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Article ON SUICIDE . ← Page 2 of 2
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On Suicide .
reflected on , that he who kills himself is exposed by this offence to the immediate displeasure of his Maker ; and what is yet more dreadful in this case , the crime which he perpetrates gains no time for repentance . The murderer lifts his hand against his own existence ; he braves his Maker by ah impious assassination ; he plunges -into another lifewith all his crimes about himand this last the most
, , enormous ; he enters into the presence of a Being eternally distant from impurity , who must punish so awful an offence , and send him to perdition , there to bewail his past offences ; to wish a thousand times for that life which he had just deprived himself of , with this heightened circumstance of misery , that he must still wish in vain . Can any thing be more alarming to the soul than the thoughts of such
a condemnation from the Almighty , when enraged Omnipotence shall blow the unquenchable flame , and the justice of the Divinity is interested to punish such an offence with all the rigour that is consistent -with that attribute of his nature .
If considerations of this sort will not awaken those who think , and who have any sense or traces of religion in their soul , I know not what will : and as sure as we now exist , so certain it is that God will demonstrate his severe displeasure against such offenders ; but the loss is , that few amongst us are influenced by any such principles , and most part are influenced by none : they have only a consciousness of pain and leasureand when they find pain predominatethey fall
p , , upon an expedient to avoid it , by rushing upon death , without ever reflecting . in that sleep of death what ills may come , which ought indeed to give them pain . , Many arguments might be advanced to shew the absurdity and impiety of suicide ; suffer me to mention one , which I imagine may have some influence with those who are apt to value themselves on their personal bravery ; which is , that to commit suicide is mean
ignoble cowardice . Addison finely observes , that to fl y from sufferings , is not half so brave as a resolution to bear them , to bear them like a man : and Milton distinguishes the courage of our first parent , in opposition to the cowardice of our general mother , that the one was for flying from her sufferings , and the other , bearing them as well as he could . ? Tis true , when we are afflicted we must feel ; and , as Young has nobly expressed it :
The blood will follow where the knife is driven ; The flesh will quiver where the pincers tear : but then there is a hig her part of us , which can still bear up against all the evils that flesh is heir to . Should we be exposed to pain , the severest pain , what is the consequence ? Our nature will , at last , ' yield to the infliction without any effort of ours ; and if we should be marked
out for suffering , no more can be said than this , that we . are never punished beyond what our provocations deserve ; and he who best knows the frame and heart of man , will never counteract his wisdom , or inflict more than we are able , or than it is fit we should bear . Would one then , who is doomed to suffer , act the part of a man , let him nobly bear it a little while , and his sufferings will cease ; the storm . * of ivir . try time will quickly pass , and one unbounded spring encircle all , A . Z ,
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
On Suicide .
reflected on , that he who kills himself is exposed by this offence to the immediate displeasure of his Maker ; and what is yet more dreadful in this case , the crime which he perpetrates gains no time for repentance . The murderer lifts his hand against his own existence ; he braves his Maker by ah impious assassination ; he plunges -into another lifewith all his crimes about himand this last the most
, , enormous ; he enters into the presence of a Being eternally distant from impurity , who must punish so awful an offence , and send him to perdition , there to bewail his past offences ; to wish a thousand times for that life which he had just deprived himself of , with this heightened circumstance of misery , that he must still wish in vain . Can any thing be more alarming to the soul than the thoughts of such
a condemnation from the Almighty , when enraged Omnipotence shall blow the unquenchable flame , and the justice of the Divinity is interested to punish such an offence with all the rigour that is consistent -with that attribute of his nature .
If considerations of this sort will not awaken those who think , and who have any sense or traces of religion in their soul , I know not what will : and as sure as we now exist , so certain it is that God will demonstrate his severe displeasure against such offenders ; but the loss is , that few amongst us are influenced by any such principles , and most part are influenced by none : they have only a consciousness of pain and leasureand when they find pain predominatethey fall
p , , upon an expedient to avoid it , by rushing upon death , without ever reflecting . in that sleep of death what ills may come , which ought indeed to give them pain . , Many arguments might be advanced to shew the absurdity and impiety of suicide ; suffer me to mention one , which I imagine may have some influence with those who are apt to value themselves on their personal bravery ; which is , that to commit suicide is mean
ignoble cowardice . Addison finely observes , that to fl y from sufferings , is not half so brave as a resolution to bear them , to bear them like a man : and Milton distinguishes the courage of our first parent , in opposition to the cowardice of our general mother , that the one was for flying from her sufferings , and the other , bearing them as well as he could . ? Tis true , when we are afflicted we must feel ; and , as Young has nobly expressed it :
The blood will follow where the knife is driven ; The flesh will quiver where the pincers tear : but then there is a hig her part of us , which can still bear up against all the evils that flesh is heir to . Should we be exposed to pain , the severest pain , what is the consequence ? Our nature will , at last , ' yield to the infliction without any effort of ours ; and if we should be marked
out for suffering , no more can be said than this , that we . are never punished beyond what our provocations deserve ; and he who best knows the frame and heart of man , will never counteract his wisdom , or inflict more than we are able , or than it is fit we should bear . Would one then , who is doomed to suffer , act the part of a man , let him nobly bear it a little while , and his sufferings will cease ; the storm . * of ivir . try time will quickly pass , and one unbounded spring encircle all , A . Z ,