Walt Whitman (1819–1892). Leaves of Grass. 1900.

305. Of the Visage of Things

OF the visages of things—And of piercing through to the accepted hells beneath;

Of ugliness—To me there is just as much in it as there is in beauty—And now the ugliness of human beings is acceptable to me;

Of detected persons—To me, detected persons are not, in any respect, worse than undetected persons—and are not in any respect worse than I am myself;

Of criminals—To me, any judge, or any juror, is equally criminal—and any reputable person is also—and the President is also.