Whoever may be the subject of this _Elegie_, Donne speaks as though he
were a member of his household. In 1617 Donne had long ceased to be
in any way attached to the Lord Chancellor's retinue. The reference to
his 'children' also without any special reference to his son the new
earl, soon to be Earl of Bridgewater, is very unlike Donne. Moreover,
Sir Thomas Egerton never had more than two sons, one of whom was
killed in Ireland in 1599.
ll. 13-16. _As we for him dead: though, &c._ Both Chambers and the
Grolier Club editor connect the clause 'though no family ... with him
in joy to share' with the next, as its principal clause, 'We lose
what all friends lov'd, &c.' To me it seems that it must go with the
preceding clause, 'As we [must wither] for him dead'. I take it as a
clause of concession. 'With him we, his family, must die (as the briar
does with the tree on which it grows); but no family could die with
a more certain hope of sharing the joy into which their head has
entered; with none would so many be willing to "venture estates" in
that great voyage of discovery.' With the next lines,'We lose,' &c.,
begins a fresh argument. The thought is forced and obscure, but the
figure, taken from voyages of discovery, is characteristic of Donne.