Source identified
Read & copy the quotation
“Do I contradict myself? Very well then I contradict myself, (I am large, I contain multitudes.)”
- Source
- Song of Myself
- Date
- 1855
Meaning of “Do I contradict myself? Very well then I…”
Contradiction is treated as part of a large human self rather than automatic proof of failure or hypocrisy.
Where does it come from?
Leaves of Grass (1855), untitled first-edition poem later known as “Song of Myself,” printed page 55 (Wikisource scan page 61). The verbal passage is present there, while this collection retains the more familiar later punctuation/parenthetical presentation. Later editions number this movement section 51; that section number is cross-edition orientation only and is not presented as 1855 structure.
