The Walt Whitman Archive
Commentary
Interviews and Reminiscences
About this Item
Title: [No doubt]
Creator: Anonymous
Date: April 18, 1888
Whitman Archive ID: med.00619
Source: New York Herald 18 April 1888. Our transcription is based on a digital image of a clipping in the Thomas Biggs Harned Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1842–1937, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C., and corrected against a digital image of a microfilm copy of an original issue. For a description of the editorial rationale behind our treatment of the interviews, see our statement of editorial policy.
Contributors to digital file: Brett Barney, Nic Swiercek, and Shea Montgomerey
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"No doubt," said Walt Whitman, "a character of Arnold's has a menacing and influence in literature for we welcome all kinds, and indeed the glory of our age is that it would leave no voice, no claim unrecognized. But the fine gentleman, the purist, even the fine scholar, was probably never really less called for. Literature is already overweighted with them, and henceforth revolts from being a mere profession, a select class, I doubt whether America will miss Arnold at all. We missed Carlyle hugely, and the taking away of Tennyson would make a great void here in the emotions and æsthetic in intellect of the United States. There are three or four great scientists to-day in the British islands any of whose deaths would cause a chill here. But I don't think anything of the kind will happen in the present case."