The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1894-10-08

The popular Judgment that suicide Ii
presunptive proof Of insanity is net en-
tirsiy correct Without question large
sane persons. but there are very many
cases where the suicide was perfectly sane.
measured by ell the tests tina. are or
dinsrily applied to test mans sanity:
his act of sslf-destruction was merely .
confession that the instinct Of self-preser-
walton bad been overcome 30 far that life
ceased to be worth living.
Men Of the moss powerful minds in the
world Of thought and action have de-
Hberatsly resolved upon suicide under
certain circumstances; have prepared for
10 and have cherished 10 for years- The
distance Of time between the great Car
thsginisn general Hannibal ard the great
represented by nearly twenty centuries.
and yet these two great men prepared and
carried poison for years in their clothes
for exsctiy the same reason, viz, q de-
termination TO die rather than 10 fall
into the enemy's hands. Hannibal
Romans even a. the great orator
Dsmosthenes did TO escape capture by
Philip Of nacadon. Frederick the Great
was prepared 10 do the same thing. bat
never had to confront the gloomy aiterna-
tive of death or surrender. Napoleon
carried poison in the Russian campaign
and used IL after his first abdicafion, but 10
had lost its strength Montaigne. who
defended suicide. was probably ready to
execute IL.
None of there famous men could be
rated as insane; they were simply men
who, under given set of circumstances.
would not regard life as worth living; the
instinct of seif-preservasion would be ex-
tinguished when life became utterly
wretched. because without hope OF further
honor and power, which with such men
stood for the only earthly happiness.
"A lev years ago a well educated gentle
man. who had been member Of the board
OF education Of New York state, COM
mitted suicide. He was not insane; he
was destitute and discouraged. In his
last letter he said:
II beg my creditors to treat my wife
leHiently. beg all former friends to re-
member that have tried to do some good
with such powers as God gave me. / do
believe that there are some prosperous
and successful people in the world who
attribute to me at least q part OF their
prosperity and success. do believe there
are struggling people whose hard work Is
now easier because I helped them 10
understand themselves better. / beg of
them TO RENE Der me kindly, and I ask
others to think Of me kindly for their
sake"
This IL sober. coherent talk. not wanting
In certain dignity. and the writer was
clearly not insane. Probably all men
would commit suicide If they were SEN
fenced to the Chinese .siow death. where
the victim Is sliced to pieces by the execu-
toner. There are doubtless many men
and women to whom certain situations
carry with them so much of ''slow death"
in shape of ceassless mental torture that
suicide Is an entirely sane act.
II may be an act worthy of severe GEN.
sure: IL may be inconsistent with the
highest religious duty IL may be an act of
folly and weakness, but 1t Is not alwa an
insane act: IL may be the act OF an insane
person. or il may DO the act of person
who has suffered so much that ''he hates
him who would on the rack of this tough
world stretch him longer"