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Meditation XVII

Meditation XVII. Guided Footnotes. 1: for whom this bell tolls. The church tolled its bell when one of its parishioners died. 2: perchance I may think myself ...toll for me, and I know not that.

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Meditation XVII

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  1. Meditation XVII Guided Footnotes

  2. 1: for whom this bell tolls • The church tolled its bell when one of its parishioners died.

  3. 2: perchance I may think myself...toll for me, and I know not that. • While writing this meditation, Donne is deathly ill. Donne was deathly ill many times during his life. At this point in the meditation, Donne is saying that it is possible he is sicker than he thinks he is, therefore, the bell ringing for someone's death may actually be ringing for him and he does not know it. Those who were taking care of him might have caused it to be rung for him because they expect him to die soon.

  4. 3: her • The feminine pronouns in this section refer to the Church.

  5. 4: that head which is my head too • Refers to Christ. See Ephesians 5:23. Likewise, "the body whereof I am a member" refers to the Church, called "the Body of Christ" in Romans 12:5.

  6. 5: one author • Refers to God as Creator of all mankind.

  7. 6: translated into a better language • Donne comments that the church ceremonies (baptisms and funerals especially) are important to him because all people who are born and die are linked to him through God. He uses the book metaphor to illustrate this point. God is the author and each man is a chapter in His book. He extends this metaphor by saying that when we die, and we all must die, our lives are elevated (translated) into a higher state (better language). This statement is a very common Neoplatonic concept for the time period.

  8. 7: several translators • Compare lines 9-10 of Donne's "Holy Sonnet X": • Thou [Death] art slave to fate, chance, kings, and desperate men,And dost with poison, war, and sickness dwell

  9. 8: leaves • Pages of a book. A play on words between the "leaves" of a book and each man's taking "leave" of this world through death.

  10. 9: every book shall lie open to one another • Donne is referring to Judgement Day. Compare 1 Corinthians 13:12, "Then I shall know fully just as I also have been fully known" (NASB).

  11. 10: contention • disagreement or conflict

  12. 11: There was a contention... we would be glad to make it ours by rising early. • Donne describes a disagreement among the religious orders as to who would have the honor of ringing the bell to call the members to prayers early in the morning. The dispute was settled by saying that the first person up would ring the bell. Donne argues that if people truly understood "the dignity of this bell that tolls for our evening prayer," that is, of the bell that signals our death and passing from this world to a better world, then we would gladly embrace death and even wish for it to come sooner. Compare 2 Corinthians 5:6-8 "knowing that while we are at home in the body we are absent from the Lord...we...prefer rather to be absent from the body and to be at home with the Lord" (NASB) and Philippians 1:21, "For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain" (NASB).

  13. 12: intermit • to cease for a time or at intervals

  14. 13: No man is an island • Donne suggests that no man can exist by himself. He states that we are all interconnected, and someone else's loss is a loss of our own. In the same sense, someone else's death is a death of our own. Each time the bell rings, mankind loses.

  15. 14: promontory • a high point of land projecting into the water

  16. 15: never send to know for whom the bell tolls; it tolls for thee. • This is a famous line in Donne's meditation which influenced the title of Hemingway's novel For Whom the Bell Tolls. It is a reminder of our own mortality and the interconnectedness of mankind.

  17. 16: a begging of misery or a borrowing of misery • Compare Matthew 6:34. “So do not worry about tomorrow for tomorrow will take care of itself. Each day has enough worry of its own.”

  18. 17: taking upon us the misery of our neighbors • Donne says that it is not enough to joy in our own misery, but we must also feel the misery of our neighbors (all of mankind). He goes on to suggest that this pain and misery will bring us closer to God. Compare Galatians 6:2.

  19. 18: bullion • gold or silver in bars

  20. 19: defray him • pay his expenses

  21. 20: making my recourse to my God, who is our only security • Donne suggests in his last few lines that to think about our own death/misery is not enough because oftentimes we do not think of these things until we are dying ourselves. We must also take thought of others' miseries and deaths. Through suffering and sacrificing in others' miseries, we become closer to God. By considering the fate of others as they pass from the earth, our thoughts turn closer to God and our own afterlife. Donne concludes by suggesting that God is the only Being that can ensure our existence beyond this life.

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