John Donne

"At most, the greatest persons are but great wens, and excrescences; men of wit and delightful conversation, but as morals for ornament, except they be so incorporated into the body of the world that they contribute something to the sustentation of the whole."

6 likes

Source: John Donne, David Colclough (2013). “The Oxford Edition of the Sermons of John Donne: Volume 3: Sermons Preached at the Court of Charles I”, p.68, Oxford University Press

About the author

John Donne

John Donne

Poet, Cleric

John Donne was a 17th-century English poet known for his complex explorations of love, death, and spirituality, particularly in works like 'The Flea' and 'Death Be Not Proud.'

All quotes by John Donne →

Same author

More quotes by John Donne

See all →
John Donne Poet, Cleric

"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 friend's or of thine own were: any man's death diminishes me, because I am involved in mankind, and therefore never send to know for whom the bells tolls; it tolls for thee."

Read quote
John Donne Poet, Cleric

"Busy old fool, unruly Sun, why dost thou thus through windows and through curtains call on us? Must to thy motions lovers seasons run?"

Read quote