ProverbHuman Nature
English origin1624
English origin1624No man is an island
Meaning: Humans need connection with others.
Who said it? John Donne, Devotions upon Emergent Occasions, 1624
Origin: From John Donne's Devotions upon Emergent Occasions (1624), written while he was gravely ill. Hearing a funeral bell, Donne reflects that every death diminishes him: "No man is an island, entire of itself; every man is a piece of the continent." The same passage ends: "never send to know for whom the bell tolls; it tolls for thee."
Equivalents in French, Spanish, and German
French: Nul homme n'est une île (literally: No man is an island)
Spanish: Ningún hombre es una isla (literally: No man is an island)
German: Kein Mensch ist eine Insel (literally: No human being is an island)
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