The book includes prose texts written by the famous English metaphysical poet John Lonn (1572-1631) after he became the abbot of St. Paul in London . "Appeals to the Lord in Times of Need and Disaster" (1623) - one of the brightest literary monuments of the era, combining a diary, a medical bulletin, a philosophical work, a theological treatise and a prayer book . This is the most metaphysical work of Donne, dealing with the problems of theology, alchemy, anthropology. The Temptation of Death (1631), Donne's last sermon, was read by him on the eve of his death as a eulogy to himself. The book is provided with extensive comments and accompanying articles, addressed to a wide range of readers, as well as specialists in Renaissance culture and literature and theologians:Translation of "Appeals to the Lord in an hour of need and disaster", performed by A. In. Nesterov, specially marked by the jury of the Little Booker (2001 г. ) as "a significant contribution to the practice of Russian historical translation". "The Battle of Death" translated by O. A. Sedakova, winner of many literary awards, including the Andrei Bely Prize (1980), the Vatican Prize named after VL . Solovyov's Christian Roots of Europe (1998), Prize A. and . Solzhenitsyn (2003) .