Jeffersonian Republican. [volume] (Stroudsburg, Pa.) 1840-1853, 1851-03-27
Suicide.

world OF love at home.
Suicide.
There are more suicides in the United States, in
proportion to the population, than III any country
in the civilized world. We say "civilized,' be-
cause there are countries where suicide, far from
being considered crime, is held to be meritor-
Gus act, and religious duty. In Japan it is very
common. Children are taught a contempt of death,
and show their courage by killing themselves on
slight occasions If japanese is crossed in any
way, he draws his dagger and lets out his entrails
before the man who has offended him. Suicides,
chiefly of religious character, have been common
in some parts of India. There was once, and per-
haps still is, sect of suicides, one of whose arti-
cles or covenants was not to die a natural DEATH
In India there are five modes of selfdestructon
which are held to be lawful and meritorous, and
which entitle the suicide to relative degrees of fl-
ture felicity. The first mode is by starvation-a
severe painful and protracted death, and is partic
ularly meritorious, it combines suicide with fast
ing. The second mode is ingeniously torturing.
The voluntary martyr is first covered with thick
coating of cow-dung-the COW being sacred an
imal This is allowed to dry, and is then set on
fire, when it slowly consumes the victim who, with
his mind steadily fixed on his future reward, suf
fers with heroism worthy purer faith. The
third mode is to be buried in the snow-which,
however, it may seem to the inhabitants of the
tropics, must be comparatively easy death. The
rnOda IN tho Of tho
Ganges, or to be eaten up by the alligators which
swarm there in abundance to pick up the dead be-
dies of the devout Hindoos as they are washed
down the sacred river In India all rivers are sa-
cred; but the Ganges is peculiarly so, and the most
sacred portion of it is the point where it enters the
sea. The next is its junction with the Jumma-
and the fifth mode of suicide is for the deyotee to
cut his throat at this junction.
Besides these, there are the slow suicides Of the
fanatics, who expose themselves for years in un-
natural positions and torturing situations, and so
shorten their ives-the suttecs, in which the wild
ows and favorites of the great burn themselves on
the funeral pile-and the selfsacrifce of those who
throw themselves beneath the flr-famed car OF
are few and far between. The ancient Scythians,
and other northern nations of Europe and Asia,
thought any death preferable to quiet and natur-
al one. The Walhala of the Scandinayians was
not saloon for the exhibition of angelic model ar
lists. but the heaven of those who had died violent
deaths: and those who missed of the happiness OF
being killed in battle atoned for their hard fortune
by taking their own lives.
In Greece and Rome, suicide under certain cir
cumstances was deemed heroic and praiseworthy.
1t was thought not only justifable, but mertorous
for man to kill himself rather than fall into the
hands of his enemies in BATTLE or to avoid any great
calamity, or to serve his country. The woman
who killed herself to save her chastity, or even to
ayenge the violation, as in the case of Lucretia,
was almost deifed In those respects the feeling
of the world has not altered 1t is formed onclas-
sic rather than Christian models. We still admire
selfdestruction when it is Yirtuous, or patriotic
or in any way heroic Still, suicide has been SO
opposed to the healthy common sense OF MANKIND
that severe punishments have, in various countries
been deereed against it. In Thebes, one OF the
most ancient of known cities the suicide was de-
MED funeral honors-perhaps the right OF being
embalmed and made mummy OF, to be opened by
Mr.. Gliddon or adorn the shelf of a museum. In
Athens. the suicides hand was cut off and buried
separately from his body-it being supposed, prob
ably, that such mutilation would deprive him o
the use of the missing member in the future state
The English law is very severe against suicides
The body of the selfmurdered is buried where foul
roads meet, and stake driven through it by thC
sheriff, and his property coniscated to the crown
AS a verdict of insanity saves all this, most Eng
lishmen who kill themselves are found TO be IN
sane. Perhaps the most efectual law ever made
against suicide was that mentioned by Plutarch
A suicidal mania had sprung up among the young