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174 Think of womanhood, and you to be a woman; The creation is womanhood, Have I not said that womanhood involves all? Have I not told how the universe has nothing better
 * than the best womanhood?



antecedents, With my fathers and mothers, and the accumulations
 * of past ages,

With all which, had it not been, I would not now be
 * here, as I am,

With Egypt, India, Phenicia, Greece, and Rome, With the Celt, the Scandinavian, the Alb, and the
 * Saxon,

With antique maritime ventures—with laws, artisanship,
 * wars, and journeys,

With the poet, the skald, the saga, the myth, and the
 * oracle,

With the sale of slaves—with enthusiasts—with
 * the troubadour, the crusader, and the monk,

With those old continents whence we have come to this
 * new continent,

With the fading kingdoms and kings over there, With the fading religions and priests, With the small shores we look back to, from our own
 * large and present shores,