I am not sure how to understand this expression which showed up in a Walt Whitman poem (Passage to India : 142) - English is not my first language
Brook normally means 'to not tolerate' but that doesn't make sense to me in the context.
The line is
Thyself O soul that will not brook a challenge.
I don't think that means that the soul 'avoids' challenges. Or does it ?
It means “Stand/tolerate no challenge”
As a verb, brook is a rather stuffy word for "put up with." The lord of the manor might say, "I will brook no trespassing on my land."
……..
Brook is tailor-made for talking about what you won't stand for — it's always "brook no..." If you brook no criticism of your friend, it means you won't let people speak ill of her. If you brook no brooks, it means you've developed a bizarre hatred of streams and will spend the rest of your days trying to avoid them.
(Vocabulary.com)
