Donne, John — Biathanatos

VG : in very good condition without dust jacket New York Arno Press Facsimile Reprint 220mm x 150mm (9" x 6"). 218pp. The Literature of Death and Dying Arno Press series. Biathanatos [life and death] was written in 1608 and published after his death, it contains an apology for suicide, listing prominent Biblical examples including Jesus, Samson, Saul, and Judas Iscariot. Biathanatos is a long, challenging and, Donne says, paradoxical thesis. It undertakes an exhaustive analysis of both secular and religious argumentation against suicide, and argues that suicide is not so naturally sin, that it may never be otherwise. Donne recognized that his unconventional thesis was misinterpretable, and it is probably for this reason that he did not allow Biathanatos to be published. He directed his friend Robert Ker, to whom he gave a copy, to keep it . . . with . . . jealousy. . . . Publish it not, but yet burn it not.