Love built on beauty, soon as beauty, dies.
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?
Interpretation
What this quote means
The speaker questions why they should face punishment when nature and mankind are filled with entities that seem to evade consequence.
In this quote, John Donne reflects on the concept of justice and morality, pondering the apparent unfairness of existence. He highlights how various elements of nature and life, which can be harmful or corrupt, seem to thrive without suffering consequences, leading him to question the rationale behind his own potential punishment. The quote delves into deep philosophical inquiries about guilt, blame, and the human condition in a flawed world.
Themes
JusticeMoralityExistenceConsequencePhilosophy
In practice
Example use cases
During a discussion on morality and justice, one might say, 'As John Donne questioned, why should I face punishment when so many wrongs go unpunished?'
More from John Donne
All quotes βReason 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
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
And now good morrow to our waking souls, Which watch not one another out of fear; For love, all love of other sights controls, And makes one little room, an everywhere. Let sea-discoverers to new worlds have gone, Let maps to other, worlds on worlds have shown, Let us possess one world, each hath one, and is one.
John DonneRead
Similar quotes
Let a man set his heart only on doing the will of God and he is instantly free. If we understand our first and sole duty to consist of loving God supremely and loving everyone, even our enemies, for God's dear sake, then we can enjoy spiritual tranquility under every circumstance.
Aiden Wilson TozerRead
There is no doubt that solitude is a challenge and to maintain balance within it a precarious business. But I must not forget that, for me, being with people or even with one beloved person for any length of time without solitude is even worse. I lose my center. I feel dispersed, scattered, in pieces. I must have time alone in which to mull over my encounter, and to extract its juice, its essence, to understand what has really happened to me as a consequence of it.
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The truth is that we are saved by grace only after all we ourselves can do. (See 2 Ne. 25:23.) There will be no government dole which can get us through the pearly gates. Nor will anybody go into the celestial kingdom who wants to go there on the works of someone else. Every man must go through on his own merits. We might just as well learn this here and now.
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To complain that man measures God by his own experience is a waste of time; man measures everything by his own experience; he has no other yardstick.
Dorothy L. SayersRead
Drunkenness does not create vice; it merely brings it into view.
Seneca The YoungerRead
Willingly no one chooses the yoke of slavery.
AeschylusRead