The Cincinnati daily star. [volume] ([Cincinnati, Ohio]) 1875-1880, 1879-08-04
THE PHILOSOPHY OF SUICIDE.
Some Interesting Conclusions Drawn by
Scientists Concerning the Mania for
Self-DestructiOn.
[Boston Journal of Chemistry.l

Saicide has been made the subject OF
scientific analysis and investigation, and
certain points in its philosophy" may be
considered to have been definitely settled.
These are summed up by DR.. Gray as fol-
lows:
1. Suicide, both in health and disease, is
a violation of natures laws
2. Suicide, though always an unnatural
act, is, in large proportional not the ma
jority of cases, committed by persons who
are entirely sane.
3. Education and custom being power.
full influences in overcoming the instincts
of nature, and inducing suicide, the wide
spread publication of the names of sui
cides, the age, the sex, the mode and the
reasons, promotes suicide by inducing i'm.
itation, and by lessening the horror OF the
act through familiarity with it.
4. The teachings of any so.called phi,
losophy and sensationalism which tend to
the disregard of the truths of religion
lead to suicide, breaking down the moral
barrier, and compromising the wrong of
suicide by rendering it a mere question of
choice and eXpediency with each individ.
ual whether he will live or die.
s. Suicide is in no true sense an i'm.
pulse, but in the sane and insane it is the
result Of delberation of more or less du-
ration, and it is all act determined upon in
the mind of the individual, from causes ac-
cepted by his Judgment as sufficient,
whether real or imaginary
g. Suicide by sane and insane is fire.
quently the result of hasty or wrong in
depreciation of facts, both in their magni
tude and onsequences-merely detective
reasoning from true premises.
7. The great and essential distinction
between suicide by the sane and the insane
is not in the motive, method, time or
place, but is the mental state in which the
act is committed. The insane man com
mits suicide under delusions, or in a delu-
sional state Of mind
s. The strongest safeguard against sui
eide is the sense of mans responsibility
to the Creator for all human conduct, in
cluding the keeping of our lives. If 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, in.
deed, conscience which "makes towards
of US all, but it is also the voice that
points us to the higher responsibility for
all our acts, and which, if we heed, makes
US strong to bear the ills of life
DIR, Moret has recently published some
interesting statistics concerning suicide
| in France. They cover period of 4s
years, and show steady increase.
1t is more difficult to comprehend the
increase of suicides among children un-
| der 10. DR.. Moret further shows that
men kill themselves four times more fire.
quently than women, and that climinat
| ing the two seasons, winter and summer,
which act in nearly the same way on both
sexes, the suicide of men are more fire.
| quent in spring, than 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 civi.
| lized countries, though the rate ofincrease
is not SO rapid everywhere as in France.