To Thee Old Cause

Thou stern, remorseless, sweet idea

These chants for thee, the eternal march of thee.

With all its angry and vehement play of causes

Thou seething principle! thou well-kept, latent germ! thou center!

to show that the cause is at the center of everything and all wars

to help the reader visualize scenes from the war

to describe the non-linear nature of time and the repetition of wars in history

Thou peerless, passionate, good cause,Thou stern, remorseless, sweet idea

Thou orb of many orbs! Thou seething principle! thou well-kept, latent germ!

After a strange sad war, great war for thee

As a wheel on its axis turns, this book unwitting to itself

Thou stern, remorseless, sweet idea

After a strange sad war, great war for thee

These chants for thee, the eternal march of thee.

With all its angry and vehement play of causes

Whitman feels that his book of poems inadvertently turned out to be all about the war and its cause just as a wheel goes around its axis repeatedly.

Whitman means that his book of poems is an orb which inspires all causes and creates all wars.

Whitman implies that his book of poems about the war and the cause is more eternal than the soldiers of the war themselves.

Whitman conveys a sense of helplessness over being able to write about nothing else but the war.

Thou peerless, passionate, good cause

A war O soldiers not for itself alone

After a strange sad war, great war for thee

Thou orb of many orbs!

peerless

passionate

stern

sweet

Some people in the world have more power than other people and that is the accepted order of the world.

People of all races and communities should have equal rights and privileges.

Patriotism is a great virtue and one should love and support all their countrymen.

A cause can inspire many people to change and improve society.