--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: If poisonous minerals, and if that tree…" description: "\"If poisonous minerals, and if that tree, Whose fruit threw death on else immortal us, If lecherous goats, if serpents envious Cannot be damned; alas; w..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9dd/john-donne-933_alas_if-poisonous-minerals-and-if-that-tree-w_2497355.png" --- # If poisonous minerals, and if that tree, Whose fruit threw… ![“If poisonous minerals, and if that tree, Whose fruit threw death on else immortal us, If lecherous goats, if serpents envious Cannot be damned; alas; why should I be?” quote by John Donne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9dd/john-donne-933_alas_if-poisonous-minerals-and-if-that-tree-w_2497355.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9dd/john-donne-933_alas_if-poisonous-minerals-and-if-that-tree-w_2497355.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9dd/john-donne-933_alas_if-poisonous-minerals-and-if-that-tree-w_2497355.png) > “If poisonous minerals, and if that tree, Whose fruit threw death on else immortal us, If lecherous goats, if serpents envious Cannot be damned; alas; why should I be?” [John Donne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-donne/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The poet wrestles with guilt and divine judgment, questioning why he should be condemned. **In simple terms:** Guilt and divine justice are explored. Key Takeaway Seek forgiveness and self‑compassion. Themes guilt divine judgment redemption Mood melancholic introspective Type religious literary When to use this quote - confession - spiritual counseling - literary study Key Concepts theology self‑reflection Questions to Reflect On - What does forgiveness mean to you? - How can you reconcile with your past? A Different Perspective Self‑condemnation can hinder growth. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Alas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/alas/) [Death](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/death/) [Envious](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/envious/) [Envious Damned](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/envious-damned-1026929/) [Envy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/envy/) [Fruit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fruit/) [Goats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/goats/) [Goats Serpents](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/goats-serpents-1026928/) [Ifs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ifs/) [Immortal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/immortal/) [Minerals](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/minerals/) [Poisonous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poisonous/) [Poisonous Minerals](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poisonous-minerals-1026927/) [Serpent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/serpent/) [Serpents Envious](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/serpents-envious-1026926/) [Should](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/should/) [Should i](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/should-i/) [Tree](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tree/) [Trees](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/trees/) ## Related quotes > [The pleasure of hating, like a poisonous mineral, eats into the heart of religion, and turns it to ranking spleen and bigotry; it makes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-hazlitt/the-pleasure-of-hating-like-a-poisonous-mineral-eats-into-the-heart-2/) [William Hazlitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-hazlitt/) > [Airline food is not intended for human consumption. It's intended as a form of in-flight entertainment, wherein the object is to guess what it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-barry/airline-food-is-not-intended-for-human-consumption-it-s-intended-as-a/) [Dave Barry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-barry/) > [“Pineapples are one of nature’s medicines.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-magee/pineapples-are-one-of-nature-s-medicines/) [Steven Magee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-magee/) > [RADIUM, n. A mineral that gives off heat and stimulates the organ that a scientist is a fool with.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ambrose-bierce/radium-n-a-mineral-that-gives-off-heat-and-stimulates-the-organ-that/) [Ambrose Bierce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ambrose-bierce/) > [The mineral kingdom consists of the fossil substances found in the earth. These are either entirely destitute of organic structure, or, having once possessed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/torbern-bergman/the-mineral-kingdom-consists-of-the-fossil-substances-found-in-the/) [Torbern Bergman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/torbern-bergman/) > [Why does mineral water that 'has trickled through mountains for centuries' have a 'use by' date?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-kay/why-does-mineral-water-that-has-trickled-through-mountains-for/) [Peter Kay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-kay/) > [“The supplement industry is the biggest threat to the pharmaceutical industry.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-magee/the-supplement-industry-is-the-biggest-threat-to-the-pharmaceutical/) [Steven Magee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-magee/) > [Crystals are amplifying minerals. You have a crystal in a radio - it amplifies the sound waves. You have a crystal in a television…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shirley-maclaine/crystals-are-amplifying-minerals-you-have-a-crystal-in-a-radio-it/) [Shirley MacLaine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shirley-maclaine/) > [There is no domestic issue more important to America in the long run than the conservation and proper use of our natural resources, including…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gaylord-nelson/there-is-no-domestic-issue-more-important-to-america-in-the-long-run/) [Gaylord Nelson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gaylord-nelson/) > [I accept the Organic Trinity of Mineral, Vegetable, and Animal with as much authority as I accept the Holy Trinity. Both are sacred.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-tempest-williams/i-accept-the-organic-trinity-of-mineral-vegetable-and-animal-with-as/) [Terry Tempest Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-tempest-williams/) > [But anyway, it's obvious through human experience that extended families and tribes are terribly important. We can do without an extended family as human…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/but-anyway-it-s-obvious-through-human-experience-that-extended/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [You can trace every sickness, every disease and every ailment to a mineral deficiency.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/linus-pauling/you-can-trace-every-sickness-every-disease-and-every-ailment-to-a/) [Linus Pauling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/linus-pauling/) > [Some days, I know beauty techniques like it's my job, and other days I can't do my makeup for the life of me. So…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christian-serratos/some-days-i-know-beauty-techniques-like-it-s-my-job-and-other-days-i/) [Christian Serratos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christian-serratos/) > [Science has revealed a universe that is vast, ancient, violent, strange, and beautiful, a universe of almost infinite variety and possibility one in which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonard-mlodinow/science-has-revealed-a-universe-that-is-vast-ancient-violent-strange/) [Leonard Mlodinow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonard-mlodinow/) > [We began as mineral. We emerged into plant life, and into the animal state, and then into being human, and always we have forgotten…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rumi/we-began-as-mineral-we-emerged-into-plant-life-and-into-the-animal/) [Rumi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rumi/) ## More by John Donne > [Our critical day is not the very day of our death; but the whole course of our life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-donne/our-critical-day-is-not-the-very-day-of-our-death-but-the-whole/) [John Donne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-donne/) > [But I do nothing upon myself, and yet I am my own executioner.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-donne/but-i-do-nothing-upon-myself-and-yet-i-am-my-own-executioner/) [John Donne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-donne/) > [All mankind is of one author, and is one volume; when one man dies, one chapter is not torn out of the book, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-donne/all-mankind-is-of-one-author-and-is-one-volume-when-one-man-dies-one/) [John Donne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-donne/) > [We study health, and we deliberate upon our meats and drink and air and exercises, and we hew and we polish every stone that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-donne/we-study-health-and-we-deliberate-upon-our-meats-and-drink-and-air/) [John Donne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-donne/) > [Commemoration of Pandita Mary Ramabai, Translator of the Scriptures, 1922 A memory of yesterday's pleasures, a fear of tomorrow's dangers, a straw under my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-donne/commemoration-of-pandita-mary-ramabai-translator-of-the-scriptures/) [John Donne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-donne/) > [Various content To your eyes, ears, and tongue, and every part. If then your body go, what need you a heart?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-donne/various-content-to-your-eyes-ears-and-tongue-and-every-part-if-then/) [John Donne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-donne/) > [“Batter my heart, three-person'd God ; for you As yet but knock ; breathe, shine, and seek to mend ; That I may rise,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-donne/batter-my-heart-three-person-d-god-for-you-as-yet-but-knock-breathe/) [John Donne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-donne/) > [Young men mend not their sight by using old men's spectacles.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-donne/young-men-mend-not-their-sight-by-using-old-men-s-spectacles/) [John Donne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-donne/) > [That which attempts to elevate the ugly to the level of beauty becomes neither; but an obscenity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-donne/that-which-attempts-to-elevate-the-ugly-to-the-level-of-beauty/) [John Donne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-donne/) > [For I am every dead thing In whom love wrought new alchemy For his art did express A quintessence even from nothingness, From dull…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-donne/for-i-am-every-dead-thing-in-whom-love-wrought-new-alchemy-for-his/) [John Donne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-donne/) > [As states subsist in part by keeping their weaknesses from being known, so is it the quiet of families to have their chancery and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-donne/as-states-subsist-in-part-by-keeping-their-weaknesses-from-being/) [John Donne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-donne/) > [All Kings, and all their favorites, All glory of honors, beauties, wits, The sun itself, which makes times, as they pass, Is elder by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-donne/all-kings-and-all-their-favorites-all-glory-of-honors-beauties-wits/) [John Donne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-donne/) > [On a huge hill, Cragged, and steep, Truth stands, and hee that will Reach her, about must, and about must goo.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-donne/on-a-huge-hill-cragged-and-steep-truth-stands-and-hee-that-will-reach/) [John Donne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-donne/) > [How many times go we to comedies, to masques, to places of great and noble resort, nay even to church only to see the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-donne/how-many-times-go-we-to-comedies-to-masques-to-places-of-great-and/) [John Donne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-donne/) > [Thou art slave to fate, chance, kings, and desperate men, And dost with poison, war, and sickness dwell, And poppy, or charms, can make…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-donne/thou-art-slave-to-fate-chance-kings-and-desperate-men-and-dost-with/) [John Donne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-donne/) [Explore all 325 John Donne quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-donne/) ## More Alas quotes > [“Muchos de los ángeles de Dios no tienen alas...”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jos-n-harris/muchos-de-los-ngeles-de-dios-no-tienen-alas/) [José N. Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jos-n-harris/) > [We are all potentially such sick men. The sanest and best of us are of one clay with lunatics and prison-inmates. And whenever we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/we-are-all-potentially-such-sick-men-the-sanest-and-best-of-us-are-of/) [William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/) > [Alas, you don't need monsters for monstrous deeds to be accomplished.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zygmunt-bauman/alas-you-don-t-need-monsters-for-monstrous-deeds-to-be-accomplished/) [Zygmunt Bauman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zygmunt-bauman/) > [Time, time - that is our greatest master! Alas, like Ugolino, time devours its own children.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hector-berlioz/time-time-that-is-our-greatest-master-alas-like-ugolino-time-devours/) [Hector Berlioz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hector-berlioz/) > [Removing prejudices is, alas! too often removing the boundary of a delightful near prospect in order to let in a shockingly extensive one.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sir-fulke-greville/removing-prejudices-is-alas-too-often-removing-the-boundary-of-a/) [Sir Fulke Greville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sir-fulke-greville/) > [Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus. He exists as certainly as love and generosity and devotion exist, and you know that they abound…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-pharcellus-church/yes-virginia-there-is-a-santa-claus-he-exists-as-certainly-as-love/) [Francis Pharcellus Church](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-pharcellus-church/) > [Alas, Postumus, the fleeting years slip by, nor will piety give any stay to wrinkles and pressing old age and untamable death.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace/alas-postumus-the-fleeting-years-slip-by-nor-will-piety-give-any-stay/) [Horace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace/) > [Sensible Catholics have for generations been ignoring the views on contraception held by reactionary old men in the Vatican, but alas, since it is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-c-grayling/sensible-catholics-have-for-generations-been-ignoring-the-views-on/) [A.C. 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