitmans work to music. You may copy it, give it away or reuse it under the terms of the project gutenberg license included with this ebook or online at. Did you know there is proof that the book of mormon was plagerized from leaves of grass written by walt whitman in 1855.
Raking leaves and reading scripture the church of jesus. To the inside front cover are affixed four clippings of descriptions of different versions of first edition copies of the book of mormon and of an 1854 edition of the doctrine and covenants, along with a clipping describing the origin of the text of the book of mormon and a bookplate of the shepard book company of salt lake city, utah. Leaves of grass by walt whitman full text free book. Whitman, for some reason, waited a few decades to publish the text that he must have written before 1830 or actually before 1827, when the book of mormon story came on the scene. The first 1855 edition ebook written by walt whitman. If you are looking, specifically, for the first edition 1855 of leaves of grass which is given prominence of place in the library of america edition you will not find it here.
Leaves of grass is a collection of poetry by american writer walt whitman 18191892. Pick up the slim first edition whitman revised and expanded leaves of grass throughout his life. His worldview, environment, and education no doubt influenced his interpretation of scripture, how it related to his surroundings, his understanding of past and future prophecies, and his interpretation of historical events. Though the first edition was published in 1855, whitman spent most of his professional life writing and rewriting leaves of grass,1 revising it.
The first edition of leaves of grass, which he would continue to revise over the course of his life expanding and rewriting it until the year of his death, appeared in 1855. John milton, joseph smith, and the book of mormon byu. Anyone can cherrypick a few idiosyncrasies that were common 200 years ago and draw a relationship between the two random books. However, the real experts know that the strongest candidate for the secret source of the book of mormon is walt whitmans leaves of grass. Was the book of mormon plagiarized from walt whitmans leaves of grass. A unique copy of leaves of grass, 1882 iowa research online. These relate to artifacts, animal, plant, or technology that critics believe did not exist in the americas during the book of mormon time period before 2500 bc to. Leaves of grassbook iii wikisource, the free online library.
Bible, also, is something in the style of the book of mormon. Feathers in whitmans 1855 leaves of grass thomas c. Probably the most memorable vision in the entire book of mormon, the vision of the tree of life lends itself well toward illustration partly because it is so easy to leave out the multitudes of peopletheyre the. John milton, joseph smith, and the book of mormon author robert a. Proof the book or mormon was plagiarized from walt whitman. At the mormon interpreter, lindsay has also been cited for a thoughtful blog response to a new york times article. Proof the book or mormon was plagiarized from walt whitmans leaves of grass did you know there is proof that the book of mormon was plagerized from leaves of grass written by walt whitman in 1855. Josephs environment and the book of mormon book of.
Walt whitman as the source for lehis dream and more. Though the first edition was published in 1855, whitman spent his entire life writing and rewriting leaves of grass, revising it in several editions until his death. I highly recommend leaves of grass to everyone especially those who still believe, or want to believe, in the basic goodness of the american experiment. The dixon leaves of grass collection consists of 18 pieces, including. After last weeks action packed pages, this week is a nice breather. In several cases, the plagiarism is proof that joseph smith was the author of the book of mormon, since the source of the copied text was not accessible to the alleged book of mormon authors. On my ldsfaq page on this issue, was the book of mormon plagiarized from walt whitmans leaves of.
Leaves of grass simple english wikipedia, the free. Whitmans first edition, however, was published twentyfive years after the book of mormon. To a mystic, time and space are unreal, since both can be overcome by man by spiritual conquest. Leaves of grass as a womans book iowa research online. The book of mormon is the bestknown of the new bibles jockeying for. I can still remember the exact spot i was sitting when i knew the book of mormon could not be true. Rees this comparison of joseph smith and john milton focuses on their literary output and especially the preparation each had for dictating a long religious work, in miltons case paradise lost and in smiths the book of mormon.
In many other cases, joseph smith made minor word changes or additions. In 1855, walt whitmanarguably the greatest poet the united states ever producedfirst published his magnum opus, leaves of grass. Now, the grassy part of my yard isnt that big, but it was harder than i anticipated. Chiasmus in the book of mormon religious studies center. My husband had the job of blowing the leaves from the patio and mulch areas into the grass, and i had the job of raking the leaves from the grass. This resulted in vastly different editions over four decadesthe first, a small book of twelve poems and the last, a compilation. Download for offline reading, highlight, bookmark or take notes while you read leaves of grass. Learn vocabulary, terms, and more with flashcards, games, and other study tools. Book of mormon, 1830, page 77 the joseph smith papers. Forth from the war emerging, a book i have made, the words of my book nothing, the drift of it every thing, a book separate, not linkd with the rest nor felt by the intellect, but you ye untold latencies will thrill to every page. Those who were not so convinced insisted that it obviously read like anything but a hebrew text. With a midsized ensemble featuring cellist erik friedlander, saxophonist tony malaby. Original contributions from lindsay mentioned include his satirical treatment of walt whitmans leaves of grass as evidence of book of mormon plagiarism as.
As noted repeatedly in various sections of this book, josephlike all prophets was, in part, a product of his milieu. On my ldsfaq page on this issue, was the book of mormon plagiarized from walt whitmans leaves of grass. According to the book of mormon, the ancient people who inhabited north america had wheat, barley, oats, millet, rice, cattle, pigs, chickens, donkeys, iron, steel, glass and silk. Amazingly, 3,054 of the book of mormon s 5,638 unique words are found in the leaves of grass.
Other critics followed suit, and walt whitman became as famous as the author of the book of mormon. Critics of the book of mormon have argued that there are words and phrases in the book that are anachronistic with archaeological findings. Just look at the parallels here dozens of parallel names multiple 5, 6 and even 7word exact matches. Leaves of grassbook i wikisource, the free online library. The gold standard for plagiarism, in my opinion, is walt whitmans leaves of grass, which offers numerous parallels for creative parallel finders.
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