Publisher's Synopsis
Excerpt from An Argument to Prove That Death Is Not Obligatory on Christians
Ascill, john, an eccentric English litteratear, born about the middle of the 17th century. He studied for the bar, and at intervals during the whole of his checkered life transacted legal business in some form or other; but having early displayed a predilection for writing political pamphlets, he soon became involved, in spite of his clever ness, in serious pecuniary difficulties. Fortunatelv for him, Parlia ment had just passed an act (1699) for the resumption of forfeited estates in Ireland, and Commissioners were appointed to settle claims. A bright vision fiitted across the mind of the much-harassed man. He sailed for the sister isle, and found the whole country wrangling in lawsuits. His talents, and the favor of the Commissioners, secured to him a lucrative practice and he even acquired sufficient in?uence to obtain a seat in the Irish Parliament. Some time, however, before taking possession of his seat, Asgill had published a most extraordinary pamphlet, entitled 'an argument preeing that, according to the Covenant of Eternal Life re vealed in the Scriptures, man may be translated henee into that Eternal Life without passing th rough Death, Much to Asgill's surprise, the public ?ew into a rage against this absurd production; the Irish parliament voted it a blasphemous libel', and the astonished author was expelled from the House after four days. In 1705, Asgill returned to England, and enter ed the English Parliament as Member for Bramber, in Sussex. But the fame of his unlucky pamphlet haunted him perpetually, and at last proved a Nemesis; for the English House, to be not less virtuous than the Irish one, took up the treatise, condemned it to be burnt by the common hangman, as profane and blasphemous, and expelled Asgill on the 18th of December, 1707. After this, his circumstances rapidly grew worse, until at last he found something like peace in the King's Bench and the Fleet, between which two places his excursions were confined for the term of his natural life. Here he continued to practice professionally, and - for he never succeeded in overcoming this weakness - to indite innumerable pamphlets on political and theological topics. He died in November.
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