The times., 1899-09-10
A snecious FnIlncy.

the American Social Science Association,
has created something of a sensation by
declaring that man has natural right to
natural death, and that it is wrong for
doctors and nurses TO prolong the life OF a
man who is mortally i'll. The idea is that
if mans life is worth nothing to him he
should be allowed to die.
The discussion of this question is inter-
esting, but somewhat Improbable, except
as it helps to clear away certain morbid
sophistries Plainly, il would be impossi-
BILE to legislate on the subject, or control
such matters by force of public opinion ex-
cept in the most general way. The idea OF
Judge Baldwin is that the struggle to pro-
long human life arose in the fear of eter-
nal punishment. Men feared death, and
were willing to endure the lesser torment
to escape the greater a Hindoo in one of
Kipling's stories expressed the difference
between West and East by the remark that
the Englishman did not fear pain, but
death, and that with the Oriental exactly
the opposite was true. This eomss near
being an exact statement OF facts. The
idea of reincarnation which has so strong
a hold on Orientals, probably has some
thing TO do with this. The Asiatic has MT
before his mental vision the fear of moth
ingness or endless pain, and is therefore
willing to leave his earthly tenement on
slight provocation. The European, on the
contrary, has been taught for centuries
that at death he would be sent TO his re-
ward or his punishment. and his natural
desire is to put of the decisive time Little
longer.
There is no question that public opinion,
while it condemns the murderer more Sc
yerely than ever, is now more lenient to-
ward the suicide. This indicates that we
are gradually coming around toward a
standard Of ethics which rests on duty to
others rather than duty to ones self, on
altruism rather than desire for personal
salvation. 1t also indicates increased SEN
sitiveness in the human character, and
this causes an apparent weakening of will.
The sensitive man cannot endure as easily
as the callous; the chances are that other
things being equal he will yield more
quickly, because he suffers more. In the
majority of cases, however, his higher de-
yelopment gives him a higher degree Of
courage, and he will, therefore, live
through torments which would be death to
the savage The whole course of civiliza-
! tion tends not only to increase the capacity
for pain and pleasure, but 10 increase the
ability to endure both. The savage, taken
/ from his accustomed haunts, will die of
nostalgia or make physical wreck of him
! self, when the civilized man, thrown into
new surroundings, viii adapt himself to
them and not only live but thrive.
The suggestion of Judge Baldwin, that
higher civilization will refrain from pro-
longing lives which are only a source of
suffering TO their owners, looks rather
plausible on the surface of it, but only on
the surface. Il is really a return to the
habits of certain savage nomads, who kill
their old people and cripples. The life of
a hopeless invalid may become source of
blessing 10 all around him-and this some
times happens in real life as well as in
story books Whatever unhappiness the
present state of things may cause is but a
4 drop in the bucket compared with the evils
4 Of the opposite course. 1t is fit that the
race should be trained TO gentle, helpful,
and seIf-sacrihcing actions, not TO a policy
Of mere expediency and economy. The
real aim of the higher civilization will
probably be the prevention of hopeless in
.validism. Most such cases nowadays could
have been prevented. with proper care.
When we turn our attention to making the
conditions of life such that there need be
no physical wrecks caused by improper
habits OF continual overwork, or insani-
tary dwellings, then We shall be truly civil
lied. and medical science will have achiev-
ed a real triumph.