Devotions Upon Emergent Occasions Together With Death's Duel
John Donne
Read by David Wales
Devotions upon Emergent Occasions is a 1624 prose work by the English theologian and writer John Donne, Dean of St. Paul’s Cathedral in London. It is a series of reflections that were written as Donne recovered from a serious illness. The work consists of twenty-three parts ('devotions') describing each stage of the sickness. Each part is further divided into a Meditation, an Expostulation (or objection) , and a Prayer. The work is an excellent example of seventeenth century English spirituality and sometimes feels a bit dated. Yet much solid nourishment can be found. “Death’s Duel” is Donne’s last sermon prepared for presentation before the King during Lent; it is commonly seen as Donne’s own funeral oration. The biographical material is from Izaak Walton’s Lives. The most famous part of the Devotions is number XVII (17), containing these lines: No man is an island, 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 a promontory 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 bells tolls; it tolls for thee. (Summary by Wikipedia and David Wales)>/p> (9 hr 11 min)
Chapters
01 The Life Of Dr John Donne Part 1 | 1:00:27 | Read by David Wales |
02 The Life Of Dr John Donne Part 2 | 47:36 | Read by David Wales |
03 Devotions - Introduction | 5:34 | Read by David Wales |
04 Devotion I (1) | 12:31 | Read by David Wales |
05 Devotion II (2) | 11:40 | Read by David Wales |
06 Devotion III (3) | 14:37 | Read by David Wales |
07 Devotion IV (4) | 17:13 | Read by David Wales |
08 Devotion V (5) | 14:06 | Read by David Wales |
09 Devotion VI (6) | 18:07 | Read by David Wales |
10 Devotion VII (7) | 17:37 | Read by David Wales |
11 Devotion VIII (8) | 16:01 | Read by David Wales |
12 Devotion IX (9) | 15:33 | Read by David Wales |
13 Devotion X (10) | 16:07 | Read by David Wales |
14 Devotion XI (11) | 18:28 | Read by David Wales |
15 Devotion XII (12) | 16:01 | Read by David Wales |
16 Devotion XIII (13) | 11:50 | Read by David Wales |
17 Devotion XIV (14) | 19:34 | Read by David Wales |
18 Devotion XV (15) | 13:29 | Read by David Wales |
19 Devotion XVI (16) | 12:45 | Read by David Wales |
20 Devotion XVII (17) | 15:14 | Read by David Wales |
21 Devotion XVIII (18) | 19:03 | Read by David Wales |
22 Devotion XIX (19) | 22:05 | Read by David Wales |
23 Devotion XX (20) | 15:36 | Read by David Wales |
24 Devotion XXI (21) | 18:26 | Read by David Wales |
25 Devotion XXII (22) | 15:04 | Read by David Wales |
26 Devotion XXIII (23) | 19:15 | Read by David Wales |
Death's Duel | 1:07:03 | Read by David Wales |
Reviews
Steve Evans
John Donne takes us on a journey. One we all must travel. A journey which, with John Donne, we can all prepare for