Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1879-05-10
The Philosophy Of suicide.

Inc En1tOSOPmY Oh Su1C1O0s
Suicide has been made the subject Of scien-
tifc analysis and investigation. and certain
points In IT'S philosophy" may be considered TO
nave S been EEL definitely settled These are summed
!; Suicide. both in health and disease, is q
violation of natures laws.
=: suicide, though always an unnatural act
is, in a large proportion, If not the majority OF
cases, committed by persons who are entirely
3. Education and custom being powerful in
fuences in overcoming the instincts OF nature
and In inducing suicide, the widespread publica-
ton OF the names OF suicides, the age, the sex,
inducing ad and b. essoning she Sg
OF the act through familiarity with it.
4: The teachings OF any so-called philosophy
and sensationalism which tend to the disregard
of the truths of religion, lead to suicide, break
Ing down the moral barrier, and compromising
the wrong OF suicide, by rendering it mere
Individual whether he viii i've or die WIN ''''n
5. Suicide is in no true sense an impulse, but
In the sane and the insane 1T is the result of
elaboration Of more or less duration. and 1t is
vidual from causes accepted by his judgment
as sufficient: whether real or imaginary.
8. suicide by the sane and insane Is frequently
the result Of hasty or wrong Interpretation
OF facts, both In their magnitude and conse.
quences,-merely defective reasoning from true
premises.
I. The great and essential distinction between
suicide by the sane and the insane is not In the
motive, method time or place, but in the men-
tai state In which the act is committed. The
insane man commits suicide under delusions,
or delus1Onal state Of the mind.
8. The strongest safeguard against suicide is
the sense OF mans responsibility to the Creator
Tor all human conduct. including the keeping OF
our lives. II the sense OF accountability to the
future be gone, no consideration OF ones duty
to family. to society or self can ever answer the
arguments OF the suicide. 1t Is. indeed con.
science which ''makes towards of us all,' but IT
Is also the voice which points us to the higher
responsibility for all our acts. and which, IL we
Iced, makes us strong to bear the Ills OF life.
DR.. Moret has recently published some inter-
They cover period of Is years, and show a
steady increase in the successive five years
periods. The annual number, which was 1911
In 1881 -35, rose to 6,107 In 1S71-15. The num-
bers are more remarkable ii the ratio per 100 900
inhabitants be taken. This was about six for
the first five years period seven for the second
eight for the third and so on. till in 1s71-75 1t
per 100, 900 Inhabitants. This is explained by
the terrible events of which France was the
theater In that period. After political compli-
cations, age is one OF the causes which seems to
have most influence Gn France) On the suicide.
The suicides increase regularly with the age,
and the maximum Is found between 20 and So
This result Is contrary to an opinion expressed
tached to life, commits suicide rarely. 1t Is
more difficult to comprehend the increase OF
suicides among Children under 1G. DR.. MOret
further shows that men kill themselves four
times more frequently than women, and that,
eliminating the two extreme seasons, winter
and summer, which act in nearly the same way
on both sexes, the suicides OF men are more
frequent in spring, those Of women in autumn.
Married men commit suicide half as often as
bachelors, and one-third as often as widowers.
Whether these proportions are the same In
other countries we are unable to say. The
steady increase In the whole number of suicides
is true, we believe, OF all civilized countries,
though the rate OF increase is not everywhere
SO rapid as in France.-[Boston Journal of
ChemisfrU.