Jacob Ilive facts for kids

Jacob Ilive (born 1705, died 1763) was an English expert in making printing type, a printer, and an author. He had very strong and unusual religious ideas, which were based on deism (a belief that God created the world but doesn't interfere with it) and neognostic views (a way of thinking that involves special knowledge about spiritual things). Because of his writings, he was even sent to prison for challenging common religious beliefs of his time.

Jacob Ilive's Early Life and Career

Jacob Ilive was the son of Thomas Ilive, who was also a printer in London. His mother, Jane James, came from a family of printers too. Jacob had two brothers, Abraham and Isaac, who also became printers. He learned the printing trade from his father and became a fully qualified printer in 1726.

Around 1730, Jacob Ilive started his own business. He made printing types (the metal letters used for printing) and also ran a printing shop. In 1736, he even started his own magazine, which was a competitor to a popular magazine called Gentleman's Magazine. He sold his type-making business in 1740 but continued to work as a printer for the rest of his life.

Jacob Ilive passed away in 1763 when he was 58 years old. Another famous printer, John Nichols, once said that Ilive "had some very unique ideas."

Jacob Ilive's Beliefs and Time in Prison

Jacob Ilive was known for his strong and often controversial beliefs. In 1733, he gave a speech where he talked about the idea of many worlds (that there might be life on other planets). He also spoke against the idea of eternal punishment (the belief that some people will be punished forever after death). He often gave lectures about natural religion, which is the idea that you can understand God through nature and reason, rather than just through religious books.

In 1751, Ilive secretly printed a book called Book of Jasher. This book claimed to be an old translation, but it actually offered natural explanations for some of the miracles described in the Old Testament of the Bible. This meant it tried to explain them using science or logic, rather than saying they were supernatural events.

Jacob Ilive's ideas were very different from what most people believed at the time. In 1756, he was sentenced to three years in prison. This was because he wrote and published a pamphlet that questioned the divinity of Jesus Christ (the belief that Jesus was God) and revealed religion (religious truths that are believed to be shown by God). In those days, it was against the law to publish ideas that challenged widely accepted religious beliefs. He stayed in prison until 1758 and spent his time there writing more.

Ilive's way of questioning the Genesis creation account (the story of creation in the Bible) was similar to ideas from other thinkers like Charles Blount. He was also influenced by books like Astro-Theology by William Derham, which explored the idea of God through astronomy. At a time when the Church of England was generally quite open-minded, Jacob Ilive was one of the few people, along with Peter Annet and Thomas Woolston, who were actually put on trial for their religious writings.

Jacob Ilive's Writings

Jacob Ilive wrote several important books and pamphlets.

In 1730, he printed his main book, The Layman's Vindication of the Christian Religion. This book had two parts:

• The Layman's general Vindication of Christianity
• The Layman's Plain Answer to a late Book, which was his response to another book by Anthony Collins.

His speech, called Oration, was written in 1729 and published in 1733. He also wrote A Dialogue between a Doctor of the Church of England and Mr. Jacob Ilive, which supported his Oration by suggesting that the miracles of Moses might have been clever tricks rather than supernatural events.

Ilive also wrote about his own profession:

• Speech to his Brethren the Master Printers on the great Utility of the Art of Printing (1750), which talked about how important printing was.
• The Charter and Grants of the Company of Stationers, with Observations and Remarks thereon (1762), a pamphlet where he shared his complaints about the management of the Stationers' Company, which was a group for printers and booksellers.

He also wrote two pamphlets about prisons:

• Reasons Offered for the Reformation of the House of Correction in Clerkenwell (1757), which suggested ways to improve the prison where he had been held.
• A Scheme (1759) which proposed ideas for how to employ people who were sent to prison.