,note3 ,images of the original pages are available through ,internet ,archive4 ,see https3_/_/archive4org_/details_/suicidei tshistor#jjwest ,transcriber's note3 ,text enclosed by underscores is in italics 7italics74 ,a caret character is used to denote superscription4 ,superscripted characters are enclosed by curly brackets 7example3 7aa-#a7an74 ,a ,social ,science ,treatise4 ,,suicide ,its ,history1 ,literature1 ,jurisprudence1 ,causation1 and ,prevention4 by ,w4 ,,wynn ,,westcott1 ,m4,b4 ,,lond4 ,deputy ,coroner for ,central ,middlesex4 ,joint ,author of the ,extra ,pharmacopia4 ,london3 ,h4 ,k4 ,lewis1 #acf1 ,gower ,street1 ,w4,c4 #ahhe4 ,,to ,,george ,,danford ,,thomas1 ,,esq41 ,m4,d41 ,,coroner ,,for ,,central ,,middlesex1 ,,this ,,volume ,,is ,,dedicated ,,with ,,much ,,respect ,,and ,,esteem ,,by ,,the ,,author4 ,,preface4 ,in preparing an ,essay on ,suicide1 which ,i recently delivered before a ,society of medical men in ,london1 ,i found it impossible in the limited time at my disposal to do anything like justice to the gravity and importance of the subject4 ,the question is one well worthy of the earnest consideration of the community2 indeed1 it may be legitimately regarded as one of our ,social ,problems1 as it involves matters which are intimately connected with our social organisation1 and is with propriety embraced in our legislative enactments4 ,when we reflect1 with satisfaction perhaps1 that in ,england crime has been steadily decreasing1 the fact that ,suicide has been as steadily on the increase in ,great ,britain1 and in almost every country in ,europe1 while it awakens our sympathy on behalf of the unhappy victims1 should stimulate our exertions towards promoting the diminution of this moral plague spot4 ,these considerations1 added to the fact that there are but two books in the ,english language devoted entirely to this subject1one dated as far back as #ahdj1 and the other1 a most valuable but almost entirely statistical work1 translated from the ,italian1have induced me to re-arrange and extend my notes1 and ,i now offer them to my professional brethren and other students of ,social ,science in the following short treatise on the ,history1 ,literature1 ,jurisprudence1 ,causation1 and ,prevention of ,suicide4 ,as ,deputy ,coroner for ,central ,middlesex frequent opportunities are afforded me of investigating cases of ,suicide1 and ,i have added to this volume original instances and estimates derived from those suicidal deaths of ,london1 upon which inquests have been held by ,dr4 ,danford ,thomas1 or myself4 ,the works of ,legoyt1 ,morselli1 and ,wagner1 contain an almost complete estimation of the statistical proportions in regard to the causes and means of suicide in ,france1 ,italy1 ,germany1 c41 and to them ,i am greatly indebted for such information4 ,the ,bibliographical ,index contains the titles of other works which have been consulted4 ,let me hope that my humble efforts may tend in some degree to the prevention of self-destruction1 and the promotion of a more robust and healthy public opinion on the subject3 if this volume conduces to these ends my object will have been achieved4 ,in conclusion1 ,i must express my deep obligation to my friend ,dr4 ,duncan ,mac,larty1 for his many welcome suggestions1 and for his care in revising these sheets for the press4 ,,wm4 ,,wynn ,,westcott1 ,m4,b4 #d1 ,torriano ,avenue1 ,london1 ,n4,w4 ,,table ,,of ,,contents4 ,,page ,,chapter ,i4 ,introduction2 the ,ethics of the ,subject #a ,,ii4 ,history3 ,ancient and ,modern #g ,,iii4 ,notable ,suicides3 ,ancient1 of the ,middle ,ages1 and ,modern #ag ,,iv4 ,origin of the ,name2 ,classic ,authors1 examples of the ,literature of ,suicide1 ,english and ,foreign #bi ,v4 ,jurisprudence2 ,suicide as a ,crime in ,england1 and abroad #dc ,,vi4 ,jurisprudence2 ,suicide and ,life ,assurance2 in respect to ,marriage1 and to ,wills #ea ,,vii4 ,present ,rate1 and ,increase1 in ,europe #eh ,,viii4 ,causation in general1 ,classification #fe ,,ix4 ,effect of ,race1 ,climate1 c4 #ge ,x4 ,effect of ,education1 ,religion1 and ,morality #ha ,,xi4 ,effect of ,urban and ,rural ,life1 and ,employment2 the effect of ,military1 ,naval1 and ,prison ,life #ic ,,xii4 ,effect of ,times and ,seasons #ajb ,,xiii4 ,effect of ,age1 ,sex1 and ,social ,state #ajg ,,xiv4 ,mental ,diseases #aaf ,,xv4 ,epidemic ,suicide1 and ,suicide from ,imitation1 and for ,notoriety #abi ,,xvi4 ,effect of ,bodily ,diseases1 ,alcoholism1 ,want of ,sleep2 ,hereditary influence1 and ,spiritualism #ace ,,xvii4 ,effect of ,tdium ,vit1 the ,passions1 ,misery1 and ,despair #ada ,,xviii4 ,the ,means of ,suicide1 their relative frequency at home1 and abroad #add ,,xix4 ,suicide compared to ,crime in ,general2 ,attempted ,suicide1 its relative amount #aed ,,xx4 ,suicide in ,british ,india #afa ,,xxi4 ,the ,prevention1 and ,treatment of the ,suicidal tendency #aff ,,xxii4 ,the ,suicide of ,animals #agd ,appendix1 ,rules of ,assurance ,companies #ahj ,,bibliographical ,,index #ahb ,,general ,,index #ahg ,,chapter ,i4 ,,introduction4 ,in every age of the world1 and in the history of almost every country1 we find instances more or less numerous of men and women who1 preferring the dim uncertainty of the future to the painful realities of the present1 have sought relief from all their troubles by suddenly terminating their own existence4 ,misery and pain have been the lot of the human race ever since the dawn of history1 and these causes have from the earliest times induced persons to destroy themselves1 and even the fear of eternal punishment has not sufficed to deter them4 ,sorrow1 suffering1 and mental disease are practically the only causes of ,modern ,suicide2 but in the ancient world1 suicides from these causes were either much more rare than they are at the present time1 or else were passed over as unworthy of record1 in the presence of suicides of a more honourable nature4 ,hundreds of instances have come down to us in which death has been self-sought and inflicted from an idea or conviction that such self-destruction was to be of obvious advantage to the state1 or to the sufferer's family2 or again1 the fatal act was frequently committed as a point of honour to obviate the disgrace and ignominy of falling into the hands of a conqueror2 or1 again1 to avoid pollution and shame at the hands of unscrupulous and debased tyrants4 ,the history of the ,jews as narrated in the ,old ,testament probably shows fewer instances of ,suicide than the records of any other nation 7nine only in #d1jjj years72 but whether or no there has been any special interposition of ,providence on their behalf1 or whether the result has been due to the inherent virtues of the laws of ,moses1 this is not the proper place to discuss or decide4 ,it cannot be denied that the influence of religion has caused thousands to make a voluntary sacrifice of their lives1 as offerings to their deities2 and thousands more have voluntarily courted death to prove the sincerity of their faith4 ,madame de ,stael has1 with questionable propriety1 pointed out that all the 8martyr throng0 were really instances of self-destruction instigated by devotion to faith1 and that all suicides to avoid the stain of guilt are deaths of duty4 ,but1 among the numberless faiths of the world1 extinct1 and now existing1 many have had a direct tendency to invest the idea of self-destruction with a charm4 ,some because they taught the doctrine of total extinction at death2 others because they inculcated a belief in metempsychosis2 whilst others1 again1 have taught the certainty of bliss hereafter1 if death occur1 whether self-sought or otherwise1 while fighting for the faith4 ,philosophy also1 which at different times supplanted or supplemented religious ideas1 has often notably encouraged ,suicide4 ,the far-famed system of the ,stoics1 founded by ,zeno1 directly approved of it2 to them it was the culminating point of self-abnegation1 a flight from degradation4 ,the equally notable system of the ,epicureans also found in ,suicide a congenial theme for panegyric2 they believed in no future state1 and proposed it as a means of escape from pain or annoyance here4 ,in recent times1 accompanying periods of decline of religious fervour1 new systems of mental and moral philosophy have sprung up and become popular2 and these1 if not openly advocating the cause and permissibility of self-murder1 have never associated themselves with ,christianity in condemning it4 ,a perusal of the volumes of ,voltaire1 ,j4 ,j4 ,rousseau1 and of ,david ,hume1 will make this obvious4 ,but it seems probable that in the minds of many suicides there has been1 below any religious faith1 or philosophical dogma1 the deeply-rooted conviction that death was a sleep and permanent rest1 an eternal oblivion in the grave1 and they consequently came to regard it as the grand solatium for present heart-breaking grief of mind1 or intolerable pain of body4 ,no more powerful individual deterrent has been suggested than the firm unwavering mental conviction 7which has always been propounded by the ,christian church7 that a self-inflicted death is an evil to which nothing on this side of the grave can compare1 and that to rush unsolicited into the presence of the ,creator is an inexpiable crime4 ,as a general preventive1 the force of a well directed system of education1 acting on the probably unlimited capacity for improvement inherent in the human race1 is the lever to which modern civilization is disposed to trust4 ,but as ,i have already stated1 several modern systems of philosophy and ethics1 whilst they are the offshoots and result of a more highly developed mind1 yet have not assisted in the extinction of this blot1 but have rather tended to exculpate suicide1 and remove the idea of its moral sinfulness4 ,the line of argument with respect to our subject1 which is followed by some of those who lead modern philosophical thought1 may perhaps be briefly outlined as follows3 ,it is an essential attribute of ,humanity that it is progressive2 systems of ,morality arise which are each of a higher nature than the preceding2 there is no finality even in ,religious improvement4 ,all ,religions become improved in the course of time1 by casting aside their harsher outlines and less delicate features2 for example1 the ,christian's ,hell1 from being a fiery corporeal dungeon1 is developed into a period of mental torture and remorse4 ,even ,christianity then is exalting itself2 it has of late tacitly consented to the removal of earthly penalties from the sin of ,suicide1 penalties which in a bygone age statute law borrowed from ecclesiastical law2 this is one mark of its progressiveness4 ,nothing is practically gained by calling ,suicide a crime2 no one about to slay himself to be rid of brain-distracting trouble will be restrained by the thought that his proposed action is criminal2 in some cases self-destruction is contemptible and cowardly2 in some it is venial2 in some cases death is distinctly the lesser evil1 in a few it has been honourable1 and as such should escape all condemnation1 and merit the approval of men of development and refinement4 ,in conclusion1 says ,philosophy1 neither marks of contempt to the corpse1 nor legal forfeitures1 nor branding the suicide's memory1the three ecclesiastical penalties1have had any obvious effect in checking the act4 ,nothing but the increase of education will suffice to prevent those suicides which are prompted by immoral thoughts and feelings2 as to the venial ones1 such as we see in those who but anticipate the hour of release from the tortures of disease1 why should we1 who are not ill1 grudge them this relief3 and as to those inspired by the highest and most refined sentiments of honour1 we are well content to live in a world in which such valour and self-sacrifice are exhibited4 ,the author hopes no individual will feel aggrieved at this resum of the so-called advanced views on ,suicide of to-day2 he does not associate them with any person in particular4 ,these maxims simply represent the impressions remaining on his mind after several conversations with men who cultivate the modern developments of thought4 ,with this apology to the readers of these pages1 the divergence between ,christian and philosophic views is left behind2 and the main object of the work is pursued in an independent scientific vein1 without straying into the bye-ways of ,ethical discussion4 ,,chapter ,,ii4 ,,the ,,history ,,of ,,suicide4 ,the history of ,greece extends back to such a remote period that it is not clearly evident what the general opinion on ,suicide was among its early inhabitants4 ,however1 a few landmarks occur4 ,in such a dim past as the time of the ,trojan ,war1 ,ajax1 one of the ,grecian heroes1 slew himself1 in a fit of passion1 brought on by offended vanity4 ,lycurgus1 the legislator of ,sparta1 was one who killed himself for his country's good4 ,,strabo1 the historian1 in his ,tenth ,book1 tells us that at ,ceos1 the country of ,simonides1 ,b4,c4 #ejj1 it was an established custom to allow the act of self-destruction to persons who had attained the age of #fj1 or who had become incapacitated by their infirmities4 ,several suicides can be directly traced to oracles2 the great ,oracle at ,delphi has become especially notorious2 ,codrus1 king of ,athens1 and ,aristodemus1 killed themselves distinctly in consequence of these oracular utterances4 ,there is a tradition mentioned by ,plutarch1 ,pliny1 and ,virgil1 that on the coast of ,epirus1 on the peninsula called ,neritos 7,virgil1 neid1 iii41 #bga71 overlooking the ,ionian ,sea1 was the hill then named ,leucate1 or ,leucadia2 here stood a ,temple dedicated to ,apollo1 and from this rock a suicidal leap into the sea became the common sequence to disappointed love1 for the ,greeks of those times4 ,sappho1 a poetess1 whose love for ,phaon was unrequited1 is said to have originated the custom2 an arm of the sea has1 since then1 cut off this promontory from the mainland1 and the island is now called ,st4 ,maur4 ,tradition is evidence of the existence of a custom1 even if it be objected to as proof of an individual fact4 ,timon of ,athens1 the ,misanthrope1 whose exact era is also uncertain1 is narrated to have been a suicide2 he met with some curable accident1 but from his intense dislike of his fellowmen he refused all assistance1 and allowed himself to die unrelieved4 ,this was the philosopher who is said to have kept in his garden a fig-tree specially convenient for hanging oneself on1 and which he refrained from having cut down1 so as to be able to accommodate his friends4 ,shakespeare's play 8,timon of ,athens10 refers to this odd character4 ,the ,spartans1 that brave and hardy race1 are known to have disapproved of ,suicide2 it is narrated that an honourable burial was refused to ,artemidorus1 who sacrificed his life unnecessarily at the battle of ,plata1 which was fought ,b4 ,c4 #dgi1 between the united ,greeks and the ,persians4 ,among the suicides of ,greece1 however1 occur the names of some of her greatest men1 lawgivers1 orators1 generals1 philosophers1 and statesmen2 although we find in ,greek custom more condemnation of the practice than in ,roman law4 ,in ,thebes1 it was a custom that no honours should be paid at the death of a suicide1 and no funeral rites were allowed2 the body was ordered to be burned in the absence of the relatives of the deceased4 ,at ,athens1 a suicide was not allowed to be burned and his ashes preserved1 as was the custom for the rich and great1 if such died in war1 or by a natural death4 ,see ,samuel ,petit1 8,de ,legibus ,atticis40 ,the body was buried instead1 and the right hand struck off and buried in a separate place4 ,see schines1 ,ctesiphon1 and in ,plato1 ,laws1 ,book ix41 regulations are laid down for the burial of suicides4 ,aristotle1 in his ,ethics1 v41 cap4 xi41 describes his views of the crime1 calling it a 8sin against the state10 and adds that the memory of the ,suicide should be marked by infamy4 ,a reference to the ,list of ,notable ,suicides which follows in ,chapter ,,iii41 will show that persons of the highest intelligence have committed suicide at each epoch of ancient history4 ,in a survey of the history of ,rome we find mention of an ,epidemic of ,suicide among the soldiers of ,tarquin the ,first2 they were ordered to the task of excavating sewers in ,rome1 and believing this work to be derogatory to their dignity1 they killed themselves in large numbers3 the tendency was checked by an edict that the bodies of all suicides should be exposed to public view nailed on crosses4 ,see ,pliny1 ,nat4 ,hist41 ,book xxvi4 cap4 xv4 ,but in the very long period during which the ,roman state was advancing to greatness1 and throughout the times of the ,republic1 suicide was a very rare occurrence4 ,in the later part of ,rome's history1 during the empire1 it became a very prominent crime2 when luxury and sloth predominated1 and the doctrines of the philosophers ,zeno and ,epicurus became fashionable1 suicide became rampant4 ,in the reigns of ,claudius1 ,a4,d4 #db1 and ,nero1 ,a4,d4 #ee1 even ,seneca1 that cultured villain1 acknowledged its practice to be excessively frequent1 although he ultimately committed the act himself4 ,at this time the prevailing sentiment was thus tersely expressed1 8,mori licet cui vivere non placet10 in the language of the ,stoic school4 ,but throughout the whole history of ,rome there was no statute declaring it to be either a crime or a misdemeanour1 and no punishment for the attempt1 among the people2 but the soldiers of the state were restrained by a ,military ,law1 and the attempt punished by ignominy4 ,one such statute was published by the ,emperor ,hadrian1 ,a4,d4 #ach4 ,see ,digest of ,roman ,law1 8,de re militari40 ,,valerius ,,maximus1 ,lib4 #b1 cap4 #f1 a ,roman writer of the first century1 circa ,a4,d4 #ca1 tells us that at ,massilia1 a colony1 the ,senate kept a supply of poison1 which was distributed to applicants for the purpose of suicide1 if the ,senate thought their reasons sufficient4 ,see ,montaigne1 ,essais1 ,liv4 iv41 chap4 #c4 ,,pliny the ,elder1 ,a4,d4 #gi1 says there are three diseases1 to escape any one of which a man has a good title to destroy himself1 and the worst of these is stone in the bladder2 and he adds1 8it is a privilege of man which ,deity does not possess40 ,,tacitus1 d4 ,a4,d4 #ace1 remarks that among the nobles1 suicide was the frequent result of misfortune1 or the public disgrace of falling under the displeasure of the ,emperor4 ,,marcus ,,aurelius1 circa ,a4 ,d4 #aej1 is said to have remarked that 8a man had as much right to leave the world as he had to leave a room full of smoke40 ,,diogenes ,,laertius1 circa ,a4 ,d4 #bbj1 tells us that the greatest leaders of men advised the wise to its commission4 ,lib4 viii41 i4 #ff4 ,,livy1 ,c,,sar1 and ,,tacitus mention that the warlike1 semi-savage races who peopled ,north and ,west ,europe1 the ,iberians1 ,gauls1 ,cimri1 and ,germans1 were all much addicted to self-slaughter1 especially in order to avoid slavery1 and the shame of defeat4 ,,livy also speaks of its prevalence among the people of ,northern ,africa1 in the time of ,scipio1 a ,roman general1 who was engaged in the ,punic wars1 and who had ample opportunities of observation in those countries4 ,,plutarch1 in his ,life of ,alexander the ,great1 narrates the death of the ,brahmin ,calanus1 who burned himself with much ceremony in the presence of the ,macedonian army1 and apparently without any particular reason4 ,the ,brahmin ,sages of the ,hindoo races taught the virtues of suicide1 as a mode of escape from the pangs of disease and the weakness of old age4 ,,josephus1 in his 8,history of the ,wars of the ,jews10 ,lib4 vii41 cap4 #cd1 gives a full description of the frightful suicidal slaughter among them at the siege of ,jerusalem1 in which he himself was engaged1 and in which self-destruction his faithful guard ,simon begged him to participate1 and after its capture1 some thousands1 under ,eleazar1 retired to the fortress of ,massada1 and there killed themselves to avoid falling into the hands of the ,romans4 ,the doctrines of ,mohammed in respect to suicide are revealed in numerous parts of the ,koran2 it is spoken of as a crime which rouses all the anger of ,allah1 and warns believers that its commission will be punished in another life4 ,see ,koran1 iv41 v4 #cc4 8,do not kill yourselves1 for ,god is merciful1 and whosoever killeth himself through malice and wickedness1 shall assuredly be burned in hell fire40 ,a celebrated ,ottoman says1 8,this crime is of a more grave nature than homicide40 ,the ,koran1 ,surah iii4 v4 #adi1 says1 8,man does not die but by the will of ,god1 and at the end of his appointed time40 ,and the ,mohammedan races have throughout history exhibited an avoidance of suicide1 which is markedly seen where these dwell in apposition to the ,brahmin races of ,india1 who have always rejoiced in self-destruction2 casting themselves into their sacred rivers1 and leaving their old people on the banks to be drowned2 throwing themselves beneath the wheels of their idol statues1 and insisting on the self-sacrifice of the widows of their nation4 ,legoyt mentions that in ,armenia1 in ancient times1 the house of a suicide was cursed and then burnt4 ,the ,tartar races of ,central ,asia avoid suicide4 ,in the ancient kingdom of ,persia1 it was a rare occurrence1 no doubt because it was forbidden by the ,magian religion4 ,the only ,mohammedans who have approved of suicide have been dissenters from the pure faith of ,islam2 such sects as those of the ,assassins under the leadership of the ,sheik ,al ,djebal1 the 8,old ,man of the ,mountain10 and the disciples of ,babek and ,karmath1 who massacred the inhabitants of ,mecca in the tenth century4 ,in ,china and in ,japan1 even up to our own times1 ,suicide has been regarded as a virtue2 life is held cheaply there1 and if a mandarin or other official be superseded1 he turns quite naturally to suicide as the proper end of his existence2 but during the last few years in ,japan1 especially where there has been intercourse with ,europeans1 there are regulations intended to prevent it2 ten years imprisonment is the punishment for the attempt in the case of lovers4 ,until lately it was the custom for a man of honour who had been insulted by another1 to rip his body open with a sword1 in presence of his opponent1 calling on him to do likewise2 the aggressor was dishonoured for ever if he failed to do so4 ,the ,peruvians and ,mexicans1 at the time of the ,spanish conquest1 killed themselves in large numbers rather than be slain or made captive by the invaders4,falret4 ,the ,priests of ,ancient ,egypt1 who were the philosophers of the nation1 by their doctrines of a universal soul and metempsychosis1 contributed not a little to popularise suicide4,bayle4 ,sesostris1 who had become blind1 killed himself1 with calmness and reflection4 ,but at a later date1 following the death of ,cleopatra1 it became even more usual2 a society existed for the purpose of associating together persons desirous of self-inflicted death4,buonafede4 ,among the ,chaldeans1 as among the ,hebrews1 suicide seems to have been rare4 ,on the coast of ,malabar1 it was the custom for wives to throw themselves on the funeral pyres of their husbands4,voltaire4 ,and among the ,negro races of ,africa the same custom has been noted4 ,among the aboriginal natives of the ,north ,american ,continent1 somewhat similar customs prevailed to those referred to in ,india among the ,brahmins2 wives and slaves had to sacrifice themselves at a chief's funeral4 ,the ancient ,scandinavian tribes1 the worshippers of ,odin1 anticipated their entry after death into the ,hall of ,valhalla1 otherwise 8the hall of those dead by violence10 and hence old persons and others who had failed to die in battle1 were led to seek death at their own hands4 ,christianity1 the greatest ,religion1 founded upon and springing from the decadent ,jewish ,faith1 at once condemned suicide1 thus following up the traditions which the ,jews had preserved from their earliest times4 ,the ,fathers of the ,christian ,church denounced it2 ,st4 ,augustine in his 8,city of ,god10 ,st4 ,chrysostom1 and ,thomas ,aquinas1 are particularly prominent in inveighing against the enormity of the offence1 and yet even these condoned the sin in certain instances4 ,the ,councils of the ,church repeatedly censured it4 ,the ,council of ,arles1 ,a4,d4 #deb1 condemned it as a crime1 which could only be due to diabolical energy4 ,the ,council of ,braga1 ,a4,d4 #efc1 repeated the condemnation4 ,the ,council of ,auxerre1 ,a4,d4 #egh1 inflicted a penalty on its commission1 viz43 no commemoration was to be made in the ,eucharist1 and no ,psalms were to be sung at the burial4 ,the ,council of ,troyes of the ninth century renewed these ecclesiastical penalties4 ,pope ,nicholas ,i4 says1 8a suicide must be buried1 but only lest the omission should be offensive to others40 ,charlemagne adopted the principle of refusing the ,mass1 but allowed psalms and charitable subscriptions for prayers for the dead to be used1 because1 he said1 8no one can sound the depths of ,god's designs40 ,the ,roman ,catholic canon law1 section ,de ,pnitentia1 assures us that ,judas committed a greater sin in killing himself than in betraying his master ,christ to a certain death4 ,in our own country we find the ,anglo ,saxon ,king ,edgar assimilated the crime of suicide to that of murder in general1 and ordered that the suicide was not to be buried in holy 7i4e4 consecrated7 ground1 and neither psalms nor masses were to be used4 ,for several centuries afterwards1 the civil lawgivers of ,england remained content to allow suicide to fall under ,ecclesiastical ,law1 but at the ,reformation the ,ecclesiastical ,statutes were incorporated with the ,statute law of the realm1 thus constituting it a civil offence as well as a great moral crime4 ,in ,france1 ,louis ,,ix41 ,saint1 d4 #abgj1 enforced the penalty of the confiscation of the property of a suicide2 and by the criminal law of ,louis ,,xiv41 dated #afgj1 the statutes relating to suicide were revised1 and the body was ordered to be dragged at the cart's tail4 ,it became the custom of ,normandy to insist on forfeiture of estate if the suicide was committed to avoid punishment1 and not otherwise4 ,the ,parliament of ,toulouse also decided in this manner4 ,in the #adth century ,charles ,v4 imposed this law on all the country under his dominion2 and indeed it remained in force in ,france until #aghi1 when it was repealed by the ,national ,assembly1 because it impeded human liberty of action4 ,suicide is not a crime in the ,code ,napoleon4 ,yet in the early ,christian centuries suicide lingered on as an occasional virtue1 either for the purpose of preserving the faith1 or to avoid apostacy1 to procure the honour of martyrdom1 or to retain the crown of virginity3 some eminent ,christian teachers have considered such deaths desirable4 ,the ,roman ,catholic ,saints ,pelagia and ,sophronia were examples of canonised suicides2 and two widows1 ,berenice and ,prosdocea1 are praised by ,st4 ,chrysostom for destroying themselves to avoid pollution4 ,,chapter ,,iii4 ,,notable ,,suicides4 ,i4,,mentioned ,,in ,,the ,,bible4 ,,abimelech1 #abjf ,b4,c41 ,king of the ,shechemites4 ,judges1 cap4 ix4 ,,samson1 #aabj ,b4,c41 ,judge of ,israel4 ,judges1 cap4 xvi4 ,,saul1 #ajej ,b4,c41 the first ,king of ,israel4 ,i4 ,samuel1 cap4 xxxi4 ,,saul',s ,armour ,bearer1 an ,amalekite1 loc4 cit4 ,,ahitophel1 #ajbc ,b4,c41 ,counsellor of ,david4 ,,ii4 ,samuel1 cap4 xvii4 ,,zimri1 #ibi ,b4,c41 ,king of ,israel4 ,,ii4 ,kings1 cap4 xvi4 ,,eleazar1 #afd ,b4,c41 one of the ,maccabees4 ,i4 ,maccabees1 cap4 vi4 ,,razis1 #afb ,b4,c41 a ,jewish ,elder4 ,,ii4 ,maccabees1 cap4 xiv4 ,,judas ,,iscariot1 ,a4,d4 #cc1 the ,traitor4 ,acts1 cap4 i4 ,,pontius ,,pilate1 ,a4,d4 #cf1 ,procurator of ,judaea4 ,josephus4 ,antiquities1 xviii41 #d1 #a1 #b1 and also ,eusebius1 ,history1 cap4 ii4 #g4 ,,ii4,,classical4 ,,sesostris1 or ,,rameses the ,great1 ,king of ,egypt1 killed himself in despair at having lost his sight4 ,,menon1 #bjjj ,b4,c41 ,governor of ,nineveh1 first husband of ,semiramis1 afterwards ,queen of ,assyria2 he hung himself when ,ninus the ,king became enamoured of his wife4 ,,ajax1 #aahd ,b4,c41 in the ,trojan ,war1 slew himself in a frenzy of anger against ,ulysses1 to whom instead of to himself the armour of the dead ,hector had been allotted4 ,,codrus1 #ajgj ,b4,c41 the last ,king of ,athens2 he was at war with the ,heraclid1 an oracle had foretold that the victory would fall to the nation whose king died in battle4 ,codrus entered the enemy's camp in disguise1 provoked a quarrel with two of the soldiers1 and was killed by them4 ,,dido1 #ajjj ,b4,c41 ,princess of ,tyre1 widow of ,sichus1 having founded ,carthage1 stabbed herself on her funeral pile1 to avoid marriage with ,jarbos1 she having vowed eternal fidelity to her husband's memory4 ,,lycurgus1 #ijj ,b4,c41 ,lawgiver of ,sparta1 prepared a code of laws for the people1 bound them to observe these laws during his absence1 then left the ,state1 and destroyed himself4 ,these laws remained in force for #gjj years4 ,,sardanapalus1 #gei ,b4,c41 ,king of ,assyria1 burned himself in his palace with his wives4 ,,aristodemus1 #gcj ,b4 ,c4 having killed his daughter to propitiate the oracle at ,delphi1 slew himself on her tomb1 from remorse4 ,,charondas1 #efj ,b4,c41 the ,lawgiver of ,catana1 a ,greek colony in ,sicily1 made it a law1 with the penalty of death1 that no man should enter the assembly armed3 returning one day from pursuing some robbers beyond the city1 he entered the assembly to report1 without having laid aside his weapons4 ,being taxed with breaking his own laws1 he slew himself on the spot4 ,,lucretia1 #eaj ,b4,c41 wife of ,tarquinius ,collatinus1 stabbed herself in the presence of her husband and father as a protest against her attempted rape by ,sextus1 son of ,tarquinius ,superbus4 ,,artemidorus1 #dgi ,b4,c41 threw his life away in the battle of ,plata4 ,,themistocles1 #ddi ,b4,c41 an ,athenian ,general1 was banished1 and ultimately poisoned himself4 ,,isocrates1 #dcf ,b4,c41 an ,athenian orator1 starved himself to death1 on account of the defeat of his countrymen in the battle of ,cherona4 ,,empedocles1 #dce ,b4,c41 poet and philosopher1 threw himself into the crater of ,mount ,etna4 ,,appius1 ,,the ,,decemvir1 #djj ,b4,c41 killed himself in prison1 where he was cast by the ,tribunes after the storm of popular indignation which followed his attempted seduction of ,virginia4 ,,decius ,,mus1 #cch ,b4,c41 ,roman ,consul1 threw away his life in battle against the ,latins1 as did his son1 ,b4,c4 #bif1 and his grandson1 ,b4 ,c4 #bhj4 ,,demosthenes1 #cbe ,b4,c41 the most celebrated orator of antiquity1 poisoned himself to escape from the pursuit of the soldiers of ,antipater4 ,,nicocles1 #caj ,b4,c41 ,king of ,paphos1 in ,cyprus1 intrigued against ,ptolemy1 and destroyed himself1 and his whole family did the same1 to avoid being disgraced4 ,,brennus1 #bgh ,b4,c41 a ,gallic general1 invaded ,greece1 but his army being defeated1 he killed himself in a fit of intoxication4 ,,zeno1 #bfd ,b4,c41 founder of the ,stoic sect of philosophers1 in walking in his school one day1 he fell and broke a finger2 this so disgusted him with life in this world1 that he went straight home and strangled himself4 ,,regulus1 #bea ,b4,c41 a ,roman consul during the ,first ,punic ,war1 was defeated and taken prisoner to ,carthage4 ,some years after he was allowed to go to ,rome to negotiate an exchange of prisoners1 having first been compelled to bind himself by an oath to return if unsuccessful4 ,on arriving in ,rome he dissuaded his countrymen from the proposed terms and then promptly returned to certain death at ,carthage4 ,,theoxena ,,and ,,her ,,husband threw themselves into the sea to escape capture by the soldiers of ,philip of ,macedon4 ,,cleanthes1 #bdj ,b4,c41 a ,stoic philosopher1 starved himself because he was seized with an illness1 preferring death to lingering disease4 ,,hasdrubal1 ,,the ,,wife ,,of1 #baf ,b4,c41 set fire to a temple and threw herself and her two children into the flames rather than fall into the hands of ,scipio the ,roman general4 ,her husband was a ,carthaginian general who fought in the ,second ,punic war4 ,,sophonisba1 #bjc ,b4,c41 was the daughter of ,hasdrubal the ,carthaginian general1 married to ,syphax1 ,prince of ,numidia2 but she fell a captive into the hands of ,masinissa1 who then took her to wife1 but ,scipio the ,roman general having seen her1 also fancied her as a wife1 so she drank poison to avoid this second change4 ,,eratosthenes1 #aid ,b4,c41 mathematician1 starved himself to death because he found his sight failing him4 ,,hannibal1 #ahc ,b4,c41 a celebrated ,carthaginian general1 being defeated by ,scipio at ,zama1 fled to ,bithynia1 but being pursued even there1 killed himself by means of poison1 which he always carried about him concealed in rings4 ,,cleombrotus1 a young ,greek philosopher1 who after reading the ,phdon of ,plato1 threw himself off a wall into the sea4 7,ovid47 ,,aristarchus1 #aeg ,b4,c41 grammarian and critic1 starved himself to death1 at ,cyprus1 after being banished from ,alexandria4 ,,caius ,,gracchus1 #aba ,b4,c41 ,tribune of ,rome1 was killed by a slave at his own request1 after defeat by the consul ,opimius4 ,,antiochus ,,of ,,cyzicus1 #ie ,b4,c41 ,king of ,syria1 killed himself when dethroned by ,seleucus4 ,,mithridates1 ,,king ,,of ,,pontus1 #fc ,b4,c41 killed himself to avoid falling into the hands of the ,romans1 after being defeated by ,pompey4 ,,lucretius1 #ed ,b4,c41 ,roman poet and philosopher1 destroyed himself in his forty-fourth year4 ,,ptolemy1 #ej ,b4,c41 ,king of ,cyprus1 killed himself by poison4 ,,cato1 ,,marcus1 #df ,b4,c41 having opposed ,csar1 unsuccessfully1 retired to ,utica1 and feeling too proud to humiliate himself before a conqueror1 stabbed himself1 and died the same night1 after spending his last hours in reading ,plato's ,phdon1 a dialogue on the ,immortality of the ,soul4 ,,brutus1 #db ,b4,c41 ,roman statesman1 slew himself with his sword after defeat at the battle of ,philippi4 ,,portia1 his wife1 killed herself by swallowing red-hot coals on hearing of her husband's death4 ,,cassius1 #db ,b4,c41 ,roman general1 being defeated at the battle of ,philippi by ,antony and ,octavian1 threw himself on his sword4 ,,pomponius ,,atticus1 #cc ,b4,c41 man of letters1 starved himself1 because he became afflicted with some intestinal disease4 ,,mark ,,antony1 #cj ,b4,c41 ,roman ,consul1 general1 and statesman1 being defeated at the battle of ,actium1 and deserted as he thought by ,cleopatra1 cut open his bowels and died in terrible agony4 ,,cleopatra1 #cj ,b4,c41 ,queen of ,egypt1 the beloved of ,antony1 on hearing of his death1 killed herself4 ,the only mark of injury on her body was a small puncture on the arm2 it is doubtful whether this was caused by the bite of an asp1 or by a poisoned bodkin4 ,,cocceius ,,nerva1 ,a4,d4 #bj1 an eminent lawyer and favourite of the ,emperor ,tiberius1 starved himself as a protest against the extravagance of the ,court4 ,,gallus1 ,a4,d4 #bf1 ,roman poet1 killed himself when exiled for treason3 he was a friend of ,virgil4 ,,arria and her husband ,p,,tus1 ,a4,d4 #de4 ,ptus had revolted against the ,emperor ,claudius1 without success4 ,finding his condemnation unavoidable1 ,arria stabbed herself1 calling on her husband to imitate her1 which he did4 ,,boadicea1 ,a4,d4 #fj4 ,queen of the ,iceni in ,britain1 in the time of ,nero1 being defeated by the ,roman ,general ,suetonius1 she poisoned herself4 ,,apicius1 ,a4,d4 #fd41 the greatest glutton known to history1 hanged himself4 ,,seneca1 ,a4,d4 #fe1 ,rhetorician1 and tutor to ,nero1 opened his veins and bled himself to death1 when under condemnation for conspiracy4 ,paulina1 his wife1 opened her veins at the same time4 ,,lucan1 ,a4,d4 #ff1 a ,roman poet1 being concerned in the same conspiracy as ,seneca1 killed himself in the same manner4 ,,nero1 ,a4,d4 #fh1 ,emperor of ,rome1 was condemned for his villanies to be whipped to death2 to avoid this execution he destroyed himself4 ,,otho1 ,a4,d4 #fi1 ,roman ,emperor1 after a reign of three months1 was defeated by ,vitellius1 and then slew himself in disgust4 ,,jews1 the1 at the ,siege of ,jerusalem by ,titus1 ,a4,d4 #gj4 ,josephus narrates that the ,jewish soldiers destroyed themselves in large numbers1 and endeavoured to prevail on him to do the same4 ,,silius ,,italicus1 ,a4,d4 #ij1 a ,roman ,consul and poet1 being afflicted with an incurable disease at #ge years old1 starved himself to death4 ,,pelagia1 of ,antioch1 ,a4,d4 #caj1 cast herself off the house top to avoid the persecutions of the ,pagans1 and was afterwards canonised as a ,saint by the ,roman ,catholic ,church2 see ,st4 ,ambrose1 ,de ,virginibus4 ,,sophronia1 ,a4,d4 #caj1 canonised as ,saint ,sophronia1 destroyed herself to avoid the snares set for her modesty by the ,emperor ,maxentius4 ,,corellius ,,rufus1 ,a4,d4 #aaj4 ,pliny the ,younger speaks in terms of sincere regret that this friend should have taken his own life4 ,,servius1 the ,grammarian1 ,a4,d4 #djj1 who wrote commentaries on ,virgil1 killed himself in the reign of ,honorius1 rather than suffer the pains of the gout1 to which he was very subject4 ,,iii4,,middle ,,ages ,,and ,,modern ,,times4 ,a very long interval occurs here1 during which period ,i cannot discover any ,notable ,suicides3 on passing to the next series a great change will be noticed as to causation1 the days of suicide for honour are passed3 ,misery has become the mainspring4 ,,richard ,,ii41 ,king of ,england1 #acii4 ,some historians1 as ,walsingham1 ,otterbourne1 and ,peter of ,blois1 say that this king starved himself to death4 ,,charles ,,vii41 ,king of ,france1 #adfa1 starved himself1 because he feared the ,dauphin would poison him4 ,,acosta1 ,,uriel1 #afdg1 a ,jew who became a ,christian1 but becoming involved in the toils of the ,inquisition1 destroyed himself4 ,,burton1 ,,robert1 #affj1 author of the 8,anatomy of ,melancholy10 committed suicide to verify the prophecy he had made as to the date of his death4 ,,temple1 ,,john1 #afhi1 ,secretary of ,state for ,war4 ,,creech1 ,,thomas1 #agjj1 the learned translator of 8,lucretius10 killed himself in imitation of the author whose works he translated4 ,,budgell1 ,,eustace1 #agad1 author1 threw himself from a boat into the ,thames4 ,,scarborough1 ,,lord1 #agbg1 killed himself in the dilemma which of two ladies to associate with4 ,,green1 ,w41 #agej1 a weaver1 jumped off the ,monument1 ,london4 ,,chatterton1 ,,thomas1 #aggj1 ,poet1 by poison1 from poverty4 ,,clive1 ,,lord1 #aggd1 shot himself2 he had been ungratefully treated2 he had1 however1 made two attempts on his life in his youth4 ,,cardan1 ,,jerome1 #aege1 ,physician and ,astrologer1 having foretold his death for a certain date1 and finding himself still well1 killed himself to verify his prophecy4 ,,rousseau1 ,j4 ,j41 #aggh4 ,some authorities say he poisoned himself by arsenic4 ,,craddock1 ,t41 #aghj1 a baker1 jumped off the top of the ,monument1 ,london4 ,,claviere1 ,e41 #agic1 the ,girondin1 stabbed himself2 and his wife killed herself after him4 ,,condorcet1 ,m4 ,j4 ,a41 #agid1 ,french ,mathematician1 killed himself in prison4 ,,roland1 #agie1 ,french ,minister1 by a sword thrust4 ,,romme1 #agie1 ,french ,statesman1 by stabbing4 ,,pichegru1 ,c41 #ahjd1 ,french ,general1 strangled himself with his scarf when in prison1 accused of plotting against the government4 ,,villeneuve1 ,p41 ,french ,admiral1 #ahjf1 stabbed himself when suffering from melancholia4 ,,levy1 ,,lyon1 #ahaj1 a ,jewish diamond merchant1 jumped off the ,monument1 ,london4 ,,williams1 #ahaa1 the murderer of the ,marr family4 ,,kleist1 ,h4 ,,von41 #ahaa1 ,german author1 shot himself after killing a lady to whom he was much attached1 at her request4 ,,berthier1 ,l4 ,a41 #ahae1 ,french ,general4 ,,romilly1 ,,sir ,s41 #ahah1 ,jurist and ,m4,p41 killed himself three days after the death of his wife4 ,,christophe1 #ahbj1 ,king of ,hayti4 ,,englishman1 an1 #ahbj1 threw himself into the crater of ,vesuvius4 ,,campbell1 ,,sir ,g41 #ahba1 ,english ,admiral4 ,,castlereagh1 ,,lord1 #ahbb1 cut his throat4 ,,saint ,,simon1 ,c4 ,h41 #ahbb1 a ,frenchman1 founder of a religious sect4 ,,brachmann1 ,,luise1 #ahbb1 ,german poetess4 ,,montgomery1 #ahbh1 took prussic acid1 when a prisoner for forgery1 in ,newgate4 ,,cond1 ,,prince ,,de1 #ahcj1 hanged himself4 ,,robert ,,leopold1 #ahce1 painter1 cut his throat1 from jealousy4 ,,gros1 ,,baron1 #ahce1 painter1 drowned himself from disappointment4 ,,colton1 ,c4 ,c41 #ahcb1 an eccentric clergyman1 author of 8,lacon40 ,,moyes1 ,,miss ,e41 #ahci1 jumped off the ,monument1 ,london1 because her father1 being reduced in circumstances1 it was decided that she should earn her own living4 ,,beresford1 ,,lord ,,james1 #ahda4 ,,munster1 ,,earl ,,of1 #ahdb1 son of ,william ,,iv4 ,,blanchard1 ,,laman1 #ahde1 journalist4 ,,haydon1 ,b4 ,r41 #ahdf1 painter1 on account of money troubles1 shot himself4 ,,praslin1 ,,duc ,,de1 #ahdg1 his wife was found murdered2 he was arrested on suspicion1 and was found self-slain in prison4 ,,watts1 ,,walter1 #ahej1 ,lessee of the ,olympic ,theatre4 ,,bourg1 ,,st4 ,,edme1 #ahea1 author2 found strangled by his scarf4 ,,layard1 ,,lieut4-,,col41 #ahec1 of 8,nineveh0 fame4 ,,robinson1 ,,rev4 ,t41 #ahed1 threw himself off the cliffs at ,dover4 ,,franks1 ,,dr41 #ahee1 editor of the ,allgemeine ,zeitung1 after killing his son4 ,,sadleir1 ,,john1 ,m4,p41 #ahef1 by prussic acid1 when found guilty of ,bank frauds4 ,,smart1 ,a41 #ahef1 a watchmaker1 threw himself down from the ,whispering ,gallery in ,st4 ,paul's4 ,,miller1 ,,hugh1 #ahef1 geologist1 from overwork4 ,,russell1 ,,chas41 #ahef1 ,chairman of the ,great ,western ,railway4 ,,moser1 ,,isaac1 #ahfa1 a millionaire ,jew4 ,,fitzroy1 ,,admiral1 #ahfe1 meteorologist4 ,,green1 ,g4 ,w41 #ahfg1 a merchant1 jumped off ,suspension ,bridge at ,clifton4 ,,warder1 ,,dr4 ,a4 ,w41 #ahfg1 at ,brighton1 after murdering his wife4 ,,theodore1 ,emperor of ,abyssinia1 #ahfh4 ,,lee1 ,,thomas1 #ahfh1 threw himself from the ,north ,tower of the ,crystal ,palace4 ,,prevost-,,paradol1 #ahgj1 ,french ,minister4 ,,bowley1 ,r4 ,k41 #ahgj1 ,manager of the ,crystal ,palace4 ,,matthiessen1 ,,dr41 #ahgj1 eminent chemist4 ,,willes1 ,,sir ,,james ,s41 #ahgb1 eminent judge1 from overwork4 ,,delawarr1 ,,earl1 #ahgc1 when insane4 ,,abdul ,,aziz1 #ahgf1 ,sultan of ,turkey1 veins of the bend of the arm opened by scissors4 ,,lyttleton1 ,,lord ,,george1 #ahgf1 eminent scholar1 when insane4 ,,butcher1 ,,dr4 ,,sam41 #ahgf1 ,bishop of ,meath1 when insane4 ,,brandon1 ,,raphael1 #ahgg1 architect4 ,,mahomed1 ,,ismail ,,khan1 #ahhc1 an ,afghan surgeon1 by prussic acid4 ,,chapter ,,iv4 ,,literature4 ,the ,literature of the subject is of very diverse character4 ,france1 ,italy1 and ,germany have produced many works on suicide as a fact4 ,england has been content with one work on suicide1 that of ,forbes ,winslow1 8,the ,anatomy of ,suicide10 dated #ahdj4 8,it is an interesting collection of anecdotes1 arranged without much regard to method or authenticity40 7,athenum47 ,the thoroughly scientific statistical work of ,h4 ,morselli1 of ,turin1 has been recently published in an ,english form1 but it is hardly a readable book1 consisting almost entirely of statistics2 and the subject1 moreover1 is treated from an ,italian standpoint1 and for these reasons has not found many readers in this country4 ,there are1 however1 plenty of references to suicide in ,english literature1 and some essays1 chiefly in its defence4 ,some of these ,i catalogue here1 and also several references from ,french literature4 ,i also add a few examples of authors of ,greece and ,rome who concerned themselves with the subject4 ,of foreign works relating to suicide1 a list will be found in the ,bibliographical ,index4 ,among the authors of ,greek and ,roman civilization1 in favour of allowing suicide to be committed1 were ,,aristippus1 circa #cfj ,b4,c41 founder of the ,cyrenaic philosophy4 ,,hegesias1 a ,cyrenaic philosopher1 circa #cjj ,b4,c4 ,,epicurus1 d4 #bgj ,b4,c41 founder of the ,epicurean philosophy4 ,,zeno1 d4 #bfd ,b4,c41 founder of the ,stoic philosophy4 ,,cleanthes1 d4 #bdj ,b4,c41 a pupil of ,zeno4 ,,cicero1 d4 #dc ,b4,c4 ,,seneca1 d4 ,a4,d4 #fe4 ,,pliny ,,the ,,elder1 d4 ,a4,d4 #gi4 ,,epictetus1 d4 circa ,a4,d4 #ajj4 ,,plutarch1 d4 ,a4,d4 #adj4 ,,marcus ,,aurelius ,,antoninus1 a ,stoic1 d4 ,a4,d4 #ahj4 ,,diogenes ,,laertius1 circa ,a4,d4 #bjj4 ,the following famous authors denied its permissibility1 and condemned those who practised it3 ,,pythagoras1 d4 #ebj ,b4,c4 ,,socrates1 d4 #cii ,b4,c4 ,,plato1 d4 #cdh ,b4,c4 ,,aristotle1 d4 #cba ,b4,c4 ,,schines1 d4 #cad ,b4,c4 ,,virgil1 d4 #ai ,b4,c4 7,see neid1 vi4 #dcd47 ,,pliny ,,the ,,younger1 ,a4,d4 #aaf4 ,,lucian1 d4 ,a4,d4 #ahj4 ,,plotinus1 d4 ,a4,d4 #bgj4 ,according to ,morselli of ,turin1 the word 8suicide0 originated in ,france1 in the middle of the last century4 ,in this matter he apparently copied ,french authors who claim that it was first used in the 8,dictionnaire de ,trevoux0 7the town of ,trevoux71 by ,desfontaines1 in #ageb4 ,it appears along with ,parricide in the 8,dictionnaire de l',academie ,franaise10 of #agfb4 ,richelet1 in his famous ,french ,dictionary of #afhj1 has1 ,i find1 ,parricide1 but not ,suicide4 ,so much for ,france4 ,with regard to ,england1 ,archbishop ,trench says1 8,up to the middle of the seventeenth century our good writers use self-homicide1 never suicide40 ,nathan ,bailey1 in his ,english ,dictionary1 #bnd ed4 #agcf1 gives the word 8suicide40 ,but the word is much older even than that2 in the introduction to ,edward ,phillips' 8,new ,world of ,words10 dated #affb1 these remarks are to be found3 8,one barbarous word ,i shall produce1 which is suicide1 a word which ,i had rather should be derived from sus1 a sow1 than from the pronoun sui1 unless there be some mystery in it2 as if it were a swinish part for a man to kill himself40 ,some ,english ,dictionaries1 such as ,wright's1 give the obsolete word 8suicism40 8,suicidium0 looks like a ,latin word1 but is not so1 although ,nathan ,bailey in the #cjth edition of his ,dictionary says it is2 the modern term 8,suicide10 is of course derived from the ,latin words 8sui10 self1 and 8cdo0 to kill2 but the ancient ,romans1 although familiar with the fact1 used a phrase to express it4 ,they said1 8sibi mortem consciscere0 7,cicero1 ,oratio pro ,cluentio71 8to procure his own death02 and 8veneno mortem sibi consciscere0 for 8to poison himself10 or 8to procure death for himself by poison40 ,they also used as alternative phrases 8vim sibi inferre10 8to cause violence to himself10 ,velleius ,paterculus2 8sua manu cadere10 ,tacitus1 ,annales2 and 8mors voluntaria10 ,cicero1 ,epistol ad familiares4 ,the ancient ,greek phrase for 8suicide10 was 1 schylus2 8a suicide0 was 1 schylus2 for our phrase 8to commit suicide0 they used a verb 1 ,sophocles4 ,euripides uses 3 in ,plato is found 1 and also in ,euripides2 two other forms of speech were 1 schines1 and 1 ,plato4 ,the ,germans use the term 8,selbstmord10 the ,italians 8il suicidio40 ,the following ,english ,authors have either written treatises on suicide1 or else have made mention of it in their works4 ,the list is of course not complete1 but it represents the views of many writers of eminence from the time of ,henry the ,eighth to a recent date4 ,,sir ,,thomas ,,more1 in his 8,utopia10 dated #aeaf1 ,book ,,ii41 writes3 8,but yf the disease be not onelye yncurable1 but also full of contynuall payne and anguishe2 444 and seinge his lyffe to him is but a tormente1 that he wyl not bee vnwillinge to dye1 but rather take a good hope to him1 and either dispatche himselfe out of that payneful lyffe1 as out of a prison1 or racke of torment1 or elles suffer hymselfe wyllinglye to be ridde oute of it by other40 ,these lines are from the ,english translation by ,ralph ,robinson1 #aeea4 ,,shakespeare 7d4 #afaf7 in 8,julius ,csar10 ,act ,v4 ,scene #a41 makes ,brutus say3 8,even by the rule of that philosophy1 ,by which ,i did blame ,cato for the death ,he gave himself3,i know not how1 ,but ,i do find it cowardly and vile1 ,for fear of what might fall1 so to prevent ,the time of life3arming myself with patience1 ,to stay the providence of some high powers1 ,that govern us below40 ,and in 8,hamlet10 ,act ,i41 ,scene #b1 writes3 8,o1 that this too1 too solid flesh would melt1 ,thaw and resolve itself into a dew2 ,or that the ,everlasting had not fixed ,his canon 'gainst self slaughter1 ,o ,god6 ,o ,god6 ,how weary1 stale1 flat1 and unprofitable ,seem to me all the uses of this world40 ,and in ,act ,,iii41 ,scene #a1 is found the long passage commencing1 8,to be1 or not to be2 that is the question20 in which the relative merits of life and death are discussed4 ,in 8,othello10 ,act ,i41 ,scene #c1 he makes ,roderigo say1 8,i will incontinently drown myself40 8,it is silliness to live when to live is a torment20 to which ,iago replies1 8a pox on drowning thyself6 it is clean out of the way3 seek thou rather to be hanged in compassing thy joy1 than to be drowned and go without her40 ,,dr4 ,,john ,,donne1 d4 #afca1 wrote an essay on this subject1 entitled #81 or ,that self-slaying is not so naturally sin that it may never be otherwise4 ,,massinger1 the ,dramatist1 d4 #afdj4 8,this ,roman resolution of self-murder ,will not hold water at the ,high ,tribunal ,when it comes to be argued2 my good genius ,prompts me to this consideration4 ,he ,that kills himself t'avoid misery1 fears it2 ,and at the best shows a bastard valour40 ,,milton1 d4 #afgd1 says3 8,nor love thy life1 nor hate3 but what thou liv'st ,live well2 how long or short permit to ,heaven40 ,,sir ,,thomas ,,browne1 d4 #afhb1 author of 8,religio ,medici10 wrote1 8,suicide is1 not to fear death1 but yet to be afraid of life40 ,,sir ,,wm4 ,,temple1 d4 #afii1 said1 8,a man should depart this life when he has no further pleasure in remaining40 ,,henry ,,dodwell1 the learned ,non-juror1 d4 #agaa1 was the author of an 8,apology for ,suicide40 ,,robert ,,fleming1 d4 #agaf1 ,nonconformist ,minister1 wrote 8,the command #8thou shalt not kill' forbids suicide as well as homicide40 ,,george ,,sewell1 d4 #agbf1 in a poem called 8,the ,suicide10 writes3 8,when all the blandishments of life are gone1 ,the coward shrinks to death1 the brave live on40 ,,richard ,,savage1 d4 #agdc4 ,in his poem 8,the ,wanderer0 are these lines3 8,from me 7she cries71 pale wretch1 thy comfort claim1 ,born of despair1 and ,suicide my name6 ,why should thy life a moment's pain endure8 ,here every object proffers grief a cure4 ,she points where leaves of hemlock blackening shoot6 ,fear not1 pluck6 eat 7said she7 the sovereign root6 ,or leap yon rock1 possess a watery grave1 ,and leave thy sorrow to the wind and wave6 ,or markthis poniard thus from misery frees6 ,she wounds her breast64440 ,,samuel ,,richardson1 in 8,clarissa ,harlowe10 #agdi3 8,to be cut off by the sword of injured friendship is the most dreadful of all deaths1 next to suicide40 ,,edward ,,young1 d4 #agfe1 in his 8,night ,thoughts10 ,night ,v41 ,the ,relapse3 8,the bad on each punctilious pique of pride1 ,or gloom of humour1 would give rage the rein2 ,bound o'er the barrier1 rush into the dark1 ,and mar the schemes of ,providence below4 99 99 99 99 99 ,o ,britain1 infamous for suicide60 ,,dr4 ,,johnson1 in #aggc1 was asked3 8,suppose that a man is sure that1 if he lives a few days longer1 he shall be detected in a fraud1 the consequence of which will be utter disgrace and expulsion from society1 should he make away with himself80 and he answered1 8,then1 let him go abroad to a distant country1 let him go to some place where he is not known4 ,don't let him go to the ,devil1 where he is known40 ,,hume1 ,,david1 d4 #aggf1 the historian1 was unable to condemn the practice1 and indeed wrote an 8,essay on ,suicide10 showing that it was consistent with our duty4 ,,blackstone1 d4 #aghj1 8,commentaries10 ,book ,,iv41 cap4 #ad3 8,the suicide is guilty of a double offence3 one spiritual in evading the prerogative of the ,almighty2 the other temporal1 against the king1 who hath an interest in the preservation of his subjects40 ,,dryden1 d4 #agjj1 writes3 8,brutus and ,cato might discharge their souls1 ,and give them furloughs for another world2 ,but we like sentries1 are obliged to stand ,in starless nights1 and wait th'appointed hour40 ,and in his ,fables speaks of ,suicide in terms of abhorrence3 8,the slayer of himself too1 saw ,i there3 ,the gore1 congealed1 was clotted in his hair4 ,with eyes half closed1 and mouth wide ope1 he lay1 ,and grim as when he breathed his sullen soul away40 ,,gibbon1 ,,edw41 the historian1 d4 #agid1 was in favour of its permissibility under certain circumstances4 ,,mason1 ,,william1 d4 #agig1 writes3 8,unlicensed to eternity6 ,think6 think6 ,and let the thought restrain thy impious hand40 ,,paley1 ,,rev4 ,,wm41 d4 #ahje1 the great ,biblical scholar1 discusses the question of ,suicide4 ,he concludes that its commission argues against our reverence for the ,deity1 exhibits a want of religious fortitude1 and a deficiency of regard for our future state4 ,,tom ,,paine1 d4 #ahji1 in his 8,age of ,reason10 approves of ,suicide1 and more than one case has been traced directly to the mental and moral effect of reading this work4 ,,lord ,,byron1 d4 #ahbd1 in his 8,don ,juan10 c4 xiv41 v4 #d1 writes3 8,a sleep without dreams after a rough day ,of toil1 is what we covet most2 and yet ,how clay shrinks back from mere quiescent clay6 ,the very ,suicide that pays his debt ,at once without instalments 7an old way ,of paying debts1 which creditors regret71 ,lets out impatiently his rushing breath1 ,less from disgust of life1 than dread of death40 ,,sir ,,chas4 ,,morgan writes3 8,what poetical suicides and sublime despair might have been prevented by a timely dose of blue pill1 or the offer of a ,loge aux ,italiens60 ,,colton1 d4 #ahcb1 in his 8,lacon10 writes3 8,suicide sometimes proceeds from cowardice1 but not always2 for cowardice sometimes prevents it3 since as many live because they are afraid to die1 as die because they are afraid to live40 ,it has been affirmed that the works of ,,robert ,,owen1 of ,lanark1 d4 #aheh1 manufacturer and social economist1 who was author of several visionary schemes for the mutual advancement of men1 have1 like those of ,tom ,paine1 led to the commission of self-destruction4 4 4 4 4 48 8,we are the fools of time and terror3 ,days ,steal on us1 and steal from us1 yet we live ,loathing our life1 and dreading still to die ,in all the days of this detested yoke ,this vital weight upon the struggling heart1 ,which sinks with sorrow1 or beats quick with pain1 ,or joy that ends in agony1 or faintness ,in all the days of past and future1 for ,in life there is no present1 we can number ,how few1how less than few1 wherein the soul ,forbears to pant for death1 and yet draws back ,as from a stream in winter1 though the chill ,be but a moment's44440 ,,dr4 ,,henry ,,maudsley writes3 8,any poor creature from the gutter can put an end to himself2 there is no nobility in the act1 and no great amount of courage required for it4 ,it is a deed rather of cowardice shirking duty1 generated in a monstrous feeling of self1 and accomplished in the most sinful1 because wicked ignorance4 ,even if the act of ,cato did not speak for itself1 he was far too self-conscious4 ,montaigne tells us that he was given to drinking1 and the ,catos1 as a race1 were noted for rigid severity of character1 which mostly signifies narrowness of vision1 self-love1 and conceit40 ,,foreign ,,literature4 ,,desfontaines1 in the ,supplement du ,dictionnaire de ,trevoux1 #ageb1 first uses the term 8,suicide0 in ,french ,literature4 ,,duverger ,,de ,,haurane1 ,abbot of ,st4 ,cyran1 the patriarch of the ,jansenists1 wrote in #afjh1 a treatise on ,suicide1 speaking of it as equally permissible with the right of fellow men to execute judicially3 he adds1 8,a man may kill himself for the good of his prince1 for that of his country1 or for that of his relations40 ,,maupertuis1 ,,pierre ,,de1 approved of its commission when life becomes wearisome4 ,see 8uvres10 #ageb4 ,,montaigne1 ,,michel ,,de1 8,essays30 these have much information of an historical character4 ,see ,lib4 ,,ii4 cap4 iii41 8,the ,custom of the ,isle of ,ceos10 also many references to the death of ,cato4 ,,montesquieu1 who1 in his 8,lettres ,persanes10 written in the character of a ,persian gentleman resident in ,europe1 speaks of ,suicide with favour1 yet does not mention it by this title2 in the #gdth letter he gives a complete apology for it4 ,see also his 8,esprit des ,lois0 for other remarks on the crime4 ,to this author is due the credit or discredit of the observation that ,england is the classic land of ,suicide4 ,,voltaire1 in his 8,commentaire sur ,l'esprit des ,lois10 approves of suicide1 and does make use of this term2 but in others of his works he condemns it2 in short1 he appears to have been undecided in the matter4 ,it is narrated of him1 that he and a friend contemplated and decided one evening on committing the act1 but ,voltaire had altered his mind in the morning4 ,,madame ,,de ,,stael1 in her youth1 wrote an ,essay approving of ,suicide2 but1 later in her life1 wrote 8,reflexions sur le ,suicide10 #ahac1 in which she recanted many of her opinions4 ,she remarks that some suicides are a matter of duty2 such are the deaths in a forlorn hope on the battle field2 others were honourable as those of ,cato1 ,decius1 ,codrus1 and ,regulus4 ,again1 she says1 8to prefer death to guilt is a suicide of duty1 and such were all martyrdoms40 ,she discards the doctrine that the suicide is a coward2 he is a man who has conquered even 8the fear of death40 ,,rousseau1 ,j4 ,j41 wished that it were permissible2 ,he called it1 however1 8un vol fait au genre humain40 ,see ,nouvelle ,heloise4 ,he is said by some authorities to have caused his own death by taking arsenic4 ,,lamartine condemns the practice 7see his remarks on the death of ,cato7 in the 8,cours de ,litterature40 ,,elias ,,regnault says1 8,it is for man the highest expression of his liberty40 ,,falret1 ,j4 ,p41 8,c'est un acte de dlire40 ,,rivarol1 ,,antoine1 8,l'orgueil est toujours plus prs du suicide que du repentir40 ,,chateaubriand1 ,,fran,,ois ,a41 8,les suicides sont toujours communs chez les peuples corrompus40 ,,la ,,luzerne1 ,c4 ,,guillaume1 8,la religion enleve au suicide l'excuse1 le prtexte1 la scurit1 que lui donne l'incredulit40 ,,taine1 ,h4 8,quand la douleur est extrme l'homme se rfugie1 dans tous les asiles1 jusque dans le suicide1 jusque dans la folie40 ,,sainte ,,beuve1 the poet1 wrote1 under the pseudonym of ,joseph ,delorme1 an apology for suicide1 in verse4 ,,prudhomme1 8,la communaut aboutit par toutes ses voies au ,suicide20 and again1 8,le suicide est une banqueroute frauduleuse40 ,l',,abbe ,,bautain1 8,le suicide est la fois une grande absurdit1 et un grand crime40 ,,girardin1 ,e4 ,,de1 8,bonaparte a declar que tout soldat qui se tue1 est un soldat qui dserte40 ,i venture to add here three other ,french references to the word3 ,,prudhomme1 8,la propriet est le ,suicide de la ,socit40 ,,balzac1 8,qu'un homme batte sa matresse c'est une blessure mais sa femme c'est un ,suicide40 ,,martin1 ,a41 8,le celibat est en mme temps le vhicule de la dbauche1 le scandale du monde1 et le suicide du genre humain40 ,,st4 ,,marc ,,girardin4 8,le suicide n'est pas la maladie des simples de cur et d'esprit1 c'est la maladie des raffins et des philosophes40 ,,goethe1 ,,johann ,w4 ,,von41 in his novel 8,the ,sorrows of ,werter10 exalts suicide1 as the end of one's existence4 ,the suicide of a young man named ,jerusalem suggested to the author the composition of this work1 which has been definitely the cause of suicides1 among whom was ,fraulein von ,lassberg1 who drowned herself4 ,the author himself attempted the act4 ,,foscolo1 ,,ugo1 d4 #ahbg1 the ,italian poet1 imitated ,goethe's 8,werter0 in his 8,ultime lettre di ,jacopo ,ortis10 and in a similar strain discourses on the unpleasantness of life1 and the advantages of ending it when desirable4 ,,beccaria1 ,c4 ,,bonesana1 in his 8,crimes and ,punishments10 written in ,italian1 but which has been translated into almost all ,european languages1 decides in these words2 8,suicide is a crime which seems not to admit of punishment1 for it cannot be inflicted but on the innocent1 when it would be unjust1 or upon an insensible body1 when it would have no more effect than scourging a statue4 ,its only punishment is after death2 it is in the hands of ,god alone2 but it is no crime with regard to man40 ,see ,chapter ,,xxxii4 ,,morselli1 ,,enrico4 8,il ,suicidio40 ,of this great statistical work1 and the opinions expressed therein1 ,legoyt1 ,a41 in his treatise1 remarks1 8he maintains a certain tolerance of ,suicide1 and is well content to look on it as a natural fact1 governed by a law of human nature1 precisely similar to the laws of ,marriages1 ,births1 and ,deaths40 ,see 8,le ,suicide10 #ahha1 p4 #ih4 ,,chapter ,v4 ,,criminal ,,jurisprudence4 ,by ,english law ,suicide is of the ,felony of ,murder1 inasmuch as it is the murder of one of the subjects of the sovereign3 it is a murder committed by a man on himself4 ,there is authority for saying that there is no such offence as self-manslaughter4 ,regina v4 ,burgess1 ,leigh and ,cave1 #beh4 ,it is suicide1 or 8felo-de-se10 not only to kill oneself with deliberation1 when in right mind1 and of years of discretion1 but also to kill oneself accidentally when performing a felonious act2 such as attempting to kill another4 ,but if a man is killed at his express desire by another1 it is not suicide1 because in law the request is illegal and void1 though the latter is a murderer4 ,yet if one persuade another to kill himself1 and he does so1 it is suicide1 and also murder in the adviser3 see ,r4 v4 ,dyson4 ,so also if two persons agree to commit suicide together1 and one succeed and one fail1 the survivor is guilty of murder1 for aiding and abetting a suicide4 ,see ,r4 v4 ,russell1 and ,r4 v4 ,alison4 ,to constitute felo-de-se1 the deceased must die within a year and a day of his self-inflicted injury1 and must have been in his right mind1 yet in the interval he cannot in law purge his offence by repentance4 ,see #a ,hale1 ,p4,c41 #dab4 ,persons obviously insane frequently kill themselves1 yet it cannot be denied that persons are frequently found self-slain1 who have never shown any sign of mental derangement4 ,to avoid a verdict of felo-de-se1 it should be shown by the evidence that the deceased had not arrived at years of discretion1 or else was suffering from unsoundness of mind2 in the adult the consent of the will to a self-inflicted action should not be denied until disproved4 ,the argument by which jurors are supposed to be influenced1 viz41 that no one in his senses would commit that which is the very negation of a law of nature is1 in fact1 an aggravation of the offence4 ,if tenable it would excuse every criminal from blame1 and would apply the more powerfully in proportion to the intensity of the crime4 ,to murder a mother1 or a daughter1 is as much repugnant to a sensible man1 as to murder himself2 but if none but lunatics could commit such crimes1 no one would be culpable at all4 ,and1 therefore1 by the law of our land1 if a lunatic even murder himself in a lucid interval1 he is felo-de-se1 as much as any man1 and if he murder another man in a lucid interval he is as much a murderer as any other man4 ,see #a ,hawkins1 ,p4,c41 cap4 ix41 ss4 #b and #c4 ,at the present time1 the absence of a sound mind in cases of self murder1 is the constant presumption of jurymen1 who by avoiding a verdict of felo-de-se1 commit an amiable perjury1 to save1 as they say1 the reputation of the deceased among his survivors4 ,now at one time the ,english law prescribed for the suicide an inglorious burial in the highway1 with a stake driven through the body2 and the vicarious punishment of his friends by the forfeiture of his goods and chattels to the ,crown4 ,no definite legal authority can be given for this form of burial2 ,blackstone does not mention it4 ,it was abolished in #ahbc by #d ,george ,,iv41 c4 #eb2 by this statute no ,coroner should issue a warrant for the burial of a suicide in any highway1 but it was enacted that the corpse should be buried privately in any churchyard or burying ground between #i and #ab at night without any religious rites4 ,this enactment has been further amended by ,acts #dc and #dd ,victoria c4 #da1 and #de and #df ,victoria1 c4 #ai 7#ahhb71 which provide that the body of a suicide may be buried either silently1 or with any such orderly1 or ,christian religious service at the grave1 as the person in charge of the body thinks fit1 or ,i would add1 can procure4 ,there is of course no clause compelling any minister of religion to perform any definite burial service4 ,but ,i have no doubt that in such cases there would be no difficulty in finding some clergyman to use forms of prayer at the grave1 which would be satisfactory to the relatives4 ,the law was formerly evaded as follows3 if it seemed likely that a verdict of felo-de-se would be found1 the inquiry was adjourned1 and in the meantime the body was buried under a warrant from the ,coroner4 ,in the time of the legal author ,bracton 7#abfj71 a person committing suicide to avoid conviction for a felony1 forfeited his lands and goods2 other suicides forfeited their goods only4 ,this distinction was lost sight of in the time of ,staundforde1 who wrote in #aegj4 ,the law of forfeitures in other respects remained the same until #ahgj1 when forfeitures for felony were abolished by #cc and #cd ,victoria1 c4 #bc4 ,whilst such disabilities existed1 it was perhaps a kindness of juries to misrepresent the manner of death1 and to find that all suicides were of unsound mind2 but now that these disabilities1 both of forfeitures1 and usages of contempt to the corpse1 have been taken away1 there does not seem to be any necessity to refrain from finding a verdict 8according to the evidence10 which a ,coroner's jury is sworn to do2 at least1 more accurately1 a ,coroner's jury is sworn to give a verdict 8according to the evidence1 and the best of their knowledge and belief10 thus giving a greater freedom in investigation than is given to jurymen in a criminal court4 ,,stevenson1 in ,taylor's 8,medical ,jurisprudence10 remarks1 8,it is to be hoped that these recent enactments of the ,burial ,laws will do away with many absurd verdicts of #8,temporary ,insanity2'0 and ,chitty1 ,j41 #ahcd1 adds1 8,if juries were more often to find verdicts subjecting parties to some ignominy1 in cases where there is no pretence of insanity1 the apprehension of such a result would tend to prevent the frequency of the act40 7,med4 ,jurisprudence1 cap4 ix4 sec4 v47 ,there are still some authorities who think that evidence of insanity could be found in all cases1 if only sufficiently investigated4 ,see 8,journal of ,mental ,science10 ,april #ahfa4 ,i feel bound to say this is to me only an amiable fallacy4 ,several cases have come under my personal notice where deliberate suicide has been committed by persons of the clearest intellect1 who have never shown any one symptom of mind failure1 who were not even eccentric1 and yet who chose to sacrifice their life in this world and risk their eternal future1 just to avoid a passing annoyance4 ,such a choice may show1 if you like1 a weakness of mind1 but is not what our ,text ,books teach us to understand by the expression ,lunacy4 ,gibbon1 8,decline and ,fall of the ,roman ,empire10 c4 #ad1 remarks1 8,whenever an offence inspires less horror than the punishment awarded to it1 the rigour of penal law is obliged to give way to the common feelings of mankind40 ,jeremy ,bentham remarks that jurors do not hesitate to violate their oaths1 and so meet the interference of law1 by finding suicides to be 8non compos40 ,the frequency with which ,coroners' juries return a verdict of 8,suicide whilst in a state of temporary insanity10 is less a proof of the connection between suicide and lunacy1 than a sign of the futility of the existing laws relating to the crime of felo-de-se4 ,the commission of suicide does1 no doubt1 raise the question of insanity1 but in such cases the issue should be tried1 not decided offhand4 ,the reports of the following criminal trials may be consulted for further information on the subject of the association of suicide with crime4 ,in ,regina v4 ,gathercole1 #ahci1 the prisoner attempted to drown himself2 another man jumped into the water to save him1 but lost his own life in the attempt2 ,g4 was convicted of ,murder4 ,in ,regina v4 ,fisher1 #ahfe1 a man and wife agreed to die together2 both took opium2 the wife died1 the man by vomiting was saved2 he was convicted of murder1 although he had once been in an asylum4 ,in ,regina v4 ,may1 #ahgb1 a young man who had aided a youth to kill himself was tried for the crime1 and the same ruling was laid down by the judge1 that to aid or abet is murder4 ,in ,regina v4 ,dyson 7,russell and ,ryan1 ,criminal ,cases71 two persons agreed to kill themselves together2 one survived1 and was held to be guilty of murder4 ,the true doctrine of the ,english criminal law would be perhaps1 as follows3 ,if suicide affords any presumption of insanity1 it is of insanity at the moment only1 and even then1 if not supported by other evidence1 it is not enough to deprive the person of imputability4 ,see ,mc,adam v4 ,walker1 #a ,dow1 ,parly4 ,cases1 #ahg4 ,felo-de-se is a crime1 and a person is innocent until found guilty4 ,,sir ,,james ,,fitzjames ,,stephen writes3 8,suicide may be wicked1 and is certainly injurious to society1 but it is so in a much less degree than murder4 ,the injury to the person killed we cannot estimate2 the injury to survivors is generally small4 ,it is a crime which produces no 7public7 alarm1 and which cannot be repeated40 8,it would therefore be better to cease to regard it as a crime1 and to provide that any one who attempted to kill himself1 or who assisted any other person to do so1 should be liable to secondary punishment40 ,whether it be true that the injury to survivors is generally small is1 perhaps1 open to question2 especially in cases where the suicide is the sole means for the maintenance of others1 a wife and family1 for instance2 in such a case1 if suicide be not a crime1 it is at least a cowardly neglect of duty4 ,the modern ,french view of the disabilities of suicide is shown by ,m4 ,j4 ,tissot1 in ,le ,droit ,penal1 #ahfj1 vol4 #b1 p4 #dh2 he discusses the aspect from which suicide should be viewed by law3 8the penalties should be fixed with regard to justice1 decency1 and custom2 they would not fulfil the first condition if they injured innocent survivors1 nor the second if they tended to dishonour humanity by ill-treatment of the remains40 8,it should suffice to refuse an honourable funeral1 the customary burial ceremonies2 this punishment would be privative only4 ,the citizen who flees his country is not honoured in his departure40 ,and in 8,la ,manie du ,suicide10 he says1 8the funeral should be private1 as if society1 religion1 and family1 were blushing at the disgrace40 ,for ancient ,french laws on ,suicide1 see ,laverdy1 ,code ,penal1 cxi41 c4 ,in the ,,german ,strafgesetzbuch1 article #baf1 we find1 8,if a person is induced to kill another by the express and serious request of the person killed1 he shall be imprisoned for not less than three years1 and not more than five years40 ,no mention is made of suicide proper1 in old ,german codes4 ,in the ,,bavarian and ,,saxon ,codes suicide is not mentioned3 but up to #ahga1 it was the ,saxon law that the bodies of suicides should be sent to the schools of anatomy for dissection4 ,in the ,,austrian ,code1 there is a proviso that the suicide shall be buried by certain officials1 but not in a churchyard4 ,the ,,prussian ,code forbids any injury to the corpse2 there are to be no marks of respect at the funeral2 if the suicide be committed to avoid punishment1 the executioner is to bury the body4 ,the ,,french ,law is very remarkable2 ,m4 ,hlie states it thus3 8,la loi n'a point incrimin le suicide4 ,le fait de complicit est il punissable8 ,la negative est evidente40 ,in the ,,united ,,states suicide has never been a crime against statute law1 nor have there ever been any burial barbarities in cases of suicide2 but any one accessory to a suicide is guilty of murder as a principal4 ,the ,,english ,,draft ,,penal ,code proposed to make the abetment of suicide a special offence1 subject to penal servitude for life1 as a maximum punishment4 ,the attempt to commit suicide was to be punished by two years' imprisonment with hard labour4 ,,chapter ,,vi4 ,,civil ,,jurisprudence4 ,the civil branch of the jurisprudence of our subject is more complex than the criminal4 ,life assurance companies naturally object to have to pay sums of money for suicidal deaths1 when these are proved to have occurred in persons who have never shown any mental derangement1 and who may have had reasons for providing a considerable sum of money for their families1 even at the expense of forfeiting their own further concern in this world4 ,such fraudulent suicides have taken place1 just as some men have not hesitated to risk being judicially executed for murder1 committed to obtain sums of money and other valuables4 ,our ,english ,judges have1 unfortunately1 not been unanimous in their decisions respecting the forfeiture of insurances by voluntary death2 and the assurance companies have further complicated the matter by the insertion of peculiar clauses in their policies1 and by using alternative phrases1 meaning suicide1 which the law courts have held to infer different notions4 ,it has always been the custom to insert in policies of life assurance the proviso that the death of the assured by suicide should render the policy void4 ,this was understood to mean that felo-de-se voided the policy4 ,but it became the constant practice of ,coroner's juries to find that persons who had been proved to have destroyed themselves were suffering from 8temporary insanity03 they thus avoided a verdict of felo-de-se2 hence arose the necessity of an understanding whether or not 8,suicide whilst insane0 did or did not vitiate a policy4 ,in equity1 of course1 such a death should not do so1 because the death occurs without the voluntary determination of a healthy mind1 and no one can contract himself out of the possibility of some day losing his reason4 ,the difficulty might never have arisen1 but for this unfortunate straining of the word insanity to cover all cases of suicide4 ,on the ,continent1 in many ,states1 this injudicious mode of regarding suicides does not exist2 when madmen kill themselves1 their madness is registered2 and when persons whom no one has ever noticed to be unable to manage their affairs1 and whose mental state has not been disturbed1 until they have preferred death to life1 on account of some loss or annoyance1 their voluntary deaths are registered as such4 ,in those states unseemly squabbles between assurance companies and executors are quite rare4 ,to dispute and refuse payment1 however1 was found by the companies not altogether a profitable business1 because such cases gave rise to much discussion and more misrepresentation1 and the litigating company was apt to be avoided by persons about to choose a company to insure with4 ,several cases which appeared to be attempts at fraud have been the subject of investigation in courts of law4 ,see reports of the suits of ,borrodaile v4 ,hunter1 #ahda2 ,schwabe v4 ,clift1 #ahde2 ,isett v4 ,the ,american ,insurance ,company2 and ,the ,st4 ,louis ,insurance ,company v4 ,graves4 ,in the first case1 a clergyman jumped off ,vauxhall ,bridge into the ,thames and was drowned2 in his case the policy stated that it should be avoided if the assured should 8die by his own hands40 ,at the trial1 ,erskine1 ,j41 told the jury the policy must be void if the deceased jumped into the water1 intending to kill himself1 and knowing that this action would kill him2 he also left it to them to say whether the deceased could1 at the time of his death1 distinguish right from wrong4 ,the jury became confused1 for they found that the deceased threw himself off with intent to destroy himself1 and also that he was not capable of deciding right from wrong4 ,the verdict was entered for the defendants1 that is1 that deceased was felo-de-se4 ,on ,appeal1 the case was argued before four judges in #ahdc2 they1 however1 differed in opinion2 three judges held that it was felo-de-se1 and one that the assured was temporarily insane1 and that his death was due to an insane uncontrollable impulse4 ,this matter in dispute arose again in #ahde in the case of ,schwabe v4 ,clift2 the deceased drank sulphuric acid1 and died1 when clearly insane4 ,the jury returned a verdict of death during insanity1 intending thereby to say that the policy should not be void4 ,in this policy the term used was 8suicide10 and the judge1 ,cresswell1 held that this word meant felo-de-se4 ,on appeal1 this judgment was reversed1 the judges again differing2 the majority held that the clause meant 8intentionally killing himself10 whether in a reasonable state of mind or not2 the minority were of opinion that disease of the senses1 or the reason1 leading to suicide1 was not intentional death1 nor such as ought to cause a forfeiture4 ,this decision of the judges was of great importance1 and led the companies to alter the wording of their policies1 for under the old system any one who in an attack of delirium during a fever1 or after an accident1 should jump out of a window and kill himself1 would thereby forfeit his policy2 the public could not put up with this dictum1 which if law1 is not the equity of the case4 ,some companies inserted clauses which provided for compromises of such claims2 others definitely stated that any voluntary death should avoid a policy1 but reserved to themselves the right to return a part of the policy value1 calculated up to the day of death4 ,at the present time1 however1 policies1 which in theory are avoided by suicide1 are almost always practically paid by the companies1 in full1 or nearly so1 unless there be any reason to suspect the existence of a fraudulent intention on the part of the assured4 ,it may be broadly stated that now1 in #ahhe1 the companies have almost all agreed to make assigned policies indisputable4 ,the following axioms will be found of great value3 ,when the assured1 being himself beneficially interested in the assurance1 dies a felo-de-se1 public policy requires that the contract be rendered void4 ,and the same holds good of those who claim under the assured1 should he have assigned it1 whether for valuable consideration or not4 ,bunyon1 p4 #gd4 ,but when the assured is but the nominee of the assurer1 and has no beneficial interest in the insurance1 neither equity nor public policy require the insurance to be avoided2 still1 this point has not been judicially fixed4 ,pope1 p4 #cea4 ,when the suicide is insane1 the policy is not avoided1 unless by special condition of the policy4 ,see ,horn v4 ,anglo-,australian ,ass4 ,co4 ,a condition may be inserted that if the policy be assigned to a third person1 and in favour of that assignee or those claiming under him1 such shall not be void2 and the ,courts have decided that the insuring company may be the assignee4 ,see ,white v4 ,brit4 ,emp4 ,ass4 ,co4 #g ,l4 ,r4 ,equity1 #cid4 ,if a condition were inserted that the policy should not lapse1 even if the assured killed himself when of sound mind1 and when beneficially interested1 it would be void in law from public policy4 ,a condition supporting the insurance1 in the event of suicide during insanity1 whether the assured were beneficially interested or not1 would not be void in law4 ,a condition1 avoiding the policy in case the assured should 8commit suicide10 8die by his own hand10 or 8perish by his own hand10 includes all cases of voluntary death1 whether the person be sane or insane1 and whether beneficially interested or not so4 ,see ,borrodaile v4 ,hunter2 ,clift v4 ,schwabe2 ,dufaur v4 ,the ,professional ,ass4 ,co4 ,for more detailed information consult ,bunyon1 and ,pope4 7,see ,bibliographical ,index74 ,see also the ,appendix4 ,i pass from life assurance to one or two other questions1 which are sometimes raised by the occurrence of suicide4 ,the records of ,english ,law will furnish numerous instances in which the existence of unsoundness of mind is not proved by the fact of subsequent self-destruction4 ,the point has mostly arisen for argument in cases where it is desired to set aside a marriage1 on the ground that suicide quickly following matrimony is evidence that there has been an absence of a sound mind1 able to make a marriage contract2 or when suicide has immediately followed the making of a will2 in these cases also it has been argued that the mere fact that suicide has taken place is proof of mental disease1 and conclusive reason for setting such a document aside4 ,persons desirous of full information on these topics should consult the reports of the cases here mentioned1 viz43 ,mc,adam v4 ,walker1 #a ,dow4 ,p4,c4 #adh2 in this suit the marriage was upheld1 although the bridegroom killed himself the same day4 ,burrows v4 ,burrows1 #a ,hagg4 ,eccles4 ,rep4 #aji4 ,in this case the will of the testator1 who destroyed himself1 was upheld1 although the act was committed only three days after signing the will4 ,in the suit of ,chambers v4 ,queen's ,proctor1 #b ,curt4 #dae1 the will was held to be good1 although suicide was committed the day after the signature of the will1 and notwithstanding that it was proved by evidence that the testator had suffered from delusions three days before death4 ,steed v4 ,calley1 #a ,keen1 #fbj1 ,regina v4 ,rumball1 in #ahdc1 and ,regina v4 ,farley1 in #ahdd1 are other instances of the existence of insanity not being held to be proved by subsequent suicide4 ,,chapter ,,vii4 ,,present ,,suicide ,,rate ,,and ,,increase4 ,it is a matter of the greatest difficulty to obtain recent statistics of the actual numbers of suicides1 either in our own country1 or in the ,continental ,states4 ,each nation has its own methods of obtaining these statistics1 and its own modes of tabulation1 and those variations render it very difficult to procure figures for comparison4 ,but beyond this hindrance to accuracy lies the deeper one1 that whatever may be the ,state under consideration1 even when we have obtained the authentic numbers supplied by ,government1 we may rest assured that these numbers fall very far short of the actual totals4 ,in very many statistics in which scientific and medical men are interested1 they are only confronted by the difficulty of want of accuracy of observation1 but in this matter to want of accuracy is added intentional misrepresentation4 ,relations1 friends1 and ,i must add family doctors1 will all frequently combine to slur over the self-done something which is the essence of the death cause4 ,but1 were it even possible to avoid this source of error1 there are others which also obscure our calculations2 for example1 of the total number of bodies found in our rivers1 lakes1 and ponds1 and on the sea coast1 a considerable number are never identified at all2 and of those which are identified1 in a considerable number of cases more1 no evidence will be forthcoming which will be sufficient to prove by what means the deceased got into the water4 ,it then becomes necessary either to provide a valueless column of figures named 8,found ,drowned10 or else some official has to allot the cases by sentiment to suicide1 murder1 or misadventure1 at his discretion4 ,as a proof1 if any be needed1 of the necessary inaccuracy of estimates regarding suicide totals1 and the proportion which drowning bears as a means to the other means used1 ,i add the numbers published in a ,parliamentary paper for #ahhb-hc of the dead bodies found in the ,thames1 in the ,metropolitan district4 ,in #ahhb there were found #bhd ,in #ahhc #bfj ,together1 #edd violent deaths4 ,inquests were held on all these cases1 and the best evidence obtainable was produced4 ,the verdicts were ,accidental death in #bdb cases4 ,wilful murder #b ,suicide in #ei ,found drowned1 i4e41 no opinion offered in #bda ,and again1 in a recent year1 from a total of #dj corpses found in the ,regent's ,canal1 in the ,london district1 #bb were returned as 8,cause of death not known02 and of #df corpses found in the ,river ,lea1 #ai were also stated to have been 8,found ,drowned40 ,the eminent authority1 ,brierre de ,boismont1 confesses1 after a long investigation of some thousand suicides1 purporting to be the total for ,paris for a certain number of years1 as follows3 8,one may then1 without any fear of being inaccurate1 estimate the number of suicides committed1 as almost double the number of suicides registered40 ,the following table will be found to give the latest calculations of the actual number of suicides per million of inhabitants in the different ,european ,states2 and will shew the estimated increase or decrease during the stated number of preceding years4 ,number of ,increase ,term ,,year4 ,,country4 ,suicides per of per ,million4 ,million4 ,years4 #ahhj ,portugal #af #c #e #ahhj ,spain #ai #b #e #ahhc ,ireland #bd #f #e #ahgh ,russia and ,finland #ce ,dec4 #ab #f #ahha ,italy #dd #g #e #ahha ,scotland #dh #aa #e #ahhj ,holland #ea ,stationary #aj #ahhb ,england #gd #g #aj #ahge ,norway #ge ,dec4 #cc #ac #ahgi ,belgium #ij #bb #e #ahgg ,sweden #aja #ae #e #ahhj ,bavaria #ajb #aa #e #ahgg ,austria #add #bd #c #ahhj ,hanover #aej #aj #e #ahgg ,prussia #afh #cd #d #ahhj ,france #baf #ef #e #ahha ,switzerland #bdj #be #e #ahgh ,denmark #bfe #cb #e #ahgh ,saxony #dfi #agj #e ,in an endeavour to make an accurate estimate of the suicide rate of the various states1 and the relative increase in the rates1 we are met by the further difficulty that the periods of observation vary much in length2 in ,holland1 for example1 there was no formal collection of numbers until #ahfi2 on the other hand1 in ,sweden1 the amount of suicide has been estimated ever since #agej4 ,an enormous decrease may be observed in the figures relating to ,norway2 it may be due to the very stringent laws relating to intoxication1 and to the regulations placed on the sale and consumption of alcoholic drinks about twenty years ago4 ,the calculation of the averages of the various countries is performed by the formula used by ,professor ,bodio3 x #ajj 7aa-#a7an3 in which a the number of suicides in the last year3 a the number of suicides in the first year of the series3 and n the number of years of observation4 ,the following table from ,legoyt is interesting1 but the data are not so recent as in the foregoing list1 and hence do not coincide3 ,,table showing the ,difference in the ,rates of ,variation per cent4 between ,population and ,suicide from #ahfe to #ahgf4 ,suicide4 ,population4 ,,country4 ,increase per ,variation4 cent4 on ,total ,numbers4 ,england #adf #bga ,austria #ib #ffe ,bavaria #eb #ahd ,belgium #gj #fdd ,denmark #aba #abb ,france ,a loss #agc ,italy #aje #aea ,norway #ha #adc ,prussia #fg #dij ,russia #aaj #dgj ,saxony #ahh #ehd ,sweden #gf #bdj ,switzerland #fe #fcf ,ireland ,a loss ,stationary4 ,finland #ec ,stationary4 ,as a general rsum of the consideration of the amount of ,suicide1 it appears that the civilized ,states of ,europe 7with three exceptions7 show a gradual and uniform increase of ,suicide rate2 and that even since the beginning of the century self-destruction has increased1 and still goes on increasing1 more rapidly than the increase of population1 and to a greater extent than the general death-rate4 ,from a consideration of the general statistics of various countries estimated annually1 with regard to actual numbers and percentage of ,suicides1 we conclude that like similar statistics applied to subjects of a totally unvolitional nature1 they vary from year to year and from country to country4 ,but the variations in the two classes1 of voluntary and involuntary incidents1 do not range together constantly2 in fact1 the statistics of the continental observers seem to show that1 if we class together ,suicide ,homicide as ,,voluntary ,,acts1 ,marriage and ,illegitimate ,births ,deaths as ,,involuntary ,,acts1 ,accidental ,deaths and compare a period of several years in several countries1 the greatest variations occur very rarely in suicide4 ,suicide1 then1 varies less than ,illegitimate ,births1 ,deaths and ,accidental ,deaths4 ,births have varied the least4 ,it is a curious fact that illegitimate births1 the general mortality1 and accidental deaths1 have often offered greater variations from the average1 although the human will has no power over them1 than suicide1 homicide1 and marriages which are voluntary actions4 ,hence it has been argued1 that social actions dependent on human volition1 varying as they do proportionally from year to year1 do not differ from those observed in phenomena of a physiologic or organic nature4 ,for a lengthened discussion on this subject1 see ,morselli1 ,rmelin1 and ,rhenisch3 the former states1 8,the laws of social life are not sufficiently known to enable us to attribute the variations in suicide to one cause1 such as human liberty1 or free-will1 different and opposite to those natural forces on which we make births and deaths to depend2 for we have no positive grounds for giving different interpretations to similar phenomena1 merely because variations appear in psychical facts40,il ,suicidio4 ,,chapter ,,viii4 ,,the ,,causation ,,of ,,suicide4 ,in considering this portion of our subject we shall be assisted by analogy1 if we investigate the data of contributing causes1 in a manner similar to that which is ordinarily pursued with regard to diseases1 in textbooks of medicine4 ,i refer to the method of distributing these causes into two classes of predisposing influences1 and exciting or determining causes4 ,it will be very necessary1 however1 to bear in mind that the onset of a disease is generally of a nature quite removed from the influence of the will2 while1 on the other hand1 suicide is voluntary1 the result of a distinct action1 following a direct determination4 ,it is the determination which is led up to by states of predisposition1 whether they be cosmic1 racial1 or mental4 ,one large class1 perhaps one-third of all suicides1 are of a different nature2 these are the effect of an insane act2 the predisposition is lunacy2 the determining cause is a delusion1 hallucination1 mania1 or epileptic nerve storm4 ,the group of influences which we shall consider as predisposing1 must in the case of insane suicides be considered as the predisposing causes of the unsoundness of mind4 ,and1 again1 the causes denoted as exciting1 in these pages1 are also the exciting causes of the insanity in most cases4 ,from this point of view1 the fact of ,suicide is only an incident occurring in ,lunacy4 ,the various forms of insanity1 and their influence in promoting suicide1 their treatment1 and the means of avoiding the fatal act1 will be referred to1 later on4 ,m4 ,casimir ,broussais1 in his work 8,hygine ,morale10 divides the causes thus3 ,a4 ,circumstances independent of the will4 ,b4 ,voluntary causes4 ,in ,class ,a4 he recounts3 individual organisation1 heredity1 sex1 age1 state of health1 or disease1 country1 climate1 seasons1 historical epochs4 ,in ,class ,b4 he places employment1 education1 misery1 loss of fortune1 gambling1 disappointed love1 jealousy1 domestic troubles1 calumny1 wounded self-love1 failure of ambition1 remorse1 religious and political fanaticism1 imitation4 ,m4 ,tissot1 in his treatise on our subject1 proposes the following arrangement of the causes of suicide3 #a4 ,remote negative causes1 such are want of religion and want of morality4 #b4 ,remote positive causes2 either physiological1 moral1 or physical4 #c4 ,proximate physical causes4 #d4 ,proximate moral causes1 either public or personal4 ,but he adds1 8many of these causes act concurrently2 it is indeed rare not to find this to be the case40 ,in ,class #b he places3 ,physiological1 the power of reflection4 ,moral3 idleness1 bad company1 gambling1 debauchery1 theatrical plays1 evil imaginings1 evil literature2 and ,physical3 insanity1 hypochondriasis1 ennui1 nostalgia1 alcoholism1 celibacy1 with such data as climate1 age1 temperament1 heredity4 ,to ,class #c he allots bodily diseases1 pain1 misery1 privation1 slavery1 loss of fortune1 fear of punishment1 and envy4 ,in ,class #d1 under personal1 he places1 offended vanity1 despair1 remorse1 suicide to expiate a fault1 suicide to secure virtue or personal purity or honour1 impatience to obtain the future life1 and the vanity of dying for nothing4 ,under public causes he classes suicide to save public honour of a government1 to avenge the disgrace of one's country1 to defend the honour of others1 and suicide in despair of the state of public affairs4 ,despine1 in his ,natural ,psychology1 vol4 iii41 pp4 #gd-acb1 divides ,insane ,suicides into four series3 ,i4,death occurs from an act proposed by the delusion of delirium2 as if a man should jump off a high place thinking he is able to fly4 7,delirium47 ,,ii4,self-destruction from ,lypemania1 producing a state of such sorrow and fear that the sentiment of attachment to life is lost4 7,melancholia47 ,,iii4,suicide is performed to obtain death1 simply from the desire to die4 7,suicidal ,monomania47 ,,iv4,the sufferer is caused by his malady to be violent and to destroy someone1 either himself or others4 7,acute ,mania47 ,he then proceeds to study suicides1 in persons of healthy mind1 8sous l'influence d'un cerveau sain40 ,it is determined by passions which arise from noble and generous sentiments1 whilst homicide depends on egotistical and perverse passions4 ,he divides into three series the passions determining suicide3 ,i4,those occurring during rage or violent passion1 incompatible with free will4 ,,ii4,in such a psychical state1 that the man morally free1 does not decide by free-will4 ,placed between two modes of action1 imposed on him by circumstances2 and of which one is so repugnant to his feelings that he takes the other which is less repugnant1 viz41 suicide4 ,,iii4,in the state of moral liberty1 in which the man decides on his action by his free will4 ,he then gives as causes1 despair1 ennui1 alcoholism1 religion1 loss of honour1 to escape execution1 misery1 self-sacrifice1 and stoicism4 ,the older authors on ,suicide only viewed it from a narrative and sentimental point of view1 and it is only of late years that it has been the object of any scientific research2 but now that a study of suicide1 as a fact1 has been instituted1 it has fallen almost entirely into a statistical groove1 to the neglect of research into the mental state and emotions of the unfortunate individuals who become victims4 ,suicide is an individual act1 and this point is in danger of being lost sight of in a too absorbing study of general principles4 ,most copious and elaborate investigations have been made into the proportional intensity of cosmic1 telluric1 climatic1 and racial states1 as causes of ,suicide1 to the neglect of the fact that men and women are not simply automatons1 and that mental and moral causes act in different fashions on different minds more certainly than data of temperature1 geological formation1 and position of the sun4 ,than ,morselli1 no man has contributed more information on the subject of ,suicide2 but he is so far led on by his devotion to figures1 that he actually assigns as a cause of suicide and as a factor in its prevalence1 the relative position of the ,sun and ,earth1 the alternating states of ,aphelion and ,perihelion6 ,i am under great obligation to continental observers1 for in the ensuing pages ,i quote frequently from their statistics1 viz41 from ttingen1 ,wagner1 ,falret1 ,quetelet1 ,brierre de ,boismont1 ,drobisch1 ,legoyt1 ,lisle1 and from ,morselli of ,turin1 who supplies the most recent data4 ,among predisposing influences will be mentioned1 the effects of race1 religion1 education1 and morality2 together with those of climate1 and the geographical peculiarities of a country4 ,the varying proportions exhibited by the differences of age1 sex1 and social condition2 the effects of town as compared with country life1 and the special characteristics of the military and naval services1 and of prison life1 will be described4 ,in respect to social life1 mention will be found of the states of celibacy1 matrimony1 and widowed life2 and also some special reference to suicide in childhood4 ,in our consideration of determining causes we shall be guided by the scheme of tabulation in use in many continental states1 because it affords a better means of comparison between the several data1 than if any independent arrangement were suggested4 ,this scheme divides these final causes into three main classes1 of mental diseases1 bodily diseases1 and moral or immoral motives1 as follows3 ,a4,mental ,affections4 ,see special ,chapter2 including ,insomnia1 ,spiritualism1 suicides caused by ,imitation1 and desire of ,notoriety4 ,b4,bodily diseases2 ,incurable diseases2 pain1 ,alcoholism1 ,morphia habit1 and the effect of ,hereditary predisposition4 ,c4,tdium vit1 nostalgia1 etc4 ,d4,violence of the passions2 jealousy1 anger1 avarice1 disappointed love1 spite4 ,e4,effect of the ,vices2 libertinism1 onanism1 drunkenness4 ,f4,domestic trouble1 and anguish of the affections2 loss of relatives1 deluded hopes1 dissensions at home1 want of children4 ,g4,financial losses2 loss of employment1 gambling1 loss of law suits4 ,h4,misery1 want of home and food1 and fear of such want4 ,i4,fear1 shame1 and remorse2 seduction1 unmarried pregnancy1 the haunting of a criminal's conscience4 ,j4,despair2 this class is made to include unknown causes2 to which may be added3 ,k4,honourable motives1 yet misdirecting conduct4 ,beyond all the predispositions1 and states of disease1 as causes of a voluntary death1 follow the consideration of the less tangible1 but terribly effectual moral motives1 which have been briefly tabulated4 ,volumes have been1 and might still be written on the disastrous effects of ungoverned passions1 and ill-regulated desires1 and their consequences1 guilt and shame1 remorse and terror4 ,volumes also might be contributed on the allied subjects of the misery and pain1 always present with us1 and near us1 and which but few of us wholly escape contact with1 or sharing4 ,in these pages we must be content with a notice of only the most frequent of those troubles4 ,as before observed1 the suicides of eminent men in ancient history were usually brought about by motives more or less honourable1 if mistaken1 but practically1 in our times1 the final causes of the act are of a less elevated character4 ,if we except the case of lunatics under protection1 among whom the proportion of suicides is small1 from the care with which they are watched1 and the case of those in whom insanity bursts forth suddenly1 and without any warning1 the catalogue of motives given above will be found practically almost complete4 ,brierre de ,boismont gives the following classification of #d1eie cases which occurred in ,france1 assigning the mental or moral determining causes4 ,but it is obvious that these tables must be taken cum grano salis1 because of the impossibility of discovering in every case the true motive1 and because of the coincidence of several causes in many instances4 #feb ,lunatics1 about one-seventh of all cases4 #dje ,other diseases of body1 incurable1 or with intolerable pain4 #ecj ,alcoholism4 #cfa ,domestic troubles4 #caa ,sorrow1 disappointment4 #acd ,remorse1 and fear of the law4 #cjf ,disappointed love4 #bcg ,ennui4 #bgg ,reverses of fortune1 and cupidity4 #bhb ,poverty and misery4 #ee ,delirium of acute diseases4 #dd ,gambling4 #dc ,want of occupation4 #bf ,pride and vanity2 notoriety4 #ef ,indolence4 #ade ,hypochondriac and hysterical4 #ed ,jealousy4 #aba ,misconduct4 #eef ,motive unknown4 ,kolb1 ,j4 ,f41 in his work on the 8,condition of ,nations10 gives the following ,table of ,causation in respect to ,french ,suicides2 in a recent year1 #gi per cent4 were males1 and #ba per cent4 were females4 ,from a total of #e1ibb suicides1 #a1gid were caused by mental disorders1 #hee domestic troubles1 #hcg bodily diseases and pain1 #gja alcoholism1 #fhh poverty and misery1 #bce violence of the passions1 #bbi remorse1 and fear of the law1 and #ehc from motives unclassed4 ,of #f1ghb cases observed by ,falret1 the following proportions were calculated by him3 ,caused by misery #ag1 loss of fortune #aba1 gambling #adc1 love affairs #aai1 domestic troubles #ai1 fanaticism #aff1 calumny1 wounded self-love1 and failed ambition #ag1 remorse #abg4 ,no attempt on a large scale has ever been made to tabulate ,english cases1 as to causation4 ,the following ,table arranged by ,m4 ,lisle1 has never been equalled1 for completeness1 and for the large number of cases included in its scope4 ,,french ,,suicides4,lisle4 ,,causes4 ,male4 ,female4 ,,total4 ,misery #b1cee #ehg #b1idb ,debts1 business embarrassments #b1hji #aie #c1jjd ,gambling #aeg #a #aeh ,loss of employment #bcg #bf #bfc ,loss of law-suits #acg #ai #aef ,other losses #ccb #ei #cia ,fear of poverty #bfd #ee #cai ,reverse of fortune #bhj #de #cbe ,regret for loss of fortune #fc #ag #hj ,unrealised hope of fortune #ec #ab #fe ,nostalgia #bf - #bf ,loss of children1 position1 c4 #cgc #aic #eff ,bad conduct and ingratitude of children #acg #gd #baa ,sorrow for absent children #bj #bj #dj ,sorrow for absence from family #ce #af #ea ,sorrow of children for ill-treatment #aei #gb #bca ,parental squabbles #aaj #bf #acf ,jealousy between members of a family #ai #g #bf ,other domestic troubles #c1cee #a1bdb #d1eig ,disappointed love #ich #fbg #a1efe ,jealousy #bbi #aah #cdg ,pregnancy1 unmarried - #bci #bci ,disgust with marriage #ce #ah #ec ,remorse #aij #gg #bfg ,idleness #gf #d #hj ,debauchery #a1efi #bcc #a1hjb ,drunkenness #fef #hb #gch ,habitual roguery #b1aje #cei #b1dfd ,disgust with social position #fh #i #gg ,desire to avoid legal pursuit #a1gda #cfe #b1ajf ,desire to avoid execution of judgment #chc #ba #bjd ,desire to avoid military duty #bff - #bff ,desire to avoid calumny #cg #bg #fd ,desire to avoid pain #c1ebb #a1afe #d1fhg ,disgust of life #a1edg #cgd #a1iba ,hypochondria #fdj #baa #hea ,disgust of military life #bad - #bad ,reproaches of employers #ajf #da #adg ,sorrow for loss of situation #ec #bd #gg ,rivalry in business #h - #h ,insanity1 general #f1gdd #c1ihb #aj1gbf ,insanity1 partial1 or monomania #fjc #bdd #hdg ,idiocy #eaj #cjg #hag ,cerebral congestion #ejd #agg #fha ,passion #ea #ag #fh ,political excitement #cd - #cd ,religious fears #dj #bh #fh ,suicide after crime #bii #bh #cbg ,unknown cause #e1aba #a1ced #f1gde #ci1cjb #ab1hbd #eb1abf ,,chapter ,,ix4 ,,race1 ,,geographical ,,influences1 ,,and ,,climate4 ,the inhabitants of the majority of countries are not at the present time so unique racially1 as was probably the case at an earlier date4 ,races of men have spread themselves to contiguous lands1 and have emigrated to other tracts of country2 so that it is now much the reverse of usual to find a nation composed of any one race1 or even of a very preponderating majority of one stock4 ,the more nearly1 however1 that a state is thus constituted1 the more obvious appears the fact that each race of men has a certain underlying 8special rate of suicide40 ,this rate1 ,i say1 underlies all the variations exhibited by the various portions of that race2 which may be due to ,climate1 ,religion1 ,morals1 or ,education4 ,the idea of a real ,specific ,ethnic ,rate of ,suicide is1 ,i believe1 due to ,wagner of ,berlin2 and the more the subject has been examined1 the more obvious the conclusion appears4 ,it may be compared to that principle adopted by modern chemists1 that every elementary body has a definite specific rate of gravity2 and indeed the simile may be carried farther still1 for as the chemist by combining his elements can prepare a new body1 having a different specific gravity rate1 dependent on the rates of the original elements2 so a country composed of a mixture of two races1 exhibits a 8,suicide ,rate0 different from the special rates of the constituent races1 and intermediate between them4 ,although it may not be practicable to prove these statements by a direct appeal to figures1 because no case can be produced which is not1 at any rate to some extent1 complicated by considerations of a collateral nature1 but yet the more deeply the matter is investigated the more true it will be found to appear4 ,the statistics collected by ,wagner and by ttingen may be consulted in this connection4 ,the changes of rate produced by ,race mingling can be studied1 not only in countries where the process has been going on for centuries1 but also in respect to recent movements of men4 ,when ,europeans emigrate1 they are found to carry with them to their new home their peculiarities in regard to ,suicide3 the several races of ,germans have a high rate at home1 and on examination of the records of a country peopled by emigration1 of ,new ,york1 for instance1 we find that the ,germans there kill themselves more often than the ,anglo-,saxon element1 which has in its home a low suicide rate4 ,during the year #ahhc1 in ,new ,york there were #aea cases1 of these no less than #gj were ,germans2 now the proportion of ,germans in ,new ,york is certainly not seven-fifteenths of the population4 ,the ,negro races in their original homes shew an avoidance of voluntary death1 and they carry this characteristic with them into other lands3 in the ,united ,states the relative proportion between the number of suicides1 in coloured and white men1 is about one to eighty4 ,the rate of suicide observable in a race is seen to be curiously associated with stature2 the original inhabitants of ,germany were tall and fair2 these had originally a high rate1 and descendants of this race shew the same peculiarity to-day4 ,in proportion as these fair tall ,germans infiltrate another country1 just as certainly does the suicidal total grow4 ,morselli states that in ,italy the rate increases from south to north1 gradually1 in proportion as the stature also increases1 until the ,german states are reached4 ,there is1 however1 another tall fair race1 who have a low rate1 the ,slavonic2 on the eastern borders of ,hungary where these immigrate1 the ,hungarian rates are lowered4 ,in ,europe the highest proportion of suicide is shewn by the ,germanic races1 and the two stocks1 ,german and ,scandinavian1 divide the supremacy for the maximum rate4 ,the ne plus ultra of ,german purity in race is found in ,saxony1 and this kingdom has the largest suicide ratio of any country4 ,the height of ,scandinavian purity in race is found in ,denmark1 and there also the ratio is very large1 enormous1 in fact3 in ,norway the rate was for very long also extreme1 but the great severity of recent laws with respect to offences and to drunkenness have made an almost incredible reduction in the amount of suicide4 ,our ,british population is of too mixed a blood to enable statistics to show much of value2 but the ratio is much smaller in the ,anglo-,saxon than in the ,german4 ,the ,celtic races avoid suicide1 as is seen by the low rates in ,ireland and ,wales4 ,the races of ,slavonic origin show the lowest rates1 with those of ,asiatic ,turanian origin1 the ,magyars1 ,finns1 and ,lapps4 ,,climate ,,and ,,geographical ,,data4 ,the extremes of heat and cold seem to tend to a low rate4 ,in ,europe the highest rates are found in the central and upper two-thirds of the north temperate zone2 the maximum being at about #ej lat4 ,the countries of the west and the south of ,europe give the minimum proportions4 ,the principal suicide area of ,europe is a zone lying from the north of ,france to the east of ,germany1 with two foci1 viz41 the country around and including ,paris1 at a rate of #ccj per million of inhabitants1 and the kingdom of ,saxony1 at a rate of #dfi per million4 ,compare with these very high numbers the proportions shown by regions lying more to the south3 viz41 ,calabria1 #i2 ,portugal1 #af2 ,sardinia1 #ac2 ,spain1 #ai2 and ,sicily1 #ah per million4 ,leaving this central ,european area1 and advancing to the north1 we again reach territories where lower rates are found to prevail1 although not so low as those of the ,mediterranean coast4 ,while ,scotland has a rate of #dh1 ,ireland's proportion is even much less1 about #bd4 ,finland has a low rate1 and so has ,northern ,russia1 #ce per million inhabitants4 ,mountainous countries show a lower rate than lowlands2 the ,highlands of ,scotland and ,wales give a ratio only half that of ,england4 ,in the mountain cantons of ,switzerland self-destruction is almost unheard of4 ,the amount of suicide varies considerably in the several counties of ,england2 it has in many years happened that ,rutland and ,westmoreland have shown a very high rate2 but this may possibly be due to their very small size rendering the comparison unfair4 ,dr4 ,j4 ,n4 ,radcliffe1 some years ago now1 took the pains to calculate the rate per million for each county1 from the ,registrar's returns2 he gives the following as the counties having the highest rates3 ,the ,london area3 ,middlesex1 #aje2 ,kent1 #ig2 ,surrey1 #ie2 and ,sussex1 #hi per million inhabitants4 ,the ,midland area3 ,leicester1 #hi2 ,lincoln1 #hg2 ,nottingham1 #hg2 ,warwick1 #gg2 and ,derby1 #hj4 ,the ,northern area3 ,westmoreland1 #ii2 ,cumberland1 #hf2 ,lancaster1 #gj2 and ,chester1 #gj per million4 ,very large proportions follow the great ,rivers of ,europe1 especially the ,po1 ,seine1 ,loire1 ,rhone1 ,oder1 ,rhine1 ,elbe1 ,thames1 and the ,scheldt in ,belgium4 ,on ,marshes1 ,salt ,marshes1 and lands low lying and liable to floods1 the ratio is much less1 as in ,holland and on the ,landes in ,france4 ,but we shall1 ,i think1 be justified in considering that it is not the river that has caused the suicides1 nor the marsh that has made them few2 the truth no doubt is that the marsh has rendered the people few1 and simple in habit1 whilst rivers1 the oldest means of locomotion1 invited settlers1 and settlers made town after town1 and then a city on each river1 and multitudes grew1 and as some few became wealthy1 the millions became permanently in want4 ,montesquieu1 with whom suicide was a favourite study1 called ,england the 8,land of ,suicide10 from its fogs and damp1 dark1 cold climate1 but he was wrong2 even at that time ,france had a heavier voluntary death-rate4 ,over and above which our suicides cluster in preference round our summer months1 and not our foggy ones1 to which fall our heaviest ordinary death-rates4 ,,chapter ,x4 ,,education1 ,,religion1 ,,and ,,morals4 ,quite closely connected with the consideration of these influences1 are others partly dependent on them1 the manners and customs of a population1 the extent of civilisation1 and education1 and their religious and moral state4 ,the manners and customs are to a great extent peculiar to each race1 while the members of each race are all apt to take on an amount of civilisation by means of education1 which varies in a quite indefinite manner4 ,no amount of argument or inquiry seems1 however1 to invalidate the statement that a preponderant rate of suicide1 and a high rate of madness exist in countries the farthest advanced in our modern ideas of civilization1 and in education1 and in modern modes of thought4 ,the intensely complicated state of modern society lays ambushes for us of myriads of dangers1 difficulties1 annoyances1 illnesses1 and worries1 which to the denizen of a savage country are entirely unknown4 ,that the influence of modern education is to increase the suicide-rate is proved by statistics of many sorts2 from tables of the percentage amongst those 8able to read and write10 and the reverse2 from the conscription tables of ,france and ,italy1 and from the fact that those countries which possess the higher standard of general culture1 furnish the largest contingent of voluntary deaths1 other data being equal1 or allowed for4 ,m4 ,brouc1 indeed1 went so far1 many years ago1 as to affirm that1 given the number of persons in the public schools of a country1 he could deduce the number of suicides which took place there annually4 ,i subjoin a comparison between the percentage of population at school and the suicide rate in ,italy1 tabulated by ,morselli3- ,scholars per ,suicides per ,hundred ,million ,inhabitants4 ,inhabitants4 #ahfc-fd #edd #bgb #ahfe-ff #eei #bhg #ahfg-fh #fje #caj #ahfi-gj #fjf #bge #ahga-gb #fdd #cb #ahgc-gd #fhj #cfe #ahge-gf #gae #cec #ahgg #gde #djf ,the same effect is exhibited by tables showing the relative numbers of newspapers published in each ,state2 the more numerous these are1 the higher the voluntary death-rate2 and in ,states where the literature is of the higher type1 scientific and critical1 we find1 mutatis mutandis1 a higher rate than where the journals simply contain news and politics4 ,brierre de ,boismont gives a classification of #d1eie ,french suicides1 in respect to education2 a rsum follows3 ,male4 ,female4 ,,total4 ,well instructed #dfg #ajf #egc ,read and write well #fja #ahh #ghi ,read1 but write ill #a1ade #eaa #a1fef ,read1 but do not write #a #b #c ,illiterate #cf #bi #fe ,data unknown #ifi #edj #a1eji ,in respect to ,england1 the ,report of the ,registrar ,general for #ahhj contains a statement1 which ,i subjoin1 of the effect of education on the proportion of voluntary deaths1 calculated on the averages of the ten years #ahfi-gh1 with regard to the numbers of adults who were able to sign their names in the marriage registers4 ,counties where #bg #ege million of were unable to sign the inhabitants4 register ,counties where less #fib per million of than #bg but more inhabitants4 than #ag were unable ,counties where less #hjb per million of than #ag were unable inhabitants4 ,but1 on the other hand1 the proportions of crime against the person were the lowest on record1 and the better educated counties showed the minimum4 ,the rule that suicide rate increases with the amount of education is more generally observed than almost any other tendency which we have to consider2 and it is probably an accurate statement without any reservation2 however unpalatable such a dictum may be1 ,i am not aware of any state where the reverse holds good4 ,the general opinion has always been that this rule is only true when the form of education is faulty2 the pages of many authors will show the argument that secular knowledge must be judiciously combined with religious teaching1 or else such a result may appear2 but the facts seem to lead us to the awkward dilemma1 that either the religious teaching is seldom duly administered1 or else that even piety is unavailing as a deterrent4 ,prophets have not been lacking for several years past1 who have never ceased to warn us that our present system of removing ,christian teaching from the necessary curriculum of our public schools1 will inevitably increase crime and suicide in the rising generation4 ,and ,i fear there can be no doubt that this coming generation will show a higher rate1 but whether the diminution of religious instruction will be the cause1 will be open to question4 ,personally1 and speaking with reference to the masses of the population1 ,i think it is likely to cause such an increase2 because1 although it may be preferable for well-educated men and women to confess to honest doubt1 in preference to acquiescence in a form of faith which they cannot heartily hold2 still1 in minds of less development1 for whom a thorough education is impossible1 greater stability of character is ensured by an early inculcated religious conviction of the sanctity of life1 and an idea of the duty of waiting on ,providence to guide our concerns4 ,,the ,,influence ,,of ,,religion4 ,it is impossible to deny that1 in respect to the influence of religion on the proportions of suicide in ,europe1 the maximum rate constantly falls to ,protestant ,states1 to the ,roman ,catholic next1 then the ,greek ,church1 and1 lastly1 the minimum falls to the ,jews4 ,an average1 estimated from a large collection of numbers by ,morselli1 shows that the ratio is #eh per million in ,catholic ,states1 #aij per million in ,protestant ,states1 and in the ,greek ,church #dj per million2 but the low suicide rate of the ,slavonic races renders conclusions as to the ,greek ,church most unreliable2 but it seems to the author that this is not an accurate deduction from the relative numbers1 the proportion allotted to ,protestant countries being much too high4 ,legoyt gives ,catholics #fb1 ,protestants #ajb1 ,greek ,church #cf1 ,jews #dh1 and this seems an estimate more near the truth4 ,curiously enough1 ,catholics far exceed ,protestants in the statistics of total crime in all countries4 ,with regard to the ,jews1 we are met by the difficulty of the coincidence of race and religion1 in the most marked form the world has ever seen4 ,the ,jews are undoubtedly more liable to lunacy than are ,christians2 in ,bavaria1 for example1 there is one lunatic to #ijh ,catholics1 #ifg ,protestants1 and #ead ,jews4 ,history renders it quite certain that in the days of ,jewish purity1 and in the time of the kings up to the ,babylonish captivity1 the number of suicides was very small4 ,self-destruction is not even mentioned in the ,pentateuch as a crime2 it was apparently thought that the command1 8thou shall not kill10 obviously included it4 ,in later days the number increased2 after the close of ,old ,testament history1 when the ,jews became more mixed with other nations1 it became common4 ,many killed themselves in the ,roman siege of ,jerusalem1 as ,josephus narrates2 in #aeba1 forty ,jews were imprisoned in ,france1 doubtless for purposes of extortion2 they all killed themselves ,contes de ,guillaume de ,nangis1 p4 #if4 ,and although many ,jews put an end to their existence during the times of terrible persecution of the ,middle ,ages1 notably #abjj-adjj1 they have always preserved a reputation throughout ,europe for contempt of suffering1 and for the avoidance of self-destruction4 ,coming now to the present day once more1 ,i introduce here a ,table1 compiled chiefly from ,italian and ,german sources1 which shows the comparative suicide rates1 in juxtaposition to the comparative proportions of ,catholic and ,protestant inhabitants2 it is very suggestive1 and calls for a few words respecting the ,protestant ,religion4 ,compare ,morselli1 ,influenze ,sociali1 p4 #bah4 ,catholics ,protestants ,suicides per per ,,country4 per ,thousand ,thousand ,million of of ,inhabitants,inhabitants ,spain #ai #iii #a ,catholic ,portugal #af #iii #a ,countries ,italy #dd #iie #b ,belgium #ij #iif #d ,france #baf #ihb #af ,mixed ,ireland #bd #geg #bcd ,catholics ,bavaria #ajb #gac #bge prevail ,lower ,alsace #acj #fdb #cbb ,baden #aeg #fdh #cca ,holland1 ,south #ej #cfg #fac ,mixed ,prussia #afh #cca #fea ,protestants,holland1 ,north #ed #bgh #ffc prevail ,wurtemburg #agb #cjd #fhg ,black ,forest #afj #bei #gcf ,oldenburgh #bjj #bbh #gfd ,swiss ,protestant ,cantons #bgi #fh #ibb ,england #gd #ec #idf ,protestant ,hanover #aej #bi #ifj ,countries ,saxony #dfi #ba #igf ,denmark #bfe #a #iii ,sweden #aja #j #a1jjj ,norway #ge #j #a1jjj ,the ,protestant ,religion1 more than any other1 is the ,religion of ,idea2 ,faith1 ,hope1 and ,charity1 all ideals1 are its aims2 it refuses all material assistance2 neither image1 nor cross1 nor beads1 is an essential4 ,the ,protestant is taught to educate his consciousness1 and is responsible alone for his own actions2 he cannot lean on the reed of comfort from ,masses1 or on the idea that a confession of his sins to a priest absolves him from the result of them4 ,protestantism tends to develop individual research into its doctrines1 self-reflection1 and inward communings with one's consciousness4 ,mysterious and sublime dogma is the object of contemplation1 with the intention that such idealism shall bring forth fruit as good actions4 ,this system1 so grand and overpowering is1 it appears1 liable to derange weak minds1 especially when by neglecting a due share of taking one's own worldly responsibilities1 such aspire to be devotees1 inspired by the highest ideals1 but declining to translate good intentions into good deeds1 and the active exercise of charity1 and duty to their neighbours4 ,the extraordinary lateral offshoots of the church1 which are seen at intervals1 the various forms of ,revivalism1 and the proceedings of the ,salvation ,army1 are all to a certain extent mischievous2 although they are1 no doubt1 productive of some benefit to those who still remain in gross ignorance and vice4 ,yet such violent temporary ebullitions of theological activity do certainly unhinge men's minds1 and do foster a higher suicide rate4 ,the more permanent1 but less violent1 waves of change in religious matters do more good1 and at the same time less harm2 ,i refer to the alternating popularity of such forms as ,evangelicalism and ,ritualism4 ,almost all sudden changes1 especially in faith and violent emotions1 are harmful4 ,in general1 as a result of the sum of religious statistics1 too numerous and voluminous for quotation here1 we may generalise and say that ,catholics incline to suicide through madness1 following their vices1 while ,protestants fly to suicide as relief from domestic troubles1 monetary anxieties1 remorse for wasted opportunities1 and regret for the absence of hoped for results2 they are also more liable than ,catholics to suicide following religious mania4 ,extravagances in religion are sometimes a symptom of madness2 at others1 extravagances in religion lead to madness in enfeebled minds4 ,,morality4 ,the morals of a state cannot fail to have a deep and lasting effect on the amount of crime and madness1 and hence on the suicide rate4 ,but it is by no means easy to prove by statistics the actual rate of influence2 the social customs and modes of life are so very various1 and the different laws of each state with regard to moral sins are so different4 ,at the same time it cannot be denied that several important nations1 among whom the virtues of social family life are specially studied1 have a very high suicide rate1 such as the ,germans and ,danes4 ,the average of suicide is found generally to run hand in hand with that of the ratio of total crime4 ,crime has increased for many years in all ,european countries except ,britain and ,holland4 ,suicide has increased in all except ,norway and ,russia1 and but slightly in ,england and the ,netherlands4 ,where there is an average annual increase of suicide1 there is almost always seen a synchronous increase of crime4,morselli4 ,still some countries with very small suicide rate have a very large proportion of crime1 as ,spain and ,italy1 which have an average of one convict to #h1acj inhabitants2 while ,denmark has one convict to #aaj1dgd inhabitants1 and ,england has one convict to #acb1gia inhabitants4 ,it has been found that in respect to the departments of ,france1 the maximum of homicides occurred in connection with the minimum of suicides4,despine4 ,also in ,italy1 in those districts where crimes against property predominate1 suicides are more frequent than in those divisions where crimes of blood are frequent4,morselli4 ,parent ,du ,chatlet remarks that the suicide rate of prostitutes is very low4 ,brierre de ,boismont estimates the proportion supplied in ,paris by registered fallen women as #a-bdj of all cases4 ,this author also states1 of his series of ,french cases1 that #dj per cent4 were persons who led bad moral lives1 either drunkards1 gamblers1 thieves1 prostitutes1 or persons living in adultery4 ,the proportion which falls to those who are in health1 and lead regular lives1 is very small2 whilst those who begin life in health1 and pander to their vices and appetites1 abandon themselves1 as statistics definitely show1 to a prospect of poverty1 disease1 and crime2 to the prison1 the asylum1 the hospital1 and to a suicide's grave4 ,and it is not only open vice that lowers the tone a man may even keep all the conventional rules of morality1 and yet fall in this manner1 if he neglect and ignore a cheerful acquiescence in those high moral aspirations1 which alone make the idea of a self-sought death an evil to which nothing on this side of the grave can compare4 ,there need not be any difficulty in understanding that lack of moral training1 and imperfect and improper education1 foster suicide2 for it is obvious that men will be more prone to sin1 if they have had their consciences weakened by bad advice1 loose habits1 and the companionship of persons who take a light view of wickedness1 and only sneer at self-improvement and goodness4 ,a system of 8laisser aller10 and 8don't care10 are stepping stones to suicide2 self-restraint and active efforts after perfection lead one daily farther from it4 ,aristotle1 in the 8,ethics10 ,lib4 #c1 cap4 #g1 and ,plato1 in his 8,phdo10 remark that 8,suicide is committed to avoid evil1 and not because it is honourable40 ,the suicide judges that the possible evil after death is less than the trouble he has now to bear2 hence it is clear enough that the best preventive is to fix on the crime the character of an evil much greater than any that can happen to a man naturally4 ,although it has been shewn that the spread of education is followed by an increased amount of self-destruction1 yet1 if a large number of suicides be analysed1 the ratio of one-fifth only are well educated2 but then it must be remembered that only a small fraction of the population is educated at all thoroughly4 ,it is the spread of an unsound system of partial education1 the tasting of the ,pierian spring without drinking deeply1 which poisons the mind2 mere fragmentary1 rudimentary instruction unballasted by the requisite amount of moral and religious teaching4 ,the mere ability to read is1 ,i think1 liable to become a great curse unless most carefully used1 for it is only too common to find that those who can only read1 only read what they had much better have left unread2 such as sensational tales1 the criminal trials in the daily papers1 political squabbles1 and narratives of suicides4 ,there could be no stronger prompting influence and determining cause of voluntary death to many an ailing and tempted sufferer than the perusal of such literature4 ,in 8,aurora ,floyd0 and 8,lady ,audley's ,secret10 two novels of high standing1 suicide is suggested definitely as a remedy for trouble1 at least twelve times4 ,ch4 ,elam writes1 8,the great publicity given to the minuti of atrocious crimes in the public press is undoubtedly a fruitful source of crime4 ,dove1 who poisoned his wife1 confessed1 after his conviction1 that the idea had been given to him by study of the case of ,palmer1 at ,rugeley40 ,,chapter ,,xi4 ,,urban ,,and ,,rural ,,life2 ,,employment2 ,,army1 ,,navy1 ,,and ,,prison ,,life4 ,the suicide rate of any great city is found to be higher than the rate of the rural district around it1 and this statement is true of every country4 ,many causes contribute to this increased rate1 besides the mere density of population1 which however may be considered to have of itself an influence to make suicide more frequent4 ,statistics do not shew that the proportion increases with the total population of the urban district2 in ,london1 for example1 although the total population is so much greater than that of ,brussels1 yet the suicide rate is much lower4 ,urban life only tends to exaggerate the general inclination of a people2 as ,morselli puts it18the suicide rate is high in the rural districts when it is so in the towns2 in the latter1 on the contrary1 it becomes lower in proportion to the general average40 ,town life is powerful to modify the human will1 and the feelings and acts of mankind1 but it will not neutralise all the other social and individual influences4 ,the most important difficulty in making correct estimates of the suicide rates of cities1 is the uncertainty as to where the line should be drawn to separate the town from the country2 for it is obvious that if these have different rates1 the proportion for the town may be rendered high or low accordingly1 whether the line be drawn through the suburbs1 or beyond the farthest of them4 ,cities more than villages contain the two extreme states of riches and poverty1 both of which tend to a voluntary death3 in cities the struggle for existence is much sharper than it is amid the scattered population of villages1 and together with this point is the collateral one of mental strain and excitement existing when not required for merely procuring a living4 ,the ratio of suicides in several cities1 calculated in the year #ahhc1 is here given1 with reference to a million of inhabitants3,paris1 #djb2 ,copenhagen1 #cjb2 ,stockholm1 #ced2 ,naples1 #cd2 ,rome1 #gd2 ,london1 #hg2 ,vienna1 #bhg2 ,brussels1 #bga2 ,berlin1 #agj2 ,st4 ,petersburgh1 #bjf2 and ,new ,york1 #add4 ,in ,london1 ,buckle tells us1 there has always been a higher rate than in the rest of ,england4 ,during #ahdf-ej they were #ajg per million ,england1 #ff #ahef-fa #ajj #fe #ahfa-gj #hh #ff #ahgb-gf #hf #fi ,these figures show about one-third more suicide in ,london than the country4 ,the same proportion holds good at the present time4 ,the ,middlesex portion of ,london has always had a higher percentage than either the ,kent or ,surrey portions4 ,in ,berlin the suicide rate was stationary in #ahfj-ahgb2 indeed1 decreasing in #ahgj-ahgb1 but a large rate compared to the country around2 in #ahfj the relative numbers were #afj for the city to #ajj in the country4 ,legoyt calculates the suicide rate of the ,united ,states as #cb per million2 and ,new ,york ,city1 for the year #ahgf1 as #adb per million4 ,,employment4 ,with regard to the business of one's life1 it has been noticed that professions and trades1 which by habits1 physical and mental1 bring women near to men1 often tend to raise in an extraordinary degree the inclination of women to kill themselves4 ,it is a matter of the greatest difficulty to procure statistics sufficiently reliable of the numbers of each profession and trade1 to couple with the numbers of known suicides of each trade and profession1 for the purpose of obtaining a 8professional suicide rate40 ,italian statistics show that the rates are higher in those trades which are concerned with luxuries1 and lower in those whose products command a more regular market1 such as are necessaries4 ,goldsmiths1 jewellers1 makers of arms1 scientific instruments1 toilet necessaries1 musical instruments1 c41 give a higher rate than that of builders1 weavers1 spinners1 tailors1 glovers1 c4 ,nuns1 convent maids1 and lay sisters1 all numerous classes in ,italy1 give very few suicides4 ,in the higher walks of education the rates are all higher4 ,men of science1 doctors1 lawyers1 military men1 and the governing officials1 all are very prone to self-destruction4 ,in those counties of ,france where there is the greatest attention paid to trade1 agriculture1 and commerce1 the suicide rate is the highest2 in counties where the development of business is slight the rate is lower4 ,and1 further1 it is almost universally true that the states that have most perfect railway systems are those which have the largest average of suicide4 ,now1 all countries having a largely developed trade are liable to commercial depressions2 these are constantly followed by waves of increased lunacy and more numerous suicides2 and note that these effects follow not immediately on a crisis1 but after a little interval4 ,at the crisis the majority of minds are strung up to the needed effort3 it is the loosening of the tension that upsets the mental equilibrium2 the exhaustion following prolonged exertion4 ,similar to these commercial waves are the effects of war1 increased prices and taxation2 it was not the bad years of the ,crimean ,war that gave the heaviest voluntary death rate1 but the two years after4 ,in ,austria the war of #aheh-i was effectual in the increased rates of #ahfj-fa4 ,in ,france suicides and lunatics were more numerous in #ahgb and #ahgc1 not in the years of the war1 #ahgj and #ahga4 ,legoyt gives the following analysis of suicides3 ,middle classes and outcasts1 #eif per million2 liberal professions1 #bah2 industrial classes1 #abh2 tillers of the soil1 #ij per million4 ,i subjoin a ,table1 borrowed from ,lisle1 shewing the employment in more than #ej1jjj cases of suicide in ,france4 ,,table of #eb1abf ,french ,suicides arranged according to ,occupation4 ,male4 ,female4 ,,total4 ,i4,of ,,slight ,,education3 ,shepherds #bgf #cb #cjh ,woodcutters1 charcoal burners #ed #f #fj ,agricultural labourers #ab1agi #c1fha #ae1hfj ,beggars and vagabonds #cce #aae #dej ,prostitutes #j #ec #ec ,mechanics in ,wood #a1gbi #gb #a1hja ,leather #cgg #bg #djd ,iron #a1dcg #fd #a1eja ,cotton1 ,silk #a1cci #dfc #a1hjb ,stone #a1jgi #dh #a1abg ,other mechanics #eda #ia #fcb ,porters1 ,commissionaires #cfh #f #cgd ,sailors #caa #i #cbj ,drivers of carriages1 vans #dfh #g #dge ,domestic servants #a1bgj #a1bjd #b1dgd ,,ii4,of ,,better ,,education3 ,bakers1 confectioners #cgc #bi #djb ,butchers #bfe #bd #bhi ,furniture dealers #bei #bh #bhg ,hatters #ajb #ba #abc ,shoemakers #fci #df #fhe ,hairdressers #afd #h #agb ,tailors #fdd #ghj #a1dbd ,laundry workers #gc #bba #bid ,general shopkeepers #a1bcc #bhi #a1ebb travelling dealers #cad #fb #cgf ,inn-keepers #gda #aei #ijj ,,iii4,of ,,superior ,,education3 ,wholesale dealers1 bankers #chb #ab #cid ,merchants' clerks #dda #bg #dfh ,artists #aid #be #bai ,clerks and copyists #bgf #b #bgh ,students #aah #b #abj ,public officials #a1ahg #bc #a1baj ,professors and teachers #afi #cb #bja ,military and ,navy men #b1hbf #d #b1hcj ,lawyers and doctors1 c4 #dbg #af #ddc ,persons owning property #b1fic #hjh #c1eja ,,iv4 ,without business #a1ajf #b1jab #c1aah ,unknown employment #b1gda #b1ddg #e1ahh #ci1cjb #ab1hbd #eb1abf ,,military ,,and ,,naval ,,life4 ,it is an almost universal truth that the suicide rate of any state is smaller than the rate observed in the men composing the ,army and ,navy of the same country4 ,this point was first brought prominently into notice about twenty years ago with respect to our ,english soldiers2 ,dr4 ,millar pointed out that in #ahfb the rate was #bgh per million 7estimated at per million71 and in #ahga at #djj per million1 and at the present time it is about triple the rate for ordinary ,englishmen of between #bj and #cj years of age4 ,in the ,italian army at the present time the rate is treble that of ordinary ,italians between #bj and #cj years of age4 ,the suicidal tendency of an army is materially increased by foreign service2 so that in the ,english ,army1 when the number was #cci per million at home1 in ,india the numbers were #dfh4 ,and it has been found that there is a higher percentage among soldiers of long service2 three times the amount is found among soldiers of over #ad years' service than is found among those of under #c years' service4 ,dr4 ,millar also observed that there were twice as many voluntary deaths in the ,cavalry as in the ,infantry4 ,in ,saxony the soldier's rate was #fdj per million1 while the civilian's rate was #cfh2 in ,prussia1 #dai to #afh2 in ,sweden1 #dej to #aja2 in ,austria1 #ddb to #add2 in ,wurtemburg1 #cbj to #agj2 in ,belgium1 #ffb to #ij2 in ,france1 #eaj to #baf4 ,in the ,austrian1 ,italian1 and ,french armies the officers have a rate double that of the men2 non-commissioned officers have the highest rate4 ,the high military rate seems to spread1 too1 among civilians in their neighbourhood2 some of the highest civilian rates are found on the ,austrian and ,prussian military frontiers1 where there is constantly a military establishment retained as a guard4 ,even at the present time in our ,navy the rate is much higher than among civilians4 ,from a ,report on the ,health of the ,navy1 #ahhc1 ,i find there were among #dc1cej officers and men1 #bee deaths2 #agf from disease1 #gi from injury1 and #f suicides4 ,this gives a death-rate of only #ehh per thousand1 with a suicide rate of #ache per million4 ,,prison ,,life4 ,prisoners have a higher suicide rate than civilians at liberty1 especially if we consider attempts at suicide4 ,it is usual to make a distinction between convicts whose fate is settled1 and prisoners arrested1 and untried1 or at least not convicted4 ,for instance1 ,morselli gives for ,england3 ,prisoners1 #a1ajj2 ,convicts1 #cej1 ,france3 #gej2 #hj1 as the relative rates of voluntary death4 ,female prisoners give a very high rate in ,denmark and ,italy1 and suicides of females are more numerous than those of males in the prisons of these two states4 ,more than half of ,prisoner ,suicides are of men and women convicted of crimes against the person4 ,the longer a prisoner remains in a convict prison1 the less is the tendency to suicide2 most prisoners become used to the mode of life under a year of confinement4 ,solitary confinement produces a greater suicide tendency than associated imprisonment1 and the systems of mixed prisoners4 ,from a return of ,english local prisons1 just issued1 ,i find there were in #ahhc1 only ten cases of suicide1 of whom only one was a female4 ,this return did not include the great convict establishments2 with respect to which ,i may add that successful attempts at self-destruction are very rare1 and statistics are not directly available4 ,in the prisons of ,italy1 the frequency of suicide is greatest in prisoners of between twenty-one and thirty years2 that is at an earlier age than among people at large2 it is found to be more often attempted by countrymen than by town dwellers2 another reversal of data4 ,nearly half of all cases occur in the first year of confinement4 ,two-thirds of the prison suicides had always been reported as 8well conducted40 ,only twenty-three per cent4 of the cases occurred in criminals having a shorter sentence than three years4 ,so far as ,i can learn1 all these points are1 broadly speaking1 equally true with regard to prisons in ,england4 ,,chapter ,,xii4 ,,seasons ,,and ,,times4 ,it is an old1 old story that the destinies of man are governed by the sun1 moon1 and planets2 but modern science rather scouted the ideas of the astrologers and ,chaldeans2 to suicide is due the honour of reintroducing the connection4 ,morselli says1 with regard to the sun1 8,it is in fact well known that the number of these violent deaths varies according to the position of the earth and the sun4 ,in the season of the year in which the earth is in aphelion there is a maximum1 of suicide2 when in perihelion the minimum is attained40 ,the result of a large collection of statistics shows1 however1 that the maximum suicide rate occurs in summer #hh times out of #ajj1 as opposed to winter2 in spring the maximum occurred #i times in #ajj4 ,as to the minimum1 it occurs in winter #hh times out of #ajj1 and only #ab times in autumn out of the same number of observations4 ,as to the months1 in a general way1 suicide increases from ,january to ,july1 and then decreases again1 month by month1 to the end of the year4 ,reckoning by cities only1 instead of by states1 the results are a little upset1 but in #aa cases of large numbers1 #i maxima fell in ,may1 ,june1 and ,july4 ,the number of cases of mental disease has been observed to vary in similar months1 reaching their maximum in the heat of summer4 ,the following ,table of 8,death ,rates of each ,season0 may be compared with the foregoing remarks on the 8,seasonal ,suicide rate03 ,spring4 ,summer4 ,autumn4 ,winter4 ,,total4 ,england #aaj #if #ie #ii #djj ,france #aag #hh #hf #aji #djj ,holland #hh #ia #abf #ie #djj ,austria #aae #hb #ia #aab #djj ,italy #hh #aje #ajj #ajg #djj ,from these figures it will be apparent that the greatest mortality in ,england falls to spring1 and next to winter2 or exactly opposite to the tendency of suicide4 ,in ,italy only do the maxima of general mortality and suicide coincide in the hotter two quarters of the year4 ,it is not so much the actual hot weather which seems to increase the number of suicides and the amount of lunacy1 nor the actual cold weather which seems to check the number1 as it is that the onset of hot weather seriously affects the human system in such a way as to upset the equilibrium of mind function1 and to suffer mental motives to derange the intellect4 ,in these considerations the spring is reckoned as consisting of ,march1 ,april1 and ,may1 and the other seasons accordingly4 ,i do not find that these seasonal peculiarities are very marked in the suicide rates of this country taken alone1 not in ,london at any rate2 for example1 ,i subjoin the figures obtained in ,central ,middlesex for two years4 #ahhc4 #ahhd4 #ahhc4 #ahhd4 ,spring #cj #bd ,autumn #bj #ae ,summer #bc #cg ,winter #bb #bf ,the ,annual ,reports of the ,registrar ,general do not throw any light on this question1 nor1 ,i may say1 on several other somewhat fanciful investigations into which foreign observers have led the way4 ,morselli states1 8it is most probable that the moon exercises more or less influence on suicides as it does on madness and epilepsy1 which are generally aggravated at the time of the waning moon 7full moon and second quarter740 8,the influence of the moon would be more sharply felt by men than by women1 particularly at new moon40 ,this last1 it seems1 is the conclusion drawn from the labours of the modern astrologers of ,prussia4 ,but from the statistics given by himself for #ahfi1 it appears that #beeh and #behh per #a1jjj occurred respectively in the moon's first quarter and last quarter1 against #bdfh and #bchf per #a1jjj in the new moon and full moon quarters2 no very marked difference4 ,with regard to days1 ,brierre de ,boismont finds in regard to ,paris that the number of suicides in the first ten days of a month exceeds the number of the last twenty2 and1 stranger still1 the two first days of the month also give the largest numbers3 this does not occur in ,england1 nor in ,london alone4 ,as to week days1 among men the beginning of the week is most fatal2 ,monday highest1 then ,tuesday1 then ,wednesday1 and ,saturday the fewest4 ,among women also peculiarities come out1 but they are different2 ,saturday has still the fewest1 the ,thursday and ,friday are very high1 ,monday and ,tuesday low1 but ,sunday has the highest number of all4 ,and now with regard to hours and times of the day1 darkness seems to be preferred to daylight4 ,but according to a rather complete set of tables1 which ,i reproduce here1 giving every hour1 night and day1 ,i find that from #f a4m4 to #aj a4m41 about noon1 and from #b to #c p4m4 have very much the highest numbers4 ,the rate diminishes almost regularly from #c p4m41 through midnight to #c a4m41 when the lowest number is reached4 ,brierre de ,boismont arranged this ,table2 it refers to #a1iic cases observed in ,paris4 #a a4m4 #ea #a p4m4 #gi #b a4m4 #di #b p4m4 #aag #c a4m4 #de #c p4m4 #add #d a4m4 #ej #d p4m4 #hi #e a4m4 #gj #e p4m4 #hf #f a4m4 #ajb #f p4m4 #fg #g a4m4 #ajb #g p4m4 #hi #h a4m4 #abf #h p4m4 #fi #i a4m4 #ajd #i p4m4 #fi #aj a4m4 #aaj #aj p4m4 #fb #aa a4m4 #ha #aa p4m4 #dd #ab ,noon #abc #ab p4m4 #fe ,,chapter ,,xiii4 ,,sex1 ,,age1 ,,and ,,social ,,state4 ,the relative proportion of suicides exhibited by the sexes is one of the data in connection with our subject that received the earliest attention1 and from such early observations1 until the present time1 the proportion has been remarkably constant in our own country1 and throughout ,europe4 ,three males to one female is the prevailing rate shown by the majority of states reckoned in their entirety4 ,in urban districts1 and in the great cities the female proportion is increased1 and averages one woman to two men4 ,the ,spaniards form the most notable exception to the average1 female suicide even in the rural districts of ,spain being abnormally frequent2 ,italy1 which resembles ,spain in many peculiarities1 is not similar in this respect4 ,as a reason for the predominance of male suicide1 attention is called to the fact that the struggle for existence falls at the present time1 and always has fallen chiefly to the men of a state1 the typical female mind1 it should also be remembered1 is more capable of accommodating itself to change of circumstances1 and is also more marked by powers of self-sacrifice1 than the male intellect4 ,the more prominent causes of male suicide are the vices1 money troubles1 and tdium vit2 whilst females are more often driven to take their lives by the passions1 mental weaknesses1 remorse1 and shame4 ,it is a peculiarity of female self-destruction that ,sunday is very frequently chosen as the day for its commission2 on the other hand1 males avoid ,sunday very markedly4 ,in ,geneva1 an old notification1 dated #aggg1 was recently found1 stating that two out of three voluntary deaths in the city were those of men4 ,in the decennial period #ahfa-gj1 the proportion of #bic males to #ajj females was found in ,england and ,wales2 but in the #aj years #ahga-hj1 the rate for males had increased up to #cjf1 to #ajj females2 since then1 however1 the female rate has again gone up1 being in #ahhb not less than #ajj women to #bgh men4 ,the ,registrar ,general calculated in #ahhj that the chance of a male infant dying by suicide in ,england1 was #a to #baa1 and of a female so doing was #a to #egh4 ,the female rate for ,england has always been higher than that of many continental states4 ,with respect to ,london1 in #ahgh the proportions were #be to #a2 and in #ahha1 the female rate was less2 #cjc men to #a woman4 ,in ,paris1 of late years1 the female rate has been very high2 #ab male to #a female4 ,scotland shows a high female rate4 ,the present proportions of the ,european countries are3 ,france1 #gi to #ba2 ,italy1 #hj to #bj2 ,prussia1 #hb to #ah2 ,spain1 #ga to #bi2 ,saxony1 #gg to #bc2 ,russia1 #hj to #bj2 ,holland1 #gh to #bb2 ,ireland1 #gh to #bb2 and ,scotland1 #gb to #bh4 ,for the ,united ,states of ,america1 the estimated numbers are #gibe to #bjge4 ,for the ,english colonists in ,australia1 #hb to #ah is the estimated proportion4 ,as an illustration of the trifling causes which sometimes lead to the act1 ,i may mention that ,drs4 ,georget and ,falret have both stated in medical journals that ,french women have frequently committed suicide1 only because they have happened to lose their personal charms of appearance4,burrows4 ,the female sex contributes a considerable number of cases dependent on child-birth2 these are of two classes3 suicide during the course of the mental failure1 the puerperal mania1 so well known to occur at times in pregnancy and after parturition2 and those saddening cases of self-destruction occurring as a sequence to the mental anxiety and shame1 depending on pregnancy and child-birth in single women1 who are constantly being seduced under promise either of marriage1 or at least of maintenance1 and then deserted by men whose malevolence is only equalled by their lust4 ,simple hysteria is also the cause of a small percentage of female suicides2 the amatory passion being usually primarily at fault4 ,,age4 ,in a calculation including the greater part of ,europe1 the effect of age is found to be such that the proportion of suicide increases from childhood up to about fifty-five years of age1 and then declines very uniformly4 ,the largest numbers occur in the years between forty and fifty4 ,taking both sexes together1 the period of life which exhibits by far the most cases extends from twenty-one to sixty years of age4 ,the male tendency comes to its maximum after forty years of age4 ,the female tendency comes to its maximum before thirty years of age4 ,in ,england the ratio of female suicide between the years of fifteen and twenty exceeds the male by more than one-tenth4 ,in ,italy it has been observed the rate becomes high1 at an earlier age than in ,europe generally4 ,youth is a fertile suicide stage1 and after a stationary period at a high rate1 there comes another period marking the decay of mind and the declension of life2 in this1 man has but a short future to regard1 and he prefers to await a natural end1 especially as at this time of life the religious feelings1 often clouded over by the struggles of middle life1 again shine clear4 ,esquirol wrote1 8,la vieillesse1 qui inspire l'homme le desir de vivre1 parcequ'il est plus prs du terme de la vie1 est rarement expose au suicide40 ,see 8,maladies mentales40 ,there exists1 however1 some confusion in the matter1 due to associating actual numbers with per-centages at various ages1 inasmuch as ,legoyt insists that the amount increases absolutely with age4 ,the ,registrar ,general for ,england has stated that the suicidal tendency with regard to age increases with the advance of age to the #fe-ge decennial period1 and that it then diminishes1 still however remaining very great2 in this country then the amount does not decrease at such an early age1 as in most of the countries of ,europe4 ,i add as an example1 the ,swedish proportions during the several periods of life1 to show the rate for age3 ,,age4 ,male4 ,female4 ,to #af years #ce #ji #af to #bj years #aia #hh #ba to #cj years #iac #bib #ca to #dj years #afac #bcb #da to #ej years #bjfc #cej #ea to #fj years #bjag #cdb #fa to #gj years #adfc #bgi ,beyond #gj years #icg #aid ,in ,new ,york1 during #ahhc1 of #aea cases1 #i were under twenty years of age1 and #e over seventy years4 ,,suicide ,,in ,,childhood4 ,suicide1 apart from lunacy1 is the act of passion1 or despair1 and so far spares childhood1 during which stage of life one is protected by others from care1 and when the mind is not yet opened enough to feel the overwhelming tides of amatory1 jealous1 and other passionate feelings which the adult intellect has to struggle through1 and perchance survive4 ,it is very rare1 also1 for insanity to occur in a child before puberty1 unless congenital1 as imbecility4 ,brierre de ,boismont gives the ages of #d1eie suicides in ,paris2 amongst these were #gg children under fourteen years of age1 #af per cent4 ,from #ahfe to #ahgd1 in ,england1 there were #ha suicides from ten to fourteen years of age1 #de male and #cf female2 the ratio between these numbers shows female precocity4 ,child suicide is increasing in ,england and in almost all the continental states4 ,childhood possesses a most highly sensitive mental organisation1 coupled with a want of power to fully weigh the consequences of any act2 but what undoubtedly causes many cases now is over-pressure in education2 while the education itself produces precocious development of the reflective faculties1 of vanity1 and of the desires4 ,during the last few years there have been several ,english cases of children killing themselves1 because unable to perform school tasks2 yet it must be allowed that the most modern alteration in school life1the abolition of corporal punishment1has removed one fertile cause of suicide in childhood4 ,see ,ferrey and ,collineau4 ,a writer in the ,psychological ,journal discusses #bd cases1 #ag boys and #g girls2 of these children #a was five years old1 #b nine1 #b ten1 #e eleven1 and #g twelve4 ,all the girls drowned themselves4 ,,marriage1 ,,celibacy1 ,,widowhood4 ,having regard simply to numbers1 there are most suicides among the unmarried1 next among the married1 then among widowed persons1 and lastly1 among persons divorced and separated4 ,bachelors kill themselves oftener than married men2 but in ,italy1 ,france1 ,switzerland and ,saxony1 married women oftener than virgins4 ,widows surpass widowers in frequency of suicide1 and it has been suggested by statistics that widowhood in this respect brings woman nearer to man than any other social condition4 ,wars tend to raise the rate among women1 because they make so many widows2 the suicide rate of widows rose in a sudden leap in ,germany and in ,france1 when the last war broke out1 and remained over and above the rate of virgins and wives for two years after4 ,married men have1 throughout1 the lowest rate2 suicide is more frequent among celibate men than among virgins4 ,divorce causes more male suicide than female4 ,among men1 allowing for extant numbers of each class1 we find these resultant proportions for #ahhb3 ,,countries4 ,married4 ,single4 ,widowed4 ,france #ajj #ajd #afj ,italy #ajj #aad #aih ,wurtemburg #ajj #adg #afb ,taking ,france as an example1 the following proportions are found among the suicides1 after excluding males under fifteen years of age1 and females under eighteen3 ,,the ,,sexes4 ,celibate4 ,married4 ,widowed4 ,men #dbbad #bgaga #gcgj ,women #hjjj #hjhg #abaj ,that is1 unmarried men fewer than widowers4 ,unmarried women a trifle fewer than married women4 ,in ,prussia1 curiously enough1 these states are altered2 married men kill themselves the most often1 and married women kill themselves the least often4 ,italy1 again1 resembles ,france4 ,in ,new ,york1 for #ahhc1 of #abd men and #bg women who killed themselves1 #gh were married1 #dc single1 and #bd widowed or divorced4 ,another curious remark has been made1 whenever and wherever the marriage rate is falling1 the suicide rate is increasing1 and the reverse4 ,the first case is shown1 of late years1 by ,france1 ,germany1 ,england1 ,austria2 in ,italy and ,switzerland1 from #ahge1 and in ,belgium1 from #ahgc to #ahgf4 ,on the other hand1 ,holland1 ,norway and ,finland1 show an increase in the number of marriages1 and a tendency to a lower suicide rate4 ,the presence of children to married life affects the suicide rate2 they restrain the mother more than the father1 in married life and widowhood2 whilst they have the contrary effect on divorced persons4 ,in ,france1 for example1 the suicide loss among the married1 where there are children1 is #bje per million men to #de per million women2 where there are no children1 it is #dgj per million men to #aeh per million women2 and among widowed persons1 where there are children1 the rate is #ebf per million men to #ajd per million women2 and where there are no children1 it is #a1jjd per million men to #bch per million women4 ,bertillon remarks that widows are much less anxious than widowers to marry again2 that many widows become so to their peace and happiness1 and the isolation and bereavement of widowhood are usually overbalanced by woman's noblest virtue and care1 maternal love2 where there is no such outcome needed1 suicide fastens its fangs on the mind4 ,,chapter ,,xiv4 ,,insanity ,,in ,,relation ,,to ,,suicide4 ,it is not my intention in these pages to enter into a lengthened discussion of the once much debated question as to whether suicide be invariably a proof of pre-existing insanity4 ,it is sufficient for my purpose that a certain number of suicides are definitely insane1 and that in these cases the act has been committed in consequence of some delusion from which the patient was suffering4 ,such a one may have been insane on a single point1 and no other2 or he may have been entirely demented4 ,but there certainly are other cases1 in which no symptoms of mental disease can be discovered2 either in the history of the deceased1 or in his recent actions1 appearance1 or conduct4 8,there is no lunacy present where the sense of weariness of life is in exact relation to existing circumstances2 where obvious moral causes exist which satisfactorily account for the deed2 when the resolve has been fixed deliberately1 and might have been abandoned had the circumstances become altered2 and in which we discover1 after honest and impartial search1 no other sign or symptom of mental derangement4 ,when a man prefers dissolution to a miserable or contemptible life1 or one full of mental and physical ills1 ,morality and ,religion must charge him with the deed2 ,insanity need not claim him for her own40 ,the instinct of self-preservation is not so strong as to prevent men altogether from being tired of life1 and seeking their own deaths4 ,they may have exhausted all the available sources of pleasure1 their business may have gone wrong1 or their honour may have suffered1 poverty and loss of position may be at hand1 their difficulties may seem entirely beyond their power to surmount1 and they calmly and deliberately arrange to leave behind them a life which has become unbearable2 such an act may be unwise1 and is certainly presumptuous1 but it has in it no sign of disease4 ,and again1 the existence of insanity cannot be affirmed in those suicides1 which have taken place in every age of the world1 and are not quite obsolete even now1those cases of voluntary death among natives of uncivilized countries1 which form a part of either their political1 social1 or religious institutions4 8,just as madness may exist1 without any idea of suicide1 so suicide may take place1 the effect of a full and free determination1 formed by a healthy mind1 and executed with the coolness and complete system of precautions of the most perfect logic10 says ,maudsley1 and he carries with him the greater part of higher class medical opinion4 ,all our necessities1 our desires1 and our passions1 produce a mental and bodily struggle2 every want of man1 though necessary to his perfection1 involves victims to mental failure1 and consequently either to crime or suicide4 ,even religion is frequently found to lead to disorder of intellect1 from too great abstraction of thought from our earthly duties2 while1 on the other hand1 mental failure is often shewn by religion becoming so absorbing a theme that it causes a patient to forget his worldly responsibilities4 ,the following authorities1 who have specially studied the state of mind in cases of voluntary death1 inclined to the doctrine that all suicides are insane3 ,esquirol1 ,falret1 ,bourdin1 ,winslow1 ,chevrey1 ,foder1 and ,davey4 ,forbes ,winslow especially was the champion of this opinion2 he distinctly wrote1 no healthy mind ever permitted the act2 but then in his time a wave of special tenderness to all criminals overshadowed the country2 and exists even now1 for our paupers are far less well cared for than our gaol birds4 ,m4 ,foder1 ,professor of ,medical ,jurisprudence at ,strasburg1 used to say of voluntary death1 8a suicide must be insane20 but this was a colloquial remark1 rather than a medical dogma4 ,m4 ,falret1 in his treatise on 8,suicide and ,hypochondriasis10 says1 8suicide is necessarily an act of delirium20 perhaps it is to a medical man who considers hypochondriasis and hysteria to be insanity4 ,in the year #aggg this question of the coincidence of suicide with insanity was gravely argued before the ,parliament at ,paris1 but the decision was put aside on a question of form1 and never settled by them4 ,dr4 ,j4 ,g4 ,davey read an essay before the ,bath and ,bristol ,branch of the ,british ,medical ,association a few years back1 in which he proved to his own satisfaction that 8suicide is at all times1 and under all circumstances1 the effect of a positive brain disease20 but his arguments fail to explain the cases where two persons commit the act together2 are we to suppose such disease of brain to be contagious8 ,he mentions such a case1 but without explanation4 ,see ,asylum ,journal of ,mental ,science1 vol4 vii4 #ajh1 and xvi4 #djf4 ,it may be only a coincidence1 but it is a fact1 that almost without exception the supporters of the theory that all suicides are insane have been medical attendants in asylums4 ,closely connected with unsoundness of mind is the disease epilepsy and its consequences2 as is well known1 the less violent forms1 those in which the convulsive seizures are less obvious1 are more liable to end in mental impairment1 and thence in suicide1 than are the more well-developed cases of convulsion4 ,and among the modes of exhibiting its effects1 it must not be forgotten that epilepsy is in some cases apt to show itself1 not in a physical spasm but in a nerve storm1 burst of passion1 and what not3 compare the opinion of ,trousseau1 in 8,l',union ,medicale10 #ahfa2 he says3 8,it may even safely be asserted that if a man who has presented no previous mental disturbance1 or any sign of lunacy or furor1 is not under the influence of alcohol1 or any other drug1 commit murder or suicide1 he is epileptic1 and has suffered a complete paroxysm1 or has had epileptic vertigo40 ,this very sweeping assertion does not commend itself to me1 nor is it1 so far as ,i can ascertain1 generally accepted as reliable2 it is too far reaching and dogmatic2 it is one thing to believe epilepsy may be revealed by a burst of violence1 and quite another thing to decide that every act of sudden passion is epilepsy1 i4e41 disease1 and therefore blameless4 ,blandford1 in his work on 8,insanity10 states3 8,that sane people commit suicide is a fact that must be apparent to every one who exercises common sense in looking upon the subject4 ,the hundreds of poor persons who are brought to our hospitals1 half drowned1 or with throats half cut1 are not insane in any medical sense of the word4 ,of course there are insane persons who are suicidal40 ,m4 ,leuret epigrammatically sums up the causes of self-murder in the three words1 madness1 want1 and crime4 ,the 8,lancet10 in the autumn of last year1 in an editorial article1 remarked3 8,without hair-splitting1 the great majority of suicides are perfectly well aware of the nature of the act they are performing1 and do a deed with a so far intelligent purpose of escaping from a misery which seems unendurable1 or because of some terror or shame that for the time overwhelms4 8,it is heart-breaking and brain-tearing trouble that causes it1 in the 7hope or7 belief that dying is sleep1 or eternal oblivion40 ,dr4 ,gray1 in the ,american ,journal of ,insanity1 vol4 xxxiv41 writes1 in regard to the ,united ,states3 8,suicide is always an unnatural act1 but in the large proportion of cases1 if not in the majority1 it is committed by sane people40 ,bucknill and ,tuke1 8,psychological ,medicine10 state definitely1 8it cannot be disputed that suicide may be done in a perfectly healthy state of mind10 444 8neither can it be doubted that it is the effect of a cerebro-mental disease in many cases40 ,m4 ,f4 ,dabadie1 the author of a famous ,french work on ,suicide1 remarks1 8if physiologists had endeavoured simply to establish that suicide was frequently a sign of madness1 no one would have denied them2 but to pretend1 as some ,french physiologists have done1 that every suicide is insane1 is to insult history and common sense1 and to expose oneself to ridicule40 ,des ,etangs1 in his work1 8,suicide in ,france1 from #aghi to #ahfj10 analyses and reviews the causation of #baj1jjj cases2 he is fully convinced of the very large number of persons who kill themselves from sane motives1 and with a sane mind4 ,he narrates numerous instances in which suicides have left their reasons for the act1 written out at length1 and these reasons1 in most cases1 shew 8une lucidit parfaite40 ,m4 ,littr remarks1 8,quand un homme expose clairement les raisons qui l'empchent de vivre plus longtemps1 et quand ces raisons sont reles et non pas imaginaires1 quel motif y-a-t-il de lui denier la libert morale1 telle que nous la connaissons chez chacun de nous80 ,in this place may suitably be mentioned the sad death of the ,afghan surgeon ,mahomed ,ismail ,khan1 who had studied medicine in ,england1 had taken his diplomas1 and had then found all avenues to making a living in ,england closed to him on account of his nationality1 colour1 c4 7he could not return to his ,indian home1 having lost caste there72 he1 poor fellow1 after making repeated efforts to obtain a situation that would support him1 and after having exhausted his private means1 drank prussic acid in bed at his lodgings4 ,he left behind him a long and detailed history of himself1 ending in a dissertation on suicide and its permissibility4 ,this essay1 from its great medical and psychological interest1 was offered to the editor of one of our leading medical journals for publication1 but this was declined1 on the ground that the arguments in favour of suicide were so delusive that it would be a public error to disseminate them4 ,history repeats itself1 for ,i find ,voltaire narrates that he knew a professional man who1 before killing himself1 wrote an essay on suicide1 and sent it for publication to the authorities of his native town1 in #agfi2 the town council refused to publish it1 assigning as their reason1 that it would encourage men to quit a life1 of which so much ill could be said4 ,it may be stated here1 as a generalization1 that whilst the medium course of life is the safest1 the extremes of riches and indulgence1 and their reverse1 poverty and asceticism1 both increase the suicide rate in about an equal proportion4 ,post-mortem examination has not as yet disclosed any definite brain lesion1 even in positive insanity1 so that the discovery of a brain blemish associated with suicide is hardly to be expected4 ,there have not been any large number of investigations into the post-mortem appearances of the brain in deaths from suicide in this country2 in ,wurtemburg1 however1 for two years1 #ahgc-ahge1 a special examination was ordered in all cases of suicide in the insane1 without any very valuable result being arrived at1 viz41 definite lesions of the brain existed in #de per cent4 of the cases1 definite disease of other organs in #af per cent41 and negative results in #ci per cent4 ,bucknill and ,tuke divide insane suicides into three classes3 #a4 ,the monomania of self destruction2 #b4 ,in melancholia1 death is chosen as the lesser evil2 #c4 ,delusional1 as when the sufferer hears a voice commanding him to act on its behests4 ,it must not be forgotten that the criminal law of ,england allows the possibility of a lunatic committing a murder in a lucid interval2 and so also a lunatic may be held to kill himself in a lucid interval4 ,,the ,,forms ,,of ,,lunacy4 ,the special symptoms of each form of madness will on consideration be found sufficient to account for difficulties in forming anything like an accurate estimate of the relative amount of suicide in each of its forms4 ,for example1 in mania1 sudden outbursts of violence may either end in instant self-destruction1 or the sudden violence causes such precautions to be at once taken1 that suicide is not practicable4 ,in melancholia the chances of a self-inflicted death being allowed to occur1 are much greater1 because the patient is inoffensive1 and the disease is of long continuance2 the sufferer has often daily opportunities for months2 and thus we find melancholia credited with the largest number4 ,in monomaniacs1 again1 the project of suicide is often matured in their brains1 whilst they hide their delusions2 until a sudden outburst of suicide or crime startles the relations1 who have only been saying to each other just before1 8the patient is safe enough1 the only thing the matter with him is the presence of a delusion40 ,to imbecility1 again1 we do not find many cases allotted2 the imbecile has not mind enough to feel his grievances sufficiently strong to make him exert himself to end them4 ,in the ,reports of the ,english ,lunacy ,commissioners the cases of dementia are subdivided into two classes1 ordinary and senile1 each giving about as many cases as mania4 ,abercrombie remarked1 that the most striking peculiarity of melancholia is the propensity to self-murder2 under a conviction of overwhelming and helpless misery1 the feeling of life to be a burden1 arises2 and this is succeeded by a determination to quit it4 ,a singular modification is sometimes seen1 in which with the desire of death1 there exists a sense of the sin of suicide2 and to avoid this sin1 another idea arises1 viz41 to bring about the death by committing a murder1 and so to be executed4 ,several instances have been described1 in which the insane murderer has distinctly avowed this process of reasoning1 disclaiming any malice against the person he had killed1 who by the way was generally a child1 and in one case the reason for choosing a child was also explained by the lunatic1 which was to avoid the risk of sending out of the world a person in a state of unrepented sin4 ,in the north-western and central parts of ,europe madness and suicide coincide in intensity4 ,osiander stated that the scale of madness among the ,european states has much resemblance to the comparative suicide rates4 ,on an approximate estimation ,i find that the ,germanic stock has #b madmen per #a1jjj persons1 the ,celtic-,latin has #a madman per #a1jjj persons1 the ,slavonic has #jf only4 ,it is estimated that there are about #cjj1jjj mad persons in the ,old ,world1 of whom ,germany1 ,france1 and ,england1 give the greater number4 ,the ,french and ,italian statistics of insane suicides are not subdivided1 and so are not available to show the relative proportions of the forms of insanity2 the ,german numbers give the following result in recent years1 #ahge et seq43 ,per ,cent4 ,,forms ,,of ,,lunacy4 ,males4 ,females4 ,religious mania #jg #jf ,monomania #jf #je ,melancholia #fhg #fi ,brain fever #e #bh ,mania #ea #bf ,imbecility #eg #ej ,unnamed #adb #aie ,with regard to our own country1 the last ,report of the ,lunacy ,commissioners for ,england and ,wales shows that of #ac1eha patients admitted to the register of lunatics for #ahhb1 #c1hgg were stated to have a suicidal propensity1 viz41 #a1ghe1 or #bfh per cent4 of the males2 and #b1jib1 or #cjb per cent4 of the females4 ,the total number of lunatics in charge for the year #ahhb was #gf1gfe1 and of these #ag committed suicide3 #aj males and #d females in asylums1 #a male before admission1 and #a male and #a female while 8on leave40 ,there were #ag suicides also in the year #ahha4 ,this small number of actual deaths speaks volumes for the care and attention which must be bestowed on the suicidal patients4 ,the proportion of suicidal tendency was higher among pauper than among well-to-do lunatics4 ,the highest rate of suicidal propensity was found in cases of melancholia1 a proportion of #eg1 compared to mania #ba1 ordinary dementia #af1 senile dementia #ae1 and idiocy #h4 ,the states of family life gave these proportions3 marriage #cb1 celibacy #bd1 and widowhood #bi1 and of married persons1 more females than males4 ,the ,report also subdivides these cases with respect to the causes assigned for the insanity2 the following were the most fertile causes1 with the relative proportions3 ,domestic trouble1 #ig 7twice as many females as males72 adverse circumstances1 #fj2 overwork1 worry1 #ge2 religious excitement1 #cf2 love affairs1 #ai2 nervous shock1 #ad2 alcoholic excess1 #aba 7nineteen males to six females72 sexual excess1 #je2 sunstroke1 #jg2 venereal disease1 #jc2 self-abuse1 #aj2 accidents1 #cb2 pregnancy and parturition1 #cf2 change of life 7females71 #bi2 privation1 #bj2 old age1 #cj2 bodily disease1 #aaj2 hereditary transmission1 #bbh2 and previous attacks1 #aeh4 ,in ,england it is not practicable to form any reliable estimate of the true proportion of insane suicides1 as compared with those occurring from disease and mental trouble4 ,on the ,continent an attempt is made in most ,states to assign the proportion2 but it is easy to point out the difficulty of the task and the numerous errors that are liable to creep into such calculations4 ,the following rates per #a1jjj suicides have been published in the 8,asylum ,journal10 vol4 #bg3 ,france1 #cjj insane per #a1jjj2 ,belgium1 #dgj2 ,prussia1 #ccc2 ,italy1 #cdc2 and ,bavaria1 #cdb4 ,m4 ,prvost1 in a learned investigation of cases of voluntary death1 estimated that #ah per cent4 occurred in insane persons4 ,i have made careful investigation into all the cases of suicide which ,i have observed1 and all those cases upon which ,i have held inquests1 as the ,deputy for ,dr4 ,danford ,thomas1 in ,middlesex1 and ,i have found that in #bj per cent4 only had the deceased ever exhibited symptoms of insanity obvious to the friends and relations4 ,the suicide rates of the great ,german lunatic asylums are higher than those of our ,english ones4 ,dr4 ,lwenhardt1 of the great asylum at ,sachsenburg1 states that the average number of suicidal deaths in that institution is #e per cent41 a large proportion2 for in the asylum of ,illenau #c per cent4 only killed themselves1 and in the asylum of ,halle1 only #ag per cent4 ,the varying rates of suicidal death in asylums depend very much on the qualities of the nurses on the staff1 and on the relative number of patients attached to each attendant1 for nothing but a constant and lynx-eyed survey will prevent the self-destruction of a large proportion of lunatics1 when they have a wave of suicidal tendency passing over their minds4 ,,chapter ,,xv4 ,,epidemic ,,suicide2 ,,suicide ,,from ,,imitation1 ,,and ,,desire ,,for ,,notoriety4 ,in relation to lunacy and mental disturbance1 ,i must now refer to the question of ,epidemic and ,imitational ,suicide4 ,no crime seems to have so strong a tendency to spread by example and imitation as this one4 ,epidemics have occurred on many occasions1 and ,i have already mentioned an epidemic of suicide taking place among the soldiers of ,tarquinius ,superbus4 ,at ,alexandria1 in the time of the ,ptolemies1 an epidemic was originated by ,hegesias the philosopher1 who discoursed so eloquently on the numerous trials of this life and the pleasures of death1 that numbers of persons destroyed themselves2 and the philosopher was banished4 ,when ,xanthus1 a city of ,lycia1 was conquered by ,brutus1 the citizens slew themselves by hundreds4 ,at ,miletus the women committed suicide in large numbers1 because their husbands and lovers were detained by the wars3 they hanged themselves2 the frenzy was checked by an edict that their bodies were to be dragged naked through the streets4 ,other examples of wholesale suicide are shown by the people of ,sidon1 who burned their city and themselves when besieged by ,artaxerxes ,ochus1 by the ,tyrians when conquered by ,alexander1 and by the ,acheans when defeated by ,metellus4 ,at ,marseilles1 an old historian records that at one time the young women made it quite a habit to kill themselves when their lovers were not constant to them47,esquirol47 ,large numbers of suicides were committed by ,christians in the terrible times of persecution in the reigns of ,nero1 ,decius1 and ,diocletian4 ,in the dancing mania and the follies of ,tarantulism in ,naples1 between #aejj and #afjj1 the patients often thronged in crowds to the sea shore1 and rushed singing into the waves1 as ,lecky narrates4 ,an epidemic of drowning affecting women alone also occurred at ,lyons2 these cases had no apparent cause2 it was checked by an order to expose all the bodies naked in the market4 ,see ,spon1 8,histoire de la ,ville de ,lyon10 #afgf1 and ,primerosius ,jacobus1 8,de mulierum morbis10 #affe4 ,sydenham is the authority for the statement that suicide prevailed to an alarming degree in ,mansfield in the year #afig2 and at ,versailles1 in #agic1 #cjj persons killed themselves4 ,at ,rouen in #ahjf1 at ,stuttgardt in #ahaa1 epidemics occurred4 ,in ,valois an epidemic of hanging took place in #ahac1 see ,sydenham1 8,complete ,works10 vol4 ii4 ,in ,july and ,august #ahjf1 #cjj persons committed suicide in ,copenhagen2 these cases formed a distinctly marked epidemic4 ,suicide is almost epidemic1 or endemic1 in connection with the disease ,pellagra in ,italy1 ,spain1 and the ,south of ,france4 ,it is said that one-third of the victims of this disease kill themselves4 ,this scourge appears to be a nervous affection1 associated with erythema and degeneration of the skin1 and dependent partly on the effect of the sun1 especially in spring1 and partly on the consumption of unhealthy maize as food2 its most usual termination is in dementia4 ,groups of ,suicides from ,imitation1 almost amounting to minute epidemics1 have occurred from several churches1 monuments1 and elevated structures1 their great height being the incentive to the victim to throw himself off2 such are the ,duomo of ,milan1 ,st4 ,peter's at ,rome1 the ,campanile of ,giotto1 ,florence1 the ,vendme ,column1 ,paris1 the ,monument1 ,london1 the ,suspension ,bridge at ,clifton1 and the ,archway at ,highgate2 from this last viaduct1 which is protected only by a low wall1 there have been four suicides in as many months2 in response to repeated representations from ,dr4 ,danford ,thomas and myself1 the ,local ,board have at last undertaken to put up a railing on this bridge4 ,after the suicide of ,lord ,castlereagh1 a large number of persons put an end to their lives in the same manner4 ,several imitational suicides and suicidal attempts occurred in #ahda1 following the drowning of a young woman in the ,thames4 ,she left a letter behind her1 explaining her unfortunate love affairs2 her case made a great noise at the time1 and much public fuss and public sympathy were shewn on her behalf1 and no doubt led to her successors' deaths4 ,after a tragedy at ,pentonville1 in #ahdb1 in which a man cut the throats of his children and then committed suicide himself1 there were within a week two similar cases4 ,at a meeting of the ,french ,academy of ,medicine1 #ahbg1 ,dr4 ,costel related that1 in ,paris1 at the ,hotel des ,invalides1 a soldier having hung himself on a post1 his example was in a very short time followed by twelve other invalided soldiers4 ,the post was removed1 and there were no more cases in the building for a considerable period4 ,legoyt narrates that the drama of 8,chatterton10 by ,m4 de ,vigny1 when performed in ,paris1 caused many persons to kill themselves in imitation of the hero2 and he asserts that the same effect has followed1 in ,france1 the study of ,ugo ,foscolo's 8,jacopo ,ortis10 ,byron's 8,manfred10 ,chateaubriand's 8,ren10 ,constant's 8,adolphus10 and ,lamartine's 8,raphael40 ,dr4 ,ebrard1 in 8,le ,suicide10 #ahgj1 condemns the teaching of the stories of the ,stoics and their suicides to schoolboys1 thinking it blameworthy to familiarise the youthful mind with the idea of self-destruction4 ,in ,germany1 many references in the literature of our time may be found1 in which the study of ,pessimism1the doctrines of ,schopenhauer 7d4 #ahfj71 are blamed for decoying men to self-destruction4 ,the following notice is cut from a newspaper1 ,april #ahhe3 ,no less than seven suicides effected or attempted were reported in ,paris one day last week4 ,at five in the morning1 a packing-case maker in the ,faubourg ,st4 ,martin1 named ,rozette1 took a dose of laudanum1 and was removed to a hospital in a critical state2 at seven1 a messenger was found hanging in his lodgings at an hotel in the ,rue de ,chartres2 about the same time a concierge at #af1 ,rue ,chalgrin1 committed suicide with charcoal2 at eight1 a retired tradesman1 aged #fb1 killed himself by firing a revolver in his mouth2 at one1 a man living in the ,place de la ,chapelle1 stabbed himself with a shoemaker's knife2 at four1 a porter at the ,central ,markets shot himself with a revolver2 and lastly1 at ten in the evening1 a tailor1 living at the ,rue ,bonaparte1 shot himself twice in the head while riding in a cab4,galignani4 ,i have reason to believe that it is perfectly true 7although it has been denied7 that a very considerable number of ,french officers and men slew themselves in the confusion and headlong retreat which followed the general advance of the ,english line1 at the close of the battle of ,waterloo1 when the confusion was made worse confounded by the additional onslaught of the ,prussians from the flank4 ,m4 ,legoyt also narrates this statement as authentic1 and there is no inherent improbability in it1 if we consider that among those who fled1 were the 8,old ,guard0 who had never known defeat4 ,the love of notoriety also comes in for mention in this place4 ,one man has killed himself by attaching his body to a rocket1 and then setting fire to the fuse2 nothing but a desire to be notorious seems to explain this action4 ,another man threw himself into the crater of ,mount ,vesuvius4 ,empedocles1 the philosopher1 threw himself into the crater of ,mount ,etna4 ,soon after the death of ,miss ,moyes the first of a series of suicides from the ,monument1 ,london1 ,elam narrates that a lad took poison with the intent to kill himself2 when questioned by the police1 he answered1 8,i wished to be talked about1 like the woman who threw herself off the ,monument40 ,and this is a very fair example of many instances of voluntary death1 but whether it forms a good public policy to call those sufferers insane is questionable3 personally1 ,i think that such persons are encouraged by the neglect to stigmatise them as criminals4 ,it is not every suicide from a dangerous height that is caused by imitation2 there does undoubtedly exist a peculiar form of fascination1 apt to arise from a sense of insecurity1 such as occurs to a person standing on a cliff or a house top1 and ,i am convinced that this fascination does cause many involuntary suicides4 ,mental debility is a cause of it1 and so is dyspepsia1 and ,i expect that like lack of courage it is a matter of lack of health4 ,other forms of this weakness are occasionally seen2 some men dare not trust themselves with a razor1 and others have a terror of handling a revolver4 ,improvement of health1 strong mental effort1 and custom remove these unpleasant feelings4 ,,chapter ,,xvi4 ,,bodily ,,diseases2 ,,insomnia1 ,,spiritualism1 ,,heredity1 ,,and ,,alcoholism4 ,incurable bodily diseases1 and the accompanying pain of some other disorders1 are not uncommon causes of a voluntary death4 ,it has been estimated that incurable diseases are even more powerful as a cause than very painful ones4 ,the heavy voluntary death rate of persons afflicted with pellagra has been already noticed1 as has the dictum of ,pliny that the presence of stone in the bladder constitutes a fair reason for self-destruction4 ,not long ago ,i held an inquest on the body of a medical man who hung himself to avoid the pain and worry of an apparently incurable stricture of the urethra4 ,continental statisticians have calculated that bodily disease causes #h per cent4 of ,italian suicides1 #ac per cent4 of ,french1 #aj per cent4 of ,norwegian1 and #ab per cent4 of ,prussian suicides4 ,these are voluntary deaths1 not deaths during delirium accompanying disease4 ,loss of sight1 and loss of hearing1 are both causes of increased suicide rate2 in ,prussia it has been estimated that persons having suffered such deprivation contribute a rate almost double that of persons not so afflicted4 ,,insomnia4 ,closely connected with mental and bodily disorders as a cause of suicide is sleeplessness1 apart from organic disease4 ,there is1 ,i suppose1 nothing more trying to the sensations1 and nothing more exhausting to the nervous system1 than this symptom4 ,its tendency to become habitual1 and to become more and more complete1 are its harassing qualities4 ,i have held inquests on cases distinctly referable to the misery caused by want of sleep4 ,that sleeplessness is an important factor in producing suicide is pointed out very forcibly by ,dr4 ,jos4 ,williams in an article in the 8,lancet0 of #ahej4 8,business men especially apply to their doctors for this ailment1 and their request is often answered by a little anti-dyspeptic mixture1 whereas a powerful sedative for a few nights1 until rest and change can be arranged for1 would be the means of preserving life40 ,the 8,medical ,times and ,gazette10 #ahgb1 in referring to two similar deaths from suicide1 those of ,mr4 ,justice ,willes and ,hugh ,miller the ,geologist1 insisted also on the necessity of procuring sleep and rest for worried men1 and so did good service4 ,,alcohol4 ,without doubt the habitual use of alcohol to excess is a very fertile suicide prompter1 and it is found that the stronger the form of alcohol used1 the more often crime and suicide are produced2 such are as rare when the light wines are drunk1 as they are frequent among spirit drinkers4 ,lunier1 ,ann4 ,med4 ,psychol41 #ahgb1 calculating the results in #gi departments1 states that the amount of crime in ,france is in direct proportion to the consumption of alcohol1 and so are the rates of lunacy and suicide4 ,as a mean of the estimates of many observers1 about one-eighth of all suicides are directly caused by alcohol4 ,it produces suicide in several ways2 in a fit of drunkenness1 during delirium tremens1 by causing mania or melancholia1 or by leading to complete imbecility4 ,suicides due to alcoholic poisoning1 and alcoholic mind failure1 are indeed seen among those who are too rich to require to work at all1 or to be regularly at work2 but the greatest amount of disease and death due to alcohol exists among the poor1 and especially among the poor of our great cities2 a very large number of these spend almost the whole of their small earnings in poisonous drinks4 ,the radical remedy for suicide caused by this form of indulgence is doubtless the improvement of the intellectual and moral status1 the cultivation of habits of thrift1 economy1 and foresight4 ,if the humble mechanic could only be led to the conviction of the paramount necessity of assuring himself against accidents1 disease1 and old age1 and of avoiding the degradation of becoming chargeable during such misfortunes to the means of others who have provided such store1 he would neglect the gross indulgences of the sot1 for the self-esteem and honour arising from a consciousness of having worked while it was yet day1 and laid up a store for the evil hours which do so surely come4 ,the drink question is one1 however1 which is now so frequently brought to our notice1 by our worthy teetotal and temperance friends1 that ,i am sure ,i need not occupy much space in discussing the amount of self-destruction caused by alcohol1 directly or indirectly1 through debauchery1 loss of money1 position1 or self-respect4 ,,heredity4 ,the influence of ,hereditary ,predisposition is one of surpassing interest1 but is also another of those causes of which it is very difficult to procure accurate statistics2 and very few countries have as yet given any data in connection with it4 ,relations of suicides are apt to be very reticent of confessing to lunacy in their families1 and it is hereditary mental failure1 lunacy1 epilepsy1 dipsomania1 c41 which are the forerunners of a future death by suicide4 ,in ,bavaria alone has an effort been made to estimate hereditary influence2 from #aheg-ff1 we are told it was shewn to exist in #ac per cent4 of all voluntary deaths1 since then in #ah per cent4 ,voltaire narrates that he knew a professional man1 his brother1 and the father of both1 who all killed themselves at the same age1 in the same manner4 ,bucknill and ,tuke give examples of suicide from hereditary insanity1 and remark1 8that they abound20 similar cases will be found described in almost all works treating of insanity4 ,falret gives several cases1 for example3,in one1 a grandmother1 mother1 and grandchild1 killed themselves4 ,in another1 five sons and one daughter1 of a questionably sane father1 all committed the act4 ,griesinger gives us an example3,a man and his wife became insane1 he hung himself and she drowned herself2 one daughter poisoned herself1 a son strangled himself1 and another daughter threw herself off a house top4 ,in ,lisle1 on 8,suicide10 ten marked cases are given4 ,burrows narrates1 at full length1 the case of one family1 as follows3,the grandfather hanged himself2 he left four sons1 one hanged himself1 one cut his throat1 one drowned himself1 and one died a natural death4 ,two of these sons had large families2 of the third1 two children became insane1 one died a natural death1 the other made several attempts on his life1 and two others drowned themselves1 apparently sane4 ,the effect of mental agitation in a person knowing that he is the descendant of insane persons or of suicides1 is worthy of consideration2 to a well-educated man1 what a 8skeleton in the closet0 to live with1 must be the constant recollection of the risk to which hereditary transmission exposes him4 ,such a spectre may well refuse to be laid1 and must be a fertile cause in the production of another generation of suicides4 ,,spiritualism4 ,there is yet another mental cause which is credited both with causing insanity and with causing suicide1 especially in the ,united ,states4 ,i refer to ,spiritualism1 in the modern acceptation of the title4 ,it has been seriously discussed in ,america1 whether or not a believer in spiritualism is not ipso facto mad 7,buckham7 but without going to that extreme point of view1 it is most wise to bear in mind that many cases of lunacy and many suicides have been assigned to this cause4 ,the combined effects of a belief in the doctrine that it is possible in our bodies to hold communication with the departed1 and of attempts to practise this system of intercourse1 conjoined with the corollary that what spirits reveal is true1 and so to say1 inspired1 has frequently had a most fatal effect on minds of a dreamy sort4 ,i knew1 myself1 a most sane and sensible young medical man1 who became imbued1 through a spiritualistic father1 with a faith in the possibility of obtaining information of a mystic and occult character by means of somewhat mesmeric proceedings2 sad to relate1 he very soon became mentally upset with a religious terror1 and took his life1 without having previously evinced any tendency to self-destruction4 ,,chapter ,,xvii4 ,t,,dium-,,vit1 ,,the ,,passions1 ,,misery ,,and ,,despair4 ,life weariness was the suicide cause1 which ,french authors supposed to be excited in ,english people by their climate2 and in like manner to their error in attributing a heavier suicide rate to ,england than to their own country2 they erred in assigning tdium vit as a fertile suicide cause in ,england4 ,modern observations disclose but very few ,english suicides due to this influence2 we islanders require as a rule a stronger stimulus than this one to induce us to terminate our existences4 ,misery and despair cause a very large number of cases2 and so do our passions1 yet the passions do not cause so large a percentage as in hotter countries2 along the ,mediterranean coast1 where a sub-tropical climate exists1 the vices and license of the passions are a more fruitful cause than in our temperate clime4 ,tdium vit1 disgust of life1 is not often a simple weariness1 not at least as a suicide cause2 it is either profound sorrow produced by a very real and serious loss1 or else it is the effect of satiety following the abuse of pleasure2 still it is occasionally seen in men and women who have no object in life1 and no need of exertion1 and in whom even the daily task of finding something to pass away the time is too onerous4 ,tissot cites the cases of ,pyramus and ,thisbe1 ,dido1 ,sappho1 ,phyllis1 ,alcyon1 ,portia1 ,anthony1 ,cleopatra and ,arria1 as examples of suicide caused by unrestrained passions2 and many modern instances are described in ,forbes ,winslow's ,anatomy of ,suicide4 ,jealousy and disappointment in love affairs do not cause so many voluntary deaths as is commonly supposed2 and ,i think it probable that the suicides of lovers are often caused partly by a desire to punish the offending ones by the regretful feelings which the death of a once-loved person must excite2 and such vengeance is not without a certain sweetness to some persons' minds4 ,curiously enough envy also has been assigned as the cause of a person's voluntary death1 although it is not clear what consolation this can offer4 ,the spirit of vindictiveness is1 ,i regret to be obliged to say1 a rather fertile cause in this country2 for example1 ,dr4 ,danford ,thomas narrates that a servant maid1 a few years ago1 in ,central ,middlesex1 having been blamed for her negligence1 was given a month's notice to leave2 she asked permission to go out1 it was granted2 she went out and bought a piece of rope2 the same evening she was found hanging in her bedroom4 ,in the same district1 and about the same time1 a young woman-servant strangled herself with a neck scarf to spite her mistress1 who had scolded her for breakages due to carelessness4 ,in each of these cases the clear opinion of both ,coroner and jury was that a feeling of spite was the only prompter of the act4 ,several worthy members of the medical profession have sought in suicide a refuge from the mental pain and anxiety caused by unjust accusations2 a doctor is desperately liable to such charges1 which are usually brought for the purpose of extorting money1 or for revenge4 ,there was a sad example in #ahfe of a surgeon at ,salisbury1 and one two years ago at ,hounslow2 and since then at ,kensington a much respected medical practitioner stooped to self-destruction when a criminal charge was brought against him1 which subsequent investigation showed to be without the legal and medical facts necessary to support it4 ,i believe that if a calculation could be made of the proximate causes of suicide in ,england1 the most common causes would be found to be misery1 despair of success in life1 and remorse for crimes1 misdemeanours and follies4 ,in concluding the consideration of causation1 ,i remark that ,morselli and others have said1 that in the ancient world political fanaticism had its era for causing men to end their lives2 in the ,middle ,ages religious fanaticism held its sway as a cause of suicide2 and ,i should add that in modern times it is the high pressure at which we live1 the difficulty of obtaining a livelihood1 and the forced education of the young1 which fills our asylums and swells our voluntary death-rate4 ,,chapter ,,xviii4 ,,the ,,means ,,of ,,suicide4 ,it is a somewhat curious fact1 considering the immense number of feasible means of terminating one's existence1 that there should be such a small number of methods in constant use4 ,to enumerate the possible means which should fulfil the necessities of the case1 viz41 to be certain and be speedy1 would take too long1 and would be unnecessary4 ,the means that are used daily are practically very few2 the following eight methods include almost every case3 ,hanging1 drowning1 shooting1 cut throat and other wounds1 falls from a height1 placing the body in the path of railway trains and other vehicles1 poison1 and suffocation by want of air1 or poisonous gases4 ,voluntary starvation1 which was common in ancient ,rome1 is now almost unknown4 ,the relative frequency of these means is found to vary in each country1 and in each country varies with age1 sex1 occupation1 and opportunity1 but these several numbers are very constant year after year4 ,whenever we find the use of an exceptional means1 which causes prolonged or more exquisite torture1 we constantly find evident traces of insanity7,morselli74 ,the sane man may kill himself1 but he endeavours to do it as easily as may be4 ,the means ,i have said is governed by opportunity2 for example1 ,russians1 on account of their climate1 live mostly indoors1 and are forbidden by law to carry arms1 so we find hanging most common4 ,in ,italy we have an out-door life1 and arms are frequently carried1 and there we find shooting and drowning the most common4 ,and now of late years1 in proportion to the spread of railways1 we find the number of persons casting themselves under trains to increase4 ,,hanging is the most prominent means of suicide almost throughout ,europe2 the ,germans are the most conspicuous for choosing this mode of death1 and next the ,russians2 the ,italians1 on the contrary avoid it4 ,it is by far the most common means used in ,england1 and has of late years been gaining in frequency in many ,european countries1 notably in ,france and ,denmark4 ,it is never so common among women as among men in any country4 ,,drowning is the next most frequent means4 ,italy and ,france supply the largest proportions2 its amount bears a definite relation to the average temperature2 the cooler the climate the less frequent is suicidal drowning2 it is rare in ,russia4 ,the annual reports show that it is decreasing in ,france4 ,the female sex is the especial patroness of death by drowning in every country2 twice as many women as men drown themselves in ,europe every year4 ,,fire ,,arms are used chiefly in ,italy and ,switzerland2 they form the fifth means in order of frequency in ,england4 ,in the neighbourhood of the military frontiers of ,austria and ,germany they are a frequent means of death4 ,,cut ,,throat occupies about the same position as drowning in ,england and ,ireland2 but in no other country is it anything like so common4 ,it is beyond all other wounds the most common4 ,opening of the veins is an almost forgotten practice4 ,,falls from a height are a specially favoured means of destruction with the ,italians2 it is neglected by all other nationalities4 ,,poison is another mode of killing very popular among the ,anglo-,saxons1 especially in ,england and the ,united ,states4 ,some poisons are very easily procured by anyone1 because they are used in the arts1 whilst others are difficult to be obtained1 and are seldom used for suicidal purposes1 except by medical men and chemists4 ,the poisons most frequently used are3 ,opium1 morphia1 and their preparations2 prussic acid1 cyanide of potassium 7used in photography71 and essential oil of bitter almonds 7used in cookery72 carbolic acid and its preparations1 the disinfectant liquids2 oxalic acid 7used in the arts1 to clean metals72 strychnia and its preparations1 the vermin-killing powders4 ,less frequently used are lunar caustic2 the mercurial salts2 the vegetable narcotics2 the mineral acids2 preparations of arsenic1 phosphorus1 and its preparations1 chiefly vermin killers2 and salts of copper4 ,,suffocation by carbonic acid gas was first used in ,paris4 ,closed charcoal stoves are common in ,france1 and it is easy to destroy life by means of them in a small room4 ,the practice is spreading in ,france1 and has taken root in ,germany also4 ,i now subjoin tables of the means employed in ,england1 ,scotland1 and ,ireland1 and in ,london1 and in ,europe generally4 ,,english ,,suicides tabulated according to ,means4 #ahha4 #ahhb4 ,,means1 ,male4,female4,male4,female4 ,railways and other vehicles #dd #f #ea #e ,fire-arms #aah #d #aba #b ,cut throat #bgi #fj #bfd #ef ,cuts and stabs #af #b #bc #c ,falls from a height #bg #ac #bj #ba ,burns1 scalds1 explosions #b #a #e #j ,drowning #bga #agb #bdj #agi ,hanging #dgd #aaa #ebh #abj ,strangling #cg #ab #cj #i ,suffocation by vapours #b #j #j #j ,poison #adg #ha #aag #aaa ,other causes #ei #ag #dg #ac ,,total #a1dgf #dgi #a1ddf #eai ,,suicides in ,,england3 ,relative use of various ,,poisons4 #ahha4 #ahhb4 ,,poisons4 ,male4,female4,male4,female4 ,arsenic #f #b #d #b ,mercury #j #j #d #c ,ammonia #a #a #j #a ,phosphorus #c #e #a #e ,sulphuric acid #a #a #b #a ,nitric acid #j #j #a #c ,hydrochloric acid #f #a #h #b ,oxalic acid #g #h #ac #aa ,carbolic acid #ae #ah #f #ac ,opium and morphia #cc #f #bj #ab ,alcohol #j #a #a #a ,belladonna and aconite #a #a #a #c ,chloroform #a #a #a #j ,chloral #d #a #a #j ,prussic acid #ai #a #h #c ,cyanide of potassium #ae #a #aj #d ,strychnia #g #i #h #aa ,benzoline #j #j #a #j ,vermin killers #j #j #g #ag ,disinfectant fluid #j #j #a #a ,other poisons #ai #bd #ai #ah ,,total #adg #ha #aag #aaa ,as a comparison between ,england1 as a whole1 and ,london1 ,i subjoin these figures1 relating to cases in ,central ,middlesex during #ahhc and #ahhd1 investigated by ,dr4 ,danford ,thomas or myself3 #ahhc #ahhd ,,means4 ,male4,female4,male4,female4 ,hanging #af #a #ah #d ,drowning #ae #aj #g #d ,poison #ac #e #ba #aj ,fire-arms #ab #j #h #j ,cut throat #ac #d #ab #c ,falls #e #c #a #c ,stabs #j #j #a #j ,railways #a #a #j #j ,burns #j #j #a #j ,suffocation #a #j #a #j ,strangulation #a #j #a #j ,other means #a #j #j #j ,,total #gh #bd #gj #be ,,report of ,registrar ,general for ,scotland1 #ahha4 ,population #c1gde1dhe ,total ,deaths #gb1cbe ,general ,death-rate #aica ,suicide ,rate #dhe ,total ,suicides #ahb ,of whom were ,males #aca ,females #ea ,,table of ,,means4 ,,means4 ,male4,female4 ,railways #b #a ,fire-arms #aj #j ,cut throat #bf #d ,cuts and stabs #b #j ,hanging #dd #h ,drowning #bg #bf ,poison #aa #i ,unstated means #i #c ,n4,b4,these are the latest statistics issued1 #ahhe4 ,,registrar ,,general',s ,,report for ,,ireland for #ahhb and #ahhc4 ,general ,death ,rate1 #ahhb1 was #agd2 #ahhc was #aib4 ,suicide ,rate1 #ahhb1 was #bjg2 #ahhc was #bdg4 #ahhb4 #ahhc4 ,there were ,there were #ada ,homicides4 #ajg ,homicides4 #aje ,suicides ,male1 #ha4 #abd ,suicides ,male1 #hi4 ,female1 #bd4 ,female1 #ce4 ,the ,,means were3 #ahhb4 #ahhc4 ,,means4 ,male4 ,female4 ,male4 ,female4 ,hanging #bd #d #ai #h ,drowning #ad #f #ag #ad ,shooting #ba #b #bj #j ,cutting #ac #f #be #h ,poison #b #d #g #b ,other means #g #b #a #c ,in a ,report on the ,health of the ,british ,navy for #ahhc1 there are six suicides described1 which occurred during the year2 #b were by fire-arms1 #a by hanging1 #b by drowning1 and #a from poison4 ,i add here a table1 supplied by the 8,lancet10 of the relative proportional use of various means in the countries of ,europe4 ,per #a1jjj ,suicides4 ,means4 ,england4,prussia4,italy4,belgium4,switz erland4,france4 ,hanging #cfh #fjh #afg #ede #dcj #dej ,drowning #bjh #ahb #cjj #bbh #bfg #bij ,fire-arms #df #aji #bdd #aah #agj #aaj ,cutting #bjf #ed #ee #ci #fg #dj ,poison #id #cj #fa #bc #cc #bj ,falling #bj #i #aac #ae #aa #cj ,suffocation #cj #c #bb #d #ac #gj ,legoyt has calculated the relative proportions of these causes in the two sexes1 in ,europe as a whole1 thus3 ,hanging4,drowning4,fire-arms4,wounds4,f alls4,poison4 ,male #eba #aej #acd #hi #bf #dh ,female #cie #cdf #h #ei #bg #aag ,of #aea suicides in ,new ,york1 in #ahhc1 #ef were from fire-arms1 #ai hanging1 #ae stabbing and cutting1 #ab drowning1 #aa falls from a height1 #ah poisoning with ,paris green1 and #g with opium4 ,these cases have been also tabulated in a manner showing the relative amounts of each means according to nationalities1 and disclose the very remarkable fact1 that ,english1 ,french1 ,germans and ,irish1 when they have emigrated and are living in a foreign country1 still retain their racial predilections for means of suicide2 but they also shew that there is a tendency to follow the custom of a place1 inasmuch as poison1 the favourite means of the native of ,new ,york1 becomes more frequent among the ,french and ,germans there1 than it is among ,french and ,germans at home4 ,of means rarely observed1 ,i may mention1 death by starvation2 it is more rare now-a-days than it was in classical times2 it requires extreme resolution to persevere in this means of self-destruction1 and it is extremely painful4 ,one case of attempted crucifixion is on record1 that of ,matthew ,lovat1 in #ahjb1 at ,venice2 he indeed made two attempts1 but failed in both4 ,in ,middlesex1 last year1 a man deliberately inhaled coal gas from the supply pipe in his room1 and so died of suffocation and blood poisoning4 ,during #ahha1 there were five unusual cases in ,england2 two persons blew themselves up with gunpowder1 one person burned himself to death1 one died of voluntary starvation1 and one died from eating horsehair4 ,during #ahhj1 one suicide was caused by drinking paraffin spirit1 and another by swallowing pennies and pebbles4 ,,chapter ,,xix4 ,,suicide ,,and ,,crime ,,compared2 ,,and ,,attempted ,,suicide4 ,it is instructive to compare the statistics of crime in general with those of suicide2 such data as are found in 8,recherches sur le penchant au ,crime10 by ,a4 ,quetelet1 illustrate this matter2 he gives the figure of a curve showing the amount of crime at different ages of life4 ,this curve rises from almost zero at ten years of age to nearly its maximum at #bj1 quite its highest point at #bc1 and then falls evenly to half its height at #de2 thence evenly to #gj1 when it is at a similar position to #ae years of age1 and thence evenly to zero at the age of #ajj years4 ,these proportions are found to exist at the present time in our own country4 ,among women the maximum falls a little later in life than among men1 viz41 at #cj years of age4 ,of crime in general1 one woman is convicted to four men4 ,the seasons disclose a peculiar proportion2 in summer there are most crimes against the person1 fewest against property2 in winter1 fewest crimes against the person1 most against property4 ,officials and professional men are more prone to commit crimes against the person than against property2 labourers and mechanics commit more crimes against property than against the person4 ,celibacy contributes #fj out of #ajj criminals4 ,it seems tolerably certain that one-half of insane persons1 two-thirds of the poor1 and three-fourths of all criminals are persons who have drunk to excess4 ,i add in this place1 figures shewing the present decrease of crime in ,england and ,scotland1 to which reference was made in the preface4 ,this diminution may be1 in some part1 due to an increase of the police force1 and to the greater efficiency of these officers4 ,if these be the real causes of the improvement1 and not increased morality1 the reason why the suicide rate is not decreasing becomes explained1 because1 as ,i point out elsewhere1 the police are almost powerless to control the perpetration of suicide4 ,the number of persons committed for criminal trial in #ahhb was #ae1bfj2 this shews a diminution of #cha upon the average of five years precedent4 ,in ,scotland1 #b1fib persons were committed for trial against #b1hei1 the average for the five years immediately preceding4 ,the total number of 8persons of bad character known to the police0 in ,england is also diminished in #ahhb1 being #ch1iff1 against #ci1afa in the previous year1 and compared to #df1hgg in the year #ahgb4 ,sir ,john ,lubbock has lately called attention to the diminished amount of ,english crime at the present time1 and attributes it to the spread of education4 ,mr4 ,justice ,smith has also spoken on the same point1 but hesitates to assign education as the cause of the improvement2 he mentions another remarkable point1 that the highest rates of criminal violence are associated with the population earning the highest wages1 chiefly through the greater amount of alcoholic liquors so consumed4 ,suicide certainly has points of difference to other crimes of violence2 the wicked ones of earth are not those who specially practice it4 ,education checks crime1 although under the influence of increased mental tension self-sacrifice is more rife2 alcohol increases crime and suicide also2 this ,i believe to be due to the fact that habitual alcoholic excess lessens the controlling power of the conscience1 and renders the mind less able to withstand the tension induced by development4 ,the prevalence of suicide is every day attributed to the progress of immorality2 ,i associate it as much with the development of thought4 ,savages1 implacable in their hate1 ferocious in their vengeance1 and atrocious in their pleasures1 do not commit it1 although they kill their old people1 and do not hesitate to drink from the skulls of their enemies4 ,it was not common among any of the great nations of old until they became cultivated intellectually4 ,compare ,regnault on ,mental ,alienations4 ,,attempted ,,suicide4 ,the relative proportion between suicides and suicidal attempts has been the subject of much difference of opinion4 ,it is a common idea that many attempts are made with a view to coerce or influence relations and friends1 attempts which1 in fact1 are not intended to be successful1 although they sometimes succeed4 ,in general1 if a second attempt be made1 after a fruitless effort1 and especially after recovery from injury1 the patient is insane4 ,attempts at suicide by cutting very frequently fail1 as do attempts by the use of fire-arms2 but on the other hand1 death is much more certain if drowning or hanging has been the means used4 ,in cases of poisoning1 also1 the victims are often found half dead1 and skilful treatment restores a great number4 ,in a recent case a man threw himself between the rails in front of an advancing train1 and yet escaped without any injury2 but such attempts are almost certain destruction4 ,ogston 7,ed4 ,med4 ,journal1 ,feb4 #ahhe7 narrates a very interesting and instructive case of suicide3 the deceased had evidently made repeated attempts to kill himself with a razor2 six incisions were visible on the chest and five on the neck1 but the unfortunate man finding himself not dying fast enough1 had finally cast himself into the sea1 and was drowned4 ,in view of the great uncertainty existing as to the relation between attempted and completed self-destruction1 ,i made a special appeal to the medical profession in this country1 through the medical journals1 for information1 but received only few replies4 ,as a rule1 hospital medical officers consider that attempts far outnumber successes1 whilst general practitioners incline to the opinion that failures are less frequent4 ,as a summary of all the cases reported to me1 the numbers were in the relative proportion of #ba failures to #ab completed instances4 ,i have already said how difficult it is to form a correct estimate of the number of suicides 7see page #eh72 the sources of error are still more numerous when we attempt to estimate the number of unsuccessful attempts4 ,the police are entirely at a loss to supply any valuable information as to the proportion of attempts4 ,i consider that they are not concerned in a third of such instances2 they only hear of those cases that occur in the public streets1 or in lodging houses1 or in the parks2 or of those attempts at drowning1 which are at times frequent1 by jumping from the bridges1 especially in ,london4 8,of one hundred persons10 says ,esquirol1 8who attempt suicide only forty succeed40 ,brierre de ,boismont says1 8for one suicide there are two attempts40 ,legoyt has ascertained that in ,dublin1 #ahgd-gf1 for three years the proportions 7known to the police7 were #da successes and #abc attempts4 ,he also calculates that in the countries of ,europe1 excluding ,turkey1 there are annually #bh1jjj persons who attempt to kill themselves1 and #bb1jjj succeed4 ,the ,statistical ,society published in ,vol4 ,i4 of their ,journal the following figures2 in one year1 #ge completed to #dg attempts2 in another1 #aag completed to #eh attempted2 these were ,london cases1 and the numbers were1 ,i believe1 procured from the police registers4 ,during a period of nine years1 #d1eie suicides were registered in ,paris1 and #a1hfd suicidal failures4 ,in ,baden1 during two years1 #dag suicides were discovered1 whilst the official records show only #bb cases of attempted suicide4 ,the attempt to commit suicide is much less liable to interruption than attempted murder4 ,there is no resistance from the opponent to be allowed for1 and it is easy to evade the officers of the law by attempting the act when alone4 ,as a matter of fact1 it is a rare event for anyone to commit suicide when in company with others4 ,the majority of suicides are not discovered until after death4 ,comte considers it a folly of lawmakers to think that enactments can check the act4 ,heber1 8,journey through ,india10 calls attention to the very small amount of success1 during many years1 which ,english officials achieved in preventing suicidal drowning at ,benares and elsewhere in ,british ,india1 by means of legal enactments4 ,,the ,,law ,,of ,,suicidal ,,attempts4 ,suicide1 as before described1 is a felony2 the attempt to commit a felony is in the eye of the ,english law a misdemeanour2 consult ,r4 v4 ,higgins1 #b ,east41 #h2 and ,r4 v4 ,martin1 #i ,c4 and ,p4 #bac-bae4 ,an attempt at ,felo-de-se is a misdemeanour over which the quarter sessions have jurisdiction2 but it is not an attempt to commit murder within the meaning of the ,act #bd #be ,vict1 c4 #ajj1 see ,r4 v4 ,burgess1 #a4 ,l4 and ,c4 #beh1 #cb ,l4 ,j41 ,m4 ,c4 #ef4 ,when the police hear of an attempt at suicide1 the culprit is taken in charge by them2 if seriously injured the patient is watched in hospital by a police officer4 ,it is customary to charge the offender before the magistrates as soon as practicable2 in such a case it is more usual to bind over the prisoner to 8keep the peace10 than it is to send the case for trial2 if there be any evidence of insanity1 the prisoner is examined by the police surgeon and another medical man2 and if found to be insane is certified as such1 and confined in an asylum4 ,i cannot refrain from saying that both law and custom with respect to ,suicide are in a very unsatisfactory and anomalous state4 ,on the one hand1 self-murder is ranked by the law as a felony1 one of the worst of crimes2on the other hand1 hardly one suicide a year is called a felon4 ,suicide is not in law any proof of the existence of insanity1 yet no sooner is the suicide quite dead1 than almost every one cries out that he was insane4 ,again1 an attempt at suicide is a misdemeanour punishable by imprisonment1 yet a person caught in the act and taken before the magistrates is generally dismissed from custody1 not because of insanity1 certainly not1 because if that were the plea1 he would be sent to an asylum1 and not set free2 but let the culprit presently die from a cause dependent on the suicidal injury1 and the verdict will be that he was insane4 ,surely such incongruities cannot be allowed to exist much longer4 ,,chapter ,,xx4 ,,suicide ,,in ,,british ,,india4 ,the information conveyed in the preceding pages1 in reference to suicide in ,england1 and in the countries of ,europe1 applies in a small degree only to ,hindostan4 ,in this vast tract of country1 including many separate states1 some of which are still under native rulers1 and in which very different religious beliefs exist1 and are practised side by side1 the suicidal tendencies are very varied4 ,the habits and customs of the several races are so entirely distinct in many points1 that no surprise need be felt when we observe the very different attitudes these hold in respect to self-destruction4 ,the ,mohammedan races avoid it2 the ,brahmins encourage it in their religious customs1 and in their social life2 whilst the floating ,british population exhibits a slightly higher rate than that of the ,british at home4 ,the laws respecting suicide in the districts under ,british rule1 are enacted by the ,indian ,penal ,code1 cap4 xvi41 ss4 #cjj1 #cje1 #cjf1 #cji4 ,for other regulations refer to s4 #ai of ,reg4 xix4 of #ahjg2 and ,nizamut ,adawlut ,reports1 ,vol4 iii4 of #ahcc4 ,the average suicide rate for ,india1 as a whole1 ,i estimate at #dj per million2 the rate for the city of ,calcutta alone was estimated some years ago as high as one in #b1jjj4 ,statistics of suicide are unfortunately even less reliable in respect to ,india than they are in regard to ,europe1 for it is to be feared that a very large number of murders are hidden by want of evidence1 and by false statements1 under the garb of voluntary death4 ,the ,hindoos of the lower class have the very faintest idea of the value of truth for its own sake1 and ,hindoo evidence can be manufactured at a low price in any quantity4 ,the causation of the suicides of the natives of ,hindostan falls into four chief divisions 7,chevers71 upon each of which ,i add a few remarks4 ,,revenge ,,or ,,accusation4 ,although less common at the present time than formerly1 cases are still seen in which a man or woman will commit suicide to spite another1 and call down the opprobrium of the neighbours on him for some injury1 or fancied slight1 such deaths were called chandi1 or self-immolation2 the ,rajpoot class greatly practised it2 they would protest against a decree1 and then stab themselves as a final protest4 ,another form was dhurna1 sitting at an enemy's door and waiting for death by starvation1 hoping to bring down a curse on the offender4 ,the erection of a koor1 or wood pile1 for conflagration1 and self-burning thereon1 with or without the offering of some animal1 was also a process designed to invoke curses on an opponent4 ,cases have also been observed is which a man has cut his throat in a neighbour's house1 so that the neighbour might be accused of murder1 and so be made to suffer the penalty for that crime4 ,a fakir has been known to set himself on fire1 to excite charity2 and a ,brahmin has thrown himself into a well1 that his ghost might haunt the owner of it4,esdaile4 ,,religion4 ,the ,brahmin religion has had for ages a tenet that self-sacrifice is the most acceptable offering to deity1 and five modes of great sanctity are enumerated3 #a4 ,starvation2 #b4 ,burying alive2 #c4 ,drowning in the ,ganges2 #d4 ,covering the body with dried cow dung1 and setting it on fire2 and #e4 ,cutting the throat at the mouth of the ,ganges4 ,see the 8,ayeen ,akbery40 ,to throw oneself off the precipices of the ,mahadeo hills was also a sacred act 7,sleeman71 and perhaps above all was deemed the death by crushing under the wheels of the ,car of ,juggernath4 ,a collateral religious rite is sati1 or the enforced burning of widows after the death of the husband2 this martyrdom is now almost extinct1 except perhaps in the native-governed states4 ,it was very prevalent as late as #ahjc1 in which year no less than #bge wives were burned within #cj miles of ,calcutta4 ,a male ,hindoo will also occasionally burn himself on a wood pile even now1 just as did ,calanus in the time of ,alexander the ,great4 ,see 8,friend of ,india10 #ahff4 ,forbes describes several cases in which ,brahmin devotees forced themselves to continue eating until their deaths took place4 ,,physical ,,suffering4 ,suicide as a means of relief from pain and disease is common in ,bengal2 the sacred books named the ,shastras inculcate the doctrine of its propriety in such cases4 ,in former times these deaths took place with public ceremonials1 but are now perforce privately completed4 ,intestinal worms seem to produce great physical pain and discomfort among the poor rice-eating ,bengalese1 and suicide is not infrequent from this cause4,woodford4 ,,grief1 ,,shame1 ,,and ,,jealousy4 ,the ,hindoos seem to be very sensitive to some trifling annoyances1 which the ,englishman would take no notice of1 and suicides are not uncommonly the effect of insults and imputations4 ,thus1 the ,commissioner of the ,chota ,nagpore district mentioned the case of a woman who poisoned herself because her husband complained of her untidiness1 and another because she was asked to feed her own child1 instead of being provided with a nurse4 ,a wife killed herself because a friend told her that her husband was illegitimate4,bellasis4 ,forbes mentions that when he was at ,dhuboy suicide was very common among ,hindoo widows of the upper classes1 who being interdicted from marriage threw themselves into the wells after perceiving the results of their imprudences4 ,jealousy is also a very fertile cause of suicide among ,hindoo women4 ,the means used for committing suicide in ,india are among females almost always drowning1 especially in wells1 and among the males drowning and hanging are about equally common4,muir of ,madras4 ,,chapter ,,xxi4 ,,the ,,prevention ,,of ,,suicide1 ,,and ,,the ,,treatment ,,of ,,the ,,suicidal ,,tendency ,,in ,,the ,,insane4 ,it is a terrible thought that our much boasted civilisation and modern educational advantages bring with them a suicide rate which nothing so far has been found to check4 ,the struggle for existence1 at our present high pressure1 ends in the survival of the strongest and most able2 the weaker in body1 and the feebler in mind1 get pushed aside and pass away before their due time by disease and self-destruction4 ,what can be done8 the wheel of progress cannot be stopped because it crushes some victims in its onward course4 ,the abolition of monopolies1 and even the reforms of land holding1 land conveyance1 the refusal of special advantages to primogeniture1 and the schemes of trade unionists1 now being agitated1 cannot do away with poverty4 8,the poor ye have always with you10 said ,jesus1 and ,he no doubt meant1 8and always shall have10 in this probationary world4 ,if only the grand principle of 8moderation in all things0 were more thoroughly followed out to its legitimate conclusion1 many deaths due to the extremes which so many strive after1 might be avoided2 peace1 health1 and competence should be our aim1 not wealth and extravagance2 and the waves of commercial depression which so repeatedly occur are but the sequence of commercial exaggeration1 and follow upon over-inflated markets4 ,however various may be the opinions regarding the mental state of suicides1 there is no practical dissent from the acknowledgment of the desirability of preventing the commission of suicide4 ,for our purpose1 then1 it will suffice to consider1 on the one hand1 what means are necessary to restrain patients who are acknowledged to be insane2 and on the other hand1 what measures are permissible to dissuade and prevent those in trouble or pain from taking their own lives2 such means will be equally available whether we think these sufferers sane in their deaths1 or insane from the time when they attempt the destruction of their lives4 ,there are doubtless cases of suicide in which it is impossible to decide as to the mental state of the patient2 no definition of insanity has ever yet been agreed to1 and probably never will2 and until medical science has advanced so far as to be able to estimate how much grief or pain a man can support without attempting to evade his sufferings1 there always will be voluntary deaths of persons who are so notoriously sane as to forbid the application of restraint4 ,yet survivors will postulate a momentary insanity1 when such persons shall have destroyed themselves to avoid the possibility of an error of judgment4 ,,suicide ,,of ,,the ,,insane4 ,in a work such as this1 intended not entirely for physicians1 but also for students of ,social ,science1 ,i do not think it fitting to enter into particulars as to the exact means of treating the suicidal propensity in such cases1 nor do ,i suggest any definite medical prescriptions to relieve collateral symptoms2 such may be safely left in the hands of the skilful physician4 ,i have only to insist on the urgent necessity that exists for the immediate removal from society of any person exhibiting mind failure1 who shows any tendency to self-destruction2 and even if suicide be not definitely threatened1 no time should be lost in commencing the care and treatment of a lunatic4 ,and1 again1 the means of treatment1 and1 if necessary1 of coercion of those definitely of weak1 or of unsound mind1 fall to the alienist4 ,the whole question of ,asylum treatment is now under consideration2 whether any private establishments at all should exist1 is debated with zeal2 the further question of whether the treatment and care of the insane ought not to be begun and perhaps continued1 just as is the treatment of bodily disease1 without any formal certification1 has also been broached of late1 by an editorial in the 8,lancet0 of last year4 ,these questions do not fall within the scope of a treatise on 8,suicide as a fact40 ,the managers and attendants in ,english asylums may at any rate be congratulated on their care of their patients in this matter1 for the rate of suicide in asylums is but #a per #a1jjj annually4 ,many once popular modes of treatment of insane persons are now almost forgotten1 just as many modes of treating bodily diseases have disappeared4 ,as a preventive of suicide in melancholia1 the noted ,avenbrugger recommended that the patient should be made to drink a pint of cold water every hour1 whilst his feet were wrapped in flannel4 ,hufeland also advised the ingestion of plenty of cold water for mania4 ,the eminent alienist ,burrows recommended emetics1 bleeding1 and warm baths1 accompanied by cold douche to the head1 as measures fitted to remove the suicidal propensity4 ,the means recommended by ,brierre de ,boismont for avoiding the suicidal propensity in the insane were the persistent use of morphia to ensure sleep1 and the prolonged use of baths1 the continuous immersion of the body for four1 five1 or six hours4 ,griesinger remarks that medication is of no use1 and that mechanical restraint does not remove the tendency1 even if it renders the act impossible for the time2 nothing but constant watching is of any avail until the inclination passes off4 ,it has been suggested by many physicians that bleeding would remove the suicidal tendency in cases where it is associated with cerebral irritation1 congestion1 or inflammation4 ,several cases of cut-throat are on record1 in which the patient1 who had just been raving1 became sane after the bleeding which followed his act3 ,dr4 ,southwood ,smith mentions this1 see 8,philosophy of ,health10 vol4 i41 p4 #aji2 and the elder ,disraeli mentions that a surgeon narrated such a case to him4 ,see 8,curiosities of ,literature40 ,the case of the late ,sir ,samuel ,romilly was one example of this point2 the bleeding restored his senses1 and he did all in his power to check the hmorrhage4 ,see ,wynter4 8,borderlands of ,insanity40 ,suicidal patients require most watching early in the morning2 a good lunch often dispels the tendency for the day4 ,during convalescence from mania1 c41 relapses into suicidal condition are very common1 and it is frequently in these remissions that nurses become less watchful just when they should be vigilant1 and the act is committed4 ,when the tendency is the result of alcoholism1 we are met by this difficulty2 restraint is needed1 and yet no one has the power to enforce restraint2 the physician succeeds well enough in relieving the alcoholic delirium and coincident risk of suicide1 perhaps time after time2 but is powerless to prevent a succeeding attack4 ,unless a sufferer can be induced to volunteer his entry into a retreat1 there are no means of saving him from himself4 ,so long as a man is sensible when sober1 be it only for an hour a day1 he is beyond the reach of compulsory cure4 ,in the suicidal mania of parturition1 on the other hand1 the patient is happy in being already1 from her state1 under the practical control of her medical attendant1 and hence such cases are almost always restrained successfully4 ,the essence of impulsive insanity is its occurrence without any warning2 yet many such suicides might be prevented by a more careful observation on the part of the companions of a patient4 ,whenever there be any hereditary taint of insanity1 or of dipsomania1 or of chronic nervous disease1 or epilepsy2 if there be heredity of self-destruction1 or if there have been a previous attack of insanity1 or if there be insomnia1 the slightest symptoms of mental alteration should be watched for2 alterations of conduct1 the attitude of suspicion1 or of self-accusation1 or of unnecessary melancholy4 ,the facial expression will frequently raise the alarm2 the restless uneasy eye1 and ever varying play of the muscles of the face in one case2 and the settled glare of the eye1 and expressionless features in another1 should warn observers of an approaching crisis of disordered intellect4 ,,suicide ,,of ,,sane ,,persons4 ,the suicidal tendency so often coexists1 either with straightened circumstances1 or sudden deprivation of income1 that the very modes of treatment most likely to remove the tendency are by these very causes rendered impracticable4 ,temporary abstention from duty or business1 coupled with change of climate and scene1 would doubtless cure a very large percentage of cases1 but it is exactly the inability to drop the chains of employment1 and the absence of the monetary means for travel which are lacking4 ,the means of cure when they are practicable are obvious enough to any physician2 a healthy and not too arduous employment2 change of air1 and scene2 and of companionship2 the improvement of the bodily health1 the exhibition of nervine tonics2 and last1 but not by any means least1 the exercise of every possible means of making sleep a certainty4 ,the continuous poring over one's troubles1 and contemplating one's fate1 without the definite lengthy intermissions given by healthy sleep1 are most fertile causes of nervous breakdown and attempted self-destruction4 ,the occurrence of a long night's slumber frequently entirely removes the pernicious intentions at which an overwrought brain arrived over night4 ,i have already alluded to the debated question as to the tendencies of religion and education4 ,statistics seem to point so clearly to development of the mind and mental tension as a cause of voluntary death1 that it is probably of no use to look to education as a cure for the suicidal tendency in individuals4 ,the cultivation of a religious conviction of the sanctity of life1 and the sin of a self-inflicted death is a more certain hindrance to suicide4 ,persons who are unable to obtain this mental conviction1 are1 ,i believe1 more prone to take their lives in time of trouble1 and beyond good advice and the care of their friends1 ,i do not know that any means exist to restrain them4 ,see ,legoyt1 ,esquirol1 ,cazeauvieile and ,descuret4 ,a man has a strong natural claim on his relations to take care of him when he meets with an accident1 or is bodily ill1 and it is always admitted2 the same claim exists that he should be protected against himself1 not only when insane1 but when in great mental perturbation1 misery or despair4 ,nothing but a constant watchfulness will suffice to restrain some persons from ending a life of present wretchedness1 and enable them to experience the better times1 which are very often in the future4 ,among measures of precaution1 the removal of suggestive weapons1 and of books and papers likely to bring to recollection instances of crime or self-destruction1 must not be omitted4 ,every effort should be made to secure full occupation for the mind of a composing character if possible2 ennui or tdium vit is an important predisposing influence4 ,of the numerous ,french authors on suicide1 the first rank is held by ,brierre de ,boismont2 his suggestions for the prevention of suicide1 among reasonable persons1 i4e41 not insane1 are to avoid sadness1 to procure a family1 and to follow some business2 and with regard to religion1 he advises the confessional and the cloister4 ,ebrard also extols these two means of cure2 of the latter remedy ,i have no experience1 and the former is not likely to be much used in this country4 8,we are attacked by many moral and social ills2 there is much madness in our heads1 and many evil passions1 and weaknesses in our hearts2 but the sources of purity are not dried up1 the springs of human energy are not exhausted4 ,let us hope then1 let us hope60 ,,chapter ,,xxii4 ,,suicide ,,of ,,animals4 ,the question 8to what extent does the mind of one of the lower animals resemble that of man10 has been argued by many able men1 but no very definite decision has been arrived at4 ,the point is of prime importance in a consideration of whether animals can commit suicide2 ,i mean 8can animals kill themselves intentionally1 either as the result of consideration and choice1 or of impulse80 ,no one doubts that animals may die from some voluntary action of their own2 for example1 a dog may die of eating poisoned food1 or a horse may die from a blow caused by jumping over a space with insufficient caution and observation1 or a monkey may cut his throat by imitating a man shaving2 similar deaths would not be called suicide in man4 ,the tendency of the present day is rather in favour of granting to the lower beings of creation a larger share of intelligence than used to be assigned to them4 ,not many years ago it was almost universally granted that animals had no soul1 and no future life1 and only a limited instinct in this life2 no reasoning powers1 and no foreknowledge of approaching death2 all these points have of late years been declared to be uncertain4 ,if we deny to animals powers of reflection and knowledge of a necessary death1 it is not possible to assent to the statement that an animal can in its own mind decide to end its life at any certain time4 ,some animals1 certainly1 protest against entering a yard where others have been slaughtered1 as if the smell of blood suggested their fate to them1 but what we understand as instinct suffices to explain this terror4 ,birds of prey are known to detect by sight or smell when an animal is about to die2 this again is the instinct provided to supply them with food4 ,if it be true that a scorpion will sting itself to death when irritated beyond measure1 ,i should be inclined to think that it perishes in its efforts to sting its enemies2 or if not1 ,i should imagine that the action resembles that of a man tearing his hair from anger1 when he cannot injure his opponent4 ,and the same ideas will apply to the case of the bee1 which is similarly said to kill itself in wounding its enemy4 ,wild birds will refuse food and die1 if confined in a cage2 and the survivor of a pair of tame birds1 after the death of his mate1 is often noticed to refuse food and rapidly die of exhaustion2 but ,i should explain such cases by saying that the loss had made so intense an impression on the creature's consciousness as to supersede the impulse to feed itself4 ,i myself remember seeing a healthy little dog refuse food1 pine away and die1 when its young mistress1 who had for months hourly petted it1 became a mother1 and the dog became neglected2 its death was from neglect of a voluntary action1 but was it volitional8 ,regnault1 ,elias1 in his work on ,mental ,alienation1 decides against the possibility of the lower animals ever effecting a voluntary death2 he says1 8,suicide is the most energetic assertion of man's superiority2 why do not animals conceive and execute it8 ,because their nature is entirely passive2 to them the choice of life or death is not given2 man1 on the contrary1 eminently free and active1 is able to extend his energy even as far as self-destruction40 ,narratives of the deaths of animals1 especially when these have been pets1 are apt to be very unreliable1 from the infusion of sentiment1 and many of the anecdotes of suicide of animals which ,i have investigated have a semi-mythical character4 ,the stories to which ,i give references would close the controversy as to whether animals ever do1 or do not commit suicide1 i4 e41 kill themselves with the intention of ending their lives1 and not accidentally nor inadvertently1 if they could be relied on to possess anything like scientific accuracy4 ,most of them have been published in newspapers1 c41 where errors would be liable to suffer correction4 ,aristotle narrates that a horse having been induced to have connection with his own dam1 by the artifice of veiling her1 for he had refused to do so previously1 on seeing what he had done1 jumped intentionally from a cliff1 and was killed by the fall4 ,see ,history of ,animals1 lib4 ix41 cap4 #dg4 ,but ,professor ,axe1 of the ,royal ,veterinary ,college1 tells me that he has never heard of such a refusal on the part of a horse1 neither has he ever observed any instance which seemed to him to point to the intentional self-destruction of any animal4 ,there is an old story mentioned in ,boswell's ,life of ,johnson1 that a scorpion if irritated by placing it within a ring of burning coals1 will thrust its own sting into itself1 and so commit suicide2 ,dr4 ,johnson doubted it1 and remarked that ,maupertuis did not credit it4 ,bory de ,st4 ,vincent1 in the classic 8,dictionnaire d',histoire ,naturelle10 vol4 #ae1 says he has tried the experiment1 and the scorpions simply became suffocated4 ,there is reference to the suicide of scorpions in ,nature1 ,vol4 xi41 p4 #bi1 which speaks of irritating a scorpion by means of a burning glass1 with the same result4 ,in the next week's number1 p4 #dg1 is another mention of a similar observation4 ,at ,vol4 xx41 p4 #eec1 a writer denies the possibility of a scorpion striking itself1 whilst at p4 #egg1 ,prof4 ,allen ,thompson details hearsay instances of scorpions forcibly piercing their own heads by their recurved stings1 when annoyed by a bright light4 ,youatt1 ,wm41 ,v4 ,s41 tells the story of an artillery horse which refused food1 and died from starvation1 after the death of another horse1 with which he had long worked4 ,see 8,the ,horse40 ,dr4 ,w4 ,l4 ,lindsay is a copious writer on this subject4 ,he fully believes in animal suicide1 and speaks of old age1 wounded feelings1 pain1 desperation1 continued ill usage1 captivity1 and self-sacrifice as causes2 and states that he has notes of instances occurring in the dog1 horse1 mule1 camel1 llama1 ass1 monkey1 seal and deer2 stork1 cock1 jackdaw and duck2 spider and scorpion2 he narrates also some of the cases for which ,i have given references4 ,see 8,mind in the ,lower ,animals40 ,he gives also many very interesting examples of accidental self-destruction1 such as the strangling of horses by their halters1 when endeavouring to escape from a stable2 that monkeys have cut their throats from imitating a man shaving2 and that mice have been poisoned by eating greenbacks4 ,some sorts of fish1 as salmon1 have been noticed to throw themselves out of the water1 but it seems very doubtful whether this act is meant to be suicidal4 ,voluntary deaths of animals during panic and terror1 and from fascination1 seem to intervene between accidental suicides1 and suicides which appear to be the result of choice2 such deaths are caused by the headlong flight of sheep when worried by a dog1 or are caused by fires on the prairies2 or by fascination1 as seen in the case of moths in a candle flame4 ,other instances of apparent suicide may be consulted1 viz43 ,suicide of1 ,dogs1 by a railway train1 see ,freeman's ,journal1 ,dublin1 #ahgh4 ,some fowls1 by drowning4 ,sir ,s4 ,baker4 ,the ,albert ,nyanza4 #ahgf4 ,deer in ,america4 ,dr4 ,pierquin4 ,trait de la folie4 #ahci4 ,storks in conflagrations4 ,houzeau1 ,j4 ,c4 ,etudes sur les facults mentales des animaux4 #ahgb4 ,pike1 from pain4 ,watson1 ,j4 ,s4 ,the ,reasoning ,power of ,animals4 #ahgj4 ,dog1 from the pain of a seton4 ,wynter4 ,spider4 ,gillies1 ,r4 ,on the ,habits of ,spiders4 #ahgf4 ,dog1 by drowning4 ,shrewsbury ,chronicle4 ,oct4 #be1 #ahgh4 ,cat1 by drowning4 ,notes and ,queries4 ,oct4 #ai1 #ahgh4 ,dog1 by drowning4 ,notes and ,queries4 ,june1 #be1 #ahhd4 ,horse by drowning4 ,the ,veterinarian4 ,aug4 #ahfd4 ,cat1 by drowning4 ,stamford ,mercury4 ,aug4 #af1 #ahgh4 ,horse1 by drowning1 at ,alloa4 ,july #ahgf4 ,elk4 ,sir ,s4 ,baker4 ,eight years in ,ceylon4 #ahgd4 ,dog1 from madness4 ,dr4 ,macdonald4 ,times4 ,oct4 #ahgd4 ,dog1 from pain of a wound4 ,dundee ,advertiser4 #ahgd4 old age4 ,northern ,ensign4 ,july #bj1 #ahgj4 ,norris 7,lindsay47 old age and pain4 ,morris4 7,lindsay47 broken legs1 ,north ,british ,daily ,mail4 #ahgf4 ,monkey4 ,forbes4 7,lindsay47 ,canvas-back ,duck4 ,gillmore1 ,p41 ,prairie and ,forest4 #ahgd4 ,,appendix4 ,,the ,,attitude ,,of ,,assurance ,,companies ,,to ,,the ,,suicide4 ,to obtain this information application was made to each of the offices mentioned1 for a prospectus which should include the regulations with respect to forfeiture of policies4 ,i find by analysis that there are seven varieties in the proceedings of the companies1 and in all of them assigned policies are indisputable4 ,a4,policy is void by suicide3,crown1 ,hand-in-,hand1 ,law1 ,rock1 ,provident1 and ,royal ,exchange4 ,of these1 however ,hand-in-,hand may return premiums and interest4 ,law may pay a sum of money if the directors think fit4 ,provident may pay a surrender value4 ,crown may make a reasonable allowance unless the suicide be felo-de-se4 ,b4,policy is not void after five years' existence3,atlas1 ,gresham1 ,mutual 7if assured be #cj years old71 ,prudential1 ,whittington1 ,sun4 ,c4,policy is not void after three years' existence3,alliance1 ,british ,empire1 ,norwich ,union1 ,pelican4 ,d4,policy is not void after two years3,star1 ,commercial ,union4 ,e4,policy is not void after #ac months3,guardian2 ,london ,assurance ,company4 ,f4,policy is not void after one year3,clerical1 ,medical1 and ,general2 ,legal and ,general2 ,liverpool1 ,london1 and ,globe4 ,g4,no mention is made of suicide in the prospectuses of the following companies3,equitable2 ,london1 ,edinburgh1 and ,glasgow2 ,economic2 ,new ,york2 ,northern2 ,royal2 ,scottish ,amicable2 ,union2 ,west of ,england4 ,the ,union1 and ,west of ,england1 have a clause that 8,no claim is disputed unless there is palpable fraud40 ,of these thirty-two companies only one makes a distinction between suicide of the insane1 and felo-de-se1 viz41 the ,crown4 ,,bibliographical ,,index4 ,agabeg and ,harris4 ,principles of the ,criminal ,law1 #crd ed4 #ahhd4 ,american ,journal of ,medical ,science4 #ahgh4 ,see ,palmer1 ,o4 ,h41 and ,gray1 ,j4 ,p4 ,anti-hegesias4 ,a ,french ,poem on ,suicide1 critical and historical4 #agfc4 ,baer1 ,a4 ,der ,alcoolismus4 #ahgh4 ,bareuc4 ,reflexions sur le ,suicide4 #aghi4 ,beccaria1 ,bonesana ,c4 ,on ,crimes and ,punishments1 an essay4 #aggg4 ,beck1 ,john ,b4 ,elements of ,medical ,jurisprudence4 #ahdb4 ,bentham1 ,jeremy4 ,principles of ,penal ,law4 #ahdc4 ,bertrand1 ,louis4 ,trait du ,suicide4 #aheg4 ,block1 ,georg4 ,vom ,selbstmord4 #agib4 ,bonomi4 ,del ,suicidio in ,italia4 #ahgh4 ,bourdin1 ,dr4 ,c4 ,e4 ,du ,suicide4 #ahde4 ,briand1 ,j41 and ,chaud1 ,e4 ,manuel complet de ,mdecine ,lgale4 #ahhj4 ,brierre de ,boismont1 ,alexander4 ,du ,suicide4 #ahef4 ,british ,medical ,journal4 ,brouc4 ,considerations sur le ,suicide de notre epoque4 #ahcf4 ,bucknill and ,tuke4 ,a ,manual of ,psychological ,medicine4 #dth ed4 #ahgi4 ,buckle1 ,h4 ,t4 ,history of ,civilization in ,england4 #ahfi4 ,bunyon1 ,c4 ,t4 ,a ,treatise on ,life ,assurance4 #ah4 ,buonafede1 ,appiano4 ,histoire de ,suicide4 #agfb and #ahdc4 ,burdach4 ,trait de ,physiologie4 #ahda4 ,burrows1 ,g4 ,m4 ,commentaries on ,insanity4 #ahbh4 ,camp1 ,maxime du4 ,memoires d'un ,suicide4 #ahee4 ,caro1 ,e4 ,le ,suicide dans ses rapports avec le civilisation4 #ahef4 ,carpenter1 ,w4 ,b4 ,principles of ,mental ,physiology4 #dth ed4 #ahgf4 ,casper1 ,j4 ,l4 ,forensic ,medicine1 translated from the ,german by ,j4 ,w4 ,balfour4 #ahfa-e4 ,cazauvieilh1 ,j4 ,b4 ,du ,suicide4 #ahdj4 ,chevers1 ,norman4 ,the ,medical ,jurisprudence of ,india4 #ahgj4 ,chevrey1 ,j4 ,etude ,mdicale sur le ,suicide4 #ahaf4 ,chitty1 ,joseph1 the ,elder4 ,medical ,jurisprudence4 #ahcd4 ,connoisseur1 ,the4 ,no4 #ej4 #agee4 ,dabadie1 ,f4 ,les ,suicides ,illustres4 ,vol4 ,i4 #ahei4 ,david4 ,note sur le ,suicide en ,danemark4 #ahfj4 ,debreyne1 ,m4 ,du ,suicide4 #ahdg4 ,descuret1 ,j4 ,b4 ,f4 ,la ,mdecine des ,passions4 #ahda4 ,despine1 ,prosper4 ,psychologie ,naturelle4 #ahfh4 ,dictionnaire des ,sciences ,mdicales4 ,art4 ,suicide1 by ,esquirol4 ,douay1 ,edmond4 ,le ,suicide4 #ahgj4 ,dumas1 ,jean4 ,trait du ,suicide4 #aggc4 ,ebrard1 ,n4 ,du ,suicide4 #ahga4 ,elam1 ,ch4 ,a ,physician's ,problems4 ,espine1 ,marc de4 ,essai analytique de ,statistique ,mortuaire ,compare4 #aheh4 ,esquirol1 ,e4 ,maladies ,mentales1 #ahch1 and ,article ,s4 in ,dict4 des ,sciences ,mdicales4 ,etangs1 ,des4 ,du ,suicide ,politique4 #ahfj4 ,falret1 ,j4 ,p4 ,de l'hypochondrie et du ,suicide4 #ahbb4 ,farr1 ,a4 ,reports of ,registration of ,deaths4 ,foder1 ,f4 ,e4 ,trait de ,mdicine ,lgale4 #ahac4 ,formey1 ,j4 ,h4 ,s4 ,mlanges philosophiques4 ,berlin1 #aged4 ,franklin1 ,r4 ,v4 ,de la ,philosophie et de la ,morale du ,suicide4 #ahce4 ,gentleman's ,magazine4 ,vol4 xxv4 #agee4 ,girardin1 ,st4 ,marc de4 ,du ,suicide et de la ,haine de la ,vie4 #ahdc4 ,goethe1 ,j4 ,w4 ,von4 ,the ,sorrows of ,werter4 #aggd4 ,gru1 ,eugne4 ,les ,morts ,violents4 #ahfd4 ,hecker4 ,de ,autokeiria ,martyrum4 #agbj4 ,holbach1 ,paul de4 ,le ,systme de la ,nature4 #aggj4 ,indian ,medical ,gazette4 ,jaccoud4 ,nouveau ,dictionnaire de ,mdecine4 ,art4 ,suicide4 #ahhc4 ,jervis1 ,sir ,john4 ,office and ,duties of ,coroners1 by ,melsheimer1 ,r4,e4 #ahhj4 ,josephus1 ,flavius1 ,works of4 ,jousset1 ,p4 ,g4 ,du ,suicide1 #aheh1 and ,sur le ,rage1 #ahfh4 ,kayser4 ,la ,statistique ,officielle du ,suicide en ,norvege4 #aheb4 ,lancet1 ,the4 ,laverdy4 ,code ,penal4 ,lecky1 ,w4 ,e4 ,h4 ,history of ,european ,morals4 ,legoyt1 ,a4 ,le ,suicide4 #ahha4 ,leibnitz1 ,c4 ,w4 ,von4 ,du ,suicide4 #ahfe4 ,leroy1 ,dr4 ,etudes sur le ,suicide4 #ahgj4 ,lisle1 ,e4 ,du ,suicide4 #ahef4 ,lunacy ,commissioners1 ,returns of the4 ,luys1 ,j4 ,des ,maladies ,hereditaires4 #ahfc4 ,marc1 ,c4 ,c4 ,h4 ,de la ,folie4 #ahdj4 ,maudsley1 ,henry4 ,insanity and ,crime1 #ahfd1 and ,body and ,mind1 #ahgc4 ,medical ,critic4 #ahfa1 #ahfb4 ,medical ,times and ,gazette4 ,mental ,science ,asylum1 ,journal of4 ,merian1 ,de4 ,discours sur la crainte de la ,mort1 et sur le ,suicide4 #agfc4 ,mesnier1 ,l4 ,j4 ,e4 ,du ,suicide dans l',arme4 #ahha4 ,millar1 ,w1 ,h4 ,suicide in the ,army4 ,see ,journal of the ,statistical ,society4 #ahgd4 ,montaigne1 ,michel de1 ,essays of4 #aehj4 ,moore1 ,c4 ,a ,full ,enquiry into ,suicide4 #agij4 ,morselli1 ,enrico4 ,il ,suicidio4 ,milan1 #ahgi1 and ,suicide1 an abridged translation1 ,london1 #ahha4 ,montesquieu1 ,c4 de ,s4 ,lettres ,persanes4 ,nos4 #gd and #gf4 ,nizamut ,adawlut4 ,reports of ,criminal ,cases in ,india4 ,oettingen4 ,ueber ,acuten und ,chronischen ,selbstmord4 #ahha4 ,ogston1 ,francis4 ,lectures on ,medical ,jurisprudence4 #ahgh4 ,osiander4 ,ueber den ,selbstmord1 #ahac4 ,paley1 ,w4 ,principles of ,moral and ,political ,philosophy4 #aghe4 ,parent ,du ,chatlet4 ,hygine ,publique1 #ahcf1 and ,de la ,prostitution1 #aheg4 ,paris and ,fonblanque4 ,medical ,jurisprudence4 #ahbc4 ,plutarch4 ,life of ,alexander the ,great4 ,pope1 ,h4 ,m4 ,law and ,practice of ,lunacy4 #ahgg4 ,prvost4 ,notes sur le ,suicide dans le ,canton de ,genve4 #ahcf4 ,psychological ,medicine1 ,journal of1 #ahei1 #ahgh1 #ahgi1 #ahhb4 ,quetelet1 ,l4 ,a4 ,j4 ,de l'homme1 #ahce1 and ,essai de ,statistique ,morale1 #ahff4 ,radcliffe1 ,j4 ,n4 ,suicide ,fields4 ,ravizza1 ,c4 ,il ,suicidio4 ,milan4 #ahgh4 ,ray1 ,isaac4 ,medical ,jurisprudence and ,insanity4 #ahci4 ,registrar ,general1 ,reports of4 ,annual4 ,regnault1 ,elias4 ,nouvelles ,reflexions sur le ,suicide4 #ahcj4 ,rousseau1 ,j4 ,j4 ,la ,nouvelle ,heloise4 ,letters xxi4 and xxii4 ,part iii4 ,salomon1 ,bromberg4 ,welche sind die ,ursachen der in neuester ,zeit so sehr berhand nehmenden ,selbstmorden4 #ahfa4 ,sleeman1 ,w4 ,h4 ,rambles and ,recollections of an ,indian ,official4 #ahhd4 ,smith's ,annals of ,indian ,administration4 ,social ,science ,review4 #ahfb et seq4 ,stael1 ,mme4 de4 ,influence des ,passions1 #ahag4 ,reflexions sur le ,suicide1 #ahbj4 ,staeudlin1 ,c4 ,f4 ,geschichte der ,vorstellungen und ,lehren vom ,selbstmorde4 #ahbd4 ,statistical ,society1 ,journal of4 ,stephen1 ,sir ,j4 ,f4 ,a ,digest of the ,criminal ,law1 #ahgg1 and a ,history of the ,criminal ,law of ,england4 #ahhc4 ,suicide1 an ,elegy4 #agge4 ,suicide1 its ,guilt and ,punishment1 in ,s4 ,p4 ,c4 ,k4 series4 #ahcf4 ,suicide1 on4 ,rel4 ,tract ,soc4 #ahcj4 ,szafkowski1 ,l4 ,f4 ,de la ,mort volontaire4 #ahdj4 ,tardieu1 ,a4 ,a4 ,etude ,mdico-,legale4 #ahgj4 ,taylor1 ,a4 ,s4 ,medical ,jurisprudence2 edited by ,stevenson4 #ahhc4 ,tissot1 ,j4 ,la ,manie du ,suicide4 #ahdj4 ,tissot1 ,j4 ,le ,droit ,penal4 #ahfj4 ,tissot1 ,s4 ,a4 ,onanisme4 #eth ed4 #agha4 ,trousseau1 ,a4 ,clinical ,medicine4 #ahfg-ga1 transl4 by the ,new ,sydenham ,soc4 ,voltaire4 ,f4 ,m4 ,arouet de4 ,dictionnaire ,philosophique4 #agfe4 ,wagner1 ,adolph4 ,die ,gesetzmssigkeit in den scheinbar willkrlichen menschlichen ,handlungen vom ,standpunkte der ,statistik4 #ahfd4 ,wharton1 ,francis4 ,mental ,unsoundness4 #ahee4 ,wharton and ,still4 ,medical ,jurisprudence4 #ahgc4 ,winslow1 ,forbes4 ,the ,anatomy of ,suicide4 #ahdj4 ,world1 ,the1 ,no4 #aic4 ,sept4 #agef4 ,,index4 ,abercrombie on ,suicide1 #abd4 ,advanced ,views on ,suicide1 #e4 ,afghan ,surgeon1 ,suicide of an1 #aba4 ,age1 ,effect of1 #aji4 ,alcohol1 ,abuse of1 #acf1 #aef1 #agj4 ,animals1 ,suicide of1 #agd4 ,anomalies of ,law1 #afj4 ,aphelion1 #fi4 ,archway at ,highgate1 #aca4 ,aristotle on ,suicide1 #i1 #ia1 #agf4 ,army1 ,suicide in the1 #ih4 ,assurance ,companies1 #ahj4 ,asylums1 ,foreign1 #abg4 ,asylums1 ,use of1 #afh4 ,athens1 ,ancient1 #i4 ,attempted ,suicide1 #aef4 ,attitude of ,assurance ,companies1 #ahj4 ,austria1 ,suicide in1 #fa1 #fb1 #if1 #ii1 #adf4 ,austrian ,suicide ,law1 #ej4 ,axe1 ,professor1 on ,suicide1 #agf4 ,bailey1 ,nathan1 on ,origin of the ,name ,suicide1 #ca4 ,balzac on ,suicide1 #da4 ,beccaria on ,suicide1 #db4 ,belgium1 ,suicide in1 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other spelling and punctuation remains unchanged4