Boon's Lick times. [volume] (Fayette, Mo.) 1840-1848, 1841-08-14
From the London Polytechnic Journal.
THE LOVE OF LIFE.

"The love Of life is a wise instructive prnci
pie implanted within us. Brutes appear also to
be strongly endowed with it. How often do we
see persons exhibiting a reluctance to leave this
world when they have been deprived Of every
thing calculated to make existence desirable.
The man, whose days and nights are rendered
miserable by some painful disease, still clings
enaciously to life, and looks upon death with
dread. The poor hypochondriac, with a mind
tortured by imaginary miseries, cannot think Of
dissolution without feeling Of horror. Dr.
Reid attended a poor patient at dispensary, who
was dying Of asthma caused by water in the chest,
The man exhibited during the last agonies OF
death a strong desire to live, ne at last confessed
that che was ashamed OF feeling so much at
tached to this last rag of li(e."
'The case Of the great moralist and philoso-
pher, DR.. Johnson, is familiar to most minds.
He had always great fear Of death, even when
in the enjoyment Of perfect health. 1t amounted
to supersttious feeling. lie says, in one OF
his letters to Boswell, Il cannot think without
emotion OF the removal of any one know from
one state to another In letter to DR.. Taylor,
he exclaims, %, my friend the approach of death
is very dreadful! | am afraid to think Of that
which cannot avoid He told DR.. Hawkins
that he never had moment in which death was
not terrible to him. He died eventually OF
dropsy. In order to prolong his life, he procured
lancet, with which he was going to puncture
his legs, which were much swollen He was,
however, prevented from doing So; and when he
was entreated not to do so rash an action he said
that he would not. Shortly afterwards his arm
was seen to be moving under the bed clothes,
and upon turning down the clothes, his friends
found that he had been plunging pair Of scis
sors into the calf Of each leg
The intrepid Marshal Bron, on his desh bed,
gave way to vomanish tears and raging imbecility;
and the virtuous Erasmus with miserable groans,
was heard, when in the act Of dying to cry out,
Domino, Domino, fac fem
MANY have, with the notion that the fear Of
death is beneficial to the mind, done their best
to keep the idea constantly before Them Young
raised an artificial idea OF death; he darkened his
sepulchral study, and placed skull on his table
by ampIgh. Dr. J. Dome, the celebrated
English divine and poet, is said to have longed
for the hour OF dissolution. Previous to his
death he gave instruction for monument, which
his friends contemplated erecting to his memory.
A carver made him in wood figure Of an urn
which was brought into the Doctors chamber
having tuhCi OIl mo IlOtJCo, HC plOCulCu WultC
sheet, which was put on him, and tied with knots
at his hands and feet. In this state he stood on
the urn, with his eyes closed and portion Of the
sheet turned aside in order to exhibit his lean,
pale, death.like face. In this posture he was
sketched by painter. This monument was
kept constantly by his bedside until the day of
his death.
The fear of death acts most nuriously on the
mind. II the subject be considered in the spirit
Of true Christian philosophy it would not excite
such unnatural emotions. 'Of the great number
to whom it has been my painful professional duty
to have administered in the last hours of their
lives says Sir H. Halford, 4 have sometimes
felt surprised that so few have appeared reluctant
TO go to the undiscovered country from whose
bourne no traveller returns Many, we may
easily suppose, have manifested this willingness
to die, from an Impotence OF suffering, or from
that passive Indifference which is sometimes the
result Of debility and extreme bodily exhaustion
But have seen those who have arrived at a fear
less contemplation Of the future, from faith in the
doctrines which our holy religion teaches; such
men were not only calm and collected, but even
cheerful IN the hour of death; and never quilted
such sick chamber without wish that my last
end might be like theirs"