Age Quote by John Donne
“All mankind is one volume. When one man dies, a chapter is not torn out of the book, but translated into a better language. And every chapter must be translated. God employs several translators; some pieces are translated by age, some by sickness, some by war, some by justice. But God's hand shall bind up all our scattered leaves again for that library where every book shall live open to one another”
About This Quote
Source Poem: Holy Sonnet X, 1633
Human lives are interconnected; each death contributes to a collective spiritual library, eventually unified by divine will.
In simple terms: Every life adds to a shared story.
Key Takeaway
Recognize our shared humanity.
Themes
interconnectedness
spirituality
death
divine unity
Mood
contemplative
reverent
Type
spiritual
philosophical
When to use this quote
- theology
- philosophy
- literature
Key Concepts
collective consciousness
afterlife
translation
Questions to Reflect On
- How does this view influence how we treat others?
- What does the idea of a universal library mean to you?
A Different Perspective
The metaphor may oversimplify complex cultural differences.
![“Translators who choose to work on canonized writers can usually lean on an extensive critical apparatus around either the author or the book in question, especially in the case of writers like [Honore] Balzac and [Emil] Zola.” quote by Andre Naffis-Sahely](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/dae/andre-naffis-sahely-20813_balzac_translators-who-choose-to-work-on-canoni_67754.jpg)
