Classic Devotion during times of sickness
John Donne, one of the greatest lyric poets in the English language, fell sick, possibly from a typhus epidemic. In the course of his illness, which could have been fatal, and after his recovery, Donne wrote a series of meditations on the experience entitled Devotions upon Emergent Occasions. Besides being a dazzling masterpiece of English prose, the Devotions are a classic example of Christian meditation. Their reflections on sickness, facing death, and trusting in God through afflictions are startlingly relevant for today’s coronavirus epidemic. The devotions follow the entire course of the illness, with a meditation on every stage: the first faint symptoms; starting to feel really bad; going to bed; calling the physician; the physician is worried; they try various medicines; the patient keeps getting worse; the patient (Donne) realizes that he is probably going to die; he starts feeling better; he can get out of bed; he worries about a relapse, etc. In all, there are 23 stages of