Devotions Upon Emergent Occasions Together With Death's Duel


Read by David Wales

(4.8 stars; 6 reviews)

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


(5 stars)

John Donne takes us on a journey. One we all must travel. A journey which, with John Donne, we can all prepare for