--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Here is not merely a nation but a teeming…" description: "\"Here is not merely a nation but a teeming nation of nations.\" — Walt Whitman" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9e9/walt-whitman-265_character-education_here-is-not-merely-a-nation-but-a-teemin_1529159.png" --- # Here is not merely a nation but a teeming nation of nations. ![“Here is not merely a nation but a teeming nation of nations.” quote by Walt Whitman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9e9/walt-whitman-265_character-education_here-is-not-merely-a-nation-but-a-teemin_1529159.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9e9/walt-whitman-265_character-education_here-is-not-merely-a-nation-but-a-teemin_1529159.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9e9/walt-whitman-265_character-education_here-is-not-merely-a-nation-but-a-teemin_1529159.png) > “Here is not merely a nation but a teeming nation of nations.” [Walt Whitman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walt-whitman/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A nation is a collection of many distinct peoples, each contributing to the whole. **In simple terms:** Nation = many nations. Key Takeaway Embrace diversity within unity. Themes nation diversity unity Mood hopeful inspirational Type philosophical political When to use this quote - policy making - education - community building - immigration Key Concepts political theory social identity Questions to Reflect On - How can societies honor both unity and difference? - What policies foster inclusive national identity? A Different Perspective Balancing unity and distinct identities can be challenging. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Character education](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/character-education/) [Democratic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/democratic/) [Inspirational](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inspirational/) [Leaves of grass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/leaves-of-grass/) [Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love/) [Nation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nation/) [Nation Nations](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nation-nations-590400/) [Nation Teeming](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nation-teeming-5670074/) [Nations](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nations/) [Teeming Nation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/teeming-nation-5670075/) [Values](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/values/) ## Related quotes > [I am always fascinated when people talk about 'the forging of a nation'. Most nations are forgeries, perpetrated in the last century or so.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neal-ascherson/i-am-always-fascinated-when-people-talk-about-the-forging-of-a-nation/) [Neal Ascherson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neal-ascherson/) > [“My nation, as all nations, is becoming a land without peace, without thought, without mind, Madam Abbess. We are suffocating our spirits in commercial…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rumer-godden/my-nation-as-all-nations-is-becoming-a-land-without-peace-without/) [Rumer Godden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rumer-godden/) > [Not merely a nation but a nation of nations.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lyndon-b-johnson/not-merely-a-nation-but-a-nation-of-nations/) [Lyndon B. Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lyndon-b-johnson/) > [this is thy hour o soul, thy free flight into the wordless, away from books, away from art, the day erased, the lesson done,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walt-whitman/this-is-thy-hour-o-soul-thy-free-flight-into-the-wordless-away-from/) [Walt Whitman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walt-whitman/) > [Walt Whitman, a kosmos, of Manhattan the son, Turbulent, fleshy, sensual, eating, drinking and breeding, No sentimentalist, no stander above men and women or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walt-whitman/walt-whitman-a-kosmos-of-manhattan-the-son-turbulent-fleshy-sensual/) [Walt Whitman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walt-whitman/) > [O amazement of things-even the least particle!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walt-whitman/o-amazement-of-things-even-the-least-particle/) [Walt Whitman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walt-whitman/) > [Something there is more immortal even than the stars.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walt-whitman/something-there-is-more-immortal-even-than-the-stars/) [Walt Whitman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walt-whitman/) > [Do I contradict myself? Very well then, I can bear it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walt-whitman/do-i-contradict-myself-very-well-then-i-can-bear-it/) [Walt Whitman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walt-whitman/) > [And a mouse is miracle enough to stagger sextillions of infidels.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walt-whitman/and-a-mouse-is-miracle-enough-to-stagger-sextillions-of-infidels/) [Walt Whitman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walt-whitman/) > [All truths wait in all things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walt-whitman/all-truths-wait-in-all-things/) [Walt Whitman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walt-whitman/) > [The smallest sprout shows there is really no death. And if ever there was it led forward life, and does not wait at the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walt-whitman/the-smallest-sprout-shows-there-is-really-no-death-and-if-ever-there/) [Walt Whitman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walt-whitman/) > [Re-examine all you have been told at school or church or in any book, dismiss whatever insults your own soul; and your very flesh…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walt-whitman/re-examine-all-you-have-been-told-at-school-or-church-or-in-any-book/) [Walt Whitman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walt-whitman/) > [I think I could turn and live with the animals, they are so placid and self contained; I stand and look at them long…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walt-whitman/i-think-i-could-turn-and-live-with-the-animals-they-are-so-placid-and/) [Walt Whitman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walt-whitman/) > [There will never be any more perfection than there is now.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walt-whitman/there-will-never-be-any-more-perfection-than-there-is-now/) [Walt Whitman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walt-whitman/) > [Comerado, this is no book,Who touches this, touches a man,(Is it night? Are we here alone?)It is I you hold, and who holds you,I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walt-whitman/comerado-this-is-no-book-who-touches-this-touches-a-man-is-it-night/) [Walt Whitman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walt-whitman/) ## More by Walt Whitman > [O lands! O all so dear to me - what you are, I become part of that, whatever it is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walt-whitman/o-lands-o-all-so-dear-to-me-what-you-are-i-become-part-of-that/) [Walt Whitman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walt-whitman/) > [“Each of us inevitable, Each of us limitless—each of us with his or her right upon the earth, Each of us allow'd the eternal…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walt-whitman/each-of-us-inevitable-each-of-us-limitless-each-of-us-with-his-or-her/) [Walt Whitman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walt-whitman/) > [Comerado, this is no book,Who touches this, touches a man,(Is it night? Are we here alone?)It is I you hold, and who holds you,I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walt-whitman/comerado-this-is-no-book-who-touches-this-touches-a-man-is-it-night/) [Walt Whitman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walt-whitman/) > [I have sometimes thought that the laws ought not to punish those actions of evil which are committed when the senses are steeped in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walt-whitman/i-have-sometimes-thought-that-the-laws-ought-not-to-punish-those/) [Walt Whitman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walt-whitman/) > [Oh while I live, to be the ruler of life, not a slave, to meet life as a powerful conqueror, and nothing exterior to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walt-whitman/oh-while-i-live-to-be-the-ruler-of-life-not-a-slave-to-meet-life-as-a/) [Walt Whitman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walt-whitman/) > [“it makes such difference where you read”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walt-whitman/it-makes-such-difference-where-you-read/) [Walt Whitman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walt-whitman/) > [Wisdom is not finally tested in the schools, Wisdom cannot be pass'd from one having it to another not having it, Wisdom is of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walt-whitman/wisdom-is-not-finally-tested-in-the-schools-wisdom-cannot-be-pass-d/) [Walt Whitman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walt-whitman/) > [Strange, (is it not?) that battles, martyrs, blood, even assassination should so condense - perhaps only really lastingly condense - a Nationality.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walt-whitman/strange-is-it-not-that-battles-martyrs-blood-even-assassination/) [Walt Whitman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walt-whitman/) > [I think I could always live with animals. The more you're around people, the more you love animals.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walt-whitman/i-think-i-could-always-live-with-animals-the-more-you-re-around/) [Walt Whitman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walt-whitman/) > [“I am the poet of the Body and I am the poet of the Soul, The pleasures of heaven are with me and the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walt-whitman/i-am-the-poet-of-the-body-and-i-am-the-poet-of-the-soul-the-pleasures/) [Walt Whitman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walt-whitman/) > [So here I sit in the early candle-light of old age-I and my book-casting backward glances over out travel'd road.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walt-whitman/so-here-i-sit-in-the-early-candle-light-of-old-age-i-and-my-book/) [Walt Whitman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walt-whitman/) > [Re-examine all you have been told. Dismiss what insults your soul.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walt-whitman/re-examine-all-you-have-been-told-dismiss-what-insults-your-soul/) [Walt Whitman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walt-whitman/) > [This is what you shall do: love the earth and sun, and animals, despise riches, give alms to every one that asks, stand up…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walt-whitman/this-is-what-you-shall-do-love-the-earth-and-sun-and-animals-despise/) [Walt Whitman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walt-whitman/) > [Each of us inevitable; Each of us limitless-each of us with his or her right upon the earth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walt-whitman/each-of-us-inevitable-each-of-us-limitless-each-of-us-with-his-or-her-2/) [Walt Whitman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walt-whitman/) > [Silence? What can New York-noisy, roaring, rumbling, tumbling, bustling, story, turbulent New York-have to do with silence? Amid the universal clatter, the incessant din…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walt-whitman/silence-what-can-new-york-noisy-roaring-rumbling-tumbling-bustling/) [Walt Whitman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walt-whitman/) [Explore all 775 Walt Whitman quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walt-whitman/) ## More Character education quotes > [There is no such thing as a "self-made" man. We are made up of thousands of others. Everyone who has ever done a kind…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-matthew-adams/there-is-no-such-thing-as-a-self-made-man-we-are-made-up-of-thousands/) [George Matthew Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-matthew-adams/) > [One of the first observations to make in conversation is the state, or the character, and the education of the person to whom we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suzanne-curchod/one-of-the-first-observations-to-make-in-conversation-is-the-state-or/) [Suzanne Curchod](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suzanne-curchod/) > [There aren't any great men. There are just great challenges that ordinary men like you and me are forced by circumstances to meet.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-halsey/there-aren-t-any-great-men-there-are-just-great-challenges-that/) [William Halsey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-halsey/) > [America is never wholly herself unless she is engaged in high moral principle. We as a people have such a purpose today. It is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-h-w-bush/america-is-never-wholly-herself-unless-she-is-engaged-in-high-moral/) [George H. W. Bush](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-h-w-bush/) > [The future success of our Nation depends on our children's ability to understand the difference between right and wrong and to have the strength…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-w-bush/the-future-success-of-our-nation-depends-on-our-children-s-ability-to/) [George W. Bush](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-w-bush/) > [Of mankind in general, the parts are greater than the whole.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/of-mankind-in-general-the-parts-are-greater-than-the-whole/) [Aristotle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristotle/) > [Under capitalism everybody is the architect of his own fortune.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ludwig-von-mises/under-capitalism-everybody-is-the-architect-of-his-own-fortune/) [Ludwig von Mises](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ludwig-von-mises/) > [Watch your thoughts, they become words. Watch your words, they become actions. Watch your actions, they become habit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laozi/watch-your-thoughts-they-become-words-watch-your-words-they-become-3/) [Laozi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laozi/) > [We are all part of the human family and we should be about doing what all good families do - caring for our less…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-o-neill/we-are-all-part-of-the-human-family-and-we-should-be-about-doing-what/) [Dan O'Neill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-o-neill/) > [Character Education helps to create an environment for caring and learning in schools.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-lickona/character-education-helps-to-create-an-environment-for-caring-and/) [Thomas Lickona](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-lickona/) > [You can't run a government solely on a business basis...Government should be human. It should have a heart.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-h-lehman/you-can-t-run-a-government-solely-on-a-business-basis-government/) [Herbert H. Lehman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-h-lehman/) > [We all flow from one fountain- Soul. All are expressions of one love. God does not appear, and flow out, only from narrow chinks…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-muir/we-all-flow-from-one-fountain-soul-all-are-expressions-of-one-love/) [John Muir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-muir/) > [Responsibility is the price every man must pay for freedom.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edith-hamilton/responsibility-is-the-price-every-man-must-pay-for-freedom/) [Edith Hamilton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edith-hamilton/) > [A man never discloses his own character so clearly as when he describes anothers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-paul/a-man-never-discloses-his-own-character-so-clearly-as-when-he-2/) [Jean Paul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-paul/) > [Every heart is the other heart. Every soul is the other soul. Every face is the other face. The individual is the one illusion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marguerite-young/every-heart-is-the-other-heart-every-soul-is-the-other-soul-every/) [Marguerite Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marguerite-young/) [Browse all 42 Character education quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/character-education/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Here is not merely a nation but a teeming nation of nations.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Walt Whitman" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walt-whitman/here-is-not-merely-a-nation-but-a-teeming-nation-of-nations/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Character education" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walt-whitman/here-is-not-merely-a-nation-but-a-teeming-nation-of-nations/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9e9/walt-whitman-265_character-education_here-is-not-merely-a-nation-but-a-teemin_1529159.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9e9/walt-whitman-265_character-education_here-is-not-merely-a-nation-but-a-teemin_1529159.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9e9/walt-whitman-265_character-education_here-is-not-merely-a-nation-but-a-teemin_1529159.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Here is not merely a nation but a teeming nation of nations.” — Walt Whitman", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Walt Whitman", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walt-whitman/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Here is not merely a nation...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walt-whitman/here-is-not-merely-a-nation-but-a-teeming-nation-of-nations/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walt-whitman/here-is-not-merely-a-nation-but-a-teeming-nation-of-nations/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```