The morning call., 1891-06-19
SUICIDE AND SCIENCE.
Nearly All Methods OF Self Murder Have
Been Exhausted.

Nearly All Methods of SeIf-Murder Have
Been Exhausted.
A prominent ply sician who has made
study of suicide said the other day to a
writer in the Philadelphia Press: "Why
should a man kill himself? Tie popular
answer is, Because he is craZyP Scientific
men easily diSprove that, but are still
somewhat at sea in devising better an
swer. Was the philosopher Seneca crazy
when he entered the warm bath and opened
his veins? Were all the hundreds of noble
Romans who m ade happy dispatch of them
selves insane? Surely not.
The Greeks rarely committed suicide,
but at one time it was quite the fashion in
Rome. 1t IS the rareSt Of raritieS for slave
to commit suicide, though slave-owner
often does. Extensive inquiry falls TO de-
velop a single case Of an American negro's
committing suicide, though there have been
a few cases among muiattOs and octOrOOnS.
Shall it be said, then, that the superior race
Is the sucidal2 Surely not, for the Greeks
were at least the equal of the Romans. The
solution must be sought elsewhere.
Perhaps religious belief had something
to do with it. but it would be hard TO prove
it, One fact however, gives us a clew.
Among the lowest races of mankind, and
in the lowest intellectual grades OF any go
ciety, suicide is practically unknown, and
among the very highest in race or culture it
is extremely rare, while in the middle or
lower middle classes it is most common. 1t
is these who are midway on the course
whether as races or individuals, those who
are ia the struggle, who lose heart and rush
unbidden into eternity. This is only an
other way Of saying that where the battle is
fiercest there are the most wounds and sud
den deaths; those who have won the vic
tory and those lying idle in camp and de-
signing no struggle are fairly we'll satisfied
with the situation. The cultured and we'll
TODD Philadelphia is, on the whole, as
willing to live as the naked Senegambiau.
The canses assigned for suicide are to
the last degree curious. In many cases
well-t0-dO-suicides simply allege that they
are tired of life-the monOtOny of it is too
much for them. An English gentleman left
q note to the effect that he was tired OF COM
ing in aud going out, laying down and get
ting up, buttoning and unbOttoning.' A
London cabman wrote that he had ex-
hausted all the pleasure Of driving in this
world and wanted TO see how they drove in
the other Strange TO say, love and poverty
furnish the smallest number Of cases, and
mere bodily suffering the greatest; but the
sadd est cases are those IN which whole
family dies together, and of these the Sal
ford case, which occurred some years ago,
was most mOurnful OF all.
He was druggists assistant, and was
threatened with loss of position and poverty.
He succeeded in gaining his wife's consent,
should 90 together but she did not want to
know when the fatal dose was given. SO he
gave her aud the youngest child prussic acid
in drink as they lay down for the night,
and in few minutes they expired without
pain. One by one he disposed of the other
five children in the same way all in peace
and without pain. thank God he wrote.
He then drew up his will, went out and OBJ
tanned the signatures of witnesses, returned
and wrote four letters and then swallowed
the poison and was soon corpse. Srch
ease is beyond analysis by healthful mind
Yet we cannot say it was insanity.
1t is scarcely possible to conceive of any
method of suicide not already employed by
som one, but whenever one strikes a novel
method he is sure to have host of imitators.
Hanging, drowning, poisoning, stabbing or
other forms of cutting, shooting and Jump
ing from high places are most common,
Many women have swallowed hot Goals,
powdered glass and other destructive artl-
cles. Cleopatra applied an asp to her
bosom, and it is worth noting that she has
had no imitators. Women have horror of
serpents, and they are not easily obtained at
the time desired