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Much like Emerson and Thoreau, Whitman stressed many Transcendentalist principles. In this section of the poem he hammered home the concept of thinking for yourself, to not let the opinions of others ever sway your decisions. He also stressed the importance of looking at the bigger picture at all times, to not let the little things distract you from the main issue. Lastly, he stressed the idea of discovering things for yourself and to "no longer take things at second or third hand" urging his readers to come up with their own thoughts on the issue.
"Have you reckoned a thousand acres much? Have you reckoned the earth much"? When Whitman was writing this section of the poem his goal was to get his readers to look at the bigger picture. "Have you practiced so long to learn to read? Have you felt so proud to get at the meaning of poems"? He urged them to compare their comparatively little problems to the ones of the world at large. "You shall not look through my eyes either, nor take things from me, You shall listen to all sides and filter them from yourself". He then changed his tune to urging his readers to discover things for themselves. "You shall no longer take things at second or third hand". He also said not to take things from second or third hand, to instead come to your own conclusions about the issue.