Vol. 06 · Misquoted ·Book ·26 of 348
"Ask not for whom the bell tolls — it tolls for thee."
They never said that.
What people say
"Ask not for whom the bell tolls — it tolls for thee."
What was actually said
"And therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls; it tolls for thee." John Donne — John Donne, "Meditation XVII" from Devotions upon Emergent Occasions (1624)
Why it stuck
Donne's "never send to know" is formal Early Modern English; "ask not" is JFK-era rhythm. The Hemingway novel (1940) popularised the compressed form.
Know another line by heart?
Play the duel and see how many you can spot. Or browse the whole shelf.