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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 manner 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.
These famous words
by John Donne were not originally written as a poem - the
passage is taken from the 1624 Meditation 17, from Devotions
Upon Emergent Occasions and is prose. The words of the original
passage are as follows:
John Donne
Meditation 17
Devotions upon Emergent Occasions
"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 bell tolls; it tolls for thee..."
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