The Catholic bulletin. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1911-1995, 1917-08-04
Continued from page ID
The Abuse of Human Life

4
The Abuse Of Human Life
hasten our DEATH and, il we may not
kill ourselves, much less may we Kill
others to whom our fundamental re-
lationship is less intimate. Life is
not a gratuitous gift, to be returned
to the giver at our whim. 1t is an
onerous gift, with infinite Obligations
inseparably affixed thereto, which for
bid the destruction of the gift. Life
| in the body is merely lent to us that
we may effect a purpose willed by
the Owner of life. If a general in the
face of the enemy resigns his gratul-
tously conferred commission, his das-
tardly yielding to a whim does not
save him from the traitors punish
ment.
If man might slay himself, or per-
nit others to STAY him, he would have
this right by the natural law-the law
of his nature; the right would be
| founded in human nature itself; but
human nature cannot give a title OF
dominion over ones own life. If it
did give such a title, it would confer
| the power of removing the funda-
mental title to all rights. Human ma
ture exists as the foundation for
rights-not for their subversion. Sup
pose it could give this absurd power,
then there would be in every human
being a natural tendency to self-de-
struction, but, if there is one evident
fact in the world, it is that we have
a perpetual instructive horror of de-
struction.
Again, if man might disregard the
fundamental origin of all rights, as
he would if suicide were licit, there
would be no morality of any kind in
the world, since morality is merely
subservience to right No law can
give a power which nullifies itself.
Morality is fixed thing; it is as old
as the creative God; it is not an eyo-
luton. The command on Sinai,
Thou shalt not KILL" is an extreme
, ly late episode in ethics. The fact
that our ancestors at times thought
trivial what we deem morally grave
does not mean that morality grows,
but that our ancestors were ignorant,
or blinded by immortality
Suicide supposes dominion, but do
minion over oneself is absurd. Do.
. minion, like justice, is relative con.
dition. One cannot be. his own mas.
ter any more than he can be his own
, aunt. We are stewards, administra
tors of our own lives-not masters
Man may not sell himself - he
may sell only his labor, because he
does rot own himself. The man
! then, who succeeds in getting ply
stefan to give euthanasia by morphiI
i commits self-murder, and makes g
murderer of the physician.
Now as to homicide The ultimate
tendency of man is toward happiness
i and, of course, happiness or any
d other perfection is impossible without
|. existence; hence the instructive re
e coil from the destruction of our life
e for life is the requisite condition fol
n happiness. Even those who abnor
J. mally destroy their own lives do 81
n with horror for the destruction it
e self, and act thus unreasonably tt
e escape evil-not to escape life; or they
e seek what they think will be better
S life. We can do no injury to mar
IL so great as the depriving him of hi
y life, for that deprivation destroy!
s. every right and possession he has. H,
can recover from all other evil, Of
y hold his soul above every other evil
but death is the absolute conqueror
. No matter how debased or how dis
e eased mans body may be, no on,
Il may dissociate that body from it
: soul, except in defense of individual
II social life under peculiarly abnorma
70 conditions; but even such defense i
1 permissible only while the defende
u respects other human life and thu
= social life-while he is innocent, ha
. done no harm to society commensur
% ate with the loss of his own life.
n "The weariest and most loathe,
Is worldly life
a. That age, ache, penury, and imprison
le ment
1t Can lay on nature is paradise
ID To what we fear of DEATH
n
n Existence, no matter how sordid
,r is UNNECESSARILY better than nor
IL existence, for non-existence is moth
n ing; and when we consider eterna
1t life after separation from the body
,e even as probability, that raise
existence to infinite possibilities abov
the void of non-existence.
ii A human life, even in an Austrs
liam Bushman, in tubercular paupel
lie in the vilest criminal, is in itself S
III stupendously noble a thing that tn
is whole universe exists for it's uphold
lie ing toward betterment. The raisin
lie of human life toward higher cond
in ton has been the sole tendency of a
III the magnificent charity, sacrifice, ps
ar triotism, and heroism in which th
re best men and women of thu worl
lie have striven since time began. TIL
Id necessary first cause itself is life, an
IN life is by far the most sacred thin
ID possible for the First Cause to effec