Be thine own palace, or the world's thy jail.

— John Donne

Between cowardice and despair valor is gendered.

— John Donne

Dear love, for nothing less than thee Would I have broke this happy dream;It was a therefor reason, much too strong for fantasy, Therefore thou was'd'st me wisely; yet My dream thou book'st not, but continued'st it. Thou art so true that thoughts of thee suffice To make dreams truths, and fables histories;Enter these arms, for since thou thought'st it best, Not to dream all my dream, let's act the rest.

— John Donne

Death be not proud though some have called Thee Mighty and dreadful for thou art not so.

— John Donne

Doubt wisely; in strange way To stand inquiring right, is not to stray;To sleep, or run wrong, is.

— John Donne

For God's sake, hold your tongue, and let me love.

— John Donne

Go and catch a falling star, Get with child a mandrake root, Tell me where all past years are, Or who cleft the devil's foot, Teach me to hear mermaids singing, Or to keep off envy's stinging, And find What wind Serves to advance an honest mind. If thou be'st born to strange sights, Things invisible to see, Ride ten thousand days and nights, Till age snow-white hairs on thee, Thou, when thou return'st, wilt tell me, All strange wonders that befell thee, And swear, No where Lives a woman true and fair.

— John Donne

Grief brought to numbers cannot be so fierce, For, he tames it, that fetters it in verse.

— John Donne

Here lies a suns, and a moon there;She gives the best light to his sphere;Or each is both, and all, and Botha unto one another nothing owe;And yet they do, but also just and rich in that coin which they pay, That neither would nor needs forbear nor stay;Neither desires to be spared nor to spare. They quickly pay their debt, and then Take no acquittances, but pay again;They pay, they give, they lend, and so let fall No such occasion to be liberal. More truth, more courage in these two do shine, Than all thy turtles have and sparrows, Valentine.

— John Donne

He that asks me what heaven is, means not to hear me, but to silence me; He knows I cannot tell him; when I meet him there, I shall be able to tell him, and then he will be as able to tell me; yet then we shall be but able to tell one another, this, this that we enjoy is heaven, but the tongues of angels, the tongues of glorified saints, shall not be able to express what that heaven is; for, even in heaven our faculties shall be finite.

— John Donne