The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1891-10-04
SUICIDE.

Napoleon. who In general order to his
army, once denounced suicide with robust
good sense, did not hesitate 20 let his SUI
geons narcotic 70 death the hopelessly
sick and wounded be Ieft behind a. Jsffa,
and in 1914 attempted seif-destraction. So
far q. the cowsrdiee Of suicide Is concerned
there are many lives that seem vastly more
mean and eowsrily In the base ciinging 70
life than the high old Roman way out Of
shame, defeat. humiliation and sorrow.
There are many men who sneer 9. suicides
as towards who in their daily moral self
surrender and suicide are more coEardiy
than any suicide that ever said: az am
poEerless TO work longer 70 achieve life
Of honorable self-support; I viii not steal
or swindle; 20 beg ! am ashamed, and I
prefer the mystery, charity, quiet, decency
and mercy Of death TO life Of shame
where cling 70 existence like . cutie
fish, fastening myself as . perennial
sponge, parasite and sucker on the side Of
society or the bounty Of my friends"
BeIisarius, old and blind. holding out bis
once variike hand for pennies 10 every
passer-by, Is not q more heroic figure than
Hannibal calmly sucking poison rather
than Be dragged at the tad of . Roman
triumph to be baited by the rabble's curse.
There is more dignity and courage In the
suicide Of man who feels that the hour
Of conflict for bread Is over, save wrang-
ling for it among the filthy dogs Of the
Sums Of civilization, than there Is in the
comparatively easy life of the constitu-
tional sponge and sucker, who, when he
can not, or thinks he can not, easily get an
honest living, IL quite content TO be q
parasite, "deadbeat, or card sharp.
The sensitive suicide. who. hopeless Of
honorable, honest life, viii not accept the
shameless existence OF q social sucker is
not half 50 worthy OF the name Of
coward Is the SNUG. smiling. fat frauds
who live and lie their way through life
like Falstaff, feasting and fuddling them
selves wantonly for years without work
on what they can borrow and what they
can safely steal. The suicide. who. dis
daining this life Of shame, shakes the
yoke of the inanspicious stars from his
world-weariei fesb" is not hero but he
Is clearly capable Of better things and
worthy Of better fate than the century,
living social sucker and sponge who calls
him coward" or ''erazy," cynically muir
muring 20 himself that a live turkey bug
gard is better than dead lion. Coleridge
was man OF genius, but he never earned
his own living single year after he was
married.
One Of his rich friends. the famous pot
ter. Wedgewood. pensioned him and his
wife and children lived on the pension.
Tom Poole supplied him with money
from time to time, which he never
repaid. He was always whining
and always writing begging letters. and
ike most people who sponge on their
friends was morbidly sensitive and quick
TO take otfense; he quarreled with his
friend Poole because the latter would not
lend him $500 with which to spend the
winter a. the Azores; he accepted the
asylum of his friend Gilmans house and
there he lived until he died at about 65.
On the other hand. Chatterton in his
social misery and personal restitution,
NVAiALANtr1 eAANAAt, WINE AO1crl0ge &C
cepted charity from . TO IS, practiced the
opium habit and ioafed, and dreamed and
eloquently babbled his life away to
wretched old age. Was Coleridge any
drawer than Chatterton because be shrank
from suicide7 Was he not rather more
cowardly .mean-spirited and less spiritually
sensitive than the marvellous boy that
singing Good bye, proud world, I'm
going home" took a leap into the dark?
Very bad or mean-souled men seldom
commit suicide no matter how they suffer
or hoE deeply they are disgraced. We think
OF Hamlet IS an inchoate suicide: but
We never think Of Hamlet's uncle. even
when his conscience makes him a coward
and on his knees in agonized accents be
confesses that while he is guilty be "can-
| not repent" as q probable suicide. We
never think Of Richard the Third. of Mac
beth, of ShyIock, OF Iago, OF Benedic.
Arnold or Aaron Burr, no matter how
much they have suffered through crime
| or disgrace or misfortune-we never thin K
OF them as suicides, because the nature OF
their fault implies an utter absence of that
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