Who first wrote No man is an island unto himself?

Answer:

John Donne (1572-1631) a Jacobean poet and preacher. Of course it is possible others may have expressed this before John Donne, but he is credited with the line.

Incidentally Hemingway was inspired by the last bit...for whom the bell tolls.

No man is an island, entire of itself
every man is a piece of the continent, a part of the main
if a clod be washed away by the sea,
Europe is the less, as well as if a promontory were,
as well as if a manor of thy friends or of thine own were
any man's death diminishes me, because I am involved in mankind
and therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls
it tolls for thee.

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First answer by ID1266241690. Last edit by ID1266241690. Question popularity: 2 [recommend question].