John Donne: Selections from Divine Poems, Sermons, Devotions, and Prayers

Front Cover
Paulist Press, 1990 - 309 pages
English-speaking Christians owe Paulist Press an enormous debt of gratitude for their continuing efforts to help us gain a deeper appreciation of our spiritual heritage. Spiritual Life John Donne: Selections from Divine Poems, Sermons, Devotions and Prayers edited and introduced by John Booty preface by P.G. Stanwood No man is an island, entire of itself; every man is a piece of the continent, a part of the main...Any man's death diminishes me, because I am involved in mankind, and therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls; it tolls for thee. John Donne (1572-1631) The poetry of John Donne is one of the enduring treasures bequeathed to posterity by early seventeenth-century England. The keen wit and refined sensibilities of the Renaissance poet made his metaphysical musings classics of English literature. Yet, as was the case with his contemporary, George Herbert, it was the religious impulse that ran most strongly in his life. It led him, after a career as an aspirant at the court of James I, to take holy orders in the Anglican church at the age of 43. The skill and passion that had defined his secular work found a new object in the symbols and mysteries of the Christian faith. His preachings as the dean of St. Paul's in London won him renown, and his Devotions Upon Emergent Occasions, written in the aftermath of a near-fatal illness, became a classic of its genre. In this volume, the spirituality of the famous poet is presented in all its subtlety and grace. Included are selections from the Divine Poems of 1633, Sermons, Devotions and Prayers. Throughout his works, he presents with sheer artistry of from a picture of God's mercy and love, seen against the backdrop of frailty and the harsh imperfections of life. +

From inside the book

Selected pages

Contents

Divine Poems
73
Sermons
117
Devotions
251
Prayers
287
Bibliography
301
Index
307
Copyright

Other editions - View all

Common terms and phrases

Popular passages

Page 264 - Who hath directed the Spirit of the Lord, or being his counsellor hath taught him? With whom took he counsel, and who instructed him, and taught him in the path of judgment, and taught him knowledge, and shewed to him the way of understanding?
Page 106 - When thou hast done, thou has not done, For I have more. Wilt thou forgive that sin which I have won Others to sin, and made my sin their door? Wilt thou forgive that sin which I did shun A year or two, but wallowed in a score? *° When thou hast done, thou hast not done, For I have more.
Page 25 - Almighty and most merciful Father ; We have erred, and strayed from thy ways like lost sheep. We have followed too much the devices and desires of our own hearts. We have offended against thy holy laws. We have left undone those things which we ought to have done ; And we have done those things which we ought not to have done; And there is no health in us.
Page 80 - Much pleasure; then from thee much more must flow; And soonest our best men with thee do go, Rest of their bones, and soul's delivery.
Page 58 - No man is an island, entire of itself; every man is a piece of the continent, a part of the main; if a clod be washed away by the sea, Europe is the less, as well as if a promontory were, as well as if a manor of thy...
Page 235 - And they said unto him, Thus saith Hezekiah, This day is a day of trouble, and of rebuke, and of blasphemy: for the children are come to the birth, and there is not strength to bring forth.
Page 271 - ... is one volume: when one man dies, one chapter is not torn out of the book, but translated into a better language, and every chapter must be so translated; God employs several translators; some pieces are translated by age, some > by sickness, some by war, some by justice; but God's hand is in every translation; and his hand shall bind up all our scattered leaves again for that library where every book shall lie open to one another.

Bibliographic information