The book includes prose texts written by the famous English metaphysical poet John Donne (1572-1631) after he became rector of St. Paul's Cathedral in London. “Appeals to the Lord in Hours of Need and Disaster” (1623) is 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 Donne's most metaphysical work, touching on problems of theology, alchemy, and anthropology. “The Scramble of Death” (1631), Donne’s last sermon, was read by him on the eve of death as a funeral oration for himself. The book is equipped with extensive comments and accompanying articles, addressed both to a wide range of readers and to specialists in the culture and literature of the Renaissance and theologians: Translation of “Appeals to the Lord in Hours of Need and Disaster” by A.V. Nesterov, was specially noted by the Small Booker jury (2001) as “making a significant contribution to the practice of Russian historical translation.” "Death Contract" translated by O.A. Sedakova, winner of many literary awards, including the Andrei Bely Prize (1980), the Vatican Prize named after Vl. Solovyov “Christian Roots of Europe” (1998), A.I. Prize Solzhenitsyn (2003).