though never so remarkable for Courage that ever destroys it self this will appear more plain if we consider 2. The proper object of Courage which is Evil I will not stay to show here how often Evil is falsely Represented and Magnisied or how many ways it is mistaken but supposing that to be really Evil which Men take to be so yet in the Case of Self-murther the Soul instead of attacking or resisting what it takes to be Evil flies away from it and therefore this Act is no more an Argument of true Courage than the rushing into a Torrent the leaping down a Pit or Precipice in a Panic Fright is so If Courage is the attacking or resistance of Evil as has been shewn then Death must be look'd upon as an Evil before any Man can be suppos'd to shew his Courage by killing himself for where there is no Evil there can be no occasion for Courage Death can never be an Evil but when Life is casie and happy and look'd upon as a great Good this makes it so honourable for People of Quality who abound in Wealth and Power and all such things as make Life desirable to hazard theirs for the Publick But to them that kill themselves Life cannot seem Good but Evil And when Life becomes an Evil through great Pain Poverty Disgrace c. then Death must be look'd upon as Good proportionably and if so there can be no Courage in running to it But on the contrary 't is the part of a brave Man when Life becomes an Evil to him not to fly to Death but to turn Head and engage with the Misfortunes of Life for here lies the Enemy as Caesar told his frightn'd Souldier An unhappy Life is the Field for true Courage and Magnanimity whereas the killing of ones self is plainly to decline the Combat to convey ones self away out of the reach of the Eneny to pass from a state of Misery into a state of Ease or Indolency at least as they suppose and this sure can be no great Argument of Courage That which is most apt to deceive People upon this Account is the Notion which the World generally has of Death as the greatest of all Evils that it takes us through a Thousand Pains and Tortures from our Friends and Relations our Projects and Possessions and all the Enjoyments of the World All which Terrours are increas'd by the sight of the Death of some dear Friend or near Relation for then humane Nature Starts and Trembles at the Ghastly looks and Convulsions of Expiration These are the things which make People grow up in a detestation of Death and this is still augmented the more happy they are in their outward Circumstances Wherefore they who kill themselves may seem indeed to such People to have a great deal of Courage because these run voluntarily into that which they abhor as the worst of Evils whereas the Notion of Life and Death is quite contrary in such unfortunate Creatures 't is some Pain some discontent that drives them to this Violence upon account of which Death as I said before becomes the Good and Life the Evil therefore as it wou'd be true Courage in Health or Prosperity to suffer Death rather than commit a Crime So in Sickness or any Adversity it would be the same to undergo Life rather than be guilty of Self-murther for he who parts with Life because he thinks himself Unhappy parts with nothing but what he is griev'd withal He only lays down his Burthen quits his Virtue his Arms for fear of the Enemy and where can be the Courage of this even Sardinapalus and Nero cou'd desert their Station in this manner and why not with as much Bravery as any other can pretend to In a Word when the Heart gives way to Evils and Asslictions when Hope is gone and Despair enter'd Men may make themselves away out of tenderness and softness there being little or no Pain to be selt in Voluntary Death especially if Men will take but as much care as Brutus did to place the Weapon right or as the Emperour Adrian to have the Mortal Place mark'd out exactly What shall we say then that all Men are Cowards that kill themselves No but that this particular Act has naturally more of Cowardice than Courage in it and is in those who have signaliz'd their Courage an act of Revenge or Indignation and therefore though some Men of Courage have kill'd themselves yet since the Nature of Courage consists in resisting Evil and Self-murther is the flying from Evil since many Women and Slaves many Effeminate Men and Notorious Cowards many for Ease or Fear as our Author himself confesses have kill'd themselves Self-murther ought not to be look'd upon as the natural effect of Courage To confirm what has been said I shall call several Persons of unquestionable Authority The Character of Hercules is certainly perfect as to Courage and yet Euripides representing him in the greatest Affliction that ever Man could suffer through his own Fault his Wife and Children lying Murther'd round him by his own Hand in his Madness At first he has thoughts of killing himself but immediately he checks himself with the Consideration * Eurip. Hercul Furens Act. 4. that he will not have his Courage question'd by doing so that whoever cannot bear great Calamity will not dare to meet his Enemy in the Field Wherefore he resolves to expect his Death boldly and not to force it upon himself †Apollon Rhodius Nicom lib 3. cap. 8. Another tells us that to die wilfully for Poverty Love or any Grievance is so far from being any sign of Courage that it is meer Cowardice for to avoid what is grievous is nothing but Softness and Esseminacy for no body chooses such a Death because 't is Honourable but because it frees him from an Evil which he cannot bear and to be so affected is Cowardice ‖ Quintus Curtius lib. 5. Sect. 11. 'T is the part of a brave Man rather to despise Death than hate Life Cowards often undervalue their Being only to avoid what is troublesome but true Courage tries all things * See â—…rot de J. B. P. lib. 2. cap. 19 Sect 5. Besides these see Josephus's Speech lib. 3. de Bell. Jud. Let me add one more 't is not lawful nor becoming a Man of Courage to bend under his Destiny and not embrace whatever happens undauntedly but run poorly away from it This was the great Brutus who thus condemn'd Cato's Death when cool and deliberate and before he doubted whether Virtue was any thing but an Aery Name * Sen. Theb. Act 1. Sect. 1. Non est ut putas Virtus Pater Timere Vitam sed malis ingentibus Obstare nec se vertere Retro dare Multos in summa pericula misit Venturi timor ipse mali fortislimus ille est Qui promptus metuenda pati si cominus instent Et differe potest Lucan lib. 7.
absurd than that Contempt of Life which is so very much affected by some People which injudicious Poets very much contribute too What than to have a Hero strutting and ranting against Life when either he has made it miserable by his Folly or is incapable of making a proper vse of it by his Ignorance Not to know what to do with Life is not to know what to do with Reason There are a great many Men in the World who despise the Slavery of Reflection and Forecast and depend only upon the gross Enjoyment of the present Moment And then whenever they meet with opposition or disappointment which they must needs do often they quarrel with Life and are for parting with it immediately whereas it is not Life but they who are in Fault Life is always pleasing when Reason is faithfully obey'd when this is forsaken Life indeed is worth nothing But then who is it that makes it so Yet still after all when it is become so worthless Self-murther is not necessary because the Cause of its being worthless may be remedied if the Person concern'd pleases and he can no sooner understand for what Reason Life is despicable but that he may make it quite otherwise by pursuing the true end of it Furthermore to confirm this Contempt of Life they plead the Examples of Regulus and others who have suffer'd Death with all Calmness and Magnanimity But will any Man venture to say seriously that these great Men behav'd themselves as they did out of Contempt of Life or despising or neglecting Self-preservation This would be the greatest Detraction * See â—…more Chap. 15. There seems to be always a poorness and meanness of Spirit in such Insinuations and Reflections as these Life is a Thing of no Value That Death is the way to Ease and the Pain not great nor lasting c. How much greater would it be for a Man to acknowledge that he is not insensible of the Terrors of Death and yet to shew at the same time that he is ready to suffer all rather than trangress against that end for which Life was given him by committing any one Crime Wherefore when we consider the settled and calm Resolution of any great and innocent Man at the point of violent Death let it not be said that he was glad to die out of any Contempt of Life But allow him to have had a natural regard to Life and then his parting with it upon the Account of Vertue will be truly Glorious By what has been said may appear the Unreasonableness of several Passages which are frequently to be met withal in the Writings of the Stoicks and †See Lucretius lib. 3. thus speaking in the Person of Nature Si grata fuit Tibi vita anteacta priorque Cur non ut plenus vitae conviva â—…ecedis Sin ea qua fructus â—…unque es periere profusa Vitaque inoffensu est cur amplius addere quâ—…eris Nec potsus Vitae finem facis atque laboris Nam tibi praeterea quod machiner inveniamque Quod placeat nihil est eadem sunt omnia semper Si tibi non annis corpus jam marcet artus Confecti languent eadem tamen omnia restant Epicureans and which have been received with much applause by some People who are pleas'd to see Life represented as a dull Business not worth a Man's Care where the same Thing comes over and over again Because their own is so ‖ Vid. Epist. 77. Cogita quam diâ—… jam idem facias 〈◊〉 cibus libido per hune circulum curritur Seneca has a remarkable Passage to this purpose where speaking of one Marcellinus's voluâ—… Death He tells us He was perswaded to it by a Friend of his a Stoick a very extraordinary Person especially as to his Courage who talk'd to him to this purpose Be not concern'd dear Marcellinus as if you were consulting about a Matter of any great importance Life is no such mighty Business Your Slaves live as well as you and so do Beasts too Consider how long you have been doing the same Thing over and over Eating Sleeping c. This is the narrow Circle which we are always Running This indeed is a very dull Circle for a Philosopher to be always Running for this is an Account of the Life of a Beast and not of a Man But the End of humane Life is of a Nobler Kind to regulate and improve a Man 's own Actions to do good to Mankind to be grateful and dutiful to the gracious Author of his Being and for this to be exalted to a State of unerring Reason and consummate Vertue 'T is true Sensation has but a narrow Compass its Objects are very few and very gross and therefore not only come quickly Round but become duller and duller the oftener they do so But nothing can bound the noble Range of Reason and when this is faithfully obey'd no Satiety ever attends the sweet Applause of a good Conscience but as the Progress of Reason is Endless so the Pleasure of Vertue is Immortal I shall conclude this Chapter with the Authority of a * Montaign's Essays Book 2. Chap. 3. Person who is very much esteem'd by the Gentlemen who are chiefly concern'd in this matter The Opinion which makes so little of Life is ridiculous for 't is our Being 't is all we have Things of a nobler and more elevated Being may indeed accuse this of ours but it is against Nature to contemn and make little account of our selves 't is a Disease particular to Man and not discern'd in any other Creature to hate and despise it self CHAP. V. Who they are chiefly that maintain this Act to be Lawful The Stoicks the Authors of 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 method propos'd Some gâ—…neral Objections consider'd which are brought against Self-preservation as confest to be a Law of Nature HAving thus laid down those natural Principles from which Self-murther may be prov'd unlawful from the Right which God hath reserv'd to himself over humane Life from the End or Design for which Man received it and this too whether he be consider'd as in the State of Nature or as a Member of Civil Society Having also â—…hew'd the Rise and Extent of the Principle of Self-preservation and in what respects humane Life may be justly valued or despised I come now to Enquire who those are which embrace the contrary Opinion and have held and maintain'd Self-murther to be Lawful Among the Ancients the Stoicks were the most considerable yet they recommended it to the World more by the Austere Practice of some popular Vertues than by any solid Arguments or indeed any remarkable Attempts to prove it Lawful Yet what they have offer'd * See Chap 10. shall be considered at large and compar'd with their other Principles This has been pretended to more particularly by †Dr. Donnâ—… afterwards Dean of Paul's a Gentleman of our own Country with much shew of Learning and
Master as God He replies * p. 110. That the Servant runs not from his Master but to him in this case and at his Call obeys his Voice Again †p. 112. This is not to usurp upon God's Authority or to deal with anothers Servant if I become his Servant his Delegate and his Commissioner in doing this when he can be no other way so much glorified ‖ p. 149. If they say God concurs to no Evil We say nothing is so evil but that it becomes good if God command it and that this viz. Self-murther is not so naturally evil that it requires a special Commission from God but as it becomes good if he commands it so it becomes indifferent if he remove the Reasons with which the Precept against it is Conditioned There is one Passage in Cicero to the same purpose †Liber 1. Tuscul. Quaest. Cato went out of Life as one that was glad of the opportunity for the God who rules within us forbids our departure hence without his Command but when that God himself gives just Cause as he did to Socrates Cato and many others A wise Man will certainly be glad to depart out of this State of Darkness into that of Light Not that he may break Prison for that the Laws forbid but walk out of it being called and dismiss'd by God as by some lawful Magistrate The summ of all which is to this purpose 1. That though it be true that God has the Absolute Propriety of Humane Life in which Regard indeed Man cannot lawfully destroy it Yet if God dispences with this Right of Propriety and calls or summons him out of Life he may depart lawfully viz. by Self-Murther 2. That there is no need of Particular Commission or Extraordinary Manifestation of God's Will to this purpose but only of his removing those Reasons upon which the Obligation of preseving Life was founded This is that which the Stoicks scatter up and down their Writings to reconcile this Act with Submission to Providence which they diligently maintain and which is Collected and Improv'd by our Author in the several Places above mentioned Before I Answer this particularly I desire the Reader wou'd take Notice 1. That whatever is said in any of these Places concerning the removing the Reasons or the ceasing of that End for which Life was given shall be debated more particularly in the next Chapter and but just touched upon here as not being wholly to be avoided 2. As to what is insinuated here concerning God's Glory though this does not fall under the present Argument yet that this is always best promoted by observing of his Laws that there can be no Case imagined nor is there any pretended but only glanc'd at by this Author artificially in general terms Wherein a Man can be irresistably forc'd to forsake his Reason and his Virtue and so detract from God's Glory Or where in it will not be more for his Glory to suffer Death from others than from himself But of this more perhaps hereafter This being premised I shall in Answer to what is said above shew these three things I. That according to the Account which this Learned Gentleman gives of Dispensation and according to the Nature of the Law of Self-preservation there can be no need at any time of such Dispensation for this Law II. That in a Case of this Nature wherein Propriety of the greatest Importance is concern'd Where an Error can never be recover'd and where it is confessed that there is a Law to secure it no Dispensation can be sufficient but what comes from the Proprietor the Law-giver himself and which must evidently and undeniably appear that it did so by some plain and positive Manifestation of his Will III. That no such natural Manifestation of God's Will is or can be assign'd whereby Man may be fully assured that he is dismissed call'd or summon'd by God from Life As to the first it is observable that Self-preservation is allowed to be Law of Nature And yet affirmed that it may be despensed withal upon this account †That a thing which is universally Profitable or Honest may by reason of some particular Event become Dishonest or Hurtful and when it does so the Reason or End which is the Soul and Form of the Law ceases This can never have place in any Law of Nature particularly Self-preservation grounded upon God's Propriety and the End of Humane Life already mention'd because as there can be no time wherein it can be dishonest or hurtful if we mean morally so to avoid doing wrong to God to the Publick and to our selves so there can be no time wherein it can be destructive or hurtful in the sence asoresaid to follow Reason by Virtue there can be no Event I say wherein it will not be a Man's Duty and wherein it will not be in his Power to act thus and therefore it can never be necessary that this Law should be dispensed withal Besides the Word Law is too general as us'd here the Law which we are speaking of is Law of Nature and confest to be so there may be Dispensations from Obedience to Humane Laws which are limitted to particular Actions and which through the weakness of Humane Prudence cannot be fitted exactly to all Events but then 't is observable that all such Dispensations are supplemental rather than destructive to that Law concern'd tending more effectually to the same end which that Law did assisting and promoting it in a better manner which end is always the Preservation of Mankind of each particular Person as far as is consistent with the whole and not the Destruction of any one If it be said That the very End of Life which I have assign'd is inconsistent often with this Law of Self-preservation and destructive of God's Propriety it frequently happening that Men endanger their Lives nay certainly incur Death the more strictly and faithfully that they follow Reason by Virtue and therefore that there must be some sort of Dispensation as to the observing of this End 1. To this I Answer There is no neceâ—…ty of this That which I suppose to be the end of Humane Life is so excellently fuâ—…ed to the Nature of Man that it not only promotes his happiness his well-being but certainly contributes to the prolong atâ—…on of his Being at the same time the following of Reason by Virtue including the regulating of Mens Passions and Appetites making 'em Temperate and Peaceful Just and Bâ—…cent c. All which if Duly observed by any number of Men wou'd certainly prolong Life as well as Happiness Wherefore if Life becomes in danger upon this Account and good Men suffer Death for the sake of their Virtue this is accidental not through any natural defect in that end of Life or because it contradicts Self-preservation and is destructive to God's right over it but through the fault of unreasonable Men who will not act by the same Rule but make
to preserve Life If we consider Self-preservation alone without the moral end of it this cannot be accomplish'd by attaining that which conduces to any other end or seems good to Man in any other respect than as it wou'd preserve Life Wherefore it is impossible for any honest Man of very ordinary Understanding to mistake to such a Degree as to look upon Self-murther as such a good because this implies a Contradiction and wou'd make that to be the end of a Law which is the utter destruction of it for this wou'd be to argue in this manner the Law of Self-preservation is accomplish'd in attaining that which seems good to us Self-homicide i. e. Self-destruction may seem good to me therefore the Law of Self-preservation may be accomplish'd by my Self destruction 4. These two Words End and Good are of too large and doubtful a Signification that which conduces to our ends and is good to us does not always accomplish the Law of Self-preservation that which conduces to the true end of Life the following of Reason by Virtue accomplishes indeed the Law of Self-preservation because it not only improves the Mind but prolongs Life and therefore is truly good to us But there are many other Ends of humane Actions as many as we have Passions and Appetites which become not only unworthy of our Reason but destructive of our Life as well by the manner of our pursuing 'em as the measure of our enjoying them and therefore what ever they seem whatever Shape or Beauty our Passions give them are so far from being Good that they are directly certainly Evil and being so can never accomplish the Law of Self-preservation These things will appear more clear if in the next place we suppose the Objection above mention'd to be made in these or the like Words To follow Nature has been allow'd to be the best rule of humane Actions by the wisest Men of all Sects 1. To follow Nature is to seek to be happy 2. My happiness consists in obtaining that which seems good to me and avoiding that seems evil 3. I and no other am to be the Judge in this Case therefore if Life by the want of any Good in which I place my Happiness becomes an Evil and Death seems good to me I do but follow Nature in killing my self and the Law of Self-preservation is not transgressed but gives place or ceases naturally For the Answering of this Argument clearly I will make use of this Method 1. I will show what is meant by following Nature 2. In what Happiness or Misery Good or Evil as to humane Life do really consist 3. The unreasonableness of every particular Man's being left to himself to follow what seems Good or Evil to his private Judgment and to dispose of Life accordingly 1. What is meant by following Nature Though some Account of this Maxim has been * Chap. 2. already given yet being very much in request at present and the Mistakes concerning it the occasion of other Crimes as well as this of Self-murther it commonly happening that they who talk loudest of Nature and Reason understand 'em least or act against 'em most it is requisite to say something farther of it and if in so doing I should repeat any thing that I have said before let the Reader think either that I wou'd save him the trouble of turning back again or knew not how to express my self better The Word Nature is sometimes a very general Term and signifies that Order which the great Creator put the whole World to move in sometimes in a more limitted sence it signifies that Rule which he gave each Creature to follow for the fulfilling of that particular End for which it was made in proper Harmony and Consent with the Universe so that the Word Nature rises in its signification according to the several Degrees of the Creation and by following Nature must be meant the obeying it according to that particular Power which distinguishes one Creature from another This Beasts do by Sensation this Man shou'd do by Reason That great that God-like Faculty which is given us to discern Good and Evil and to regulate our Passions and Appetites by Virtue accordingly Wherefore for Man to follow Nature is the very same with the End of Life to which Self-preservation is subservient * See Chap. 2. p. 16. 17. as has been shown namely the following of Reason by Virtue They who indulge their Passions and Appetites who live only by Sensation do not follow Nature as Men but as Beasts nay 't is not near so well with ' em Sensation in Beasts preserves them they obey no Appetite to excess and therefore to term Intemperance Beastliness is no less than Detraction for 't is really Manliness humane Nature Corrupted where Reason enslav'd to Appetite is kept to the vile Drudgery of serching in more and more of its gross and earthly Object till Sensation it self sinks down gorg'd and suffocated under it Did we follow Nature as faithfully as Beasts do by observing that which is our chief Faculty we shou'd be happy and preserve our Being as carefully and successfully as they do theirs but instead of this we rashly destroy it or fondly overlay it And by the Intemperance of our choicest Enjoyments act as foolishly against Sensation as against Reason That the wisest Men of all Sects took thisto be the meaning of following Nature or living according to it will appear to any one that consults their Writings of Morality particularly the Stoicks Thus they tell us * Diog. Laer. l. 7. p. 185. That to live according to Nature is to live according to Man's particular Nature and the Nature of the Vniverse doing nothing which that Common Law which runs through the whole Creation Right Reason forbids Which Law is the same with Jove the disposer and manager of all things †Antonin lib. 7. Sect. 8. To follow Reason and to follow Nature is one and the same thing to a Rational Creature ‖ Diog. Laer. ib. To live according to Nature is to live according to Virtue for Nature leads us to this says Cleanthes This is confirm'd by that Excellent Writer Philo the Jew * Philo 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 This says he speaking of obeying God is that end of humane Actions the living according to Nature which is so much celebrated by the greatest Philosophers for this is done when the Mind entring the path of Virtue treads in the steps of Right Reason and follows God ever mindful of his Commands ever observing 'em all strictly both in Word and Deed. Yet perhaps it may be Objected That this account of following Nature is too general * Dr. Donne p. 45. 41. Epist. Sen. Lip man ad St. Phil. l. 2. D. 17. some things are natural to the Species and others to the particular Person and therefore when Cicero consulted the Oracle he had this Answer FOLLOW YOUR OWN NATURE He that follows his
own Reason in what appears to him Good or Evil in embracing the first and avoiding the latter though he may be mistaken follows his own Nature Accordingly if he cannot obtain that in which he places his Happiness and his Life becomes miserable upon this Account he follows Nature who lays it down To this it may be reply'd That to sollow ones own Nature cannot be any Exemption from what was said before nor is the Account which has been given there too general for as to what relates to the End of Life the following of Reason by Virtue this belongs equally to humane Nature in General forasmuch as all Men are Rational Either then by this is meant the same with the following of humane Nature which is the Rule by which all Mankind is to Act or else we must suppose that there is a particular Rule or Law given to every individual Person different from the rest of the same Species which he alone is bound to follow But this would be more unreasonable than if we should say That every Subject of the Emperour of China was not bound by the General Laws of that Country but that he had a particular private Law by which he was bound to Act and that too often in direct opposition to the other 2. By following ones own Nature perhaps was meant the same with Zeno's Maxim * Or that 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Diog. Laer p. 185 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which I think may be rendred the living Conformably or Consistently i.e. the being the same in Opinion Humour Manners the having ones Life all of a Piece whatsoever comes to pass which they also call'd †Ciâ—…ero de Offic. lib. 1. Decorum As if a Man were of an easie and obliging Temper that he should be the same in Adversity as well as Prosperity Sickness and Health to the meanest poorest Man as to the greatest Potentate If of a grave austere Way which was that which they chose he should carry that on through the worst Events and nothing be able to alter him the maintaining either of these or any other particular Character may be call'd the following of ones own Nature but though Men may choose different ways of Behaviour according to their Fancy or Constitution yet this must still be grounded upon the former Universal Maxim the living according to Nature as Humane and Reasonable otherwise the Character whatever it was wou'd be vicious and then 't wou'd be so much the worse to maintain it and equally absurd whether a Man was always Affably or Surlily the same if always in the wrong so that this regards only the outside the Dress of Virtue the particular Fashion which she is to appear in Let Men be sure of her first by following Nature as Humane in general and then they may give her what appearance they please by following their own Nature This will be further explain'd in the Answer to the next part of the Objection abovemention'd * See more to this purpose Chap. 11â—… 3. By following ones own Nature some will have meant the following a particular Opinion or Humour the indulging that particular Appetite or Passion which by Education Example or Constitution has got the ascendant which brings me to the remaining part of the Objection To follow Nature is to seek to be Happy Happiness consists in obtaining that which seems Good to me and avoiding that which seems Evil I and no other must be the Judge of this wherefore if Life becomes an Evil and Death a Good to me by the want of any thing in which I place my Happiness or by the suffering any thing in which I place my Misery I do but follow Nature in killing my self and the Law of Self-preservation is not transgress'd by my doing so but ceases naturally This was propos'd to be Answer'd by shewing these two things 1. In what Happiness or Misery Good or Evil as to Humane Life did really consist 2. The unreasonableness of every Man 's being left to himself to follow what seems Good or Evil to him and to dispose of Life accordingly As to the first Happiness truly consâ—…s in the observing the End of Life which has been so often mention'd As this is * See Chap. 2. p. 17. done more or less Men are proportionably Happy as 't is omitted proportionably Miserable But in the common acceptation of the Word Happiness signifies the enjoyment of a Man's desires whatever they are and for any one to say that he cannot be happy without such or such a thing which is not in his Power and that the Good or Evil of his whole Life depends upon it signifies nothing but the vehemence of that Man's desires not that there is any real Happiness in obtaining it or Misery in sailing of it it proving most commonly quite contrary that the more a Man enjoys what he vehemently desires the more miserable he is afterwards and then †Ridiculum est ad mortem cuâ—…re tadio vitae cum â—…nere vitae â—…t â—…lum ciâ—… ad morâ—… effeceris Sen. â—…pilt 24. forsooth Life seems an Evil to him and amidst the Discontent and Vexation which comes upon him at the sense of his Folly and the just reproof of his Reason He tells you very Philosophically that he does but follow Nature in delivering himself from what is Evil When he has been acting against Nature against good Sense for that is humane Nature all the while and when he has done so instead of recovering the way which he has lost and beginning truly to follow Nature he deserts it wholly and irrecoverably and offers the greatest and most positive Violence to it by Self-murther But the Mistakes concerning Happiness or Misery are grounded upon the Mistakes concerning Good and Evil and therefore 't will be necessary to take a short view of them As Humane Life consists of two parts the Soul and Body so what is good must be consider'd in a twofold manner as it relates to the Soul or to the Body 1. As it relates to the Soul the Regulating and Improving of the Mind which we suppose to be the End of humane Life This is usually called Moral Good and the contrary Moral Evil. Or else 2dly As it relates to the Body the Health or the Preservation of it for which End the several ways of Perception commonly call'd Senses were ordain'd by which notice is given to Reason what is most proper to maintain this Union and preserve Life or what is most likely to destroy it this is commonly call'd Sensitive Good and the contrary Sensitive Evil. To bring this to the Matter in hand supposing that Good True or Seeming were a proper Rule and End of humane Actions There are but two sorts of Good as has been shown Moral or Sensitive but through which of these is it that Self-murther can appear Lawful If Moral Good tends not only to the improvement of the Mind but also to the prolonging of
and necessary it may be suppos'd sufficiently to warrant any Man's Obedience when the Publick Judgment declares that it is so But the chief Question is from whence this Power is deriv'd to the Publick by whom it was granted Some suppose it to be granted by Man himself upon a kind of compact for Protection but though Proâ—…tion may be one great End of this Power yet it is generally agreed that this Power cannot be conserr'd on the Publick by every particular Man because God alone has the absolute Propriety of humane Life Man has no such Power himself and what he has not he cannot make over to another Mr. Hobbs will have it to come from Man but then to decline this Objection and secure his darling Principle of Self-preservation he says This is not done by Man's transferâ—…ing any right of his own but by laying down the right which he has to hurt others His own Words are these * â—…viathan part 2. chap. 28. page 162. The Subjects did not give their Sovereign that Right but only in laying down theirs strengthned him to use his own as he should think fit for the Preservation of them all so that it was not given but left to him If I take this right this is a very odd distinction for if a Man has any right to hurt others for his own Preservation then as he is bound to Preserve himself so he is bound to retain that Right and yet if he lays it down he parts with it as much as if he actually gave it away He told us just before * Ib. p. 161. That in the making of a Common-wealth every Man gives away the Right of defending another but not of defending himself In several Places †Leviath part 1. chap. 14. he repeats and inculcates this that no Man can ever part with the right of defending himself no not after Lawful Tryal and Condemnation If this be so How can he lay down the right which he has to hurt others since by so doing he must be left in a great measure defenceless and liable by his own Consent not only to be hurt but to be actually destroy'd as in all Capital Punishments Wherefore not withstanding Men chuse to struggle thus rather than have any thing to do with God while they frame their Political Systems Yet it seems plain that such a Power as we are speaking of can be deriv'd from no other but God who alone having the absolute Propriety of all humane Life can alone have the right to give some Men Power over the Lives of others and who having fram'd Man in such a manner that Civil Society is necessary for his Security and Improvement and yet such Society not to be preserv'd without such a Power must upon these Considerations and also as he is a wife and just Being and as he who wills the End must will the Means necessary to that End must I say be supposed to grant to the Magistrate such a Power a Power to hazard Life himself and to oblige others to do so in defence of the Publick From what has been said may appear that the Power or Authority which any Government has to require Men to hazard their Lives for the Publick Good is derived from God himself that the time and manner of doing this depends upon the Publick Judgment and that Man is thus warranted for hazarding his Life accordingly To return then to the Instance above-mention'd of a Man's giving a Magistrate his Plank in a Shipwreck If a Man may hazard his Life for the Publick Good then if there be some particular Person in whom the Publick Power and Publick Judgment is lodg'd from whom all the Springs of Action derive their Motion who is in effect the Life the Soul of the whole Body and in whom the Liberty and Property as we love to speak of many Millions centers and may be lost and among the rest his Life also who shall be concern'd for this Publick Persons safety then we may conclude that any Man may hazard his Life even to the utmost danger to preserve such a Person yet in these Cases we are to remember Life is only hazarded not abandon'd much less positively destroy'd and that for such extreme hazard Men may justly suppose that they have Authority from God himself as they are Members of any Civil Government And though the danger be great yet 't is very seldom that Men fall into certain Death upon these Accounts as might be shown easily But suppose it should be so yet in this Case an honest good Man does not mind any thing but to do his Duty to pursue faithfully the End for which Life was given and if Life should be lost in this pursuit this is not his desire nor his fault 't was not his aim to die but to do as he ought nay gladly wou'd he have lived had Life been consistent with his Virtue but when this came in Question both Death and Life became indifferent and though he Chooses neither he accepts reaâ—…y of either as they offer themselves in his way to his Duty This I find confirm'd by the School-men in a harder Case than any above-mention'd Suppose a powerful Tyrant shou'd bring the last City of any State to the greatest Extremity by all the sad Consequences of a long and prosperous Siege as loss and wearineâ—…s of Men Famine Contention Corruption and no hopes of Succour shou'd be left suppose that after this he shou'd refuse all Articles of Submission and shou'd threaten Destruction by Fire and Sword unless they deliver'd upto him some one particular innocent Person This City say they * 〈◊〉 de Valenâ—… Tom. 3. Disput. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 8. Punct 〈◊〉 may not â—…ly deliver him up though they know him to be Innocent but that very Person may deliver up himself and yet without being guilty of destroying himself because as abovesaid his chiâ—… end is the doing so much Good not the Dying his particular intention his design that he had in view continually was to save his Country and this being the only means which was left he resolves to incur the greatest danger to 〈◊〉 purpose and yet in all this is positive only as to the doing of his Duty and far from being positive as to the destroying of his Life To compleat this Argument let us now see 2. How great the difference is between this and Self-murther and consequently how unreasonably the one is made a plea for the other He that hazards Life for the Publick does this in obedience to the Laws both of God and Man he that destroys his own Life does this in disobedience to the Laws of both the first by observing the true End of Life does what God and Nature primarily design'd as most proper to preserve Life and if he loses it 'tis by the violence of others the latter neglecting the true End of Life destroys it wilfully by the most positive act of injustice to God his
she will assist you to bear Pain is always most acute when new the Powers of Sensation are blunted by degrees by their Objects pressing too violently upon them and continual labour under Pain will harden the sense of Feeling and deaden Perception No one can know his strength unless he will try it the force of deliberate and well weighted Resolution is incredible and has supported the Weak and the Guilty in the most dreadful Torments Shall Women be able to suffer so much in Child-birth Could the Spartan Boys bear whipping to Death before their Altars without a Groan Nay have the greatest Villains mock'd their Executioners Could such a Wretch as Ravillac or he that shot one of the Princes of Orange smile amidst all the Artisices of Torture and shall not Innocence and Virtue be able to support a good Man under the ordinary calamities incident to humane Nature If submission to Providence Perseverance in Duty Constancy and Patience are Virtues when are these to be practised unless in extremities But it may be said the Disease is incurable the Pain is without intermission and therefore what good can a Man do by suffering on but only expose humane Nature and render it Contemptible not at all but rather quite Contrary who can pronounce a Disease like to last incurable and how oft have the best Physicians been deceived in this matter And as to intermission suppose there should be none where the Pain is intermitting Constancy and Patience must be intermitting too and return only by fits as the Distemper does but when the Pain is continual Virtue is continual also and yet not in danger of being long upon Duty because extreme continual Pain will quickly dissolve Nature and discharge the Soul and this Consideration might be sufficient to support a Man under such Circumstances without Diogenes's Dagger to give him Liberty For if the Soul be imprison'd and enslaved when in a tortur'd or diseased Body then let it look upon every Pain as a step towards its Freedom as the bursting of some Chain or the falling off of some Fetter and as every Limb grows weaker and every Sense decays let it collect its sorces cheerfully and rejoice at these happy beginnings of Laâ—…ful and Eternal Liberty And as to 〈◊〉 this is not worth Consideration in comparison of ones Duty yet a good Man need not fear it He will rather do credit to humane Nature than expose it by his 〈◊〉 * 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Seneca says he will not leave his Body but when it begins to assect his Mind and then he well jump out of it 〈◊〉 from a 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 â—…ouse this is a very low thought and would not be pardonable but that He make some amends for it in another place †De Consol. ad Helviam where he says that he who was great before he fell is not the less great for being fallen but is as far from Contempt as the Ruins of Temples are which the Religious adore as much as when they were standing Though Holy Temples yield to Time yet they cannot crush the God that was Worshipt in 'em by their fall no more can a decaying Body oppress an upright Mind And while the Mind is not oppress'd it cannot be contemptible There is a Beauty in Constancy and Fortitude which shines through all the Deformities of Death for at such times 't is not the Body but the Soul that is to be regarded and therefore what if the Body be pale weak and wasted away yet if the Mind continues the same unshaken and undaunted all the signs of outward Decay are but the marks of inward Virtue the Trophies of the Souls Strength and Victory and more proper to cause Admiration than Contempt Which of Scaevola's Arms would an Ancient Roman have reckon'd most comely that which was shrivel'd up lame and deformed with Scars or that which was whole and strong Sure brawny Limbs and a good Complexion are not Essential to Virtue Nay even the last Minutes of a great Man shall be beneficial the very sight of his Calamities shall be full of Instruction so that while he has Breath he shall never be past doing good All the excellent modern Buildings of Italy if I may use this allusion once more are owing to a few remains of the Ancient Roman Structures which notwithstanding the injuries of many Years and many devastations retain still some thing of their former Beauty and Magnisicence the same use might be made of the Decays of great Men in extreme Age or Pain or Sickness They are not indeed what they were but still they are more than others are what is left is regular and great and sufficient to form in us an Idea of what is lost and to teach us by the Rules of Proportion to improve our selves accordingly But a great and good Man's Example is as necessary in Death as Life we are to study as much how to Die as how to Live Where then can we receive so much Instruction for this purpose as in the Deaths of such Men and if so when can they be ever past doing good But I will not insist farther upon this Let the Stoics who are the great Defenders of Self-murther be Judges in this matter if we look into their Writings we shall find it inculcated continually the Pains of the Body can never have any influence upon the Liberty of the Mind That their wise Man is above the taking notice of any outward Evil that he is at perfect Ease in the midst of Tortures Nay they reckon it no less than a Crime to own the least sense of Pain and indeed grant more in that respect than we desire and yet after all make Pain by a strange Contradiction one of the chief Causes of Self-murther 〈◊〉 The next thing which I propos'd to speak to was Whether any Man upon account of extreme Aâ—…iction especially Pain or Sickness has Liberty or Authority to Destroy himself Not only the Stoics heretofore but some others since have been inclined to think that he has thus one tells us * Mont. lib. 2. chap. 3. God gives us leave enough to part with Life when he is pleased to reduce us to such a condition that to Live is far worse than to Die The Rule which is here given whereby we are to judge when we have this leave is when God is pleased to reduce us to such a Condition that to Live is far worse than to Die But this will be found very insussicient to this purpose if we examine the Particulars it supposes these two things 1. That there may be some Condition of Life far worse than Death 2. That 't is God that reduces the Sufferer to such a Condition As to the first before we can compare things rightly we must understand exactly the terms by which they are represented Life as Humane implies the union of the Soul and Body Death is the dissolution of that Union the condition of Life which is supposed here
to make it far worse than Death is extreme Pain now the fallacy lies in not mentioning the manner of this Dissolution which may be Violent or Natural and the consequences of it To a good Man indeed Life in extreme Pain is far worse than Natural Death and this is a proper Argument for such Men not to sear such a Death But the Death which we are speaking of is a Death of Self-murther which should have been particularly express'd and then the Question would be Whether a Life of extreme Pain is far worse than a Death of Self-murther Now to judge truly of this we should not only consider the time of the Dissolution or the Pain that accompanies it which in Self-murther may be little or none but also what is to sollow For if we should look upon Death here only as the separation of the Soul and Body without any farther prospect then this Comparison that to live in extreme Pain is far worse than to die would be impertinent because Death in this sense would be no more than the ceasing to be the utter end of all Sensation and if so what a notable discovery would it be to say that the continuation of extreme Pain is far worse than the cessation of it or that it is far worse to seel great Misery than not to seel any thing at all Wherefore to give some ground for the Comparison as Life supposes some State or Condition so Death must likewise and therefore that which follows afterwards must he in included in the Word If this then be granted let Life be never so miserable through extreme Pain and Torture yet before a Man concludes that this is worse than a Death of Self-murther Let him consider seriously Whether any thing follows after Death Whether Self-murther is naturally unlawful if it be Whether it will not be punish'd hereafter and if so Whether that Punishment will not exceed both as to the degree of Pain and the duration of it that particular Pain which he would avoid Nor is it sufficient to say upon this occasion that you cannot tell whether there shall be any Future state or no you never met with any demonstration from Natural Principles that there is or that you do not believe any thing of it this I say is not enough the Self-murtherer ought to demonstrate that there is none nothing can acquit him from an Action of this kind but plain and undeniable Certainty and this I am sure cannot be had but rather the contrary And in a Matter of this Consequence it might be sufficient without any farther arguing to stop any Man's Hand to consider this alone That the greatest part of Mankind in all Ages at least ten Thousand to one has held some Future State And then what a folly must it be upon the pretence of Incertainty to run such a hazard against so much odds To rush violently into Death unlawfull when that which is lawful is so very near I mean in the case of extreme Pain or Sickness and for the avoiding a short time of Misery here venture the being a Thousand times more Miserable hereafter But still they may insist That if God gives one leave this will not be and he gives me leave enough when he is pleas'd to reduce me to extreme Pain c. This brings me to the second part of this Rule namely that 't is God that reduces Man to such a Condition that is that he is the sole or chief cause of the Misery he groans under by some extraordinary Effects of his Providence without any fault of the Sufferer To this I answer 1. That this is very rarely so but the sufferings of extreme Pain or Sickness especially in those who are most inclin'd to Self-murther are generally through their own fault 2. That though they were not but the plain effects of extraordinary Providence yet no Man can conclude reasonably from hence that God gives him leave or liberty to destroy himself 1. It is very seldom that God is the only or chief cause of Man's suffering thus or that he pleases to reduce him to extreme Pain and Misery without any fault of the Sufferer especially those who are inclined to Murther themselves because their Passions are high and uncontroulable They despise the Laws of God and the thoughts of a Future State and therefore are commonly the chief cause of their own Misery 't is their own folly that puts such and such second causes into such a motion as naturally produce such Effects as great Poverty Just Disgrace Painful Sores and Torturing Diseases and then if Life becomes worse to any one of these than any Death he must blame himself alone Wherefore nothing can be more unreasonable than for such People to be always laying the fault upon Providence and to pretend to quarrel with Life crying out 't is to no purpose to Live any longer that Life is not worth the while in such Circumstances c. Alas they foolishly misuse Life they wast their Bodies as well as their Estates and when they feel the natural Effects of doing so they wisely discover that Life is not worth the while whereas this discovery comes too late it might and should have been made much sooner for to instance in such a Life as has often ended in Self-murther When every Hour was grossly abus'd when the Mornings were wasted in Sleep or sickly Qualms when the Afternoons were thrown away in false Ceremony inventing or spreading fresh Scandal in endeavouring to impose upon Virtuous Women or being effectually impos'd upon by Lewd ones When the Nights were spent in Gaming Prophaneness Drunkenness Lust Quarrellings Murther then Life indeed was not worth the while not worth the being continu'd amidst so much toyl of Folly and so much drudgery of Lewdness but when nothing but the common Effects of such a Life are felt in Pain or Sickness for a Wretch to tell you gravely that Life is not worth the while is Absurd and Ridiculous nay 't is false too for even the sad remains of such a Life are valuable if rightly employ'd and that very Evil whether it be Sickness or Pain for which they hate and despise it may by forcing them to break off ill Acquaintance and compelling them to be Temperate and Retir'd give them time to think if they ever are capable of doing so and restore them by degrees to themselves and to their God 2. Supposing that Men were not the Causes themselves of such Evils falling upon them but that they were the plain Effects of God's particular Extraordinary Providence as when a Temperate Virtuous Man born of Virtuous Parents is taken suddenly in a middle Age with most violent Pains falls into tormenting and incurable Diseases breaks out in painful and loathsome Sores and at the same time has violent sits of the Cholick or the Stone supposing all this I say yet it cannot be reasonably concluded from hence that these are any Signs or Tokens of God's
have practised There is a kind of deformity in Storms and Tempests and Winter comes in unpleasantly after the Warmth and Fruitfulness of the other Seasons yet these are as necessary to the World as they were to Purge the Air to destroy hurtful Weeds and Insects and to dispose the Earth to Answer the returning Spring Something of the same kind is full as necessary to humane Nature to set the Soul in Motion after the soultry Calms of Ease and Luxury * Antonin lib. 4. §. 1. ib. lib. 10. §. 29. A great Mind improves upon opposition it Sparkles and Rejoyces under those Calamities which wou'd oppress others and slames out to the World in brighter Glory Wherefore to suppose that such Events as we have been speaking of are Dispensations or Dismissions from Life is to â—…ay either that there are no such Virtues as Conâ—…ancy Patience and Fidelity and that â—…od dispenses with us as to the practising any such Duties at all or else that he does so when we have the greatest occasion for them when they are nearest to their highest Perfection and may be practis'd most Gloriously 5. But after all the very Being alive though under the worst Events that can possibly be imagin'd is a direct Contradiction to any such Call Summons or Dispensation as above-mention'd Because as our Lives were first from God †See Chap. the 1st pag. 6. so the continuation of them depends wholly upon him No Man cou'd preserve himself one Moment without the Concurrence of his Providence if he thought â—…itting to withdraw that Concurrence there wou'd need no other manifestation of his Will because Life wou'd cease immediately Wherefore while there is Life there is no room to suppose that God gives leave to any Man to kill himself because I say his Being at all is nothing but the Effect of Gods Will and therefore while he is 't is absurd to suppose that God Will 's that he should not be These Reasons I hope may be sufficient to show that no Man can have any assurance from any Natural Event that God does resign his Propriety of humane Life or Call or Summon any Man out of the World by Self-murther and the importance of the â—…ing in Question the impossibility of recovering the Mistake the great Injustice towards God and Man and the sad Consequences that may nay must follow ought to awaken Men upon this occasion while they have any Reason left and make 'em weigh every Motive exactly and impartially Especially since it may so justly be fear'd in these Cases that every Man 's Reigning Passion his Fear his Pride his Impatience c. may be his God and the rash impulses of these be taken for Divine Suggestions Calls or Dispensations as it has often happen'd even to such as have been great Men in the decay of their Strength and Reason * Diog. Laert. in Zen. Zeno the Father of the Stoicks living to a very great Age happen'd one day to stumble and hurt his Finger whereupon he cry'd out to this purpose I acknowledge your Summons O ye Gods and I obey and immediately went home and hang'd himself If those Events which Melanchoâ—…y Men take for God's Calls or Dispensations were examin'd they wou'd seldom be found to be more reasonable than this CHAP. VII Other Objections Answer'd by which they wou'd introduce another end of Humane Life as the measure of Self-preservation instead of that above mention'd and then supposing that this End does cease whenever a Man's Reason tells him that it does so wou'd from hence inferr that his Obligation to preserve Life does cease also FRom Exceptions Limitations and Dispensations of this Law they come at last to tell us directly that there are some Cases in which it wholly ceases and then a Man becomes Master and Disposer of himself * Biath p. 47. No Law is so Primary and Simple but that it fore-imagines a Reason upon which it was founded and scarce any Reason so constant but that Circumstances may alter it in which Case a private Man is Emperour of himself sui juris And he whose Conscience is well temper'd and dispassion'd assures him that the Reason of Self-Preservation ceases in him may also presume that the Law ceases too and may do that then which otherwise were against the Law Self-preservation which we confess to be the foundation of general natural Law is no other thing than a natural Affection and Appetition of Good whether true or seeming Now since this Law of Self-preservation is accomplish'd in attaining that which conduces to our Ends and is i. e. seems good to us If I propose to my self in this Self-homicide a greater Good though Imistake it I perceive not wherein I transgress the general Law of Nature which is an Affection of Good True or Seeming and if that which I affect by Death be truly a greater Good wherein is the other stricter Law of Nature which is rectified Reason violated I will first give a short Answer to every one of these Propositions in the terms here made of use and in the same order that they lie afterwards I will represent the strength of the Argument according to the best of my Judgment in other terms such as seem to me more clear and plain such as I have met withal in other Authors or Discourse and then endeavour no answer it more fully 1. The Reason upon which the Law of Self-preservation is founded * Chap 4. p. 30. has been shown to be twofold 1. The preserving of God's Propriety of every Man's Life and that 2. with regard to the End for which Life was given This Reason is so Constant that no Circumstances whatever unless a plain and undeniable Manifestation of God's Will can ever alter it 2. Conscience which is the last Judgment of upright Reason as it considers humane Actions in the State of Nature must be guided by what is allow'd to be the Law of Nature which Self-preservation is allow'd to be where there is no Law Reason may Act alone but where there is 't is bound to obey it and its doing so proves Conscience to be well temper'd and dispassion'd but it may justly be doubted whether 't is really so or no when it looks out for a Reason for the ceasing of a confest Law Moreover 't is impossible that an upright Conscience which acknowleges that the Reason of this Law is the preserving of God's Propriety of humane Life to the end above mention'd can ever assure any Man that such an end is really ceased as has been shown at large in the last Chapter Wherefore this Learned Gentleman being sensible of this Proposes another end of this Law such as is very convenient indeed for his purpose and may cease whenever any Man thinks sitting and this is Good True or Seeming 3. If Self-preservation be an Appetition of Good True or Seeming this must be at least of such a sort of good as is or seems proper
Country and himself the first only hazards Life the latter chooses Death if the first happens to die 't is against his will if the latter lives 't is against his and as to the Publick the one â—…es for it the other dies against it not only by deserting it but by breaking its Laws and encouraging others to do so and also by enervating the srriâ—…st ties of Kindness Trust and Justice which may end at last in the total dissolution of any Government the Comparison might be carried further but this may be sufficient to show the unreasonableness of this Conclusion That because a Man may give a Magistrate his Plank in a Shipwreck therefore he may Murther himself The next Objection is to this purpose That if Self-murther is unjust in regard of the Publick 't is because it loses a Member †Biath p. 111. but this may as well be said of all those who retiring themselves from Functions in the Common-wealth defraud the State of their Assistance and attend only their own Ends. ‖ Ib. p. 113. If the Person be of necessary use to the State there are in it some degrees of Injustice but yet no more than if a General of much use shou'd retire into a Monastery To this may be Answer'd 1. That one of the Reasons why Self-murther is unjust to the Publick but not the only one is its losing a Member 2. The Instance here given does not come up to the point for a General may not lay down his Commission without leave when he is necessary for his Countries Service but he may justly be punish'd if he refuses to Act. Yet suppose a Man may retire from Publick Affairs to attend his own Ends Is this as much damage to the Publick as Self-murther He that attends his own Ends if by this be meant his particular Interest as to his Family contributes to the Publick Good and may do so very considerably though never so much retir'd However the causes of his Retirement may alter and then he may serve the Publick again upon Necessity or shou'd he not he may serve and assist his particular Friends and Relations improve his Knowledge and his Fortune be an Example of Virtue and in many other respects observe the end for which Life was given and this sure cannot be the same with the putting a Man's self into an unalterable incapacity of doing any good at all by the wilful and positive destruction of Life To this it may perhaps be reply'd That here Strength and Vigour is requir'd Health of Body and Activity of Mind but suppose a Man by * As the Stoicks See Chap. 10. extreame Age or Infirmity by loss some Sense or some Limb shou'd be made incapable of serving the Publick had not he as good be gone as stay to no purpose may not he leave the World if he pleases when he is become good for nothing This Supposition seems to be grounded upon a very gross sence of serving the Publick as if States-men were to be chosen by the breadth of their Shoulders and strong and sizeable Men were as necessary for the Council Table as the Guard Room for if Men be past Reason the Dispute is at an end but if they are capable of using it why should old Age be objected unless Maturity and Experience shou'd be disadvantages When Reason is lost no Man can be accountable for Self-murther or any other Action yet even then we preserve Life carefully in Ideots and Madmen at the Publick Expence either in hopes of their recovery or to learn to value Reason as we ought or to praise the giver of it so that there is scarce any Wretch but may be some way or other beneficial to the Publick even by his being alive alone how much more may he be so when Reason remains and that too so highly valued and well understood that Men will choose sooner to part with Life than remain depriv'd of the glorious advantage of it Or if this shou'd not be allow'd what Rule can be given What degree of Age or Insirmity can be fix'd when Men shall be judg'd to be good for nothing and permitted to Murther themselves accordingly Such a thing if possible might prevent it indeed since Men wou'd be apt to live in despite of all their Miseries rather than buy the privilege of Self-murther at so dear a rate as to be judg'd by others and be oblig'd to acknowledge themselves that they are good for nothing But while Reason remains as I said before this is impossible and many Instances may be given of Persons who have done their Country the most considerable Service under all these Calamities above-mention'd nay at the very time of Death it self The whole Senate of Rome had once so basely degenerated as to surrender up tamely their Liberty and their Glorj in that dishonourable Peace which they had unanimously resolv'd to conclude with Pyrrhus * Vid. Plut in Diss. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Et Val Max. l. 8. c. 14. When Appius Claudius who had been absent from Publick Assairs through extreme Age Blindness and Lameness for many Years as soon as he heard of it caus'd himself to be carried to the House and bravely upbraided them with their Cowardice and Persidiousness to their Country What Man had ever such appearances of being past serving the Publick or being good for nothing and yet how vigorous was his Soul in so decrepit a Body One wou'd think the Genius of Rome chas'd out from the degenerate Senate had retir'd for shelter under the Ruins of this great old Man 'T is certain that if he had not had so many Insirmities he wou'd have been less regarded but the fight of these made his Zeal surprizing rais'd their Attention with their Admiration and gave every Word a peculiar force to restore them to their Courage and their Reason as unanimously as they had rebell'd against both before This made * There is a short view of this great Man in an Inseripâ—…tion which the Learned Agostine says is worth a Treasure Dial. 9. Which begins thus APPIUS CLAUDIUS C. F. CAECUS CENSOR COS. BIS DICT INTERREX II. his Infirmities numbred in after Ages among his Trophies and Coecus a more glorious distinction than Asiaticus Africanus c. for they who had those Titles only added Vast and Luxurious Provinces to their Country which prov'd the Destruction of it at last but Appius conquer'd its most dreadful Enemy and sav'd it for that time from it self †Il Senato fece tre dimande intorno un Publico impor tantissimo negotio Vita del Padre Paolo The great Father Paul a few Minutes before his Death after he had been long weaken'd by Age and Sickness had three Cases of very great Importance sent to him by the Senate of Venice to each of which he gave his Opinions and that wise Assembly follow'd them accordingly In these Instances there was not only a complication of Calamities
persist in it Let him also consider whether he wou'd have excused the same Person for killing another Man upon those very signs of Madness which move him now to excuse him for killing himself I believe this may be one good Rule for an honest Juror to walk by especially since the killing of ones self has been shewn above to be rather worse in regard of the Publick than the killing of another Man Yet after all how oft does it appear in these Cases that the Person concern'd did give plain and certain Signs of a good Understanding I mean Naturally not Morally so by some Circumstances of his Death or other Some have enquir'd what was the easiest way of Dying or where to place the Weapon best others have us'd much cunning and contrivance to procure the Instrument have kept it long by them and warily chosen a proper Time and Place to make use of it others again have made their Wills or settled their Affairs otherways taken leave of their Friends solemnly sent those out of the way that might have hinder'd them these and such like Circumstances are Arguments of Deliberation and Advisedness and prove sufficiently that such a Person was Compos Mentis If it be Moral and not Natural Madness that is here meant not only he that commits any other great Crime but he that subverts a Lawful Government by a long train of well laid Designs though he cannot be suspected of any Natural defect of Understanding yet is as much Mad in this sense as any one that kills himself can be suppos'd to be and yet sure this wou'd not be allow'd as an Excuse for so doing But this sort of Madness does not fall under the Coroners Inquest in the present Case Moral Madness is the misapplication of the Understanding not the total Deprivation of it and the Question here is not whether the Understanding was misapply'd but whether there was any Understanding left at all This brings me to some other kind of Pretences which are caus'd chiefly 2. By mistaking the Subject of their enquiry and making themselves Judges of that which does not belong to them their Duty consists in enquiring well and truly how the Person came by his Death if by himself whether he was felo de se or non Compos and in making true Presentment accordingly This is what they are Sworn to do but instead of this they are apt to run out beyond their Bounds and consider what the Event of their Verdict will be either as to the Forfeiture or the Person Deceas'd I. As to the Forfeiture they are sometimes mightily concern'd about this What will become of it Upon whom shall it be bestow'd Upon such perhaps as do not want it or among so many that it will do 'em little or no Good whereas in the lump it might be of great advantage to the next Heirs Why is not Charity due to them as much as meer Strangers c. To this may be reply'd 1. That which is thus forfeited devolves to the Lord Almoner the distributer of His Majesties Alms according to his Direction and therefore they ought to be satisfy'd that it will be dispos'd of Judiciously and Faithfully 2. Supposing the worst what is this to the Coroner or any of his Jury the Law has not made them Judges in this matter or given them Authority to consider what will be most convenient and proper to be done with that which is Forfeited or who are the best Objects of Charity They are call'd to Judge of matter of Fact by what they see and hear Let 'em remember their Oaths they are not Sworn to be Charitable but to be Just to enquire well and truly diligently and impartially concerning the Fact and to give their Judgment according to their Conscience and therefore a good Man ought to be upon his Guard against such Insinuations as these and to take care lest his Charity shou'd absurdly corrupt his Justice absurdly I say for he that is Just in Criminal Causes especially is Charitable in the Noblest way for whilst his Impartial Sentence deters others from committing the same Crime his Charity extends not only to all the Innocent and Virtuous of the Present Age but to late Posterity Again some run out beyond their Limits and fall into Mistakes by considering the Event of their Judgment as to the Parties Reputation and their being Guilty of Vncharitableness in this regard they think that to bring him in Felo de se wou'd be to pronounce him damn'd therefore that they ought to Judge Charitably especially since they cou'd not see into his Heart or discover his last thoughts This wou'd not need an Answer but that Ignorant though well meaning People are often concern'd upon these Occasions and apt to receive such Scruples from Cunning Solicitors that are always busie about them if the Chattels are worth the saving Therefore something must be said to it 1. Then the Jurors bringing in the Deceas'd Felo de se does not pronounce him damn'd at all this he leaves to God alone whatever his Judgment of the Fact is it can be neither the better nor the worse for him in the next World his Impartial Verdict does not alter the Nature of the Fact If he thinks him Guilty yet he does not contribute to his being so and what he thinks he is oblig'd to declare by Lawful Authority and if he does not so is Guilty himself of Breach of Trust towards his Country and of Perjury towards his God 2. As to the seeing into his Thoughts the difficulty of doing so and the Judging Charitably upon this Account This seems very little to the purpose In indifferent Actions or such as will bear a double Interpretation we ought to beware how we Judge to the disadvantage of our Neighbour especially when not call'd by Lawful Authority but where a Man is so call'd where there is a Notorious Transgression of the Law as in the present Case the Fact is so evidently Evil that there needs no weighing of the thoughts or searching of what kind they were especially since when a Person is found to have kill'd himself the Question is not what his Thoughts were but whether he had any Thought at all that is whether he was Mad or no Yet after all though I have hitherto apply'd my self to the Jury 't is certain that their Verdict depends much upon the Coroner and 't is his fault chiefly if the Laws which provide against Self-murther are cluded 't is he that Summons whom he pleases to be of the Jury and to these he gives what Charge he pleases the Examination of the Witnesses the Summing up the Evidence is done by him So that unless there happen to be upon the Jury Men of Conscience Courage and Understanding which may easily be avoided if the Coroner thinks sitting they will be apt to be led by him implicitly And there being no Fee allow'd upon Felo de se the Verdicts being for the King and
Child c No certainly and yet 't is of such Unites as these that the Numbers which are so courted or so fear'd are compos'd 'T is these whom Men would scorn to have Judges of their Wit that they make the Judges of their Actions and upon whose Verdict as to Honour or Disgrace they make their Reason their Consciences and their Lives depend There is no Man that reflects upon this but will allow how very much they are mistaken who pay this strange deference to the World it being almost impossible but that they who do so must be guilty of all other Eâ—…ormous Crimes as well as Self-mnrther Wherefore let the distinction between inward and outward Honour be always carefully observ'd let all good Men despise the latter in comparison of the former for if this depends upon the Multitude 't is below their care if it depends upon the best of Men it does not want it because it will naturally follow upon the acting according to the Principles of inward Honour and if these Principles be faithfully observ'd they can never lead to Self-murther Because inward Honour is the guard of the great End of Life and therefore can never prompt any Body to destroy it it attends constantly upon impartial Reason and follows it not by one but every Virtue and therefore its Course is always Regular and even it blesses the mind with a just and lasting Applause makes it dear to it self and generally to all the World and therefore must hinder and prevent Self-murther rather than promote it But if this shou'd not be sufficient to give some Gentlemen satisfaction in this matter I will suppose an Objection to this purpose A Man's Honour ought to be dearer to him than his Life he may be abus'd to that degree as to forfeit his Honour if he shou'd bear it and therefore he ought rather to kill himself especially since Women themselves have done the same Lucretia kill'd herself upon a Point of Honour so did Cleopatra to avoid the disgrace of being led in Triumph and both gain'd Immortal Applause for doing so How much more shou'd any Man of Honour do the same especially since there may be Cases â—…uch harder than theirs were For Instance a Man born Nobly bred a Soldier c. I will Answer first this Objection with its Instances and then consider the particular Case afterwards 'T is said here first that a Man's Honour ought to be dearer to him than his Life very True if Honour be taken here for that inward Principle which secures Man in the doing of his Duty Honour in this sence ought to be dearer to a Man than Life that is he ought to suffer the worst Extremities even Death it self rather than act against it but then it is absurd for any Man to destroy his own Life upon this Account because this kind of Honour is always in his own Power and cannot be forc'd from him unless he consent If outward Honour be meant here that is Reputation this ought not to be dearer to him than his Life because it wou'd then be dearer also than the great End of Life Dearer than his Duty and he must Sacrisice both his Reason and his Virtue to maintain his Reputation and that too among the worst of Men. 2. 'T is said here a Man may be abus'd to that degree as to forfeit his Honour if he shou'd bear it This cannot be as to the first sence of Honour for that will never be in danger if he be Innocent how much soever he is abus'd Power and Injustice may oppress Virtue and a Man of the nicest Honour may be Unfortunate but yet this Honour may be encreased by the manner of his bearing of his Misfortune by his Deportment under great Injuries to Kill ones self rather than bear 'em is to be unjust to God in the highest manner because another is unjust in a small matter to me and this sure cannot be Honourable in the first sence but indeed is nothing but an Act of Impotent Indignation and Revenge of Pride Cowardice and Despair and therefore cannot be Honourable in the latter neither Nor is the Objection assisted by these Instances The first of these indeed may justly raise Compassion in all that read her Story and never had any Person more Statues rais'd to her but it does not follow that because Lucretia's Death was much Applauded therefore it was Lawful or is to be imitated It was Applauded by the Romans for being the accidental occasion of Rome's Liberty and of the great Glory it rose to afterwards and other Nations consented to this Applause as they heard her Case out of Compassion and Generosity which is due most to those who fall into mistakes only through too severe and nice a sense of Honour Far be it then from me to search farther into this matter No let the Garlands which have been hang'd over her Tomb by Chaste Wives and Virgins remain forever unshaken and unviolated Let all the Wit that has been shewn in her Praise pass for Reason but then let me entreat such as are most Zealous to vindicate the manner of her Death to consider what has been said already to prove such an Act unlawful and withal to remember the Occasion of her using her self so and allow at least that it ought not to be imitated but in just the same Circumstances and then whether her living wou'd have been an Incouragement for Unchastity or no as the poor Lady thought I am confident that her Death will not be any dangerous cause of Self-murther But for Cleopatra she is very ill join'd with the other the Example of her Death ought no more to befollowed than the Example of her Life she kill'd her self as is commonly suppos'd upon a point of Honour To be faithfull to Anthony and to avoid the Ignominy of being led in Triumph As for the first Pretence she was the utter ruin of that Roman she engag'd him in a War with his own Country lost the Fight at Actium by her flying away when Anthony was as likely to Conquer as Caesar. Afterwards foolishly believing that Caesar was in Love with her which she desir'd of all things betrays 〈◊〉 the Frontier Town of Egypt to him and to make her own terms the better occasions the Death of Anthony * See Dion Caslias lib. 51. purposely by a false Rumour of her own after this she endeavours to make Caesar fall in Love with her at an interview which finding to be to no purpose she kills her self 2 As to her killing her self to avoid being led in Triumph Had she been careful of her Honour in the former part of her Life it wou'd not have suffer'd in this That Custom of the Romans was Barbarous and Unjust and the strangest Scene of Vanity Licentiousness and base Insulting in the World but the Dishonour of it depended much upon the Character and Demeanour of the Person that was led in Triumph therefore it has not been
always Ignominious to those who have been thus expos'd when Arsinoe Cleopatra's younger Sister a Virtuous Lady was us'd so by Julius Caesar the Multitude was softened into Pity and Compassion at the sight and immediately reflected upon their own Condition * Dion Cass. lib. 4. that they were in effect as much Slaves as she and that great Man was never so much overseen both as to his Politicks and Generosity as in gratifying Cleopatra at so dear a rate So might it have been with Cleopatra her self too had she been as Virtuous as she was Great For where is the Crime of being Oppress'd or the Shame of being Unfortunate How cou'd the Multitude have ever dishonour'd her Had not her own Infamy ran before her What a strange niceness of Honour is it not to scorn to commit the foulest Vices and yet to scorn to hear of them Honour is truly lost when an ill Action is committed not when it becomes known and therefore it is very Ridiculous though very Common to be easie as to the first and scrupulous as to the latter for this is to make Secrecy the measure of Good and Evil and no Vice dishonourable but only when it is discovered where Virtue suffers publickly the Honour of the Publick suffers this is Infamous to the State not to the Person that is injur'd whose Honour may be encreas'd by suffering as they should do But where Honour is first blemish'd by enormous Crimes 't is too late to be tender of it as to Publick Disgrace or to think to redeem it by Self-murther for this is not only a great Crime it self but a Confession of all those which are laid to the Parties Charge And though Cleopatra was so tender in this matter yet other Persons of unquestionable Courage and Honour underwent the same Misfortune Not only Perseus but Jugurtha whose Wit and Courage gave the Romans so much trouble did so nay Ventidius the faithful Friend of Anthony was first led in Triumph himself and afterwards by a strange change of Fortune Triumph'd over the Parthians the most dreadful Enemy the Romans ever had But to oppose one Queen to another Zenobia contended Personally with Aurelian for the Empire of the World and fought with the same Spirit with which her Secretary Longinus wrote And yet when she had satisfied whatever Honour requir'd as to Action she made use of it to bear her Adversity with as great a Mind as she did her Prosperity and therefore she did not Murther her self when she was to be led in Triumph but carry'd it so as to be consider'd with Admiration and liv'd in Rome it self with great Respect many Years after Let me add one Instance my self of great niceness of Honour and that is Sporus * Dion Cassius â—…iber 63 65. He was married publickly to Nero under the Name of Sabina Saluted by the Titles of Sovereign Lady Queen and Empress nay the Cities of 〈◊〉 to their Immortal Honour offered Sacrifice for their having Issue Yet this Person being commanded afterwards by Vitellius when he came to the Empire to appear on the Theatre in the dress and manner of a Ravish'd Maid chose rather to kill himself because he cou'd not bear the Disgrace as the * Dion Cassius â—…iber 63 65. Historian says what niceness of Honour cou'd ever exceed this and how great a Credit was this Person as well as his Husband Nero to all Self-murtherers Thus much to the first part of the Objection and the Instances brought to support it Let us come next to the Particular Case that is brought to the same End which is thus introduc'd How much more shou'd any Man of Honour do the same especially since there may be Cases much â—…arder than theirs were I have had one put to me much to this purpose A Gentleman born Nobly and bred a Soldier having gain'd much Honour by many great Actions in his Countries Service is afterwards by the Ingratitude and Jealousie of his Prince accus'd falsely of some foul Crime and Condemn'd to suffer a Publick and Shameful Death the Question is Whether such a one after he has stood his Trial and done what he cou'd to clear and save himself shou'd tamely expect the Death which he sees is Inevitable let his Enemies have their Will over him and be the Scorn and Derision of the Multitude Or not rather disappoint their Malice and Contempt and vindicate his Honour by killing of himself I confess I am of Opinion that he ought not to do the latter by any means For the Reasonableness of which 1. Let us see what may be the Character of a Man of Honour the Ignorance whereof so often misleads People in other Cases as well as this according to what has been said above He is one who has a just and regular Elevation of Soul whose Eye is always sixt steddily upon his Duty and who disdains equally whatever Threatens or Flatters to draw him from it One who is ever glad to be doing good to all Men and abhors Cunning and Oppression as much as Cowardice Or if we take Honour for Publick Reputation He despises all but that alone which comes from Good and Wise Men yet he prefers his Duty before this also he values a Good Conscience above a Good Name and therefore would be as Virtuous in a Desart as in the midst of Prying Multitudes nay would not be guilty of an unjust Action though he shou'd he sure that it wou'd be conceal'd from God as well as Man much less to gratisie any Revenge or to avoid any Disgrace Now though the Instance is given here in a Soâ—…dier and many are apt to think as well as those Gentlemen themselves that they ought to be more concern'd to vindicate their Honour than other People are I do not see any ground for this If what I have said of Honour before and also just now and chiefly to prevent this mistake be duly observ'd nay although Courage alone shou'd be the Standard of Honour as some of them are inclin'd to believe and they shou'd think themselves bound to observe stricter measures in regard to this than the rest of the World yet this is not to be vindicated by Self-murther in the Case before us as shall be shewn immediately 2. The chief ground of this Plea is That such a one has stood his Trial that he has done what he cou'd to clear himself and for all that is unjustly Condemn'd But nothing of this alters the Case this does not give a Man more right over his Life than he had before and one sort of Injustice is not to be return'd by another If Man is unjust to me what excuse is that for my being unjust to God Socrates was Condemn'd unjustly if ever Man was yet he refus'd * See Plato's Crito to save himself by flying out of Prison at his Friends entreaty because he reckon'd it against the Laws of his Country and unjust to do so How
Life to come to tell you considently that they are unnatural for all that this proves is only that such a Persons Mind is distemper'd that it does not exert its Faculties in a natural way that is in the same way that the generality of Mankind do for 't is from hence that we must judge of Humane Nature not from the temper or report of one or few Persons and if so then these Notions which are so General must be Natural and therefore certain because whatever is of Nature is of God There needs no further Answer to the Objections against a Future State or any further proofs for it where the wisest of the Philosophers concur with us so Universally The belief of this was the Foundation of those Excellent Discourses which were written by these Antient Sages and therefore we may find the Immortality of the Soul and a Future State continually Inculcated by the greatest of them this too was the ground of that greatness of Mind that Justice Courage Temperance and Piety of the Greeks and Romans 'T was this that gave Socrates that Calmness and Tranquility in his last Minutes under the most barbarous Injustice and made him as casie in his Death as ever lawful Monarch was at his Coronation And 't is to those Excellent Authors * Plato and Xenophon See this also clearly copiously and solidly prov'd in the Treatise above-mentioned viz. 〈◊〉 Practical Discourse of Future Judgment Likewise in the 2d Part. Vol. 1. Chap. 5. Sect. 2. Of the Christian Life 〈◊〉 that Late Eminent Divine Dr. Scot. which give an account of this Great Man that I remit the Reader for further satisfaction or if happily what has been said shall be sufficient then there will I suppose be no great difficulty in the remaining Point 2. That Self-Murther being one of the worst Crimes shall have a Punishment proportionable and consequently he that makes use of this to obtain Ease or Liberty shall fall into a state of great Misery or Slavery To make this appear we need only to produce the Opinions of some of the Greatest Men in this Matter and consider briefly the Grounds of Punishment and Reward in General and the Nature of this Crime in Particular For the First Virgil describing the Aboad and Condition of Self-murtherers in that Place above-mention'd * AEn 6. shews it to be unspeakably worse than the Evil which they sled from while he crys out Quam vellent aethere in alto Nunc pauperiem duros perferre labores This was according to the Doctrine of Plato and therefore Macrobius discoursing upon that Passage of Cicero which I quoted before †p. 22 Sup. That there could be no entrance into a State of Happiness for those who Kill'd themselves says ‖ Macrob lib. 1. in Som. Scip. Cap 13 it was the Opinion of Plotinus an Eminent Platonist That no Death could be Rewarded but what was Natural and that Death alone was Natural where the Body left the Soul and not the Soul the Body Besides as he adds farther the Soul shall be Rewarded according to that Perfection which it arrives to in this Life therefore Death is not to be hastned because it can never be so perfect but that it may receive addition tho' a Man may have risen to a very high Pitch of Goodness and Virtue yet he may rise higher sâ—…ill wherefore he that cuts off his Life cuts off his Improvement and so despises the Reward which is propos'd to him which being a great Contempt of the Proposer must be the occasion of severe Punishment To these let me add an Excellent Author * Milton's Paradise Lost. lib. 10. of our own who makes the first Man upon his Wife 's advising to kill themselves in their great Distress to argue thus from the Light of Nature If thou covet Death as utmost End Of Misery so thinking to evade The Penalty pronounc'd doubt not but God Hath wiselier Arm'd his Vengeful Power than so To be forestall'd much more I fear least Death So snatch'd will not exempt us from the Pain We are by Doom to pay rather such acts Of Contumacy will Provoke the Highest To make Death in us live then let us seek Some safer Resolution But the Reasonableness of this will be more plain if we consider what must be the Ground of Reward and Punishment in General and the Nature of the Crime before us What is it then that shall make the Soul to be admitted into a State of Liberty Ease or Happiness but the endeavouring faithfully to fulfil that End for which Life was bestow'd by performing every part of its Duty towards God our Neighbour or our selves and this too notwithstanding the worst Evils and Calamities which can possibly befall us On the other side what shall expose the Soul to the Slavery of extreme Torment but the forsaking of this End the refusing to submit to the Will of God the Injuring our Neighbour and encouraging others to do so now if the doing any one of these things must make a Man liable to Punishment what must it do to be guilty of them all and much more by Self-murther For this is the 〈◊〉 destruction of God's particular Propriety the Positive Renouncing that End for which he gives Man Life the doing what is destructive to Civil Society the Overthrowing the Laws both of God and Man to Rebel against Providence and break out into Eternity Self-murther is the doing all this and what is still more the doing it wilfully and advisedly and therefore what Punishment shall be due to it I hope the greatness of this Crime appears so plain by this time every Argument which has been us'd for the proving it unlawful proving this also that no new Arguments will be requir'd of me to demonstrate it and therefore I shall only confirm this by these two Considerations 1. That this is the least capable of 〈◊〉 of any ill Action whatsoever or 〈◊〉 't is the positive 〈◊〉 of it 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 been allow'd as a most 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Duty by the Light of 〈◊〉 by which 't is plain also that 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 for something that is past and of Resolution of not doing the same thing for the time to come but the Gentleman with whom we have had so much to do after he has brought in a maim'd account of Repentance under the covert of a venerable Name viz. * See Biath pag. 32. This is true Repentance to do no more to speak no more those things whereof you Repent and not be ever Sinning and ever asking Pardon tells us such a Repentance as this our Case is capable enough of Was ever any thing so trivial What kind of Repentance Why a Man is capable of keeping the Resolution of Killing himself no more after he has once done so Can this be in earnest but this is absurd as to both parts of Repentance for this is either Sorrow for what is past supposes some thing
to have been done amiss whereas here Repentance goes beforehand and the Person is reckon'd to have confess'd the Crime before he has committed it or else 't is Resolution against doing something that is Evil but how can this be when the Person is Positively resolv'd for it this is strange trisling with a Man 's Own Conscience and with God and what can be more provoking than to know the Evil of an Action to foresee that it wants Repenâ—…ance to be sensible that it ought to be abhorr'd and avoided and yet to do it for all that If it be said that a Man may have time to Repent afterwards and that he may possibly contrive his Death accordingly Alas what hopes can he draw srom hence to design sirst positively to commit that which one acknowledges to be Evil and to design to ask forgiveness when 't is committed is an undeniable Evidence that a Man transgresses Presumptuously against the Light of his own Reason for the more necessary that he thinks Repentance is the more clear sense must he have of the Evil of the thing which he is about to do and therefore the greater must his Punishment be 2. The Person who is guilty of Self-murther can receive no Punishment in this World which he can be sensible of and therefore shall be punish'd the more hereafter I have shewn already * Sup. pag. 26 27 that among other things which prove the unlawfulness of Self-murther 't is a greater Crime in respect of the Publick than the Murther of another Man because some satisfaction may be made for that especially to the Publick by the forfeiture of the Persons own Life and by the terrour of his Example But in Self-murther there can be nothing of this the Offender evades all sensible Punishment he makes no Satisfaction considerable for despising and breaking the Laws of his Country and encouraging others to do so He brings Horrour Confusion Infamy and Poverty often upon his forsaken Family and yet does it often upon this very Account that he cannot be Punish'd here and therefore will undoubtedly suffer in a more dreadful manner hereafter Thus I have considered the several Significations of the Word Liberty as a pretence for Self-murther and shewed what that Liberty is in General which Man has as to his own Actions That no Evil which oppresses the Body can be destructive while Reason remains to the Liberty of the Soul That no Sickness or Pain whatsoever can be any sign that God gives the Sufferer Liberty to destroy himself That he who does so to obtain Liberty or Ease from any such Evils shall fall into a state of greater Slavery and therefore that Liberty in what sense soever is an unreasonable pretence for Self-murther And now I have gone through what I propos'd laid down the Principles upon which I take Self-murther to be unlawful Answer'd such Objections as I thought most strong against them and withal examin'd those General Prejudices by which People are usually misled in this Matter I will not trouble the Reader with any more particular view of what has been said If he wants this he may have it by turning back to the Contents But hitherto we have been led only by Natural Reason if the Principles which we have argued from were brought to what is revealed to us in the Holy Scriptures the unlawfulness of this Act would quickly appear more Plainly For as to God's Propriety in Man There we may find in how wonderful a manner this is increas'd by the Death of our Crucifi'd Lord who purchas'd us by his Blood made us Members of his Body uniting us to Himself by his Holy Spirit Thus too as to the end of Humane Life there our Reason is instructed what to believe and our Wills what to do and encourag'd to obey accordingly by the assistance of the same Spirit And although we may see there that the best of Men in the following of this End shall be expos'd to great Afflictions to Poverty Sickness Disgrace nay sometimes to Death it self yet we may see also the great advantages of such Sufferings by the improvement of ourSouls and the increase of our Reward And above all for the enabling us to undergo them in their worst Extremes we have there set before us the most Excellent Example of Patience Constancy and Humility in the meek and forgiving Son of God What Contempt or Disgrace what Torture of the Body could ever equal what He Suffer'd in his Death What Sorrow and Anxiety what Torments of the Mind could ever be compar'd to what He felt in the Garden and yet with what Duty and Resignation did He submit to all O my Father if it be possible let this Cup pass from Me nevertheless not as I will but as thou wilt These Blessed Words alone if rightly consider'd might afford in what Circumstances soever the most Sovereign Preservative against this dreadful crime of Self-murther But Arguments of this kind may if it be found necessary be insisted upon more conveniently hereafter FINIS