" In this posture he was drawn at his just
height; and when the picture was fully finished, he caused it to be
set by his bedside, where it continued, and became his hourly object
till his death, and was then given to his dearest friend and executor,
Dr. Henry King, then chief Residentiary of St. Paul's, who caused
him to be thus carved in one entire piece of white marble, as it now
stands in that church; and, by Dr. Donne's own appointment, these
words were affixed to it as an epitaph:--
JOHANNES DONNE
Sac. Theol. Profess.
Post varia studia, quibus ab annis
Tenerrimis fideliter, nec infeliciter
incubuit;
Instinctu et impulsu Spiritus Sancti, monitu
et hortatu
Regis Jacobi, ordines sacros amplexus
Anno sui Jesu, MDCXIV. et suae aetatis XLII
Decanatu hujus ecclesiae indutus,
XXVII. Novembris, MDCXXI.
Exutus morte ultimo die Martii MDCXXXI.
Hic, licet in occiduo cinere, aspicit eum
Cujus nomen est oriens.
[Transcriber's Note: Below is the inscription, as it appears in the
Illustration.]
IOHANNI DONNE
SAC: THEOL: PROFESS:
POST VARIA STVDIA QVIBVS
AB ANNIS TENERIBVS FIDELI
TER NEC INF[OE]LICITER INCVBUIT
INSTINCTV ET IMPVLSV SPIR SCTI:
MONITV ET HORTATV REGIS IACOBI
ORDINES SACROS AMPLEXVS
ANNO SVI IESV 1614 ET SVE AETAT 42
DECANATVS RVTVS ECCLES: INDVTVS
27 deg.
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