Why Hath the Common Opinion Afforded Women Soules?

Today I passed a used bookstore while doing an errand. I struggled with myself for some time, but the memory of Craig's tribute to the smell of old books won me over. I'm glad I did..I left quite happy with seven books and a not yet empty purse.

One of my finds was The Complete Poetry and Selected Prose of John Donne. (btw, not all of his poetry is so great.) For those of you who don't know, John Donne coined the phrases "No man is an island," "for whom the bell tolls," and "catch a falling star." He wrote some sonnets I admire (Katie admires some, too!) along with some excellent meditations and sermons.

Some of his works that I was not familiar with are his "Paradoxes and Problemes." These are essays on different topics, many of which made me laugh. Among the more amusing titles are the following:

"A Defence of Womens Inconstancy"
"That Women Ought to Paint"
"That A Wise Man Is Known by Much Laughing"
"Why Puritans Make Long Sermons?"
"Why Hath the Common Opinion Afforded Women Soules?"
"Why Doth the Poxe soe much Affect to Undermine the Nose?"
"Why are Courtiers Sooner Atheists than Men of Other Conditions?"

Good old John was definitely a thinking man.