Ceredo advance. [volume] (Ceredo, W. Va.) 1885-1939, 1898-07-13
SELF MURDER A CRIME.
Rev. DIR. Talmage Tells of Many Cases
of Self-Destruetion.
They Arose Prom Disbelief in a Future
Worid-with the Spread of the Cos
pei of Christ the sin Is Conn
mensurably Dimintshsnr

DIR. Talmage's text sunday was Acts
xvi. =: DO thyself no harm"
Here is woulG-be suicide arrested
in his deadly attempt He was sher-
IN. and. according TO the Roman law.
u bailif himself must suffer the pun
ishment due an escaped prisoner; and
If the prisoner breaking Jail was SEN
fenced TO be endungeoned for three or
four years then the sheriff must be
endungeoned for three or four years.
and II the prisoner breaking Jail was
TO have suffered capital punishment.
then the sheriff must suffer cap
ital punishment The sheriff had
received especial charge TO keep
sharp lookout for Paul and Silas
The government had not much conf
dence in bolts and bars to keep safe
these two clergymen. about whom
there seemed 10 be something strange
and supernatural. Sure enough. bv
miraculous power, they are free. and
the sheriff, waking out of a sound
sleep. and supposing these ministers
have run away. and knowing that they
were TO ole for pr aching Christ, and
realizing that ne must therefore die.
rather than go under the executioner's
AK on the morrow and suffer pulc dis.
grace, resolves TO precipitate his own
decease- But before the sharp. keen.
glittering dagger of the sheriff could
strike his heart one OF the loosened
prisoners arrests the blade bv the
command. DO myself no harm"
In olden times. and where Christian
ity had not interfered with it, suicide
was considered honorable and a sign
OF courage. Demosthenes poisoned
himself when told that Alexander's
ambassador had demanded the sur
render OF the Athenian orators $50
crates killed himself rather than sur
render TO Philip of Macedon. Cato.
rather than submit to Julius Cesar
took his own life, and three times
after mis- wounds had been dressed
tore them open and persisted Mithri-
dates killed himself rather than sub
nit TO Pompey, the conqueror Han
nlbal destroyed mis- life by poison
from his ring. considering life unbear-
aole. Lycurgus. a suicide Brutus a sui
eide. After the disaster of Moscow
Napoleon always carried with him
preparation of poison. and one night
MS servant heard the eN-emperor arise.
put something in a glass and drink il.
and soon after the groans aroused all
the attendants, and il was only through
utmost medical skill that ne was re-
snscitated. Times have changed. and
yc- the American conscience needs to
be toned up on the subject of suicide.
Have YOU seen paper in the last
month that did not announce the pas-
sage out of life by ones own
behest? Defaulters, alarmed at the
<dea of exposure, quit life pre-
cipitately. Men losing large for
tunes go out of the world because
they can not endure earthly existence
Frustrated affections, domestic infe-
Lefty, dyspeptic Impotence. anger. re-
morse, envy, jealousy, restitution.
lnisan thropy, are considered sufficient
causes for absconding from this life
By paris green, by laudanum. by bella
donna, by Othello's dagger. by halter.
by leap from the abutment OF "A bridge.
by firearms. More cases of felo de Sc
in the last two years than any two
years of the worlds existence. and
more in the last month than in any II
months. The evil = more and more
spreading
A pulpit not long ago expressed
some doubt as 10 whether there was
really anything wrong about quit
ting this life when il became dis
agreeable, and there are found in re-
spectacle circles people apologe tic
for the crime which Paul in tho text
arrested. ! shall show you before
get through that suicide is the worst
Of ali crimes. and / shall lift warn.
ing unmistaSable But in the early
part of this sermon wish to
admit that some OF the best
Christians that have ever lived
have committed self-destruction. but
always in dementia. ani not resnon-
sible. have no more doubt about
their eternal felicity than / have OF
the Christian who dies in his bed in
the delirium OF typhoid fever While
the shock of the catastrophe is very
great ] charge all those who have had
Christian friends under cerebral aber.
ration step of the boundaries OF ,hi,
life 20 have no doubt about their hap
piness The dear Lord took them
right out of their dazed and frenzied
state into perfect safety How Christ
feels toward the insane YOU may
know from the way he treated the de.
moniac OF Gadara and the child luna
tie. and the potency with which he
hushed tempest either Of sea or brain
scotland The land prolific Of intel
lectual giants. had none grander than
Hugh Mill.r. Great for science and
great for tod. lie was AN elder En- ST
Johns Pres Ovterian church he came
81 the best Highland blood and was 70
descendant Of Donald Roy. q man emf.
nent Tor pietv and the rar. gift OF Sec
ono sight His attainment. climbing
uD as DO. did from the quarry ami the
wall ri Che stoncmasou drew forth the
ast0nished admiration OF auckland and
Murchison. tne scientists and d.
Caalmrr-, the tneologian. and held uni-
ycrs'tIes spell bound while bet told them
t1e story Of what boz bad seen of COD
Bro THE Old Red Sandstone THAT
man did more than aav other being
that ever lived to show tu1t the cod OF
the hlls is tnc Goi Of tu. Blolc ana
d. strscN bis tuning fork on the rocks
81 tromartf until boz brought gcoIoyv
and theology accordanf In a.vine wo--
slir Jis ESQ books entitled Foot.
prints OF the Creator ord The
1cstmonr of thr Eocx. pro.
ca.mea the Danns OF an eve-.a-t.
iur marriage between gcnu ne .ciene.
and revelation on ths lattcr boof
he tpilsd ouF and night. through love
81 nat"r ana love 0 tool. urf Hr
could nnt ...a. and nr. I..... .......