"Meditation 17" is about the unity of mankind through our
faith in God. The passage begins with a discussion of a bell tolling indicating that
someone is dying. That someone could be anyone, even the speaker. We are all connected
because we are all mortal, and therefore the church and its ceremonies--funeral or
baptism--concern us all. To show this idea, Donne uses the conceit of a book in which
we are all chapters. When we die, we are translated into another language, but we are
not ripped out the book. Therefore all mankind is united even in death, with God acting
as the translator who calls us to the next world. Since we are all as chapters in one
volume, one man's death affects us all. We do not live and die in isolation--we are
part of a continent; we are not islands.
The next point
Donne makes concerns trouble or hardship. He tells us that the suffering we endure
enables us to prepare our souls for God. If we die, though, without getting right with
God, this suffering is still not in vain. Others can watch this suffering, and realize
that they themselves are mortal and that they need to find peace with God. In this
way, suffering becomes a treasure that can be mined by the sufferer or those watching
another suffer. It is a treasure because it brings us closer to
God.
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