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John Donne

John Donne Quotes

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Famous John Donne Quotes

“The whole life of Christ was a continual Passion; others die martyrs but Christ was born a martyr. He found a Golgotha even in Bethlehem, where he was born; for to his tenderness then the straws were almost as sharp as the thorns after, and the manger as uneasy at first as his cross at last. His birth and his death were but one continual act, and his Christmas day and his Good Friday are but the evening and morning of one and the same day. And as even his birth is his death, so every action and passage that manifests Christ to us is his birth, for Epiphany is manifestation.”

FirstsWholeActionLastsDiesPassionFoundChristBornMorningBirthCrossesWhole LifeEveningManifestationPassagesTendernessFridayMartyrThornsEpiphanyStrawsUneasyChristmas DayGood FridayBethlehemGolgotha
Author:John Donne
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“A bride, before a "Good-night" could be said, Should vanish from her clothes into her bed, As souls from bodies steal, and are not spied. But now she's laid; what though she be? Yet there are more delays, for where is he? He comes and passeth through sphere after sphere; First her sheets, then her arms, then anywhere. Let not this day, then, but this night be thine; Thy day was but the eve to this, O Valentine.”

ShouldFirstsSaidSoulBodyNightArmsBedClothesStealingThis DaySpheresSheetsValentineDelayBridesGood NightWedding Night
Book:The complete poems of John Donne
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“All Kings, and all their favorites, All glory of honors, beauties, wits, The sun itself, which makes times, as they pass, Is elder by a year, now, than it was When thou and I first one another saw: All other things, to their destruction draw, Only our love hath no decay; This, no tomorrow hash, nor yesterday, Running, it never runs from us away, But truly keeps his first, last, everlasting day.”

YearsFirstsRunningLastsSunSawsKingsTomorrowHonorGloryDrawsDestructionWitYesterdayDecayOur LoveEverlastingEldersElderlyMaking TimeHash
Book:Selected poems
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“God made sun and moon to distinguish the seasons, and day and night; and we cannot have the fruits of the earth but in their seasons. But God hath made no decrees to distinguish the seasons of His mercies. In Paradise the fruits were ripe the first minute, and in heaven it is always autumn. His mercies are ever in their maturity.”

FirstsMadeGodEarthNightHeavenSunMinutesMoonMercySeasonsFruitMaturityParadiseAutumnDay And NightRipeDecree
Book:John Donne's Sermons on the Psalms and Gospels: With a Selection of Prayers and Meditations
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