--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I know I am deathless, I know this orbit…" description: "\"“I know I am deathless, I know this orbit of mine cannot be swept by a carpenter's compass, I know I shall not pass like a child's carlacue cut with a ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7b6/walt-whitman-265_august_i-know-i-am-deathless-i-know-this-orbit_2911277.png" --- # I know I am deathless, I know this orbit of mine cannot be… ![“I know I am deathless, I know this orbit of mine cannot be swept by a carpenter's compass, I know I shall not pass like a child's carlacue cut with a burnt stick at night. I know I am august, I do not trouble my spirit to vindicate itself or be understood, I see that the elementary laws never…” quote by Walt Whitman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7b6/walt-whitman-265_august_i-know-i-am-deathless-i-know-this-orbit_2911277.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7b6/walt-whitman-265_august_i-know-i-am-deathless-i-know-this-orbit_2911277.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7b6/walt-whitman-265_august_i-know-i-am-deathless-i-know-this-orbit_2911277.png) > ““I know I am deathless, I know this orbit of mine cannot be swept by a carpenter's compass, I know I shall not pass like a child's carlacue cut with a burnt stick at night. I know I am august, I do not trouble my spirit to vindicate itself or be understood, I see that the elementary laws never apologize, (I reckon I behave no prouder than the level I plant my house by, after all) I exist as I am, that is enough, If no other in the world be aware I sit content, and if each and all be aware I sit content. One world is aware and by far the largest to me, and that is myself, And whether I come to my own to-day or in ten thousand or ten million years, I can cheerfully take it now, or with equal cheerfulness, I can wait.”” [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. The speaker embraces self‑sufficiency, timeless existence, and contentment independent of external validation. **In simple terms:** I am enough as I am, content alone or observed. Key Takeaway Accept yourself fully, without needing others’ approval. Themes self‑acceptance existentialism contentment Mood reflective calm Type philosophical poetic When to use this quote - personal meditation - creative writing - solitary work - long‑term projects Key Concepts individualism timelessness inner peace Questions to Reflect On - How does self‑contentment affect relationships? A Different Perspective May become isolation limit growth or empathy? ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [August](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/august/) [Children](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/children/) [Happiness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/happiness/) [Religion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/religion/) ## Related quotes > [“In all people I see myself, none more and not one a barleycorn less, And the good or bad I say of myself I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walt-whitman/in-all-people-i-see-myself-none-more-and-not-one-a-barleycorn-less/) [Walt Whitman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walt-whitman/) > [I know I am deathless. No doubt I have died myself ten thousand times before. I laugh at what you call dissolution, and I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walt-whitman/i-know-i-am-deathless-no-doubt-i-have-died-myself-ten-thousand-times/) [Walt Whitman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walt-whitman/) > [As for me, I know nothing else but miracles, Whether I walk the streets of Manhattan, Or dart my sight over the roofs of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walt-whitman/as-for-me-i-know-nothing-else-but-miracles-whether-i-walk-the-streets/) [Walt Whitman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walt-whitman/) > [“For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/for-now-we-see-through-a-glass-darkly-but-then-face-to-face-now-i/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [However strenuously the world pulls us apart, however long the absence, we are not changed for being dashed upon the rocks. I knew you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-hartman/however-strenuously-the-world-pulls-us-apart-however-long-the-absence/) [Rachel Hartman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-hartman/) > [You know me better than you think, you know, and you shall know me better yet.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/you-know-me-better-than-you-think-you-know-and-you-shall-know-me/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Whatever there is to know, That shall we know one day.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-branch-cabell/whatever-there-is-to-know-that-shall-we-know-one-day/) [James Branch Cabell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-branch-cabell/) > [The more you practice what you know, the more shall you know what to practice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-more-you-practice-what-you-know-the-more-shall-you-know-what-to/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Do the things you know, and you shall learn the truth you need to know.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louisa-may-alcott/do-the-things-you-know-and-you-shall-learn-the-truth-you-need-to-know/) [Louisa May Alcott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louisa-may-alcott/) > [If you dissemble sometimes your knowledge of that you are thought to know, you shall be thought, another time, to know that you know…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-bacon/if-you-dissemble-sometimes-your-knowledge-of-that-you-are-thought-to/) [Francis Bacon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-bacon/) > [“Thou knowest all; I seek in vain What lands to till or sow with seed - The land is black with briar and weed,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/thou-knowest-all-i-seek-in-vain-what-lands-to-till-or-sow-with-seed/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [“Do you know how you were created? Do you know who sustains you? Do you know when you shall depart?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lailah-gifty-akita/do-you-know-how-you-were-created-do-you-know-who-sustains-you-do-you/) [Lailah Gifty Akita](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lailah-gifty-akita/) > [What men have seen they know; But what shall come hereafter No man before the event can see, Nor what end waits for him.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sophocles/what-men-have-seen-they-know-but-what-shall-come-hereafter-no-man/) [Sophocles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sophocles/) > [“Whatever side I take, I know well that I shall be blamed.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-xiv-king-of-france/whatever-side-i-take-i-know-well-that-i-shall-be-blamed/) Louis XIV (King of France > [There is something all life has in common, and when I know what it is I shall know myself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-craighead-george/there-is-something-all-life-has-in-common-and-when-i-know-what-it-is/) [Jean Craighead George](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-craighead-george/) ## 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 August quotes > [On the McLaughlin Report, August 26, 1990: 'There are only two groups that are beating the drums for war in the middle East, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pat-buchanan/on-the-mclaughlin-report-august-26-1990-there-are-only-two-groups/) [Pat Buchanan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pat-buchanan/) > [Meanwhile after failing the bar twice, I knew some people in New York and moved here in August '71.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-quine/meanwhile-after-failing-the-bar-twice-i-knew-some-people-in-new-york/) [Robert Quine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-quine/) > [I had the advantage, that I know Swedish. So I had the Swedish book and I had a lot of English translations, and German…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/liv-ullmann/i-had-the-advantage-that-i-know-swedish-so-i-had-the-swedish-book-and/) [Liv Ullmann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/liv-ullmann/) > [I love the little garden in the back of my family's brownstone in Brooklyn. Digging out there in the dirt is a joy for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/siri-hustvedt/i-love-the-little-garden-in-the-back-of-my-family-s-brownstone-in/) [Siri Hustvedt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/siri-hustvedt/) > [I can see that I imagine all kinds of rejection that never happens. I can see that I beg and plead for love that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-wurtzel/i-can-see-that-i-imagine-all-kinds-of-rejection-that-never-happens-i/) [Elizabeth Wurtzel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-wurtzel/) > [August depresses me a little. I don't even feel like eating. And when I don't eat, that's a sure sign of stagnation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willard-scott/august-depresses-me-a-little-i-don-t-even-feel-like-eating-and-when-i/) [Willard Scott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/willard-scott/) > [August, the summer's last messenger of misery, is a hollow actor.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-rollins/august-the-summer-s-last-messenger-of-misery-is-a-hollow-actor/) [Henry Rollins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-rollins/) > [ It \[August 10th 1792\] was the bloodiest day of the Revolution so far, but also one of the most decisive. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-doyle/it-august-10th-1792-was-the-bloodiest-day-of-the-revolution-so-far/) William Doyle > [How sociable the garden was. We ate and talked in given light. The children put their toys to grass All the warm wakeful August…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thom-gunn/how-sociable-the-garden-was-we-ate-and-talked-in-given-light-the/) [Thom Gunn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thom-gunn/) > [It's August, which means Congress is on recess and Mitch McConnell has shimmied back into the ocean to seek a mate.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-colbert/it-s-august-which-means-congress-is-on-recess-and-mitch-mcconnell-has/) [Stephen Colbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-colbert/) > [I studied acting in NYU's graduate program, in which we covered everything from Ibsen and Chekov to August Wilson and David Mamet.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-holland/i-studied-acting-in-nyu-s-graduate-program-in-which-we-covered/) [Andre Holland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-holland/) > [There could be oil coming up until August.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carol-browner/there-could-be-oil-coming-up-until-august/) [Carol Browner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carol-browner/) > [The 6th of August in the morning we saw an opening in the land and we ran into it, and anchored in 7 and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-dampier/the-6th-of-august-in-the-morning-we-saw-an-opening-in-the-land-and-we/) [William Dampier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-dampier/) > [August creates as she slumbers, replete and satisfied.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-wood-krutch/august-creates-as-she-slumbers-replete-and-satisfied/) [Joseph Wood Krutch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-wood-krutch/) > [I left for Petersburg in August, 1871 and stayed there until 1879.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-spitteler/i-left-for-petersburg-in-august-1871-and-stayed-there-until-1879/) Carl Spitteler [Browse all 448 August quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/august/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“I know I am deathless, I know this orbit of mine cannot be swept by a carpenter's compass, I know I shall not pass like a child's carlacue cut with a burnt stick at night. 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