Perchance he for whom this bell tolls
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. . .
No man is an island,
Entire of itself.
Each 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 a promontory were.
As well as if a manor of thine own
Or of thine friend's were.
Each man's death diminishes me,
For I am involved in mankind.
Therefore, send not to know
For whom the bell tolls,
It tolls for thee.
John Donne, born 22 January 1572
Devotions Upon Emergent Occasions; Meditation 27
