Love built on beauty, soon as beauty, dies.
John DonneRead
Goe and catche a falling starre, Get with child a mandrake root, Tell me, where all past yeares are, Or who cleft the Divel's foot. Teach me to hear Mermaides' singing, Or to keep of envies stinging, And finde What winde Serves to advance an honest minde.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote reflects a desire for knowledge beyond the ordinary, expressing the complexity of human experience and the quest for truth.
In this quote, John Donne conveys a profound longing for understanding the elusive and mysterious aspects of life. He challenges the reader to pursue knowledge that goes beyond the tangible, such as the mythical and the fantastical, while also yearning for insight into the deeper meanings of existence and the true essence of an honest mind. The whimsical imagery suggests that these inquiries are as difficult to grasp as catching a falling star, which underscores the futility yet fascination of such pursuits.
Themes
KnowledgeTruthWisdomLifeMystery
In practice
Example use cases
This quote can be used in a motivational speech about the pursuit of knowledge.
More from John Donne
All quotes →Reason is our soul's left hand, Faith her right, By these we reach divinity
John DonneRead
All occasions invite His mercies, and all times are His seasons.
John DonneRead
If poisonous minerals, and if that tree, Whose fruit threw death on else immortal us, If lecherous goats, if serpents envious Cannot be damned; alas; why should I be?
John DonneRead
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 DonneRead
I call not that virginity a virtue, which resideth onely in the bodies integrity; much less if it be with a purpose of perpetually keeping it: for then it is a most inhumane vice. - But I call that Virginity a virtue which is willing and desirous to yield it self upon honest and lawfull terms, when just reason requireth; and until then, is kept with a modest chastity of body and mind.
John DonneRead
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