--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Sure as the most certain sure … plumb in…" description: "\"Sure as the most certain sure … plumb in the uprights, well entreated, braced in the beams, Stout as a horse, affectionate, haughty, electrical, I and ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ed5/walt-whitman-265_affectionate_sure-as-the-most-certain-sure-plumb-in-t_309239.jpg" --- # Sure as the most certain sure … plumb in the uprights… ![“Sure as the most certain sure … plumb in the uprights, well entreated, braced in the beams, Stout as a horse, affectionate, haughty, electrical, I and this mystery we stand. Clear and sweet is my soul … and clear and sweet is all that is not my soul, Lack one lacks both … and the unseen is proved…” quote by Walt Whitman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ed5/walt-whitman-265_affectionate_sure-as-the-most-certain-sure-plumb-in-t_309239.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ed5/walt-whitman-265_affectionate_sure-as-the-most-certain-sure-plumb-in-t_309239.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ed5/walt-whitman-265_affectionate_sure-as-the-most-certain-sure-plumb-in-t_309239.jpg) > “Sure as the most certain sure … plumb in the uprights, well entreated, braced in the beams, Stout as a horse, affectionate, haughty, electrical, I and this mystery we stand. Clear and sweet is my soul … and clear and sweet is all that is not my soul, Lack one lacks both … and the unseen is proved by the seen Till that becomes unseen and receives proof in its turn. To elaborate is no avail … Learned and unlearned feel that it is so.” [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 passage reflects on the paradox of certainty and mystery, the intertwining of self and other, and the limits of explanation. **In simple terms:** It speaks of certainty, mystery, and the difficulty of fully explaining experience. Key Takeaway Embrace both certainty and mystery. Themes certainty mystery self knowledge paradox Mood contemplative enigmatic Type poetic philosophical When to use this quote - personal reflection - creative writing - philosophical discourse Key Concepts existentialism phenomenology selfhood Questions to Reflect On - How do you balance certainty with mystery? - What does “unseen proved by the seen” mean to you? A Different Perspective Explanation can never fully capture experience. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Affectionate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/affectionate/) [Horse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/horse/) [Mystery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mystery/) [Religion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/religion/) [Soul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/soul/) [Spirit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/spirit/) [Spirituality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/spirituality/) ## Related quotes > [“Songs of myself Clear and sweet is my soul, and clear and sweet is all that is not my soul. Lack one lacks both,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walt-whitman/songs-of-myself-clear-and-sweet-is-my-soul-and-clear-and-sweet-is-all/) [Walt Whitman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walt-whitman/) > [Clear and sweet is my soul, clear and sweet is all that is not my soul.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walt-whitman/clear-and-sweet-is-my-soul-clear-and-sweet-is-all-that-is-not-my-soul/) [Walt Whitman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walt-whitman/) > [Sure as the most certain sure, plumb in the uprights, well entretied, braced in the beams, Stout as a horse, affectionate, haughty, electrical, I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walt-whitman/sure-as-the-most-certain-sure-plumb-in-the-uprights-well-entretied/) [Walt Whitman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walt-whitman/) > [“When you’re aware of all the things that you own, you’re not only certain of where they are, you’re also sure about whether you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fumio-sasaki/when-you-re-aware-of-all-the-things-that-you-own-you-re-not-only/) [Fumio Sasaki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fumio-sasaki/) > [Wit,--the pupil of the soul's clear eye.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sir-john-davies/wit-the-pupil-of-the-soul-s-clear-eye/) [Sir John Davies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sir-john-davies/) > [If you have a clear idea of a soul, you will have a clear idea of a form; for it is of the same…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gottfried-leibniz/if-you-have-a-clear-idea-of-a-soul-you-will-have-a-clear-idea-of-a/) [Gottfried Leibniz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gottfried-leibniz/) > [Lo, the most excellent sun so calm and haughty, The violet and purple morn with just-felt breezes, The gentle soft-born measureless light, The miracle…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walt-whitman/lo-the-most-excellent-sun-so-calm-and-haughty-the-violet-and-purple/) [Walt Whitman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walt-whitman/) > [“Stout as a horse”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walt-whitman/stout-as-a-horse/) [Walt Whitman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walt-whitman/) > [“She was one of those women of good family who no longer exist, elegant, distinguished, and haughty, whose pallor and thinness seem to say,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jules-barbey-d-aurevilly/she-was-one-of-those-women-of-good-family-who-no-longer-exist-elegant/) [Jules Barbey d'Aurevilly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jules-barbey-d-aurevilly/) > [When the lion had eaten its fill, and the jackals had taken their share, the ants came along and finished up the meat from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/idries-shah/when-the-lion-had-eaten-its-fill-and-the-jackals-had-taken-their/) [Idries Shah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/idries-shah/) > [The child--a skilled actor with a hundred masks: a different one for his mother, father, grandmother or grandfather, for a stern or lenient teacher,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janusz-korczak/the-child-a-skilled-actor-with-a-hundred-masks-a-different-one-for/) [Janusz Korczak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janusz-korczak/) > [No architecture is so haughty as that which is simple.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-ruskin/no-architecture-is-so-haughty-as-that-which-is-simple/) [John Ruskin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-ruskin/) > [But the desire of obtaining the advantages, and of escaping the burthens, of political society, is a perpetual and inexhaustible source of discord; nor…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-gibbon/but-the-desire-of-obtaining-the-advantages-and-of-escaping-the/) [Edward Gibbon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-gibbon/) > [He is indeed the 'Lamb.' There is nothing harsh or haughty or retaliative about Him.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-sidlow-baxter/he-is-indeed-the-lamb-there-is-nothing-harsh-or-haughty-or/) [J. Sidlow Baxter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-sidlow-baxter/) > [“A session of boasting won't attract any real friends.  It will set you up on a pedestal, however, making you a clearer target.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richelle-e-goodrich/a-session-of-boasting-won-t-attract-any-real-friends-it-will-set-you/) [Richelle E. Goodrich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richelle-e-goodrich/) ## 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 Affectionate quotes > [“Emira realized that Briar probably didn't know how to say good-bye because she never had to do it before. But whether she said good-bye…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kiley-reid/emira-realized-that-briar-probably-didn-t-know-how-to-say-good-bye/) Kiley Reid > [“She scanned the room, and her grin broadened when she saw Christian. She then sought me out. Her smile for him had been affectionate;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richelle-mead/she-scanned-the-room-and-her-grin-broadened-when-she-saw-christian/) [Richelle Mead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richelle-mead/) > [We must understand that God does not "love" us without liking us - through gritted teeth - as "Christian" love is sometimes thought to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dallas-willard/we-must-understand-that-god-does-not-love-us-without-liking-us/) [Dallas Willard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dallas-willard/) > [There never was a tonic that would cure more social ailments than a healthy, happy home. There never was a greater source of social…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-l-evans/there-never-was-a-tonic-that-would-cure-more-social-ailments-than-a/) [Richard L. Evans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-l-evans/) > [I am convinced that human nature is basically affectionate and good. If our behavior follows our kind and loving nature, immense benefits will result,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dalai-lama/i-am-convinced-that-human-nature-is-basically-affectionate-and-good/) [Dalai Lama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dalai-lama/) > [With no other privilege than that of sympathy and sincere good wishes, I would address an affectionate exhortation to the youthful literati, grounded on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-taylor-coleridge/with-no-other-privilege-than-that-of-sympathy-and-sincere-good-wishes/) [Samuel Taylor Coleridge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-taylor-coleridge/) > [One realizes that human relationships are the tragic necessity of human life; that they can never be wholly satisfactory, that every ego is half…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willa-cather/one-realizes-that-human-relationships-are-the-tragic-necessity-of/) [Willa Cather](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/willa-cather/) > [I can be affectionate about a lot of things without watching them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-stoppard/i-can-be-affectionate-about-a-lot-of-things-without-watching-them/) [Tom Stoppard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-stoppard/) > [ If I do manage to come up with a scheme \[to naming\], however, I stick to it, which is why my cats are named… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ursula-vernon/if-i-do-manage-to-come-up-with-a-scheme-to-naming-however-i-stick-to/) [Ursula Vernon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ursula-vernon/) > [Josh Radnor is that rare thing: a writer-director who thinks like an actor but still knows how to create a comedy with shape and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/owen-gleiberman/josh-radnor-is-that-rare-thing-a-writer-director-who-thinks-like-an/) Owen Gleiberman > [Always when I see a man fond of praise I always think it is because he is an affectionate man craving for affection](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-butler-yeats/always-when-i-see-a-man-fond-of-praise-i-always-think-it-is-because/) Jack Butler Yeats > [I feel that a genuine, affectionate smile is very important in our day-to-day lives. How one creates that smile largely depends on one's own…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dalai-lama/i-feel-that-a-genuine-affectionate-smile-is-very-important-in-our-day/) [Dalai Lama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dalai-lama/) > [Shyama was very good looking and a good human being. She was warm and affectionate.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/waheeda-rehman/shyama-was-very-good-looking-and-a-good-human-being-she-was-warm-and/) [Waheeda Rehman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/waheeda-rehman/) > [I simply contend that the middle-class ideal which demands that people be affectionate, respectable, honest and content, that they avoid excitements and cultivate serenity…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gertrude-stein/i-simply-contend-that-the-middle-class-ideal-which-demands-that/) [Gertrude Stein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gertrude-stein/) > [“I would trust you with my life. I'm betting that something evil would appear pleasing but feel foul." Gregori's glittering silver eyes settled on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christine-feehan/i-would-trust-you-with-my-life-i-m-betting-that-something-evil-would/) [Christine Feehan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christine-feehan/) [Browse all 282 Affectionate quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/affectionate/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Sure as the most certain sure … plumb in the uprights, well entreated, braced in the beams, Stout as a horse, affectionate, haughty, electrical, I and this mystery we stand. Clear and sweet is my soul … and clear and sweet is all that is not my soul, Lack one lacks both … and the unseen is proved by the seen Till that becomes unseen and receives proof in its turn. 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