Meditation XVII
from Devotions Upon Emergent Occasions
Nunc lento sonitu dicunt, morieris.Now this bell tolling softly for another, says to me, Thou must die.
Perchance he for whom this bell tolls1 may be so ill as that he knows not it tolls for him; and perchance I may think myself so much better than I am, as that they who are about me and see my state may have caused it to toll for me, and I know not that2. The church is catholic, universal, so are all her3 actions; all that she does belongs to all. When she baptizes a child, that action concerns me; for that child is thereby connected to that head which is my head too4, and ingrafted into the body whereof I am a member. And when she buries a man, that action concerns me: all mankind is of one author5 and is one volume; when one man dies, one chapter is not torn out of the book, but translated into a better language6; 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 justice7; but God's hand is in every translation, and his hand shall bind up all our scattered leaves8 again for that library where every book shall lie open to one another9. As therefore the bell that rings a sermon calls not upon the preacher only, but upon the congregation to come, so this bell calls us all; but how much more me, who am brought so near the door by this sickness. There was a contention10 as far as a suit (in which piety and dignity, religion and estimation, were mingled) which of the religious orders should ring to prayers first in the morning; and it was determined that they should ring first that rose earliest. If we understand aright the dignity of this bell that tolls for our evening prayer, we would be glad to make it ours by rising early11, in that application, that it might be ours as well as his whose indeed it is. The bell doth toll for him that thinks it doth; and though it intermit12 again, yet from that minute that that occasion wrought upon him, he is united to God. Who casts not up his eye to the sun when it rises? but who takes off his eye from a comet when that breaks out? Who bends not his ear to any bell which upon any occasion rings? but who can remove it from that bell which is passing a piece of himself out of this world? No man is an island13, 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 promontory14 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 bell tolls; it tolls for thee15. Neither can we call this a begging of misery or a borrowing of misery16, as though we are not miserable enough of ourselves but must fetch in more from the next house, in taking upon us the misery of our neighbors17. Truly it were an excusable covetousness if we did; for affliction is a treasure, and scarce any man hath enough of it. No man hath affliction enough that is not matured and ripened by it, and made fit for God by that affliction. If a man carry treasure in bullion18, or in a wedge of gold, and have none coined into current moneys, his treasure will not defray19 him as he travels. Tribulation is treasure in the nature of it, but it is not current money in the use of it, except we get nearer and nearer our home, heaven, by it. Another man may be sick too, and sick to death, and this affliction may lie in his bowels as gold in a mine and be of no use to him; but this bell that tells me of his affliction digs out and applies that gold to me, if by this consideration of another's dangers I take mine own into contemplation and so secure myself by making my recourse to my God, who is our only security20.
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.
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.
3: her
The feminine pronouns in this section refer to the Church.
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.
5: one author
Refers to God as Creator of all mankind.
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.
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
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.
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).
10: contention
disagreement or conflict
11: There was a contention... we would be glad to make it ours by rising early.
Donne discribes 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).
12: intermit
to cease for a time or at intervals
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.
14: promontory
a high point of land projecting into the water
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.
16: a begging of misery or a borrowing of misery
Compare Matthew 6:34.
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.
18: bullion
gold or silver in bars
19: defray him
pay his expenses
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.