Specimen Days: Answer to an Insisting Friend

"I have often thought of the meaning of such things -- that one can only encompass and complete matters of that kind by exploring behind, perhaps very far behind, themselves directly, and so into their genesis, antecedents, and cumulative stages."

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Whitman is journaling about the insistence of material, genealogy etc, of Whitman's history in order to understand the context of Leaves of Grass. It is interesting that he is willing and able to collect such data and hand it off so easily. I assume records, at that time, were sparing, but maybe Whitman didn't put much value into the actual documents. His background has already affected him and found meaning on its own, minus the papers describing it, and will stay with Whitman whether or not he has the copies. 

I assume at this point, he is some what of a celebrity because his friend is asking for such information. This adds another interesting point to Whitman's willingness for the celebrities today seem to, or at least try to be extremely private and secluded from the rest of humanity. This just shows Whitman's perceptions on the equivalence he feels amongst people. The "what's mine is yours" mentality is here, encapsulating the mentality of Whitman's Song of Myself.  I mean, if we're all going to dissolve into the air, or ground, and end up being stuck on each other's boots, why feel of any importance over others? Why find importance in records or documents? We are all products of our past and are in this present one in the same, so everything should be shed and enjoyed.