"Dives"

John Donne-BA 74
"I ask not Dives, who perished in the next world"

When I first read this, I didn't know what Dives was. I checked out the footnotes, and it pointed me to Luke 16:18-31 and Ecclesiastes 5:13. Dives is essentially the rich man. In Ecclesiastes, it refers to a man who was rich, but he had squandered his wealth. Therefore, there was nothing left for his son. However, I think the reference to Luke is the most beneficial to my understanding. This passage refers to a rich man and a poor man named Lazarus. The poor man lived to eat the scraps off the rich man's table. When they died, the poor man went to Heaven and the rich man went to Hell. The rich man was in continual torment in his final destination.

So, I think the common place (Dives) I chose refers to the rich man in Luke (perishing in the next world) going to Hell.